Money Savin' Mondays (23)

Y'all ready for some book bargain awesomeness?! It's time for the twenty-third edition of Money Savin' Mondays. To find out more on why I started this you can read the first post. If you decide to use the Money Savin' Mondays title, I'd appreciate a small mention for coming up with the name. Also, you can stay up to date on the latest bargains through out the whole week by following my twitter @PixieBookDeals. Other bargains can also be found in sidebar. Now, onto the deals.

~Kindle: Free to $4.79~

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In My Mailbox (105) Last 2 Weeks!

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristi at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Won
~All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

For Review from Little Brown
~Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

For Review from Macmillan
~ARC of Unison Spark by Andy Marino

RAK Gift from Luvdaylilies
~Break Away by Tatiana Vila (Kindle)

Gift from Michelle
~Don't Fear the Reaper by Michelle Muto

Free from Amazon
~Hollowland by Amanda Hocking (Kindle)

Free from Smashwords
~Ignite by Brina Courtney (Kindle)

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So these are the books I've gotten the past two weeks! So excited about these and I hope y'all got some awesome books as well!

Prized Blog Tour: Interview with Caragh M O'Brien!

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 5th stop along the Prized Blog Tour. I feel honored to have been asked to participate and what I have for you all today is a short and fun interview with Caragh M O'Brien.

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TBP: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

CMO: First, Briana, let me say how happy I am that The Book Pixie is one of the stops on my Prized blog tour. Your questions were out-of-the box in a very good way, and they led in philosophical directions I wasn’t expecting. It’s lovely to be here!

When I was on a leave of absence from teaching high school English several years ago, I started writing Birthmarked, and I resigned from teaching last year to continue with the trilogy. I lead a very quiet life in a small town, with long days on the couch writing and cozy evenings with my family. It makes me very happy and grateful.

TBP: You have been transported through time and space into another author's dystopian world. Though none of the options are exactly thrilling, which book/author's dystopian creation do you hope you have landed in?

CMO: I’d go to Ayn Rand’s Anthem. The power of finding individualism is a victory on so many levels, and the ending in the forest gives me hope.

TBP: You have to eliminate one color from existence. Which color and why?

CMO: I’d keep black and white, of course, and all the greens and blues for water and the sky. Yellow I need for warmth, and red for danger, and all those purples for under the snow at twilight. I suppose I could lose silver. I never use it much from the crayon box, anyway, and I could substitute gold or gray, depending on whether I need reflections or a pewter flatness.

TBP: The end of the world is near and you only have enough time left to listen to one song. Which do you pick and why?

CMO: That’s a deep one. I’d listen to the second movement of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto in C Minor. It’s ten minutes long, which would let me live a little longer, but best of all, I’ve loved listening to it ever since I was a teenager, and I’ve always been fascinated by its intricate, overlapping melodies. The plaintive, sweeping swells would come closest to encompassing all the feelings I’d probably be facing, and remind me of all the love and kindness I’ve known.

TBP: You have been presented with a marvelous, but potentially dangerous, device that can allow you to create a subliminal message to transmit to everyone across the world. What is your message?

CMO: This is a dangerous tool. I suppose I would say, “Somebody loves you.” My brother once told me to remember that if I was ever lonely, and it has warmed me many times. As a subliminal message, it would be harmless enough, I think, and it might do a little good.

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Prized Code #4: K
Thank you so much for having me, Briana! I hope you enjoy Prized when you have a chance to read it, and good luck with college. Tomorrow I’ll be visiting The Book Cellar for my next stop on the blog tour. Thanks again!

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I hope you all enjoyed the interview and a huge thanks to Caragh and Kathryn with Macmillan! Don't forget, there are still plenty of stops left. Keep up to date on where to head next and how to use the codes HERE.

And don't forget to check out Caragh's books. Birthmarked was easily a favorite of mine and I can't wait to read Prized!

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Author Interview: P.T. Michelle

Hello everyone. Today I would like to introduce you all to the lovely P.T. Michelle, author of the YA indie book, Brightest Kind of Darkness.

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TBP: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

PTM: My background is in Business and Finance, not English or Journalism, but it was a decade after college before I realized creating stories is absolutely my passion. :) I love action and thriller movies, reading and mocha lattes. I enjoy playing games...all games: dice, cards, board games with family and friends and can be quite competitive (just ask my husband. LOL!).

TBP: Describe Brightest Kind of Darkness in nine words or less.

PTM: Brightest Kind of Darkness: a romantic story filled with adventure, mystery and (some) horror.

TBP: What inspired you to write Brightest Kind of Darkness?

PTM: I was playing around with "what if" questions and asked myself, "What if I knew my entire next day?". That's where the idea came from, but then I had to pair it with the right kind of characters and that's where Ethan and Nara came into play.

TBP: Where is one of your favorite places to write?

PTM: In a coffee shop where I have easy access to mocha lattes. Great for the muse. Not so great for the waistline. ;)

TBP: If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be and why?

PTM: I'd love to write a book with Karen Marie Moning. I'd like to brainstorm on a living room wall, to be a part of creating unique, magnetic characters set in a whole new world. KMM has an amazing combination of talent; she creates layered, complex characters and has an vivid imagination for fantastic world-building.

TBP: If you could possess any elemental power (earth, fire, air, or water) which would it be and why?

PTM: I would be wind. Each of the elements have their unique attributes, but WIND can make them all more powerful. If you whip the wind, the fire grows bigger and stronger. If you whirl the wind, a tornado forms and the rain (water) turns into a hurricane. If you stir the wind, the dirt becomes a blinding sandstorm.

TBP: If you could shapeshift into any animal, which would it be and why?

PTM: As much as I would like to say, the wolf...I'd have to pick the black panther. That way I'd be powerful enough to take on the biggest cat--the lion--but I'd have a coat that would allow me to prowl in the darkness undetected.

TBP: If you could live anywhere, during any time period, where and when would it be?

PTM: I like to dream of traveling to far away places, but I can't think of a better time and place to be, than to be with my family. Right here. Right now. :)

TBP: If you were to create a 'Bucket List', what would be the first three things on it?

PTM: Learn a new language. Travel to ten places I've never been. Go horseback riding on the beach in Ireland once more!

TBP: Anything else you'd like to add before you go?

PTM: Thank you so much for having me, Briana! I really appreciate you taking the time to interview me for The Book Pixie blog.

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And thank you! Hope you all enjoyed the interview. And don't forget to check out P.T. Michelle's YA book, Brightest Kind of Darkness!

Money Savin' Mondays (22)

Y'all ready for some book bargain awesomeness?! It's time for the twenty-second edition of Money Savin' Mondays. To find out more on why I started this you can read the first post. If you decide to use the Money Savin' Mondays title, I'd appreciate a small mention for coming up with the name. Also, you can stay up to date on the latest bargains through out the whole week by following my twitter @PixieBookDeals. Other bargains can also be found in sidebar. Now, onto the deals.

~Kindle: Free to $4.79~

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In My Mailbox (104)

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristi at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

For RAK from Ivy
~The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

For Review from Little Brown
~How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

For Review from HarperTeen
~Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

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I'm so very excited about these three books. Big thanks to Little Brown, HarperTeen, and Ivy! Hope you all got some great books in your mailbox this past week. :D

Money Savin' Mondays (21)

Y'all ready for some YA & MG book bargain awesomeness?! It's time for the twenty-first edition of Money Savin' Mondays. To find out more on why I started this you can read the first post. If you decide to use the Money Savin' Mondays title, I'd appreciate a small mention for coming up with the name. Also, you can stay up to date on the latest bargains through out the whole week by following my twitter @PixieBookDeals. Other bargains can also be found in sidebar. Now, onto the deals.

~Kindle: Free to $2.99~

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Mini Review: Stupid Fast

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub. Date: June 1st, 2011
Pages: 320
Age Level: 14+
Source: For review from publisher.

Synopsis via Goodreads
Fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein has always been on the smallish side, but in his sophomore year he starts growing...and growing.

During gym one day he smokes the football jocks in a 600-yard race. Felton has never been interested in sports, but there's no doubt-he is "stupid fast." As he juggles his newfound athletic prowess, his mom's sudden depression, an annoying little brother, and his first love, he discovers a shocking secret about his past which explains why he's turning out the way he is.

Review
Every now and again I come across a book that I have a great feeling about automatically, a book that I just truly believe is going to be one I'm going to adore. Maybe even love. And on rare occasion, I find myself let down by said book. This, for me, is what happened with Stupid Fast.

When I started Stupid Fast the first thing that came to my immediate notice was the writing style. For me it was odd and different but not exactly in a good way. At times it went from being funny to just silly, the ideas felt disjointed, and occasionally it felt the author was just trying too hard to have a unique writing style. After I was half way through the book, I grew to enjoy the writing more but that's the problem, it took me over half the book. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters as well, not just the writing. Felton came across as a real and raw protagonist with great humor part of the time and at other times, his character felt somewhat ridiculous and exaggerated. His relationships with his mother and brother were bizarre and hard to grasp hold of emotionally. The younger brother, Andrew, who's thirteen, always came off as either way to young or even a little too old for his age. Then Aleah, while there were things I liked about her, still didn't leave much of an impression. Looking back, all of these characters were relatively well-rounded and developed, but for whatever reason, I found it took me a while to fully immerse myself in their world and problems. The plot was more satisfying though I confess I'm a little disappointed that there wasn't more involvement between Felton and the sports aspect. That being said, Stupid Fast presented some relatable and important issues and gave us a taste of a variety of relationships from family, to friends, to romantic interests. Even when other things about the book frustrated me, Stupid Fast did have a compelling quality that kept me curious about what would happen next. Though I had my issues, once I got past the first half, the story did start picking up for me and I was able to really start liking the book at that point. The ending, though maybe a bit happy for some, felt appropriate to me and I thought it drew the book to a close quite nicely.

All in all, Stupid Fast was not what I'd hoped it would be but once I got so far in, while I didn't love it, I was able to like it fairly well. This was not a great review quality wise, I'm aware of that. It has been a month and a half since I read Stupid Fast so this is just going on what I remember thinking about it. Also please note, though critical, my opinion of Stupid Fast is highly uncommon as I have noticed the hugest majority of people really enjoyed this story. So who knows, if it sounds like something you'd like based on the synopsis, I'd say give it a shot. I still found it a worthwhile read and believe that chances are you'll like it even better than I did.

Grade
Characters: C
Writing: C
Plot: C+
Ending: B-
Enjoyment/Likability: C
Recommendable: C+

Overall: C/C+

Cover: B

Money Savin' Mondays (20)

Y'all ready for some YA book bargain awesomeness?! It's time for the twentieth edition of Money Savin' Mondays. To find out more on why I started this you can read the first post. If you decide to use the Money Savin' Mondays title, I'd appreciate a small mention for coming up with the name. Also, you can stay up to date on the latest bargains through out the whole week by following my twitter @PixieBookDeals. Other bargains can also be found in sidebar. Now, onto the deals.

~Kindle $1.99 to $3.99~

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In My Mailbox (103) Last 2 Weeks

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristi at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

For Review HarperTeen
~ARC Pink Smog by Francesca Lia Block
~ARC The Survivors by Will Weaver
~ARC Havoc by Jeff Sampson
~ARC Forbidden by Syrie & Ryan James
~ARC Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
~ARC Love Torn by Kavita Daswani
~ARC Everneath by Brodi Ashton
~ARC Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

For Review from Simon & Schuster
~ARC Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
~ARC Dark Side by Jeyn Roberts

For Review from Tor Teen
~The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

For Review from Margaret K. McElderry & Author
~Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

For Review from Author
~Ashes by Estevan Vega (Kindle version)

Won
~ARC Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

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So these are the books I got this week AND last. I'm so excited about all these but I won't get to actually hold most of them in my hands til next weekend when I go home for Fall break. Then they shall be mine. Muahahaha. Hope you all got some great books this week! :D