Saturday, June 29, 2013

How Do You Follow?

Oh Google. You break my heart so.

Google Reader will be going away Monday, July 1 and Google Friend Connect (which is how most of you currently follow this blog) won't be far behind.

SO...

Follow me another way!

Follow me through
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Click below to follow 
Goldilox and the Three Weres

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Read This F@!%ing Book (15)



Welcome to a feature I'm going to post on Mondays called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for me to push my favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention! 

I'm also opening it up to anyone who would like to guest post. Do you have a book that you just LURVED but feel like its not getting the play it deserves? Email me to let me know and I'd be THRILLED to have you post about it here! Especially if its something I haven't reviewed yet - that's even better (but not necessary)! If you're interested email me:
Goldilox3weres@hotmail.com

This week's post comes from Ruby @ Ruby's Reads
Ruby's Reads

Read This F@!%ing Book Post 15: The Haven Series

Why I'm pushing it:
Kalayna Price is best known for her Alex Craft series, but the Haven books are way better. I mean, sure, Grave Witch has a smokin' hot character named death, but the Haven books have shifters and sexy shower scenes. I'll be honest, though. I'm pushing this series for an extremely selfish reason. If more people start reading it, I just may get to read book three, Third Blood someday soon. I don't want to point fingers, but I totally blame Third Blood's many publication delays on the success of Alex Craft.

Why I love it:
There are lots of reasons I love this series (from the characters to the world-building), but one of my favorite aspects is the basic premise. Kita, the heroine, is a cat shifter who ran away from her clan because her father (and leader) made the guy she loved (and her childhood best friend and her only ally in the clan) marry another woman. Then, as if life on the run didn't suck enough, she's attacked and turned into a vampire. Boy, just when you thought things couldn't get worse.
As a newly turned vampire, Kita struggles to understand her new identity. Drinking blood, living with her vampire maker and dealing with vampire politics all suck, but what sucks worst is that she's lost touch with her cat. She can't change anymore and if she can't change, that alters everything she thought she knew about herself. This internal struggle adds depth to all the eternal problems she faces and makes for a powerhouse of a series.

Nathaniel!
Nathaniel, Kita's vampire sire, is more than worth mentioning. Oh, Nathaniel...you're patient, long-suffering and majorly awesome all at once. I usually come down on the side of shifters, but Nathaniel is the clear winner here. His chemistry with Kita is smokin', not to mention made of that fantabulous achingly slow burn I love so much. I don't know where their relationship is headed, but boy do I want to follow.
 
   
Have you read this book?
Did Ruby persuade you to add it to your TBR mountain?
Let us know in the comments below!


Friday, June 21, 2013

2013 Netgalley Knockout Sign Up!


Are you overwhelmed with the amount of egalleys you have to read? 

Do you keep requesting those egalleys anyway?

Feel like Netgalley and Edelweiss are going to hunt you down?

Knock out those egalleys!
2013 Netgalley Knockout!

Last year's Netgalley Knockout was a great success and I've even had questions about when I would be hosting the event this year! This time around I'm making it three months long from the get go because last year I only made it for one month and ended up extending it.

Here's all the details you need to know:
  • Netgalley Knockout will run from July 1 - September 30
  • You are not limited to ebooks from Netgalley! You can include any ebook you have received for review from Netgalley, Edelweiss, or from a publisher or author directly. It just must be an ebook and it must be a review book.
  • You can only count books that you read from July 1 to September 30. Nothing read before the challenge starts or after it ends will count toward the challenge!
  • You do not have to only include books released during the months July, August, or September - but you can include these, of course! Any electronic review book counts, whether it has already been released or is still yet to be released!
  • Again, even if the book has already been released, if you're reading a review ebook copy of it then it counts toward the challenge!
***And if you find this post after July 1st - no worries! You can join the challenge through the linky all the way up to September 1st if you'd like!***


PLUS 

There will be a giveaway for any blogs who link up their wrap up post at the end of the challenge in September! Every blog on that linky will be entered and one winner will be randomly chosen to receive an ebook of their choice under $15.00 from the ebook seller of their choice!

Just link up your post about joining the Netgalley Knockout challenge on the linky list below! Your post can be as simple as "Here's a new challenge I'm joining, here's the link to find out more information". 

And feel free to grab the button above and add it to your blog's sidebar. That would be *awesome* of you!

Share in the comments below or in your sign up post how many of your egalley books you plan to knockout during this challenge!

SIGN UP!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Read This F@!%ing Book! (14)



Welcome to a feature I'm going to post on Mondays called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for me to push my favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention! 

I know what you're thinking...Wait, today isn't Monday...
Well, you are correct! This week I'm guest posting over at Gizmo's Reviews in honor of Shelly's blogoversary!

Go check out this week's Read This F@!%ing Book post AND enter to win a copy of one of the books in the series I'm pushing this week!

CLICK HERE!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Soul Screamers Series Read-A-Long - Discussion #5: If I Die + Never to Sleep


Soul Screamers Series
Read-A-Long!
Hosted by me, Christen @ Goldilox and the Three Weres, and Laura @ Little Read Riding Hood!

Discussion #5

Welcome to the fifth Soul Screamers Read-A-Long discussion!
This month, we are discussing these books:

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5)
Never to Sleep (Soul Screamers #5.5)

If I Die (Soul Screamers, #5)   Never to Sleep (Soul Screamers, #5.5)

***SPOILER ZONE***

Leave your comments, questions, praise, fangirling, wails, and moans in the comments below!

Discussion Questions:

If I Die
1. What did you think the ending to this book would be? Did you think Kaylee would actually die? Were you surprised when she did?
2. How do you think Kaylee's "new job" will affect her life?
3. How do you think Kaylee's "new job" is different from Tod's?
4. Do you think Nash will ever calm down and understand what really happened?
5. Do you think Tod and Kaylee will stay together? Will Nash and Sabine get back together?

Never to Sleep
6. How did you like reading from Sophie's POV? Did it make you like her more or less?
7. How do you think Sophie will react when she is told the truth about everything now that she has seen the Netherworld?

Leave your answers to the discussion questions, or anything else you want to say, in the comments below!
Read-A-Long Schedule:
Join us July 15th for the next discussion!

February 15:
My Soul To Take (#1) and My Soul to Lose (novella # 0.5)
@ Goldilox and the Three Weres

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, #1) My Soul to Lose (Soul Screamers, #0.5)

March 15:
My Soul to Save (#2)
@ Little Read Riding Hood

My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers, #2)

April 15:
My Soul to Keep (#3) and Reaper (novella #3.5)
@ Goldilox and the Three Weres
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers, #3) Reaper (Soul Screamers, #3.5)

May 15:
My Soul to Steal (#4)
@ Little Read Riding Hood
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers, #4)

June 15:
If I Die (#5) and Never to Sleep (novella #5.5)
@ Goldilox and the Three Weres
FIND THE DISCUSSION HERE!

If I Die (Soul Screamers, #5) Never to Sleep (Soul Screamers, #5.5)

July 15:
Before I Wake (#6)
@Little Read Riding Hood
Before I Wake (Soul Screamers, #6)

August 15:
With All My Soul (#7)
@Goldilox and the Three Weres
With All My Soul (Soul Screamers, #7)


Your hosts:

 Little Read Riding Hood


Audio Review: If I Die by Rachel Vincent

If I Die
(Soul Screamers #5)
Rachel Vincent
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Release: September 27, 2011
Add to Goodreads  Buy at Amazon
Buy at Audible
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.
Review:

Wow guys!!! Just...WOW! If I Die is the fifth in the Soul Screamer series and let me just tell you that it is by far the most surprising and emotional book so far in the series!

In each of my Soul Screamers reviews I say that 'this' book is better than the last, but its really true! Each one gets more and more intense (which leads me to believe that I may not survive reading the last in the series). In the previous book we dealt with a lot of heavy duty stuff - Nash's post Frost re-acclimation to school and the introduction of his bad girl ex, Sabine. But in If I Die we start off with a bang...Kaylee learns her time is up - she's on the reapers' list and she's only got days left. For the entire book that fact looms over Kaylee's head and drives a lot of her choices in this book. And throughout the whole book I was really curious how author Rachel Vincent was going to pull it off. Since there are two more books after this one in the series I wondered how this big problem would be resolved in the end. I must say I didn't see the exact ending coming. Vincent managed to surprise me and please me with the resolution and now I'm dying (no pun intended!) to see how this book's ending will affect the next one.

Tod. TOD. Oh how I love thee, Tod! He plays a major role in this book and he gets a lot of face time here. I always love seeing more of him, but in this book he finally really gets to shine. This book is heart-melting and heartbreaking all at the same time and don't be ashamed if you shed a tear or two because I certainly did. The surprise ending...ya know, the one after the other surprise ending...had tears going down my face!

There's really not more I can say about If I Die without giving away major spoilers, so I'll stop here before I tell you EVERYTHING. Just know that this book has a lot of twists I just plain didn't see coming and I am thoroughly impressed with how amazing this series has become!

Note about the audio: I listened to the audio for this one, after reading all the other ones in the series, and I really enjoyed it! The narrator, Amanda Ronconi, does a really fantastic job with everybody's voice and her version of Kaylee is absolutely spot on! At first I didn't like how she did Tod's voice...it's very deep, but it really grew on me. After a few chapters I realized how perfect a fit that voice was for his character and by halfway through the book I was convinced 'his' voice was incredibly sexy. I highly recommend trying out the audio for this series - I'll be listening to the rest of them for sure!

Recommended for fans of: plot twists, love triangles, reapers, intense emotional endings, and things you never thought would happen actually happening.


    
  5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1)
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2)
My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4)

And check out the Read Along Discussion here at Goldilox and the Three Weres!





Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Audio Review: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell
(Bloodlines #3)
Author: Richelle Mead
Narrator: Emily Shaffer
Release: June 12, 2012
Add to Goodreads   Buy at Amazon
Buy at Audible

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.
Review:

The Indigo Spell was not my very first audio book, but its one of the first and its the first I'm writing an official review for. I must say - I will listen to all the rest of these on audio thanks to the narrator's ridiculously good version of Adrian! I have to get that out of the way before I can review the story, because I fell for Adrian even more after hearing him...especially with all that he had to say in this book...

Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. "Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember - no matter how ordinary things seem between us - I'm still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will."

"I don't think you're evil."

"See? Things are already looking promising.”

With each book in the Bloodlines series I'm finding myself more and more attached to this series and I think with The Indigo Spell fans of Vampire Academy who have been holding back slightly on their love of this spinoff will finally find a home with Sydney.

I have loved Sydney since the first Bloodlines book. I wasn't at all disappointed with her as a character because the world of YA is FILLED with impulsive teenage girls who mouth off and always get their friends into trouble and, as much as I adore Rose and most of those other famous YA heroines, Sydney is different. She is super smart and thinks logically, she aims to do well in school and values her education, and she is constantly battling her inner conscience when it comes to choosing between the wise choice and what her heart says is right. Watching Sydney grow throughout the series has been really interesting because the kind of growing she's been doing has been to learn to trust other people, to take risks and chances, and to start following her heart.

In The Indigo Spell Sydney and Adrian spend A LOT of time together and you will spend most of the time yelling at your book (or iPhone in my case) "How can you resist Adrian!?!?!?!?".

“Adrian shook his head, still smiling. "I've said over and over, I'd do anything for you. I just keep hoping it'll be something like, 'Adrian, let's go hot tubbing' or 'Adrian, take me out for fondue.'"

"Well, sometimes we have to - did you say fondue?" Sometimes it was impossible to follow Adrian's train of thought. "Why in the world would I ever say that?"

He shrugged. "I like fondue.”

Sydney drove me crazy with all her logical reasoning of why she and Adrian couldn't be together and Adrian was all the more lovable for his acceptance of her decision and stance that he was just going to keep on being in love with her anyway. Sydney/Adrian shippers will love this installment in the series and feel fully head over heels in love with Adrian by the book's end. There are several steamy/frustrating/OHMYGOD moments in The Indigo Spell!!!

In this one we also get to see Sydney work with her magic a little more and I really like that side plot of the series because in each book her magic becomes more and more useful to the main plot. I also loved the introduction of Marcus, who I was wary of at first - putting him on the cover like that with Sydney and Adrian really made it scream "love triangle" and that is not the case - but I grew to like him because he helped Sydney appreciate the Moroi and learn some secrets about the Alchemists. I hope he sticks around for future installments in the series!

The Indigo Spell is another great book in the Bloodlines series and my favorite to date for sure! The main plot was dangerous and intriguing and all the time Sydney and Adrian spend together just pushes this one over the top. You'll be swooning like crazy by the time you finish this one.

And just because I love you guys...

“I wanted him. I arched my back, fully aware of how vulnerable that made me and that I was giving him an invitation. He accepted it and laid me back against the table, bringing his body down on top of mine. That crushing kiss of his moved from my mouth to the nape of my neck. He pushed down the edge of my dress and the bra strap underneath, exposing my shoulder and giving his lips more skin to conquer.”

Notes on the audio: If you like audios this is one to check out. The narrator, Emily Shaffer, has Sydney's smart and savvy tone down pat and she makes her sound even more endearing. And I've already told you her version of Adrian is to die for. Hearing all the things he says to Sydney in that charming, sexy tone will have you melting!

Recommended for fans of: Adrian, romantic tension, smart heroines, Vampire Academy, and tiny dragons.


    
  5 / 5 stars

My reviews of other books in this series:



Monday, June 3, 2013

Read This F@!%ing Book! (13)



Welcome to a feature I'm going to post on Mondays called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for me to push my favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention! 

I'm also opening it up to anyone who would like to guest post. Do you have a book that you just LURVED but feel like its not getting the play it deserves? Email me to let me know and I'd be THRILLED to have you post about it here! Especially if its something I haven't reviewed yet - that's even better (but not necessary)! If you're interested email me:
Goldilox3weres@hotmail.com

Read This F@!%ing Book Post 13: Daughter of the Sword

(Click cover for Goodreads)


(Click title for Amazon)


Why I'm pushing it:
I think this unique book didn't get enough attention from urban fantasy readers and I want to help open up that world to a very different kind of fantasy. This book was almost like a palette cleanser for me, something fresh and different to read in between urban fantasies with all their typical tropes. This book, and subsequent series, has enough UF elements to satisfy readers who love that genre, but enough unique elements that readers will feel refreshed when finished.

Why I love it: 
I was drawn into the combination of the contemporary story of Mariko, a police detective, and all the background stories from ancient Japan through Word War II. While there isn't really a romance to speak of, I had my own little romance with Japan through this book and I often found myself enjoying the chapters with background stories more than the main storyline.

JAPAN!!!
Daughter of the Sword just really brought the country to life for me. If you are like me and love Eastern culture or Japanese culture then this book is a must read for you! If you felt like Japan was almost another character for you in books like Memoirs of a Geisha or Stormdancer then you will love every chapter that tells the stories of the three cursed blades throughout history.

With the release of the next in the series, this one focusing on Mariko's hunt for a legendary iron demon mask and -I'm sure- the Japanese history behind the mask, coming in October I figured now was as good a time as any to push Daughter of the Sword!

Year of the Demon (Fated Blades, #2)


Have you read this book?
Did I persuade you to add it to your TBR mountain?
Let me know in the comments below!


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