Here are just a few contests going on around the blogosphere for some great prizes!

Tara Kelly is giving away a signed ARC of her book, Harmonic Feedback, plus some bookmarks and a few other books here. Ends October 23.

Michelle Zink is having a contest with a huge bag full of awesomeness, plus three books here. Ends October 25.

Yan, at Books By Their Cover, is having a blogoversary contest giving away a huge amount of books! Ends December 20th. Be sure to say that I referred you.

And last but not least, The Lateiner Book Gang is giving away a bunch of books here. Be sure to say that I referred you there as well.

That's all for now. =)

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: current contests

"If she were going to die, I’d already be screaming. I’m a banshee. That’s what we do.”

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld — a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk....

This is the second book in the Soul Screamers series. After reading the first book in the series, My Soul to Take (review coming soon!), I'm really looking forward to it. This first book is absolutely fascinating, and I can't wait to read the next which will be coming out on December 29th.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

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Labels: waiting on wednesday

Becca Fitzpatrick, author of Hush, Hush is having a launch contest with an awesome prize pack. You can find out info about the contest here. I thought it sounded like fun, so I went to the nearest bookstore, which just happened to be 45 miles away, with my parents. We incorporated it with other stuff we needed to do "in town" so we wouldn't be wasting gas.

Anyway, we went into the store, and my dad made me ask the lady at the register if I could. I was not planning to ask because I'm sure Becca wouldn't ask anyone to do anything illegal. Right? The lady at the register said that it would be fine... As long as Bart, the manager, didn't see me. Huh? After waiting for everyone to clear the YA section, which has just been doubled in size, I took this:

Sorry about my unphotogenic-ness, but isn't the book lovely? The store had 11 copies which is way more than the number of copies they have of most books. It looks lovely.

Then, I got to feeling a bit slap-happy and decided to take a few more pictures of other lovely books. Of course, I couldn't take pictures of the all the books, so I just picked a few that I haven't read.

First off, Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron. I really like the font on the cover. It totally looks like a much better version of something I would do on a page of my notebook. I read the author bio on the back on the book, and did you know that he plays nine instruments?! That's pretty epic.

Here, we have Pemberley Manor and Her Fearful Symmetry, although you can't really see the cover of the latter. It's the one with the 20% off sign. xD I read the first couple chapters of Pemberley Manor, and it had me gasping in shock and then laughing in relief. It certainly looks like a much darker sequel than those I have read thus far. I haven't read The Time Traveler's Wife, but I've heard many people who absolutely adore that book and have eagerly been awaiting the author's next. I may have to give it a try.

The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy sounds amazing. It's a modern P&P, with Lizzy as an attorney. Can you think of a better place for her to show off her wit? I flipped through this one, and I'm thinking of buying myself a copy of it because I love the banter between Elizabeth and Darcy, who's a judge in this book.


And last but certainly not least, Brisingr Deluxe Edition! This is supposed to have a bunch of extra stuff in it, and it sounds like a lot of fun. Personally, this is my favorite cover of the three (so far) Inheritance Cycle books. You can read my review of Brisingr here.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: bookstore adventure

Hush, Hush... When you feel like some one's watching you, it could be Patch.


Nora is not the type to fall for anyone easily. In fact, her best friend, Vee, thinks she's being a bit too picky. When Nora finds herself falling for dark and mysterious Patch, it throws her off, way more than she's willing to let anyone, especially Patch, know. Falling for Patch is dangerous, in more ways than one.


Hush, Hush is a very seductive story. It reels you in slowly, then keeps you intrigued until you don't want to leave. I myself stayed up until two in the morning in order to finish the book. It's an intense read, seeing everything through Nora's eyes, and not being sure of who was after her.

Patch is the perfect bad boy. The kind of guy you know you shouldn't fall for, but how can you help it? I had a hard time figuring out exactly who he was, as his mysterious bearings clouded Nora's view of him. Nora's a very captivating character as well. The exact opposite of Patch in almost every way.

This book was an enthralling read, and I'm already eagerly awaiting Crescendo, where things will gradually be getting louder.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: Becca Fitzpatrick, book review, Hush Hush

And... I'm back! The UPS guy dropped off my laptop a couple weeks ago, and after getting caught up on schoolwork, I can gladly get back into blogging! While I was gone from actively blogging I did manage to get some stuff done! Here's a rundown:

1. Take a look around. Do you see? Anna from Book Nerds was awesome enough to get me another sidebar, and Laina from Laina Has Too Much Spare Time was cool enough to create my new absolutely lovely header! Anna had to install it for me, though because I have been really technically challenged lately, even more than usual. Thank you, ladies! Is it all showing up for everyone okay?

2. With all the space a new sidebar provides, I also added some stuff like a search box, a blog roll, and I did a bunch of re-arranging.

3. I installed a new comment system, Disqus. Apparently it's pronounced "discuss." Does it work for you, or should I use a Blogger pop-up?

I've also been thinking of a couple ideas, lately.

4. I think it would be fun and interesting to have interviews with authors and bloggers. If you're an author or blogger and would like to be interviewed, email me: melanies--musings@live.com

5. Last, but not least, I've also decided to add movie reviews of books that have been made into movies. There are several out there, plus a few coming out. Books are almost always better than the movies, but there are a couple movies out there that I like better, or at least just as much.

There you have it! While I was gone, I guest blogged over at Sunshine Edition about the first time I ever dressed up in a costume. You can check that out here. By the way, that picture was taken at the very end of the night, and I promise the costume looked way better at, say, seven o'clock. In closing, let me say that I have plenty of posts planned over the next few weeks, and thank you for coming back! :)

Image Copyright: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkice/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Don't forget to vote when voting opens on the 18th!

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Testing, testing, 123. Just disregard this post. Testing.

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