Cover Reveal: Tera Lynn Childs' Sweet Venom (and Giveaway!)

I along with over a 100 others are participating in the big cover reveal for Tera Lynn Child's Sweet Venom, a book that I simply can't wait to read, and let me tell you the cover is simply spectacular!

But the big question is are you ready to see it yet? Hopefully you are because here it is:

Now I bet you are dying to read as much as I am now, right? So, here's all the info you need to know (release date, summary etc.).

• It will be released October 2011.
• You can add it to your Goodreads account by clicking on this link. (You know you want to!)
• You can become a facebook fan of the series here.
• You can also learn more about it by heading on over to Tera's website or Tera's group blog ( Books, Boys, Buzz) to see the official character collage.
• And here's a short blurb for it: Three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in a world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Better yet, I have a couple of SIGNED bookmarks to giveaway. I'm not sure how many winners there will be just yet (at least one) but I'll let you know as soon as I do. To enter the giveaway leave a comment on this post telling me why you love Sweet Venom's cover and/or why you can't wait to read it along with your email address. I'll pick a winner next Tuesday (2/22!). Oh, and the giveaway is open to worldwide to people ages 13 or older! GOOD LUCK!

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

Summary/Cover Image from Penguin's website:

When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and plans to move to an island in the Aegean Sea, Phoebe’s well-plotted senior year becomes ancient history. Now, instead of enjoying a triumphant track season and planning for college with her best friends, Phoebe is trying to keep her head above water at the überexclusive Academy. If it isn’t hard enough being the new kid in school, Phoebe’s classmates are all descendents of the Greek gods! When you’re running against teammates with superpowers, dealing with a stepsister from Hades, and nursing a crush on a boy who is quite literally a god, the drama takes on mythic proportions!

Review:

Ever since reading the AMAZING thing that was Forgive My Fins, which is now out, I've been dying to read more by Tera, so when I won a copy of this, as well as its sequel, I was ecstatic, and lucky enough for me, it proved to be pretty great, even though it wasn't nearly as kick-butt as Forgive My Fins.

Oh. My. Gods. was a great mix of roman mythology (I loved learing about all the differnt gods!), romance, friendships, and, well, .... superpowers.

Phoebe's life is turned upside down in a instant when her mom decides to moves both of them from California to a little island named Serfopoula. Suddenly her dreams of finishing off high school with her best friends and going to USC with them are in the dust, as now she's going to be attending the star-studded Academy where everything is not anywhere near of how it appears.

Through Phoebe, Tera has created yet another funny and relatable protagonist that I couldn't help but adore. I loved that part of Oh. My. Gods had to do with Phoebe's love of running, since not only did I adore the cheesy shirts she wore that dealt with running (They will make you chuckle at least once, I promise.), but I liked how she actually had a hobby besides, you know, chasing boys, which really isn't a hobby but I digress. Anyhow, I loved her friendships with Nicole, Cesca, Nola, and Troy, as well as her her relationship with Griffin. (One word: HOT!)

The plot of this was also filled with excitement and fun. I loved reading more about the Academy, as well as the different powers the teens had, and I loved having Serfopoula be the setting of this because it seemed so beautiful with the detail provided.

The only problem I really had with this is that I felt that some dilemmas were solved too easily without any really effort. But overall? Not that big of a problem.

In all, Oh. My. Gods. proves to be yet another great, fun, light read for anytime really, especially summer. I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel, as well as more by Tera!

Grade: A-

Oh. My. Gods. is now out!

Source: Won on author's blog. Thanks Tera!

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Summary and cover photo from Author's Website:

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.


When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

Review:

From reading Forgive My Fins I have gathered that

Mermaids + some of the best literary kisses I've ever read + one charming bad boy + a bond gone wrong = one unforgettable, spectacular story that leaves Tera Lynn Childs as a front runner in being one of the best authors of the year, in my opinion!

It's easy to say that this is one of my favorite books year if not one of my favorites of all time. Since I loved so many different aspects of it.

Such as the setting of Thalassinian, a kingdom under the sea for all the mermaids and mermen, that brought together with Tera's great descriptions made you feel like you were right there with Lilly the whole time! It was interesting to read more about it as well as get a picture perfect view of it in your head.

Plus, the characters were ones that I adored from the start. Lilly is one that I'm sure many that many girls can relate to. Since while she's at times shy and hesitant to be herself, she's also dead loyal to her friends and a nice person to all. Quince is basically the opposite of Lilly since he doesn’t really care what people think, even though on the inside he cares too much, and he's fine being the charming, bad boy. Paired together these too make quite the couple! Since while they mix as well as fire and ice at times (wait until you see their arguments they are so funny, yet so heated!) at others they balance each other in a way that's perfect!

The plot of this was one that constantly had you guessing of what was going to happen next. Were Quince and Lilly ever going to be together? What about Brody;was he as cute as he looked or just dead on the inside? Was Lily's cousin more evil then she lead on? Only time would tell!

And the writing in this flowed so well and reminded me of Meg Cabot's. Since in one review I read a while ago compared Cabot's books to candy in the way that once you had one you were dying to have another, and Forgive My Fins proved to be the same. Since as soon as I was done with this, I was dying to read more! So hopefully there will be a sequel and if not, Tera still has a ton of other interesting books coming out that I can't wait to read!

Overall, do yourself of favor this summer, June 1st preferably. That favor? Go out and buy this because I promise you  that you won't regret it one bit. And if you do, you have my permission to send me a scathing email. Though, I doubt that will happen. ;)

Grade: A+
 
Forgive My Fins will be released June 1, 2010!

Source: Traveling ARC Tours