100 Followers and 1 Year Blogoversary

Hello guys.

I'm excited.

I'm hyper. My blog is 1 year old (just a little bit more, actually) and just below 100 followers.

Considering how much of a bad bad blogger I am and how much I neglect my poor baby, I feel quite surprise that I got to that much.

Looking back, I have read so many books during this year and I have talked to so many authors that I am much richer by today than ever. Not money-wise, of course. But information-wise, the most important kind of riches you can ever have.

I didn't go around handing out books and asking for followers - even with the handful of giveaways I had, most didn't require my readers to follow the blog and yet they still did.

So I believe a real and great giveaway must take place.
I am a poor worker. It is true. But you deserve, so I am putting up for grabs two books, one for everyone and one for my brazilian readers.

Also, if any author or publisher decides to join in, please do, I would love to have extra prizes for my readers, of course.

I am going to give away "The Last Will of Moira Leahy" by Therese Walsh, for my international readers. (In English)

I am going go give "Sétimo" by André Vianco, for my brazilian readers (In Portuguese).

I am also adding two swag packs for everyone (5 bookmarkers, 1 GoT card, maybe some extra surprise)

If I reach 200 followers, I am adding a copy of Receive me Falling, by Erika Robuck.

Also, this will be one of "those" giveaways. You will be allowed to get extra points for mostly anything, I think for something like this it is useful, for those that want extra entries.
Oh yes. And being a follower, this time, is mandatory. No ofense, I just think it is fair, since it is a "followers" celebrations.

If, by any reason you do not want any of the prizes, please indicate on the correct field on the form.

Summary:


- Brazilian readers may win any of the prizes (the 2 books or the swag packs).
- International readers may not win the Sétimo book (specially since it is in portuguese).
- You must be a follower to participate.
- All other ways of participating are optional.
- Winners will be drawn using random.org.
- The winners will have 72 hours (3 days) to reply to my email with their information or I will draw another winner.

For extra points you can:


- Follow me on Twitter: @MayBookworm
- Advertise about the giveaway (Twitter, Goodreads, your blog, wherever you prefer, up to 3 links)
- Like the blog's page on Facebook
- Add me on Goodreads
- Commenting on this post

This giveaway will run from August 29th to October 1st. (-3 GMT - Brasilia time/Brazil's oficial time)

Review: Changeless - Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

I'll start this review saying that I love Alexia. And that I am profoundly shocked by the ending of Changeless. That I must deeply advise anyone to buy Blameless along with Changeless and not, under any circunstance, to read one and not have the other as you will definitly feel the need for it once you are done. I made that mistake and now I have to wait at least 40 days to read Blameless...

Alexia and Connal's dialogues are just incredibly funny - actually the whole book is full of witty and hilarious quotes - and Ivy is another character you just love, despite her complete nonsense.

Alexia is a lady definitly not suitable for her time and place. She is very italian of complexion, while British of temper, so she was not believed to get married - at the age of 26, she was a spinster and couldn't worry less about it. And then Lord Maccon, an Alpha Werewolf, Head of BUR and a large piece of a man, married her, against all odds, really.

When Alexia wakes up with her husband yelling, at first, she jumps claiming "wasn't me" even though, as she promptly thinks, it usually is her fault. When her husband goes missing, the next day, she tracks him down, finds enough information to gather he went to Scotland - damp, cold and gray Scotland. Because of a series of incidents, Miss Hisselpenny (Ivy), Mr Tunstell (a Claviger) and Alexia's sister, Miss Loontwill, all end up going with her and her maid, Angelique, because, of course, one mustn't be without a decent hairdo or a proper wardrobe only because one's in the middle of Scotland. Madame Lefoux, a man-dressing-like inventor, surprinsingly joins them after making Alexia the most wonderful parasol ever and our troupe is set to go - by dirigible, of course! Unfortunatly, Alexia deems "dirigible food" to be something awfully tasteless:

Everything - meat, vegetables, even pudding - appeared to have been steamed into flaccid colorless submission, with no sauce, or even salt, to boldter the flavor. It was like eating a wet handkerchief.

If our Lady Maccon was wonderfully shocking the society while single (and spinster), she may be a little less shocking now that she is married, as married women are allowed a bit more than spinsters and she does seem to take her husband's position in consideration - she is now the wife of an earl, not some ordinary spinster, not to mention Muhjah of the queen. But that doesn't make her less hilarious as she can also, mostly, speak her mind or, at least, think it, which makes us have a great time following her train of thought.

He paced about Alexia slowly in a circle as though examining her for flaws. It felt very doglike to Alexia. She was prepared to jump back if he cocked a leg.

Ivy Hisselpenny and her hats are something extra. She would be what we call in movies "The Comic Relief" I believe. And yet, we all love her, her small subplot and weird aditions to the story make it funny and nonsensical.

"I love him so very much. As Romeo did Jugurtha, as Pyramid did Thirsty, as-" (Ivy Hisselpenny speaking her usual nonsense)

Of course it wouldn't be our usual dose of Alexia (and of Gail Carriger) if someone wasn't trying to kill her. And she wasn't trying to uncover some plot to end the supernatural life, even if she, being soulless and all, wasn't the exact end of supernaturals. It's a major wave of preternatural or, as they call it, humanization. Every supernatural within a radius suddenly becomes... Human. And that is pretty creepy for immortal people who've been immortal for a long time now.

Alexia wondered what it said about her character that Ivy had genuinely believed she would intentionally go climbing about the side of a floating dirigible.

Obviously, Alexia does find out what's causing it. And it brings a whole new creepy perspective for herself and her soulless condition. Which reminds me - do NOT read the burble for the following books (Blameless, Heartless or Timeless) as it will most definitly holds a major spoiler of storyline, I read them and, well, I don't mind, also it was still a surprise of sorts, but I'm sure most people would be deeply frustrated by the spoilery.

Then there is the cover. I absolutelly must comment on the cover. This series always had me for the witty thoughts and the covers, but I seem to alternate favorites. Soulless and Blameless are my favorites, but Changeless and Heartless have it's charm, with Heartless being my least favorite for the simple reason that Alexia looks too fashionable and too cute for her own self. Also, where is the parasol on Changeless? I can't properly see, but it seems like she isn't holding one and that isn't much Alexia-like.


Blameless' cover is much more beautiful. Probably the best in the series, I must say, that dress and that parasol oh my (see?). I guess I should wrap this up, it's going way too far, so I'll finish by saying that I'm eager to read Blameless, I'm crazy to get more Alexia and that I definitly plan on buying Blameless, Heartless and probably pre-order Timeless all together. Timeless seems to be one of the most interesting ones, with more questions answered, I believe, since Egipt seems to have lots to say about preternaturals.


You can buy Changeless at Amazon here or the Book Depository here.


Also, if anyone is willing to buy and give me as a birthday gift, my birthday is on september 11th and the Book Depository ships for free to Brazil. :)

Unread Interview - Patricia Lichen

Please welcome Patricia Lichen for this week's Unread Interview! Patriciais promoting her latest book, Kidnapping the Lorax!

Unread Interview is a series where I feature authors whose books I couldn't accept for review because of time or logistics issues.

From Amazon: East Coast politics meet West Coast idealism when three young environmentalists kidnap the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Lacy Thurman--code-named "The Lorax"--and take her to the Pacific Northwest woods. Their goal is to re-educate her through tasks designed to open her eyes to the wonders of the forest, so that upon her return to Washington, DC she will be an advocate for the land. But their well-laid plans don't anticipate Lacey's formidable will.

Also available at  Barnes & Noble/Nook or Smashwords

Tell us a bit about your book (s).

"Kidnapping the Lorax" is the story of three young environmentalists who kidnap Secretary of the Interior Lacey Thurman, and take her to the Pacific Northwest woods to reeducate her. They believe once she sees the forests as they do, she will start making the correct decisions for the land. But their well-laid plans don't anticipate Lacey's formidable will. 

Have you ever wanted to be a writer? When did you start writing "seriously"?

I came to writing relatively late, after I’d returned to college. I'd spent several years as an environmental activist in Greenpeace, and as a naturalist at the Mount Saint Helens volcano in the US. I see my writing as a way to extend my activist and naturalist roles.

Do you read much? What kind of books do you usually read?

Oh yes, I've always been a big reader--and I think any writer must be. I used to read more nonfiction, but more recently I love fiction that pulls me into a part of the world I've never actually been in.

What are your favorite or least favorite scenes to write?

Witty repartee is fun, when I can pull it off. But those little bits you need to tie scenes together--get a character from one place to another--can be difficult to pull off. They need to be quick-reading but complete.

Do you relate more to any of your characters? Why?

Given my past, I related more to the young environmentalists in "Kidnapping the Lorax" than to the Secretary of the Interior. I don't agree with their method though--kidnapping?  What were they thinking?!

Which genre do you feel it would be a challenge to write?

Horror. I know people love it, but I just don't get the attraction. There's enough real horror in this world without creating more.

What inspires you? And how's your writing environment - music, place, etc.?

A walk in the woods does wonders to inspire me. My computer is situated near the window, so I can look out from time to time and watch the birds at the feeder.  And I'm surprised how many ideas come to me while I'm in the shower.

What would you say about the book - your words, no blurbs! - to convince someone to read your book?

That although it is eco-fiction, it does not preach. It's the story and the characters that carry the novel, not an environmental message. And there's a thing or two in there that will make you think.

What are your plans for the future, writing-wise? New books, sequels, publishing deals, etc. 

I'm taking another look at the first novel I'd written (which has been patiently waiting on my computer) to see if it's worthy of publication, and have another in the wings that I'm working on. Two of my nonfiction "Uncommon Field Guides" are still available, and Puddletown Publishing will be re-releasing one that has gone out of print.


Thank you, Patricia, for your time and good luck with your book.

Review: Blood for Love - Chris M. Finkelstein

Raw and cruel. Loving and caring.

I can't exactly make up my mind with this book, I was shocked at first and a bit let down by the ending, not because it was bad, but because there was so much potential there, so much to be said and done and, yet, it'll take some time before we see the rest of it.

This is the story of Jan, a gifted male D'otian living on a violent, predatory planet. His mother Martha is part of a love-preservation network, outlawed by a world in which love is punished by DeathBT.

Simple as that. Love is a crime and everyone caught loving is condemned to Death By Torture.

At first, we follow Martha's story, how she is a "Love-Lover", how she is pregnant and afraid, how she and her baby Jan must go to "love de-programing school", a place where they don't really tell us what is going to happen but that they will "make us hate eachother" and "try to take love out of us".

When we DO read about the Love De-Programing school, we finally understand that it is possible. That they can make love go away, that they are able to take love out of people. And we understand why people in that world are so hostile. When I finished that chapter, I was thinking that I had to keep on reading, because the book had to redeem itself. That these lovely main characters couldn't be changed so badly, that the world couldn't be so cruel and so mean and these people could keep love alive.


They are reptile-like humanoids, living on D'ot (that would be their planet's name, like Earth), on the "country" of NoV (Nation of Vengeance), the rulers of this part of D'ot - the only one with living people. We hear bits about their history - they developed a 100 year virus, that killed all other nations, they weren't the most advanced ones, but they perfected the "art" of hating and such hate made them want to kill, basically, everyone else. Of course, that virus is also dangerous to them, so they have to keep making vaccines that take 20 years to be produced and they are confined to this country and can't colonize other places, also because the settlers keep killing eachother because they get all hating and stuff.


Jan is a gifted male. When he and Martha come back from the Love De-Programing "school", they have a hard time, they do hate eachother, but they get over it, eventually, or we wouldn't have a book, would we? ;)


There is the oficial religion, where they burn children - aparently it's easier to burn them before they grown into thiefs and law-breakers in general - and torture people. Homossexuallity is not accepted and those people are killed, not by torture, aparently, but killed aswell. So, all in all, a very pleasant place to live. #NOT


LERN is sort of like a secondary unofficial hidden religion. It's Love centered, it's an acronym for Love's Epiphany Requirement Network, they get together and, basically, love eachother, on a non-romantic way, just... Love. Since the beggining, there are talks of a LERN escape and they eventually do, but you don't want the details, right? Right.


Since childhood, there is a Guide that helps Jan through his problems and he eventually becomes stronger. he is different and he will become a guide himself, for his people, the loving ones, when they start to forget about love.


The reference to drugs near the end didn't please me and it made me a bit nervous, I'm quite ansious to read the sequel, as to see how the subject will be dealt with, since I don't think that it will be the answer to their issues. Also, the "prequel to book 4" got me excited for all the rest of the series - the author seems to be able to write consistently a whole series without losing the "sci fi/humanity" touch.


You can find it at Amazon, both Kindle and Paperback version and at Smashwords.

Results - Giveaway - 5 copies of Tom Schwartz' books

Results!

Hello everyone, you DO remember me, right? Yes, I know, bad blogger. But I swear, I've had personal issues.
So, we had a giveaway running. And we have 5 winners!

We had 52 entries, which is pretty cool ;) Thank you everyone that participated!
And our winner are... *Drumroll*

1. Susan Smith
2. Mary Preston
3. Tracy Taylor
4. Renee Walters
5. Judith Rachmani

I'll contact you all to find out which one of his books you want. I do ask you to reply in 72 hours. If I don't hear from you, I will have to choose a new winner.