Book Spotlight: Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

From Goodreads.com

    So we meet Emma, a new girl in a preppy uptown New York school. Yay for her right? Well, not so much considering she’s new and she’s got a lot to deal with. Enter Brendan, the hotness personified. The boy who comes to her rescue even before he takes a look at her. Then, they meet and all hell breaks lose. You see Emma has these dreams, and they are pretty much freaking her out. Emma and Brendan’s relationship develops somewhat like that Katy Perry song “Hot and Cold.” Emma is experiencing strange occurrences everywhere she goes. She may be losing her mind. But Emma is a smart girl. She befriends a girl, Angelique. She researches the history that keeps haunting her in her dreams, and then she does what any self respecting girl would do and gets her man. But that is just the beginning of the story!

  Let me just say that I loved Emma and Brendan! Their relationship is real and heartfelt. When Emma has to make decisions about her own life, you feel as if you are making those decisions with her. Seriously, you cannot help but fall in love with Brendan so imagine what she has to go through. I love how much of a take charge kind of a character she is. When someone wrongs her cousin, she wastes no time in making the wrong right. Sure, sometimes she doesn’t think before she acts, but really, thats what hot boys are for. Brendan *swoon* is, well, the swooning should’ve covered that. He’s a fun character with a heart that makes a girl cry a little because they just don’t seem to make them like that anymore. (All you guys out there, calm down, all you have to do is prove me wrong. Now go buy some flowers for your lady) 

  Every character in this book is interesting. I liked Angelique as the friend and I’m interested to find out more about her story. I liked the mean girl, the families, the school itself. Cara brings us into a world that is beautifully developed. 

  Not to sound cliche, but this book held me Spellbound from the first words. Cara is not afraid to bring reality to her characters. She touches hearts and entertains at the same time. Simply put, the book is enchanting. Cara is a genius and I can’t wait to read more of her work in the future. A love story of two individuals fighting against the world to be together, Spellbound will attract your interest and captivate your heart.  

  This book comes out June 28th! Buy it, read it, love it! 

Much love, 

Valia

PS. Thoughts?

IMM #7

Hello darlings!!! I'm babbling again! Hope everyone had a wonderful week!

Special thanks to:

Down the Rabbit Hole

Your Entertainment Corner (@YECdotcom)

Simon and Shuster (@simonshuster)

Harlequin Teen (@harlequinteen)

What's in your mailbox?

Much love,

Valia

In My Mailbox #6

Excuse me for my babbling! :-) I'll be sharing more books from my free pile in videos to come!

Now, off to see Xmen First Class with best friend!!!

Whats in your mailbox?

Much love,

Valia

Dark Day of Supernatural Recap and a Whole Lot of Awesomeness

       Where do I even start? Do I talk about the fabulous authors I met? Should I mention the fantastic books they have written (and I had gotten signed)? How about all the awesome questions they answered? Or really, the fact that I went with my best friend and it was her first book signing (besides my own)? Maybe I should talk about all my fan girl moments? 

Oh, hello there. As you can tell I am still hyped on the awesomeness that was the Dark Days of Supernatural tour. While I try to gather my thoughts a bit, take a gander at this little video I made. :)

By the way, I absolutely love that song. Its just all kinds of perfect for the tour and I think they did a great job with it.

Now, on to the details. Josephine Angelini, Ellen Schreiber, Aprylinne Pike, and Veronica Roth are amazing!!!! I had to get that out of my system. They came up to the platform, were introduced, and then took questions of every kind from the audience. I love how easy going and sweet they all are. After all the knowledge was spilled into our midst, the book signing part came. Changing Hands had four lines set up, one for each author. I started with Josie and let me tell you, she is probably one of the most favorite people I have ever met. We’ve been talking for months but this was our first opportunity to meet in person. After I told her who I was she gave me a hug and we took a picture together.

I might have had a few fan girl moments. Just a few...

 I actually ended up going back to talk to her after we were done in all of our lines. She is fabulously talented and a darling. And if you haven’t read Starcrossed, what is wrong with you? I’ve talked about it enough, you should all have it memorized by now. :)

Helen decided to have some ice cream with us

Ellen came next and she was so funny! She really liked my name and we joked how she has Valentine in her stories, so I can just put an ‘A’ on that and pretend thats me. 

Aprilynne is always a fun person to talk to. I’ve met her a few times before but this was the first time for her actual signing. She’s one of those fun people to talk about writing. 

Veronica was the last one I met, but I can truly say she is now one of my favorite people. We talked quite a bit about writing and really life in general. It was such an encouragement to talk to her! We already decided we’ll have more conversations! :)








I am so thankful to Changing Hands for hosting the event! It had a great feel about it and I adored the store itself. It was a blast having my best friend with me. She had her first ever book signed! :) Sarah and I ended up at Pink Spot afterward for some delicious ice cream.

I am so thankful to Changing Hands for hosting the event! It had a great feel about it and I adored the store itself. It was a blast having my best friend with me. She had her first ever book signed! :) Sarah and I ended up at Pink Spot afterward for some delicious ice cream. 

Overall, it was an amazing night! If you’ve never been to a book signing or a tour I highly recommend it. If you’re a writer, it is the best kind of an encouragement. I always take away buckets of advice from these things. I will definitely cherish the memories of this particular tour. 

Much love, 

Valia

IMM #5

In which I gush about some seriously awesome authors! :-)

Post on Dark Days of Summer will be up soon!

What's in your mailbox?

Much love,

Valia

Book Spotlight: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

This book is out today!!

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

From Goodreads. com

This story starts out with Amelia and her wanderings. She is a girl who lost her life and is now stuck as a ghost in the mortal world. She struggles with memories of who she is and where she comes from. The one memory she does not struggle with is her death. She can’t remember how she died but she ‘relives’ her watery demise in her dreams. 

Enter Joshua. She saves him from the same fate that befell her and finds out that Joshua can see her. For a girl who has lost her ability to touch, it seems that she can feel Joshua. The story unravels in a way that introduces Amelia and Joshua in a wonderful light. Amelia is a girl who is beautiful but dead, trying to find her place in the world. Joshua, a sweet and considerate boy who pulls Amelia into the land of the living. The connection between the two is solid and wondrous. Tara brings the characters to life with her remarkable writing. Every word seems to jump off the pages, pulling you into a world where life after death, and love beyond the possible is real. 

This is a beautiful story of love and self discovery. This book will leave you wanting more! I cannot wait to find out what happens to these characters. Will they withstand the obstacles in their path? Will their love survive the many challenges thrown their way? These questions are answered in “Hereafter” but they are also asked, because Tara leaves us with an ending that is just a beginning. 

This book hits the shelves June 7th, 2011. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Let me know what you think!

Happy reading,

Valia 

IMM #4

I got a scary face!!!! HAHA!

Excuse my use of the word Awesome in this video! It was just....awesome! :-)

What's in your mailbox???

Happy reading,

Valia