My 6 Month Blogoversary! {Giveaway}

Yep, that's right.  It's been around six months now since I first created this blog right here!  So, as a thanks to all of those who've followed me and encouraged me throughout this crazy experience, I have come up with this giveaway.  Below are pretty much all of the things I've allocated ever since I began blogging about.  And in this giveaway, there will be THREE WINNERS! So, good luck :)

But before I did the whole giveaway thing, I thought I'd share something.

If you've noticed, my Twitter name is not the same as it is here on this blog. Here, my name is Millie Dixon, writer of sometimes ridiculous hot-guy fangirling. There, I am Kristen, Twitter obsessed maniac. I know, for some of you this may be very confusing. So, I'll clear the air a little.

Some while ago while I was sitting in some uncomfortable, bland school chair, waiting to take this state exam that I was totally freaking out over because it was Math, I began to daydream like I usually do when things get either boring or unbearable in reality.

Okay, so I went a little media res on you here and I need to backtrack a little more for you all to completely understand (but keep the Math exam Kristen in mind!). It's been over a year since I came up with the idea to write a book. Then I wrote it. And now it's finished. But at the time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to use my real name when sending it off to agents and publishing companies because then I thought, What if I really did get published and I had used my real name and I had the Crazies stopping by my front door? No. I did not want that. Also, I did not want people who knew me to know I'd written a book because also at that time, I was insecure about what people would think of me.

So, in all, I thought I needed a pen name.

And then there I was sitting at that uncomfortable, bland chair waiting to take an exam I was not comfortable taking. And I was daydreaming and brainstorming at my mental lightning speed. Suddenly, the name Emily Dickinson came to mind. I knew she was a famous poet and all and I admired her writer-ness. Then I started toying around with the name, changing it around. I tried out Emily Dixon. No. Too similar.

And then I had Millie Dixon!

Problem solved! That would be my pen name. I knew it. Only problem was, since this was a Math exam I was taking, I had no pen on hand to write the name down, and it's not like I'd write on myself in pen, anyway. Psshh. But I did have a pencil. So, using the pencil, I wrote the name on my nails. Yes, my nails. One letter per nail. And I had to keep retracing it throughout the day to keep the letters dark(ish) on my nails.

So there's the story as to how I got my second name! Now I use Millie Dixon as my alias on here. I still don't want the Crazies coming after me, so don't be selling my name to the black market or anything, please. The Twitter and email spam is enough.

But now, to the giveaway because I know that's what you're really looking forward to.

Grand Prize:

That up there is a SIGNED COPY of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, a Fierce Reads Smoke and Bone poster, Shadow and Bone Grisha army pins, and four bookmakrs, Scarlet being signed.  (I'm giving away a copy of Under the Never Sky because it just so happens to be one of my favorites of the year so far)

Second Prize:

(And that bracelet you see there? It's from that big Auracle giveaway that I won and that bracelet was created by Gina Rosati herself! And it has real Swarvoski crystals, by the way.)

And it kinda looks like this up close:

And up there are signed bookmarks (Shine, Scarlet, and the Fierce Reads bookmarks, Of Poseidon, Monument 14, Smoke and Bone, and Struck), two signed bookplated of Born Wicked, and a Struck temporary tattoo.

Third Prize:

That's an Auracle rubber bracelet up ther, some Struck temporary tattoos, and another signed Born Wicked bookplate.

The Rules:

• This is a US/CA giveaway only (once again, sorry international folks!)
• You must be 13 years or older to enter
• No cheating! (Seriously guys, play nice)
• This giveaway starts on August 11th and ends on August 31st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout Book Trailer--Enjoy!

Are you as psyched as I am for this book?  Just look at all that kissage in the trailer!  This is gonna be one HAWT book.

Cheers!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.  It's where bloggers can spotlight upcoming books that they cannot wait to get their grabby hands on.

Wish. Love. Desire. Live.

Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

I love steampunk.  I definitely think that it is my favorite genre out there in the book world.  I only wish that there was more of it out there, you know?  Luckily, steampunk seems to be a rapidly growing genre and that is making me happy.

I chose this book not only for its obvious steampunk quality. (Though, to be honest, it's a huge reason why I did.)  I was also drawn to the cover.  There's a blimp, a factory, and a girl with blue highlights and sparkles in her hair and goggles on her head.  This can only mean that this book must be hardcore steampunk.  (Score!)  And look at the gears around the title!  You simply cannot have a steampunk book without its cogs and gears.  I think it's nearly impossible. 

Lastly, the reason why I chose this book is because the synopsis sounds interesting enough.  She's going to be a sacrifice--say waahhh??  And some mysterious dude from the Realm of Faerie.  I'm thinking love interest, but that's not what's important here.  I want to know it he's a faerie himself!  I love faeries!

Okay, enough of me gushing about a book I haven't read yet.  Happy WoW!  What are you waiting on?

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

The Synopsis:
It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen's "Persuasion", "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

My Thoughts:
I've heard so many things about this book.  Good things, too.  There was just so much talk about it and I couldn't wait to read it.  The story sounded cool enough, too.  I've never Persuasion by Jane Austen, so I felt a little left out of the wonder of the story.  So now, obviously, I would like to read Persuasion. 

Elliot had to be one of the most hardest characters to break.  Although I love such strong characters, I felt as if I needed to see other emotions in her so that I could justify she was even human.  She never let herself cry and she was so set in her path of keeping up the farm, that she didn't realize the others around her.  It was like she had tunnel vision and never really let out any of her emotions.  No matter how much I love strong heroines, I would still like to see a softer side to them.

I won't say much about Malakai other than he was a big butt head.  The whole time, I was wishing--begging almost--that Kai and Elliot would have a nice heart-to-heart convo where they reconnected and at least build build up their friendship that fell to pieces four years back.  I understand how he's angry and wants to play hard-to-get, but seriously, that act can't possibly act as long as it did.

Now, I don't know how Persuasion went, but I do know that some things are different in For Darkness Shows the Stars.  I really liked the book's idea and enjoyed the story, but looking back on the book, I feel as if not much happened in it.  For Darkness takes place in a futuristic world where people are governed under a feudalistic structure.  Of course, it is corrupted and unfair for a majority of people and a forbidden relationship had budded between a noble and a servant.  It is sweet and the entire time I was just waiting impatiently for Kai and Elliot to get on good terms.

It really was a great read.  I read it quickly, blasting through the pages.  The writing was great, the imagery vivid.  So, for having the awesome imagery, this book earned a few brownie points from me.  The characters were dimensional--all of them.  None of them were truly what I thought them to be and some of them either surprised me or proved me wrong.  If anyone in in the mood for a more subdued read, one not filled with action and adventure or passionate hookups, this would be your read.  I guess this would be a contemporary, like no other, might I add.

Happy reading!

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

The Synopsis:
Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.
Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.
The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.
In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

My Thoughts:
Just recently, I had read the first book to the series, Wither, and I wasn't exactly impressed by it, but I thought the story had a lot of potential that could have been used.  Using my philosophy of always giving a book a chance, I picked up Fever at my local library.  The synopsis really didn't grab my attention, but I was curious to see how the story continues, what with Rhine and Gabriel free of Housemaster Vaughn's grubby-handed grasp.  I needed to know.

I enjoyed Rhine more in this book than I did in the first.  I still don't exactly have the close connection with her as I do with other characters in other books, but I agreed more with her decisions and understood her feelings more than I did in Wither.  Her determination and raw hope for escape was admirable.  Still though, I found some of her decisions infuriating and made me impatient.

Readers got to see more of Gabriel in this book.  At first, I was rooting for Linden in Wither, but now that I really got to meet the true Gabriel, not the servant sneaking around the mansion, I changed my mind.  Now, I won't say much for those who have still yet to read this book, but I much rather prefer Gabriel's personality to Linden's cowardice.  I pitied Linden.  He was like that poor, innocent, homeless puppy that wound up on your doorstep.  Not that little puppied wind up on my doorstep all the time or anything, but you catch my drift.  I cared for Gabriel.  He certainly became my favorite character.

In Wither, not much of anything happened.  Rhine was locked up in the swanky mansion under the supervision of the Creeper 2,000 Housemaster Vaughn.  In Fever, however, there is much adventure.  In the beginning, Rhine and Gabriel get caught up in the Scarlet district and are forced to 'perform' in this carnival-type place.  The first half of the book I thought was slow and boring.  I wanted for things to pick up or for things to get a little scandalous and heated.  I mean, they were in the Scarlet district after all.  Luckily, the story progresses and there is some adventure involved.  The second half of the book is what brought this book from me being okay with the story to me kind of liking it.

Will I read Sever, the final book to the series?  Yes.  Am I excited about it?  No.  Like I've said, the overall story has a lot of potential and I am hoping that things will pick up.  Most likely, things will be resolved by the end of the last book, but I would like to see how things play out. 

Auracle by Gina Rosati

It seems lately that my online book giveaway winning streak has kept up because one morning, I wake up and discover that I was the winner of that huge Auracle ARC and swag giveaway from Storybook Escape.  I can tell you that my muddy morning mind was not able to process this exciting information, but eventually I became pretty pumped about it and was really anxious for all the goodies to arrive.

The Synopsis:
16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.
When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.



My Thoughts:
First thoughts I had when I first read the synopsis was something along the lines of 'WANT.  MUST HAVE NOW.' (Yes, my neurotic book-thirsty mind may sound something like a neanderthal.) and 'Oooohhh, astral projection.  Coooooool.'  I was really excited to read it!  Then, Anna gets trapped out of her own body while astrally projecting herself!  Well, that's unfortunate.  So in all, I just had to read this so I could see how things would go. 

Anna, I thought, was my kind of girl.  I loved her witty sense of humor and would catch myself with a smile on my face.  I thought her to be a bit naive in the beginning, but then who wouldn't if you had the talent to astrally project yourself?  It was originally her foolishness that got her in such an unfortunate position.  But her character was overall a likable one with her humor and driven attitude.  Her unwavering loyalty, too. 

And this story isn't exactly what your normal generic plot line has.  Usually, it's the girl who thinks she normal.  Normal  Girl discovers she's much more than that and goes into denial.  Normal Girl then struggles against Dark Forces.  Fight occurs.  Problems get absolved.  Not that I have a problem with those plot lines, but it's nice to have a change.  Anna throughout the book mostly works on how to fix the problem that she created.  It was all by chance that she got herself in this situation and I love how she never mopes about, blaming herself for what happens. 

Yay, for a strong, practical character!

There wasn't much action and violence in here, but I thought that was okay.  This was a very different read that was highly entertaining.  And Rei was such a great romantic interest, too.  He was exotic and new and all ninja-like since he meditates and doesn't eat junk food!  (He made me feel bad about my diet choices, but then I figured he was fictional so I shouldn't feel all that bad.)  And I just loved how deep a connection Anna and Rei had even when she couldn't talk to him, if anything, their relationship grew with it.  The only thing I wished that would happen was that they would just realize they were Meant to Be.  I just loved the whole childhood best friends-turned-couple idea.

Oh, and the imagery!  I thought it was fabulous, all of the descriptions and such.  Gina used such great sensory words, so I was very pleased with the palpable surroundings of Auracle.

So, if you are looking for something new and quick, funny and interesting, then I suggest you pick up Auracle this coming August 7th.  I loved the idea of astral projection mixed in with an average teenage reality.  It was real, yet unreal.  The characters were likable, but I wish there was just a little more dimension to them.  Other than that, it was a great read.

Waiting on Wednesday

This weekly meme is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

I've seen some talk about this book and the synopsis definitely has me interested.  Also, I find this cover to be something fierce, so I'm overall very excited for this one.  Yes?