October Books of the Month

It's a new month and our new Books of the Months are in!! Join us in reading them and then discussing in our Skype discussions!!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare


Bloodlines by Richelle Mead


A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole


Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Forever, Book 3

Title: Forever
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication: July 12th, 2011

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.


Chris' Review:


On the whole I think this was an excellent series that I highly recommend, but to me, Forever falls far short of its predecessors both as an individual story and especially as a series finale.

As this is the third and final book in the series, I'm loathe to give a synopsis because it would potentially contain spoilers for the books that come before it. Thus, this will have to do: Forever is about werewolves, but not your typical werewolves. I would hazard to guess that you've never seen werewolves like these before (unless of course you've read the first two books!). The story focuses on three particular werewolves and their various interpersonal relationships. Pretty lame, huh. Yeah, well, that's all you get, read the series!

Having read and reviewed the first two installments (my review of Shiver is here and of Linger is here), I don't have anything new to say about Maggie's writing mechanics. I will reiterate that she is a very good writer who does a masterful job of straddling the line between descriptive narrative and purple prose. Her style is both fluid and mature (which is great to see out of a YA author).

I will not get into a full discussion of the split narrative here as I spoke about it a little bit in my review of Shiver and at length in my review of Linger, but I will point to Forever, as a prime example of the style's inherent short comings.

Click here to view Spoiler:

It didn't matter as much in Shiver, because there was no conflict in Sam and Grace's feelings for each other, but in Forever, as in Linger, we see thru the eyes of both Isabelle and Cole as their relationship develops. As we alternate in and out of their head space, we see that both like each other quite a bit, which lessens the romantic tension between the two. Maggie has handled the situation deftly enough that the romance between the two is not wrecked, however, there isn't much suspense as they both clearly want to be with each other.

Things that I have complained about in the other books are still present in this book. Not the least of which is gender confusion. I think, Maggie did a better job with this aspect in Linger than she did in Shiver, but it returns again in full measure her in Forever. Sam has consistantly been the girlie boy from the get go, but Cole is much more affected in this book than he was in the last. I am NOT going to cite specific examples at this time because I am plannning an essay which will focus on the difficulties of authors creating convincing characters of the opposing gender. This series of books will feature heavily in that piece.

If Forever is more of the same, why three stars instead of four? Well, to start, this one dragged a bit more than the others did. It seems to be a fairly common complaint, that this one was slow to get started, and I appear to be in the majority (for a change) in that I feel the same way.

Where I appear to be in the minority is that, I didn't feel that this book had the same emotional impact as the earlier ones did. Spoilers inbound!

Click to view Spoiler :

Isabelle's loss of her brother, Jack, and her feelings of responsibility for it, in Shinver, connected with me on a primal level. Nearly identically, I felt for Cole at the loss of Victor. While Cole was not the one who shot Victor, certainly he had a very active role in placing Victor in the path of the bullet. While we have the deaths of Olivia and Beck in Forever, neither hit me as hard. Olivia because we hardly knew her and Beck because Maggie has spent the last two books slowly revealing his darker side. It's not that I didn't like Beck. I did. And I do feel for Sam, but I pretty much expected Beck to die once we discoverd his duplicity in Sam's infection with the virus. It's an old storyline really, wherein the scales have to be balanced.

Perhaps a bigger contributor to my less than powerful reaction over Beck's death however was the manner in which it came. To me it was very difficult to believe that Shelby, in her wolf form and operating almost exclusively on instinct, would have taken that particular moment to turn on Beck. Helicopter thundering away and the pack in a panic. Her animal mind should have been focused more on survival than opportunity.

Another major flaw I had with Forever, was the ending. Potential ground work for a possible fourth book aside, what happens in the climax doesn't make alot of sense. Can't say more without spoilers, soooooo...

Click to view Spoiler:

First off, there is no way that once the shooting started ANYONE would have had to lead the wolves to the safety of the nearby forest. Instinct would have done that without Sam having to charge to the front and lead them there.

Beside that, I had a nearly impossible time seeing Sam as an alpha wolf. He simply doesn't have an alpha personality. Cole? Probably. Grace? Probably. Isabelle? Not a wolf, but without a doubt! Sam? Nope, not working for me. Yes, the whole packed loved him, but that's not how wolves function.

The whole thing is moot, however, because simply getting them to the trees would not be enough. If it were, they would never have been in any danger to begin with. They already lived in a forest. The problem was the people that wanted to kill them knew where the pack was. Know what? At the end of this book, those same people that wanted to kill them, are still very much alive, have had no apparent change of heart, and know exactly where the wolves can be found since they watched them run into the new forest.

Someone will certainly scream "Private property!" but I'm not buying it. IF (I say IF because I thought this was a dubious proposition to begin with) the wolves were enough of a hazard to life and limb to have a special law pass for their irradication, public safety would have demanded that the hunt continue whether on private property or not.

In the end, the final event doesn't really resolve the major situation presented in this book, or the culmination of the series as a whole. Oh well, we at least get a relatively happy ending.

Follow Chris' blog - Reading is FUNdamental:

http://fun-with-books.blogspot.com/2011/09/forever-by-maggie-stiefvater.html

Halfway to the Grave, Book 1

Title: Halfway to the Grave
Series: Night Huntress
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Publication: October 30th, 2007

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father--the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner--are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Chris' Review:



This was my first Jeaniene Frost book, and it certainly won't be my last. Original characters? Nope. Twisty turny plot line? Uh uh. High tension story telling? Your joking right? Beautiful prose? You can't see, but I'm smirking at you. Well then, what was so great about this book, Chris?!

I'll say this, it might be a bit early to make this comparison, having read only one of her books, but I think that Jeaniene may be the Nora Roberts of the PnR genre. I don't know if she intended to write camp here, or if it just worked out that way, but the ride from start to finish was a blast. This book was pure supernatural candy and I loved every minute of it. Alright, not EVERY minute of it, I didn't give it 5 stars, after all, but it was well worth my time.

Cat is a 22 year old vampire slayer. She's been knocking off the oversized mosquitoes, with her mother's blessing, since she was about 16. Then one day... errrr night... she runs into a little more than she can handle. Cat's life will never be the same, okay, well it won't be ALL THAT different. She'll still wack blood sucking vermin every chance she gets, she'll just do it with more pizazz.

As I said already, Jeaniene's characters are by no means original. Cat is your stereo typical, kick ass vampire slayer and Bones is your run of the mill bad boy love interest. Her brilliance in constructing them is how over the top she is about it. I know the comparison has been made about a thousand times, but think Buffy the Vampire Slayer and your pretty much there.

Thru much of this book Cat is tempered with a believable innocence that makes her seem nearly as vulnerable as she is lethal. This is a fantastic combination because it creates a necessary place in the story for her would be protector, Bones. He's not just tacked on as a cosmetic piece to make the ladies all hot and bothered. Don't get me wrong, Cat is all about girl power, but Bones gets to let his protective instincts out. Again, think Nora Roberts.

My major complaint in this one is really a fairly minor one. It is clear going in that Jeaneine intended to write a series, thus there are copious plot threads left dangling at the end of the book. That wasn't so much a problem for me. No, my major heartache is that things develope a bit to fast:

Click here to view Spoiler :

I would have liked to have seen the romantic tension stretched out across multiple books. I can see how she intends to re-introduce the tension from the way the book ended, but it won't be the same. There is nothing quite like that period where two people are first getting to know each other and begin to let their guards down.

In a similar vein, I think Cat's martial abiltiy was amped up to quickly. Not from a book "time" standpoint, Jeaneine did a good job of simulating the passage of time so that the leap in skill was at least somewhat believable. But, instead, I would have preferred that it take us at least a couple of books before she's simultaneously downing multiple vampire opponents with the greatest of ease.

The danger of this kind of book is if you come in taking it too seriously based on all the positive reviews. This isn't a very serious book (not that I'm saying it's a comedy, it certainly isn't). As with all good camp, this book is somewhat tongue in cheek, without beating you over the head with goofiness. If you read it for what it is, I think you'll come away happier for the experience!

Follow Chris' blog - Reading is FUNdamental:

http://fun-with-books.blogspot.com/2011/09/halfway-to-grave-by-jeaniene-frost.html

eBook Giveaway! Five by Christie Rich, Goodreads Author

Hey Fellow Fanatics!

I have a deal for you today!! One of our Goodreads Authors is allowing us to host a giveaway for her new ebook! The book, by Christie Rich, is called Five and its the first installment of the Elemental Enmity Series. Here is a summary:

"Rayla Tate was just a child when her mother disappeared from her life forever. Raised by her aunt Grace in a small town, she has lived a relatively uneventful life. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is special. She has been hidden from the fae who have lived secretly among us since the beginning of time. Descended from an ancient blood-line of Elementals, only she has the power to crown the first fae high-king.

Sick of provincial living and the dictates of her aunt, Rayla flees the safety of her home and runs away to college with her best friend. However, excitement over her newfound freedom is short-lived when she finds herself being chased by a mysterious stranger on her way to school. She is drawn to him immediately but resists the compulsion she feels. He disappears into the night, but she is certain he is following her.

Rayla struggles to deal with the encounter while she adapts to her new environment. To make matters worse, Aunt Grace reveals that Rayla will soon be hunted by a pack of fae lords, each hoping to claim her power for his own. She soon finds herself surrounded by stunning men. Are they fae, or is this just normal college life? More importantly, who can she trust when she can’t trust herself to be near them?"

So, what do YOU have to do to win one of TEN copies of this awesome book?
Just go to Christie's Blog and "Follow" her. That's it! We will check to make sure this is done before choosing the winners!

To Enter:
"Follow" Christie Rich on Her Blog Here, then leave your Name and Contact Email in a comment below this post.

I wish you all good luck! This book sounds excellent! I will be reading it myself very soon!

Giveaway Dates: August 29th - September 4th, 2011
Prize: 1 Copy of "Five", by Christie Rich
Winners: 10 winners chosen at random

Thanks everyone!

OK, If you are having trouble posting a comment here, then leave your comment on our Goodreads page. You can private message me from there if you don't want your email addy public. Sorry for the inconvenience. But don't let it make you miss out on this great book!! We will get this sorted out asap. Thanks for those who reported the problem!

Post on Goodreads here if necessary!

August Monthly Puzzler

August Monthly Puzzler, Clue #2, Round 3:

I am actually fey royalty, but I never knew it.

YA Author Event 8/4 - Asheville, NC

Dont miss out on meeting these great authors tomorrow night at 7pm!!

Who will be there?

Beth Revis - Across the Universe
Stephanie Perkins - Anna and the French Kiss
Myra McEntire - Hourglass
Victoria Schwab - The Near Witch

Where to be?

Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
1-800-441-9829 or 828-254-6734

https://www.malaprops.com/event/young-adult-event-beth-revis-stephanie-perkins-myra-mcentire-victoria-schwab

Maggie Stiefvater will be in Decatur, GA Tonight!!

Maggie Stiefvater, author of The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy will be in Decatur, GA tonight at 7pm for a book signing!! The final book of the trilogy, Forver, just came out July 12th.

If you live in the Atlanta, GA area stop by and pay her a visit!!

Little Shop of Stories
133 E Court Sq # A
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 373-6300
http://www.littleshopofstories.com/events.php

Wither, Book 1

Title: Wither- Book 1
Series: The Chemical Garden
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publication: March 22nd, 2011

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.


Ashley's Review:

Wither turned out to be a good book for me. For the first half of the book, I felt it was very slow and needed some action to pick it up. Then I realized Wither is just not the thrill seeking type of dystopian as others I have read: The Hunger Games, Uglies, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Divergent most recently. In my experiences with Dystopians, there is generally a lot of heartache and a massacre of deaths. I am not saying Wither does not have its share of heartache and death, I mean come on it is a dystopian novel, BUT I feel like Lauren DeStefano did a very good job of with developing each character and did not kill off characters just for the sake of killing like some others in this genre. Given the synopsis of the book, it is known all women will meet their death at 21 and men at 25 due to a virus killing off all of humanity.

Wither touches on several topics that can and I am sure have turned certain level of readers away from this series. From kidnapping to polygamist marriages at a very, very young age and not to mention the amount of questions any reader would have when reading this book. The thing is you have to remember that yes messed up things do happen in this book and that’s just it, it’s a book!!! To be able to separate reality from the content in this book/series is very important. If you can’t get past some of the details DeStefano uncovers then this is just not the series for you. It is a definite need to be very open minded when reading Wither, if not you will be disappointed. Yes, Wither is set in the post apocalyptic future, but it very much reminds me of the past in the aspect that women and men get married when they are children in today’s society. My grandmother was married at 16 and had 7 children from the age of 16-23, so the detail of this book does not seem the slightest bit strange to me.

As I said, while reading Wither I felt bored in parts and I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. I was really just expecting a lot more action, but once I realized it just wasn’t one of those types of books I was very intrigued to see where things would go and how they would end. Of course I still have SEVERAL questions of the events that took place and of what to expect in the next addition Fever, but that’s where the fun begins of speculating the different scenarios that will take place. Wither really set the frame work for the next 2 books in The Chemical Garden trilogy and I believe Fever will be excellent. I do hate waiting for the next book though!! The writing really is very good, perfect descriptions and dialog throughout the entire novel.

Sophie Jordan Book Signing Tomorrow 7/30!!

Sophie Jordan-author of Firelight will be in Katy, TX tomorrow signing books and open to a Q&A at 3:30pm. Vickie Dreiling-Historical Romance author will be with her signing as well... Katy Budget Books 2450 Fry Rd Houston, TX 77084 281-578-7770 Don't forget, the second book in Sophie's Firelight trilogy -- Vanish -- will be released September 6th!

Fever Book Cover Revealed

The 2nd book Fever in The Chemical Garden series is now revealed!! Fever's expected publication date us February 21st 2012. Get ready all you Wither fans!!!

JZB Sex Scene - Link is Rated R

So, if you are a true Fever Fan, then you have known about this for a while! KMM promised us a sex scene from Barrons' POV, since he won the Alpha Showdown!! Our beloved Barrons beat out some stiff competition (pun intended) including, but not limited to; Curran, Bones, Jace, and even Dimka! So, you wanted it... Here it is!

Read it on KMM's website: http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/jzbscene.html

Vote for the August BotM!

Go to our Goodreads group (and join if you haven't already!! Tsk tsk!) and vote for the august BotM!

Poll

What do you want the August Book of the Month to be?

2 comments

show results

invite friends

Hunger Games Movie Poster!!!!

As if the anticipation of the movie was not killing us already...we now have the movie poster to put us on the edge of our seats even more!!! It is absolutely perfect if you ask me...and have I mentioned that I am probably one of the biggest Hunger Games fans out there! If not...def pretty dang close! :) Seriously though this movie poster is soooo legit!!!



I cannot wait to get some more of the girl on fire and of course my beloved Peeta!!!

100 Followers Giveaway Week!

We Have 100 Followers!

In celebration of our achievement, I am feeling friendly!! So, I've decided to begin the 100 Followers Giveaway Week tradition!

What is this you ask? Did I hear "Giveaway Week??" Yes, you did! Starting on Monday, July 25th, we will be giving away 1 prize each day for 1 week! All you have to do is comment below, and make sure you are a member of our Goodreads group and our Blog! I will randomly select 7 winners, 1 each day, from the comments below!

So what are the prizes?? How about a grab bag of great gifts! We have several books, bookmarks, and other things all wrapped up into a Goodreads Goodybag. Each winner will recieve their prize in the month of August, as shipping times vary.

We will hold this giveaway every time we hit another hundred members! So tell your friends to join!!

Good Luck & Happy Reading!!!

What: 100 Followers Giveaway Week
When: Sign up now thru July 30th. Winners will be selected July 25th thru July 31st.
Prize:  Goodreads Goodybag
For: Open Internationally

July Monthly Puzzler - Round 2, Clue #2

Your second clue for Round 2 is:

I'm an entrepreneur.


What the heck is this?! It's a clue for the Monthly Puzzler Contest! Find out more and how you can participate here!

Monthly Puzzler

(You must be a member of our Blog and our Goodreads Group to participate. Join us on Goodreads)

July Books of the Month and more!!!!

The votes are in for our July Books of the Month! Every month we read 3-4 books varying from Young Adult to Adult. This month our winners for our Young Adult reads are Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini and Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. We have 2 Adult reads this month, Dead Witch Walking (The Rachel Morgan Series #1) by Kim Harrison and Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill. Join in and read along with us. We take a poll on our Goodreads group every month for the upcoming Month's BotM and we are open to suggestions/recommendations!!

To become a member of our group on Goodreads follow this link!

http://www.goodreads.come/group/show/4448

If you have some suggestions for the August reads, add them here!

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/581148-botm-suggestions-august-2011

We are just finishing up our Classic Challenge with A Midsummer's Night Dream. A new poll will be going up this weekend for our next Classic Challenge beginning 7/15/11. If you have any suggestions for what we should read next let us know!

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/528966-classics-challenge

If you haven't joined our Facebook group join here!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/100299426727231?ap=1

Happy Reading y'all!! Have a great weekend!!!

Falling Under, Book 1

Title: Falling Under- Book 1
Series: Falling Under
Author: Gwen Hayes
Publication: March 1st, 2011

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams.

As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear.

And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.


Ashley's Review:

From one chapter to the next I really was unsure as to what my final thoughts would be on Falling Under. The first 100 pages I was doing a lot of questioning and it reminded me of a cross between Twilight and Fallen. I then began to worry because Twilight is very high on my list and Fallen is at the very bottom. There were a couple of times when Gwen Hayes made a reference to Twilight and even in my opinion to a classic-Little Red Riding Hood and very strong similarities to Alice and Wonderland. I have to say I was very worried it was a knock off per say of several titles and smashed together. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes there were the references, but I think they were more used in a joking manner than what I initially thought when the worry set it. They really set the mood for the book and made the setting of the book feel more in the present time than a lot of books that are supposedly set in the present day. I believe the main character Theia speaking about her iPhone really makes the reader relate to the story given that everyone has some sort of smart phone.
I really enjoyed the characters and the strong personalities each possessed. Each character seemed to really stand out on their own. The personalities were very realistic in the aspect of how teenagers really are….flawed, worried, excited, happy, sad, hopelessly in love…obviously a range of emotion with a front on the outside for the most part trying to not show anyone for who they really are. Anyone who has been a teenager can relate to all emotions these kids were having, especially being dramatically in love and feeling like nothing else matters. I love the way the more popular football/cheerleader types were called sneetches, very funny description. I hope in the next book we will get to know the subtle characters better and they will be more concrete throughout the story.
Having preconceived notions during the first 150 pages that it would be a total train wreck like Fallen may have twisted my initial take on the book. Luckily the second third of the book resolved several of my concerns so I was able to get past my initial regret. Although I did struggle through a lot of it, I still found the concept interesting and certain changes in the narration towards the end recaptured my attention. If only the entire book held my attention as well as the last 100ish pages. The ending really made me interested in the sequel and hopefully the up and down lulls will be mostly eliminated in the next addition.

City of Fallen Angels, Book 4

Title: City of Fallen Angels - Book 4
Series: The Mortal Instruments
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication: April 5th, 2011

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Ashley's Review:

Something Cassandra Clare does very well is keep you interested in her characters. There is a constant need and want to know what will happen next, how will this story end? With all the anticipation and what will/has happened comes disappointment as well. I very much wanted to love this book. I even pre-ordered it, which I must say is the first time I have ever done that or even spent as much on the book as I have on any other book. I HAD to have the letter from Jace to Clary that was referenced in City of Glass and now I have it. After being so in love with books 1-3, I was really expecting greatness. That page turning effect that makes you feel like you cannot get enough of it. I don’t know maybe the anticipation of the release of this book and getting my hands on it totally killed my opinion of the story itself. Maybe I will read it again and think it’s a better story, but as of now I am just happy I finished it.

I did like the spin of adding Simon’s point of view in the mix with Jace and Clary, but I felt the other character’s point of views were too random throughout the book and needed more consistency. Having Isabelle, Alec and even Maia’s point of view at one point would have fit better with the story had they been heard throughout the entire book, rather than towards the end. I felt like that jumped around a bit too much. That being said, I did really like being more inside their head, knowing what was going on with them.
The character development and the storyline are definitely there and in some aspects a little over the top. There is a constant over explanation of every situation and even referencing past situations as if the reader has not read the previous 3 book in this series. I wish the book would have just picked up right where City of Glass had left off. I understand attention to detail and it being necessary for certain scenarios', but not for each and every one. I found myself, reading past certain long paragraphs of descriptions and skipping straight for the action or dialog. Not because I didn’t like it, I just felt it was not necessary.

I know it sounds like I hated this book, but really I didn’t. I did like it very much, but I think a lot of it could have been tweaked to an extent. One thing I love about reading Cassandra Clare’s books is playing the guessing game. What’s happening in the next addition? How will these series correlate together? What did that phrase mean? She is very, very good at keeping you guessing and wanting to know what is going to happen next. I guess you could say I have a love and hate relationship with her books, enough to read the next one and maybe one day reread the ones I already have.

Q & A with Maria V. Snyder Tomorrow!

 

For those of you who are familiar with Maria V. Snyder's Study, Glass, and Insider series, she will be on Goodreads tomorrow throughout the day to answer questions from her readers! Check in anytime tomorrow after 12:00pm EST to get your questions asnwered by an amazing author!

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/551145-maria-v-snyder-may-14th-noon-eastern-time

More Hunger Games Casting!

The movie is really coming together with an all-star cast. As we all know Jennifer Lawrence will play the beloved Katniss and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. If you have not seen them on the big screen yet, check out Jennifer in Winters Bone and Josh in The Kids Are Alright. Liam Hemsworth will be Gale Hawthorne, known for his role in The Last Song. We now have all 12 District’s tributes casted! Gary Ross seriously has his head down and working his hardest to start production! You may recognize a few of the tribute’s faces. Of District 1, Glimmer is Levin Rambin who most recently played in One Tree Hill, but was previously on a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. If you have seen her in either of these series, I am sure you all will agree she will make a perfect Glimmer! Marvel will be played by Jack Quaid, Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan’s son! Isabelle Fuhrman, the star of the movie Orphan will be Clove of District 2. As well as Alexander Ludwig as Cado. He was in Race to Witch Mountain, but you may also have seen him in the contestant feeds to play Jace Wayland. We are going to see several fresh face newcomers as well as several stunt actors/actresses for the remaining Districts, along with Prim and Mrs. Everdeen.

Now on to the more exciting news! Elizabeth Banks will play Effie Trinket. She could not be more perfect for the part! She has played in several movies and TV series such as Scrubs, 40 Year Old Virgin and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, to name a few. Woody Harrelson will be Haymitch Abernathy. You have to recognize him! If you are as old as me, you have seen him in Cheers or more recently in Zombieland. Stanley Zucci will be our Hunger Games host, Caesar Flickerman. His former roles include The Devil Wears Prada, Easy A and many more. Like I said we are getting an all-star cast that I could not be more excited about!!

March 23rd, 2012 you cannot come any sooner!!!!

Fallen, Book 1

Title: Fallen - Book 1
Series: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Publication: December 8, 2009

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her


Ashley's Review:

What can I say about Fallen? Let me start by saying I had very low expectations from the start due to some of the reviews I had read previously. It seems as if you would either love it or hate it. I thought ok some people really don’t like this book, but didn't really get the reasoning behind it. It’s simple really, there is a complete lack of character development and nothing throughout the book makes you feel like it’s a believable story. I have read some books that I realize are not the best books, I mean some are not even good…but in those books I have found I have at least been entertained throughout the story. I would say they would be more of a guilty pleasure *cough* Blue Bloods. In Fallen it felt like a chore to even get through. Why it is 452 pages? I am not sure because absolutely nothing happens. Sure there are a few points made throughout the book, but yet I left it feeling like there was no point to the story.

Lauren Kate attempted to bring all the usual characters in her story, but unfortunately they were completely flawed from beginning to end. There was the pathetic teenage girl who felt like she was the reason for all destruction around her, the bad boy mentality, the good guy, the weird girl, the girl that just wants a friend and of the course the villain that you never saw coming. At one point the villain who shall remain nameless says “When you die tonight — you die. That’s it. Kaput.” This really jumped out at me because I thought did that really just happen?! Who says that?! I will say the characters had potential, but I feel as if the story jumped around A LOT. One minute she was bff’s with one character, the next with the other and then there were the characters that really played no part in the story at all, yet there they were on the sidelines. Luce was a complete boy crazy girl and I totally get that being a teenager, but considering her past experiences it seems very quick for her to be checking out new guys.

I believe the idea behind the story had a lot of potential, but once on paper it just didn’t work. At the end of the book when I had roughly 20 ages left, I was so over it that I only skimmed through and read the dialog. This is definitely a first. I am not sure yet if this depiction of an Angel story will sway me all future Angel stories, we will see. At this point, I have no interest. I feel like a total basher, but hey I don’t want anyone to suffer through what I just experienced. Consider this a warning! How she will recover in Torment, I am not sure…but I can tell you I will not even attempt to find out.