Celebration & Appreciation Giveaway Winners!!

I just got back from a two-day trip to Niagara Falls — another reason why I love Canada — so I'm a little behind (okay, a lot behind) on many things. But before I try to catch up, I just wanted to announce the winners to my Celebration & Appreciation Giveaway!

*I know I ended it one day too early, and I'm really sorry for those of you who haven't been able to enter yet. But the couple of days after the first of August are going to be extremely busy for me and I'll be unable to count the entries, so I thought it would be better early than late. I'm so sorry if this is inconvenient! It won't happen again, I promise!*

Since I now have over 100 followers (AND I LOVE YOU ALL!), there are two winners! One is Canadian like me, and the other is an awesome Australian!

The winners, chosen by random.org, are:

#9 : Cathy @ The Crazy Bookworm

and 

#56 : Sienna M.

Congratulations! I have just emailed both of you to get your book choices and addresses. 

No worries! To those of you haven't won (and I really, really wish I could reward all of you!), there are many more giveaways to come! Go ahead and enter my 100 Followers Giveaway right now. I'm seriously debating on choosing two winners for that one too. :)

-Mimi

Follow Friday #9

Hi there!

For those who don't know, Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by the super-duper awesome Parajunkee & Alison Can Read! It's a great way to meet new people and expand your list of friends over Blogger, and it's really easy to join, too! :)

All you have to do is:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read)
2. (Required) Follow the featured blogger of the week. (The Book Addicted Girl & The Little Book Blog)
3. Put your blog name and URL in the Linky thing. 
4. Grab the the button up there and place it in a post (so people can say hi in the comments!).
5. Follow, follow, follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just only a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs! Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI!"
6. If someone comments and follows you, share the love! Follow them back ;)
7. If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let Parajunkee & Alison know, so they can stop by and check out your blog! 

Q: Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-shirt slogan best describes you?  

A: This is such a fun question! I'd have to say this: 

Because it's so true! x)

What's your T-shirt (or in my case, baseball shirt) slogan? :) 

HAPPY FOLLOW FRIDAY! 

-Mimi 

P.S.: Don't forget to enter my 100 Followers Giveaway if you haven't already! All you have to do is be a follower and it's international! :)

Review: Crescendo

Book: Crescendo

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 427

Source: bought from Chapters

Stars: 4/5

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but atleast she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

(summary taken from Goodreads) 

MY THOUGHTS:

The first book, Hush, Hush, was strongest in its ability to keep me as the reader on the edge of my seat — and Crescendo was no different! From the very beginning, Becca Fitzpatrick plunged you so deeply into the gripping world of fallen angels and their descendants that you didn't want to leave.

However awesome this book may be, it wasn't as outstanding as its predecessor. But it was still good! Crescendo had the same mystery element about it that I loved in the first novel. It was similar yet completely different. There were so many twists and turns, so many surprises and shocking discoveries, that it made the plot line quick and exciting on every page!

Nora was as quirky and fun as ever. Some of her thoughts made me crack up laughing while others made my heart drop. If possible, her daring once-fallen-and-now-guardian angel Patch grew on me even more. And Scott... Well, let me just say that he and Nora have history. ;)

Dangerous and mesmerizing, Crescendo was a fast-paced read that never ran out of ways to keep my interest on maximum. I loved this book and I can't wait until I can get my hands on a copy of Silence! 

BUY or BORROW?: Personally, I love having this one on my bookshelf! It's worth every penny to be able to read this book again!

-Mimi

Review: Hush, Hush

Book: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: October 13, 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 391

Source: bought from Chapters

Stars: 4/5

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along. 

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. 

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush was a daring and compelling read. I couldn't put it down! Fitzpatrick not only managed to create a mystery that kept me guessing until the very end, but she also combined it with a fallen angel romance that caused my heart to leap several times.

Despite being somewhat frustrating at times in that pull-your-hair-out kind of way, Nora was a great heroine! She was realistic and intelligent, yet brave when she needed to be. Her chemistry with Patch — the dark and mysterious transfer who had a tendency of irritating Nora — sizzled like fire. It was thrilling to read passages between them while Nora was still trying to figure out whether he was the one trying to kill her or not.  

Overall, Hush, Hush was an awesome novel for the growing angel genre. It had this breathtaking way of always keeping you on the edge of your seat. This was a great first book to a series I'm looking forward to reading more about!  

BUY or BORROW?: This is an angel book that you definitely want to have on your shelf! Buy it! :) 

-Mimi

Waiting on Wednesday: Shatter Me

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by the awesome Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war — and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Doesn't it sound amazing? I've heard so many great things from people who've been lucky enough to get ARCs, and I honestly can't be any more excited to read it! From the hilarious way that Tahereh writes on her blog to this exciting synopsis, I just know that it's going to be awesome!

Plus, it's paranormal and dystopian? I'd say that's the perfect combination! ;)

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  

-Mimi

P.S.: Don't forget to enter my 100 Followers Giveaway if you haven't already! All you have to do is be a follower and it's international! :)

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Book: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephenie Perkins

Release Date: December 2, 2010

Publisher: Dutton

Pages: 372

Source: KPL

Stars: 5/5

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

(summary taken from Goodreads) 

MY THOUGHTS: 

Three words I would use to describe this book: Hilarious. Heartwarming. BRILLIANT.  

I was looking for another 'H' word to summarize it, but brilliant seemed to fit better than anything else — because that's exactly what Stephenie Perkins proved she was by writing this book! Everything about it was just so magical. 

I've always wanted to go to Paris, and reading this book fueled my desire even more. Perkins has an amazing talent of writing details so that you're always intrigued and never bored. The storyline was perfectly crafted, and the way she wrote such specific aspects about her characters made them that much easier to connect to. 

Anna was the perfect voice for the novel! Her thoughts were always fun and hilarious to follow; I could always relate to her no matter what she did. And her chemistry with St. Clair stole my breath away every time. They were perfect together. But Perkins didn't just write "they were perfect together" — the author showed it through moments that were just as much fun to read as I'm sure they were for Anna to experience.

Beautiful, enchanting, and one-hundred percent entertaining, I have to say that Anna and the French Kiss was honestly my favourite contemporary novel of the year! I recommend it wholeheartedly! Stephenie Perkins is definitely an author I'm going to watch out for. :)

BUY or BORROW?: This is a contemporary shelf must-have! Buy it and love it and gush about it with me! 

And because I loved the alternate covers so much: 

-Mimi

100 Followers Giveaway!!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I actually reached 100 followers already! The time seems to fly by so quickly. I only started blogging a few months ago and it has been such a blast. I just know that I'm going to be sticking around the blogosphere for a long while! :)

I can't thank you guys enough. Whether you're a follower or another blogger stopping by, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to view my blog. None of this could have been as much fun without you!

<center><a href=" http://diminutivemimi.blogspot.com/2011/07/100-followers-giveaway.html " target="_blank"><img alt="Mimi Valentine" src=" http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j359/Mimi-Vee/100FG.jpg "/></a></center>

On to the giveaway! It's going to be INTERNATIONAL (I'll be broke, but that's okay!), and you just have to be a follower to enter. :)

There's going to be ONE lucky winner who can choose a book from the following list, which contains some of my favourite reads of the year:

  
Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
Where She Went by Gayle Forman 

Extra entries (not required):

+1 : Tweet about this giveaway.

+1 : Create a Facebook post about this giveaway.

+3 : Comment on this post.

+5 : Post the button or a link on your sidebar.

+10 : Blog about this giveaway.

Fill out this FORM to enter. The giveaway closes on August 30, 2011 at 11:59 p.m.

Hearts to you all! <3

-Mimi