May 19

Ruby’s Read Weekly Reporter {13}

0 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Weekly Reporter
Ruby's Reads Weekly Reporter

That’s me on the left, there. Small Review is the stunner on the right. Obviously.

I’m not superstitious. The thirteenth Weekly Reporter is just a number. JUST A NUMBER, I TELL YOU!

About the RRWR:

One of the things that I have major issues with as a blogger is…well, lots of things. However, today I’m focusing on one constant source of frustration for me: self-promotion. There are lots of problems associated with self-promotion, but the primary one is: When and where is it okay?

That question was, essentially, the catalyst for my newest feature. I wanted to create a place for people to promote their blogs without fear or shame.

Here are the rules (because, what would a feature be without rules?):

  1. If you have something you want to link up, please leave a comment with the link. I will then add the link to the post.
  2. Please state the name of your blog so I can attribute your link.
  3. If you’re linking up to a giveaway, please tell where the contest is open (US only, international, etc.) and the date it ends.
  4. If you’re linking up to an event (like the Historical Fantasy Jubilee), include the name, date, and host(s) of the event.
  5. If you’re asking for help (like an associate reviewer or guest posters for a special event), please leave a link stating where and with whom respondents should get in contact.

I’ve gathered a few odds and ends so the post wouldn’t look too empty. However, I’m hoping all of you will be able to help me flesh it out!

Giveaways:

Giveaway Hops Going on This Week:

Click on the image for mine!

Don’t miss these stops:

Book Blogging Events:

It’s Christen’s birthday and she’s really celebrating it!

Help Wanted:

ME! I still need help! I’m starting a blog tour business (I know–eep!) and I want you to be a tour host. You can sign up to be on the mailing list and, if you’re feeling especially generous, grab the shiny (sparkly!) new button!

Precious Gem Book Tours
<div align="center"><a href="http://preciousgembooktours.com" title="Precious Gem Book Tours"><img src="http://i43.tinypic.com/2i17b9.png" alt="Precious Gem Book Tours" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Other Good Posts:

What’s happening on your blog?

signature


Divider



Check out the rest of the tour!

Author Joy Preble joins me to today to share a day in the life of the main character of her newest book, The Sweet Dead Life. Although The Sweet Dead Life is Preble’s Soho Teen debut, she’s not new to the genre. Her Dreaming Anastasia series combines Russian Folklore with the ever-enthralling mystery of that epically missing princess, Anastasia. Read on to find out more!

“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”

So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.

The Sweet Dead Life is available now!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound

And now, for a day in the life of The Sweet Dead Life‘s Jenna:

(Note from Joy: I think it’s best to let Jenna tell this in her own words, journal entry style:)

What Happened Today:

Joy-Preble

Joy Preble is the author of the popular and highly acclaimed Dreaming Anastasia series. A former English teacher, Joy grew up in Chicago and is a graduate of Northwestern University. She is now a full time writer and lives with her family in Texas, where she has learned to say “y’all” without any hint of irony. A tireless advocate for literacy and great books, she is at the center of the all-important Texas YA scene.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Contest Rules

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

signature


Divider



May 15

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop!

1 COMMENT • This post is filed under: Giveaway Hop

For my giveaway, I’ve decided to keep it simple–and international! One lucky winner will get:

One book of the winner’s choice from the Book Depository

(up to $12)

Contest Rules

Have fun! And check out the other giveaways (below the Rafflecopter form)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

signature


Divider



Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Format: ARC

Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Status: Fourth in the Body Finder series, following:

The Body Finder

Desires of the Dead

The Last Echo

Genre: Teen Paranormal
Other Info: For some very bizarre reason, (that probably made sense to me at the time), I’ve only reviewed Desires of the Dead on this blog. I would like you to know that, despite that fact, I am current with this series.
Description and link from Goodreads):

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

Now I’m an “adult,” I sometimes reconnect with old, childhood friends. I’m always delighted to see them and I always enjoy the time we spend catching up. After we part ways, I have pleasant memories and, while I’ll likely say to myself, “It would be nice to see him/her again,” I won’t be counting down the days until we are reunited. I think about those friends occasionally and tell myself I should call them, but mostly, it’s out of sight, out of mind. Until the next time, when I’m just as thrilled to see them as I was before life swept me up in its busy tide.

I have much the same relationship with The Body Finder books. I know that Kimberly Derting will always show me a good time, and I know I’ll want to read her books as they are published, but my liking for her lacks the urgency I feel for, say, Kelley Armstrong’s YA novels. Which is a shame, really. I always think I should appreciate The Body Finder books more than I do but, hey, if I don’t feel it, I don’t feel it–right?

Dead Silence follows the same formula as the previous books–Violet senses an echo and is unable to resist following it. So far, despite her ability to sense and hear echoes, Violet has kept her school life at school and her crime-fighting life…not. This time the murders bring Violet’s two worlds to a collision point. And it doesn’t help that Rafe and Gemma have enrolled in her high school.

The collision of Violet’s two worlds is further emphasized by her relationships with the two males in her life. Jay, her best friend and boy friend is a constant–always has been, always will be. But then there’s Rafe. Dead Silence flirts on the edge of the idea of a love triangle and goes not a step further. There’s obviously some connection between Violet and Rafe but what it is and what it means for her relationship with Jay is murky at best. I’m getting mixed signals from Derting. One minute Violet’s world is complete with Jay. The next, Rafe has dug up a dead body to help Violet. Can Violet have both boys? I’m starting to wish it was possible. And if I had to pick the main characters in these books, they’d be Violet and Rafe, not Violet and Jay.

While Dead Silence is another solid entry in this solid series, I’d label it as its weakest. The story didn’t really go anywhere and even the emotional arc felt muddled. I found myself wondering if Derting herself knew where her series was headed. Furthermore, I had a really hard time remembering the details of Violet’s school life and friends, which made it difficult for me to care about the storyline with her best friend, Chelsea. At this point, even Jay is starting to blend into the background. Too many characters and flitting in and out of the story and I fail to become emotionally invested.

What I think (or maybe just what I’d like to see) is an end to Violet’s story (or maybe a firm direction for it). Then I’d like Rafe to have a story of his own. Rafe is clearly the male lead and the male lead needs to get his girl. If it’s not going to be Violet (and I sure hope it’s not Chelsea) then he needs a story of his own. I’d totally read that.

Questions to nibble on:

  • Do you agree that Rafe is the male lead?
  • What would you like to see happen next in this series?
  • Why do think we saw so little of Jay in Dead Silence?
  • If you haven’t read the book yet: How do you feel about a love interest that isn’t the male lead?

4 Matryoshkas: I would make dinner for this book.

signature


Divider



May 14

Books I Got This Month {4}

4 COMMENTS • This post is filed under: Books I Got

Inspired by the gorgeous Small Review, I’ve decided to start doing monthly (or approximately monthly) “Books I Got This Month” posts. Small usually does “Books I Got This Week” posts, but I am not so ambitious. Once a month is good enough for me. Plus, who doesn’t like an occasional peek into someone else’s shopping bag/mailbox/ereader?

Okay…this is more than a month’s worth of books. I’m not even sure I’ve included all the books I’ve received in the last two (or so) months but this is more than enough to be getting on with.

For review, I received:

photo(24)Thanks to the following publishers:

I bought:

photo(25)

I scoured Chicago for bookstores and visited quite a few (though none, sadly, as fawesome as the Strand) and bought League of Strays and The Madman’s Daughter from Market Fresh Books in downtown Evanston. Then I took Logan’s advice and visited The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. It was a tiny independent bookstore with a good YA selection. I pulled Broken and Gravity from their shelves and added them to my already bulging suitcase. Finally, for my birthday, I bought myself The Rising, Nameless and The Collector. I have so joined Dante’s harem.

Other Sources:

photo(26)

Sometimes you don’t win…and sometimes you totally do! I got these via Shelf Awareness. I’m really curious about Icons because I read Beautiful Creatures and I always wonder how co-authors will sound on their own. And Loki’s Wolves, while being a middle grade novel is co-written by Kelley Armstrong. I can’t lose.

photo(28)photo(27)

photo(29)

What bookish goodies did you get?

signature


Divider



Enter to win!

Click to enter!

Current Read

Search and you will find…



Hit me with your bloggy happenings!

Email Rubysreads@gmail.com or click to fill out the form!

Want to share your Bibliobiography?

Click to sign up!

Sign up to be on the mailing list!

Next Swap: Apr. 6, 2013

Giving is just as awesome as receiving.

Tryin’, tryin’ so hard…

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Ruby has read 5 books toward her goal of 52 books.
hide

Enter to win!

Current Listen

Opens June 1!

Join the mailing list!

Grab my button:

Dare You


So many ways to follow!

Follow on Bloglovin
Follow on Bloglovin

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 206 other subscribers

Bloggers I Can’t Leave Alone

Archives

Places to find me:

Online Marketing
Add blog to our directory.