Snowflakes and Spider Silk

The Republic of Thieves read-along continues! Also, don't forget about the Thorn of Emberlain Giveaway**! If you're just joining in, check out  the intro post  for the schedule and other details! First of all, sorry for being really bad about posting stuff for the past week. I got a little behind on reading and then I had a mini-crisis where I couldn't get myself to write more posts because I felt like no one was reading them anyway. I guess 3 months is a long time to be excited about something, and then the news that Thorn of Emberlain release date got pushed back didn't help much. But never fear, even if I only have one person reading along with me, the readalong will continue! What we're reading this week Republic of Thieves | Ch3-5 (not including the interludes after Ch5) Recap from last week Flashbacks: Baby Locke is infatuated with Beth and devastated when she is murdered. He's even more shocked when he finds out the mysterious ...

I'm participating in the book blitz for Slip (Slip #1) and Grip (Slip #2) by David Estes. This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours, and runs all of this week. You can find the complete blitz schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours . Slip (Slip #1) By David Estes Genre: Dystopia Age category: Young Adult Release Date: 1 December, 2014 Blurb: Someone must die before another can be born... As sea levels rise and livable landmasses shrink, the Reorganized United States of America has instituted population control measures to ensure there are sufficient resources and food to sustain the growing population. Birth authorization must be paid for and obtained prior to having a child. Someone must die before another can be born, keeping the country in a population neutral position at what experts consider to be the optimal population. The new laws are enforced by a ruthless government organization known as Pop Con, responsible for terminating any childre...

Last week I held a giveaway for a copy of The Young Elites by Marie Lu. It's a fantastic book and I'm so excited to share the love for this very emotional dark fantasy. The winner of the giveaway is Emma McAndrew ! Congratulations Emma, and I hope everyone else who entered the giveaway still finds a way to read this book because it is epic!

Title:  The Young Elites Author:  Marie Lu Genre: Fantasy, young adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He bel...

Snowflakes & Spider Silk turns 1 year old today - hooray! I can't believe I've already been blogging for a whole year. I feel like there's still a lot to learn and improve, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it! When I first started blogging, I'd been writing reviews for books on goodreads for a couple of years, but I had no idea how blog tours worked or what blog memes were. Now that I've gotten a few of those things under my belt, I feel way more prepared to take on even more blogging adventures. My goal for this year is to continue posting reviews, Top Ten Tuesday, and Fantasy Friday posts, but I'd like to do more blog tours and more random posts about books and blogging. I finally got on the twitter bandwagon a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hoping to expand my network of fellow book bloggers and bookish people on that front too! Twitter is so much fun - I can't believe what I was missing out on :) I have made a lo...

Today is the release day for Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg's The Chase ! I will have my review for this book posted in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime check out the book trailer and giveaway ! RELEASE DAY SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY:  THE   CHASE  by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg IT’S ALL ABOUT  THE   CHASE ! THE   CHASE  by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg Bantam – Random House On sale:  February 25, 2014 978-0-345-54308-0 THE   CHASE  at your favorite retailers Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg,  New York Times  bestselling authors of  The  Heist , return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on  the  line. Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and ...

Today is Fire Country's book birthday. You can find my review of it here , and look below to find out how to get your own free copy! The series is a lot of fun to read, and the author is really cool too - I hope you all take this chance to start reading a really good series! Today, Fire Country by David Estes turns one year old. In the first year since Fire Country was born, so much has happened. David signed with an agent, sold more than 10,000 books, wrote five more books and published a further three). He knew he just had to celebrate and he'd love for you to be a part of it! David owes so much of his support to the blogger community, and he wants everyone to have the chance to be a part of the Fire Country Birthday Bash. Everyone goes home a winner, simply follow the prompts below and swipe your eCopy of Fire Country from Smashwords. Read and leave a review on Amazon if you enjoyed it. Feel free to share the code with your friends, family, neighbour...

A Reading Nurse is hosting a giveaway of signed copies of Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, as well as Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. They're all great books, and who doesn't love shiny new books (especially signed ones!)? You can find the giveaway here . Here are my reviews of these books on Goodreads: Grave Mercy Shadow and Bone

Title: The 5th Wave Author: Rick Yancey Genre: YA, science fiction, dystopia, post-apocalyptic I haven't actually re ad this book yet, but it sounds amazing! Synopsis (from Goodreads): After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Doesn't this sound terrifying in a wonderful, spine-tingling way? Just...

If you don't know who Melina Marchetta is, there is a void in your life that needs filling. Melina Marchetta is an Australian author who writes contemporary and fantasy novels. The one common thread I have found is that they always deal with messy relationships and sticky situations and ugliness, but always turn them into hope and beauty. Her characters are always so real  and almost every one of her books has brought me to tears (or very close to them). So you can imagine my excitement when I found out about a hardcover giveaway of her Chronicles of Lumatere trilogy: http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2013/04/quintana.html I have been dying to get my hands on Quintana of Charyn for ages. If Froi of the Exiles is any indication to go by, this book is going to be intense, heartbreaking, and absolutely gorgeous. What are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway!