Jan 31, 2010

Random Post

So I was at the mall today and went into Hot Topic, one of my favorite stores--other than Borders of course--and saw the most freaking awesome shirt ever! It was a simple black t-shirt with two wooden stakes crossed together and then in white lettering it said: ...And then Buffy staked Edward. The End

So of course I had to buy it! I am pretty sure it had to do with this particular youtube video. That video cracked me up, I was even talking with one of the sales associates at the store about it because he didn't know it was based on a video, he just thought it was funny too.

It had to do with the Buffy vs Edward video that Rebellious Pixels made last year. It was freaking hilarious! I remember seeing it awhile back, had thought I posted on it, but maybe I didn't. I think I read about it on another blog. Anyway I posted it here. I tried putting it on my sidebar, but as I've said, I am not technological savvy. Needless to say it didn't pan out. For now you can watch it here.

Go Buffy!

EDIT: Okay I have it in my sidebar now and after some major searching and tinkering I got it down to size! So you can still watch here in this post, but since I love this video I want it on my blog for as long as I can have it. It is officially in my sidebar now. Enjoy!


Review--Firespell


AS THE NEW GIRL AT ST SOPHIA'S BOARDING SCHOOL, LILY PARKER THINKS HER CLASSMATES ARE THE MOST MONSTROUS THINGS SHE'LL HAVE TO FACE--BUT OH, HOW WRONG SHE IS.

When Lily's parents decide to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she is not happy. Lily's classmates are the ultrarich brat-pack type--and if that isn't enough, she's hearing and seeing bizarre things on St. Sophia's creepy campus.

The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout's a little weird--she keeps disappearing late at night. When a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout, who's running from a real-life monster. Scout is part of a splinter group of rebel teens who protect Chicago from demons, vamps, and the gone-to-the-dark-side magic users called Reapers. She lets Lily in on her secret, even though Lily has no powers of her own...or at least none she's discovered yet.

Okay, I had to delay finishing this book quickly, since it is a YA. It reads pretty fast, but is still really enjoyable. I didn't have any new books to read which for me is the ultimate horror. But I found Unknown on the shelves yesterday at Borders, so all is well!

This is Chloe Neill's debut YA book, as she just debut her Chicagoland Vampires series last year as well, she is a new author who is on a roll with the books and fans of the Chicagoland Vampires will not be disappointed with this book. Set once again in the Windy City! I've only been there once, but with Chloe's wonderful details to the scenery I can easily picture the familiar places once again.

Lily has a lot to deal with as a teenager, something hinky is going on at the school and her new best friend is involved in it. She worries for Scout because she doesn't come back in until real late. Lily still wants to fit in at school and tries making friends with the wrong crowd, yes the brat-pack as Lily calls them and as is on the BOC. When an evil prank goes wrong, Lily ends up finding herself running from something very scary, something Scout was involved in. And the results are life changing.

Just because St. Sophia's an all girl school don't think that there won't be any teen romantic tension involved, for there is a nearby school that is almost the opposite of St. Sophia, wherein they house boys. And Scout knows ways to sneak out of the school to meet her friends from this place.

This book is just filled with secrets, secrets that you might guess or secrets that may even come as a surprise to you. I know the BIG one was really just shocking and something else that happened at the end puzzled me as well, but I will have to wait until the next book to find out what it was. The secrets work themselves intricately into the plot and it flows together nicely, one thing leads to another and another and soon you have just this BIG secret, that I really cannot go much further into.

The BOC kind of leads you into it, that's all I'll say!

The characters were all great, Lily is another of those characters that you can relate to who seems real. She isn't perfect, but who is? And these brat-packers? OMG, I felt like jumping into the book and decking them myself. There is a very interesting scene towards the end that involves one of them and it was verrrry entertaining.

And the boys? There are 2 main ones, Jason and Michael, and both are very entertaining as well, one who has an even bigger secret that everyone but Lily knows, and she has to either find out for herself or ask Jason. Michael is another interesting guy, who is completely hung over Scout, which is abundantly clear when we first meet him.

The book was really good, as most of my posts go, I don't like to go too far into the plot in fear of leaking spoilers, so I have to end my review here. Firespell was really entertaining and a quick read. Had I something else to read right away, I would've likely finished this book weeks ago even with school. As of now, there isn't any information regarding the second one, but there will be more, on her website, Chloe shows at least 3 books total in the Dark Elite series but none have titles so far. I'll post info about the next ones whenever I come across it.

Happy Reading!

Jan 28, 2010

I'm Still Here

Yes I'm still here, I know it's been quiet for awhile, and that's because I am back in school. Plus I've been trying to stretch reading Firespell because I have nothing else to read until Rachel Caine's Unknown comes out, which is next week.

But anyway, while I was checking my authors' websites/blogs/twitter pages, delaying starting my homework, ;) I came across this contest Kelley Armstrong is having and just HAD to take part in it!

The Reckoning comes out April 6th! A whole 21 days earlier than it's old 27th release date! So basically what I am doing is posting about the contest she is having on her twitter page. I have to tell you other bloggers/readers that you can browse the first two books online here at this website: http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061662690

Kelley is basically having fans tweet, announce, whatever, info regarding her YA series. Basically that you can read some of the first two books online at the website above. And that by announcing this wherever, you can have a chance to win an ARC (the holy grail of all bibliophiles!) of The Reckoning!

Here is a link to her twitter page that has all the info, I tried posting it here, but the rules wouldn't show up right and I couldn't get the font color to change properly. This link will take you to her twitter page and there you will find all the details of what to do for there are 4 ways to do this, plus a list of what the prizes are.

http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=130;t=28263

Good luck!

Jan 13, 2010

Review--Kitty's House of Horrors


REALITY BITES

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed t appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. She's expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life.

The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in...before it kills them all.

Yeah, can't remember if I mentioned that I returned to school this week, so that means my reading gets done more slowly than I would like. While my last semester looks like I won't be insanely busy like last semester, I will still be busy with other school obligations as I am graduating! Yea!

Anyway, on to Kitty's House of Horrors! I love the Kitty Norville series! I just started reading them around the 3rd book release and loved them immediately! I was hooked from the moment Kitty talked her way out of Cormac killing her in book 1 and that is where my addiction started. Of course when it came to book 3, Kitty Takes a Holiday, I was rooting for Cormac more so than Ben and I still cannot get over that she ended up marrying Ben, but oh well. Life happens. That is just the way Carrie decided to do things when I asked her about it once online.

The plot seems like it is from a bad horror movie; supernaturals trapped in a cabin in the woods, disconnected from society and they are being hunted by someone. Except in horror movies, humans are the ones trapped, so we get a little bit of a swap here--Kitty even notes that the events taking place seem like they are from a bad horror movie, hence why I say this without guilt.

For some reason I was still shocked when the bad guys were revealed when it should have been obvious, but I tend to overlook those things, because sometimes the obvious answer is not always the answer. Then of course when you think that, it is the obvious answer. Confusing, right? People did die, as the BOC says and I was literally shocked by the victims, especially when other events took place between the characters. I was growing to like them when all this horrible things started happening, it was devastating.

Because it has the air of a horror movie, the book had a LOT of suspense because you didn't know when bad things were going to happen because there was no eerie soundtrack. So it was made even more suspenseful. I still couldn't believe the gang didn't think anything of this cottage in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere, but I guess the "that's Hollywood" had something to do with it.

Kitty is a very well-rounded character and I love it because we get to see Kitty and we get to see her wolf. She is in control of herself the majority of the time and sometimes she has to battle her wolf to keep her calm and Vaughn takes care of this wonderfully. I love it too when we get to be in her wolf's mind when the wolf has taken control. Vaughn switches to 3rd person to acknowledge the change in perspective and while it seems ordinary, Vaughn does is wonderfully. Her wolf has a very interesting mind as well, for she is protective of her friends and pack and her wolfish actions are very wolf like too, what you would expect from a scared animal.

There is another surprise within this novel that I won't divulge in, but if you've seen some interviews/Q&As with Carrie Vaughn then the answer may be there, I know one for sure, because I asked. I was thrilled to actually see this event take place and thrilled to know that there will be more development with it in the next book. I don't know the title or anything like that, but when I asked Carrie in the same Q&A she said that it might be out at the end of this year! So that will be a treat!

The Kitty Norville series is definitely a treat for those who want more werewolves in their life! There is definitely something more nefarious going on in Kitty's world than the BOC has talked about, this nefarious plot is more long-termed, not sure how soon it will come about or when, but something big is going to happen. You just know it!! Kitty is a lovable and relate-able character in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoy this series and it is one not to be missed if you love things that "go bump in the night", for there are more than just werewolves in Kitty's world.

Jan 8, 2010

Contest Alert--at Fantastic Book Reviews

Over at Fantastic Book Review, you can have a chance to win Chloe Neill's debut YA novel, Firespell! It's signed and comes with some Chicagoland Vampire Swag!! There are some short requirements to abide by, but nothing major! Hurry contest ends January 22 2010! Open to only US and Canada residents only.

Jan 7, 2010

Review--Black and White

IT'S THE ULTIMATE BATTLE OF GOOD VERSUS GOOD.

They were best friends at an elite academy for superheroes in training, but now Callie Bradford, code name Iridium, and Joannie Greene, code name Jet, are mortal enemies. Jet is a by-the book hero, using her Shadow power to protect the citizens of New Chicago. Iridium, with her mastery of light, runs the city's underworld. For the past five years the two have played an elaborate, and frustrating, game of cat and mouse.

But now playtime is over. Separately Jet and Iridium uncover clues that point to a looming evil, one that is entwined within the Academy. As Jet works with Bruce Hunter--a normal man with an extraordinary ability to make her weak in the knees--she becomes convinced that Iridium is involved in a scheme that will level the power structure of America itself. And Iridium, teaming with the mysterious vigilante called Taser, uncovers an insidious plot that's been a decade in the making...a plot in which Jet is key.

Never thought I would actually have the time to read this one. I actually won it in a contest because it is normally not my type of read, but since I got a free copy read it and it was surprisingly enjoyable.

Black and White is set in the future, like 100 years or so since that is what I was led to believe. There wasn't any confusion really where I've had some with futuristic settings. There were references to things that happened in the past, like the 4th World War--no date was given, but knowing that we had 2 more on the way in the next 100 years was surreal.

The way the novel was told was also very interesting, Caitlin Kittredge and Jackie Kessler wrote this together, they each wrote one perspective and I cannot recall who wrote whom. There is also different sections that take us back into the past when Iri and Jet were in school together starting at the beginning. It was very interesting and not at all confusing. And sometimes the chapter left you hanging and then you switch to the other person's perspective and then that one left you hanging. So it was a very thrilling book.

The characters were very interesting and entertaining as well, we already know that something devious is going on based on the BOC, so trying to guess who the villain was was another enjoyment. There were many characters both in the present and past. Jet was the good girl while Iri wasn't necessarily bad, but she wasn't a "by-the-books" girl.

Trying to figure out who the deceiver was, wasn't too hard, since I made a guess somewhere along the way, but another character's actions really took me by surprise, and perhaps it shouldn't have, but it did. Yeah, I can be easily mislead, but I knew who one of the villains were!

I cannot be sure if I will read the next one, Shades of Gray, that comes out in the summer. I might, if I have the time.

Overall the book was entertaining, the characters were very fun and thrilling and the plot was gripping, the action non-stop and the end leaves you satisfied yet wondering what will happen to our heroes next.

Shades of Gray comes out on June 22 2010.

Jan 5, 2010

Review--Dracula the Un-Dead


FAMILY SECRETS, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, AND AN EVIL UNLIKE ANY THE WORLD HAS KNOWN

Twenty-five years have passed since the band of heroes destroyed Dracula at his castle in Transylvania. Since then, Jonathan and Mina Harker have raised their son Quincey into a fine, if at times naive, young man, even while their once happy marriage disintegrated. Dr. Seward, the brilliant physician, is plagued by drug abuse and mania. Arthur Holmwood, the brave and dashing fiance to Lucy, is now full of anger and regret. And Van Helsing, leader of the brave band, is a sickly old man. Bram Stoker's Dracula introduced us to these characters, and in this fully realized sequel, written by Dacre Stoker, a direct descendant of Bram Stoker, and Ian Holt, a noted Dracula expert and historian, we see how these lives will forever be entwined with each other and the vampire they so courageously fought to destroy.

When Quincey leaves law school to pursue his dream of acting, he stumbles upon a troubled production of the play Dracula. This play, with its oddly familiar characters and directed by Bram Stoker, plunges the young man into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he meets evil that rocks him to his core. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived and is seeking revenge after all these years later? Or, is another, far more sinister villain at work who will put anyone associated with Dracula, including Quincey, in grave danger?

Dracula the Un-Dead is a fast-paced, historically rich sequel that is as frightening and atmospheric as the original. Based on plot threads and characters from Bram Stoker's notes that he complied while writing and researching Dracula, as well as extensive research on the historical Prince Dracula and other well-known figures, here is a suspenseful, fascinating tale that will resonate with readers of the original as well as modern fans.

OMG, I read this thing in 1 entire day and it blew me away. It totally changes everything I thought about the original Dracula! It was deeply good as all the characters are back and not everything ended happily ever after after Dracula.

Since I don't know if many of you are into classics I'll keep this insanely short for me. Everyone is back, everyone who didn't die. And there are other characters who popped in that are also familiar. It was amazing what Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt did. This was insanely good and the ending was phenomenal! How it even tied into another historical event that I won't mention. But the way things ended I was literally shocked to my core.

Agh. I wish I knew how many people read Dracula, because if you had, you have to read this sequel it was amazing. The BOC does a good way of explaining what happens and such without revealing too much, but OMG the things that they can't say because of spoilers. Agh.

Anyway, Dacre writes differently than his ancestor Bram, and it reads a little easier than classic literature so I was breezing through the pages like you wouldn't believe! So if you've read Dracula, read this. If you haven't read either read Dracula then this! You will not be disappointed. Many of the characters will surprise you with what they do and did!

Jan 4, 2010

Review--Demon Inside

HANGING OUT WITH DEMONS CAN BE HELL...

It's been three months since psychologist Megan Chase made the stunning discovery that the world is filled with demons, and once more the situation is too hot to handle. Ironically, Megan--the only person in the world without a little personal demon sitting on her shoulder--has become the leader of a demon "family", but now some unknown arcane power is offing her demons in a particularly unpleasant fashion. And while her demon lover Greyson Dante is still driving her wild with desire, he's also acting strangely evasive. Then there's the truth about Megan's past--the truth she's never known. Caught between personal problems and personal demons, Megan is having one hell of a hard time. Will the help of her Cockeny guard demons and her witch friend Tera be enough so that Megan can finally resolve the past, survive the present, and face the future?

Took me a little longer to finish this one what with the holiday and my work schedule. But Demon Inside was still a fun read.

The latest in Stacia Kane's Megan Chase series was pretty entertaining. I hadn't read Personal Demons since the summer so my memory was really sketchy on some of the details that were brought up about three months ago, but Kane smoothly moves into the details, making them seem not too important to remember in exact detail. She gives you the important information and you just have to take it that it is what it is.

Anyway, Megan has been very busy lately since she is head--might have had a funny vocab word for the real name--of her own group of demons. But something is happening to her demons and a few of the other ones from the different groups that are around the area. Megan doesn't know who is out to get her demons or the other ones as well. Is it all just demon business or is there something more sinister going on?

Megan goes through many more changes and life changing decisions throughout the book and it's amazing that she can still keep herself sane. I know I would be wanting to buckle under all the pressure she goes through, but she stays strong. With the help of her friends and demon boyfriend there to help her, she is able to conquer anything.

We get to see a little more in her and Tera's developing friendship and a look inside what Tera does for her day job. Brian comes back too, but not as much. Then again, my mind might be muddling up some details since I started this book on Thursday. So sad when it takes me this long to finish a book.

Greyson and Megan's relationship is very intense, and in a good way. You can see the love--corny I know! Looking past the heated "love" scenes, you can see that Greyson really cares for Megan and does everything in his power to protect her, it is really sweet and endearing.

Megan's family is another issue entirely, they are downright awful. It's amazing Megan has managed to be such an upbeat person before all this demon business started. Megan is drawn back to her hometown for specific reasons which will go unnamed for now, and her family just about tears her apart and Greyson is the one there to help her keep herself together.

Not to mention that Megan has an enemy lurking about just about everywhere she goes. An enemy who will do anything to get what they want--improper grammar structure I know, but I don't want to reveal the identity or gender of the enemy. Megan is forced to relive more horrible moments in her life to try to put the pieces together to what is going on and what it will take to put a stop to the attacks on her demons.

Filled with romance and action and lots of demons, this is a book worth reading if you've read Personal Demons or are looking for something new and different to read. I've said it before in other posts about books that contain something other than the usual vampire or werewolf--although there are only a small handful of werewolf books out there that I've read and liked. Other were-creatures too, but I'm getting off topic. Demons can be fun and definitely sexy if Stacia Kane has anything to say about it.

Good news is that if you are thinking about starting this you won't have long to wait for the 3rd book, Demon Possessed, which comes out on February 23 2010!

Also be sure to check out her new series that comes out later this year giving the name title again the Chess Putnam series. Taken from Stacia Kane's website, here is what she has to say to sum it up: "a cross between Ghostbusters and Escape from New York, with an awesome punk rock soundtrack, black magic, greasers, drugs, human sacrifices, and a black 1969 Chevelle".

Look for Unholy Ghosts on May 25 2010!

My reviews will come slowly starting next week as I have to return to school and keep up with all that work on top of my pt job too. I will still be reading so occasionally pop on by to see what's new. I'll still post random bits of info as I come across it too. I hope to finish up Dracula the Un-Dead before Monday and thus a review will be up as well.