Speak and Stolen Giveaway!!! International Ends 30th Sept

Recently I have taken a liking to contemporary fiction and decided why not do a giveaway promoting two of my favourite books.

Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...



Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

This Giveaway is International, as long as The Book Depository delivers to you.

This giveaway does require following my blog

This giveaway ends on the 30th September 2011

I forgot to add in the form... please Tweet or re-tweet giveaway information on Twitter, and you will got 1 extra entry. (State your Twitter name in the Comment Section, and add the entry to your extra entry)

In My Mailbox 11 and What Happened This Week

In my mailbox is hosted my Kristi at The Story Siren.

This week was a bit of a slow week for me I only got 3books, but got 4 more on the way.

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (Book of Faerie #1)

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls #1)

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

What Happened this week:

Wednesday: Read and Reviewed Click: An Online Love Story by Lisa Becker

Started reading Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman

Friday: Three most Influentual Author's in the YA Book Market

Follow Friday

Saturday: Read and Reviewed Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman

Me and My Social Networks

Check Out My Social Networks

Youtube

I've only just started my Youtube account, and really hope that it gets quite popular, and I keep up with it.

Goodreads

I love Goodreads :D It is so awesome, a great way to keep up with everyone, as well as get some book recommendations and make some great friends.

Twitter

Twitter I love as well, great way to keep up to date with competitions, book news and well day to day life of other bloggers.

Book Review: Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman

Title: Babe in Boyland
Series: N/A
Author: Jody Gehrman
Publisher: Dial
Publication Date: 17th February 2011 
Pages: 292
Special Features: N/A
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.85  

 When high school junior Natalie - or Dr. Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper - is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected - especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?

This like all my other reviews will be rated and reviewed based not just on the enjoyable factor but also the originality and the author's writing and planning on the book.
It seemed like a nice, fun and humorous book,not to long and well the perfect quick read.... this was true, yet throughout the whole book there was something about it which seemed so familiar.

Then I remembered the storyline is basically one which appears in the film 'She's the Man'. I'm not one for complaining about the book because of a single similarity, but the single similarity in this book, was basically the whole thing, yet twisted slightly to fit in with the main character Natalie's needs. I really enjoyed the book, even with this reason, seeing as I am a big fan of stories like this.

The book as I said was very humours and had me in tears crying, and running into my sister's room sharing the new hilarious bit which I found near lines after the previous.
It really is an enjoyable read, but I also found myself not too keen on the characters, they also appeared to have no originality, but I attempted to ignore this factor so I was able to enjoy the book.

I will admit I am quite disappointed in my response to this book, I was really hoping I would like it.

I actually give this book...

Follow Friday

 

 

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet new blogger friends!

Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?).

Ok so for this weeks Follow Friday I picked two books, both for kind of the same reason.

Firstly the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling, I chose this series not just for the books but the fanfic's which have been written about the books. For some reason as a child I never really read the books, but enjoyed the film and around the age of 11 started reading Harry Potter fanfics (the beginning of my reading obsession), after I made my way through the majority of Fanfics I moved onto reading stories online about vampires.... this then leads to the second book I'm going to talk about...
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, when I heard that there was going to be a vampire film I was hugely excited and started reading the books, this then slowly got me reading much more, and often until I read whenever I could. I really enjoy re-reading Twilight and Eclipse because they both take me back to the time when reading an actual book was strange and magically to me.

The Three Most Influential Author's of Our Time

All three of these author's I guess would be considered as predictable, but have left a massive impression on today's literature.

3. Suzanne Collins (Author of The Hunger Games Trilogy)

Suzanne Collins is many YA reader's current favourite author's, the Hunger Games Trilogy managing to reach the majority of favourite book list's.
Her amazing story lines, strong characters, and unique world have made her books an addictive read for many.

It is known to be Suzanne Collin's: Hunger Games series, which made Dystopian one of the most successful book trends.







2. Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga)

Stephenie Meyer, is probably one of the most criticized author's to ever grace the steps of the book industry, yet is a favourite for many.
Despite the many people who would disagree with my decision of adding her to this list, but without Twilight being as popular as it became reading for Teenager's wouldn't be as big as it is today.
Her series also started a two year long trend in Vampire and other Supernatural books.





1. JK Rowling (Harry Potter Series)

The most successful author in history, with both her book series, and the film adaptions breaking  numerous records, she is the obvious choice for the most influential author in the YA industry.
Her magical world, full of complex story lines, relateable character's and well everything else which makes a good book, changed not just Children's books, but Adults too. She bought people of all ages together reading and taking an interest. And just when reading was loosing it's WOW factor, she introduced her wizarding world and amazing pieces of literature.

She is the author who got a number of generations and will for years to come.





So Do you agree with my choices?
Do you think different?
Feel free to post your opinion in the comment box below.

Book Review: Click, An Online Love Story by Lisa Becker

Title: Click: An Online Love Story
Series: N/A
Author: Lisa Becker 
Publisher: I am assuming self-published, am unable to find out publisher information. 
Publication Date: 29th March 2011
Pages: 347
Special Features: N/A
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.11

Buy:

Print version of Click: An Online Love Story (USA)
Print version of Click: An Online Love Story (UK)

Kindle version of Click: An Online Love Story

Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with "My buddies and I were out drinking one night," to the egotistical "B" celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC's, FWD's and inadvertent Reply to All's, readers will root for Renee to "click" with the right man.

Firstly I would like to say this is being rated in comparison to other Adult Fiction books I have read.

This book is the first review book I received.
The storyline really drew me in, and I was so excited to read it.

I started it almost instantly and was pleasantly surprised. This book is not set out in the way many other's are, but instead in the form of emails. The story lacks description and information that was not really necessary for the book, therefore was not even considered to be a bad thing to me. When I first came across the email writing style I hated it, though I will say it was quite easy to get used to, just a bit of a change from what all reader's are used too.
The email format does also improve the effect of the story. It allows quite chatty language to be used between the group of friends. The author clearly thought this book through.

The storyline is not the best, but was good enough to draw me in. As the book slowed in odd places I began to think that what was happening was beginning to get slightly repetitive.
The character's are the usual type which I come across in Adult book, and was a great change to the one's I am used to. Each of the main character's represent different people within society and make up a quite believable friendship group. We learn much more about them, than we usually would because of the use of personal emails, which also allows us to witness there friendship with each other, and really see what each of them see within one another.

Do not let the fact that this book was self-published put you off purchasing it, the writing style and her ability to create a book was better than many published author's I have came across. I even spent a while trying to find out who the publisher was.

I give this book....