30.6.11

The Time Will Come #23 - What l have read edition


The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
~
My The Time Will Come post is a bit different today as l wanted to go through my The Time Will Come books and see what l have read and what l haven't.
I know a lot of people said they haven't read any of the books and so on so don' feel you have to join in today, you could do this post whenever!

Have read - 
Click to see my review
~
I am also about the start The Bleeders tomorrow and didn't get a chance to read two of the books l got from the library so took them back. 

29.6.11

Waiting on Wednesday (#24)

Waiting on Wednesday
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
~
Balthazar - Claudia Gray
I have had this one on my wishlist since l heard it was going to be released, now it finally has a cover l had to do it as a WoW!
For anyone who has read the Evernight series and enjoyed it, this is a must read! Well l think so anyway. Even if you haven't read Evernight l would say to read this book, you won't want to not meet Balthazar!
I still need to read Afterlife but can't wait to do so and when l heard Claudia is bring out a book from Balthazar's point of view l knew l was going to have to read this one. 
Balthazar is such a sweet guy and l love him in the Evernight series so l can't wait to spend more time with him (a whole book!).
~
The blurb : 
Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

28.6.11

First lines - New weekly post!

I mentioned last week how l am taking a break from Paperback vs Hardback and if this new weekly post goes down well l will be swapping between the two. Mainly l will be doing PB vs HB for 2ish months and then First Lines for 2ish months and so on.


What is First Lines?
First lines is a post where l will list two books and type out the first few lines of both the blurb and the first page.
I came to think of this after not being sure whether to buy two books and after reading the first few lines decided to do so. I feel the first lines are so important.

What is the point of First Lines?
Well l hope to help you find new books you may not have heard of or interest you in books you may not have been interested in before.
~
Skin
First few lines of :
Blurb
I think back on things that happened. And I think about how if you were to tell stories about us, about our family, you might raise your eyebrows and you might say, 'Well, no wonder.' I bet you can pinpoint where it started for her. 
Read the rest of the blurb here
Or visit the goodreads page for a different blurb

First Page
These are the things you think when you come home to discover your sister has starved herself to death and you have to drop to your knees to revive her :
1. My sister is flat like a board. There's fat guys in the locker room with bigger books than she has.
2. When l scream my sister's name into her face, l can hear my father's voice in my own.
3. Where is it you're supposed to press? In the middle, on the side? Left or right?

My thoughts :
This blurb doesn't really give much away about the book at all and l found this a big plus and it really worked with this book. I found myself opening the first page and reading the first few lines and wanting to carry on reading.
What do you think about the first page and blurb?

Please note, most of these are typed up by myself so there may be small errors. 
This week l am only doing one book because of having to explain at the top of this post about this new weekly post but next week l will be doing two.


If you don't like this post l won't carry on with it!
PollPub.com VoteWhat do you think of First Lines?
Meh, l won't read them
Ok, l may read them
Love the idea and post!



View Results

Poll powered by PollPub.com Free Polls

27.6.11

*Review* : Flip - Martyn Bedford

Book review of Flip by Martyn Bedford
Flip
Series : No
Released : 7th March 2011
Publisher: Walker Books
Format : Paperback
Source : Library
Finished : 17th June 2011
Overall rating
Photobucket
Ever wake up in someone else's body? Fourteen-year-old Alex Gray wakes up one morning to discover he's not in his own bedroom. More surprising is that he doesn't recognize his hands, or his legs...When he looks in the mirror he gets the shock of his life! How is it possible that Alex has become another boy - a boy who everyone calls Philip? And how have six whole months passed overnight? This is a riveting psychological thriller by a brilliant new voice in children's books.

**I do talk a little bit about what the characters are like, l don’t see this as a spoiler but would like to warn anyone who hasn’t’ read this book yet. The paragraph is labelled with stars**
As soon as l heard about this book l just had to start it. It may sound strange but l have often thought what it would be like to wake up one morning and be someone else. How scary it would be not knowing the things you should know but also how interesting it would be to see how different families can be. Because l have thought about this before l had my own thoughts on how this would be so l expected a lot from this book.
Martyn, the author, did not let me down. 
** I loved how Martyn made them so they were the same age but also very different. I think if they would have been the same sort of people with the same personalities and who act the same this book could have been a lot less interesting. Because they are so different and their traits were revealed slowly, l was quickly engrossed and very interested to see how Martyn played it out. Also because their families were very different, in many ways, how Alex reacted to this alongside the surprise of finding himself in someone else’s body made for a great plot, especially how his own personality came into play. **
I felt everything went at a good speed with this book, and it wasn’t unrealistic at all. Alex discovered things at just the right time so this book never became boring and as l discovered more l was actually left wondering and questioning more than before.
What l loved most about ‘Flip’ is how, throughout the whole book, l had no idea what was going to happen next and never guessed how it was going to end. For me this is something which made this brilliant book into a totally engrossing one which l found hard to put down and was constantly thinking ‘what will happen now?!’ I was always in total suspense.
Overall Flip is a great book which had a lot of potential but because of how this book was written it become a realistic, refreshing,  emotional and gripping read which l recommend to all ages.
Oh and also, this is written in England which l really liked as l actually understood how old they were by what year (grade) they were in at school! 
******************************************
Ratings :
Plot : 4.5/5
Cover : 4.5/5
Page Turner : 5/5
Characters : 4.5/5
Ending : 4.5/5
******************************************
Series -
No
2011 Books Challenges -
No
******************************************
Buy your copy
Amazon (UK/USA)

Cover Crazy #23

Other Cover Crazy posts - #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22
Hosted by thebookwormS
Muse - Rebecca Lim (#3 Mercy)
All the covers for this series has gorgeous covers, check them out here
OMG!!! I LOVE THIS COVER!!

What l love :
EVERYTHING!
All the beautiful white and gold
How well the colours go together
The little butterfly 
Mainly l love how the feather become part of her hair, how unique and beautiful
I love how it tells you it's part of a series, it can be helpful if your in a library or bookshop!
The position  of all the text
The overall feel of the cover

25.6.11

Giveaway Winners

The winners of my 900 follower giveaway


UK Winner :
Marie Evans - Confirmed : Book will be sent on Monday

International Winner
Jeanette Juan 


There will be another giveaway in around 2 weeks so make sure you check back!

A Year Gone By... (#25)

~ 
Rating (By my goodread friends) 
Two 5 Star Ratings
Two 4 Star Ratings
~
Reviews
I LOVE this cover and have to admit l want to read this just because of the cover. It seems like a perfect summer read and l am definitely in the sort of mood for summer books. 

Tell Me A Secret
Released - 22nd June 2010
~ 
Rating (By my goodread friends) 
Two 5 Star Ratings
Four 4 Star Ratings
One 3 Star Ratings
~
This is a book l really do want to read as well as her other book coming out called 'Don't Breathe a Word'. 

The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth, #1)
Released22nd June 2010
~ 
Rating (By my goodread friends) 
Two 5 Star Ratings
Four 4 Star Ratings
One 3 Star Ratings
~
I have to admit, l didn't think this sort of book would be one l would enjoy but after seeing some posts at Girls Without A Bookshelf l now so want to read this series!

24.6.11

Discussion Post - What Do Star Ratings Mean To You?

PART 2 (2/3)
To see part 1 of this discussion click here

How much do the star ratings depend on whether you buy a book? 
If l am being honest, usually before l buy a book the star ratings on goodreads are the first thing l look at. Not the star ratings of random people but the star ratings of my blogger friends and other friends. I often do this when l am asked about a review book too. Simply because l don't always have time to go and read through lots of book reviews, l like to read some but l don't feel l get enough opinions from one or two reviews so star ratings is the next best way.

Positives of star ratings 
Fast opinion
Like l said above, it is a very quick way to find out the general feel about a book without spending 30 minutes, which you may not have, on reading reviews.
.
Yiota said - I check the rating when i want a fast opinion on the book.


Undecided
Mel said - (Star Ratings) can sway me if I'm undecided about giving a book a go.
.
More likely to read a book with higher rating
In some way l just think this is pretty natural. If your looking to buy a laptop and one has 5 star rating and another 3 star rating then your more likely to pick the 5 star. For me, if l can only afford to buy one book at that time, l am more likely to pick the higher one.

Ricki said - If a lot of people rate it high, I am more likely to try it.

Stephaine said - I may be more inclined to read a book that has a lot of high star ratings on Goodreads/blogs

Jackie said - Star ratings do somewhat influence whether or not I buy a book.  Of course if I find several 2 or 1 star ratings, I am not going to waste my time.  Any rating 3 or above is a possibility for me. 

Miss Page Turner said - 3-5 stars ratings are always ok. 1-2 I start thinking why a book got that rating and if I really want to read it.

They are important to me
Mickey said - Star ratings are very important to me. I check Goodreads for the stars, blogs of the stars, and those make a difference when picking a book. 


Karen said -  If I've not seen a lot of reviews for a book I fancy, I will go off the star ratings on Goodreads - for instance, if I've been offered a self-published book for review and I can't make my mind up whether to accept it, I will check out the star ratings on Goodreads if there are some there already. I very rarely purchase a book with a star rating of less than 3.5, so yes, they mean a lot to me.
.
Lisa said - I glance at them and they do play into my decision just not as much as the blurb.
.
Jules said - I do think that star ratings are important, if a book has quite a low rating I may still read it but I would be more likely to try and borrow it before buying it. 
.
Liz said - A lot. I use the ratings system on Goodreads frequently; I usually read all the 1 star reviews first, then work my way up.
.
Debz said - . Of course, if the average rating is 2 stars it probably isn't as good as something that has an average of 4.5 stars.


Negatives of Star Ratings
I do believe that there can be negatives from star ratings and sometimes l try to find time to read reviews on books which are split in opinions. For books where opinions are split l do think it's important to try the book yourself as sometimes you will either love it or hate it.
Also l have noticed, since blogging, how everyone's star ratings work differently. For example l know some bloggers who seem to 'easily' give 5 star ratings whereas l know a few others where they LOVE a book but only give it 4 stars. This definitely needs to be took into consideration. 


Different standards
This is the main issue l think with star ratings. Some people will give a 5 star rating much easier than others might do so.
.
Yiota said - Everyone have different standards.
.
Booketta said - I don't take much notice as I think a view is subjective.

Judge book by other ways
Well, l think everyone does this before looking at star ratings anyway. I mean your looking at the star ratings because you have already read the blurb or seen the cover, right? But l know some people let the book speak for itself, which l think is great because you may just love it even though other people haven't.

Ricki said -  I try to let the book speak for itself (although I do greatly judge a book by its cover).

Just because others love it ..
doesn't mean your going too! This has been proved a few times for me, l have read a few books which are really popular and l haven't enjoyed. Everyone has different tastes and sometimes you just don't connect with the characters.

Booketta said - I have read highly rated books and been disappointed.

Phanee said -  If I like the story, I'm not that easily influenced by a few negative reviews! It works the other way too. If a book has got fantastic ratings and I am not particularly drawn to the story, then I won't rush to read it. 

Stephaine said - If the reviewer has explained well why they liked/din't like a book then I use this to make a judgement because their likes and dislikes may be different to mine.

Jackie said - If there is a book that is rated a 2 that still sounds interesting to me, I still might take a chance on it.

Miss Page-Turner said - I mainly focus on what the reviewer listed under positive and negative aspects. 


Don't care for star ratings 
Ria said - The star rating doesn't change for whether I've bought a book, borrowed it or been sent it.

Tandra said -  Like I mentioned before, only my opinion really matters
~
Thank you -
It's because of you guys we have a great discussion!
Yiota - Splash Of Our Worlds
Booketta - Booketts'a Book Blog
Mel - Mels Random Reviews
Ricki - Reading Challenged
Phanee - Funny Wool
Mickey - I'm A Book Shark
Thinking Cat - Cat's Thoughts
Stephaine - Books Are A Girl's Best Friend
Karen - The Slowest Bookworm
Jackie - Books & Tea
Lisa - Lisa's World Of Books
Jules - The Great, The Good and The Bad
Kirsty - The Overflowing Library
Liz - Planet Print
Ria - The Beaucoup Review
Debz - Debz Bookshelf
Miss Page Turner - Miss Page-Turners City Of Books
Tandra - Awesome Sauce Books

23.6.11

The Time Will Come #22


The Time Will Come - 
Every Thursday l am going to list a book which l really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! 
~
Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book 
- Link the post up in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!
~
I won this on a blog awhile ago and was really excited to get it and at the time it wasn't an easy book to get!
I have had it for a few months now and definitely want to read it soon, haven't seen a lot of reviews on this but the ones l have are positive ones and everyone has enjoyed it. Hopefully l can review this one for you all soon so there is another review out there. 
This is one of those which l definitely want to review soon for the author but sadly because l don't have a set date l need a review up for it gets left. 
See the blurb here

Next week
Next week instead of doing a time will come l am going to do The Time HAS Come.
This will look back at the last 22 The Time Will Come posts and say what ones l have read. I will be doing this around every 2 months. 
It's up to you if you join in OR just do a normal The Time Will Come posts. You can always do a list of the books you have read on another Thursday.

A book blog featuring Romance, Dark Romance and New Adult