Interview with Lauren Kate ( Author of "Fallen" & "Torment")

Today it is an honor to welcome Lauren Kate to both my blogs.

Lauren Kate is an American author and she writes full-time. She grew up in Dallas, and is currently living in Los Angeles with her husband and their dog. Her debut novel, "The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove", was released in 2009 and is a re-telling of MacBeth, but it was her second novel that was going to be her big break-through.

"Fallen" was also released in 2009, and is the first book in a planned series about angels.



We meet seventeen year old Lucinda Price, who is sent to a reform school after the boy she likes is tragically killed in a fire, and she is believed to have had something to do with it.

"Fallen" became an instante hit, and was named nummer 4 on The New York Times best seller list in December the same year. I absolutely loved the novel.



The second book in the series, "Torment", is released in the UK today.


Lauren Kate's books are beautifully written, full of mythology, romance, suspense, mysteries and thrills. And they all have covers that are like candy for the eyes. They are among my favorite reads.












Want to get to know Lauren better? Here is an interview I did with her, when I was awaiting the release of "Torment":

Thank you so much for accepting this interview, Lauren Kate. Book number 2, in the Fallen series, "Torment", is out in the UK today. Can you tell us a little about this book?

I am so excited about "Torment". It picks up right where Fallen left off, though Luce is in a new place, with a whole new cast of characters. She’s looking forward to a future with Daniel—but of course, it’s not going to be that easy! First she has to look deep into their past together, and what she finds there will surprise her.

How many books have you planned for this series?

There will be four books in total. I’ve just started writing the third book, "Passion", which is a prequel that will trace Luce and Daniel’s past relationships in detail across history. It’s quite a task, but I’m having fun with it!

Wow, that sounds great. Where did you get the idea for the story initially, and why exactly did you want to write about angels?

The idea began when I came across a line in Genesis that talked about a group of fallen angels who were kicked out of heaven because they lusted after mortal women. I started thinking about what it would be like to be normal girl--suddenly the object of an angel’s affection. All the excitement and the challenges that would naturally spring from that. As someone who's been writing love stories my whole life, this angel angle seemed like the perfect way for me to up the ante and tell a really BIG love story, one that brought in questions about trust and betrayal, and preconceived notions good and evil.

You must have done a lot of research on mythology and angels in particular and learned a great deal about them. Did you learn anything that surprised you?

When I started researching, I was interested in the way good and evil intersected in various theologies. My reading took me back to Zoroastrianism, the earliest known dualistic religion (meaning there are two opposite sides). Good and evil are twin brothers, two parts of a whole, and born of the same place. In Judaism, God is both merciful (“good”) and just (occasionally punishing or distant). He is, of course, never described as “evil,” but many scholars make the case that the Hebrew god contains some of the same dualities as the pair of Zoroastrian gods. A hard side, and a soft side. In Christianity, there’s Satan. We all know about him. The fact that all three of these foundational religions have strong dualistic roots fascinated me. Can the lines dividing them really be that clean and that stark? No, in fact good and evil can rely on each other. And even if they are on paper—or in Heaven—what happens when you throw humans and their free will into the mess? What was black and white becomes grey.
How is a normal writing day for you, and when and where do you write?

I write at home, at a desk facing a large window that looks out on Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. I like to go for a run in the morning to clear my head. I usually have sketched out a rough paragraph of what I’m going to write the day before and after an hour or so of procrastination in the morning—emails, twitter, playing with the dog—I sit down and focus on writing. I write hard for about four hours straight (which usually gets me about seven or eight pages), then I am usually completely catatonic! I take a break for about an hour, maybe take a walk or read a magazine. Then I go back and revise, expand, and edit my work, and begin to sketch out the paragraph synopsis for what I’ll write the next day.

Do you have the details in the story planned beforehand, or do you develop the story as you are writing it?

Both. Because the scope of the series is so big and so complicated, I had to map out the books in detail or I don’t think I could have known what I was writing about. So I typed it all up: character arcs, long synopses for each books, a map of the chapter for the first book, cliffhanger endings, the whole deal. Once I was comfortable with the shape of the story, I plunged. I had the outline to fall back on, but the freedom to stray from it when my writing momentum took me someplace else..
Have you always wanted to become an author?
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a ballerina. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a writer. Now that I’m working full-time as I writer, I want go to culinary school and become a chef. (While still writing books, of course!)

Is there any authors or books that have influenced you in your writing?

I’ve always loved to read. Growing up I adored anything by Roald Dahl and read all of his books over and over again. I love Lois Lowry, Patricia MacLachlan, Judy Blume, Phillip Pullman, and Suzanne Collins. My favorite “adult” authors are William Faulkner, Don DeLillo, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Right now I’m reading The Master and Margarita by a fantastic Russian author named Bulgacov.

The book covers for the Fallen - series are amazing. I guess you must be very pleased with them. Who designs them?

The cover art comes from a Brazilian artist named Fernanda Brussi Goncalves. We’ve emailed a few times and she’s incredibly warm and talented. I will be forever endebted to her for her beautiful beautiful work, which has really brought the books to life.
What do you associate with Norway? Ever been here?

Beautiful fjords, waterfalls, and Per Peterson, whose work I absolutely adore. "Out Stealing Horses"was one of the most incredible books I have ever read.

I would LOVE to visit. Maybe someday I could do to book signing trip!

Oh yes, I really hope you can one day. Anything else you would like to add?

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. It’s so exciting to have a chance to connect with readers across the world!

Thank you, Lauren Kate. Her book "Torment" is out in the UK today, and if you have not read her books before I would strongly suggest that you do so. The Fallen - series are among my favorite books, way better than Twilight I think.

Here is the final trailer for "Torment":



And here is the trailer for "Fallen":



You can find Lauren Kate' s website here!

My review for "Torment" will be published on saturday, but I can already say this much: You do not want to miss out on that book.

Waiting on Wednesday: "Dark Flame".

This meme is hosted by "Breaking the spine", and here we showcase the books we are dying to get our hand on.

My pick this week is: "Dark Flame" by Alyson Noel
"Once it seemed being immortal was a gift to Ever Bloom - now it's a curse. And she's a danger to herself. Ever has been dabbling in Magyck - seeking to explore her own powers, hoping to find a future for her relationship with Damen. But she's not in control - in fact, the magyck has bound her eternally to her immortal enemy, Roman. Whenever he's near, she feels his heartbeat, his breath, his blood racing in her veins. Ever is in deep - and the one person who might be able to help her must never find out what she's done . . ."
(Description from Play.com)

I love Alyson Noel's books, and since I buy them from the UK I have to wait a bit longer than the residents in the United States to get to read them. I actually got an e-mail that the book was posted today, so hopefully it won't take long before it arrives in my mailbox.

Review: Dark Touch: The Hunt by Amy Meredith

Publisher: Red Fox
Format: Paperback
Pages: 263
Source: Review Copy










" Something is hunting. Something that will kill to get what it wants. And it isn't human. Eve knows that her supernatural powers are called for, but she'd rather focus on dating than demons and gorgeous Luke is, frankly, pretty distracting. He's already a friend - but could he be something more? Do Luke and Eve really have a future? And with demons on the hunt, will either of them live long enough to find out? "
(Description from Amazon.co.uk)

Background:
This is the second book in a series aimed at the pre-Twilight age group. The author, Amy Meredith, lives in California, but she has also lived and worked in New York and the Hamptons where the main characters in the Dark Touch - series are from. She has always been fascinated by the supernatural. I rated the first book in this series "4 books" and labeled it "gothic glamour".

Story:
Something evil and dangerous is preying on the people in Deepdene, something that can kill. The first victim is a football player. He has been drained of blood and torn to pieces. Soon, there are other victims. The town is in shock and Eve must again use her supernatural powers in order to protect her friends and the town.

Main Character:
Eve Evergold has grown a lot since the first book in this series. She is still a happy, and at some times a carefree girl, but the events in the first books has really affected her. Her character has gotten more depth and there is a seriousness about her that was not there in the first book. She is still likeable and a great main character, and I love her humour.

The Book
Dark Touch; The Hunt is an entertaining and a scary read, I had a hard time putting the book down. Eve is trying to figure out how to control her powers - with good help from her friends Jess and Luke. Eve soon discovers that Luke means more to her than just being a friend. A reporter comes to town to write about the death of the football player, but Eve and her friends thinks that he is hiding something.

Even though I could see it coming, I liked the fact that the author has picked Luke as Eve's new love interest. And I also liked the fact that it isn't quite obvious what Luke actually is feeling. The author has done well with the balance between the love story and the horror story. The mystery about who or what are responsible for the killings, is always at the centre of the story. The love story just adds a little spice to the mix.

We get to know Luke a lot better in this book, and he is an interesting character. The more I read about him, the more I want to know.

This books is much more scarier than the first one, and the author uses a lot of the teqniques you could find in the movies. The beginning could be the opening scene in a horror movie. And the thrill does not end there. Everytime you are about to finish a chapter, something new happens that keeps you reading on and on, and the plot is not so obvious as in the first book. The author has really stepped it up a notch.

The ending was a big surprise for me, and I read as fast as I possibly could to find out what was going to happen next.

Dark Touch: The Hunt has everything I like in a book: it is about the supernatural, is thrilling, hard to put down, engaging and with interesting characters. I loved it. Now I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next installment in this series, Fever, which comes out in January.

Read this book if you would like a taste of the TV show "Supernatural" mixed with a hint of Gossip Girl.

Other reviews:
I was a teenage book geek

In My Mailbox (5) - London special

This is a weekly meme, where we talk about the books we got the previous week. As always the In My Mailbox meme is hosted by The Story Siren.

This week I got so many awesome books. I have been vacationing in London, and have visited a lot of bookshops and bought many, many books.

We stayed at a hotel named Harlingford, situated in Bloomsbury. The first day we got there, I found an amazing shop only a short distance from our hotel. Skoob books have been labeled “London’s Greatest Book Shop”, and I can totally understand why.
We stumbled upon it when we were walking in the area, and when I got inside I thought I was in heaven. There were books everywhere, the shelves were packed with them. I love secondhand bookshops, and this must have been one of the best I have ever visited. I bought "The Complete Poems" by Emily Bronte and "Abandoned" by Cody Mcfadyen this time. I really wanted to spend more time here, but my boyfriend is not so happy with waiting whilst I spend hours in a book store.
I returned to Skoob Books the last day we spent in London, and then I found treasure. First of all, I bought "Unholy Ghosts" and "City of Ghosts" by Stacia Kane. The books were used, as all the books in this shop are, but they didn’t appear used.

I also bought "Frostbite" and "Shadowkiss" by Richelle Mead. In the fantasy section I found “After Twilight”, an anthology from 2001 with stories from authors such as Christine Feehan and Ronda Thompson. But the real gold, was found in the Children’s section.

I have been wanting to read “Infinite Days” by Rebecca Maizel for a long time now, and I was actually thinking about buying it when I visited Waterstones on Oxford Street. But, since it is still in hardback, I decided to wait since my suitcase was already getting a bit heavy. But faith had something in store for me….

When shifting through the children’s section at Skoob Books I saw something I at first didn’t quite understand - a paperback edition labeled “Infinite Days”. I though that was kinda strange, since the book is only out in hardback, so I reached for the book and found gold… It was actually a bound proof of "Infinite Days", and the prize was really low. My heart was raising and I couldn't believe it was true.

I also found a bound proof of “The Rule of Claw” by John Brindley, from 2007. This one didn’t appear to be read at all, and the story seemed interesting, so I bought it. Skoob Books did really have treasures.

I also visited Forbidden Planet. I hadn’t heard about this shop until a commenter on my blog told me about in - thank you. I also found a lot of amazing books here.

I got “ Bite”, an anthology with stories from Laurell K. Hamilton and other authors.

I also bought the first six books in the weather warden series by Rachel Caine, and the best part: They were all signed. I also got an extra copy of "Firestorm", which is also signed, that I will be giving away here on my blog later. I also got “Undone” and “Unknown” by Rachel Caine, and they were also signed. And I got a signed edition of “Kiss of Death”.
I also found a signed hardback edition of "The Passage" by Justin Cronin, but since the book was so heavy I decided not to buy it.

We also visited Waterstones, and they had a “3 for 2” bargain. I ended up with “Before I fall” by Lauren Olivier, “The Host” by Stephenie Meyer and “Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare. I have already received Clockwork Angel from Play, so the edition I bought in London is going to be part of a giveaway later.

I have also received some great books in my mailbox at home:
Alexandra Adornetto: Halo
Alyson Noel: Radiance
Marie Treanor: Blood on silk
Kin Harrison: "The good, the bad and the undead" ( The Norwegian translation)


What have you gotten in your mailbox this week?

Going to London!

I am packing my suitcase for a trip to London tomorrow. I got the trip as a birthday present from my boyfriend this summer, and finally the day of departure is near.

London is one of my favorite cities. I simply love it! The atmosphere, the people, the history, the shops and the restaurants....I love everything about it.

I plan to visit some of the bookstores while I am there, so I would be very happy if you could give me some hints as to which stores are the best to visit. Are there for example any stores that specializes in Young Adult or the supernatural? Are there some stores that have more bargains than the others? Every advice you could give me, will be accepted with open arms!

I have big problems deciding which books are going to keep me company on the plane and the bus ride from Gatwick, a problem I have every time I am traveling. I think I am going to bring a book called "Rubyred". The book isn't translated into English yet, but it was published in Norwegian this autums ( it is originally from Germany) and is a young adult novel about love, time travel etc. It is fantastic so far. I am also pondering if I should bring an Anita Blake novel or "Bitten" by Kelley Armstrong. And I need to pack a crime novel. So many choices *laughs*

Before I go, I want to apologize for not writing a lot of posts these past weeks. I have been totally svamped with work, studies and some family related things - the days haven't had all the hours I have needed. I am so very sorry for this, my conscience are pitch black and I feel so guilty. I have done a lot of reading, and will post the reviews when I am back from London.

Again, I am so sorry for the lack of reviews. I will do better. I promise. Thank you for reading my blog and commenting on the posts. I really appreciate it!

Wish you all a great sunday and a fantastic week :) Enjoy your books!

Review: Kisses from Hell

Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Format: Paperback
Pages: 262
Source: Review copy





















" From a fugitive vampire forced to trust a boy who might work for the group bent on destroying her, to the legendary romance of two immortals whose love compels them to risk everything, this exciting, heart-pounding collection brings new meaning to the words "love you forever." Whether you're into romances that are dark and moody or light and fun, these stories will quench that insatiable thirst for enchanting tales of the beautiful undead." ( Description from Amazon.co.uk)


Background:
"Kisses from Hell" is an anthology consisting of five short stories from Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Alyson Noël (The Immortals), Kristin Cast ( House of Night - series), Kelley Armstrong ( Darkest Powers - series) and Francesca Lia Block (Pretty Dead). All the stories revolve around love and vampires. Harper Collins has earlier published "Prom Nights from Hell" and "Love is Hell".

The Book:
"Kisses from Hell" starts with "Sunshine", written by Richelle Mead. The story is part of the universe Mead has created in the "Vampire Academy - series", and focuses on the romance between Eric and Rhea Dragomir, Lissa's parents. The story is well written, but for me it was a bit boring. I never got into it, and my mind kept dwelling on other things than the story I was reading. I suspect that I would have gotten more out of the story if I had read the Vampire Academy - series prior to it, and I will try to read the story again, when I have done that.

The next story is "Bring me to Life" by Alyson Noël. Danika, an American girl, is attending Sunderland Manor Art Academy in England, but the school is not quite what she expects. I am a big fan of Noël's writing and she didn't dissappoint me with "Bring me to Life" either. I loved the story and the atmosphere she creates in it. It is obvious that she is inspired by "Dracula" and "Wuthering Heights", two of my favorite novels. You have characters with names such as Bram and Earnshaw. I read this story late at night when the rain was pooring down outside, and that just added to the atmosphere in the story. I wish "Bring me to Life" was a whole novel, and not just a short story. I would really like to get to know Danika better.

"Above" is the name of Kristin Cast's story, and I have only one word for it: OMG! The story simply blew me away. It is dark, disturbing, bizarre, suspenseful, mysterious and depressing. But also poetic with some glimmers of light and hope. It reads like a poem, and you have to read between the lines to really understand what's going on. I have read the first book in the House of Night - series, but this was nothing like that. This story was spectacular. I want more. The best short story in this book and a story you either love or hate, I suppose.

Kelley Armstrong has written "Hunting Kat", about Katiana from the Darkest Powers series. I read this story while trying to decide if I should put the book away or not. I have the Darkest Powers - series on my shelf, but I have not read it yet and I am afraid this novel had some spoilers. Again, I think this is a read that is best suited for those who know Katiana's story from other books.

"Lilith" by Francesca Lia Block is the last story in the book. A dark tale about Paul Michael, who do not fit in at school and escapes into an imaginary world. One day, a new girl attends school. Her name is Lilith. This was a cute, and at the same time, dark story. I thought it was a bit short, even for a short story. I wanted to read more about Paul Michael and Lilith, and get to know them better. I didn't feel I got under their skin, so to speak.

I have mixed emotions about "Kisses from Hell". I loved two of the stories, but the others didn't appeal to me, but again I think that is because I do not know the series they are part of. I also would have liked the publisher to state that, for example, "Hunting Kat", is based upon another series by Kelley Armstrong so I could have avoided spoilers.

If the anthology only contained the stories by Noël and Cast, it would have gotten full score. But since I only liked two out of three stories, I am giving it 3 books.

Interview: Marie Treanor, author of "Blood on Silk"

Marie Treanor was born and raised in Scotland, but is now living in the UK. She has written many books in the romance genre, and her new novel "Blood on Silk" is now available. The book is the first in a planned trilogy focusing on vampires.

"sensual and thrilling, a wonderful combination of vampire myths old and new. Saloman and Elizabeth's relationship is both amazingly hot and terrifyingly complicated. Readers will fall instantly in love with the world that Marie Treanor has created. You cannot miss this novel!" is some of the praise the novel has already gotten.

I am waiting eagerly to get hold of my own copy, this looks like a real thrilling new series. To shorten the wait, I interviewed the author about the series and her other books. You can read about it here:

Welcome to my blog, Marie and thank you so much for doing this interview. Your new book, “Blood on Silk” has just been released. Can you tell us a little bit about this book?

Yes, I’d love to! It’s about a very ancient, very powerful vampire who was staked back in the 17th century, and is now accidentally awakened by Elizabeth Silk, a rather unworldly researcher. Elizabeth is making a promising academic career out of explaining away vampire legends, and now, suddenly, she’s faced with the reality of their existence, to say nothing of the wicked attraction she feels to Saloman, the vampire she’s awakened!

Saloman, however, wants revenge on those who betrayed him, and he wants to restore his power over vampires and humans. He needs the life-blood of his Awakener to achieve his full strength, so no matter how much she intrigues him, he determines to kill Elizabeth.

The book is the first in the trilogy “Awakened by blood”. How long have you worked on this series prior to the release of this first book?

I began it about a year ago, and now I’ve finished a rough first draft of the third book.

“Awakened by blood” is about vampires. Why do you think we mortals are so fascinated about these creatures of the night?

Very good question! I ask myself this a lot, and I think mainly we’re drawn to the sheer power of vampires, which can be either sexy or scary or, . There’s also the fact that they preferably, a combination of the two look a lot like humans and yet are very different. I think we like the possibility seeing their aloofness broken down, of catching glimpses of them behaving and feeling more like us, and yet knowing they still aren’t like us. And of course, they’re immortal. An existence without the inevitability of death is an attractive fantasy for mortals!

I really love the cover for “Blood on Silk”. Who has designed it?

Isn’t it beautiful? I love it too! It was designed by NAL artists – the designer is listed as Oceana Gottlieb, and the artist as Craig White.

You have written many books before, how many has it been, in total? And do you have any favorites among them?

Yikes, it seems to be 27, currently published, with another ebook to be released at the end of September . I should point out, though, that a lot of these are novellas and short stories. A couple are collections of stories originally published as individual novellas.

I think my favourite tends to be whatever I’m working on at the time! But I do have soft spots for various books for various reasons: Hunting Karoly, my first ever vampire story, because it was just such fun to write; Killing Joe, because it’s such a weird little tale! Loving the Wolf (now part of the City of the Damned Collection) my first werewolf and my first post-apocalyptic world; Ghost Unlaid because it was my first romance and I did love my ghostly hero; Magic Man because it obsessed me when I was writing it, and as my first effort at a futuristic world, it opened my imagination to wider possibilities. I also particularly enjoyed writing the ones with most humour in them – Ariadne’s Thread, Requiem for Rab and Hunting Karoly again.

Can you tell us a little bit about how your writing career got started? Did it take you long to get published the first time?

Actually, it happened surprisingly quickly! I’d always written stories, mostly for my own amusement, but once I’d decided to aim seriously at publication, my first romance, Ghost Unlaid, was accepted by the first publisher I sent it to. This was an epublisher who unfortunately went bankrupt a couple of years later, although I’m glad to say the book is now republished at The Wild Rose Press. I branched out with other epublishers, Changeling Press, Samhain Publishing and Ellora’s Cave, and eventually one of my books, The Devil and Via, caught the attention of a New York agent, who then sold the Awakened by Blood trilogy to NAL

You are a history graduate. Is there any specific area that you are more interested in and know more about than others?

Well, I studied both medieval and modern history, and I could never narrow down my interest to just one era! At university, it was probably the seventeenth century in Britain and Europe that intrigued me most, but since then I’ve been fascinated by very early medieval history and also the history of Hungary and Eastern Europe.

How is a normal writing day for you, and when and where do you write?

On a normal day I begin writing as soon as I’ve taken my daughter to school in the morning, and try to keep going with as few interruptions as possible until I have to pick her up again in the afternoon. Sometimes, if I’m in the middle of something, I try to do more, but it gets increasingly difficult as the house fills up with kids and phone calls and demands for juice/food/fun/friends/money!

What do you do if you need any inspiration during the writing process?

I try to leave it alone and do something else: walk on the beach to clear my head, or read a book, watch a film or listen to music that reminds me even indirectly of my story.

Do you have any favorite authors?

Oh yes – lots! Dorothy Dunnett, Georgette Heyer, Christopher Brookmyre, Ian Banks, Mary Stewart, Lyndsey Davis, Louis de Berniere, Audrey Niffenenger, Raymond Chandler… And lots of romance authors, too numerous to mention here!

What do you associate with Norway? Ever been here?

Vikings, fjords and pine trees. As you can probably guess, no I’ve never been to Norway. Obviously Scotland and Norway have a strong historical connection, which interests me, and I have been very struck by scenic pictures on television etc. For years my husband and I have talked about a cruise to see some of the beautiful Norwegian coast for ourselves. But somehow when we start thinking of holidays, our need for sun takes over and we end up heading south instead of north! One day, though…

Which books are you looking forward to read this autumn?

Whatever catches my eye at the time! But definitely "Blameless" by Gail Carriger, "Cross Your Heart" by Michele Bardsley and the first of Michele Lang’s Lady Lazarus series at Tor, which sounds absolutely fantastic.

And last: Is there anything you would like to say to all the book-readers out there?

Just thank you for reading the interview! And if you read Blood on Silk, I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you, Marie! I am personally checking my mailbox everyday to see if the book has arrived from the bookstore.

You can visit Marie on her website here and on Facebook here.
Here is a contest in the wake of the release

Here is a teaser for the story in the book, sounds great doesn't it?:

While researching vampire legends for her Ph.D. thesis, Elizabeth Silk learns about Saloman, a powerful vampire reportedly destroyed hundreds of years before. When she accidentally awakens him, she unleashes a strong, unscrupulous, and seductive vampire hell-bent on vengeance against those who tried to kill him. Despite her thesis topic, Elizabeth is woefully ignorant. The local vampire hunters teach her everything she needs to know, but they can't help with her out-of-control attraction for Saloman, who finds Elizabeth too intoxicating to kill. The passion between the two is elemental and erotic, but readers will have to wait for future installments to watch their relationship develop, as this volume is all setup with no story progression whatsoever.

In My Mailbok (4)

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we talk about the books that arrived in our mailbox the last week.

Since I didn't do a mailbox - meme last weekend, these books are for two whole weeks:

For review:
Wendy Delsol: Stork (ARC)
Gregory Maguire: Lost
Kirsten Miller: The Eternal Ones
Anthology: Kisses from Hell
Helen Grant: The Glass Demon ( in Norwegian)
Michael Grant: Gone (in Norwegian)
Michael Grant: Hunger ( in Norwegian)

Bought:
Philippa Gregory: The Red Queen
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games (in Norwegian)
Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire ( in Norwegian)

This is the first time I have gotten an ARC, and I am so excited about that. The cover is beautiful and the story seems great. Can't wait to read it.

What did you get in your mailbox?

100 Followers Giveaway: WINNERS!

This is the moment I have been waiting for: to announce the winners of my big giveaway.

I had an amazing response, not in my wildest dreams had I imagined that so many would participate. There were a total of 194 participants with 1724 entries.

I promised that after I had reached 100 followers, I would pick a new winner for each 25 new follower. I ended up with a total of 274 followers, which means there are a lot of winners. Nine winners have been chosen by Random.org. First place gets to chose two books, and the others one book each.

And the winners are *drumroll*:

1. Dazzling Mage at A Reading Kabocha
2. Maria A. Hughes
3. Fiona Chan
4. W.Noorazlinda / Darlyn
5. Tiffany Dall
6. Kayce Leonard
7. Alexa Kalas
8. Maria The Bookworm
9. Linna @ 21 Pages

Congratulations everyone, and thank you so much to all that have participated. I am going to host more contests. This was fun!

Here are the books the winners can choose from. First place gets to chose first, second place gets to chose second etc:







* Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare ( Paperback)
* Torment by Lauren Kate ( Paperback)
* Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hardback)
* By Midnight by Mia James (Hardback)
* Halo by Alexandra Adornetto ( Hardback)
* Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Paperback)
* Beautiful Darkness, by Garcia & Stohl (Paperback)
* Dead is the New Black, by Marlene Perez (Paperback)
* Radiance, by Alyson Noel (Paperback)
* Dark Touch: Shadows, by Amy Meredith (Paperback)

If you are one of the winners, and review the book you won on a blog, I would love it if you posted the link for the blogpost in the comment-section.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

WOW: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we showcase the books we are dying to read.

My pick this week is "Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare:

"London, 1878. 16-year-old Tessa Gray's priority should be finding her brother, not falling in love with two boys. She is soon caught in a dangerous love triangle where a wrong decision could prove fatal. Tessa will need all her strength to save her brother & stay alive as she learns about what really lurks on London's streets after dark."
(From Play.com)

I love stories from Victorian London, and this one has gotten great reviews on other blogs. I can't wait to read it.