Sunday, April 29, 2012

Xpresso Weekly (1)

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Xpresso Weekly features blog news/happenings of the past week, and the bookish goodies received.

Hi guys!! Soooo, you may notice something is very different on the blog today! I am extremely thrilled with my new beautified blog a la Parajunkee. She’s amazing and I definitely recommend her to ANYONE looking for a design. She made this in less than a week! She freaking blows my mind! So anyways, I’m sure you’re all aware of the plagiarism story and can thus deduce why I’ve decided to move on from the In My Mailbox meme. I’m not going to be a broken record, so if you want to know the full story – click here. The opinions in PJs post mirrors my own, that’s all I’m going to say about it. AllΒ  the links needed for the full deets are in there.

So this week on the blog, – other than its fabulous makeover – I had the Siege blog tour drop by for a fantastic interview with Rhiannon and my stellar review of this incredible series. You HAVE to check it out here! I posted a cover reveal with three new great covers so check that out! Then I posted a giveaway to thank my lovely followers for rocking my face off. You can win an ARC of Something Strange and Deadly here (and it’s international!). Also, if you missed it, yesterday’s Fresh Batch post has FIFTY titles! *dies*Β  Have a look at the insanity here!

Now let’s see what I got for review this week:

And for the upcoming blog tour I got Devri’s upcoming novel (she’s fabulous btw!)

*Big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada, Hachette Book Group Canada, Tor Books, Random House Canada, Thomas Allen & Son and Devri Walls for the review copies!*

And I bought:

I actually had pre-ordered Unraveling a gazillion years ago and totally forgot about it until it arrived this week! So that was cool! And this book is HUGE, like 6″ thick! And Rhiannon’s well, no explanation needed there.

That is all for this week at Xpresso Reads!
Do you have a similar meme? Leave me a link and I’ll go visit!
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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

110 Responses to “Xpresso Weekly (1)”

  1. Bonnie Regan

    oooh! You snagged a copy of Changeling! I’m really hoping that’s a good one especially with her merge into YA… I really love her adult historicals. πŸ™‚

    Are there any Rhiannon Frater books you DON’T have at this point? lol

  2. Giselle

    @Bonnie: Ha! No! I have them all now! MUAHAHA. And I actually gave away Changeling >.< I never requested it and it's really not my style. If I'da known it was yours I would have given it to you. I just posted a pic on my FB asking who wanted it lol

  3. StΓ©phanie

    I love the idea of having a weekly recap. Sometimes we don’t have time to check every blog on our list, everyday. I think this is a great way to let your readers know what happened over the week, or simply remind them of things they skipped over. Plus, it’s a great way to showcase your new haul.

    Awesome makeover and I’ll look forward to your weekly post!

    As you may already know, Tynga’s Reviews is now featuring the meme Stacking the Shelves. So you can check the books I got this week here: http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/04/stacking-shelves.html

  4. Jen Witch

    I was actually looking at Unraveling at the store today. For some reason it looked longer then I was expecting. I have no idea why. I really want to read Changeling.

    I don’t have a meme this week, still have to decide what I’m going to do but I did share a couple of books.

    My Books

  5. JJ @ JJ iReads

    I love your new design. Parajunkee is one talented lady. I still haven’t made it up mind about which meme I’m going to join to replace IMM, so I’ll leave a link later.

    I have been wanting to read Unraveling for some time now. Have a great week!

  6. Nereyda1003

    Wow Giselle, your new blog looks AMAZING! Β I’m gonna have to grab your new blog button.

    So glad that you are no longer supporting IMM. Β I am doing Mailbox Sunday for now until I figure out what I want to do. Β 

    Wings of Arian looks insanely good, so jealous!
    Check out my haul this week:
    Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed
    http://BooksandSparkles.Blogspot.com

  7. Alba

    I’m 25 T_T
    ~I stink as a follower~ That said OMG!!! Now we’re both Parajunkee-blog-wear-ers hehehe I didn’t know how to come up with a post to showcase the books I got so until tonight so I might be doing it until monday or next saturday…Book Haul it is!! hehehe
    Unraveling! You’re the first one to tell exactly what I was wondering…how long it is…apparently…long enough hehehehe
    Happy Reading!!

  8. Ivana

    LOVE your design, Parajunkee’s designs are great. I laughed while I was reading your profile-both my blog and Twitter page are pink, and I still insist that I don’t like pink πŸ˜€
    I’m participating in Tynga’s Stacking The Shelves. Here’s my post
    Happy reading πŸ™‚

  9. Melissa

    I love the new design Giselle! Gorgeous!

    Like you, I’m also not participating in IMM anymore. I’ll be doing my meme on Mondays now as a part of the Monday Mailbox meme. The host changes each month to a new blogger too so it’s not just one person controlling the power which I like. πŸ™‚ I completely love that you’ve branched out too. Very respectable.

    Your mailbox is great this week! I can’t wait forUnraveling either!!

  10. Busy Bookblogger

    Wow, blog was already gorgeous but I am loving the new design!

    I am in similar boat about the whole IMM thing, not going to condemn but don’t want to condone either so I am doing an In My Book Bag weekly post (I’m a teacher) to share my books. Speaking of, looks like you got some great ones! I plan to pick up Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink and Unraveling asap. Looking forward to your posts as always!

    Melanie @ Reviews of YA Lit
    In My BookBag

  11. Kat Balcombe

    Ohhhhhhhhh pretty shiny, I LOVE it!

    I’ll be interested to see what you think of Unravelling, I’ve been debating about it for weeks!

    I love wrap-ups, it’s great to see everything in one place so I can catch up.

    Here’s my wrap up The Sunday Session

  12. Vicky

    Whooop whoooop! I love the new design πŸ™‚ I love the fact that it’s similar to the previous one but still different. Great job!

    And as always, fantastic haul! I’ll need to buy Unraveling soon, I’m really looking forward to reading it. Winter White looks good too!

    Here’s my haul for this week.

    Vicky (:
    Books, Biscuits, and Tea

  13. Elodie

    Amaing haul Giselle πŸ™‚ !! I love the new look of Xpresso Reads !! Unraveling sounds amazing, I really look forward to read it !! Happy reading =)

  14. Suzanne @ Paranormal Book Fan

    I love your new blog design. I will have to get a professional one done soon.

    Awesome haul this week. I hope you love Unraveling. Can’t wait to see what you think of it. I thought it was Amazing. I love the cover for Wings of Arian. Sexy!!

  15. Jasprit

    Great books this week Giselle! I can’t wait to read The Princesses of Iowa and Unraveling is also a great book! Happy reading! πŸ™‚

  16. Sarah E.

    May is such a big month for new books. I’m so excited πŸ™‚ I love the cover of The Princesses of Iowa and Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink – and the titles definitely have me wanting to know more. I really want to read Unraveling! Even better that it is a big book!

    Happy Sunday!

  17. Kelsey

    Your blog looks amazing!! I’ve stopped participating in IMM too, started a post for Sundays on my blog as well πŸ™‚
    Awesome books you got this week, I really need to get a hold of Rhiannon Frater’s books someday!

  18. Carina

    I already loved your new design, so I’m glad that the changes aren’t too drastic, but I looooove this new one! Gorgeous. πŸ™‚

    I’m almost really amused with all the lovely names we suddenly come up with for our usual IMM post. πŸ˜€ Love yours, my dear. πŸ˜‰

    And I love staring at these fabulous books. β™₯ Really need to get a finished copy of UNRAVELING and can’t wait to read my review copies of WINGS OF ARIAN and THE PRINCESSES OF IOWA.

    Enjoy everything and have a fabulous week, hun!
    Carina

  19. Amy

    Great books chicky!! You already know that I absolutely love your design, but I will tell you again. LOVE IT!! I keep almost buying Unraveling, but I keep putting it off. I am trying to be good about not getting too many books until I get through my massive pile.I also almost got The Living Dead Boy when I bought Pretty When She Dies. Thanks to you I am now a Rhiannon Frater addict…I mean fan lol!!

  20. manda-rae

    Changeling looks good. I can’t wait to pick that one up. Siege is on my to-read list thanks to you. Definitely looking forward to your reviews. Happy reading!

    My IMM

  21. Marmaladelibby (aka Ange)

    It needs 2 b said again that I adore your new look! Very nice and how great that it only took a week! Sweet! So want Unraveling! That cover is amazing. We weren’t sure what to do this week so we decided to do it a bit diff & wait & c what happens this week while still hitting our favorite places & commenting back. We’ll see. What a week. Here’s Our Week in Books @Libby Blog. Happy reading this week!

  22. Kathy Ann Coleman

    Nice stuff! πŸ™‚ The Princess of Iowa looks like it should be an interesting read. Love the cover for Wings or Arian, too. I hope that you enjoy all of your new books. Have a great week! πŸ™‚

  23. Diayll Sales

    Nice set of books, I received the Unraveling last month and can’t wait to read it. I’ve also heard great things about Siege. Check out the new monthly feature on my blog:

    My Monthly Mailbox – A showcase of both video game related goodies I receive and bookish stuff. Please stop by and have a look.

    http://empyreanedge.com/archives/5181

    Take care and happy reading!!! – Diayll

  24. Lei

    Great looking blog! πŸ™‚

    Yay for print copies! I’ve been reading using Kindle since I got an ereader but I super miss printed books!!!

  25. Heidi

    I could tell immediately without even reading the little print that Winter White was a Belles novel! Love that kind of continuity in art and design. I’ve heard cute things about Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, sounds quite a bit like Past Perfect. Grats on the new design, I think it looks much cleaner and I love the colors!

  26. Grace Fonseca

    Parajunkee is so talented. I like the design a lot. Awesome haul of books. So many alternatives now to IMM. I’ve decided to start one as an alternative to one.

    Grace

  27. jennachristy

    i love your blog header and everything! simple, neat and pretty! i’m so curious with β€œUnraveling” already.. saw that many times this week! :)enjoy

  28. Jac

    Where to start? I love the new look – LOVE it!! (Makes me think maybe I’m due for a new design…)

    I FINALLY finished The First Days (I had a huge distraction and wasn’t able to read it all in one sitting likeI’d have liked!) and I’m dying to keep reading.

    Unraveling is one that’s high on my wishlist, so I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on that as well!

    Stop by and see my Book Haul!

  29. Amber Hughes

    Great haul! I’m really looking forward to Devri’s Blog Tour. The book sounds really good and I just LOVE that cover πŸ™‚ I will be getting this book soon!

    Your new blog design is awesome! Love her designs πŸ™‚

  30. Cassie S.

    I love the new design Giselle. I myself have also stopped following the IMM meme each sunday. Instead I am now hosting my own meme called ‘Sit Down Sundays’. I will still go over all the books that I got for the week, but I will also talk about everything that went on with my blog for that week. You are mentioned in my vlog this week actually. If you would like to take a look you can find it here.

    I really want to read ‘Unraveling’ and ‘Wings of Arian’ as well. =D Great haul this week.

  31. Michelle

    I have only recently begun to hear about Pilgrims don’t Wear Pink — it sounds interesting. And I have read such mixed responses to Unraveling that I guess I will just have to read it myself! Great set of books! (I’ve been doing a “Weekly Forecast” for about a month — I know, so very original!) Thanks for another place to link up with other bloggers to see what they are reading.
    Chronicles of a Book Evangelist

  32. Sam

    I luurrve your new blog design Giselle! I liked the old one too but this is even better. πŸ™‚

    Anyway, great haul this week! I am oh-so-jealous over the fact you have Altered. I’m really looking forward to that book so I hope you can tell me how great it is! πŸ™‚ Have fun reading all these new treats.

  33. erin

    Beautiful new look πŸ™‚ I felt so dumb yesterday that I emailed you about not being able to access the blog. Doh! Just goes to show that I’m not very observant.

    You have a lot of pretty books! I’m definitely going to be checking out Unraveling!

  34. Vickie Ramage

    Oh my, it just got SEXY in here. But mostly I’m shocked by the EIGHTY SIX COMMENTS! *runs around in circles*

    I changed my blog too (again) as the template disagreed with me about everything and it really wasn’t working out. So I went with something simpler and I’m now very happy. πŸ˜€

    ComaCalm’s Corner

  35. Kristina

    I saw Altered at a book convention last week and was so interested in it. When I got home, I realized I never wrote the name down and could not remember for the life of me what it was. You don’t know how happy I was to see it in your “Expresso Weekly” post! I hope that you enjoy it and I can not wait for your review! I hope that you enjoy your new books!

    Kristina
    Ladybug Storytime

  36. Liz. R

    Love the new blog design! It’s awesome :). And great books this week! Unraveling and Altered both look really good, I hope you enjoy them. Happy reading :).

  37. Katie @ BlookGirl

    Holy crap! I’m comment #101! You are movin’ up in the world of book blogging, m’dear πŸ˜‰

    I shoulda known that Rhiannon and her zombies would make an appearance in your first Xpresso Weekly post. SMH.

    I am SO incredibly jealous that you got Changeling! I adore Philippa Gregory’s novels on King Henry VIII and am dying to read this new venture. If you wanna, you know, pass it on, I hereby put my name in the hat! Haha πŸ˜‰

    Unraveling is supposed to be very good, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

    Love the new design, love the new meme, and love YOU!! <333

    My new meme, Mission: Acquired – http://www.blookgirl.com/book-blog/mission-acquired/147-april-28-2012

  38. Melanie

    My favorite part of your design is when I’m at the top of a page and see the coffee beans in the lower right hand corner. It really draws the eye down.

  39. Megan

    Oh! Is Winter White a follow up to Belles? I really want to read Belles!

    I really love your new layout!

    Here’s my post ~ My Week in Books!

    Happy reading!

    Megan @ The Girly Bookworm (old follower!)

  40. β™₯

    Hi Giselle!

    I love the new look of your blog! πŸ™‚

    You got Siege! πŸ™‚ I won Changeling on Goodreads, so I should be getting that soon too, hopefully! And Unraveling looks good!

    You can see my book haul here!

    Ashlee
    taleswithtea.com πŸ™‚

  41. Erika

    Love the new blog design! Ooo…Unravelling. Oh and Changeling and Siege too. I want to read those ones eventually. I like the new name and the fact you are focusing on more than just the books you aquired. I have plans for a similar, slightly different (and monthly) version. Unfortunately I don’t have a link yet because I’m posting it this Saturday. Have a great week!

  42. Debbie

    I don’t know what your blog looked like before but it’s definitely amazing now! Congrats! Looks like you got some great stuff this week! Enjoy all your reading! You now have a new follower.

    My Sunday Post