Discussion: Genres

Okay, for my blog I wanted to try something new. Something that would let me interact better with people. Something where I could try to express my feelings and find out different people's opinions. So, what is better than to start a discussion right on this blog!

My first discussion is going to be on:

Genres

Not too big of a discussion, but I didn't want to start a war on the internet about love triangles in books, so I'm starting off small. Though, I probably will find myself in that situation one day, just not today.

Moving on, I wanted to discuss genres mainly because I feel like I don't know many others preferences. Personally, I like most any genre, as long as it is young adult and fiction. I love anything from dystopian to historical fiction. I'll discuss what genres I USUALLY find myself reading, and what I enjoy reading the most.

Paranormal Romance
This genre is, in fact, probably one of the most known genres in the teen world. Simply put, paranormal romance has, well, romance, which most ANY teen LOVES to read, including myself. Also it has an unreal characteristic quality to it, which fills your head with werewolves, vampires, and faeries. It transports you to a totally fictional, yet wonderful, different world. I, myself, have enjoyed this genre quite alot, though my own tastes have changed over the years. Paranormal romance is the genre for most younger teenagers, mostly because it seems like a good genre to start off. However, I have noticed( this is just myself, again) that I do get bored with the same vampire or werewolf books( this is the reason why I say this genre isn't minded by younger teenagers!). Still, I enjoy picking up a good one every now and then.
Recommended:
Immortal Rules The Raven Boys Bloodlines Splintered Nightshade

Fantasy
Fantasy is probably one of the, most incredible genres out of all the ones I can think of. Fantasy usually takes place in a whole 'nother world and time, which I love alot. However, my true love for this genre comes from the creations I have read in fantasy. When I think of some of these things, I just can't fathom how the writers came up with these ideas. I can only imagine it took ages to perfect! Which is why I have the deepest respect for this genre. I have to say that fantasy is a very wide one, so it varies ALOT!
Recommended:
Falling Kingdoms The Girl of Fire and Thorns Seraphina Shadow and Bone Throne of Glass

Historical
I have to admit that at one point in my life, I absolutely HATED this genre. I thought it was boring, and there was usually little romance in it. Yet, over the years, I have come to appreciate the vivid desciptions of historical fiction, and I have also gained some knowledge of the past at the same time. The plot is usually very well planned out in these books, and although I have found historical books are slow moving, I still very much enjoy them! Now this is my most FAVORITE genre of all...funny isn't it?
Recommended:
The Diviners Grave Mercy The Book Thief Venom

Contemporary
I do dread talking about this genre for I feel like I might offend people..."chews nails"... I first want to say that I don't intend to offend anyone! Okay, continuing on. Let me tell you first, that I dislike contemporary, very, VERY much. For me, whenever I start reading a contemporary book, I have extreme high hopes and maybe that is the reason why I get disappointd so much. However, I usually do like the beginnings of contemporary books, but I usually cannot stand going any further into them. I almost ALWAYS predict what will happen, so I guess that is what annoys me the most: it doesn't have any suspense in it. Another reason is that it becomes...well, cheesy to put it in moderate terms.  It gets kissy kissy, they break up, and then they get back together...again, do not be offended by my opinions! I can think of about ONE series that fit in this genre that I really enjoyed.
Recommended:
Perfect Chemistry Rules of Attraction Chain Reaction

Dystopian
This genre seems to be getting an awful amount of attention lately, and don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy this genre alot! I just feel like lately it has been become more and more popular! But, I don't blame them, since people like apocalypes. Equation: people like=popular book. I don't feel like recommending anymore books, so  just ignore for now!


Okay, that's it. It's extremely late right now, so I'm sorry if I may have said something stupid at one point or mispelled something...forgive me! I'm getting tired..."rubs eyes"...Tell me what you think in the comments! Discuss!

Young Adult Paranormal Hop

Up for grabs, is a ARC copy of The Darkest Minds

Description:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.


Rules:
*You must me at least 13 years old or have parental permission
*If you happen to win, you must respond to my e-mail within 72 hours before I pick a new winner.
*This giveaway is only for US entrants (sorry international peeps!)
*I will pick the winner via random.org and e-mail the winner to get their address. I will NOT share your address with anybody else.

That's all! Enter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Nightmare Affair: Blog Tour

Description:
Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Review:
I have to say, this book didn't let down my incredibly high expectations. It was one of my most anticipated books of 2013, and now it will be one of my favorite books of 2013.

If you loved Hex Hall with all the crazy paranormal witches and werewolves in it, then you most definitely will want to get this book. It's just with a new twist to it.

First, you are introduced to Dusty. She was a normal teenager until well, she found out that she was a Nightmare. Nightmares have the ability to go into to people's dreams. But, they only do that when they have to "feed" to be able to live.

I was actually taken by surprise when I started liking Dusty from the very start. It's not like I can relate to her, I just understood her somehow. Maybe that is just how well the author can write and make us all like the main character, but I was glad that I liked her. After all, she is a very important part to the story.

The plot of the story was, yet again, amazing. It was fast-paced and dragged you into the world of Arkwell Academy. Everything was easy to imagine, and it wasn't unrealistic. The murder was probably one of my favorite things about this book. I know that sounds really morbid, but it keeps you guessing who the murderer could be. There were so many possibilities and it kept me on my toes.

The romance. I first have to say, just by my first time reading the description, I thought it would be too-overbearing. I thought it might turn into a cheesy romance book instead of a well-planned out mysterious paranormal book. Now, that was just my thoughts when I first read the decription. Thankfully, I was totally wrong. There was surprisingly little romance in the first 1/2 of the book. Sure, there were some things, but I was expecting a huge love triangle(there was sort of a love triangle, but you could barely tell it was even there). Thankfully, the book seemed more focused on the important stuff: the mystery of the murderer. The romance was merely just another good part of the book. It was believeable and not overly-done.

The ending was not anything entirely important for me. I don't mean to sound harsh. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't amazing. It was in the middle for me. Nevertheless, I will be looking forward to reading the second book.

Overall, the book was well written, especially for a debut book. You could tell it was planned out and it was believeable. The romance wasn't overbearing, and the mystery of the murderer kept me on my toes through the whole book.

About the Author:

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.


TWO signed copies of The Nightmare Affair is up for grabs:

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Birthday Bash!

So, indeed, my birthday IS today. (Sparkly!)

AND it IS as exciting as every other birthday except now, I get to share it with you guys! SO, I wanted to celebrate with all my awesome followers and readers!

First, I just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you for all your comments. Thank you for bearing with me. Thank you for withstanding my constant fangirling. And lasting, thank you for just visiting my page and reading my posts. It literally, makes my day ten-times better. It makes me feel that creating my blog is important, that people DO actually enjoy reading my posts. My blog wouldn't survive with you guys, so thank you once again!


I have nothing special planned for my birthday, probably just hanging out with my twin( who's birthday is also today, of course!) and family. I have to say that I am SUPER excited that it's on Friday. Fridays are the best day of the week, in my opinion! So, that makes my birthday somewhat special, since it always seems that my birthdays are on horrible days like Monday or Wednesday. But, enough about that, I have a giveaway that I hope you will like! I really enjoyed this book, so I wanted to pass it along, to give to another devoted reader. AND it is signed! I really thought that makes the giveaway alot cooler ;)









The ARC does look a bit different than the official cover, but I still really love the ARC!(Sorry for the crappy quality!)

Here's the description:
Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

AH! Seriously, this was an AWESOME book, so you want to enter this giveaway.

The rules are simple.
Rules:
*You must me at least 13 years old or have parental permission
*If you happen to win, you must respond to my e-mail within 72 hours before I pick a new winner.
*This giveaway is only for US entrants (sorry international peeps!)
*I will pick the winner via random.org and e-mail the winner to get their address. I will NOT share your address with anybody else.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Waiting On" Wednesday(#15):Linked

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine that features books yet to be released that we're really looking forward to. This week my book is "Linked".

Title: Linked
Author: Imogen Howson
Released: June 11, 2013
Publisher:Simon & Schuster

From Goodreads:
Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Thoughts:
Come on people, twin sister? How could I resist? If you don't know what I'm talking about, I have a twin sister, and no, we CAN'T read each other's minds or whatever. But, this would be the first book I would have read about twin sisters, so again, how could I resist. Plus, it sounds like a pretty good plot! Nothing else needs to convince me!

What are you "Waiting On" this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best Bookish Memories

Top Ten Tuesday-It is a meme created by aime at The Broke and the Bookish where you create a list of your top ten favorite of any given category. This week we are creating a list of some of the best bookish memories.

First off, I have to say that I haven't yet even MET an author...I sorta live out in the middle of nowhere, where NO authors EVER come here. And of course, I can't travel, since I don't even have a license yet. SO, I want to say that I most likely want be able to come up with ten bookish experiences and the ones I DO come up with aren't even very exciting...really.

1.The first time I went to barnes and nobles. And yes, this is the Barnes and Noble I went to.


2.The book that started my reading addiction:


3.The first time an author talked to me( which was Fiona Paul, I believe!)


4.The first time I received an ARC(which I won from a contest!)




5.The first time I got a signed book!(also won from a contest!)


6.The time I finished reading Walk Two Moons



Ok guys, seriously, I can't remember ANY other bookish things I have went to or experienced, so that is it for this week.

SO, if you have any questions or comments just tell me in the comments!