Create-A-Sequel Challenge (And International Giveaway)

Welcome to the Create-A-Sequel Challenge!

This is part of First Come, Second Served, hosted at Down the Rabbit Hole.

What you have to do:

1. Choose a book that DOES NOT have a sequel. It can be a sequel itself, or even the last book in the series. There needs to be no plans for a sequel out yet, or if there a sequel in the works (not released yet) and very limited amount of information on it, you can use that book too as long as you ignore the sequel that is in the works when creating your challenge idea. For more information on what books might work, see below.

2. Take this book and write a short description of your own idea of what the sequel should be. By short, I mean mimimum of a few sentences and maximum of a few paragraphs. It has to be completely from your own imagination- no influence from a real sequel that is being made.

3. Fill out the form below to submit your idea!

Some things to keep in mind:

• Examples: You could write a sequel to Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, a book that does not have a sequel, and create your own idea of what would happen next. You could also write a sequel for a book such as City of Glass, which, though there is a sequel in the works, there is a very limited amount of information released about it, so your idea would have to be completely original with an original title. You could also write a sequel to a book such as Breaking Dawn, which, though it is a sequel itself, there are no plans for a follow up novel.
• You have to name your book idea! There is a required spot on the form.
• The sequel can be more of a companion-novel. It doesn't have to feature the same narrator or main characters, just some of the same characters.
• Don't think too hard about it- it doesn't have to be the perfect idea, it's just for fun.
• After submitting your idea, feel free to post it on your own blog if you have one! (But you do not need a blog to participate.)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments section.

This is entirely just for fun and intended to work your creativity skills! I am absolutely in no way intending to make the authors' own work seem unimportant or invalid. Please give all credit deserved for the ideas/characters in the books to the fabulous authors who wrote them!

What You Can Win:

Your choice of a book listed below from The Book Depository

Important Giveaway Info:

• Open internationally (where ever The Book Depository ships)
• All winners will be chosen randomly!
• You must have a legitimate original sequel idea (see my rules above)- if not you will be disqualified from winning the giveaway.
• If you win, you get only 1 book- either the first book in a series or it's sequel, your choice.
• All Sumbissions Must Be In By January 5th

Books or Their Sequels to Choose From If You Win (These are some of my personal favorites/books I'm dying to read):

Pick only one book, either the first one or it's sequel.

• Fallen or Torment by Lauren Kate
• Shiver or Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
• Gone, Hunger, or Lies by Michael Grant
• Any book from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Iron King or The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
• The Luxe, or any book by Anna Godbersen
• Any book from the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray
• Any book from the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
• Life As We Knew It or The Dead And The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Any book from the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
• Prophecy of the Sisters or Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink
• City of Bones, City of Ashes, or City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
• Rampant or Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund
• Hush, Hush or Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
• Any book from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
• The Maze Runner or The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
• Perfect Chemistry or Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
• Beautiful Creatures or Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Any book from the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast
• Wondrous Strange or Darklight by Lesley Livingston

I hope that gives you enough books to choose from! I know it is a very long list. :)

ENTER HERE

Winners will be chosen randomly, but I can't wait to read what people come up with! And remember, this is purely for fun. (I might possibly post some of the best ideas, though). All credit for the characters and worlds go to the authors!

To Read the Sequel?

While participating in First Come, Second Serve month, which features reading sequels to books we've loved, I've thought of an interesting question. I'm curious what other think of it because this question has come up with in my own reading life quite a bit recently.

If you didn't like the first book in a series (but didn't outright hate it either) is it worth reading the sequel?

I have asked myself this on multiple occasions. Every time I finish a book and only rate it 3/5 stars, I always say I am still excited to read the sequel, because I am. But then I buy the sequel and check it out from the library and find so many other books that I want to read more, so I never get around to reading that sequel. I feel like I'm wasting time that could be spend reading something much for valuable and better.

The idea of First Come, Second Served was to narrow our TBR pile of sequels. I only put sequels on my list that I think I'm genuinely excited to read, but others I didn't include because I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read the sequel in the first place. It got me thinking, and this post was born.

If the first book isn't very good, can the sequel still be amazing? I really have yet to come across any like this, but please share with me. I'm so divided on this subject right now, I don't know if it's worth my time to pick up sequels I'm not expecting much from.

Recently, I have come across a few sequels that I'm not sure if I should pick up. If you love any of these books, let me know so I should read them.

Should I read any of these:

Torment by Lauren Kate

• See my review of Fallen
• Besides another awesome cover, I'm not sure if there's anything in this book making it better than the first, and I don't really want to take the time to go through another huge book.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

• See my review of Shiver
• Before you start hating me- listen!!! I know so many people who love Linger and Shiver. So that's why I'm really going to give Linger a chance. I even liked Shiver, a lot. I'm currently reading Linger, but I've been reading it for a week and a half now, and I am still on page 50. Somehow I keep finding myself reading other books and wondering if Linger is worth it...

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

• I read Wicked Lovely a long time ago, way before I had a blog. Looking back, I probably would've rated it a 3/5.
• I checked this out from the library probably 3 times now but have never read it before it was due. I still really want to read it, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

Sequels I will most likely never read:

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

• Ehh... Evermore is not a book I would ever want to read again. Nothing original at all and I couldn't stand the characters.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

• See my review of Leviathan
• I've seen a bunch of great reviews for Leviathan, but once again, it just wasn't for me, so I'm not interested in the sequel, though in this case I believe it will probably be better than the first.

I want to hear some other opinions- comment on this discussion! Have you ever read a sequel WAY better than the first book, or decided simply not to continue a series/read a sequel? We all have but I'm curious- what books in paticular?

Shiver Giveaway

I'm giving away 2 paperback copies of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, as part of First Come Second Served Month!

Goodreads Summary:

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

Shiver is an awesome book I read awhile ago-see my review here! If you haven't read it yet, here's a perfect opportunity to get started on The Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

Giveaway rules:

• Please only fill out the form ONCE.
• You can have a total of 4 entries (all on the one form).
• US only
• You must be a follower of Book Infinity.
• Contest deadline: December 21
  

To enter: Fill out the form here.

Giveaway generously supplied by Scholastic, Inc.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING!

First Come, Second Served Month

Welcome to First Come, Second Served Month! To see a master list of all the giveaways and interviews happening this month, go here.

I will be reading one sequel a week. This week I will be reading Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.


Goodreads Summary:
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

Linger is book 2 of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, the sequel to Shiver. I'm excited to start reading it!

If you're participating, link your reviews of sequels up over at Down the Rabbit Hole at the end of each week. (You don't have to sign up to participate or anything, either, just enter the giveaway by posting a review!)

First Come, Second Served Month and Schedule

I, along with a few other fellow book bloggers, will be participating in a fun event called First Come, Second Served Month. Amber from Down the Rabbit Hole is organizing the whole thing- see her post here.

What is it, you may ask?

It's the entire month of December devoted to reading and reviewing all those sequels sitting on your TBR shelf. The sophomore novel for a writer is almost more crucial than the first as it allows the publisher to know if the author is going to sell. It's essential that we support our authors on their journey! So bust out those sequels and get ready to win some prizes for reading them!

(taken from Down the Rabbit Hole)

The dates are December 5th-December 31st. Yes, that means it starts this Monday!

At the end of each week, head on over to Down the Rabbit Hole to link your reviews to sequels you have read during the month for a chance to win some giveaways. Besides that, there will be events such as giveaways/author interviews going on at a few different blogs, including here.

You can see the Master Schedule here of all the events going on during this month. Here is the schedule for upcoming events at Book Infinity:

December 6th: Giveaway of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

December 17th: Interview/Giveaway with Artist Arthur (Manifest)
December 22nd: Create-A-Sequel Challenge/Giveaway!
December 29th: Giveaway of Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

In addition to those giveaways/interviews/challenges, each blog participating be featuring one sequel a week. I will be reading/featuring these four books:





Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Mystify by Artist Arthur

Hunger by Michael Grant

Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

I'm excited to start this month and hope you check back for the giveaways and other awesome stuff!