A Shade/Shift/Shine fans must read!

My first non-review post that contains actual information! How exciting! *throws confetti*

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am in love with the Shade trilogy written by Jeri Smith-Ready. I am very glad that a review of an ARC of Shine was my very first book to review. I find it quite symbolic of the current life that I live. :)

Anyway, in that post, I provide a bunch of links to amazing things concerning the Shade trilogy. These links included Kilt and Keeley, the one and only Shade fan site! It is an amazing resource for all fans (new and old) to the series. It has information on all the characters and a very lengthy glossary that includes anything you'd want to know about anything in the series.

The group that runs Kilt and Keeley are TOO fantastic. I mean that with all sincerity. They are the nicest people in the world and love to have giveaways! That's what has lead to this entire post!

They are giving away a TON of stuff because of the fast approaching release of Shine! (Available May 1!) All you have to do to enter? Pre-order your copy of Shine (which I know you were going to do anyway!) Once you pre-order, send a copy of your receipt (blacking out all financial information) to ShinePreorder@kiltandkeeley.com! Then, just make sure you're following Kilt and Keeley through GFC, Facebook, or Twitter (but I suggest all three!)

That. Is. It.

Once you've managed to follow steps one and two, you are automatically entered to win the grand prize (which is being added to when every level of pre-orders is reached). Level four has already been reached! The ladder looks like this right now:

• LEVEL 1 (5 pre-orders):  (COMPLETE!) The winner will get a ZOGAN trading card, PLUS a signed Shade series bookmark, a signed Keeley Brothers button, AND Mumford and Sons album. 

• LEVEL 2 (15 pre-orders): (COMPLETE!) The winner will get everything above PLUS a Flogging Molly CD! 

• LEVEL 3 (30 pre-orders):(COMPLETE!)  The winner will get everything above PLUS a Naruto action figure because you know we have to include something to represent Dylan!

• LEVEL 4 (50 pre-orders): Winner will receive a Mumford & Sons CD, a signed bookmark, the signed Keeley Brothers button, a Flogging Molly CD, a Naruto action figure and some great SHINE related books:

GHOSTS of the World by Diane Canwell and Jonathan Sutherland
The Illustrated Timeline of The Universe by Richard H. Sanderson and Philip S. Harrington

(^Click to read my review!^)

The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe with the classic illustrations by Gustave Dore

PLUS, you AUTOMATICALLY gets a ZOGAN trading card! It's bound to be pretty sweet and a must have! PLUS AGAIN, The fab group at Kilt and Keeley are going to make a donation to The Poe House for the pre-orders! I did mention how fantastic they are, right? Seriously. Amazing.

Now I'm sure you're ready to pre-order and I'm holding you up. Let me help you out by providing some linkage!



If you would like a signed copy of Shine, pre-order here: Constellation Books
You can also pre-order at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or The Book Depository (Free worldwide shipping! However, the grand prize is US shipping only. You are still welcome to enter f you have someone in the US willing to mail it on to you, though!)

For further details, go to Kilt and Keeley's post on the topic.

Review: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

 Eighth Grade Bites
Author: Heather Brewer
Publisher: Speak
Publish Date: 03/13/08
Pages: 182
Source: Personal collection

From Amazon:

Vlad has to keep his vampire urges under control while dealing with the pressures of middle school.

Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He's being hunted by a vampire killer.

Vladimir Tod is a vampire thirteen year old. He tries to be normal and fit in with his peers as best he can, but struggles with the challenges constantly. Unfortunately, he isn't always very successful at hiding his true nature. Halloween happens very early in the book and, under pressure from his best friend Henry, levitates to a tree, hangs upside down, and hovers around a group of younger boys. The purpose of this is to have them drop their bags of candy, but it seems to me like a terrible idea when no one is supposed to know you're not a typical human. Yeah, probably no one would believe that he had done those things, but it still seems like a bad idea. There were neighbors. Brings to mind the whole "ABNER ABNER!" situation from Bewitched.

It took me forever to get through all 182 pages of this book because it was dreadfully boring and juvenile. Eventually, after probably close to 150 pages, the plot finally shows up! Oh no! Vlad is being hunted by an evil vampire guy! He's pretty sure it's his new substitute teacher! He probably murdered Vlad's parents too! (Made me say "WHAT?" every time he jumped to the conclusion that nearly everyone killed his parents.) Either way, once we finally hit that point and things started happening that were worth reading about, I somewhat enjoyed the story. I'm not going to say the plot would hit a list of my favorite story lines, but it was interesting enough. It managed to give me a thirty page push to make it to the end.

I promised that the next review would be one less favorable. This one does fit that criteria, but I will say that I do think this book has some appeal...just not for me. I really only bought this book because I found a set of the first four on sale for less than $5 and I had heard pretty good things about the series. I will say that this book could be largely appealing to a younger reader. My freshman year in high school I read a few of the Cirque du Freak books and loved them, and I'm going to say this has close to the same appeal. My favorite part? I LOVE the covers to the books. They are pretty simple, but really pretty.

Would I read this book again? Honestly, probably not. I have the next three books in the series and I'm having serious trouble finding the motivation to crack those open.

Rating: 2 boxes

You can buy Eighth Grade Bites here: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or The Book Depository (Free worldwide shipping!)

 Heather Brewer's website is here: but I've hid the link over here!

You can follower Heather on twitter here: @heatherbrewer

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publish Date: 01/10/12
Pages: 336 pages
Source: Personal collection

From Goodreads:

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

I don't even know what words there are to describe the amazingness that is this book. Technically "amazingness" is not a word...so I guess that drives the point home a bit.


Hazel Grace has cancer. While she would rather sit at home and enjoy ANTM reruns, her parents are concerned about her lack of social life. At the cancer support group meetings (which take place in the literal heart of Jesus), she meets Augustus Waters. Augustus Waters is a force of life that Hazel Grace learns to love.


The book consists of their meeting and relationship and is NOT to be missed. I promise, when I first read the synopsis of this book, my first thought was "NOT GOING NEAR THIS WITH A TEN FOOT POLE!" The idea of possibly falling in love with fictional characters with possible terminal diseases scared the life out of me. It was actually Brooke from Brooke Reports tweeting quotes from the book that made me question if my initial hesitation was wrong. (Go check out Brooke, too. She's hilarious.) So, while grocery shopping at walmart, I made my usual stop in the book section and found a signed copy. I thought that fate was calling out to me to read it....and I caved.


I don't think I could be happier about caving in to anything in my life. I have read this book multiple times since the first read because I canNOT get enough of these characters. The banter between Hazel and Augustus is the most amazing thing in the world. I fell in love with every person in this book and my entire world falls apart every time I read the last page and realize that their stories have ended.


Would I read this again? Definitely. I might start it again tonight. When I'm reading it, I can't put it down. When I'm not reading it, I'm thinking about reading it.


To say that I have an Augustus Waters fetish would be putting it lightly.

Rating: 5+ Boxes!

You can buy TFiOS here: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or The Book Depository (Free worldwide shipping!)
John Green's website is here: but really right here! 
Follow him on twitter here: @realjohngreen


I promise to post a not-5+-boxes review next! I just couldn't start a blog and NOT begin with my two favorite books! :)

Review: Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shine
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: 05/01/12
Pages: 416 pages of awesome!
Source: I was one of the lucky few to win one of the few ARCs given away by Jeri Smith-Ready.
Series: Shine is the third book in this series. It is immediately preceded by Shift. Shift is preceded by the first book in the series, Shade.

No other love has burned so bright.

Life can change in an instant, and no one understand that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.

As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced that she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves…even if that means betraying her own heart.

As a complete, giggling fan-girl of the Shade series (and everything Jeri writes), I may be a bit biased, but I don't think that is actually the only case here.  Shine is the last step in the Shade journey and (possibly...maybe) the best step. Shine brings all the characters to a new level. There is so much less of the old drama and tension that kept them in so much turmoil before. While there is a new level of drama and tension, it is one that brings the characters more together. It is uniting tension.

 Aura really becomes SO MUCH stronger in Shine than she has been before...not that she was anything to doubt in Shade or Shift. She is very take charge and in control of situations. She has learned a lot and it shows. Zachary continues being as amazing as he always has been (except for that one transgression in Shift...which we can all forgive him for since Aura has). In Shine he really shows how far he is willing to go for Aura...even in ways that you wouldn't necessarily expect! Logan fans shouldn't be disappointed either. Although we saw him pass on at the end of Shade, that wasn't the last mention of him there is! What is a Shade trilogy novel without Logan, really?

When I read the last word of Shine, complete sadness overtook me. I know we still have Shattered to look forward to this summer, but this is the last novel with my favorite characters. I think I may be able to handle the end of the series just because of Shine's complete perfection.

Probably deep down in my heart I know that even if Jeri had written nothing of importance in this book, I would have loved it. I love these characters so deeply that anything having to do with them would mean the world to me. As it is, I don't think I could have enjoyed Shine anymore than I did. From beginning to end I loved every. single. moment.

Would I read it again? Absolutely! Although, I have made a promise to myself that I won't read the ARC again. I am going to wait and rebuild some of that anticipation for the May 1st release date. I know it will be worth it!

Rating: 5+ Boxes!

If you want to pre-order a signed copy of Shine, go here: Constellation Books
You can also pre-order shine at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or The Book Depository (free worldwide shipping!).
You can find Jeri here: Jeri's website
 If you are a fan of the Shade series, check out the fan site: Kilt and Keeley

Follow them all on twitter too!
Jeri on Twitter 
Aura on Twitter 
Zachary on Twitter 
Logan on Twitter 
Kilt and Keeley on Twitter 

First post!

Hello there, readers I hope to acquire in the future. I promise I will try to keep my posts fun and not annoying. I want to hear from everyone (so long as things stay positive.) I don't mind feedback of any sort, and I am definitely willing to engage in meaningful dialogue about things when I can.

With that said, on to the real posts! :)