Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop

Alas, not much longer to soak up the sun and read on the beach.  *sigh*  But that doesn't mean the fun has to end!  Welcome to my stop on the Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop, where thanks to I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and The Elliott Review, the fun can go on and on...well, at least in bookish form.  :D

If you'll remember, I recently won a signed copy of Rapture by Lauren Kate from Jessica at Hackaroo's Reviews.  I already had all of Kate's previous books signed last year when she came to Dallas on tour for Passion, so I really wanted that final book signed.  (If she came to Dallas this year, I missed it.)  :(  Anyway, to make a long story short (late for that, right?  :P), I already had an unsigned copy of Rapture sitting on my shelf, and because I don't need two copies of the same book, I'm giving away my unsigned copy.  It's a win/win, right?

Title:  Rapture
Author:  Lauren Kate
Series:  4th & final book in the Fallen series
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Publication Date:  June 12, 2012
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The sky is dark with wings....

Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.

Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies...and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.

And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

Rapture is the astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

Rules:

• US residents only, sorry, unless you can provide a US shipping address.
• One entry per household.
• All entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.
• I am not responsible for lost packages, but I do use delivery confirmation via USPS, so this should not be a problem.

And now on to the fun stuff!  You only have to follow my blog to enter, but all other entries/follows are appreciated!  :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop:



Good luck & happy reading!

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Labels: angels, fallen, giveaway hops, giveaways, lauren kate, random house

In My Mailbox #17

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.




Won:

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - from Jen at I Read Banned Books, signed by author + swag

Purchased:

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly
Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate





I know, I know.  I've already read, or am currently reading, three of these titles.  What can I say?  I like pretty books, and I like how they look on my shelves.  Plus, I'm a little obsessive-compulsive, and I need to have complete series on my shelves, preferably in the same format as other titles in the series, but I'll take what I can get sometimes.

So...what was waiting for you in your mailbox this week?

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Labels: across the universe, angel, fallen, in my mailbox (imm), newsoul, unearthly

Uncovered - 11/8/11

Look at these lovelies:

 
I know the concept of the girl in the beautiful dress has been overdone on covers, but even so, I still love them.  Regardless of whether they have anything to do with the story inside the book, I can't get enough of these gorgeous covers!

Also, the Shade series by Jeri Smith-Ready gets a makeover:


 

What do you think?  I haven't had a chance to pick up this series yet, but I think I'm a fan of the original cover art.  This kind of reminds me of the cover re-do for Andrea Cremer's Nightshade series, and I'm also not a fan of that makeover.  Oh, well...nothing I can do about it, right?

And, last but not least, the trailer for Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me has been released:

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Labels: beautiful covers, book trailers, fallen, shatter me, supernaturally

Winner: SIGNED copy of Passion by Lauren Kate

Up for grabs:

 SIGNED

 

The contest is over.  The entries have been tabulated.  The winner has been chosen.

Drumroll, please...

Kristina

An email has been sent to the winner.  Should the winner not respond within 48 hours, I will announce a new winner at that time.

Thank you all so much for the entries, follows, and comments.  And check back soon for a swag contest!

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Labels: fallen, giveaways, winners

Giveaway: SIGNED copy of Passion by Lauren Kate

Wow, I've only been blogging for a couple of months, and I already feel the love!  I've reached the 50 follower mark, and as promised, I will now be giving away a SIGNED copy of the third book in Lauren Kate's Fallen series!  If you'll remember, I had her sign every one of her books when she was in town for a signing recently, and I had her sign an extra copy of Passion for one of my lucky readers.  I'm so excited for one of you guys to win this!  (Here's my review and the Goodreads synopsis, in case any of you are curious what I thought.)

We're going to make this giveaway pretty simple since it's my FIRST GIVEAWAY EVER.  I'm not offering any extra entries for sharing this time around, but tweeting about the contest would be much appreciated!!!  You don't have to be a follower or leave a comment or do anything extra to enter, but again, that is much appreciated!  To enter, just follow the link below to complete the entry form.

Good luck and happy reading!

Go to ENTRY FORM and complete required fields.

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Labels: fallen, giveaways

In My Mailbox #4

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Since my last IMM post, I've been on a bit of a buying binge.  After buying (and reading) all of the Nook book versions of The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy, I went to the bookstore on my Nook and found the following:

Nook Steals N' Deals:
Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel for $2.99
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald for $0.99
Hollowland (The Hollows #1) by Amanda Hocking for $0.99
The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles #1) by Cinda Williams Chima for $2.99



Also, because I like pretty covers and have an indescribable need to have a complete series displayed on my bookshelf, I bought the following:

Passion (Fallen #3) by Lauren Kate
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) by Tessa Gratton

Pretty covers, am I right?

And it wouldn't be a proper IMM post if I didn't at least mention the books and swag I've won since my last post.  :P

Signed ARC of Cara Lynn Shultz' Spellbound (courtesy of Anne Riley)
Signed copy of Wings by Aprilynne Pike (courtesy of Rachel Bateman)
Team Tamani and Team David temporary tattoos (from the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike, also courtesy of Rachel Bateman)
Signed Shiver bookmark from Maggie Stiefvater
Signed The Near Witch bookmark from Victoria Schwab
Set of Solstice trading cards from P.J. Hoover




Alright, now that I have some material to read, I'd best hop to it or I'll never get through my TBR pile!

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Labels: fallen, in my mailbox (imm), solstice, the blood journals, wings series, wolves of mercy falls

Review: Passion (Fallen #3) by Lauren Kate

Title:  Passion
Author:  Lauren Kate
Series:  Fallen
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date:  June 14, 2011
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

"Every single lifetime, I'll choose you. Just as you have chosen me. Forever."

Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Review:

I enjoyed Passion even more than the other two books in the series. Lauren Kate's writing is spectacular, even if it is compounded with somewhat generic characters. But even so, I still feel drawn to Luce and Daniel's love story, especially as it's told over and over (and over) again over the course of five thousand years or so in Passion.
The author just has a way with words. From a writer, that's to be expected, right? But even despite the syrupy-sweet love story (and don't get me wrong, I still love it, despite how unrealistic it might be), her ability to create a new world, in a new era for each time Luce and Daniel fall in love, well, that is just first rate. Lauren's writing just lends itself to the reader's imagination, creating incomparable visions of each of Luce's past lives.

There's love. Love lost, again and again. Betrayal. Time travel through Announcers. Beheadings. War. Fire. And more danger than Luce could ever realize. And it's still not over.

I know better than to read a book when it first releases, especially when the series is not yet complete, but I couldn't help myself. It feels like forever ago that I read Fallen and Torment, and I was itching for a Luce and Daniel love-a-thon. And Passion did not leave me wanting.

Rapture, the final book in the Fallen series, is scheduled for release in May of 2012.  But here's the pretty trailer for Fallen to keep you occupied until then.  :)




**Spoilery** One last thing: throughout the entire book, I kept thinking to myself, so...Satan is a Southern gay man? It was a lot of "honey" this and "darlin'" that and he knew quite a bit about fashion. Just sayin'... :D
 
REMINDER:  Once I reach 50 followers on my blog, I'll be giving away a SIGNED copy of Passion!!!
 
Next up for review: 

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Labels: fallen, reviews

Signing: Lauren Kate, author of the Fallen series

I love the intense romance and uniqueness of the angel lore in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate, so I was ecstatic when I realized that she was doing not one but TWO signings in my area this weekend.  So, I loaded up my three-year-old daughter and we headed to Allen this morning, along with my complete set of Lauren's works, obviously, in order to attend the second signing.

Lauren was so sweet and so gracious.  She signed all of my books, chatted with my cutie-pie, and even posed for a pic with said cutie-pie (see below).  Not only that, she signed an extra copy of Passion for me.  And since I like to spread the love so much, I'm going to offer up my extra SIGNED copy in my very first giveaway when I reach 50 followers!  So please help spread the word about the blog because as soon as I reach that goal, I'll post the giveaway here, and then you'll have your shot at a signed copy of the third book in this amazing series, which was just released on 6/14!

Lauren Kate & future fangirl  :0)

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Labels: fallen, giveaways, signings

Friday Five #1

In which I list the five books I *plan* to read next, major emphasis on the word plan because I'm an impulsive/compulsive book buyer, and what I intend to read also changes with my mood.  =D  Whenever I finish a book, I always feel kind of lost, so I think keeping a list like this will help me stay on track and actually remember what I really wanted to read next.  Hopefully...

1.    by Lauren Kate
2.    by Nova Ren Suma
3.    by Tessa Gratton
4.    by Jon Skovron
5.    by Moira Young

What are you currently reading and what do you plan on reading next???

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Labels: fallen, friday five

Book Trailers: Forever Entwined with Passion

I love book trailers.  Some give you insight into what's going to happen in a book, and some just look really pretty.  Either way, I can't get enough of them.

Maggie Stiefvater created her very own trailer for Forever (you can get a signed copy here), the final book in her "The Wolfs of Mercy Falls" series.  She takes creative to a whole other level.  Behold:



The trailer for Entwined by Heather Dixon is just beautiful and intriguing.  It's seriously making me reconsider the placement of this book in my TBR pile!



Although we have to wait a little over a month for the release of Lauren Kate's Passion, the trailer was released today.  I'm still not sure what to think about Luce and Daniel's relationship, but I can't wait to read more, especially to see how things develop now that Miles is in the picture!



So many great books to look forward to!  I need a separate calendar just to keep track of them all!

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Labels: book trailers, entwined, fallen, wolves of mercy falls