Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!
To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) 


 Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


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                    Spring was coming to life in St. Petersburg.  Everything was starting to awaken out of the cold, sleeping earth.  Including things that should have remained deep asleep.
                    Princess Cantacuzene had told me of the folk tales that said vampires rose out of the earth in the spring and stalked the living between those two holy days: St. George's Day in April and St. Andrew's Day in November.  But I knew now that this was just a silly superstition.  They stalked us all year round. (ARC p290)

                    
            As I was dancing in his arms, I realized that I had fallen in love with someone else.  Someone who most likely hated me more than anyone else in the world did.  I wanted to die.  (ARC p262)

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I just finished this fantastic book!  It's so different from anything else I've read in YA fiction. If you're a fan of movies like Anastasia or Dr. Zhivago, you're gonna want to check this one out! Review coming soon!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
Reviewed by: Honorary Sis Beth
Sister Says: Captivating, Curious, and Cosmo-tastic

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. (Summary from goodreads.com)

Over the past few months, this book kept showing up, haunting me, saying, "Read me". I was rebelling against reading it because I typically do not like science fiction and definitely do not like split narratives. But, as I kept seeing more and more people reading it on goodreads and hearing my friends talk about it, I broke down and read it. Let me just say, I am so glad that I did.
Although I am usually not a fan a split narratives, it not only works for this book, but also is definitely necessary. Throughout the book there are things that happen to Amy and Elder that can only be described in their own words. The most descriptive, difficult, and brilliant scene, in my opinion, is when Amy is being frozen. I literally felt like I was be suffocated. Also, Ms. Revis is able to so decisively articulate the differing ship-life norms for each character.
To be completely honest, I was rebelling against enjoying the book for the first 200 pages because I was bound and determine to prove to myself (and my husband) that, "I'm just not into science fiction". Although it took place in outerspace, I did not feel like it was too far out there. The final 250 pages, I read in one sitting and kept telling Matt to stop talking to me because this book is just so good.
The world will leave you thinking about how much do we trust history and our leaders and who controls all the information. The setting made me feel like I was claustrophobic and I could not help but relate to Amy wondering what in the world I would do if I was in that circumstance. The plot is utterly genius! It is a science fiction, murder mystery, romance that will keep you guessing until (literally) the last page.
The emotional roller coaster Across the Universe took me on left me grasping for the sequel. I'm so glad that I got over my prejudice and read this book. It totally opened my eyes and revamped my opinion of science fiction books.
One final thought, after reading this book, I told my husband to read it. He looked at the beautiful cover and said, "It looks like a chic book". But, after a little coaxing, he read it. He devoured it faster than I did. So, the great thing about this book is it appeals to both sexes and challenges traditional book genres. If you haven't read it yet, I would recommend putting it on your TBR list!
Buy it....Read it....Love it!!!!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Release date:  January 24th, 2012
HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
Reviewed by: AmyG (Big Sis)
Sister's Say:  Enticing, Eloquent, and Eerily foreboding


Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. 
She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. 
Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. 
As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's... (-goodreads)

First off, I need to thank HarperCollins for sending me this gorgeous ARC.  I've been eyeing if for months with that beautiful red dress surrounded by those spooky clouds.  I would love to frame this book cover and hang it up on my wall!  Who needs art when there are book covers like this out there!

Everneath isn't just a book with a pretty cover though.  The writing, the imagery, and the characters make it as beautiful on the inside as the out.  We at the YA-Sisterhood all share a deep love of Greek mythology.  Call it having an English teacher as a mom or just a love of classical education, but throw in some Greek Mythology and it's hook, line, and sinker for us!  Greek mythology has been slowly routing out a place for itself in YA literature, and I couldn't be more happy about it!  Everneath is just the right amount of Greek mixed with just the the perfect touch of modernization!

The most profound thing about Evermeath was the imagery.  Brodi Ashton has a way with words that brings the story to life.  The tunnels, the shades, and the animation of the emotions were tangible.  I can still close my eyes and see them as if I were actually Nikki.  There is this scene at a dance in which the Everlings are feeding off the emotions of the crowd and all at once it was both horrifying and beautiful.  Part of me wishes I could have actually seen it while the more sane part doesn't agree.  From the opening pages to the last page Everneath oozes these fantastic images.  They are hauntingly gorgeous and will leave you breathless and wanting more.

For those of you asking, "where's the romance?" Never fear, there is a love triangle to rival all love triangles!  First off, there's Jack, the dreamy boy next door that encompasses everything that Nikki desires.  On the other hand, there's Cole the epitamy of the broken bad boy that is oh so redeemable.  While reading this book, I was sadly that "love the one you're with" girl.  I cheered "Jack, Jack, Jack" during his scenes and "Cole, Cole, Cole" through his pages!  Please don't make me choose!  You will be hard pressed to find 2 more different characters with the same amount of dreaminess!  I would love to see a showdown between Jack and Cole in the Crush Tourney with all cards laid on the table, and see who would come out the victor!  Maybe that would help me choose!  Umm, yeah, probably not!

Most of the time, I am not a fan of the disrupted or broken timeline that appears in Everneath, but it worked perfectly here.  So much of the novel deals with time that the broken sequence of it, helped develop parallel emotions between the characters and the reader.  Nikki's time slowly ticks away at the beginning, but as the book proceeds the time gaps get smaller and time slips by faster.  I found my heart rate increasing and actually felt anxious for Nikki as time seemed to drain quickly away.  This was actually a brilliant way to pace the novel!  It was like watching the sand run out in an hourglass and there was absolutely nothing I can do to stop that last grain of sand from slipping to the bottom.

I cannot give this book or Brodi Ashton enough praise.  Everneath needs to be on every YA lovers bookshelf, especially those that adore Greek Mythology.  Brodi creates a story that at first seems familiar with the allusion to the Greek myths only to throw you for a complete loop.  At the exact point that I thought I knew what was about to happen, she completely knocked me off my feet.  Brilliant I tell you, brilliant!  It's all the Greek mythology I love with twist of her own that left me completely speechless and crying on the floor with the knowledge that it will be a whole year before I can read book 2!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Unbreakable Love by Angela Carling and Giveaway

Unbreakable Love
By: Angela Carling
Reviewed by: Sis-in-law Sarah
(Only $2.99 on kindle right now!)

Summary from goodreads.com


Jennie Townsend is unlucky in love, so she is immediately suspicious when a mysterious new student named Nate tries to gain her friendship. But there is something special about Nate, and in spite of her best efforts Jennie finds her feelings for the boy growing deeper every day.


In fact, Nate is more special than Jennie can even imagine. He is a guardian angel, sent to protect Jennie during a most dangerous time in her life. To do so, he must first become close to her – but not too close. The rules for Protectors warn against physical contact and strictly forbid falling in love. But the more time Nate spends with Jennie, the harder the rules are to follow. Will Nate be able to save Jennie from a premature end, or will his own emotions – and Jennie's – get in the way of completing the task for which he was specifically chosen?
With Unbreakable Love, Angela Carling has created a captivating story for young adult readers, with a refreshing twist on relationship issues. It is an ode to the magical power of true love, a tribute to belief in a benevolent higher power that watches over us and surrounds us every day of our lives.
Judging by the cover, I automatically thought this was a YA contemporary novel. However, this book actually has a really good blend of contemporary and paranormal.  It explores the idea of guardian angels without going too crazy into the paranormal world, which I thought was something kind of new and refreshing.  I suppose it made it a little more realistic, as if this actually could happen to you.  So if paranormal seems a little far-fetched for you but you'd like to see what all the hype is about...this would be a good starter novel!

Nate is Jennie's guardian angel, sent to protect her in the most volatile season of her life.  However, what the high hosts were thinking when they sent a hot angel dude down to protect a vulnerable teenage girl, I'll never know!!!  See, the rule is as a guardian angel you can't touch your protectee and you most definitely CANNOT fall in love with them.  Yet, Nate must somehow fit into Jennie's world...become her best friend...so that when the moment comes he can protect her from death.  Unfortunately, the imminent attraction between Nate and Jennie puts everything at risk.

And Nate...definitely my favorite character in the book!!!  I really loved how he, though a guardian angel, had very human emotions.  I felt like I really got to know Nate, even more than I knew Jennie.  His desire to do his job, knowing the end result if he didn't, yet at the same time not being able to control his feelings and wanting out of the assignment showed how honorable a man (or angel) he was.  I definitely would love to have someone like Nate as my guardian angel!

This is a super-fast paced novel, which kind of bothered me at first, but it made for a quick, exciting read.  It's one of those books that'll just take you a day (a weekend at the most) to devour. And plus, in a market where series and trilogies dominate, this is a stand alone novel.  A definite plus when you're looking for that quick read in the midst of your crazy busy life!

Last of all, if you're looking for a clean read, put this one in your TBR pile.  This awesome romance is completely satisfying without all the super-touchy-bare skin-feely scenes that are becoming so prominent in YA lit these days!

If you're wanting to check this book out, it's only $2.99 on kindle right now. Plus, we have an awesome giveaway from Acacia Publishing!!!!  Thank you to Acacia for the awesome giveaway!


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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is:  Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore,  Sequel to the amazing Graceling and Companion book to Fire. 

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Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

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I am so excited to tell you guys that I have BITTERBLUE in my hands RIGHT NOW!!!! I read GRACELING way back when it first hit the shelves, and adored it. I then devoured FIRE and loved it EVEN MORE than GRACELING. And I have been waiting so long for Kristin Cashore's next book. This was supposed to come out ages ago, but then there was some craziness, and then it got cancelled, and then picked up again, and now it's time is almost here! It's being published May 1st, 2012 by Dial Books (Penguin Young Readers), and I was lucky enough to snag a copy at the ALA Midwinter conference this past weekend. I just finished re-reading GRACELING last night to mentally prepare myself, and Bitterblue is next on my list! Can't wait to tell you all how amazing it is! 

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Exclusive Reveal: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows Trailer

Today is a BIG HUGE, day!  Right now, we at The YA Sisterhood are able to exclusively reveal the  trailer of Jodi Meadow's Incarnate!  It is gorgeous and encompasses the theme of the book perfectly!  And, Incarnate will officially be released in exactly ONE week!  That's right kids! Mark your calendars, bombard your bookstores, fight off the other buyers if necessary! You don't want to miss this! If you want to find out more about Incarnate, visit our Top 10 Reasons why you should read Incarnate, and be sure to check back on Feburary 2nd for our special Dark Days of Winter interview with Jodi Meadows.

Without further ado, here is the Incarnate Trailer: 

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Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Available January 31st, 2012
Pulished by HarperCollins

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NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? 
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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Dark Days of Winter Blog Tour


We are ecstatic to be hosting Jodi Meadows on HarperTeen's Dark Days of Winter Blog Tour.  We have had our eyes on Incarnate from the moment we saw that it had sold on publisher's marketplace.  Before we had even had a chance to read this book, we knew it would be a big one!  Then they released the cover, and we were left in absolute awe of the sheer gorgeousness of it!  Also, be sure to come back on February 2nd, where we will have a special interview with Jodi Meadows.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Published by: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 31, 2012

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NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? 

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Words cannot express my absolute joy of hosting THIS BOOK on the Dark Days Tour.  From the turn of the first page there is something completely different and deeply inspiring about Incarnate.  If you are looking for something completely different then pick up this book.  Because of our love for this book a simple review would not do, so as you have seen with a few of our absolutely favorite books, we are going to do a top 10 list!

SO... here it is! Our TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT INCARNATE:

10.  SETTING: The setting adds so much to the overall feel of the novel.  It's frankly a creepy city in the shadow of an even creepier tower!  All the houses and buildings look the same, and somehow they have all mananged to remain standing for 5,000 years.  It has a very eery feeling, but I can't disregard this nagging feeling that there is something important about all the buildings.  And, it may not be a good thing!

9.  REINCARNATION:  Yes, yes, we know what you are going to say that you've read an reincarnation story, BUT let me tell you that Jodi has completely reinvented reincarnation.  How about being able to remember every single life for the past 5000 years.  Plus, never knowing if you are going to come back as a female or a male.  And, what if you are in love with a person, and you both come back as the same sex or you come back years apart?  Let me tell you, total crazy awesomeness!  I loved this idea!  I could sit here and think of hundreds of evil scenarios that Jodi could put her characters through!  So great!

8.  SYLPHS: We all know that the YA World is a bit tired of the traditional mythological creatures. "Why Hello there, Vampire. Nice to see you... again. And again. Oh, what? You brought a werewolf along? How... obvious." It was so refreshing to see Meadows take this more obscure Mythological creature that controls air, and give it a prominent place in her story. And on top of that... the burning that a sylph attack causes was a fresh twist on the original myth! 

7.  GENRE: We're not sure if genre is the right word, but this book definitely has a different feel than any other YA book on the market at the moment. It feels a bit like a futuristic sci-fi, but at the same time has elements that feel Medieval. High Fantasy meets Science Fiction meets Religion and Reincarnation-- you can't get more unique than that!


6.  MUSIC: We would be remiss if we didn't mention the music!  The whole book reads like one long beautiful symphony.  And, the grande piano is to die for! Even though we can't hear the music, the scenes in which Sam and Ana play are so vivid that I can imagine the melody all the same! 


5. DEPTH: Unlike some YA books (though I love all kinds), Incarnate had a philosophical depth that is too often missing in young adult fiction. Yes, there was action and romance and fantasy, but there was also a deeper sense of meaning and questioning that made this book linger in my mind long after I'd read it.  

4.  THE MASQUERADE: Guys. I'm not sure how to tell you how much I loved the scene at the masquerade ball without telling you what happens, but I will say that my heart was beating a mile a minute from beginning to end! 


3. DRAGONS: I can never say no to Dragons. They are SO cool!


2.  THE WRITING: Meadows writing has a lyrical, poetic feel that goes beyond simple description, and instead engages the senses and the mind to build a world that is at once fully realized and mysterious. In other words, girl's got skills. :)


1.  THE ROMANCE!!! Holy meltiness, Batman, the slow-paced, realistic romance was breathtaking.  We loved that the romance didn't happen at warp speed.  Don't let that run you off though, Sam and Anna's relationship is sweet and deep.  Anna has never been around anyone besides her mother for her entire life, so everything she is experiencing is for the first time.  And, Sam gets to be her teacher!  To see her experience and learn so many things with Sam is like one of those romantic musical montages in movies that leave you sighing!  With this slow build to the romance, comes what I LOVE in my books-- the yearning, the questioning, and the longing!  The torment of the does-he- doesn't-he-love-me kind is the best kind of torment! 


That's it, our top 10 favorite things about Incarnate!  Well, what are you waiting for, GO PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK!!!

Be sure to visit the other blogs on the Dark Days Blog Tour!


Leg 1
1/4   Tahereh Mafi at Reading Vacation
1/5   Ellen Schreiber at I Read Banned Books
1/6   Veronica Rossi at Supernatural Snark
1/9   Tahereh Mafi at Reading Vacation
1/10 Ellen Schreiber at I Read Banned Books
1/11 Veronica Rossi at Supernatural Snark

Leg 2
1/16 Cynthia Hand at The Story Siren
1/19 Jodi Meadows at The YA Sisterhood
1/24 Brodi Ashton at The Readiacs
1/26 Courtney Allison Moulton at Reading Teen
1/31 Cynthia Hand at The Story Siren
2/2   Jodi Meadows at The YA Sisterhood
2/7   Brodi Ashton at The Readiacs
2/9   Courtney Allison Moulton at Reading Teen

Leg 3
2/21 Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy
2/22 Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books
2/23 Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms
2/28 Dan Wells at Bookalicious
3/1   Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy
3/6   Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books
3/7   Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms
3/8   Dan Wells at Bookalicious

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is:  Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter,  book # 5 in the Gallagher Girls Series. 

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The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

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Guys. In case I haven't mentioned it. I LOVE THE GALLAGHER GIRLS BOOKS. In fact.... I want to BE A GALLAGHER GIRL. So bad. SO BAD. I read these books for the first time almost two years ago, and was so swept away in Cammie's spy world that I actually followed random people on the street just to see if I could pull it off. Crazy, I know. But then I made a friend do it, and she did the exact same thing! These books are witty, exciting, and just plain addicting! I can't wait for the next installment! 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!
To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) 


 Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My 1st teaser is from the book, and the 2nd teaser is a special tweet from Colleen Houck from Ren's POV during a certain scene in Tiger's Curse!  Enjoy!


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Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1)

              Why does everything so bad for you always taste so dreamy? 
          

               I wrapped the unyielding woman I loved in my arms   and kissed her slowly, hoping that some part of her would sense by absolute devotion.


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There you go!!! I dare you to not go read this book right now after reading those teasers!!!






Saturday, January 14, 2012

Tournament of Heroines Blogemony!



    

First off, we would like to thank all of our amazing advocates for the YA Sisterhood Tournament of Heroines.  They truly never cease to amaze us with their dedication, their love and their energy!  We are so incredibly blessed with an amazing group of bloggers! We’d also like to thank all the authors who helped make the tournament such a success.  We wouldn't even be having these tournaments if it wasn't for you!   And lastly, we must thank all of you, who voted, tweeted, and supported your favorite characters. You guys were the blood, sweat, and tears of this tourney!

We’ll start by congratulating the advocate who took her character all the way to the end—Valerie from StuckinBooks! You did an excellent job representing, Clary Fray!  Every match was a new surprise!  We never knew who we were going to hear from!  It was so fun!  



Coming in second was Avery from Avery’s Book Nook!  Avery did a fantastic job defending Tessa, all the way to the finals!  And who can forget that trailer she had in her post!  We will not disclose how many times we watched it, only once, I promise! ;)

These other amazing advocates fought long and hard to get their girls into the Extraordinary Eight:

Penelope from Reading Fever (representing Katniss)  Penelope was an amazing advocate for Katniss!  Just like Katniss, she was lighting twitter and all the Hunger Games fansites on fire promoting her girl!!!

Jen from Unedited (representing Hermione)  Jen was seriously the perfect fit for Hermione!  Jen really is one of the brightest bloggers of her age! (actually all ages)  She even pulled out all the stops with her sexy pics of Ryan Gosling and her debut as a YouTube star!

Momo from Books Over Boys (representing Alex)  Holy smokes, Batman!  What can we say about Momo!  She is a force to be reckoned with.  With her and Alex on the same team, not many daimons or heriones for that matter stood a chance!   She was a fearless leader of the Half-Blood Legion!

Amanda from Letters Inside Out (representing Izzy)  Amanda was another Cassie Clare girl that shared her love of The Mortal Instruments with the world.  She lead Izzy who isn't even the main character of her series all the way to the Extraordinary Eight!  She was an Extraordinary Advocate!

Anna from The Bursting Bookshelf (representing Meghan)  Anna the awesome was representing Meghan!  Her post was beautiful and made us want to go reread all the Iron Fey books all over again!  Not to mention, having Ash and Puck on her team!  Who could refuse?!?! 

Julie from My Five Monkeys (representing Tris)  Julie was Dauntless in defending Tris!  She was on Twitter fighting for her girl all hours of the day and night in all of her matches!!!  And she had Four on her side, which makes it a side that we are more than willing to be on!  

There were, of course, many fantastic advocates who did not make the top eight.  This tournament all the advocates blew us away!  Seriously, all of them went above and beyond everything, and there is not possible way for us to pick any extra awards without picking an award for all the advocates!  So, because of that...every advocate will receive some token of our appreciation—be it books, ebooks, or some awesome swag.

Many have graciously offered to donate prizes to reward the advocates who took part in the tourney. We've gotten in some great things so far, with more scheduled to come.  This is who has donated so far:  Spencer Hill Press, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Amy Plum, Jeri Smith-Ready, Julie Kagawa, Taryn Browning, Myra McEntire,  Mindy @ Magical Urban Fantasy ReadsAmber and Stacey @ Pageturners, and Julie @ My 5 Monkeys.

We’ll be in touch with our awesome advocates soon to tell you what you’ve won! 

Friday, January 13, 2012

DARK DAYS of Winter are Here





We are so excited and thrilled to announce that we will be part of this season's Dark Day's Tour.  This is the BIGGEST Dark Days tour yet and includes some amazing authors!  We will be hosting the fabulous Jodi Meadow's and her brilliant debut novel Incarnate.  Be sure to check back here on January 19 and February 2nd for our stops on the tour.  Keep up to date with all the latest Dark Days news, tour stops, author interviews, and excerpts on their facebook page and follow their live tweets on twitter.  Use the hashtag #pitchdarkdays when tweeting.



Dark Days Blog Tour Schedule
Leg 1
1/4   Tahereh Mafi at Reading Vacation
1/5   Ellen Schreiber at I Read Banned Books
1/6   Veronica Rossi at Supernatural Snark
1/9   Tahereh Mafi at Reading Vacation
1/10 Ellen Schreiber at I Read Banned Books
1/11 Veronica Rossi at Supernatural Snark

Leg 2
1/16 Cynthia Hand at The Story Siren
1/19 Jodi Meadows at The YA Sisterhood
1/24 Brodi Ashton at The Readiacs
1/26 Courtney Allison Moulton at Reading Teen
1/31 Cynthia Hand at The Story Siren
2/2   Jodi Meadows at The YA Sisterhood
2/7   Brodi Ashton at The Readiacs
2/9   Courtney Allison Moulton at Reading Teen

Leg 3
2/21 Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy
2/22 Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books
2/23 Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms
2/28 Dan Wells at Bookalicious
3/1   Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy
3/6   Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books
3/7   Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms
3/8   Dan Wells at Bookalicious

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dark Days Tour Schedule
Leg 1:
Thursday, January 12th SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Books, Inc. Opera Plaza, NYMBC event at 7pm
Follow: @storiesweeties

Friday, January 13th SAN DIEGO, CA
Mysterious Galaxy, 7pm
Follow: @girlsinthestack

Saturday, January 14th PHOENIX, AZ
Changing Hands, 4pm
Livestream! http://ow.ly/8kqbz
Follow: @IBBookBlogging

Leg 2:
Thursday, February 16th 
DALLAS, TX

B&N Southlake, 5pm
Follow: @flamingo1325


Friday, February 17th AUSTIN, TX 
B&N Austin, 7pm
Follow: @MundieMoms

Saturday, February 18th HOUSTON, TX 
Blue Willow Book Shop, 4pm


Leg 3:
Friday, March 9th CORAL GABLES, FL
Books & Books, 6:30 pm

Saturday, March 10th, ALPHARETTA, GA
Barnes & Noble, 2pm

Sunday, March 11th, LOS ANGELES, CA
Vroman's, 4pm Preview
Livestream! http://ow.ly/8kqbz

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We will be at the Austin Dark Days stop, and we hope to see many of you there!  Don't forget to pick up your Dark Days sampler here.  A big thank you to HarperTeen for putting together this great tour!