Review – The Near Witch

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Hardcover, 288 pages

Publication: August 2nd 2011 by Hyperion Books CH

more details…

ISBN

1423137876 (ISBN13: 9781423137870)

Primary language English

URL http://www.victoriaschwab.com/
Souce: Simon&Schuster Galley Grab
Purchase from Amazon here

Goodreads "The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget."

This debut novel from Victoria Schwab enchanted me from the very beginning. I could not put this book down. I was not even to the halfway mark when I decided that this was a book I must own and ordered it. Everything about this book called to me. I just knew it was going to be amazing.

Review – BETWEEN by Cyndi Tefft

Kindle Edition
Published April 25th 2011 (first published April 5th 2011)
ASIN B004XZUMBA
Author website
Purchase from Amazon here
(a signed copy can be purchased from Cyndi's website)


Goodreads:
"It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent. 

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates. 

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries."

Once I read the summary for BETWEEN, I immediately purchased it for my Kindle. I just felt this strong pull to the story. I started right after it downloaded and finished reading it in less than 4 hours. It's THAT good. BETWEEN is a charming tale that had me smiling one minute and weeping the next. Cyndi Tefft created a world that literally swept me off my feet (as well as a male lead who did the same). With a gorgeous style reminiscent of Diana Gabaldon's Outlanderseries, I was absolutely enthralled by this novel. 

Teaser Tuesday

 

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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Bout of Books Wrap Up + GIVEAWAY winner

 

WOW! What an intense week! I’d just like to say ‘thank you’ to Amanda at On a Book Bender for coming up with and hosting this read-a-thon! While I lost a ton of sleep because I was reading late/early into the morning, it was definitely worth it the migraine I had Friday.

I started my read-a-thon challenge with these books in mind: finish Forbidden (Dekker & Lee), City of Bones & City of Ashes (Clare) The Night Circus (Morgenstern), Exiled (Merrick), Jenny Pox (Bryan), Beautiful Darkness (Garcia & Stohl)

After reading City of Bones, I knew I had to change my list. The Mortal Instruments series, even though it was the second time for me, completely wrapped me up and I couldn’t NOT keep reading the rest of the books.

My revised read-a-thon list:
finish Forbidden (Dekker & Lee), City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels (Clare), Jenny Pox (Bryan)

Final tally

Books read: (5) Forbidden, City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, Jenny Pox

Total pages read: 1,769

Hours spent reading: I honestly have no idea. I lost count,

and toward the end of the week my reading times were choppy because of work.

Now that that’s out of the way…. It’s time to announce the winner of my giveaway!

Hardcover copies of Leviathan & Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld now belong to…

Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

Congrats, Kelly! A notification email has been sent, and you have 48 hours to respond with your mailing address.

I hope everyone was able to reach their read-a-thon goals and had fun reading. I’ll be stopping by soon to see how you all did! =)

Review – Fury

FURY by Elizabeth Miles

Expected publication: September 6th 2011 by Simon Pulse (first published August 30th 2011)
ASINB004IK98JW
primary language English
original title Fury
series The Fury Series #1
Source: GalleyGrab from publisher, in exchange for an honest review
Purchase from Amazon here

Goodreads "It's winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems… 
 Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year's even better–the guy she's been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there's no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em's best friend. 
 On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that's nothing compared to what's really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel…something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it's only a matter of time before he's exposed. 
 In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. Em and Chase have been chosen."


As promised, FURY is a story about selfishness and consequence. We all knew kids in high school like that. Some adults are still like that. Elizabeth Miles really captured the essence of teenage drama in FURY. The only difference is that at my high school, no one was followed around by three girls intent on revenge…that I know of, anyway.