Vampire Kisses Blood Relatives Volume 2 by Ellen Schreiber

Vampire Kisses Blood Relatives Volume 2 by Ellen Schreiber

Published: Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2008

Series: Book 2, Blood Relatives

Sixteen-year-old Raven, a vampire-obsessed goth girl, searches for her true love, Alexander, who she has learned is a real vampire.

When I read the first volume last year I could not wait to get my hands on volume 2. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Full of great illustrations this manga rocks. Sometimes I find the picture to be confusing for some graphic novels/manga but this one I actually found the picture to be good. I could clearly understand and see what was going on and that is what a good manga should be all about.

The story line was a good one. I enjoyed it because not only was there vampires but there was a little bit of mystery in there too.

The ending left me wanting the third installment. But at the same time I felt as though the ending made the rest of the book seem slightly pointless. I dunno, I think it was just the way I was thinking at the time.

This manga and the first volume have the same characters as Ellen Schreiber's Vampire Kisses novels. The storylines are just different between the two.

So if you like vampires or the Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber then you should definitely check this book out.

Sun Kissed by Melissa De La Cruz

Sun Kissed by Melissa De La Cruz

Published: Simon & Schuster, 2006

Series: Book 3, The Au Pairs

Be careful or you'll get burned.

The three hottest au pairs in history are back, and this time they're ready to rule the Hamptons. Mara has all the VIPs in the hottest clubs hanging on her every word. Eliza's family is back from financial ruin; and she's got the platinum charge cards to prove it. Jacqui is newly single and ready for some steamy summer hook-ups. The girls seem to have it all this summer...but looks, as we all know, can be deceiving.

I really enjoyed reading the first two Au Pairs novels and Sun Kissed was very enjoyable too.

It was good to see all three girls back together again for a summer of adventure, fun and of course drama. It was also good to see all my old favourite characters back for another fun book.

While this is a totally fun, light and breezy book I have to admit there was a couple of parts that had me tearing in the eyes. I also had a good laugh and I also got angry. Melissa de la Cruz did an awesome job at capturing emotions and putting them on paper.

The storyline was good. It wasn't hugely heavy and I have to say that some parts of it I found to be incredibly relatable.

Sun Kissed is the perfect book to read in the summer time. If you haven't read the first two books in the series I suggest you do before starting on this one as they do relate. So if you're looking for a great book this summer I guarantee that Sun Kissed and the rest of the Au Pairs books will fill your need of a highly entertaining but light and summery read.

Making a List on Monday

So I always like to play around with different memes etc. to see which ones I like and have fun with. I love making lists and so this week I will be starting to make my own little thing where I make bookish lists.

This week my list is going to be on:

My Top Five Coolest Guys in YA Fiction

1. Po from Graceling

2. Lief from The Deltora Quest

3. Alex from The Alex Rider series

4. Jacob from Twilight

5. Dave the Laugh from the Georgia Nicolson series

By the way none of these are in any particular order. Feel free to make your own list and comment below with it.

In My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

This week was quite a good week as in the mailbox I got 2 Cleopatra's Daughter Bookmarks and a signed bookplate from Michelle Moran, so that was really cool.

Also, I got a couple of book from the library which are graphic novels so I can read through them in no time.

Chibi Vampire Volume 13 by Yuna Kagesaki

Karin, in rapture since sharing a first kiss with Kenta, comes back down to Earth when a sinister group of vampires arrives threatening to expose her secrets.

Vampire Kisses, Blood Relatives Volume 2 by Ellen Schreiber

Sixteen-year-old Raven, a vampire-obsessed goth girl, searches for her true love, Alexander, who she has learned is a real vampire.

Well thats it for me this week. I can't wait to see what everyone else got.

Reading Challenges

This page has links to all of the Reading Challenges that I am currently doing or have done.
2009
Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge
'09 Debut Authors Challenge
Georgia Nicolson Reading Challenge
Meg Cabot Reading

Book A Day Challenge

2010

YA Reading Challenge

Support Your Local Library

Personal Challenge
Pretty Little Liars Challenge


2011
Debut Author Challenge
Kiwi Challenge
Off the Shelf Challenge
The Book Bucket List Challenge


2012
Debut Author Challenge
Goodreads Challenge
TBR Pile Challenge

Review Policy

Review Policy

I review every book that I read. I will always be honest in my reviews about the books that I read. I read a number of different types of books. More information on my reviewing policy of each type is listed below.

Fiction

I mostly review fiction. I will read and review children’s, young adults and adults fiction. I am not bothered by genre of any sort of fiction as I am very open to many genres. For my reviews of fiction I look at character development, story line, interest levels, how well written the book is, and things I liked about the book and things I didn’t like.

Non-Fiction

I will read and review non-fiction books. I try to read and review two non-fiction books per month. I read many different types of non-fiction. When reviewing non-fiction I look at the information contained in it and whether it is an interesting read.

Graphic Novels

On occasion I will review graphic novels. When reviewing a graphic novel I will base my reviews on the illustrations, the story line and the character development.

There are a number of sources where I get my books for review. These are:

The Library

I read and review a large number of library books. These are given priority over books I own as they have due dates.

My own Collection

I will review books from my own collection when I do not have any other reading material that has a due date etc.

Borrowed Books

Any books that I borrow from other people will be read and reviewed according to when the person wants them back.

E-Books and Audiobooks

I definitely do read and review e-books and audiobooks. It may take me a little while longer than usual to read and review e-books due to the fact that it is quite difficult to read from the computer screen for extended amounts of time.

Review Copies

I do accept books for review. I have accepted several e-book and a couple of book review requests. When I am presented with a book for review I seek to review it as soon as possible. If there is a specific date for the review to be posted I will try my hardest to ensure that I review the book that day.

If you wish to contact me about reviewing a book email me at everythingtodowithbooks@gmail.com Also be aware that I am from New Zealand

Love you to Death by Meg Cabot

Love you to Death by Meg Cabot

Published: PocketBooks, c2000

Series: Book 1, Mediator

Alternative titles: Shadowland

There's a hot guy in Susannah Simon's bedroom. Too bad he's a ghost.

Suze is a mediator-a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind.and Suze happens to be in the way.

Love you to Death was a very interesting read. When I read the first chapter I thought, this is kind of boring. Fortunately for me Love you to Death was a book that got more and more interesting after each chapter. So of course the further I got into the book the less I could put it down.

I thought that Suze was such a cool character, she's tough, and she doesn't care what other people think about her. I don't think I've ever come across a character quite like Suze. Later on in the book I did find myself having a bit of a soft spot for Doc AKA Dave. I really liked Dave he was a cool kid.

The story line itself was definitely a very cool story line. Once again Meg Cabot surprises me with some of the serious issues she brings up in her books.

This is the third book by Meg that I have read and I am impressed. I love how Meg can make a fun and light read but have some serious issues in it.

The ending of this book was quite good. It provided a really good opening for a sequel and I know that I will definitely be going to find the next book in the series to join Suze on some more adventures.

So would I recommend you read this book? Definitely. If you haven't already read this book then pick up a copy next time you see it.

In My Mailbox (24)

In my Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

This week I was at home sick all week, so I did get a bit of reading done. Also, I got three books this week. Two from the library and one in the mail. The one in the mail was a bit of a surprise actually.

From the library:

The Funny Thing is... by Ellen Degeneres

After years of painstaking, round-the-clock research, surviving on a mere twenty minutes of sleep a night, and collaborating with lexicographers, plumbers, and mathematicians, DeGeneres has crafted a work that is both easy to use and very funny. Along with her trademark ramblings, The Funny Thing Is... contains hundreds of succinct insights into her psyche and offers innovative features .

I have already read this and let's just say yep, it is definitely pretty funny. My review for this will be up sometime in the near future. I kind of have plans for October so it may not appear until November.

Meridian by Amber Kizer

Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

In the Mail:

Fearless by Max Lucado

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

I was really surprised to get this in the mail because I already read and reviewed it in e-book form. But it's always a nice surprise to get books in the mail.

The post with Harley and a question

I've been home all week and last week was pretty bad for me too. I had a cold last week and it spread into my eye and now I have this really bad eye infection. I can still kind of read but not much. I've been spending most of my time just watching youtube vlogs. I've found two awesome youtube channels talking about books. I'm curious as to whether or not there are more actually.

Anyway, seeing as how I am not feeling so good today I have decided to post up a video of my cat Harley. He lives with my dad so I only get to see him in the holidays. It's kind of boring but it's short and it's Harley.

Hope everyone else has a good day.

Oh and while I remember. I have this idea about October. So I'm planning on doing a month long thing in October and it should be fun and I'm hoping it will be interesting. So I have just one question for you:

What do you know about New Zealand Authors?

1001 Ways to get in Shape by Susannah Marriott

1001 Ways to Get in Shape by Susannah Marriott

Published: New York : DK Publishing, 2009

Getting fit can be daunting task, but it doesn't need to take over your life. 1,001 Ways to Get in Shape gives you loads of little tips that you can work into your normal lifestyle, so you won't have to find time to sweat it out at the gym every day. This book is not bossy or demanding or hard to maintain as many fitness regimes can be. The emphasis is on fun, and it contains an eclectic mix of ideas from everyday situations such as brushing teeth to avoiding the urge to snack or using a pedometer to track your activity level.

I really liked reading this book. It is the first non-fiction that isn't a textbook that I've read for a while that I can just read in little bits at a time.

I found most of the 1001 things to be really interesting and I could see myself doing some of those things. Some of them of course, didn't really appeal to me. But that doesn't matter because of 1001 things you shouldn't expect them all to be suited to your lifestyle etc.

While this book is an adult book, as a person on the outside of fully being a teenager and not quite an adult either I find this book is quite helpful and as I get older some of the other things will become more appealing.

As these days so many people are falling behind the healthy lifestyle this book is a really good way to get some healthy activity advice which you can bring into your everyday lifestyle.

Overall, I think this book is a really good, really interesting guide about lots of different bits and pieces about how to keep healthy. While this book is probably for more adult people I think it would be good for anyone to read because you can take what you want from it.

So if you see this book, pick it up because you might just find something useful in it.

Winners

The contest for Cleopatra's Daughter and The Heretic Queen have now finished. The winners are below.

The winner of The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran and the authentic Roman coin is
2. Sascha

The winner of Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran is
12. AryaCongratulations to both of you, I have emailed you and hope to hear from you soon!!

My Life As Books

I saw this on Reggie, The Undercover Book Lover's site and thought it looked cool so I'd try it. Here goes.

Using only books you have read this year (2009), cleverly answer these questions.
Try not to repeat a book title.

Describe Yourself: Jinx by Meg Cabot

How do you feel: Untamed by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast

Describe where you currently live: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: In the Forests of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Your favorite form of transport: House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Your best friend is: Gothic Lolita by Dakota Lane

What's the weather like: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Favourite time of day: Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

What is life to you: My Life is a Girdle by Gretel Killeen

Your fear: A Fate Totally Worse Than Death by Paul Fleischman

What is the best advice you have to give: Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison

Thought for the Day: Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schrieber

How I would like to die: Hunted by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast

My soul's present condition: Huge by Sasha Paley

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

This week I only got one book which was a non-fiction book that I may review later. But for now I'll just say that I got a non-fiction book. Thats pretty much all. Which I'm actually pretty happy about because it means I can hopefully catch up on my reading pile. I have to get a couple of books read before November because thats when I go home and my library doesn't have those books. And I have some books that need reviewing. I also know that I actually have a book waiting for me at the library but I'll wait until next week to get it out.

Can't wait to see what everyone else got.

Saturday: The Day I Talk About Non-Fiction

So I have been sitting here writing out this really long post about all these mini topics about books and I was all of a sudden like oh I have a better idea. Why not just do a whole Saturday thing. So thats what I am going to do.

Each week on Saturday I will be picking some sort of topic at random and I'll blog about it. I would love it if you gave me your opinions on stuff too. That would be pretty cool. Anyway, today I have to pick a topic to write about. There are so many that I really want to talk about. Hmmm how about non-fiction.

So lately I have been thinking about how I don't really read much non-fiction. I tend to have quite a good general knowledge about bits and pieces from reading fiction. But then I thought well you know, I would probably learn more by reading non-fiction as well.

Also, writing a non-fiction review could probably be a bit of a challenge too. I just think it's a good idea to expand my horizons and become a bit more in tune with the world.

The non-fiction book I'm reading at the moment is actually pretty cool. I've been learning quite a few interesting things. I keep relaying back the information to everyone around because it is quite an interesting book. But I will tell you more in my review.

Don't think that I'm going to go all crazy on you and just review non-fiction because I will probably only review one or two a month. This month I reviewed Fearless by Max Lucado. I don't know if I will review this one this month or leave it until next month at this point in time.

So what kind of non-fiction will I be reviewing?

That answer is simple, I have decided on quite a wide range so it could be anything really, even things I may not be so interested in. I can tell you at the moment I have lined up a book about fitness, one about tips for staying young, and two written by Ellen DeGeneres. I also have a few more lined up but hey, I like to keep you in suspense.

On the topic of Ellen, does anyone know of any books written by any comedians, I've been trying to look around for some but haven't struck any yet except for the two by Ellen.

Ummm, oh I quite like reading biographies and autobiographies. I've read one about Cleopatra. I also read one by Marilyn Manson and one by R.L Stine. ( A weird mixture I know) But they were all interesting in their own ways. I really should read some more. The trouble is finding ones that I will find interesting. My mum is a big biography/autobiography reader. But the ones she has don't seem like my kind of read. Well actually I did pinch her Ellen DeGeneres book. I just haven't read it yet.

I think thats all I had to say on the matter of non-fiction books.

Jinx by Meg Cabot

Jinx by Meg Cabot

Published: Macmillan, 2007

Does Jinx have bad luck - or special powers?

Misfortune has followed Jean Honeychurch all her life - which is how she earned the nickname Jinx. And now her parents have shipped her off to New York City to stay with relatives - including her sophisticated cousin Tory - until the trouble she's caused back home dies down.

Could she even be . . . a WITCH?

Tory is far too cool to bother with Jinx - until Jinx's chronic bad luck wreaks havoc in Tory's perfect life--including causing Tory's crush, Zack, to start paying way too much attention to her red-headed cousin from Iowa. Only then does Jinx discover that beneath Tory's big-city glamour lies a world of hatred and revenge. Now it seems that the jinx that's driven Jean crazy may just be the only thing that can save her life . . .

I really liked reading Jinx. It was a short book so it didn't take me very long to get through but every chapter was enjoyable.

I quite liked most of the characters except for Tory and some of her friends. I did like Zack and Jinx though, they were both really cool, down-to-earth people.

Throughout most of the book I kept wondering what exactly Jinx was hiding from everyone but I had kept making guesses.

One memorable scene for me would be the dance scene. I knew Tory was up to something and so I was expecting some kind of Carrie scene so what actually happened surprised me a bit.

Overall, Jinx is a really fun, light and entertaining read. It is excellently written and I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

Book Releases for September and October

I have been surfing round Amazon and picked out a few books that are being released in September/October. These are all books I'm looking forward to reading.

Hell's Heroes by Darren Shan is being released in the UK on October 1. I'm not sure when it comes out in the US though.

Splendor or Splendour the final in The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen comes out October 27 in the US and November in the UK.

Fire the companion to Graceling by Kristin Cashore is being released in the UK 24 September and in the US 5 October.

The Van Alen Legacy, the fourth book in the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz is being released on the 6th October in both the UK and US.

Tempted the sixth House of Night novel by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast is being released in the US and the UK on the 27th October.

Fearless by Max Lucado

Fearless by Max Lucado

Published: Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, 2009

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

Fearless is a book that I recommend everybody read at least once in their lives.

From the beginning I was interested. Mac Lucado did a really good job of setting the scene for this book.

Not only is Fearless entirely relatable but it is also inspirational. Reading through this book I was astounded by how amazing it was. It was actually quite an interesting read.

The good thing about this book is that it pulls out points of fear that we are afraid of as human beings and it talks about them and provides decent insight into what we can do to overcome these fears.

Overall, Fearless is a pretty decent book and it is an interesting one. I recommend that you read this book because it is definitely a good one to read.

Also, I have a little book trailer below if anyone is interested in watching it:

Buy it here.