Jun 9, 2012

Early Reader Review: Earthquake Escape by Jan Burchett

Earthquake Escape by Jan Burchett
Available: August 1, 2012
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers - Stone Arch Books

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Background: Ben and Zoe work for a secret team, their mission today is to go in search of a panda cub named Jing-Jing, who escaped from a sanctuary after an earthquake.

Review: This was a great little read. I requested it from Netgalley because of the panda. I love pandas! They are so adorable, and I am so glad that I got to read this. I really enjoyed the story it was full of action and adventure. There were some facts about pandas and the Chinese landscape too. The book even includes a glossary for readers, more panda facts at the end, and even discussion questions. Very cute read, it is recommended for ages 8-11 and is part of the Wild Rescue series.


E-Copy provided by Netgalley and Capstone Young Readers for Review.

View all my reviews

Jun 8, 2012

Armchair BEA: Day Five Discussion -- Ask the Experts

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads


aBEA discussion today: Ask the Experts

So today is the last day of aBEA, and I am very sad to see it go. I have made some great new blogging friends and really appreciate all of the people that have visited my blog this week.

Today I am supposed to ask the blogger veterans questions, so here they are:

  1. What makes you follow a blog? What keeps you coming back?
  2. What types of giveaways do you like to see and enter?
  3. What are your favorite things to see on a blog?
  4. Any suggestions or tips for my blog are welcome!
Feel free to link me back to your tips or questions 


 I want to thank everyone again for popping over to my blog, I hope we continue to chat :)


<3 Steph aka Gorelenore

Jun 7, 2012

Armchair BEA: Day Four Discussion -- Beyond the Blog

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads


aBEA Discussion Today: Beyond your Blog

Today the discussion is about "opportunities for you beyond getting free, advance copies of new books? Has it helped you get offers to write or review elsewhere (maybe even for pay)? Have you gotten invites to special events or places you might not have been to otherwise?" To read other people answers chick here.

As I expressed yesterday, I have only been blogging for a few months so I really haven't had many opportunities to go 'beyond' it.  I do get free copies of books, which is wonderful in and of itself but I am working to do other things...very slowly though.

I currently am a part of Amazon Affiliates, but that only makes money if people click and buy through there...so I don't really make money from it. I added it to see how it might work. I though about starting Google Adsense, but honestly it scares me a little. While I think advertising is great, I also want to be able to have a little more control about the ads, I also don't think I get enough traffic for them yet.

As for writing reviews elsewhere, I have not been asked, but I also have a lot on my plate as it is. I work two jobs and blog and with that blogging is a lot of reading :).

I think that as my blog grows I will become more open to new things. So until then, I am just taking it slow, hopefully connections will be made.

Hope everyone is having a great time with aBEA, sad to see it ending soon. Thanks to everyone for great posts, conversations, and love.

<3 Steph aka Gorelenore

Jun 6, 2012

Recent Reads: Fated by Alyson Noel

Fated (Soul Seekers, #1)Fated by Alyson Noel
Copy provided by: MacMillian Audio for review

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Background: Daire just turned sixteen and strange things are happening to her. While away on site at her mothers work, she has a terrible breakdown and attacks a boy star. After that it was grandmas or an institution for her insanity, her mother opted for the mysterious grandmother. Once there Daire finds herself learning more about the visions she thought were crazy and coming to understand a long fought battle between good and evil.

Review: I am so happy to have listened to this book! First off, I love the cover a beautiful purple/pink fade, crows and a profile. I like when books really use color on their covers. Ok on to the book itself- I really enjoyed this read. Alyson Noel is a wonderful author. I have read a few of the Immortals series, but this one seems to be for an older audience (not much older though). It is deeper and more questioning than her Immortals series.

Likes: I enjoyed Daire most of the time. In the beginning, she is super moody and emotional and only thinking about herself, later this changes as she learns. I love when people learn things and then adapt. Yay her! I also enjoyed the grandmother; she is very no-nonsense straight to the point. I really liked the story telling, Noel does a great job of leaving enough suspense and questions to pull the reader forward. The story is captivating and the world she creates is realistic yet magical. I just couldn’t stop listening. She is able to add characters to the story seamlessly, leaving some mysterious and others very clear upon their arrival. Love it. I am interested in seeing where this series goes.

Dislikes: I thought it was weird to begin the book with a lesson on the animals and their attributes, I think it might have been better received in context, maybe the grandmother explaining more, like later in the story…but this may just be me. By the time they were brought up again, I had forgotten a lot of what was said because it was not in the context of the story, just a history lesson. I also thought it weird that Daire calls her mother by her first name, this gets explained away in the book, but I still found it odd, she never even refers to her as ‘my mother,’ just “Jennika”—odd. You would think there would be a stronger relationship because they are closer in age to one another.

Overall, very good read. If you like books about Native American mythology, the supernatural, or just a destined love story.

Liked this review? Want a copy for yourself? Enter for one HERE!


ArmchairBEA -- Day Three Discussion: Networking...In Real Life

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

 For aBEA discussion today: Networking...In Real Life

So, today's task is to talk about networking and the blogging community. The prompt was "we want you to share your positive experiences of using your blog to get involved in your community.  This can involve partnerships with the local literary scene, attending author events and signings, or getting together with bloggers in your area.  We want to hear it all!"

Since I have only been blogging since February, I really don't have a lot to share today.  I have been to a few book signings and events A LONG time ago when I worked at a bookstore, and they were great. I met a lot of interesting authors, but a lot were academic writers because it was a college bookstore.

Blogging now, has become my creative outlet. I used to do photography, charcoal drawings, and art in general..but kind of fell out of it, so I took up blogging.  I am starting to become better friends with the blogging community via Twitter and RandomBuzzers online. Even my Goodreads friend list has grown. 

I love the people that share my passion for reading, they are interesting and strange (in a good way) just like me :D

<3 to all you awesome bloggers!
-Steph aka Gorelenore

Jun 5, 2012

Armchair BEA -- Day Two Discussion: Best of 2012

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

For aBEA discussion today: Faves of 2012 

Here are mine...


Read this year and Loved!

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1) The Hunt (The Hunt, #1) Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) 


Anticipating
ReunitedSplinteredCarnival of Souls
Reunited, June 12,2012
Splintered, January 2013?
Carnival of Souls, September 4, 2012

Out Already and Can't Wait to Read Soon

Scarlet Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy, #1) The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1) Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test, #2)

Armchair BEA -- Day Two: Giveaway!

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

The list of sponsors over at Armchair BEA is incredible and now there is another list of individually hosted giveaways from the awesome bloggers joining in. Go check them out and enter this one :)

I am giving away a signed Small Medium at Large Bookmark, a signed Elemental Bookmark, and an Elemental tattoo to 3 winners.

The Rules:
Contest is open to the US
You must be 13 years or older to win. 
Contest ends on June 9th.
Winner will be emailed and have 48 hours to respond.

Jun 4, 2012

Armchair BEA: Introductions First!

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Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads


Hello wonderful Readers and Armchair BEA...ers... :)

Since I couldn't go to BEA I was really sad :(... THEN I found all these awesome bloggers and Armchair BEA. So today we start with introductions, here is a little bit about me...
  
  • Please tell us a little about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 
    • Hello, my name is Stephanie aka Gorelenore on Twitter and the blog, and I have been blogging since the end of January 2012, so only a few months. I got into it because my husband said that I needed a hobby and it should involve books because I read ALL THE TIME. So I started my blog and everything just kind of snowballed from there. 
  • What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
  • Tell us one non-book related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 
    • Um, well, I am not sure how many people actually read my About Me page, so I guess it would be that I am a teacher. I got my Master’s in Humanities with a specialization in Art History in 2010 and immediately got a job at the local community college teaching Survey of Western Culture. I love it! And it seems that my students really like me. I am pretty young so a lot of them are my age or a little older. 
  • Where do you see your blog in 5 years? 
    • Hopefully, still going strong. I hope to form more relationships with other bloggers, authors, and publishers for more giveaways and interviews. I think that this type of blogging really involves the community as a whole and I would love to become imbedded in it more. 
  • Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?
    •  Not really. I have always really enjoyed reading Young Adult works, they are easy reads, especially when you are getting your graduate degree and need something softer. I have to say that what is has done is improved my reading. I am reading a lot more, and faster then I thought I ever could.

Thanks for visiting!!! 

<3 Gorelenore

Trailer Reveal: Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland


Hello All!
I am super excited to read Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland and on Friday the trailer for it was revealed. 
Here is is....





Photobucket Goodreads Synopsis: Spending the summer at her grandmother's house is the last thing Sarah wants to do—especially now that Grandma Winnie has died—but she has no choice. Her parents have to fix the place up before they can sell it, and Sarah and her brother, Billy, have to help. But the tedious work turns into a thrilling mystery when Sarah discovers an unfinished letter her grandmother wrote: Strange things are happening behind the bookcase. . . . 

Sarah's mother dismisses the letter as one of Grandma Winnie's crazy stories, but Sarah does some investigating and makes a remarkable discovery: behind the bookcase is a doorway into Scotopia, the land where shadows come from. With a talking cat named Balthazat as her guide, Sarah begins an unforgettable adventure into a world filled with countless dangers. Who can she trust? And can she face her fears, not only in Scotopia, but also back at Grandma Winnie's house, where more secrets and strange goings-on await her?


What do you think?

Jun 3, 2012

Building the Book Pile #6

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Welcome to Building the Book Pile! A Weekly meme inspired in part by In My Mailbox here at Cover2CoverBlog. Here is what I got this week...

Ebooks
Stealing Breath (Stealing Breath, #1)Beautifully Broken (Spellbound #1)
Stealing Breath #1 by Joanne Brothwell from the Author
Beautifully Broken, Spellbound Series #1 by Sherry Soule from the Author

Swag
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Bookmark, Bookplate, and note from author Krista Holle