Book Blogger Hop: April 30 - May 6, 2010

It's Friday! Time for another Book Blogger HOP hosted by Crazy-For-Books!!

Here's the info from Crazy-For-Books:
This is for ALL BOOK BLOGGERS (NEW AND OLD) and READERS! Let's make some new friends and have fun! It's FRIDAY!!!

ABOUT THE HOP:
In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

If you start following someone through the Hop, leave a comment on their blog to let them know! Stop back during the week to see other blogs that are added! And, most importantly, the idea is to HAVE FUN!!

OPTIONAL TWIST:
On your blog hop post, tell us about some of the other great blogs you've found while Hopping around!

DISCLAIMER:
The Hop isn't just for you to throw your link in there and not visit any other blogs. It's all about networking and finding new blogs that are of interest. So, in the spirit of the Hop, try to make some time to visit other blogs and don't post your link if you are not planning on visiting other blogs in the Hop that week. This is a weekly event, so if you don't have time this week, that's fine! We'll see you next week!

If you sign MckLinky, please share the love and POST ABOUT THE HOP ON YOUR BLOG! How else will anyone else find out about it and come join the party?

Please use the following format when entering your link below (be careful - I don't have time to go in and edit your link!!):

NAME OF BLOG (How long you've been blogging; what genres you PRIMARILY review*)
*I know a lot of us read all different genres, but if you had to choose ONE OR TWO genres that you review more often than others, what would they be??

Example:
Crazy-for-Books (21 months; contemporary fiction/mystery)

So, let's do the Hop!

P.S. BEFORE YOU ENTER YOUR LINK - DID YOU READ ALL OF THE RULES ABOVE?? DON'T FORGET TO LIST THE REQUESTED INFORMATION IN YOUR LINK!!!!!

Waiting on Wednesday (5): The Kings of Clonmel

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Ranger's Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel: Book 8 by John Flanagan. The book is due to be released on May 18, 2010. This is one of Kole's favorite series of young adult books.

Mankind puts its faith in many things—gods, kings, money—anything for protection from the world’s many dangers. When a cult springs up in neighboring Clonmel, promising to quell the recent attacks by lawless marauders, people flock from all over to offer gold in exchange for protection. But this particular group, with which Halt is all too familiar, has a less than charitable agenda. Secrets will be unveiled and battles fought to the death as Will and Horace help Halt in ridding the land of a dangerous enemy.

The worldwide phenomenon is back with a gripping new adventure. Yet for these Rangers, the peril is only beginning . . .


What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

Teaser Tuesdays (4) - Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme that was started by MizB from Should Be Reading.

If you would like to participate in Teaser Tuesday, all you have to do is take the book that you are currently reading and open it to any page. Then you choose any two (2) sentences from that page to share with the rest of us!

*Be careful not to include spoilers and make sure to include the book title and author.


Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

(I am loving this book!!)

"But he only edged nearer, spoke more softly, yet still with that hint of barely suppressed frustration. “I could show you things that would make you forget everything you know here, in your safe little life…”" P 117

Book Description
The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

Book Blogger Hop: April 23-29, 2010

We joined this Blogger Hop, our first one and it is being hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Check there for the rules and "If you sign MckLinky, please share the love and POST ABOUT THE HOP ON YOUR BLOG! How else will anyone else find out about it and come join the party?"

Waiting on Wednesday: Illyria by Elizabeth Hand

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Illyria by Elizabeth Hand

Editor's Description

Madeleine and Rogan are first cousins, best friends, twinned souls, each other’s first love. Even within their large, disorderly family—all descendants of a famous actress—their intensity and passion for theater sets them apart. It makes them a little dangerous. When they are cast in their school’s production of Twelfth Night, they are forced to face their separate talents and futures, and their future together. This masterful short novel, winner of the World Fantasy Award, is magic on paper.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

Teaser Tuesdays: The Time Pirate

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme that was started by MizB from Should Be Reading. http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

If you would like to participate in Teaser Tuesday, all you have to do is take the book that you are currently reading and open it to any page. Then you choose any two (2) sentences from that page to share with the rest of us!

*Be careful not to include spoilers and make sure to include the book title and author.

"The pirate captain drew one of his two pistols. He didn't like the man's tone. And if the man above didn't minmd his manners, Blood planned to put a ball through his tiny brain."

-p. 85, The Time Pirate: A Nick McIver Time Adventure by Ted Bell

Contest - Book Giveaway

Want to win the copy of All-Action Classics: Dracula that we just reviewed? Of course you do.

We are giving away one copy of this book to one lucky follower. Click on the right to follow us (must be a follower to enter) and click here to fill out the form to be entered. (Note: We've updated the entry process on 4/23/10, those who entered the old way, will still be entered in full.)

This giveaway ends on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 11:59pm eastern. Contest is open to U.S. residents, 13 years of age and up only.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Red Pyramid

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) by Rick Riordan, due out May 4, 2010.


Editor's Description
Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Rick Riordan is also the author of the New York Times #1 best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: Book One: The Lightning Thief; Book Two: The Sea of Monsters; Book Three: The Titan’s Curse; Book Four: The Battle of the Labyrinth; and Book Five: The Last Olympian. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave a link in the comments section!

Teaser Tuesdays: Distant Waves

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Jessica's Teaser:

“I stood there with the others and wondered at the magic of electricity. If light could travel through wires, perhaps a spirit really could find a way to move along secret paths, as well."

-p.55, Distant Waves - A Novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn

Waiting on Wednesday: Mockinjay

Waiting on Wednesday Meme was started by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It spots upcoming releases that we want to read.

Jessica's pick is Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins due out August 24, 2010.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Teaser Tuesday: Incarceron

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

Teaser from the book Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, page 155

"But look," she said, "it's too late now and I can't believe a few words can damage a centuries-old experiment, do you?"
He had no idea what she was talking about. "You are Outside, aren't you? Outside exists? The stars are there, aren't they?"

Editor's Description

A thrilling, high-concept fantasy for fans of Garth Nix and Nancy Farmer.

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.