Waiting On Wednesday: The Iron Witch

This week's WoW book is The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney! It will be released on February 8, 2011.

SUMMARY: Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma. When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

I adore this gorgeous cover - it's what first caught my attention. Can't wait to dig into this book! PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 8, 2011!

On My Bookshelf (25)

(Originally by The Story Siren, as "In My Mailbox.") On My Bookshelf is used to share what books I bought, won, traded, received for review, or got from the library this week. It's to let you know what to expect for me to read/review next. (:

BOUGHT FROM BOOKSTORES/ONLINE:

Wicked (#5) by Sara Shepard: In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four very pretty girls just can't help but be bad... Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men. Now that Ali's killer is finally behind bars, the girls think they're safe. But those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. And they should know by now that I'm always watching...

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

WON FROM CONTESTS:

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW:

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell: Ellie was never particularly good at talking to boys—or anyone other than her best friend and fellow outcast, Ruth. Then she met Michael. Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totally into Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him. But Michael has a secret. And he knows Ellie is hiding something, too. They’ve both discovered they have powers beyond their imagining. Powers that are otherworldly. Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way... together. But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.

The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman: Jen and Wes do not "meet cute." They do not fall in love at first sight. They do not swoon with scorching desire. They do not believe that they are instant soul mates destined to be together forever. This is not that kind of love story. Instead, they just hang around in each other's orbits...until eventually they collide. And even after that happens, they're still not sure where it will go. Especially when Jen starts to pity-date one of Wes's friends, and Wes makes some choices that he immediately regrets. From National Book Award winner Pete Hautman, this is a love story for people not particularly biased toward romance. But it is romantic, in the same way that truth can be romantic and uncertainty can be the biggest certainty of all.

The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal: Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known. Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl. Returning to Vivaskari for answers, Sinda finds her purpose as a wizard scribe, rediscovers the boy who saw her all along, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor's history, forever.

My cat, Mittens, then decided to walk all over my books because he wanted some camera attention, too.



Which, afterwards, decided to sleep on top of my dresser, knocking everything off. Sigh...gotta love my kitty. (:

Winter Extravaganza Winners Part Two

My Winter Extravaganza is officially over...wow December went by really fast! I hope everyone enjoyed the giveaways, interviews, excerpts, and guest posts. Hopefully you've learned about a new author or book, too.

Some of my giveaways ended on December 31, and I have the winners for them! I'll email everyone and they have 4 days to reply, or else I'll pick a new winner. Move your eyeballs over to the left sidebar for the list of current giveaways, too. They end on January 6.

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green - Jen from I Read Banned Books

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook - Crystal from My Reading Room

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper - Mary DeBorde

The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Bryan - Katie from Katie's Bookshelf

Trapped by Michael Northrop - Germaine from Last Page First

COMMENT CONTEST:

Vixen (The Flappers) by Jillian Larkin - Adrian T

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler - Mrs. DeRaps from DeRaps Reads

Drought by Pam Bachorz - Julie Bird

COVER GUESS CONTEST:

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain - Melissa from Mel's Books and Info

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors - Nikki from Wicked Awesome Books

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (:

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Title: Unbelievable (Pretty Little Liars #4)
Author: Sara Shepard
Published: November 2008 by HarperTeen

My Rating: 4 stars
Tags: YA | Girls | Romance | Mystery | Series (Book Four)
Includes: Profanity, Sexual Content, Homosexuality

First Lines: Aria Montgomery woke up mid-snore. It was Sunday morning, and she was curled up on a blue vinyl chair in the Rosewood Memorial Hospital waiting room.

*This review contains spoilers for those of you that haven't read the first, second, and third book in the Pretty Little Liars series.*

Well the mysterious A is back, and meaner than ever. The book opens up at the hospital, as everyone anxiously waits for Hanna to wake up from her coma - after she was "accidentally" hit by a car for knowing too much. But when she does finally wake up, all of her memories from the night she was hit are gone. Emily's parents have shipped her off to live with her extremely conservative relatives in Iowa. There, she meets an interesting girl named Trista, who seems a little too friendly and may get in between Emily and Maya's relationship. Spencer is still dealing with the guilt from stealing her sister's paper, which nominated her for the Golden Orchid award. Plus, her memories are starting to come back about the day Ali was killed - and they definitely are not good memories. Aria's mom kicked her out of the house for keeping her father's affair a secret from her. Aria is now living with her dad and his quirky girlfriend, Meredith, and Aria is determined to make things right again. In the midst of all this drama, A starts bringing her anonymous texts and letters to a frighteningly new level: threats.

I just adore this amazing and creative series. Each book is better than the last, if that's even possible! It seems like Sara Shepard has grew completely comfortable with her four main characters because they are just so realistic. Their problems don't seem exaggerated but just right, and enough to thicken the plot. I love reading about these girls' juicy secrets and how they'll handle it when they are unveiled to the world. Sara Shepard has a way with words, and I just love her writing style.

From location 1559
She and Mona never discussed the past, but sometimes Hanna felt like the painful memories loomed close behind, bubbling just below the surface of their friendship like an underground geyser.

This book is probably the most suspenseful of all the previous ones. The author had me guessing who A was - and my prediction was constantly changing through each chapter. She sets the pace of the story wonderfully and the huge climax at the end was just...wow. It was 'unbelievable' what happened. I loved the mix of emotions that pulsed through the novel. I began seeing the four girls in a new perspective. They didn't seem as stuck up and conceited than before, and I'm growing to really understand them. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't as much romance in this particular book than in the others. Sara's great at writing up the romantic scenes, however I guess the suspense made up for it. One little thing that I noticed was how there are always policemen around at the weirdest places, wanting to ask the girls questions concerning Ali's murder. This even happens at a party! It just seems strange to me how casually the police will ask the girls questions in public.

We finally learn who A is, and that left me speechless! It actually makes a lot of sense and I'm glad that the author explained it well and answered many of my questions. I'm kind of curious now to go back and read the first three books in the series over again, now that I know who A is. Also, Ali's killer is revealed! There are still four more books in this series though, so I'm not sure what is going to happen now that both identities have been uncovered. Sara Shepard has once again blown me away with her fantastic and addicting novels. As soon as I read the last page of this book, I was already grabbing the next installment from my bookshelf to begin ripping through. I really hope to finish it before the TV show starts back up again!

Cover Thoughts: Love it! The whole series has an ongoing theme with their covers; each one represents one of the girls as a barbie doll. On the back, it shows them as a human, but they look exactly the same. I think this is such an original idea!

Book Supplied by: E-book on my Kindle.