Giveaway: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

• Thank you RandomBuzzers for providing an ARC to giveway!
• Contest is OPEN internationally. 
• Rafflecopter form must be filled out.
• One winner will be chosen on the end date, and contacted for a mailing address via email provided.

Title: Seraphina

Author: Rachel Hartman

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Genre: YA High Fantasy/Dragons

Pages: 467

Goodreads | Amazon

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

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Wishlist Wednesday (1)

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It's a weekly meme where you show and talk about one book you've had on your wishlist for ages, or a book you're excited about.

Synopsis:
My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

Why?

Every time I read the synopsis of this book from Goodreads I ask myself why I haven't purchased this book series yet. I love books about boarding schools, and magic. I've read mostly good reviews, and I could use a fun, humorous, light read. The cover is pretty cool too with her violet eyes, and mysterious castle. I'm really looking forward to reading Touch of Frost, and I'll snatch it up next time I'm in Barnes and Noble. 

Leave a comment to your blog posts below. :)

                                                                   

Tithe (The Modern Faerie Tales #1) by Holly Black

Title:Tithe

Author: Holly Black

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 1, 2002

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Faerie

Pages: 331

Format: Paperback

Source: Library
Goodreads | Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

My thoughts:

This was the first book I had ever read about the fay, and I really enjoyed it! We follow a girl named Kaye who is independent, strong, and can handle herself. While out late one night she saves a man from near death, and is then swept up in the faerie world. This book surprisingly reads more as an adult novel, as it's very dark, and gritty. There's drinking, curse words, and drugs. If you can't handle those types of situations then I wouldn't recommend this book to you. There isn't too much romance in this novel, which is refreshing, but Robin the faerie who Kaye has her eye on reminds me a lot of prince Ash from the The Iron Fey series. Except he's a little sweeter and more understanding. I wouldn't say this is my all time favorite book by any means, but it was worth reading, and I'd like to read the companion novel, and sequel eventually. So if you are looking for a darker faerie tale with a realistic twist I'd say go for it. 

                                                                     

Happy reading,

Amelia.

TGIF (1) Supporting Characters

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by the blog GReads.

This week's question is

Supporting Characters: We tend to gush over those main characters the most, but what about those supporting roles? Who are some of your favorites?

1. The character that instantly came to mind was Grimalkin from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I seriously disliked the main character Meghan, so Grim made it all worth reading for me. For being a cat his personality was sarcastic, witty, and always kept the rest of the characters on their toes. I'd always find myself laughing whenever he disappeared, and then reappeared in the nick of time. Also, deep down I could tell he was actually a caring creature who loved his friends, but I'm sure he'd never admit to that. ;)

2. I loved the Harry Potter series when I was younger, and still do. A favorite supporting character of mine is Draco Malfoy. You can't have Harry Potter without him, and with me I think most fans love to hate him. What set him apart for me was the fact that deep down he could be a pretty nice guy, and he was just trying to please his family. 

Those are just a couple of my all time favorites, I'd love to know yours as well if you'd leave you links in the comments below. 

Fever (Chemical Garden Trilogy #2) by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Fever

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: February 21, 2012

Genre: YA Dystopian

Pages: 341

Format: Hardcover

Source: Bought (Amazon)

Goodreads | Amazon

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

My thoughts:

Okay. Wow. I absolutely loved Wither, but Fever completely went above and beyond my expectations! The story of Gabriel and Rhine picks off right where the first books leaves you, on the run from evil housemaster Vaughan. 

I was surprised because Fever was a lot more face passed in my opinion, but also was a lot more dark and brutal, if possible. I mean this was some bleak stuff, even when Rhine never lost her hope I felt depressed and sad for every character in this book, not that it was a bad experience. I think it just made the story feel more real, and that life isn't always rainbows, and sunshine. So like I said a lot more events happen Fever. We are introduced to a sketchy couple, trapped in a demented carnival, at an orphanage, and back to Rhine's home. There is no shortage of undiscovered places. I also thought Rhine really grew as a character, and we were shown not only her strong side, but her more venerable side, as every human should have one! There were just so many discovered secrets and lies, I don't know where to start! I had to keep flipping the page. 

The only slight problem I had with this book was that I felt Gabriel never lived up to his full potential, and we still don't know too much about him. It also would have been nice to see the relationship between Linden, and Cecily throughout. Otherwise an amazing second book, the cliffhanger at the end was killer, and I can't wait for the final installment! 

Happy Reading,

Amelia.

Top Ten Tuesday (2) Favorite Quotes From Books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I couldn't remember any quotes off the top of my head so I used Goodreads to find these, they truly are some of my favorites, especially the ones that make me laugh out loud.

1. “Is this the part where you start tearing off strips of your shirt to bind my wounds?"

"If you wanted me to rip my clothes off, you should have just asked." - City of Bones, Cassandra Clare.

2. “Oh, we're playing nice now? Shall we have tea first? Brew up a nice pot of kiss-my-ass?”  - The Iron King, Julie Kagawa.

3. "If I've learned one lesson from all that's happened to me, it's that there is no such thing as the biggest mistake of your existence. There's not such thing as ruining your life. Life's a pretty resilient thing, it turns out." - The Undomestic Goddess, Sophie Kinsella.

4. "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." - 1984, George Orwell.

5. "Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing." "Well," he says, "I would only go if there was cake." - Divergent, Veronica Roth.

6. “I don't like him," I explained. "He annoys the hell out of me ninety-six percent of the time, and sometimes I'd like nothing better than to strangle him to death. But at the same time I... I want him to be happy. I think about him way more than I should, and I -"

"You love him.”  - The Duff, Kody Keplinger.

7. “I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.” - If I stay, Gale Forman.

8. “He raised an eyebrow, which made me totally jealous. I've never been able to do that. I always just end up raising both of them and looking surprised or scared instead of sardonic.”  - Hex Hall, Rachel Hawkins.

9. “It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. Only, I know that I'm that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium. 

To me, though, I'm just me. An ordinary kid.”  - Wonder, R.J. Palacio.

10. “I always knew I was an excellent liar; I just didn't know that I had it in me to fool myself.” - Wither, Lauren DeStefano.

Those are my top ten quotes this week, leave your links in the comments for me to read yours. :)

Happy reading, 

Amelia.

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a weekly meme that allows everyone to show what books they purchased, got for review, gifts, etc during the week.

This week I only got two books, because Insurgent is taking forever in the post! I'm very excited to read both.

• Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross (won in a contest from The Story Siren!)
• Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (received from RandomBuzzers & am currently reading.)

Thank you! :)

Please leave your links to you imm, or haul below, I'd love to see what you got.

-Happy Reading,

Amelia