Brightly Woven Contest

Enter the awesome Brightly Woven Contest on Alexandra Bracken's blog now!

First Prize:
- A signed, finished copy of Brightly Woven
- A $50 gift card to the bookstore of your choice (Amazon, B&N, Borders, Chapters, you name it!)
- A signed bookmark

Second Prize:
- A signed, finished copy of Brightly Woven
- The following fantastic books from EgmontUSA:
The Dark Divine, Scones & Sensibility, and Candor,
- A signed bookmark

Third Prize
- A $20 giftcard to the bookstore of your choice
- ARCs of these fantastic Egmont books: Siren, The Boy Who Could Fly, The False Princess, and Frozen in Time
- A signed bookmark

The Prize for Anyone that sends me proof that they pre-ordered a copy of Brightly Woven at acbracken(at)gmail.com:
- A spiffy signed bookmark
- My eternal love and gratitude

Contest ends on March 16, 2010 at 8 AM Eastern Time.

I've Got Another Award!

I'd like to thank Tracy from A Blissful Life... for passing this award to me!

The rules are I have to answer the following questions and pass it on to 5 bloggers.

Your Cell Phone? I don't have one.

Your Hair? Black and shiny (but short)

Your Mother? A punctual woman.

Your Father? He's a good guy :)

Your Favorite Food? Let's see...Fish & Chips, Steamed Salmon, Chee Cheong Fun, Kampung Mee/"Gan Lao Mian", Fried Oyster Egg, Salad + Yew Char Kuey, Fried Noodles, Kampung Fried Rice, Chinese Fried Rice, Fried Kuey Teaw, Chicken Rice + Curry, Fried Popiah + Chili Sauce...and lots more.

Your Dream Last Night? I scold someone. Hehe.

Your Favorite Drink? Apple and orange juice.

Your Dream/Goal? Be successful in life.

What Room Are You In? Bedroom.

Your Hobby? Playing the piano, reading, get myself busy with my laptop

Your Fear? Heights.

Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? Marry a rich, handsome guy. Haha.

Where Were You Last Night? At home.

Something That You Aren't? Punctual.

Muffins? Anything chocolate is MINE!

Wish List Item? I have a lot. See my wish list here.

Where Did You Grow Up? Malaysia.

Last Thing You Did? Surfing the web?

What Are You Wearing? T-shirt and shorts.

Your TV? Mostly on.

Your Pets? Winky died, and Mom gave Bobby, Brownie and one other dog which name I have forgotten to someone else. I cried the whole day. Since then, I don't want to have pets anymore.

Friends? Near and far, but only some really knows me.

Your Life? Monotonous and hectic.

Your Mood? Normal.

Missing Someone? My cousins in Australia.

Vehicle? I don't drive.

Something You Aren't Wearing? A gown to prom.

Your Favorite Store? Novelhut.

Your Favorite Color? I love every colour.

When Was The Last Time You Laughed? This morning.

Last Time You Cried? A few weeks ago when I argued with my mom.

Your Best Friend? Rachel.

One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? School.

Facebook? Only for contests and friends.

Favorite Place To Eat? Happy Restaurant.

*************************************************
I'd like to pass this on to:

Audrey from Brizmus Blogs Books. She runs a great book review site! Please be sure to visit!

Becky from The Bookette. Becky runs an awesome book review blog. Visit her blog to enter her latest contest : Spider Contest

Yuri from Two Thousand Things. She blogs about fashion, beauty etc. She also has another blog called Tigerlily's Book.

Lisa from Shop N' Chomp. If you enjoy reading about Beauty, Shopping, Food etc., you'll love her blog.

Alyssa, Jake and Gregory from Teens Read & Write. They are sister and brothers team of booklovers who read YA, love YA and are YA! They are having a contest right now, so please hop over to enter!

Sing Me To Sleep Contest Winner!

Random.org has decided! The lucky winner of the signed hardcover copy of Sing Me To Sleep by Angela Morrison is...

#217 Spav from Fiction Kingdom!

Congratulations, Spav! Please respond to my e-mail with your name and address within 3 days. I hope you enjoy the book!

A great THANK YOU to everyone who entered this contest! To those who didn't win, please don't worry! You can still pre-order Sing Me To Sleep on { Amazon /Filpkart }

Visit Angela Morrison's Website

Read more about Sing Me To Sleep

Read my review for Sing Me To Sleep

Marlo Noel Is Now On The Bright Side Project!

Marlo Noel is featured on The Bright Side Project!

Stand a chance to win a $200 gift certificate by answering this question:

What piece(s) of jewelry in Marlo Noel’s Etsy shop would brighten your day? How would you where it or who would you give it to?

Please spread the word by telling your friends by word of mouth, e-mail, blog, tweet, facebook etc. Thanks and good luck!

*************************************************

By the way...here are some awesome contests!

Jewelry
* Need bling on your wedding day? Enter to win a gorgeous necklace from Guy and Eva at Mint Green With Envy.
* Win a pair of pink sterling silver earrings from Blue Scarab Jewelry at Mint Green With Envy!
* Win a $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl at Simply Stacie
* Love The Vintage Pearl? Enter to win more jewelry at Just Simply Southern.
* Win any item (up to $40 value) from Sweet and Chic Designs at Salad for Breakfast.
* Lily's Valley is giving away a silver plated/glass pendant necklace

Accessories
* The Classic Bride is giving away a gorgeous set of vintage wear!

Great LINGER Contest!

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Book Review : Never Ceese by Sue Dent

Product Details:

Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: The Writers Cafe Press (January 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934284033
ISBN-13: 978-1934284032

Synopsis:

A determined werewolf, acting on her long-held wish to free herself of her curse, teams up with a skeptical vampire who can no longer admit that having his curse removed is something he wants. Will Cassie Felts be able to help them as her grandmother implored her to do or will they suffer at the hands of a radical and evil stem cell researcher who wants the fame and immortality he believes their blood will give him? A vampire, a werewolf, can two who were wronged make it right? By their Faith.

Review:

Ceese was a werewolf even when she was in her mother’s womb. Her mother was scratched by a werewolf after she was raped by a man. This caused her to be affected, and cursed as well. Ceese hated vampires because her brother was cursed by one. As for Richard, he had no memories of the past for he had push them away. Both of them met each other in the castle because of Penelope. At first they hated each other, but after some special incidents, they developed an understanding and trust in each other. Together, they searched the way to reverse the curse, and to become mortal again.

The story is interesting, but I think some parts of the story are strange and do not make much sense. Some of the words sound a little awkward. However, the story got more exciting when Richard and Ceese went to New York to meet Cassie, who wanted to help them to undo the curse. Things got more complicated when Dr. Henderson, a mad scientist who wanted to become immortal got involved.

Actually Richard and Ceese had a special connection. The ending was good and it left many chances for the author to explain the happenings in this book in her next installment, Forever Richard. In a nutshell, this was an enjoyable read, despite the few parts that did not sound quite right.

I’d like to thank Sue Dent for sending me a signed copy of Never Ceese. Thanks, Sue!

Rating : 7.5/10

{Purchase Never Ceese on Amazon}

{Purchase Forever Richard on Amazon}

Happy CNY + Compilation of Giveaways!

It's the Year of the Tiger! Grrrww... Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! May everyone who reads this post have a prosperous and auspicious CNY!

**************************************************

The Book of Awesome (Giveaway)

• This giveaway is open until midnight on June 30th, 2010.
• Open internationally, to anywhere that The Book Depository ships.

Charlaine Harris Book Signing - Win a signed copy of Dead in the Family! U.S. and Canada residents only.


Dark Goddess COMPETITION!!

Graduation Giveaway- FINAL WEEK

• Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev
• Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire
• Poetry Speaks Who I Am by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah
• Explorer X-Alpha by LM Preston
• The Star Shack by Lila Castle
• Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Winners for this week will be drawn on Sunday June 13th .

~Susan K Mann is giving away Under A Vampire Spell Bag Charm by Miss Bohemia. Enter by May 27, 2010. (International)

~Seductive Musings is giving away a signed copy of Stroke of Genius by Emily Bryan. Enter by May 27, 2010. (International)

~The Bookologist is giving away 100 postcards by Digital Room. Enter by May 28, 2010. (US residents)

~Daydreams and Wanderings is giving away 500 business cards from UPrinting.com. Enter by May 28, 2010. (US residents)

~Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog is having 3 Armchair BEA GiveAways! Contests end May 28, 2010. (#1 YA-US only) (#2 Adult-US only) (#3 Outside US only- Where Book Depository delivers)

~Smexy Books is giving away Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep. Contest ends May 29, 2010. (US/Canada)

~The Bookologist is giving away 5 copies of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. Contest ends May 29, 2010. (US only)

~Seductive Musings is giving away Dane by Elizabeth Amber. Contest ends May 29, 2010. (US addresses only)

~The Geeky Bookworm is giving away Beauty and the Feast, My Everything, and Captured by Julia Rachel Barrett. Enter by May 30, 2010. (International)

~The Geeky Bookworm is giving away Midnight’s Ghost by Sara Brookes. Enter by May 30, 2010. (International)

~The Geeky Bookworm is giving away an ARC of the novella Midnight Medusa by Stephanie Draven. Enter by May 30, 2010. (International)

~The Eclectic Reader is giving away a $60 GC to CSN stores.com. Contest ends May 30, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~Welcome to Larissa’s Life is giving away a signed copy of Magic Bleeds by Ilona Adrews. Contest ends May 31, 2010. (International)

~Vampire Wire is giving away The Time Weaver by Shana Abe. Contest ends June 1, 2010. (US/Canada)

~The Cajun Book Lady is 2 free one year memberships to http://www.wholesalecostumeclub.com. Enter by June 1, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~The Cajun Book Lady is giving away a $50 GC to CSNstores.com. Enter by June 1, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~Reading with Tequila is giving away signed copies of Secondhand Spirits and Cast-off Coven by Juliet Blackwell. Contest ends June 1, 2010. (US/Canada)

~Unbound! is giving away City of Ruin by Mark Charan Newton. Contest ends June 1, 2010. (International)

~The Story Siren is giving away a miniature glass slipper for The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy. Enter by June 1, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~The Story Siren is giving away Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Enter by June 2, 2010. (US residents)

~Darkly Reading is giving away a signed copy of Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready. Contest ends June 2, 2010. (US/Canada)

~Book Junkie is giving away 2 copies of Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas. Enter by June 3, 2010. (International)

~Fiction Vixen Book Reviews is giving away Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur. Enter by June 4, 2010. (US residents)

~That’s QUEEN Bitch to You is giving away a signed set of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Contest ends June 4, 2010. (Continental US)

~Teens Read and Write is giving away WEREling by Steve Feasey. Contest ends June 4, 2010. (International)

~A Journey of Books is giving away 2 copies of My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent. Enter by June 4, 2010. (1- US & Canada res & 1-Int’l were Book Depository ships to)

~All Things Urban Fantasy is giving away 10 copies of Masked By Moonlight by Nancy Gideon. Contest ends June 5, 2010. (US only)

~Fiction Vixen Book Reviews is giving away 2 copies of Assassin’s Honor by Monica Burns. Enter by June 5, 2010. (International)

~Meghan’s Book Blog is giving away Alphas by Lisi Harrison. Enter by June 5, 2010. (US/Canada)

~The Wayfaring Writer is giving Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti. Enter by June 6, 2010.

~Vampire Wire is giving away Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur. Contest ends June 6, 2010.

~YA Highway is having an anniversary giveaway and the first day’s prizes alone are phenomenal, trust me you want to check it out! Contest ends June 6, 2010. (US/Canada)

~Lovin & Livin Life in the 808 is giving away Bengal’s Heart and Lion’s Heart by Lora Leigh. Contest ends June 6, 2010. (US addresses)

~Lovin & Livin Life in the 808 is giving away The Sword by Jean Johnson. Contest ends June 6, 2010. (US addresses)

~Book Junkie is giving away The Killing of Mindi Quintana by Jeffrey A. Cohen. Enter by June 7, 2010. (International)

~Parajunkee’s View is giving away Moonshine by Alaya Johsnon. Contest ends June 7, 2010. (US/Canada)

~Steph Su Reads is giving away The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Enter by June 7, 2010. (US only)

~Writings of a Wicked Book Addict is giving away The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and a $25 VISA GC. Contest ends June 7, 2010. (US addresses only)

~LA FEMME READERS is giving away Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Enter by June 7, 2010. (US only, Int’l if US address to send too)

~Luxury Reading is giving away 5 copies of Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Contest ends June 8, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~Steph Su Reads is giving away 10 ARCs of Dear Anjali by Melissa Glenn Haber. Contest ends June 10, 2010. (US only)

~Books at Midnight is giving away a Snuggle Bunny! It’s too cute! Enter by June 10, 2010. (US/Canada addresses)

~Fiction Vixen Book Reviews is giving away Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory. Contest ends June 12, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~The First Novels Club is giving away signed copies of Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead, Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr, White Cat by Holly Black, and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. Contest ends June 15, 2010. (US residents)

~From the Shadows is having a 300 Follower Giveaway w/ prizes of Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and a signed copy of Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens. Contest ends June 16, 2010. (US addresses)

~A Journey of Books is giving away Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti. Enter by June 22, 2010. (US mailing addresses only)

~Tales of Whimsy… is giving away a signed copy of English Trifle by Josi S. Kilpack. Enter by June 23, 2010. (US/Canada residents)

~A Journey of Books is giving away The Pearls of the Stone Man by Edward Mooney, Jr. Enter by June 26, 2010. (US mailing addresses)

~Candace’s Book Blog is giving away a signed copy of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. Contest ends June 29, 2010. (US mailing addresses)

~I Heart Monster is giving away a signed copy of Firespell by Chloe Neill. Contest ends July 11, 2010. (International)

~The Bibliophilic Book Blog is giving away an eReader or $100 Amazon.com GC! Contest ends July 15, 2010. (International)

~Ex Libris is giving away Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. Contest ends May 28, 2010. (International)

~The Neverending Shelf is giving away 100 Postcards by Digital Room. Contest ends May 28, 2010. (US only)

~All Things Urban Fantasy is giving away 10 signed copies of Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow and 1 L.O.S.T. mug. Enter by May 29, 2010. (US only)

~vvb32 reads is giving away one of several historical fiction books. Check it out and see which is your favorite to win. Contest ends May 30, 2010. (International)

~The Bibliophilic Book Blog is having a Clear the Decks Giveaway! Fill out a survey and enter to win from a great list of books & swag that might still be added to. Contest ends May 30, 2010. (US & Canada only) (International entries for a GC)

~I Heart Monster is giving away Everlasting swag. Enter by May 31, 2010. (International)

~Book Faery needs a new button, and the one who designs her favorite will get to choose a book from her 140 Follower prize list. Contest ends May 31, 2010. (International)

~Book Rat is having a follower giveaway for a pre-order of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Contest ends May 31, 2010. (International)

~Bites is giving away Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick. Contest ends May 31, 2010. (US only)

~Book of Secrets is giving away His Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone. Enter by May 31, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~My World…in words and pages is giving away Lord of the Changing Winds by Rachel Neumeier. Enter by May 31, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~SciFiGuy has details for PYR’s 5th Anniversary Essay Contest. Grand Prize winner gets a trip to Dragon Con! Other prizes as well. Contest open April 1, 2010-June 1, 2010.

~LA FEMME READERS is having a Spring Cleaning Giveaway! Amazing ARCs, books, GCs and other prizes up for grabs. Contest ends June 1, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~Smexy Books is giving away The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and a $25 VISA GC. Contest ends June 1, 2010. (US only)

~A Journey of Books is giving away Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Doran. Contest ends June 3, 2010. (US only)

~Steph Su Reads is giving away a Nancy Drew Prize Pack! Enter by June 4, 2010. (US only)

~Extreme Reader Book Reviews is giving away The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos. Enter by June 5, 2010. (International)

~Bites is giving away a new book blog design! Enter by June 5, 2010. (International)

~A Good Addiction is giving away an ARC of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. Enter by June 6, 2010. (US only)

~A Good Addiction is giving away Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Enter by June 7, 2010. (US only)

~TinasBookReviews is giving away The Galilean Secret by Evan Drake Howard. Contest ends June 7, 2010. (International)

~Leilani Loves Books is giving away Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles. Enter by June 9, 2010. (US only)

~A Journey of Books is giving away 3 audiobooks of The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker. Enter by June 12, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~At Home With Books is giving away 3 audiobooks of Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah. Enter by June 13, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~A Journey of Books is giving away Still the One by Robin Wells. Enter by June 14, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~Black and Blue Ink is having a Birthday Blast and 120+ Follower Extravaganza! Multiple books are up for grabs to multiple winners! Contest ends June 14, 2010. (US only)

~Candace’s Book Blog is giving away Avalon Revisited by O.M. Grey. Contest ends June 15, 2010. (US only)

~A Journey of Books is giving away Play Dead by Ryan Brown. Contest ends June 15, 2010. (US only)

~A Journey of Books is giving away 3 audiobooks of God Never Blinks by Regina Brett. Contest ends June 16, 2010. (US & Canada only)

~JoJos Book Corner is giving away an ebook by Stephanie Julian. Contest ends June 18, 2010. (International)

~JoJos Book Corner is giving away the first 3 installments of Laura Stamps serial erotica novel A Vampire’s Kiss. Contest ends June 18, 2010. (International)

~vvb32 reads is giving away Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters. Enter by June 27, 2010.

~A Great Book is the Cheapest Vacation is giving away Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep. Contest ends July 1, 2010. (International)

~Leilani Loves Books is giving away a signed copy of Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey. Contest ends July 4, 2010. (International)

~I Heart Monster is giving away Arson by Estevan Vega. Contest ends June 15, 2010. (International)

100 Followers Contest!

The Prizes:

There will be TWO winners. Each winner will receive a pre-ordered copy of either:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Available August 24, 2010

OR

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Available July 20, 2010

The contest ends on April 22nd at midnight EST. Make sure to check back to see if you’re a winner; you’ll have 30 days to collect your prize or some lucky soul will snatch it up instead!

Open to people with US and Canadian addresses only – sorry international readers!

**************************
Giveaway-Heist Society by Ally Carter

1st place winner will receive a signed copy of Heist Society!

*I won this book! Yay!*

300 Followers: All 4 Mercy Thompson books + A&O International Giveaway! Win: The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Called. Open Internationally (anywhere Book Depository ships)

*I won this! Yeah!*

First Giveaway

There are two books to give away:

Gone by Lisa McMann & Hunger by Michael Grant

*I won Hunger by Michael Grant! Yay!*

Love. Life.

(4th February, 2010) A speaker came to our school to give a talk about the love relationships among teenagers. Before he started the talk, a video of 3 teenage cancer patients who had passed away in 2009 was shown. I nearly cried when I saw the tape. Before her last breath escaped through her lips, one of the girls said, "Please keep on living for me."

As you can see, this was one of the teaching materials which he showed to tell us that life is very important, and also unpredictable. We will never know when our time will come. So, please be thankful that you're still alive right now, reading this article.

In schools, teenagers usually make friends easily and therefore there remains the chance for a young boy/girl to get easily involved in a relationship. They usually do not consider the various aspects that are associated with the relationship of love and therefore tend to make mistakes regarding the choosing of a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Some of them even believe that having sexual interactions is the ultimate expression of love. However, they are wrong. Lust is not equivalent to love. To give in easily means you have low self-esteem. If someone loves you, they will respect you. Plus, involving in unhealthy sexual relationships will increase one's chances of getting sexual diseases (STDs), or even AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome), which is incurable.

Therefore, teens, please choose your partner when you're more matured and psychologically prepared. Don't risk your future and life by involving yourself in unhealthy activities. You are born with a purpose : Live your life to the fullest.