The Near Witch Winner!

We have a winner for our give-away of The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab! Random Integer picked lucky #7 so... congratulations to Mindee Arnett! And while I was checking out Mindee's blog this morning, I saw that she has another reason for congrats - a book deal! Maybe we'll be giving away Mindee's book here someday too! :)

I must add that I really wish ALL of you had won (if only we had more give-away copies!). I'm in the middle of reading The Near Witch and it is GORGEOUS. Seriously, you all need to read it!

Thanks to all who played along in the give-away! Congratulations again to Mindee!

Giveaway! Reading Rainbow: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

You may have heard of a quiet little book that debuts today called The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab. I say "quiet little book" with a smirk because it has gotten rave reviews from everyone I know who's read it, and has generated the buzz to match.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

I took my ARC on a beach vacation and couldn't put it down. Totally engrossed by the mysterious disappearances in the town of Near, I completely ignored my own kids as they built sand castles and ran through the waves. (I know, the irony.)

Parenting at it's best... reading about missing kids while ignoring your own.

Instead, I was searching for a sweater in the middle of the tropics. When Victoria writes of misty, rainy moors you feel the rain and the cold, the type that sinks deep into your bones and doesn't want to let go. That's what this story does, grabs you someplace deep inside and digs in, and it doesn't let you go even after you've read it. I loved everything about it - the quiet strength of the characters, the twisty mystery, the magic, and the romance. It's poetic, lyrical writing at its best, and you'd be crazy not to get a copy as soon as you can. Otherwise, I might send the wind after you. And it's always lonely. *winks*

So, Leigh mentioned that she has a copy of The Near Witch, yes? She had offered to send it to me, but I said, "No, I'll wait and instead LET'S GIVE IT AWAY TO ONE OF OUR BLOG READERS!" (Read: Leigh is FAIL at the post office, but I love her anyway, and we really love you all so we came up with a give-away instead!)

So here is the deal - it's super easy if you are on twitter or Facebook! You can either tweet or post the following on Facebook, then link back in a comment to be eligible for an entry. If you do both, and comment twice with two separate links (1 twitter, and 1 facebook), that will be 2 entries! (I love give-away math.)

So, simply tweet or FB the following, then leave a comment with a link (or two) here and you'll be entered to win The Near Witch! Be sure to tag the WhimFic page in your Facebook post.

I want to win a copy of #THENEARWITCH from Whimsical Ficery! http://bit.ly/ort98W

We will pick a winner at 5pm EST on Wednesday, August 3rd. Good luck!!

P.S. You should definitely follow Victoria on twitter here! You will adore her. We are certain of this because she is adorable.

Reading Rainbow: Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I hope I'm not one of the last people to read Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, because I really want to share this great book with you all! After I read it (and quickly followed it with The Last Little Blue Envelope), I couldn't help but wonder how I had missed out on reading these books earlier. Thank goodness Leigh read them and forced me to do the same.

From Goodreads:

When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.

I hate to admit this, but I definitely judged this book by its cover. I thought it would be too cutesy for me. You all know I like books about shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves and the like, but I also enjoy real-life books as long as they have some depth to them. Well, I was completely wrong about this book (and the sequel). Granted, they are cute, in a way that makes them fun to read and made me laugh out loud at times, but there is plenty of real-life depth here too. Maureen Johnson doesn't let her characters off easy, and she doesn't wrap everything up in a pretty, Happily-Ever-After bow, and I loved her for that.

So, if you're looking for some real-life, get past the cute covers and get ready for an eventful, fun, and sometimes heartbreaking journey. Seriously, you are missing out if you haven't read these books!

Reading Rainbow: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Holy WOW, ya'll. I just devoured Forgotten by Cat Patrick. Literally in less than 24 hours! I even picked it up in the middle of the night when the babe woke me and needed to be rocked back to sleep. I never do that (because I love to sleep), but this book was calling to me.

From Goodreads:

Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

Okay, so based on the synopsis, I was a little worried that the whole "no memory" thing might be confusing in a book, but I wanted to give it a try. Not only was it not overly confusing, but it was also just the perfect amount of a supernatural twist to make this whole story fascinating. In addition to forgetting her past each day at 4:33 am, London can "remember" the future. It is such a great concept and really makes for a suck-you-in story.

There are so many twists and turns within this book, and many that I was not expecting at all! I loved it and was happily surprised throughout. I am not going to say much more for fear of revealing too much, but I will say that YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK! I've been telling everyone I know about it since I finished. Even non-YA readers. It's that good. So, trust me and go read Forgotten by Cat Patrick. Just be ready to stay up late at night if it sucks you in like it did me!

Harry Potter: The Memories!

Good Morning! Happy Harry Potter 7.2 Day! I'm assuming some of you are sleepy today after braving the midnight showing! If so, I'm a little bit jealous. But, I'm also excited because I'm seeing it this weekend with my husband. This is one of the things that we always do together, so I have to wait for him. And I'm okay with that because it's fun that he actually gets into Harry Potter with me.

Since this is The End *sob*, we thought it would be fun to share our favorite Harry Potter memories. And this includes you all as well! We definitely want to hear yours.

I know I've already shared my favorite here - reading the 7th book on the way to meet my son in Ethiopia. And then holding his tiny, sleeping hand while I finished the book. But, I now have a second favorite Harry Potter memory to go with that! Just in the past two weeks, I have allowed that baby, now 4 years old, to start watching the movies. Just the first two, mind you, but it has been such fun. I got all misty-eyed seeing him engrossed by the magic of Harry Potter. He and his owl Hedwig (yes, I helped him with the owl-naming :) sat and watched the whole thing. And since then, there have been chopsticks turned into wands and bats turned into broomsticks around my house. I cannot wait to share the books with him! Thank you, JK Rowling, for giving us Harry Potter to discover magic ourselves, and again through our children.

This is where I got misty-eyed. He loved it.

I have a confession to make: I'm not upset about this being the last Harry Potter movie. Not because I'm a heartless wench (well, okay, probably a little bit because of that) but because I went through my stages of grief after the last book. The movie is more like reminiscing about how much you loved that crazy uncle who died in the rock climbing incident. It's been long enough that you can enjoy the stories of his life without tearing up.

To increase my heart-of-stone reputation, I have another confession: unlike Stacie, and probably a lot of you, I don't have any specific warm-fuzzy-moments from Harry Potter. This probably has something to do with the fact that as each book would come out I would grab it, ignore everything else, and devour it as quickly as possible. It's hard to pick out particular moments when your day went "feed those responsible for you, read, dress, read, more food, read, say goodnight, stay up and read." That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the books through my kids eyes. Reading them together will force me to slow down and savor them. But I can't promise special moments. I may not be a special moments kinda girl.

And that, my friends, is why I love Leigh. And why we balance each other out. I'm getting all teary writing this post, and she's all, "Whatever, last movie, what?"

Okay, your turn to share with us! Whether you're a raging sentimentalist like me, or a cold-hearted-bitch like Leigh (she likes it when I call her that), we want to hear your thoughts on The End. Your favorite memories of reading or seeing Harry Potter, or even your favorite moments from the books, we want to hear them!

Waiting on Wednesday: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Okay, so this post is actually a cross between a Waiting-on-Wednesday and a Reading Rainbow. Why? Because I was lucky enough to win an early copy of Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer so I have already read it! (Thank you Andrea and Editor Jill!) And, I have to admit, I was super excited to be receiving a copy with the original cover.

That's me being super excited.
Okay, maybe this was taken just now and not when I received the book, but multiply this by 1000 and that's how excited I was.

Anyway, here is the actual cover of the book...

From Goodreads:

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended-Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer-one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack-and the man-she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

One thing I really love about this sequel is how much detail we are given. The book is not just about Calla and her own personal struggles (I'll get to that...), but also delves more deeply into the history of the Guardians and how they came to be. It's certainly not easy-reading and that is why I really got into it. I want to hand this book to anyone who claims that YA is easy, or "fluff," because Andrea Cremer really makes you think.

And Calla. Oh, Calla. She faces many important decisions in this book, as well as much heartache, but she stays true to herself, which I liked. I have to be honest and say that I was somewhat annoyed by Shay and am now totally leaning towards #TeamRen, but that was something I liked about the book. Sometimes people, even seemingly-perfect-boyfriend-types, turn annoying and insecure. It rang true, even if I was frustrated with his character.

If you were like me and loved Nightshade, but wanted more of the history, you are going to love Wolfsbane. It's a worthy sequel in a great series so be sure to get your copy on July 26th! And I'll be honest, it does end with a slight cliff-hanger, but nowhere near as high as the cliff from Nightshade. That much I can promise you.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Happy Book Birthday and Informal LBC: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Today is the day! There have been so many great releases this summer (with more to come!) and today is the day that Forever by Maggie Stiefvater was released. I have it downloaded on the nook, but to be honest, I'm a little afraid to start. I am scared of what Maggie will do to my emotions! She revels in our pain, I tell you! (Kidding, sort of. But really, don't all the great YA writers like to mess with us just a little? It was makes their books worth reading.)

Anyway, since we did a formal (hah) Lazy Book Club on both Shiver and Linger last summer (that Maggie herself commented on!!), I thought we'd have an information LBC for Forever right here. So, after you've read, feel free to come back and post your thoughts in the comments - and feel free to post spoilers! (That being said, DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS until you've finished the book!) Since I haven't started yet, obviously I won't be posting yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing what you all thought of Forever!