April R.A.K. {Random Acts of Kindness] Thank You.♥

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OPEN TO EVERYONE! 

Hosted by Book Soulmates

-This is my Thank You post. :] I got four new books last month! If you remember from a early post, I was up at 1am explaining my excitement! Three new e-books and one paperback!

E-Books:

-Matched by Ally Condie & Firelight by Sophie Jordan & My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

  

{Thanks Ivy for these three books!}

Paperback:

-Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

{Thanks Al B for this paperback!}

Does anybody else participate in this? If so, what'd you get last month? 

Dearly, Departed

I. Want. This. Book.

Yes, it is worth four periods, large font, italicization , and underline. Just look at that cover! I want it more than Iron Thorn! And that's a lot of want. :P Why, oh why does this have to be released in October?! There are torturing me! :l 

This book includes zombies! 

Description [Taken From Goodreads]: 

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie? 

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. 

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, steampunk meets romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens {8th]

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

Title - Heavenly (Heavenly #1)

Author - Jennifer Laurens

Pages - 296

Published & Publisher - August 15th, 2009 ; Grove Creek Publishing

{New!} Source - Twitter Giveaway ;; Signed by the Author

{New!} Rating - 4/5

-Great book! Brilliant, magnificent, outstanding! Technically, I read this book in two sittings. But since I've been reading many books at once, it took me about two weeks to finish this one. I'm happy I did! 


Told in Zoe's perspective, we learn about how her sister {Abria} is autistic, her brother {Luke} is a drug user, her parents are stressed because of her sister's autism, and she herself has a drinking problem. Luke takes drugs to relax and Zoe drinks...for 'social reasons'.


Zoe is your typical {kinda stereotyped} teenager. Blonde, popular, partier, and people consider her a slut. Until she meets Matthias. Or in this case, sees Matthias. He is a guardian angel or a spirit. Only the ones that actually believe are allowed to see them. Zoe is able to see him, and she finds out that he is Abria's guardian angel. Their first encounter is in the beginning of the book. After Abria disappears from the playground, Zoe goes frantic, looking for Abria. She finds her, in the arms of Matthias. 


Sigh, how I wish Matthias was real.


Matthias only shows up when Abria is put in a dangerous situation. It's quite often, because Abria doesn't know better. Zoe believed that Matthias was something else...it was canny enough to be just a coincidence. It seemed kind of stalker-ish. Especially when Zoe found him riding on Abria's school bus, with a bunch of little kids. It wasn't until then then that Zoe figured out that only she (and Abria) can see him. And he was only there to protect Abria from any harm.


I love this book. It was great, and I was entertain the whole way! I would give it five stars, but I had some unanswered questions. Especially at the end. Yeah, I loved it, but I still want to know exactly how...and why... And then there's some other things that happened but I can't go into specifics because I'll start spoiling things.


Great book! I love Jennifer Laurens's writing. And plus, the author signed it. It says 'For Sierra'. And everything. Plus, I got some swag. A Heavenly bookmark! :]

"Just kidding. Jeez. It's one thing to play with the light. It's another thing to play with the dark."

"You shouldn't play with either one. Both are forces that need to be respected."

"Okay, okay, I was only joking."

"Maybe if you looked hell in the face like I did you'd have more respect."

He propped both elbows on the table and clasped his hands. "You're not a very good liar, Zoe."

Nothing pleased me more than to hear that news. "Really?"

"Yeah. I like that about you."

Deep by Susanna Vance {7th]

Somewhere in the Caribbean, seventeen-year-old Morgan and thirteen-year-old Birdie, two girls whose lives are worlds apart, are brought together by the maniacal Nicholas

Title - Deep

Author - Susanna Vance

Pages - 272

Published & Publisher - May 13th, 2003 ; Delacorte Books for Young Readers

{New!} Source - School Library

{New!} Rating - 2/5

-What can I say? I seriously did not like this book.

I'm one of those people who judge things by the cover. The cover is gorgeous, and makes me want to read it! I read the description, tiny one, and I thought it'd be different. I wanted it to be different. It started different. At first, it was good, but that was because it started out in 13-year-old Birdie's POV. When it switched {not a big fan of POVs that constantly switch}, that's when I started out disliking the book. Nothing interesting happened. Maybe it's because I didn't get to the climax of the book, but I couldn't. Nothing in the book drew me in. I actually fell asleep reading this book. Which is definitely not a good thing!

It might have been okay, if more interesting things took place.

I gave it 2 out of 5 because it did have a unique concept. The meeting of two different girls from two different kinds of people. One girl lived out in sea and she stow away from her parents. One girl is your normal city-living teenager {if that makes sense}. The author is the book is perfectly fine. She has great writing, her style is awesome. It was just the book itself

I recommend this book to anybody. To me, there wasn't a specific audience for this story. In my opinion, it wasn't a very good book. Buy hey, what can I say? I'm just giving my honest thoughts.

No likeable quote this time

Entwined by Heather Dixon {6th Review]

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Title - Entwined
Author - Heather Dixon
Pages - 480
Published & Publisher - March 29th, 2011 ; Greenwillow Brook








-I la la la lovee this book! More than I could possibly imagine! It's such a new take on the YA story genre! I know, it's a retelling of a fairy-tale, but this book is so...amazing! It's breathtaking and a moving story. It didn't make my tearbuds act up, mainly because this wasn't that kind of book. But it did make me smile at times! Many times!


This story is about the Twelve Dancing Princesses. You might have heard of it because it's a classic fairy-tale. I never heard of it, but it didn't stop me from reading this book. What really drew me in was this magnificent cover. It's beautiful, and it sets the theme of the story. Kinda. It makes the story look joyful and happy, but in the story, not all times were good. 


In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the main character, Azalea. She is the oldest out of all her siblings, and the one who is about to attending her first Yuletide Ball. She is only now attending it because she is of age. Azalea, and her sisters, have a passion for dancing. You can tell by the way Heather Dixon goes into detail about every dance and curtsy. I learned things about dances that I had never heard about it. Including a dance called Entwine. As you can clearly tell, it's the same as the title, except the title has a 'd' at the end. The Entwine is a dance where the gentleman is to catch the lady with a long sash. It's a tricky and cleverly little dance that you'll enjoy reading about. Azalea danced that dance, and was told she's the only girl that lasted awhile without getting caught. Which would have been a huge compliment, if it hadn't had been said by a unlikeable person. 


Back to the plot, the girls have to stop dancing. Their mother has just passed and they are in the period of mourning. Their father, or the King, is very strict about the mourning. Shades are to be pulled close, no visitors unless on R.B. (Royal Business), no garden, no playing outside, no clocks are to be on, and no dancing. How can you tell the twelve dancing princesses that they can't dance? You're just begging for them to go behind your back to dance. And that's exactly what Azalea and her sisters did. The castle the live in is magic. Not completely, but since the High King disappeared, there is still patches of magic around the house. Most of the silver is magic. It's because of that silver that the girls find a secret pavilion where they can dance all night long and not stop because nobody will tell them not to. Everything is going well, until things start missing. It started with a Lord's watch that Azalea is borrowing. Then it went to things that weren't as important...and then to something bigger.


Heather Dixon has a distinct writing. Everything about her writing style is great. She describes the scenes well, leaving a beautiful image in my head. It's just what a book should do! 


Plus, I love books set in different eras and countries. Things are different. There is an over-use of the word "Naturally". That's a good thing though! It makes me giggle each time. :]


I rated this book a five out of five. I really want this book on my shelf and in my hands anytime I want it to be! But sadly, I can't keep library books without paying a huge fine. And if I paid the fine, I might as well go get myself a real hardcover copy! :]

"Az, what is the place?" Bramble looked up, gaping. The tallest of the silver trees disappeared into the mist.

"I think it's the palace," Azalea managed to say.

Bramble arched a thin red eyebrow, grinning. "Not our boot-blackened palace! No wonder we were never told about this passage--we'd never come back up!"

Bramble was right. Azalea touched a swath of ribbon and pearls, feeling the knobbly string between her fingers. She hadn't expected to find so much magic, and all beneath their room!

Upcoming Reviews

I know, I've barely uploaded, but that will change! I am on a reading spree, and I am reading more than 100 pages a day. So, hopefully I can upload reviews! :]

-Entwined by Heather Dixon. I freaking love this book! I can't wait until I can share my opinions with you!

-Deep by Susanna Vance. You are going to be wowed from my review. I'll warn you ahead of time.

Those are the only current books that I will review. Hopefully {at least one} review will be up by tonight. I need to finish a research paper. :P

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead {5th Review]

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Title - Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
Author - Richelle Mead
Pages - 332
Published & Publisher - August 16th, 2007 ; Razorbill





-Favorite series ever! Yeah, each one of these books qualify as my favorite books. Such a different kind of take on vampires. Three different kinds -- the Moroi {full vampires} , the Dhampirs {half human, half vampire} , the Strigoi {undead vampires}. I know, the undead vampire sound the most awesome, right?


They are! :] The Moroi are vampires that, obviously feed on blood. The Dhampirs don't need blood to live. Dhampirs protect the Royal Moroi with their strength and speed. The Strigoi... well, that's a different story. They would be your bad or evil vampires. They were once a regular vampire, until they kill a human by drinking all of their blood. Strigoi don't feel any emotions, only hunger. They kill humans, Moroi, and Dhampirs. 


Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, as said in the description above. She protects her best friend, Lissa, who is a Moroi. Nothing can separate them...mainly because they are connected, literally. Maybe not literally, but close enough. Rose can hear Lissa's thoughts, but not the other way around. Rose can always now where and what Lissa is thinking. Rose can see through Lissa's eyes too. It's a fascinating experience to read!


I could go on and on and invent a different description from the summary taken from Goodreads...but no. That might start to bore you. 


Vampire Academy is unlike regular vampire stories. First off all, it has a whole different concept. Richelle Mead has a very creative mind. As I was reading, some things happen unexpectedly that I was shock! This book made me cry. I felt like I was actually in Rose's shoes...making the same decision as her and feeling what she felt. I love it when author's can do that, and Richelle did! 


Not to brag or anything, but Richelle signed my book! She had a book tour and me and my friend went to a signing! It was just...amazing! She is really nice and funny as well. She didn't sign this book, she signed another book out of the series. And when I write my review of it, I'll upload the picture of it. 


I give this book a 20 out of 5! If you haven't read it, you should! It was supposed to be turned into a movie...but I don't know what happened. I really hope it comes to screen. I want to see who would play the characters! And the quote below...it's a little spoiler, but it's my favorite part of the book! 

"Because we can't be together." 

"Because of the age thing, right?" I asked. "Because you're my mentor?" 

His {Dimitri} fingertip gently wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek. "That's part of it," he said. "But also... well, you and I will both be Lissa's guardians someday. I need to protect her at all cost. If a pack of Strogoi come, I need to throw my body between them and her." 

"I know that. Of course that's what you have to do." The black sparkles were dancing in front of my eyes again. I was fading out. 

"No. If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."