Spread the Love: ORIGIN & RIFT ARC TOUR (US only)

So, continuing my Spread the Love ARC campaign (read the first post with explanation here!), I'm going to send out two books on a "tour."

Sorry for the crummy phone picture, guys! Promise the books are fine.

ORIGIN by Jessica Khoury (Expected Pub Date: September 4)

RIFT by Andrea Cremer (Expected Pub Date: August 7)

My 3 "rules" are:

         1) You MUST be a reviewer. I'm not going to set a minimum time for how long you've been doing it. As long as you can prove to me you have the means to review and that you've reviewed before, you're good.

         2) You agree to post your review in a timely manner relative to the pub date. Usually reviews post within a month before or after pub dates to build some buzz about the book. It's what the ARC is for, after all! (I know RIFT will release before anyone gets the book, so the rule isn't quite applicable, but you get the idea.)

         3) You agree to send the book back to me or to the next person (whichever applies) within TEN days of receiving it, WITH Delivery Confirmation. DC is something like 80 cents extra, but it's really for my own peace of mind that the book is moving along smoothly. If you send it Media Mail with DC, it's almost always less than $4. Because of the DC, this is open to the US ONLY. (Sorry!)

I don't know how many people will end up requesting either of the books, but just in case: I'm going to limit it to FIVE people right now (because in theory, that's 50 days for one book without mail transit times). If more than 5 ask for it by the end of the week (Aug 4), I'm just going to randomly choose five recipients*. If all goes smoothly, the book makes it back to me, and there are still people interested, I'll send it out again.

(*ORIGIN already has 3 from Twitter, so I'll probably extend the number of people if there's interest.)

Interested? Leave me a comment with the URL to where you post reviews and the assurances that you'll follow the rules (and a way to contact you, if your blog/site doesn't have that. Email or twitter handles, please)! I'll send an email at the beginning of next week to set up schedules and details.

Summer Giveaway Hop (US only): your choice between 5 books!

Welcome to the Summer Giveaway Hop

hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Mary from BookHounds & Forever Young (adult)!

For this hop, the winner can choose ONE (1) of these five books:

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer (ARC - read my review here!)

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne (ARC)

Gilt by Katherine Longshore (ARC - read my review here!)

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen (ARC - read my review here!)

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier (finished copy - read my review here!)

US only, ends August 7!

Enter through the rafflecopter below, and all my usual giveaway policy rules apply.

Make sure to check out the rest of the linky list, there are some great prizes!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS. I have another giveaway for The Age of Miracles going on! Click the link or check the right sidebar :)

Tune In Tuesday: The Teen Years...ending with a POP!

Tune in Tuesday is hosted by the awesome Ginger at GReads!

I can't believe we've come to the end of the Teen Years flashback, guys! It's been a nostalgic month and I loved getting to relive and remember some of my teen years. Maybe some of them weren't positive memories, and perhaps while going through them it didn't feel so great - but right now as I look back, I'm pretty happy.

And I had to save the best for last! So far I've covered the boys in my teen years, TV shows I watched, and movies that were big releases; but I haven't actually covered what I truly listened to!

I turned 13 in 2000, so my teen years were the early 00s - a fantastically awesome time of boybands, pop music, and choreographed dances. Hate on it all you want, but I know you can sing every word to these songs...and probably do the little Bye Bye Bye wave in perfect sync, too. This was a strange time of technology too, when mp3s and iTunes started messing with sales charts and statistics. Napster went kablooey, the FCC cracked down, and suddenly file sharing was a whole mess of leaking CDs and music.

Still, music was music and will always remain, and these are a few songs that had the most play in my house:

*NSYNC - Gone

Ok, ANY *NSYNC song will get the most play in my house really, but I chose Gone as a bridge between the group and Justin's solo career. (Also, the opening skit in it still makes me laugh. God I miss them.)

Britney Spears - Lucky

Bringin' it BACK to the times of schoolgirl Brit. Anyone remember the Making the Video for this? How the mirror scene was such a big deal? And was I the only one bothered that her mascara streaks are all wrong?

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty

Stripped is legit one of my Top 5 Favourite Albums ever. Shit's my jam.

Eminem - The Real Slim Shady

I love Eminem. That's all.

Alicia Keys - Fallin'

I remember when this song was getting all the play on MTV2, trying to break into the charts...and then one day it went BAM: everywhere. Thanks American Idol Auditions for ruining this song ten thousand times over!

Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone

You do not even know how many times I've belted this song in my car. One of my fondest memories is a trip to San Francisco when I was 18 with 4 of my best friends, driving the hills and cranking this on high.

Destiny's Child - Bootylicious

I don't think you're ready.

John Mayer - Your Body Is A Wonderland

Mmmm...I love me some JM.

Damien Rice - Cannonball

If I was ever depressed during high school, this was my go-to jam. I don't even know how I heard of it since it was never formally released in the US, but to this day this song brings me to tears on my knees. Beautiful.

Some of this may not be the deepest music, but it was a fun time!

What were your Constant Repeat songs?

Leave your link in the comments!
PS. Like I could really make a post title like that and not include this...sassy girl ;)

Top Ten Characters I'd Switch Places With For 24 Hours

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Characters

I'd Switch Places With For 24 Hours

I'm going to work off the idea that I could choose the 24 hours I switch with them. Because if I had no control over the day I'm one of these characters...well, I'd probably change it a bit haha.

(Also, I did something similar to this a couple months ago for a freebie week: Top Ten Things From Books I Want To Do. Some of the following are repeats.)

Fred or George Weasley from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

During a Quidditch match, because you can't tell me being a Beater wouldn't be awesome.

Shay from the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

So I could hoverboard. (Full credit for the reminder of this to Steph and her comment on my old TTT)

Lennie from the Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

As long as the 24 hours were spent in the field bedroom with Joe playing the sax.

Aria from Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Exploring a realm with Peregrine.

Church the Cat from The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare

I want to explore all the hidden nooks and crannies of the Institute!

(Clockwork Angel + Clockwork Prince reviews)

Puck Connelly from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Riding the island with Sean Kendrick.

Catherine Howard from Gilt by Katherine Longshore

AS LONG as it includes 1) a royal ball, and 2) not a day in the prison. All that finery, gowns and jewels!

Celeana from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Because then I'd be KICK. ASS.

Lola from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Working on the Marie Antoinette costume with Cricket by my side.

Hannah from Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Performance day. Dancing all day, with grace and fluidity. Heaven.

Magnus Bane from Cassie Clare's The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices

That much power and magic?! I'd love to explore that in 24 hours. Plus, I'd look like this and spend at least 12 of those hours staring at a mirror:

Godfrey Gao, recently cast as Magnus Bane in the City of Bones movie. YUM.

Who would you switch places with?

Leave your link in the comments and I'll hop by!

Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair
Delacorte Press, 368 Pages
US Release Date: July 10, 2012
Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher, via NetGalley (thank you Random House and NetGalley!)

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.
-----------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

You know, you might be one of the luckiest people in the world. You get to see both sides and make a choice.

Random House is one of those publishers I trust implicitly to put out fantastic books, especially the Delacorte imprint (hello, Wanderlove is one of theirs! Instant trust). So while I had reservations that Don't You Wish would be predictable, I went ahead with it anyway. Though I do think it was on a few things, I was surprised by the plot layers and quite glad to have picked it up!

The story opens with Annie Nutter, in a rather heartbreaking scene exemplifying how she's unpopular and a bit plain and awkward. Even though her family was trying to be set up as embarrassing and unorthodox, I actually found them to be quite endearing - the imagery was great with her inventor dad and gross little brother. I felt like I could picture all the "Nutter Clutter" in the house, her mom's exasperation with Mel Nutter, all of it. I do think that I saw it in an endearing light because I'm older though; if I were 15 and the Nutters were my clan, I'd probably be ashamed of them as well.

Through a quick and slightly confusing event, Annie wakes up the next morning as Ayla Monroe, fantastically wealthy queen bee at her private academy and Grade-A Bitch. Though she's got the same mother, her father is different, and that's what's changed her story. I was pleasantly surprised how they set up Annie's "alternate" life - it wasn't just some typical "wish I had a different life" and POOF! situation; it was thorough, reasonable, and thought-provoking. I mean, how different would your life be if your mother ended up with a different guy? It's an interesting area to explore.

Truthfully, I'm not really a fan of either Annie or Ayla - both have a lot of flaws that never really turn better. And while normally I wouldn't be put off by negative facets (we all have them, it'd be quite horrible if I held it against her), I just felt like she was missing redemptive qualities. She didn't seem to grow as well as I would have liked, and what little she did seemed a bit abrupt or forced. The polarity between her two lives was also one of the areas I felt a bit predictable and extreme; some of the situations felt far-fetched or obvious.

I'm also split on the secondary characters. I really liked Annie/Ayla's mother, she was fabulous in both universes - I can picture her as a real mom. Even though I hated Jim Monroe with a passion, I liked his character and how he was built; he's almost like Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter: you hate her with a passion, but kind of admire how horrible she is. Trent turned out to be ok, but I didn't ever come around on Theo. Lizzie was an ok best friend: faithful and true, but lackluster. I could NOT stand Jade, Bliss, or Ryder though; they were all so one-dimensional and flat I wanted them to shred them up. They were just a little too easy to dislike, you know?

However. Charlie Zelinsky? YES. I loved him. I 143'd him (get it?!). I liked how we got to know him, how little bits were revealed as we went along, how he turned out to be this lovable geeky dude with a heart and a purpose. Sometimes he's a bit too perfect of course (did he even have a flaw?!), but amongst all the other characters, he shined brightest. There is another character I liked too, but...I can't say about him/her/it/mysteriouscharacter without minorly spoiling something, so just rest assured that there is one more redeeming person/place/thing/generalnoun.

Something entirely surprising about the book was that Roxanne St. Clair actually explained the alternate universe - definitely did not expect that! Sometimes I felt like it was out of place, because the summary and overall tone seems like some social commentary on the rich not being the happiest or things like that, and then BOOM: science. But really, I loved it. I loved that the plot took all it's time to actually explain a possibility, to really explore how an AU could happen. I'm definitely nowhere near understanding the physics of it, but it was approachable and explained well. I'm not sure I'd have been interested in it as a young reader, but right now, I thought it was unexpected and fresh.

Overall, Don't You Wish was a bit predictable and a little flat on characters; but there were enough plot lines and moments that surprised me entirely that I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you're looking for a small twist to the normal "I wish I were someone else" story, check this one out.

3 Stars / 5

The Weekly Wrap-Up + Stacking the Shelves (7)

It's been a quiet week around here because I had three signing events in three days - all absolutely amazing, but none were particularly close to my house. It sounds like a strange thing to whine about, but it's exhausting with all the driving, meeting, talking, general awesomeness. I'll have the recaps (probably all grouped into one post) up hopefully this upcoming week, perhaps the next week if I can get my comic-con recap done first.

Middle Grade Review: Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood

A delightful, family-focused novel. 3.5 Stars

Tune In Tuesday Teen Years...this time with movies!

Blog Tour + GIVEAWAY! The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

A quietly brilliant novel that transcends genres. 4.5 Stars

(And you can win your own copy! Just click the link!)

Spreading the Love: Sequel ARCs (Such Wicked Intent, Romeo Redeemed, Flesh & Bone)

Do you want to read any of those books? I'll lend it to you!

Coming up this week...

a summer giveaway hop where you'll be able to choose from 5 books as the prize, a review of Reunited by Hilary Weisham Graham, the final Teen Years edition of Tune In Tuesday that features my favourite songs growing up, and hopefully an event recap!

And my shelves!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Small week, and I normally wouldn't do one for this but I wanted to say thank you to a few authors!

Purchased: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (for her signing)

Won: The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy (personalized + signed!) + signed Being Friends With Boys bookmark - thank you so much Terra, I'm excited!

Gifted: Butter bookmark by Erin Jade Lange - thank you so much Erin!

What's on your shelves?

Leave your link and I'll hop by!