You Found It!

Yes indeed you did find it.

Well what did you find? If you don't already know...

You found the letter ..........

E

What does this letter entitle you to you ask? Well, if you go to Tera Lynn Childs' blog here, she will give you all the answers, and if you find all the letters scattered about the internet and put them together you may get the title for SWEET VENOM 2!!

If you guess it right you may get super fabulous awesome prizes!

But be quick, because you're competing against me and Amanda. And we want the super fabulous awesome prizes too. :)

Good luck!

xoxo and Love Always,

Shelbie and Amanda

Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Release date: August 2, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Overall: 5/5 stars

Summary from Amazon: The Near Witch

Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Release date: August 2, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304
Overall: 4/5 stars

Summary from Amazon:
Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:
As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.
When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

I bought Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik on an impulse because I had heard wonderful things about it and because it's a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice. So of course, I had high expectations for this book.
Epic Fail starts off with Elise and Juliana Benton moving to a new prep school in LA where their mother is the principal. As soon as Juliana starts hanging out with the popular crowd which includes Chase and Derek, our new Mr. Darcy, there is instant tension/attraction between Elise and Derek. Derek has a guarded and some what jerkish view of the world thanks to his celebrity upbringing, and Elise has her parents' conservative values, leading to some conflicts of interest. But when your sister, whom you adore, loves the jerk's best friend, what are you going to do? Ignore him? So of course, much like in the real Pride and Prejudice, Elise is forced to endure the (incredibly attractive) presence of Derek Edwards.
I thought Claire LaZebnik did an excellent job of creating a cute contemporary romance novel. The plot was wonderful. Full of moments where Elise and Derek couldn't decide if they hated or adored each other, there was plenty of romance. And of course, there were plenty of interesting family members and characters who brought little quirks to the story. LaZebnik did a great job of including all of the chaotic members of the Benton family and the pretentious ones from Derek and Chase's families. LaZebnik artfully showed the themes of pride and prejudice in a new way, still managing to show how vicious our prejudices can make us. She also did a good job of incorporating Webster Grant, Elise's other love interest who isn't exactly as he seems.
While LaZebnik created a fabulously funny contemporary romance, at times I did feel like some of the wording was a bit awkward, like she was trying a bit too hard to make the book modern yet still similar to Pride and Prejudice. Sometimes the banter between the characters was cute, but at other times it was just trying too hard.
For the most part, Claire LaZebnik payed careful attention to detail when creating similarities between Epic Fail and Pride and Prejudice, but sometimes the connections didn't really work. She portrayed the so-nice-they're-naive Chase and Juliana perfectly, and made Elise's little sister Layla and Chase's little sister Chelsea plenty annoying, but there was a bit lacking with Elise and Derek's characters. I felt at times they were a bit too forgiving and weren't as stubborn as the characters in Pride and Prejudice.
However, if I hadn't read Pride and Prejudice before this I don't think I would have minded at all. Overall, Claire LaZebnik has created a cute and insanely funny romantic read perfect for summer, and it definitely wasn't an Epic Fail.
Writing: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 5/5 stars
Characters: 4/5 stars
Ending: 5/5 stars
Cover: 3.5/5 stars

Hope you enjoyed this review!
Love always,
Amanda

Between the Lines by Tammara Webber

Release Date: 04.29.2011

Publisher:

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 606

Overall:

When Hollywood It Boy, Reid Alexander, arrives on location to shoot his next movie, his goals are the same as always—film another blockbuster hit and enjoy his celebrity status to the fullest while doing so. His costar is a virtual unknown with whom he had blazing hot chemistry during her auditions. The universe is lining up nicely to grant whatever he wants, as usual, until he’s confronted with unexpected obstacles on location like a bitter ex-girlfriend and a rival for the first girl to spark his genuine interest in years.

Emma Pierce just got her big break after more than a decade of filming commercials for grape juice, department stores and tampons, and more recently, bit parts in made-for-TV movies. Nailing the lead role in a wide-release film sent her agent, father and stepmother into raptures, and should have done the same for her. The Problem? Emma is experiencing a building desire to be normal, and starring in a silly, modernized adaptation of one of her favorite novels—opposite the very hot Reid Alexander—isn’t going to advance that aspiration.

Graham Douglas doesn’t fear playing the part of a nerdy dimwit; when it comes to choosing film roles, if it pays, he’ll do it. Besides, his friend Brooke Cameron snatched up the role of the bitchy hot girl and could use his help as a buffer, because her ex is the star. Graham has no problem keeping a handle on the situation, until he finds himself attracted to Reid’s costar, Emma, the girl Reid is pursuing full-throttle with his standard arsenal of charm, good looks and arrogance.

Between the Lines is a lovely light and fluffy read and was right up my alley after meeting my celebrity soulmate in California. (He is my soulmate, he just doesn't know it yet ;) )

Reid Alexander is a teenage heartthrob who is on location for his new movie. All he wants is to film another blockbuster and enjoy his celebrity status to the fullest while doing so. Emma Pierce is his unknown co-star with whom he shares unbelievable chemistry both on and off screen. There is one big problem - Reid's ex-girlfriend Brooke Cameron has also snagged a lead role in the movie. Then to add even more spice to this delicious potluck, good-looking Indy actor Graham Douglas will give Reid lots of competition when he too finds himself attracted to Emma.

Tammara Webber's unique writing style uses the alternating voices of both Reid and Emma to tell this realistic, edgy romp into Hollywood-style movie-land where voyeuristic paparazzi wait around every corner to share each newly discovered sordid secret live with the world. Webber does not hesitate to write interesting yet flawed characters with depth and yet she still manages to make the reader care.

So grab some favourite snacks, throw on some comfy clothes and then lay back and relax and enjoy this fun book and when you are sad that you are all done you can lift your spirits by knowing that Webber plans a sequel for this fall. Wahoo!

Also, I did not predict the ending, which is surprising because I am usually quite good at predicting endings.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun and uplifting read for not very expensive at all (i think it was 2.99 on my nook) i highly recommend you check out this book.

Cover:

Characters:

Plot:

Writing:

Ending:

xoxo,

Shelbie

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater book trailer

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Maggie Stiefvater. You know... she wrote Lament and Ballad, and her ever-so-awesome Wolves of Mercy Falls Series? No, doesn't ring a bell? If that didn't ring a bell... then get out from under your rock, get yourself on Goodreads or Amazon and look up the books. Then come back here and watch Maggie Stiefvater's amazing (as always) trailer for her upcoming new release, The Scorpio Races.

A bit about the Scorpio Races...

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

And now the book trailer...



Looks awesome, right?

Well... to pre-order it click HERE . It will also be available for purchase wherever books are sold on October 18, 2011.

You can also pre-order autographed copies of The Scorpio Races HERE.


Enjoy!

Love always,

Amanda