WICKED BECOMES YOU by Meredith Duran

by ⋅ 2 Comments
WICKED BECOMES YOU
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket; 1 edition (April 27, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416593128
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416593126
SYNOPSIS:

She’s been burned not once but twice by London’s so-call ed gentlemen . . .Gwen Maudsley is pretty enough to be popular, and plenty wealthy, too. But what she’s best known and loved for is being so very, very nice. When a cad jilts her at the altar—again—the scandal has her outraged friends calling for blood. Only Gwen has a different plan. If nice no longer works for her, then it’s time to learn to be naughty. Happily, she knows the perfect tutor—Alexander Ramsey, her late brother’s best friend and a notorious rogue. 
So why won’t a confirmed scoundrel let her be as bad as she wants to be?Unbeknownst to Gwen, Alex’s aloof demeanor veils his deepest unspoken desire. He has no wish to see her change, nor to tempt himself with her presence when his own secrets make any future between them impossible. But on a wild romp from Paris to the Riviera, their friendship gives way to something hotter, darker, and altogether more dangerous. With Alex’s past and Gwen’s newly unleashed wildness on a collision course, Gwen must convince Alex that his wickedest intentions are exactly what she needs.
MY THOUGHTS:
What would you do if you were left at the altar twice? Would you keep doing what you have been doing, or would you do the complete opposite? Sheltered and naive Gwen decides to quit being the nice girl and opts for being the naughty girl now.  She looks to Alex for help in being naughty and desirable. Alex is her late brother’s best friend.  He has always had a thing for Gwen, but she has never extended the same feelings.  I found both characters fun and lively.  Alex can get on your nerves a bit, but he grows on you throughout the book.  Overall this was a great new author read for me.  I liked the writing and the flow of the book.  Plus, look at the great colors in the cover! To me, it shows how naughty Wicked Becomes You can be.

MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book!

WEEKLY GIVEAWAY WINNER!

by ⋅ 3 Comments
I used Random.org to pick the winner for the weekly giveaway. The lucky winner is:
CONGRATS! Please contact me at djsfoxylady @ gmail.com with your mailing address.
Please include in the subject line: WEEKLY WINNER
Stay tuned for a new weekly giveaway to be posted this afternoon!!

INTERVIEW: Author Megan Crewe

by ⋅ 1 Comment
Today I have the wonderful pleasure of welcoming author Megan Crewe. She is the author of Give Up The Ghost.  Let’s give her a warm, huge welcome and see what she had to say!

To start off, welcome and can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

I’m Canadian, and have lived here in Toronto all of my life.  My parents are both avid readers, so I thank them for my love of books and story-telling.  I’m also an animal-lover: right now I have three cats (just got a new kitten!) and in the past I’ve owned ferrets, mice, hamsters, and fish.

Can you tell us a little about your upcoming or latest release?

GIVE UP THE GHOST is about a high school outcast who can talk to the dead, and uses the secrets her ghostly friends dig up to expose her fellow students’ wrong-doings. But then the popular student council V.P. discovers *her* secret, and, to her surprise, asks her for help…

I am a fly on your wall.  What would I report back to my master of the daily grind of Megan Crewe?

I don’t have to leave the house for my day job until mid-afternoon, so I’m generally in pajamas all morning.  And I’m not “allowed” to turn on my desktop computer to get online until after I’ve done my morning’s writing on the computer.  🙂

When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors that are must reads?

I try to read a variety of genres, both because I enjoy lots of different types of stories, and because I think it’s useful as a writer to see techniques and get ideas from books that are different from what I usually write.  I read a lot of young adult fiction, of course–mostly paranormal, fantasy, and SF, but some realistic stuff as well; some adult fiction of all sorts; and the occasional book for younger readers.  What’s most important to me is a story that pulls me in and characters I care about, and as long as a book has those things, I’m happy regardless of genre!

A few of my favorite YA authors are E. Lockhart, Megan Whalen Turner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Monica Hughes.  Adult faves include Connie Willis, Lois McMaster Bujold, Terry Pratchett, and Daphne du Maurier.

What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?

I must have an outline, to give me a sense of where I’m going and how I’m going to get there (though I always veer off here and there).  I must have my laptop, because for some reason I find it much easier to write on that than on my desktop computer.  Because it feels more like a notebook, I think.  And I must have a sense of why this story is important to me.  If I haven’t found the heart of the story, I can’t write it properly, no matter how exciting the idea might be.

Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?  Twitter?

I do!  My website is megancrewe.com, and you can find my blog at megancrewe.com/blog.  My twitter username is megancrewe, which makes me easy to find.  🙂

Now for some fun stuff:

1. What came first–the chicken or the egg?
The egg–fish were laying them before there were any chickens!
2. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
It does, there’s just so much of it it can’t all stick.
3. If you choke a Smurf, what color do they turn?
Purple!
4. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
Maybe he wrote it?

Favorite perfume: Tulzscha by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Favorite TV show: Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride
Favorite Drink: Dr. Pepper
Favorite Dessert: Black Forest Cake

Thanks for joining us on My Overstuffed Bookshelf!!

Thank you for having me!

GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe

by ⋅ 1 Comment
GIVE UP THE GHOST
Source: Library
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (September 15, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805089306
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805089301
SYNOPSIS:
Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school. 
But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees. 
As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad—and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance….
MY THOUGHTS:
I came across this book awhile back and had it on my wish list.  I finally got a chance to read it and I enjoyed it so much!
I loved the characters of Cass and Tim.  They seemed like they would become a couple but the author focused on other plots of the story instead of making this a teen romance.  I like how they started as enemies, slowly became friends, and left it hanging that they might be a couple in a follow up book.  This book had the paranormal ghosts, the witty writing and a cute plot that all ages could enjoy.  The only things I didn’t like about the book were some things were left unfinished.  We never got to know why Cass is the only one who can see the ghosts.  We never get to find out if Cass and Tim become a real couple.  Did Paige get to move on and some characters just faded away near the end. 
Overall, I still loved the book. It was cute and fun even if it dealt with some serious issues like death.  A fresh new read for the young adult genre that will easily be loved by the adults as well!
MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book!

WINNERS!

by ⋅ 4 Comments
The contest for Lydia Dare’s books has ended.  The two lucky winners are:
and
Please email me your mailing info to : djsfoxylady @ gmail.com so I can get it sent to the publisher!
Please include in the subject line:  LYDIA DARE CONTEST
Thank you to Danielle from Sourcebooks for sponsoring the giveaway!