Update and Winner of my Blogoversary Contest

Congrats to Sophia the winner of my Free Book Contest for Richelle Mead’s Last Sacrifice! Wahoo!  The winner was chosen through the established and reputable Random.org.

I want to thank everyone for all my well wishes/comments regarding my 1st Annual Blogoversary.  It was a big deal and I’m happy my friends celebrated it with me by stopping by and entering my contest.  I so love Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series and thought it was fitting to have her final book – Rose’s story/Last Sacrifice – be my prize for my blogoversary.  Anyway, I hope I’ve inspired you readers to dive into the series. I promise you won’t regret it.

Before I forget, be sure and stop by often, because you never know when I’ll have a FREE Book Contest.  I’m pretty lucky when it comes to sourcing my giveaways and I do plan on doing another one soon.  I’m thinking something along the lines of Larissa Ione.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

Also, in February, I’ve joined up with Kathy from I’m a reader not a writer who is organizing a Valentine’s Day - Love Hop.  The dates are February 8th to February 13th.  I’m preparing a special book lover’s delight so be sure and check it out.  Oh, and tell your friends too.

Lastly, while I’m tweaking and pitching my books, I’m writing a few flash fiction series on my blog.  There kind of fun to read and oh yeah...their FREE.  So I hope my fans/friends will take a peak and have some fun in the process.  The first is a segment I call Hallucinating Housewives.  Everyone is familiar with Stepford Wives, Desperate Housewives, and then of course the classic Bravo TV's Real Housewives of “Pick a City.”   My series pokes fun at married women fantasizing, specifically about anything dark, morose and preferably creepy as hell.  I hope you enjoy them. The first one I posted last month called The Beast.

The second mystic series, I’ve created on my blog is called the Shadow Spirit series. They’re essentially ghostly beings that are marked, living an eternal life in the shadows, helping the helpless. The first of the series is call Next.  I had quite a lot of fun scribbling this tale and hope you enjoy it too. The first of the Shadow Spirit series is called Next.

Once again, thank you for all the blogoversary wishes, but most of all…thanks for stopping by!

Until next time…read anything you can get your hands on…

Mina B.

Copyright 2010-2011 by Mina Burrows.

All rights reserved.

Book Review: Richelle Mead's Last Sacrifice

I’m reviewing Richelle Mead’s Last Sacrifice.  Before I forget, if you’re looking for a FREE copy of Last Sacrifice, you have until today, eod, to register to win via my FREE BOOK CONTEST. Although it’s the last book of Rose’s story, everyone should know by now it’s hardly the last of the series. For those interested, check out Mead's blog/website where she discusses Bloodlines and its status.  I believe it’s scheduled to release in August of 2011.  Can’t wait!

Now…onto to Last Sacrifice.  I’ll do my best not to provide any spoilers but I will have to concede a few – sorry.  After Spirit Bound, we learned Dimitri is back – no longer Strigoi and wants nothing to do with Rose.  Also, Queen Tasha was killed and Rose was framed and arrested for her murder.  The stage is set for Last Sacrifice when Rose is jailed, awaiting her trial. 

First off, it’s not a stretch of one’s imagination to know that Rose wouldn’t be stuck in a cell for too long.  I mean, hello…its Rose Hathaway.  Her friends and family had to rescue her or else she’d be convicted and put to death.  What I found odd was the journey she went on.  I loved that while Rose was hiding, she also played investigator, searching for Lissa’s potential half-sibling – Lissa’s father, Eric Dragomir’s illegitimate child.  But for me, as this part of the story unfolded, I found myself lost.  Hey, I still devoured it, but I was struggling with its purpose. Especially when “The Keepers” came into play.  I didn’t understand Joshua or the others and my only thought was Mead must have been setting up characters/scenarios for Bloodlines.

While Dimitri and Sydney were out gallivanting with Rose, Lissa, Christian and Adrian were back at court.  The plot was seemingly divided, bouncing back and forth between Lissa and Rose, of course.  Dimitri is still shunning Rose, at first – which made me sad - but after Spirit Bound, I began accepting that their relationship was over.  Adrian was the chosen knight and I was perfectly content with that scenario.  Interestingly, the plot may have evolved the way it did was because of Dimitri and Rose’s relationship.  Everyone knew they had unfinished business, but who knew what to make of it?  Their relationship had multi-layers and I thought Mead did a wonderful job at pulling back the layers, evaluating their past.  Once they did, the ending made sense to me. I won’t tell you what happened – it would be wrong on so many levels.

As for the Queen’s true murderer…I can tell you I didn’t see that coming.  I loved the ending of “who done it?”  It was classic!  As far as Lissa and her plight to save Rose and represent the Dragomir family on the Royal Counsel, I wasn’t surprised with that outcome.  We all knew Lissa was destined for greater things.  Read the book to find out.

Overall, I liked how it ended.  However, for me the story didn’t get delicious until after page 400 something.  From that point on, it captivated me until the very end.  Not enough Strigoi for me either.  As for a rating, I have to give Mead's Last Sacrifice a 4 only because it took longer for me to become enthralled.  Still, if you haven’t read the series, you’re missing out.  These books are everywhere, people (libraries, used book stores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s and one of your friend’s book shelves.) So technically…you have no excuse.

Until next time…Mead’s Vampire Academy series is the bomb.

Mina B.

My Blogoversary & Free Book Contest

Okay, so this month’s my first Blogoversary. Yeah!  *pops champagne cork*  I think that’s a pretty big deal.  I would have been celebrating earlier but I was in somewhat of a quandary. Since I created my blog in December of 2009, I didn’t officially begin blogging until January of this year. So when I decided to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’ve come up with a solution... I’m doing a special Free Book Contest that runs part in December & January to honor both the creation and implementation of my Mystic Mind blog. How’s that sound?

Now to also pay homage to all my hard work – not only as a reader, but as an aspiring writer - I’ve posted a few prologues and or chapters of my work. See three of my urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels: Mystic Deeds, Blessed One and A Vampire's Silent Genes. These are stories I’ve been slaving away at for quite some time so I do hope you enjoy.  As for the status of each of these works, well, God willing, I hope to have good news in the 2011 year. With that, I promise to keep you posted.

And now, on my Free Book Contest to honor my first Blogoversary.  First and foremost, I am a huge fan of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series.  And so, naturally, I want to share what I think is one of the best YA series out there with my fans. If you haven’t read the series, please do. I promise you’re in for a wild ride. Anyway, I finally got my hands on one delicious copy of Last Sacrifice. One lucky winner will win a copy of Mead’s Last Sacrifice. My Free Book Contest starts today December 27 and will run until January 10, 2011, end of day. That’s two weeks folks to enter and win.

See details below and don’t miss out! 

To enter

You MUST be a follower of my blog and MUST fill out this entry form.
(Note:  This contest is open to US only.)

Extra entries
+3 NEW/OLD Followers on Twitter @MinaBurrows
+1 Retweet this (limited to one RT)
+2 Like me on Facebook/Mina Burrows 


 

 
Thanks again for celebrating my first blogovesary with me.
 
Until next time...
 
Mina B.

Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Movie Update

So I was super excited when I saw this MTV interview with Richelle Mead.  Since Last Sacrifice came out two days ago, the series has been on my brain.  Book bloggers are going insane, spreading the Last Sacrifice reviews like a bloody virus on the internet.  I’ve barely surfed, blogged, read email or tweeted for fear I’ll run across a Last Sacrifice spoiler, thus ruining it for me.  Normally, I could care less about spoilers but oh no…not with this book. And so…while I wait for my LS fix, I shall discuss the next best thing…the Vampire Academy film production.

If you get a chance, read this article, where Mead discusses about the process of bringing her bestselling Vampire Academy series to the big screen.  Authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyers have substantial creative input in the film production of their bestsellers but what about Richelle Mead?  From the article, it doesn’t look like much is going on pre-production wise, but you never know with Hollywood.  Could production start as early as 2011?  Ooooh, wouldn’t that be divine?

Until next time…Last Sacrifice is here and the Vampire Academy movie could be right around the corner.

Mina B.

Richelle Mead’s Last Sacrifice Chapter 1 excerpt is here!

Richelle Mead’s Last Sacrifice Chapter 1 excerpt is here! 

Last Sacrifice, the 6th and final book is set to release December 7th. Recently, I took part in the Vampire Book Club’s Vampire Academy Re-Read Challenge and for this entire month, I’ve fervently read each of the five books. See my mini reviews here: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise and Spirit Bound.  Ooooh this serious is so deliciously good. For those of you who haven’t read the Vampire Academy series, get on it, would ya?

And for those of you who have…read the excerpt quick and come back and comment. I’m dying to know what you think.

Until next time…breaking news like this is just too HOT!

Mina B.

Two Really Cool Contests

There are two killer contests brewing out in the blogosphere. One is all about The Vampire Academy and the other from one of my Blog followers, Missy’s Reads & Reviews. See below to read about all the amazing prizes.

Contest #1 – Vampire Book Club's Vampire Academy Re-Read Challenge

So if you know anything about me, you know how much I love The Vampire Academy series. December is a heartbeat away and fans are gearing up for the final book, Last Sacrifice. Anyway, the Vampire Book Club is celebrating Mead’s book release with a special contest, Vampire Academy Re-Read Challenge. Ooooh. Love. Love. Love this challenge. There are rules, of course, but the prizes are delish. The catch is you must re-read and review each of the books. That’s not so hard, is it? See their site for more details. And now for the yummy prizes. From VBC site: All participants who review at least one of the five books will be entered to win a copy of Last Sacrifice. Those who complete the challenge will be entered to win the big prize pack featuring new series to will help fill the void left as we say goodbye to Vampire Academy. The prize pack will include: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead, A Vampire Academy-inspired piece of jewelry from Cemetery Cat Designs. Plus much, much more! You must check out this website to read all the juicy details.


Contest #2 – Missy’s Read & Reviews 27th Bday Bash

After informing Missy over at Missy's Read & Reviews she won my recent Kisses from Hell contest, she invited me to participate in her 27th B-day Contest Celebration. And boy can she party. For her big day she’s picking multiple winners. To enter, all you have to do is fill out a form, list ten TBR books you’re dying to read and also mention this contest. It’s that simple. Doesn’t that sound like fun? It does to me and now as I finish this post, I heading on over there to enter too.

Until next time…have some fun…reading.

Mina B.

Richelle Mead's Cover Art for Last Sacrifice

I saw a blog post on Off My BookShelf for the cover art for Richelle Mead’s final book in the Vampire Academy series, Last Sacrifice.

It looks beautiful, doesn’t it? As an added commentary, this cover art is not officially posted on Richelle Mead’s website, so it’s possible this is just a version of the cover art and not the final. I’ll keep my readers posted on any updates. Last Sacrifice comes out December 14, 2010.


And as a special reminder, Spirit Bound is out as of today. Yeah! I just got my hands on the hard back today as well. Wahoo! I plan reading  it a.s.a.p. and promise a review before week’s end.



Until next time…read on my friends.

Mina B.

Richelle Mead announces The Vampire Academy Book #6: Last Sacrifice

Hi guys. I know I’ve been blogging a lot recently about Richelle Mead, but I can’t help it. Richelle Mead’s got a lot of action going on. She recently released her upcoming book Spirit Bound excerpt on her website. And just a few days ago she released another tidbit of information, stating that Book #6 called the Last Sacrifice, is scheduled to be released this year, December 14, 2010.

How does she do it? We don’t know but we love every bit that she spoon feeds us with. I personally can’t wait to read both novels. If you haven’t read The Vampire Academy series, do so now – at least within the 2010 year.

On another note, she announced the winners to her Valentine’s Card Contest. And no, I didn’t win. Dagnabbit! Oh well. For those that are interested, check out the one’s I sent in. And here is the link to her winners. You be the judge whether I got the shaft. I personally fell in love with this one. It’s my favorite. And if you’ve read the series and look at the other winners, I’m guessing you know why I chose this one.

 Until next time…Happy Reading!

Mina B.