My Book Boyfriend (#14): Peeta Mellark

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader. What is My Book Boyfriend you might ask.  Well it is a weekly meme where we talk about a literary crush including stats, a picture of what you imagine he looks like and some quotes from him that make you swoon.  If you are interested in participating please check out the My Book Boyfriend Introduction Page over at Missie's blog The Unread Reader.

So this weeks My Book Boyfriend, I wanted to do someone who I gave to Donna as a trade...he's a pretty good baker, and charming...

Baker boy...Peeta Mellark

Stats:

Status: Lives in District 12, is the son of a baker which makes him wealthier than most of the people in the District. Has been in love with Katniss since he was 5.

Age: 16

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Description: He is said to have ashy blond hair, blue eyes and is of stocky build at a medium height. His favourite colour is Orange like the sunset. He ties his shoelaces in double knots, and doesn't like sugar in his tea.

“Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games”

"You love me. Real? Or, not real?" 

"So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent...and right when your song ended, I knew - just like your mother - I was a goner." 

I know, I know, not the most original Peeta. Hopefully it's enough to please Donna as well. But I'm NOT sorry to say, Josh Hutcherson has totally grown on me as Peeta and after I saw these images...well he grew even more. I think he's going to do a brilliant job, and I already love him!

Thanks to Josh Hutcherson for being my Peeta Mellark. The images are from Entertainment Weekly. So if you want a piece of Peeta yourself you can catch him in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. You'll also be able to see the live action Peeta in The Hunger Games movie which releases March, 23rd 2012. I hope you enjoyed.

What do you all think of Peeta? Have you read The Hunger Games?

Thanks to Missie for hosting this great meme.

Tune in next Wednesday for another installment of My Book Boyfriend.

A Review for Nailed by Jennifer Laurens

Posted by Donna
Published Date: September 22nd, 2008
Finished Date: August 27th, 2011
Publishers: Grove Creek Publishings
Source: For Review from Author
Format: Paperback
Pages: 236
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The Blurb from Goodreads: One girl. Two guys. Who says three's a crowd? When Mandy takes an unusual summer job-in construction-she has to prove she's just one of the guys. But she gets more than she bargains for being the only girl on the job. The mixture of hot guys, sunscreen, raw wood and testosterone proves to be an elixir she can't protect her heart from. Brooding Boston and flirty AJ find themselves looking at Mandy as more than just a girl who holds a hammer. Mandy soon finds herself not only lost in a whirlwind of a male-dominated world, but also the center of an inadvertently "constructed" love triangle. Mandy must choose between two guys who want her heart. But what's a girl to do when she wants them both?
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The Review: 
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“My heart healed the day I saw you glaring at me in Barnes and Noble” Tentatively he reached out and grazed the side of her face with his fingers. “You are …….irresistible.” 

4.5 out of 5; Why the hell have I not read any of Jennifer Lauren’s work before? Oh my, how very silly of me. To say the least, I was absolutely engrossed by this novel. I couldn’t put it down and when I did I couldn’t stop thinking of it.

The story follows Mandy who has loved construction since she was young, mainly because her father owns a construction company. Now she’s graduated high school, she decides to get a summer job….on a construction site. She tries being one of the lads but being the only girl on the job proves harder than she thinks. When she meets two completely different guys, AJ and Boston; both who work with her on the same job, her life suddenly becomes very confusing. With both boys battling for her heart, how does Mandy choose between two great guys?

I love a good romance novel and after reading a lot paranormal books lately, this book was very much needed. This being my first novel by Jennifer, I didn’t really know what to expect but wow, this book surprised the hell out of me so much. Jennifer Laurens actually managed to give me butterflies for most of this book and literally had me sitting on the edge of my seat from suspense. From the start to end of the story, it’s an exciting, easy and fun loving book which is full of loveable scenes and HOT BOYS!!

Our characters are a joy to read about. Mandy is an easy likable character that is neither shallow nor bitchy but quiet down to earth. She hasn’t got many close friends but values the friends she’s got and she’s dedicated and determined in everything she does. I definitely love the qualities that this character has. Now the boys….where do I even start? AJ he’s a real gentleman, honest and caring but Boston, he’s sweet, handsome and broody. Both men have very strong personalities that it will leave you battling for who you want Mandy to be with. Of course, my heart belongs to Boston, I can’t keep away from them tall, dark and handsome types and he’s enough to make any girls heart melt. Even through Boston’s struggles to open up to another girl, I found him completely vulnerable and it only made me love him that much more.

The general storyline was easy to follow and it was enough to make fall in love with Jennifer’s work. This will definitely NOT be the last book I read by this author and I can’t wait to pick up some of her other books.

Thank you to Jennifer Lauren’s for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade Excerpt & Giveaway (UK only)

Name: Nightshade

Series: Book Two in The Poison Diaries

Author: Maryrose Wood

Release Date: October 25th, 2011

Publishers: HarperCollins

Format: Paperback

Pages: 228

 The Blurb:
A dark, gothic tale of romance......and murder. Our heroine, Jessamine, has lost her faith in men she loved and her innocence as well. She turns to the dark side and plots to kill her father, using his own poisons, before becoming an assassin, a poisoner for hire. Can she recover from her heartache and reunite with her true love, Weed?


Find out in this thrilling story where poisons, darkness and horror are a part of everyday life, and love is the only cure. 

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Poison Diaries Chapter One

The Poison Diaries First Chapter (1)

There you have it. You've now had a taste of what's to come in this 2nd book to a fantastic start. So onto the giveaway!

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Thanks to the awesome HarperCollins UK, we are giving away 4 copies of the Poison Diaries: Nightshade to FOUR lucky UK winners! Awesome huh?

So all you have to do is fill out this ENTRY FORM

There are extra entries as well, but these aren't mandatory to win. BUT may increase your chances. All winners will be picked at Random.Org and announced on September 10th.

Giveaway is open to UK residents ONLY! Sorry international followers! 

Good Luck! :) 

A Review for A Job from Hell (Ancient Legends #1) by Jayde Scott

Posted by Donna
Published Date: May 1st, 2011
Finished Date: August 25th, 2011
Source: For Review from Author
Format: E-book
Pages: NA
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The Blurb from Goodreads: In a world of love bonds, rituals, dark magic, ancient enemies and immortals, nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. Seventeen-year-old Amber enters the paranormal world by chance when her brother, Dallas, sets her up with a summer job in Scotland. Dallas has spied something in the woods he thinks could make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. But instead of finding riches, Amber unknowingly enters a paranormal race—and promptly wins the first prize—a prize for which many would kill. Soon, she discovers her new boss, Aidan, didn’t employ her for her astounding housekeeping skills and he isn't who he claims to be either. As the dark forces slowly conspire against Amber, her naivety and love for Aidan catapults her into a calamitous series of otherworldly events. With every immortal creature hunting for her, whom can she trust with her life?
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The Review: Before I started this book, I’d heard nothing but good things about it so I was really looking forward to getting started. Well, let me say A Job from Hell doesn’t disappoint!

Seventeen year old Amber, is offered a job in Scotland for the summer. She will be expected to look after the house of a very wealthy man. What Amber doesn’t expect is for her brother to land her in deep trouble, leading her to come first in a paranormal race that takes place every 500 years. Amber is suddenly thrown into the world of the paranormals, leaving her life in danger. But most of all she discovers her new boss; Aidan isn’t who he claims to be. The question’s Amber has to ask herself is, can she really trust that her new boss is telling her the truth? And why does she feel this unexplainable pull towards him?

I really enjoyed this book and honestly, it really surprised me because of how many twists and turns pop up during the story. The author not only manages to create an exciting series, one full of thrills and suspense but it’s completely new and fresh. I mean, come on; A paranormal race? I had to do a double take when I started finding out all the details. I do think it lacked a bit of action but overall, I loved it. Its not just your typical boring old vampire tries to become human story but a story that is well developed and exciting to read about. I found myself enthralled by the paranormal world and I desperately wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything about the Shadow’s, Hell & the Vampire’s and to say the least the author certainly delivers with this book.

The characters are fantastic. With alternative points of view, you get to see both Amber and Aidan stories and you all know how I love alternative points of views. What I loved most was being able to get into Aidan’s head, especially with him being a Vampire. We hardly ever see how the vampire thinks in books but I loved being able to see what he feels for Amber and how he feels about her being his mate. I loved it! And now I’m more than excited to start the author’s other book ‘Doomed.’

Thank you to Jayde Scott for giving me the opportunity to review her book.

Teaser Tuesday (#23)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1) Grab your current read

2) Open to a random page

3) Share one (1) OR two (2) “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!)

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

Jessica's Teaser Tuesday:  A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

I've just started this one, so I don't really have a lot to quote, but I'll use a couple of funny ones that stood out for me. Nothing from Donna as she's just finished hers and hasn't started a new one yet.

1) "So far I'm not seeing the bad in this. I wonder what dark secrets he's hiding behind those gorgeous eyes." "That he's a serial dater," Dan offered."


2) "Cut it out, Skye; it's not that cold." She laughed as she scooted a tray of cinnamon spice cookies into the oven. "But I'm fa-fa-fa-reezing," I said shivering dramatically."

What's your Teaser Tuesday? 

US vs UK (#21)

Welcome to Book Passion for Life's 21th US vs UK book cover battle. We've seen this posted on a few other blogs, and thought we'd jump on the band wagon!

The idea of this battle is once a week we'll post 2 sets of books of our choice, one US cover and one UK cover, and we'll just give our opinion on which one we love the most. Which cover captures the story, which one would catch our eye if we saw it on the shelf in a shop. The US cover will be on the left, and the UK cover will be on the right.

The Scores so far are: 

US: 5  UK: 7  Draw: 7

US vs UK Round 21

Dragon's Oath by P.C & Kristin Cast 

vs   

Jess says:  This is a hard one. They're both great covers. I'm probably going to have to go with the UK though, but only because it's similar to the rest of the House of Night US covers, and so will match my collection lol.

Donna says:  Ummm... This is a hard one for me. I've always preferred the US covers to the House of Night Series but I'm not sure. I like the colours on both covers and I love the design on the UK one. But then I like the sword on the US. Umm....I can't choose. It's a draw for me. 

Which do you prefer?

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The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver 

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Jess Says:  I haven't read this book, I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about it. As for the covers, I like them both, but I think I'll go with the US because the other girl on the UK cover creeps me out a little.

Donna Says:  I really didn't like this book. I tried to read it and just didn't like the main characters at all and I rarely say that. But the covers....I like. I like BOTH! But I'm going with the UK this time. I prefer it because it stands out a bit more, the design, the fonts, the women with the blue eyes. So UK for me.

Which do you prefer?

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Okay guys, this weeks US vs UK goes to.....Its a tough call, the UK has 2 votes and the US has 1 and a half because Donna can't choose. Lets just call it a draw for arguments sake.

Come back next week for more US vs UK! :) 

Battle of the Sexes: Girls (#5): Georgina vs Clary

Battle of the sexes is a new weekly meme created by us at Book Passion for Life. Every Saturday we'll post a poll with 2 characters from 2 different books. We will alternate each week between boys and girls. We'll be running the polls for 12 weeks, at which point YOU thats right YOU bloggers will vote for your favourite character (boy or girl) depending on which week it is. At the end of the 12 weeks, we will place all previous winners into one poll where you will all vote for your ULTIMATE CHARACTER. That character will be crowned King or Queen in the Battle of the sexes final. 

Bloggers that wish to take part in this meme are welcome to do so. When you post the meme please link back to us. You are welcome to alternate each week, so if you would prefer to do girls first then you are welcome to. When posting this meme please include the following info on your characters:

• Their stats like full name, date of birth, eye colour, hair colour, books they've featured in etc...
• Three quote's for each character
• The book cover from where these characters originate OR a photo that best reflects the character

Other than that, there isn't anything else to add to the meme. There are no rules, so pretty much anything goes. 

 vs 

Georgina's stats:
Name: Georgina Kincaid
Nicknames: Georgie, Letha, Thetis
Age: 25 in human years (but is much older)
Hair: Midblack
Eye Colour: Green
Description: Is a Succubus living in Seattle. She has tanned skin and long black hair. She works at a book store, but her succubus job is to have sex with good honest men.
Books featured in:  Succubus Blues, Succubus Nights, Succubus Dreams, Succubus Heat, Succubus Shadows, Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead

Clary's stats:
Name: Clarissa Fray
Nicknames: Clary
Age: 16
Hair: Red
Eye Colour: Green
Description: Looks like her mother with red hair and green eyes, has a light dusting of freckles. She later learns that she is a Shadowhunter, her love interest is Jace Wayland.
Books featured in: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Georgina's quotes:

"Things on the essential list: vodka, Nine Inch Nails, a steady supply of mortal men, and an all-purpose bitchy attitude." 

“Well, that depends, I suppose. I heard someone once say that men dance the same way they have sex. So, if you want everyone here to think you’re the kind of guy who just sits around and—”

He stood up. “Let’s dance." 

"Statistics show that most mortals sell their souls for five reasons: sex, money, power, revenge, and love. In that order." 

Clary's quotes:

"Don't touch any of my weapons without my permission."
"Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on eBay," Clary muttered.
"Selling them on what?"
Clary smiled blandly at him. "A mythical place of great magical power." 

"I figured all your classes were stuff like Slaughter 101 and Beheading for Beginners."
Jace flipped a page. "Very funny, Fray." 

"Clary felt suddenly annoyed. "When the self-congratulatory part of the evening is over, maybe we could get back to saving my best friend from being exsanguinated to death?"
"Exsanguinated," said Jace, impressed. "That's a big word."
"And you're a big-"
"Tsk tsk," he interupted. "No swearing in church."

Okay everyone! There's all the details on our girls this week. Two awesome females to decide over.  Winner will be announced once the 5 days of voting is up! Have fun :)