The Tension of Opposites giveaway over at Read This Book!

Attention book lovers!

Read This Book is doing a big giveaway for
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride!
You can win a signed book, print from the trailer,
and 10 bookmarks!
Whoa, right?! This book sounds awesome and
I can't wait to check it out for myself!
Go enter to win some book goodness. :)

Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Book: Low Red Moon
Author: Ivy Devlin
Edition: Uncorrected Advanced Proof
Pages: Approx. 208
Pub. Date: September 2010

Rating: A-

Avery Hood doesn't understand what happened. All she knows is that her parents were murdered and she was covered in their blood.
Nothing is the same after that.
She goes to live with her grandmother, whom she isn't very close to. Her peers at school keep a distance, gossiping with everyone about speculation.
And then there is Ben. The new, hot guy with the silver eyes.
Will Avery ever remember what happened the night of her parents murder? And what secret does Ben hold behind those inhuman eyes?

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I had not heard of Low Red Moon until just a few weeks ago when I got the chance at an Uncorrected Advanced Proof. After reading the synopsis for it, I couldn't wait for it to hit my doorstep.
Like a lot of YA these days, LRM deals with paranormal creatures and young love. That has a lot to live up to, because you don't want it to be like a twin to another book. But I went into it with an open mind.
Did it twin another book? No. But I few places did resemble some other paranorm reads.

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I liked reading about Avery and her life. As her story progressed, I didn't get annoyed with her character. And I have read tons of books with annoying female MCs. Luckily, LRM wasn't like that.
Her family also kept my attention. Even though her parents are murdered at the beginning of the book, Avery retells stories of her life when they were alive. And her grandma, Renee, whom her family hadn't been close to for awhile, had her moments to.

Okay. Ben. The hot guy with a secret all books need and have. I enjoyed his character most of the time. Don't get me wrong, some of the best scenes involved him (a.k.a. kissing scenes!!!), but he didn't have enough oomph. He blended in with the background even though he carried a lot of the weight of the story.

The ending left me happy. I had predicted what I thought would be the ending as I read and was totally wrong when it actually happened. It was better than what I figured.

Now, the writing. Low Red Moon was written pretty well. But it had one of my biggest pet peeves. The sentence : "He looked at me like he wanted to look at me." LMR had a variation of it. Lately, that phrase has popped up in most of the books I have read. It was good the first couple of times, but now it's repetitious. (Just a heads up, authors!)
Also, sometimes when I am reading a book, and there are flashbacks or long monotonous descriptions of an event, I get bored and dread reading the rest. LMR didn't do that either. I don't even think there was a boring part in it.

Overall, this book is a great read and a wonderful addition to any bookshelf. I will definitely be re-reading Low Red Moon multiple times!

Where I Harass Bookstores About SEA.

I called bookstores around North Carolina asking if they would be carrying Sea by Heidi R. Kling.
Some will, others won't. I'm just happy to poke them, that way they will consider getting it! :)
Also, go over to Heidi's blog and enter her contest! Ends Friday at midnight.
http://seaheidi.livejournal.com/179566.html

Upcoming on Courtney Reads...

Hello, YA lovers and blog readers!
I am just here to inform you on the upcoming posts I will be doing. Some pretty awesome things are headed this way!

1) Reviews out the wazoo:
- Under My Skin by Judith Graves - I know this book came out some time ago, but I have recently gotten some amazon shipping problems fixed. UMS will hopefully be arriving today!
- White Cat by Holly Black - The highly anticipated book from The Curse Workers series.
- Nice and Mean by Jessica Leader - Middle grade book that I was so lucky enough to get an ARC of.
- As You Wish by Jackson Pearce - Yes, I realize this book has been out for months now, but this will be my first time reviewing it. Why am I reviewing it so late? This review will lead up to another one that I am so excited for...
- Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Enough said? :)
- Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - Along with a Sisters Red ARC, Jackson Pearce's April loot included this!

I am so thrilled to get these books and read / review them!!!

2) I have said this before, and I shall say it again... Invite more people to come and follow Courtney Reads. Won't be long before I post the contest. I have decided to add an upcoming book (I haven't picked which one yet) to giveaway along with The Body Finder swag and other goodies. So, follow, follow, follow!


3) I will be updating the site very soon! Keep an eye out for new things on here!


That is all for now. Maybe I will post again later, maybe not. Let's see how today goes.

Kisses + Frogs,
Courtney Rae.

Review: Other by Karen Kincy

Rating: A+

Gwen Williams is not a normal teenage girl. She is Other. Half-pooka to be exact. She can shape shift into a black horse, an owl, goat, a dog, or another animal of her liking.
And even though Others are far from being unknown in the world, she keeps her true identity to herself, her family, and best friend.
When werewolves move into the Klikamuks territory and Others begin to show up murdered, Gwen worries about what's happening. The police are doing nothing to help and things are getting worse.
Gwen's dryad best friend has also been found dead and she has an idea of who is doing the killing.
Gwen, along with her new cute Other guy friend, go out searching for clues. But will the murderer find them before they find him?

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I was beyond ecstatic when I heard I was getting the chance to read and review Other by Karen Kincy.
I had very high hopes for this book. Because of that I was scared I would be disappointed.
Was I? No! Far from it.
Other has a strong storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You have mystery, paranormal, suspense, love. All things we want in our YA novels.
Kincy is a great writer. Knowing when to say what and do what to keep the story going. When the book was done, I was left craving more.
I do have one downer. A phrase or two was repeated a few times in just a couple pages.
Nothing major, just something I caught.
Other than that, I enjoyed Other so much!
Will there be a sequel? Yes. According to karenkincy.com, the sequel will not follow Gwen, but one of the supporting characters.

Watch out for Karen Kincy in your local bookstore!

Some Lauren Barnholdt Love.

I am a very big Lauren Barnholdt fan. I can't tell you how many times I have read Two-Way Street and have never tired of it! Now I am waiting to read Ace's Up.
For those of you who are librarians, or have children, or just love Lauren, check out her latest book about a seven year old, named Hailey Twitch.

Seven-year-old Hailey Twitch knows three things for sure: who she’s the boss of, how to throw a tantrum, and above all, how to get exactly what she wants. But all that changes when Hailey gets paired up with annoying Addie Jokobeck on the class project. No matter what Hailey does, she can’t seem to change her teacher’s mind.

At home, a cranky Hailey is feeling sorry for herself when – poof! — Maybelle, a magic sprite, comes flying out of Hailey’s dollhouse. Maybelle’s on probation with the Department of Magic, and on a special mission to get Hailey to have fun.

The only problem? The invisible Maybelle starts causing a lot of trouble, and when Hailey’s teacher wants to know who’s to blame, Hailey takes responsibility. After all, Hailey Twitch is not a snitch! Now if only Hailey can convince the Department of Magic that Maybelle has reformed…

You can buy Hailey Twitch from amazon by clicking here, and find out how to win a free book from Lauren by clicking here!