So I've been MIA....

Yeah, as you can probably guess it's been a while since I've updated anything on this site. Ever since I've been getting ready for school I've just has ABSOLUTELY no time to read! It's horrible :( College is just sucking away at all of my free time and I'm very sorry to all my followers!

I'm going to try as hard as I can to make free time to read, not only for you guys, but also for myself because I miss it so much! I just wanted to update all of you in case you were wondering!

keep reading, everybody!

xoxox Megan

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

my rating: 5/5 stars

SYNOPSIS:  Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My Review: OMG STEPHANIE PERKINS, YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN. In all seriousness, can I marry you? No, really! We can just lie out in the sun all day, sipping fruity drinks with those little umbrellas in them while you tell me wonderfully magical love stories that make my heart burst BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST SO DARN TOOTING' CUTE. It will be wonderful :) But really, this story was incredible. If you haven't read either one of Stephanie's novels yet, I am so sorry! You have no idea what you're missing out on, other than major swoonage and heart-bursting-from-too-much-cuteness dysfunction. I have read many romance stories, but none of them can really compare to Ms. Perkins wonderfullness :)

I was really worried I wasn't going to enjoy Lola as much as Anna. After reading so many "it's not as good as Anna!" reviews, I figured even if the story wasn't as good, I'm sure I would still enjoy it. Turns out, I loved it just as much :) Cricket and Lola are a lot different from E'tienne and Anna, which I loved! Lola was so quirky and such an individual with her costumes and home life, while Cricket was a big, adorable (very cute!) nerd. Everything between them was so believable and real, I felt like I was living their story with them! I wish I had a boy like Cricket in my life, because he knew just how to hit my flutter buttons :) I also really enjoyed how Anna and E'tienne were entertwined in the story. They played just the right part in this novel, and I enjoyed seeing them and revisiting their story. Everything about this novel was so wonderfully perfect! :)

Ugh, why is when I love a book to peices, I can't seem to find the find the words to describe how I feel?! That is totally what is happening to me now! All I have left to say is get this book. Read it. LOVE IT. Then wait another sad, impatient year while Ms. Perkins writes another one, because really, life revolves around her stories :)

Cover Reveal: Violet Fox by Clare C. Marshall + Giveaway!

Hello all! I have a special cover reveal to feast your eyes on :)

Book Name: The Violet Fox
Author: Clare C. Marshall
Publisher: Faery Ink Press (http://www.faeryinkpress.com)
Release date: October 13, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Violet Fox Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14743283-the-violet-fox

Teaser Blurb: 

There are two kinds of people in the land of Marlenia.

The Marlenians, who live on the surface,

and the Freetors, who are forced to live underground.

The war between them ended two hundred years ago, but the Freetors still fight for the right to live under the sun. Fifteen-year-old Kiera Driscoll embodies the Freetors' hopes as the Violet Fox. In a violet cape and mask, she sneaks around Marlenia City stealing food and freeing her people from slavery.

Then the Elders task her with a secret mission: retrieve a stolen tome that contains the secrets of Freetor magic, something the Marlenians both fear and covet. Kiera must disguise herself as a noblewoman and infiltrate the Marlenian castle.

Before the Freetor-hating Advisor finds out her real identity. 

Before her brother is imprisoned because of the secrets he hides. 

And before she falls any more in love with the prince she's supposed to hate.

More is happening in the castle than she realizes, and Kiera is faced with a difficult choice. Will she be loyal to her people and their fight for freedom, or will she be loyal to her heart?

Now for the giveaway I've been promising :)

I will be giving away 2 e-ARCs of THE VIOLET FOX to 2 lucky winners. The following code is a shared rafflecopter code, so your readers can enter easily, and it will be compiled all into one place. You don’t have to paste this on your site if you don’t want to. If you’d like me to add something to the giveaway options in exchange for posting it on your website, just let me know! I’d be more than happy to oblige.

Starts: July 3, 2012 EST

Ends: July 31, 2012 EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

my rating: 4/5 stars

SYNOPSIS: Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters’ laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything - including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

My Review: It's been a while since I've read a good werewolf book, or really since I've read a werewolf book, period! Nightshade was such an enticing read! It was thrilling, sexy, And unputdownable. What I loved is that it had the perfect mix of everything: good characters, a steamy ( well done) love triangle and a well thought out underlying story that builds up to the second book. I have almost not complaints! Almost...

Alright, I'm just going to get this out of the way here....so....Shay and Calla's relationship annoyed me at some parts. THERE, I said it. Shay fans, don't hate me! It's just, he was always putting her into dangerous situations and asking her to do stuff with him, that if Calla got caught she would DIE. And he's all like "Nahh, you're not going to get caught! It's all good!" And I was sitting there like, dude, you're being really stupid now and I don't like it. If you really cared about the girl, you wouldn't want to put her in so much danger! And then there was the whole insta-love thing, which, some will argue that their relationship progressed enough through the whole story to where it wasn't really insta-love, but I beg to differ. Ever since they met each other it was all, "I really want to kiss you and stuff, but I can't." and to be honest, I don't know why Calla really liked Shay in the first place. I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but there was just something about him that really bugged me. I think it was the stupidity thing I was talking about earlier. Calla kept referring to him as brave, but in my book there is a fine line between braveness and stupidity, and Shay definitely leans more towards stupidity. Well, he seemed pretty book smart, but definitely not street smart. Real talk, who goes up to a mothafreaking pack of wolves and asks to sit down with them, when youre a human, and ALSO, who is stupid enough to dance and flirt with Calla (multiple times) right in front of Ren, the guy who can rip your face off with his pinky finger, and would very much so enjoy doing it!? Dumb people, that's who...

Speaking of Ren, I really liked him! Yes, he was a bit possessive. Yes, he lost his temper some times, but there is nothing sweeter than a bad boy who really shows his feelings about someone! He had a couple of really cute moments in this book where I wanted to just jump in the book and hug the boy :) I also like the fact that he had a backbone to him, yet he wasnt an overbearing leader. I'm totally in love with Ren! I swear to god, I must have some bad boy complex because I always go for them!

Wow, my "one little complaint" turned into kinda a huge rant. Whoopsies. Anyway, the rest of the story was VERY enjoyable for me! Ms. Cremer had so much chemistry between each and every character, and the plot was so addictive. Thank goodness I just ordered Wolfsbane becuase I need the second book NOW!

in My Mailbox (4)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

my rating: 5/5 stars

SYNOPSIS:  Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Review: THIS BOOK. Oh, sweet Jesus. Brb, going to go weep uncontrollably while I wait for the second book to come out!!! Gahhh!!

*controls sudden burst of emotion* WHEW. Alright, where do I even begin? This book for me was unlike anything I've read before! Between the magical, splendorus world Lani Taylor created, to the exquisite writing, I was awed from page one. Some authors have this amazing ability to wrap their readers into the story and make them believe they are a part of it, and boy does Ms. Taylor have a talent for that! I can't even put into words how magical this story was. it's just....I was so....this story....gahh!

I will have you know though, I almost gave up on it. Yeah. Cray, right? It was about right in the middle of the book. The fist 160 pages were amazing! I was reading, it was all good, and then BANG. The romantic interest appears. Enter, Akiva. He's tall, incredibly handsome, and oh yeah--he's an angel. As soon as he and Karou met, it was like, sudden insta-love. If there was ever a person to represent all hate for insta-love in literature, it would be this girl. I can't stand it! So naturally, I muttered profane words of dislike at my book and didn't pick it up until a couple days later. After I simmered down a bit, I decided the first half of the book was just too good to give up on. Thank goodness I did because after a few more moments of gag-me romance, the story got exceedingly better! We figure out the missing pieces of the story and the whole insta-love thing is explained and the masqueade ball happens and ohmigod its just all too good! Oh, I wish I could say more, but I can't spoil this book. No siree! Fellow reader, you MUST read this. That is an order.

Now excuse me while I go bow down to Laini Taylor because SHE IS A FREAKING GOD.