Posts Tagged: arc giveaway

The Scorpio Races Review and Giveaway

18 Oct, 2011 by in maggie stiefvater, scholastic, scorpio races 27 comments

The Scorpio Races
by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover, 401 pages
Published October 18th 2011
by Scholastic Press
ISBN 054522490X
4.5 stars

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.

Having grown up with the Chesapeake Bay in my back yard and a view of an island in the bay not far from the banks and sandy beach we played on, I was familiar with the story of Misty of Chincoteague Island as well as the legends of “Chessie” our own monster that came from the sea. Maggie Stiefvater’s Scorpio Races brought me back to my childhood with its magical tone. Set on the island Thisby with dramatic stone cliffs, The Scorpio Races follows the weeks leading up to the deadly races which happen each November. Men try to capture the capaille uisce from the sea, wild flesh eating water horses then race them down by the shore in a deadly tradition that melds magic and brute strength. Sean Kendrick is the favorite as four time winning jockey and horse trainer of Corr. But this year the stakes are even higher as the race gets personal. Both Sean and the alternate protagonist Puck (Kate) have their hopes and dreams on the line. Puck may lose everything as an orphan who’s parents died at the hands of the capaille uisce. She and her younger brother Finn are left to fend for themselves when their older brother announces he is set to leave for the main land. If Kate can race she’ll assure he sticks around a while longer and maybe even save their fledgling family.

Maggie’s lyrical style spins a character driven fantasy that explores loyalty, class and gender division. While the pacing felt a bit off and it took me about 160 pages to get into the flow, by the end I was breathless. Dang can she write! The Scorpio Races is raw and gritty with nothing held back while at the same time beautiful in its conclusion. Each character is fully fleshed out with their own idiosyncrasies, Finn with OCD, Puck with downright stubbornness and Sean with a silent but acute wisdom. As well the side characters and setting are unforgettable. I would recommend The Scorpio Races if you’re looking for a slow paced fantasy with a subtle tease of romance. There are a few minor swear words and moderate violence, so it is probably best for readers over 14 year old. Before or after picking up the book you’ll want to check out Maggie Stiefvater’s website for a playlist, slide show of photos and the unforgettable hand drawn trailer I’m embedding below. Maggie has done it again!

Check out The Scorpio Races the @this_is_teen #ScorpioRaces Twitter Sweepstakes! Prizes includes limited edition custom necklaces & autographed copies of the book. Get more details at http://on.fb.me/iga0vf

Fire and Ice is giving away one advanced reading copy of The Scorpio Races and Scholastic This Is Teen has added in one custom bracelet plus a hardcover copy. Two winners. To enter to win click here and fill out the form.

Halloween Spooktacular Giveaway

04 Oct, 2011 by in book giveaway 4 comments

Every year around all Hallow’s Eve Fire and Ice gives away some of the scariest books out there to our readers! This year up for grabs in our bag of goodies is:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
Graveminder by Melissa Marr
Magnolia League by Katie Crouch
Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz
Night World no.1 by LJ Smith
Night World no.2 by LJ Smith
Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
The Jumbee by Pamela Keyes
Siren Song by Cat Adams
Thirst no.1 by Christopher Pike

To enter to win our Halloween Spooktacular fill out this form. Ten winners. Open to US mailing addresses only. Ends on Halloween October 31, 2011 at midnight. Good luck!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Review and ARC Giveaway

27 Sep, 2011 by in Uncategorized 6 comments

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
Hardcover, 420 pages
Published September 27th 2011
by Little, Brown & Company
ISBN 0316134023
Book Source: publisher
4 stars

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Last night at 3 Am when I couldn’t sleep I was up finishing the last few chapters of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something so truly unique. Taylor has fashioned worlds and characters the likes of which you’ve never seen. Let’s start with Karou, a blue haired teenager living in Prague and living a double life as an art student/errand runner for Brimstone- a wishmonger Chimaera. Her time is spent fetching human teeth from all over the world while on the side she’s fighting off the unwelcome sneak entrances of her ex-boyfriend, vampire actor Kaz. Not only is Karou a master with her pencil and paper, but she can handle old weapons with skill. Yet something fundamental is missing. She is lonely, empty and longs to be filled.

Akiva is a hardened warrior stolen form his mother at age 5 and raised to fight a war that is still raging between the Chimaeara and Seraphim. Across his fingers are the tally marks of the sacrifices he has made and in his heart is the brokenness of a forbidden love. When Karou and Akiva cross paths in a busy marketplace sparks and swords will fly.

A well spun fantasy with paranormal elements, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is incredibly rich in description and history. I will admit I was a bit lost for the first 95 pages with all the talk of teeth and little context to put things in to, but once I got used to the names and places it all started to fall together in one well orchestrated tale. It’s a story of holding on to hope when all else fails and believing in the possibility of a seemingly impossible future. Guaranteed this book is unlike anything you’ve ever read before! With side characters full of personality and so many multi layered elements Laini Taylor has an amazing imagination. Thanks so much to LBC for letting us be swept away into the world of Karou.

Content: moderate swearing, mention of sex with mature undertones through out the book, moderate violence. Not recommended for readers under age 16. Adult crossover title.

The Giveaway: Fire and Ice is giving away two advanced reading copies of Daughter of Smoke and Bone courtesy of Little Brown publishing. To enter to win fill out this form. Must be 16 or older and have a US mailing address.

Crosroads Blog Tour and Signed Book Giveaway

23 Sep, 2011 by in mary ting 15 comments


Fire and Ice is proud to be one of the stops on the Crossroads Blog Tour hosted by Late Bloomer Online

Crossroadsby Mary Ting
Paperback, 315 pages
Published July 29th 2011
by World Castle
ISBN 9781937085
Claudia Emerson has a good friend who shares the same first name and last name. That friend unfortunately dies in a tragic accident during homecoming dance. Claudia is distraught at the loss of her friend, but is even more disturbed by her dreams, which seem to take her to another place called Crossroads. Unknown to her, Crossroads is like a second heaven, a place between heaven and earth. It is where the souls of humans in comas or near death experiences may wander. Where, Claudia meets Michael, a nephilim, a half angel, half human, whom she often meets in her dreams. It turns out that this isn’t her first visit to Crossroads, which is an enigma for no human can ever travel there until Claudia.

Now the fallen and demons are after her, suspecting she must be special and it is up to Michael and the other nephilims to protect her. Her dream becomes a nightmare as more secrets are revealed, about who she really is, and the true identities of the people she loves most. Can Michael fight his growing feelings for Claudia and protect her as a guardian angel should?

Claudia Emerson keeps having strange dreams which pull her to a place she’s seen before and faces that are familiar yet foreign. Then she’s awakened by a phone call form her best friends asking if she’s still alive. Quickly her life is turned upside down as dream meets reality and she’s introduced to a class of half human/half angels called Alkin. Pulled into an age old battle between good and evil Claudia has a new guardian angel named Michael and it’s all she can do to stay away from the attraction she feels. Their love is forbidden and Michael ‘s role becomes blurred as he starts to fall for Claudia. Can the two of them fight off the fallen who are after her and can they satisfy eh Royal Council who want some answers about who Claudia really is?

Crossroads will appeal to readers who like books full of angel lore and YA romance. While I was intrigued there were a few things I struggled with like connecting to Claudia’s character and voice. With references to Guess jeans and Honda’s being cool the teen scene seemed to be trapped back in the 90’s. And why can’t Claudia ever fight for herself? Michael I really enjoyed but his change from brash and rude to automatically in love doting boyfriend was quite abrupt. I’m thinking the bad guy Aden was far too easily defeated and he’ll be back. I am also hoping we learn more about Austin in book two. He is up to no good I tell ya!

My favorite character was Davin- he’s much more down to earth and real and kept the story going for me. I’d love to see him in an even more central role. With poetic writing and beautiful scenery you’ll get wrapped up in Crossroads. I think Mary has a wonderful idea and am curious to see where she goes with it for the rest of the series.

Content: There was quite a lot of heavy handed romance and kissing scenes so I’d recommend this one for only older teens. (It was a little too much for my taste) There is also moderate violence as angels fight the fallen.
Thanks so much to Late Bloomer Online and Mary Ting for letting us be a part of the tour!
About the Author: Mary Ting resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing Crossroads was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. It was inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl.

Find Mary Ting on
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Website
Goodreads

Fire and Ice is giving away one author signed paperback copy of Crossroads to our readers. Open to US readers ages 16 and older. Giveaway ends October 14, 2011. To enter to win fill out this form.

Glow Release Day ARC Giveaway

13 Sep, 2011 by in St martins griffin 9 comments

Happy Book Birthday to
Glow
by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Hardcover, 307 pages
Published September 13, 2011
by St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN0312590563
series: Sky Chasers #1

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you’d been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth’s collapse, the ship’s crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader’s efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don’t know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them…

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren’t all from the outside.

Fire and Ice is giving away two ARC’s of Glow to our followers today to celebrate courtesy of St Martin’s Griffin. To enter click here and fill out the form.

Also: if you’re a Facebook user, please please do “like” the GLOW facebook page. There, you’ll find a 50-page excerpt from the book, sweepstakes, and more. Best of all, there’s a Facebook app (where users take a quiz to be placed on one of two spaceships and then compete with their friends to earn points for cool GLOW prizes). Good luck!

Indelible Blog Tour- Playlist and ARC Giveaway

09 Sep, 2011 by in pendrell 55 comments

Fire and Ice is thrilled to be participating in two stops on the Indelible Blog Tour hosted by Once upon a Twilight and Lani Woodland. Today we are talking about the music that inspired Lani in her writing process…

She says “Intrinsical had a playlist, but Indelible really didn’t. I think music can be really important while writing. It can totally help set the mood. In high school, I did a science fair project on if music really affected us. It did. Listening to music raised and lowered the blood pressure. Sometimes it triggers the emotions that I need in the scene I’m working on. That is one of the reasons I like to have music on while I’m writing. For Indelible I had my whole music library play or I would sometimes select a random song that I was in the mood for in the moment. Of course all of the songs that I had on my Intrinsical playlist were part of what that larger library, so here are a few of the songs from Intrinsical’s playlist. I would be interested to know if any of you have heard songs that made you think of Indelible or its characters.”

1) My Immortal by Evanescence
2) Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls
3) Home by Michael Bublé
4) Sympathy by the Cranberries
5) Fire and Rain by James Taylor
6) You are My Sunshine
7) It Had to Be You by Harry Connick Jr
8) Wonderful World by James Morrison
9) You Make it Real by James Morrison
10) Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
11) Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie

Click here for a pop out player of the playlist.

About the Book

Yara is beginning to understand just how much her life will change now that her Waker abilities have emerged. She has come to terms with the fact that seeing ghosts is part of her life, but she isn’t ready to let being a Waker dictate her choices. All she wants is a ghost-free senior year with her boyfriend, Brent, and her best friend, Cherie. But Yara soon discovers that there are more dark secrets in her school’s history than just the curse she broke. While an angry ghost makes Yara question everything she thought she knew about spirits, she and Brent learn that there are long reaching consequences to last year’s adventures. As new enemies emerge and old ghosts resurface, Yara finds herself in the center of another deadly mystery, and this time she has to contend with the living as well as the dead

About the Author: Lani Woodland has been an avid reader since elementary school when she first discovered the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins series. In sixth grade she began writing plays and recruiting (with force when necessary) her friends to act them out. Most of these early works were inspired by She-Ra, the epitome of girl power to her young self.

She graduated from BYU with a BS in Family Science. Lani has always loved scary stories, and has a hard time enjoying any book without at least a little romance in it. She lives in Southern California with her husband, their two children and a large collection of board games. She has worked as a spot-welder, babysitter, janitor, photographer, gymnastics coach, and movie extra. She enjoys bonfires at the beach, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, speed talking, chocolate as a cure-all, and the word “precisely”.

Visit Lani at her Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

The Giveaway: As part of the blog tour we are giving away one advanced reading copy of Indelible to our readers. It has been read by us as reviewers (so has minor shelf wear) but we wanted to pass it on to you, our loyal followers. To enter to win, simply comment below. Open Internationally and ends October 9, 2011.

Book Breview and ARC Giveaway-Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

24 Jun, 2011 by in maggie stiefvater, scholastic 107 comments

Forever
by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover, 386 pages
Expected publication: July 12th 2011
by Scholastic Press
ISBN 0545259088
5 stars

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater

In Maggie Stiefvater’s SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls series has burned a place in my heart as one of the most well crafted I’ve ever read…from the candy shop in Shiver to the Crooked Shelf bookstore where Sam works, to the descriptions of the forest which creeps near Grace’s home. Forever brought back for me everything I love about this series.

In book 2 I was annoyed by new character Cole St. Clair and his ex-rockstar antics, but now I’m amazed at how Maggie has brought me full circle! Isabel and Cole were my favorite characters in Forever. Cole has a new layer to him which makes him even more deep and by the end I really wanted to see where life would end up for he and Isabel. There’s not much I can say that will fully do this book justice. Maggie’s writing is so breathtakingly beautiful. Forever is again written in four different chraracter’s perspectives which flow together seamlessly in a symphony of words. The people are broken, their relationships complex. There is action, romance, philosophy, music and poetry by Rilke rolled into the pages of Forever to make it a full sensory experience. You can smell, taste and hear Mercy Falls soaking into your bones. You can almost feel the shift to becoming a wolf.

This is a goodbye I didn’t want to see-the final book of a trilogy which has left prints in the literary world. I sincerely hope we will be graced with companion novels and novellas in the years to come. For those of you waiting for the lay down date of Forever on July 12th, if you haven’t already, you should pick up Maggie’s other series including Lament and Ballad. They too are pure genius! Thanks so much to Scholastic for the copies of Forever and a chance to finally meet Maggie Stiefvater in person during their This Is Teen event New York.

Content: Recommended for readers 16 and older. Some violence, mention of drugs and sex.

Favorite Quote: from the acknowledgements in Forever…”Many, many readers have written asking me wistfully about the nature of Sam and Grace’s relationship, and I can assure you, that sort is absolutely real. Mutual, respectful, enduring love is completely attainable as long as you swear you won’t settle for less.” -Maggie Stiefvater

Go visit our affiliates over at Behind Yellow Eyes to catch up on all the latest news and for another chance to win Forever. Also, you can download the audiobook of book one, Shiver legally for free from June 23-29 here.

Trailer:

Fire and Ice is giving away one advanced reading copy of Forever to our readers! To enter to win fill out this form and leave a comment telling us whay you love or want to start reading the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Giveaway is international and ends on release day July 12, 2011.

The Game of Triumphs ARC Giveaway

23 Jun, 2011 by in Uncategorized 3 comments

The Game of Triumphs
by Laura Powell
Hardcover, 288 pages
Expected publication: August 9th 2011
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN 037586587X
series: Game of Triumphs #1

At an exclusive Soho party one rainy night, Cat stumbles into an ancient and dangerous game of fortune. A mysterious quartet of game masters deal out challenges—moves that unfold in the Arcanum, a dream-scape version of our world. Success can earn players fame, fortune, inspiration. Failure can be deadly.

At first Cat is skeptical, but undeniably curious. And when a journey into the Arcanum reveals a shocking glimpse of her family’s past, Cat begins to understand what drives people to play. Sometimes it’s greed or longing—other times desperation. She must know more.

Right now, the game masters hold all the cards. But Cat finds others like herself on the fringes of the game. And together an unlikely group of chancers hope to change the rules in their favor.

In the Game of Triumphs, the risks are high, but the rewards may just be worth dying for. . . .

About this author: Laura Powell grew up in rural Wales and now lives in West London. She wrote her first book while studying Classics at Oxford and worked in publishing for five years before leaving to concentrate on her writing.

Read reviews of The Game of Triumphs at Chicklish and Publisher’s Weekly.

To enter to win an advanced reading copy from Fire and Ice and Random House Children’s Books, please fill out this form. Giveaway ends July 23, 2011.

Book Giveaway- Starcrossed

09 Jun, 2011 by in starcrossed 15 comments

Starcrossed
by Josephine Angelini
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published May 31st 2011
by HarperTeen
ISBN 0062011995

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Fire and Ice is giving away our paperback advanced reading copy of Starcrossed. To enter to win, fill out this form. Giveaway ends July 9, 2011

Perfect Signed ARC Giveaway

30 May, 2011 by in simon schuster 59 comments

Perfect
by Ellen Hopkins
Hardcover, 544 pages
Expected publication:
September 13th 2011
by Margaret K. McElderry
ISBN1416983244
series: Impulse #2

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never understand.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins’s Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves.
Content warning: for older teens or adults due to language and themes.

Our first giveaway from BEA is a signed advanced reading copy of Perfect by Ellen Hopkins. Must be 18 or older to enter and have a U.S. mailing address. Click here to enter.