Addicted To Books

Book Announcements: The Thirteenth Chime Twitter release party

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:20:00 +0000

I'm so excited! Today, Friday, August 13th, 2010, I join, for the first time, a Twitter release party for a book. It's so cool!
So, as you can see, The Thirteenth Chime is released today. And Emma Michaels (you can find her blog here) decided to have a Twitter release party. Today, from 4pm to 10pm central time (GMT-5) . It's way cooler for me because I live in Romania, GMT+2, and I convinced my parents to let me stay from 11pm on Friday night till 5am on Saturday night for this party. So it's gonna be a night full of fun for me!

As a conclusion, join us! It'll be fun. We've already started tweeting. You can find more about how can you participate and get real-time tweets of #The13thChime on Emma's post.

peace,
-Ana.

P.S.: The personalized pic above is made by me. Feel free to save it and use it. I'm using it as a profile picture for my personal Twitter account, @anaivanus, right now. *winks*

Contests on other blogs: Summer Lovin' Giveaway at Confessions Of A Bookaholic

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:51:00 +0000

At Confessions Of A Bookaholic, there's a cool giveaway with awesome prize packs!
And... the day is finally here. The day for Prize Pack #10 - which is INTERNATIONAL! Simply amazing, huh? One (1) international winner will receive a copy of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Halo by Alexandra Adoretto or Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (that means you have to choose one book between the three of them if you win). The prize will be ordered from The Book Depository so check this list to make sure they ship to you.

So, join the giveaway.. and good luck to everyone! ;)

-Ana.

My reviews: Shadow Souls (Vampire Diaries - The Return, 2) by L.J. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:40:00 +0000

Full name: Shadow Souls (Vampire Diaries Book 6, Vampire Diaries - The Return Book 2)

Author: L.J. Smith

Pages: 486 pg.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release date: May 6, 2010 (first published March 16, 2010)

Synopsis:

ELENA GILBERT RETURNS IN A BRAND NEW, THREE PART, VAMPIRE DIARIES SEQUENCE...

Elena must come to terms to her altered physical state. Even she can barely comprehend what she is now capable of.

Finding herself forced to travel to the Dark Dimension with Damon, Elena is secretly terrified of letting her long-disguised feelings for Damon run wild. For if Damon does lure her into becoming his dark princess, her new power might not be used for good...

My review:

This was the first book I read this summer (summer 2010) and I'm really glad it was. The Reunion sequence, like any other Vampire Diaries book, is fantastic. I can't imagine myself starting to be bored by the well-known characters we all love: Elena, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Meredith, Matt and Mrs. Flowers. Of course, the villains aren't missing. We have the fox twins, Shinichi and Misao, starring as the-pain-in-the-butts characters *laughs*. Now this book is awesome. Elena, Bonnie, Meredith and Damon arrive in the Dark Dimension to save Stefan from the Shi No Shi. And, apparently, Elena's short "state" as a spiritual child left her with a Power that must be controlled, otherwise she'll attract all the vamps on Earth - cool. And this Power lets Elena visit Stefan in the Shi No Shi. So amazing, isn't it? And, whoa, Elena gets through so many dangers in the Dark Dimension, it's no wonder she hasn't totally freaked out yet. And (so sweet of him), Damon stays with Elena during all those oh-so-creepy moments. He even takes her pain when she is whipped for not "obeying" her master - which is Damon, because there, every "prisoner" has to have a master and, as they couldn't enter the Dark Dimension but as master + prisoners, they had to enter "undercover". And, well, no one can perfectly fake that.. But, anyway, she finally saves Stefan, they go back home and.. ouch, Damon gets poisoned and becomes..... human. How can we deal with that?! I mean, hey, can anyone imagine harsh and ironic Damon as a human? Well, we'll see what happens next in Midnight (2011)!

I give this book, as usual, a full 5/5 stars. This series is simply amazing. Seems like L.J. Smith could write even two more trilogies to Vampire Diaries *giggles*. I recommend this book for all readers who like YA books, especially vampire ones.

-Ana.

My reviews: Nightfall (Vampire Diaries - The Return, 1) by L.J. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:14:00 +0000

Full name: Nightfall (Vampire Diaries Book 5, Vampire Diaries - The Return Book 1)

Author: L.J. Smith

Pages: 471 pg.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release date: March 4, 2010 (First published on February 10, 2009)

Synopsis:

ELENA GILBERT RETURNS IN A BRAND NEW, THREE PART VAMPIRE DIARIES SEQUENCE...

She's alive - but no longer just human!

When Elena's beloved, Stefan, is lured away from Fell's Church, Damon seizes his chance to convince her that he is the brother she is meant to be with...

But a darkness is infiltrating in the town, and Damon, always the hunter, is now the hunted: he becomes prey to a malevolent creature that can possess him at will, and who desires Elena just as much, but for what purposes?

My review:

After finishing The Reunion, I simply couldn't wait for this book to come out. I was waiting for the UK edition. And for my bookstore to stock it. And I waited and waited.. till whoa! It was finally in my hands. I started reading it at once, in the car (even if I couldn't read much because my nausea started again). And I read and read and read. The Maths Olympiad was coming, it was an important contest, but I still found time to read. Now, getting back to the plot. The Return is a really cool sequence of Vampire Diaries. Stefan and Elena became the perfect couple. I loved the idea of Elena as a spiritual child. She simply was so innocent and cute! And Stefan.. the way he called Elena.. "little lovely love".. oh, it simply lets me with tears of happiness in my eyes. Damon.. Damon seems to be a jerk when he plans Stefan's "disappearance" in the Shi No Shi. But he's actually ruled by some ugh-so-disgusting creatures that led to.. Shinichi's plan. Shinichi is a fox boy. And he has a twin sister, Misao. But they definitely do NOT act like bro and sis. They act like girlfriend and boyfriend. Bleah!.. Caroline? Oh, oh, she's slept with Tyler! And now she accuses Matt of rape or so. She is a real jerk. Matt? Remains Elena's friend, helps her with her plan to defend the fox twins. Bonnie and Meredith? They stay with Elena at Mrs Flowers's house. And, whoa - Mrs Flowers is kinda a witch! With potions, herbs and so on. Can you imagine that? So The Return trilogy, as you've probably already figured out, is the best sequence anyone could write from Vampire Diaries.

In the end, I give this book a full 5/5 stars. L.J. Smith still has tons of ideas for Vampire Diaries, and I truly appreciate her for that. You definitely should start reading Nightfall.

-Ana.

Oh My Blog award!!

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:48:00 +0000

Yip!

I still cannot believe it. I'm still hopping around in the house, shouting (and maybe waking up my neighbors) about it and my parents keep telling me "Congratulations". Yeah, you got it - this is my first award as a book-blogger!! Yip! This is one of the unique moments in life when nothing - even pictures - can't describe the feeling you have. I thank Twisted @ Broken Day Dreams & A Literary Odyssey thousands and thousands of time for this award. It's unbelievable. I think I'm gonna give this awesome news in the newspaper LOL =)).

So, rules (yep):

1. Get Really Excited that you got the coolest award EVER! (clearly done).

2. Choose one of the following options of accepting the OMB award:

-Get really drunk and blog for fifteen minutes straight, or for as long as you can focus.

-Write about your most embarrassing moment.

-Write a "Soundtrack Of Your Childhood" post.

-Make your next blog a "vlog" (video blog). Basically your talking to the camera about whatever.

-Take a picture of yourself first thing in the morning, before you do anything else (hair, makeup, etc) and post it.

3. Pass the award on to at least three, but preferably more, awesome bloggers. Don't forget to tell them.

So, I won't get drunk because I'm only 13 :D. I won't take a picture of myself tomorrow morning because I don't do my hair or put any makeup (I'm natural. And all say I'm cute like that :D). And I'm not really talented at filming myself so...

I'm going to choose both the soundtrack and the most embarrassing moment. As you can see, I'm now 13. My birthday was on July 3. I'm kinda still a child but also a teen (complicated..) so the soundtrack of my childhood and the embarrassing moment sound really good to me :).

First, soundtrack:

1. Walk The Dinosaur (I always loved to dance on it - you must have seen me last year. I went in a camp in England and the staff bought us tickets at Ice Age 3. I was dancing like a freak in the cinema at the end LOL)

2. Hickory Dickory Dock (I always got to sing it at kindergarten winter/summer ceremonies)

3. Rudolph, the red-nose reindeer (Always sang it at Christmas parties in the primary school)

4. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (I still kinda know it by heart)

5. Incy Wincy Spider (Another song I still know by heart)

6. A Little Mouse With Clogs On (When I've got problems, I always hear this song, I dunno how, I simply hear it)

So, I think this would be the Soundtrack Of My Childhood + the significance of each song.

Now, the most embarrassing moment ever:

I was in the 3rd grade. I've just come from the PE class. The uniform I had was a white blouse and a dress with a zap in the front. When I entered in the classroom, I saw my classmates look at me in a weird way. But I didn't much care. Until a friend told me: "Um, you have your dress unzipped..". I couldn't believe it. "It's impossible, I zipped it.." and looked down. Jeez, it really was unzipped. But the zipper was up, so the zip was broken. Crap! I tried to keep my dress closed because I so didn't want the boys to see my panties. So, while that friend went searching for the school mechanic to repair my zip, I stayed on the steps. When, OMG, the boy I liked sat beside me. "What has happened?" he asked. "Um, my zip is broken and Alexandra (the friend's name) is gone searching for the mechanic," I said, grinning in a this-is-life way. He didn't put any more questions and tried not to look at me (so nice of him (=..) so he left. Right then, another friend came to me. "I heard about your zip," she said. "Yeah, I dunno how this has happened, but..." I started but she suddenly said: "Maybe I can repair it!" And she really repaired it. I thanked her a million times. But I had 5 minutes of complete embarrassment and that can't be repaired. Eh, well, at least I'm the only one to remember now (I think - I moved from that school 2 years ago).

Now for some awesome blogs! Please notice the order doesn't matter. You're all cool!

The OMB award goes to:

1. The Bookish Type!

2. Confessions Of A Bookaholic!

3. Flipping Pages For All Ages!

4. My Overstuffed Bookshelf!

5. Good Choice Reading!

6. A Life Bound By Books!

7. Reading Teen!

8. Reading Vacation!

9. The Undercover Book Lover!

10. Chick Lit Teens!

11. Wastepaper Prose!

12. This Miss Loves To Read!

13. Jen's Corner!

14. Regan's Book Obsessions!

14. Bites!

15. It's Time To Read!

16. The Book Vixen!

17. Book Addict!

18. The Neverending Shelf!

19. Bookworming In The 21st Century!

20. [Bloggers [[heart]] Books]!

21. The Story Siren!

22. The Book Shopaholic!

23. The Book Pixie!

24. Mindful Musings!

25. Pure Imagination!

26. The Introverted Reader!

27. Reading Angel!

28. YA Roundup!

29. Broken Day Dreams & A Literary Odyssey!

So, as you can see, today I decided to make 29 other people happy. Hope I succeeded!

Next week I'll announce everyone with a comment on their blog.

Happy weekend everyone!

-Ana.

In My Mailbox (3)

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:49:00 +0000

In My Mailbox is a feature hosted by the awesome Kristie at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. I won't always write the IMM as I don't have time to order books weekly.

But when I do, I'll post them here!

This week has just become happier. I bought 10 new books! Take a look at them.

Warrior Cats novels 1-6 by Erin Hunter. Published by Harper Collins Children's Books

1. Into The Wild (Warrior Cats, #1)

2. Fire And Ice (Warrior Cats, #2)

3. Forest Of Secrets (Warrior Cats, #3)

4. Rising Storm (Warrior Cats, #4)

5. A Dangerous Path (Warrior Cats, #5)

6. The Darkest Hour (Warrior Cats, #6)

Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. Published by Harper Collins Children's Books

1. Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely, #1)

2. Ink Exchange (Wicked Lovely, #2)

3. Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, #3)

4. Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely, #4)

So what did you find in your mailbox this week? Or what did you bought from your local bookstore?

-Ana.

Hey, I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:18:00 +0000

On the road..

As you might have noticed, I haven't post on Addicted To Books and Twitter - @addict_books lately. I have a reason for that. I was on vacation! Well, as I'm a student, I'm still on vacation - but I left town for 9 days (supposed to be 10 but Dad had some office work to do) and I just didn't have time - and Internet connection, the endless problem at the countryside - to post. My vacation started on July 14 and ended on July 23. July 12 and July 13 were absolutely busy. I was busy, busy, bee-like busy =))

So here I'll write my "schedule" I had these days.

Prep Day 1

My house looks like a real all-stuff-from-clothes-to-food depository. A chaos. My folks start searching for clothes they haven't seen like for a year.. Departure is always hard, as I can see. Tomorrow I'm going at my hairstylist to cut my hair - it's just too scorching hot for my hair to resist the sweat that may come :)). So I'm starting packing today. First thing, listing all the stuff I wanna bring with me. Tomorrow I'm gonna be busy with ordering them... Yeah, my parents agreed I should now have my own suitcase - I'm 13, for goodness sake - and I can pack as many things as I want. Or, better said, as many things as my luggage can keep without exploding after zipping it =)). Hope I'll stick to the list..... :)

Prep Day 2

I've just come from my hairstylist. My hair is finally normal-sized (when you have hair as curly as mine, it's kinda a bless :D). Now the war begins. As I thought I wouldn't stick to my hope in the end, I've just started adding and removing stuff originally on my luggage list. For example, Sea by Heidi R. Kling finally arrived and I am in the sea-love now. I piss Mom off by asking questions like "Mom, I need an apricot T-shirt" or "Mom, do I have any turquoise shirts or skirts?!" or "Hey, Mom, look - Sea-inspired necklace!" or "Um.. Mom, can I borrow your orange T-shirt?". With my Sea craziness even before it arrived, the post office in Bucharest now knows my Sea devotion. Now I'm starting adding and removing books from my luggage over and over again - I even want to take all my Vampire Academy series! I know very well I can't read all the books in this vacation but I always want to over-stuff my luggage - I don't want to take the risk to run out of books or lipstick, etc... you know, girl stuff :). Finally, I only take Sea, Need and Captivate by Carrie Jones, and Frostbite (VA #2) by Richelle Mead. I feel nervous about tomorrow.. I always feel nervous before a trip :D. I just can't sleep..

Day 1

Yeah, "awesome" start of the day - I only slept for about 3 hours overall and I now have to spent 7 hours on the road. From Bucharest (South-East of Romania) to Hateg (Hunedoara - West of Romania). Cool, huh?! I can't read in the car - because of my eye problems, I think, I'm nauseous each time I read or search for something in my backpack, etc... I can only listen to music. Bad luck, my MP3 has to be charged and my headphones for my cellphone seem broken. I can only sleep. Bad luck again, I can't even sleep in a plane, let talking a car. So all I have to do is looking out of the window, taking photos, trying to read a bit and kinda fix the headphones. Mission done. I'm finally in Hateg, I have tons of energy and I wanna go to the swimming pool in the hotel. But, see, I'm not in a good shape, it seems. I stop swimming after half an hour :D

....

Day 3

I'm on our way to a national park and reservation in Retezat Mountains. There are TONS of insects, especially mosquitoes and bees, here. And seems like I smell good for them. I must give up perfuming me and stick on the soap I wash myself with.. Here we go by car for about 1000 meters, then climb by foot some other hundreds of meters to a lake. Ohmy, the path is so narrow and hard to climb. My head doesn't work anymore on the take-photos stuff. All I want to do is to stay safe. And, happily, I kinda stay. I only have a bruise or two on my legs

Day 4

A longer trip this time. Me and my parents are going to visit an old castle in Hunedoara (still Romania (=..) where kings, queens, knights, etc lived. It's great! The whole castle is built from river stones, and it has a river in the front of it. Like castles from all the fairy tales. There's sort of a fair in the castle with books, traditional stuff and.. (I'm surprised, too) British jewelry from the times King Arthur lived. I'm buying a Celtic ring with dolphins - it's so cute!

Day 5

Me and my folks don't have anything to visit anymore, so we ask the hotel staff for more sights. They tell us we can visit one of the two (only) bison park in the WHOLE WORLD ( :O ) and an Arboretum in a little town called Simeria (At first, I think the staff said Siberia LOL). So we're gonna visit both of them. We first go to the bison park because it's the first place on our way. We are surprised to see that there are no souvenirs or info books or something.. But the bison matter (and, later on, the photos I have (:..) They are really nice. They aren't aggressive (but, really, who can be aggressive on that scorching hot day!?), they seem... bored. Their boredom is funny - they wander and wander and want to walk through trees but they can't, obviously =)). It's a pity there are only 5 bison (including a baby bison). So, we've just seen the bison, now we're heading towards the Arboretum. Arriving there, we find out its size is of.. 70 hectares - totally huge! When we start wandering through the Arboretum (and hoping we're not gonna get lost), mosquitoes suddenly come after us, biting and annoying us. After an hour we decide to go (I dunno how many hectares we've seen so far) so we start going back.. But, yeah, we got lost. We start walking out of the paved road, and climbing on mud (yikes!), through trees. We hope that if we go straight uphill we'll arrive at the main entrance. And, happily, we arrived :). We go back to our hotel

Day 6

So this is the day when we stay in the hotel and pack and so on. I have some free time to surf the internet (well, well, "surprise" - the connection is really low) and read. Sea is great. Sienna and Deni are an adorable couple :). I go to the swimming pool for the last "bath" ( :(( ) and then I go search for a cute, fluffy kitten I saw wandering in the yard. She's absolutely lovely! I take some photos of her and then I'm having dinner with my parents. Finally, I take a walk with them (my folks) in the village. It's really nice. First, fresh air - I need it for my allergy (I have an allergy at dust, humidity, etc and I have to use nasal solutions every day and it's absolutely pissing. me. off!). Second, welcoming people - they all salute us when they see us, even if they don't have a clue about who we are. Third, everything's peaceful here, like there are no problems on Earth. Hope we'll come here again soon =).

Day 7

We leave this village at about 10am, ready for a looooong day on the road. It took us about 5-6 hours to arrive. I start reading, then listening to music, then taking a nap - this sort of stuff. The destination is another village, closer to Bucharest this time. Surprisingly, when we arrive, there are no tourists. Well, more silence. Excepting the fact there's a sand factory across the road. I start walking towards it and.. surprise, surprise, it's working without stopping (argh!). I feel so sleepy. I'm even too lazy to have a shower (but of course I have). And, surprisingly, I fall asleep at about 11pm. I rarely sleep at 11pm. My hours of falling asleep? 12am, 1am, 2am :D

Day 8

Because we have nothing else to do, me and my folks start visiting other villages close to ours. We also go close to another national park - Bucegi National Park. There are lots of people camping and having BBQs. We have lunch at a restaurant there. I'm having fried fish with French fries - yum, yum, yum. We have 2 extra companions at our table - 2 little, cute and fluffy kittens! Lucky them I ordered fish :)). We come back at our hotel. We watch TV, surf the internet, read. And, of course, pack again. Tomorrow we're leaving, sadly.

Day 9

I have some milk and cereals before leaving with my folks. This time we're going home. The road isn't crowded (at least, not on our direction - on the other, kilometers of cars are heading towards the mountains for another skiing weekend). We arrive after 3 hours. Imagine coming from 20 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius - jeez. We are welcomed home by my Grandma and my cousin, Alex. He came here before coming to his swimming lesson (the most popular swimming pool in Bucharest is at 1 km far from us). It's good to be home, although I want more days at the countryside...

So this is kind of my diary of this journey. I hope you enjoyed reading and.. you have a cool holiday too!

See ya,

-Ana.

In My Mailbox (2)

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:18:00 +0000

But when I do, I'll post them here !

This was a very good week for me. I received Vampire Academy 1-4 on Tuesday and now I'm receiving 6 more amazing books :). I'm so happy.

Night World Bind-ups 1-3 by L.J. Smith. Published by Hodder Children's Books

1. Night World Bind-up 1: Secret Vampire, Daughters Of Darkness, Enchantress

2. Night World Bind-up 2: Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate

3. Night World Bind-up 3: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Need series by Carrie Jones. Published by Bloomsbury

4. Need by Carrie Jones

5. Captivate by Carrie Jones

6. Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, 5) by Richelle Mead. Published by Penguin Books

So, what did you find in your mailbox this week?

-Ana.

My reviews: The Fury & The Reunion (Vampire Diaries 3-4) by L.J. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:32:00 +0000

Full name: The Fury and The Reunion (Vampire Diaries, #3-#4 - Vampire Diaries Bind-up 2)

Author: L.J. Smith

Pages: 410 pg.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release date: September 3, 2009 (The Fury first published in 1991 and The Reunion first published in 2007)

Synopsis:

The Fury: Faced with an ancient evil, Stefan and Damon must stop their feuding and join forces with Elena to confront it. But in so doing, they are unwittingly sealing her fate...

The Reunion: Elena summons the vampire trio once more to unite and challenge their fate. Together they will be called to face the most terrifying evil Fell's Church has ever known.

My review:

I started reading the second bind-up of Vampire Diaries as soon as I finished the first one. I couldn't stop reading. Especially when The Struggle ends with Elena's death - theoretically. Because she actually transforms into a vampire. She was almost drown, and she kinda died, but she had enough of Stefan's blood in her veins to help her stay... un-dead. And.. whoa! She thinks Damon is her boyfriend. I still dunno why. Well, yeah, she finally remembered after about 4 chapters, but still... Anyway, it was a great story. The Fury means Elena's life as a vampire, trying to kill Katherine but, in the end, doing the most unselfish thing anyone could do, as Bonnie describes it at the end of book 3... she risks her life and slowly dies, transforming into ashes, but not before making Stefan and Damon promise they'll take care of each other.. Awww, how cute isn't it? And, finally, The Reunion is the part where Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Meredith and Matt ally together to confront Klaus, an Old One (like original vamp, who never dies) and bring Elena back - yay! The Reunion is maybe the most thrilling book in the Vampire Diaries series (not talking about The Vampire Diaries: The Return series). When I finished this bind-up (after another week), I couldn't wait for The Return series - And now, as an introductory part, The Return series is awesome!

And, now really, what are you waiting for? Go. Read. It. At. Once! :)

So, I give this book 5/5 stars too, because it kept me breathless for 2 good weeks. Again, congratulations to L.J. Smith for her vampire story - the original one!

-Ana.

My reviews: The Awakening & The Struggle (Vampire Diaries 1-2) by L.J. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:41:00 +0000

Full name: The Awakening and The Struggle (Vampire Diaries, #1-#2 - Vampire Diaries Bind-up 1)

Author: L.J. Smith

Pages: 389 pg.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release date: August 6, 2009 (first published in 1991)

Synopsis:

The Awakening: Elena Gilbert is used to getting what she wants and she wants mysterious new boy, Stefan. But Stefan is hiding a deadly secret - a secret that will change Elena's life for ever...

The Struggle: Elena is torn between her boyfriend, Stefan, and his brother, Damon. But these brothers hide dark secrets and a tragic past that threatens them all. Damon wants to lead Elena astray - and he'd rather kill Stefan than let him possess her...

My review:

I must say it. I bought this book in February 2010 because the owner of my favorite bookstore recommend it to me, understanding that I became a real fan-pire. Well, I wanted to read it too, but I first thought: "What vampire story could possibly be in a book published in 1991?!"

But when I started to read it, I was like "Whoa! This is the first modern vamp story..". And it really was. I could see it from a mile away. This is the original story between a vampire and a teen girl. I mean, it kinda started just like Twilight. Girl moves in her hometown, meets a mysterious boy in her class, etc. But then the plot goes entirely different. A lot of action. You just start to breath again when you finish The Awakening, and then you stop breathing when you start The Struggle.

Practically, The Awakening means Elena's discovery (that Stefan Salvatore, the gorgeous, new, hottie guy is a vampire!!!). The Struggle means Elena's "fight" against Damon, and finally dying - OhMyGosh...

Lucky me I had the idea to buy The Fury & The Struggle, too. Because I couldn't stop reading! I read this bind-up in about 5 days - that's because I had prep at Maths (the Olympiad was coming) and other school stuff when you start the second semester.

I give this book a definitely 5/5 stars! You should better go and get it, because it's a book love-able by every YA fan. Congratulations to L.J. Smith for an awesome vampire series.

-Ana.

Contests on other sites: BEA in a bag!

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:26:00 +0000

I found a really nice contest on Chick Lit Teens called BEA in a bag. You should join, because there is an awesome prize pack from BEA.

The contest is open internationally and the deadline is July 17.

So what are you waiting for? Fill in this form for a chance to win.

-Ana.

My reviews: Reviews coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:07:00 +0000

First, I wanna say that I'll also review books I read before starting this blog, but I'll write 'em to for you, readers, to have a perfect view of other reads =).

Future reviews:

The Awakening (Vampire Diaries, #1) by L.J. Smith - done

The Struggle (Vampire Diaries, #2) by L.J. Smith - done

The Fury (Vampire Diaries, #3) by L.J. Smith - done

The Reunion (Vampire Diaries, #4) by L.J. Smith - done

Nightfall (Vampire Diaries, #5) by L.J. Smith - done

Shadow Souls (Vampire Diaries, #6) by L.J. Smith - done

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

-Ana. (by the way, below is my new signature. Handmade :). Like it?

In My Maibox (1)

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:22:00 +0000

But when I do, I'll post them here !

Vampire Academy novels 1-4 by Richelle Mead. Published by Penguin Books

1. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)

2. Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2)

3. Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, #3)

4. Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4)

______________________________

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, #5) will come soon

PS: I may include the first VA book in the first giveaway ;)

-Ana.

Coming in the mailbox (June 20 - June 26)

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:55:00 +0000

Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich

Mission Of Honor (Honor Harrington) by David Weber

Transformation: The Mindset You Need. The Body You Want. The Life You Deserve by Bill Phillips

An Echo In The Bone: A Novel (Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon

Dark Flame (The Immortals) by Alyson Noel

Take Four (Above The Line Series) by Karen Kingsbury

Family Ties: A Novel by Danielle Steel

13 To Life by Shannon Delany

Play Dead by Harlan Coben

Take A Chance On Me by Jill Mansell

The Fields Of Death (Revolution 4) by Simon Scarrow

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

Source: Amazon US and Amazon UK

Contests on other sites: Claire De Lune

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:50:00 +0000

On http://cjohnsonbooks.com there is a really awesome Claire De Lune book contest.

You can find it here.

I love joining contests, so I decided to enter it.

You have nothing to lose, so you'd better enter too ;)

-Ana.

Contests on other blogs: Paranormal Five on The Undercover Book Lover blog

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:08:00 +0000

I (luckily) found this contest on http://theundercoverbooklover.blogspot.com, named Paranormal Five Giveaway. I said "whoa! really cool!" - and double "whoa!" when I saw it's an INTERNATIONAL giveaway. And since I live in Europe I can hardly find international contests/giveaways.

So I joined it, and I can't wait to see the winner. Hope-it's-me. Hope-it's-me. :D Sorry, I have never won any book contest... it'd make my day to see I am the winner =).

Well, join this giveaway too! You have nothing to lose.

-Ana

My reviews: The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Full Name: The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Pages: 192 pg.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release date: June 5, 2010

Synopsis:

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.
In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.
All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.
Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagines, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

My review:

At first I had no idea of what could really happen in this book except the battle between the Cullens with the shape-shifters vs. the newborn army with Riley and Victoria. But, as any enthusiastic Twilight fan, I decided to buy it because, after all, I had nothing to lose. Plus, one day before the purchase, I saw the Eclipse clip with "Introducing Bree Tanner" and I thought of it as an interesting idea.

But I was enthralled by Bree Tanner's story. It was amazing. I finished the book in three days! (and that's because I had a lot to do every day, or I could've finished it in 2 hours maximum). It was amazing to see Bree's point of view. When we thought, in Eclipse, that Bree's just another bad vamp, Bree convinced us she really isn't bad. She's forced to. And she's still on her principle: Hunt humans that Earth doesn't really need. Even if she's shy and always hides in a corner, near Fred (who has the ability to keep people away from him), she meets a true friend in Diego, who has the same principles as her. It's funny how they have their own "Super Secret Ninja Club". I liked that part.

Anyway, I give this book 5/5 stars. Congratulations to Stephenie Meyer for another great Twilight Saga book.

-Ana.

Coming in the mailbox (June 13 - June 19)

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:09:00 +0000

The Overton Window by Glenn Beck

uncharted terriTORI by Tori Spelling

Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis

Whiplash (An FBI Thriller) by Catherine Coulter

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger

Lowcountry Summer: A Plantation Novel by Dorothea Benton Frank

Frankenstein: Lost Souls: A Novel by Dean Koontz

Promises To Keep: A Novel by Jane Green

Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir by Pat Benatar

That Perfect Someone by Johanna Lindsey

Source: Amazon US

Respect the ARC

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:22:00 +0000

This might seem a simple (boring for someone maybe) campaign. But it's important to respect the ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) and not sell it, because we don't have any right to. In my opinion, this even doesn't respect the copyright of an author!
So, I saw a button with ARC on http://totalbookaholic.blogspot.com and I thought I can post it here, since I really think we have to raise awareness of this.

Hope you think the same,

peace always,
-Ana.

Addicted To Books: A brand-new blog for bookaholics!

noreply@blogger.com (anaivanus) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:11:00 +0000

Hey there! I am Ana and this is my blog dedicated to book-addicted people!

I am here to have a perfect reading blog - and I always wanted a book blog.

If everything goes well here, and if I see there are loads of visitors... well... I'll have contests and giveaways here. To weekly contests.. till special Christmas/Easter giveaways!

The Twitter for this blog is @addict_books, but you can also find me on @anaivanus

Have a good day everyone!

-Ana.