Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Hi there and welcome to our first ever participation in a hop! (I hope we're doing it right!) Anywho....we wanted to showcase some 2013 YA books that we're super excited about. Winner will get to choose one title by one of the YA authors listed below. Thanks for stopping by! :) 

The YAbooktwins take Manhattan! And Boston. And Nantucket! Giveaway!!

Okay, those were a lot of exclamation marks. But who cares? It's our blog and we are SO excited. Our trip was inspired by a YA book and then one day a picture of Nantucket showed up on bing.com and I immediately took it as a sign (I look at bing.com every day to see what types of photos are posted. It's actually really sad because my internet access is limited at work. It's kind of a highlight of my morning). Anyway, we thought about all the places we could go to and every time a place came up in a book we just started to imagine what it would be like to see it in real life.

Ramblings and Book Giveaway Annoucement

Five seconds of intro and the video previews my wonky face. Le sigh.

Dark Days Tour - Huntington Beach

Mary and I are literally right here at Barnes & Noble in Long Beach. I know I say this a lot, but I seriously didn't think we'd ever get a chance to meet Veronica Roth! She's here, along with the awesome Aprilynne Pike (Wings), Dan Wells (Partials) and S. J. Kincaid (Insignia). Unfortunately, we had to drive like 80,000 miles to get here and sort of missed the beginning part of it, but at least we made it.

Review - A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young

This review is for A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young, it is the sequel to A Need So Beautiful, so if for some crazy reason you haven't read A Need So Beautiful go and read it! Then read my review of A Want So Wicked.

Spring Into the Future: Los Angeles

On April 12, 2012, Mary and I attended a mega author event. The reason why i call it mega is because there were five amazing authors on the panel! Anna Carey (Eve), Cynthia Hand (Hallowed), Marie Lu (Legend), Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me) and Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky) were all there!

Greek Week Review - The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.


Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. (Summary found on Amazon)

Greek Week Review ~ Pure (Covenant 2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

There is need. And then there is Fate... 

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her. 

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her. 

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

Greek Week Review ~ Half-Blood (Covenant 1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck. (Summary found on Amazon)

GREEK WEEK - The Getty Villa

Yesterday, we visited The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, CA built in 2006. It's a separate addition to the The Getty only ten miles away. The awesome part about both museums is that there is no entrance fee. You just have to pay a parking fee of $15. If you decide to visit The Getty Villa, you will need to make a free reservation online and you can do that by clicking here.


Beginning March 28th through July 9th, 2012, The Getty Villa has an exhibition of Aphrodite and Gods of Love. I was so excited when I just happen to visit the site and see the new, main exhibit. Unfortunately, there were no pictures allowed in the exhibit, and honestly, none would do them justice. The exhibit's walls were painted a rich, dark purple and all of the marble statues were illuminated with precise lighting.


Mary and I have read a ton books in the last year, some of favorites included the ones based on Greek Mythology. It all started with Starcrossed by Josie Angelini, following The Goddess Test and Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter and the the devouring of Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Pure, also by Armentrout is out this Tuesday!

Greek Week

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. 

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review - Eve by Anna Carey

     Where do you go when nowhere is safe?
Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.
     Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Birthday Wishes and Paranormal Dreams Giveaway!

Hi Everyone! It's Mary's B-day is on January 3, so we decided to give away some awesome ARCs I'm sure everyone wants to get their hands on. All you have to do is fill out the form and you can earn +1 entry if you tweet the message on the form. 

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

This book was amazing.

This book was fantastic.

This book was phenomenal.

Review - Envy (Empty Coffin, #1) by Gregg Olsen

Murder is such a dirty word...

In Port Gamble (aka "Empty Coffin"), Washington, truth is about as hard to come by as a sunny day. One minute Katelyn is a depressed teen with a loser life. The next, she's lying on a stainless steel slab, eyes glassy, skin frosted over, and very, very dead.       

Down the street from Katelyn, twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan can't escapte the encroaching winter darkness. As they recover from the shock of Katelyn's death, the realize how entwined they already are in the evil circulating Empty Coffin. 

And while they can't explain it, an unknown force pushes them to uncover the truth. 

Is Katelyn Port Gamble's first and only victim?

Based on a true cyberbullying crime.

Cover Reveal - TOUCH by Jus Accardo

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

Review - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

I received this book courtesy of Simon&Schuster by way of Goodreads.

BBAW Q & A with Suey

It's All About Books - Q&A

Review - LEGEND by Marie X. Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. (Book Description as listed on Amazon.com)