Friday Vlog 2.26.10

Hi guys!

Sorry that this post is going up so late in the day. It literally took this long to upload it to YouTube.

We had a blast making our little video for you so please enjoy our books, announcements and antics :)

Vlog ♥




Pictures ♥




Books We Received In The Mail
The Executor by Jesse Kellerman

Books We Purchased
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Legacy of Blood by Michael Ford
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson


Sneaky Peek: Spirit Bound (VA #5)

For you fellow fans of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Series, she has given us a little treat to tide us over while we wait for the fifth installment to be released on May 18, 2010.

But first, here's the synopsis for "Spirit Bound".


Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong…

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true.

Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever!


Now for the piece de resistance! A snippet from chapter numero uno :)

"There's a big difference between death threats and love letters–even if the person writing the death threats still claims to actually love you. Of course, considering I once tried to kill someone I loved, maybe I had no right to judge.

Today's letter had been perfectly timed, not that I should have expected any less. I'd read it four times so far, and even though I was running late, I couldn't help but read it a fifth time.

My dearest Rose,

One of the few downsides to being awakened is that we no longer require sleep; therefore we also no longer dream. It's a shame, because if I could dream, I know I'd dream about you. I'd dream about the way you smell and how your dark hair feels like silk between my fingers. I'd dream about the smoothness of your skin and the fierceness of your lips when we kiss.

Without dreams, I have to be content with my own imagination– which is almost as good. I can picture all of those things perfectly, as well as how it'll be when I take your life from this world.

It's something I regret having to do, but you've made my choice inevitable. Your refusal to join me in eternal life and love leaves no other course of action, and I can't allow someone as dangerous as you to live. Besides, even if I forced your awakening, you now have so many enemies among the Strigoi that one of them would kill you. If you must die, it'll be by my hand. No one else's.

Nonetheless, I wish you well today as you take your trials–not that you need any luck. If they're actually making you take them, it's a waste of everyone's time. You're the best in that group, and by this evening you'll wear your promise mark. Of course, that means you'll be all that much more of a challenge when we meet again–which I'll definitely enjoy.

And we will be meeting again. With graduation, you'll be turned out of the Academy, and once you're outside the wards, I'll find you. There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching.

Love,
Dimitri

Despite his "warm wishes" I didn't really find the letter inspiring as I tossed it onto my bed and blearily left the room. I tried not to let his words get to me, though it was kind of impossible to not be creeped out by something like that. There is no place in this world you can hide from me.

I didn't doubt it. I knew Dimitri had spies. Since my former instructor-turned-lover had been turned into an evil, undead vampire, he'd also become a sort of leader among them– something I'd helped speed along when I killed off his former boss. I suspected a lot of his spies were humans, watching for me to step outside my school's borders. No Strigoi could have stayed on a twenty-four-hour stakeout. Humans could, and I'd recently learned that plenty of humans were willing to serve the Strigoi in exchange for the promise of being turned someday. Those humans considered eternal life worth corrupting their souls and killing off others to survive. Those humans made me sick."

*eeeeek* I can't wait. I'm nervous just thinking about what's going to happen to Rose & Dimitri! Hold on...gotta catch my breath now!

To read the rest of this chapter, please visit Richelle's site.

Chapter 1 of Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy # 5)

iHeart Thursday 2.25.10

Isalys's iHeart

I'm all over the place with the things I like. It might seem a little contradictory at times...but from goth to vintage, I find beauty in all sorts of stuff :)

And I am loving this picture because it has three of my favorite things!



Can you guess what they are?
Vintage, fashion and of course, lots & lots of books :)

I ♥ it

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Vanessa's iHeart

Is this not the prettiest necklace ever?!



I found this beauty over on one of my favorite sites, Etsy. It's called Steampunk Antiqued Charm Necklace with Bourbon, Hearts, Mirrors, and Keys. (Now THERE'S a mouthful! lol) It's a shame I can't dish out a mere $55 right now. The necklace is sooooo worth it!

The seller is RecycledRings. You should really check out their other listings :)


Blog Tour / Giveaway: Jordan by Susan Kearney


Title: Jordan (Pendragon Legacy # 3)
Author: Susan Kearney
Published: March 1, 2010 by Forever
ISBN-10: 0446543330
Pages: 384 pgs, Mass Market Paperback

Reason for reading: Participating in Blog Tour/Giveaway courtesy of Hatchette Book Group: Forever.

Synopsis: 1600 years ago, Jordan was the sole survivor of a ruthless Tribe attack which annihilated his world. To stop the Tribes deadly galactic conquest from continuing, he followed the Tribes to Earth, assumed the name Merlin and assisted King Arthur and his Knights to save Earth. When Arthur died, Camelot fell and Jordan lost his Ancient Staff. Now, over 1000 years later, the Tribes are back and so is Jordan. He's recovered his Ancient Staff and is again on the trail of the Holy Grail to save Earth and protect the galaxy.

Vivianne Blackstone is a lady with her own agenda. An American businesswoman, self-made billionaire and a fighter from the get-go, she's confident, capable and a definite type A personality. One of Earth's brightest and most loyal citizens, she vows to do her part to save the planet when she learns the Tribes are on the move again.

Jordan and Vivianne team up to save Earth and along the way they fall in love. But according to galactic legend, there's only 1 way to defeat the Tribes: Uniting the Ancient Staff with the Holy Grail. There's only one catch, Jordan cannot live without the Ancient Staff. To defeat the Tribes and save Earth, he must perish.

Visit Susan Kearney's site to read an excerpt.

Isalys's Review:
Vivianne is a self-made woman. Having lost her parents at a young age and being left to fend for herself, she's dedicated her life to being independent and running her own successful business, Vesta Corportation. Her latest project, Draco, is a highly sophisticated spaceship that she intends to use to help save Earth from being taken over by the evil Tribes.

Jordan has lived for a very long time and most of that time was spent searching for the ancient staff that was taken away from him over 1,000 years ago. Using Rion & Marisa's help [in book # 2], he was finally able to recover it and is finally ready to put the Tribes to rest by uniting the Staff with the Holy Grail. He is fated to die once the Staff and Grail are united. However, he's accepted his fate if it means ridding the world of The Tribe. The hard part really will now be finding the Holy Grail.

Jordan then falsified a resume to get hired by Vesta Corp so that he can work on the Draco and use it to search for the Holy Grail. As you can imagine, Vivianne was none-too-pleased when she realized that Jordan's resume was a fake and even more irate when he used the staff to power the ship and launch them into space with only an amateur crew on board.

Their search for the Holy Grail takes them on a fantastic journey through space and several visits to foreign planets. Meanwhile, they're learning to cope with being stuck in space with no notion of where they are or where to go, an insatiable lust that seems to grip them an the most inopportune times and an amateur crew that's not prepared for any sort of real danger.

I'm going to be perfectly honest and say that I had a little bit of trouble digesting these books only for the sci-fi aspect of it. However, if I can read about hottie vamps, yummy weres and tortured demons - then there's no reason I can't read about sexy aliens! Vivianne was my kind of gal. She was smart, sassy and feisty. Jordan was sarcastic, focused and ooh la la, sexy. Together, they were intense...and creative.


Susan Kearney does a great job of making this futuristic romance fun to read. She gives you a thorough plot and sees it through to the end. The storyline is as believable as a good author can make it - it does make you wonder though if someday space travel will be so feasible. I enjoyed these books more than I initially expected and will say that Jordan concluded the story nicely. I give it ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Giveaway
February 24 - March 3
{We have 5 Copies Available}

FILL OUT THIS FORM TO ENTER!

Rules:
• To enter the giveaway you must be a follower!
• You must complete the form (linked above) and leave a comment indicating that you've completed the form.
• Books will be delivered directly from the publishers so the giveaways are only available for U.S. and Canada residents. No P.O. boxes please!
Note: It may take several weeks to receive your prize so please be patient!
• Winners will be drawn soon after the contest ends and posted thereafter.
• Winners will be chosen using randomizer.org!

♥ Feel free to contact us via email at booksoulmates[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions ♥

Good luck!


Wicked Wednesday 2.24.10

Wicked Wednesday Giveaway
2.24 - 3.10

We had previously done a giveaway for this amazing book but for some unfortunate reason our Google doc wasn't working properly and failed to capture the participants information. Please excuse the inconvenience! We promise this new Google Doc is working just fine!

FILL OUT THIS FUNCTIONING GOOGLE DOC TO ENTER GIVEAWAY :)
{IMPORTANT: PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST STATING YOU FILLED OUT THE FORM! THANK YOU}

Current Giveaways:
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks {Ends 3.03}
Dare To Surrender by Lilli Feisty {Ends 3.03}

Giveaway:
Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott


Synopsis: A fair-haired beauty at 19, Lady Mairi is heiress apparent to her father Lord Dunwythie's rich barony. He has carefully taught her how to manage their estates, but a feud between his clan and the Maxwell clan is brewing as the two families edge toward a clan war - their dispute over money owed. Mairi's father believes he owes nothing, and of course Mairi sides with him.

When the impulsive and blue-eyed Rob Maxwell chances to meet Mairi in a barley field, they feel instant attraction, despite their families' antagonisms. Knowing he must put his clan first, Rob enacts a plan to force Dunwythie to pay his debt: Rob kidnaps Mairi, making the abduction appear the work of a stranger; then he and his sheriff-brother offer to help Dunwythis rescue his daughter IF, and only if, he will pay them the monies due. Yet after Rob captures Mairi's body, she captures his heart. When Dunwythie summons the aid of the most powerful clan in all Scotland (the Douglases), clan-tensions rise to a fever pitch. Love takes its own feverish course, as Mairi and Rob join forces to prevent a clash between hot-headed clans, and to protect their budding love.

Author Website

{5 Copies Available}

Rules:
• To enter the giveaway you must complete the form (linked above) and leave a comment indicating that you've completed the form.
• Books will be delivered directly from the publishers so the giveaways are only available for U.S. and Canada residents. No P.O. boxes please.
Note: It may take several weeks to receive your prize so please be patient!
• Winners will be drawn soon after the contest ends and posted thereafter.
• Winners will be chosen using random.org!

Ways to earn extra entries:
+1 for being a follower
+1 for following us on Twitter
+1 for following us on Blogged
+1 for being a Facebook Friend
+1 for subscribing via email or RSS reader
+1 for comments on other posts throughout the week
(Please reference which other posts you've commented on)
+1 for twittering or posting about this giveaway on your blog/site
(Please include a link to the post)

♥ Feel free to contact us via email at booksoulmates[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions ♥

Good luck!

Challenges Reminder!!

Hello Blogland!



Just a quick reminder for all the challenge participants:

The Heartbreakers Challenge ends Feb 28! We will be choosing the winner March 1.
There is still time to sign up and post your reviews!




Good luck :)

We will also be choosing a winner for the iChallenges. Please have your reviews in by Feb 28! The winner of the iChallenges will be posted on March 1.

Remember, the iChallenges is all year long. We will choose a winner at the end of each month.

Good Luck to all!



Check out this weeks Vlog {Fri., Feb 26} to find out which books we'll be giving to the winners!



Teaser Tuesday 2.23.10

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and it asks us to...
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
Isalys's Teaser:
"She would work with him, she would make love with him, but she would not make care about him just because he insatiably caressed every inch of her body. She would not fall for a man set on saving her world - not when his success meant his death. She wouldn't do that to herself and she wouldn't do that to him."

~p. 153 from "Jordan (Pendragon Legacy #3)" by Susan Kearney



Vanessa's Teaser:

"I thought you had forgotten me, thought you felt nothing for me. " Arthur stroked the damp hair from her forehead, his hand cool; crooned to her loving and gentling. "I have never forgotten you, Cymraes. Feel for you more than ever you could imagine." She believed him, knew he spoke the truth."

~p. 340 from "The Kingmaking" by Helen Hollick

New Releases 2.23.10

Fiction

The Infinities by John Banville

Mystery

Split Image by Robert B. Parker
Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

Chick-Lit

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Romance


Jordan by Susan Kearney
Once Bitten, Twice Dead by Bianca D'Arc
Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland
Darkness Within by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Urban/Fantasy

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

YA

Hard To Get by Emma Carlson Berne
Wintergirls (Out on paperback) by Laurie Halse Anderson


Rant or Rave Monday 2.22.10

So we thought we'd do a little ranting today on something that we've given a lot of thought to...and that's cover art. As avid readers, we've come to realize that the cover art of a book is a large part of a book's overall success. We all know that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but should and won't aren't the same thing. We rely on a book's cover to attract our attention. With thousands of books lining the shelves, a book's cover should say, "Hey, pick me, pick me!" Otherwise, you'll just walk on by and may miss out on reading a great book.

This especially applies to new/first-time authors. Well established authors who have a strong fan base could probably put a turd on the cover and someone will read their books. However, if you're a new author, you really need to rely on your book's cover art as part of your marketing strategy.

Case in point, The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich which Isalys referenced on Friday's Vlog Post. We've heard about how funny & well-written these books are, but the truth is that we haven't read them because the cover art just isn't all that appealing. It seems more of a deterrent than a lure.



Note from Isalys: To be perfectly frank, I find the covers to be obnoxious and little too much of a throwback to the good 'ol 1980s. They weren't something that I was excited about adding to my shelf. However, I will say that Janet makes them memorable with the lime green and highlighter orange color action she's got going on, lol!

I have added the first book to my TBR list because I trust my friend's judgment and will read it on her recommendation :)

Here are a few of Isalys's favorite covers ♥
{I Heart Vanessa's choices too!}




♥ Here are a few of Vanessa's favorite covers ♥

{I Heart Isa's choices too! lol}




What can we say, we have the same taste =)

Do you think covers are important to how well a book does?
What are your favorite and least favorite covers?



Wicked Wednesday Winners

So we owe you guys several giveaway results and here they are!
We hope to make some people very happy this weekend =)

Countess of Scandal by Laurell McKee

1. Letisia Cruz - Submitted
2. Martha Lawson - Submitted
3. Leola Norman - Submitted
4. Emma - Submitted
5. Kissell - Submitted




Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica # 4) by Larissa Ione

1. Cynthia Garrido - Submitted
2. Takyra Morgan - Submitted
3. Crystal Broyles - Submitted
4. Elizabeth Sutphin - Submitted
5. Chrissy - Submitted



Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

1. Laisa - Submitted
2. Emily Brown - Submitted
3. Kiara (kiki55) - Emailed for Address!
4. Jennifer (Scorpio M) - Submitted
5. Julie Holden - Submitted



Rion (Pendragon Legacy # 2) by Susan Kearney

1. Karen K - Submitted
2. RachieG - Submitted
3. Sue Mickelson - Submitted
4. StephTheBookworm - Submitted
5. Beth - Submitted



Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory

1. Penney Wilfort - Submitted
2. Raelena Pavey - Submitted
3. Jane - Submitted
4. Etiv - Submitted
5. *New Winner* Cynthia Garrido - Submitted



Yayyy! Winners were chosen using randomizer.org. We will email those who we do not have addresses for already. You have until next Friday to get back to us with your address (if we don't already have it). If we haven't heard from you by then, a new winner will be chosen.

If you are still interested in more giveaways, check out my giveaways page [here].


 
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