In My Mailbox #16

In My Mailbox is a bookish meme hosted by Kristi The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Hey everyone!!! I am finally getting to doing an In My Mailbox post. You know since I have not been posting and reviewing for the couple of months since volleyball and school started wouldn't you assume that I would have a load of books I have accumulated and not shown you guys for the last 3 months. NOPE! I haven't been buying books in a serious long time. And usually this would be an awesome thing and my wallet would be extremely thankful. But since I haven't been buying, I haven't been reading either. Yeah, suffering through serious withdrawal here. Anyways, hear are the few I have been accumulating these couple of weeks.

Bought:

Fallen (Fallen #1) by. Lauren Kate

Go ahead, you can tell me, I can take it; Am I the only one in the planet who has yet to read this book. It's okay, I know I am. But I finally got it, and it is a very powerful feeling. But I got it in softcover, and I hear the hardcover ones had these fancy fuzzy feeling covers that I missed out on...

   Review:

  Awake by. Wendy Raven McNair 

  Yeah so obviously my hiatus wasn't too bad since I received (and already read and absolutely love) the second book in the Asleep trilogy by. Wendy Raven McNair. I have been waiting to read this book since I finished Asleep and this one was even better. If you have not read Asleep yet, I recommend you do immediately. My review of Asleep is here. And my review of Awake is here.

Swapped:

Unleash The Night by. Sherrilyn Kenyon 

One of my favorite authors. In my opinion Sherrilyn Kenyon is the best (non-YA) paranormal romance author ever. Oh yeah, she's great. All fans of J.R.Ward must read her books because the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is a close second in my heart to every book I have read by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

 Unwanted 

(jk jk...no book is ever unwanted...right?!?):  

My parents were kind enough to leave me the extremely subtle gift of a brand spanking new SAT Prep book. Excitement!

So yep, that is what I received for the past few months. There may be some I didn't find lying around somewhere, but one can only hope.

 Don’t forget to tell me what you guys got in your mailboxes!!! 

Read more »

Review: Awake by. Wendy Raven McNair

Title: Awake
Author: Wendy Raven McNair
Publication Date: September 20th 2010
Pages: 321
Genre: Supernatural/Romance
Rating: 9/10

 Synopsis from Goodreads: Adisa and Micah's saga continues as the young couple try to heal Micah on their own. Their repeated failures drive Adisa into a desperate but secret alliance with Micah's father and place a strain on the young couple's relationship that may drive them apart permanently. Adisa learns more about the super world, revealing just how alien they are, like their curious bathroom habits and disdain for earthbounds, which leads her to question if a life with Micah is possible. Victor, Micah's super twin, continues his pursuit of Adisa in hopes of fulfilling a prophecy predicting their union is the only way to save Micah's life.  As Adisa deals with the mounting challenges, threatening her relationship with Micah, she discovers her birth parents are alive and want to see her. Pearl, her earthbound mother, and Cyrus, the greatest super being in modern times, have been absent from Adisa's life since they abandoned her in a cotton field when she was only three years old. Does Adisa's reunion with her birth parents hold the key to Micah's cure or will it lead to his death?

Review:  Asleep, the first book in Wendy Raven McNair's YA  trilogy, was an incredible first book that set up the premise for an even better romance, and fantasy filled second book in Awake. It combines everything you would like in a great romance, coupled with fantasy elements that haven't been explored in any other book I have read before. 

The characters seem to come even more to life in this book, and their personalities start to blossom. Adisa in the first book was somewhat shyer when it came to her relationship with Micah, a common trait among female leads in YA books, a trait that Micah also had. But throughout this book you see them both begin to grow a backbone and find out what it means to love each other. The sacrifices, the promises, and what is at stake for their relationship and the people's lives who are involved. That was really how the romance was so stepped up in this book. It wasn't just the "I love yous" that showed the bond between Micah and Adisa, it was what was at stake for both of them and how they used it to make them grow closer together, and push the limits of what in the end they would be willing to do to save and be with the other.

The fantasy aspect was also amplified. It was taken to a whole new level. Slowly throughout the book facts and different theories about the whole Sp world is given out. And the way all that begins to turn together towards the end is awesome. Adisa is put into a situation that she has been dreaming about since we ended with her in Asleep, but now that she is there, she is being tested, experimented, and given a huge reality check on the decisions and choices she made to get there. Something else that I loved was how many of the minor characters in the last book or the beginning of this book took on a greater role. It made everything more suspenseful when it wasn't just Micah and Adisa at stake. The new friends, the old enemy's, everyone thrown into this world of not just good and evil, but trying to decipher the greater good over the worse evil.

This book was more than the unexpected, I have the dynamite romance between Adisa and Micah that I have been craving since I read the first book, but an even stronger plot line and character buildup that leave me in even more anticipation over the third book!


Recommendations: If you loved, or even liked the first book, you must read this one because it is that much better. And if you love supernatural romance, or anything fantasy, this book will most definitely satisfy your cravings. 
 
Overall: 9/10 

Characters: 10/10 
Plot: 10/10
Originality: 10/10 
Entertainment: 8/10 
Ending: 10/10 
Writing Style: 10/10 
Cover: 10/10

Read more »

1 Year Blogoversary Contest Winner!!!

Hello guys, very long time no see. I have counted tallied and entered all of the contest entrants into random.org to generate a winner for the CSN $60 gift certificate, and the winner of that is...

Brianna B.

Congrats Brianna B.  Your $6o dollar gift certificate should arrive via the email you entered with within the next couple of days!!!

Thank you to all who entered and made this contest such a success!!!  

Read more »

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me...

 (Warning: Not Book Related)

First off, I would truly like to apologize for the lack of posts since about August when school started. Keeping up with AP classes and volleyball and this blog have proved impossible for me so, but I am trying really hard to prevent the inevitable (which is to go on hiatus until next summer). I would really hate to do that, but school comes first. Anywayzzzzz, These are just 10 things about me that you may not know that actually don't have to do with books or reading, oh yes be excited!

In no particular order...

10. I'm an athlete, all day, everyday. Maybe not all day, and maybe not everyday, but pretty close. There is about only 2 weeks during the year where I am not practicing or vigorously involved in a sports team. I started playing sports when I was 3 and it just kind of stuck and became a part of me. My #1 is of course volleyball! I have been playing varsity volleyball since my freshman year of high school and I play that in the fall and throughout the summer. Then comes basketball, and then track, my second favorites. I also play softball and soccer, but a lot less vigorously than the others. I am in love with sports. I really couldn't imagine my life without volleyball or track. I love everything about playing sports, its so much fun, and I love pushing what I think is my limits and improving and competing!

  9. I am obsessed with nail polish. Ha, didn't see this one coming did you now? If there was anything I collect as much and have too much of (well according to other people) besides books would definitely have to be nail polish. I change my nail polish designs pretty much every two days. I love creating different nail art designs and on my nails as well as my friends. It's so much fun and has kind of become a fun obsession of mine.

8. I have Aquaphobia. It sounds like a serious medical disease but it is really just a fear of bodies of water. Seems weird since I'm from the Bay Area, but yeah. Any body of water larger than my bathtub I am afraid of. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. People say I'm afraid of water because I can't swim. NO! I can't swim because I'm afraid of water. There's a difference!

7. I don't care what NASA says, according to me, Pluto is a planet!

6. I am probably the most sarcastic person you will ever meet. Sarcasm is the best intellectual device ever in my opinion!

5. My favorite colors are blue, black, and purple. Just in case my blog layout doesn't give that off.

4. I'm think I'm very outgoing, but according to my mom, I'm just loud. I could be worse...I think.

3. I want to become a lawyer/journalist/...something else. I was never one of those, I want one career kind of people. If I'm going to be in school 8 more years after I graduate high school, it better be worth it. Someday I would like to have my own published magazine. Like a multi dimensional magazines, that has things all kinds of girls, and guys of course, would like to read about. Not just what color highlights Miley Cyrus decides this week (nothing against Cyrus, she never did anything to me and shes a great artist but really, since when is hair highlights breaking news).

2. I am a mall rat. Yes, I hold the title with pride. If I'm not at the library, just check the mall you'll probably find me with a Jamba Juice in hand.

1. I don't get the point of a scarf, they look cute, but my neck never gets cold. 

1/2. My name is Chioma, and I love to read. 

That last one must have really thrown you guys off. So that's just some things you guys might not know about me. Sorry nothing too exciting, but not every one's life can be a Degrassi episode (thank heavens for that). Maybe I can do a ten of the weirdest things that ever happened to me post, but still nothing teenage soap opera worthy though. But I am really enjoying these top 10 posts. Let me know if there is any specific top 10 posts you guys would like to read. Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a comment!

Read more »

Monday’s Question of the Day

Wow its been a while since I’ve done one of these. Today’s Monday’s Question of the day:

Is there a certain element what has to be in a book in order for you to consider reading it? 

I remember when I was in elementary school and I would not read a book if there was not some sort of mystery involved. If it was just a romance or just a contemporary school life novel, I would not even touch it. (Just because I thought only mystery books could live up to my obsession with the Nancy Drew series). And then when I was in middle school I wouldn’t consider reading a book if there wasn’t even the slightest, smallest hint of romance in it. Now though I would read any book that I think is going to be good whether it has any mystery or romance in it at all!

Feel free to leave a comment answering the question, I look forward to reading your responses!

Read more »