V is for Virgin Blog Tour!
Hey Listers and potential Listers! Today, we are participating in the blog tour for V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram! I am super stoked to read this book! Check out the blurb below! (BTW: I love the cover and title.)
After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.
As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.
How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?
Today, we are lucky enough to have an awesome Tens List from Miss Kelly Oram herself, as well as an equally awesome excerpt.
Thanks so much Kelly, and thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting this tour!
Excerpt!
"But the real story of the evening," the voice on the TV was saying when Eric finally managed to find the volume, "was the lead singer of the hit band Tralse."
They cut to the clip of Kyle spouting lies about being happy to be home and helping for such a good cause.
"Tralse, whose debut album managed to receive platinum status thanks to their hit song 'Broken Passion', surprised the crowd with their first brand new tune in three years. The song caused quite a stir when Kyle admitted it was written for one of the students here tonight."
"Oh, no," Eric muttered, joining me on the couch again.
"This can't be good."
Sure enough, an image of Kyle shouting, "Blow off this,Virgin Val!" filled the screen.
I fell into a trance, completely fixed on the television as I watched what I'd only heard earlier. The song was so much worse when coupled with Kyle's body language and facial expressions.
I was startled back to reality when Eric suddenly yelped. "Ow! Ow! Val! Your nails!"
"Sorry!" I gasped while giving Eric his hand back. I hadn't realized I'd grabbed it, much less dug my nails into it.
"It's not so bad," Eric said, referring to the news report, trying to be encouraging.
He jinxed it because the moment he said it wasn't so bad, Kyle's face was replaced with mine, and the reporter’s voice started in again. "Huntington High's Senior Class Vice President, Valerie Jensen, known to her classmates as Virgin Val, not only captured the attention of Kyle Hamilton, but raised nearly a thousand dollars tonight with her controversial jewelry."
The screen cut to me holding up two different bracelets. "The V stands for virgin, and the A is for abstinence," I explained to the camera.
On TV I was smiling proudly, but now all I could do was hide my face in my hands. "According to a close friend," the reporter continued on brutally, "Valerie's boyfriend ended their relationship over her decision to remain a virgin until marriage. The resulting heartbreak has driven her to take a stand against teens having sex."
"There is too much pressure on teenagers to become sexually active," I heard myself say. "I'm not saying that everyone needs to follow my example and wait until they’re married, I'm just saying that people shouldn't be ashamed or scared to admit it if they aren't ready for sex. People need to know that not everybody is doing it."
I risked a peek up at the television again just in time to see the reporter's smile fill the screen. "'Not everybody's doing it' is absolutely right. In fact that's the name of the foundation that Valerie is donating all of her proceeds to. If you'd like to learn more about Valerie's quest for a proud-to-be-sex-free teenage America, the website is VIsForVirgin.com, and if you missed the song inspired by Huntington High's own, Virgin Val, don't worry too much. I have a feeling we'll be hearing it a lot more often."
Thankfully the scene cut back to the anchors in the studio and moved on to a story about a drive-by shooting in Echo Park.
I just sat there staring at the apple cider in my hand unable to drink it anymore. It was an overwhelming feeling to have my sex life be the main topic of the eleven o'clock news. Now I wasn't just Virgin Val to the kids at school. Thanks to that reporter I was Virgin Val to the entire Los Angeles Metro Area—probably all of southern California.
Tens List!
Kelly told us about her top ten romance movies. Her list has a bunch of mine, thpugh I have A Cinderella Story as # 1, and Pride & Prejudice just after (though I prefer the film version over the mini-series, which I love as well).
Top Ten Favorite Romance Movies
1. Pride & Prejudice (The BBC mini-series version with Colin Firth is my fave!)
2. Moulin Rouge
3. Shakespeare In Love
4. Sabrina
5. A Cinderella Story (If this makes me a dork, so be it. I love this movie!)
6. The Proposal
7. Sleepless in Seattle
8. When Harry Met Sally
9. Love Actually
10. What Women Want
Great picks right?! Comment below and tell us your top ten, and what you think of Kelly's book. Will you be getting it?
Here's a chance to win some awesomeness! Just enter the rafflecopter below!
TOUR GIVEAWAY
$30 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Open Internationally
Ends 1/6/13
a Rafflecopter giveawayWant more Kelly Oram? Check out her book along with the other stops by hopping over to the other blog participating in the tour!V is for Virgin Tour Schedule
December 11thI Am A Reader, Not A Writer - Review
Book Passion for Life - Review & Author Interview
Emily's Crammed Bookshelf - Interview
Good Choice Reading - Review
December 12thParsimonious Posh - Interview
Peace from Pieces - Interview
Freda's Voice - Review
The Girls With Glasses - Video Interview
December 13thThe Reading Date - Review
Alluring Reads - Review
Tribute Books - Interview
Froze8's Blog - Interview
December 14thThe Bookmark Blog - Review
3Ps in a Pod - Review & Guest Post
A Life Bound by Books - Review & Interview
December 15thStoreyBook Reviews - Review
YA Book Addict - Review
December 16thBooks Beside My Bedside - Review
Oh, the Books You'll Read - Review
Mera's YA Book List - Tens List & Excerpt
December 17thGetting Your Read On - Reviewicefairy's Treasure Chest - Guest Post
Booksellers Without Borders NY - Review & Interview
Amethyst Daydreams - Review
December 18thLaurie's Thoughts & Reviews - Interview & ExcerptA Soul Unsung - Review & Guest PostCindy C Bennett - Guest Post
December 19thCuzinlogic - InterviewWe Fancy Books - ReviewEmi Gayle - Interview
Books Over Boys - Review
December 20thWhy Not? Because I Said So - Review & Guest PostMe and Reading - Review
The Rest is Still Unwritten - Review
December 21stMy Guilty Obsession - ReviewInto the Mystic - ReviewBrooklyn Berry Designs - ReviewBurning Impossibly Bright - Guest Post
December 22ndBook Brats - Review & Guest PostThe Cozy Reading Corner - Interview
The Reader's Commute - Review
December 23rdBibliophilia, Please - Interview or Guest Post
Crossroads Reviews - Review
FLY HIGH! - Guest Post
December 24thReviewing Shelf - Review
Bookworm Lisa - Review & Interview or Tens List
December 26thEvery Free Chance Book Reviews - ReviewMom With a Kindle - Interview or Guest PostLDS Forever Friends Book Nook - Review
The Itzel Library - Review
December 27thReader Girls - ExcerptKarey White - Review
Paulette's Papers - Tens List
Reading Lark - Guest Post
December 28thDay by Day in Our World - ReviewDebbie's Inkspectations - ReviewMy Devotional Thoughts - Review
January 2ndWall-to-Wall Books - Review & Author Interview
Love and Skate by Lila Felix Blog Tour!
Lila Felix is popping up everywhere lately!
Here at Mera's YA Book List we are no exception to the Felix Storm!
Today, we are enthusiastically participating in Lila's Love and Skate blog tour!
I just love this cover and can't wait to read it!
BLURB:
On the rink she’s tough, she’s a leader, she’s fast and she’s the epitome of a rebellious girl. But Nellie’s been hurt, only once, but it was enough to make her look at life through different eyes and off the rink she’s a timid girl who loves with no pretenses.
A long time ago Owen Black was betrayed by the girl he thought he loved and the guy he called his best friend. The anguish set off a domino effect of negativity in his life and he never has fully recovered. He meets Nellie Forrester and thinks he can let it go for her.
But how can you love someone when the wounds from your past are still wide open?
Now some special content!
We have Lila's Dream Cast for the Love and Skate crew!
Check out the pictures below! These are pictures for Nellie and Owen the two main characters, and hello, yum right! Plus her hair color is sickly awesome! I wish I had the guts to go for something drastic!
This one is a picture of how Lila envisions Nellie's wedding dress! I know! This intrigues me even more.
I added a A-mazing excerpt as well! Read and if you like this, check out the book!
Excerpt!
We continued until we got to that ever present stopping point and I reluctantly tried to set her down but she claimed that her legs weren’t working. I laughed and put her on the bed instead and went to take a shower, ice cold please.
Here at Mera's YA Book List we are no exception to the Felix Storm!
Today, we are enthusiastically participating in Lila's Love and Skate blog tour!
I just love this cover and can't wait to read it!BLURB:
On the rink she’s tough, she’s a leader, she’s fast and she’s the epitome of a rebellious girl. But Nellie’s been hurt, only once, but it was enough to make her look at life through different eyes and off the rink she’s a timid girl who loves with no pretenses.
A long time ago Owen Black was betrayed by the girl he thought he loved and the guy he called his best friend. The anguish set off a domino effect of negativity in his life and he never has fully recovered. He meets Nellie Forrester and thinks he can let it go for her.
But how can you love someone when the wounds from your past are still wide open?
Now some special content!
We have Lila's Dream Cast for the Love and Skate crew!
Check out the pictures below! These are pictures for Nellie and Owen the two main characters, and hello, yum right! Plus her hair color is sickly awesome! I wish I had the guts to go for something drastic!
This one is a picture of how Lila envisions Nellie's wedding dress! I know! This intrigues me even more.
I added a A-mazing excerpt as well! Read and if you like this, check out the book!
Excerpt!
"Who’s going to beg, me or you?" She looked up at me playing along.
"We’ll take turns."
I reached down, lifted her up, pinned her against the wall and like a well-oiled machine she wrapped her killer legs around me. Before we even got started, we both turned our heads towards the front door, we heard Amber coming in. I quickly carried her the few steps into her bedroom and shut the door behind us and re-pinned her to another wall. Our mouths met in a fury and when I heard her whimper in pleasure and tighten her legs around me I pulled back suddenly.
"Beg me." I mouthed to her as she tried to pull me back down to her.
"Please Owen," she breathed more than said and it was exactly what I needed to hear.
We continued until we got to that ever present stopping point and I reluctantly tried to set her down but she claimed that her legs weren’t working. I laughed and put her on the bed instead and went to take a shower, ice cold please.
Whoo! Spicy right? Check out Love and Skate, available now! Also keep an eye out for Lila's next coming book, Hoax!
*COVER*
In Which Leah Reviews... Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.Hardcover, 404 pages
Published August 7th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Children's
An amazing story from start to finish.
I couldn’t put this book down for one second! It has everything a great book should hold in its pages; a rebellious heroin and her complicated romances, fights and kingdoms of magical lands and of course a bad guy that needs a good butt kicking.
I enjoyed this novel very much, a YA story that should be read by everyone. It follows the story of a young girl who is known as the most feared and dangerous assassin in the land. She then makes a deal with the handsome crown prince to fight in a tournament against many other men who are much stronger and bigger than her. If she wins then she won’t have to return to her past life of slavery and abuse, an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The author made up another world with magic and creatures that are original and exciting. This gave the story an extra edge and unexpected twists.
I stayed up through the night because I just had to know what happens next and that is a great quality in a novel. All the characters were so clearly written that a reader can easily befriend them and hope for their happy ending.
Of course, this had a nice added bonus to the action and adventure that female readers would appreciate the most: love triangle!
I won’t give anything away but I know which team I am on and will be rooting for him throughout the other coming books. I loved the main characters, especially Celaena the assassin, Chaol the captain of the guard and of course the handsome Prince, Dorian.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys to slip away from reality and go on an adventure with great characters in new and exciting places. I wish I could go more into detail about the book but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.
I give it an easy 5/5.
In Which Leah Reviews... Ghosts Can Bleed by Tracie McBride
Alien landscapes and mythic societies...creatures of the night and the more terrifying monsters of the human psyche... Be warned: Ghosts Can Bleed... but it's not just the blood you should be worried about... Last Chance To See - what if you had a chance to attend your own funeral? A reincarnation facility offers this opportunity, but you won't be quite as your family remembered... House Arrest - Angela misses the social event of the year when she realises that there's no place like home- and no dietary aid in the world like it, dahlings Baptism - Brother Tomas is the fourth friar to visit the island of Koreka with a holy mission: to save the immortal souls of the mermaids who live there. But the mermaids have an unholy baptism of their own to offer... Killing A Goddess - The Goddess demands a sacrifice, and Laura is a willing volunteer. It is a great honour for the five young men chosen to assist in the ritual. But do they really know what they are letting themselves in for? Ghosts Can Bleed - Maurice knows, because he is one... DreamCatcher - will prevent bad dreams coming through to you. But what do you do with the nightmares that are caught in it? What if you could return them to their owners? Rush Hour - Virgil retreads Dante's Inferno, twenty-first century style. Wasps, tornadoes and dirty nappies block his path - and that's before the motorway... Marked - being scarred by lightning is like being touched by the hand of God. This divine spark is essential, because only the Marked can see the creatures that hunger for us... Blue Screen of Death - Sara's dead. Again. With Heaven's computer system failing, and God on holiday, it'll take a genius hacker to fix it. Problem is, he's not on Heaven's database... Diagnosis - all aspects of human health can be scientifically measured, analysed and assessed. But there's one measure Dr Chad has neglected to notice... By turns terrifying, darkly comic, surreal and stomach-churning, these forty one stories and poems from award-winning author Tracie McBride open the veins of the world to show humanity in a different - and much darker - lightPaperback, 158 pages
Published April 28th 2011 by Dark Continents
This is a collection of short stories and poems that grab your attention and never lets it go. Each new short story is exciting and full of action, adventure and amazing characters. I enjoyed all of them. The stories ranged from magical lands to emotional tales. The poems are excellent. The author has great talent for writing and creating stories that are exciting reads. I would recommend this to anyone that loves shorts stories since then you don’t have to wait forever for the next one to come out. The stories are well written and come to life in front of your eyes. I couldn’t put it down and lost many hours of sleep but it was worth it to experience the work of such a talented author. There are mostly stories involving action like a fighting scene and some weird things that make you wonder.
In Which I Review... Burning Bridges by Nadege Richards
Do or Die...In a world that has been divided amongst the Hunter race and the Warrior, prisoners who have fallen prey to King Cyrus' decrees are forced into the arena to fight until death. Winner is granted mercy and privilege to see another sunrise. Death unto the weak. In an attempt to get back at everyone who has ever shut her out, seventeen year-old Princess Echo becomes another victim, dragging Ayden, her forbidden love, along in a race to freedom, to find out who she really is, and to put a world that has been swallowed by lies back together again.
In the first installment of The Bleeding Heart Trilogy, life becomes a dangerous game of kill or be killed, love or let go. When death threatens the forbidden love of an unlikely couple and they are forced to do the unthinkable, to what extent will they go to be together?
Paperback, 311 pages
Published July 14th 2012 by CreateSpace Publishing LLC
BURNING BRIDGES: AMAZON - GOODREADS
I had high expectations for Burning Bridges. Unfortunately... my expectations weren't high enough.
Burning Brides by Nadege Richards was everything I wanted it to be and more.
I have often seen it compared to The Hunger Games, Twilight, and even Romeo and Juliet because of the subjects reflected throughout the novel. I would call these assumptions accurate.
The plot is exciting, guaranteeing the reader never gets bored with the story.
I love so much about Burning Bridges.
Echo is another one of those characters that leaves you smiling. She is conflicted by her life, and instead of letting life grasp her and force her through the motions, she fights against the motions and chooses her own destiny, which happens to be a major theme of the novel.
While Echo will leave you smiling, Ayden will leave every female reading Burning Bridges swoon, as well as leaving every guy with a sense of underachieving in relationships. Ayden is strong, resourceful and puts the things he loves before himself.
He is what girls want. He is major book crush material, and undoubtedly, I am now on his long list of non-fictional females pining after something she can't have- his heart (well, and his fictionally seductive body).
After all, he is with Echo and even the chance of death wouldn't be able to tear him away.
Richards' debut novel is an amazing one. I cannot wait until I have the chance to read the second novel in The Bleeding Heart Trilogy. This novel is one that will be on my mind restlessly until I can read Deceiving Destiny, as I predict the series as a whole will be long after I complete the trilogy.
5 stars
Sixty books I SO Have To Get
