The Super Spud Trilogy Blog Tour + Giveaway!

Summary:
Genetic engineering has accomplished many things, one of which has been to create the Super Spud! The humble potato elevated to new heights, creating the most flavoursome crisps ever known to humankind! But that's not all - A magical transformation occurs to all Super Spud crisps not eaten before their use-by date. They take on a life of their own. And so long as they remain undetected by humans, they enjoy life in their own Super Spud cities, take part in major Super Spud sporting events and even start the odd Super Spud war or two. Join Colin, Cougar, Hannibal Vector, Generals Rock, Jock and Strap and all the others in their rollicking adventures. You'll never look at a packet of crisps in the same way again! Fun, quirky and totally original, Michael Diack's debut is strictly for those who are still big kids at heart.

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find more @http://www.superspudtrilogy.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading!
xoxo, Mariam

Feature & Follow Friday #9

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by 

Alison Can Read and Parajunkee where they choose a featured blogger every week along with a question for everybody to answer! It's an awesome way to meet new book bloggers and share the follower love :)

***

Q: What is the BIGGEST word you've seen used in a book lately - that made you stop and look it up? Might as well leave the definition & book too.

Well, I haven't really been reading anything recently that required major searching. I have been reading a lot of contemporaries and they usually don't require any ;)

***

So what about you? Any interesting words? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your post which I'll be sure to check out ;)

PS: I'm sorry, I know haven't really been posting any reviews for the past week or so but I just started school, a new one too! So it 's been a very stressing and hectic week all in all and I just have tons of important aka amazing books that I need to write reviews for so hope I'll be able to do that asap ;)

Happy Friday!
xoxo, Mariam

Feature & Follow Friday #8

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by 

Alison Can Read and Parajunkee where they choose a featured blogger every week along with a question for everybody to answer! It's an awesome way to meet new book bloggers and share the follower love :)

***

Q: What hyped up book was worth all of the fuss?

Well, there tons but from my recent reads I could say Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, Saving June by Hannah Harringtin ( Yup! I read it and it was a-mazing. Review Soon! ) , Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale and Speechless by Hannah Harrington.

***

So what about you guys? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out ;)

Happy Reading!
xoxo, Mariam

Previous Post: Join Rachel Harris's Flirt Squad!

Rachel Harris's Flirt Squad!

  Well, guess what this is - probably all of you heard of it already since it's all around the blogsphere - but if not, believe me, it's just loads of fun and tons of goodies around this Flirt Squad so just keep reading to know more about it ;)

   So our lovely author, Rachel Harris organised this Flirt Squad as a part of promoting her book, My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century. Basically, what we will be doing is help Rachel promot her book by different, easy ways that Rachel has listed HERE. And with doing this we gain points and these points gains us levels and every time you reach a higher level, you can win some cool prizes :D

The Prizes ( List from Rachel Harris's post ):

First level (25 points): A Super Sweet bookmark and tattoo

 Second level (75 points): All prizes above PLUS a set of trading cards (your very own pocket-sized Lorenzo and Cat!), and a Super Sweet bracelet

 Third level (150 points): All prizes above PLUS your name in the acknowledgements of book 2 in the Super Sweet series, A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES

 Fourth level (250 points): All prizes above PLUS a special note from me inviting you to the sequel to My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES, including a special sneak peek!

 ALL Participants who Reach Fifth Level (500 points): All prizes above PLUS an entry into a drawing to make a special appearance as a character in a future book.

 And the FIRST to Fifth Level (1000 points): Wins all the prizes above PLUS a sparkly tiara (you ARE an official Sweet Sixteen diva now after all), a special necklace with the cover of my book as a charm, and a signed copy of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century. ** This has been claimed. Congrats Jenna!! **
So what wait are you waiting for? It's really fun and easy to join and it's INTERNATIONAL. You can get the info to sign up HERE.

xoxo, Mariam

Blog Tour: All Things Different by Shawn Underhill

Synopsis:
Late in the summer of 2005, starkly independent Jake Thornton was on the verge of turning 16, expecting little more than his driver’s license in the fall, and the continuance of the quiet life shared with his father. So when 14-almost-15 year old Sara moved in next door and began vying for his father’s attention, Jake wasn’t exactly thrilled, and couldn’t quite understand his father’s motives for allowing it. But certainly he never anticipated the dramatic shift their lives would take as a result.As the summer fades and autumn takes over, friendship between the two teenagers begins blossoming into a bond, until fate steps in once more, threatening to tear them apart as quickly as they’ve come together. The decisions that follow, and the emotive tale that results, opens Jake’s eyes to the simple yet life altering truth, a truth that Sara has understood all along: that love—not the feeling but the action—is the most powerful force in the world.

Connect with the Author:

Goodreads | Twitter

Find the Book:
Goodreads | Amazon

 

Happy Reading!
xoxo, Mariam

Blog Tour: Dancing with Death by Andrea Heltsley

Hey guys! And welcome to my tour stop in the Dancing with Death blog tour :) Hope you enjoy reading review and there will also be an international giveaway ( 5 e-copies of Dancing with Death ) at the end of the post. Enjoy and good luck winning!

***

Synopsis:
Murders have plagued the woods in the past, making them a place of fear. Eighteen year old Wendy and her friends become worried when a new string of murders come to their high school. After a horrible car accident, Wendy returns to school, going from wallflower to popular overnight. As the murderer edges closer to Wendy she realizes things are changing. She is afflicted with nightmares that are all too real and she herself is undergoing unnatural changes. Learning the truth about her past, could be the key to saving her future.

   

My Review:

      Honestly, I started this book not knowing what to expect. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, about half of this book was just really normal - as in reference to the story itself -I was actually beginning to think that this book was just some type of a Contemporary novel or something. Not until the end of the book that I found what made it for me. And so I'm not going to give away any details about the paranormal part of the story because that would spoil the book for you so I will keep at that.

      However, the writing style was just primitive and unprofessional which was really frustrating and took a lot from enjoying this story. And 'Wendy'...... not a good choice for a main character's name, I personally didn't like it. The excessive and unnecessary details, at some point I was able to enjoy it - there was the part towards the end of the book that I enjoyed and so the details helped me visualise the whole thing much more - but at sometime it was plain ......

     I didn't warm toward any of the characters actually, I did like Matt at some point, he was sweet but mostly plain epic. Most of the characters and their attitudes had this creepiness and weirdness to them so that kept at distance. And the events of the story were illogically and annoyingly set up together, forcing you to always remember that all of it is just fictional, a book and stings you out of the story. Nonetheless, I really do like the original take that the author has takes on the story, the paranormal idea on which on this story was based on was unique yet I do need more which I believe I can get more in it's sequel so I'm looking forward to it.

    Overall, Dancing with was an okay read. I didn't really enjoy the whole book because it had it's flaws and some really cliched moments but it did have a unique idea that got me interested enough and I'm looking forward to reading the next book. But hey, you have to try it because I can somewhat be a bit picky so you might end up loving it and I have some high expectations about the next book ;)

Title: Dancing with Death

Author: Andrea Heltsley
Series: Dancing Series
Published: August 10th 2012
Source: A copy was provided as a participant in the blog tour.
Links: Goodreads| Amazon | Author's Blog

Rating: 3/5

***

Giveaway:

Enter for the chance of winning one of five e-copies of Dancing with Death :)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour is presented by the AToMR Blog Tour.

Happy Reading!
xoxo, Mariam

Check out the rest of the tour stops: 

Showcase Sunday #1

Yay! My first participation in this meme!

Showcase Sunday is yet another fantastic meme hosted by Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea where we get to share all the books we received for review, bought, won or borrowed. So as exciting as that sounds we also get to know about tons of new books to add to our ever-growing lists and just visit many blogs and comment on hundreds ;) So enjoy! OR you can join the fun :D

***

Books I Received For Review:

Broken by A.E. Rought
Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer

*Thanks to NetGalley, Strange Chemistry & Fiction Std*

Books I Got:

    

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire ( which I already finished and I ABSOLUTELY enjoyed it. Review Soon! )

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Legend by Marie Lu

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Goddess Test by Amiee Carter

Books I Won:

I'm not at all a fan of this cover though :\

One Major Mistake by Starr Reina ( which I still didn't actually receive but I did win it, didn't I? ;) A giveaway hosted by Aliaa from Mademoiselle Le Sphinx <3 )

  *** 

So that was about it this week! Any exciting books that you got? Tell me about it in the comments down below or leave me a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out ;)

xoxo, Mariam

Feature & Follow Friday #7

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by 

Alison Can Read and Parajunkee where they choose a featured blogger every week along with a question for everybody to answer! It's an awesome way to meet new book bloggers and share the follower love :)

***

Q: What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

I think probably The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa ( Author of The Iron Fey series ), I really liked it, don't get me wrong but it was nothing extra special or perfect.

 

***

So what about you? What book do you think wasn't worth the hype? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out ;) And don't forget to follow me because I follow back ;)

Happy Reading!
xoxo, Mariam


Previous Post: Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Goodreads:
Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret.

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed. Goblin King
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

 

   

My Review:

     WOW! A vow of silence for four weeks. She is phenomenal. Yup! Our protagonist here, little Ms. Chelsea is just this girl whom took a vow of silence after deciding that her big mouth basically ruined her life but it was just the beginning of something new - good or bad as it may sometimes seem. 

    The idea behind this story sort of took by surprise, I didn't quite know what to expect because I received this book after a while of reading the synopsis and so it was like blindly opening a book to find behind it a brilliant idea! Like seriously! a vow of silence….. I admire and respect her with all my heart, for I wouldn't be able to do it. Like there were moments where I was sure that she was going to give up - the situation was bad - and then she don't and I'd be like ' :o ' But I like the fact that were able to go through her mind during this silence vow and see what was going on her mind which was quite cool actually - keeping in mind that she is a normal teenage girl and I could personally relate to so many stuff in her life and I was so agitated when she finally spoke again, even more than she was, she took it a bit lightly ;)

    Chelsea had this bit of B to her act at first - in the most idiotic way ever -but after what happened to her, you could vividly see that she was buried under a mask of public face, a face of a teenager seeking popularity and imitation but matured enough throughout the story, trying to find the real HER and finding new means to the terms 'friendship' and 'love' and discovering new ones as well like 'forgiving' and 'guiltiness', all during the progress. On the other hand, we have Sam who was a bit of an inexperienced good guy in a goofy way as well - still cute though and nothing over the top in his attitude - which resulted in some spontaneousness which resulted in me liking him . In point of fact, I liked all the characters - the bad and the good ones, Asha and Kristen, especially Kristen, you could tell she still wanted her best friend Chelsea but she couldn't swallow her pride and give up her position as a popular girl that all the guys want and all girls envy. I really appreciate the authenticity that the author was able to show in them and perhaps, setting them as fictional examples, somewhat presenting issues from our real world - of course since this is a contemporary novel - but it was a good one.

   The writing style was really amazing - proving was the result I personally got after reading the book - for if it was written in a less professional or fluent way, I wouldn't have known where this book would have ended up being. And I actually went and got Saving June soon after for I was complied by this author and decided to get her other book.

   Overall, Speechless was one of those books that I think most people would read and love/like. It.... it left me speechless at some point. It had an enjoyable storyline, good pacing, light-hearted romance and pragmatic characters, plus, it was a exquisite - thought-provking - read that I had a hard time puting it down. And as unrealistic as it may seem to some, I think you might want to give it a try and believe me, it's not much of a heavy read, you will only be focused on the story itself. Recommend it!

Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington

Series: Stand-alone

Published: August 28th 2012 by HarlequinTeen

Source: NetGalley *For Review*
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4/5

*Thanks to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC*

xoxo, Mariam  

Feature & Follow Friday #6

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee where they choose a featured blogger every week along with a question for everybody to answer! It's an awesome way to meet new book bloggers and share the follower love :)

***

Q: What are you reading right now? How do you like it?

I just finished reading Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire and OMG! It was addicting and utterly A-MAZING, just not enough words to describe how much I enjoyed this one ;) And next I'm reading Speechless by Hannah Harrigton.

***

What about you? What are you currently reading? Please let me know by leaving me a comment down below or a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out ;)

xoxo, Mariam

Previous Post: Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads:

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

    Before I started reading this book,  I was really excited about it with all the raving about the author and the book itself, although I have to say that I still didn't start the Iron Fey series, I know! shoot me ;) However, I'm gutted to say that it didn't live up to my expectations as I did have REALLY high ones. I love the cover though with the bloody tear and the eyes, just the cool and catchy type of creepy.

    So the story follows Allie, an Unregistered human being whom lived in a world that was ruled by vampires and human beings were just either just there puppets to blood, yet well-fed or the unrigestered ones whom starved to death and lived in the fringes of the society. And as you can already tell, the world-building is just fantastic. It was skilfully crafted and easy to dive in.

     Allie - our main character - was this kick ass girl whom refused to be a slay to anyone but to be quite honest, I hated Allie at first, during her whole phase of being a human but I truly started to admire her once she became a vampire and by the end of the book, I ended up loving her. And then there was Zeke who was - I honestly don't know how I felt about him - he annoyed me sometimes but then I was just unable to hate the guy, he was still so sweet. Still there was no big romance scences but I mean, the situation really didn't allow much. 

    The pace at the beginning of the book was just really slow and perplexing, I was starting to think like 'Uhhhh' but not until did she actually turn to a vampire that things started to spice up. So in my opinion, the beginning was unnecessarily long. After the fifth chapter, that's when it got interesting but then through out the rest of the book, it didn't have a consistent pacing which was annoying :\ At some points I was wondering what was the whole point of the story like I didn't see what was yet to come, what came then though was sort of unexpected but a lot of times I was just bored so it was the ending that made it up for me. However, it was well-written to be honest but nothing abnormal about the characters or the style of writing, just that very original twist that Kagawa took on the vampires fiction which I really liked and which made me really excited for the next book to come out!

   Overall, The Immortal Rules was a gripping story about vampires and one that I really enjoyed, it stood out but still wasn't enough to be perfect. I'd recommend it as long as you enjoy and accept vampires because here vampires rules all the way! but don't expect it to be outstanding, keep your expectations on an average level. 

• Themes: Determination | Hope | Cruelty | Loyalty | Choices | Compassion

Title: The Immortal Rules

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Blood of Eden

Published: May 1st 2012 by Harlequin Teen Australia 

Source: Owned

Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4/5

xoxo, Mariam

Waiting on Wednesday #10: Venom

Waiting on Wednesday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by
Jill from Breaking the Spine. 

***

Venom by Fiona Paul

Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Release Date: 30th October 2012

Goodreads:

 Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.

When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?

Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.

***

Ehem, I actually chose this book for the sake of it's GORGEOUS cover, it would just look a-mazing on my bookshelf, wouldn't it? Plus, I really enjoy historical fiction novels and would love to read more ;)

***

So what books are you drooling over this week? And do you think of my pick? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out :D

xoxo, Mariam

Cover Reveal: Reaper's Novice by Cecilia Robert

Synopsis:

Seventeen- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents,  good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance.  It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice:  save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

Links:

Goodreads | Website | Cover Art Design: Renu Sharma

***

What do you guys think of the cover? I personally love it with the turquoise and the golden yellow color apart, definitely catchy :) Can't wait to read the book itself though.

xoxo, Mariam


Presented by the AToMR Blog Tour

I'm Back! + My Review Pile

     
     Unfortunately, we had to cut our vacation short because there was an urgent family situation happening and we had to come back which I'm so gutted we had to because I had so much fun :( But now I'm back home to blogging and to the Internet and that feels good:D 

     However, I do have huge amount of books that I need to finish reading this month before going back to school ( MY SUMMER VACATION IS COMING TO AN END :'( I actually start school again sometime around 14 and 16 September but when do you guys start school or have you already started because most of my international friends already started....) but now I'm just gonna show you my top urgent/have-to-read books from my review pile....

• Dancing with Death by Andrea Heltsley
• More by T.M. Franklin
• Speechless by Hannah Harrington
• The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa ( I actually still didn't read the Iron Fey series and I was wondering if I must read that first since this is a sequel series but let me know in the comments below what you think :) )
• Pledged by Gwynneth White
• All Things Different by Shawn Underhill
• The Super Spud Trilogy by Micheal Diack
• Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

AND I really can't wait to start reading The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead ( Bloodlines #2 ) which I recently bought.........

xoxo, Mariam