Matched Winner Re-Drawn

Because the previous winner has not got back to me a new winner for an arc of Matched has been drawn. And the winner is… Stephanie H Congrats Steph! The rules state that you have 48 hours to reply with your details to the email I’ve sent you but because my computer is caput at the moment I’m willing to allow an extra couple days because frankly re-drawing winners when you don’t have a computer is a PAIN and the last winner had the advantage of having longer to get back to me too. So for this once I’ll make an exception :) Happy reading till next time folks! Jess x

Review for The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Donna Underwood isn’t your typical teenage girl, she knows secrets, secrets about magic, other realms, secret societies and faeries and to top it off when she was a kid she was in a freak attack with a fey monster leaving her with mangled hands and arms and a dead father. After excruciating magical treatments Donna’s arms are left healed with Iron tattoo’s, giving her inhuman strength and a powerful iron enhanced weapon against the evil wood elves that attacked her and her father. So when the fey start kidnapping the people Donna loves and replacing them with faerie doppelgangers Donna knows it’s up to her to save them, and so with the help of gorgeous half faerie half human Xan Donna sets off to put an end to the evil wood elves who have haunted her nightmares all of her life even if it costs her the ultimate betrayal… I’ve read a few faerie books and I have to say that none of them have really impressed me. I was pretty much ready to just accept that maybe faeries weren’t for me when I heard about The Iron Witch. It sounded completely original and not like any other fey books I’ve read with the alchemist element thrown in and so I decided to give it a go. The Iron Witch had me intrigued pretty much straight away. I’m a sucker for all things magical so the alchemist part of the story really interested me and I loved how Karen Mahoney connected it in with a faerie world. The books fairly short but it packs a punch and for a debut novel to a brand new series it definitely has me wanting to know more about this world. Karen Mahoney answers just enough questions to leave you closing the book satisfied but at the same time has developed this world that has so much potential that you can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next. As for characters I really loved Xan from the moment I met him but that’s not to say that I didn’t like Donna’s best friend Navin too. Although the romance was fairly limited in The Iron Witch I can definitely see a love triangle developing in future books and I have a feeling that Donna won’t be the only one torn between the boys! I found Donna to be a really interesting lead character. Her Iron tattoos and the abilities that come with them fascinated me and was a really original concept to the story. She was a strong, clever heroine and I especially enjoyed reading her journal entries as they really gave an insight into how Donna was feeling and I felt like I got to know her a lot better during that time. I can’t wait to learn more about her and the alchemists and their magic in future books. Overall I would recommend The Iron Witch to fey fans looking for a new take on the faerie worlds they’ve come to know and love and even to those none faerie lovers like me there’s still an enchanting, dark, new world to discover making The Iron Witch an enjoyable read for everyone. My Rating 3.5/5 stars ***1/2 Thanks go to Random House for sending me this book to review

And the winner is…

Delirium- Sally Bolingbroke Matched- Sonya M

Congratulations winners! I have sent an email to both of you, you will have 48 hours to reply else another winner will be chosen. I’d just like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who’s entered this giveaway and to who left me comments wishing me a happy birthday- I had a lovely day. This giveaway was hugely successful and has bumped me up to 347 followers so to say thank you I will soon be hosting a 300/350 maybe? Follower giveaway so stay tuned for that and until next time happy reading! Jess x

My 21st Birthday Giveaway!

Hi guys! As some of you may know it’s my 21st birthday this Sunday and to celebrate I’m going to be giving away 2 arcs of 2 of my favourite books Delirium by Lauren Oliver and Matched by Ally Condie. Want to enter? Of course you do! So let’s get on to the important stuff ^_^

WHICH FUTURE WILL YOU CHOOSE?

To find out more about Delirium read my review here

To find out more about Matched read my review here

Rules * Open Internationally * Followers of this blog only * Contest ends 25th January 2011 * Two winners will be chosen by random.org (unless you’re lucky enough to win both) * The winner will be contacted via e-mail, and will be given 48 hours to respond. Otherwise, a new winner will be drawn * Your details will only be used if you win Please note before you enter that these are Advance reader copies and are not the finished product. Now for your chance to enter please fill in the form, good luck! This giveaway is now CLOSED and winners have been announced here

Review for Other Words For Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

"When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York--and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future. When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?" Gosh…Where to start with this book? Love is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about it. Ok let me start off by saying any girl who’s ever been in love should read this book and if you’re going through a break up- specially if it’s with your first love- this is the book for you. Reading this book was kind of therapeutic for me. Lorraine Zago Rosenthal captures the ups and downs of being in love so perfectly and describes them so honestly in her writing. From start to finish it was like reading one of my own diaries. I’ve never felt so personally connected to a character as I have with Ari. When she was happy I felt that happiness and when she was sad it was as though somebody had ripped my own heart out. I understood and connected with her on a level I never have with a character before showing what a powerful debut novelist Lorraine Zago Rosenthal is. Other Words For Love is a very character driven book. Whilst the plot if basically just the ins and outs of a teen girls first experience with love don’t be deceived because this book is so much more than that. The characters are the most real and complex characters that I’ve ever come across and whilst you read this book it feels so realistic like you are actually Ari living out her day to day life. Lorraine Zago Rosenthal has a real talent for making her characters as raw and humane as possible. So much so that you actually feel the emotions that their going through. Other Words For Love documents the most realistic account of falling in love that I have ever read. Lorraine Zago Rosenthal explores the euphoria of being in a relationship and the complete devastation when you’ve given your entire self to a boy only to find you have nothing left. Ari’s journey to mend her broken heart is endearing, hopeful and uplifting. This book made me cry happy tears and sad tears and I learnt so much from my time with Ari. This book is a real emotional whirlwind and I cannot imagine any girl not being able to relate to this book in some way. I feel like this is the ultimate coming of age story and the best fictional break up bible out there. Lorraine Zago Rosenthal has incredible talent as a writer, her voice is so strong that if I didn’t know beforehand that this was her debut novel I never would have guessed it. I’m so glad that I picked this book up because it touched me in such a deep way and it’s definitely up there with my favourite books of all time. Every girl needs to read this book, and it comes with the highest of recommendations from me. Read it, pass it on to your girlfriends and fall in love. My Rating 5/5 stars ***** Synopsis taken from goodreads

Random Ramblings (1) You don't read!...do you?

Random Ramblings is a new feature I’m starting on my blog. They may sometimes be book related, sometimes they might be personal. One thing for sure is there all going to be my thoughts and opinions on things and it should help you all get to know me better. So let’s get on with it! I hope you like them and I would really appreciate some feedback in the comments letting me know your thoughts on the feature as a whole or about the subject matter.

The other day I got to thinking about stereotypes and snobbery when it comes to books and reading. I still remember the day I bought my first serious boyfriend home. We’d been going out for 3 weeks and were still in that less talking more can’t keep our hands off each other new relationship faze. We really didn’t know much about each other at that point, anyway he came into my room and stared bug eyed open mouthed at the pile of books on my bedside table. His shock soon turned into confusion as he asked “ you don’t read!...do you?” in an amused voice. Truth was I wasn’t that surprised. I’d gotten it since high school. I went on to tell him that yes I loved books and reading and why should he be so surprised? He then answered that I didn’t look like the kind of girl who read books for fun. As I said this wasn’t the first time someone had said that to me but it’s the one in my memory that most stands out. As you can probably tell from my blog I’m very much a girly girl, always have been although it really came to a height of constantly wearing pink and loving anything glittery in high school. I was never one of the popular crowd but I wasn’t exactly a misfit either. I was in a fairly respected clique and whilst I wasn’t right at the top of the high school popularity chain I was still fairly high up. The popular girls would invite us to parties and things so I guess we were considered “cool” to some extent. So because I was one of “those girls” people always found it shocking when they learned that I was a big time nerd behind the perfume and pink. I had a brain and liked to exercise it regularly by reading.

Another time that stands out to me was when we were waiting for an English class to start, I noticed this girl who was considered really uncool reading a Harry Potter book. That kind of stuff never mattered to me and of course being a book worm I was hugely excited and went right up to her and had a good old natter about good old Harry and Hogwarts. It wasn’t until I got up to leave that I realised that *everybody* was staring at us, whispering, wondering why I was talking to this girl. Wondering what on earth we possibly had in common.

Although since high school my extreme legally blond faze has calmed down, I am still at heart a very girly girl. So even to this day if I meet a reader 90 per cent of the time they’ll look down their nose at me. Because I enjoy YA and Chick-lit there not “proper” books and so I’m not really a serious reader. How dare I try and talk about a classic? Surely I’ve only watched the TV adaption? Go back to your vampires little girl and let us real readers discuss books. I’ve been stereotyped my whole life and as a teenager that was hard. I never felt like I quiet fit in with any group of people. The “serious readers” would snob on me for not reading “proper” books and my friends just wouldn’t get why I liked to read full stop. People have never really understood how I could be into so many different things and I think it hurt a lot of peoples brains trying to figure out a label to put on me. It wasn’t until I found the world of book blogging that I discovered people who got me and didn’t turn their noses up at the fact that yes I read chick-lit and preferred YA to other genres but I also love historical fiction and classics and fantasy too. I’ve found people who love books from all over the world. Who have different races and interests and personalities, who read all kinds of books completely busting the geeky stereotype that goes along with a reader.

I feel that these days since the popularity of twilight reading has definitely become more accepted and I’m glad of that. I’m glad that more and more people are discovering why reading is awesome and that people are embracing the types of books they like to read without fear of judgment. It may sound trivial but not feeling like I fit in made a big difference to my confidence in high school and it makes me want to use my blog to change people’s perceptions on reading. Reading is fun and you should never feel ashamed for reading what you like to read. Read Young Adult and hold your head up high, heck read Mills and Boon and don’t try to hide the cover at the beach! Support the books you love because if you don’t show your love for them how is anybody else going to discover them? So here’s a note to anyone who’s ever asked me why I liked to read, who’s ever been either shocked that I could possibly enjoy a book or that I enjoy reading a certain type of book. I LOVE books! And you should really try it some time. Because it truly, freakin’, ROCKS.

Review for Across the Universe by Beth Revis

"Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming." When I first found out about Across the Universe several things went through my mind. Number one being oh my gosh I think that is the most awesome cover I’ve ever seen. Number two it’s set on a spaceship in the future!? I’ve never read a book like that before. And three it’s being described as Avatar meets Titanic two of my favourite films ever!? Well hell sign me up to read this! And I did literally sign up for Lynsey’s wonderful UK book tour. So to say I was excited about reading Across the Universe is an understatement. I just prayed that it would live up to the incredibly high expectations I had for it, and upon reading the very first chapter not only did I know I was going to love it but I also knew it would be a 5 star book. You’re immediately sucked into this book right from the very first page unlike some other books it doesn’t take 50 odd pages to get into, it has your attention right from the start and refuses to let go until the end. I think I put it down 3 times in total and each time I did it was constantly on my mind. I haven’t thought about a book so much and been so eager to get back to it since The Hunger Games. There is literally a whole new world to discover on this space ship and so much to learn and take in. The world’s development was highly believable and so well thought out that this book has almost convinced me that this IS the future. There’s a whole new universe to discover and I was mesmerised by the detail and thought that Beth Revis went into to create this story. What I loved most about this book was the plot, but that’s not to say that I didn’t love everything else about it. The chapters are told alternately between Amy and Elder and I loved both of these characters voices. I thought Amy was a strong willed, courageous heroine and loved discovering this strange future from her point of view. I also loved learning about Earth and discovering the secrets of a spaceship that he will one day lead with Elder. My only complaint is the romance. It was pretty much none existent between them but I can definitely see it developing in future books now that the story’s set up and to be honest so much was going on with this book that I hardly missed the lack of a big romance at all, but I do think you should know going into this book that it’s very plot and action driven so don’t open it expecting a great epic romance. Although there is definitely a spark between Amy and Elder that I really hope Beth Revis develops in future books. I still can’t get round the fact that this is a debut novel. Beth Revis has a strong voice as an author and a wonderfully creative and intelligent imagination. Beth is definitely an author to watch and I’m already getting angsty for this books sequel. I love this book with a passion and will buy and read Beth Revis’s future books without question. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an out of this world read quite literally! My Rating 5/5 stars ***** Thanks go to Lynsey for putting this book on tour. Check out UK book tours here. Synopsis taken from goodreads

Book Bloggers Hop & Follow My Book Blog Friday!

Hello to all my wonderful followers and to hopefully some potential new ones! This Friday I’m participating in The Book Bloggers Hop which is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books and Follow my Book Blog Friday that’s hosted over at Parajunkee's View. If you wish to take part please stop by there and sign the Mr Linky. This week's question from The Hop is… Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it? Well I read a lot of different genre’s and love a lot of different genres. But I can hardly ever pull myself away from YA long enough to read any of them. I love how the genre of YA really covers a whole lot of other genres. It can be contemporary fiction or sci-fi or paranormal romance there’s so much choice when you go to the YA section of a bookstore. Being only 20 I still feel very much like a teenager myself and can connect to teen characters more than say a 30 year old heroine with kids and a divorce on her plate. I love the characters and I love the possibilities that come when you pick up a YA book and that’s why it’s my drug of choice. This week's question from Follow Friday is… What makes up your non-human family?? I only have the one fur baby my 4 year old labradoodle Dylan. He’s a cross between a poodle and a Labrador so if you haven’t heard of them before just picture a really fluffy Labrador. He’s HUGE and because he’s so big and fluffy we nickname him Bear. When people see the size of him their usually intimidated but he’s the biggest softy and would make the worst guard dog ever! That being said I’m not just a dog person I also love cats but unfortunately with having a huge dog I can’t get a cat but that doesn’t mean I don’t love swooning over the cuteness of other peoples cats! I’ve never had a cat before but would love to be a proud owner of one someday. Thank you for stopping by my blog!! Please leave me a link back to yours if you are a new follower so I can return the hello :-)

Covers So Lovely We'd Lick Them! (5)

The new feature co-created and co-hosted by LadyViolet and Jess hearts books where we show off a book cover which we find so damn scrumptious that we'd actually be willing to lick it! Every week we each pick a different cover so be sure to check both blogs!

My Pick for this Week

Stefans Diaries 2: Bloodlust by L. J. Smith

Yep, yep, yep, yep. Oh I went there! This is one of the finest covers out at the moment and why? Oh only because Ian Somerhalder’s beaut of a face takes up seventy five per cent of the cover. I’m not usually a fan of movie or TV show covers but when the actors are as hot as The Vampire Diaries boys? Eh why not! So I have this slight obsession not with Ian Somerhalder (Ok maybe a little bit with Ian Somerhalder) but with Damon’s actual character in The Vampire Diaries. I LOVE him. He’s hilarious and bad ass and oh so charming. So when I spotted this cover in my bookshop on Tuesday I knew it was going to be my Cover’s choice this week. I would quite happily lick Ian’s face and if I can’t get close enough to the man himself then this cover will do in the meantime. Am I right or am I right ladies? So that’s my cover for this week. Feel free to leave me comments letting me know what you think of this feature and if you ever get insane lust over a book cover, does a lovely cover influence you buying the book? Let me know and don’t forget to stop by Rachel’s blog to find out what cover she’d like to Lick this week!

Waiting On Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: We'll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) By Jenny Han Publication Date: April 26th 2011 From Goodreads It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever. I love this series and from the synopsis I’m sure a lot of fans of this series like me are dying to get their hands on this book! As always the covers just beautiful and I’m looking forward to sitting in the sun reading this one this summer. What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Review for Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

"It’s 1929 and Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey have escaped their small Midwestern town to chase big dreams and even bigger secrets. Amongst the glittering metropolis of New York City, they meet Astrid Donal, a flapper who has everything she could ever want, except for the one thing Letty and Cordelia have to offer—true friendship. Set in the dizzying summer before the market crash, against the vast lawns of the glamorous Long Island mansions and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, three girls will find scandal, intrigue, and romance. . ." I am a huge fan of Anna Godbersen's The Luxe series and have been anticipating the release of the first book in her new series Bright Young Things for the longest time. Bright Young Things is set in the roaring twenties and the book's prologue automatically draws you in by informing you that come the end of the summer one of our heroines will be famous, the second married and the third dead which immediately gets the ball rolling with you wanting to know which character will end up with what fate. I spent much of the book trying to figure out where things were heading with each girl but its impossible to predict. There are so many possibilities and honestly all three girls could end up with any one of those destiny's. The girls futures keep twisting and turning making it impossible to put your finger on what's going to happen next. Anna Godbersen certainly does a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes making me eager to get my hands on the next book- it's going to be a long wait! I felt that despite their similarities Bright Young Things has a very different feel to it of that of The Luxe series. Whilst Bright Young Things has the drama and glitz and glamour that The Luxe had the girls are very different. With Letty and Cordelia being from a small town they have a certain innocence to them that the Luxe girls didn't. They make mistakes and their not as sure of themselves which makes for interesting reading. I have a feeling that were really going to see these characters grow in each book as they settle into the big city. Bright Young Things also has a more mature feel to it, there's less scheming and bitching than the Luxe and these girls dreams are even more ambitious. The stakes are higher and so each girl has even farther to fall from grace. It took a while for me to get used to the differences as I really did expect Bright Young Things to be like another Luxe only set in the twenties, but once I did I was hooked and quickly fell in love with the girls of 1929. Bright Young Things is a fantastic set up to what I believe is going to be an addictive new series. Anna Godbersen describes New York summer time during the twenties beautifully. She has a real talent for capturing the era she's writing about making the big city come to life right in front of you. Her writings as gorgeous as a glitzy flapper dress and she has a unique talent for really defining her characters making each girl original and special. Once I got over Bright Young Things not being exactly like the Luxe I really enjoyed my time with Letty, Cordelia and Astrid and can not wait for the next book to see what the future holds for these girls. Recommended to anybody looking for an exciting, fun, addictive new series. My Rating 3.5/5 stars ***1/2 Thanks go to Penguin/Razorbill for sending me this book to review. Synopsis taken from Amazon

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hey guys! I decided to take a break from the completely enthralling Across the Universe by Beth Revis and do my IMM post for this week. I didn’t get any books for review this week so everything you see is bought by yours truly. So without further ado let’s bring out the books! The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff Lament by Maggie Stiefvater XVI by Julia Karr Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves Unearthly by Cynthia Hand SO excited about all of these! If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another week of fantastic reading ahead :-)

Covers So Lovely We'd Lick Them! (4)

The new feature co-created and co-hosted by LadyViolet and Jess hearts books where we show off a book cover which we find so damn scrumptious that we'd actually be willing to lick it! Every week we each pick a different cover so be sure to check both blogs!

My Pick for this Week

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

Me and Rachel are both loving the US turned UK designs this week. Usually I tend to prefer US covers for books. But in the case of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove I think we’ve outdone ourselves! The US cover was dying for a makeover with the Fallen series by far outshining Lauren’s debut novel and our UK publishers Random House gave it just that. I love how this cover fits in nicely with the Fallen series without it looking as if it’s the third book. I’m also a big purple cover fan girl so they couldn’t have picked a better colour for me! The waterfall in the background and the colour purple actually play a key part in the story and I love how they’ve tied that in with the cover! I recently read and loved this book so I can confirm that the story behind the cover is just as gorgeous! To find out more about The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove make sure you stop by my review here. So that’s my cover for this week. Feel free to leave me comments letting me know what you think of this feature and if you ever get insane lust over a book cover, does a lovely cover influence you buying the book? Let me know and don’t forget to stop by Rachel’s blog to find out what cover she’d like to Lick this week!

Review for Entangled by Cat Clarke

"The same questions whirl round and round in my head: What does he want from me? How could I have let this happen? AM I GOING TO DIE? 17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here. As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see? Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?" So as you can gather from the synopsis, when you open Entangled you really have no idea what’s going on and what this story’s going to be about and that’s totally the way it should be. Cat Clarke is an author who keeps her hand of cards close to her chest only giving you hints and clues as to what’s going to be dealt out making this book completely enthralling. At the beginning of Entangled you have no idea what’s going on. You don’t know Grace’s story or where she is or how she came to be there. This book starts at the end and works its way backward, Grace unravelling her story to you a little bit at a time. It wasn’t until I was half way through Entangled that I started to get an inkling of what might be happening and even then there were so many possibilities to what’s happened to Grace that you want to keep reading to find out the result. This book has so many twists and turns that although the actual outcome was one of my theories it wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be which I loved! This book keeps you on your toes. It’s unpredictable and it surprises you which is one of the many things I loved about it. As a reader I would recommend going into this book knowing as little as possible which is why I’m not going to go into the plot any more than that. Cat Clarke is a fantastic debut author that we Brits can really be proud to call our own. The characters of Grace, Nat and Sal feel so incredibly real. Whilst their not perfect I never found myself disliking any of them because although I may not necessarily have agreed with all of their actions I could understand why they did the things they did. They’re not perfect by any means but their real, humane and hugely relatable. This is a book about forgiveness for others and yourself. It’s about hope and accepting that you and others have faults. It’s about learning to live and be happy in spite of that. It’s about how easy it is for us all to get tangled in lies and guilt and hurt. I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I gobbled it up in a day because I just could not get enough. It was the perfect book to start the New Year with and I will now be measuring all books I read this year up to the incredibly high standard Entangled has set. This is a must read for everyone. My Rating 5/5 stars ***** Thanks go to Quercus for sending me this book to review. Entangled is available in all good bookshops across the UK or available online on 6th January. Synopsis taken from goodreads

2010’s Book of the Year!

Hi guys as some of you may know I was without a computer for a month and so didn’t get to do Novembers book of the month, and of course there’s also Decembers book of the month to do so before I announce the overall most awesome book of the year I’m going to present to you November and Decembers books of the month Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins! And now it’s on to the book awards of 2010, this is a post in which I’m going to share with you my highs reading wise of the year and my favourite books for different categories depending on what you’re looking for. First of all though I’m going to start off by announcing the overall book of the year which means that it was my very favourite read and one that I would absolutely recommend to everybody so without further delay… 2010’s book of the year is… Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly! This is my favourite book of the year by far. I just absolutely adored everything about it and would recommend it to absolutely anyone and everyone. To find out more about Revolution stop by my review for it here. Here’s my list of each book of the month in order of awesomeness! 1.) Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (October) 2.) Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead (November) 3.) The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (January) 4.) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (August) 5.) Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (May) 6.) Angel by L.A. Weatherly (September) 7.) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (March) 8.) Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert (February) 9.) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (December) 10.) Two-way Street by Lauren Barnholdt (July) 11.) Sea by Heidi R. Kling (June) 12.) The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (April) Best Plot: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead Best Writing: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly Best Cover: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Best Characters: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead Best Ending: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly Best Romance: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead Most un-put-down-able: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead Most Memorable: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly Best Moral: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Revolution, Last Sacrifice (VA series) and Angel. So there you have it my very favourite books of 2010! I plan on doing an international giveaway soon where one lucky person will win their book of choice out of this list of 2010 favourites. So if you’re interested in that make sure you keep a look out! I hope you’ll all check these titles out and I hope 2011 brings if not the same then even better reading than last year! All links take you to reviews on my blog. If a book is unlinked it is because I haven’t reviewed it most likely because I didn’t have a blog at the time I read it.

Review for The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

Natalie Hargrove has spent years plotting for her and her boyfriend Mike to take the throne as Palmetto high’s Prince and Princess. Nat knows better than anyone how to get what she wants having come from the wrong part of town, with a dad in prison and a mother who’s notorious for her string of marriages to climb up the social ladder. Natalie’s put sweat and blood into becoming one of the most popular girls in school and to be crowned Palmetto Princess is to be accepted. It means that she’s made it. So when blast from the past Justin threatens to ruin everything Natalie can’t help but pull what should be a harmless prank on him- just enough to insure that his reputation is damaged- but when a prank turns into murder Natalie’s plunged into a world of secrecy, deceit and guilt. Natalie soon realises that there are some forces that are not to be reckoned with and that fate and karma always has a way of catching up with you in the end… When I read reviews comparing this book to Macbeth and one of my all-time favourite films Cruel Intentions I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy this book and boy was I right! Every so often I love to read a dark, twisted, delicious tale and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove fit the bill perfectly. Reading this book is a bit like reading a gothic version of Gossip Girl. Natalie’s a heroine you’ll love to hate and the deadly secrets and betrayals will have you glued to this books pages. The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is such a hard book to review because it’s such a topsy turvey read. I’d like to say that I loved the characters but I didn’t they were shallow and selfish. I’d like to say that this is a fun enjoyable read but it isn’t instead its dark, quirky and packs a punch. Yet all of these things are what makes this book so damn good. It’s not your typical young adult read. It’s different and scandalous and shows that Lauren Kate isn’t afraid to write outside the norm. I don’t think that this is necessarily a book for everyone, but it was just the grim, deadly sort of book that I love to read. It’s a story about fate and karma. It’s about your past catching up with you and atoning for your mistakes. It’s a book where not everything is quiet what it seems. It’s kind of like bitter black coffee or dark chocolate your either going to love it or hate it, but if you like your books edgy and grim or are looking for something a little different to anything else out there at the moment I would most definitely recommend this book. My Rating 4/5 stars **** Thanks go to Random House for sending me this book to review

In My Mailbox: The Christmas Edition

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hello everyone! This is my first post of 2011 and what better way to kick start things off than doing an IMM post? This haul is going to be HUGE. I got lots of wonderful books for Christmas and spent a good chunk of my Christmas money on books. I also got sent some books for review which is always very exciting. So without further ado let’s bring out the books! Gifts Pegasus by Robin McKinley The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S King (Thanks Rach!) Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler Beautiful by Amy Reed Lauren Conrad: Style Through Thick and Thin: My Autobiography by Gok Wan The Fledgling Handbook by P. C. Cast and Kim Doner Bought with Christmas Money Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (OMG SO EXCITED!) Awakened by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast Tyme's End by B. R. Collins 0.4 by Mike Lancaster Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers For Review Across the Universe by Beth Revis (ARC from UK book tours) The Pain Merchants: Book One by Janice Hardy ( from Harper Collins) Paranormalcy by Kiersten White ( from Harper Collins) Solid by Shelley Workinger ( Signed ARC from the author) So to sum up my Christmas was pretty fantastic and I hope you all got some awesome books too! Huge thank yous go to my family and everybody mentioned above for these books I can’t wait to read them. If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another great year of reading ahead :-)