Top 5 Sundays – Rejected Love Interests (as in the other guy got the girl)

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life
Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)

4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.5 - If you don't have a blog to post, just leave your list in the coments =) 

Top 5 Sundays – Rejected Love Interests (as in the other guy got the girl)

Ren vs. Shay, I definitely prefer Shay but Ren is also one hot Guardian who still might just have a chance with Calla.  It might not be over for him, I'll have to wait for Bloodrose to find out.  :)

This is probably the most well known love triangle.  I think that Edward turns out to be the best pick but well Jacob would have been just as good.

Oh Gale, he was an interesting love interest but I don't think he ever really has a real chance with Katniss after she went to the Hunger Games.

Wow, this book has a gut-wrenching love triangle that I hope goes Packard's way in the next book.  This is one well written love triangle that you may find yourself going back and forth between Otto and Packard.

Quite the love triangle with Kitty having to choose between Martini, Christopher, and later in the series Chuckie.  Martini is of course the best choice but Christopher and Chuckie are some great competition. 

Marvelous Mail

Received some marvelous mail this week from Beth Revis the author of Across the Universe.  I entered her creative contest and she gave everyone who entered a prize.  :)

The sticker that was holding the envelope closed, gives a good look at part of the new paperback cover for Across the Universe.

Here's a good picture of everything including the signed book plate and charms.

A nice close up of the charms, which are also clues for what happens in the next book.  Now I just need to find a necklace chain for these charms. :)

Delightfully Dark

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

* Read this ARC via Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours
* Book will be released November 1, 2011

5 out of 5 gnomes

Wow, this book is crazy, in the best possible way.  This has got to be the best twist ending that I've read in quite awhile.  All the pieces are there when you look back but at the time I had no idea it was going to end like it did.  

This book had me thinking that I knew how everything was going to happen but just like Will in the story I was in for some big surprises.  The notes at the end do make a lot of sense and they'll help the reader put some of the pieces together.  

The story is all told from Will's point of view.  The way all the details are doled out makes you see everything through his eyes and you don't know it at first but he has some major issues and is not the most reliable narrator.  His phobia is just about the most crippling one there and you won't find out what it is for awhile.

The story's main theme is severe fear and having people try to get over their fears.  These are the kind of fears that stop these kids, seven in all, from enjoying everyday life.  It feels realistic that the parents of these kids would send them off to be cured because this is the last chance or possibility for most of them.  Their therapy doesn't seem to be working and this program is the only option.

There are some drawings of what they each fear that are included before the chapters.  I read the ARC so I didn't get to see all of the drawings but the ones I did really make the book stand out.  The story feels very interactive and may speak to the voyeur inside of you as Will watches what happens without anyone knowing.  

Will even falls for one of the other patients.  This adds another sense of intrigue to the book because you wonder if she'll be cured too.  It also adds to the whole paranoid factor as you look closely at all the patients and wonder who can be trusted.

The cure and each of the fears is spooky enough, but even as they are cured one by one, questions still arise of what exactly is done to cure them.  It will leave you wondering what price is worth paying to get rid of all of your fears.  I can't say much more without spoiling the book.

Overall Will and Mrs. Goring are the strongest characters and have and leave quite the impression.  This is the kind of scary book that has a foreboding quality throughout where you know something isn't right but you're just not sure what's wrong.  I highly recommend this book because of the surprising twists and turns throughout and the ending that is so well done.

Check out the website for the book, it's full of creepy goodness - http://enterdarkeden.com/

Sentence Sneak Peek - Dark Eden

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

The first sentence from each chapter of Dark Eden, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Read this ARC via Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours
* Book will be released November 1, 2011
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

"Why are you hiding in this room all alone?"

"The hulking mass of Fort Eden is alive."

"I needed answers the monitors wouldn't give me."

"I didn't worry as much about Kate as I had Ben, and I expected to worry even less about Connor."

"An hour after Connor Bloom and Alex Chow were cured, Mrs. Goring drove the metal cart down the ramp and I dialed the light off just as she threw open the door to the basement."

"In hindsight, the thing that bothered me the most when I discovered what was happening to me was how blind I'd been."

"When we arrived at the pond, Avery Varone was sitting alone on the dock."

"ONE MONTH LATER

We asked you a question, Will."

"RECORDED SOME TIME LATER,

AFTER FURTHER CONSIDERATION

Fears and Afflictions

I'll never know for sure why the seven were chosen or if the things we feared mattered."

"THE COLORS AND

The Masque of the Red Death"

BLUE

PURPLE

GREEN

ORANGE

WHITE

VIOLET

BLACK

For weeks and weeks I mulled over the colors of the rooms."

"The Pearl, The Woman in the Dunes,
AND RAINSFORD

I'm curious about when Rainsford first entered the world, but regardless of when it was, the use of The Pearl tells me a lot about his world view."

"A FINAL NOTE

Rainsford could have done without all of these flour-ishes."

Blood Drive Review and Giveaway

 

* ARC received via Writers of the Round Table Press and Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours for the blog tour of this book.

* Finished copy for giveaway provided by Writers of the Round Table Press.

Blood Drive by Traci Houston

3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes for this fine look at a world where a lot of magical forces seem to be at work and for having a ton of interesting characters all in one place.

This is a great quick read and has a bunch of characters that are full of surprises.  There's magic, mystery, vampires, and a whole host of complications that play out for all of the characters.  It's also great to have multiple perspectives instead of just one point of view, this lets you invest in all the characters more and is great especially if certain characters are becoming annoying.

There were some awkward misspellings/wrong words in some places in the book.  They didn't hamper my reading experience but they do take you out of the flow of the story a bit.  The overall flow/feel of the book was kind of like one of the early Anita Blake books, Cara kind of reminded me of her because she isn't really sure what the full extent of her power is either.

Cara is a hard character to figure out at first because she doesn't like to let her emotions show.  You'll start to understand why the more you read about her.  She seems to become more sure of herself when she's in danger and protecting others.  

Jonathan doesn't seem all that likable at first either but he definitely grew on me while reading.  He's an interesting take on vampires.  He kind of has the whole Angel attitude, because he's remorseful for everything that he's done and seen.  He is automatically intrigued by Cara and wants to know what exactly she is.  There's a definite chemistry between them that's fun to read and with the ending of the book promises to become even more interesting in the future.

Thomas and Beth are my favorite characters because they are so different yet perfect for each other.  They are anathema to each other at first but their relationship looks to be leading into something more.  There are a lot of secrets between them and I can't wait to find out more about them.

The bad guy is one evil dude.  He has some real delusions of grandeur and will do pretty much anything to attain his goal.  There's loads of violence and he is very fond of killing people not matter who or how important they are.  He of course wants to kill Cara and her friends.

Action, suspense, and trouble abound as these characters go through a heck of a lot of trouble together.  The ending leaves some great questions and possibilities for where all these relationships are headed.  This world is intriguing and Traci Houston absolutely know how to write a story with a great mix of action and mystery.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blogs on the tour:

Tour Schedule:

10/10: OUaT Kicks-off tour w/ Review + ARC giveaway

10/11: At Random - Interview + giveaway

10/12: Bibliognome - Review + giveaway

10/13: The Nerdy Katie - Review + giveaway

10/14: Me, My Shelf and I - Review + giveaway

10/17: Good Choice Reading - Review + giveaway

10/18: I Heart Reading - Interview + giveaway

10/19: Panda Reads - Review + giveaway

10/20: The Garden of Books - When I'm not writing + giveaway

10/21: The Secret Life of an Avid Reader - Review + giveaway

Blood Drive Giveaway

Rules to enter:

1.) Just leave a comment with your name and email address.  If you don't want to leave your email address leave your Twitter, or Facebook details.  Just make sure I'm able to contact you if you win.

2.) You don't have to follow the blog to win, but feel free to follow if you like what you see and leave any comments on reviews or posts that you find interesting.  :)

3.) Giveaway will end on October 19th at 11:59 PM. (Central Time) 

* Giveaway of Blood Drive is US only

 

**So as to not leave out my International readers, if you are International let me know in your comment that you want to be entered in a drawing for $10 to The Book Depository and make sure you live in a country that the Book Depository ships to.

 

*I'll pick the name of the winners out of a hat/box or whatever jar is convenient. 

Winner will be posted sometime October 20th

* I will email the winners and they will have 3 days to respond and then I'll pick a new winner.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Blood Drive

Blood Drive by Traci Houston

The first sentence from each chapter of Blood Drive, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* ARC received via Writers of the Round Table Press and Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours for the blog tour of this book.

Introduction - "The blood was still on Cara's hands."

“Cara Evens walked quickly down the central corridor of the Miami Police department, idly taking note of the officers who ran their eyes over her.”

"Cara rushed to her car, squealed out of the parking lot, and pulled into an empty alley."

"Cara arrived at the offices of Mr. Jonathan Iverly at a quarter after seven."

"Jonathan excused himself for his "phone calls."

"Cara finished making her notes from the employee files and stepped into the outer office."

"Cara made it home safely after she picked up her car from the empty lot at Iverly Holdings."

"Cara awoke rejuvenated when her alarm clock went off."

"Modern superstition leads people to believe that vampires sleep in coffins, but Jonathan had found he could sleep just about anywhere."

"It was almost six hours before Jonathan's phone rang."

"Cara had phoned Captain Monahan when she returned from Jonathan's that morning."

"Jonathan stared at the door Cara had just shut in his face and wanted to smash it."

"Thomas didn't ask any questions when he was asked to have a rental car delivered to Jonathan in the wee hours of the morning."

"Beth moved about the kitchen preparing lunch."

"The little woman, and it was a woman, was standing on the doorstep."

"They're out by the first turnoff."

"They took turns cleaning up and filling Jonathan in."

"According to the news, the attack on the station was swift, brutal."

"As soon as the sun set Mason left for the station."

"The first thing Cara did was steal Jonathan's car."

"How do you cook like that every night and not weigh four hundred pounds?"

"Beth still looked at it as if she would rather forgo touching the book."

"Thomas is cursed."

"The house was quiet while Jonathan paced in front of the plywood-covered windows."

"When the phone rings at 4:00 A.M. it's usually bad news."

"Jonathan drove carefully to his office, praying that there was a simple explanation for Valerie's disappearance, not allowing himself to give credit to any other scenarios."

"Christian lay in his temporary home."

"Cara and Beth sat at the kitchen table, absorbing the news of Valerie's death."

"Sleep."

"Ernie wasn't a bad-looking guy."

"Cara called Beth, gave her the address they were headed to, and explained how they had gotten their information."

"Thomas pulled up and parked behind Mason's car."

"Beth was standing with the door open when Mason and Thomas pulled up."

"A split second after Beth left, Thomas grabbed for his weapons with everyone else in a mad dash to follow her to the front door."

"The five of them stood panting, slightly dazed with the rush of action."

"Thomas shut the door and wondered whether it was wise to let Cara head into the woods after Jonathan."

"Beth's dining room table was littered with maps and files."

"Beth sat at her table and studied the book, again."

"Five-thirty wasn't a whole lot better for bad news."

"Hours passed before Mason and Cara made it back to Beth's as the sun began its descent."

"Mason had been the first to realize that something was wrong, said he'd felt the power and knew it wasn't Beth's."

"Beth took the day to recuperate, thankful for the healing herbs and the oh-so-wonderful pain medication."

"The front door of the building was closed."

"Beth poured antiseptic on a cotton ball."

"Thomas woke up the next morning feeling rested and relaxed."

"Mosquitoes buzzed around Mason as he left the car and scanned the area."

"Mason drove as long as he could."

"Mason slept for the rest of the evening and into the next afternoon."

"Throughout the late afernoon Beth and Grettel went over translations in the library."

"Cara and Mason pulled up in front of the seven-eleven that Danny had called from."

"Silence."

"Jonathan remained unconscious."