Five² Friday #001

Well, I've decided to try my hand at starting a meme. It's called Five² Friday & it's all about creating 5 lists of 5. I thought it might be fun to try because I have had such great feedback when I've done my past 5 lists of 5 posts. I'd love for you to participate with me! All you have to do is make a post on your blog (a link to this post isn't required but much appreciated!) where you write 5 lists of 5 items based on the topic set by me or suggested by other bloggers then add your link to the linky below!

This week's topic is: 5 lists of 5 on Book Worlds.

Which ones do you love? Which authors always build the best ones? What makes a good book world for you? Etc. Get creative & have fun!

My Lists

5 Top-Notch Book Worlds

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
3. The White Lilac by Christina J. Adams
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan

5 Elements of an Awesome Book World

1. Colorful and/or Mysterious History
2. Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic Crisis
3. Differing Classes, Castes, or Factions
4. Political Subterfuge
5. Dystopian Society

5 Masterful World-Builders

1. Orson Scott Card
2. Marissa Meyer
3. Sophie Jordan
4. Laura A.H. Elliott
5. Christina J. Adams

5 Character Archetypes I Need To See In A Great Book World

1. The Snarky Butt-Kicker With a Heart of Gold
2. The Seemingly Unlikely But Maturing Leader
3. The Devilishly Charming & Secretly Likable Villain
4. The Hilarious (Sometimes Pop-Culture-Referencing) Side-Kick
5. The Queen Bee Who Eventually Softens

5 Things That Cause Me to Dislike a Book World

1. Not enough history as to why or how the world came to be the way it is.
2. Unclear explanations for new or strange ideologies, people groups, etc.
3. Flat background characters who should be adding local color.
4. The existence of vampires (unless you're Rusty Fischer) & ESPECIALLY if they sparkle.
5. Lack of enough description to pique my imagination into seeing the world.

Now it's time for you to get listing yourselves!

Follow Friday #015

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee.com.

 

This Week's Question: Q: Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.

I think the closest I can come to answering that is the way I became severely disenchanted with Peeta during Mockingjay thanks to the brainwashing he underwent that made him hate Katniss. I loved Peeta & the way he behaved, even though it wasn't really his fault, just made me want to say goodbye to you! But then I fell back in love with him. So it's all good! :D

Comment if you decide to follow me. I'd love to read your blog and follow you too!

Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Starters by Lissa Price

Release Date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte
Pages: 336
Reading level: Young Adult

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined.

-- from Goodreads.com

Almost a week to the day before I received Starters as part of the AmBUZZador program over at RandomBuzzers.com, I had re-watched the entire 2 season series of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. I have always loved the futuristic idea of renting bodies & the moral & ethical questions it raises. Not to mention the imagination that comes into play when designing what happens to the bodies & their counterparts. So I picked up Starters & it was as if Ms. Price had taken a seed of Whedon's basic idea then re-imagined & re-packaged it into something completely her own & meant for young adults. I was hooked immediately.

I wasn't sure at first how the story would unfold & where a story like Starters could go. I was pleasantly surprised to see how gently Ms. Price pulled Callie out of her comfort zone & thrust her into situations that really tested her emotional & mental strength. The characters are carefully crafted without any useless details or unnecessary quirks. Each page peeled back a little more of their layers leaving you astounded by some of what you found beneath the assumed exterior.

I have read criticism on the love story in this book because Blake is seemingly nothing special. What I think these readers have failed to take into account is that this is Callie's first experience of any kind with romance. The first boy who has really made his feelings known to her. The first time she's even been around those types of feelings because the war wiped out her normal existence in which she would have seen movies & television shows & had friends who would have talked about it all. But she didn't. It's like Blue Lagoon, guys. She would hardly be aware of her own body's ability to react physically to a boy because no one has ever taught her. I love that Ms. Price was able to infuse this level of innocence into the story & make it believable to me.

What I would have liked to have seen more of was the world in which the story is set -- beyond Callie's perspective. Ms. Price gives tantalizing tidbits here & there & I hope we will be treated to much more in the next installment because what we did get was fascinating. Also, is it wrong of me to hope for maybe a little romantic angst with the villain in Enders? No, I didn't think so!

My Rating:

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 487
Reading level: Young Adult

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

-- from Goodreads.com

How can I express just how much I loved every minute of reading this book? As soon as I was finished with it I handed it to my mother to read & she loved it too. My joke is that it's the first & only book where NOTHING, not one thing, annoyed me about the writing or plot or characters. This book is a VERY tough act to follow & I am only sad that I let it sit on my shelf for a year before reading it!

First, I immediately liked Tris. I liked that she had a core set of values that she wanted to live by & even though she struggled with them she always tried to uphold that level of self-control within herself. I appreciated her morality & the fact that she wasn't willing to just throw herself & her body to the wind. Everything she did had purpose, even if it was to curl up & hide from the world for a while because we all need that at times! Tris was immensely likeable (whether she thought so or not) & had a very good head on her shoulders. Reading about Four was the icing on the cake. I love that boy! And the slow burn romance between Tris & Four, while obviously inevitable from day one, doesn't come across clichéd or rushed. There is no obsessing or wishy-washy-ness in this book!

Only second to enjoying Tris & Four is how pleased I was with the world Ms. Roth built. I love the idea of the factions & that one of the main messages of this book is the danger of forcing people to think only a certain way to fit in somewhere. We were given enough of a taste of each faction, I felt, that I want to see much more of them in coming books. Especially Amity because they were a bit mysterious in their outlying farms. And, being a fairly pure Erudite myself, I'd appreciate seeing some Erudite (like Will) who aren't causing trouble!

This book was a complete breath of fresh air to me. I could write pages of effusive gushing over it but I will leave you with the fact that I feel this book is appropriate for anyone in the YA age range. There is some kissing & violence but nothing is ever very graphic. To me, Divergent is pitch perfect. I hope that if you haven't read it, you will RUN to your library or bookstore & snag it. Go! Now!

My Rating:

PS: Only 6 more days until the sequel Insurgent is released! I cannot wait.

Let's Talk: Plagiarism, Lies, & Emotional Evisceration

First & foremost I want to say that I, in no way, shape, or form, condone plagiarism. Across the board I believe it is wrong to pass off something someone else wrote as your own unique work. And I am not weighing in on any "side" of this issue which has unfortunately come up in the YA book blogosphere with Kristi of The Story Siren & the accusations of her plagiarism. But I have a couple questions because I have been reading everything I can find for the past two hours.

My first question is how does it help our image as book bloggers, who are always struggling for credibility in the publishing world, to start hate campaigns with name-calling & matching hash-tags? I'm not sure everyone who stops by Kristi's site or tweets about this situation is completely thinking through the fact that publishers & authors watch her site & her brand. They are seeing the over-the-top things that have been being posted, commented, & tweeted. I'm not referring to people who are legitimately posting grievances or opinions. I'm talking about the ones tossing around language meant purely for the purpose of character assassination. I would think that plagiarism is enough of an assassination of character by the plagiarist that it doesn't need to be re-visited by the random blogger with a chip on his/her shoulder.

Secondly, what is the desired sought-after outcome behind the posts made by those who do not accept Kristi's apologies? I have read a lot about how Kristi's apologies are not real enough. That she isn't really owning up to what she did wrong. That she needs to be held accountable. What does that look like? What act of contrition would appease this issue? Certainly in college a student who plagiarizes can end up expelled as a consequence of his/her action. Is the blogosphere asking for Kristi's expulsion from blogging to be the punishment for her crime? Or would something more along the lines of a post stating succinctly that, in light of the fact that it looks like she not only plagiarized but also lied about, she knows what she did was wrong & will never let it happen again -- with all of us holding her accountable by policing her blog on a daily basis?

A third question comes to mind & that is who is the judge in this situation? Who has the say in the final verdict? Right now Kristi is being tried in front a jury of her peers with every blog that posts & every tweet written about it. But who ultimately decides what the right consequences are? Who has the right?

I'm insinuating minimal opinion here because I honestly would love answers to these questions. I'm not judging anyone for writing anything other than anything to do with spiteful name-calling because it's just petty & has the same outcome for the image of book bloggers as does plagiarism. We get taken less seriously than we already do. And like I said, I am not on any "side" of this. If you happen to have noticed that I commented on Kristi's recent apology, my words were meant only to encourage her as a person & it was written before I had read anything else about the situation. I don't think anyone deserves to be emotionally eviscerated because that is simply bullying. But I do think that we all should be held accountable for our own actions.

What are your thoughts?

Review: Spider Wars by Angela Carlie

Spider Wars by Angela Carlie

Release Date: March 2012
Publisher: Darkside Publishing
Pages: 250
Reading level: Young Adult

Jess' life has never been ordinary. After all, life on the road with an immortal family of gypsies is hardly predictable. Living in the small town of White Salmon, Washington has brought some normality to her life. But when her cheating, sometimes boyfriend, Nicu, gets involved with a group of arachneshifters, life gets a little sticky. Will she be able to save him from the web he's spun? More importantly, how much is she willing to risk to get him back?

-- from Goodreads.com

I am a huge fan of Angela Carlie's writing & this book did not disappoint. I enjoyed getting to see Jess's point of view through the events of the story which was first told from Lora's point of view. Jess's family is fascinating, including those who are not related by blood but by other bonds. The history of how they came to be immortal, the process they must follow, was intriguing and I sort of wished there was a little more history there.

Without fail, Angela has created fully realized characters who seem to live on the pages of their own volition. I really loved that they were multi-faceted & that even the villains had subtleties which Jess picked up on here and there throughout the book. Jess is snarky & full of attitude. Her inner thoughts are often very acerbic & just as often hilarious. She is completely a teenager & completely real in the moment.

Jess's relationships with both Nicu & Johnny were confusing -- and they were supposed to be! These guys pull at her for differing reasons but seemingly with just as much force at times. And while Jess may have gone back and forth over which of them she felt most attracted to at the time, it was not the focus of the story which is rightly focused on evil chicks who can turn into spiders & do some pretty nasty things. *shiver*

I felt the story meandered a little in places, but that could have been because Jess was only going through the motions for parts of the story due to things she had experienced. There was quite a bit of hot & heavy sensuality & some kind of gross descriptions of violence & injury laced throughout the story which I don't personally mind too much but I would recommend this book to older teens & true young adults.

All in all, I would definitely say that anyone who enjoys paranormal, shape-shifty goodness should pick this one up & if you haven't read Loramendi's Story (the first book in the Lords of Shifters series) -- what are you waiting for? Get that one too!

My Rating:

Review: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Release Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Pages: 326
Reading level: Young Adult

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life...

-- from Goodreads.com

Spoilers Coming

5 Lists of 5 Week - Day #4: Book Nostalgia

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5 Books I Loved When I was in Elementary School

1. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
   This sci-fi/fantasy-ish novel rocked my socks. It forced me to think outside what I'd ever imagined & go on a journey & I totally loved it!

5 Lists of 5 Week - Day #3: Books

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5 Books I Wish I Could Re-Read For The First Time

1. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

5 Lists of 5 Week - Day #2: Reading, Reviewing, & Blogging

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5 Things That Make a Great Book

1. Complex Characters. Characters need to be real to me. They have to breathe on the pages & be multi-layered with potential to grow. Some, if not all, and especially the protagonist, should go through personal growth through the story. The characters, even the minor ones, should have depth & color.

5 Lists of 5 Week - Day #1: New Bloggers

This week I have decided to play around with the idea I have been enjoying off & on with my blog. And that is 5 lists of 5. I have done a few of them now & thought it could be a lot of fun to focus a whole 5 days on them. So here we go, 5 days of 5 lists of 5!

And we'll start off with a few lists of my own advice, both new & old for new bloggers. If you've been a loyal follower of my blog, you'll remember the (now defunct) site I ran called New Books for New Bloggers which basically doled out a free book every month along with some unsolicited but apparently much appreciated advice to new bloggers. I kind of miss that site & toy with bringing it back, but until then I am forever wanting to encourage new bloggers to continue on even when this thing called blogging can really be discouraging.

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5 Things Your Blog DOES Need

1. Branding. That may seem like a large concept to you, but it's truly not. A brand is simply your personal flavor. Your style. Who you are. All displayed on your blog. This should include posts about things you're interested in (not just posting the same things as the blog monsters). It should also include a distinctive look which can be accomplished with everything from changing the default fonts & a fresh background for your Blogger template to having something custom designed for you by many of the inexpensive blog designers found around the blogosphere. Check out who designed your favorite blogger's site & see what they charge if that's the route you're going down. But put some thought & a LOT of you into your blog's look & feel.

Indie Author Week: The Wrap-Up & Follow Friday #014

Wow! Another Indie Author Week come & gone. I had fun reading & writing about Indie Publishing. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. So here's the wrap-up!

We Learned...

     Angela Carlie
          ... is a big animal lover which explains those snuggly bear shifters in Loramendi's Story (hehe).
          ... wishes life was as easy as a cheeseburger, but you probably won't see her eating one!
          ... really knows how to write the creepy stuff. Have you read Spider Wars yet?

     Christina J. Adams
          ... loves books so much she can't pick just one favorite. But hey, neither can I!
          ... has been a gladiator, a spy, a gourmet chef, a horse, an elf, a queen, and a brilliant detective.
              Well, in her imagination at least.
          ... is a magnificent world-builder. You must must MUST read The White Lilac!

You Read...

     About My
          ... 5 Rules of Thumb for deciding whether or not to accept an indie review request
          ... 10 Top Indie Book & Top 5 Indie Author Recommendations
          ... Criteria for Attractive Indie Book Covers

And Now For The Finale

Because I love Indie Books & their authors so much, I want to pass some along to you! So please enter below to receive an ebook prize package of 10 great indie books! Because their ebooks, this contest is open to one & all. Just enter with the Rafflecopter entry below. No tweeting or friending, just clicke enter! Contest Deadline: Friday, April 19.

What You Win

Anathem by Megg Jensen
Into The Shadows by Karly Kirkpatrick
Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn
Panty Raid at Zombie High by Rusty Fischer
Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby
Spider Wars by Angela Carlie
The Soulkeepers by GP Ching
Ushers, Inc. by Rusty Fischer
The White Lilac by Christina J. Adams

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee.com & AlisonCanRead.com.

PS: I'm not a new blogger. I've been around for almost 2 years now. I just lost all my followers when GFC went offline. So if you're a new follower? Let me know so I can visit you! Old follower (if any exist now that GFC is gone), follow again... and leave me a note so I can say hi.

Indie Author Week: Judging an Indie Book by Its Cover

As you read previously this week, I have several rules of thumb regarding whether or not I will accept a book for review. On that list you might notice that the cover doesn't come into the process anywhere. That's because I rarely look at eBook covers before I read the book. And THAT is because I like to judge books by their synopses rather than their covers. However, and I have greatly lamented from time to time, readers tend to be pretty persnickety about reading books if they aren't attracted to the cover. Which can happen even with big-pub books (because believe me, if I wasn't already hooked on the Chemical Garden series by Lauren DeStefano, the cover of Fever would certainly have put me off reading it if the cover was my biggest source of attraction).

That I don't judge a book by its cover does not I am immune to ugly cover dislike, though! I feel that the cover of your book should at least show you took the effort to create something that speaks to the nature of your story and characters in a professional way. I get that cover creation can be expensive if you are an indie publisher but there are a lot of clever ways of getting around the cost. More about that later.

Anyhow, here is the meat and potatoes of my post. My 2 lists of indie book covers. The Best & The Worst. Note, I have chosen not to include the covers of books I have read so as to be as unbiased as possible.

Indie Author Week: Christina J. Adams & The White Lilac

Day Three of Indie Author Week brings us the lovely Christina J. Adams, author of the wonderfully imaginative book The White Lilac. Her world-building skills are on par with some of the most bestselling YA authors & her story of a girl born to die for the sake of the entire planet was one I had a hard time putting down! So please give a warm welcome to Christina J. Adams.

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Falling in Love Again

Think about your favorite book or books. If you’re like me, a whole bookshelf will appear, leaving me to slowly run my fingers over their softly worn spines and wonder how I could ever choose. Each title conjures up a new emotion, something that makes it special and different from all the other books I love. I can’t choose which one I love more because I love them all differently.

But what makes us love books?

I can’t answer why you might love books, but I’ve taken some time to analyze what it is about a book that makes me fall in love. Maybe these will resonate with you; maybe you will have your own discovery of why it is that you enjoy books. But for me the books that become lasting favorites have at least one of three things in common. These are the reasons I love books:

Indie Author Week: 5 Lists of 5 on Indie Publishing

I find often that Indie/Self-Published authors get marginalized by bloggers. Their covers are not as cool as the big-name publishing houses. Their marketing campaigns aren't as sophisticated and can sometimes consist merely of word-of-mouth dependent on friends and bloggers or emailing with requests to read and review their book. Some do this better than others. And some, even if they aren't fantastic at selling themselves or their books, deserve recognition for that amazing works of fiction they have written.

My objective with Indie Author Week is to make other bloggers aware of what they could be missing by ignoring indie author review requests and to get them psyched up to enter into the realm of indie fiction. So today is my Indie Authors/Books list post.

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5 Rules of Thumb
I Use To Decide Whether or Not To Accept An Indie Review Request

1. The review request contains my name and is somewhat personalized. This is important to me because it means they actually visited my blog and took the time to look around a little bit. I haven't made my name super easy to find for that reason. Form requests tend to end up in my recycling bin whereas requests that include some kind of comment on my blog's content or some other facet tend to get a more in-depth look from me because I feel like I personally am being asked, not me and a million other bloggers.

Indie Author Week: Angela Carlie & the Lords of Shifters

Today begins the first day of my 2nd Annual Indie Author Week where I will be featuring articles, giveaways, and all sorts of other content from some of my favorite independent/self-published authors.

Today I am featuring Angela Carlie, author of Spider Wars, which is the second in the fantastic Lords of Shifters series. Thank you so much, Angela, for writing this very thought-provoking post! Look out for my review of Spider Wars later this week!

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The Humane Society. Have you visited your local shelter lately?

Until recently, I only thought of the Humane Society as a place where dogs and cats are housed, given food and water, medical attention, and love until the animals' Forever Homes are found. I've brought home many new-found friends from the shelter, including our newest friend, Louie. Here's a photo of him. He's got the biggest heart.

Giveaway: Choice of 3 ARCs/Books

The winner will have a choice of 3 of the following: UPDATE: The 1st winner will get a choice of 3 books & a 2nd winner will get a choice of 2 of the remaining books!

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky (ARC)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (Softcover)
Bliss by Lauren Myracle (Softcover)
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus (ARC)
Flip by Martyn Bedford (ARC)
Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler (Hardcover)
Gimme A Call by Sarah Mlynowski (Signed Hardcover)
Hades by Alexandra Adornetto (ARC)
Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard (ARC)
Passion by Lauren Kate (Hardcover)
Shelter by Harlan Coben (ARC)
Shine by Lauren Myracle (ARC)
So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld (Softcover)
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (Softcover)
Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (ARC)

Rules
1. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must be from the US or Canada (sorry I can't afford international)
4. You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice!
5. Contest deadline is 12:01 a.m. EST on April 20, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Vamplayers by Rusty Fischer

Vamplayers by Rusty Fischer
Format: ARC
At the Afterlife Academy of Exceptionally Dark Arts, the vampires in training follow one of two tracks: they become either Sisters or Saviors. Of course, everyone wants to be a Savior, swooping into infested high schools in matching red leather jumpsuits and wielding crossbows, putting down swarming vampires with deadly efficiency.

But Lily Fielding is just a Sister—a Third Sister at that, a measly trainee. When Lily and her two Sisters, Alice and Cara, are called out to their latest assignment, she figures it’s just another run-of-the-mill gig: spot the Vamplayer (part vampire, part player), identify the predictably hot, trampy girl he’s set his eyes on, and befriend her before the Vamplayer can turn her to do his bidding.

Finding the sleek and sexy Vamplayer, Tristan, and his equally beautiful and popular target, Bianca, is easy. And when Lily meets the adorably geeky Zander, she too falls under a lover’s spell. But this assignment turns out to be trickier than most when the Third Sister must battle the baddest vampire of all.

Rules
1. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must be from the US or Canada (sorry I can't afford international)
4. You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice!
5. Contest deadline is 12:01 a.m. EST on April 19, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Format: Softcover
It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Rules
1. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must be from the US or Canada (sorry I can't afford international)
4. You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice!
5. Contest deadline is 12:01 a.m. EST on April 18, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Starters by Lissa Price

Starters by Lissa Price
Format: ARC
Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined.

Rules
1. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must be from the US or Canada (sorry I can't afford international)
4. You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice!
5. Contest deadline is 12:01 a.m. EST on April 17, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Format: ARC
A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl...

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

Rules
1. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. You must be from the US or Canada (sorry I can't afford international)
4. You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice!
5. Contest deadline is 12:01 a.m. EST on April 16, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway