Romance Battle of the AGES: Dimitri & Rose VS Edward & Bella (Who is really the better couple? Should be obvious... we need your vote!!)

I am here to ask you guys, nah, implore you, that you please visit this link and vote in this battle. I am sure you guys will make the right decision (Dimitri & ROSE) so I am not worried, but as of right now Edward and Bella are winning (WHAT!??! I KNOW!) and I think it's just because VA people haven't been made aware. Not enough anyways. So please, go and vote for your favorite couple (REMINDER: Rose & DIMITRI > E&B). Nowhere in the Internets can it say that Twilight won agaisnt Vampire Academy, not while I am alive!

Reasons why Vampire Academy should win against Twilight:

• I was one a young one too in love with Edward Cullen, but then I met Dimitri and all hell broke loose! Dimitri is more handsome, badass, godlike, doesn't treat his lady like she is a crushable flower, SEXY, dark, mysterious, warrior... 
• Rose and Dimitri have gone through SO MUCH MORE CRAP than Bella and Edward ever did. I mean come on the biggest thing to happen to Bella and Edwards relationship is that Edward is very emo and broke up with Bella "for her own good" and that Bella is human... oookay. Meanwhile in the VA world *SPOILER ALERT* Dimitri went strogoi (evil dead vampire) and Rose had to not only mourn her love but she also WENT AFTER HIM IN ORDER TO KILL HIM BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE WOULD HAVE WANTED. I mean, mind blown much? Also at the beginning he was kind of her defense against the dark arts against bad ass strogoi teacher, eeeks! *Spoiler has ended* 
• Dimitri and Rose are a deadly combination. They love passionately, they kick ass like you have never seen before, and neither of them felt the need to change the other completely to make things work. *cough* Angsty Twilight Romance*cough*
• Vampire Academy is just better, get it?

So please, go forward and VOTE! 

Sincerely,

*Yes this is a new signature for the occasion, I am serious about my cause.

So I started reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell... (Includes 20 page Excerpt)

... and it's pretty interesting, kind of rolls off your tongue. Very easy to read, and quite honestly I kind of relate to it. Not the fan fiction writing, but more Cath's secluded personality. Before I went to BEA (Book Expo America) I didn't even know about Fangirl, and I swear to god the line for this book in specific was one of the longest lines in my life! I was so afraid I wasn't going to get it (the previous night I had stayed up reading from my friend's Briana's copy and decided I HAD to have it).

"Get your shoes," Reagan said. "I'm showing you where the dining hall is."
"No."Cath could already feel the anxiety starting to tear her stomach into nervous little pieces. "It's not just that... I don't like new places. New situations. There'll be all those people, and I won't know where to sit--I don't want to go."

"I have been eating real food..." She muttered. " I eat lunch at Selleck with my sister."
Reagan opened the door. "Then why don't you eat here?"
"Because I waited too long. I built up a block around it. It's hard to explain..."
"Seriously, why aren't you on drugs?"
Cath walked past her out of the room. "Are you a licensed psychiatrist? Or do you just play one on TV?"
"I'm on drugs," Reagan said. "They're a beautiful thing."

I am almost halfway through but I can already tell this is going to be one of the good ones. I just love it when they are this way. Fangirl is the story of Cath and Wren, twin sisters heading to college on their freshman year. They live on different dorms, though not by Cath's choice. Wren wanted to branch out, she is the "free-spirit" while Cath is the introvert who builds walls around herself to stay safe and a perfect evening includes being at her computer for hours on end writing fan fic about Simon and Baz (a very popular story on their world that is basically Harry Potter). She is a very good writer too, popular (specially in Japan for some reason, as she says). As you continue to read Fangirl you get to see how Cath lives her daily life, the bond between these twin sisters, and how she is starting to slowly, but surely, get out of her shell. It is really inspiring in some ways considering I am a lot like Cath (being an introvert that is). I like to see how she handles the situations that are thrown at her, and most importantly I like to see that I am not alone in this world when it comes to some of Cath's quirks. Introverts for the win!

Here is an excerpt on Fangirl. You have to have a Goodreads account in order to read it (and seriously if you don't have one by one that is a surprise, Goodreads is my lifeline besides this blog).


*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and are subject to change. Said ARC copy was received in exchange for honest comments on the title as well as an honest review.

Review: Vortex (Insignia #2) by S. J, Kincaid

Title: Vortex
Author: S. J. Kincaid
Series: Insignia
Book #: 2
Pages: 400
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 4.42
Published: July 2nd, 2013

The impossible was just the beginning. Now in their second year as superhuman government weapons-in-training at the Pentagonal Spire, Tom Raines and his friends are mid-level cadets in the elite combat corps known as the Intrasolar Forces. But as training intensifies and a moment arrives that could make or break his entire career, Tom’s loyalties are again put to the test.

Encouraged to betray his ideals and friendships for the sake of his country, Tom is convinced there must be another way. And the more aware he becomes of the corruption surrounding him, the more determined he becomes to fight it, even if he sabotages his own future in the process.

Drawn into a power struggle more dramatic than he has ever faced before, Tom stays a hyperintelligent step ahead of everyone, like the exceptional gamer he is—or so he believes. But when he learns that he and his friends have unwittingly made the most grievous error imaginable, Tom must find a way to outwit an enemy so nefarious that victory seems hopeless. Will his idealism and bravado cost him everything—and everyone that matters to him?

Filled with action and intelligence, camaraderie and humor, the second book in S.J. Kincaid’s futuristic World War III Insignia trilogy continues to explore fascinating and timely questions about power, politics, technology, loyalty, and friendship.

Taschima's POV:

5 Spanking Full stars to one of the most undervalued series out there.

I suggest you ALL start reading Insignia right now. Soon enough it will be one of the most spoken about series out there, and you will be grateful that you were one of the first ones to discover it.

Another FREAKING FANTASTIC addition to the UNBELIEVABLY ADDICTIVE Insignia series by what I can only consider to be an evil genius (S.J.Kincaid). You know how they say you shouldn't oversell a series to a friend before they watch/read it because then if it doesn't meet the standard you are the one to blame for creating such high expectations? Well, screw that because this series is that good. It is just such a well balance of moments so hilarious they have me literary laughing out loud...

"I wonder which one of them will think something embarrassing first? The words scrolled across the screen.
Don't think about Heather's boobs, Tom thought to himself, and to his mortification, the words appeared there.
Yay, it wasn't me! Wyatt thought. Then after the words appeared, she thought, sorry, Tom.
Tom. Wyatt. Try to focus. Heather thought. You can control your thoughts.
Boobs. Wyatt thought. Aah! Where did that come from?"

 and profoundness that left me speechless.

"...as soon as he realized there was no hope—he was finally able to accept a cold, hard truth about life: the world rewarded sociopaths like Vengerov and destroyed good people like Yuri.
Tom finally understood why his father saw humanity as worthless. It was hard to see much fundamental value in anything when the bad guys always won.
Maybe this was simply what it was like to grow up."

Overall I love Tome Raine's character. He knows what he believes in, and doesn't apologize... or go back on those believes when it conveniences him.

"Tom wasn't sorry. He wasn't. And he wasn't delusional, either—he knew he was done for. There was no coming back from this, so he decided to embrace the moment.
"Good to see you again," Tom said to him. "I didn't recognize you at first, but then again, you're not naked and shrieking like a frightened little girl today. So, make any new friends in Jail?"

That of course leads to a lot of problems for him at the Pentagonal Spire, specially since he is supposed to do some ass kissing in order to get sponsors that will help him fight in space. But you still gotta love his bravado. He really stepped up in this book too, at the end I could see a very brave young man starting to realize that some things may be more important than his pride. Sometimes you just gotta play the game.

I also love all the other characters, including the bad guys. I specially love Wyatt, the counter part to Hermione. She is the smartest of them all, but I wouldn't say she has the looks Emma Watson has or the charm. Wyatt is socially awkward in every way, and not cute awkward at that. She can at times be just plain rude, and social cues are out of her league. But she can write code like no one else in the Spire. Plus she is a very good friend to have backing you up. Yuri is also super adorable (the Russian friend), and some things happen in this book that really make you appreciate him more. Before it seemed like if he were to disappear the book's dynamic wouldn't change, but you would be surprised. Every character is essential. Lastly Vik is back, and he also grows in interesting ways. We get to see another side of Vik that is more than Tom's best friend and side kick, a side you might not necessary come to cherish. At the end Vik pulled through though, so I give him props for that.

Have I gone on and on and on about the characters? That is because they are freaking amazing, but the story also merits itself a very long love letter. I am just enamored with this series because it's so different to every other book out there!

The space battles, the very real issues it deals with while at the same time not taking itself too seriously, the enemies, the friends, the lovers and the enemies. It's all a huge web of fantastic that I cannot wait to revisit. It's also a very good read for BOYS. BOYS AND GIRLS will LOVE these books, what are the odds?

So yes, I recommend everyone picks up this series before the media takes note and it becomes this huge thing. You can then say with confidence "hey I read that book BEFORE it was cool". Be one of the cool kids, and read Insignia. And if this argument doesn't work with you just know that it's world will enthrall you and you won't be able to stop thinking about it for days after it's over. I am still thinking about it, and I read it weeks ago.