I can’t believe I still haven’t read the first book yet!! I plan to rectify this ASAP - my work friend Erica read this book last year though and I know she really enjoyed this read and I’ve been meaning to get around to it. I think now that Crossing The Line is scheduled for release on April 1st, followed by Dare You To (book 2) on May 28th, I really need to at least have read Pushing the Limits by then. Hold me to this guys!

Synopsis:

Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional” Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo’s best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

The first four minutes of the movie version of Warm Bodies is here! I was a big fan of the book by Isaac Marion and reviewed this when Book Nerd Reviews first started (it was one of the first books I ever reviewed) and I rated the book 5 stars. View my original review of Warm Bodies here. To see the first 4 minutes of this film is quite exciting. I like the comedic spin they’ve put on it also.

*cringing at the Twilight reference in this vid… it’s nothing like Twilight!

This is just one of the book to film adaptations we’re going to see in 2013! It’s a big year, and I am very much wanting to see this one! From Wikipedia: Warm Bodies is set to begin release on 31 January 2013 in Greece, Italy, and Russia. It will be released on February 1, 2013 in the United States and on February 8, 2013 in the United Kingdom. Warm Bodies’ international release spans from 31 January 2013 to 11 April 2013.

Wow, this has been the week for awesome book releases, I tell you!!! I can’t even start to tell you how pumped I am about The Outside. The Hallowed Ones was one of the last books I read in 2012 and one of my faves for 2012 also. It was a solid read, and seeing this cover has reignited my excitement for book 2!

The cover features Katie, without her Armish bonnet on, and she is walking the opposite way to the Armish houses begind her which tells me she’s no longer accepted by the Armish community (shunned) and she’s left to go on her own. The synopsis confirmed this for me, but I love a cover that tells a story!! Unfortunately the downside is waiting until September for this release…. I want to read this nooooooow!

Synopsis:

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?

Release Date: October 9th 2012
Published By: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Synopsis:

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City’s two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents’ sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn’t remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can’t conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.

Review: I wasn’t entirely sold on this book when I started reading it. To me, it felt as though the first half of this book was quite predictable as I made correct assumption after correct assumption. I will say however, that I felt like the second half of this book picked up considerably and helped sway my decision. In the end I felt it was quite enjoyable.

It starts off with a confused Aria Rose (our protagonist). She’s lost a considerable amount of her memories after being told she had overdosed on a drug called Stic. She’s betrothed to Thomas Foster. Aria isn’t really sure what is happening. The Rose family and the Foster family have hated each other for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t remember ever falling in love with Thomas, but seeing as she doesn’t remember much of anything goes along with it.

Then she bumps into Hunter - a rebel mystic. There’s something about him, something familiar she is drawn to about him. She must keep seeing him at all costs, even if it means she will be put in harms way by her own family. During the course of sneaking around to see Hunter, Aria uncovers some dirty family secrets, and the truth about who they are.

If you can push through the first half (and I recommend you try!) the second half will pay off for you. The story itself becomes more sophisticated and the plot becomes more involved. There is politics, violence and a riot. There is double crossing and murder. It became a really gripping story by the end, and I found myself eager to find out what happens next.

I listened to the audiobook version of Mystic City. I’ve listened to many audiobooks in my time… the narrator of this one annoyed me a lot though, which hasn’t happened before. Her voices at times were comical when they weren’t meant to be, and Kiki’s voice just grated on my nerves. It’s the first time I’ve had to tell myself to not let the voice of the audiobook affect the way I feel about the text. So that being said, I would not recommend the audiobook to Mystic City.

I can say though after reading this book in full that I would recommend the book to people, and my advise is to push past the first 100 pages or so… it does become really good!

Book Trailer:

OMG!!!! It’s here! This cover was revealed today on Michelle Hodkin’s website, and I am happy to share it with you all here! I am a big fan of this series (the second book is inching closer on my TBR list currently), and one thing that drew me to this series straight away was the mysterious cover on the first book. I love the cover of the third book though, it’s very telling of the story we might find inside!! Unfortunately we won’t be seeing this book until much later this year - October 22nd to be exact.

Synopsis:

None yet!! But the following is from Michelle Hodkin’s website to help answer your burning questions!

- There will not be any ARCs. Many of you have been asking why. This was a decision made by my publisher, Simon & Schuster, to make sure that the ending to the trilogy isn’t spoiled before everyone gets the chance to read the book on the same day, 10/22.

- You’ve also been asking when you’ll get a synopsis/description/snippets, and the answer is that I’m not entirely sure, but I can say that it won’t be until much closer to the release date. Right now, the only thing I’ve been allowed to release from the actual book is this.

- As for pre-orders, the links won’t be up for a while yet, but that’s a good thing. Simon & Schuster is working on something special on that front, as a thank you to readers who run out and buy the book right away.

- And last but definitely not least, there’s a shiny quote on the cover from Lev Grossman about the series, and I am insanely proud of it so I am sharing it everywhere. In full, it reads: “Deep, dark, passionate and funny, Mara Dyer is one of the great characters in young adult fiction—and Michelle Hodkin is one of the great talents.”

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 Through The Ever Night (Under The Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi. I’m only up to chapter three right now, so probably too soon for me to say if I am enjoying it or otherwise yet, but I’ve heard it’s better than Under The Never Sky! Trying not to have huge expectations going into this (as I find I am often disappointed when I do), but the review will be up soon regardless.

What did you recently finish reading?

I last finished reading Just One Day (Just One Day #1) by Gayle Forman and I absolutely loved it! My fave read in a while actually. The review was posted yesterday, so be sure to check this out! This week, I also read The Dead Of Night (Tomorrow #2) by John Marsden which is an Aussie YA book, and the sequel to Tomorrow When The War Began. Also a top read, I am enjoying this series! The review of this will be posted next Tuesday.

What do you think you’ll read next?

There’s quite a few books I want to get around to urgently, but the two ARC’s I’ll be reading at some point this month as definites are Hooked by Lic Fichera and Pantomime by Laura Lam. Those reviews however will be posted closer to the release dates!

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

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the gals at The Broke & The Bookish! This week’s topic is: 2013 debut books we are dying to read! Let’s face it - so many books!! But I narrowed it down to just 10!

Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1) -Lenore Appelhans
Released January 15th (today)

Nobody But Us - Kristin Halbrook
Released January 29th

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) - April Genevieve Tucholk
Released August 20th

Hooked (Hooked #1) - Liz Fichera
Released February 1st

Pretty Girl-13 - Liz Coley
Released March 19th

Pantomime - Laura Lam
Released February 15th

Me, Him Them and It - Caela Carter
Released February 5th

The S-Word - Chelsea Pitcher
Released May 7th

MILA 2.0 - Debra Driza
Released March 12th

The Madman’s Daughter (The Madman’s Daughter #1) - Megan Shepherd
Released January 29th

Release Date: January 8th 2013
Published By: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 368
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

Review: I just finished reading Just One Day. And I am shattered that the book ended where it did. Why would you do that? I am physically in pain because I have been left on the biggest of big cliffhangers. *tries to breathe* Gayle Forman, that is just plain old mean!

In short, Just One Day is about Allyson, an American girl who after finishing high school goes on a trip to Europe with her friend Melanie, and it’s on this trip and through a series of events that she meets a Dutch guy named Willem. Allyson is very disappointed that she missed out on seeing Paris, and Willem offers to take her there, for just one day. After spending a magical day and night in Paris with Willem, and then waking up alone, Allyson returns to America feeling shattered. She cannot stop thinking about Willem and so eventually, with hardly any information to go off about Willem, Allyson decides to return to Paris - to find him.

This book seriously made me feel all of the things. Gayle Forman is one of those writers who has the ability to make the reader feel everything the protagonist feels. I don’t know how she does it, but every.single.time I read one of her books I am either crying or on the verge of it. And I have a pretty icy heart. Good job Ms Forman, good job. But seriously, I felt the elation when Allyson was in Paris with Willem and the disappointment when she thought he was going to send her back. I felt the confusion and sadness she went through when he wasn’t there when she woke up. I felt the longing that she went through. Every page I turned, I was hoping he’d show up, and every time he didn’t, I’d go looking for him on the next one. I really cared for these characters!

I loved everything about their story. About how they met, how they interacted, the cute little things they discussed - nutella, bread, the stain and their discussions on love. I adored how overprotective he was of her. You guys know me… I am not a “gushy” sort of person. But this book has me going there.. I am gushing.

Also, the way that Paris was described in such detail, it was as though Paris was a character in itself. The culture, the language, the macarons, bread, crepes and nutella. I haven’t wanted much to go to France before, but Just One Day has nudged me over the line. The scenery and streets were so beautifully described that you could really imagine what it would be like. Incredible.

It has all the adorable factors that Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins had but all the realness of Where She Went (Also by Gayle Forman).. both were two of my favourite reads in 2011.

The ONLY thing I am angry about is how on earth the ending could end… just like that. It’s not even fair to make us wait another year! I feel like Allyson felt for that year before she went back. I will be pining for book #2 until then.

Read this book… it was amazing.

Quotables:

“Part of me knows one more day won’t do anything except postpone the heartbreak. But another part of me believes differently. We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.”

“It’s funny the things you think you’re scared of until they’re upon you, and then you’re not.”

“Sometimes the best way to find out what you’re supposed to do is by doing the thing you’re not supposed to do.”

Good evening! How was your week readers? I hope you all received or purchased lots of goodies this week! January is a wonderful month for new releases and I am happy to show off my purchases with you this week!

I am combining this post from now on as Mailbox Monday and also Stacking The Shelves, since they are essentially very similar posts in nature but I don’t see the point in posting two mailboxes.

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.

Stacking the Shelves is bought to you by Tynga from Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Just One Day (Just One Day #1) - Gayle Forman

I am so excited about this book - I am about three quarters of the way through it also, and so far it has been all sorts of amazing and captivating! I am hoping to finish it tonight! Keep an eye out for the review next week (Tuesday)!

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Through The Ever Night (Under The Never Sky #2) - Veronica Rossi

My next read once I finish Just One Day. I cannot wait to read this! By all accounts, most people have said that they enjoyed Through The Ever Night even more than the first book. I am really anticipating this read, hopefully it lives up to the hype!

It’s been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don’t take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe’s precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

Paper Valentine - Brenna Yovanoff

Another new January release! I am yet to read any work of Brenna Yovanoff, but I hear her other books have all been really good reads also!

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

The Dead And Buried - Kim Harrington

This is a January release that remained relatively under the radar in my opinion. However it sounds like a read with potential, and so I am looking forward to getting around to this!

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she’s just moved into with her family. She doesn’t even mind being the new girl at the high school: It’s a fresh start, and there’s that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade’s little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade’s jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn’t.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who’s seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade’s school — until her untimely death last year. It’s up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

Altered (Altered #1) - Jennifer Rush

This one came to me as a recommendation as I wasn’t overly keen on this from the outset. It’s received some really great reviews though in addition, so I’ve changed my mind on this read and decided I will give this a go!

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

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

Eeeee!! Every single cover in this series is just exquisite. Die For Her is no different! This is a novella bridging book 2 and book 3. It seems to be the ‘in’ thing these days to have a novella in between as many of my fave series are doing. I really enjoyed the first book in this series Die For Me. I am yet to read Until I Die (Book 2), but it’s on my TBR list. I think it may have just been bumped up a bit with this! Book 3, If I Should Die is scheduled for release on May 7th too!

Synopsis:

Set in the romantic and death-defying world of the international bestselling Die for Me trilogy, this digital original novella follows Jules, a brooding, immortal French artist who has fallen in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.

Jules Marchenoir is a revenant - an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save human lives. He’s spent the better part of the last century flirting his way through Paris, but when he met Kate Mercier, the heroine from Amy Plum’s Die for Me trilogy, he knew his afterlife had changed forever and he had found the love of his life. Until Kate fell for his best friend, Vincent. Now Jules is faced with an impossible decision: choosing between his loyal friend and a love truly worth dying for.

Hello readers! Welcome to another edition of nail art inspired by fiction. This weeks nail art is inspired by popular YA author John Green and his books! He has a huge fandom going and so I’ve found quite a few manis. :)

Outside of the internet, in the real world - occasionally in discussion with people, talk of my blog comes up. People are often curious about what I do, and why I do it. And then they hear about how publishers will occasionally send a copy of a book to me for a review, and then it’s always “Ahhhh so you get free books out of this!”.

Recently, Wendy at The Midnight Garden posted a survey about the real cost of blogging.In this post, she discussed the value of bloggers and argues that free books are really anything BUT free when you consider the costs that each blogger pays in order to actually run and maintain their website. I tend to agree.

Before Wendy’s post, I had given some thought to this, but it was actually participating in this survey that forced me to do the math on how much exactly I spend in running this website, including giveaways etc. I was a little dumbfounded by the results and thought that this is something worth discussing.

Wendy will shortly be posting the results of her survey, and I am pretty excited for the results. I am interested to see where I rank as a blogger compared to other bloggers as I am sure I am not the only one who is putting in so much money into the running of this site. I’ll share below these costs.

Some may ask, why bother then? I want to be clear that I run this site first and foremost because I enjoy it. And like any hobby, people do put money into these types of things. I run no advertising to make this money back, nor do I participate in any affiliate programs.

Last year, 10 of the 11 giveaways I had on my website were self funded. On average, the prizes I giveaway usually have a value of approximately $20. Most of the giveaways I had last year had multiple winners, from 1 - 5 winners (on average it was 3 each month). I added up the cost of funding these giveaways to be more that $500 last year! No regrets of course, but I had never taken the time to add these prizes up previously. But I love my readers, and so it’s not something I would consider stopping.

I love when a publisher takes the time to think “This would be a book that Mel would enjoy” and they send it through. But I would still be doing this website and buying books even if they never sent me a book again, because I love to read and I love to share my reading experiences with anyone who cares to listen. And seeing as I have only a couple of friends outside of this site that actually love reading as much as I do (and a whole bunch of non-reading friends), this gives me a platform in which I can share everything I love about the reading world. No matter how much it costs me.

My point.. is that, when people ask me about all the “free” books I receive (most of them these days are ebooks), I tend to recoil a little. They’re not really free are they? All the hours it takes for you to read that book, and write your review, and post it on your site. Not to mention the “free” books make up a small percentage of all the books I own. An overwhelming majority of them (probably more than 80%) are bought, by myself, from local bookstores. All of the books I would have bought throughout the year myself, which if I truly did the math on this I know would be well over $1200 ($100 a month). But even if I half that to be conservative and say $600 - that’s still a huge amount of money. Plus the web costs themselves. $10 domain registration once per year, and $9 per month for hosting of my domain. $120. There are business cards. $30. It all adds up.

So if I do receive a few books from a publisher for ‘free’, then that is awesome, I won’t lie. But at the same time, that is not an incentive in itself for anyone to start blogging - because I can assure you, they aren’t overflowing my mailbox and the cost of blogging far exceeds the amount of free books you receive. Bloggers, I’d be interested to hear your take on this!

Released in Australia as Good Oil: August 2010
Released internationally as Love And Other Perishable Items: December 11th 2012
Published By: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 283
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list
Rating: 3 out of 5

Synopsis:
A wonderful, coming-of-age love story from a fresh new voice in YA fiction.

‘Miss Amelia Hayes, welcome to The Land of Dreams. I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I’m open to all kinds of bribery.’

From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost…head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he’s 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes?

Review: Another Aussie YA book - I am on a roll! I am going to sound SO un-Australian saying this - but I’m going there anyways. Good Oil. Apparently this is Aussie slang. I had to look this up on the internet though, because honestly, no one I know would ever be caught dead saying this:

Good oil : useful information, a good idea, the truth

Hah. Well I suppose that being said the title doesn’t seem so silly to me anymore. lol This title was published internationally as Love And Other Perishable Items - but the book is one in the same (except for minor changes).

I really enjoyed this Aussie contemporary book, however there were a few slight things about this book that I didn’t love, and so this book is getting a rating of 3/5 from me (3 = I liked this).

Firstly I want to discuss what I liked about this book. I really enjoyed the setting of this book. The Australian version is set at Woolworths, the American version set at Coles - either way it’s a supermarket. I have a Woolworths in my street, and so for me my mind went there. I enjoyed the work banter, the politics, the multiple hook ups amongst different staff - I found it was quite realistic in nature.

I also really liked Chris. I felt he was quite a three dimensional character. He was flawed and he was believable. He really was the typical uni student you would expect to see. I feel the author really did her research here.

Things I didn’t particularly think worked in this book… Amelia. I really wanted to like her. But I didn’t. I felt like her character didn’t work for me. She’s meant to be 15, and she’s talking about Sylvia Plath, Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby and feminism with the vocabulary of a university graduate. I was not really buying that. And not only that, but she was a little bit sheltered and out of touch with reality. More than anything this grated on me.

I also didn’t particularly like the way the ending left off. This review is spoiler free, so I won’t go into details except to say that I felt a little bit dissatisfied by the ending.

The book in general is about nothing. And I am not saying this in a disrespectful way - but essentially, the book is just about the day to day life of working in a supermarket. There is no major plot - the main theme is that Amelia is crushing on Chris, and then we also see Chris’s perspective of things also.

Thankfully though, it’s saving grace was the fact that each of their perspectives really did keep your interest. I really enjoyed Chris’s diary entries, and I did like the banter between Amelia and Chris also.

All in all, enjoyable and an easy quick read. Didn’t blow my mind or anything, but still pretty good.

Quotables:

“I can’t run my own race. I’m constantly checking what’s happening in the other lanes.”

“She even takes the goings-on of fictitious characters personally.”

“He would learn to accept his defeat gracefully – unlike Gatsby
with the shotgun – and decide to get on with his life.”

“Harvey out.
PS I have puny shoulders.
PPS And I’m okay with that.
PPPS I’m not really.”

Morganville Vampire fans!!! The new cover was unveiled yesterday, and we have it right here! It’s not scheduled for release until May 7th this year, so you still have a little while to wait, but hopefully time flies with all the other amazing new releases scheduled in 2013 to help pass the time by!

Synopsis:

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble…

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane.

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires.

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make…

When I first started Book Nerd Reviews, I honestly had no idea what I was doing - I have no problems in saying that now, even though back then I thought I had it all under control. And in hindsight I look at the sheer amount of time I wasted going around in circles when there was an easier way and just shake my head. I don’t claim to be an expert now. I never will be - but I do have almost 2 years of experience in the book blogging community under my belt, and so if I could have said something to the newbie version of myself - here’s some tips I would have passed on:

• Don’t waste your time with follower style gadgets. You will waste a lot of time on these - even up until the 18 month mark really. Google Friends and Linky Followers. And for what? To show everyone how many followers you have? To make them click “like” for another giveaway point? You waste room on your side bar with these things and they give nothing back to you, nor do they help to improve your blog. Do future me a favour, and just don’t even go there.
• Someone once told you when you’re starting out to participate in as many blog hops as you can. And whilst that may be sound advice in theory, please don’t go to town and only post memes (as I know you did for a long stretch of time). Yes, blog hops may be great at helping you introduce yourself to potential new followers, but if you’re only posting memes, what’s going to keep them there? Original content will help set you apart. Start now - don’t wait until 18 months has gone by before you get some original ideas.
• Make friends in the YA blogging community. Don’t whore yourself out. But get to know a handful of people and have some good conversations. That’s why you wanted to start your book blog in the first place. Don’t be shy - easier said than done I know. Most bloggers you will end up Tweeting over your time running this blog will be really friendly and happy to chat.
• Pay your dues young grasshopper. Netgalley and publishers do not give you ARC’s because you have a blog. No. First you need to put your head down and your bum up and work hard. Read as much as you can. Be thoughtful in your reviews, but be honest as well. Your credibility as a reviewer comes first always.
• Be smart. Start on WordPress and don’t waste time with your own self hosted .com. I’ll give you credit though, you thought you were pretttttty smart doing all the coding yourself and not conforming to Blogger or WordPress. But you rolled yourself pretty quickly too and within a matter of months you were on WordPress where you always belonged. Don’t look back!
• Pay someone to design your blog, and don’t try and do a half assed job yourself. Says the girl who only just did this almost 2 years down the line. What was I thinking? I have spent more on templates than I did actually getting a beautiful custom made blog. *sigh* You win some you lose some. I won this round, but it took me a long time to get there.

Most importantly, and the one you perhaps will struggle the most with:

• Be yourself. Along the way you’re going to feel pressure to use a voice that doesn’t sound like your own, or you’ll read other book blogs and think about how you’re not worthy and that everyone is more articulate than you and oh-my-god no one will ever like me. Shush negative nelly! You are worthy, but you do need to be yourself. It will take you a while to find your voice. I am even going to say up to a year before I felt truly settled and myself. Don’t compare yourself to others and focus on what you’re doing - not everyone else. It’s then you’ll realise people like you because of what you bring to the blog - your personality.

I’ve made many mistakes and faux pas since starting this site in April 11, but that being said I can honestly say I am happy I went through many of those. It’s your mistakes that ensure you learn first hand what not to do in the future, and I feel that my blog is even better now because of those mistakes. And that being said, I am sure I will make many more in the future as well - but this is all a learning curve!

Bloggers, I know we’ve all looked back at some point and just gone “Why did I do that?” before. What do you wish you would have known when you started blogging?