Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday!

Book Blogger Hop is a fun meme hosted by Crazy For Books. Enter your link and go hop around other blogs that are out there, ready to be discovered!

I guess this week was boring and I just wanted to it to be Friday so I'm happy that it finally got here! Plus homework and school have kept me from reading as much as I want to. =(

Do you read only one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?

Before I was required to read books for school I only read one book at a time. I didn't like to start a new book without finding out how the one I was reading ended. It's not that I can't keep each story seperate from each other, I just don't like to. Now I usually read 2 books for school and a book of my choice. =)

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

How did you come up with your blog name?

Ever since I started reading books I noticed that book covers played a big part on what books people decided to read. I didn't like to think that people picked books to read by their covers and not by their books. So there you have it, we should read books because of their story and not their cover.

If you're visiting, make sure you leave your link and I'll make sure to visit your blog!

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Title: The Exiled Queen
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Published: September 2010
Pages: 586
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: You can't always run from danger...

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

Review: Han Alister has to go to Oden's Ford to begin learning everything he needs to survive. Along with is Dancer who is also required to go. As they move through kingdoms at war they must be careful to not get tangled in the mess and not reach their destination. Meanwhile Raisa is also traveling to Oden's Ford but for different reasons and like Alister she must be careful while traveling there and while being there.

Han has had to go through many hard things to get to the place where he is. He wants to make those that caused him to suffer to pay for what they did and to be able to do that he must learn to use the magic he has. Alister was always trying to learn new things from school and from those outside school. I was glad to see him in an environment different from the one he was used to but that he still managed to stay true to his beliefs.

Raisa had to learn that living a life of a princess is much different from the one she has to live now. She always had to be careful about not being recognized by those that knew her. Like Alister she was in a different environment and had to learn how to adjust to it. She learned how others saw the Fells and especially how they truly see the queen and the princess.

Once Alister and Raisa met each other in Oden's Ford I always looked forward to see them together. In the first book we only got a little tease but in the second book Cinda takes way farther. They are both learning from each other and entering worlds that they don't really know.

All the other characters played a part. Alister had to have those that would always be there for him in this journey while Raisa needed to have Amon as her guardian. Even if Alister wasn't around much he need to talk to someone else who knew what he felt.

I love how The Exiled Queen took place in another place but was just as awesome as the first one. The reader gets to see the characters, especially Han and Raisa in a different environment and how they react to different things. I absolutely loved it! I can't wait to read the third book!

Author Interview: Steve Cushman + Giveaway

We have Steve Cushman, author of Heart with Joy stopping by the blog today! If you haven't read his book you need to do it now! I highly recommend it! You can read my review of it here!

Describe yourself in one sentence.

I may not always succeed, but I’m always trying.

What are five things most people don’t know about you?

I don’t have a middle name.
I once owned a Ferret named Molly.
I never went to my high school prom.
I have acted in a couple student films.
I have a street named after me in a trailer park my grandfather used to own.

What is your favorite memory while growing up?

Growing up in Florida, I always loved to visit my grandparents’ house in Massachusetts. They had all sorts of cool toys—old Army jeeps and mopeds—and all the junk food any chunky kid could ever want.

What are some of the books that have influenced you?

Raymond Carver’s short stories
Larry Brown “Father & Son”
Anne Tyler “Accidental Tourist”
Richard Russo “Nobody’s Fool”
Amy Tan “Joy Luck Club”

Did you always know you wanted to write a book?

Nope. I didn’t start reading seriously until I was in the my early twenties and didn’t start writing until my mid-twenties. Before that, I wanted to be a baseball player, then a musician, then a rock band roadie, and then somehow through music, and working in a record store, I discovered books.

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

Heart With Joy is a novel about following your heart and trusting that it will take where you need to go.

How does it feel to know that there are people reading your book?

It’s wonderful to hear what people have to say. This is my third book but still I’m amazed that people want to read what I’ve dreamed up. Very cool indeed.

What do you think is the easiest and hardest thing about writing a book?

The easiest thing about writing about a book is coming up with ideas. The hardest part is sitting your butt in that chair for the three or four years it takes to finish.

Anything else you would like to say?

Thanks again for taking the time to read my work.
 

Goodreads Summary: In Heart With Joy, fifteen-year-old Julian Hale’s life is turned upside down when his mother suddenly moves from North Carolina to Venice, Florida under the pretense of running her parents’ motel and finishing the novel she has been working on for years. While Julian has always been closer to his mother and wants to go with her, she tells him he has to stay with his father until the end of the school year.
 
Six weeks after his mother leaves, Julian’s father decides to run a marathon. This surprises Julian because he has never seen his father exercise, but once he agrees to help him train the two develop the sort of close relationship they’ve never had before. Also, with the help of an elderly neighbor, Julian learns that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart. And Julian’s heart leads him to a passion for cooking and a young cashier at the local grocery store. By the end of the novel, Julian is forced to choose between staying with his father and going to live with his mother.

Heart With Joy is an uplifting coming of age novel about cooking and bird watching, about writing and pottery, and about falling in love and the sacrifices we all make. But ultimately, it’s about the importance of following your heart and trusting that it will take you where you need to go.

The Details

-There will be 1 lucky winner.

-This giveaway is international.

-You don't have to be a follower but it would be nice if you were! =)

-Deadline is Friday 18th at 11:59pm Pacific time.

-Winner will be announced on the 19th and will have 48 hours to respond to my email.

Just fill out the form!

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Waiting on Wednesday WOW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that you can't wait for!

Release: March 22nd 2011

Goodreads Summary: What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

 
The summary sounds so interesting! Imagine knowing when you were going to die? I think I would be creeped out by that. I can't wait to read it! Plus the cover only makes me want it even more!

In My Mailbox (38)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren! So this week I got lucky and got some books! =)

Bought:
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

For Review:
Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

I can't wait to read these 2 books! Especially The Lost Saint!

Thanks to The Teen Book Scene!

What did you get this week?

Heart With Joy by Steve Cushman

Title: Heart with Joy
Author: Steve Cushman
Published: 2010
Pages: 182
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: In Heart With Joy, fifteen-year-old Julian Hale’s life is turned upside down when his mother suddenly moves from North Carolina to Venice, Florida under the pretense of running her parents’ motel and finishing the novel she has been working on for years. While Julian has always been closer to his mother and wants to go with her, she tells him he has to stay with his father until the end of the school year.

Six weeks after his mother leaves, Julian’s father decides to run a marathon. This surprises Julian because he has never seen his father exercise, but once he agrees to help him train the two develop the sort of close relationship they’ve never had before. Also, with the help of an elderly neighbor, Julian learns that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart. And Julian’s heart leads him to a passion for cooking and a young cashier at the local grocery store. By the end of the novel, Julian is forced to choose between staying with his father and going to live with his mother.

Heart With Joy is an uplifting coming of age novel about cooking and bird watching, about writing and pottery, and about falling in love and the sacrifices we all make. But ultimately, it’s about the importance of following your heart and trusting that it will take you where you need to go.

Review: This book doesn't need any paranormal stuff to be amazing and that's something that I don't find often!

Julian is trying to cope with his mother leaving to Florida. His mother refused to take him and said she had to help with the motel her family owned and to finish her fifth unpublished novel. Julian knows there's more to it than his mother tells him and when he asks her he finally gets his answer that he may not like. Throughout the book Julian makes a connection with his father that he never thought possible and also finds what he wants to do with his life.

I loved how Julian changed and matured through the whole book as he met people that help him figure out who he is. To me he seemed to be like many fifteen year old kids would be while at the same time being someone who was trying to figure things out in his life. Another thing that I loved was that he can cook! That's one thing that many male characters aren't able to do.

I liked how his relationship with his father changed so much. At first they didn't really talk and seemed to be two people who had to live together while not knowing who the other was. At the end Julian had to take a tough decision and the time he spent with his father greatly influenced him. I loved Mrs. Peters! She was a great character that loved birds but that also helped Julian deal with his life.

This is such a short read that holds many things. It shows that we need to do the things that make us happy and not try to something that will make us unhappy. This is one of those books that I think everyone should read just because it's something different to what's out there but that is just as good!

I received the book for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday WOW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that you can't wait for!

Release: March 7th 2011

Goodreads Description: It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Doesn't it sound awesome! And it takes place in 1889! And I love how the girl on cover seems to be running from something. I can't wait to read it!