First of all, I just wanted to say that I know I've been incredibly MIA lately - school has been a BIG transition for me, and it looks like I've taken a bit of a mini hiatus without meaning to! But it won't be staying that way :) expect more posts coming VERY soon!
This hop is such a perfect fit for my blog, and I've decided to offer up one of my longtime favourite books - if you're familiar with my blog, you may already know that I just LOVE Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine :)
This one's open internationally, and the winner will receive a copy of Ella Enchanted from The Book Depository - just fill out the form & good luck! And then stop by the rest of the stops on the hop too :)
So some of you who aren't from Canada may not be aware of this but July 1st is Canada Day - OUR own celebration of our nation :)
A few Canadian bloggers have put together a Canada Day blog hop to celebrate! All the giveaways are Canadian themed and all the giveaways are open to Canadian residents - but I'm opening up my giveaway to all international entrants because I want to spread the Canadian love. IF I COULD, I WOULD SEND YOU ALL MAPLE SYRUP. But it's pretty crazy expensive, even here.
So instead I'll send one of you one book. A BOOK BY A CANADIAN AUTHOR/author living in Canada. You get to choose. We have some pretty awesome authors here, by the way. And I've been lucky to meet a few!
Rules are the same as always - you can find them on the policy page and at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form.
Here's the books you can choose from:
Any book by Kelley Armstrong (The Gathering, The Summoning, Bitten, etc.)
Any book by Lesley Livingston (Wonderous Strange, Once Every Never, Starling preorder)
The Friday Society by Adrienne Kess (preorder - to be released in December)
Any book by R.J. Anderson (Ultraviolet, Knife, etc.)
Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy (new release ~ debut author)
This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel
Witchlanders by Lena Coakley
The Broken Thread by Linda Smith
Greta and the Gobling King by Chloe Jacobs
...or really, any other YA/MG book by a CANADIAN author that you'd like. I only listed the ones off the top of my head. There are way more.
Recently I noticed that I have a small PILE of books that I've read and need to pass on to new homes- and I figured what better way to kick that off than by participating in this well-timed giveaway?!
There are some REALLY amazing indie/small press books out there, so I knew I wanted to sign on as part of I Am A Reader, Not A Writer's giveway hop highlighting some of these in support of some of the awesome books I've read!
There are so many awesome indie/small press books that I've read, and as much as I wish I could highlight all of them here, I'm giving away the first two books in a series I've enjoyed reading so much <3 Plus, the author's Canadian and he gets bonus points just for that.
Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.
Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret.
In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.
I haven't done a giveaway hop in a long time now, but I decided to participate in this special fairy tale one hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer because fairytale books are so special to me.
They have always been some of my favourite books to read (I've read a large number of them) and even inspired my blog's name and theme.
As part of this hop, I'm sharing with you my top three fairy tale villains, but instead of using the typical fairy tale villains, I'm limiting this to those from retellings I've read.
The Keeper from Heather Dixon's Entwined:
Entwined is seriously one of the most underrated books that came out in 2011. It's a gorgeous retelling, one that reads with the ease and familiarity of an older, original version. And The Keeper is just downright creepy. He constantly straddles the line between suspicious and enjoyably mysterious, but then he just starts acting even weirder... and Heather Dixon had such a great way of writing his scenes, I would get shivers up my spine.
Queen Levana from Marissa Meyer's Cinder:
Cinder is one of the it books of the year, and for good reason. But I think one of the better reasons for this, and one that isn't often brought up, is the interesting Queen Levana as a character. I love that even though Cinder is a fresh and original retelling, there's still a character reminiscent of traditional evil queens from fairy tales (she really reminds me of the Evil Queen from Snow White actually).
Ella's Stepfamily from Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted:
You know what I love about them? They aren't perfectly evil in the most obvious sense of the word. But they're still great villains. They're just so petty and selfish, they're the perfect fit for the story and a great take on Cinderella's evil stepmother and stepsisters. And some of the things they do to Ella are just positively cruel and callous.
And, now for my prize as part of this hop...
One winner will win their choice of the following books:
All of these are wonderful stories, and some of the best books out there. Ella Enchanted is especially a must-read! I reread it at least once a year :)
And yes, this giveaway is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Good luck and enjoy the hop!
I've been blogging for a few months now (July 2011), and I truly am so thankful for the experiences I've had and the people I've met and talked to.
My followers and readers are especially some of those people I'm thankful for.
So many of you take the time to read my posts, share those posts, and even comment on them. I have so much love and appreciate for those of you who do that!
I'm really excited by the Gratitude Giveaway Hop because I think it's a great way to show appreciation for those of you who do this, which is why I'm so excited to be participating. Lots of other blogs are participating, and you can see the full list here.
Rules are the same as usual, international entries are welcome as long as Book Depository ships to you. Open to 13 years of age or older (under 18 needs parental permission).
All you need to do is subscribe to this blog (follow it) via RSS feed, GFC, or e-mail subscription. Fill out the Rafflecopter form- that's it. Super easy. I want to give back to one of you wonderful people.
The November Giveaway Hop (hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Tristi Pinketon) is here!! I always love doing these, because as much as I enjoy giving away books (especially ones I love myself!) the nice thing about hops is that they are so easy to be a part of.
There are around 200 hops participating in this one, and it's a shorter one- it runs from November 8th to November 11th. You can see the full list of blogs participating here.
My giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
The prize: one person will either win a November release of their choice or The Book Lover's Journal (which I use to take review notes while reading).
And let me just add that there are some AMAZING November new releases this month! Shatter Me, Space Between,
All you need to do to enter this giveaway is fill out the Rafflecopter form. Just give me a contact name (can be an alias, try not to use full name since this name shows up in the Rafflecopter widget for everyone to see) and an e-mail address to contact you at if you win.
Two bonus entries available: one for being a follower, one for leaving a comment on a review post.
Welcome to another stop on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop hosted by I am a Reader, not a Writer & The Diary of a Bookworm! There are over 400 blogs participating in this one, so make sure you go check out the full list here.
Since I like to have some sort of a theme with my prize for these hops, this time there will be two winners and each will win one book.
One prize is a copy of the fabulous Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel. I just finished reading this book a couple weeks ago, and completely fell in love with it. It's a fantastic YA book, and deserves so much more attention than it's getting and I want to share the love with one of you! It's a fantastic mix of all the good stuff: future world with the charm of the Victorian era, breathtaking romance, with just enough creepy and scary scenes.
The other prize is a book of your choice from The Book Depository, which you can select from the following newly released creepy books( as long as they're available from TBD at the time I select winners):
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Gossip Girl, Psycho Killer by Cecily von Ziegesar
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Envy by Gregg Olsen
Rules are straightforward, same as always, and located at the bottom of the Rafflecopter entry as well as my contest policy page. This one is INTERNATIONAL, as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Make sure you provide an e-mail address you check often in case you win.
Welcome to my stop on the Banned Books Giveaway Hop! This is hosted by I Read Banned Books & I am a Reader, not a Writer. You can see the entire list of participating blogs here.
I loved Banned Books Week because of the discussions it generates; is it okay to banned books? Should there be limitations on it? Should it be left up to the parents alone?
I have an interesting take on this based off my personal experience. I went to a private, Christian elementary school (and I loved every year of it- I wouldn't trade it for anything) HOWEVER one thing I disagreed with were how many things were banned at school. My family took a rather opposite approach and encouraged me to make decisions myself, and tried to guide me into making wise decisions. But they were ultimatley my decisions. I was permitted to pick out my own books, and while I know I read some things that would have been better if I had been a bit older, there are no regrets. I started reading Tamora Pierce when I was 11, but I'd grown up reading books about fairytales and mythology (and most of those stories include sex, but not in a graphic nature). I don't regret the decisions I made, but I did find many of the school's decisions on which things (such as books) to ban to be somewhat ignorant. I still do.
I'm not opposed to keeping some things out of reach for younger children and teens for a time, provided there are justifiable reasons and proper explanation of such reasons. And I know this is just my take, but I'm really curious to hear what your opinion is. So part of this giveaway will include you sharing that, whatever it may be!
I want to encourage open, friendly discussion. I don't want to see nasty comments, which will be deleted if posted along with your giveaway entry. That includes being rude to other people. You're more than welcome to agree or disagree with others, however.
Giveaway is international!
And the prizes are awesome :) they include both banned/challenged books.
One winner will get to choose one of the following from The Book Depository:
Hi there! Welcome to my stop on the Bright, Young and Luxe Hop in celebration of the upcoming release from Anna Godsbern, Beautiful Days! This giveaway hop is hosted by Tiffany @ For Those About to Read and Lea @ LC's Adventures in Libraryland! Lea and Tiffany are going to be hosting reviews, discussions, and this giveaway hop all as part of the celebration! Make sure to check out their blogs to follow along :)
I'm giving away THE ENTIRE LUXE series to one lucky winner! That's The Luxe (#1), Rumors (#2), Envy (#3) and Splendor (#4).
Since the winner will be receiving four books shipped by me, I'm only leaving it open to US/Canadian addresses for shipping purposes. That's FOUR books you can win, all in hardcover!
If you haven't read any of these books, I highly recommend them! I've only read The Luxe so far but it's a series that I really enjoyed a lot, and I'm so excited to pass my books on to one of you! Everything about them is so delicious, from the fashion, to the gossip, to the romance... it's like Gossip Girl at the turn of the century, but BETTER. The story was totally unexpected for me, and I loved all of them. Plus, the covers (oh, those dresses!) are to die for. Envy's dress is my favourite, *swoon*.
One lucky winner is going to win a book of their choice for this giveaway hop from The Book Depository!
There's just one catch: the book should be related to school.
But that really isn't so hard when you think about it ;) There are so many delicious books out there that may involve a school setting!
I'll list some examples to give you some ideas, but you are NOT limited to these books:
Anna and the French Kiss - because maybe a Parisien boarding school is your style?
Vampire Academy - or perhaps you're more a fan of the blood sucking type?
Gallagher Girls - maybe you'd prefer to be a spy like Ally Carter's characters?
Percy Jackson - if school really isn't your style, you might be more of a demi-god camp person?
Harry Potter - or you could be a wizard!
Shut Out - I JUST read this one and it was fabulous. You can read my review if you're curious, but it's great.
See what I mean? There are SO many books out there, and this is just to give you a taste :)
Okay so the important details:
The book needs to be under $15 from The Book Depository (Canadian dollars. Because, well, I'm Canadian).
This giveaway runs from September 1st to September 7th.
It is open internationally.
Your mandatory entry for this giveaway is to be a follower, but a couple extra entries are available as options.
The rest of the rules are posted on the bottom of the Rafflecopter widget.
by Marissa Meyer
by Heather Dixon
by Gail Carson Levine
