Blog Award!

Hey guys, so I have came across so many new blogs lately it has inspired me to do my very own blog award!!

Here's how it works:

Answer these three questions:

1. 1) What is your favorite book?
2. 2) Who is your favorite author?
3. 3) If you could jump into any book, which would it be?
5. Then pick three of your favorite blogs you have recently discovered.

Here are my picks:

1) Truth Be Told

2) The Smarty Owl

3) Books With Bite

And finally, email your picks to them so they know where to pick up there award!

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

Today we are participating in: Weekly Question: How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf? Well there are 84 currently and I think I own at least half of them... I just can't help my self. At least it is a good addiction..lol. And: So this is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee to help bloggers met and follow new bloggers. I think this is a great idea, so spred the word. Check it out! You can never have too much book advice! To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules: Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list Follow our Featured Bloggers http://nymfaux.blogspot.com/ Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments Follow Follow Follow as many as you can If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!

Author Spotlight: Anastasia Hopcus

Look who stopped by:

Anastasia Hopcus

author of Shadow Hills

"The real reason I couldn’t tear my gaze away, the thing that turned my muscles to ice even as my skin burned, was the one and only thought running through my mind: That’s him. That is the guy from my dream."

His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her. Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry. After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all. But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

1) Could you tell us a little about your self?

Anastasia- I live in Austin Texas. I’ve also lived in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, where Phe comes from. In my (sadly limited) spare time, I love to read, especially Young Adult paranormal---surprise, surprise. I'm a huge Buffy addict and always will be, but there are also some new shows that I’m really loving. The ones I’ve been watching the most recently are Vampire Diaries, The Office and True Blood. I’m definitely more an Eric fan than a Bill fan---though I do adore my boyfriend’s Bill impression. Hilarious.

2) Could you tell us a bit about Shadow Hills?

Anastasia- Persephone Archer’s life has been changed by her sister's death. So she starts school at Devenish Prep, a boarding school in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts, where she hopes to discover the meaning of her recent cryptic dreams. She meets Zach, a gorgeous townie she’s inexplicably drawn to. But there are some odd things about him and the other students who live in the town. Phe sets out to discover what the people of Shadow Hills are hiding, and she uncovers some startling---and dangerous---secrets about the town. In the process, she even has revelations about her own extraordinary gifts.

3) What was your inspiration for writing Shadow Hills?

Anastasia- It began with a 60 Minutes segment on a savant named Daniel Tammet, who has some amazing abilities. I was intrigued by the idea of a whole group of people who had somehow developed some uncommon abilities. I wondered how it might have happened and what the consequences would be, both good and bad. And the town of Shadow Hills was born.

4) Do any of your personal experiences come in to play in Shadow Hills?

Anastasia- I think a writer’s life influences their stories in some way or another. I’m not exactly like any of my characters, and I’ve definitely never had experiences like Phe has in the book *grins*, but I'm able to identify with certain aspects of all my characters. Sometimes my characters do things I wish I had the nerve to do myself.

5) What do you plan on doing in the future?

Anastasia- I'm interested in continuing the story of Shadow Hills and finding out what lies ahead for Phe and Zach. But I also have a few other ideas I'm working on, including a YA paranormal set in London in the early 1800's.

Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover, 368 pages
Scholastic, Incorporated

July 13, 2010

"This is a love story. I never knew there were so many kinds of love or that love could make people do so many different things. I never knew there were so many ways to say good-bye."

In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past…and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves…and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love–the light and the dark, the warm and the cold–in a way you will never forget.(goodreads.com)

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In Shiver we read in both Sam and Grace's point of views, switching between the two. Now in Linger we not only get San and Grace but also Isabel and new werewolf, Cole.

At first I didn't thing I would like the addition of new main characters. I really liked the intimacy of Sam and Grace and the way you got too know both of them on such a deep level. But I must say Isabel and Cole both grew on me. Cole especially. At first he was nothing but a over confident jerk in my opinion with a darker past. You get to grow with him and figure out why is the way that he is. His past is slowly uncovered and he has become one of my favorite characters in the series.

Linger though slow at parts was a great novel. I was really surprised in the direction Maggie Stiefvater took it. It left me always guessing and wanting more. Which is what we look for in a good book. One of my favorite things about Linger is Sam, and the type of person he is. He is trying to convince himself that he is human now, and he needs to except his life and start living it. I really enjoy his song lyrics and the way he puts them with the things that are going on i his life. It is almost as if he thinks in song. "Is it still a secret if nobody cares / if having the knowledge in no way impairs / your living - and feeling - the way that you breathe / knowing the things that you know about me - ". It is really beautiful.

Sam and Grace have grown so much sense Shiver. They are secure in there future and they try to hold on to everything that makes them great together. I wish love like that existed more often.

From start to finish Linger is a page turner that had me always wondering what was going to happen. New characters and old ones all mixed in to one fantastic book. I think that Linger was a great sequel to Shiver and I can not wait for the next book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls Series to come out. If you haven't read Linger, I urge you to pick it up as soon as you can! Linger Gets a big 5 Hoots from me!

"Do" Judge a Book by Its Cover!

"Do" judge a book by its cover is a weekly meme hosted here. Have you ever picked up a book because of its cover? Of coarse you have. Well here we get to look at some of the outstanding covers that are coming out soon! To participate, just link back here and grab the pic, and let everyone know what your favorite cover of the week is!

This weeks fabulous cover is:

When Adrianne comes face-to-face with the mermaid of Windwaithe Island, of whom she has heard terrible stories all her life, she is convinced the mermaid means to take her younger sister. Adrianne, fierce-willed and courageous, is determined to protect her sister from the mermaid, and her family from starvation. However, the mermaid continues to haunt Adrianne in her dreams and with her song. Yet, when the islanders find out about Adrianne's encounters with the mermaid she is scorned, for this small and superstitious community believes the mermaid will bring devastation to the island if Adrianne does not give herself to the sea. A powerful and lyrical story of one girl who must choose between having everything and having those she loves.

My Thoughts:

I think this is a great cover, it is spooky and very pretty. I must admit that I knew nothing of this book and bought it just because of the cover. The cover drew me in and made me very curious of the book. So there you have it. That's my cover choice, Whats yours?

New Layout!!!

Hey Guys! As you can clearly see, I got a new layout! Isn't it cute?

What do you think of it, Do you like it or should I go back to the old one??

Waiting on Wednesday! (1)

WOW is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm eager for:

With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret. I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin… Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica's own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

What are you waiting for?