In my Mailbox

Wow, it's been a very long time since I had the time to do an In My Mailbox! :O

Anyways, I only got two books in my mailbox this week--both of which I finished, and found to be very, VERY good. SO good, that in fact, you will be possibly seeing one or two of them given away on this blog soon.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - Won from Kristen over at Bookworming in the 21st century

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - This was a TOTAL surprise. One of my friends, Annie, went to Comic Con and got this for me. *squeeeeeeeee*

Well, that's all I got this week! I was hoping for my Shadow Hills poster to come, but it didn't. I also got a new cell phone in the mail (mine had broken, but luckily we had insurance to give me a new one) What did YOU guys get? :]

Waiting on Wednesday

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul. A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once. While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.


I think I'm one of the few who haven't WoWed this yet, so here it is! Definitely stoked for this one. Only 201 more days!

I tried to make a countdown widget, but as you can see below, I really, really failed at it. I'd use widgetbox, but the only way for me to make a free one with a background image is through javascript. I am not experienced with that so I found this other site called Counto. It's good, but it takes FOREVER to see the changes you made.

Code:
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Guest Post: Emma Michaels

Please welcome the lovely Emma Michaels!~

The Thirteenth Chime by Emma Michaels

'A Sense of Truth' novel

Destiny has finally found the life that she has always wanted.
She is about to finish college, has a fiancé that loves her, and a great summer on the West Coast planned with her friend, Stephanie.
But her world is turned upside down when an antique clock mysteriously chimes thirteen times and someone attacks them, sending Stephanie and her mother to the hospital.
Alone, and without any help from the police, Destiny has no choice but to turn to the one man she had left behind a year ago - her ex-boyfriend, David.
Together, they must solve the riddle of the thirteenth chime before the clock strikes thirteen again.
Yet as they face their own past and hearts, a trap over half a century old is waiting for them to become its prey.
For revenge, fifty years is never too long…


Hey, Emma Michaels here and Kim has been kind enough to let me barrow you all for a guest post! *laughs maniacally* I wanted to give you a heads up about my future release The Thirteenth Chime which is set to be released on Friday the 13th this August! You also get a peek at the latest teaser above ^. Some of you may know me from my book blog http://EmmaMichaels.Blogspot.com where I started doing reviews last December and have been since. Yes, I am a blogger turned author and because of having been a blogger first, I am hoping to do things a bit differently but I need your help. I want for The Thirteenth Chime to make it to the New York Times Best Sellers List but in order to do it I need you. I want to prove that us bloggers have some pull in this industry! As readers we are the audience making us the most important part of the equation. You can have the best book in the world and never get a moments notice without readers or the worst book and get more notice than you ever imagined. I want to prove that we can do it together and get my book out there!!!! Please help me out, any support helps and I also (as a blogger who LOVES swag) put together an amazing swag system for the first few months:

Once the book has been released I have something spectacular planned. For the first few months if anyone who purchases my novel sends me the receipt at Emma@EmmaMichaels.com along with their full name and mailing address I will send them swag! You never know what it might be, you may even get a personal letter from me with it thanking you for your amazing support! If you are someone who has already bought your copy but want more swag then just refer my novel to a friend and if they send me their name and address to receive their swag and include that you referred them and a way for me to contact you so that I can send you your swag, you will get even more! I want you all to know how much your support means to me!

Please help me make it to the New York Times Best Sellers List! Together we can accomplish anything!!!! For more information stop by my blog: http://EmmaMichaels.Blogspot.com or e-mail me at:
Emma_Michaels@hotmail.com
SincerelyEmmaM@yahoo.com
Or Emma@EmmaMichaels.com

Waiting on Wednesday

Stay by Deb Caletti

I can't find a blurb so far, but after reading one of her books just last week, I'm in love with her writing! I already have all her other books on hold at the library, and I can't wait to go and pick them up!

Stay. It has such a short, but concise title. This one isn't coming til April though. *tear tear* I happen to think all the best books come out in April. (No, it doesn't have anything to do by the fact that my birthday is in April. Go slap yourself. JK.)

Anyone who hasn't checked out Deb Caletti SHOULD. ♥

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose? April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other. Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.

Review: This book was absolutely fantastic. While it wasn't as great as Audrey, Wait! it seems just as real as it. I have two younger sisters myself, so I could totally relate to this book, minus the magical powers part. April was just terrific--probably my favorite out of the three. I just want to befriend all three sisters. Their high school lives are absolute chaos, but with their powers, it makes them feel better. They don't realize they are capable of something much, much more. The romance part just made this book even more fun to read. Thinking about this book makes me squee with delight.

All three sisters have different personalities, which help them stand out. I wasn't sure if the magical part of this book could be pulled off, but it did. It was super hilarious and witty!Sometimes, though, I would forget to read the headings and not realize it was April I was reading about and not June, or some other combination. Or maybe I'm just absent minded...The pacing was good, despite some parts that dragged out. Sometimes, I just felt like the plot line lacked depth. Otherwise, I loved it! The three sisters really are strong together rather than by themselves. This novel will melt your hearts, but not without making you laugh first.

What I thought of...

The Beginning: I love them already!!

The Middle: Perfect tongue-in-cheek story!

The End: Awwwwww.

Favorite part:

"Yeah, well," I said. "You have no idea how crazy I am. I should be wearing yellow CAUTION tape. I'm that bonkers."
He laughed again. He had a really deep, hearty laugh. "So what's your name?"
"April."
Julian nodded. "Well, I'm sorry I littered, April."
"Well, I'm sorry I yelled at you."

FTC: Received from publisher for review

CSN Gift Certificate Giveaway! Win $50!

Hey all! It's time for another giveaway...a 50 dollar CSN stores gift certificate!

If you're like me, you'll probably spend it on a bookshelf, or maybe a desk. If not, maybe a table lamp? Either way, this gift certificate will be giving you something special. Recently, I had the chance of reviewing something off the site, and now, they are giving me another awesome chance at giving away something for YOU guys.

To enter, it is simple. Fill out this form.

Extra entries:

+2 if you follow

+1 every time you link

+4 if you blog about this (doesn't matter if the post is just about this giveaway or compiled with lots of other give aways)

This contest is open for anyone in US and Canada. It will end August 1st, at midnight (California time) .

Blogoversary Winners!!

Thank you all who entered! I'll keep this short because I have another giveaway coming tonight ;)

Winner of bookstore giftcard: SHEILA!

Winner of CSN giftcard: RAQUEL!

Winner of swag: CHLOE!

I've e-mailed all three of you for details! :)