Hop & Follow Fridays!

If you're here on the hop, please feel free to enter my 27th Birthday Celebration contest! There will be 2 or more winners and the grand prize winner chosen could win up to 7 books on their wish list! Extended until midnight on Saturday, October 24th!!

To join Parajunkee's new feature and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers.
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
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This week's question is ...

"What are you currently reading? Basically, what book is that?"

I am reading Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens, even though it's a struggle to find time to read it prepping for my birthday party this weekend! However, I'm not even a third of the way through and I can tell you that I absolutely love it. If you have the chance, check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday

Eternal: More Love Stories With Bite
Various Authors
edited by PC Cast
Paperback, 256 pages
Smart Pop

Release Date:
December 7, 2010

Immortal: Love Stories With Bite, edited by P.C. Cast (author of the #1 New York Times phenomenon House of Night series), collected dark, romantic short stories from seven of the hottest vampire writers in YA.

Now Eternal: More Love Stories With Bite presents all-new YA stories featuring vampires, the romantic heroes and heroines that still hold the reading public enraptured. A mix of writers from the first anthology and new contributors makes for a fresh new collection with all of the dark romance of its predecessor, and a book that’s sure to thrill vampire romance fans old and new.

The book includes an original introduction by Cast.

Teaser Tuesdays!

Hosted By: Should Be Reading

Cross us not, for thou shalt see
be there power in not three,
but in four or six or five:
this is how we will survive.

For the man who calls us mad,
claims we're lying, deviling, bad,
is named a witch, his ankles clad.

Wicked Girls, by Stephanie Hemphill
p.280 (ARC)
John Proctor Sent To Jail: Incantation of the Girls

Review: Wicked Girls, by Stephanie Hemphill

Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials

Stephanie Hemphill
Hardcover, 408 pages
HarperCollins
July 1, 2010

(Goodreads) Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials based on the real historical characters, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692—Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam Jr.

When Ann’s father suggests that a spate of illnesses within the village is the result of witchcraft, Ann sees an opportunity and starts manifesting the symptoms of affliction. Ann looks up to Mercy, the beautiful servant in her parents' house. She shows Mercy the power that a young girl is capable of in a time when women were completely powerless. Mercy, who suffered abuse at the hands of past masters, seizes her only chance at safety. And Ann’s cousin Margaret, anxious to win the attention of a boy in her sights, follows suit. As the accusations mount against men and women in the community, the girls start to see the deadly ramifications of their actions. Should they finally tell the truth? Or is it too late to save this small New England town?

We all know the true story about the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, girls were said to be afflicted by witchcraft and accused people in Salem of practicing the craft. When all was said and done, over a hundred men and women were imprisoned for being witches - nineteen of those people were executed. We know what happened, but why is another matter all in itself.

When I first found out about this book, I k-n-e-w that I had to read it. The Salem Witch Trials was one of my favorite subjects to study in my high school history classes. The idea of this mass hysteria to terrorize a community all over the accusations of young girls always fascinated me.

I'll be the first to admit that when I opened the book, I was surprised. I had read several reviews on Wicked Girls, but the whole idea of the book being in free verse simply alluded me until I actually saw it. I thought I was in for a challenging read - but it was just the opposite. Dare I say that it was almost spellbinding, the way this novel sucked you in.

A bit slow at first, the pace of the book picks up speed once we're fully introduced and submersed into the minds of the three girls' perspectives that the book is written from - which is Ann Putnam Jr, Mercy Lewis, and Margaret Walcott. What surprises me the most about these three is how they each have their own reasons for falsely accusing these people of witchery. There's jealousy, peer pressure, the opportunity to gain attention, bullying and so many other themes in this book that most teenage girls can relate to today. These three were probably what I would consider the mean girls of their time - Ann Putnam Jr being the ringmaster, which is surprising considering she was only twelve years old during the Trials.

If you like history and the Salem Witch Trials as much as I do, I'd definitely say that you will enjoy this book. Although fictionalized, I could definitely see these reasons being why the afflicted girls pointed fingers and accused so many like they did. I think the worse part of it all is grown men going on the word of little girls and not hard facts when putting peoples' lives at stake. However, that's a whole rant in itself, and has to do with the true Trials and not this book. Even if you're not a history buff, the themes in this book can be translated easily to modern-day situations for a decent read. I'd recommend this book for high school students and older.


*This ARC was provided by San Francisco Book Review in exchange for review. Although similar in the points made, this review was written for Missy's Reads & Reviews only. This is not the review meant for publication.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Hosted By: Book Journey

What's going on with me??
Too much! I've been out of town for the past two weeks and this upcoming weekend is the weekend of my birthday party. I have a TON of things to catch up on, and a ton more to actually start on. My reviews for SFBR are also due this week. Argh, too much! I'm confident I can finish it all, though!

What did I finish last week??

Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer
Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, by Stephanie Hemphill
Fear: 13 Tales of Suspense and Horror, by R.L. Stine & Various Authors

What's in the plans this week??
I don't know if I'll get to read anything this week with all that's going on. Therefore, I won't even attempt to list goals!

So what are you reading??

In My Mailbox

(I guess it's time I join in on the fun, right?)

Hosted By: The Story Siren

R.L. Stine Presents FEAR: 13 Tales of Suspense and Horror, by Various Authors
Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer
Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, by Stephanie Hemphill

*Books were provided by San Francisco Book Review for review.


Beautiful Darkness, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Firelight, by Sophie Jordan
Keys to the Repository, by Melissa de la Cruz

None!

Another CSN Review!

Well guys, it looks like I get to review another product from CSN Stores! Last time, I got the lamp for my reading pleasure and I absolutely loved it so I'm really excited to review for them again!

By now, I'm sure you guys have heard of CSN and their 200+ stores that you can browse through and shop. They do have some of the best products around, at low prices and most items even offer free shipping!

I've been scanning the site and I have my eyes on some of these drop leaf tables that I think would look lovely in the corner of my kitchen. Not only do some look like just the right size for me and my husband, but I can also foresee it becoming my getaway writing table when the husband gets to loud playing video games when I'm trying to work!

So, if you have a few minutes and you haven't done it already ... hop over to CSN Stores and check out all they have to offer. And check back by here in a few weeks to see what I chose and my review for it!