Follower survey

As promised here is the follower survey. The first 15 people to respond will recieve one of the incentives mentioned yesterday, they will be contacted in order to choose which they'd like.
Most questions are mandatory but a few are optional, please be fully honest, we won't be offended if you say there's something you don't like, we're trying to make the page and blog better for everyone.

Ok here's the link:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGhrYkNqRWJSd1B2RGxFbGUwcGs1WFE6MQ#gid=0

A big Thanks in advance for helping us out

Knight night review

Knight night by Owen Davey

Releases 1st August 2011

www.Templarco.co.uk

This is my first childrens book review, Oliver is my son who will be participating in these review, he's only two so it'll be a more minimal input lol

What's it about?
Going to bed is a great adventure for one little boy in this charming tale. It might seem like he's putting his toys away, brushing his teeth and climing into bed, but actually he's riding thorugh a hallway forest, jumping over bathroom crocodiles and climbing a castle wall - no wonder he's exhausted and falls straight to sleep!

Mine and Olivers review.
4/5
This is a lovely book, it sticks with the same natural colour tone as the cover and has some lovely pictures, Oliver enjoyed exploring them and we lingered on each page so he could have a good look. The story is cute and simple it follows a little boys bedtime routine but in his imagination as a Knight which will appeal to any little boy but reading it to my older Daughter after proved it's for girls to as she also enjoyed it. There's one line of a few words to each page so it's a short book, good for if your little one has a short attention span, making it a perfect start to get them into books. The only thing I will say as a slight negative is that the text is very small, especially for such big pages so I don't think it would be so suitable for when your child is learning to read later on but still a lovely book I'm sure we'll read over and over together.

Owen Daveys website

Follower survey info

I've mentioned a few times now that I'm going to be posting a follower survey about the blog and Facebook page. Well the time has come. Tomorrow at 9pm GMT (That's 24 hours from now) I'll be posting it, I'm giving you fair warning because the incentives we'll be giving out will be on a first come basis. We have 15 in total, most are international but a few are UK only. If I get anything extra between now and then I'll add them to the list so there may be more yet :)
I know your all over the world and I'm sorry to people that won't be able to participate at that time because they'll be in bed or at work but there's not much I can do. Whatever time I post this will be the case for someone.
We'd still be greatful to anyone still willing to fill in the survey after the incentives are gone as it'll help us to see what is and isn't popular and where we can go from there to make a better, funner page/blog for everyone, so the survey will be running for a week.
I promise it's short and most the questions are just multiple choice. So please come and let us know what you think tomorrow.
The first 15 respondants will be contacted in the order they filled it in to choose what they'd like from the following list.

What's up for grabs?
8 copies of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Only four will be available for international participants due to postage costs)
3 signed The Keepers bookmarks by Monique O'Connor James
Signed The Magicians guild by Trudi Canavan and Magicians apprentice pin (Sorry, UK only)
2x Bracelet of bones bookmarks
A place of secrets by Rachel Hore.

If you have any questions you can ask them here or email.

Wednesdays Worldly covers - Week 22

Wednesdays worldy covers is a weekly meme I may have made up lol

Can you guess what this cover is for?

It's the Russian cover for Ш-ш-шт! which according to Google translate, translates to Sh-Sh-piece!

Guessed yet?

It's Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick!

Lovely isn't it, I also wanted to share the Dutch version with you which is called Drift.

And as usual here's our cover.

I love them all but I definitely prefer the UK/US cover, especially in real life because it's all shiny lol

Which do you prefer?

The power of six review

The power of six by Pittacus Lore.

Releases 23rd August 2011

www.penguin.co.uk

This is the follow up to the brilliant I am number Four, if you haven't read that you can check out my review here.

What's it about?
We are the last defence.

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened to John Smith. To the world he's a mystery, but to me ... he's one of us. Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us, if we all still believe in our mission.
There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another, but our Legacies are developing and soon we'll be ready to fight. Is John Number Four - and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who might be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio ... and failed. I am Number Seven. And I'm ready to fight.

My review:
5/5
If you like your books full of action then this is the book for you!
Unlike the first instalment this isn't just told by Johns perspective but also from Marina who is number 7 living in Spain, she balances the constant action from John, Six and Sam who are being hunted by both the Mogs and the police, with more calmer scenes as we get to know her, her situation and her abilities.
As things get more heated for marina the book switches between the two quicker and quicker to make for an explosive ending full of action and suspense.
I really enjoyed this book and the developing relationships between the characters and unlike other middle-of-series books that can just feel like a segue into the next one there's a lot of info on the main plot and some great twists.
I was really glad Sam wasn't left in paradise at the end of I am number four but instead went with John and Six so that he's in this book, I really felt for him and thought he added an extra dimension to the trio. He's an unlikely hero and I have high hopes for him in the future.
Six of course kicks ass and we get to know a little more about her. I have to say I was a little disappointed John doesn't discover any more of his abilities but he's still cool and this is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.
We gradually meet a lot of new characters in this addition as well, though not all at once so it's not confusing. I liked Marina a lot and felt her frustration at her situation.
I also liked the other characters we meet later, but I don't want to give anything away so I won't go into them lol.
This is a definite must read for fans of the first book or even for people who only kind of liked it, it'll leave you itching for the next book with it's big double cliffhanger ending!

Website for the books

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Top ten Tuesday #8

My top ten Vampires.

1. Myrnin from The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine - I love Myrnin, he's my favourite character of the series, he's nuts and hilarious!

2. Vasilissa Drogomir from The Vampire academy series by Richelle Mead - Lissa is compassionate and a great friend.

3. Jasper Cullen from The Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer - Yeah he's hot! But also I really like his character and his back story

4. Elizabeth (Betsy) Taylor from The Queen Betsy Vampire series by Maryjanice Davidson - Though I find her to be quite immature at times, Betsy is funny, gutsy and loves shoes!!

5. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, series by Joss Weadon, books by various - Though it was a series first, there are tons of Buffy books and series 8 is a comic series so I don't think I'm cheating lol

6. Balthazar from The Evernight series by Claudia Gray - Just another great guy who's there for people he cares about.

7. Jenna from Hex hall by Rachel Hawkins

8. Mr Bishop from The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine - Just cuz he's so evil lol

9. Le Stat from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice - I admit I've never read these books (yet) but I've seen the movies and I love Le Stat especially in Queen of the damned when he's a sexy rock star!

10. Christian Ozera from The Vampire academy series by Richelle Mead

I've noticed most of these are guys, it's not cuz they're all 'hot' but because I like the characters, that they're guys is coincidence :)

Next week will be my top ten magical objects, as usual if you'd like to join in send your list to bookaholics@live.co.uk and it will be included in the post.

Let's write a story Monday #2

'Let's write a story Monday' was an idea I came up with last week where we all write a story together.

Basically I started off a story with a title and a few lines and asked you what you thought should come next. Then from the entries I would pick one to continue the story and post it this week and so on each week. Every few months I'll start a new story to keep it fresh and so you won't have loads to read if your new to the game.

And as a bonus, whoevers entry I pick each week will get themselves a free bookmark from me. You can pick whichever one you want from bookdepository.com or if you live in the UK you can also choose from Amazons selection of bookmarks, so long as it's sold by Amazon and not a third party so the postage is free lol

So here's the story so far.

Whirlwind.

(ME) Jerold knew he was good looking with his toned biceps and sexy dark eyes and he always knew he'd be famous, it was his destiny. Though he never imagined what it was that actually made him famous. He thought he'd be a rock star, trashing hotel rooms and having a different groupie every night or a sought after movie star living in the Hollywood hills. Maybe even a hunky model, but not this...

(Casey Mattingly) Jerold stood in shock, looking at his father one final time as the officer threw him into the squad car. It was hard to believe that most of his life had been a lie. Just a cover up for his dad's insane ideas and theory's of "Another Dimension". Now he was the laughing stock of the town and would be refered to as "The Mad Scientist's Minion". He wanted scream. To yell at his dad and tell him how his life was now ruined. But he couldn't. All he could do was stand there and watch as the final strobe light dissapeared into the darkness....

Thanks Casey for your entry, please send me an email with your address and a link to your choice of bookmark.

If you'd like to play this week just use the form below, remember it can be anything as long as it's continuous to the story.

The form is open until Sunday so you can send your entry anyday, not just Monday lol

In my mailbox #4

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story siren.

Well it's that time of the week where I brag about all the lovely books I got this week! If you'd like to join in the fun hit the picture up there and it'll take you to the blog that started it all :)

11th July - 17th July

(Book links go to Goodreads.com)

My husband was out shopping the other day and called to say he was in Waterstones (A big bookstore chain here) and did I want anything, what a silly question, of course there was lol. He told me what was in the 3 for 2 and I ended up getting.

A clash of kings by George R.R Martin - I'm currently working my way through Game of thrones but it's taking some time because I keep putting it down for review books and it's massive!

Red glove by Holly Black - Haven't yet read the first but Im confident I'll like them.

Witches of the east by Melissa De La Cruz - I had this on preorder with Amazon and they hadn't even started processing it when it was sitting in the shop!

Bought myself:

Hunger and Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Dragons Oath by P.C and Kristin Cast

For review:

The power of six by Pittacus Lore - From Penguin - I've already started this and I'm super excited!

Gift:

A greater love by Olga Watkins - This was a gift from Splendid books but it's not really my thing so I'm passing it on to Nicole to review for the page

These are Christmas gifts I got for my kiddies, a set each, 43 books total!

(The Winnie the pooh dressed as an elephant is mine though!)

And these books were sent from Mira for us to use as the prizes for our big artsy contest. The easel picture on the left will take you there if you want to find out about entering.

I also joined Netgalley this week, yes I know I'm late to the party! And got for review

The sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates - check out my review here

and The girl of fire and thorns by Rae Carson.

HCI books also sent me a PDF of Dark territory by J. Gabriel Gates to review.

And last but not least the author B. McMurray gave me an eBook copy of his book Prodigy as a gift which I've decided I will review.

DVDs

I also bought Dear John on DVD whilst I was out and about.

What was in your mailbox this week?

'Design us a graphic' Competition

We're looking to get a new graphic/picture for the page and blog and we want you to design it!

The only requirements are that it must say 'Bookaholics Book Club' somewhere on it, must be your own work. Otherwise it can be anything, a sketch, painting or even a photograph.

After entries are closed Ninfa and myself will be narrowing down a short list which will be posted on the page for voting for two weeks.

Participants in the short list will not be permitted to vote but they can send over their friends to :)

PRIZES

First place is a summer book bundle from Mira: The Midwifes confession by Diane Chamberlain A turn in the road by Debbie Macomber           The collaborator by Margaret Leroy             Devil's consort by Anna O'Brien                 Summer at Willow lake by Susan Wiggs Hollywood sinners by Victoria Fox                   And a book of your choice from Bookdepository.com up to the value of £10

Second place is:

The midwifes confession by Diane Chamberlain

And a book of your choice from bookdepository.com up to the value of £7.50

Third place is:

A book of your choice from bookdepository.com up to the value of £5

THE IMPORTANT BITS

The competition is international and we will stop accepting entries on Sunday 14th August. The short listed entries will be posted on Facebook Wednesday 17th August and will be open to voting until Wednesday 31st August. The winner and runners up will then be announced on Thursday 1st September.

To enter fill in the quick form below then send your picture to bookaholics@live.co.uk with 'Graphic competition' as the subject, remember to include your name! You can send in more than one entry if you like but only fill in the form once. (You can fill in the form at any time, just remember to send your picture when it's done!)

The Sleepwalkers review

The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates.

Releases 3rd October 2011

www.hcibooks.com

What's it about?

Privileged and popular Caleb Mason is celebrating his high school graduation when he receives a mysterious, disturbing letter from his long-lost childhood playmate, Christine. Caleb and his jokester friend Bean decide to travel to his tiny hometown of Hudsonville, Florida, to find her. Upon arrival, they discover the town has taken a horrifying turn for the worse. Caleb's childhood home is abandoned and his father has disappeared. Children are going missing. The old insane asylum has reopened, and Christine is locked inside. Her mother, a witch, is consumed with madness, and Christine's long-dead twin sister whispers clues to Caleb through the static of an a.m. radio. The terrifying prophesies of the spirits are coming to pass. Sixteen clocks are ticking; sixty-six murdered souls will bring about the end of the world. As Caleb peels back layer after layer of mystery, he uncovers a truth more horrible than anything he had imagined, a truth that could only be uttered by the lips of the dead.

My review:

5/5

I admit when I read the first page of this, I was skeptical. It's written so differently to anything I've ever read and I had trouble understanding what was going on. However once I got passed the prologue and the story started, it 'calmed down' a little and I got right into it, it's still written very uniquely but that just made it all the more interesting. And as soon as the mystery started I was desperate to get to the end and find out what was going on and stayed up later than I should have before forcing myself to put it down (I actually woke up still holding my Kindle up!).

The book is gripping and creepy with lots of action and is full of some wonderful, if odd, characters.

Our hero Caleb (Billy) is brave and caring and best friend Bean is hilarious, I loved the banter that goes on between the two friends even when things get scary. Though Caleb is the main hero I also loved another hero of the book Ron, he's been through a lot and is struggling with his faith, but he really steps up when it's asked of him and is also incredibly brave.

Though I found the end a teensy bit predicatable for me, it was an excellent read with some unique ideas and I'd recommend it to anyone.

There's a couple of loose strings which makes me think there will be a sequel... I certainly hope so!

Other books by J. Gabriel Gates:

Dark territory (The Tracks book one)

Ghost crown (The Tracks book two - Jan 2012)

Vist J. Gbariel Gates website.