WINNER! "Spiral X" Giveaway winners!

Hello everyone!! Happy Friday! And since it's Friday, that means it's time to announce the winners of the five copy "Spiral X" giveaway!!

Congratulations to....

LCDBTB2060
EMILY H
MICHELLE
SARAH
LISA LOVES TO READ
Yay! Congratulations everyone!! I'm sending your emails to author JJ Westendarp, and he will get you the Smashwords.com coupons as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend!

*Winners picked via Random.org Random Integer Generator.*

Follow Friday and 18+ Blogger Tag Along!

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! It's time for another Follow Friday, and Blogger Tag Along! This is one of my favorite parts of the week - I get to find great new blogs and meet new booky friends! Let's begin!

This week's question? What is your favorite genre? Easy to answer, and yet not. I love romance, of almost any kind - paranormal, contemporary, historical, time travel, etc. I also love Science Fiction.


What is your favorite romance hero type? AH! I dunno! I think I like the wounded (physically or emomtionally) alpha hero, and it's up to me to break through his tough he-man shell and put him back together with the power of LURVE.

That aside - to any new visiters HELLO! My name is Amanda, I'm 23, and I work in a library. I've been a book reviewer for a few years - I got my start on Librarything.com and the occasional Amazon.com review, then finally decided to create my own blog and at least act a little professional. Currently I review books here, as well as for Romance Reviews Today. I hope to get to know you all much better in the future, and again - Welcome!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

I will not go gently, either. REVIEW of "Matched" by Ally Condie

 First up: Last day to enter to win one of FIVE copies of "Spiral X" by JJ Westendarp! Go HERE to enter.

Why this book?: I heard the buzz, and this book is definitely worth all the good things people said about it.

Disclaimer: This book is on loan from my local library. I didn't receive this book (or anything else) in exchange for a review.

Type: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fiction, Fight the Power, Some Romance, Cover Goodness, please give me a sequel!

About the book: Now that Cassia is seventeen, she will be Matched. The Officials will assign her perfect partner, and she will finally see the boy she will spend the rest of her life with. And when it comes time for her announcement, she finds out that boy is someone she has known all her life, one of her friends - Xander. She receives her micro-card with Xander's information, what he likes and doesn't, but when she returns home, and plugs it into the screen to read - it isn't Xander's face that comes up. It's another boy, another friend - Ky Markham. But Ky isn't in the Matching pool, he can't be, he's an Aberration - not a full member of the Society. But now that Cassia has seen Ky as a possible future Match, how can she go back to pretending everything is normal?

My Review: Wow, what a powerful book. And a scary one. I love dystopian novels, even though they frighten me - to see what this world could be like, to see what freedoms we have to give up to make a "perfect" society. The world Cassia lives in is supposedly a perfect work - meals are moderated and prepared just so for each person, leisure time is spent in approved Leisure Activities, properly supervised by an Official. Even marriages are matched so they fit certain qualifications, so the pair will compliment each other, and their children will be healthy and Just Right.

But mistakes can be made by the Officials, they aren't perfect. And Cassia gets a rare glimpse into the mistakes that can be made, and lives with the pain of discovering that everything isn't right. "Matched" isn't just another love triangle book, it is so much more. Cassia isn't just torn between two boys she cares so much about, but what they represent - her regular life and the safety of not knowing, of believing everything is right and okay, and the unknown, of everything they gave up to become this so called perfect society.

I'm not saying this book will strike a cord with everyone, I'm not saying it's perfect in every way. I'm saying it made me feel scared, and upset, and I longed for Cassia to be able to see what the world could be like - yes there is pain, but there is so much more too.

Cover Loving: Oh yes. I think this cover is perfect for this book - Simple, and striking.

Recommendation: Yes. To EVERYONE. Fans of YA, Dystopian novels, and just good fiction in general will fall in love with it. Everyone else will too - read it!

Final Rating: FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). A perfect rating.

Want to pick up your own copy of "Matched?" get it at Amazon.com via the link to the left - Less than 11 dollars for a hardcover! And it's such a good book, it's worth it.   Have you read it? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~ 

Whatcha Got Wednesday! #15

First off - go enter my contest to win one of FIVE copies of "Spiral X" by author JJ Westendarp!! Contest ends Thursday at 11:59pm - winners posted Friday morning!


Happy Wednesday everyone! Merry Wednesday? Joyous Wednesday, maybe? Well in any case, it's exciting because the work week is half over! Whatcha Got Wednesday is my little weekly meme thingie where I talk about what I got this week - and I dare you to share the same. So feel free to leave a comment talking about anything you got that you're excited about - or anything you're looking forward to getting!


Here's my stash for the week....

Received for review:
"My Superhero Sister" by Toni LoTempio (ebook, not pictured) - I've reviewed for this author before, and I really enjoy her writing style, so I can't wait to check out her foray into the YA world!

Bought:
"A Kiss Before the Apocalypse" by Thomas E. Sniegoski - You all should know I LOVE LOVE LOVE this author! And keep an eye out for the fourth book in the Remy Chandler series - "A Hundred Words for Hate" coming this year! YAY!
"Graceling" by Krisin Cashore - Got this from the library some time ago, and loved it. A local bookstore was having a sale, so I jumped on this book. =)

Won/Received for Fun/Etc:
"Stealing Heaven" by Elizabeth Scott - I can't remember why I got this, but I'm really excited to read it.
"The Unwritten Rule" by Elizabeth Scott - Same as above, but this one I've been looking forward to reading since it released!
"The Christmas Bargain" by Sarita Leone - A member of my RRT critique group reviewed this one, and when I said it sounded really cute and I wanted the chance to read it - she offered me her ARC! Thank you!!

That's it for me this week - what about you guys? Share your book-y news in the comments!
Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

Revew of "Dark Diary II:The First" by Dawné Dominique

First off, go HERE and enter my contest to win one of five copies of "Spiral X" by JJ Westendarp! Ends Thursday night at 11:59pm.

Why this book?: I received the first book in this series, "Eden's Hell I: The First," and this one to review. I've been waiting to review this one until closer to the proposed release time for book III, "Kindred Blood."

Disclaimer: This book was given to me in exchange for a review.

Type: Series, Vampires!, Take charge vampires, Hot Cops!, Suspenseful

About the book: Daniella Rolfe, a seven-century old First vampire is unwittingly drawn together with a City of Winnipeg detective, who happens to be investigating a string of some rather bizarre serial murders. It doesn’t take long for her to discover that this mere mortal man holds more power over her than any she's ever known. And Aiden…he's only dreamed about women like Daniella. Blood battles and broken vows are just the beginning of Daniella Rolfe’s woes. (From the author's website).

My review: I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I've been looking forward to this one for a while. And as I'm sure most of you know, I'm a big fan of strong female characters. Girls that are in charge and can kick some serious behind - And Daniella is all that and a bag of chips. And Aiden is a perfect match for her. He's gruff and tough, and when it comes to fantasies, as well as the actual steamy sexy scenes, he can certainly heat up the room. And I liked seeing the characters interact, seeing the connection they had build into something more than just a small spark of interest. I enjoyed their easy going conversation and banter.

As for the big bad villian - what a psycho. Just reading about what this guy did to each of his victims was horrifying - which isn't entirely a bad thing. I have huge respect for an author that can make me feel such strong emotions, be they bad or good. And this guy is the type of person you just absolutely love to hate. The mystery of the killings, the murderer himself, and the investigation involved was intriguing and had just the right amount of oomf to keep me up late at night reading.

Cover Loving: Oh, yum!

Recommendation: Definitely check these books out!

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE (4/5).

Find this author at her website, DawneDominique.com. There, you can read excerpts, find out more about the author, and get the links to purchase the books. Enjoy!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~