SIGNED swag giveaway! Open Int :)

Hey guys, I know I promised this giveaway about a week ago but life go in the way... okay, Assassin's Creed got in the way, too. I bought an Xbox with my sister last week and we've never owned one (or a playstation, or a game boy, or any gaming device) before. So I've been busy climbing roofs and throwing knives at people :P

I love those leaps of faith from spires. Picture found here.

Ahem. Anyway, why this giveaway? First off, because I haven't done one independently of any hop or promo in quite a while. Secondly, thanks to you guys the blog just passed 68,000 pageviews! That might seem ridiculous to some of the bigger bloggers but it means a lot to me, so thank you! :) The amount of followers, commenters, and regular pageviews is something I had never anticipated a year ago! I hope I can keep posting things that will have you coming back! Sorry there haven't been many reviews, I'll try to post at least one next week! I'm also planning on a post with tips for new bloggers, though I feel a bit strange acting like I'm some sort of 'expert' in a position to dole out advice.

Thirdly, I recently looked over the amount of swag I accumulated in the past 2 years or so and realized that I don't really need all of this stuff. Of some signed bookmarks I got about half a dozen, so I might as well give a couple of them away ;)

The deets

• There are 3 swagpacks, 2 of them containing signed things, 1 unsigned but with more items to make it fairer
• One entry per person/household, but you may enter all 3 rafflecopter forms. You can only win once though.
• Open internationally, items to be shipped by me. I'm not responsible for stuff that is lost in the mail.
• All entries will be verified before I pick a winner. You cheat - you're DELETED.
• Winner has 48 hours to respond to my email, after that I will pick someone else.
• I reserve the right to make small changes to the rules/rafflecopter form and/or end the giveaway early.

Here are the pictures of what you can win, you'll find the rafflecopter forms below them at he bottom. Good luck!

Swag pack 1

- signed bookmark for Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

-signed bookmark for Black City by Elizabeth Richards

-iPhone 4/4S skin for Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake (unsigned)

Swag pack 2

- signed bookmark for Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

-signed bookmark for Black City by Elizabeth Richards

-signed bookmark for The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

-bookmark for Adaptation by Malinda Lo (unsigned)

Swag pack 3

All of this is unsigned!!

-Dark Companion by Marta Acosta bookmark

-Dark Companion by Marta Acosta iPhone 4/4s skin

-Fierce Reads bookmark

-The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton pin/button (safety pin on the back)

-Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare cover postcard

If there is any problem with the entry forms or if you have a question, let me know on twitter! @Butterfly_Ghost

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Tuesday: books at the top of my summer TBR list

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.

Hey guys! I'm back from my forced blogging break (read about it in yesterday's post if you want) and trying to make up my mind about a summer TBR. I never really plan what to read when apart from review books, but I have a lot of unread-but-owned books right now and here are some that I want to read over the summer, in no particular order.

Phoenix, by Elizabeth Richards
Okay, it technically hasn't arrived yet, but it's on its way and I neeeeed it so I will read it the minute it gets here!

The Secret of Ella and Micha, by Jessica Sorensen
I've owned it for months and finally want to read it! I'm way behind on my NA challenge and I remember all the good reviews of this one. Also, summer makes me feel more like reading contemporaries.

Legend, by Marie Lu
Owned it for a few weeks and its really short, so if I ever to to the beach/lake/whatever, it'll come with me :)

Looking for Alaska, by John Green
I gave this to my sister for Christmas, who has now borrowed it back to me... months ago. I finally need to sit down and read a John Green book but I know it'll make me cry so I kinda have to be in the right mood for it.

Sins & Needles, by Karina Halle
I'm itching to read this! It sits on my kindle among a lot of other awesome NA books. Tattoo artist. Con artist. Yes please.

The Edge of Never, by J.R. Redmerski
Are you starting to see a pattern? Also, road trip.

Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stefanie Perkins
I really liked Anna and the French Kiss and I'm so glad the matching paperback of Lola will be out soon-ish! It sounds like a great summer read :)

Exiled, by M.R. Merrick
Because it's been on my kindle for around a year and it sounds awesome and now there are already like 3 more books in the series and I'm way behind...

Flesh and Blood, by Kristen Painter
I devoured book one and I have book 2 on my unread pile. And I need some vampires every once in a while, especially if the worldbuilding makes the story refreshing in the way that book 1 did!

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness
My friend is a huge fan and gave me her much-read and abused copy. She's been wanting to discuss it with me for nearly a year, so I must get round to it this summer ^^

What do you think of my list, and what are you planning to read this summer? Does the season influence your genre-reading-patterns?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated 2013 Releases

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, they post a new topic that the participants make a top ten list for.

Posting this somewhat belatedly... I have a lot of real life things going on that are very sad and rob me of a lot of my energy. Sorry if I'm not as active as usual.


This week's topic: Top Ten most anticipated books of 2013


No particular order

Have some cover-pretty!

1. Phoenix, by Elizabeth Richards
   I just finished Black City last Friday and I'm in love with the world and characters Elizabeth Richards created! I need to know how Ash and Natalie's story continues!
2. With All My Soul, by Rachel Vincent
   Over the course of this year I have completely and irrevocably fallen in love with the Soul Screamer series. I'm so invested in these characters it's not even funny. I just need to know who makes it and what happens and how everything is resolved, even though sometimes I'll be doing the reader equivalent of watching a movie through my fingers as I cover my eyes because I can't quite bear to look but can't look away.
3. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, by Holly Black
   I recently re-read the short story of the same name, published in a short story collection called The Poison Eaters. A really unique take on vampires, can't wait for the full-fledged novel!
4. Dance of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin
   I want to go back to the world of this story, no matter how much hurt and heartbreak I might be in for.
5. The Indigo Spell, by Richelle Mead
   I seem to list a lot of series-finals in this post... oh well. I just need more Sidney & Adrian.
6. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, by April Genevieve Tucholke
   I've never read anything by her but the book just sounds amazing!
7. Sweet Peril, by Wendy Higgins
    I've been pining for this since the moment I finished Sweet Evil.
8. Splintered, by A.G. Howard
   I love Alice in Wonderland retellings and many bloggers I trust have given it amazing reviews, so I'm super curious about it! From the description it sounds awesome.
9. There's not been a title announcement yet, but I really want the sequel to Melissa Marr's Carnival of Souls! Not sure it'll come out 2013 'already' though...
10. Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare
    I love The Infernal Devices, probably more so than The Mortal Instruments. I just want to know what happened already, and how the two series relate! I just hope the best for Will.

Much has been left out of this list. I'm also pining for Angel Fever by L.A. Weatherly, Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan, the last Nevermore installment by Kelly Creagh, a new Urban Magic book by Kate Griffin. As well as lots of others I've marked as to read that aren't out yet. But I think my top ten does cover the most important ones... probably. ^^'

What's on your top ten? Are some of my books on your list as well?

Stacking the Shelves: I won sweet and signed stuff

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme created by Tynga's Reviews to show off all the books and other book-related awesomeness we bought, borrowed, won, found or however acquired during the past week.

Since I decided that I was fed up with my book buying ban last week, I ordered quite a ton of stuff (bargains!) but not all of it has arrived yet. I'm also really sorry for the lack of reviews lately :( I'm really busy with university stuff, and now I have NaNoWriMo on top of everything... I'm always behind and feel like I'm running after my life and never able to quite catch up and basically half-assing everything by trying :/ I have to hand in an essay draft by Sunday and as of this morning, I didn't even know what to write on. I do now, but I still don't have a clear thesis, much less secondary literature or anything like an outline. And I'm working tomorrow and then leaving to visit family... yeah. I don't see this one working out either.

I got two physical books:

Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2), by C.C. Hunter

I was soooo happy when DoBaS arrived in the mail!!! It's so gorgeous, and... really big. Which means that the cover is even more stunning. Can't wait to get around to reading this one - the writing of DoSaB was so gorgeous!
I really enjoyed Born at Midnight, the first book in the Shadow Falls series, when I read it over the summer. I hope the sequel is just as addictive.

I also won two books in giveaways:

 

The Blemished, by Sarah Dalton
Affinity - Bird in a Guilded Cage, by Mary E. Merrell

Click the covers to get to the Goodreads pages.
I love both covers, especially the one for The Blemished. Purple is my favorite color ^^ (I'm sure you never would've guessed from my blog design...)

Furthermore, I just got this eBook from amazon for free:

The Light Tamer, by Devyn Dawson

I linked to amazon because the description there is better than the one on goodreads.


The list goes on... I got approved for two books on NetGalley:


Again, click to get to goodreads.

I requested The Stone Demon yesterday afternoon as soon as I read a tweet of Karen Mahoney's that it was on NetGalley! I love her Iron Witch Trilogy! To my total surprise, I was approved just hours later o.O
City of Dark Magic is a book I requested weeks ago and didn't really expect to hear back about anymore. I mean, it's Penguin. And my blog isn't exactly 'big'. When I got the email I expected a rejection, and was left blinking at the screen for a while when I got accepted instead o.O I started reading it late last night because it's out on the 27th and I really like the opening so far! The tone is very special.

And finally....

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!! I can't wait to read Black City!! I have it on preorder and can't wait for its pretty, hardcover self to make an appearance at my door! So I was super-excited to get an email from Elizabeth Richards that I'd won a bunch of SIGNED bookmarks for both Black City and its sequel, Phoenix!!
They are so so pretty! All shiny and smooth and gleamy and signed. The picture does not do them justice ^^

Also, because I don't need all of them for myself, you guys can expect a giveaway, problem along with my review ;)
 
Alright, I'm at the end of my haul. Have you read any of the books I got, or are they on your TBR? And what did you get this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Black City, by Elizabeth Richards

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is:

Black City, by Elizabeth Richards

Expected publication: November 13, 2012
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR
Format: hardcover, 373 pages

Goodreads description:
A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war. In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable--they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash's long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they're caught, they'll be executed--but their feelings are too strong. When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.


I read an excerpt of this here months ago, and I've been tired of having to wait for more ever since! It was dark. It was damn sexy. It was a new take on vampires. It was dystopian. It has a gorgeous cover, too! Gah, I want it RIGHT NOW >_< Seriously, I must have entered like half a dozen giveaways, but without any luck so far. If anyone has an unneeded/read ARC they could send my way... be my guest and have my eternal gratitude ;P


Have you heard of this one, and is the wait as torturous for you as it is for me? What book are you anticipating?