Midnight Bloom Reads

In My Mailbox (38)

1:15 PM

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where we share any new books or goodies we bought, received, borrowed, etc. during the week.

This week I got...

Bought:

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones
Sirensong (Faeriewalker #3) by Jenna Black
Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

I couldn't help buying a couple more books this week! I've been looking forward to reading Sometimes It Happens for awhile now and I thought First Grave on the Right would be a nice, little break from YA. There was only one copy left of Sirensong at my local Chapters, so I thought it would be a good idea to buy it before it was gone. (Also, it looks like I had a theme of buying books with white backgrounds this week.)

And I'm getting excited about Maggie Stiefvater's upcoming visit to Canada! She'll be signing and discussing Forever at three different Ontario locations next weekend and I'll be able to go to one of them! You can find details on the events here.

What about YOU? Any new reads/finds this week?

And as always... Happy Reading!

4 Stars

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

10:00 AM

Title: Between Here and Forever
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Release Date: May 24, 2011 (hardcover)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 256
Source: Bought

Overall: 4 Stars

Summary:

Abby accepted that she can't measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby's life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she'd never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

My Thoughts:
It's no secret that Elizabeth Scott is among one of my favourite YA contemporary authors. She can take an ordinary plot and make it her own in a very special way. And all the while, it seems so easy for her to do so. I always get excited reading a new novel of hers because I always know she's going to offer her own little twists that could leave me laughing in stitches or really sympathetic to her characters.

Between Here and Forever leans toward the sad and serious side this time around, but there are definitely small moments that lighten the mood to break the tension. Abby's sibling relationship with Tess is a very complicated one. Half of Abby hates Tess for always being the one with all the attention while she remains in the shadows... and the other half just wants her big sister back. But the bottom line is that Abby is an insecure teenage girl who can't seem to stop measuring and comparing herself to Tess. She has always thought of her sister as the perfect, golden child... but as the novel progresses, we learn that Tess has been keeping secrets from everyone in ways that will shock both Abby and readers alike.

Almost every day, Abby visits her older sister, Tess, at the hospital where she spends much of her time urging Tess to somehow awaken from the coma she's fallen into after she was in a car accident. It's also at the hospital that Abby meets the gorgeous Eli, who has some of his own problems troubling him as well. It was heartwarming and sweet to see these two support each other as their relationship- and self-esteem's- slowly grew stronger.

If you've never read a novel by Elizabeth Scott, I think that's a fact which should change very soon. Her previous novels, like Perfect You, Bloom, and Stealing Heaven, are among my favourites of hers and are a great place to start. (And if you've read Bloom before, I'm sure you'll be able to recognize the return of some of the characters in this novel too.) I consider Between Here and Forever as just another welcome addition to the wonderful and heartfelt novels Elizabeth Scott consistently writes!

Kim Harrington

Spotted! Cover of Perception by Kim Harrington

1:42 PM

Kim Harrington officially revealed the cover of Perception, the sequel to Clarity, today on her blog along with the plot synopsis!

Release Date: March 2012

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Summary (from author's website):

This hotly anticipated sequel to CLARITY delivers another dark, paranormal mystery.

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

I think I like the cover of Clarity better still but this one has a nice look to it as well. They've changed the model to someone else, which kind of saddens me, but the background forest is really pretty with those colours! The plot description sounds awesome though. I can't wait to see how Clare will use her abilities to solve another crime!

If you haven't read Clarity yet, I highly recommend you read it! Here's my review if you'd like to hear my thoughts on it.

What do you think of the cover? Are you excited for Perception?

Giveaway

Ashes, Ashes and Once Every Never Giveaway WINNERS!

12:08 PM

There were a few recent giveaways on the blog so I'm going to announce the winners! Random.org has spoken and the winners are... *drumroll*

Thanks to Scholastic Canada, the winner of a copy of Jo Treggiari's Ashes, Ashes is:

~~Jen @ At Random~~ Jessica E.

Edit: I had to choose another winner. I know you can get really excited entering a giveaway, but please try to follow the rules as carefully as possible, especially when the publisher is providing the copy as they have their own specifications I have to follow too.

The winner of Lesley Livingston's Once Every Never, as part of the Canada Day Blog Hop, is:

Shirley G. @ Shiirleyy's Bookshelf

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaways and congratulations to the two lucky winners!

I'd also like to thank Aislynn at Knit, Purl, Stitch... Read and Cook! and Chrystal at Snowdrop Dreams of Books for co-hosting the first annual Canada Day Blog Hop, which was an awesome success and so much fun to help participate in!

Announcement

My One Year Blog Anniversary!

6:26 PM

Today is my one year blog anniversary! On this day last year, I posted my very first blog post on Midnight Bloom Reads with the thought that no one would ever want to really read anything that I wrote. But my oh gosh, how a year flies by!

Thank you so much to everyone who reads and comments on the blog... it means so much to me to have a place to share my book addiction! The YA blogging community has been so kind to me and I'm so proud (and honoured!) to be a small part of it. And it doesn't hurt that I feel like some of the nicest people in the world are part of the book community too.

I can't wait to see what my second year of blogging will bring but I'm glad I get to share it with all of you!

- Liz

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In My Mailbox (38)

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Spotted! Cover of Perception by Kim Harrington

Ashes, Ashes and Once Every Never Giveaway WINNERS!

My One Year Blog Anniversary!

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