Posts Tagged: BIR2010

BIR2010 Winners

20 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway, contest winners 12 comments

Congratulations to all of our winners from Best I’ve Read 2010. Your names and addresses have been submitted to the authors and publishers. If your prize has not arrived by February first send us an email so we can check on the status of the shipment. Thanks so much to all who entered. Between all of our sites we gave away over 400 books! Be sure to check all the participating blog sites for your name and the BIR2010 master site for the grand prize winners.

Personal Demons Allison Tielking
Pathfinder Allison Tielking
Enchanted Ivy Amy Brown
Extraordinary Beverly Archer
Secondhand Charm Andrea Infinger
Rot & Ruin Andrea Infinger
Clockwork Angel Anna Choi
Shade Ashley Causey
The Eternal One Ashley Causey
My Double Life Briana McNair
Clockwork Angel Christina Ferko
Demon’s Covenant Ekta Patel
Shadow Hills Poster Elizabeth Lehman
Forgive My Fins Elizabeth Weibly
The Scorch Trials Gabrielle Carolina
Matched Hattie DeRaps
The Unwritten Rule Heather Johnson
Firelight Hugo Torrijos
Deception Jazmyn Rodgers
Dust City Julie Smeltzer
Behemoth Kailia Sage
Leviathan Kailia Sage
The Familiars Kate Mecozzi
Nightshade Kelly Houser
Heavenly Latisha Depoortere
Anna & The French Kiss Lauren Meinhardt
The Lonely Hearts Club Leanna Morris
Secrets and Shadows Linda Septer
Guardian At The Gate Lisa McGeen
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour Lora Wiedenheft
The Replacement Martha Lawson
Before I Fall Martha Lawson
Pathfinder Michelle Ball
Amy & Rogers Epic Detour Minas Tenah
The Exiled Queen N.J. Wlison
Tyger Tyger Nathalie Depardieu
Losing Faith Nichole Giles
Crescendo Nikki Meiggs
Shadow of The Sun Ricki Marking-Camuto
Intrinsical Taffy Lovell
My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions Tina Broomfield
Crescendo Tressa Sherrman
Dark Flame Yokemun Chong
Once In A Full Moon Yokemun Chong

Best I’ve Read 2010

15 Dec, 2010 by in Uncategorized 2 comments

Thank you so much to all of our readers for entering all of our giveaways! Today marks the end of BIR2010, and you have until tonight at Midnight to enter any of our prize packages. Then on Monday December 20th we will announce all winners. And, don’t forget to enter the The Grand Prize on the Best I’ve Read Blog.

Muchas gracias to all of the bloggers who coordinated efforts to plan and make this possible! Also, a huge thank you to all of you readers who took the time to read and enter our contests. As well to those who commented on our posts and retweeted our links! And the biggest thanks to the Authors and Publishers that contributed so many books for each of our blogs.

On Monday December 20th all winners will be announced. Please note that the prizes will probably not arrive until the New Year.. Many of the prizes are being shipped directly from Author or Publisher. If you have any concerns or comments about Best I’ve Read please feel free to contact us.

Morgan Matson BIR2010 Teaser Giveaway

14 Dec, 2010 by in Morgan Matson, simon schuster 8 comments

We have a second great teaser book giveaway for you today.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour
by Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Released: May 4, 2010
http://twitter.com/morgan_m

Book Summary: Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew–just in time for Amy’s senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she’s always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy’s mother’s old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she’s surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road–diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards–this is the story of one girl’s journey to find herself.

Giveaway:
One copy of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour shipped to the US only. Click here to enter!

SEA Interview and Giveaway

12 Dec, 2010 by in Sea 9 comments

SEA
by Heidi R Kling
published June 10th 2010
by Putnam Juvenile
Hardcover, 336 pages
url http://www.heidirkling.com/
5 Stars

Synopsis: Haunted by recurring nightmares since her mother’s disappearance over the Indian ocean three years before, fifteen-year old California girl Sienna Jones reluctantly travels with her psychiatrist father’s volunteer team to six-months post-tsunami Indonesia where she meets the scarred and soulful orphaned boy, Deni, who is more like Sea than anyone she has ever met.

She knows they can’t be together, so why can’t she stay away from him? And what about her old best friend-turned-suddenly-hot Spider who may or may not be waiting for her back home? And why won’t her dad tell her the truth about her mother’s plane crash? The farther she gets from home, the closer she comes to finding answers.

And Sea’s real adventure begins

Ever since I first read about Heidi’s book on Twitter I was intrigued by premise and elements of the story. The teasers started a creative flurry of activity for me of photos and jewelry, and I requested our local Barnes and Noble order it in. The wait has been long, but worth it. What an outstanding debut novel by Heidi R Kling. Sea is lyrically written from the eyes of Sienna, a young girl who suffers from PTSD and nightmares after losing her mother. Once filled with adventure and a love of the ocean, she has changed. When her father, a renowned world psychiatrist gifts her a trip to Indonesia with Team Hope, Sienna is forced to face her biggest fears. From her childhood friendship with a surfer named Spider, to touching lives at an orphanage in Yogyakarta; this book brought me to tears. It’s one that leaves you thinking and feeling hopeful for the power of change. Love overcomes loss as Deni shows Sienna that a choice must be made to live each new day. SEA will stick with you for a long time as will the impressions of post-tsunami recovery in Indonesia. It’s a meaningful, culturally rich novel with purpose. And this is one of those reviews where I feel like words aren’t adequate to describe my experience. So much of SEA is what I felt inside.

Thanks to Heidi R Kling for sharing her talent and answering a few questions as part of an exclusive interview for BIR2010.

Tell us about your book.
SEA is a romantic adventure about hope after disaster, set in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

Did you do any traveling or face to face interviews for SEA?
I have traveled quite a bit, but have never been to Indonesia. I interviewed by husband, who volunteered at a real Indonesian orphanage after the disaster and a female volunteer as well as two orphaned boys (via email).

What are some of the life lessons your characters have to face and how do they apply to today’s teens?
I think everyone can resinate with the idea of hope and loss. The human experience is checkered with these feelings. Part of the human experience is also hanging on to hope; that things will improve, get better. Maybe most American teens cannot relate to a tsunami washing over their village, but hopelessness is a common teen feeling. I hope SEA helps them realize these feelings are temporary. There is always, like my grandpa used to say, sunshine in the morning.

PTSD and natural disasters are explored in SEA. What advice would you give to someone who has survived a tragedy?
Let yourself grieve. It is a normal human reaction. It’s okay to be sad. It’s also okay to ask for help. PTSD is a psychiatric condition that you should seek medical help for.

What has been your most rewarding experience since writing SEA?
The readers, definitely. I think SEA is a smallish book, meaning it didn’t get a lot of fanfare or marketing from my publisher, but the readers have fallen in love with it. That means the world to me.

Any new projects coming up?
I’m writing a fantasy trilogy about estranged witches and warlocks. It’s like a Romeo and Juliet with magic story. I’m also contributing to anthologies, both this fall’s Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls, and Spring/2011 TRUTH & DARE.

What’s on your Chrsitmas list this year?
So funny you asked. For the first time in five years I have a long, long list for Santa. Short, grey Ugg boots are on there, the Eclipse DVD (my husband surprised me last night and gave it to be early!), a beach cruiser with a basket and a little horn. I’ve always wanted a little horn.

What books have most influenced your life?
John Green’s LOOKING FOR ALASKA influenced the way I thought about YA. Made me delve deeper with SEA. Toni Morrison’s BELOVED made me realize how incredibly rich modern prose could be. Judy Blume’s books taught me about everything else. 😉

Favorite writing snack?
Peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s. Frozen. In large handfuls.

Heidi will be giving one reader a signed bookmark and we will add one item from our SEA store on etsy. Enter the international giveaway here.

You may also want to visit the SEA Flickr gallery with photos which reminded me of the book at http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherzahngardner/galleries/72157624488461623/

Dust City Giveaway

12 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway, robert paul weston 7 comments

Dust City

by: Robert Paul Weston
Published by: Razorbill

Book Summary: Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
His son, that’s who.

Ever since his father’s arrest for the murder of Little Red Riding Hood, teen wolf Henry Whelp has kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves . . . until a murder at the Home leads Henry to believe his father may have been framed.

Now, with the help of his kleptomaniac roommate, Jack, and a daring she-wolf named Fiona, Henry will have to venture deep into the heart of Dust City: a rundown, gritty metropolis where fairydust is craved by everyone and controlled by a dangerous mob of Water Nixies and their crime boss leader, Skinner.

Can Henry solve the mystery of his family’s sinister past? Or, like his father before him, is he destined for life as a big bad wolf?

This giveaway is open to both US and Canada. One copy of Dust City will be awarded to a lucky blog follower. Enter here.

BIR2010 YA Prize Pack #4

12 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway 13 comments

Dark Flame
By Alyson Noel
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin
Released June 22, 2010
http://www.alysonnoel.com/

At the start of this mesmerizing new installment of the Immortals series, Ever is helping her friend Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and carelessly putting them all at risk, their friendship becomes more and more strained. At the same time, Ever delves deeper into magick in order to get control over her enemy Roman and free Damen from his power. But when the spell she casts on Roman backfires, she’s bound to her deadliest enemy. Frantic to reverse the spell the moment the moon enters a new phase, she finds her efforts are fruitless—there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, one that propels her toward Roman. Desperate to break free of this terrible curse before Damen or the twins can discover what she’s done, she turns to Jude and delves deeper and deeper into dark magick, ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including Damen.

Once in A Full Moon
by Ellen Schreiber
Published by HarperCollins

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. She’s used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend’s Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who’s from the wrong side of town. But she can’t deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste’s hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend’s Run.

Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.
One lucky US reader will receive both Dark Flame and Once in A Full Moon. Enter below.

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BIR2010 YA Prize Pack #2

11 Dec, 2010 by in shade, the eternal ones 9 comments

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Release: August 2010
http://www.theeternalones.com/

Book Summary (from Penguin): Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.
In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

This is a really tricky review for me to write because I had a hard time figuring out why this book stuck with me so much. It’s been several days since I finished reading it and it has been with me the entire time, even while reading two other books. I won The Eternal Ones in an ARC giveaway and when I first picked it up I almost stopped reading after the first few pages. Everything was too “in your face” for me…the best friend, the naivity of Haven, the contant sexual talk, near nudity and her grandmother’s personality. As a whole, the book read more like an adult book for me rather than a YA book. There was too much mature content as filler. I kept picturing the characters as older that High School even though the author tries to fir them into that age group. I don’t picture 17 year olds getting married, traveling to Italy or being involved in a murder trial with a 900 year old attorney. However, since the premise of the book is that the characters are really older and reincarnated I suppose it may work.

All of this aside, I must say I really loved the book. It spoke to me. I soaked in the settings, lived the history, the mystery and the main protagonists. Still scratching my head about what to say but I give it four stars because it is rare that a book stays with me so long and deep after I close the pages.

Shade
By Jeri Smith-Ready
Published by Simon Pulse
Released on April 15, 2010
http://www.jerismithready.com/

Love ties them together. Death can’t tear them apart. Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan’s band playing a critical gig and Aura’s plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend’s life. She never thought it would be his last. Logan’s sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He’s gone. Well, sort of. Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost. It doesn’t help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit. As Aura’s relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura’s heart and clues to the secret of the Shift.

To enter to win our Best I’ve Read Prize Pack #2 with one copy of The EternalOnes and one Copy of Shade fill out the form here. Open only to US residents.

Lisa Desrochers BIR2010 Giveaway

10 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway, personal demons, tor teen 3 comments

Personal Demons
By: Lisa Desrochers
Published by: Tor Teen
Book summary
Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She’s spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will be more of the same…until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can’t seem to stay away from him. What she doesn’t know is that Luc works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn’t long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay…for all of them.

Head over to Lisa Desrochers’ website: http://www.lisadesrochers.blogspot.com/ to view Rannie, Luc and Gabe book trailers.

Lisa and Tor Teen have offered us one copy of Personal Demons as a part of BIR2010. Ships to US and Canada. Fill out this form to enter.

Shadow of The Sun ARC Giveaway

09 Dec, 2010 by in book giveaway, Shadow of the Sun 7 comments

Shadow of The Sun
by Laura Kreitzer
Hardcover, 524 pages
Published February 22nd 2010
by iUniverse
ISBN 1450211758
5 stars

Summary: Gabriella’s past is a mystery, but that never stopped her from achieving her goals. As a supernatural specialist, and far more intelligent than anyone her age, she has always been ignored by her peers. Because of the isolation she has always felt, she put her life and soul into her job. Being a supernatural specialist hasn’t given her the divine intervention she always longed for, until one day a shipment arrives from Italy containing three dead bodies with an uncanny ability to regenerate. Gabriella is frightened and intrigued, but not as scared as she becomes when a dark creature attacks her.

As the bodies come back to life, the plot takes an unexpected twist that you won’t see coming. The supernatural world only begins to unfold before her as angels appear, her dreams start to haunt her, and the very past she has forgotten comes back with startling clarity. Romance blooms, escape plans are made, an assassin is out to kill her, and death is only around the corner. But what is more terrifying than all of it is the fact she is the chosen one, the Illuminator, the one who will save them all.

I savored the story and the characters in Shadow of The Sun whom I feel like I connected with on many levels. The main hero, Andrew comforts and supports Gabriella while being a perfect gentleman. Laura Kreitzer creates an emotionally riveting mystery full of myth , magic and romance. I gave it five stars and would recommend it to all of my adult friends!

“Laura Kreitzer is a newly published fiction author who hails from western Kentucky. While her full-time 9-5 job includes working in a lab devoted to water dye-tracing investigations at Western Kentucky University, her passion lies in writing.”

See our original review of the first book in her Timeless series and our full April interview with her here.

How did you come up with the idea for your series?
I told my Grandmother that I wanted to write my own book and she said Angels sounded like a good idea. So, I let the idea simmer in my head for a few months until I decided I didn’t want to write the typical angel. Actually, I didn’t want to write about anything that anyone else had ever written about. And . . . tada! Shadow of the Sun.

Do you feel like you relate to any of your characters?
I relate to each of my characters for different things. But I probably relate better to the main character the most, mainly because of her anti-social nature. With each character I brought out something in me–whether it be their evil side, their loving side, or their need to protect.

Describe your path to being published. I researched for about 5 months on what I wanted to do. Traditional publishing is a great way to go . . . if you can get someone to actually publish your book. Well, I didn’t want someone to tell me that I wasn’t good enough to publish my book. The whole process was one I didn’t think I could handle mentally. So, I saved money and went the self publishing way through iUniverse. I picked out my font, the layout of my book, I had a graphic designer take my idea (with help of some friends 😉 to make the beautiful cover. I literally did all the things a publisher would do. You have to be dedicated to go self publishing, that is for sure. And here I am today! My book is sold in over 30 countries, through B&N.com, Amazon.com, and Books-a-Million. From what I hear, Borders will also be picking up my book. We’ll see.

What things inspire your writing?
My Muse, friend, and Beta Lisa! It sounds silly, but sometimes I can’t even write unless I am talking with her on messenger. She cracks the whip, is a wonderful, dedicated person, and loves my characters. Especially Joseph. Oh, she is going to love book two, then! 😀 Well, she already does. The fact that when I reread some of the things I wrote and go “I actually wrote that?” is another thing that inspires me. Sometimes I don’t realize I can write the beautiful things I do until I reread much later. Sounds cheesy . . . well, I’m just a cheesy person! Also, sometimes I really try to feel what my character is feeling. Hell, through the whole Abelie scene I was crying my eyes out! So I understand how people feel when they email me and tell me that I made them cry. I cried too!

Any photos of the places you imagine in your scenes in Italy?
Well, I just tried to google pictures in Italy to see if I could find something like the picture I have in my head but I was unable to find what I was looking for. Close, but not close enough to use. My mother has been to Italy several times in her lifetime and some of her pictures come to mind when I think of Italy. Of course, in my mind it isn’t these large cities, but small villages thousands of years ago, or a vast, empty field with mountains in the distance for the scene in the book. We’ll see more of Italy in book two!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write! Always write, never stop. Doesn’t matter if it is bad or in need of major help . . . WRITE! You can’t aspire to be a writer if you only dream of it. You must act upon it. And never, ever give up.

Thanks so much to Laura Kreitzer, one of site affiliates and favorite reads of 2010. Visit her amazing site at http://laurakreitzer.com/
She has donated one signed ARC of Shadow of The Sun book #1 in the Timeless series for our US blog followers. Click here to enter to win as a part of BIR2010.

News and Contest Winners

08 Dec, 2010 by in Michael Knudsen, sheralyn pratt Leave a comment

Special thanks to authors Sheralyn Pratt and Michael Knudsen who featured Fire and Ice on their sites this week. Michael’s book The Rogue Shop came out today. HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!! I gave it five stars! See his blog post and more about the book here

Sheralyn Pratt’s book 4 in the Rhea Jensen Series: Kay’sville just recently hit the shelves and she is throwing a shindig for her fans on the 14th of December to celebrate. Catch details on her blog at http://sheralynpratt.blogspot.com/ We will be there selling book related jewelry.

Congratulations to Michelle Nell who won a copy of Pingo by Brandon Mull! This week you will have a TON of opportunities to score books as a part of the BIR2010 giveaways running until December 15th. Stay tuned to our site and the BIR site for more information. And please let us know if you have experienced any problems or questions.