Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Tales From Under The Grave - A YA Spooktacular Event



From ghoulies and ghosties,
And long-leggedy beasties,
And things that go bump in the night...


It's almost that time of year! Yes, I'm talking about HALLOWEEN!


Next month is going to be amazing with all the events, giveaways and all things Halloween going on.


Danielle @ Frenzy Of Noise and I, are going to be hosting a Spooktacular Halloween event featuring some of our favorite things! Authors, reviews, mini-challenges, giveaways, "trick-or-treating", ghost stories and CANDY!!!


With that said, we are excited to bring you the first ever....


October 22nd - October 31st


Sounds awesome right!? More details to come once the event date gets closer and trust me, you don't want to miss it!

(You can follow #YASpooktacular on twitter if you want some as-they-happen spoilers.)
Twitter: @daniellebunner OR @onceuponareview

The Spooktacular Bloggers Participating:

Christina - Chrisina's Books
Courtney - Courtney Reads


ATTENTION AUTHORS!!! WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR MORE YA AUTHORS TO WRITE A 200-600 WORD PIECE OF A SHORT STORY WITH OTHER AUTHORS.

If you know an author you think would be interested please contact us and let us know! Thanks!
_________________________________________________________________

*If you are an author and would like to participate in this event or would like more details, please email talesfromunderthegrave(at)gmail(dot)com.

*If you are an author or publisher and would like to donate,
please email talesfromunderthegrave(at)gmail(dot)com.


Once Upon a Review

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (Intrinsical by Lani Woodland)


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!



My Teasers:






"I knew a ghost was near. My hands felt suddenly frostbitten, my teeth chattered, and the glass near me fogged. Sweat trickled down my neck and my lungs felt like they were caught in a trash compacter."






pg.93 "Intrinsical" by Lani Woodland


Once Upon a Review

Monday, September 27, 2010

Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer

Published:
October 19, 2010

Pages: 464
Rating: 5 flowers
Summary:
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?






My Thoughts:


NIGHTSHADE is a captivating story full of romance, suspense and mystery that will leave you dying to read the next book.

All I want to do is go on and on about how much I absolutely LOVE this book! This was another book I was dying to read and I was so so so happy I got the chance to before it came out. It is definitely not like any other book I have read. NIGHTSHADE has a truly original premise. Andrea Cremer's world of Guardians and Keepers, had me turning every page with anticipation. It is now one of my favorite 2010 debut novels.

NIGHTSHADE has it all. Romance, mystery, action, drama, realistic characters; everything that a great paranormal read should have. It definetly exceeded my expectations. Cremer's writing is beautifully done. She definetly leaves readers thinking with all the secrets and mysteries going on. The action scenes were outstanding, it felt like I was watching the whole thing happen before my eyes.

The love triangle had me going back and forth between the love interests. I still don't know who I like more. There's Ren, (OMG!) the sexy alpha male play boy and Shay, the new boy at school who Calla saves. At first I didn't even see Shay as competition until almost toward the middle of the book, then I was as confused as Calla was! Andrea Cremer knows how to create some sexy characters! Calla was my favorite. I absolutely love strong female protagonists.

Overall, NIGHTSHADE is a book that I think every paranormal fan will love. I don't want to give to much away about the plot so i'll just tell you that you DON'T want to skip out on reading this book! Andrea Cremer's new world of werewolves will have anyone counting down the days, waiting for the next book in the series. I know I am!




Once Upon a Review

In My Mailbox (past few weeks)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren
and inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie


I haven't had internet the past few weeks so I haven't been able to share with everyone what I've been getting so for my IMM this week I am going to do it on the books I got those past weeks too.

I really wanted to do a Vlog but OH MY GOSH! There were so many books and it ended up being like 10 mins long so ill just do a regular post for now. :)


WARNING: EPIC-ness of books below, not for the faint-hearted :P





For Review:

Knight Angels: Book of Love by Abra Ebner
Knight Angels: Book of Revenge by Abra Ebner
Paranormalcy by Keirsten White
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Intrinsical by Lani Woodland
Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
Romeo & Juliet & Vampires by Claudia Gabel
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (!!!)
Blood & Flowers by Penny Blubaugh
Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Bought:
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Radiance by Alyson Noel

Won:

Torment by Lauren Kate
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (signed!!!)
You Wish ARC by Mandy Hubbard
Prada & Prejudice by Many Hubbard
My Little Pony! (not pictured)

ARC Tours:

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Gifted:

Clockwork Angel ARC by Cassandra Clare from Lori
Fallen by Lauren Kate from Kari :)

Got from other bloggers:
(I did not buy the ARCs, just paid for shipping)

Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway
Tall, Dark & Sexy by Tate Hallaway
Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway
Dead If I Do by Tate Hallaway
Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
Karma Bites by Stacey Kramer
Sleepless by Cyn Balog
Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber
Kissing Coffins by Ellen Schreiber
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

Swag:

Lots of swag from the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour!! :)


































So that was my amazing few weeks of EPIC-ness!

Special thanks to: HarperCollins, HaperTeen, Disney-Hyperion, Lani Woodland-Pedrell Publishing, Anread Cremer, Jennifer Laurens, Abra Ebner, Mandy Hubbard, Lori, Kari, Tori, Monica and all the Smart Chicks in The Woodlands!

Once Upon a Review





Sunday, September 26, 2010

Contest Craze Mini-Challenge #1


Hey everyone! Cindy @ Princess Bookie is having an amazing event, Contest Craze. During each mini challenge, all you have to do is participate and one lucky winner will win an ARC prize pack!

The first Mini Challenge consists cf:
Name Your Top 5 Books of 2011
-Make a blog post and tell me your top 5 most wanted books of 2011! And, why you want them!
-This should take some serious thought!
-You can include the book cover or just the title-author if you want!


MY TOP 5 BOOKS OF 2011!


This was really hard trying to narrow down all of the amazing books coming out next year to only 5 favorite choices!






#1 THE IRON QUEEN by Julie Kagawa (February 1st, 2011)
OMG! I am sooo excited for the last novel in Kagawa's Iron Fey series! It is by far on of my top 3 favorite young adult series. In the IRON DAUGHTER, Kagawa left me literally pulling out my hair because I didn't want it to end!

#2 CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS by Cassandra Clare (April 5th, 2011)
Of course Cassandra Clare's next TMI book is in my top 5! She is like the Queen of YA! I absolutley love her books. I cant wait to see what happens next!

#3 DARKEST MERCY by Melissa Marr (February 22nd, 2011)
This is by far my favorite cover of Marr's. This series is also in my top 3, along with TMI too, and Im sad but excited to read the last book in her Fey series.

#4 ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton (February 15th, 2011)
Oh wow, what to say about this book! I have been wanting to read this ever since it popped up on Goodreads! After hearing so many great things about it I am definetly going to be counting down the days till it comes over. Beautiful cover too!

#5 SECRETS AND SHADOWS by Shannon Delany (February 15th, 2011)
Whoever has not read 13 TO LIFE yet needs to read it now! Shannon Delany is a very talented debut author who's book has found its way into my heart and one of my top favorite books. She left us with a major cliff ending so again, I am pulling out my hair to find out what happens next!



It was a hard decision but I did it! These five books are definetly going to be making there way onto my bookshelf next year! (And thet almost all come out at the same time! YAY!)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Winners, winners, winners!

So instead of posting the winners for a few of the contests this morning, I decided to wait till I got the chance to have them all picked! So here you are! Thanks everyone for being patient ;)


I have emailed the winners. They will have 48 hours to respond or I will have to pick new winners! (Besides the Louder Than Words book winners)




Infinite Days Swag: postcards

Monica P.
Jeremy West
Throutehaze

Julie Kagawa doodled bookplates:

Ashley M.

Louder Than Words Books:

Rae, Alexis and Hannah - Desilula
Rae - Beverly @ The Wormhole
Alexis - Kaitlyn in Bookland
Hannah - Kailia Sage

Ondine by Ebony Mckenna:

Katelyn from The Book Sophisticate

Amanda Hocking Giveaway:

My Blood Approves book - Robin K. (Intense Whisper)
Inspired T-shirt - Britny A.



___________________________________________________________

Tomorrow, my MEGA Birthday Giveaway was suppose to end but since I just now got my computer back up and running, I am extending to deadline to September 30st - 11:59pm EST.
So go hurry and enter.
Good Luck!


Once Upon a Review

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I'm back!

Today I finally got my new laptop charger in! After getting the wrong one the first time, I finally found the right one. Ha! I am so sorry for the major lack of reviews and contest winner announcements. I will be picking winners tonight and have them all announced hopefully in the morning if not I will at least have some done! Thank you to all my followers who have stuck around and waited patiently to see who my contest winners were. You all are the best!



Reviews to come!


Nightshade by Andrea Cremer




Once Upon a Review

Monday, September 6, 2010

Why Ive been gone...

Hey guys, sorry for the major lack of updates! On the 30th my brother decided to break the laptop charger. So I haven't been able to get on the computer since the, just on my phone. As soon as I'm able to get another charger I will catch up on reviews and picking winners for the contest ls that have ended.

If you have yet to enter, please feel free to enter late and ill accept those entries.
Thank you everyone and I hope you all stick around!

Im still able to check my email and update on twitter!

Once Upon a Review
 
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