Winner!!!

 Thanks to everybody who entered my
Month of May Giveaway: Week Four

Random has spoken and the winner is...

June M

Congrats June M, I'll be contacting you shortly :)

Month Of May Giveaway: Week Four

Well I'm completely unorganised for this weeks giveaway so I'm just going to keep it super simple and easy :)

This weeks prize is a $5 AMAZON giftcard

If you're like me and FOREVER buying books from Amazon, this giftcard is going to come in handy :)

The rules are there are no rules except you need to leave me a valid email address in order to contact you.

Giveaway ends Sunday 27th May (NZ time)

WINNERS of Week Three Giveaways...

Thanks to everybody who participated :)

Random has spoken and here are the winners

The winners of a Hunger Games Bookmark each are...

 

Alice Priday
and
Katie Wong

The winner of the earrings is...

Cameo Renae

The winner of the ph charm is...
Amber Garcia

Congrats everyone, I'll be emailing you shortly :) 

The Honest Review...IMO!

As a reader I'm looking for an honest review.

And as a reviewer/blogger its what I strive to provide.

I want to know what you didn't like about a book as much as I want to know why you loved it.

I started this blog because I was frustrated. 

Frustrated with all the raving reviews, the endless 5 star ratings and over the top exuberance that some people had for books that I didn't.

I'm not saying they were wrong, I'm just saying that my opinion often differed.

I'd hear about an absolute gem of a book, a must read with its numerous 5 star ratings and think..."Wow, it must be a fantastic book" and off to the shop I'd go.

Only to be despondent several days later and $20 poorer with the disappointingly boring* and/or over hyped* read.
Surely I couldnt be the only person on the planet that felt this way about that book...could I?

And so My Book Chatter was born. 

A place for me to voice my opinion.
 

After a little detective work on facebook, I discovered that there are a few authors out there who really hate a bad or so-so review and will sometimes even launch a campaign against a reviewer on Amazon or Goodreads to bombard the poor person in question with negative comments! 

In some cases I have even seen an author ask his/her supporters to write a flurry of 5 star reviews in order to get the rating back up.

I am by no means the review police, but its safe to say that this type of behaviour is a sure fire way to turn me off both the author and their book.

Its NOT honest, and in my opinion its NOT moral either.

It is okay to not like the same books as everyone else, it is okay to say you didn't and you shouldn't be afraid to voice that opinion.

Which brings me to another point: Respect

I will never go after an author personally, or in any way degrade the author for what they have written regardless of my opinion of their work.

And that goes for other reviewers and bloggers also.

I may not always agree with someone regarding a book, but I respect their right to that opinion.

Sadly, it has been my own experience that others do not feel the same way.

What the %@*#!!

I have received hate emails.
Spiteful comments on my reviews.
Personal attacks and aggressive PMs on facebook.

In my case it was because I didn't particularly like a book that they felt was the best thing since sliced bread.

Yes, some people love a book so much that when I disagree with their opinion, they react by calling me every name under the sun and spamming my inbox with hateful threats.

Its a tough world out here in the blogesphere.

I guess all I'm really trying to say is...

I write honest reviews based on my opinion only.

That doesn't mean I am right or wrong, its just my opinion.

Please respect mine and I'll respect yours :)

End of rant!!

*IMO

*IMO
 
*Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Cover Reveal for Dead Embers by T.G Ayer

I just found the following info on the website of author T.G Ayer and I couldn't be more excited.
I cant wait to get my hands on this book next month :)
 

DEAD EMBERS

A Valkyrie Novel #2

Cover artist Eduardo Daniel Priego

In the sequel to DEAD RADIANCE Bryn continues her education in the art of being a Valkyrie. It doesn’t help that though Aidan still needs saving, Bryn has to focus her attention on performing her duty as one of Odin’s Valkyrie. When new warrior recruits begin dying under mysterious circumstances, Bryn, Fenrir and the team have to figure out who is targeting Odin’s great army and why. Will Bryn find the truth in time? And this time will she save Aidan?

DEAD EMBERS due for release end June 2012

 

Book Review: Ember by Madison Daniel

Title: Ember

Author: Madison Daniel

Release Date: February 27th 2012

Publisher: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
Source: Purchased for my own reading pleasure

Love never dies...but it can kill.

Ember is the story of Max Valentine, a teenager with secret abilities and many inner demons. His life revolves around music and his love for it. When his father dies he seeks answers with his last living relative, his fathers brother Frank. Frank lives on the island of Maui and eagerly takes Max in as his own. Max soon learns that healing his past will be more difficult than he could have ever believed. Two major complications will tempt and torment him as he tries to make sense of his abilities.

The first temptation comes in the form of a mysterious island girl. Asia Lyn Michaels is rich, spoiled, angry and beautiful. Her path crosses with Max on the beach one afternoon, forever changing both of their lives. Max saves her life and she discovers his secret. From that moment on they are connected, no matter how much they fight it.

The second temptation will test Max’s very soul. Samantha Ann Summers is sweet, artistic, smart and confident. She will help Max find his smile again and maybe even heal his past mistakes. She is possibly his soul mate and Max will fight that with every fiber of his being.

Max’s temper and indecision with the girls will send in motion events that will cost him dearly. He will test the limits of his powers and the new relationship with his protective uncle. He will gain a powerful love and lose another.

My Thoughts

I'm really unsure where to start with this review.
 
The blurb made Ember sound really amazing, and although it had some good moments...it had some really bad ones too.

I really didn't like the phrasing and sentence structuring, and I may not be an expert, but some of the grammar and word context was way off (I checked in case my own knowledge was off a bit)

I also struggled with what I can only assume was the authors attempt to be clever and change up a simple sentence with some witty word play, alas it only made me cringe.

I ambled my way through Ember as best I could but I really didn't feel anything but contempt for the two timing, overly aggressive main character and his typically written 'bitchy' girlfriend and the equally contrived 'good' girl.

Some great story ideas but I found the writing lacking.

2 Stars :|

 

Month Of May Giveaway: Week Three (Hunger Games Goodness)

Welcome to week three of my Month Of May Giveaways

This week I have some really great Hunger Games Inspired goodies 

to giveaway :)

First up I have 2 of these gorgeous bookmarks to giveaway

followed by these really cute Katniss and Peeta inspired ear-rings

and last but not least, a cute little phone charm.

so thats a total of FOUR lucky winners :0

The Rules

You must be a follower (GFC, facebook, etc)

You must leave a comment AND a valid email address 

(no email address, no entry)

Thats it!!

Giveaway is open internationally and ends Sunday May 20th NZ time :)

Book Review: The Lure of Shapinsay by Krista Holle

Title: The Lure of Shapinsay

Author: Krista Holle

Publisher: Sweet River Romance

Release Date: December 16th 2011

Source: Received from the author for an honest review

Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the Selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

My Thoughts

Other than reading about them in some old myths and legends book when I was a teenager, I have not yet come across a romance involving Selkie.
I was intrigued, and rather looking forward to entering this little known world.

The beginning of this story is quite emotional as Kait discovers the sad reality of man when faced with an unexpected half Selkie babe born to a friend.
And this basically sets the tone for the entire book.
 
While it starts out as a story of revenge and inquisitive wonder for both Kait and 'Eamon', The Lure of Shapinsay is at its heart a rather dark and almost gothic novel depicting the self destructive tendencies of an emotionally immature and unbalanced couple.

Both from different worlds they struggle to come to terms with their emotions making rash decisions that could seriously endanger the person they profess to love the most.

There are lots of ups and downs in this book both between the couple and with the reading of it but all in all I was pulled along into this alluring and enchanting Selkie story.

A very interesting 3.5 Star read ;]

 

Winners of Week Two Giveaway

Thanks to those of you who entered

The winner of Dead Radiance by T.G Ayer is....

Gale Nelson

and the winner of Golden Blood by Melissa Pearl is...

LadyVampire2u

Congratulations ladies, I've emailed you details on how to claim your prize.

Dont forget to check back tomorrow everyone, I have some awesome prizes to give away next week :)

Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley

MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"

I didn't then, not really.

I DO NOW. 

 

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. 

My Thoughts

For me, The Immortal Rules started off slowly. 

I wasn't sure if I liked Allie, I didn't really feel anything for her, and I found myself eye rolling a bit with the background story.

Its been 60 years since the plague and yet there is still food to be found in abandoned stores and houses...really? are you sure? if everyone is so starving and destitute don't you think that after 60 years it would of all been picked over years ago?
That seriously did not make sense to me, but maybe I'm just being overly picky.

Anyway, after 50 pages I was considering turfing it on the DNF pile, but I persevered...and around about page 195, I thought 'Okay, now we're on to something'

Even though I may not have always enjoyed her storytelling, I can't deny that Julie Kagawa writes beautifully.

Her words are descriptive and flow easily through the mind creating some great mental pictures, and I loved her vicious, more traditionally styled vampires and rabids.
And Allie grew on me, probably more than I care to admit.
Her struggle to adapt to being a vampire yet still aching to cling on to her humanity struck a chord, it felt real and believable. She showed great strength and tenacity.
And then she meets the mysterious Zeke and his motley crew of survivors with all their quirks and beliefs.

But then towards the end I started eye rolling again.

Eden's only a day or so's ride away from Jackal and his vampire city and he never stumbled upon it? really? after years of searching for Jeb and Zeke it was never discovered by anyone? after all these years? and then the only voice of suspicion, the 'thorn' in Allie's side gets killed right near the end, just as they approach Eden...
Am I the only one finding too many threads conveniently tying themselves together in a nice tidy bow?

All in all, I enjoyed the fresh take on vampires, the zombie like rabids, and the idea of an Eden waiting in the wastelands.
But I just felt it was all too safe, the ending too predictable.

A 3.5 Star read for me ;]

Month Of May Giveaway: Week Two

Week One is over and 2 cute little Angel Wing charms
will soon be winging their way to new homes :)

And so on to this weeks prizes...

I was lucky enough to meet two of the most wonderful and down to earth ladies for coffee recently and they just happen to
be authors of some of the best YA books
I have read this year ever :)

T.G. Ayer is the author of Dead Radiance (Valkyrie #1) 

with Dead Embers (Valkyrie #2) due for publication in June 2012.

This super busy author also has another series with,
Second Skin (Wraith Hunter, #1) slated for a June release also :)

Melissa Pearl is the author of The Time Spirits trilogy:
Golden Blood, Black Blood and Pure Blood. 

She also has a new book, Forbidden Territory which she has co-authored
due for publication in July 2012.

Because I think these are books that should be on your 'need-to-read' pile I'm going to give you some.

That's right...I'm giving away one kindle copy of
Dead Radiance (Valkyrie #1) by T.G. Ayer

and one kindle copy of
Golden Blood (Time Spirit #1) by Melissa Pearl.

The Rules

You must be a follower (either GFC, facebook, twitter etc)

You must leave a comment on this post with a valid email address
(no email address, no entry)

That's it, easy peasy :)

Giveaway is international and ends on Sunday 13th May NZ time

 

(if you're interested here are my reviews for Dead Radiance and Golden Blood)

WINNERS!!

The winners of the cute angel wing charms are:

SusieB

and

June M

Congrats ladies, I'll be emailing you soon 

with details :)

Thanks eveyone who took part and be sure to check back tomorrow and see what goodies I'm giving away next week!!

Book Review: The Matchmaker's Mark by Regan Black

Title: The Matchmaker's Mark
Author: Regan Black

Publication Date: September 5th 2011
Publisher: Regan Black
Source: Received from RomCon for the purpose of an honest review

When you're 'more' than human, finding your soulmate isn't as easy as answering a few questions online. It's best to track down Campbell Consulting, a.k.a. the Matchmaker.

In Charleston, South Carolina half-elf Lily has a birthmark her elders vow is a mystical promise of true love. So far she's yet to encounter Mr. Right in either the elf or human realms.

Dare, a wood elf, has led the Matchmaker's security team for years. In town on a simple errand, when the Matchmaker disappears his future is turned inside out.

And Amy Campbell is a completely human English professor about to discover the true magic of the family business...

My Thoughts

The initial character introduction had me believing this was a chick/lit book but it was made interesting with the addition of the para element.
 
Unfortunately the author doesn't really give us all that much background on either the main character or the world in which she chooses not to live in, and I did feel like some of those details should have been made clearer.
Especially considering that in the blurb the elders are mentioned but apart from a brief encounter with her father, none of the elders and the mystery surrounding Lily's mark feature.
Because of that, I found the story rather disjointed and lacking flow which made it a bumpy read that I struggled to stay focused on.

A nice idea with some interesting elements but I just didnt connect with the characters enough to really care about them.
2 Stars :|
 
 

Book Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Title: Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers #1) 

Author: Michelle Rowen

Publication Date: May 29th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley

I don't do dangerous. 

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me.
But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back.

Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

My Thoughts

This book had all the makings of a great read.
Angels, demons, cute blue eyed boy, surprising first 'dark kiss', and a seemingly normal girl with newly discovered strange powers.

But the storytelling was a little flat for me.
I just couldn't get into it.

The whole book felt disjointed, as though there was no clear idea of where the story was really going...it actually felt like the author had two or three possible story ideas and instead of picking one to go with she decided to just mash them into one with disappointing results.
There were just too many different ideas and awkward story arcs going on to hold my attention.

Overall, I liked the idea of the story but couldn't get into the ever changing and indecisive plot.
2.5 Stars :|


 

Month Of May Giveaway: Week One

I haven't done any giveaways for quite some time sooooo...

For the month of May I'm going to do a giveaway each week!

I've got lots of things I plan to give away including metal bookmarks, some e-books, and maybe even some hunger games inspired jewellery!

This week I'm going to keep it simple...I've got 2 of these cute angel wing phone charms to giveaway (2 winners/1 charm each)
They also look really good on your purse :)

For your chance to win...

• you need to be a follower (facebook/twitter/GFC etc)
• leave a comment including a valid email address (no email address, no entry)

and that's it, simple as :)

You have until the afternoon of Sunday 6th May NZ time to get your entry in. On Monday I'll announce a winner and a new giveaway :)