A Letter to the Past

Dear 2010,

We've been through a lot, you and me. We've had our ups and downs, our good times, and our bad. We've both changed a lot in such a short time, and I appreciate all the days you've brought me, the sunny ones filled with warmth and joy and even the rainy ones that allowed me to stay in and read so many wonderful books. But it's over. I'm breaking up with you. I'm ready to let go of our time together and start fresh! A new beginning! That means new releases, new covers, new titles! Ooohhh, I'm gettin' all twitchy just thinking about it! But before I can say hello, I'd like to say goodbye, to some of my favorite books read in 2010.

Ok, here we go.

The first book I must say goodbye to is Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves. The reason is because I loved it so much and I need to do quick, like ripping off a band-aid. This book has one of my favorite characters, Hanna, and I really wish Reeves would find it in her heart to give us a sequel! Farewell, Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead. You kept me on the edge of seat, word after word, page after page! Claudia Gray's Hourglass, you little tease! How dare you leave with such a cliffhanger! Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, I'm so glad we met. You're world is unique, your characters so mysterious, I can't wait to get to know you better!

The Morganville Vampires (1-3) by Rachel Caine, Liar by Justine Larbalestier and Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith were all very pleasant surprises. Hearts and Stake and Blood Feud both of the Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey are two new faves! Love love love! Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantasky was yet another great book. Good love story, good characters. Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth is a book that I wish I had the time to read again. I'm so anxious for the next one!

My Wicked Vampire by Nina Bangs is a paperback that I just could not put down! Every character was a mythical being and each one just as nuts as the last! I believe it is part of a series that I seriously need to find!

And a final goodbye to other great books I read in 2010: 

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor, Lament and Ballad by Maggie Stievfater, Wings by Aprilynne Pike and Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and I Now Pronouce You Someone Else by Erin McMahan. 

I hate to see all of you go, but a lot of you have some really great sequels following and I look forward to all of them!

It's been real, 2010. Later!

Good news and bad news...then GREAT NEWS!

Hello Everyone! I've missed you so!

I've got goods news and bad news but then I've got something to cheer us all up! The good news is that I finally got my computer back! The new keys are great and it feels nice to be able to just type without having to worry about the missing keys. The bad news is that it appears while someone was handling my computer, they dropped it. The lower right corner is broken and the edges are sharp, I keep scraping my hand and arm on it. Luckily, it is still covered by warranty and they're paying for S&H both ways this time.

Sooo, to distract me from this disappointment, here's the great news. While I was out of the blogosphere, those agonizing two weeks, something amazing happened! The cover of Cassandra Clare's fourth installment in the Mortal Instruments Series, City of Fallen Angels, was revealed...and I am in love!!!!

 

Isn't it gorgeous?! I love Clary's hair, flying wildly around her, it makes her look magical. Like her hair is floating alive with it. I like the hint of runes on  her body, too. Simon looks strong and confident. Ready. For whatever!

There's more! If you've been living under a rock or maybe half-under a rock (like me, who is a little late), City of Bones, the first book of the Mortal Instruments Series is set to come to the big screen! That's right...Jace...big screen. Lily Collins has already been cast to play Clary Fray!

She's definitely channeling Clary with the curly hair! I'm very happy with this choice but even more excited to see who will be picked to play Jace! I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it! Click here more movie updates on Cassandra Clare's website.

Tuesday Review Day!

Lure 

Written by: Deborah Kerbel

Publication date: September 20, 2010

Released in Paperback

A story based on true accounts of supernatural occurrences at the Thornhill Village Public Library.

Synopsis:

A Victorian garden, a fishing lure, and a ghost named John.

Absolutely nothing is going right for Max Green. His parents have just uprooted their family from Vancouver to the bleak suburbs of Toronto, he has no friends, and everybody at his new high school is ignoring him. To make matters worse, he's in love with an older girl who's completely out of his league.

When Max discovers a local library rumored to be haunted by ghosts, he's immediately drawn to it. With the help of some cryptic messages, he begins to piece together the identity of the teenage ghost and the mysterious chain of events that have connected its spirit to the building for over a century. But just who was John, anyway? Why has he chosen to contact Max? And what does an old fishing lure have to do with solving the mystery?

How I Came To Read This: Contacted on the YA Blogosphere to review and find reviewers.

My Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was instantly intrigued by the mystery and the clues you get in each chapter.  the chapter alternate between the two main characters: Max, 16, new in town and invisible to everyone in school; and John, ghost who haunts the town library and is contacting Max from the other side. The switching of narrators really keep you wanting more!


The story of John is heart-wrenching. Tragic, really. There's no way you could start this book and put it down. Begin it early enough and you could finish in one night. It was spooky enough that I'd jump whenever my cellphone would vibrate while I was reading! Knowing the occurrences of the story were true accounts piques your curiosity even more. I found myself shaking my head and thinking, "What in the world happened to this kid? What is Max going to do? And what is the deal with this girl??"

Who Should Read This: I recommend it for any and all teens and tweens. Great story.

Just Release it Already/Covers Revealed

I am splitting this post between 'Just Release It Already', a meme hosted over at Books with Bite to share what books you just cannot wait for any longer and two covers that have been revealed.

The book I am very anxiously awaiting is this one right here:

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris is said to be released May 26,2011 and I just cannot possibly wait that long! The cover and the synopsis only make the book more mysterious!

The other cover that has been released is Circle of Fire (Prophecy of the Sisters #3) by Michelle Zink. Now I personally have not read this series, though I do have the first book. But for those of you that are waiting for its release, sit back and relax, you've got a long way to go - August 1, 2011. Sorry guys. But here is the beautiful cover in the meantime.

Giveaway Winner!

Danice of Pawlicious Giveaways

You've won a copy of Lure by Deborah Kerbel!

 

I have already sent you an email for your information. Please respond ASAP!

Away for Repairs

Hello Loves!

For the next week or so, my laptop is being repaired. Over the summer, my it was dropped and keys fell out and I've been typing without the M, K, the number 2 and the comma keys! I can't wait to get it back, good as new and start typing without worrying about missing a key!

In the meantime, I still have my giveaway for a copy of Lure by Deborah Kerbel, so feel free to check that out while I'm away. The contest will run until Dec. 7th.

I'm also working on a whole new layout! Your suggestions, comments and ideas are greatly appreciated!

Another Giveaway! Begins December 1!

This year, I'm really feeling the holiday spirit. The decorations, seeing Santa at the mall, buying presents. However, what I am not looking forward to, is all the snow that's heading our way. If you've got snow coming your way, too, here's a spooky mystery for those cold, snowed-in nights.

Begins Dec. 1 - Dec. 7 at 11:59pm EST

 A Victorian garden, a fishing lure, and a ghost named John.

Absolutely nothing is going right for Max Green. His parents have just uprooted their family from Vancouver to the bleak suburbs of Toronto, he has no friends, and everybody at his new high school is ignoring him. To make matters worse, he's in love with an older girl who's completely out of his league.

When Max discovers a local library rumored to be haunted by ghosts, he's immediately drawn to it. With the help of some cryptic messages, he begins to piece together the identity of the teenage ghost and the mysterious chain of events that have connected its spirit to the building for over a century. But just who was John, anyway? Why has he chosen to contact Max? And what does an old fishing lure have to do with solving the mystery?

Here are the terms: 

1. You must be a follower to qualify but to enter you must leave a comment one of my recent posts...like this one or this one.

2. This giveaway is for 1 copy of Lure by Deborah Kerbel and is open to US Residents Only

3. Extra entry point if you leave a link to your own post about the giveaway

4. Another one if you tweet about it!

Tally up in a comment below!

And the Winner is...

AIK!

You have won a copy of Gemini Night by Bonnie Hill Hearn! Please email me within 24 hours with your mailing address.

Thank you for entering! Enjoy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING - 100TH POST!

With Thanksgiving and my 100th post falling on the same day, I decided to share with you what I am most thankful for.

I have the most amazing family. We're very close. They're supportive and encouraging, funny and fun to be with.  My aunt and I are both raising two and three year olds who are more like sisters than second cousins!

We like to play games, too! Just the other night we got together to see off a good friend before he move to California. Have you ever played the game Cranium? Really, really fun!! Roll the dice and pick a card! Humdinger? Hum the song named on the card for your teammates to guess! Sensosketch? See if they can guess what it is while you're drawing with your eyes closed. Mold things out of clay and puppeteer your friends and family and do all kinds of things that make you look ridiculous! Needless to say, we had a blast that night and my team won!! Any time we're all together, is a good time.

There is nothing I am most thankful for, every day of the year, than my daughter. She blesses me with unconditional love. The kind of love a parent can have for their child is  so deeply profound to a point that there is no word, that I have ever heard, that can describe it. Watching her grow is amazing! She surprises me everyday with something new, something hilarious, something creative. I am thankful for my daughter for coming into my life. Like a tornado.  And a hurricane. Is that possible? What are those called? I don't know. But I love my girl! I hope all of you are spending this Turkey Day with the ones you love. 

Good luck crazy people who are going Black Friday shopping, at 4 in the morning, wrestling over the last Xbox or vacuum or leather jacket or whatever. I don't know how you do it. I, for one, cannot. Will not.

So on that note...

Tangled Movie Review

4 1/2 stars - Great for the little ones and the little girl in all of us!

Minor spoiler alert - but I'd hate to ruin it for anyone else.

My daughter and I were so excited to see this movie, I knew I wanted to write a review about it. I have to be honest, I missed the first couple of minutes running out to get popcorn for my daughter, who made sure I noticed that everyone else already had theirs!


Rapunzel is taken from her parents, a King and Queen by an evil woman who wishes to use Rapunzel's magical hair to remain forever young and beautiful! To do so,she locks Rapunzel in a tower and raises her as her own. She tells Rapunzel stories of a terrifying world outside the tower to scare into never leaving.

The songs were fun and bouncy though I didn't feel like any of them had any catchy chorus' that would be easy for kids to remember and sing along to.

I thought most of the characters were well developed. Rapunzel was beautiful with big green doe eyes. She was creative and artistic; painting, cooking, playing guitar, etc. Although she was naive to the outside world, as her "mother" wanted her to be, she adapted quickly and improvised well for someone who's never interacted with other people or ever had to do anything unexpected! Even more, she was brave and strong  and feisty with a frying pan! Rapunzel was also responsible for a lot of the funny moments in this movie. After fleeing from her tower, she has hilarious moments of happiness at finally being free and worrying about what her "mother" will say. Flynn Rider, the 'smoldering' cute guy, is also very funny in a drier kind of way. As much as the story revolves around both him and Rapunzel, I think he was more of a supporting character next to her. Rapunzel's "mother" was a great villain. She was definitely a character you loved to hate. One who uses backhanded kindness to be evil.

The other two great characters were Maximus, the palace horse and Pascal, the chameleon. These two were not in the movie enough. Maximus was potentially a great addition and hilarious character in the movie but he honestly did not get enough air time. Same for Pascal. I think children connect to a movie more with a strong animal character or two. From the previews, I was really excited to see Maximus and Pascal and the antics they were going to get into and the hilarious things they would do, and it just did not deliver.

I loved the rich colors of the film right from the start. I did not see this movie in 3D because my daughter is only three and will not wear the glasses. Obviously I cannot say for sure, but I doubt 3D did much to enhance this movie.

Towards the end of the movie, much like every other kids movie, comes that pivotal moment where things look like they're going to take a turn for the worst right before they live happily ever after. Well, at this moment, a little girl in the movie theater started bawling her little eyes out! Between that little girl and the tear-jerking scene playing out in front of me, my eyes were definitely wetter than they were a moment before!

The end of the movie is so heart-warming and sweet it just makes you feel all gushy inside! I'm so happy Disney came out with a new princess and a new movie to love! You have to understand, with my daughter being three, our lives revolve around the Disney princesses and introducing Rapunzel gave us a fresh place to start again!

I think every little girl (or older girl....or grown a** woman) should see this movie. It was just too cute to miss!