ARC Clean Sweep: Mini Challenge!

How have you guys been doing with the ARC Challenge? I hope you're all doing really well and getting through all those ARCs and meeting your goals! It's time for my mini challenge and it's really self explanatory. All you have to do is make a sentence out of book titles! You can omit the small words like "the", "or" and "and" but the main words of the title must be in the sentence and you can't leave out any of the main words either. Divide book titles with slashes. Leave your answer in the comments and the winner will win a mystery box full of books! The winner will be the one that I think is the most creative. 

Rules:

• US residents only!
• No cheating I will figure it out!
• One sentence per person
• Contest ends May 17 at 11:59pm EST!!!

Good Luck!!!!

Win a Couple of Books by Kate Ellison!

Rules:

• US and Canada ONLY! 
• No cheating! I will find out and you will be disqualified.
• Must be 13 years or older to enter.
• Winner will be contacted by email and given 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
• Giveaway provided by Egmont.
• Elegantly Bound Books and Egmont are not responsible for any books that are lost or stolen in the mail.

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Blog Tour: Giveaway of Nobody and Every Other Day!

Rules:

• US and Canada ONLY! 
• No cheating! I will find out and you will be disqualified.
• Must be 13 years or older to enter.
• Winner will be contacted by email and given 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
• Giveaway provided by Egmont.
• Elegantly Bound Books and Egmont are not responsible for any books that are lost or stolen in the mail.

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Touched Launch Party and Giveaway!

I was super excited to go to this event and see my friends that I hadn't seen in forever! I met up with Stacee @ Adventures of a Book Junkie and our friend Ava! Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach is one of the cutest bookstores ever and I always try to hit up their signings whenever possible. 

It's that cake so awesome looking? And it was really good! All chocolaty and yummy!

There was also a candy bar! How cool is that? The swag bags had awesome bookish goodies inside!

She read from her book (which sounds awesome by the way) and then I signing began! And of course, being the awesome blogger that I am, I got a copy just for you guys! It's US only so go ahead, enter away! 

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Book Blitz and Giveaway! Breathe by Suzanne Cox

Hey! I'm glad you stopped by! Welcome to the Blitz Tour for Breathe by Suzanne Cox! Have you seen that awesome cover!! Isn't is just gorgeous?! I already bought a copy for my Nook and I hope you do the same!! Book Blitz is hosted and created by Ashley @ The Bookish Brunette!

Title: Breathe

Author: Suzanne Cox

Release Date: October 22, 2012

17 year old science prodigy, Laney Brookes, is looking for two things: a cure for the flu virus that’s ravaging the world and the truth about what happened to her father. Using clues from her father’s secret journals, she and her two friends Kate and Carter follow what she thinks is the path to the answers.

It’s a path that lands them in the lost world of Atlantis, a world struggling to survive. Laney finds more than just answers in Atlantis. She finds love. To get her friends and herself home, Laney will have to travel into enemy territory, led by Andrew a young Atlantean determined to return his people to power. In the process she’ll even unravel the mystery of her missing father. But first, she’ll have to figure out who the real enemy is.

About the Author: 

I remember writing my first stories when I was about nine or ten years old. I've been writing ever since. In 2002 I decided to seriously try and get some of my work published. On February 14th of 2005 I sold my first book, A Different Kind of Man, to Harlequin Superromance. While trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, besides a writer, I went to college (alot) and worked a variety of jobs. I have a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in secondary education, a bachelor of science in nursing, a master of science in career and technical education with an emphasis in adult education and most recently, a master of science in nursing as a family nurse practitioner. I was also a National Board Certified Teacher in career and technical education. Along the way I've worked as a high school English teacher and an elementary teacher. I've worked as a registered nurse on a cardiac unit, brain injury rehab unit, and several different medical-surgical units. I've also done stints as a home health nurse and a commnunity health educator at a hospital, and many years as an allied health instructor at a high school career and technology center. Presently, I'm working full time as a family nurse practitioner at an inpatient psychiatric facility.

If I'm not writing I like to spend time reading. My husband and I share our home with our four legged children. Our boy and girl in puppy dog clothes, Toby and Sassy, who masquerade as Miniature Pinschers. We are also owned by three cats Chase, Jackson, and Spots. We are all terrorized by Gray Kitty, a stray who decided to stay and take over.

Suzanne's Blog

Suzanne's Author Website

Suzanne's Facebook

Suzanne's Twitter

Buy Breathe: Amazon, B&N

Giveaway:

• US Only
• (1) copy of Breathe & (1) Marked.
• Sparkly nail polish that coordinates with the book cover.
• A stoneware necklace with concentric circle design from Breathe by Kaatee art.
• Metal bookmark

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Once by Anna Carey ARC and Swag Giveaway!!!

I went to Los Angeles this weekend to attend a very exciting book signing! Anna Carey of the Eve series and Josephine Angelini of Dreamless were discussing their books at Vroman's! I always have a good time when I go to things like this but since there were about 8 people there, the discussion was really in-depth! I got my ARC signed to giveaway and some awesome signed swag!

Rules:

• Must be 13 or older to enter the giveaway!
• US residents only please!
• Giveaway ends promptly at 11:59pm on September 16
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen
• Thanks for entering! 

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Chris Colfer Signing Recap and Giveaway!

I have known for some time that Chris Colfer was writing a middle grade novel but what I didn't know was that he was going to do a book tour! I just figured that because he's super famous and so busy with Glee that he probably wouldn't.  But to my surprise, no only did he do a book tour but he had two separate appearances in the Los Angeles area! I was so excited to go; I couldn't wait!!

So we (my sister, my friend and I) arrived at Mrs. Nelson's around 2:30 and there already were a whole bunch of people there.  We hung around until they started passing out wrist bands so that we could line up.

We came prepared! It was a pretty warm day so we brought a huge umbrella, sunscreen and a few chairs because we didn't want to sit on the ground. 

While we were waiting, the staff of Mrs. Nelson's passed around a copy of The Wishing Spell for everyone to sign if they wanted as a gift for Chris. My sister put her phone number in it!

When he finally got there, they herded everyone through as fast as they could. There were no pictures, no personalization of books, no talking, reading or Q&A.  It was kind of a let down. It all happened so fast I didn't even have time to process that I met the guy! Luckily my sister didn't follow the rules and snapped a few pics! 

And she got one of Chris and me in the same picture!!

Craziness, I know!!! So when it was all said and done, I got my book signed, he actually said words to me and my sister got a picture with him and me, sort of! 

Kind of a crappy signature, but oh well! I'm sure he signs thousands of autographs a year! 

And now for the giveaway! Unfortunatelly I was unable to get my ARC signed but that doesn't mean one lucky person won't get the chance to win it! It's still a free book! 

Rules:

• Must be 13 years or older to enter
• Must be a US resident
• Giveaway will end promptly on Friday Aug. 17 at 11:59pm
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen! 

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August Box of Books Giveaway!

Another giveaway? YES!! A few months ago I cleaned out my bookshelves and decided to giveaway a whole bunch of book! This is going to be the last box of books giveaway for a while but don't fret, I have more giveaways up my sleeve! Here are the books that are in this box:

Rules: 

• Must be 13 or older to enter the giveaway!
• US residents only please!
• Giveaway ends promptly at 11:59pm on August 31
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen
• Thanks for enter!

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Endlessly Launch Event Recap and Giveaway!

When I first heard about the Endlessly Launch Party, I wasn't sure if I would go because Oceanside is about an hour or so from me.  Sometimes after a long day I really don't want to drive an hour only to have to drive another hour back home.  But then I heard that Cynthia Hand was going to be there as well so I knew that I just had to go! The Unearthly series is one of my favorites and even though she lives in Southern California, I had to had the opportunity of meeting her yet!

Also in attendance was Robin LeFevers and Marie Lu! Kiersten was so funny and she went around and introduced the whole group of authors to everyone! They answered a few questions, gave a few things away and then it was time for the signing! This B&N was very organized and gave everyone a number in the order that they bought the book beforehand.  So it was pretty cool! 

And now I have a giveaway for you guys! I was able to get advance copies of Hallowed and Prodigy and because I'm nice, I had them both signed! If you're a big fan of Legend, here's your chance to get Prodigy before it comes out in January!

Rules: 

• Must be 13 or older to enter this giveaway!
• US residents only please!
• Giveaway ends promptly at 11:59pm on Tuesday August 14
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen! 
• Thanks for entering!

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Empty Coffin Series Giveaway!

It's time for another giveaway! Fall (my favorite time of year) is quickly approaching and I thought I would do an awesome giveaway! I read Envy by Gregg Olsen last year around October on a gloomy, rainy day which made this book even creepier! This is the perfect series to get into during the chillier time of the year and I wanted to give you all the opportunity to win this series!

Disclaimer: I just wanted to make it clear that I DID NOT pick up an ARC of Betrayal at ALA just so I could give it away.  The publisher sent me extra copies of BOTH Envy and Betrayal before ALA began!

Go ahead! Enter the giveaway!!

Rules:

• US residents only
• Must be 13 years old to enter
• The giveaway will end promptly at 11:59 on July 14
• Winner will be given 48 hours to respond to email or another winner will be chosen

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Win a box of books!!

Hey friends and fellow book lovers!! I'm doing another giveaway! Since going to ALA it became a necessity that I clean out my bookshelves. I decided that the easiest way to get rid of the them would be to put as many as I could in a box and give them away! It's a pretty good little mix of book with contemporary, steampunk, paranormal and even time travel! Check out the Rafflecopter box below for the books that will be in the box.

Don't forget! Today is the last day to enter for your chance to win a signed copy of the Golden Lily by Richelle Mead! You know you want to enter!

Rules:

• US residents only
• Must be 13 years old to enter
• The giveaway will end promptly at 11:59 on July 31
• Winner will be given 48 hours to respond to email or another winner will be chosen

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Richelle Mead Signing and Giveaway!!

Hey guys! I'm so excited to tell you about the Richelle Mead signing that I went to on Monday. And let me tell you, it was a long day! Because Richelle Mead is such a popular author, we had to get wrist bands during the day before the event started.  Luckily I took the day off so I was able to go to Santa Monica in the morning and pick up a few copies of the Golden Lily and then do the 40 minute drive home just to return again a few hours later!

Upon returning I met up with Thuy from Nite Lite Book Reviews and Kim from The Windy Pages; a few awesome bloggers! We had to wait in the most ridiculous line for about an hour and a half or so and I'm pretty sure they had turned the air conditioner off.  But when they finally let us in, it was all worth it! We were in the front row and were first to get our books signed!

And, of course, I picked up an extra copy for my wonderful readers and followers and got it signed! So here's your chance to win a signed copy of The Golden Lily!

Rules:

• US residence only
• Must be 13 years or older
• Giveaway will end promptly at 11:59pm on July 6
• Winners will be notified and give 48 hours to respond or anther winner will be chosen

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Win Some ARCs!!

So, I recently cleaned out my bookshelf and I've decided to do a bunch of giveaways! This is one of those giveaways! Stay tuned in the following weeks for even more giveaways!

Rules: 

• US residents only
• Must be 13 or older
• Giveaway will end promptly at 11:59pm on Sunday June 24th
• Winner will be notified and given 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen

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Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa Giveaway!

Have you been wanting to read the Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa but you just haven't gotten around to buying the books? Or did you borrow them from the library but you just loved them so much you want to own them? Well, here's your chance!  I'm giving away the first three books in the series: The Iron King, The Iron Daughter and The Iron Queen!

Rules:

• US residents only
• Must be 13 years or older
• Giveaway will end promptly at 11:59 pm Sunday June 17
• Winner will be give 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen

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Seriously Savvy Super Swag Giveaway!

October has been a crazy month for me! I went to so many signings and a book fair and got too many goodies to keep all to myself.  So of course I got some for you guys! 2 winners and 2 prize packs! The first place winner gets their choice and the second place gets the other prize pack! But since they're both so awesome, it's going to be hard to choose!

Prize Pack #1 includes:

Poster/book jacket of Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (signed)
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (paperback, signed)
Dearly, Departed bookmark and 2 postcards
2 The Looking Glass Wars bookmarks and sticker
Beautiful Chaos bookmark (signed)
Original Sin postcard
The Thirteenth Chime postcard (signed) and mini bookmark
The Softwire bookmark

Prize Pack #2 includes: 

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard (hardback)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (audio book)
Dearly, Departed bookmark, sticker and 2 postcards
Original Sin bookmark (signed) and postcard
The Looking Glass Wars sticker and 2 bookmarks
The Thirteenth Chime mini bookmark
Anasazi mini bookmark (signed)
Beautiful Chaos bookmark (signed)

Rules:

• Must be 13 or older
• US only
• Must fill out the form below
• Ends October 29, 2011

GOOD LUCK!!

Review- All These Things I've Done and Giveaway!

Title: All These Things I've Done
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Series: Birthright #1
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of MacMillian

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty.  And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine.  It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend.  That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame.  Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and the importantly, within her mafia family.

My thoughts:

I just can't seem to get enough dystopian! In All These Things I've Done, most everything that we find common and everyday things that we use, are either illegal, highly rationed or just don't exist anymore.  I thought about how my normal day would compare in Anya's world:

1. I wake up and immediately pour myself a cup of coffee.  In 2083 coffee is illegal so I wouldn't have coffee at my house.

2. I take a nice long, hot shower where I take my time washing my hair and shaving my legs.  In 2083 water is highly rationed so when the timer goes off after 2 minutes, my shower would be over.

3. I peer into my closet and wonder, out of all my clothes that I have bought myself, what do I want to wear today.  In 2083, new clothes aren't made at all and I would have to wear something that my mom or other family member has passed down to me.  That also means no more hitting the mall and picking up a new pair of skinny jeans.

4. Jot down a list on a piece of paper before hitting the grocery store? Nope.  Paper is very hard to find and there's not much to find at the grocery store either.

All These Things I've Done really made me think about how life would be without these types of everyday objects.  And chocolate? OMG! Chocolate is like my go-to when I'm having a bad day! 2083 reminded me a lot of the 1920's and the prohibition.  Expect it's chocolate and coffee that illegal not alcohol!  And in the book they called the places where the teenagers went to get coffee or chocolate speakeasies just like in the 1920's.

I really enjoyed the whole mobster aspect to the book and I felt like they should all have been wearing fedoras and wielding Tommy guns.  I liked the whole atmosphere of the book and the angle of the star-crossed lovers.  Anya being the most famous mobster's daughter and her boyfriend Win is the new DA's son.  It seemed like Win's father's disapproval just made then want to be together even more.

I'm really interested to see where this story goes in the next book because really the main plot has to do with the family business and now that Anya and her brother are getting old enough to know what goes on (illegally trafficking chocolate), who should be the one to take over as head of the family.

Giveaway! 

Just recently I received All These Things I've Done in audio book format! Just fill out the form below as directed and you will be entered to win!

Rules:

• Must be 13 or older
• US only
• 1 entry per person
• Ends Thursday September 15 at midnight

Giveaway! Dreamland by Alyson Noel Audio Book

This past week I received Dreamland by Alyson Noel in audio book format from MacMillian audio.  I have not read the Immortals series by the same author where the Riley character originated or the first couple books in the Riley series, but I know some of you out there have! Which is why one lucky person will win this advanced copy before it hits the shelves September 13!

Riley's finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work.  So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever.  She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams.  As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer's dream,  share a message, and participate.  As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer.  But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up.  Thinking it's her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio.  There she finds a ghost boy, who's been creating and sending nightmares to people for years.  In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to confront and overcome her own fears.  

Rules: 

• 13 years or older
• US only
• Leave a comment with your email address 
• Ends Thursday September 8!

Day 3: A Week's Worth of Giveaways!

Rules:

• One entry per person

• US only

• Must be 13 years old

• Ends midnight August 13

Day 2: A Week's Worth of Giveaways!

Rules:

• One entry per person

• US only

• 13 years or older

• Ends midnight, August 13!

Day 1: A Week's Worth of Giveaways!

I've decided to do a bunch of giveaways to show just how much I appreciate the blogging community and all my reader friends out there! I will be giving away a book a day for the next week! Even if you missed one day, they'll still be open for about a week after the last giveaway so you can always come back and enter!  I will also leave links for the previous days giveaways! Have fun guys!

Rules:

• One Entry per person
• Must be 13 years or older
• US ONLY!
• Ends August 13

Good Luck!