Review: Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr

Island Sting by Bonnie J Doerr
Publisher: Leap Books
Publication date: Dec 2009
Genre: MG (9-12yr)

The Story: Kenzie didn't expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Or cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, and gun-toting thugs... When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she's tracking down a poacher of endangered Key deer. Her new home does have some benefits-mainly Angelo, an island native, who teams up with her to nab the culprit. But will they both survive when the killer turns from stalking deer to hunting humans? Island Sting includes notes on the endangered Florida Key Deer and the National Key Deer Refuge.

My Review: The Island Sting is a cute story about trusting yourself admist all obsticales. At least that's what I got out of it! Our heroin- Kenzie, just moved to the Keys. And she's totally out of her element. It's cute what happens to her and Angelo. Do you remember your first love, getting all tounge tied and bashful? That's what Kenzie and Angelo go through!

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop!

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

March 17th to 20th

Hosted by Books Complete Me 

& I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

What is a giveaway hop?

Simple - Each participating blog hosts a giveaway and then we link up together allowing our followers to hop easily from one giveaway to another.

For followers this means lots of chances to win free books.

For blogs hosting a giveaway it means lots of new visitors and followers.

It's a win-win!

The Lucky Leprechaun Hop is scheduled from 12:01 AM March 17th until 11:59 PM March 20th.

Each participating blog will host their own giveaway. There is no requirement on the minimum or maximum value of your giveaway. It's up to you to decide. You can give away books, swags, amazon gift cards, or anything else you can think of that has to do with books. Your giveaway can be as simple or as elaborate as you want.

All participating blogs will be linked up through a Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway linky. You will be given the linky code to add to your blog so that readers can jump from one giveaway to the next.

Please keep the process to enter your giveaway as simple as possible.

Please no long lists of dozens of different things followers can do to gain extra entries.

Please help spread the word. The more blogs participating the better! It will mean more visitors and new followers for your blog.

Giveaways can be US, US & Canada or International.

Please create your giveaway post before the giveaway starts and then set it to be posted at 12:01 AM EST on March 17th.

More details will be emailed to participants as we get closer to the giveaway.

Questions can be emailed to: toobusyreading at gmail dot com.

The last day to sign up is March 13th.

You may choose which image to use on your blog post:

Image #1

Image#2

Image #3

To Sign Up Please Fill Out the Form AND add your information to the Linky.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share 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!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green:

"A brief look of - I can't tell if it's disappointment or annoyance - flashes across Jesse's face, which infuriates me. I mean, is he seriously annoyed that I don't remember the story of Prometheus when he doesn't even remember that we kissed in a closet for seven entire minutes? Honestly, what is his deal?" pg. 68

 

IMM Take 23

All of us here at BCM are so excited to be a part of the awesome list of blogs who participate in the "In My Mailbox" meme. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren so make sure you check out her book blog for a list of many of the blogs participating. She also has some helpful information on how to participate on your own blog. Click HERE to find out more.

This is a weekly meme where we will post any books (and other things) that we have received in the mail, bought, loaned from the library, etc. It's not limited to just books. It can be anything we have just gotten and are excited about.

So this week we are excited about the following:


Cindy received from publishers:
Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper
In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth






















Julie received:
From author(s):
The Flash of a Firefly by Amber Riley

As gifts:
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan






















Sasha purchased:
Dark Hunters 5


Kendra received
As gifts:
Lover Mine and the BDB Insiders Guide by J.R. Ward
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
The Child Thief by Brom








































From the library:
Matched by Ally Condie
Eternal edited by P.C. Cast























Nicole recieved:
Debugging Tori Redding by Jason Ancona
Roadside Geology of Idaho

Waiting on Wednesday

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday! Waiting on Wednesday a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 


This week I am not so patiently waiting for a book that is already on my shelf but since I am participating in the Debut Author Challenge on The Story Siren in 2011, I have to wait just a few more weeks before I can read it. The book I'm counting down the days until I can read is: 

Haven by Kristi Cook
Release Date: February 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster


Description: Violet McKenna isn't a normal girl with normal teenage issues; she has more to contend with than most people could handle. Violet thought she was just crazy when she had a vivid vision of her dad's murder. Her life started falling apart when her premonition came true. She's had flashes of other events too. The problem was nobody believed her until she found a new school: Winterhaven.

At Winterhaven, Violet finally feels like she belongs. She quickly finds a close group friends and discovers that they too have psychic 'gifts'—as do all the students at Winterhaven. But as soon as she feels settled she discovers the most intriguing and alluring boy she has ever met, and things quickly go awry. As the attraction between them grows, intense visions of the boy's death start to haunt her. In her premonitions the secret he is unwilling to share begins to reveal itself. And to Violet's horror, she learns that their destinies are intertwined in a critical--and deadly--way.

So what are you waiting for this week? Please leave us a comment with your WoW. We'd love to check out your blog too, if you have one. :-) 

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share 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!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard:

"Even as my befuddled brain was still trying to make sense of it - that in front of God and everybody, Mandarin Ramey had called my name - she was charging up the hall toward us and skidding to a stop, her elbows knocking aside my astonished classmates. When she seized me by the shoulders, I felt like she'd reached into my chest and taken hold of my heart." (pgs. 98-99)

Year End Reflections 2010

Greetings everyone! As 2010 comes to a close, we here at BCM wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who follow, visit, or otherwise support the blog. We are truly grateful to each and everyone of you. We hope that you enjoyed the great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways we had this year; and we certainly hope you enjoyed BIR2010!

The holidays are now upon us, and we are going to slow things down a bit for the next two weeks. We will continue to post the weekly memes (In My Mailbox, It's Monday!, Teaser Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, and Follow My Book Blog Friday), and maybe a review or two. However, we want to take a little time to really enjoy our families and unwind a little after all the excitement from the Best I've Read event.

In addition to a brief respite, we will be setting things up for a great new year. You will want to stay tuned for we have some AWESOME new features that will be appearing in January. We know you are going to LOVE what we have in store for you in 2011!!

With all that said, Happy Holidays to everyone! And may you all have a great New Year filled with Great Friends. Great Books. Great Reviews.

Love,

The Books Complete Me Team

Cindy, Nicole, Julie, Kendra, and Sasha

#BIR2010 - The Winners Are....

We are so excited to finally be able to announce the winners from our Best I've Read 2010 event. Cumulatively the 10 blogs participating gave away over 400 books! By the end of the day today a full list of all the winners on all blogs will be posted on the Best I've Read blog. You can check there to be sure you didn't miss your name anywhere.

So here is the moment you've all been waiting for. Thank you  to everyone who joined us! 

And the winners are: 

1 signed copy of Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick - Michele L.

Deception, Dust City & The Scorch Trials - Paula Cotton

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - Katie

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala - Cynthia M.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card - limepink

Nightshade & Pathfinder - Karen O. 

Secondhand Charm & My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions - Autum Frailey 

Your Name in the Sequel to Intrinsical by Lani Woodland - TWO Winners - Holly & Amy

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney - Laura Kreitzer 

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White - Scoot

Sisters Red & Beautiful Darkness - Tara T. 

1 signed Shadow of the Sun ARC by Laura Kreitzer - Andrea I. 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - Chelle 

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller - Dana Does Read

Five Flavors of Dumb, Once in a Full Moon & Losing Faith - Brooke

Clockwork Angel & Signed Swag by Cassandra Clare - Jenni Elyse

The Replacement, signed Secrets and Shadows Chapter Book & The Lonely Hearts Club - Momo (Books Over Boys)

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens - Erinberry

Immortal Beloved, Forgive My Fins & 1 signed copy of Firelight - Cynthia Garcia

Perfect Chemistry & Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles - Tina 

Leviathan & Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld - Samantha/Samantha35

Rot & Ruin, My Double Life & Extraordinary ARC - Lisa McGeen

Ghost Town by Rachel Caine - Maureen 

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting - Danna W.

Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan - Zoe

Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton - Michaela 

Dark Flame by Alyson Noel - Jennifer 

Anna and the French Kiss & Personal Demons - Linda Kish

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel - Guta Bauer 

The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson - Donna / Happy-Booker

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - Mrsheisefpms

Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready - LiLi

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden (this was an extra) - Shannon @ Stalking the Bookshelves 

And our GRAND PRIZE WINNER is: 

Jessi E.

Congratulations to everyone who won and thank you so much to everyone else who participated and made this event so much fun. We look forward to doing this with you again next year. If you won a book here at BCM, you can expect an email by the end of the day today.

Attention Winners: Due to the very large number of books this event is giving away and that the books are coming from a variety of places including publishers, authors and blogs, please be patient with the arrival of your prizes. We will try to get your prizes out right away but please do not expect them to arrive immediately. If you still haven't received your prize by February 1st then send us an email and we will check on the status of your shipment. Thank you for your patience and again, Congratulations!

Winner for The Sacred Oath

And the Winner is:

Belle Découverte

I've sent you an email!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and HUGE thank you to Teen {Book} Scene and DC Grace for setting up the book tour, for donating the book and for the great guest post!

IMM take 22

All of us here at BCM are so excited to be a part of the awesome list of blogs who participate in the "In My Mailbox" meme. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren so make sure you check out her book blog for a list of many of the blogs participating. She also has some helpful information on how to participate on your own blog. Click HERE to find out more.

This is a weekly meme where we will post any books (and other things) that we have received in the mail, bought, loaned from the library, etc. It's not limited to just books. It can be anything we have just gotten and are excited about.

So this week we are excited about the following:


Nicole recieved via book tour:

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler



From author(s) for review:

Deceit by WC Hewitt



Legacy by Kate Kaynak



By Sunset by Ty Langston





Julie recieved via author(s):

Legacy by Kate Kaynak




Kendra recieved via author(s):

Legacy by Kate Kaynak



via publishers:

Ghost Town by Rachel Caine



Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready




Cindy recieved via publishers:

Like Mandarin by Kristen Hubbard



The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan



via authors:

Legacy by Kate Kaynak



Swoon by Nina Malkin




Sasha received via authors:

Legacy by Kate Kaynak




Tell us what you got in your mailbox!

Follow my Book Blog Friday #4

Follow My Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View. If you'd like to join in on the fun, be sure to check out her blog!

This week's question is:

Where do you do most of your reading?

I do a lot of reading on my couch while the TV is going! Other times, when I'm in a bubble bath.

How about you? Where do you read?

If you are new here this week, please post and let us know so we can check out your blog too. Happy Friday!

Introducing Fire & Ice: Our Newest Affiliate!

After working together during BIR2010, I realized that Heather and I get along quite well and as I've been reading her blog for ages, I just knew we'd make great affiliates. So here we are, welcoming our newest affiliate to BCM. We are so happy! 

One of the great things about her blog, Fire and Ice, is that she doesn't just review books; she reviews music, jewelry and some other really great things. Plus, she's quite talented jewelry maker and photographer herself. Here is a little more about Fire and Ice:

Fire and Ice is a blog that reviews and highlights books, as well as photography and jewelry, and music mainly from YA and LDS fiction. If you are an author or a publisher we invite you to contact us for interviews, books for review, and contests to help you promote your book. Artists and crafters we would be happy to highlight your products on our site!

Please join us in giving Fire and Ice a warm welcome here at BCM! 

Check out Fire and Ice by clicking HERE.

Want to check our her Etsy shop? Click HERE.

#BIR2010 Reminders & Finishing Touches

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel toward the bloggers that helped make Best I've Read 2010 all that it could be. I am blown away by the way that 9 blogs could come together, work together and pull off an event of this size with no friction, and as little stress as you could possibly imagine. I feel blessed to have had them all participate in this event with me and cannot wait to do it again next year. You ladies are amazing. Thank you!

The event is now officially over but you still have until tonight at midnight to enter all of the giveaways on each blog. Here are the links to help you find them all: 

Books Complete Me

Between the Covers Blog

A Reader's Ramblings

I'm a Reader, Not a Writer

Mundie Moms

Once Upon a Twilight

Page Turners Blog

Late Bloomer Online

Fire and Ice

Most of the blogs have a page set aside where you can find the full list of their giveaways to be sure you haven't missed any of them.

There is a Grand Prize Giveaway package here on BCM that you can find on our Current Contests & Giveaways page as well as the rest of our giveaways for BIR2010. 

There is also a HUGE Grand Prize Package at the official BIR2010 site, which you can find HERE. Along with that grand prize, there are also two Grand Prize Packages for our international followers. You can find those packages HERE. 

A huge thank you goes out to each of our followers for making this event so much fun. We had a blast reading all of your comments and hope that you have enjoyed the event as much as we have!

Now I would like to extend the biggest thanks possible to each and every one of the amazing authors and publishers that made Best I've Read 2010 possible. Without you, none of this would have been as wonderful as it has been and I am eternally grateful to you for all you have done. THANK YOU!

Waiting on Wednesday

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday! Waiting on Wednesday a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This week we are excitedly waiting for:

Accused by: Kate Kaynak

Release Date:August 15, 2011

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Someone in the government has files about Ganzfield...and now they have Maddie. The story continues with the fourth installment of the Ganzfield series.

About the Author
Kate Kaynak was born and raised in New Jersey, but she managed to escape. Her degree from Yale says she was a psych major, but she had WAY too much fun to have paid attention in class. After serving a five-year sentence in graduate school, she started teaching psychology around the world for the University of Maryland. While in Izmir, Turkey, she started up a conversation with a handsome stranger in an airport...and ended up marrying him. They now live in New Hampshire with their three preschool-aged kids, where Kaynak enjoys reading, writing, and fighting crime with her amazing superpowers.

As with all of her books, if you preorder them, she'll sign them!!

Please leave us a link with your WoW this week or post it directly into the comments. We'd love to check it out. :)