WWW Wednesdays (14) & Waiting on Wednesday (3)

First, a bit of shameless self-promotion! This week, I'm participating in Novel Publicity's Social Media Whirlwind Tour to advertise Terri Giuliano Long's book In Leah's Wake. Monday's post was a Twitterview with the author, today's post is an excerpt from the book, and tomorrow post is an interview with the author. Very interesting stuff, be sure to check it out! The self-promo part: if you go to Terri's blog, you can vote for the bloggers participating in the tour, and I'd be ever-so-grateful if you'd go and vote for Ramblings of a Daydreamer. It would only take a second, and it would mean a lot to me. As incentive, I've been thinking of holding a 200 follower giveaway (I'm getting so close!) and if I win the Amazon gift certificate, that would help fund the giveaway. So please, please go vote for me!

 

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WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  All you have to do is answer these 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Simple right?  I love to read and love to know what other people are reading!

What are you currently reading?

I'm on page 39 of Brightwing by Sullivan Lee, an ebook I'm reading for review, and I just finished a paperback, so I'm about to start Dead Over Heels by MaryJanice Davidson.

What did you recently finish reading?

Tonight, I finished Falling in Love With English Boys by Melissa Jensen. I should have the review up Saturday, I think. Before that was That Day in September by Artie Van Why (review will be up next week, along with a guest post from Artie), Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber and Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer. Since I'm such a slow reader, I've been picking shorter books lately, so I've been getting more read!

What do you think you'll read next?

I have a few to choose from: Until the End of Forever by Shannon Hart, and Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks are paperbacks I received as part of blog tours happening September and October. I also finally got Paranormalcy from the library and I'm anxious to find out what all the fuss is about. And, if all that wasn't enough, I have 4 or 5 ebooks for review and a couple of review books coming in the mail. With all that, I'm not 100% sure what's next, but I love having all these books!

What have you read lately?

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to showcase upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.   This week I'm waiting on...

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Publication Date: September 27th, 2011

{GoodReads || Amazon ||Kiki's Blog || Kiki's Website}

Synopsis: Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.  The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.
Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.
Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

I love, love, LOVE faerie books and this sounds so good! I really like the concept, and like many others, I can't wait to read this book!

Book Review: Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Published: July 7th, 2005
Publisher: Speak (Penguin Group)
201 pages (paperback)
Genre: Young adult
Acquired this book: at the library
Warning: may include spoilers
{Amazon  ||  GoodReads}

Synopsis: The trip of a lifetime. Jenna Boller can sell anybody anything. She's the best employee at her branch of Gladstone's Shoes. But her family problems are harder to handle, and there are times when Jenna wishes she could just take a break. So when Madeline Gladstone, the elderly president of Gladstone Shoe Stores, hires Jenna as her chauffeur for the summer, Jenna leaps right into the driver's seat. And that begins a cross-country adventure, where she and Mrs. Gladstone learn a lot about the rules of the road...and the rules of life.

What I thought of Rules of the Road:
I think this is one of those books that every teen should read. It's simple, cute, and short, but really packs a punch with important messages that a lot of books avoid. Jenna's dad is an alcoholic - he comes and goes in her life, but whenever he's around, she knows there's going to be trouble. She's spent her whole life feeling responsible for him, trying to take care of him and make sure that his problems don't affect her younger sister, Faith. When Jenna's given the opportunity to leave town for six weeks, she can't wait to go. She learns many lessons along the way about herself, her family, and life in general, but one of the most important lessons she learns is that no matter how far you go, you can't escape your past - it's a part of you and will follow you wherever you go.

Jenna is a great character. She's funny and clever, kind of quirky, and very relatable. She's not beautiful or popular, she doesn't have many friends, she just is who she is, and she doesn't apologize or make excuses for that. She makes friends in the most unexpected ways with the most unlikely people, but those people teach her a lot and change her in ways she never expected.

Favorite quotes from the book:
"You know the thing about hope, how it sneaks up behind you when you're sure everything's in the toilet, and starts whispering to you that maybe, just maybe, things could turn around."

"You never know where the road's going to take you. I think sometimes it's less important that you get to your destination than the sidetrips you take along the way."

"Now I see that it isn't the problems along the way that make us or break us. It's how we learn to stand and face them that makes the difference."

Sequel:
I'm anxious to find out what happens to Jenna in the sequel to Rules of the Road, called Best Foot Forward.

WWW Wednesdays (13) & Waiting on Wednesday (2)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  All you have to do is answer these 3 questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Simple right?  I love to read and love to know what other people are reading!

What are you currently reading?

I'm reading Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer. It's been on my TBR list for years and I just finally got around to it. I'm really enjoying it so far.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

The other day, I finished reading Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter (my review for it will be up tomorrow, I'm getting a bit behind), and just before that, I finished The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols.

What do you think you'll read next?

Up next is That Day in September by Artie Van Why, an ebook I was sent for review.

What are you reading this week?  Have you read any of the books on my list?  Have any suggestions?  I'd love to hear from you!

 

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to showcase upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.   This week I'm waiting on...

 

Witch Song by Amber Argyle

Publication date: September 1st, 2011

 

Synopsis: The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can't stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn't, there won't be anything left to save.

 

This book sounds so good, I can't wait to read it! For more information and to learn more about the author, check out Amber's blog.

What are you waiting on this week? 

In My Mailbox Week 3

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!  Since I hardly ever buy books anymore because I can't afford to (*sobs*), I get most of my books from the library.

I don't have much this week because I've still got a few other library books, my review books are piling up, and I've been working hard on my own manuscript. I probably shouldn't have gotten any new library books, but I have OCD when it comes to the library.

 

Library books:

 Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer {Amazon  ||  GoodReads}

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber {Amazon  ||  GoodReads}

Books received for review:

 Flame of Surrender by Rhiannon Paille {GoodReads  ||  Rhiannon's Website ||  Rhiannon's Blog}

 

Rhiannon's book is due out November 1st, 2011

Synopsis:

The boy who follows death meets the girl who could cause the apocalypse.

Krishani thinks he’s doomed until he meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn’t afraid of him. She’s unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms flowers with her touch. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl.

Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes Krishani’s refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can’t control. Striking down thousand year old trees with lightning isn’t something he tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows that he’s the next and that a lifetime of following death is his destiny.

And Kaliel can’t come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest place for her is Avristar. Krishani can’t bear to leave her, and one innocent mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They’re coming for Kaliel, and they won’t stop until every last living creature on Avristar is dead. She has to choose, hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially destroy herself.

What books did you buy, borrow, win or receive this week?