Feature & Follow # 31

 

 

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

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Here’s this week’s question:

 

Tell us about the most emotional scene you've ever read in a book - and how did you react?

I have to admit, although I tend to get quite emotionally invested in many of the books I read, not many of them actually make me cry.

My reactions tends to be more of a "Oh NO!! No No No. That can't happen." kind of response.

 

Some examples:

 

 

 When Dimitri was bitten and turned into a Strigoi in the VA series. (Shadow Kiss)

When Patch appears to be locked in Hell and unable to return to Nora in the Hush Hush series. (Finale)

 

When Bianca dies and turns into a ghost in the Evernight series.(Afterlife)

When Clary and Jace discover they are brother and sister. (City of Bones)

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So what's your FF?

To play along visit Parajunkee & Alison Can Read

Follow them, follow their Featured Blogs and then visit as many blogs as you can, posting your answers.

And don't forget to leave your link in the comments section below!
 

 

Swoon Thursday # 32 - The Golden Lily

 

The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme.
 

Here's how it works. From the book you're currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.
 

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag#YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!

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Yay! It's Swoon Thursday.

So where does my choice come from this week?

 

The Golden Lily

by

Richelle Mead

 

 

First - The Blurb:

 

 

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

Second - My Thoughts:

Okay, today I'm going to keep my thoughts brief.

As many of you already know, The Golden Lily follows directly on from Bloodlines. Does the series improve?
For me, yes it did.

Admittedly, there is still not a whole lot of romance in this book, but there is some. And of course, my favorite scene is the one which happens right at the end.

After completing this book, I'm really looking forward to The Indigo Spell to see how things develop from this point on.

My Rating - 4 out of 5


Third - My Swoon:

He reached  out and pulled me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head up and lowered his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body was consumed in that kiss. I was nothing. I was everything. Chills ran over my skin, and fire burned inside me. His body pressed closer to mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were warmer and softer than anything I could have ever imagined, yet fierce and powerful at the same time. Mine responded hungrily, and I tightened my hold on him. His fingers slid down the back of my neck, tracing its shape, and every place they touched was electric.

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Okay, so what do you think?
 

If you liked my Swoon, please leave a comment below!

Teaser Tuesday # 31 - Bloodlines

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Well, it's Tuesday again, which means, it's time for another tease.

So where does my little gem come from this week?

 

Bloodlines

by

Richelle Mead.

First - The Blurb:

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...






Second - My Thoughts:

I was warned that this book didn't contain too many swoon worthy moments. In fact, I was warned that it contained a total of zero. That warning - proved to be correct. There is not one single kiss in this book, not even a hint of a kiss. Was I disappointed? Yes!!!!!

However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the story. There's a lot going on in this book, some of which is predictable, some of which isn't. What I probably liked best, is the banter which occurs between Sydney and Adrian. Despite her aversion to vampires, I sense a romance blossoming between the two of them.

Oh! And one more thing - Adrian - definitely my favorite character in this series.


My rating for this one- 4 out of 5



Third - My Tease:

Something in the way he was looking at me froze me up and made my stomach do flip-flops, though I couldn't quite articulate why. I only knew that he looked as though he was seeing me for the very first time... and it scared me.


This small tease occurs pretty late in the book, but I see it as a hint of things to come.

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If you liked my tease, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or if you don't have a blog, then please leave your ‘teasers’ in the comment section below!

Stacking the Shelves # 24

 

 

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks.


Okay, so I missed posting last week, but that was mainly because I didn't get a chance to buy, borrow or bag anything.

This week, I had a little more time and this is what I added to my shelf:

 

 

I loved Mortal Instruments so I thought it was worth adding these to my collection. And while I was in a spending mood, I also added:

Yeah, I know the last isn't a book but I had to complete my Blu-Ray collection.

Okay! So what did you add to your shelf this week?

I'd really like to know.
 

Please leave a comment below.