Squeaky Books

GIVEAWAY!!-- Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

2009-11-12T06:14:00.004-07:00

I feel very lucky to say that I have a copy of Michelle Moran's Cleopatra's Daughter to give away. I'm reading this right now, and it is fascinating. I didn't know anything about ancient Egypt and Rome before reading this book. I most certainly recommend it. Here's more info on this book on Goodreads. The winner will also receive this freaking awesome Roman coin, complete with authentication certificate

Entering this giveaway is going to be really really simple and is open to everyone internationally. Here's the rules:

1. You must be a follower to enter (You can become a follower just by clicking the follow button on the sidebar. This contest is open to old AND new followers)
2. Enter your name into the Mr. Linky below, if you don't have a URL, just enter my URL (http://www.squeakybooks.com/)
PLEASE BE SURE THAT WHATEVER NAME YOU ENTER INTO THE MR. LINKY IS THE SAME AS THE NAME YOU FOLLOW UNDER. If there are any names in the Mr. Linky that are not in my followers list, you will be thrown out.

Extra entry: Blog about this or link in your sidebar, please enter your name TWICE into the Mr. Linky, being sure to link to your post or blog. I will be checking all double entries to make sure you blogged or sidebar linked.

And it won't get you an extra entry, but I would great appreciate if you would comment on this post when you enter. After all, Mr. Linky's will go away, but comments are forever. ;) I just use Mr. Linky's for easier organization.

I will choose the winner using Random.org, the first number it chooses will be the winner!

Contest will end on Friday, the 27th! Winners will be announced on the 28th!

So that's it! Sign up!

**Splendor-- Anna Godbersen

2009-11-11T10:16:00.006-07:00

Release Date: April 1, 2007
Pages: 464
Genre: Period Drama

Series: Luxe series. Luxe Review, Rumors Review, Envy Review
Rating:

Summary:

New beginnings.
Shocking revelations.
Unexpected endings.
A spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes.
Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty—but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New York's shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.
In the dramatic conclusion to the bestselling Luxe series, New York's most dazzling socialites chase dreams, cling to promises, and tempt fate. As society watches what will become of the city's oldest families and newest fortunes, one question remains:
Will its stars fade away or will they shine ever brighter?

Review: What can I say about this series that I haven't already said? I love this series. It's totally not my kind of book. After all, it's basically a train-wreck of a soap opera in novel form, but I still love it. You can read my other reviews (linked above) to get my perspective on the whole series.

What's my perspective after reading this book? The same. I still consider these my "closet" books, meaning I don't readily admit how much I love these books. I wasn't entirely satisfied in the way Godbersen wrapped up the series, it certainly wasn't a pure "fairy-tale" ending. But I don't really read these books for plot content. They are purely escapist for me, and so the whole world could randomly blow up, and I would probably still give it 5 stars. ;)

I know that doesn't make much sense. But c'est vrai. Perhaps other lovers of this series can explain it better. It's a very easy series to hate because of it's vapid and shallow nature, but I still love it. Crazy.

~Enna Isilee

New Book News!

2009-11-10T09:17:00.003-07:00

Now, I know a lot of you haven't been reading long enough to know that I love Neal Schusterman's sci-fi books, such as Unwind and Everlost. And I've been seeing a lot of buzz for Everlost lately, and I couldn't figure out why, because that book came out FOREVER ago. But here's why!

He turned it into a TRILOGY!!! I'm SO HAPPY! The book comes out today, and I'm totally going to grab it!

Wahoo for fun book surprises!

The Angel Experiment-- James Patterson

2009-11-09T10:31:00.004-07:00

Release Date: April 1, 2007
Pages: 464
Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
Rating:

Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the "Flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time--like when Angel, the youngest member of the "Flock," is kidnapped and taken back to the "School" where she and the others were genetically engineered by sinister scientists. Her friends brave a journey to Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare--this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb--now her betrayed and greatest enemy--that her purpose is she the world--but can she?

Review: I really enjoyed this book. I've heard bits and peices about it throughout the years it's been out, but I've never had the interest to pick it up myself. I'm really glad I did. This was a great escapist book, and almost completely clean. I LOVED that. The author actually put "[insert swear word of your choice here]"! I breathed a massive sigh of contentment. I'm usually not that picky about swear words, but I've had such bad luck with books lately, that this just made me happy. :)

I'm not in a huge hurry to read the rest of the series, but I think I'll most certainly be picking them up someday when I need an escape.

~Enna Isilee

grizzled

2009-11-07T21:13:00.003-07:00

How can a word
so rarely used
describe so much
in my world?

I'm writing an 8 page paper, and therefore feel very grizzled at the moment. And apparently poetic. Isn't it a fantastic word, though?

In My Mailbox (3)

2009-11-07T14:20:00.004-07:00

In my mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, who is one of my best friends now that I won her contest. ;)

All right. I only have one book IMM this week, but it's a good one:

Cleopatra's Daugher, Michelle Moran.

I'm really liking this, keep an eye out for a contest to give a copy away!

What's in your mailbox?

Awards! (1)

2009-11-06T10:10:00.007-07:00

Now, I have never participated in blog awards before, but since I have recieved quite a few over the last month, I figure I'll play along!

Three people gave me this "lovely" award-- Kapri, Kirthi, & The Storyteller

Here are the rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award":
Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Oi. 10 blogs?

Debbie's World of Books
Book Mac
A Life Bound by Books
Just Blinded Book Reviews
The Curly Q
The Book Vixen
Once Upon a Bookcase
Read Darling Reviews
A Bookful of Thoughts
Ink and Paper

From Priya I have the award for sheer awesomeness. Need I say more?

We'll pass it on to...

A Bookworm's Blog
A Bookshelf Monstrosity
Book Blather

Tara (which is one of my favorite names, by the way) over at Eye Feathers gave me the Honest Scrap award

The rules: post ten truth things about you and pass the award. (Include links to the person who gave it to you and to the people you are giving the award to.) All right. You want honesty? You got honesty:

1. I taught myself Greek at the age of 12 (I have since forgotten
everything)

2. I love factorying polynomial equations and solving equations for conic
sections

3. I sometimes allow myself to be controlled by my emotions

4. I can't sleep when it's hot, but I hate the cold

5. My blog was originally called The Story Shanty

6. I'm currently in class and not paying attention at all. Radioactive
decay is boring.

7. I once sent someone to the ER

8. I've beat up a cop

9. I had some anger management issues

10. I'm better now. ;)

And who am I passing this on to? Let's see...

Ellz Reads

Reading Nook

Thoughts of a Sheildmaiden

All right! That was fun. Thanks guys!

~Enna Isilee

Linky Contest Love (1)

2009-11-04T06:17:00.001-07:00

This post is pretty self-explanatory!

I got this idea from Bookworming in the 21st Century

Some of you may have noticed that I have a sidebar for contests. These are only the contests that I have entered so they are not nearly all the book contests & giveaways going on around the book blogosphere. So here's your chance to advertise!

Do you have a contest or giveaway going on? Link it here!

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT CONTESTS: Do you guys prefer having one winner win a lot of stuff, or having lots of people win less stuff?

Here are some rules that I'm stealing directly from Kristen's blog, seeing as she worded them so wonderfully:

1. Name the item being given away (instead of the blog name)
2. Give the end date in () after the name
3. Make sure to link DIRECTLY to that contest post - if you don't know how to do this - just click on the title of the contest blog and it will give a direct URL you can use.
4. If you want to post a contest you've found, make sure it isn't already posted.

That's it! Have fun winning!

A new rating system/review template

2009-11-03T07:52:00.002-07:00

All right, after reading many review blogs, and determining which I like about all of them, I am finally instigating a rating system and a review template.

From now on, at the beginning of a review, you will see this:

Release Date:

Pages:

Genre:

Then you will see some "flower power" though this will change if ever my blog layout does:

1- Didn't like it
2- It was okay

3- Decent read, enjoyed it

4- Very good, recommended

5- Amazing!

Of course, there is still the possibility that a book will get 5 "flowers" but not receive a "Squeaky" label.

Summary: (Link to summary or my own summary)

And after summary will be my review. I thought about having something like The Story Siren, where I review individual plot points such as age appropriateness, profanity, plot, character development, etc., but I'll mention all those things in my review, so I don't think that's a must.

What'd'ya think? Does it compare?

In My Mailbox (2)

2009-11-02T06:18:00.001-07:00

Created by The Story Siren
I got four (4) books this week! Hurrah!

I got Solitary and Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith, sequels to Lockdown. I'm really excited since Solitary doesn't come out until fall 2010, and Death Sentence doesn't come out until after that. I'm calling them my "future" books. Even though most of the books I get are technically "future" books. You might know them better as ARCs. ;)

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater. I've heard good things about this book. And it's about werewolves. Who doesn't love werewolves?

Rampant, by Diana Peterfreund. Killer unicorns. Need I say more?

All in all I think I got a pretty good haul this week.

What's in your "mailbox"?

~Enna Isilee

Happy Halloween! Featuring: The Dean Witch Project

2009-10-31T00:45:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween guys! I'm just going to share this little bit of Halloween joy with you. The very scary, very intense DEAN WITCH PROJECT. In which Shannon Hale walks through a dark house where her husband Dean is hiding somewhere. And for those of you who know Dean you know that's no small thing.

Many of you may have seen this, since it was "released" last year, but it's still fantastic:

AMAZING CONTEST

2009-10-30T12:36:00.002-06:00

All right, guys, I don't usually like to post twice in one day, but this is WORTH it!

Fangs, Fur, & Fey is celebrating their 3rd blogoversary, and in celebration they are giving prizes to 23 winners!

Yes! 23!

The grand prize winner gets a KINDLE!!! As in retails-at-$250-$300 KINDLE!!!

Twenty-two (22) lucky winners will receive a gift card in the amount of $20.00 from one of these five book retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, or Powell's - winner's choice which.

Amazing, right? I'm totally entering.

Good luck!
~Enna Isilee

Unfinished Friday (2)

2009-10-30T08:10:00.010-06:00

Skinned, Robin Wasserman

Not finished due to angsty teen-behavior and extreme profanity (meaning multiple "F" words). And the concept of this book sounded so great! Darn

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, E. Lockhart

Not finished due to petty teen behaviour. I thought this book would be Sammy Keyes/Kiki Strike-esque. But it wasn't. It lost me when the heroine started wearing string bikinis and going to late night beer parties, all for a boy. This was purely a personal thing. I think I just wasn't in the mood for this reason. My roomate just read it and loved it, so I think I'll give it another try someday.

EDIT: Okay, scratch that. I am definitely going to try this one again.

Tithe, Holly Black

Not finished after the first chapter, which was only about five pages long but had a minor smoking a cigarette, swearing, her drunk mother, and the boyfriend trying to stab the mother. And I had hopes for this book too.

Derby Girl (Now called "Whip It"), Shauna Cross
Secrets of My Suburban Life, Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Both unfinished due to profanity and just not being my style of book.

Now, Jo asked a wonderful question when I said that I wouldn't stand for profanity. Her question: Why?

I rate a book kind of like a movie. I don't see R rated movies, ever, so I won't read "R" rated books. My only real problem is with the "F" word, or very heavy usage of unncessary profanity(things that don't add to the story at all). If the story is good, I will tolerate one "F", but if it's not, I'm done. With Skinned I went through 3 before I finally put it down.

And I think maybe I should state that I didn't not finish all of these books just this week. These are books that I haven't finished over the last 18 months. This will probably be my last "Unfinished Friday" for a while, because these are the last of the books I didn't finish. I usually stick with a book. And if I do set it down for reasons other than profanity, I'll probably pick it back up later.

I don't believe that books should be suffered through, or that they should leaving you feeling "dirty." I'd much rather write a "why I didn't finish" post and have someone else read it and love it, than write I "I really wish I hadn't read this" post and write a negative review that makes someone never touch the book.

Plus, there are so many good books out there! I'm not going to suffer by skipping a few. I'm constantly branching out my horizons. But, in doing so, I've found genre's I don't like, just like everyone else. Some people don't like Sci-fi (crazy fools!), I don't like angsty books.

Muahahahahaha! Ultimate Follower!

2009-10-28T22:37:00.002-06:00

I now follow ~~310~~(318 now!) blogs! Put that on your bread and toast it! ;)

If for some insane reason, I missed your blog please let me know!

Thank you! & It's Blogroll time again!!!

2009-10-27T15:32:00.002-06:00

Thank you for all of your kind words on my new layout. I'm glad y'all like it! If you notice any bugs, feel free to let me know.

It's time to reload my blogroll! I just went through and added a TON of blogs, but I want more more more!! This time, I don't just want you to give me your URL, I'd love it if you gave me the URLs of other cool book blogs. I wanna stay connected!

Thanks mucho!

~Enna Isilee

Phenomenal Cosmic Layout!

2009-10-27T06:25:00.002-06:00

I don't know if any of you noticed the seizures my blog was going through yesterday, but I was playing with a new HTML code I discovered. After ripping it apart and basically starting all over again, I have ended up with what is now the new and improved Squeaky Books!

Same color scheme, same graphics, just a brand new rocking layout! Though... I know most of you don't actually look at my blog. You just reader-ize it.

Is there anything off? I know that if you resize your window things get alittle crazy, which worries me. Do things look okay to you?

I'm not setting up a poll to see if you guys like it, because it took me hours to set up, and if you don't like it, I will cry.

Seriously.

~Enna Isilee

In My Mailbox (1)

2009-10-26T07:11:00.000-06:00

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren

Here's what I've got in my "mailbox:"

Skinned, by Robin Wasserman
Fire, by Kristin Cashore
The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Schaffer
And Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson

I know some of these books may be considered "Old News" as they've been out for a while, but I just barely heard about them. So I'm really excited to read them. I'm starting with Skinned.

**Lockdown: Escape from Furnace--Alexander Gordon Smith

2009-10-24T16:24:00.002-06:00

I LOVE how many books have trailers now! So, instead of me summarizing this book, you guys can watch the uber-creepy trailer, and hear the author talk about it, then I'll give my review:

This book was delightfully disturbing. It was The Hunger Games, meets The Maze Runner. I found myself on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. It's oh-so-very creepy. Which is my only warning.

This book was surprisingly clean when it comes to language. After all, a bunch of teenage boys in a prison that the cover describes as worse than hell probably wouldn't have the best language, but the swearing wasn't extreme at all. Mind you, that doesn't mean there wasn't any swearing, but it didn't bother me too much, and I'm quite sensitive to it.

This book may end up giving me nightmares, but it was worth it. I love books with a good mystery. Those of you who have read The Hunger Games do you remember the shock at near the end of the game, when there were those creatures that weren't just creatures? (I'm trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) Well, there's something similar to that in this book.

Ooh. I still have the chills. I think the cover they show in the trailer is for the UK version, because my ARC has a different cover, and it doesn't come out until Tuesday the 27th.

If you don't mind horror-books (and I hadn't even thought of this as a horror book until the trailer told me it was, I thought it was just more mystery/sci-fi/paranormal, but now I can see that it is a horror book), and you liked The Maze Runner, and you're okay with characters that are FAR too young to be dealing with that kind of stuff, then check out Lockdown: Escape From Furnace

Sounds like a confusing review? I'll summarize:

This book is creepy, but oh-so-very good.

I'm very interested to see if others found it as good as I did. If you decide to read it, let me know if you liked it, or if it was too disturbing for you. Because I think of myself as a very picky/sensitive reader, and yet I could handle it.

~Enna Isilee

Oh. To give you an idea of how picky/sensitive I am: HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban gave me nightmares.

A QUESTION ON BOOK-BUYING ETHICS:
I just found out that the next two books in this series are already available in the UK. Does anyone know if there is any taboo about buying a book from another country before it comes out in the USA? I can't see why that would be an issue, can you?

Unfinished Friday (1)

2009-10-23T12:44:00.006-06:00

All right, now I read a ton of books that I don't ever finish for various reasons, and I never review them on this blog. But that's not fair! Maybe you guys want to read them, or want a warning not to read them. Either way, I'm going to start posting about books I didn't finish. I won't go into a ton of detail, but here are some:

Paper Towns, John Green

Not finished due to language. I was really sad. This book had such potential, and was beautifully written, but the characters swore too much for my taste.

Dream Hunter, Elizabeth Knox

This author is trying WAY to hard to a) create a whole new world and immerse you in it in the first 10 pages, and b) create an atmosphere of mystery.

It was as if the author was dangling a carrot in front of your face. That may work for a donkey, who eventually think's he'll reach the carrot. But I'm not a donkey. The author needed to give a little, not just keep baiting me on.

Wake, Lisa McMann

Only read the first few pages of this book due to extreme profanity. I don't recommend it.

Chalice, Robin McKinley

Not finished due to the fact that McKinley often gives WAY too much depth to her stories. When I'm in the right mood I love to immerse myself in the worlds of her creation, but not today. Today I just found myself horribly confused after the first 30 pages. Having NO idea what was going on AT ALL.

Some of these I read a long time ago, but others I just tried to read a few days ago. So... there you go. Maybe some of you like these, so know that I'm not trying to be mean to these books, I just didn't like them.

~Enna Isilee

Plotrospection-- 1st person Journal

2009-10-22T08:27:00.000-06:00

There are dozens, probably hundreds of books written as if the main character were writing it all themselves in a journal. This opens up a lot of doors.

1) we can see more deeply into the characters mind.
This is great if you have a strong character. But if your character has annoying flaws that the author didn't mean to put in, then getting to know the inner workings of their mind can be downright painful.

2) it opens up a chance for bias.
I love this, actually. When you have a hero or heroine writing about all these things that are happening to them, I like taking a step back and thinking, "Now, how might someone else see it? Is this person skewing things to fit their own agenda?" Many authors don't even mean to open this door, but I love to peek through it.

3) Full emmersion into the world
When you're reading someone's journal, you aren't just being told "The sky is blue." You're being told, "The sky is blue and it makes me think of rainbows and ponies." Similar to #1, this can be great if you've created a believable world. If an omnipotent narrator were to tell me "John had to be careful of breathing too much, as too much carbon dioxide in the air would cause the room to spontaneously combust." Then I might go, seriously? But if I'm hearing it from John's perspection, something like, "My lungs screamed for more air, but I knew that just the tinyest unbalance in the atmosphere of the room would send me to a fiery oblivion," then I'd be thinking, "How cool is that?!"

Looking through the eyes of a character makes me feel more at home and involved in a fictional world. But I guess that all goes back to the famous(or infamous) show, don't tell.

With all that said, I wouldn't say that I prefer journal-style books. Because sometimes I don't. Especially the ones where they're running around doing all this crazy stuff, and I'm left thinking "How in the world are you having time to write this all down?!" But they do have their perks.

What about you? What doors do 1st person journal novels open for you? Do you have some favorites? Some that you detest(please be nice!)? Here are some I know:

Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (favorite book of all time, tied with Enna Burning)
The Pendragon series, DJ MacHale (Childhood favorite series)

And, discuss.

**Leviathan-- Scott Westerfeld

2009-10-20T11:26:00.005-06:00

Here we have a treat! Instead of me telling you about the book, here's a cool 1 minute trailer all about it!

Sounds pretty cool eh? And it was!

We don't focus too much on WWI in our history books, rather we talk about WWII, so this was very refreshing. I found the idea of giant war machines and fabricated monsters COMPLETELY ludicrous for 1914, but absolutely fascinating.

There is absolutely no swearing in this book! Hurrah! It is one of the squeaky-cleanest books I've ever read! I was really nervous that it would be more like Westerfeld's Midnighters series, which is not squeaky clean, but it wasn't!

This book was very gripping, I wanted to know what was going to happen, and I wanted a ton of detail on how in the world they made all these creations.

But,

horror of horrors,

IT'S A SERIES!!!! WITH A TOTAL CLIFFHANGER ENDING!!!

Unfortunately, it isn't a cliffhanger that makes you go "Oh my gosh I can't wait for the next book!" It's a cliffhanger that makes you go, "Seriously? You couldn't have told us that in this book?!" So... I am a little frustrated by that.

And it actually took a really long time for the two main characters to meet. I wanted them to meet and start getting really involved in the war. It didn't happen that way, they didn't meet until the last 100 pages or so. But it's all set up so that the next book will really be them fighting side by side. So I'm really excited.

All in all I really enjoyed it, it's a definite Squeaky Book.

The sequel Behemoth comes out in October 2010. Hopefully I can grab an ARC, because I have very high hopes for it.

~Enna Isilee

WINNER! WINNER!! WINNER!!!

2009-10-17T15:10:00.003-06:00

Should we have a dumroll? Suspensful music? Oh! I know! Why don't we have Bear present the award?

All right! He's all set. I had 244 entries, so I asked each of my roomates to pick a number between 1-244, and then averaged all of their numbers. They chose 200, 37, 123, and 72, which equals 432. 432/4 = 108

Hooray for #108!
Cate from Sparrow reviews!!!

So, just e-mail me your address and I'll ship off your copy of Ice. If I haven't heard from you by Wednesday the 21st, then I have to pick a new winner.

Thanks for everyone who participated. Keep an eye out for even more contests. *wink wink*

~Enna Isilee

It's all over!!

2009-10-15T09:17:00.001-06:00

All right. No more contest entries. I don't mean to say you can't still become a follower (please do!), but you won't be entered into the Ice giveaway.

I've got work, rehearsal, and a test today, so I dunno if I'll get around to picking a winner. But I definitely will have picked one by Saturday!

Good luck!

~Enna Isilee

Only 24 hours! Did anyone get my newsletter?

2009-10-13T23:59:00.003-06:00

Hey! I know y'all are sick of contest reminders, but here's one last one before the contest ends! You only have exactly 24 hours from RIGHT NOW.

GREAT list of books, guys, I'm definitely going to look some of those up.

Also, did anyone get my newsletter? No one said anything, but so far I've had four people unsubscribe from my newsletter, so I'm pretty sure people got it. ;) However, I've had four people subscribe. :) So we broke even! Wahoo!

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

60 hours left! + Newsletter

2009-10-12T11:59:00.005-06:00

Fluffly would like to remind you that Enna Isilee's giveaway ends in exactly 2 days and 12 hours! You'd better hurry up and go here to get the details and enter.

Also a reminder that if you blogged about my contest I need you to give me a link to the post, you can't just say "I posted."

Also, Squeaky News is back! I have just sent out the October edition of my newsletter! It has contest information, upcoming reviews, and an interview with a fellow book blogger! Let me know if you got it and you could see the images.

I'll post a link in a few days for those of you who haven't subscribed to my newsletter. Subscribing is easy! Just enter your e-mail into the area in the sidebar. There will be no spam or nothing, just book news!

Also, someone suggested making a list of books with arranged marriages. I think that's a great idea! From now on I'll do it in the Plotrospection post, but lets do it here now. I'll list a couple:

Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst

The Goose Girl, Shannon Hale

What others?