Pulse Giveaway Winner!

First, as usual, I'd like to thank all of those who entered the giveaway for Pulse. Without you guys entering, giveaways are just pretty boring, so thanks, and if you didn't win I have two other giveaways going on right now (one for an ARC of Far Far Away, and one for three YA contemporary romances and a $20 Book Depository gift card), so enter those if you'd like! And now, I reveal the winner of an ARC of Pulse by Patrick Carman... 

Entry #65: Ashe

Congratulations, Ashe! (Cool name, too!) I hope you enjoy Pulse more than I enjoyed it (I hope you enjoyed it much more than I enjoyed it, actually), and I'll also be sending you some signed swag from Patrick Carman himself. Again, thanks to everyone who entered, tweeted, etc for this giveaway, and I hope you have better luck on future giveaways - many of which are to come. Especially in April, which will have, like, close to ten awesome giveaways. Happy reading! 

Review: City of a Thousand Dolls

City of a Thousand Dolls
Miriam Forster
Series: Unknown
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 361
Rating: 2 stars

An exotic treat set in an entirely original, fantastical world brimming with deadly mystery, forbidden romance, and heart-stopping adventure.

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

To be quite honest, I'm not entirely sure what urged me to read City of a Thousand Dolls the day it was released, or even at all. I'm not, and most likely never will be, a high fantasy fan, and usually steer clear of high fantasies in general, unless they've received positive reviews from many friends of mine. City of a Thousand Dolls did not receive very many positive reviews from friends of mine, so in retrospect, I honestly have no clue as to why I picked this one up. I suppose I was intrigued by the title? The allure of an 'unpredictable and thrilling mystery', intertwined with high fantasy? The cover?

Unfortunately, even with my not-too-high expectations, I am left quite disappointed with this poorly structured novel. For me, the main issue with City of a Thousand Dolls was its pacing, which seemed to never pick up once in the entire novel. City of a Thousand Dolls could have easily been an entertaining, thrilling, and briskly paced novel, given the intriguing murder mystery we're provided with, but it felt like the entire murder mystery really only took center stage in the second half, and by that point I was a lot less invested in the mystery than I was when the murders were first introduced.

A Giveaway Because I Love You

Happy Valentine's Day, dear blog readers! Because I love you all, I wanted to take this holiday as an opportunity for a Follower Appreciation giveaway/A Giveaway Because I Love You giveaway, so here it is. Since it's Valentine's Day, I figured it would be appropriate to offer up quite a few popular YA contemporary romances, and one lucky winner can choose three, but I'm also giving away a choice of a book up to $20 from The Book Depository to one reader, just in case they've read all the books I'm giving away, or don't intend on reading any of them. You can enter both of the giveaways, but you can only win one. Now, let's get these giveaways started! *This giveaway is international*

Giveaway #1:

One winner will be able to choose three of the below contemporary romances.

(click on the cover for Goodreads)

  

  

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #2:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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And that's it! I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day, and good luck with the giveaways!

Waiting on Wednesday (February 13)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green.

   Truth or Dare

Jacqueline Green

Series: Truth or Dare, #1

Release Date: May 14th, 2013

Publisher: Litte, Brown Books 

Number of Pages: 368

When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.

I just recently discovered this one, but I'm already dying to read it. It sounds like a creepier version of Pretty Little Liars, which I love (it's my guilty pleasure, okay?), so I can't wait to read this. If the synopsis plays true to the book's content, this book will definitely be a fun one for me. And apparently it's the first book in a trilogy, which probably means this book will end in a cliffhanger. Oddly enough, though, that only makes me want this more. Not sure why, exactly. 

What are you waiting on?

 Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Favorite Romances

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where each week we're given a new topic and give ten book examples about that topic. Today's topic is the Top Ten Favorite Romances.

And I'm back for Top Ten Tuesday! I had a lot of fun with last time's topic (Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever), and I'm back for more - this time with my Top Ten Favorite Romances. I think it's safe to say that this TTT will be ... not as angry ... as the other, but I hope you enjoy reading it nonetheless, and tell me in the comments if any of my favorite romances are yours as well! (entries are in no particular order)

Today's Releases (February 12)

  

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Revel by Maurissa Guibord

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

  

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black 

Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

  

The Mirrored Shard by Caitlin Kittredge

Recalled by Cambria Hebert

The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe

  

Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

The Gathering Dark by Christine Johnson

Override by Heather Anastasiu

 

Sever by Lauren Distefano

Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Mistle Child by Ari Berk

A lot of books I've been waiting a while to read are released today--yay! First off, Pivot Point. It's released today. I'm buying myself a copy, because I adore this book with a burning passion and want it on my shelves, and you should buy yourself a copy of it too, because it's amazing. Also, Revel is released today. I posted my review of it yesterday, if you want to see what I thought of it. And if you don't want to read my review to see what I thought of it, I'll give you the gist: I freaking love it. Recommended for fans on Monstrous Beauty, and for fans of sea-creature horror. And then there's Out of the Easy. I'm so excited for this one you guys! It sounds so amazing and has gotten great reviews from trusted friends of mine, so I think it's safe to say I'll be reading that one soon. Those are all the books I'll be getting this week, but it should be noted that I fail at reading NetGalley ARCs on time. Sorry Dance of Shadows and Notes from Ghost Town! So, which of today's releases will you be getting? Let me know in the comments, and happy reading! 

Review: Revel by Maurissa Guibord

Revel
Maurissa Guibord
Series: None
Release Date: February 12th, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Number of Pages: 352
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 4.5 stars

There’s an island off the coast of Maine that’s not on any modern map.

Shrouded in mist and protected by a deadly reef, Trespass Island is home to a community of people who guard the island and its secrets from outsiders. Seventeen-year-old Delia grew up in Kansas, but has come here in search of her family and answers to her questions: Why didn’t her mother ever talk about Trespass Island? Why did she fear the open water? But Delia’s not welcome and soon finds herself enmeshed in a frightening and supernatural world where ancient Greek symbols adorn the buildings and secret ceremonies take place on the beach at night.

Sean Gunn, a handsome young lobsterman, befriends Delia and seems willing to risk his life to protect her. But it’s Jax, the coldly elusive young man she meets at the water’s edge, who finally makes Delia understand the real dangers of life on the island. Delia is going to have to fight to survive. Because there are monsters here. And no one ever leaves Trespass alive.

Two large, scaly animals gripped the bottom of the Widowsong, their shapes like the dark silhouettes of a nightmare. Webbed hands. Claws. Spiked tails. One of the monsters swung and fixed me with reptilian yellow eyes. Its jaws unhinged like a bear trap, showing rows of curved, sharp teeth, and it screamed at me. The obscene roar reverberated through the water and suddenly the creature swam toward me, with rapid undulating movements and a bobbing motion of its head.

I'm terrified of fish. Not so much that I'd break into a hysterical fit of screams upon the sight of a goldfish (but if it touches me, that's a completely different story), or so terrified that I'd ban Finding Nemo from my household (it's not banned, it's just not welcome...), but I am terrified of fish enough for Revel to make a remarkably lasting impression in my nightmares on me, thanks to the passage above and many, many more throughout the novel.

Don't let that pretty dress cover fool you - Revel is a thoroughly haunting and creepy read, with rich and incredibly descriptive detail of sea monsters (or, as I'll be referring them for the remainder of this review, 'evil fish', because it fits the monsters better than 'sea monsters' and I don't want to spoil what they really are) throughout the entire novel. Along with the horrifying descriptions and equally as horrifying happenings, however, Guibord managed to incorporate a good amount of humor interwoven with the horror, garnering quite a few laughs from me, which, I'm sure you could imagine, was a refreshing break from the expressions of shock plastered on my face for the remainder of the novel.