[Finished] GIVEAWAY! (Ends July 15)

[Note: due to a glitch with Rafflecopter, I had to use Random.org to pick the winner. That winner is . . . drum roll please . . . 

Jillian Too!

I will contact her to mail out the prize. Thank you so much to everyone who entered!] 

It's finally happened: I've run out of shelf space. And also floor space. And top-of-my-desk space. Basically, I'm drowning in books and I have to give some of them up.

This is an inherently sad process (no bookworm enjoys losing some of their books!), but I've decided to cheer myself up by giving some of them to good homes with my lovely readers.

So now it's time for me to help fill up your shelves. Some of these are books that I loved; some of them I . . . well, didn't (you can find my reviews on this list). But I'm confident that there is at least one book here that each of you could love to pieces. That's why the winners of this giveaway will be allowed to choose their prize from the Goodreads bookshelf in the widget to the left of the screen (which you can also see here). Note that most of these books are ARCs, but a few are finished paperbacks. If you want to know the details about a specific book, just comment below or email me (ireadtilldawn@gmail.com) and I'll fill you in.

The number of winners is flexible: I will give away 1 book if there are up to 499 entries, 2 if there are 500-999 entries, 3 if there are 1,000-1,499 entries, etc., up to at least 10 books. You are not limited to winning just once, so share the news with all of your friends: the more they enter, the more books you might win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If that doesn't work, here's a link to the giveaway.

Please note that this giveaway is only open to readers in the United States, due to the high cost of shipping abroad.

Eden's Escape by M. Tara Crowl, 2016 (+ Giveaway!)

This is my review of the second Eden of the Lamp book. Don't read on unless you've read Eden's Wish (my review–which includes a giveaway for both books).

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Eden's new life on earth begins in New York City under the guidance of her new guardian: Pepper, a petite, bubbly genie alum who's also a Broadway actress. Before she has a chance to settle in, though, Eden is whisked away for a granting--only to find herself trapped in a laboratory. David Brightly, owner of the world's leading tech company, cares more about tapping into the lamp's power than making a wish and starts performing tests on Eden. With Brightly's plasma shield around the lamp, Eden has no way home. Left without a choice, she escapes the lab and goes on the run. After her daring exit, Eden finds herself on the streets of Paris--home to Electra's headquarters. Left in a strange city with a price on her head (courtesy of scheming Brightly), Eden has to keep her wits about her. She dons a chic disguise and flits around Paris incognito, investigating Brightly Tech. Assisted by Pepper and her old adversary Bola, as well as some new friends, Eden embarks on a quest to retrieve the lamp and protect the secrets of the genie legacy.

(320 pages)

Okay, well it's time for my review of Eden's Escape. It just came out earlier this month, and I got copies of both books from the author so I could participate in the blog tour. I'm posting my tour stop with all its goodies today too, so click here to check it out–I've got an excerpt from Eden's Escape on there, plus an exclusive Top Ten list written by Ms. Crowl herself just for Read Till Dawn.

Now for the review itself. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect after the ending of Eden's Wish with the announcement that Eden would be going to live on earth. I thought Eden would probably be struggling to fit in, going to school, making friends, doing all the things she did in the first book but on a much grander scale. Instead, Eden spends most of the book in hiding after a granting goes horribly wrong: a scientist named David Brightly has tracked her lamp down and rubbed it, for the express purpose of performing experiments on Edem until he can figure out how to get unlimited wishes. She makes a desperate escape, but has to leave the lamp behind; the rest of the book covers Eden's attempts to avoid being found by Brightly (a feat made a thousand times harder by the fact that his company made all the phones, and he's not at all shy about tapping phones to get the information he needs), find allies, get the lamp back, and generally set everything to rights. It seems like a pretty hopeless mess at some points, and it was interesting to watch the magic of the lamp collide with all the advantages of cutting-edge technology.

It was also fun watching Eden try to interact with modern technology for the very first time. Xavier completely neglected to teach her anything about it, because he thought it was a waste of time, so she's stuck figuring things out on her own. One of my favorite scenes is when she sits down at a computer to get on the internet. She stares at the screen for a minute, clicks the Word icon on the bottom because she thinks the "w" stands for "web," and then proceeds to type in what she needs and wait for the results to pop up. It was funny, and really realistic! It may have been slightly less realistic to see how quickly she caught on to the internet after that–I've spent some solid time teaching my grandmother how to navigate the web, and it definitely wasn't as intuitive for her. I guess being a genie makes Eden better at figuring things out than my human grandmother, though. That's one of the perks of being, you know, a magical immortal being with supernatural powers.

I don't want to talk too much about the story itself, for fear of spoilers. I would like to just touch on the interpersonal relationships, though, because I think they're both the main weakness and the greatest strength of Eden's Escape.

My only real complaint is Eden's relationship with Pepper. Now, don't get me wrong: I love Pepper. She seems like a fascinating character, and a very kind one. I would happily spend a whole book just learning about her backstory or watching her move forward in the present. My trouble, though, is that she and Eden develop a strong bond too quickly. They're together in New York for just two weeks, yet when they're separated and then reunited both act as though they were in a legitimate mother-daughter relationship. I love that Eden adores Pepper–because I do, too–but I was just a little turned off by the way she saw her as a mother figure so soon after leaving Xavier and Goldie (the couple who actually raised her, and who she recognized as her true family in Eden's Wish). You'd think there'd be a little more homesickness for her masters, but Eden barely thinks of them throughout the novel except in relation to her attempts to rescue the lamp.

The relationships are also a huge strength to the book, though, simply because they're so compelling. Whether it's Eden's relationships with the main characters from Eden's Wish, or with her new friend Melodie, or even with some of the members of Electra, there's always an interesting dynamic to watch. This goes to the character-building, too: Crowl builds dynamic characters, so that–for the most part, anyway–there are no stock characters. This is a huge plus, and it really makes the entire novel for me.

Overall, I'd say that Eden's Escape is a very strong MG fantasy novel (that's perhaps not quite as strong as its prequel). I really enjoyed reading both books, and I look forward to finding out whether there will be a third installment in the series. There's certainly room for one!

And now it's time for the giveaway. Enter below in the Rafflecopter form (the same one that's on the main blog tour post). Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received complimentary copies of both Eden of the Lamp books so I could participate in the blog tour for Eden's Escape. I'm also being entered into a random $50 giftcard giveaway for posting my review and the blog tour stop during the month of September.

Eden's Escape Release Day Blitz (With $50 Giveaway!)

Hello all, and welcome to the release day blitz for M. Tara Crowl's Eden's Escape! Over the course of the next month I'll post reviews of both Eden's Escape and the first Eden of the Lamp book, Eden's Wish. I'll also post an excerpt from Eden's Escape, an exclusive Top Ten list written by Ms. Crowl herself, and a giveaway for signed copies of both books. Today, though, we're focused on celebrating the release of Eden's Escape. To get you excited for her new novel, the author is giving away a $50 gift card. Very exciting, right? You can enter in the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post - but first, read on to discover more about both books in the Eden of the Lamp series!

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Click to view
on Goodreads

All twelve years of Eden's life have been spent in an antique oil lamp. She lives like a princess inside her tiny, luxurious home; but to Eden, the lamp is nothing but a prison. She hates being a genie. All she wants, more than anything, is freedom.

When Eden finds a gateway to Earth within the lamp, she takes her chance and enters the world she loves. And this time, she won't be sent back after three wishes.

Posing as the new kid at a California middle school, Eden revels in all of Earth's pleasures-- but quickly learns that this world isn't as perfect as she always thought it was. Eden soon finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old conflict between powerful immortals. A ruthless organization run by a former genie will stop at nothing to acquire the lamp and its power-- even hurt Tyler and Sasha, the new mortal friends who have given Eden a home. To save her friends and protect the lamp's magic, Eden must decide once and for all where she belongs.

(272 pages)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Eden's new life on earth begins in New York City under the guidance of her new guardian: Pepper, a petite, bubbly genie alum who's also a Broadway actress. Before she has a chance to settle in, though, Eden is whisked away for a granting-- only to find herself trapped in a laboratory. David Brightly, owner of the world's leading tech company, cares more about tapping into the lamp's power than making a wish and starts performing tests on Eden. With Brightly's plasma shield around the lamp, Eden has no way home. Left without a choice, she escapes the lab and goes on the run. After her daring exit, Eden finds herself on the streets of Paris-- home to Electra's headquarters. Left in a strange city with a price on her head (courtesy of scheming Brightly), Eden has to keep her wits about her. She dons a chic disguise and flits around Paris incognito, investigating Brightly Tech. Assisted by Pepper and her old adversary Bola, as well as some new friends, Eden embarks on a quest to retrieve the lamp and protect the secrets of the genie legacy.

(320 pages)

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About the Author:

M. Tara Crowl grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She studied Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, then received an MA in Creative Writing at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She lives in New York City.

Okay, it's giveaway time. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below to win a $50 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway.

Disclaimer: By posting this blitz post today I'm being entered into a giveaway from the author to win a $50 gift card. Also, I haven't actually read Eden's Escape yet. I just finished and loved Eden's Wish, though, so I have very high hopes for it. You can read my full review (written after I read the book, obviously) toward the end of September.

"Rise of the Wolf" Giveaway Winner!

Hi, guys! I had a blast hosting this giveaway of Jennifer A. Nielsen's Rise of the Wolf, and I hope you had just as much fun as I did. If you're interested in finding out more about Nielsen's books, you can check out her author page on Goodreads, where you can also read more about Mark of the Thief and Rise of the Wolf. I'd love it if you would also check out my reviews of both books (Thief here and Wolf here), or - if you've really got some time to kill - take a look at this convenient list of all my book reviews.

Anyway, you don't want to hear me blathering on, do you? You want to know who won! Well, without further ado, here we go. The winner of the Rise of the Wolf giveaway is:

Natalie Valentin. Congratulations, Natalie!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated! I never knew hosting a giveaway was so much fun. I'm definitely going to do this again sometime in the future! Post in the comments below telling me what your favorite prizes are to win in giveaways.

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Now, for a bit of housekeeping. This was my first-ever giveaway, and I thought it went pretty well but I'm curious to see what you think. Is there anything you would have done differently? Anything that annoyed you, or that you wish I had done more of? Any general advice? I welcome any feedback you'd like to share!

[FINISHED!] ARC Giveaway: "Rise of the Wolf" by Jennifer A. Nielsen

One of these copies of Rise
of the Wolf could soon
 be yours!

EDIT: This giveaway has ended. Click here to go to the winner announcement page!

I've never hosted a giveaway before, but then I've never had an opportunity to do one as perfect as the one that just fell into my lap. You see, New York Times-bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen's latest novel Rise of the Wolf  just came out in late January and I've got an extra copy.

That's right, I have two ARCs of the sequel to Mark of the Thief! Yes, I know, it's unfair - there are so many people who are dying to get their hands on Rise of the Wolf, and here I am with two just lying around my bedroom. I decided to even things out by giving away one of my copies, so another Jennifer Nielsen fan can enjoy her latest novel.

This is open to U.S. residents only (I'm so sorry, but international shipping is murder!), and I'll announce the winner in both this post and a new one the day after the giveaway ends. I'll also e-mail the winner, and if they don't respond within 48 hours I'll have to pick a new one. The book will be sent via media mail soon after I get the winner's mailing address. If you have any questions about this giveaway, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments section below. Good luck!

Here's some more info about the book:

Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War--the battle to destroy Rome from within--is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet--one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.
When the Praetors capture Nic's mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome's destruction?
(352 pages)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

While you're here, take a minute to check out my blog! Here is a complete list of my book reviews, and here is a list of some of the best Top Ten Tuesday posts I've done. If you're a fellow fan of Jennifer Nielsen's books, you might also be interested in my review of A Night Divided, her historical fiction novel about a girl living behind the Berlin wall in post-WWI East Berlin.