Giveaway: Gratitude Giveaway Hop

It's giveaway hop time and I'm very excited to be apart of this one hosted by I Am A Reader. Not A Writer & All-Consuming Books!


I really want to give a big thank you to all my followers. I've only been blogging since August of this year and I never expected it to turn it to what it has! I love your comments and encouragement and I love some of the friends I've made through blogging! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


Up for grabs........

Soul Screamers: Volume One by Rachel Vincent

• This is open Internationally, as long as Book Depository ships to your country! 

Cover Reveal: Shadow Bound (Unbound #2) by Rachel Vincent

Shadow Bound (Unbound #2) by Rachel Vincent

Release Date: June 1'st 2012

KORI DANIELS is a shadow-walker, able to travel instantly from one shadow to another. After weeks of confinement for betraying her boss, she’s ready to break free of the Tower syndicate for good. But Jake Tower has one final job for Kori, one chance to secure freedom for herself and her sister, Kenley, even if that means taking it from someone else… 
The job? Recruit Ian Holt—or kill him. 
Ian’s ability to manipulate the dark has drawn interest from every syndicate in the world, most notably an invitation from Jake Tower. Though he has no interest in organized crime, Ian accepts the invite, because he’s on a mission of his own. Ian has come to kill Tower’s top Binder: Kori’s little sister. 
Amid the tangle of lies, an unexpected thread of truth connecting Ian and Kori comes to light. But with opposing goals, they’ll have to choose between love and liberty…. - Good Reads

OH.MY.GOD. I loved the Blood Bound cover, but this cover is TOTALLY GORGEOUS! I'm just in lovelovelove. I have an e-mail subscription to Rachel's blog and when I got the new blog post with the cover my mouth literally dropped! Which is funny because after finding out the next book in the Unbound series was going to be about Kori I was a little upset and wasn't sure I'd continue the series. Kori totally rubbed me the wrong way in Blood Bound and I didn't really think I'd want to read a book about her. But with a cover like that... well, my mind has been changed! 

Review: If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) by Rachel Vincent

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) by Rachel Vincent

Release Date: September 27th 2011

Publisher: Harlequin

Page Count: Paperback, 342 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog

Buy This Book:  Amazon, Book Depository 

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.But the next scream might be for Kaylee. Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life. Anything. - Good Reads

I'm not sure how to explain everything I loved about this book without giving away massive spoilers. But, I can say that If I Die was EPIC and definitely my favourite installment of the Soul Screamers series so far. A lot of BIG things happen in this book! 

Kaylee, as always, manages to find a baddie in their midst in the form of the new math teacher Mr Beck. He's a incubus who is ruining the lives of local girls and if you've read the series thus far, we all know Kaylee won't stand for that one bit. As she tries to save the day, she struggles with the new knowledge about the life extension she was given in place of her Mother. It's running out and she's desperate to tie everything up as best she can while her frantic Father and her friends try to figure out a way to put a stop to it. 


I swear... I was going off like the water works throughout this book. Over the series I've really grown to love Kaylee. She's such an admirable girl who gives so much to those around her and to see the predicaments she goes through throughout If I Die was heart wrenching at times to watch. But this book was not complete doom and gloom - there were a lot of bright spots. And my dream lover Tod was in a lot of those bright spots. He gets a lot of page time in this book, I'm happy to say! So if you like Tod as much as I do, you're going to love it. 


If you haven't picked up the Soul Screamer series, now is the time! I highly, highly, highly recommend it! 


And if you haven't read the series yet or don't have a copy, check out my 100 Follower Giveaway where you can win a pre-order of the books 0.5 - 2! Click here!


                                        5 out of 5 Hello Kitties!

Review: Blood Bound (Unbound #1) by Rachel Vincent

Blood Bound (Unbound #1) by Rachel Vincent

Published: August 23rd 2011
Publisher: Mira
Page Count: Paperback 463
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Find the Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog
Buy This Book: Amazon, The Book Depository

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special – a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood. Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one. But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her. Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner...every touch...every kiss. And more blood will be spilled before it's over... - Good Reads           

I was introduced to Rachel Vincent through her Soul Screamers series and when I realized she had adult books out as well, I knew I had to read them - I am an adult after all! And every once in a while it's nice to have the maturity an adult novel can have. 


First of all, Rachel Vincent deserves a round of applause for her creativity. She has an excellent imagination and knows how to build an intricate world. I am thoroughly impressed. The world Blood Bound takes place in is full of people with special abilities: trackers, seers, binders, travelers, etc. A lot of the people with special abilities are controlled by one of two fractions, which is reminiscent of the mafia. Liv and Cam take turns sharing their viewpoints throughout the book and both are trackers. Liv tracks by using blood and Cam tracks by using a persons name. Cam and Liv were involved six years previously, but Liv left Cam at a party right before he was going to pop the question. Cam shows up these six years later with Liv's best friend from childhood who needs her help. Liv wants to refuse, but is unable to because she and a group of her friends made a blood pact when they were twelve that they'd always help each other if asked. So, unfortunately she is compelled / forced to do her friends bidding. The world is very intricate as I said, but it's easy to follow and is very captivating.


Liv was easy to relate to and easy to like. She had her flaws, but they weren't imposing and she was the perfect balance between strong and soft. Cam was a very loyal and protective guy. I was a little surprised that he still had it bad for her all these years later, because she didn't give him a good reason for dumping him, just took off. But the romance between them was good and comfortable and I liked it. 


Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It had me guessing right up to the end and surprised me numerous times. The ending was very abrupt though and I would have liked to see Liv and Cam a little more resolved than they were. I didn't quite feel that they were given adequate time alone to really get through their issues completely and unfortunately it looks as if the next book in this series will be through Kori's viewpoint and I didn't really like her a whole lot in this book, but hopefully being in her head will change that. I am eager to hear more about the world this was set it. It's very unique! And I am curious to see what happened to Kori at least, so I'll definitely be continuing this series! 


This isn't a Young Adult book and there is quite a bit of swearing, sexual references and sex scenes in it, so I'd definitely recommend this to older readers.

Review: My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4) by Rachel Vincent

Published: January 4th 2011                       Publisher: Harlequin

Page Count: Paperback, 343 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog

Buy This Book: Amazon, The Book Depository

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back. See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives. And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants. - Good Reads

Well, my Is This Love prediction didn't quite go as planned, but I daresay there is still hope!

This book was insanity. I literally couldn't not take my eyes off of it once I started. It hooked me in much like the first book did, but in a different way. There was a good "who dunnit" and I kept fighting myself back and forth on who I thought it was and in the end I was surprised by how it panned out. There were a lot of surprises in this book in general. And a lot of emotions. There was a part where I literally laughed out loud for two minutes straight and my husband and daughter came in to see what all the fuss was about. There were other times where I was just angry. Or sad. 

I have tons I want to say about this book, but I'm too afraid to spoil anyone, so I'll try to tread lightly. 

Sabine is an evil and bitter brat. I don't understand why Nash feels sorry for her. There was a line and she crossed it and I was surprised that everyone let it go so easily. She gave Kaylee nightmares about Nash and those were "fair game", but I felt it was too low to be forgiven when she brought her Mother into the nightmares. That ticked me off a lot. I also lost a lot of respect for Nash in this book. He wants to hold onto his ex-girlfriend he hadn't even seen in two years as a best friend while she tries to jump on him every chance she gets and torture the girl he "loves" and he expects Kaylee to just go along with it. Nonono. 

TOD FOR THE WIN! 

I'll be honest, my interest in this series started wavering a little in the second book and the third was okay, but now I literally am jumping out of my seat for the next book. Only 16 more days to go until it comes out! 


P.S. In my Good Reads review I will put hidden spoilers, so if you want to read more of my thoughts on the book and you've read it - they'll be there!

Review: My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers, #3) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers, #3) by Rachel Vincent

Published: June 1st 2010                                   Publisher: Harlequin

Page Count: Paperback, 296 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog

Buy This Book: Amazon, The Book Depository

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them. Until something does.Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked.And so is someone else… - Good Reads

My Soul to Keep picks up a month after My Soul to Save left off and Kaylee has just been let off her grounding sentence. Kaylee and Nash decide to spend their first night out together in a month by going to a party where everything begins to go wrong. One of Nash's jock friends crashes his car into Kaylee's car, but it wasn't a drunk driving accident - it was a demon breath induced accident. Demon breath is a deadly substance to humans and can cause permanent mental damage or death and Kaylee is determined to get to the bottom of who's dealing it and save the day. 

I can definitely say I felt My Soul to Keep was better than it's predecessor My Soul To Save. I liked the story a little better, but it took some really surprising turns and now I'm not sure what to think! 

Kaylee is just as willing to stand up for what she believes for the most part throughout the book and she struggles with Nash, because he's starting to want to go farther than she feels comfortable with. I also like the fact that she's not completely irrational about Nash. She's got a good head on her shoulders for the most part. And she's not exactly foaming at the mouth in love with him, she hopes they'll stay together, but she's not exactly counting her chickens before they're hatched.... Good thing too....

Because Nash's attitude can be summed up in three simple Michael Bolton Songs, first he was all, "Said I Loved You, But I Lied" and then he was all, "Can I Touch You.... There" and then at end, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You". That boy was just all over the place. 

I found out I actually had a soft spot for Tod, because it seemed like he was absent half the book and I kept wanting him to pop up and when he did I was happy. I'm almost positive the next book is going to have Tod and Kaylee like... THIS. Let's just hope Tod doesn't grow out his hair and get a bad perm... 

Overall, I still like the series. I'm really interested to read the next book. Which better include Kaylee and Tod hooking up. I love to torture myself with picking the third person in a triangle that will never win. 

Review: My Soul To Save (Soul Screamers #2) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul To Save (Soul Screamers #2) by Rachel Vincent

Published: December 29th 2009

Publisher: Harlequin

Page Count: Paperback, 279 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog

Buy This Book: Amazon, Book Depository 

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.
So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.
The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand. Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk…. - Good Reads 

My Soul to Save begins six weeks after My Soul to Take ended and we find Kaylee and Nash at a concert where a famous pop star happens to keel over. Of course, the death is rather unusual and suspicious and thus starts the main plot of this book. As well, Kaylee is learning more about her banshee skills and getting cockblocked interrupted by Tod every time she tries to get frisky with Nash. Kaylee's father has also reappeared and he's laying down the law and is much more strict and structured than she's used to. Of course, before, she didn't seem to attract as much trouble either, so who knows.

This book wasn't as good as My Soul to Take, but I still liked it well enough. With the relationship between Kaylee and Nash there was some insecurity, that I'm thinking and hoping is a foreshadowing of something to come. Their relationship has been a little too smooth sailing for my tastes. In the first book, I accepted it, but I assumed there would be some sort of test or growth in this book, but there wasn't. 

The plot of the book was interesting enough to keep me hooked and reading. It was original, but despite my excessively sympathetic nature, I didn't really feel sorry for Addy. And I think I was supposed to. I was more invested in wondering how the Netherworld worked and how it would play out, rather than being emotionally invested in the quest for Addy's soul. I also couldn't really understand why Tod was so attached to her. She didn't seem that spectacular.

Overall, I'd recommend this book if you enjoyed the first book, but I clearly felt it wasn't as good as the first. I'm still excited about this series though, and I hope that I enjoy the next book more than I enjoyed this one.

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

Release Date: August 1st 2009

Publisher: Harlequin

Page Count: Paperback, 279 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog

Buy This Book: Amazon, The Book Depository 

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next. - Good Reads

This is one of those books I wished I would have discovered ages ago. I absolutely freaking loved it.  Until recently I'd never even heard of Rachel Vincent. Funny, I know, because she has a lot of books out and more than one series. It all started about a week ago when I saw a review for a book named Blood Bound - I thought the book sounded good based on the review and added it to my TBR list. A few days ago I was creeping around on Good Reads and saw this cover (it's gorgeous) and the summary seemed really interesting. A girl who senses when people die? Soul screamers? Is this book about bashees? I had another book by that author in my TBR list and both had fairly good ratings. Long story short, I went and picked it up at the library. And ladies and gents, I'm so glad I did.

Yes, there are some of the typical elements involved here: insta-love to a degree, girl with a dead parent, while the remaining is absent, the mean girl who loves to rain on our heroines parade, the alluring, mysterious stud with deep-rooted issues, whom you'd love to comfort as he quietly cries at your feet in fetal position, a heroine who learns she is "special" and so on and so forth. But in all honestly, despite all of that seemingly typicalness, I was hooked and it felt fresh and new and I became emotionally invested. Which is what to me, reading is all about. 

I loved Kaylee. She was a fabulous heroine. I loved her reasoning with herself about her ability. After researching the internet in a panic to understand more, it clicks... She must have brain cancer. I think I loved that mostly because that is totally and completely how I'd react to something strange. I've been known to to fly into a panic attack after self diagnosis after scouring Web MD. I won't lie! And Kaylee has a good heart. Nothing beats a good heart.

The pace of the story might start out a little slow for some people, but I felt it picked up quickly and I was so intrigued that I couldn't put it down. The end held a big shock for me - I saw and see a few things coming, but one of the twists I would have never imagined. And it's one of those shocks that makes you think and consider. Not exactly about the outcome, but what drove the outcome. In this book, what drove the ending was mostly apparent, but it was fueled by emotions and those emotions still weigh on my mind as I write this.

Overall, this book was definitely one of my favourites out of the year. Right up there with Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready. If you love young adult paranormal romances, I'd absolutely recommend this!