Christmas Day Book Giveaway (Two Books Two winners)

So, I have decided to do another Giveaway, winners will be chosen on Christmas Day.
I am giving away Two books and Two Winners, one book per winner.

Contest Rules:

Open internationally
Deadline to enter is December 24th, 2010 at 11:59PM
You have to be a follower, new followers welcome
Spread the word about this contest
In order to be considered for this contest you MUST leave a comment, including you email address where you can be reached in case you do win.

 Jane by April Lindner


Emily the Strange: The Lost Days (Emily the Strange Novels # 1) by Rob Reger, Jessica Gruner, Buzz Parker

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Description:

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life.
Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she’s lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother’s past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily’s growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby’s most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she’s found so far are more questions.

Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love?

In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different.


My Thoughts:

This is the second book that I read by this author and I did enjoy both books, however they do not have that wow feeling when you are read the books. I found the book enjoyable but that is about it.

Emily Benedict moves to Mullaby, a town were her mother was born. She does not know much about this town, or about her grandfather, who is a giant. I liked Emily, she was interesting character and I would have liked to have seen more of her and her story.  I felt that this book, the story was too short. It should have been longer, that way the author who had time to play with the plot more. There is more than one story, and stories told from different point of view; two hundred and some odd pages is not enough.

Julia, is the another character who has her own story. At the beginning of the story I really did not like or dislike Julia, she was just a character. At first I thought that she was too boring, but as I read the book more I grew to like her more. Her character grew on me over time. It was an interesting story however I do wish that the author kept the book longer, that way could have done more with it.

One other character that I really enjoyed was Emily’s grandfather. I just loved him, but there was not enough back story to him and his life. That is understandable since he is not the main character but I wish that there was at least more interaction between Emily and him.

Overall I did enjoy reading this book, and I will probably continue reading other books by this author. I do like her stile, but as I already said I wish that her books are longer, otherwise the stories just seemed rushed. Book was very well written, characters are interesting and well constructed. I do feel that due to the shortness of this book the growth of the characters was also rushed. The “magic” part of the story, I do not know what that was. At first, the big mystery I was excited to learn what it was. But when I actually found out it, was a let down. I was thinking to myself is this it.

I give this book 4 STARS (3.5 leaning toward 4 more so than 3) out of 5 STARS.

Obsessed by Susan Andersen

Description:

A Seattle emergency room doctor is stalked by a serial rapist who leaves a broken heart carved on the chest of each of his victims.

My Thoughts:

I picked up this book at the local Chapters when it first came out and it set on my night stand till few nights ago. I have read other books by this author and most of then are straight forward romance novels with some mystery and Obsessed is no different.

I really enjoyed this book, it was good read, easy read. I really liked the characters, especially Ivy, who is the main female protagonist of the story. She is smart, confident woman, full of life, until she starts being stalked by a serial rapist. At first she is over come by fear, but she takes matter in her own hands and tries to catch the rapist with the help of her neighbour, who also happens to be a detective. Vincent is male protagonist of the story and he is a very interesting character. He is a all male, handsome, but not without issues. He has a hard time trusting people, especially woman with whom he is romantically involved. This is because of his ex-wife who was “The Bitch” as one of his friend names her. She really messed with him.

Ivy’s and Vincent’s relations ship was not an easy one but it kept growing throughout the book. But it was kind of interesting to see that it is the male characters who is insecure about the relationship and not the female. Which does not happen very often in romance novels.

The villain of the book was just creepy and you get to read about what he is thinking and why he rapes woman. It is very disturbing, and what is even more disturbing is his fascination with Ivy. He is just twisted and evil, who enjoyed the pain others were feeling.

Overall this was a very good read, and give this book 4 STARS out of 5 STARS.

The Sea of Monsters (Book # 2 Percy Jackson & The Olympians) by Rick Riordan

Description:

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke

My Thougths:

The Sea of Monsters is book two in Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. I actually finished this book in one sitting. Its been a while since I have posted a book review, but I have been so busy that I just did not have time. In the last few days things are beginning to settle down and now I have more time to read and post reviews.

Book two of the series was very good; it had everything, action, humour, bad guys, betrayals, unexpected twists and turns. This was a very fun and interesting read. There are new twists to the story, few new characters. I liked Percy, he is a very we developed character and I am glad to say that the author worked on growing Percy’s character even more in books two. However I could not help but think that Percy was slow sometimes, he never took time to think about things. Even for the things that were obvious, he was always clueless, it was kind of annoying. I also liked Percy’s new discovered relation, Tyson. I thought that he was the cutest thing ever, at least for a monster. He was a very good character and I believe it gave the story some boost. I liked how the relationship between Tyson and Percy was progressed and developed throughout the story. Another character that I have enjoyed is Annabeth, she reminds me a lot of Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. There are a lot of similarities between the two. Both are smart, driven, loyal friends and etc.

I really enjoyed this book and I already have book three, which I will start reading soon. The story was very well written and it was concise. There was enough mystery and the story was not predictable. Not predictable in the sense that something happens at the end that you did not expect, well at least I did not expect it.

Overall this was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult book. Or if you are fan of Harry Potter series this might be of interest to you as well.

I give this book 4 STARS out of 5 STARS.

In My Mailbox # 5

Weekly meme created by The Story Siren, inspired by Pop Culture Junkie.

Books I bought:

Killing Fear by Allison Brennan
Happy ever After (Book Four in the Bride Quartet) by Nora Roberts
The Titan's Curse (Book 3 of Percy Jackson & The Olympians) by Rick Riordan