Welcome to Etsy Saturdays! What is Etsy? Think of Etsy.com as ebay for the homemade. Homemade is “in” again and everyone is doing it, including lovers of YA! And so each Saturday I am sharing with you some cool stuff I found on Etsy and hook you up if you want to buy up! I can’t promise that this post will be good for your hip pocket!

This week I found some pretty cute YA related charm bracelets! Sweetgeek on Etsy has a shop where they make little figurines, and they’re currently selling charm bracelets themed on the Across The Universe series by Beth Revis and the Harry Potter series, which I though was pretty cute!

Across The Universe Series Charm Bracelet by Sweetgeek

Harry Potter Series Charm Bracelet by Sweetgeek

Stay tuned for next week! If you see anything on Etsy you think would be a good feature, let me know on Twitter @booknerdreviews!

Q: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?

Books with similar ideas…. it depends. I loved The Hunger Games, and some people would say the base idea behind it is very similar to Battle Royale (which it is). But I loved them both. What I don’t like is blatant rip offs though, I don’t want to read a book and be like *sigh*, this is exactly like another book I read.

I love retellings when done right. Jackson Pearce is a good example of this with her Fairytale Retelling series, Sisters Red, Sweetly and Fathomless which are based on Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel and The Little Mermaid, but have huge twists and really are their own unique story in their own right.

Link me up with your answers in the comments section below!

It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the past week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (still!). I am enjoying it, but it’s a bit wordy and not an “easy” read as far as I am concerned!

I’m thinking of starting a second read. Perhaps What’s Left Of Me by Kat Zhang?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished reading Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson as well as This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel. Review of Confessions is up and the review for This Dark Endeavor coming very soon!

What do you think you’ll read next?

I would like to next read The Diviners by Libba Bray or Fathomless by Jackson Pearce. So many books I am dying to get to right now… testing my patience!

What is everyone out there reading at the moment? Share your links below!

Release Date: September 24, 2012
Published By: Little, Brown & Company
Pages: 372
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: You couldn’t kill your parents… Could you?

Tandy Angel is a whip-smart prodigy and a magnificently wealthy heiress.

She’s got secrets - some even she doesn’t understand.

She’s damaged, the product of her parents’ impossible demands.

But she couldn’t have killed them… Could she?

Review: When I first started reading Confessions of a Murder Suspect, I found myself thinking “this isn’t very realistic”, however, like most of James Patterson’s books, you just need to go with the flow and see where the ride takes you. And like all the other books of Patterson’s I’ve read, I really ended up enjoying this book and felt quite satisfied when it ended.

Tandy Angel is our protagonist. She talks directly to us as the reader and opens up and confesses to us. She tells the story based on the facts as much as possible and you feel like you’re really going on a journey with her. All the while we don’t even know if we can trust her, because she is a suspect herself. I wanted to trust her though, and I DID trust her more and more as the story unfolded and I found her to be quirky but really likeable.

Tandy and her brothers are all overachievers, much like her parents. They are all bigger, stronger, faster, smarter and less emotional than anyone else their age. Almost robotic in response to everything in their life. They always felt this was due to their upbringing however there is much more to the story.

So when Tandy and her brothers are all the suspects in their parents murder, we see a lot of questions being asked, and Tandy starts her own investigation after not being satisfied with the detectives work. Skeletons in the families closet come out one by one by one, and just when things start to get stranger and you think you’ve heard it all, something else happens to trump that. I absolutely loved the scandal - it was very indulgent!

There’s some strange appearances from the pork chair, the UFO lamp, Robert the statue as well as other pieces of “art” in the Angel residence. Their home is a very bizaare murder setting. Throw a little bit of “good cop, bad cop” into the mix and you get some really colourful characters. The characters themselves are a bit characaturish, however thoroughly entertaining!

Patterson has a typical style about his writing with his very very short chapters (2-3 pages max each) and you can’t help but fly through his books. I cannot even start on how many times I thought to myself “One more chapter” as I sat reading this in a cafe. Addictive writing, and a highly entertaining story!

I love a good fashioned “whodunnit” story, and this murder mystery had me guessing right up to the end. I am extremely excited that there is going to be more books in this series. Great to see this type of book in the YA market!

It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the past week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading The Diviners by Libba Bray. It’s a pretty chunky book at almost 600 pages, however I’m about 100 pages into it and absolutely enthrawlled. Really great read, I am dying to find out what happens!

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished reading Fathomless by Jackson Pearce which is the third book in the Fairytale Retelling series. It wasn’t my favourite of the series, but I still enjoyed it. There will be a review to follow of this!

What do you think you’ll read next?

I would like to next read Ten by Gretchen McNeil and Venom by Fional Paul next! Ten just looks plain creepy and I have heard great things about it! I’ve started reading the first few pages of Venom and I love historical fiction so this has my attention too!!

What is everyone out there reading at the moment? Share your links below!

Good evening readers! Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Mailbox Monday is originally hosted by Marcia from A girl and her books and The Printed Page.

The Skeleton Key - Tara Moss

Thank you to Pan MacMillan for a copy of this book. I didn’t know anything about it before, but The Skeleton Key is the third book in the Pandora English series set in the awesome New York. I haven’t read the first two books in this series, and it also doesn’t seem to be a young adult series, but I will admit reading the synopsis on Goodreads has piqued my interest! It looks really good!

Burn for Burn - Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

This looks so frikken good! I got this on audiobook from audible.com. It’s been on my list since it came out so I am stoked for this!

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she’s ready to make her pay. Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she’s not the same girl anymore. And she’s ready to prove it to him. Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won’t stop until they each had a taste.

Skinny - Donna Cooner

Another book I have been dying to read, this looks fantastic!

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it.

But there is another voice: Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.

So that is all from me this week, what did you receive this week? Let me know - leave your links in the comments section below!

Good afternoon!! Welcome to another edition of nail art inspired by fiction. This week is Twilight week! I’ve picked three of the best ones I could find! These images are not of my own nails, but pictures I’ve gathered online to share!

Good evening readers!! How are we all? I am hoping you’re going well. At last, the November giveaway is up and running and ready to go! I am super excited about the awesome new release books I am giving away this month, and hopefully you are too!

This month, typical to other months I am going to choose three seperate winners, to each choose one book of their choice out of the books below:

The books:

What’s Left of Me - Kat Zhang
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
The Lost Prince - Julie Kagawa
Burn For Burn - Siobhan Vivian & Jenny Han

Fathomless (Fairytale Retellings #3) - Jackson Pearce
The Diviners (Diviners #1) - Libba Bray
Eve & Adam By: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) - Michelle Hodkin

Breathe (Breathe #1) - Sarah Crossan
Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #1) - Fiona Paul
Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5) - Tahereh Mafi
Beta (Annex #1) - Rachel Cohn

Exciting right? Eeeee! So the rules are the same as all the other giveaways. This giveaway is running from November 3rd (riiiiiight NOW!) through to November 30th. You can get extra entries via Rafflecopter!

Good luck to you all!! x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Date: October 23, 2012
Published By: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 379
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Review: The Lost Prince is the 5th book in the Iron Fey series. Ethan Chase is our protagonist, Meghan Chase’s little brother. Although he’s not so little anymore. Ethan is now 17, and he has been able to see the Fey ever since he was kidnapped by them at the age of 4 when Meghan first ventured into the NeverNever to save him. Ethan made his way back home, and Meghan stayed on in the NeverNever to become The Iron Queen. Since then, Ethan has felt abandoned by his sister and on guard by the Fey that watch him. He has perfected his skills in the martial art of Kali knowing that one day he will need his craft to protect himself.

Ethan never guessed though that he wouldn’t only be needing to protect himself, but also one of his classmates, a girl he is trying to not fall for - Kenzie. However that is exactly what happens.

I loved the fast pace at the start of this book, I really got into it and loved where it picked up from. I felt like it got a liiiiitle slow in the middle (not bad, just not as action packed), but it did pick back up and I really did love this book. I love that overall it’s really one big story throughout this series, however just told from several perspectives.

I love the chemistry between Kenzie and Ethan, and loved seeing his guard slowly come down. I also was jaw dropped towards the end of the book with a twist I would have never guessed was coming. I love that there are always still so many surprises left in this series, and I am truly looking forward to reading more!

It felt like catching up with old friends when we saw how Ash and Meghan were doing, and we meet their son Kierran who is rather awesome. And I won’t lie… I had a fan girl moment when Puck made a return as well! The old gang!

Huge thumbs up to this book, a great addition to the Iron Fey series! A must for any fan of the series.

Trailer:

Welcome to Etsy Saturdays! What is Etsy? Think of Etsy.com as ebay for the homemade. Homemade is “in” again and everyone is doing it, including lovers of YA! And so each Saturday I am sharing with you some cool stuff I found on Etsy and hook you up if you want to buy up! I can’t promise that this post will be good for your hip pocket!

This week I found some awesome Harry Potter Kindle geekery!! I want one! It’s a Harry Potter Kindle cover! And there’s also a Ron Weasley version of the same thing. Absolutely adorable and pretty cheap too! There’s also phone covers with the same design and Nook covers too.

Harry Potter Kindle Cover by lifegeekery

Ron Weasley Kindle Cover by lifegeekery

Stay tuned for next week!

Good evening! How are you? I hope you’ve all had an awesome month of reading! Here is my reviews for October if you missed it - it was a BIG month for catching up on The Iron Fey series!

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) - Julie Kagawa
The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey #2) - Julie Kagawa
Partials - Dan Wells
The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) - Julie Kagawa
The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4) - Julie Kagawa

I loveeeeeeed the Iron Fey series, which is why I smashed it in October! I am still reading some belated Halloween reads and those reviews are coming very soon!

The November giveaway is coming very soon too, keep your eyes peeled! That’s it from me for now! x

Q: What is a deal breaker for you in a book? For example, do you abhor love triangles? Or can’t deal with bad editing?

Bad editing is always a deal breaker (Hello Fifty Shades…. yes I am looking at you), but bigger than that, I struggle with books written in prose and insta-love concepts!

Link me up with your answers in the comments section below!