21 May, 2012 | By: Rhee

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century - Cover Reveal


On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore.


How beautiful is this cover, guys? I love the dress and then the backpack just adds that bit of perfection to tie the modern day together with the past that Cat ends up finding herself in. Also the blurb sounds amazing. I can't wait to hopefully read this book sometime in the future!

Check out below for a brand new excerpt from My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century:



           “I thought I’d teach you a dance from where I come from,” I tell him. “One that’s much easier than that multi-step mess inside.”
            I place my left hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder and slip my right one into his. I pause to listen to the music floating over the tinkling voices and bubbling fountain, and begin counting the three-beat tempo. “One, two, three. One, two, three.”
            I stand still, only my head moving, slowly nodding with my words so he can hear the rhythm.
            When his head begins subtly bobbing with mine, I show him how to add his feet. He takes a tentative step forward with his left while I step back with my right, then we side step, close, and repeat the steps with our other feet, all while I lightly whisper the beat count.
            The breeze picks up, blowing my skirt and skimming my veil across the back of my neck. Chills run down my spine, but the warmth coursing through my veins from being in his arms provides a delicious contradiction.
            Lorenzo continues nervously darting his eyes to our feet, but he is dancing. As he relaxes into the movement, his shoulders rising and falling with the steps, the confidence he always seems to exude creeps back on his face, and he tightens the hold around me. Our faces are kissably close, our lips a hairs breadth away from touching. I stare into the chocolate depths of his eyes and the rest of the ball fades away. The only music guiding our steps is my light whisper and the erratic rhythm of our breathing. Time slows. Lorenzo grins.
            “I think you got it,” I say breathlessly, running my hand along the soft fabric of his shoulder, feeling the rock-hard muscles underneath.
            My body curls inward, pressing against his. The proper form for the waltz is a straight spine and shoulders back, but if there was ever a time to break the rules, this is it.


20 May, 2012 | By: Rhee

In My Mailbox (8)

This is just a nice and quick update from what's happened over the past month:



For Review:

Swipe thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishers


Won:

I Hunt Killers and Tiger Lily thanks to Icey Books
Pretty Crooked plus goodies thanks to BookPerks


Bought:

One Direction Collection Magazine


What did you guys get this week? Leave me a comment with a link so I can check it out!
18 May, 2012 | By: Rhee

Swipe Blog Tour - Promo Post

Apologies to Thomas Nelson and YA Bound for this being just a promo and not a review. The review will come shortly.

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship.

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers?

Swipe was published on May 8th, 2012 and can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
17 May, 2012 | By: Rhee

Two Quick Things:

Hello guys! I know it's been a really long while since you've last heard from me but look! Here I am! It's been a really, really hectic month-month and a half but school is done (until Monday. Yay summer school) and I have no more finals or essays or tests to worry about at the moment which means:

A Life Pixelated will be officially back up and running as of midnight tonight! Yay! Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me during this insanely ridiculous time and keep your eyes peeled because I might just have a giveaway for the lot of you!

The second thing that I wanted to let you guys know is that Kaitlyn is no longer a part of this blog. She and I have had our differences and she has bowed out of the book reviewing scene so as of today this book blog is now just mine. It's kind of a sad thing and just wanted to let you all know that there will not be any more reviews from her and I might be asking if anyone's interested in doing guest or spotlight reviews in the future. Once I get ALP back on its feet of course.

So excited to be back guys! Can't wait to chat with you again about your loves and dislikes in the book world. (:

Rhee
14 April, 2012 | By: Rhee

In My Mailbox (7)

This is a really rushed IMM as I am off to church or something like that because it's Easter eve for me. ENJOY!



Won: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver thanks to Nina at Nina Reads

Bought: One Direction magazines and One Direction 2013 Tour tickets

Leave me links letting me know what you got in your mailbox this week! I'll get back to you all I swear.
11 April, 2012 | By: Rhee

Quick Quick Update

It's been crazy insane busy this past week and a half. I haven't had a chance to get any reviews done but they will be coming soon. Hopefully tomorrow. I've had to deal with a lot of cars breaking down over the past week as well as things being broken/stolen/et cetera. It's been a heck of a time and my spring break was more work than break. But I will say that I read two books and plan on reviewing one on here and one on The Book Vixen so keep your eyes peeled for that.

So sorry again. Our contests are over for now and the winners either have already been contacted or will be shortly. I will edit the blog tomorrow and I am so sorry once again. It's been such a heck of a time.
08 April, 2012 | By: Rhee

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. If you don't already participate in IMM, you definitely should, because it's a lot of fun! It gives us a chance to show off the books we've bought, received from publishers/NetGalley, kidnapped from friends, rented from Libraries or have just stumbled upon through the week. Basically, it's just a really fun way to show off our books!

This is a really fast upload because I am a really busy person and life sucks so here goes!


31 March, 2012 | By: Rhee

Kaitlyn's Review: Intangible

Intangible





Title: Intangible
Author: J. Meyers
Pages: 340
Published: January 31st, 2012
Source: Received from Author

Summary: Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.

Review: So, this book was requested by the author to us (sorry it took so long! Reading is such a challenge lately, I need to kick it into high gear). I read it, and I have to say, overall, I was very pleased.

This plot has definite twists and turns, so this review might be vague… I fear giving away too many spoilers that make the book interesting!

First of all, the beginning gets your attention right away. The relationships are established, and the reader isn’t confused about who’s who or what’s what. That is one thing that is good about the narration: it’s clear, most of the time. I have to say in the beginning, I was kind of irked that the summary focused around the twins, but the book is a lot about Sera (even if they are the children of the prophecy, she undoubtedly takes a main spot in the beginning).

There are some things that feel forced about the novel. Some of the banter feels, I know this is dumb to say when reading but I think we all know the difference, scripted. Forced. And there were some flaws in the third person POV; while I adored that it switched from character to character, there were some problems with being told from the character’s point of view and a narrator’s. For example, it was in Marc’s narration: the use of “man” before sentences (like, “Man, she was hot.”) Except… it’d go on as if he wasn’t thinking the thought directly. I know, it’s weird! But it irked me in some parts.

I must say, though. The details are all there for the plot line: nothing is missed, and the reader can easily get a clear picture of each character and even the setting. There are little details that are added, that are usually forgotten in writing, and it makes everything jump off of the page a bit more. I especially liked the detail for their little coffee shop.

Enough about the writing though! What about the plot?

At first, I was intrigued, although only slightly. Twins with special powers and a prophecy… not the most unique thing ever. Except, the rest of the plot that comes to life as you read, is a wonderful twist on a plot line fantasy readers are relatively familiar with. I love the concept of the mark to show when they’re in danger and not (a clever little trick, you elves!) and I love so many other things in the books. I just hate that every detail, from the beginning, is imperative to not ruining the plot (I will say, though, the main antagonist woman reminded me much of Cinder’s Lunar Queen! Scary brilliant, both characters)!

I didn’t enjoy, however, the bit of the plot that is kind of pointed out by Jonas: that the twins do the very minimum to hide their powers, and no one in their town notices! I don’t know about you, but if half that stuff went down around me, I’d know something was up.

Ah. It’s really hard to talk about the plot, other than the basics: I do believe it flows, and the book is well-constructed and definitely thought out. I recommend this book for a good YA read. The main characters don’t get on your nerves too much, details are brilliantly written into the story, and the flaws aren’t that bad in light of the story that you get to enjoy.

Rating: ★★★ 3.5/5 Stars