Happy 2 Year Blogoversary to Us! :D [Giveaway!]

Yes, you heard correctly..or.. read correctly. Today is Book- Marks The Spot's two year anniversary! (: 

(Woo. A button. That makes this shit official.)

And in celebration of this momentous occasion, we have a few giveaways in store for you guys this month! (Okay, so it may not be momentous to you, but it is a great big honkin' deal to Tiffany and me.)

To kick off May and our giveaways, we are starting with our box of books giveaway. We have several books available for the winner to choose from. 

One winner will choose books to fill up Tiffany's shipping box. (It looks like six may be able to fit, depending on the books.) Here are the choices:

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (ARC)

Tracing Stars by Erin E.Moulton (Hardback, Signed)

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens (Paperback)

Tall, Dark, & Dead by Tate Hallaway (Hardback)

Flutter by Erin E.Moulton (Paperback, Signed)

Fangs and Freaks by Serena Robar (Paperback)

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison (Hardback)

Vixen by Jillian Larkin (Hardback)

Torn by Margaret Perterson Haddix (Hardback)

Bliss by Lauren Myracle (Hardback)

Steamed by Katie MacAlister (Hardback)

Spellbinding by Maya Gold (Paperback)

Hit the Road, Helen! by Kate McMullan (ARC)

Shift by Kim Curran (Paperback)

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer (ARC)

No Love for the Wicked by Megan Powell (ARC)

The Dark Shore by Kevin Emerson (ARC)

Pharmacology by Christopher Herz (Paperback)

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (Paperback)

The Marked by Inara Scott (ARC)

The Profiler by Steven D. Peterson (Paperback)

Faking 19 by Alyson Noel (Paperback)

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer(Paperback)

Bite Me! by Melissa Francis (Paperback)

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix (Mass Market)

The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells (Mass Market)

From Black Rooms by Stephen Woodworth (Mass Market)

Starlight by Carrie Lofty (Mass Market)

Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingsbury 

Possession by A.S. Byatt (Paperback)

Cry in the Night by Colleen Coble (Paperback)

The Border Vixen by Beatrice Small 

Letter Perfect by Cathy Marie Hake (Paperback)

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen 

Awakening by Robin Wasserman (Paperback, Library Binding)

Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward (Mass Market)

The Legend of Banzai Maguire by Susan Grant (Mass Market)

Taken by Lilith SaintCrow (Mass Market)

Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz (ARC)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Paperback)

Dark Seduction by Kathleen Korbel (Mass Market)

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares (Paperback)
Chosen by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast (Paperback)
Evermore by Alyson Noel (Paperback)
Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer (ARC)
The Perfect Fit by Louise Kean (Paperback)
On The Die I Died by Candace Fleming (Hardback)
 




Thanks so much for stopping by! We really appreciate it! Now Go ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!!! lol :D I hope you see some books you like. We aim to please 

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[Review] This Crumbling Pageant + Giveaway

This Crumbling Pageant (The Fury Triad #1) by Patricia Burroughs

Persephone Fury is the Dark daughter, the one they hide.

England, 1811. Few are aware of a hidden magical England, a people not ruled by poor mad George, but the dying King Pellinore of the House of Pendragon.

The Furys are known for their music, their magic, and their historic role as kingmakers. When Fury ambitions demand a political marriage, Persephone is drugged and presented to Society--
Only to be abducted from the man she loves by the man she loathes.

But devious and ruthless, Persephone must defy ancient prophecy, embrace her Dark magic, and seize her own fate.

Be swept away into the first book of a dark fantasy series combining swashbuckling adventure, heart-pounding romance, and plot-twisting suspense.

Fury Triad Website | Goodreads

Review

This Crumbling Pageant definitely forces you to take notice of its originality. I find that high fantasy, while sometimes a bit of a trial to follow, always has something new to offer me. Each author brings something new to the table to create a book that will be vivid and singular in your mind. This author certainly achieved that. 

I have always had a fascination with villains (you say antagonist. They will always be villains to me) and what goes on in their heads. I had not yet read a villain that the author focused on and helped me understand more than Vespasian. I loved delving into the other character’s heads and seeing everything from their points of view. Allow me to explain why I love this so much. If you have watched or Read Game of Thrones, you get a window into all the different kingdom’s worlds and see that they all believe they are doing the honorable thing on their side. Ugh. I am explaining this horribly. The characters in This Crumbling pageant are three- dimensional. They are complex characters who are all equal in the story and actually have their own stories. This makes it very hard to truly hate any one character too much, even the villains, who we are normally engineered to hate and fear. (Another Example: If you watch Once Upon a Time, you know that it is hard to hate Rumpelstiltskin since you know his background and you are allowed to see him at his most vulnerable.) That is what it is like with the “villain” in this book. I know this paragraph is crazy confusing, but I just wanted to point out that I found that interesting. (: 

[Sometimes, the Points of View switching overwhelmed me and I had to make sense of the changes, however. ]

I loved the different aspects that were thrown together to creative the truly unique world in which the book takes place. I will not even try to list the aspects and genres that cross over in this book. It was very dynamic and really stuck with me. I thought that the basic idea of the book (Magic. Jealousy. Kidnapping!) was awesome and I loved all the adventure and intrigue that the author was able to fit into the book. Speaking of the intrigue, I really liked the little plot surprises that were thrown in. And who doesn’t love Political mystery thrown in with their high fantasy. Ugh. This book just had so much stuff in it. O.O (I also loved the way music is incorporated into the story as well. A very creative addition.)

I thought that Persephone was a very individual character. I really enjoyed her interactions with her loving family. She had to overcome so much, but also got to experience some moments of joy. (hehe.) She had some moments where she needed a throat punch (as did other characters) but I enjoyed her and her journey overall. (: Can’t wait to see what happens next. 












About the Author:

Award-winning screenwriter and best selling novelist Patricia Burroughs loves dogs, books, movies, and football. A lifelong Anglophile, she treasures her frequent travels in the British Isles researching The Fury Triad, the epic fantasy that has taken over her life and heart. She and her high school sweetheart husband are living happily ever after in their hometown of Dallas, Texas.

Website | Planet Books Website | Mailing List | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway:

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Stacking the Shelves #49 April Book Haul!

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we share the books we are adding to our shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Hey peeps, it’s Stacking the Shelves time again. This haul is for the whole month of April. I've only gotten a few books for my birthday, but I plan to get more. :D And yes I am aware it's been a month since my birthday. lol And don't forget to show us some love by leaving us a comment and leaving a link to your STS. Read on peeps, read on!!!!!

Tiffany’s Stack

Won: Swag/Books

I don't think I put this on the last STS :D and yes that is a bullet key chain. :D

Infinity Unleashed by Sedona Venez 

Won @Escaping... One Book @ a Time

Thanks Tiffany! 

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Won @Nicole Sobon's Blog 

I can not wait to read this!!!! Have any of you read it? What did you think?

I may have squealed when I saw all this goodness. :D Thanks so much to Mandy @I Read Indie

Happy Late B-Day To Me

The Guardian of Bastet by Jacqueline M. Battisti 

Bound by Prophecy by Melissa Wright (Shifting Fate is on it's way to me :D)

Hooked by Liz Fichera

More Birthday goodies on the way YAY! :D

Traded:

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Thanks to Christine for the trade!

For Review

Gimme Some Sugar by Kimberly Kincaid

Ryan’s Stack

For Review:

Here's Looking At You by Mhairi McFarlane

This Crumbling Pageant by Patricia Burroughs

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

This is the front cover

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones

[Review + giveaway] Cutlass by Ashley Nixon

Follow the tour, here

Cutlass

Cutlass by Ashley Nixon 
(Cutlass Series #1) 
Publication date: April 23rd 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Goodreads | Amazon

Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy’s fiancé seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it.

Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancé to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard.

But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too. As his  strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.

Review

First off, let me just remind everyone how much I adore pirates. I have always, and will always, love me some swashbuckling high seas action. But it is hard to find a good pirate book that has plenty of action AND romance to keep me interested for long. I am happy to report that the book had ample action and enough romance to keep me turning the pages. And as if pirates and romance were not enough to keep me busy, there were also ELVES. Are you freaking kidding me? I LOVE elves. And with elves, comes magic. *dances with glee* A pirate romance with fantasy elements? Freaking yes! And the sword fights.. did I mention the sword fights? :D I love sword fights! (calm down, Ryan.)

The book follows the journey of Barren in his quest for revenge on his brother, William. For five years, he has been waiting for his chance to fight his brother and avenge the death of his beloved father and pirate lord, Jess Reed- who died at his brothers hands. Larkin is a high- born lady and is marrying William to make her father happy. Barron decides his best chance at luring his brother into their long- awaited final duel is to kidnap Larkin from their engagement party and draw William out to sea- where Barren has the upper-hand. Only Larkin turns out to be more trouble than he or his crew bargained for and there may be more important things at stake than his petty revenge. Political Intrigue, spies, and prejudice follow Barren wherever he goes and he is soon on a quest far more important than any he had been on before with Larkin at his side. 

Cutlass is the sort of book where you can never tell who all the bad guys are and betrayal, politics, and revealed secrets are constantly shaking the plot and causing problems for our hero and heroine. 

The villains were plenty and they were pretty hardcore if we are rating in terms of skill with a sword. *wiggles eyebrows*. Some were more complex and I could empathize with. The others were straightforward and I could understand their motives. One, however, baffles me. I wonder if the second book will expound further on his motives.  So the villains were okay. 

Larkin was an interesting character. She grew up believing in the system she was raised in by her father. She lived a life of privilege and is stubborn to recognize the hard truths she has to face about the system and people she has known all her life. I liked that she was bad-ass and could hold her own against Barren. I also liked that she had morals and convictions that guided her actions. Some of her actions are foolish- as some heroines often are- but her heart was in the right place and she can admit when she is wrong, so I forgive her. I did not get as deep of a connection to her as I did to Barren, but hopefully I can bridge that small gap in the next book!

Barren. Barren, Barren, Barren. What to say about Barren.. The nineteen year old pirate lord with an entire crew at his every command.. and he has them chasing after his petty whims. He is rash and immature, constantly getting everyone in trouble- everything you would expect in a typical nineteen year old. He is also cocky, hot, bad- ass, and loyal- everything you would expect in a pirate lord. I love that - out of all the characters- you see a growth in him and his mindset throughout the story. I am very impressed that he grew up and shifted as the story progressed. Every character should change for the better throughout a story and Barren's change was both necessary and interesting. He was a very human character and I feel like a lot of people can relate to his rash nineteen year old side. He is- after all- human. And to be human is to make mistakes and be ruled by your emotions. I am glad he changed, because I sort of wanted to smack him for a few of his choices. 

Speaking of smacking Barren for his choices- that reminds me- Leaf!

Leaf was a secondary character, but I just felt the need to mention him and praise him for his sexy elfed..ness. (: He was charming and funny. Ah.. Leaf. He was the perfect first mate- trying to get his idiot captain to see reason, while still trying to see the laughter in bad situations. You, my dear Elf, are awesome and the story would have had a sad gap without you to provide your warmth to the story in the light of our  two serious main characters. <3

All in all? Cutlass was an entertaining read. It was full of violence, political upheaval, betrayal, romance, mystery, adventure, secrets, pirates, a sexy elf, a pirate lord with a grudge, a lady with a choice to make, and most important of all.. sword fights. :D I loved it. 

4.5/5 (round to 5)

:D PIRATES! <3

Ashley 

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Website

Ashley was born and raised in Oklahoma, where the wind really does sweep down the plains, and horses and carriages aren’t used as much as she’d like. When she’s not writing, she’s hard at work on her Master’s degree in Library Science and Information Technology, working out, or pretending she’s Sherlock Holmes. Her obsession with writing began after reading the Lord of the Rings in the eighth grade. Since then, she’s loved everything Fantasy–resulting in an unhealthy obsession with the ‘geek’ tab on Pinterest, where all things awesome go.

Giveaway:

Tour wide giveaway (INTL)

• Prize 1) A signed Paperback Copy of Cutlass, include a cute octopus             mug (it's purple and ADORABLE), Bookmark, and maybe a poster.  

• Prize 2) A signed Paperback of Cutlass + a bookmark 

• Prize 3) E-book of Cutlass 

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