Trailer + A Giveaway: Once by Anna Carey

Hello! I'm here today to share with you the Eve by Anna Carey trailer and giveaway a copy of Once, the sequel!

More about Once:

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.

In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.

Giveaway Details:

~Ends July 17, 2012

~Must be a resident of the US

~Must be 13 years or older to enter

~Must fill out the rafflecopter to be eligable

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Once by Anna Carey

Once  (Eve #2)
Anna Carey
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: July 3, 2012

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?
For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.
But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.
Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.
In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.

I actually really enjoyed Once a lot more than I thought it would. Eve was a good read, but nothing super-fantastic. Anna Carey has definitely uped the ante with Once. 


Eve has grown a lot, even since the beginning of Once. She was very vulnerable and some of the decisions she made had me rolling my eyes. But she quickly grew up. I loved her passion and the loyalty for those she loves. She is definitely one to go to the end of the earth to save someone she loves. 


Once takes a different turn than before. I won't give anything away, but there were some twists and surprises along the way. And, there were also some heartbreaking moments as well. There were times that I just couldn't put it down.


We were introduced to this world and Eve, but I don't think I fully got into it until this book. In Eve, we got to see a lot of the outside world. But we see a different side of it in Once. 


Eve was good, but Once is a rare sequel that is even better than the first. Filled with heartbreaking and heart-pounding moments, I can't wait to read the conclusion to the trilogy.                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 In one scene, Eve and Caleb have a   conversation about visiting the 

stratosphere, Big Ben, Venice, and other places.

Series reviews:

Eve (book 1)

Book Haul and Week in Review (94)

This post is dedicated not only to sharing all the books I've received this week but also to share this week's happenings on my blog. This is inspired by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post. Also, the title Book Haul is provided by Katie's Book Blog.

For Review:

Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

Once by Anna Carey

Bought:

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Library:

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

This Week's Happenings:

My reviews:

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin 

Also, I've decided to add a little something extra to my reviews. Find out more about it here. 

A New Twist to My Reviews

So, I've been thinking a lot lately. I've been wanting to change up my review style or add something to my reviews for a long time. Something to change it up around here and differentiate my blog from others. I've been thinking about what I can do differently for a long time now. 

And then it hit me, right smack in the face like this:

No, but really. I came up with something. 

What do I love doing besides reading? Drawing!...and painting...and the works. 

So, now for every review that I write I am going to (try) to do an art piece that goes along with the book. This will mostly be drawings, most likely from my sketch book. 

These drawings or paintings may be of a specific object or scene from the book, or it may be more symbolic, either from my perspective or from the book's. I'm going to go ahead and say that you won't see a lot of people in these. I'm really bad at drawing human figures. But you may see some faces and portraits somewhere in there. 

Now, I can't promise they will be good. A big part of why I'm doing this is to knock out two birds with one stone. This way I can practice and get in my sketch book pages for next year's AP Art class (I have to do a lot!) and I can add something extra to my reviews. It's really a win-win for me. Hopefully over time I will get better and pick up some more skills. 

And, of course, I hope you guys enjoy them. 

P.S. It may be a little while before you start to see these. I've already got quite a few reviews done and scheduled and I'm not going to go back and do a drawing for them. But, I do have one for Once by Anna Carey, which is due to be up the beginning of next week. 

Let me know what you think of this idea!

And have a wonderful evening!

Review: Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

Keep Holding On
Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: May 31, 2012

A romantic and empowering book about bullying
Noelle's life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn't know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle's kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she's terrified. Surely it's safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it's time to stand up for herself--and for the love that keeps her holding on.

I'm not going to lie, and I'm probably the only one who feels this way, but it's kind of hit or miss for me with Colasanti's books. There are a few that I really liked and some... not so much. I was really hoping to like this book. And I did... kind of. Some parts I really liked and some... again, not some much. 

Despite the cover, Keep Holding On is not a light and fun read. Keep Holding On tackles a topic that I don't feel is dealt with enough in YA (especially considering it's a big conflict for the age group). This I do appreciate about the book. I have to say, parts of this book was just heartbreaking to read about. Especially since Noelle's life wasn't good at home or school. However, even though it was hard to read at times it never went over the top. This is one of the most real books I think Susane Colasanti has written. 

And Noelle. Like I said, she deals with a lot. I think most of us will be able to relate to her at one point or the other. Even though in the beginning I would wish that Noelle would do something, if not for herself, than for others, I understood why she didn't. I was proud and glad when she finally was able to grow and stand up for herself. 

Now, what I didn't like... The writing. Almost every sentence were as short and as simple as they could possibly be. I'm not opposed to variation in sentence length. In fact, I encourage it. And there were so many fragments. Now, fragments can be a perfectly effective tool when used right. But not when they are used every other sentence. The writing just kept distracting me from the story and it really bothered me. 

So, all in all, it was a good story. But I just wish I could have enjoyed it more than I did. 

Charming Covers [39]: Lots of Sequel Covers!

Charming Covers is a feature here at Book Fanatics where I show off covers that have recently been revealed/ that I've recently found. 

There have been quite a few cover reveals in the last week or so, so I'm going to show off a lot of them!

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

January 22, 2013

Yay! I'm very excited for this book. Does anyone know if this is the final installment or where there be more!

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (Darkness Rising #3)

April 9, 2013

Okay, if you read my blog for any amount of time, you know why I'm so excited for this book. The characters from this series and the Darkest Powers series meet up! Oh, I am so excited to see Chloe, Derek, Simon, and Tori again!

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

February 5, 2013

I really enjoyed Shatter Me and I'm excited to see where the sequel takes us!

I'm very torn with these covers (this and the new Shatter Me cover). Even though the last cover wasn't the prettiest, I think it captured the book fairly well. But I like that these covers are different than others you see today. The old and new covers are so different, and I like them both in different ways. 

Everbound by Brodi Asthon

January 22, 2013

I, personally, like this cover better than the first book. I like that her face is turned away so that you can't see all of it (it really bothers me that in the first book, her face is just cut off). I like the smoke and the dress. Anyway, I'm really excited for this one!

Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done
Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Release Date: September 6, 2011

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.

Prior to reading All These Things, I'd heard some mixed things about it. But I loved Zevin's other two YA novels, so I was cautiously optimistic. As it turned out, I really enjoyed All These Things I've Done. It wasn't what I was expecting, but still good. 

One thing that I liked about this book was that even though it was a dystopian novel, the world wasn't far from our own. At times it was easy to forget that it wasn't just a contemporary novel. The differences were minor. But that doesn't mean that this world wasn't awesome (or awesomely built, I mean).  

All These Things also differed from other dystopians in another way. It wasn't action-packed and super-suspenseful. But that doesn't mean that there weren't edge-of-your-seat-moments, either. This book certainly managed to grab me and didn't let go until the very end. 

I do have to point out Gabrielle Zevin's writing. She always seems to captivate and intrigue me. Her story-telling abilities amaze me. 

And Anya. I loved her loyalty, to her family, to her friends, to those she loves. Even though she is put into some serious situations and has to grow up really quickly, she still manages to act her age at times. She definitely grows a lot over the book. I would consider her selfless, for sure.

All in all, I am very impressed with this book. One thing I am hoping to see more of in the next book is more of the business/ mafia part of it. It was in it in this book, but I think (hope) we will see a lot more of it in the next book.