Waiting on Wednesday ~ BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

October 12, 2010

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.
From goodreads.com

I loved Beautiful Creatures and cannot wait for this one, the sequel in the Caster Series, to be released. For those of you who didn't know, the cover has changed from the old one with the gate to the new one you can see above. So happy about the change as well. The old one looked childish, but this one looks amazing, and blends better with the cover of Beautiful Creatures.

While talking about covers, here's a question for the comments. Do you think it's important for books in a series to have covers that look similar, such as those in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Trilogy, or does it not matter, like in Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry series?

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER Review

In honor of the ECLIPSE MOVIE release tonight at midnight, I present you with my review of Stephenie Meyer's newest book, The Eclipse Novella.



Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.
In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagines, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?
From goodreads.com

That summary is the best I've found, and gives general direction of the book, so I don't think I need to give you any more. In case you want more, here's a bit more on the book. The story centers around, obviously Bree Tanner, and her life as a newborn vampire living with Riley's coven. None of the vampires know why they were created, and don't understand the laws that readers of the series know through the Cullens: such as don't leave a scene, blood is not free, and there are other vampires. As the story goes on Bree begins to learn about these things and quickly discovers she has few people she can trust.

Good enough for you? If not, you're just going to have to go pick up the book. You can either purchase a copy, from which one dollar is donated to the American Red Cross, or you can read it online for free until July 5th HERE.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. To be honest, I believe that the writing in this novella was better than the writing in the series. Perhaps it was because Bree had more emotions than Bella ever had, or perhaps it was the pressure knowing what will happen to her in the end. Regardless, I enjoyed the writing of this book, though did find it frustrating that there were no chapters and minimal page breaks, so it was hard to find a place to stop reading.

Another thing I enjoyed was getting to know the newborn army more. In Eclipse, they were minor characters that the Cullens would need to kill, and nothing more. In the novella, they come to life, and, while reading, I became attached to them, even though some of them, like Raoul, I wanted to punch in the face. They became true characters, and not background noise, which I loved.

Throughout the novels, there were slight undertones that were in Eclipse, things that you never really took note to, but that made a lot more sense after reading the novella. And those clips in the Eclipse trailer involving the Volturi and the newborns that aren't in the book? Yep, in the novella.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a book for fans of the series to read if they want a greater understanding of what happened during the battle at the end of Eclipse.

Rating: A-

Music Monday ~ Ellie Goulding

This song has been stuck in my head for several days, so I figured I would share it with you. Ellie Goulding, Starry Eyed.

SWOON Sequel

SWOON by Nina Malkin

Today I recieved a very exciting email from Nina Malkin stating that her book, Swoon, which features the amazing Sinclair Youngblood Powers, has a sequel which is soon to be released. More details will be released during the week of July 12th on Novel Novice which will be hosting a Swoon week filled with interviews, question and answers, and giveaways. I will, very unfortunately, be out of town during that week, but will blog as a reminder before I leave.

In other Swoon news, Nina Malkin's contest for all her written works ends at midnight tonight. You can see the contest details on her blog. I highly recommend entering. Swoon was one of the best books I have read in a long time!

A long time ago, Nina Malkin hosted a contest on her blog for readers to create a playlist for the book. You guys can view my playlist below. I'll try to get one of those fancy player things uploaded to here, but don't know how that works. For now, you can read over the playlist and listen to the songs on youtube.

WARNING: The descriptions of each song in the playlist do have spoilers, especially the final two songs. Read at your own descretion, though most of the playlist only includes minor plot details. Enjoy!

Dead Disco - Metric
Without Lyrics
The beat of this song, the music in the background of the lyrics, plays in the background of the trailer for SWOON, as well as on the main menu of the DVD, proving the intrigue and mystery surrounding the town through the story, as well as the complete infatuation with Sin.

Godspeed - Anberlin
Opening song, creating the anger and complete loathing of the people of Swoon through Sin’s eyes, and the absolute crazing to be back within a human body. Sort of a theme to Sin’s personality (“They lied when the said the good die young”).

The Fear - Lily Allen
Pen’s song, after her transformation and complete flip once Sinclair takes over her body, leading her into doing things that she wouldn’t have done before. The strength, lust, power, and vixen-like qualities that overcome her. This song will play in the background of the party Pen and Dice go to at the beginning.

Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship ft Leighton Meester
Quite obviously Sin’s song, as he winds the town of Swoon around his finger and enjoys every moment of it, the girls, the revenge, the thrill, what is there not to love?

Nara - E.S. Posthumus
Theme to Sinclair’s past, the tumble of emotions he feels towards what happened, and the overall pressure to change what already happened. This song would play in the background as Sinclair tells and shows Dice what happened to him and his life in the past. The clips from the past would be in sepia, fading to the present as Dice and Sin have their moments, back to regular color, though the music stays through both, showing how his past hasn’t completely faded away. Towards the end of this moment, the song slows as the faces of Sin and Hannah fade into the faces of Sin and Dice.

My Skin - Natalie Merchant
I imagined that as Sin gained his human form, human emotions would hit him first, before the lust for revenge, just that brief moment to have the audience mourn for him. Cue the flashback sequence as Sin is released into human form after the ritual, flashes to Hannah’s body, his job as a blacksmith, him being led away to be hung, all the while, the tree remains in the background, a constant reminder of his years trapped.

Readyfuels - Anberlin
Sin’s entire mission, to carry out the revenge that he’s been waiting for for years, and how he controls Dice through everything, though recognizes his attraction to her. He has never been able to forget what was done to him years ago.

Let it Rock - Kevin Rudolf
The chorus to this song (“when I arrive”) begins to play the second that Sin makes an appearance at Swonowa, heads turn and everything seems to play in slower motion, cue the casual hair flip and jacket collar adjustment as he parades his strut across campus.

Any Way You Choose to Give It - The Black Ghosts
The obsession the girls of Swonowa have towards Sin as he appears in their school. This track rolls after he makes his first appearance, included with the images of the girl’s faces once he has gone past, the whispered words between them, the blushing smiles, foreshadowing the power and hold he has over the entire town.

Glass to the Arson - Anberlin
Dice as she realizes everything about Sin’s mission, and how he’ll stop at nothing to get his revenge. She can’t see how she was so easily caught up in him to ignore the serious damage he can do to their town.

Not Your Concern - The Hush Sound
Sin’s song, in almost a sarcastic manner, as he teases Dice while she tries to prevent the inevitable points in his plot of revenge, the banter that goes between them though both know they are entranced. Song plays lightly in the background after Dice has foiled Sin’s original plot, and he informs her that he won’t let that one stop him.

Letters from the Sky - Civil Twilight
When Sin and Dice travel back to the past, Sin’s desperation to change what happened, to make the dead alive again, and his love towards Hannah. This song would swell to it’s climax (1:05) as Dice realizes what Sin has come here to do, and races after him before he can do something horrible.

The Golden Floor - Snow Patrol
Dice’s final night with Sin, her emotions towards him and how she feels the draw, though knows they cannot truly be together, while at the same time needing his love. The chorus (“I’m not afraid of anything, even time”) plays as Dice stands up to poke the fire, a small smile upon her lips, accepting what has happened, as she had known it the whole time.

Shadow of the Day - Linkin Park
Song for the credit. As Dice’s form in front of the fire fades away to black, this song starts.

SISTERS RED Review

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.
From goodreads.com

The book opens seven years after an attack by a Fenris that left Rosie and Scarlett's grandmother dead, and Scarlett with the need to fight back and avenge her grandmother's death. The sisters live away from town and hunt the Fenris by night, believing it is their duty to protect other innocent girls from being murdered.

But when Silas, a family friend who also hunts Fenris, returns from San Francisco after a year visiting his uncle, a string of murders in Atlanta and an increase in the number of Fenris in the area drive the sisters and Silas to move to the city and hunt down the creatures who are searching for the Potential, the person who, if bitten, will turn in to a Fenris.

Once the action in the book starts, it doesn't stop, and I found myself unable to stop reading this book. For the record, I read it in two days. This isn't unusual for me, but only further proves my interest in the book. It was great to see female characters who held their own and weren't afraid to get in the thick of a fight. In fact, they were the ones causing the fights. And, if I may say so, hunting wolves with an ax makes you a pretty amazing girl in my book. Kudos to Pearce for not being afraid to harm her characters.

And the characters are another thing I enjoyed. Scarlett and Rosie were very close as sisters, and it was great for me to see this as I have a younger sister who is, like Rosie to Scarlett, very close in age to me. I instantly felt a connection with the sisters while reading the book. The characters stood out from the pages, seeming to be real. And Silas? Let's just say I would love to meet him in the woods any day.

But that's besides the point. Any author can write a male character that the reader swoons over. It was Pearce's approach in Sisters Red that caught me, hook, line, and sinker. The book is written in alternating viewpoints, switching back and forth from Rosie and Scarlett in order to tell the story. While Scarlett regarded Silas as a friend, Rosie was practically drooling over him, though all the while pushing those emotions away to save herself from hurting her sister who lives for the hunt.

I mentioned just above that Sisters Red is written in two viewpoints. I have read several novels that switch narrators, many of which do it in a choppy, forced manner, but this book was different. The time moved easily, and none of the scenes seemed to be tossed in just so that the viewpoints continued to alter between the two girls. I would love to know if it was hard for Pearce to capture such ease when writing.

Like I said, the book reads easily, and there is never a dull moment. Usually, I have something I disliked about the books I read, but I can't think of anything I didn't enjoy in Sisters Red. The ending tied things together very well. Sisters Red has a companion novel which will be released in 2011 entitled Sweetly which takes place in the same world as Sisters Red does, but does not involve the same characters. I look forward to reading this book, as Pearce did a wonderful job at crafting realistic characters in a slightly fantasy setting. She is definitely an author to watch!

Rating: A

For more updates on Jackson Pearce, you can follow her on youtube or on twitter. You can also view the book trailer for Sisters Red below.

Things I've Learned Thursday

Your memories can easily be mislead. Don't believe everything you remember, especially if it involves a crazy scientist.

Waiting on Wednesday ~ I AM NUMBER FOUR

I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore

August 17, 2010

John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, living an ordinary life in Paradise, Ohio.

But John is not ordinary. He’s one of nine aliens from the planet Lorien. John’s in danger and he’s always on the run, but this time he has more at stake than ever before—his girlfriend, Sarah, the only person he’s ever allowed to get close to him, is also at risk.

The evil beings who are hunting him have killed Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. John Smith is Number Four. And he is next.

As John struggles to outrun his past, discover his future, and live a normal life on Earth, he must choose between the legacy he was destined for and the love he never thought he would have.
From goodreads.com

Alright, so here's the deal. I'm usually not interested in alien books, but this one, for some reason, sounds different. I don't even know if it's YA, but it couldn't be too bad, could it?

TAKE FLIGHT Review

After spending a summer abroad ghost hunting, Erin and Jeremy return to the states unsure of what they have discovered. Erin's new boyfriend turns out to be more trouble than she bargained for. She begins to learn all the fairy tales her father told her were more than just a tall tale. Will she be able to escape the clutches of Bastian or will she be indebted to him forever?
From kaytharris.com

Take Flight by Kayt Harris is the story of Erin, a teenage (?) girl who has returned from a ghost hunting trip with her friend Jeremy in Germany where she met the undeniable Bastian and the two became instantly a couple. After leaving Germany, Erin finds herself longing for Bastian once more, and thinks that she is seeing him everywhere.

Soon after her return, she begins to have odd dreams that feel real involving Bastian. Not only that, but Jeremy discovers a voice on one of their recorded tapes which provides a warning against Bastian. As the novels goes on, Erin realizes she is not as far away from Bastian as she once thought.

Alright, so who noticed the question mark I put next to the word "teenage"? Anyone? Raise your hand nice and high. There you go. Thought that was a mistake, right? Something I was suppose to fix when editing? Nope. My main issue with this novel was the fact that I couldn't tell what age the characters were. I believe that they were suppose to be in high school, though the book was written as though they were much older, our of college even. Many books published YA are adult authors writing from the perspective of a teenager, sounding like a teenager. This was a book written by an adult, in the perspective of a teenager, sounding like an adult.

Not to make an overused analogy here, but it's needed to address my argument. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series in written very sophisticated for a teenage girl, but her writing works, as Bella has never truly been a teenage girl, always acting older than her age. In Take Flight, Erin sounds like an adult, and this does not work as well for Harris as it did for Meyer.

Unfortunately, this was not the only problem I had with the book. The book, on a whole, was very slow to begin and, once it did begin, came to a conclusion quickly, leaving about 20 pages for an extended conclusion. Despite the rest of the novel, the ending portion of the book was well done, and a lot more creative than the rest of the novel. If the author had used the ending of the book as the basis for what would happen, then it would have made it good.

Another thing I came across which is not the author's fault was the number of grammar errors. A forgotten quotation mark at the end of a paragraph of dialog, a paragraph that wasn't tabbed, little thing, but things that frustrate me nonetheless. To be fair, I did look up the publishing company, and they are small, only publishing a couple of titles each year.

Overall, the book seemed to drag on and I had trouble finishing it, despite the fact that it was only 176 pages and the font was larger than most books. In all honesty, the ending of the novel was the silver lining, but it was not enough to urge me to wait for the sequel.

Rating: D

Teaser Tuesday ~ WHITE CAT

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


White Cat by Holly Black
From page 8

I stop speaking as cold dread settles in my stomach, because for a moment I wonder if I could have been cursed. I try to think back to whether someone brushed me with a hand, but I can't recall anyone touching me who wasn't clearly gloved.

Nina Malkin Contest

Hey everyone! I'm not sure how many of you actually read this blog, but I wanted to let you all know about another great contest that is happening right now in honor of Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Nina Malkin, author of the YA romance, Swoon is giving away all the books she has written on her blog right now. All you have to do to enter is tell people about the contest and then answer four simple questions which can be found by visiting her website. The contest runs from today until Sunday the 27th, so get moving!

I have read Swoon and can honestly say that it is a book worth reading. I loved every moment and Sinclair is definitely swoon-worthy :)

Music Monday ~ Blue October

One of my absolute favorite bands, Blue October got me with their song Into The Ocean, which you can take a listen to below!

Inkpop Forbidden Love Writing Contest

I know a lot of readers are also writers, so I figured I should post about this amazing contest going on right now at inkpop.com. In honor of The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood, inkpop is hosting a contest that asks members to write a poem or short story about a forbidden love. Almost anything under 20,000 words is acceptable, though, honestly, I haven't read/voted on any of the submissions that are that long.

So here's how to enter. Go to inkpop.com and create a free account. From there, go to the contest page and click on ENTER. From there you can upload anything on the topic of forbidden love, and include a cover page for the writing. After the writing is submitted, other people can read and vote on your entry to decide a winner of the contest who will win a $2,000 H&M shopping spree.

Inkpop has done one other contest like this before, and that was in association with the Supernatural Summer author tour where the prompt was to write on something supernatural. I got the chance to meet the winner of that contest at the Supernatural Summer tour, and she said she enjoyed writing it, so take this chance as time to write down an idea and get feedback. Even better, you can write up to five contest entries for this one. So get working!

I have submitted two entries, one on a whim and one I really enjoy. The first one is entitled Forever and the second is One Four Three. It would be great if any of you guys who read this blog and have an inkpop account would go and read my entries and offer your honest review and vote. If you enter the contest and would like to, you may post the link to your submission(s) in the comments section.

Huge Storm

Sorry everyone, but a huge storm passed through last night and has left me without power. They are saying it will take five more days to get our power back on, so I might not be able to post. Fingers crossed it will come back sooner, but for now, I have no idea.

The Lovely Reader

WHITE CAT Review

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
From blackholly.com

This story revolves mainly around Cassel, a boy in college who suddenly begins sleepwalking and having vivid dreams, something from his childhood. Many of these dreams circulate around the girl he murdered at age fourteen, Lila, and a mysterious white cat who continues to reappear in everyday life.

But Cassel is no ordinary boy. His family comes from a line of curse workers, people who are gifted with a power, such as luck or death, yet Cassel grew up being the only one in his family who didn't have a power, and therefore was not included in family meetings with the higher and more powerful Zacharov family. Their family is loyal to the powerful Zacharov family in a way like people are loyal to mobsters. Con men, criminals, and powerful workers make up the people who bow down to the crime family Zacharov.

The story begins quickly with Cassel awakening on his dorm roof, ready to jump, but having no idea how he got there. From that point on, the story jumps in to action with a series of mysteries that surround his family and the death of Lila Zacharov. As the story goes on, Cassel learns that not everything is how it appears to be, and that he needs to choose wisely the people he can trust.

In all honesty, upon beginning the book, I was worried. A long time ago, I started reading Holly Black's faerie book, Tithe, and didn't enjoy it, but since I had heard nothing but good reviews about White Cat, I decided to give it a try. And I'm glad I did.

White Cat was an amazing story with intrigue, mystery, suspense, and even a bit of romance, scattered with flashbacks, dream sequences, and magic, all the while happening in a society too real to seem impossible. Holly Black cultivated her characters well. I enjoyed seeing how much Cassel had grown throughout the novel, despite the situations he got in to.

Overall, I enjoyed how quickly the story moved and how the ending wrapped up just enough to end the novel, but left enough open for the sequel. A very well written and sophisticated novel which will appeal to a variety of readers, White Cat has earned itself a place on my favorites list.

Rating: A

You can view the book trailer for White Cat by Holly Black below.

Miley Cyrus and Lisa McMann?

Years ago, I read the novel Wake by Lisa McMann. I then read Fade and Gone as they released, enjoying each novel. This series by Lisa McMann follows a 17 year old girl, Janie, through her final years of high school while she is forced to deal with a certain oddity that follows her around. Every time someone close to Janie falls asleep, she is sucked in to their dreams, or nightmares, depending on the case.

Through the novels, Janie forms a relationship with Cabel, another student at her school who learns of her ability, and the police, with whom she goes undercover to solve town problems, using her ability to get inside other people's heads. Though her ability comes with a cost. Every time she pulls herself out of a dream, her vision is skewed and her muscles are cramped, and it gets worse with every dream.

I loved the novels, loved the intensity in which Lisa McMann wrote each scene and the pressing time bomb of Janie's condition that showed an ultimate ending. But this is not a review. If you noticed, this is tagged news, and I also mentioned Miley Cyrus in the title. Why, you may ask?

Because it has come down to this. Lisa McMann has sold the rights for a movie to be made of Wake, and those rights go to Paramount. Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter posted that Miley Cyrus may be playing the role as Janie, the main role of the series.

Now, to the honesty. When reading this, a huge WHAT?! came to my mind. I cannot stand Miley Cyrus. The only reason I didn't go see The Last Song was because she played a main part in the movie. Her accent, her laugh, her singing, everything drives me crazy. I cannot see her playing the darker role of Janie with her bubbly, southern attitude, but, regardless, I will go to see the film.

But now for you. I want to hear what you think about this? Do you want Miley Cyrus to play Janie in Lisa McMann's Wake series? Yes or no? Let me know in the comments section.

Things I've Learned Thursday

When you live in a family based on crime and deception, don't believe everything you're told.

My First Blog Award?

Morgan at The Paperback Princess, such an adorable name, by the way, just gave me this award! Thank you so much! This means a lot, since this is my first award. So, please, my lovely followers, go follow her blog and show her some love.

So, let's get down to business, this award comes with rules.
1.Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2.Share seven things about yourself
3.Pass this award to 15 bloggers you have discovered and thought were great!
4.Contact the bloggers and let them know you have an award for them!

So, seven things about me, eh?
1. I am a compulsive book buyer, but usually buy books when I have a coupon. YAY FOR BORDERS.
2. The best book I've ever read in school is George Orwell's 1984. Go read it if you haven't. Big Brother will be watching.
3. My favorite TV show on right now is Happy Town. Don't let the name confuse you. It's about murder.
4. I despise novels that write about rich girls and bording schools, save Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty series because those books have substance.
5. I need a bookcase badly. The books that don't have room are set in three stacks next to my desk.
6. Last weekend I bought a book that came with a make your own dragon kit, solely for that purpose. I'll read the book and review it sometime.
7. I've been taking a design class for three years, designing meaning pottery and such.

Alright, so on to the lucky bloggers!
LitBites
Denise Madness
At Home With Books
YA Book Queen
Library Lounge Lizard
Pirate Penguin's Reads
Royal Reviews
Squeaky Books
Up The Tower Of Books
YA Addict
The Page Flipper
Stop, Drop, and Read!
Storywings
Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf
In Bed With Books

These are just a quick handful of the blogs I follow and blogs I visit often. Thanks again to The Paperback Princess for my award, and be sure to check out these blogs and follow them as well.

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Draw the Dark

DRAW THE DARK by Ilsa J. Bick

October 28, 2010

There are things the people of Winter, Wisconsin, would rather forget. The year the Nazis came to town, for one. That fire, for another. But what they'd really like to forget is Christian Cage.

Seventeen-year-old Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy. Ever since, he's drawn obsessively: his mother's face...her eyes...and what he calls "the sideways place," where he says his parents are trapped. Christian figures if he can just see through his mother's eyes, maybe he can get there somehow and save them.

But Christian also draws other things. Ugly things. Evil things. Dark things. Things like other people's fears and nightmares. Their pasts. Their destiny.

And some things the people of Winter would rather forget—like murder.

But Winter won't be able to forget the truth, no matter how hard it tries. Not as long as Christian draws the dark...
From lernerbooks.com

If the cover and the summary don't get you, head over to LitBites and read Donna's review of the book. If any of you already follow the blog, you know she doesn't hand out 5 bite rating very often. So put Draw the Dark on your To Read list and go check out Donna's blog!

Teaser Tuesday ~ The Body Finder

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
From page 153

She suddenly felt like the predator, carrying the most powerful weapon of all. Now she would become the hunter . . . and he, the hunted.

Contest for a Bookcase

As readers, I'm sure you can all relate to not having room for your books. My room currently has three piles of books resting in the corner, so I was glad to come across THIS AWESOME CONTEST to win a bookshelf from CSN. So what are you waiting for? Go run on over!

Music Monday ~ The Script

LOVE this band. I can't tell you how often I listen to their music. My favorite and most listened to song of theirs has to be Break Even, which you can listen to below.

In My Mailbox

Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez
White Cat by Holly Black
Sisters Red Jackson Pearce

Thanks to author Saundra Mitchell in twitter who chose me as one of the people who followed her to win all three books!

STARLIGHTER Review

Dragons are enslaving humankind, and a black egg signals the end of the world. Jason Masters must journey to another realm and join forces with a slave girl named Koren to rescue the captives and save two worlds from destruction. What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the myths: people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when his brother is taken, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it's too late. Once he's through the portal, he meets Koren, a slave in the dragons’ realm, who struggles to destroy a black egg prophesied to doom all mankind. Jason and Koren must work together to save their two worlds before the dragons learn that their secrets have been discovered.
From daviscrossing.com

This new book by Bryan Davis focuses around two central characters with different plot lines that eventually intersect. The first of these characters is Jason Masters who has grown up on myths about Dracon, the Dragon planet, and that humans were taken long ago to the planet in order to serve the Dragons. These humans are known by Jason as the Lost Ones, humans that need to be recovered and brought back to Major Four, their home planet. A series of events draws him closer and proves to him that these myths are true, and that a Dragon planet does exist, but perhaps not in the way he believes.

The second of the characters is Koren, a lively slave girl known for her story-telling. She has served the Dragons for her entire life, and knows nothing for truth about the existence of an outside planet. These, to her, are only myths, and she too gets carried in a whirlwind of events which draws her to believe that a human planet does exist.

The book opens straight away with a sword fight, drawing the reader in to the scene and the characters without doing the ever-so-common boring first chapter in which all the characters are introduced and nothing is left for the reader to discern. If we are reading your books, we are obviously not brain dead and can put two and two together without getting the wrong answer. Davis understands that and leaves room in his writing for the reader to think about the plot and the character. A fine example of the rule we hear as children when writing for school, show, don't tell, this book takes the reader on an ride that leaves them wanting more.

Despite the instant start, the story slowed down at the beginning and I found myself contemplating dropping the book. But, since I had bought it, I pushed myself on and found that it was worth the wait. Though the beginning told like a fairy tale told to young children, the story quickly became far more than that as the characters grew more and more interesting. I found myself wanting to know more, and since the story is written with two overlapping plots, I was frustrated when Davis pulled me in to a single character only to switch and tell more of the story about another, though this was a good frustration. Because of this, I was not bored while reading.

Overall, Davis' characters surprised me, but in a good manner. From Elyssa, the once imprisoned Diviner to Tibber, the once imprisoned liar, the characters seemed real and tangible. My only complaint in Davis' direction is in regards to the contrasting character of Koren. At one moment, she was strong willed and fighting off everyone who got in her way, and the next, she was on her knees in tears. I understand that the situations she got in to where hard on her, but Koren was the only character to full out cry in the novel, and she did so in a manner that left me rolling my eyes, mentally asking This again? as she pitied herself and the trouble she had gotten others in to. Though she had her flaws, they were minor, and Mary Sues, in literature, do nothing to impress me. I want substance. I want the character to have something I can relate to, not just someone who I can look up to.

Regardless, the story was well written. Davis created a world that became familiar to me as I read, and I could picture every aspect of the realm. Completely imaginative and nothing like other books I have I read, Starlighter shows great promise for a series. The ending concluded in such a way that some things ended, yet others were left wide open, leaving me wondering what would happen next. A true work of fiction, this book has left me wondering where the characters will go and what will happen to them in the next book. Overall, it was an exciting read that left me wanting more. Well done, Bryan Davis.

Rating: B+

You can view the trailer for Starlighter by Bryan Davis below, though it isn't the best. It gets to the gist of the book, though in a far too dramatic way. Don't judge a book by its trailer, though.

Things I've Learned Thursday

No person, especially a teenager, will ever understand death, so it's not a good idea to mess with the concept.

Waiting on Wednesday ~ The Replacement

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

September 16, 2010

Mackie Doyle seems like everyone else in the perfect little town of Gentry, but he is living with a fatal secret - he is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now the creatures under the hill want him back, and Mackie must decide where he really belongs and what he really wants.

A month ago, Mackie might have told them to buzz off. But now, with a budding relationship with tough, wounded, beautiful Tate, Mackie has too much to lose. Will love finally make him worthy of the human world?
From goodreads.com

As if the cover wasn't good enough, the plot story summary sounds amazing. This is definitely a book I'm going to need to purchase. Again with the dystopian theme, but this is both looks and sounds creepier than the other dystopians out there. Can't wait!

Supernatural Summer Tour

Saturday, the Supernatural Summer Tour had a stop at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville (outside of Chicago). This is not my first book signing, but my first wrap up of a book signing, so please bare with me. The crowd was large. In order to have a book signed, you needed to purchase a book and get a signing number. Luckily my friend and I went a week before the signing to get the books, getting numbers 31 and 32, because one of the girls had number 64. We didn't stay long enough to see where the line ended for the signing, but, by the looks of the crowd, we assumed the signing would go on for about another thirty minutes or half hour by the time we left. My camera doesn't take the greatest pictures from far away, but my friend Denise over at DeniseMadness took great pictures. Check out her blog here http://denisemadness.blogspot.com/


Authors Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Ellen Schreiber, and Kimberly Derting introduced themselves.



The Body Finder is Kimberly Derting's first published book, and she was the only one in the group who hadn't been on tour before.


Here's a picture of all the swag I was able to get while at the signing. Pictured is a Darkest Powers mouse-pad, a Darkest Powers pin, a Dangerous postcard, a bookmark for the Vampire Kisses series, a signed picture of the cover of Vampire Kisses, a signed cover of Once Dead, Twice Shy, an Alcatraz key, an Early to Death, Early to Rise shoelace, a Smart Chicks Kick It Tour bookmark, a signed Body Finder poster, a Body Finder sticker, a What Is Your Echo? sticker and a Body Finder bookmark. With that, I got my copy of The Body Finder signed, as well as my copy of The Eternal Kiss.

Teaser Tuesday ~ Starlighter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Starlighter by Bryan Davis
From page 29

Violators were subject to punishment, the first offense bringing three days of public exposure in the pillory. A second offense brought three months in the dungeon.

Music Monday ~ Jem

I apologize for the late post. Blogger wouldn't let me log in yesterday :O

Another artist who I've recently started to love is Jem. Her song 24 blew me away, but here you can take a listen to her more popular song, It's Amazing.

TOKEN OF DARKNESS Review

Cooper Blake has everything going for him—until he wakes from a car accident with his football career in ruins and a mysterious, attractive girl by his side. Cooper doesn’t know how Samantha got there or why he can see her; all he knows is that she’s a ghost, and the shadows that surround her seem intent on destroying her.

No one from Cooper’s old life would understand what he can barely grasp himself. . . . But Delilah, the captain of the cheerleading squad, has secrets of her own, like her ability to see beyond the physical world, and her tangled history with Brent, a loner from a neighboring school who can hear strangers’ most intimate thoughts. Delilah and Brent know that Cooper is in more trouble than he realizes, and that Samantha may not be as innocent as she has led Cooper to believe. But the only way to figure out where Samantha came from will put them all in more danger than they ever dreamed possible.
From barnesandnoble.com

I entered in to reading this book having no idea what it was about, not even reading the cover flap until after I had finished, but during reader, it became obvious that the story revolved around five main characters.

The first of these characters, and the most prominant, is Cooper, a high schooler who returns to school after a serious accident which haunts both his waking and sleeping hours. The accident is something he cannot forget, and something that terrifies him. No longer able to play football as he had done before, Cooper withdraws from his friends over the summer break. He uses the accident as an excuse for his absense when there is more reason for him to keep himself secluded. Ever since the accident, a ghost by the name of Samantha has been following him around.

Samantha remembers nothing from before she appeared at Cooper's side in the hospital after the accident. Cooper is the only person who had see her, and she seeks him out for help, wanting to have a both of her own and to live again. She is plagued by dark shadows which circle her and Cooper, and wants to find a way to escape it all, but everything changes the day someone else is able to see her, if only for a moment.

Through a series of events, Cooper and Samantha run in to Brent, a student at another school who is able to see Samantha for a few moments, and wants to help Cooper. Able to hear other thoughts, Brent believes that a friend of his will be able to help Cooper with Samantha and figure out who she is.

This friend is a sorcerer, a man by the name of Ryan, who has taught Brent about magic and how to control powers. Unfortunately, he does not believe that ghosts exist, yet agrees to see Cooper to sort things out, though the group runs in to another of Ryan's students in magic on the way.

Delilah is a cheerleader at Cooper's school who has worked with dark magic in order to gain power and becomes increasingly interested in Samantha and what Samantha is.

Head spinning yet? Yeah, mine was too. Trying to keep the characters straight was alright at the beginning, but towards the end things became complicated and it was challenging to keep them apart as they tended to blend together.

Regardless of the characters, the plot was slow to develop, though once events began to happen, they happened in easy progression. One thing I enjoy in books is a mystery, and the author gave mystery at the beginning in not explaining what happened to Cooper in his accident until about a forth of the way through the book. Beyond that point, things in the book were pretty straightforward and left little for the reader to wonder about.

As a person who loves characters, the characters in Token of Darkness didn't come through strong enough for me. They appeared as paper characters without the substance or depth, containing little flaws. Towards the end of the novel, Samantha gained depth, though she was the only character who stood out to me, the others remaining simple.

The book comes to a solid conclusion, though the ending turned out to be nearly completely happy. Happy endings don't always happen in reality, and it is a frustration of mine when a book ends without leaving the reader hanging or making them worry about a character.

Regardless, the book does contain strong moments if the reader discards the way the author explains everything without giving the reader a chance to think for themselves. This is a book for someone who want's a light read, and I am not one of those people.

RATING: C

Things I've Learned Thursday

Hawaiian shirts do nothing to mask the horror of places. If anything, they only continue to add to the terror.

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Crescendo

CRESCENDO by Becca Fitzpatrick
November 16, 2010

Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.


The further Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim bloodline has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

From http://beccafitzpatrick.com

I loved the first book in this series, Hush, Hush and cannot wait for the second book to be released. The cover, as well, is as beautiful as the first. The author, Becca Fitzpatrick, did an amazing cover reveal in which she had a chalk artist draw the cover, giving the live feed of the artist for the entire day until it was finished. Cannot wait for this one!

Teaser Tuesday ~ Battle Royale

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Battle Royale by Koushum Takami
From page 58

Shuya turned to yell some warning to the remaining eleven students coming out - in their class of twenty-one pairs of boys and girls, there should have been twelve students following Shuya's and Noriko's seat numbers, but (SPOILER) had to be counted out - but he quickly reconsidered. Shuya reached the somewhat forced conclusion that his classmates probably weren't as foolish as he was, so they'd flee the moment they emerged from the building anyway.

Don't let the names or the fact that it's been translated to English throw you. The names aren't so bad once you get in to the book, and the translation is done very well. Loved this book.

Comment with your own Teaser Tuesday and be sure to check out MixB's blog!