Feature & Follow Friday

 

This is my first Feature & Follow Friday! I hope you enjoy it!

 

Have you ever looked at a book's cover and thought, This is going to be horrible! but was instead pleasantly surprised?  Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

It was really hard for me to find a book with a cover that I didn't love because I am guilty of judging books by their covers. I don't usually even pick up a book if I don't love the cover. This book was actually sent to me by the author to review and it turned out to be a great coming of age story. This is usually not my cup of tea - which is why I chose this cover - because I always go for the book with at least one supernatural being of some kind. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this book and if I remember correctly, there was even a moment when I cried a little. Although the situations are not the same it was a great self-reflection, coming-of-age story!

What's yours?

Weigh In: Emmy Rossum as Ridley

So what do you guys think about the casting of Emmy Rossum as Ridley in the Beautiful Creatures film?

Now don't get me wrong, Rossum is a beautiful girl and a great actress, I just don't think she fits the part of Ridley. She doesn't really look at all how I pictured the lollipop-sucking troublemaker and I hope they plan to dye her hair a lighter color and give her some bad-ass lessons so she can live up to the title.

Now, I don't know who this young lady to my left is with half a face but from what I can see she makes a better looking Ridley than Rossum does. I gotta be honest, I'm already a little worried about the Beautiful Creatures movie because I don't agree with their casting choices so far. I guess I can always keep my fingers crossed that their acting will make up for none of them physically fitting the part.

Is Emmy Rossum the right actress to portray Ridley?

If you have a more complex answer than a simple yes or no, feel free to explain in a comment below!

Popluar Theme - Love Triangles!

What is it about a good love triangle that just keeps us turning the pages, picking "teams" and falling in love with one and admonishing the other? It's because they're just so juicy, aren't they? We love debating why we picked who we picked and why the other sucks and doesn't deserve the girl (or guy).

I've noticed that there are love triangles in just about every book I read. Sometimes they're subtle; like the one in the middle doesn't even have feelings for the third wheel. Other times, we watch a character go back and forth and fight with their feelings for two people.

I thought it'd be fun to take a look at a few well known love-triangle threesomes!

1. Let's get the obvious one out of the way - Twilight.This triangle worked so well because Bella had genuine feelings for Jacob even though she was in love with Edward. She knew Jacob had a place in her life, she just didn't know where he fit. Plus, Edward and Jacob are both totally loveable so as readers, it's even hard for us to pick a side!



2. Peter Pan - Wendy - Tinkerbell.
This one is a little tricky. Peter Pan and Tink have been together, well, always, but then he finds Wendy and brings her home! Naturally, Tink ain't having that so she plots against them with Captain Hook to get rid of Wendy. Hey, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"; am I right?! =]



3. Vampire Diaries
Now this one is my favorite! I've always liked Stefan but due to recent events; such as his "Ripper" days coming back to haunt him and his loss of humanity, I'm really feeling Elena being with Damon. Now, I know it will never happen but I also know she loves them both! And all those little moments she has with Damon - especially their kiss - are just so damn delicious, I can't bear to miss a second!

4. True Blood
Okay, this threesome gets me all kinds of crazy! I simply love Sookie and Eric together but in the show, the way she holds on to her feelings for Bill and keeps Eric at arms length drives me absolutely nuts!! I want the show to go exactly as the book did so each episode I end up holding my breath til the very end!




Here are some other love triangles that I just love:

5. Seth, Aislinn and Keenan from Wicked Lovely. It didn't turn out the way I had hoped but I still loved every minute of it!

6. Sonny, Kelley and The Fennrys Wolf from Wondrous Strange. This one wasn't a hard decision but there was that moment when I think we all thought she might be persuaded to go in another direction!

7. Adrian, Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy. For me, this was a no-brainer but Rose really had us going for while there, didn't she? I'm just glad she came to her senses; and so did Dimitri! Phew!

8. Ash, Meghan and Puck from The Iron Fey. This was such a sweet love story although I did feel pretty bad for Puck. Waiting around all that time and then she falls in love with someone else! Man, that's messed up! The only thing that bugged me was that Meghan and Ash fell in love in a matter of days with very little romance. But hey, it all worked out I guess. Well, maybe with the exception of Puck ending up alone!

9. Last but certainly not least, Tamani, Laurel and  David from Wings. This story isn't over yet so Laurel still hasn't picked her man. But I tell you this, if she doesn't pick Tam I will be HIGHLY disappointed! Okay, that might be an understatement - I'll be PISSED!!! I finally got my BFF to read this series and she is Team Tam all the way!! I can not wait for Destined May 1st, 2012 to find out what happens! It's too far away!

I know there are a ton of great love triangles out there, so feel free to comment with some of your faves!

Valentine's Day and Upcoming Blogoversary Giveaway!

Hey Love Birds! Happy Valentine's Day!

Wanna see how Ash and Meghan spend their first Valentine's Day together? Uh, yeah, who wouldn't right? That's what I thought. Well go check out Julie Kagawa's blog to read an Iron Fey short story about our favorite couple! Enjoy!

Also, next month is my second blogoversary! I'm really excited and grateful for all my loyal followers! It's a lot of hard work running two blogs, keeping up with all the amazing books that seem to come out every time I turn around - but without books and you guys to share them with - there would be a huge void in my life. I hope one day to gradute to filming my own vlogs, but I'm not ready for that just yet! Lol

So anyway, about this giveaway...I have a ton of Buffy paperbacks (11 total) and awesome Buffy swag donated by her #1 fan, my auntie. What about a copy of Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey and Vampire Empire Book Two: The Rift by Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith? How about Lighter Than Air and Emperor Dad by Henry Melton for you sci-fi fans? And the cherry on top - any March new release requested by one winner. I have to figure out how I will run this giveaway because I'm really crappy at that. Who knows, maybe I'll make a video showing you guys everything that is up for grabs.

Hope all of you enjoy this day of luuuuuvvvv! =)

2012 Reading Challenge

Hey Everyone!

Did any of you make resolutions this year? I didn't really make a specific resolution, just a general one and that is, put simply, is to get sh- uh, stuff done. There are things I want to do and things that need to be done and I'd like to do some of both. Along with that, I've decided to enter the 2012 Reading Challenge.

I don't usually commit to reading a certain list of books because I like to feel my way to my next read, see what I'm in the mood for. But I figured, it's a new year with a ton of great releases I know I'm gonna read, so why not make it a challenge? I chose 20 books and here's my list for the challenge:

By Melissa Marr

Love Struck

Stopping Time (Wicked Lovely 2.5)

Old Habits (Wicked Lovely 2.6)

Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely 3)

Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely 4)

Darkest Mercy (Wicked Lovely 5)

By Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia

Dream Dark (Caster Chronicles 2.5)

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles 3)

By Lesley Livingston

Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange 1)

Darklight (Wondrous Strange 2)

Tempestuous (Wondrous Strange 3)

By Nina Bangs

Color Me Wicked (Castle of Dark Dreams Novella)

Wicked Edge (Castle of Dark Dreams 5)

Endlessly (Paranormalcy 3) by Kiersten White

Destined (Wings 4) by Aprilynne Pike

Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse 12) by Charlaine Harris

Jessica Rules the Dark Side (Jessica 2) by Beth Fantasky

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments 5) by Cassandra Clare

The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies 3) by Pittacus Lore

Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Wow. It looks like a lot when you lay it all out there like that. All I know is that I am looking forward to reading each and every one of them!

Fave Books of 2011 - Day 5

 

In anticipation of the new year and all the new releases to follow, I will be doing a countdown of my favorite books in 2011; a different one everyday until the ball drops! Each new fave will be a different category such as favorite book, character, cover, series, bad-guy-you-love-to-hate and ebook.

Originally I was going to make this a six day thing but I decided to stop at five and I'm switching it up a little bit for my final category, so my final Fave of 2011 is:

Bad-Guy-You-Hate-To-Love

My favorite bad guy this year is without a doubt Irial of Ink Enchange by Melissa Marr.

 

Initially, I was perfectly content with hating him and immediately marking him as the bad guy in this story, but then he had to go and get all sensitive and have feelings and make me not hate him anymore. He's still far from being the hero but he's not the jerk I first thought he was. I ended up feeling bad for him in the end, wishing he could have had his happily-ever-after ending, too. Look out for my review of Ink Exchange coming next Tuesday Review Day.

Do you have a favorite villain that you 

ending up liking in the end? 

Well, share!

I hope you've enjoyed my favorites this week as I've enjoyed talking about them and re-living some of my best reading memories to date. 

Fave Books of 2011 - Day 4

 

In anticipation of the new year and all the new releases to follow, I will be doing a countdown of my favorite books in 2011; a different one everyday until the ball drops! Each new fave will be a different category such as favorite book, character, cover, series, bad-guy-you-love-to-hate and ebook.

So today I wanna drool over some hot covers we've all be given to lust over this year. Although there were a ton of releases with gorgeous covers this year, I only pick my favorites from books I've read (or from a series I am currently reading). I've picked my favorite five with a little snippet of what I liked about them.

I love how Simon is front and center of this cover, shoulders squared, jaw tight, looking ready for anything. It was high time he came out of the shadows and into the light. Still, my absolute favorite part of this cover is the way Clary's hair floats around her like its living, breathing fire.

I love the earth tones/autumn colors of this cover. I also love how in these covers, "Evie" is always outside in what appears to be a very windy evening, yet she's never in the outdoors like that in the story. The cover doesn't really represent the character very well but that doesn't mean it isn't still pretty!

 

This cover is simple yet I think it is a modest depiction of Bianca. She has these big eyes and this vulnerable yet determined look on her face. I can almost see her facing her next obstacle.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy all have fantastic covers. This one shows Sam approaching Wolf Grace in the woods. When this cover was revealed, thousands of readers simultaneously widened their eyes and gasped with awe!

Now, if you're looking at this cover here to my left, I don't think many words will be needed to explain why it is one of my favorites this year. The flower looks as if I can touch it, smell it, hold it in my hand. It is absolutely beautiful.

I hope you liked my favorites and feel free to share your favorite covers below!

What Are You Gonna Be?

October has proven to be the most hectic month, so far. I haven't even decorated my house for Halloween yet. *shame on me* No pumpkins, no witches, no ghosts. I don't do spiders and cobwebs because I hate spiders. That's not right. What's the strongest word for hate? Whatever it is, that is how I feel towards spiders. Enough, I hate even tying the word!

I decided I will not be dressing up this year. Last year we had a theme, fairytale characters and I was Little Red Riding Hood, my daughter was Princess Belle and the grumpy little Princess Jasmine is our cousin. And yes, she bites. The other girl is Sleeping Beauty and the boy is Ratatouille.

This year my daughter decided that wants to be a Barbie Super Girl; and it got me thinking about what I would have chosen to be had I decided to dress up. I thought we were going to be fairies this year so I had planned to be Iridessa from Tinkerbell. I was cool with that. But there's an upside to not dressing up this year, it's gonna be COOOLD! I get to be bundled up as I go door to door soliciting candy from strangers (which is the exact opposite of what we're taught); avoiding the scary houses, of course.

The point of all my rambling is that I've been thinking about costumes and how many people still dress up.

What's your favorite costume you've ever worn or seen?

What are you dressing up as this year? 

My favorite was ten years ago, my boyfriend and I were Medusa and her statue - he was covered in silver paint and wrapped in a sheet! It was great. I wish I had a picture to share but it was so long ago.

So feel free share your story, picture or funniest Halloween moment below!

(I did see a memorable costume but I don't know if it's appropriate to share here! I'll give you a hint though; it was phallic and inflatable! Is that too obvious?)