Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry: Relaunch Blitz!

Welcome to the Blue Sky Days Relaunch Blitz!

Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry
A Contemporary New Adult novel

A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

June 27th is the 20th anniversary of my dad’s death from leukemia. For a long time I’ve wanted to honour him in some way, and I thought having the relaunch of Blue Sky Days, a book that was partly inspired by him, would be the perfect tribute. My dad was a wonderful man—smart, funny, kind, and loyal. He was an amazing father, husband, brother, and friend. Even before he died, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and he would listen to my crazy made-up stories with the patience of a saint.

From the 27th-30th of June, half the proceeds from all sales of Blue Sky Days will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. If you already own a copy, maybe you’d consider buying the book for a friend or family member? Or buying another copy from a different retailer (like Smashwords, which offers the book in every format)?

I greatly appreciate the support of the online reading/writing community for helping me honour my dad.

Amazon US || Amazon CAN || Amazon UK || Barnes & Noble || Smashwords || Kobo || iBooks

Thanks to eight incredible sponsors, there's a huge blitz-wide giveaway! There will be three (3) $20 PayPal cash prizes. Three chances to win - not too shabby, huh? This giveaway is open internationally to people aged 18+ who can accept PayPal cash.

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Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, watching copious amounts of TV on DVD, or having grand adventures with her nephews and niece. She's a hopeless romantic, an unapologetic eavesdropper (occupational hazard), an equally unapologetic squeeing fangirl, and a lover of swoonworthy book and TV characters. For more on Marie and her books please visit http://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca. She also loves to chat with fellow book lovers, so feel free to tweet her @SweetMarie83 any time.

Find Marie online:
{Blog || Twitter || Facebook || GoodReads || Instagram}

Avery's Designs Grand Opening Giveaway

Today I am pleased to help promote Avery's Designs, a new design service run by my fellow Canadian blogger Avery, who runs Avery's Book Nook, and who also happens to be my book BFF.

Avery's designs are super fun, and I love that her goal is to make blog design easy and affordable. Her blog packages (which include a header, button, and avatar) are only $25! We'd love for you to take part in the grand opening celebration by entering to win 1 of 2 complete blog makeovers (this includes the winner's choice of Avery's premade designs AND installation of said design, which is a $35 value)!

This is the perfect opportunity for those who have always wanted to start a blog, but have yet to do so, or for those seasoned bloggers who feel like their blog could use a facelift! Make your blog stand out with her one-of-a-kind, professional designs!

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New Look on Book Labyrinth + Giveaway

If you've visited Book Labyrinth over the past couple of weeks you may have noticed that my blogspot address is officially redirecting to http://www.booklabyrinth.com. Yes, I officially have my own domain!! I've actually been wanting to use booklabyrinth.com for a LONG time, but first it was already taken, and then it was snatched up by one of those services who want to sell you a domain for a zillion dollars. So when I checked the availability again on a whim and found it available? You better believe I snatched it up.

If you've visited the blog over the past couple of days you may have noticed Book Labyrinth's all new look. It's still the same colour scheme, because I love the colours, but I've changed up the layout and header. I always want to keep the blog looking very simple -- clean lines and easy to navigate.

I've added a Links page with some of my favourite blogs, where I'm listed at, etc. I've also added anchor links to my Reviews page, so people can click on a letter at the top of the page and be brought directly to that letter. Giselle from Book Nerd has a great tutorial for that at The Newbie's Guide to Book Blogging: The HTML.

I'm not able to do giveaways very often, but I can right now, so what better way to celebrate Book Labyrinth's new design AND reward you guys for your awesome support??

You can see the prize details on the Rafflecopter below, but just to be clear -- there will be 4 winners. The first two chosen will each get $10 to spend at Book Depository (open internationally, where they ship for free). The next two winners will receive swag packs. One will be mostly bookmarks and whatever fits in a small envelope (open internationally), and the other I'll try to fill a bigger envelope, maybe with some buttons, etc (open US/Canada only).

So thank you for visiting, and for celebrating my new look with me. May the odds be ever in your favour. ;)

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Recap: Marissa Meyer Signing (Toronto)

You may recall from my earlier post that I was very excited for the Marissa Meyer signing in Toronto. It's not often that I can make the 2 hour trip to Toronto, so when events are on Saturday afternoon it makes me very happy.

You may also recall that Raincoast Books was hosting a contest for a chance to win a prize pack and an interview with Marissa herself. Now I had a weirdly good feeling about this contest, but I was still incredibly shocked and excited when I got an email last Wednesday saying I had won the interview (!!). When I first heard about the contest I had texted Avery saying "If either of us win the interview we should see if we can do it together" & Avery responded with "YES!!!!", so needless to say I decided I better stick to my word. ;) The people at Raincoast were great, and said that would be no problem.

My Mom is a big fan of YA novels herself, and is always willing to play chauffeur in exchange for gas money (thanks Mom!), so she drove Avery and I to Toronto once again. We got to Indigo Yorkdale at about 10:30 and there was already quite a decent line-up circling around the store. Avery and I said hello to the bloggers we saw, and then at about 11:15, Melissa, who was running the event, ushered us to the back room where we waited to interview Marissa. We met with Dan from Raincoast, and said hello to Chandra and Natalie, part of 'Team Teen' at Chapters-Indigo. I received copies of Cinder and Scarlet, Scarlet lip balm, and a Scarlet poster, and they were kind enough to give some lip balm and a poster to Avery as well. Marissa's husband, Jesse, also passed out some 'Captain Thorne' buttons to those of us in the back room.

Avery and I went into the green room for our interview with Marissa, and it was tons of fun. I always get a little bit nervous, but as soon as we began talking it was so comfortable. Marissa is very friendly and easy to talk to, and I think it made for a great interview (interview can be found here). After we finished up interviewing, Marissa signed our books and posters, and Jesse was kind enough to take a picture of the three of us.

(Photo Credit @indigogreenroom)

After our interview was complete Avery and I joined my Mom in front row reserved seats (thank you Melissa!), and within a few minutes Marissa came out to the excitement of the crowd. Marissa spoke a bit about her inspiration for Cinder, her publication journey, and then she told us three non-Disney fairy tales (Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood). After that she took questions from the audience.

Here are some interesting facts from the event:

• Cinder, Scarlet, and Winter are pretty straight-forward names, but people always wonder where Cress came from. The connection is that Cress & Rapunzel are both types of lettuce.
• Marissa planned to write Cinder for NaNoWriMo, but then she heard about a contest where the prize for writing the most NaNo words in her area was a walk on role for Star Trek (a big deal in her family, who she says are all nerds). Unfortunately she came in 3rd, only 1000 words under the winner.
• She likes to write female characters who are strong and have goals beyond getting a boyfriend
• Her advice to young writers is to read & write as much as you can
• She loves writing because it's a chance to explore other people & situations -- escape into another world
• Her favourite Sailor Scout is Sailor Jupiter, because she's tough and strong, but she's also very sweet and caring on the inside; she influenced Cinder's personality quite a bit

After questions were complete it was time for Marissa to begin signing. Because Avery and I already had our books signed we waited around a bit for some other bloggers, chatting as they finished getting their books signed. Then a group of us headed across the mall for some lunch. It's always so much fun to connect with the Toronto (and Ottawa!) bloggers.

(Photo Credit @justalillost)

All in all it was a fabulous day! Thanks so much to Raincoast Books, Indigo Yorkdale, Indigo Green Room, and, of course, Marissa Meyer for making it happen!

You can read other recaps of the event here (let me know if you'd like your post linked up!):
-- Avery
-- Michele
-- Angel
-- Rose

You can find Avery & my
interview with Marissa HERE.

A post in which I am interviewed by Rachel

Usually the interviews we all post are questions we've asked someone else. Well, Rachel (from Beauty and the Bookshelf) and I are a bit different, okay? ;) As a collaborative guest post interview type of thingy (I'm all about the technical terms), Rachel has asked ME some questions about myself.

Keep in mind that I started answering these at about 12:30 in the morning after my birthday, so I might have been a wee bit giddy. Here it goes...

1. Describe yourself in the form of a haiku.

Canadian girl
Quiet and a bit unsure
Loves the written word

2. Using the letters of LABYRINTH, please describe your blog.

I can use the letters more than once, right? Because otherwise I give up. ;) Okay, I think I’ve got the perfect description: “A YA lit library”. I have to say I'm kind of high-fiving myself over how well that worked out.

3. Your blog is (obviously) called the Book Labyrinth. Is it because books get you lost in a maze, or because you love the movie? (Dance magic dance, anyone?)

Oh it’s both! Honestly I just wanted a really cool word that was a bit unique, and labyrinth kept sticking out in my mind. I love mazes/labyrinths, both visually and conceptually, and I figured it worked in an abstract way: that reading can make you feel lost in something magical. It also really describes the state of my room. =b But then there’s also the awesome movie angle. I haven’t watched it in years, actually, but it was definitely a favourite of mine when I was a kid.

(Image found here)

4. Why should people visit your blog? What makes it different from all the others?

I think at a certain point it’s not necessarily about uniqueness (although that helps), but it’s really about finding someone whose book tastes you either identify with or admire, and if you’re lucky, perhaps a bit of both.

Within YA I review a good range of genres, and you can always count on me to be honest with my reviews. After struggling with it a bit, I’m proud of the fact that I’m somewhat of a critical reader, and therefore when I give five stars you know that I absolutely loved the reading experience.

5. You're a tribute in the Reader Games! Which three fictional characters are your allies, and which are your enemies?

Eep, who or what are we fighting?! Well since I don’t know for sure I definitely need a girl who can physically kick butt. I’m going to go with the lesser known Kat -- Katsa (Graceling). She’s graced with survival, so I hope that she will let me into her inner circle and protect me too! Second I need someone else with some battle experience, but who is also super smart. It’s got to be Hermione Granger. She’s loyal, brave, and intelligent. Please be on my team, HG! And just in case this isn’t a physical fight, but one of cunning, wit, and overall awesomeness, then I’m going to need Frankie Landau-Banks (The Disreputable History of...) on my team.

Who are our enemies?! Good question. Well, I’m really interested in villains who are layered characters. Ones who are truly bad -- crazy evil and the like, but who also have moments where you can see a sliver of humanity. First off we have Mayor / President Prentiss (Chaos Walking). That guy gave me the shivers (in a bad way, obvs), and yet there are so many moments when you’re like “Omigosh, should I trust him?!” Second, if we’re having a conflicted and complex villain party then I’ve got to invite Warner (Shatter Me) for the eye candy. And then for someone who I really think is just pure evil, there’s Dolores Umbridge. I think I want to punch her even more than I want to punch Voldemort (please note I’ve never punched anyone in my life, so maybe Katsa will do it for me?).

6. Ebook or physical book? Why?

If I had to pick one format to read as it stands right now I think I would pick ebooks. My eReader is portable, I tend to read more quickly on it, and I have hand problems as well, so sometimes an eReader is so much easier to hold/handle. But honestly I love both formats. When it comes down to it I mostly still buy physical books, a lot because of the price, and also because they’re easier to loan. When it comes to book design, physical books will always win as well -- plus the ability to flip back and forth easily, and look things up in indexes more simply, etc. And if it comes to an apocalypse I don’t think I’ll be able to charge my Kobo, so physical books win out in that situation.

7. Favorite book? Least favorite book?

My favourite book is Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. You can read my glowing review here. I've also posted about how I'm thankful for Jellicoe, and how I think it's beyond description. I love absolutely everything about that book, including the fact that I fell in love with it even more upon re-read.

As for least favourite... there have been a few that I really didn’t enjoy (you can check out my 'Read' shelf on Goodreads ordered by rating), but honestly I think 'Lord of the Flies' sticks out in my mind as a book from school that I really, really disliked.

8. Three fictional characters: you marry one, kill one, and be in a book with one. Who do you choose?

Ah! I have a lot of book crushes, but I’m like “I can’t marry him, he belongs to ____!” Like, I adore Jonah Griggs so much (hello, my iPhone is named Griggs), but so much of why I love him is because of how he loves Taylor. Welllllll (I’m totally channeling the Tenth Doctor with that), I could play 'eenie meenie miney mo' forever, so it's decided: I’m going to marry Poe/Jamie from the Secret Society Girl books. Bonus: he’s age appropriate! (PS. You must read those books - so fab!)

I’m... going to (get Katsa to) kill Leck, appropriately enough. After reading Bitterblue his atrocities are fresh in my mind, and it breaks my heart that he had the grace to control people the way he did.

To get to be in a book with just one character is hard after being on Team Awesome with those fine ladies (see: above), but... I pick Luna Lovegood. You can read more about why I love Luna here.

9. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?

I think what I most want to accomplish is just to share my love of reading with others, and to continue to grow as part of the book blogging community. My specific goal is to hear back from people saying “I read this book because of your recommendation”. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear that a few times, which I think is amazing. There's really nothing better than hearing that people respect my reading tastes and feel that I have something valuable to share with them.

10. Five fun facts about you and/or your blog.

Hmm, alrighty... here are some random factoids:

1. I purposely scheduled my first post on Book Labyrinth to coincide with the release of Mockingjay
2. The very first movie I saw in theatres was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and I still consider it one of my favourites
3. When I started blogging I really didn’t read the paranormal genre at all. It took a few really great series (based on recommendations from trusted bloggers!) for me to realize there were some awesome paranormals out there. I’ve actually had a huge post about this in the works for a long time -- maybe eventually I’ll actually finish writing it and post it for you
4. I think my patronus would be a penguin (see: animal personality test)
5. I'm left handed, but I do random things right handed. For instance, I play baseball left handed, but hockey and golf right handed.

Well, that was fun! Hope you learned some interesting things about me. =)

Guest Post: Chrystal's zombie obsession!

I was so excited when Chrystal agreed to guest post here on Book Labyrinth while I'm on vacation. Chrystal is a fellow Ontarian who blogs at Snowdrop Dreams of Books (such a cool name!), and she runs an awesome weekly feature called Deserted Island that you should definitely check out.

When Ashley put a call out to bloggers for guest posts, I jumped in right away. One problem. I had no idea what to write about. But after much thinking, I realized there is only one topic that I can write about: my new obsession with zombie books!

Zombies are the new Vampires/Werewolves?

Here's the deal... I used to have a thing for vampires and werewolves. I mean with Twilight and such how could you not read about vampires and werewolves, they were everywhere. I fell in love with werewolves after reading a historical romance called The Dark One by Ronda Thompson. They both essentially were the types of books that intrigued me. I pretty much devoured anything vampish for the longest time.

But right now, I have a thing for zombie books. I'm kind of over the vampire/werewolf thing, though I do enjoy them here and there. I just have this desire to absorb every zombie book I can get my hands on. I find them fascinating and disgusting at the same time. And it's nice to read something that's not paranormal for a change.

From all of the zombie books I've been reading, I noted that each one has the zombies being created from different sources. Some are due genetic mutations in DNA, some are due to biological warfare and some books never tell you how it started. To me the source is the freakiest part – I mean what if it were possible for biological warfare to turn people into zombies?

Zombies seem to be more and more popular. I think with television shows like AMC's The Walking Dead they are becoming very dominant in pop culture. There will always be references to movies like Dawn of the Dead and to books like World War Z (which is still sitting in my TBR pile). For me it's more about the survival of the humans and how they learn to cope with the way the world has changed. The strong people will make it through and figure out how to survive, while the weak will fall. It would take a strong willed person to make it through such a horrifying ordeal. I like to think, that after all of the zombie books and movies I have absorbed, that I would make it through such an apocalypse.

My bookish suggestions for those looking to get into the zombie craze are:

• This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
• White Horse by Alex Adams
• Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

And a few that I am looking forward to reading:

• World War Z by Max Brooks
• Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
• The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

What are some of your favourite zombie books out there? How do you think you would fare in such an apocalypse?

Thanks so much, Chrystal! I have to admit that I haven't fully gotten on board with the zombie trend. I love the philosophical meaning and themes, but they haven't become my favourite yet. However I do have to give a huge props to Carrie Ryan's trilogy. Those books were fabulous!

I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts when I get home. =)

Avery flails over The Vampire Diaries

And now for something completely different...

The Vampire Diaries:

Avery's Top Ten Moments of Season 3

Hi y’all! I’m Avery from Avery’s Book Nook and Ashley, my best book friend, has been kind enough to let me take over her blog for the day!

Despite not being a fan of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES books I am a huge fan of the TV series adaptation and therefore I thought that it would be fun to count down the Top Ten Moments of Season 3 in preparation for the fourth season which premieres on October 11^th (well, at least my top ten favourite moments, as you will notice I am biased towards Damon- sorry Team Stefan-ers!). 

***Be forewarned there are MAJOR spoilers included below- proceed with caution!***

10. Klaus literally tearing apart the neighbourhood: This was perchance the most ridiculous scene that I have ever witnessed on this show and therefore I couldn't NOT include it- from ripping up the neighbour's white picket fence and using it for dart practice to threatening the gang with a rolled up burning piece of newspaper and a propane tank. Just when you thought that Klaus couldn't be anymore crazy he proves you wrong. 

9. When Elena walked into the ball: The look on Damon's face when Elena walked into the Lockwood house? Priceless. But one criticism I have of this scene? WHO HAS A BALL GOWN JUST LYING AROUND IN THEIR CLOSET? If Caroline, perchance the most anal character of the series doesn't have one, then what are the chances that Elena would? 

8. Tyler Revealing to His Mom that He’s a Werewolf: I have to throw in a token Tyler moment and this is one of my most favourite- when he reveals to his mom his true heritage.“You don’t know about me, do you?” “Know what?”  This was such a moment for Tyler and his mom, without a doubt my most favourite. Can you say goosebumps while watching this scene? 

7. Everyone waiting for Alaric to die: How many parental figures do Jeremy and Elena have to lose? And how many bad things does one single individual go through? Especially one so undeserving as Alaric as he is hands-down the most selfless character in the entire show. When Alaric and Elena walked out of the tomb and we saw every important figure in his life waiting out there for him, in support of his choice, I admittedly lost it. 

6. Klaus's Crush on Caroline: Despite being an utter douchenozzle I can't help but like him whenever he is around Caroline- she truly brings out a better side of him. He's so childish and innocent and not at all his usual conniving self. He's like a puppy whenever he sees her, he lights up. And when he tells her that he'll show her the world? My heart may have melted just a little. Oh, and that dress that he chose for her? GORGEOUS. 

5. Stefan's Revenge on Klaus: Admittedly for the past couple of years I have described Stefan as a wet noodle- he literally had no personality for the longest time and hence, was as interesting as a wet noodle. But bad Stefan? Well, he slowly started to grow on me. And when he pulled this little stunt? Full blown like (not love, that's reserved solely for Damon). 

4. Elena and Damon Making Out at the Hotel: I'm pretty sure that the world breathed a collective sigh of relief when Elena finally jumped Damon. Plus, this scene has one of the most epic songs of the season. 

3. When Rose says she betting on Elena and Damon: I think that Rose hits the nail on the head when she explains how each of the boys is good for Elena. So who will Elena choose (since I refuse to accept her chose at the end of the season)? The guy who will love her until the end of the world or the guy who brings out the best of her, making her stronger than she ever thought possible?  

2. Damon and Elena's Initial Meeting: Do you understand what this means? Elena says that things might have been different had she and Damon met first- well, guess what?!? They did! And should she go through the transformation process (which is basically a given, seeing as if she isn't around there really isn't a point to the series, no?) then the compulsion that Damon put on her will be reversed and she will remember. *Cue fangirl squealing*

1. The Last Eight Minutes of Season 3: As I recently told Ashley I can pick out at least 5 EPIC moments in the last 8 minutes of the season- from the car crash, to Rick dying, to the look on Damon’s face when he realizes what Rick’s death means, to Elena drowning, to Jeremy then realizing what Rick’s death means, to Damon running through the hospital looking for Elena, to Dr. Fell admitting that she ‘helped’ Elena, to Elena’s reawakening. Okay, so more than 5- 8! Furthermore, as I recently said on Twitter, these 8 minutes could very well be the most epic 8 minutes of my entire life- I don’t know if I have ever experienced such a wide array of emotions in such a short period of time before, from flailing to sobbing to goosebumps and the likes of.

And there we have it- my most favourite scenes of season 3 (an extremely hard decision to make- at one point in time I had about 30 scenes). What about you- do you agree with my choices? If no, what are some of your most favourite scenes?

When I asked for guest posts Avery said "A COUNTDOWN OF THE FIVE GREATEST MOMENTS IN VAMPIRE DIARIES HISTORY" (for real, all caps). I told her she should definitely come on my blog and flail about TV, because, well, we love TV and The Vampire Diaries, and there is a YA lit connection there. Well, the Top 5 clearly became a Top 10, and all from Season 3. I have to say, these little scene recaps have me totally psyched for Season 4.

Thank you, Avery!! Can you people tell how much book and TV flailing we do when we get together? Avery is a very encouraging friend when it comes to these matters. ;)

2 Years of Book Labyrinth

I can't believe it!! It's been two years since I first posted here on Book Labyrinth (which also means it's been 2 years since Mockingjay was released!).

In some ways it feels like I've been blogging for forever, and in other ways the time has definitely flown by. I followed some book blogs for a few years before I actually started my own, but it was only once I started Book Labyrinth that I actually became immersed in the whole blogging community.

I'm so glad that I took that leap, because I can't imagine my life without my blogging friends. To everyone who faithfully visits and comments on my reviews and other posts: thank you! I love reading, I love reviewing, and I love visiting other blogs, but I wouldn't still be blogging if it weren't for you. This whole blogging thing is amazing, but it can also be stressful, so without you guys to remind me of all the fun, I definitely would have packed it in long ago.

So this post is nothing fancy... no massive event or even a giveaway (I'd love to, but my bank account doesn't agree with that idea) -- just a simple thanks to everyone for sticking with me. It's been a blast, and I look forward to seeing what another year will bring.

Armchair BEA: Networking... In Real Life

This post is part of my week-long participation in Armchair BEA 2012.

Networking... In Real Life

Probably one of the coolest things that blogging has brought me is a connection with bloggers from my province, and the opportunity to find out about awesome bookish events. Here are some links to posts I've made about events I've been fortunate enough to attend:

• Word on the Street Toronto (2011)
• 1st Annual Ontario Blog Squad Meet Up
• Books 2 Eat (2012)
• Kelley Armstrong signing
• Rochester Teen Book Festival (2012)

The Ontario Blog Squad meet up is one of the coolest book/blogger events I've been to, and I was so happy to be a part of it. A huge group of bloggers got together and talked books, and we were also fortunate enough to get some crazy awesome goody bags with ARCs and swag. I will definitely do everything in my power to attend the 2012 meet up as well, because meeting all my blogger friends in real life was such a cool experience.

I've also met up with Avery a bunch of times because we live relatively close to one another. I don't even know exactly how we found each other's blogs, but we realized that we had gone to the same school and lived almost in the same city. We get together every month or so and trade books and swag and talk all kinds of bookish things. It's definitely fun to have blogging to thank for a real life friendship.

I'd love to do some more "real life networking". I want to branch out a bit and connect with a local high school to see if any teachers might want ARCs or extra books from my library. I'm definitely open to other opportunities as well, so I'm really excited to get some ideas from everyone else's posts today.

The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Dorrity Publication
Pages: 118
Series: Book Blogger's Cookbook #2
Review Source: For tour review from Christy

Synopsis:
The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook is a community project from some of the blogosphere's best book bloggers in a simple, easy to read format. The cookbook combines a love of reading and dining to help you find books you'll devour and recipes you can't put down.

You’ll love The Book Blogger’s Cookbook because…

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook has 50 different book reviewers from every corner of the blogosphere. It bridges the gap between author and reader—putting you in touch with book reviewers who can separate the 5 star books from the mediocre.

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook showcases great reads and provides an interactive experience with links to author and book reviewer websites. The cookbook is created for those who like to experience what they read long after they’ve closed the book.

The Book Blogger’s Cookbook tells why each recipe complements its companion book. Recipes and books combine to make the reading experience satisfying and entertaining.

My Thoughts:
The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook contains 22 books and recipes which relate to those books. The books featured include popular titles such as Divergent, Everneath, Shatter Me, Matched, and Clockwork Angel, just to name a few. Each book section includes a bit about the book, why the recipe relates to the book, the actual recipe and a picture of the dish, as well as mini reviews/blurbs about the book from bloggers. I had a lot of fun reading up on the recipes and the reasons why the recipes were chosen for the book. Some of the reasonings are a stretch, of course, but it's still a lot of fun.

The book itself is well organized. There's a contents page at the front of the book with links to every section. There's also three indexes at the back, so you can look up content by book title, author, or recipe. I appreciate this organization, and I think everything was laid out very well. While I haven't had a chance to test out the recipes yet (which, I know, makes it hard to review the book), they all look and sound pretty delicious. I like how there's a good mixture of main dishes, desserts, and other types of recipes. Out of all the recipes I think I'm most excited to try out the rosemary, sea salt, and creme fraiche crossaints, which are connected with Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini.

If you love books and you love cooking there's not really a better way to combine them than to check out the Book Blogger's Cookbook.

Find The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook, compiled by Christy Dorrity, on Goodreads & Amazon. (Currently on sale for 99¢)

You can find more information about the cookbook and the tour stops here on Christy's blog.

Every person who comments on one of the blogs during the tour will be entered to win a grand prize: a copy of every book featured in The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook (22 in all, over $200 value).

Winners!

So, I've been really bad about announcing winners of the giveaways I have... however, I thought since my "Because I Heart You" giveaway had so many winners I should make an effort to announce these lovely people on the blog.

The 5 winners of swag packs are...
Rhee (A Life Pixelated)
Alex/AnimeGirl (A Girl, Books and Other Things)
Michelle (The Passionate Bookworm)
Kathy (Read This Instead)
Mary (The Book Swarm)

& the winner of a swag pack & 1 book choice is...
Ashley H. (Bookcase Siren), who chose Graffiti Moon as her book (ooh so good, see my review here).

All winners have been emailed and those who haven't responded yet have 72 hours to get back to me with their mailing addresses.

Top Ten Contemporary YA Guest Post

Today is an exciting day! We have the interview and giveaway from Melissa Pearl, it's solstice, it's my Papa's 82nd birthday, it's only 4 days until Christmas, anddddd I also have a guest post today at Esther's Ever After.

Brenna has a whole awesome Christmas event planned, and I'm one of her first visitors, listing my Top Ten Contemporary YA of 2011.

You can check out my post here.

Be sure to visit Brenna's Kick Off Post for a schedule of events and a chance to win some great prizes.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages:
Series: Lux #1
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

My Thoughts:
‘Obsidian’ was a great read, mostly because of the cool alien concept. I haven’t read a lot of books with aliens, so it made it all the more unique. It had a very cool Roswell/I Am Number 4 feel to it, what with the aliens who have powers and enemies. Loved the concept. It was a bit meta reading about Katy, because she is a book blogger. This is a pretty cool shout-out that Jennifer Armentrout put in the book, yet I didn’t really think it added much to the plot. Not that you would want to read about someone updating their blog constantly, but I like it when characters have hobbies that are relevant to the overall book or that show up all the time, not just when the author remembers to mention it.

With everyone falling in love with this book, I think I have a little bit of a different opinion. I liked it, I did, but I didn’t fall in love. The main reason because of this is Daemon. Are we supposed to like him? I mean, his loyalty to his species is commendable, but the way he treats Katy is horrible. Thankfully Katy acknowledges this and doesn’t put up with much bull from him, but still... I can’t really get behind a relationship where the guy treats the girl like crap for most of the novel. Katy was an alright main character, but it felt like she did a lot of standing around while needing to be rescued, which was a bit irritating.

Is this worth a read? I’d say so. It was interesting and pretty well written. I enjoyed it, especially because the action/adventure aspect made it hard to put down. Not a favourite, but definitely enjoyable enough.

The Cover:
I like the concept, but that does not look at all like what you would expect from Katy.

Rating:
[3.5/5]

Find Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.