WINNERS of 50+ Follower Giveaway

First of all, I wanted to say thank you to all of the followers!  Because of you, I am now up to 203 followers! That's amazing! That also means I will be giving away 4 books from the TBR list!  And the winners are:

Kayla

Jessica 

Caitlin from Scarrlet Reader

Tammy

(All winners have been contacted by email!)

Review: Mockingjay

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Series: The Hunger Games, #3

Goodreads Description: Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. 

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss. 

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost. 

I have to admit that I am very disappointed with this book.  This book was one of the most anticipated books of the year and I feel like it was a let down.  I was expecting an epic conclusion to the series and this book just didn't deliver. 

First of all, the book started off a little slow.  It wasn't until almost half way through the book that I thought it got really interesting and I couldn't put it down.  The middle of the book was really good, like the other books were.  The end was horrible!  It left me with an unsettled feeling and very depressed.

The love triangle wasn't played out very well at all!  Even though the love triangle isn't the main plot of the book, I thought it deserved more attention than it received in this book.  I think we were all looking forward to an amazing conclusion to the whole Peeta vs. Gale debate and I don't think we got it in this book.  I felt like Collins used a cop-out to solve the issue of who Katniss should be with.  

With that being said, I still can't give this book a bad rating.  I realize that I didn't like it because it didn't go the way I wanted it to.  I wanted a happily ever after ending with a more romance twist to it.  Collins version was probably more realistic.  She has created this world that is very harsh.  The characters in the book went through so many things that by the end they were just broken.  To have a happily ever after ending would probably be unrealistic.  So I have decided to rate this book on what it was and not what I wanted it to be.

Rating: 

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (3)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books!

This week's question: Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

My answer: Yes. You can see what it is on my sidebar. I use it because years down the road when I can't remember exactly how good the book was, the rating reminds me how much I did or didn't like it. Even before I had a blog, I would right the rating inside of the book cover.

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee!It is a weekly meet and greet meme that allows all of us bloggers to hop around, introduce ourselves, and meet each other.  This weeks featured blogger is book ge3k!

To join the fun and make new blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host Parajunkee and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - Book Ge3K
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog! 

Review: At Grave's End

Title: At Grave's End

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Author's Website: http://www.jeanienefrost.com/

Series: Night Huntress, #3

Pages: 342

Goodreads Description: It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. 

As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself - and Bones - from a fate worse than the grave. 

Another great book in the series! This book had several laugh out loud moments, plenty of exciting action and mayhem, hot romance, and some shocking twists and turns that had me in tears. You know it's excellent writing when the author can make you cry even though you know what is going to happen because there are obviously sequels. 

However, I am starting to wonder what the author is going to do to switch it up a bit. I read that she plans to write 7-8 books for the series. She is going to have to find a different plot besides some vampires want to kill Cat and/or Bones and that threatens to tear them apart. Otherwise its just going to get redundant. I'm secretly hoping that Cat starts to have feelings for Tate because I love love triangles. If not, I definitely think Tate should get his own book or even his own series. I love his character!

Rating:

Up & Coming Feature (2)

This is a new feature to recognize up & coming authors that have been recently published who write good books that have yet to be noticed.  I will feature one author's book each week.  At the end of the month, you can vote on which book I should read and review.

This week's book is:

Title: Angel Star

Author: Jennifer Murgia

Author's Website: http://www.jennifermurgia.com

Published: May 18th, 2010

Goodreads Description: Seventeen-year-old Teagan McNeel falls for captivating Garreth Adams and soon discovers that her crush has an eight-point star etched into the palm of his right hand-the mark of an angel. 

But where there is light, dark follows, and she and Garreth suddenly find themselves vulnerable to a dark angel's malicious plan that could threaten not only her life, but the lives of everyone she knows, and now, she is torn between one angel's sacrifice and another angel's vicious ambition.

Divinely woven together, Angel Star takes readers on a reflective journey when one angel's sacrifice collides with another angel's vicious ambition in a way that is sure to have readers searching for their own willpower.

Goodreads Rating: 3.83, 339 ratings

Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars, 25 ratings

Sounds very interesting! What do you think?

Getting To Know You (2)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Mannland5. It is normally done on Sundays, but I just found it. Since this is a new blog and you don't know a lot about me yet, I thought I would participate in this meme.

The Q's.

1. If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?

     The Bachelor/Bachelorette because I like the drama and I would be able to travel with them.

2. Do you put your seatbelt on before or after you start the car?

     Hmmm. Both. It just depends on when I remember.

3. Shave or hair removal cream?

     Shave. Creams burn my skin and give me a rash. :(

4. What's your favorite feature in a house?

     The bathroom. With 3 boys, it's the only place I can manage to be alone. lol

5. What is your favorite "Fall" scent?

     Pumpkin spice.

6. What tv show are you looking forward to seeing the most this Fall??

     I can't wait for the vampire diaries to start again!

7. Personal Shopper or Personal Chef?

     Personal chef. Even if I had a personal shopper, I still wouldn't know how to cook.

8. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of "Fall"?

     Orange

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

This week's books:

 

I bought all of the Night Huntress books and I'm loving them!