Winners please email me through the email address located under the Contact tab at the top of this page. I will give you 3 days to contact me since it's a holiday weekend. Please write me with your name and address. Thanks. Congrats!
12.30.2011
Winners!!
Winners please email me through the email address located under the Contact tab at the top of this page. I will give you 3 days to contact me since it's a holiday weekend. Please write me with your name and address. Thanks. Congrats!
12.17.2011
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Giveaway!
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
CONTEST: Post in the comments section why you want to read Shatter Me
RULES: US Only
One entry per person/household
Contest ends December 27th
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim prize
12.16.2011
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan Giveaway!
What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?CONTEST:
Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...
Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.
But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.
Glow is the most riveting series debut since The Hunger Games, and promises to thrill and challenge readers of all ages.
I have a copy of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan to giveaway to one lucky reader! Enter by leaving a comment on why you would like to read this book. Above is a summary from the author's website.
RULES:
US Only
One entry per person/household
Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner will be selected
12.15.2011
A Discovery of Witches Giveaway
When historian Diana Bishop opens a bewitched alchemical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library it represents an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordinary life. Though descended from a long line of witches, she is determined to remain untouched by her family’s legacy. She banishes the manuscript to the stacks, but Diana finds it impossible to hold the world of magic at bay any longer.
For witches are not the only otherworldly creatures living alongside humans. There are also creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires who become interested in the witch’s discovery. They believe that the manuscript contains important clues about the past and the future, and want to know how Diana Bishop has been able to get her hands on the elusive volume.
Chief among the creatures who gather around Diana is vampire Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist with a passion for Darwin. Together, Diana and Matthew embark on a journey to understand the manuscript’s secrets. But the relationship that develops between the ages-old vampire and the spellbound witch threatens to unravel the fragile peace that has long existed between creatures and humans—and will certainly transform Diana’s world as well.
A Discovery of Witches will be released in paperback for the first time on December 27th. I am pleased to have a copy to give away to one lucky reader. Also here is a video sponsored by Harkness’s UK publisher which features Harkness giving a walking tour of Oxford with commentary about her inspiration for the book.
For more information about the book and what Deborah Harkness has been up to, you can check out her website here or her facebook page here.
CONTEST:
Leave a comment telling me something you learned about Deborah Harkness or A Discovery of Witches from visiting her website.
US Only
One entry per person/household
Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner will be selected11.20.2011
Winners!
As for the people who said my blog looks enchanted or magical now, that is EXACTLY what I was going for and thank you so much! I am so glad everyone likes the new design! My Review Archive is now complete, so check it out if you get a chance.
Random.org picked the winners and they are:
athlios said...
I just finished The White Road by Lynn Flewelling. I really like how the different blog entries are clearly separated by the background. It makes it very easy to navigate. Found your blog through a retweet from Kelly Meding
Na said...
Thank you for the great giveaway. I am currently reading The Outsider by Penelope Williamson. This is the first time on your blog and the heading is beautiful. It looks magical and enchanting with the purple and sparkles. I came here via a retweet :)
Winners please email me, email is under the Contact tab on the top of this page. I will then buy the B&N giftcards and your $10 will be sent right away to your email by B&N.
11.17.2011
Welcome Back Contest!
1. What book are you currently reading?
2. What do you think of my new blog design?
3. How did you find my blog?
Prizes: B&N online giftcard
$10, 2 winners
THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED. WINNERS ARE POSTED IN THE ABOVE POST.
11.16.2011
Welcome to the New Enchanted by Books!
But this absolutely beautiful design was made and installed by the brilliant Hafsah from Icey Designs. This girl knows her stuff! I am so thrilled with the job she did and I would HIGHLY recommend her if you are looking for a great designer to do your blog for you!
I hope to be posting again reguarly soon after the very long break that I had from blogging. I missed it all terribly and I still read a ton, just haven't reviewed in a while. I knew if I came back that I would want something beautiful to look at it and thanks to Icey Designs I now do.
9.13.2010
Shadowland Winner!
9.02.2010
Shadowland Contest!
This contest is open to the US Only. To be entered please tell me the last book that you read that blew you away. Also leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. This contest will end on September 10th at 6:00 pm EST. Have fun!
PS: Please no spoilers!!
Winner of My Darcy Mutates + Keychain...
hangnhu! Congrats! I will email you and forward your address on to Enid. Thanks everyone for participating and thanks again Enid for being a great guest!
EDITED: I emailed you and haven't heard back. You have until September 4th at 6:00 pm EST to claim your prize or I will pick a new winner.
EDITED: The new winner is Meredith! Congrats! I will email you now through the address you provided.
8.26.2010
Guest Author Enid Wilson + Giveaway!
What if old Mr. Darcy was still alive... What if Mr. Darcy had a rakish soul? What if Netherfield Park was haunted? What if action of Pride and Prejudice had played out in Egypt? This collection of 14 short stories contains sexy, over-the-top "pick-me-up" stories across the historical, fantasy and modern genres. They are not for the faint-hearted. Some may call the stories wild and say that they bear no resemble to the original, but Wilson finds Miss Austen's characters timeless and inspirational.
Dear readers,
I’m happy to be back at Enchanted by Books. First I want to thank Rachael for having me back. And I want to congratulate Enchanted by Books and her on winning an award for being one of the Top 50 Romance Book Blogs for 2010! It’s such a great honour and Rachael deserves it.
My latest book, My Darcy Mutates, has just been released. It’s a collection of 14 Pride and Prejudice-inspired steamy story stories. A blog host asked me once why I wrote different genres when my second novel Bargain with the Devil attained the top 50 best selling historical romance ranking in Amazon.
I fell in love with Pride and Prejudice when I was around 12. But reading it again and again didn’t seem to be enough. I wish Jane Austen was alive and wrote more sequels. I started to think of all kinds of “what-if” to continue my fascination of Austen’s work.
Of course, it’s not enough to put Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Regency era. In My Darcy Mutates…, I’ve put them in future and modern times. Some may call my stories wild and say that they bear no resemble to the original, but I find Austen's characters timeless and inspirational. But be warned, the book is not for the faint-hearted.
Below is an excerpt of My Darcy Mutates…
What if Netherfield Park was haunted?
“I like to listen in on the lives of the living, from time to time. Mr. Hurst likes to drink and sleep. His wife is called Lousia. They seldom spend their nights together. In fact, they have not done so once since they moved to Netherfield. But you are right, my dear. Matchmaking is my favourite. I know what I shall do.” With a quick turn, Emma Knightley disappeared, leaving nothing but a puff of white.
Luckily, George could find her anywhere. With a fast swirl of the air and another puff of white, he joined her in another bedroom, where she was perched on a chair beside a bed where a handsome young man lay sleeping.
“George, young Darcy here loves the lively lady staying in the guest chamber, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Unfortunately, he has the laughable notion that, since she has no connections or money, and has a mother and sisters who are improper, he should not show her any sign of admiration. Shall I make him confess to her?”
“How can you do that? We do not possess the magical power to make the living speak as we want!” Knightley rolled his eyes and shook his head. After so many years of marriage, he still did not understand how his wife could unerringly find all the gossip of the world.
“All things are possible. I can put him and Miss Elizabeth in the same room, and I can turn quite scary every time he does not reveal his true feelings to her. Let me wake him and take him to his heart’s desire.”
Knightley put his hand on her arm. “Wait, Emma. You might well scare them both to death.”
“Well then, if you do not like that plan, I suppose I could strike him on the head every time he does the wrong thing.”
“You will knock him witless then. Do you want to do that to a sensible young man?”
“What would you have me do, then? It is only on this night that I can play at matchmaking for the living,” Emma said, pouting again. But then her face brightened. “I know! I shall simply put him in her bed. I know how much he loves to gaze upon the form of the fair maiden. He will not be able to resist her, when he lies so close beside her. He will simply have to marry her, after tonight!” She clapped her hands, congratulating herself on the brilliant idea.
***
CONTEST:
Visit Enid Wilson's blog at
http://steamyfantasy.blogspot.com/
8.13.2010
Dark Flame Review
In the mean time, Ever has screwed up once again with dark magic. She is now bound to Roman and finds herself drawn to him constantly. Like a zombie, she floats over to his house wanting to be with him despite Roman being an evil Immortal who tried to kill her boyfriend Damen. Because of the spell Ever finds herself physically unable to communicate what is going on to Damen or to anyone else for help. The only place she can find solace is in Summerland.
Without any other options, Ever decides to trust in her boss Jude and takes him to Summerland with her. Jude has no knowledge of the Immortals and trusting in him could result in exposing herself to the world. Can Jude be trusted and will he find a way to help Ever break the spell that is binding her to Roman?
Will Roman figure out that Ever is under a spell and use this to his advantage? Will he ever give Ever the cure so she can be with Damen? How will Haven adjust to her new life?
Dark Flame is the fourth installment in The Immortals which is a YA paranormal series featuring an immortal teenager named Ever Bloom. As always there are plenty of exciting moments but this time I was able to almost predict what would happen in the end. It wasn’t as much a surprise to me as previous books but that may just be because I have figured out how Alyson Noel writes.
It’s definitely an interesting premise and I am intrigued to find out what happens next for Ever and Damen. The writing was solid and as always there wasn’t a dull moment. Haven was transformed into a rather bitchy and ignorant girl whom I didn’t particularly like, but becoming Immortal changes people I guess. It would have been interesting for Ever and Haven’s friend to be around a little more, so maybe he could catch Haven acting weird now and drinking the Immortal drink also, but I guess he had to go to Italy for a reason.
I enjoyed reading about the magic spells and all the little rituals Ever did when performing them. My only main annoyance is the same one I had before about the ‘’no touching or we die’’ thing. I hate how they found this easy solution around the problem. I just think it would have been a great idea for magic NOT to be the solution this time and to leave them in love but unable to even touch each other’s hand without the fear of dying.
I know a lot of people hate that Ever continues to make mistake after mistake in this series. But if everything went right, then there would be no tension and suspense to see what happens in the next book right? In all fairness the blame in this installment isn’t necessarily on Ever at the end, it’s on someone else. But Ever caused the problem once again so I guess she doesn’t learn; again though she’s a teenager and teenagers make mistakes over and over! I guess the predictability of Ever messing everything up can get tiresome but I believe in the end she will save the day and turn out the hero in all of this. I have faith that will happen and hope I am not let down.
I did find a lot more to my liking in Dark Flame and I think this book made up for the previous one, Shadowland. The next book, Night Star, (due out November 16, 2010) is actually the final book in the series so I am interested to see how Alyson Noel will wrap everything up. Alot like the Twilight series, people either love it or hate it, and I for one love it. More please?
Read my reviews of the previous books in this series at the following links:
Evermore - Book 1 Review
Blue Moon- Book 2 Review
Shadowland- Book 3 Review
8.11.2010
Winner of Crave!
Now for the winner of their own copy of Crave!
The winner is....
Sandy6265
Congrats! I will email you through the address you provided and forward it on to the authors for your prize. Thanks again to everyone who posted!
8.06.2010
Winner of Immortal
Jasmine1485
Congrats! I will contact you through the email you provided. Thanks Gene for a great interview and to everyone for posting!
8.01.2010
Guest Authors Melinda Metz & Laura J. Burns + Giveaway!
They’ve written novelizations for a lot of famous TV shows such as Buffy, Everwood, and Charmed. They were both staff writers on the TV show Roswell and Melinda’s YA series Roswell High was even the basis for the show! Laura writes the YA series called the Chloe Gamble Series and together they are an unstoppable team!
Shay has always been different—and she is about to find out why.
Shay could never do the things her friends could—never try out for sports, never go to parties, never fall in love. Because of the mysterious and incurable blood disorder she was born with, she can barely make it through three days of school a week.
But now, her doctor-turned-stepfather has a brand-new treatment that he thinks will change everything. And it does. As soon as the new blood starts pumping into Shay’s veins, she has visions of a different life…Gabriel’s life. She sees an orphanage, loss, fangs, blood, and lust that she can’t explain.
Is Gabriel real? And if he is, could he really be what she thinks he is?
INTERVIEW
Welcome Melinda and Laura!
1. Please tell us about your new co-authored YA paranormal novel Crave?
LJB: Crave is a vampire romance, but we went in a slightly different direction with it. Our heroine is introduced to the vampire world in an unusual way, through blood transfusions. She's been sick all her life, and is basically being kept alive by other people's blood. When she begins having visions during a new type of transfusion, she thinks it's probably just a side effect, a hallucination.
MM: Those visions she starts having—they're of the life of a vampire. She sees through his eyes, feels his emotions, and the power of his body. When the transfusions end, she continues to have his strength for a little while, and she's able to live more fully than she ever has before.
2. How did you come up with the idea for this novel?
MM: We both have a love of vampires, and we kept looking for a way to put a spin on a vampire romance. We got intrigued by the idea of a girl falling for a vampire by seeing his life through visions—visions that might or might not be true.
LJB: We also liked examining the personality of a chronically ill teen—people have always treated Shay as if she is fragile and sweet, as if she should be handled carefully, when all she really wants is to be strong and normal, and to do the regular (and not necessarily smart) things that her friends do.
3. How did you go about writing this book together?
LJB: We've been writing together for years, so we have our method down pretty well! At the beginning, we spent a lot of time just talking about CRAVE--about Shay, our heroine, and what her life has been like. About Gabriel, our vampire, and his history. We figured out the things that they want, what their personalities are, that sort of thing. Once we felt as if we knew them, we outlined the book together. Only when we know everything that's going to happen do we split up. Each of us writes about half the book, then we edit each other's halves.
MM: We do talk a huge amount before we start writing any book! Some of it on topic, a lot of it off, as we slowly piece together the story.
LJB: By the time we’re done writing and re-writing, we never know anymore who wrote which part.
4. What made you decide on the YA genre? What is it that you like about writing YA books versus Adult books?
LJB: We were both YA book editors before we became writers. It's a genre that we feel very comfortable in. Personally, I don't see much difference in writing for teens versus for adults. Teen characters are every bit as complex and interesting as adult characters, and teen readers are, too. I think it's more of a distinction in the way books are sold than in the way they're written.
MM: I think I like writing about teen characters because they are going through so many things (falling in love with a vampire, for example) for the first time.
5. Who are some of your favorite authors? Did any of them inspire you to write?
LJB: I always tell people my two favorite authors are Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien, and everyone acts like that's weird! I think, as a paranormal writer, I learned the absolute most important lesson from Tolkien's books--to make sure that the mythology of the world you've created is rich, textured, and fully thought-out. It's the details that really make a fantasy book great.
MM: Stephen King is one of my faves. I must have read The Stand six or seven times when I was a teenager. I don't think he inspired me to write exactly. But I admire the way his "bad" characters don't become cartoons of evilness. Like in Cujo, you never forgot that down deep, Cujo was a good dog. His layered characters (even the animal ones) inspire me.
6. Is Crave going to become a series? How many books are projected for it?
LJB: It's always been planned as a two book project. We're working on the second one now.
MM: We're all done with the plotting and on to the writing. We left Shay and Gabriel in a pretty horrible place in the first book. I think we managed to get them out in an interesting way. But then things quickly got bad for them again!
7. What are you currently working on?
LJB: The second CRAVE book--we don't have a title yet--and a new paranormal book proposal.
MM: We have a new policy where we devote one day a week to working on our proposal. We're so psyched about it, it's hard not to let it take over the whole week.
8. If you had to pitch Crave to readers in one sentence, what would you say?
MM: Transfusions of vampire blood give a dying girl a second chance at life—but a life that's nothing like she ever imagined.
LJB: Hey, that’s pretty good!
9. What was it like writing for all of those famous TV shows?
MM: It was fun—and kind of surreal. Laura and I shared a trailer on the Paramount lot when we were on the writing staff of Roswell. It was right near the fake New York street, which made us feel right at home, because we'd both just moved from NYC to L.A. to work on the show. At one point, the opening musical number for Austen Powers 3 was being filmed right next to us, so close there was an elephant in the next trailer over. Also, in case you're wondering, those cute Roswell actor guys? Even cuter in person.
LJB: It’s basically about as much fun as you can imagine a job being.
10. If Crave was to become a movie, who would you have play your characters?
LJB: I picture Ellen Page as Shay, but I guess she's too old!
MM: Maybe Mia Wasikowska for Shay. Love her! And for Gabriel—well, the model on the cover looks a LOT like Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Why not just go with him? ;) He's not too old to play a vampire.
LJB: Or we can just find the model from the cover, and get him to do it!
11. If you could run away with any hero from any YA paranormal novel, who would it be and why him?
LJB: Have you ever read the Vampire Diaries books? I'd run away with Stefan, because he's so passionate!
MM: I'd run off with Pudge from Looking for Alaska. Okay, he's not from a paranormal novel. He has no paranormal powers, except that he's able to keep all those "last words" quotes in his head. But he's smart, funny, and willing to think about the really big life questions. Also, he's romantic. Um, he'd have to be older than 15, though, or I'd have to be younger, otherwise there would be, at the very least, some legal and moral questions.
12. Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?
MM: Ben and Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream is realllly good.
LJB: I can’t argue with that.
Melinda and Laura are giving away one copy of Crave to a lucky reader. Contest is open WORLDWIDE so everyone is elgible to enter. Please leave a comment or question to be entered. Also leave an email address so I have a way of contacting you if you win. Contest will end on August 9th at 7:00 pm EST.
Pre-order on Amazon or B&N!
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