Giveaway Update

Have you entered yet?

There are only five more days to enter for a chance to win signed copies of The River of Time series, t-shirts, and signed bookmarks! 

Here are a few more beautiful buttons you can use to gain entries:

 

Created by Pica:

Created by Lady DragonKeeper:

Tweet

Recap 9/17 to 9/23

In case you missed anything, here's a recap of what was posted Saturday, September 17th through Friday, September 23rd. 

+ Small news

Reviews

Clean by Amy Reed
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock


(Click on the links to go to my reviews)

Memes

In My Mailbox
Waiting on Wednesday

Features

How to Use Labels (Tags) to Increase Blog Traffic

Review Comparison Submissions: 
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Still open!

River of Time series giveaway!
Giveaway ends 9/28!

What's Your Status?

A meme created by Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking on Life where we recap our reading week. Feel free to visit her site and link up your own What's Your Status Posts. Here's how my week went:

Finished

The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
Lily of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter #1) by Stephanie Dray
Just Your Average Princess by Kristina Springer

(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

Reviews to come on all of these. Yes, I am a reading machine this week! That's because I have deadlines and schedules and all kinds of crazy things going on.

I LOVED the first two and liked the last.

Currently Reading

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

Small News

I have been AWFUL about sending email responses! And, unfortunately, I will continue to be awful until probably some time in November. So please check back on your comments because I AM still replying to you!

Miss anything last week? Click here to read a Recap. 

Tweet

How to Use Labels (Tags) to Increase Blog Traffic

How to Use Labels (Tags)
to Increase Blog Traffic


Part 1 of the series
How to Keep Readers and Increase Pageviews

What You Will Learn

You've been following the series How to Attract Readers to Your Blog, but now that you have caught the eye of more readers, how do you keep them coming back to your blog again and again? How do you get them to read more than just the one page they landed on?

To answer THOSE questions, I've put together another series for you: How to Keep Readers and Increase Pageviews! Like the previous series (which is still ongoing--don't worry, I still have a ton more of tips and tricks to share), this will be a multi-part series broken down into bite sized chunks designed to reduce stress and overload and instead make improving your blog a quick and easy process!

Let's Do This!

Do labels/tags help increase SEO?

Nope, I'm sorry to say they don't seem to help with SEO. At least not if you're using Blogger. And at least as far as I understand it. This has to do with the way Blogger creates label URLs. Apparently the URL pattern is set up in a way that search engines tend to ignore.

So then why should I bother using labels/tags?

• Labels/tags are a great navigation tool. They may not help ATTRACT readers, but they DO go a long way to helping KEEP readers digging through your site and increasing your pageviews.

• The LinkWithin Widget uses your labels to decide which posts to display.

• Labels can help resurrect old posts that would otherwise be overlooked.

Picture it: You arrive at this beautiful blog and you read this absolutely fantastic post. What do you think? Probably something along the lines of: GIVE ME MORE PLEASE! Right? But how do you go about finding more of the same?

LABELS!

Picture it: You just wrote an absolutely awesome review of Julie Kagawa's The Iron Knight. I read your review and I adore it. I want more. So I click on your label "Julie Kagawa" so I can read every review you've ever written for her books. 

But wait! Maybe you did an interview with Julie Kagawa, and of course you included a label with her name on that interview post. I didn't even know you had done an interview and I never would have thought to look for one, but since you were such a smarty labeler, I'm now going to see and read your interview!

When making labels, keep in mind:

 

The goal to using labels is to make it easy for your readers to navigate your blog. With that goal in mind, ask yourself these questions when you create your labels:

Would someone use this as a search term?

i.e. If I read your book review of Julie Kagawa's The Iron Daughter, odds are high that I'll also be interested in reading your review of Julie Kagawa's The Iron King.  So,

Question: How would I go about looking for this review (besides your review index)? 

Answer: Probably either by the author's name (potential label) or the series name (potential label).

Do I have/will I have any other posts that fit in a similar category?

The more posts you have or will have that fit into a shared category, the more useful it is for you to create an overarching label. Keep reading for some suggestions.

What types of labels should I make?

Odds are if you're reading this page then you're a book blogger of some sort. If so, here are a few label categories you might want to consider:

Author's name
Genre
Rating
Series name
Challenges you may be reading the book for
Age range (if you review for more than one age group)
Type of post (book review, cover review, IMM, WoW, author interview, discussion, etc) 

You probably have a lot of posts that will fit into these categories and your readers will probably be most interested in browsing through your posts that fall into these categories.

There are three main ways to set up labels and there are pros and cons to both. In the next Tips and Tricks post, we'll look at all three methods and you can decide which works best for you!

Click here to make a request for a future Tips & Tricks post.

The form is anonymous, so please don't feel shy at all! 

These tips and tricks posts are a (sort of) bi-monthly feature, so it may take a little time to answer your question, but I WILL answer it!

I'm certainly not an expert, but I'll try my hardest to explain what I do know and research what I don't know.

Click here to read previous Tips & Tricks Posts 

Tweet

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we all feature upcoming books we're eagerly anticipating.


I've altered things a little to include one book that hasn't come out yet and one that has already been published but I still haven't gotten around to reading yet.

The Glass Swallow by Julia Golding
Warrior Princess by Frewin Jones


Goodreads description of The Glass Swallow (October 28, 2011):

Rain

She designs exquisite stained glass for the windows of her city. But the law is clear — it is forbidden for girls to be part of the glassmaker's guild. To keep her secret hidden, she leaves home and travels to the strange new country of Magharna.

Peri

When he witnesses Rain's capture by a gang of bandits, both his fate and his heart becomes tied to hers. They escape the outlaws, but Peri and his family of falconers are untouchables who are scorned by all, and Rain is not allowed to be part of their lives.

Can Rain and Peri's love survive the prejudices against them? And with the city on the brink of disaster will they be able to stop their world from smashing apart?

Why I want to read it:

I like the companion novel Dragonfly enough to be interested in another book by Julia Golding. While pretty standard fare fantasy, the only real problem I had with Dragonfly was one of the main characters. The plot of The Glass Swallow sounds unique, so as long as I click with the main characters this should be great. I also loved Julia Golding's attention to detail with the two cultures she described in Dragonfly and I have high hopes for the same attention in The Glass Swallow.

Goodreads' description of Warrior Princess (February 1, 2009):

Fifteen-year-old Branwen's life is changed forever when enemy Saxon troops attack her homeland and her brother is killed. Branwen wants to jump into action and avenge her brother's death, but instead she is sent to a neighboring stronghold where she'll be safe from harm. Yet while she is surrounded by exquisite beauty and luxury in her new home—as a princess should be—she feels different from the other girls. Deep down, Branwen has the soul of a warrior.

Then a mystical woman in white foretells a daunting prophecy: Branwen will be the one to save her homeland. Suddenly forced to question everything—and everyone—around her, she realizes that the most difficult part of her journey is still to come. With no time to lose, Branwen must make a choice: continue on the path her parents intended for her . . . or step into the role of a true Warrior Princess.

Why I want to read it:

Princesses, warrior princesses, prophecies, pink cover. Yep, this one pretty much has my name written all over it. I'm pretty sure this is part one of a trilogy, and I think by now all of the books have been published.

Have any of you read either of these books? Would you recommend them? 

Don't forget, if you're participating in Waterfall Wednesdays (or doing anything else to promote this series, like, say, a Waiting on Wednesday post) you can enter your link HERE for a chance to win a signed set of the series, t-shirts, and more!

Tweet

Book Review: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Pages: 344
Received: Library
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads:

Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available "specimen of imbecilic manhood." Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room.

So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire...

But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?

Review

Oh just get to it already!

I could have so easily loved Princess Ben. All of the elements I usually adore were there for me: A PRINCESS (that gets the book points right there), a hate-turned-love romance, magic!, and a sprinkling of nods to various fairy tales. What's not to love?

Apparently, Ben. You're not supposed to like Ben all that much in the beginning because this is one of those stories where the character grows to become someone better than who she started out as.

Again, normally I love that--but not when she's unlikable for 3/4 of the book! Her turn around in the final quarter was so rapid that I really had a hard time buying it.

How can a book with magical sparkly light swirls on the cover be boring???

This all could have been much improved had the first 3/4 been more tightly written. And maybe narrated differently. The whole story is told with Ben's first person narration, but she's telling it as an old woman looking back on her life. I found her voice to be stuffy, dull, and lending very little excitement to the tale.

Not only was Ben annoying me, but I was also so bored. When Ben finally started learning magic I thought, "Oh good, magic will make it all better!" but that didn't happen. Honestly, I'm sort of in shock. Magic has never failed me like this before. But for whatever reason, reading along as Ben learned how to conjure water and fire (and spend an equal amount of time cleaning) was about as interesting to me as watching grass grow.

Which is to say, NOT interesting. I'm still confused, but I think part of the reason this was so boring was because Ben was completely alone during all of these lessons. She didn't have an old wizard or a sweet witch or a handsom anyone to teach her, mock her, or provide witty banter with her. It was just Ben.

Also, there was no conflict or distinct experiences between her lessons. It was always just, "Open book, read spell, try spell, master spell!" Sometimes she would say the equivalent to, "I practiced for months" between "try" and "master" but that isn't very exciting either.

Heroine replacement, please?

Ben spends the first 3/4 of the book as a sulky, self-absorbed, sheltered little girl with no regard for the kingdom she will inherit and zero social skills.

And I don't mean she's shy. I mean she's rude. Boorish, even.

I would have thought I might have sympathized and related to Ben a little bit over her tendency to over-eat. Because, you know, I like food too, so we have that in common.

But, jeez, can you say obsessed? (Well, ok, to be fair, yes, she kind of is. Ben doesn't just like eating, she eats as a way of coping with stress and the loss of her parents). Ben is significatly overweight and focuses much of her energy on stealing food after her guardian puts her on a diet. Instead of being sympathetic, Ben came across as a self-indulgent whiner.

Besides, couldn't she have done something more interesting with her magic than learn how to sneak into the kitchen at night?? She found secret passageways for crying out loud, and all she could think of to do with them was steal food?! I was practically in the depths of despair over such a tragedy of missed opportunities.

By the time she became someone I *might* consider as a lunch table companion, I'd already spent way too much time wishing she'd bite it (and I don't mean food).

But I really could have loved this book

If I forget about Ben and all the boring parts there's actually a pretty awesome story here. It's exciting and adventurous and even reminds me of Gail Carson Levine with both authors' inventive takes on magic and creatures. I also really liked the world building and I pretty much loved--or was at least interested in reading about--every character (with the exception, of course, of Ben. Though even Ben got a lot better in the final quarter).

The mystery of Ben's missing father was also creatively written with enough suspicion thrown around that I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. And there was even a scene that made me laugh out loud! (For those who have read Princess Ben already: mud). Plus, it was fun seeing all the different fairy tales woven into the story.

Bottom line

I'm very glad I read Pica's review or I probably would have DNF-ed during part 1. Pica echoed my own lack of enthuasiasm with the beginning of the book, so I decided to keep reading because she assured me it would get better. And she was right!

Even with all my complaints, I'm still happy I read Princess Ben and had the experience of the story (even if I didn't love the storytelling). I'll probably even re-read it now that I know which parts to skip over to get to the good stuff (part 1-mostly skip, part 2-skip a little, part 3-don't skip much, part 4- no skipping).

Princess Ben is a standalone. 

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Princess Ben that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Looking for another book like this? 

You might like: 

Click on the covers to go to my reviews.

Tweet

Book Review: Clean by Amy Reed (Guest Posting for Psychtember!)

Clean by Amy Reed
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 288
Received: ARC from publisher 
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads:

Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason, and Eva have one thing in common: They’re addicts. Addicts who have hit rock bottom and been stuck together in rehab to face their problems, face sobriety, and face themselves. None of them wants to be there. None of them wants to confront the truths about their pasts. But they’ll all have to deal with themselves and one another if they want to learn how to live. Because when you get that high, there’s nowhere to go but down, down, down.

Review

Do you see any sparkles here??

Nope, not a sparkle in sight and, really, this is so NOT my genre. So why in the world was I reading this book? I really don't know. Nostalgia? Ten years ago I would have loved this book. Maybe the cover? Something about it is eye-catching (though I don't know who that girl is supposed to be). Whatever the reason, I downloaded it and opened it up with the intention of reading a few pages to give it a shot.

Before I knew it, I had read half the book. And then I read the other half. Clean is compulsively readable. It's broken up into three different types of chapters: larger sections narrated by either Christopher or Kelly (why only these two? I have no idea); small, paragraph-long first-person narratives of each of the characters; and group therapy sessions that read like a transcript for a play. Each type is relatively short and easy to blitz through.

Still, even though I found Clean to be extremely readable, I didn't exactly like it. Like I said, it's just not my genre anymore. It was depressing (obviously, they're all drug addicts with family sob stories that led to their addictions) and left me feeling absolutely horrible afterwards. I guess that's a sign that Amy Reed did a good job in conveying the feelings of depressed, drug-addicted, family-issued teens, so points for that.

But, bleh, I feel like I need to go read a book about rainbows and puppy dogs and maybe even Santa Claus just to help turn my frown upside down when I was done.

Multiple narrators

The multiple narration really helped move the book along by breaking everything up into easy to read sections, but I don't think it was as successful as it could have been. With the exception of Eva, none of the voices were very distinct. Their stories were distinct and so it was easy to tell who was speaking given the subject they were speaking about, but their manner of speech was really very similar.


I also don't feel like I really got to know any of the characters. Maybe this is the nature of the book, but while I know the intimate details of their histories and their issues now, I don't feel like I know who they are as people, which is sort of funny considering all of the mantras about people being more than just their issues or diagnosis. Not in this book.

Instead of creating individuals that can really come alive off the page, the characters come across as generic collections of issues and mouthpieces for the associated feelings that typically go along with those issues. Some of the secondary characters were also extreme groan-inducing stereotypes. Though I prefer realistic characters that feel alive, I can see how this would be an effective tactic for a book like this. Readers who are going through similar situations will likely find it very easy to relate to and project themselves onto these characters.  

Will it punch you in the gut?

Yep, it probably will. Because even if the characters are little more than vectors for their issues, they are stunningly accurate vectors. Amy Reed clearly captures the feelings that teens going through those situations feel in a way that is searingly honest and incredibly effective.

This is much less a book about drug use as it is a look at the psychological motivations and feelings of a person in these various situations. Drugs aren't really talked about all that much and the book never really goes into any details about the physical feelings and effects of drug use.

While perhaps Amy Reed's teens are a little more in touch with their feelings and motivations than a real teen would be, this makes her book all the more useful for real teens searching for a source to help them understand their feelings. Clean reads very much like a psychologist's notes outlining exactly what the characters (and people in similar situations) are feeling and why they feel what they feel and do what they do.

From a psychological standpoint, Clean gets full marks. The issues, motivations, and feelings touched on are spot on and make psychological sense. Halfway through the book the parents make an appearance, and their actions as well as their impact on their children are equally realistic (with the exception of the over the top stereotypes).

Bottom line

This isn't my genre, so I didn't love it. I felt depressed and wrung out after reading it, especially given the open ending that offers only a little hope. Readers who do enjoy books like this will probably love Clean as it is a solid addition to the genre.

It should come as no surprise, but this book includes numerous references to drug use, sex (hetero and homosexual), rape, teen pregnancy, drinking, physical abuse, eating disorders, and cursing. 
 

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Clean that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

 Originally posted as a guest review. Click the button to go to the original post.

Tweet

In My Mailbox (27)

In My Mailbox is a meme started by Kristi at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie where we get to post about the books we receive each week through publishers/authors, our own purchases, contests won, and libraries.

This mailbox is for the past TWO weeks. 

Click here to see my previous mailboxes.  

For Review

Click to make larger

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron
I'm participating in a blog tour for this book. It sounds very similar to stories like Homeward Bound and Lassie Come Home, but I love stories like that and I don't care how many times I read them, they never fail to make me happy. Unless the dog dies at the end, but I don't think that's going to happen.
 
  The Ring by Bobbie Pyron
This is a contemporary about a girl who works through her problems with boxing. Not my typical story, but I could be up for a feel-good contemporary.

Click to make larger

Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler
Fairy tale retelling! I haven't read a book by this author yet, but each one sounds really good.

The Gathering Storm (#1 The Katerina Trilogy) by Robin Bridges
Historical fantasy! This one is set in Russia 1888 and includes romance, secrets, royalty, and magic!  

Click to make larger

Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2) by Jennifer Estep
I cannot wait to dive back into this world of myths and mayhem! I got an e-galley last mailbox, but this week the print version arrived.

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers
Historical fantasy! Assassins! Forbidden love! Robin LaFevers! There's a lot of win potential in this one.

Spirit's Princess by Esther M. Friesner

Historical fantasy! This one is set in 3rd century Japan and is written by an author I have seriously been meaning to read for forever.

Click to make larger

 Wildwing by Emily Whitman
This one isn't for review (I've already reviewed it), but it did come from a publisher and you will be seeing more of it in the future. Other than that, my lips are sealed.

Click to make larger

 Signed bookmarks from The River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren
Want one? CLICK HERE to see how you can get one!

Thank you HarperCollins, Bobbie Pyron, Premier Virtual Author Book Tours, Lisa T. Bergren, Jennifer Estep, Random House, and NetGalley!

Won

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
From ChicaReader! Thank you! The thought of no chocolate or coffee is certainly worthy of a dystopian! I've heard very good things about the audiobook version.

Library

Click to make larger

The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
Set in America in 1896, this historical toys with the fantastical by including a haunting set in a boarding school! I'm absolutely in love with the voice of the narrator. Also, the revenant is a ghost, not a zombie.


Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (Theodosia Throckmorton #1) by R. L. LaFevers
This is a MG historical fantasy set in England and Egypt in 1906. I've since read this one and loved it! If you like Kat from Stephanie Burgis' Kat, Incorrigible then I think you'll love Theodosia.

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
Stephanie Dray combines the history of Selene (Cleopatra's daughter) with magical elements. You know me, history + fantasy + pretty cover = Small salivating with joy!

Click to make larger

Westmark (Westmark 1) by Lloyd Alexander
This is another one of those authors I should have read but somehow managed not to. I ordered this through inter-library loan when I thought my review pile was actually at a manageable size. Hahahahahaha! I was quickly proved wrong. So I'm not sure if I'll get to this in time.

Fortune's Folly by Deva Fagan
Ah, another one I thought I would be able to read but probably won't before it's due. It has fairy tale-ish things and princesses and everything I love. Except a pretty cover. It really could use a prettier cover, don't you think?

Under the Eagle (Eagle #1) by Simon Scarrow
This is an adult historical fiction set in the time of the Roman empire. Another one I thought I would have time to read. I've heard good things about the main character. Someday...

The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb
Historical fantasy set during the time of the Romanovs and featuring death escorts (I don't think I've read a book about death escorts before!)

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle
Historical fantasy set during the time of Queen Victoria. I've already read (and loved) this one!

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
Historical fantasy with an interesting blend of fairies, magic, dancing, Gothic features, political maneuverings, and even an automaton! I've already read and enjoyed this one, too.

 

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
Historical fantasy with one of the most adorable protagonists ever! I've already read and reviewed this book.

Click to make larger

Click to make larger

Click to make larger

What did you get this week? Has anyone read any of these books yet? Did you like them? 
Feel free to comment with links to your mailboxes or your reviews of these books!

Tweet