Spellbound Noticeboard (6)

Welcome to Spellbound Noticeboard. Here is where Authors, Bloggers and others can send in anything that you'd like promoted. Competitions, book releases, blog events etc. This is your spot! So feel free to send me a line if you have anything book related (Including books made into movies) and I'll be sure to post these up! I'll also be including features etc that I come across to help spread the word for other Authors and bloggers! Just email me at melissa@spellboundbybooks.com 

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Rachel Caine, Author of the awesome Morganville Vampires series is coming to Australia!  I'm not sure of the schedule dates and tour stops but they will be posted as soon as I can find out!!

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That's all I have for this week.

Waiting on Wednesday (49)

Waiting on Wednesday was brought to you by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!


I'm so excited about the newest book from Richelle Mead called Bloodlines which is a Vampire Academy spin off!  This won't be released until 23rd of August 2011.

No Synopsis yet.
But here are the characters that will be in Bloodlines that were out of Vampire Academy series
Sydney (our narrator), Jill, Eddie, and one of the love interests from VA.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Title: Glass Houses 

Author: Rachel Caine

Genre: Fantasy/YA

Publisher:  Signet Novel

Publication Date: 3rd October 2006 (Have used the flashy cover for this one though)

ISBN: 9780451219947

Stand alone or series: First book in Morganville Vampires series

Pages: 248 pages

Book Received from: Bought

First Lines: On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry

Synopsis:

It’s a small college town filled with quirky characters. But when the sun goes down, the bad comes out. Because in Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows– one that will spill out into the bright light of day.
Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. The popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks on the school’s social scene: somewhere less than zero. And Claire really doesn’t have the right connections– to the undead who run the town.
When Claire heads off campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don’t show many signs of life. But they’ll have Claire’s back when the town’s deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood…

My Thoughts:
Glass Houses is the first book in the Morganville Vampires series, which so far is up to ten books.  I don't know whether I've been living under a rock, since I hadn't read this earlier but I'm glad I have.

The main character Claire is at a disadvantage from the very beginning.  Being super smart and younger than those of her peers she's attending college with, she makes the mistake of correcting a popular girls' mistake in a fact of history.  From there, Monica has had it in for Claire, doing everything she can to make Claire's life miserable. 

I don't know whether it's just natural that I cheered for the underdog, but I really felt for Claire.  There's nothing like being bullied to put a dampener on life and she has her reprieve when Michael, Eve and Shane decide to take her in.  An odd bunch that they are, I really enjoyed the varying personalities each of these characters brought to the table. 

I really enjoyed reading Rachel's writing.  It has that style of really drawing the reader in, and it's not until I was halfway through Glass Houses that I realised that the hours had just slipped by.

Glass Houses is a quick read and one I'd definitely recommend to others who like reading books where the vampires are portrayed as the bad guys/girls.  Watch out for that cliffhanger, because believe me, if you get hooked with this one like I did, you will need to have The Dead Girls Dance (book 2) on hand to find out what happens next!

Spellbound Bookshelves (6)

Welcome to my new feature Spellbound Bookshelves! Each week I'll be posting up pictures of Readers Bookshelves. As this is just starting out, I'll need to ask you help in spreading the word and hopefully sending in pictures of your bookshelves. I'll also be including awesome bookshelves to store your books in for a bit of variety.

This week I've picked a few more from the internet to share with you all.  Hope you enjoy.

 

If you'd like your bookshelves featured on here or you have come across some really cool bookshelves please send me your pics to melissa@spellboundbybooks.com



In My Mailbox (48)

In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren

For Review:

Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine (Book 2 of Morganville Vampires)

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine (Book 3 of Morganville Vampires)

Twelfth Grade Kills by Vladimir Tod (Book 5 in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod)

A big thanks! to Penguin Australia for sending these to me.

Given:

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (Book 1 in Lorien Legacies)

Well that was my totally awesome week.  What did you get in your IMM?

Sticky Beak (43)

Sticky Beak is all about sharing. Sometimes we can't all get around to every single blog and website available so that's where Sticky Beak comes in. By word of mouth (well you get what I mean) we are more likely to get to those blogs that we wouldn't have normally seen without someone pointing them out to us.

The links could be to your own post, a favourite blog post you would love to share, an authors blog/website, book/writing contests, reviews you really enjoyed, tour info or anything you would love to share with others. Just use the comments below to add your link!

Here's Mine:

Authors to Check Out:
Neil Gaiman:  This quote led me to his website 'Sometimes you wake up.  Sometimes the fall kills you.  And sometimes, when you fall, you fly. 

Cool Stuff to Check Out:
Penguin Books Uk: This one has some really cool gifts for those that love books!
Claudia Gray's Blog: Evernight Dolls giveaway

For Writers:
Writing Insight: Interesting website.

Vampire for Christmas by Felicity Heaton

Title: Vampire For Christmas

Author: Felicity Heaton

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher:  Alinar Publishing

Publication Date: November 2010

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Pages: 116

Book Received from: Author

First Lines:  His favourite prey.  Rafe stood on the lawn, his dark eyes following her from room to room in her large house.

Synopsis:

It was one last mission. Shannon, a demon hunter with the agency, is looking forward to leaving behind the small town and the vampire she’s been stuck with for the past two years. Things are getting complicated fast and she wants out. A fresh start, free of her vampire partner, awaits her if she can survive their final mission and the lonely Christmas holidays.

It was one last mission. Rafe, a vampire doing time with the agency, watches it approach with dread weighing heavily in his stomach. Two years of working with Shannon has been difficult, especially since he started falling for her, but he doesn’t want their partnership to end. He has barely a few days to make her face her feelings and stop her from leaving, and he intends to do just that.

When a slimy demon threatens the season of peace and goodwill, it’s the chance Rafe has been waiting for and the moment Shannon secretly fears. Rafe’s determination to prise open her heart and her own resolve to keep it closed clash as violently as they do with the demon, and threatens to end as messily.
Can Rafe make Shannon see that his love for her is real and that she feels something for him too? Can Shannon face her fears and her past, and stop herself from running away from both? Will a wish on a star bring her what her heart truly desires—a vampire for Christmas?

My Thoughts:
I have just finished reading this one and one word.  Wow!  As always Felicity has done a great job of creating fantastic characters and storyline.  Admittedly this is far shorter than the usual books I read but once I started, I was drawn into Shannon and Rafe's world quickly.

One of the things I liked about this one was the ever changing viewpoints and it was easy to distinguish one from the other.  I also enjoyed the humour that was thrown in there, particularly when it came to the fight scenes. 

I won't say too much else as the synopsis reveals quite alot, but if you like your paranormal romances with a bit of suspense and fantastic HOT scenes this one is for you.  That is if you are an adult ;)