100 Followers Contest Update!

Well the Wicked Bunny and come and gone and left me with an additional 98 followers! Yippee!  That means 2 more winners (one for 150 and one for 200 because I am thinking optimistically!) get to pick a book each and I am adding some more to the pile to chose from!  Here are all the books for the contest to date:





And ARC's of the following books:




So far we have Winner 1 picking 2 books, Winner 2 picking 2 books, Winner 3 picking 1 book, and Winner 4 picking 1 book.

Contest ends Friday, April 16th at 9 pm CST, so go HERE for the contest details!

Top 6 Books that have blown me away in 2010!

I thought I would share with you (and enter La Femme Readers awesome contest!) my top 6 favorite reads of 2010! Sorry for the funkiness of the formatting but Amazon.com doesn't have the cover of the Iron Daughter yet...which threw me off, ha ha.

So what were your favorite reads of the year so far?

Book Blogger HOP HOP HOP!

It's Friday and time for the Book Blogger Hop!  What is this craziness you ask? Well it was started by Jennifer over at Crazy for Books and this is what she says...

This is a weekly event where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read. Its a great way to network with other bloggers and make new friends! Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following . In the spirit of the Friday Follow I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!

So hop over to Crazy for Books and check out all the other bloggers, I have found lots of new blogs that I love from hopping :)

Review: Sisters Red (ARC) by Jackson Pearce

Title: Sisters Red

Author: Jackson Pearce

Hardcover: 336 pages

Published: June 2010

Reading Level: YA

My Copy: Around the World Tours

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 wicked stars

Blurb (taken from Amazon.com):

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for? 

My thoughts:

As you read the blurb, you can probably tell that this book is a take off of Little Red Riding Hood.  What I was a little unprepared for was that it is set in the present-day time period, I guess I expected it to be dated back in the 1800's with all the hunting werewolves with axes and wearing red cloaks etc.  That didn't necessarily take away from the book, I just would have thought that there would  have been more people that knew about werewolves and more efficient ways to exterminate them, ha ha.

I was undecided of what I thought about this book most of the way thru it.  The end of the book showed a lot of action and realistic thought processes that I felt was missing thru the first part of the book.  The story is told from alternating view points from the sisters, Scarlett and Rosie.  Scarlett lost her eye and gained ugly scars protecting her little sister from the Fenris (werewolves) when they were younger.  She feels the obligation now to hunt and kill all the Fenris to save the unsuspecting humans who do not know better.  Rosie does not have the drive to kill all the Fenris but feels the obligation because of what her sister went thru to save her.

This book is definitely a testament of sisterly love, almost to the point of creepiness. Scarlett is a girl on a mission and feels slighted if Rosie has any interest outside of the single goal of killing all the Fenris.  She is OBSESSED to the point that got on my nerves in part of the book because I found it somewhat unbelievable that someone would put aside EVERYTHING in their life in pursuit of killing every Fenris they ever encounter.  Scarlett (and therefore out of guilt, Rosie) had given up everything; a life, an education, a career, love...in pursuit of the Fenris.

I didn't dislike the book, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if the obsessed factor was turned down a notch and the romance/action was turned up.  It was definitely an interesting read that makes you question, how much drive is too much? To what point is your goal worth giving up everything you might want and making those around you to do the same out of guilt?

Review: The Iron Daughter ARC by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Daughter

Author: Julie Kagawa

Paperback: 368 pages

Published: August 2010

Reading Level: YA

My copy: ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

My rating: 5 out of 5 wicked stars

Blurb (taken from NetGalley.com)

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

My thoughts...

I was late to read The Iron King and finished it last week (loved it!) so when I got a copy of The Iron Daughter you can only imagine how excited I was.  I was hoping The Iron Daughter would live up to the expectations had for a sequel since I devoured The Iron King.  Let me tell you, The Iron Daughter did not disappoint, in fact, I enjoyed it more.

The sequel brings back all the loved characters on a new mission with Meghan; Grimalkin, Puck, and of course Ash...but as things are revealed, Meghan is not sure WHO to trust.  The book is a whirlwind of new seelie, unseelie, and iron fey characters being introduced that shows the depth of Ms Kagawa's imagination...and what an awesome imagination that is.  This books is packed with non-stop action and drama...throw some romance in there with a little heartbreak on the side and you have an unforgettable series.

I want this to be a spoiler-free review, so I won't go in depth on the story line and let you discover it on your own, but I can say that The Iron Daughter gives you some background information on Ash and what has happened in his life to make him the way he is. Also you find out more about why he and Puck are always at odds. OH...and you find out a little bit of info about Meghan's father...the person that she remembers as her father anyway...is that enough teasers for you?? 

Meghan gets an unexpected ally in this book, who became endeared to me before the book was done, but I will let you find that out on your own!  The travels span the mortal realm to the Winter Court and places in between...literally in-between.  Meghan's powers are locked by the Winter Queen but she is finding out that she has more power than she realized and the source of that power could change everything.

The books ending is satisfying but leaves the door wide open for things to happen in the next book, The Iron Queen.  If you loved The Iron King, make sure and pick up a copy of The Iron Daughter when it comes out in August, you will not be disappointed!

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King 

Author: Julie Kagawa

Paperback: 368 pages

Published: February 2010

Reading Level: YA

My copy: rec'd via trade on swaptree.com

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 wicked stars

Blurb (from Amazon.com):

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My thoughts...

Meghan is your average teenager until her 16th birthday and BAM...things change quite drastically.  She develops the ability to see the fae and all the seedy underground that goes along with it.  She is on quite an adventure to get her kidnapped brother back...an adventure spanning 3 fae courts and meeting numerous seelie and unseelie "characters".

I really, REALLY loved this book!  The characters are strong and memorable and the plot is not so predictable that you have everything figured out by the time you get half way into the book.  Meghan is a likable main character with deep love for her family even though her childhood conditions were not the best.  Her best friend is a rock for her, even though he turns out to be someone that shocks her.  There is the bad guy romance factor with Ash.  I have to say one of my favorite characters is the cat! Yes, the cat, Grimalkin...he is funny and also there as a rock when Meghan needs him.

The author's imagination was transferred vividly to the pages of this book and I was flipping pages like crazy to get to the end!  The ending leaves it wide open for the sequel, The Iron Daughter, which comes out in August.  If you love fae, faeries, historical fairy tale characters, action, drama and romance, you will want to pick this book up.