Giveaway: It's my first blogoversary! (INT + US Only)

This post is hours late. The blog's (partially) new look has eaten up most of my waking hours the past month and I'm still trying to clean it up a little, plus add a few of my original illustrations to it in the next few days (or weeks...). Especially the blog header. I am in awful need of a new one.

But nevertheless—

Mermaid With A Book has officially turned one!

Oh, yeah.

And what's a blogoversary without a giveaway? The thing is, I'm having not one, but TWO giveaways!
Be sure to keep reading and enter ;)

It's hard to believe that my book blog went live on this very day last year. I'd been skulking around Twitter for at least a year and didn't feel as involved in the book community as I would've liked. When I heard of an upcoming a blog tour by amazing author Cyndi Tefft (who writes novels featuring a hot Scottish grim reaper <3), it finally pushed me into creating a book blog because I wanted so, so badly to be ready for the blog tour.

So yes—I've actually been a book blogger for a year. It may not be much, but I hope it means many more years of book reviews. I honestly never expected to get this far. If this had been a personal blog, it would've been dead waaaay before today. I really envy bloggers who live in the US—they seem to have more time than I do, and more bookish events to attend!

I am really looking forward to making even more friends in the next year. I feel blessed to have these friends:

Megan, and Manon from Sous Ma Couverture – I feel incredibly lucky to have met you both on Twitter way before I started blogging. You're friends I will never forget, and I hope to meet you in person someday.

Theresa – Thank you for sharing my reviews and checking up on the blog when you're free! It means loads to me that there's someone like you who cares to do that.

Gina – Thanks so much for your words of encouragement, especially when I was down or feeling unsure of myself. You're a gem.

Cyndi Tefft, author of the insanely awesome Between series — I still remember you encouraging me to join Twitter that day in 2011. And honestly, Mermaid With A Book would never have started if it weren't for you! THANK YOU <3 I'm really looking forward to Between #4 and more of Aiden MacRae! (:

CYP from A Bookalicious Story and Michelle from Michelle Chew Writes – I'm so glad to know other Singaporean book bloggers like you! It's great knowing I'm not alone in the local book blogging community.

Michelle from The Passionate Bookworms – You're full of fin-tastic ideas and it's been pretty awesome chatting with you on those occasions (:

Chyna from Lite-Rate-Ture – Your reviews are so you! I admire your honesty, uniqueness and humour.

Last but not least, all the authors I've had the pleasure of working with the past year – you know who you are! Thank you for believing in Mermaid With A Book!

Most of the books in the giveaways are ones I've reviewed and enjoyed. I've provided links to each book's Goodreads page and my review, if any. I would also like to thank the following authors who have very kindly agreed to be part of my blogoversary giveaways.

Katie O'Sullivan, author of the Mermaids of Cape Cod series and My Kind of Crazy

Emm Cole, author of the Merminia series

Karen Amanda Hooper, author of the Sea Monster Memoirs and Kindrily trilogy

Aaron Galvin, author of Salted

Amy Evans, author of The Pinhold Prophecy series

You guys are AMAZING. Thank you so, so much. No amount of kelp cake would suffice to show how grateful this mermaid is!

GIVEAWAY #1

The first giveaway is open internationally, with six winners. 

Up for grabs are these ebooks...

The first winner gets the Oceans Deep ebook box set (courtesy of author Amy Evans) which includes 12 Young Adult romance novels that celebrate sun, sea and love to support World Oceans Day 2014: 

Telesa by Lani Wendt Young
Seaweed by Elle Strauss
Forsaken by Kristen Day
Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper
Promises & Betrayal by Amber Garr
Artemis Rising by Cheri Lasota
Just Breathe by Heather Allen
Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin
Dragonfly & Undertow by Leigh Talbert Moore
Clicks by Amy Evans

The second winner gets both Son of a Mermaid and its sequel, Blood of a Mermaid by Katie O'Sullivan.

(This series is one of the best ever! Read my reviews here and here.)

The third winner swims away with both Merminia and its sequel, Keeping Merminia by Emm Cole.

(I LOVED Merminia—review here)

The next three winners will each get a copy of Salted by Aaron Galvin.

(my review to come soon)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• This giveaway is international.

• Entrants must be 13 or older to enter.
• Winners will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If prizes are not claimed within 48 hours, another winner will be picked.
• I WILL CHECK EVERY SINGLE ENTRY. An entry will be deemed void if the requirement is not met.
• If your Twitter account is protected, I will not be able to see your tweets and the entry will also be deemed void.
• Cheaters will be disqualified.
• Prizes will be sent out by the respective authors.

GIVEAWAY #2

The second one is US only. There'll be two winners (:

The first winner will get signed paperbacks of Merminia and Keeping Merminia by Emm Cole.

The second winner will get a signed paperback of Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper. If you already have Tangled Tides, you can choose the sequel, Dangerous Depths (review here).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• This giveaway is US only. 

• Entrants must be 13 or older to enter. 

• Winners will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If prizes are not claimed within 48 hours, another winner will be picked. 

• I WILL CHECK EVERY SINGLE ENTRY. An entry will be deemed void if the requirement is not met.

• If your Twitter account is protected, I will not be able to see your tweets and the entry will also be deemed void. 

• Cheaters will be disqualified.

• Prizes will be sent out by the respective authors.

• I am not responsible for any prizes lost in the mail.

Thanks for swimming by, and good luck ;)

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Review: Merminia (Merminia, #1) by Emm Cole

Merminia (Merminia, #1) by Emm Cole

Publisher: Self-published

Released: September 7th 2012

Format: Ebook

Source: My own

In an underwater world that is as beautiful as it is ruthless, the mertribes are not about to make peace with each other. Selinne is a mermaid who is certain she can take care of herself. But when she is captured by the bloodthirsty Litiants, she finds unlikely help from Gabriel, a warrior who appears as indifferent as he is handsome.

As Selinne struggles to make sense of the good and evil around her, she discovers that there is no escaping love or her place in the raging war of the sea.

This book was such a thrill to read. I felt like I was on a roll, having read another fin-tastic mermaid book after my last one.

By chapter 3, I was hooked. We know a war between the Merminians and Litiants is brewing, and because of that, the Merminian mermaids are worried for the mermen. At the same time, Cole dishes out the basics of Merminia: the mermaids emit healing light rays from their hands (which change colour depending on emotion), mates are for life, and a Merminian promise is unbreakable.

It was easy for me to connect with the main character, Selinne, right from the beginning because she was so genuine. Selinne is carefree and headstrong. This does not in any way make her petty, rude or blunt. In situations where she is truly helpless, she accepts aid from others, but doesn't pass up any opportunity to defend herself either.

Most mermaids craved the attention of doting mermen. She was not one of those mermaids.

This mermaid doesn't crave attention because she wants to seem selfless or anything—she is selfless. She doesn't want to sit around braiding her hair like other mermaids, chat about merboys and be 'feminine', and yet isn't the rough, tomboy-ish type. She's completely wild in her own special way.

The love triangle in Merminia is one I will remember for a long time. Essentially, it's Aramis, Selinne's childhood friend, versus Gabriel, Litiant warrior prince. I was so conflicted over both mermen at first (it didn't help that both of them were smokin' hot under the sea).

Gabriel's had a tough childhood with the villain Merconius as his father, but his moral and mental strength enabled him to bide his time until he knew he could properly stop his father's tyranny. He's fierce, but not ruthless, and as he falls harder for Selinne, he finds that she's also the only one whom he can confide in.

"I have seen so much hatred," he said above a whisper. "I have seen the lowliest of betrayals. Most of my life has been ugliness—until you." — Gabriel

Aramis only had eyes for Selinne despite other mermaids flitting around him. He's protective of Selinne, yet knows when to let Selinne fight for herself. Aramis has a charm of his own, and occasionally, a witty side of him will show. When I got to the elusive hair-eating fish and sea turtle part, it totally sealed the deal: I was on Team Aramis.

He wanted to pull her to him and kiss her in front of all three spoiled mermaids. He wanted to more than anything. But did she want him to? ... Whether or not she became his, he knew her smile when she saw the carved stone would be his alone to keep.

"I am done acting as if every time you look my way that I am not struggling just to breathe. That while I tease you or you find a reason to fight with me that I am not thinking about kissing you and wrapping you in my arms." — Aramis

Both mermen are worthy, but perhaps it was because Aramis had more of his backstory with Selinne told that I gravitated towards him more. On a side note, I think that Gabriel didn't handle the part with Selinne's lock of hair as well as I expected him to. I felt that Cole gave more insight into Aramis' character than Gabriel's, because when I finished reading, Aramis left the biggest impression on me. Or maybe it's just really my preference towards the gorgeous, sandy-haired merman...

SWOON

Either way, I hope Gabriel redeems himself in the sequel, Keeping Merminia, because it seems like Aramis may never get his chance ):

I am in awe of the secondary characters as I am of the main ones. Merconius is a terrifying villain, and his ruthlessness is established pretty early. He's a sadist who can even hurt his own kin at the slightest dissatisfaction. Estelle, the wife of Merconius, worries about her sons and cares for her Litiants, yet shows disdain for Selinne. Her display of arrogance, compassion, selfishness and fear made her an exceptional three-dimensional character. Even though I didn't like her personality much, I understood her actions, and she became so real to me that I could even picture the way she delivered her lines in my head. Zara, with her sincerity and silent determination despite her scarred past, makes for an admirable character and first Litiant friend to Selinne. Lucia is a seemingly insignificant character, but her role later on just proves my point on how central supporting characters are to this book. They enhance scenes on an immense scale because of how multi-faceted they are.

Other than the Merminians and their healing-mood-ring rays, other mer-clans such as the Julgrens and Litiants each have their unique traits. Julgrens are masters of camouflage and their mermaids are compared to the Amazons. Litiant mermaids can read minds and access every single memory you've ever had. I've to admit, I feel pretty smug about only the mermaids getting the special abilities!

There were also deep moments in the book such as this, which really resonated with me:

"The fates may play their games of magic and will death and terror as they please. But my mistakes and triumphs cannot be owned by them or you. ... Whether you kill me or continue to hold me as a slave, you can't take who I am from me. ... I have loved and been loved. I cannot ask for a better existence than that." — Selinne 

So movie-worthy.

I had a bit of difficulty getting into the story because of the writing, though. Cole's writing style consists of mostly short – and sometimes choppy – sentences, due to her only occasional use of commas. However, she makes up for this with choice vocabulary. It took a while for me to accustom myself with how the story was told, but once I did, it didn't pose much of a problem to the rest of my reading experience. Additionally, I feel that some parts could've been reorganised, such as letting the tale of Adessia's ring be a prologue instead. The extent of the ring's power also wasn't well-established from the start.

Merminia left me wanting to hear more from its characters. I want to know how the plot continues, too, because Cole is such a master at weaving complexities concerning characters and conflict. Wow, accidental alliteration there, lol. She makes it so that each character is undeniably linked to the main character as well as the grander scheme of things, and a single turn of events can greatly affect a character's relationship with another. You don't even realise this until Cole points it out through her characters, which is equally amazing as it is earth-shattering.

Merminia is now on my list of fave mermaid books. It's probably the first indie mermaid novel that I really love, and I need Keeping Merminia like NOW (but I have that reading pile... ): ). Oh well. At least it's already published, and that means there's more Aramis to look forward to... ;)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emm Cole is the author of Merminia and Keeping Merminia, a paranormal romance/fantasy series. She lives with her husband and two spunky children. When she’s not writing, she is often highlighting favorite passages in books. (According to Emm, authors Markus Zusak, Maggie Stiefvater, and John Green are pen-wielding super heroes.) Don’t share your Sour Patch Kids or Swedish Fish with her, because she’ll eat them all. Emm is a fan of everything supernatural and finds that drama in stories is always more entertaining than the real kind. She also enjoys thought-provoking art and is an admitted TV series junkie who has The Vampire Diaries, Freaks and Geeks, and Friday Night Lights memorised. If a pop culture reference wasn’t acknowledged on Gilmore Girls, she probably finds it irrelevant.


Connect with Emm: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Get your copy of Merminia!

Amazon US | Amazon UK

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The Book Blogger Test!

It's my turn to take The Book Blogger Test! I was tagged by the lovely Chyna of Lite-Rate-Ture (thank you, angelfish!).

"The rules are simple. Answer the questions and tag 5 other bloggers."

What are your top three book pet hates?

1. Insta-love.
2. Annoying and/or whiny protagonists in a plot that gradually makes the whole book flop.
3. Rough handling of books (dog ears, spine-bending, folding of covers—OH, THE HORROR).

Describe your perfect reading spot.

On the living room sofa with a pile of soft cushions. Hopefully I'll be able to add a kitten into the mix in future ;)

Tell us three book confessions.

1. I have not read The Fault In Our Stars yet, nor watched the movie.



I KNOW I'LL READ IT SOON OKAY DON'T KILL ME

2. I weaned off of bookmarks quite a few years back, so I get kinda sad if I receive a bookmark from someone. I'm not in the habit of using one when reading physical books and always end up remembering page numbers instead. That said, I'll probably use the bookmark if it's a special and/or exceptionally beautiful one, haha.
3. The font nerd in me takes the font(s) on the book cover and pages very seriously. If a font catches my eye, I'll go to great lengths to identify and download it into my Mac's Font Book.

When was the last time you cried during a book?

Moonless by Crystal Collier. The heartache is REAL, my fishies—I teared up halfway into the story. Plus this mermaid here is a hopeless romantic (especially when it comes to two deserving protagonists).


How many books are on your bedside table?

I don't have a bedside table XD


What is your favourite snack while you’re reading?

I don't usually snack while reading because I know I'll end up reading instead of munching, so I usually settle for some candy (:


Name three books you would recommend to everyone.
(Me: Three?! Just three?? Aww, starfish... okay then.)

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. A contemporary romance set in Paris, of course. This was an incredibly sweet book and I loved how each character was distinct and well-written.
   A bit of trivia: While on holiday in Taiwan, I read Anna and the French Kiss for the first time in a library there and finished it in one sitting (yes, it was in English). A year later, I found myself in the same library and read the same novel again. Loved every minute of it.
2. Century by Sarah Singleton. I found a copy in the bookstore's Academic Literature section and bought it for casual reading. It tells of one family's dark secret, and a young daughter's quest to uncover the truth and liberate her loved ones from the perpetual winter their house is shrouded in. It has elements of (dark?) fantasy and there were a few spine-chilling moments. It also touches on love and loss. This is a book I will reread multiple times.
3. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. This is honestly an awesome sci-fi novel for everyone. It hooked me in from the first chapter and is filled with plenty of action and conflict. I've not seen the movie adaptation starring Alex Pettyfer, though.

Show us a picture of your favourite bookshelf on your bookcase.

This is one of my bookshelves. Each shelf isn't very large, so books in the back row tend to be 'forgotten'. I mostly read library books or ebooks on my Kindle now. My books are slightly shifted here so you can see my Twilight Saga copies – that's to prove my biggest reading secret later! Oh, and six of the books here are autographed (:

Write how much books mean to you in just three words.

My best friends. They aren't just paper with words on them. Books don't judge you, plus they'll always be around. They make you cry and laugh. A book may even save a life. Books helped me stay strong during my dark days at school. Books diverted my attention to different worlds so I could meet new characters and creatures, instead of allowing me to wallow in self-pity. Books were my friends when nobody had my back. It's a debt I'll never be able to repay to my parents for instilling an immense love for reading in me at a young age.

What is your biggest reading secret?

Hmm. What would count as a secret? *rummages through drawer of shells* Ah. I must admit to being a fan of the Twilight Saga. Not the movies – those are so ugh! – but I first read Twilight at age 13 and loved it. I own the books but haven't reread them for about five years. So my secret is that I like the Twilight Saga, and will continue liking it until I reread the series and find something to hate about it (like how almost everyone seems to...!).

Gonna tag these five fintabulous bloggers!

Michelle and Brittany from The Passionate Bookworms

CYP from A Bookalicious Story

Michelle from Michelle Chew Writes

Manon from Sous Ma Couverture

Zoe from Bookhi

Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to see what these ladies I've tagged have to say! Even if you aren't tagged, you can do the test too—but remember to leave a link in the comments! (:

Blog Tour: BLOOD OF A MERMAID by Katie O'Sullivan Review + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the BLOOD OF A MERMAID tour! 

BLOOD OF A MERMAID is the second book in author Katie O'Sullivan's Mermaids of Cape Cod series. I fell in love with the series from the very first book, Son of a Mermaid (click to read my review). To celebrate BLOOD OF A MERMAID'S release, we’re giving away a bunch of goodies from a fantastic group of YA authors, with ebooks, swag and signed paperbacks! There’s also a Goodreads giveaway for another signed copy of BLOOD OF A MERMAID (US only).

So what are you waiting for? Splash into Summer, mermaid style!

Blood of a Mermaid (Mermaids of Cape Cod, #2) by Katie O'Sullivan

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

Released: May 15th 2014

Format: Ebook

Source: Review copy provided by author

Mermaid blood.

When Shea MacNamara fell into the ocean for the first time, he found he could breathe underwater. The son of a mermaid, the sea is in his blood. Literally. The best part of Shea’s new life? His girlfriend Kae, who also happens to be a beautiful mermaid.

But darkness lurks under the sea. When evil mermen kidnap Kae, the king reminds Shea that having royal blood means making tough choices.

An Arctic dungeon, a fiery plane crash, the legendary halls of Atlantis…and narwhals?

Having mermaid blood just got a lot more complicated.

Just when you think this series couldn't get any better, Katie O'Sullivan proves you completely and utterly wrong (and here I thought the first book, Son of a Mermaid, was fintabulous enough already). In Blood of a Mermaid, the evil Prince Demyan from the Adluo clan is back with a plan for total domination of the oceans. Expect new characters, plot twists, plus more romance and action. I found it pleasantly surprising how easily I settled into the story even though I'd read the first book months ago. I guess some stories never really leave you no matter how long ago you've read them.

From the first chapter, Katie introduces a 'new' main character's third-person-POV – Zan (aka Xander). Zan appeared in the first book, but his name was mentioned only twice. We already know how evil and ruthless Demyan is, but less is known about Zan, his right-hand-man right-fin-merman and sorcerer, so I totally appreciate how Zan's character is expanded in this novel. Katie ensures that a small part of your heart doesn't have a choice but to root for Zan. He's a character who's torn between his loyalty to Demyan, wanting to protect Kae and answering his conscience. There were times when I wanted to slap Zan, yet there were moments which called for a need to hug him.

Which brings me to the topic of how amazingly brilliant Katie manages to tackle the issue of trust and conflicting feelings in romantic relationships. Zan is drawn to Kae, and Kae can't help but care for Zan. With her safety compromised and Zan being the only one she can trust in her situation, will her affections for Shea waver? I was probably more torn than Kae while reading this book. To put it figuratively, it was like I had this meter and throughout the story the arrow would teeter towards either guy:

It's not one of those horrifyingly annoying love triangles – you just want to keep reading on and on to see how the characters and events play out, which is, to me, the mark of a great author.

As for Shea, he's grown more in this book. In the beginning, it seems like everyone is leaving him alone in Cape Cod – Kae's leaving for the Southern Ocean, Hailey's leaving for Greece. Even though he seems to be throwing a childish tantrum about being stuck at Cape Cod, I don't dislike that because Katie fully shows how lonely Shea will be for me to understand his frustration. As the story progresses, his feelings towards Kae are surer and he's able to think quicker on his feet (and fins).

Kae's rivalry with Hailey is evident. Hailey vies for Shea's attention, especially given how Kae is kidnapped and far away from Shea. However, Katie finds a heartwarming way to bring the two girls together in the most unusual situation towards the end of the novel.

Kae's father, Lybio, plays a larger role too, whereas Brynneliana doesn't appear anymore after the start of the novel. And then there's Martha, Shea's grandmother. I am soooooo glad that we get to know more about her past! I won't spoil anything, but there was a point when I did a fist-pump and mentally did the Futterwacken while yelling, You go, Gramma!

The Futterwacken

Every choice that Shea makes is crucial to stopping Demyan, and things aren't easy as they seem to be. There is much at stake and this involves more than just him and Kae, such as the five oceans and the different clans like the Nerine merfolk from the Arctic, who add diversity to the story world with their culture and icy domain. The city of Atlantis is structured like an ancient Greek city, complete with marble structures and dolphin wagons carrying goods. There's even an element of Greek mythology added. Most of the merfolks' disdain towards humans – drylanders – is portrayed through the Lord Magistrate of Atlantis. The merfolk aren't just wholly 'good' or 'bad'; they have a complexity to them, showing how Katie is able to create three-dimensional characters to complement her action-filled plot.

The humour in Blood of a Mermaid remains just as cute. I never realised how we humans go to such lengths to wrap presents ;) Other such moments of lightheartedness are present amidst the tension in some scenarios, which makes for great comic relief.

Filled with adventure, humour and magick, this stunning sequel to Son of a Mermaid is a must-read. I can't wait to see what Katie will dish out in the third book!

(Am totally saving the five-star rating for the third book. Don't blame me.)

EXCERPT

Staring into Xander’s dark eyes, she saw again the lonely boy who needed to be comforted. Her heart ached for him. Another surge of electricity shot through her body and her mind slowly began to cloud.

Kae struggled to retain control of her thoughts. “I must…get home. It’s late and…and my parents will worry.” She knew she should back away from Xander and leave the garden, but she couldn’t make herself swim away. In fact, she found herself inching closer to his warm body, as if against her will, until his heat completely encircled her.

“Stay with me, Kae,” he whispered, his words hovering in the water around her, echoing in her head.

“Okay,” she heard herself agree, although she knew it was wrong. But she couldn’t quite remember why it was wrong. She did know she didn’t want to leave him, not when he needed her.

His words, Stay with me, seemed to have invaded her entire being, insinuating themselves into every fiber and muscle of her body, sapping her will power to make any decision other than to stay. A small part of her mind tried to disagree, but her body would not listen. She hovered in place, staring into Xander’s dark, bottomless eyes, unable to move away.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie O’Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and writes romance and adventure for young adults and the young at heart.

Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes. Her YA mermaid series begins in Nantucket Sound with SON OF A MERMAID, and continues the undersea adventures with BLOOD OF A MERMAID, coming from Crescent Moon Press in May 2014. Her latest contemporary romance from The Wild Rose Press is MY KIND OF CRAZY, a Cape Cod story of second chances and starting over.

Connect with Katie: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Get your copy of Blood of a Mermaid!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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