Mini Reviews: the Third in the Summer Catch Up Addition

You can find the previous additons HERE and HERE.

~~~

The Savage Grace (The Dark Divine, #3) by Bree Despain

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website: 

Grace's life is a mess. Daniel is still a werewolf, Talbot can't be trusted, and Caleb is still out there. With Sirhan's impending death, war seems imminent. Will Grace give in to the wolf to save her family? What will happen to Daniel . . . and can their love survive one last test?

Review:

I've been following this trilogy from the very beginning. I loved The Dark Divine, the first book in the series, and I adored The Lost Saint even more. With every book, it seemed the series got better and better, and luckily, this trend continued with The Savage Grace. I do admit I shed a tear or two, but it was all worth it in the end, because The Savage Grace was an incredible finale, one that fans of the series will love even if it means this is truly the end. I loved once again being thrown into the world of Grace and Daniel. It was just as thrilling and exciting ever, and the problems that arouse in this one always managed to have me hooked as I flipped through the pages, dying to know what would happen next. The ending, though, was what surprised me the most. I wasn't expecting a cookie cutter happy ending, but I never expected it to be so bittersweet. However, it caught me off guard, and that's always a very good thing. In all, The Savage Grace is an incredible last book. I can't wait to see what Despain comes up with next, and to those of you haven't started this series yet, shame on you. I demand you change that asap. ;)

The Savage Grace (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

A powerful debut novel about a young Marine's return home from Afghanistan and the new life and love he finds while fending off flashbacks

When Travis returns home from Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother's stolen his girlfriend and car, and the nightmares of his best friend getting killed keep him completely spooked. But when he runs into Harper, a girl who despises him for rumors Travis started back in middle school, life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he falls deeper in love with her and begins to find his way through the family meltdown, the post-traumatic stress and the possibility of a interesting future. His sense of humor, sense of his own strength and incredible sense of honor make Travis an irresistible and eminently lovable hero in this fantastic and timely debut novel.

Review:

Going into Something Like Normal, I had some pretty high expectations. My fellow bloggers couldn't stop raving about it. The premise sounded amazing. Trish Doller is someone whose book recommendations I always look forward to seeing on Goodreads. Luckily, Something Like Normal was just as spectacular, knock-me-off-my-feet amazing as I thought it would be. From the first page, I was glued to this book. I seriously wouldn't, no couldn't, put my Nook down into I reached the final page, even though I had so many other things to do at the time. I was just that hooked on Travis's story, because of one key point: it seemed so real. Travis seemed like someone I could've went to high school with, someone who lived in my town, and that went for basically every character in this one. Plus it didn't hurt that I found his voice to be refreshingly honest and spot on, and I loved the variety of emotions Trish had flying off the pages in this...I could feel Travis's guilt about his time spent in war, his mixed feelings about Harper, and the lack of control he felt over his family come flying off the page and to life. What I loved most about this book, though, was the relationship between Travis and Harper. It seemed so realistic and their interactions always brought a smile to my face. I could go on and on about this book, but I don't want to spoil anything so I will leave you all with this...YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK. It's amazing. It will have you wanting more. Trish Dollar is an incredible debut author, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next, because when I say it's sure to be spectacular, I speak nothing but the truth.

Something Like Normal (Amazon/ Barnes and Noble/ Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Willa's secret plan seems all too simple.

Take from the rich kids at valley prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa's turn as Robin Hood at her new high school is anything but. Bilking her "friends"—known to everyone as the Glitterati—without them suspecting a thing is far from easy. Learning how to break into lockers and Beemers is as hard as she'd thought it would be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are bullied just for being different, is more fun than she'd expected.

The complication Willa didn't expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, VP's most notorious ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her—evening the social playing field between the haves and have-nots. There's no time for flirting, especially with conceited trust-funders like Aidan. But when the cops start investigating the string of thefts at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could Aidan wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Elisa Ludwig's Pretty Crooked is the first book in an adventurous teen caper series filled with mystery, humor, and heart.

Review:

First, I have to admit how much I love the cover of this one! The model's outfit (especially the shoes!) is awesome and I love the use of the colors. Anyhow, I had high hopes for this one as well, and luckily, Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig managed to live up to them. Pretty Crooked has a pretty amazing premise: a modern day Robin Hood. I mean, what's not to love about that? The execution of the said idea was even better I expected. From the start, I was enchanted by Willa's story as well as curious to see how everything would play out...would she be caught by her friends? What would happen if she was? Plus, I loved the other wide variety of characters in this! My favorite, though, would have to be Aidan. He was the definition of swoon worthy, and I just loved seeing him interact with Willa. Ludwig's writing was also great. I felt she captured the voice of a teenage girl, and I really liked the little twist she threw in at the end...it has me DYING to read the next book now. In all, if you like sleuthing, funny main characters, and infuriating yet charming boy characters, Pretty Crooked is the book for you!

Pretty Crooked (Amazon/ Barnes and Noble/ Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

~~~

Check back for more mini reviews soon!

Giveaway: Two Copies of Bree Despain's The Lost Saint + One Lost Saint Nail Polish!

Thanks to the lovely people at Egmont, I have TWO copies of Bree Despain's The Lost Saint to giveaway as well as ONE Lost Saint blue nail polish.

Here's the summary:

The non-stop sequel to The Dark Divine delivers an even hotter romance and more thrilling action than Bree Despain's first novel. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desparate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung. Readers, raveous for more Grace and Daniel, will be itching to sink their teeth into The Lost Saint.

You can read my review of The Lost Saint here and The Dark Divine here.

Here are the rules:

~ There will be three winners. 1 for each book and 1 for the nail polish
~ This giveaway is open to the US only.
~ To enter please fill out the form.
~ You must be 13 years or older to enter.
~ The giveaway ends January 23, 2011!

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER.*

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

The non-stop sequel to The Dark Divine delivers an even hotter romance and more thrilling action than Bree Despain's first novel. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved brother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung. Readers, ravenous for more Grace and Daniel, will be itching to sink their teeth into The Lost Saint.

Review:

If you thought The Dark Divine was fantastic fun, well, just wait until you read The Lost Saint because not only are some of your favorite characters back in style, but their story proves to be even more exciting, chaotic, and romantic than ever before!

The Lost Saint starts a few months after The Dark Divine ended, and Grace's life is nothing like it was before. For one, she's dealing with the side affects that came with sacrificing her soul to cure the beautiful and dreamy Daniel Kalbi...side affects that mean learning about the inner wolf inside of her to dealing with the fact that her brother will probably never be coming back. Though, at least she has Daniel, the guy who manages to be there for her time after time in ways that her family and former friends can't. But when Daniel starts to hide secrets from Grace everything begins to change for the worse once again. Can Grace save the day once again? Also, will Grace fall to the charm of newcomer Talbot, or will she end up with Daniel once again? Only time will tell in this action-packed of a sequel!

One of my favorite parts about the prequel was characters and the same thing applied to the sequel as well! I loved finding out more about Daniel and Grace's story, as I'm sure most other Dark Divine fans will. Adding this, I always liked the way Daniel and Grace managed to grown throughout this arc of the story. For one, Grace becomes an even stronger person in this novel, and even though she made a few mistakes in The Lost Saint, she still manages to learn from them and move on. In this addition, Daniel become even more mysterious, but that aspect always had me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out more about him and his many secrets. Best of all, I adored the relationship between Daniel and Grace, because not only are their interactions cute to read about, but I love the fact that there are not the "stereotypical YA couple". Instead they have their good AND bad just like real couples do.

Another high point of The Lost Saint was the action-packed plot. I loved the way it always kept me on the tip of toes with all the twists, turns, and revelations that kept occurring with every chapter. I especially liked all the new characters Bree introduced in this to keep the plot moving in a fun and fast pace.

In all, Bree Despain yet again proves her worth as a paranormal YA writer in the romantic and suspenseful The Lost Saint. This is a read that I highly recommend you pick up, but word of warning, after you finish the last chapter, you'll be clamoring for yet another addition!

Grade: A+

The Lost Saint will be released December 28, 2010!

Source: Goodman Media. Thanks, Jenny!

Giveaway for The Dark Divine Nail Polish!

Today, I'm giving you the awesome chance to win some nail polish inspired by the book titled The Dark Divine (It's an AMAZING book, by the way, you can check out my review of it here).

There will be four winners picked in the following ways:

~ TWO by random
~ Whoever the FIRST person is to enter will win ONE instantly
~ Whoever's answer to the question below that I think is best will win ONE

Also, here are the following constraints to the contest:

~ Open to US and CANADA only!
~ You MUST answer the question in order to be entered!
~ To people ages 13 or older.
~ Will end on 3/22.

Please fill out the form below to be entered.



Good Luck!

Winner of The Dark Divine

I'm actually on time with picking a winner for this one. I feel so proud of myself. lol.

Though, without a further ado, the winner is:

Julie S (jellybelly82158)

Congrats, Julie!

Also, here's some quick facts about the contest:

• 114 people entered!
• I had 831 entries including the extra entries!
• Some of the most popular answers to my question of "What book are you most looking forward to in 2010?" included Hungar Games #3 by Suzanne Collins, Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead. I'm looking forward to all of those too! :) Especially, Sprit Bound; I'm a huge VA Fan.

In all, much thanks goes to everyone who entered! Remember, I have three other giveaways occurring currently (listed above!) and while all of those are US only, I'll hopefully be having another international contest soon.

Contest for The Dark Divine by Bree Despain!

Since I was lucky enough to get not one but two copies of this, I've decided to pass on my extra ARC to someone else whose dying to read this.

Here's the summary:

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

To enter, just answer the first four questions in the form and after that the extra entries are your choice. So, good luck! Oh, and this contest will close on January 12th at 12:00 PM eastern and is open WORLDWIDE!

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Summary:

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Review:

The Dark Divine is by far one of my favorite reads of '09! Since, it has almost everything a reader can ask for. Romance? Check. Mystery? Check. Family and Friendship plots? Check. A really cool main (and supporting) characters? Check!

Moving on, it was forever easy to be fully captured in The Dark Divine because of constant twists and turns that forever kept you guessing things like "What really happened the night Daniel disappeared?" to "What is Daniel exactly?." Plus, I loved how each chapter was labeled with a different word(s). Since, it always gave you an accurate preview of what was to come.
The characters were adorable and extremely well characterized. My favorite would have probably have to be Grace. Since, she was easy to like and relate to. Also, I liked how most of her responses and actions to what was occurring around her were well thought out and reasonable instead of hasty ones. The two words that come to mind when thinking about Daniel would probably be dark and mysterious and while he was those things, he was always so sweet to Grace.

The ending was just an all around,” WOW!" that leaves me with only one request to Bree. That request? Well, it's for Bree to write a sequel because I'm dying to know what happens next!

In all, The Dark Divine was a fantastic book and proves that when Egmont and Bree Despain tag up, they are an UNSTOPABLE force!
 
Grade: A+

The Dark Divine will be released December 22, 2009!

Source: Publisher for review. Thanks Rebecca!