Shelf Candy Saturday (6) Wild About You Series by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews

I have been showcasing a lot of darker covers for my previous shelf candy posts so I decided that this week I would do something lighter. I chose the Wild About You Series by Vicki Lewis Thompson. The covers are fun and it's a great series!



Werewolf in Manhattan (Wild About You #1)


Emma Gavin writes about werewolves, but that doesn't mean she believes in them-not until a pack of real-life New York weres decide to investigate the striking accuracy of her "fiction".

When Aiden Wallace, son and heir of the pack leader, tries to sniff out Emma's potential informant, he discovers something even more dangerous- an undeniable attraction to  her.
















Werewolf in the North Woods (Wild About You #2)


When she used to walk around her grandfather’s property out­side Portland, Abby Winchell loved the idea that Bigfoot was somewhere out there too. Now her grandfather swears he’s seen two creatures that fit the legendary description—and he has evidence. Sort of. Grandpa Earl may be a bit dotty, but when his neighbors invite a renowned anthropologist to disprove his theory, Abby decides to send the man packing...until she sees how hot he is. 

Anthropology professor Roark Wallace can’t risk news be­ing made of a Bigfoot sighting in the north woods—not with a local pack of werewolves to protect. Disproving the evidence should be easy, but ignoring Abby is not. Her fiery red hair makes him want to sit up and beg, and this obvious attraction is making the pack suspicious...









Werewolf in Seattle (Wild About You #3)


The last thing Colin McDowell wants is to inherit his Aunt Geraldine's mansion in the San Juan islands off the coast of Washington. As the pack leader of the Trevelyans in Scotland, he had little time to travel halfway around the world to take care of his inheritance.

But the trip takes a pleasant turn when he meets Luna Reynaud, the young secretary his aunt hired shortly before she died. He isn't sure which surprises him more-Luna's clever plan for turning the mansion into a resort of the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous. Both intrigue him-until he learns that Luna is only a half-breed. There's no way a pack leader can mate with a woman who's partly human...or is there?












I really like the continuity between the covers. The same styles and fonts and you can find a small wolf in the distance on each cover. Even the spines and back covers match nicely.



Shelf Candy Saturday (5) Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover & Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews.

For this week's shelf candy post I decided to showcase two ghost themed books.


Unclean Spirits (The Black Sun's Daughter #1) by M.L.N. Hanover


 In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules.


Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means -- magical or mundane -- so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions -- Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities -- Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast -- or break them completely...


This book has been out since 2008 but I hadn't come across it until recently. I'm not normally a huge fan of covers with half leather clad lass's but I do love this cover. I like the tones and all of the whispy spirits on the cover model and her weapon. I'm also a fan of the title lettering, it gives you an almost uneasy feel and you know this isn't going to be a happy go lucky kind of book. I'm not sure what I think about the placement of the rest of the text though. It just seems a little awkward to me.  
  




Hereafter by Tara Hudson


Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life--or her actual death--she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but "will" him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, "Hereafter" is a sensation you won't want to miss.



This cover has been all over the place since the book was released a year ago but I still love it. It's not the typical pretty girl in a pretty dress type of cover. You have those same elements but it's carried off with a twist. The girl is nicely faded to blend into the trees and water. And of course I love that this cover has blue tones :). The font and accents in the title and author's name are also a nice touch. 


Mini Challenge Winner!

I hope you all enjoyed the food fight! I know I loved reading all of the posts :)

The winner (thanks to random.org) is 

"I'm going to throw some cherry pies by launching them off the ceiling fans! "
reviews@shaynagier.com

Congrats! I'll be contacting you shortly!

Read-a-Thon Mini Challenge

Aside from the obvious reading, what else do you do during the Read-a-thon? For me, it’s eating! I know, I know, that doesn’t sound very healthy… and honestly it’s not ;). But since eating is one of the things that keeps me going I decided to do a food themed challenge.

Imagine that this Read-a-thon is one large, worldwide food fight! Yes, you heard right…food fight!! You have to defend yourself, your blog, and your books!

To enter this challenge, post a comment letting me know what food you’ll be reaching for when the battle begins! If you want to go a step further, you can pick a method to deliver your attack. AND if you want to go even further, you can pick a fellow read-a-thon’er to target!

Fun right?!! I’ll get us started by using a remote controlled hot air balloon (with GPS of course) to drop a big vat of cheesy mashed potatoes on Wendy @ Wall-to-Wall books.

SPLAT!!!

Now it’s your turn! You have TWO hours to enter. Contest closes at 4:59am (EST)
Make sure to include your email so I can contact the winner!

Remember to keep it relatively safe, no bodily harm should come from your food item ;)

The winner will be able to choose up to $15 worth of books from Book Depository.com


**Since I am heading to bed soon, I will announce a winner later in the morning! Happy Reading everyone!!


RAT Updates

This is where I will post any updates during the RAT (Read-a-thon). I will put the most current updates at the top so you don't have to go hunting for them.

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I haven't added an update for a while because I went to bed for a little...shame on me I know. I set an alarm so I could be awake to get my mini challenge rolling then figured I would decide where to go from there. And I think I'm going to bow out gracefully and try for more sleep.

A big thanks to everyone who has stopped by to visit and cheer me on :) I had a great first half!

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9 more hours to go!

Pages Read: 309 in Sugar Rush; 186 in The Next Full moon
Currently Reading: I am just about to start Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon



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10 more hours to go!

Pages Read: 309 in Sugar Rush & 138 in The Next Full Moon
Bookmarks Used: None until just now and with all of these bookmarks sitting next to me, what do I use? My phone!
Breaks: I stopped to eat a quick dinner with the hubs.
Currently Reading: The Next Full Moon


MID EVENT SURVEY:


1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I'm surprisingly not sleepy at all. No tired eyes either.

2) What have you finished reading?
Sugar Rush  by Donna Kauffman

3) What is your favorite read so far?
I've only finished one so I'll go with Sugar Rush again

4) What about your favorite snacks?
Well I haven't snacked for a while, but I did enjoy the very salty pretzels


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I've been switching up my drinks every so often because I'm not thrilled with drinking warm stuff unless it's supposed to be warm. And my being the smart a** that I am decided to find a new way to warn hubs away from my drinks



















They say 'Germs' and 'Ew! Yuk! Don't Drink!' Hehe

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Random thought: I haven't had ANY caffeine so far during this RAT! Normally during RAT's I'm so hopped up on high sugar/high caffeine so this is quite the change. Coffee is sounding pretty tasty at the moment but for now I'm going to avoid it. We'll see how long I last without it.

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Really!?! We're half way through hour 11??? How did that happen?

I just now finished Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman, and I definitely enjoyed the book!

Pages Read: 309
Bookmarks Used: Just my post-it again because I was determined to finish this book!
Breaks: Ah, who knows at this point!
Currently Reading: The Next Full Moon by Carolyn Turgeon

I decided to play it smart and put my collection of bookmarks next to my RAT book pile so with each book I can pick an assortment of bookmarks to keep close at hand. It only took me 11 hours to figure that one out, jeesh! So for The Next Full Moon I picked out the blue bookmarks laying in front of the book...because they have to match right!?!

PS, Thanks again to my all of my book buddies who have sent me bookmarks over the months :-P


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We're into hour 9

It's Raining, It's Pouring, The Old Man is Snoring... Oh wait, this is a read a thon not a sing a thon...woops.

As you can tell from that ^ it's  raining pretty hard and I heard some rumbles of thunder.

I'm not even going to bother updating my status since I haven't gotten very far.

Bookmarks Used: Post-it

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Hour 8...possibly...they start to meld together after a while!

Pages Read: 200...ok, ok, technically its 197 but I'm SO close to the 200 mark and it just sounds better
Bookmarks Used: 2 (my iphone, corner of my mucinex box)
Breaks: I'm currently breaking for a late lunch...and considering talking hubs into getting take out on his way home from work later so I don't have to feed myself again, haha
Currently Reading: Still on Sugar Rush...it's a good book but for the RAT it feels neverending

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I think we're on hour 6 now. I still don't feel like I've accomplished much but that's what I get for picking a 300 page book as my first read, haha

Pages Read: 141
Bookmarks Used: 3 again (Chapstick, a bill that was laying on the counter, and my cupcake monster)
Breaks: NONE to the smartie pants that yelled at me for my post office trip!!
Currently Reading: Still on Sugar Rush

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The thon has been going on for 3 hours so far and here's what I've accomplished.

Pages Read: 75, I normally read a bit faster but I choose to blame my developing head cold for my lack of concentration :)
Bookmarks Used: 3 (sharpie, tissue, and a cupcake corner bookmark monster)
Breaks: I made a quick trip to the post office to mail book related things...that counts right?!

Currently Reading: Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman





It's RAT Time!!!



Yep, it's that time! The read-a-thon (RAT) has begun!

Introductory Questions

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?


Pennsylvania USA





2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?


All of them! Even though I can't possibly read them all in 24 hours.





3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?


Hhmm, I really don't know. 





4) Tell us a little something about yourself!


I'm a pretty laid back person most of the time. I enjoy photography, paper crafts (scrapbooking, bookmark making), reading, and blogging. I also love being in airplanes, kayaking, and hiking.



5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?


I don't think I'll do anything differently, my main goal is to read and have fun.

Winner - 300 Follower Giveaway


 It's winner time!

The winner of a signed copy of Fair Game by Patricia Briggs and two stylin' bookmark monsters is...




Brittany!! Congrats! I'll be contacting you shortly!



Read-a-Thon Book Choices

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon is right around the corner! It's good timing too because I haven't read anything in about too weeks and the thon will be a good book slump breaker.

 Anyway, I came up with a tenative reading list for the thon this morning. I'm not sure what order I will tackle them though. I will just have to wait to see what I'm in the mood for when the time comes.

 

The Next Full Moon by Carolyn Turgeon
Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon
Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman
Sweet Stuff by Donna Kauffman
The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
Manhunt by Janet Evanovich
Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
The Opposite of Me by Sara Pekkanen

Shelf Candy Saturday (4)


Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews

I enjoy doing somewhat themed Shelf Candy posts. This weeks theme is books with 'posses' in the title. I'm not sure how three similar titled books all ended up with gorgeous covers but you won't hear me complaining about it!



Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Rule #1: Do not show fear. 
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.


Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.



Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.


So so pretty! I love the focus and texture of her face.





The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor


34 kids missing. Vanished without a trace.

Believing she is possessed, Genie Magee's mother has imprisoned her all summer encouraged by the sinister Reverend Schneider. Beautiful Rian, love of her life, sets her free, and their escape washes them up at Marshall's remote farmhouse downriver. But why are there newspaper clippings of the missing kids pinned to Marshall's bathroom wall? And should they believe his stories about the experiments at the Fortress, an underground research station nearby?

Genie meets Denis. Missing two years now, but hasn't grown an inch. Rian is haunted by Renée, who insists she's not actually dead. Soon they discover the terrible truth about Reverend Schneider and worse, Genie is next ... and Rian can't do a thing to prevent it.
The Repossession is just the beginning.




I hadn't heard of this book until this week so thank you to my friend Emma for bringing it to my attention! This is such a beautiful, eye catching cover! I love the blue tone to the girl's face, she almost looks ceramic! The cover has an artsy feel with the way the face is coming undone/disappearing. I also like how the title looks like it's about to come undone as well, it helps the title feel connected to the rest of the cover.


Author's Site




Possessions by Nancy Holder


The It Girl meets The Exorcist in this chilling, haunted boarding school tale 

New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn’t help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago. 

What Lindsay doesn’t yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead... 

And that someone is Lindsey.


I bought a copy of this book partially because of the cover and was so disappointed when it showed up and was a different cover! Anyway, I'm sure you've figured out by now that I'm really attracted to dark covers and this is another good example of that. I like everything about this cover, the text and little swirls at the bottom, the darkness of her eyes, the stillness of the black water, the reflection of her face, and the use of similar colors for text at the top and bottom and her face!



Winner - Hoppy Easter Giveaway


A big thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway!


The winner of $20 to Book Depository is...

Books4Learning!!

Congrats!!!

Rock The Drop 2012


Every year Readergirlz organizes Rock The Drop as a way of Supporting Teen Lit Day. The idea is to print their handy images, tuck them in a YA book, then drop that book somewhere where it will be found by others. I love young adult books so I knew I wanted to participate again this year.

Being the procrastinator that I am I didn't plan ahead so I did a last minute drop at an Applebees (it's a restaurant for those who don't have them) in the area. The next person sitting at the table or a waitress will hopefully give it a nice home. It was fun being all stealthy about the drop, hubby still doesn't know I did it and he was with me! I sneaky like ninja ;-)

Unfortunately sneaky ninja actions don't allow for great photos to capture the moment but I did snap a quick pic...


Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors has a pretty noticeable cover so I'm sure it will be found in no time.

Blue Moon (Holloway Pack #2) by J.A. Belfield - COVER REVEAL


Someone is watching the Holloway Pack, and this time, the female isn’t the target.
Life with a group of seven male werewolves worries Jem Stonehouse not one bit. She is engaged to the Alpha’s son Sean Holloway after all. So what has Jem’s territorial instincts on high alert?
The pack’s latest addition. Both of them.
None of the men think there’s a problem with the new girlfriends. Jem’s intuition tells her otherwise—that and a nagging suspicion the new females aren’t there to partake.
Jem believes they’ve joined in to take.
The question is ... What?
As the eve of the blue moon draws ever closer, Jem’s running out of time to find the answer and outwit a thief of the worst possible kind.
A woman who believes she can’t lose.




Gorgeous cover! I'm very excited for the Blue Moon release in December!!

Links to check out:





Shelf Candy Saturday (3) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater & Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by Five Alarm Book Review blog.
Again this week I had a different post planned but decided to push it back (again) when I saw this first cover on A Book and A Latte blog.


The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart.

Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But she was wrong.





I haven't read any of Maggie Stiefvater's books yet but this one may have to be a preorder (it's due to be released in September). There are not many books about ravens out there, which is a plus. Ironically, Luminosity which I featured on my first Shelf Candy post is also about ravens and is due out a couple months after this book! Anyway, I love the cover of The Raven Boys! The raven looks like a painting, If you look at the wings and the red chest you can really see the texture/brush strokes.

Maggie Stiefvater's Website
The Raven Boys on Goodreads
Preorder on Amazon
Preorder on Book Depository




Hollow Pike by James Dawson


Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.


I recently found this cover on Falling Books blog. The cover looks fairly simple at a quick glance. But if you take a few extra seconds to look, you'll see that it's not so simple after all. I like how everything blends together...the branches at her forehead and at the bottom of the cover and the purple/black birds at the top of the cover.


Hollow Pike on Goodreads
Order on Amazon

300 Follower Giveaway!


 Tis the season for lots of giveaways!!

To thank all of my wonderful followers I am having a
300 Follower Giveaway **insert cheering crowd**

I went to a Patricia Briggs book signing last month and I promised that I would give away a signed copy of Fair Game (see my review here). Well that time has come!



Update: I don't know where my mind is today but I forgot to mention
that the winner will also get 
two bookmark monsters that will match the book!

Update #2: Contest is open internationally

Because this is a giveaway to thank my readers you must be a follower to enter.
Must be 16 or older to enter
Contest will be open for entries until April 18th at 11:59pm (EST)
Winner will be chosen via Random.org


With all that out of the way, all you have to do is comment and let me know if you have read any books by Patricia Briggs and what  you thought of them. Please also include your email in the comment so I can contact the winner :)

Good Luck!


Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop


This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

I'm going to keep this super simple because there's A LOT of giveaways to enter!


What's up for grabs? 
$20 worth of books from Book Depository
All you have to do is comment with your email address.

You do NOT need to be a follower to enter
Contest is open to entries until April 12th at 11:59 pm (EST)
Winner will be selected via Random.org

Happy Hopping!!

Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3) by Patricia Briggs

**If you haven’t read the first two books in the series then I would recommend avoiding this review!


They say opposites attract. And in the cases of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The Son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can’t afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father’s dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights…

My Thoughts:

I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to connect with this book since it’s been over a year since I read the first two in the series. This was definitely not the case! I loved this book! It’s like a good murder mystery…you know, with werewolves, witches, ghosts, and fae added to the mix! There’s twists, action, mind games, and of course powerful bad guys.

I really enjoy Anna’s character! Throughout the series, she has really come into her own. She is strong willed and has learned to embrace her omega. I love seeing her keep her wits and stand her ground against alpha types.

Charles, Charles, Charles. What can I say about him? I’ve always been fan of Charles. In this book you watch him as he fights his own battle, one that he will not accept any help with. I wanted to jump into the book and help him…or smack some sense into him depending on the chapter ;)

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5


If you haven’t read the series, then I would definitely recommend checking them out!

Alpha & Omega Novella – In the On the Prowl Anthology
Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1)
Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2)
Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3)

Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

Summary:
Someone’s been a very bad zombie.

Kate Grabel is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe—not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah…not even Kate! She’s got to find an antidote—before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town…and stay hormonally human.

My Thoughts:

Before I started reading Bad Taste in Boys, my friend Anna mentioned that it’s a cute and really quick read and she was right on both counts. I read this book very quickly as it’s only 201 pages and the font is somewhat large. I would say that it’s geared towards the younger of young adult readers. And that’s not to say that older readers won’t like it. It’s a very cute book and I found myself chuckling at some scenes! I also enjoyed seeing the main character, Kate, grow throughout the book.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos
Just a side note, I love this cover! The black and pink contrast is gorgeous! Lately when I read a book I tend to switch back and forth between the ebook and hard copy (if I have both) but with this one I had no desire to read the ebook because I liked looking at the cover, haha. I also made a cute pink and black monster bookmark to match.


 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5