Teaser Tuesday...

This week I'm posting about Once Was Lost, a novel by Sara Zarr which comes out this Thursday October 1st. I started reading it and it's getting mt attention alright so that gives it mayor points in my little black book. So here is the teaser:

" The whole world is wilting. Shriveling. Giving up. Dying. Maybe not the whole world. Somewhere, I guess, it's not ninety-one degrees at four in the morning. I would like to be in that place. I would like to be somewhere, anywhere, that life feels possible and not smothered under a layer of heat and hopelessness."

Pg. 1

And that is only a lil bit of the first page of the novel. I find the concept of the novel interesting, and it catches your attention quite easily. If you want to know more about the novel go to the authors main page.

Ill be in touch,

PS; Teaser Tuesday is brought to us by Should be Reading.

No More Entries...

...Are being accepted for my Mega Palooza. I just realized it ended yesterday. So to put it lightly there were about 289 entries, not counting the extra ones. With those we have about... I don't even want to know. I wasn't expecting so many entries, you must know that it will take me a couple of days till I announce the winners. So stay around here, maybe you will be the lucky winner ;)

In another news Sandy from The Pirate Penguin gave me a new award! WooT! This one is called The Great Look Award (and it's very pretty).

This award is meant to pat on the back the ones paying particular attention to their blog presentation, and god knows some of them looks awesome! Of course none of them are pretty empty shells, so there's no shame to mention how nice their blogs are!

Here are the rules:

1. Post the award on your blog, with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 5 other blogs that your particularly like. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

1. Eli from The Tainted Poet (stunning)

2. Bri from The Book Pixie (My twin, double stunning)

3. Erica from The Book Cellar ( The red! Favorite color, since black is not really a color)

4. Laina from Laina Has Too Much Spare Time (The master at making layouts, and her's doesn't fall behind)

5. Blogs With Bite

HAHA! Extras! Let's break the rules a bit shall we?

6. Ceri at Not in the Pink

7. Rachel at The Book Wars

AND! Right back at Sandy from The Pirate Penguin!

Also, I have reserved some award nominations from awards I have already gotten, so I HAVE to give this award to this blog, because it deserves it times 100.

This award goes to Bored...Get Unbored blog. It's so funny, and seriously I would kill the zombie chickens by the neck, spread fire to them, and then blow up their brains just in case to get to your blog LazyKing. Also I thought this award looked funny looking and went with your blog ;)

PS; If by any chance you gave me an award and I might have overlooked it and not posted about it in an actual post saying thanks and everything, let me know! Cause I am forgetful like that xD

That's it for today,

Review: At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

Title: At Grave's End

Series: Night Huntress Series

Book #: 3rd

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Pages: 342

Publisher: Avon

Rating:

"Some things won't stay buried...at grave's end."

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she's learned as a special agent won't help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself—and Bones—from a fate worse than the grave.

Taschima's POV:

Cat's life seems going on better than ever. She is kicking ass as usual. The underworld has nothing on her. And at the same time she is as happy as can be with all her loved ones close by and in range, specially Bones. But her cover has been blown up. She has been spotted 3 times already by the undead, which makes the job riskier that it needs to be. Not only that, but some vamps want her more than she even thinks, and if she doesn't care for herself she can be facing a future much more worse than the grave.

I have gotten to the point in the series where I don't know how to even praise it anymore. I mean come on! It's awesome!

The characters are always my favorite part of the story. Cat with her smart ass/sarcastic comments, and Bones with his aura of deadliness that you don't know if to run from it or go him him and ravish him up. God I love him. I think he takes the number one spot on my vamp list. Just don't tell Wrath or JM (both from The Black Dagger Brotherhood). We come to see much character development from Cat, and see old but new character taking a more important role in the story. Which is FINE by me *winks*

I don't know which part is my favorite, the gore or the romance. Cause they are equally balanced. We get to see more about the vampire world, with all it's politics and everything. Sometimes you don't know if to love or hate the vamps. Nothing here is black and white, everything is gray.

Last but not least, I like the writing. I love how Jeanine writes! Good heavens, it really gets you into the moment. When the characters are down you go down with them. When they are happy you rejoice in their happiness. She has this very raw style, curses and sarcastic comments are thrown in, in any turn, but since I have no problem with that... Yay!

Anyways, I will be tell you once more that if you haven't given this series a try, YOU HAVE TO. Don't let this one fly by. That would constitute as a crime.

** Ladies, a shout out, yet again, to chapter 32!

Other books in the series:

Halfway To The Grave

One Foot In The Grave

One Hit Wonders

There has been a lot of one hit wonders in music. From Eddie Murphy's Party All The Time to Panic At The Disco (Yeah I really think they were a one hit wonder, second CD sucked). And to be honest most of the one hit wonders we don't even remember them. Well, I have come to think about this big series that have left a mark on the YA literature world, and ask myself, what else have they done?

I mean really. Has J.K. Rowling written anything else that is not related to the Harry Potter series? She wrote The Tales of Beddle and The Bard, but that also had to do with HP. Dumbledore even made comments, and he is dead. So you see where I'm getting at.

Another One Hit Wonder is the author that has been like an eclipse that came over the YA literature world, and funny about the world eclipse cause one of her novels is called that. Yes, I'm talking about Stephenie Meyer.

She was both a blessing and a curse really. Made a lot of press for YA, and vampires. Now is the time were vampires made a big boom, and we have to

give a little credit to SM on that. I know I luv my vamps, and if I had not read Twilight, I would probably be still hung up on HP reading the book DAILY. That's how much I read the HP books. Twilight Saga made me realise that there were more books out there, and I thank it for that.

Take note that this is not a let's-say-how-awesome-twilight-is post, and I'm getting to my point. Stephenie Meyer left a gaping hole behind for teenage kids to fill, they needed to look for comfort after finishing Twilight, and what do you know, they discover another world full of different themes but still related that's called the Young Adult section. Saying that, her twilight fan base has passed the line so much I don't even think they saw the line under their feet as they crossed it. So yes, a blessing and a curse.

But more to the point, what else has she written? The Host? Which in my opinion was a good novel. And did you guys know it's being turned into a movie? Learn more on Stephenie Meyer's main website, there is also an article about it here. But I'll talk more on that later, in another post.

Thing is, most authors get in a rut, and you never know which is their excuse for it. Do they do it because they have so much money already they don't need to keep up the writing? Or do they think that since they have so much money they'll just take a looong vacation and let us high and dry?

Which let some rather hopeful people stuck in their stories more time than necessary. Like me with Harry Potter 4 years ago. And she still hasn't written anything new. A shame really, she has a talent for story telling.

Who else do you consider a One Hit Wonder? I know there must be lots of them, but in this post I talked more about the super famous ones. Now you tell me which other authors that you enjoyed left you high and dry. Let's pin those suckers down.

Yours truly,

Interview With Lesley Livingston

This week was the release of Wondrous Strange on paperback. To celebrate this, amazing Lesley Livingston agreed to answer some questions for us. A little about Lesley.

Lesley is an actor and a writer in Toronto, and she

loves what she does. Most of her acting is done on stage, and she is a founding member and pricipal performer with Tempest Theatre Group.

Now that is just a little about her, if you want to learn more go to her main website.

Let's start with the interview, shall we?

Tell us a little about Wondrous Strange...

My website blurb says it better than I could so here:

“Kelley Winslow is living her dream. Seventeen years old, she has moved to New York City and started work with a theatre company. Sure, she's an understudy for the Avalon Players, a third-tier repertory company so far off-Broadway it might as well be in Hoboken, but things are looking up—the lead has broken her ankle and Kelley's about to step into the role of Titania the Fairy Queen in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Faeries are far more real than Kelley thinks, though, and a chance encounter in Central Park with a handsome young man will plunge her into an adventure she could never have imagined.

For Sonny Flannery, one of the Janus Guards charged by Auberon, the King of Winter, with watching over the gate into the lands of Faerie that lies within Central Park, the pretty young actress presents an enigma. Strong and willful, she sparks against his senses like a firecracker and he can't get her out of his mind. As Hallowe'en approaches and the Samhain Gate opens, Sonny and Kelley find themselves drawn to each other—and into a terrible plot that could spell disaster for both New York and Faerie alike.”

How does it feel like to be a Debut Author? To see your books on the shelves, smiling alongside authors like P.C. Cast and Melissa De La Cruz?

It’s amazing and gratifying and a little scary sometimes and more fun than anything and awesome and wondrous and… er… strange…

Hee! I like the way you put that—‘smiling alongside’—because that’s sort of how it feels every time I walk into a store and see it sitting there with all those other wonderful books—like my book is just so happy to be there!

How did this book come to be?

Basically, I had an idea for a book—a Faerie tale about a young actress named Kelley Winslow and a handsome changeling named Sonny. And a gateway to an otherworldly realm. I'd had the basics for their story kicking around for awhile and had dabbled with it in short story format—but what I really needed, was somewhere to put it. I needed a setting.

Then I went to New York. I did all the touristy stuff on that trip—the carriage ride, lunch at the Tavern on the Green—and it felt to me like I was on a first date. With the park. It wooed me. I became fascinated by certain of its landmarks: by the fantastic, otherworldly landscapes of the Shakespeare Garden and the Ramble and the Lake; I developed and instant crush on the handsome bronze boy that was the subject of a statue called “The Indian Hunter”; I was captivated by the whimsy of the carousel. Back home, I couldn't get the park out of my head. The whole place just struck me as somehow mythic. It is grand and mysterious and I needed to write my story into it.

In your story Kelley desires to be an actress in the play, but then realizes she is meant to do a lot more than that, do you think she’ll be able to get back and finish her dream?

Well… that would be telling now, wouldn’t it? ;-)

No seriously. Kelley has a couple of big decisions ahead of her. At some point she’s going to have to decide what’s really important to her and whether or not she’s willing—and able—to chart her own destiny, or have someone else determine her fate for her. And also how much she’s prepared to sacrifice for her dreams.

Why is the Janus so dreamy/scary?

What a cool question! I’ll assume you mean just Sonny, as opposed to the entire Janus Guard (although there are, I think, a few other members of the guard who might fit the dreamy and/or scary bill…).

The answer is that both traits flow from the same source in Sonny’s life. He’s been raised in a culture of contradictions—by creatures who have both an overdeveloped sense of things like chivalry and, at the same time, no easily definable sense of moral centering. The Fair Folk play by their own rules but they definitely have those rules. It’s a courtly society, with all that implies, and Sonny’s upbringing has been steeped in both beauty and danger. So I guess it was only natural that he should absorb qualities from both. As a consequence, Sonny has learned to be both ruthless and gentlemanly.

He’s also had to spend his entire youth honing both his mind and body in order to just survive. So not only is he in excellent shape, he’s pretty sharp, too. At the same time, I think his naiveté where human customs and relationships are concerned makes him kinda sweet and vulnerable. Of course, that’s all just my opinion!

You know I used to not like fairies that much, that is, until I read your book, then I just loved them I guess I always put fairies in the same capsule as Tinker Bell, what makes your fairies so unique?

Aw, thanks! I’m glad I could change your mind about the Fair Folk! I always say that the stories that intrigued me the most about the Fae were never the ones that portrayed them as tiny, sweet, sparkly things (sorry, Tink—you know I still love ya). I’ve been fascinated by Faerie lore since I was a kid, but mostly, I was drawn to the idea that these were the creatures that existed beyond the circle of firelight, or just on the other side of the threshold, or just over that far hill; things only ever glimpsed out of the corner of your eye – if you were lucky! There is such beauty to them, but it’s a dangerous beauty. I love the dangerous aspects of the Fair Folk.

Any advice for the to be authors of today?

Read, read, read. You will absorb the craft the more you do. Write, write, write. You can’t edit a bunch of nothing. Believe in yourself and never ever, ever stop learning.

Any info on the second book you can tell us?

It’s called Darklight, it will be out in bookstores in December of this year (2009), and it’s a direct continuation of Kelley and Sonny’s story from Wondrous Strange. Here’s what the catalog blurb says:

Er… spoilers for those who have yet to read Wondrous Strange…

“Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was Faerie royalty, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved New York City from a rampaging Faerie war band. When a terrifying encounter in Central Park sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful—but cut short. For they’ve been plunged into a game of Faerie deception and wavering allegiances in which the next move could topple a kingdom…or part them forever.”

I’m really excited to see how readers will respond to this book because they’ll get to see a lot more than the glimpse of the Faerie Realm that we saw in the first book. Plus more of some of the other characters we only just met in WS… and a few new faces…

Extras:

Favorite Author

That Shakespeare guy was pretty good… *grin*

Favorite Shakespeare plays

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (obviously *grin*). Hamlet. The Tempest. Cymbeline. Much Ado About Nothing. Henry V. Romeo and Juliet… er… I could go on…

Favorite novels

Of all time?

The Fionavar Tapestry (that’s the name of the trilogy) by Guy Gavriel Kay

Firelord by Parke Godwin (an Arthurian re-telling)

Did you help with the cover?

If grinning like an idiot when I first got the jpg of the image emailed to me is considered ‘helping’ then… yes. Yes I did. No seriously—the design team came up with the gorgeous covers all on their own. But it was SO gratifying to see that they really got my book, visually, right from the get-go.

And that is it for today folks! Lesley is awesome, as you may know if you read the interview. She is very care free with a lot of sunshine spirit. Again, if you want to know more about her go to her main website.

Review: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Title: Dreaming Anastasia

Book #: 1

Author: Joy Preble

Pages: 310

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Tags: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Recommended to: Romanov story lovers.

Rating: .9

"Love, Magic, and the Power of Dreams."

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov? Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams…

Taschima's POV:

Like usual we start with the high school girl that appears to be just an ordinary girl. She does her thing, and her biggest worry is chemistry. This girl's name is Anne. Anne appears to be living the life, when one night she glances over her shoulder and sees, wait for it, this mysterious young fella -who is incredibly hot by the way- with these oh so blue eyes that you just feel like diving into them forever. She feels the connection with him since that first glance, and now she's doing the impossible to get away from him.

Yeah, all seems right with this girl. That is, until you find out she dreams of being Anastasia, the Romanov princess, and seems to know stuff that nobody knows about the Russian duchess. Also she seems to dream this dream repeatedly. Is Anne as ordinary as she seems? Or is behind her a secret so terrifying, that even witches from fairy tales don't wanna mess with her?

The book was an interesting read. Something new to my list thats for sure.

I have a thing for the story of Anastasia. The Disney movie is one of my faves. And the spin off Preble creates it's one I very much enjoyed.

The characters were believable. Anne is a high school kid who when confronted with the impossible, acts like a high school kid is suppose to act, she freaks out. Denial hits, and you know whats next. Tess is Anne's best friend. She is the best friend everyone wish they had, loyal, loves you, and doesn't turn her back when you start talking crazy. Ethan, our hot blue eye angel, is old, but at the same time young. Which is how his character should be. I liked this characters very much.

Now one of the problems I had was that, since Anne and Tess are dancers I kept imagining the dancer girls from my high school. And since the girls from my high school are all girly oh-my-god-I-broke-my-nail girls I had a hard time creating a new image.

One of the things that I liked was the romance. It wasn't a I-met-you-and-I-instantly-fell-in-love thing. It was a I got to really know you and now I want you thing. I wouldn't say it was really love, but that's up for discussion.

Ending wise I think it fit. Though I would have like to see a more crazy one, but it was decent and it fit the puzzle Joy was creating.

All in all, good debut novel. I say read it!

Betrayals Covers

Fot those who don't know, Betrayals is the sequel to Strange Angels. A little summary on Strange Angels:

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever — is hunting her?

Hmm I say I like the second cover better. It makes it feel more about a group than a love triangle. What do you think?

New Songs (Check it out again)

I updated! Left the old ones, and put new ones. I hope you like them.

Old Tunes:

1. Breathe by Anna Nalick

2. Feel This by Bethany Joy Galeotti

3. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz (I love him)

4. Lucky by said love (Jason Mraz)

5. Fuzzy Blue Lights by Owl City

6. Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's

7. Only Hope by Mandy Moore

8. I Wanna Be With You by Mandy Moore

9. Life in Mono by Mono

10. Strawberry Fields by Jim Sturgess & Joe Anderson

11. Because by Jim Sturgess

12. Something by Jim Sturgess

13. Tears and rain by James Blunt

14. Blackbird by Evan Rachel Wood

15. Across the Universe by Jim Sturgess

New Tunes:

16. How To Save a Life by The Fray

17. Fallen by Sarah Mclachlan

18. Goodbye To You by Michelle Branch

19. Stop and Stare by One Republic

20. 21 Guns by Green Day

21. Uprising by Muse

And finally,

22. Mad World by Gary Jules

The last one I took from Bored...Get Unbored blog, I hope he doesn't mind. Listen to it and loved it. So you guys listen to it. Anyways have a good time with the songs, and let me know if you think it's too much, or you want to add any song that goes with the style of the blog.

See ya,

In My Mailbox VII

So, I got some stuff in the mail, but since my camera is not working, I lost my memory card T-T, so I have to do it the old fashion way.

The Everafter, Viola in Reel Life & Gateway to Dream World I got for review purposes and am eager to read them. At The Graves End I just HAD to get after finishing One Foot In The Grave.

Finally, Friday is here, I thought this day had been erased from the week. I'm in chapter 4 in AP Bio, talking about Cells, structures, bonds, functions... and so much more. I also have AP Literature, and have to do an essay about Connotation & Denotation in the novel Candide. I'm going to write it on how Connotation & Denotation help the author, Voltaire, show the hypocrisy, and sometimes foolishness, of society. Sounds interesting, at least for me.

Happy Reading,

Poll is Up

The Poll is over guys, and this are the results.

Reviews: 65 votes (81%)

Interviews: 19 votes (23%)

Memes: 15 votes (18%)

More about Taschima-Me: 22 (27%)

Total votes:80

Thank you to the people who took their time and voted. It really helps, even if you think it doesn't. I normally read a lot more books than I have lately. But with school and everything I have been so busy, that is hard to read as much as I used to. But, I will try to post more reviews as often as I can. Do you guys want to know about my AP Bio book? xD

Anyways gotta go and keep reading Dreaming Anastasia.

Teaser Tuesday (On Wednesday)

I know it's almost Thursday anyways, but this teaser made me laugh, so I wanted to share it with you guys.

Here we go...

Anne:

"Tess says with guys, it all comes down to three things-sports, sex, and food. Not necessarily in that order. For example in junior high, I was trying to write a short story, and I asked my brother David what he and his friends said when they thought a girl was hot. His response was, "I'd do her." Then he grabbed the bag of Cheetos, snagged the remote, and flipped between ESPN and ESPN 2 for the next thirty minutes."

Pg. 16

I know male friends of mine who would give that response. It's sad really. Now girls, what do you think? And if you are male, how would you respond to this?

Review: Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe

Title: Give Up the Ghost

Book #: 1, don't know if the'll be more.

Author: Megan Crewe

Pages: 241

Publisher: Henry, Holt

Tags: Ghosts, Fiction

Recommended to: Breathers

Rating:

"Dealing with dead people is never easy."

Cass McKenna much prefers the company of ghosts over "breathers." Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody... and Cass loves dirt. She's on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass's whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim's life, she's surprised to realize he's not so bad--and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it's time to give the living another chance...

Taschima's POV:

I gotta say, few book that don't go too deep into the supernatural world keep me turning the pages, and this one is one of those few.

Cassie, or Cass as she likes to call herself, is an outcast. At first not by choice, but after learning how people really are she decides that she is better off alone with her dead friends. Yes it sounds a little emoish, but it so isn't. Instead she discovers new friends. Friends that only seem to talk to her because she is the only person who can see the dead. Cass is the gossip girl of her school, but instead of hiding she does her dirty work on public so that people can face themselves, and leave her alone in the progress. At home she also has her share of problems. Mom is not there, Dad is into his work, and big sister bothers her till no end. Oh, her sister died 4 years before. So her life is pretty upside down, and now Tim, the school's VP who normally doesn't want to do anything with her is asking for her job. What is Cass to do? she accepts, who knows, maybe she can get even more of out this deal that she bargain for.

At first I had low expectations, but by the end I was super happy. I loved it. It was a light, easy read, but it made you feel for the characters. It makes you think.

Cassie is a very complex character. But I found her to be very likable. My favorite character of the book, and the one I connected most with. She had problems like most of us do. She has been back stabbed, laughed at, and even criticised by her own mother, but she still tries to go on. Sure she is mad as hell, but at least she ain't depressing. Other characters complement the story, but mostly is all about Cass.

The romance in this book is confusing, it is and it isn't there at the same time. But it's a heart warming one at any means. The things that Cass and Tim have to go through to find themselves are hard, very hard. Wouldn't wish them on anybody.

At the ends there were multiple loose knots, so that's one of the reasons I don't know if there will be a second novel. For example we are left a little loose on information about the ghosts and the why's and how's of them. The romance, if there really is any, is left loose also. And some ghosts are still floating around were they are not suppose to, so yeah I would like that cleared out. Not to mention I would love some more of Cass.

The book is out today. Read this, do it, now. Buy it!

If you want to take a quiz about which character you are most compatible with click here. I took it and I am most compatible with Cass! Yay!

And if you just want to know more about the author or anything to do with the book click here.

Happy reading!

Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Title: Ash

Book #: 1, and only

Author: Malinda Lo

Pages: 264

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company.

Tags: Fairy, Fantasy

Recommended to: Cinderella Lovers

Rating: .6

"Cinderella, with a twist."

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change.

Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

Taschima:

Once upon a time...

In the little town of Rook Hill, where fairies are feared and traditions are followed, lives the most ordinary girl you will ever meet. Her name is Aisling. She wakes up, and she lives her life. Until her mother dies. Ash feels like her world has been ripped apart, but she doesn't know what's coming yet. His father, after a few months after her mother dies, re-marries to Lady Isobel, and brings her home along with 2 stepsisters. But then her father dies and leaves her with a world of debt, and she is bound to serve her step family, forever.

Malinda Lo knows how to deliver a good TWIST, and I put twist in caps because it is Cinderella with a twist, so don't expect mouses talking and birds singing in tune.

The writing was very elegant. It really gives you the impression of a fairy tale being told. Which is good for those who like fairy tales.

Character wise, I think we could have gone a little farther with them. They were, alright. I don't have a favorite character, and I didn't connect with any of them either. I guess I like the Hunter, but again we could have known more about her, more about all of them really.

Also I wish I got to see more of the fairy world. There were a lot of stories, but I wanted something more solid.

Sometimes I found the relationship between Ash and the Fairy confusing, cause, as I'm sure we all know by now, Ash ends up with the Hunter, and well, when she was with the fairy there was so much heat that at times I was like where the rumors true? But that plays well cause it keeps you off track.

And finally, whole book wise, I thought it was too slow at times. It started getting interesting at the second part of the book. Then again this may not be my area of expertise, but this is how I feel.

Shine or not shine, it was a very good twist of the story. I'm sure if Cinderella were to hear this story she would be all over it, devouring it bit by bit. Hehe Cinderella in a gory picture, wow.

Random thing: Aisling, like Melissa Marr's girl. It was kind of weird cause when I started this book I just had finished Fragile Eternity so, but I really like that name.

Award Time (>"<)

Yay! Party time!! I finished Ash, finally, and will post my review after this post. So, I got another award *happy dance* from Mindful Musing, a great new gal I met at Shelfari and then convinced to move to Blogspot, Muahahaha. So, yeah, stalk her, she is a good blogger.

THE SUPERIOR SCRIBBLER AWARD

1. Each Superior Scribbler, must in turn, pass the Award on to 5 most-deserving bloggy buds.

2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and name of the blog from whom he/she has received the Award.

3. Each Superior Scribbler must display the Award on his/her blog and link to this post which explains the Award.

4. Each blogger who wins the Award must visit this post and add his or her name to the Mr. Linky List at the Scholastic-Scribe's blog. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who wins this prestigious Award!

5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

My nominees *drum roll*

- Bri at The Book Pixie

- Eli at The Tainted Poet

- 3 Musketeers at B.A.M. Book Reviews

- Pirate Penguin's Reads

- Laina at Laina Has Too Spare Time

This are 5 of my favorite blogs, I always listen to what they have to say. Love you guys!

Also! Bookworm Barista awarded me for the Humane award! All of these bloggers I have mention are very good at what they do, so please go and check them out ^^

Going to write review now so, come back soon.

A Tiny, Miniscule Break from Books

No, I'm not taking a TOTAL break. Just thought I should post something with high importance in my life that is not about books. I know, I know, how can that be?!?! But well...

Before books, my life evolved around T.V. Shows like FRIENDS, Dawson's Creek, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, House, Grey's Anatomy, and so much more. I'm a sucker for drama. A little supernatural, both the theme and the T.V. Show, doesn't hurt.

So a lot of T.V. Shows are starting since next Monday that I wanted to let you guys know about. Of course I'm not going to post ALL that are starting, insane, but just the one's I like very much. Let's being.

America's Next Top Model- Wednesdays, 8/7c, The CW.

Castle- Returns 9/21, 10/9c, ABC.

Supernatural- Returns 9/10, 9/8c, The CW.

Grey's Anatomy- Returns 9/14, 9/8c, ABC.

One Tree Hill- Returns 9/14, 8/7c, The CW.

Gossip Girl- Returns 9/14, 9/8c, The CW.

House-Returns 9/21, 8/7c, FOX.

Heroes- Returns 9/21, 8/7c, NBC.

Dollhouse-Returns 9/25, 9/8c, FOX.

Smallville- Returns 9/25, 8/7c, The CW.

Desperate Housewives- Returns 9/27, 9/8c. ABC.

Like any of these? Which others are you waiting to start watching?

Enjoy!

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Title: Blood Promise

Series: Vampire Academy

Book #: 4th

Author: Richelle Mead

Pages: 504

Publisher: Razorbill

Tags: Vampires, Fiction

Recommended to: Everyone

Rating:

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.

He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

Taschima:

I love this series already. So said love could cloud my judgement, but I think what I think it's pretty into the point.

We pick up after Rose gets away from the Academy, leaving best friend Lissa behind in pursuit for the love of her life, Dimitri. If you think this is a romantic escape, you couldn't be more wrong. Rose once made a promise. If faced with the choice of being dead or living with the undead, both her and Dimitri preferred to be dead. So, with dread in her heart, Rose submerges into the depths of Russia. Totally alone, with only a few clues to guide her. And the only thing she is certain is of her mission, to kill the man she loves.

I finally got this book on my hands. Finally. Thank you to Sakura Amend. I have always loved this series. I think it's new and exciting, without being tacky. It has the whole vampire theme, but with it's own twist, which I adore. Morois, Dhampires, and Strigois! You gotta love it.

My favorite character, Rose, is like she always is, but at the same time she is not. She has some kind of disguised death wish, how can she survive without the love of her live by her side? This is a question that is answered, but only after a beat up path. Lissa is having more problems than ever, and she takes some bad decisions I dont think even Christian can deal with. One character that always caught my attention, but I rarely saw as having much potential for a big role, is Adrian and he is getting more and more attention. Dimitri, well, I won't give it all up, but if Richelle broke my heart in the last installment, with this one she just squished it into oblivion. Let's just say I did not like the bad boy in my Dimitri, the bad ass I loves, but cruelty doesn't suit him.

I know sometimes people complain because of some meaningless comments of the book, but I feel like they are necessary. This is YA, there has to be something young about it, not all serious. So when my character seems to notice something completely out of the blue, well I can't help but smile, cause I can see me doing the same thing.

One of the things I had a trouble with was the chronology. I find it unbelievable, and at times rather confusing when she was going from Rose's to Lissa's perspectives. Sometimes you thought days had passed, but on the other side it didn't seem like it. Confusing. But not unbearable.

The ending, although not totally unexpected, leave us hoping. And it's not a pretty one. It leaves us hanging, it leaves us wanting more, much like Shadow Kissed. This ending leaves us with a bitter sweet Blood Promise.

Other Books In This Series:

Vampire Academy

Frost Bite

Shadow Kiss

Teaser Tuesday

I am reading two books right now. I got in the mail today Blood Promise! And have been eating it up! Ugh, how I love the Vampire Academy series. Don't you guys love it? Anyhow, I'm posting a tease from BP, and maybe one from Ash. Here we go...

"I couldn't help but feel smug. I was going to surprise this Strogoi who'd thought it could sneak

into a tiny human village for dinner. There. Right near the barn's entrance, I could see a long shadow moving. Gotcha, I thought. I readied the stake and started to spring forward-- And then something struck me on the shoulder... A thought immediately flashes into my mind: What if one's Dimitri?"

Okay, so in between the last two sentences there was a little more describing I decided to cut, but you get the main idea. I'm already on 200 pg. Damn! So good.

I guess I owe you guys a quote from Ash, don't I?

""She is only a child. Let her go." The wind roared again, so fierce that she thought she would be pulled from the ground and thrown aside like a rag doll, but when it died down the horses were gone, and the night was quiet. The air hummed as it did after a storm. When she opened her eyes, the ground all around her was marked with hoofprints."

It's been difficult to get into the story. But as it keeps progressing I want to know more of whats going to happen to Ash. So, we'll see.

Happy Reading!

One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Title: One Foot In The Grave

Series: Night Huntress Series

Book #: 2nd

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Pages: 357

Publisher: Avon

Tags: Urban Fantasy

Recommended to: EVERYONE

Rating:

"Come here kitty, kitty, kitty..."

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She's still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around him awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline kick of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head—wanted: dead or half-alive—means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard she tries to keep things professional between them, she'll find that desire lasts forever . . . and that Bones won't let her get away again.

Taschima:

This is getting better and better.

Second book in the Night Huntress Series, and I can say with certainty that I'm running to Borders tomorrow to get the third one. Urban Fantasy was never as sweet, or deadlier.

This book takes place 4 years after Cat and Bones took different paths. Instead of Cat battling Vampires with Bones, or by her own, she now has a mini army. She is working with the government. Now more than ever Cat is feared in the undead community. They call her 'Red Reaper', and everybody is out to get her. She is worth more than Bill Gates, dead or alive. And after 4 years of staying apart, a series of events leads Bones back to Cat's life, and this time he plans to stay, permanently.

This is my thing. Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, all my thing. This book complies with all my wishes. It excels in every way possible. There is lots of fighting, lots of blood, and lots of problems. To say the least.

Cat has done a lot of growing up since the last book. But she is still Cat. She is as stubborn as ever. And Boooneeess *faints*... Oh Bones, you make my heart skip a beat, and make me wish to go back in time just so it can skip a beat one more time. He is as yummy as ever. He is up up in my list of men, along side Wrath and John Matthew from The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There is just something about an English accent.

All in all, this is a MUST read. Like, if you haven't read the first book, read it, and then go running and buy the second, third, fourth... In fact, just buy them all at the same time if possible. I gotta warn you though, is you are squeamish about sex in a book, do not pick this one up. It has some. So I leave you to choose.

PS; For those who have read this book. Chapter 32 anyone?

Other books in this series:

Halfway to the Grave

So...

...Ive been having a crisis of fate lately. And that's so ironic cause there ain't much fate in me to begin with. But I guess you can only call this a crisis of fate. How did it began? Well, glad you asked...

This is not going to be so long, I'm going to keep my pouting to the minimum. I was at school, and this university was visiting. I am a senior, so I have to go to this things. So they started talking and well, I panicked. Right then and there. Of course nobody found out. I was just the weird girl who reads too many books and is too hyper to really pay attention. But I panicked. The big question hit me...

Why bother?

In the big picture, why even bother? You try to do your best, but this world is to messed up, for lack of a better word, that people who don't deserve something usually are the ones who get it, and people who work hard, and deserve it, don't get shit. Why bother if we are all going to die anyways? People work so hard for something, and then, it's like, it doesn't matter to anyone but you. And you want it to matter, but this world is SO big, that what you do counts with very little weight. Its just a drop of sand in an endless beach.

So I was in a foul mood for days since my optimistic bottom was malfunctioning. I did badly on HW that any other week would have been fine with me. I didn't read enough, about anything. Miracle I finished Envy, just so I could really get away from this world I guess. And my review didn't even compare to what my reviews are usually like! I noticed, but oh well. I'm sorry.

You see, it's hard to find a silver lining. Will I get into college? Maybe. Will I get into the college of my choosing? Maaayyybe. Will I get lucky and get financial aid so good I can GO to college? Agh, chances are very slim. So I got a crisis of fate. Or whatever. Anyways, I seem to have found a way to repair my positive bottom, cause I'm back. And trying to not go there again.

I started reading One Foot In The Grave today, cause I was dying to, and well, I ate the book. I will post my review tomorrow, now it's 3 a.m. and well, I would like to get some sleep.

Why the superman picture? I was feeling a bit random.

Thank you for reading, if you have, you are my hero-Superman, Hero, Get it? *winks*.