Tuesday, September 30, 2014

My Favorite Quotes/Lines - Afterworlds

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)


“But traveling alone made me nervous even before I could see ghosts.”

“Hiding from the truth was worse than being lied to.”

“Somehow reducing her book to a single phrase made talking about it less paralyzing. It gave Darcy a feeling of control, like knowing Rumpelstiltskin’s name.”

“But books don’t happen by accident.”

“They were small people with a small worldview, and I was learning how to enter a whole new reality. Forget them.”

“Terrorists with machine guns frighten me. You’re just pissing me off. I was trying to sleep.”

“Maybe his lips cured everything.”

“Just remember, the things we write, they aren’t always really us.”

“Everything changes when you take a life.”

“Just consider this, Darcy—real life doesn’t have many happy endings. Why shouldn’t books make up the difference?

“But everything that sucked about life also proved that it was priceless, because otherwise all of that wouldn’t hurt so bad.”

Monday, September 29, 2014

P.R.R.(Pre Review Ravings) - Afterworlds

These are my P.R.R.(Pre Review Ravings) aka what I think before I write my review.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld


- What a complicated yet truly awesome concept.

- A mixture of both contemporary and paranormal YA this book pretty much has everything.

- This book is hard to explain but it's different in a very meta/interesting kind of way.

- You’re reading the story about an author of a book, the publishing process pretty much what the author goes through, and the book that author’s writing. Along with the author's relationship and how she changes the book.

- I liked Darcy and Imogen's relationship because it's messy/definitely not perfect. They really have to work for their goals.


- Seeing the different points of view of the author and the character well characters from the stories was really interesting.


- Both of these mashed together stories are so good that I would read them over and over together or separately.

- I'm really interested in seeing more of Imogen's book because that bit you get to read is really good.

- The endings of the book and the book within a book just work so well.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Top 5 Sundays - Favorite Female Book Characters! (Part 2)

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa & Friends’ Bookish Life
Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Features image
4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)  
 
 

Favorite Female Book Characters!


I love Maddie's character in all the books I've read so far of this series. Her wonderland weirdness is a lot of fun.


Darcy and Lizzie from Afterworlds because you can't have one without the other. I love how much both these characters change over the course of the book and the endings that they both have.

 
Angel is a zombie with plenty of attitude. This series is crazy but in a good way, can't wait to see what happens to Angel next.
 

Celaena is such a complicated character yet so very interesting I never know what's going to happen next in this series to her or anybody else.



Juliette especially by the end of the series is such an awesome character. Her growth over the entire series is really a great read.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Weekend Read - Afterworlds

Oh this book, this book, this book, you have to read this book. So far it’s a stupendous mixture of YA fantasy along with Contemporary YA. As of where I’ve read so far it’s been three books in one very interesting space. You’re reading the story about an author of a book, the publishing process pretty much what the author goes through, and the book that author’s writing.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Review - Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All

Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All by Shannon Hale

5 out of 5 gnomes

This series is just so much fun. The characters and settings will make you smile and wonder what’s going to happen next.

This story gets into the repercussions of Raven’s choice from the last book. Everything is on shaky ground because people just don’t know what will happen if people don’t follow their stories.

I love getting to find out more about Cerise and her complicated family.  It was awesome to see exactly what she can do.

Maddie’s character continues to be my favorite and her chats with the Narrator are pretty darn funny. It was cool getting to see more of the other Wonderlandians too.

It’s great that Raven and Apple try to see both sides of the situation. The Rebels and the Royals both have good points even though I definitely side with the Rebels. It’ll be interesting to see where the story goes from here especially if more and more people decide to rebel.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Sentence Sneak Peek - Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All



The first sentence from each chapter of One, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“IF THE EVIL QUEEN HAD ONE WORD TO describe her living conditions, it would be cramped.”


“MORNING ONCE-UPONED ALL OVER EVER AFTER.”


“RAVEN LAID HER HEAD ON THE DESK AND tried to ignore the hole inside her gaping with the uncertain future.”


“Hey, Narrator!”


“OLD KING COLE WAS EVERY BIT THE MERRY old soul Apple was expecting.”


“THE MORNING WAS DIM, WOLF-GRAY CLOUDS pouncing on the sun.”


“Narrator?”


“APPLE WALKED AWAY FROM HER MOST recent castle while scrolling through the Yester Day app.”


“BANISH HER!”


“APPLE!”


“NARRATOR!”


“RAVEN GLARED.”


“THE NEXT MORNING, TALKING FROGS AWOKE the school.”


“APPLE LED RAVEN TO A DORM ROOM WITH a hand-lettered sign on the door identifying it as the home of DUMP-T STUDIOS.”


WILLOW TREE
AND WHISPERS THREE
TOGETHER MAKE A TASTY TEA
IN FORESTS THEY DO GLOW
WHENCE WE DO NOT KNOW
BUT IN THE TEAPOT THEY WILL GO


APPPLE READ THE FIRST RIDDLE ALOUD over and over as she and Raven left the school, crossed the Troll Bridge, and entered the Village of Book End.”


“MADDIE SAT ALONE IN THE TEA SHOP kitchen, feeding tiny pieces of cheese to her dormouse, Earl Grey.”


THE CROWN OF TERROR PAST
THE SHELL INSIDE STILL LASTS
THE ITEM YOU SEEK, A TOY OF THE WEAK
MAJESTY DOWNED, RUN AGROUND IN TOWN
TO ECHO NOW NAUGHT BUT HAPPY SOUNDS


RAVEN WALKED ALL OVER BOOK END.”


BIG TO THE SMALL
IT GROWS ON ALL
SMALL TO THE BIG
ONE THREAD OF A WIG
UNWANTED AND PLUCKED
IT DROPS IN THE MUCK


THE BEANSTALK WAS A COLOR OF GREEN that made Apple wish for sunglasses, so green it almost sparkled.”


SEEK THE SPAWN OF THE PAWN
OF THE CRONE OF BONES
THAT COTTAGE OF DOOM
THE ROOM NOT A ROOM
THE BEAST NOT A BEAST
THAT MOVES SOUTH AND WEST AND NORTH AND EAST
SEARCH IN NEST, COOP, OR DEN
OF THE COBBLED TRUSSED HEN


RAVEN WAS CATAPULTING THROUGH THE AIR.”


“APPLE TRUDGED THROUGH THE DOOR OF their dorm room, dropped something long and stick-like on the floor, edged around the dragon skull, and flopped onto her bed.”


“THERE WERE NO WINDOWS IN THE Treasury, but the great gaping hole in the wall let in dawn’s light.”


“RAVEN’S FINGERTIPS WERE BLISTERED, HER shoulder ached, and her throat was as dry as Milton Grimm’s attempts at jokes.”


“Narrator!”


“APPLE KEPT CLINGING TO THE HUTLING.”

“NESTLED BETWEEN THE EPIC PEAKS, the jabberwocky flexed its wings.”

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

"Waiting On" Wednesday - The Iron Druid Chronicles 6-Book Bundle

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on...  


The Iron Druid Chronicles 6-Book Bundle by Kevin Hearne

* Book will be released September 30, 2014

Check out the description from Goodreads:

"With a sly blend of fantasy, humor, and paranormal adventure, Kevin Hearne has established a reputation as the trickster god of action-packed mash-ups. His signature creation, Atticus O'Sullivan, is a folk hero for the twenty-first century, battling legendary beasts, shadowy mystics, and demonic demigods from around the world. Now this addictive eBook bundle brings together the first six novels of The Iron Druid Chronicles (with bonus novellas and short stories) in one supersized dose of genre-smashing mayhem:  
HOUNDED
HEXED
HAMMERED
TRICKED
TWO RAVENS AND ONE CROW (NOVELLA)
TRAPPED
HUNTED
GRIMOIRE OF THE LAMB (NOVELLA)
Also includes the short stories "Clan Rathskeller" and "Kaibab Unbound," as well as an excerpt from the seventh novel in The Iron Druid Chronicles, "Shattered"! "

This is one of those series I just kind of lost track of. I adored the first two, especially the dog Oberon and his point of view. I can’t wait to catch up on the series and see what I’ve been missing.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

NetGalley Find of the Week - Because You'll Never Meet Me

20649195
This book looks really interesting and I hope it’s available to request soon.

Here’s the description from NetGalley:

In a stunning literary debut for fans of Andrew Smith or Nick Lake, readers meet Ollie and Moritz . . . best friends who can never meet.

 
Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.”

Monday, September 22, 2014

Story Time - September 22

* Please add a line to the story and determine where it goes.


Rules

1.) Only write 1 to 2 sentences
2.) Keep it clean
3.) Have fun and spread the word so the story grows

Here's the story that has formed so far:

Awesome people who have authored the story by adding lines so far: Sullivan McPig, Julie@My5monkeys, Susan Jane Bigelow, barmybex, Tiny Reverse Vampire, Man of la Book


Once upon a time in a time not that long ago there was a disturbance.

The cause of the disturbance was something that was well...truly disturbing.  In fact it was so disturbing that at first it was quite unclear what this disturbance was, because anyone who saw it was too disturbed to talk about it.

There came a noisy unruly girl who demanded that all must obey her. She was the girl of the mayor and weird things did happen around her. Pigeons tap danced when she blinked her eyes and cockroaches would mimic her words when she spoke.  Lights would go off and babies would cry when she passed.

This girl stood in the center of town, pigeons dancing, roaches waiting, lights flickering and babies crying all around.  She struck her umbrella on the cobblestones.  A hush fell over the town as purple sparks shot out of the tip of the umbrella and even the pigeons stopped their dancing and seemed to hold their breath.

As the astounded masses watched a massive hole slowly appeared in the middle of the street. As the dust settled it was revealed...a giant staircase leading down to complete darkness and then a faint music started to radiate from its depths.

There was such a ruckus in the town and trying to make sure that all the citizens were fine. The music coming out of the hole had a mesmerizing sound that attracted all the citizens.  It was almost like children's music.

The girl grinned mischievously and whistled along with the music while she slowly descended down the hole.

The further down she went the louder the music echoed. A strange shift filled the air and a cold wind howled past causing her hair to flutter round her face, but it didn't distract her. As she confidently walked on some of the pigeons and cockroaches followed her, cautiously and trembling with fear and a sense of foreboding.

"Wait," a high, piping voice said, "there are dangers below!" One of the pigeons had spoken. This was not a terrific surprise to the girl, who did not pause in her descent." Stay above ground if you don't have the courage to follow me," she stated calmly." But I must go on. The faith of the town depends on this."

As she kept traveling downward the tone of the music seemed to change and become more insistent.  Then in the distance a faint shimmering light appeared.

It glowed a dull purple at first, but then changed to a harsh, angry blue that pulsated like a frantic heartbeat that got more aggressive the closer the girl got to it.

The light was actually calling to her, and only her. She was different from everyone else in the town. It was her duty.

She edged closer with her arm out in front of her. The blue light grew in intensity until she had to close her eyes against the glare, a warmth surrounded her arm from the light and she pulled in a satisfied breath and grinned.

As more of the light enveloped her, she felt the heat spread and her body began to hum with a sense of power.

Then in her mind she began to hear a whispering chant almost as if the power knew who she was and what she had to do.

The words and the music started to sync together and then she began to speak the chant, as she spoke the discordant words the light solidified into a wooden door which slowly began to open.

The light around the door frame was still so bright it cast shadows into the room, making it impossible to see what was in there.

She slowly peeked into the room and felt so cold that there must be something not of this world in there. She slowly found the bed and sat down on it.

Then out of nowhere a dapper looking man appeared.  He looked like a perfect gentleman; he even had a strange purple top hat on.  Though when you looked in his eyes there was no warmth to be found and his presence seemed to suck the warmth from the room.

The man seemed to be staring straight at her but there was no recognition in his eyes, just blackness. Then he opened his mouth to speak and she felt shivers shoot up and down her spine.

His voice seemed to freeze the very air and stop all sound when he said, "I know what you're here for."

Thinking this was her job and her job alone, she wondered if he was friend or foe.

She steadied herself because she knew that if she showed any fear that he might pounce and his true form would be revealed.  Her bag of tricks was pretty full though and she had the spark of an idea.

She remembered his particular fondness for word puzzles and taking a deep breath began reciting an odd sounding riddle.

In the middle of the chant he began chanting along with her, their voices rose and the atmosphere in the room grew even more tense.

The girl could have sworn she felt the very walls vibrating and the floor shaking, but she knew she couldn't stop now. If this was some sort of test she was determined to succeed.

When she finished the chant he stopped at the same time, then with a deep rumbling the floor fell away beneath them.

The pair tumbled down into the darkness, but for some reason neither one of them was scared.

They seem to fall forever, almost floating in the air. The girl held the man's hand, or was he holding hers?

The man was still chanting, while the pigeons were flying in circles around them. That is when the girl notices something that sent cold chills to her spine: the cockroaches mimicked him!

She thought everything was under control but those darn cockroaches really fouled things up.

The farther they fell the more weightless she felt and the air seemed to thicken and become colder.

The chanting continued, she glanced down and saw that they were falling quickly toward a rather large clearing that was surrounded by snow and something shadowy she couldn't quite make out.

Bracing herself for a rough landing the girl blew out a deep breath and got ready for impact. At least the snow would offer some sort of comfort, or so she thought.

The closer they got the more the view changed.  The snowflakes now seemed to be separating, darkening, and slowly but surely rising to meet them.

The girl closed her eyes in the hope she was imagining it, but when she opened them again the shadowy snow was still coming towards them and now it looked like a dark outstretched hand just waiting to snatch them both out of the air.

As the hand wrapped around them, they could feel the very breath being squeezed from their lungs. It wasn't really a hand, they had fallen into a canyon with ridges that looked like fingers. It got narrower the further down they were drawn, then they could feel something on their toes.

"what is that?" the girl asked, trying to wriggle herself away from whatever it was, scrunching her nose in disgust. Her breath caught as she slipped again and fell further into the thing below.

"Why me?" she cried.

Then his voice boomed from right behind her, "You know why, it always had to be you."

She stared shocked while he continued, “I never forgot about you and I wasn’t just going to let you go.”


"You thought that you could just walk out and I wouldn't notice?"


the girl took a deep breath, realising she knew just who was behind her and knowing things were about to get a lot worse. "oh boy!" she sighed to herself.


Before she could turn around the temperature plummeted and then he was there, the man she thought she could get away from.  Well he wasn't exactly all human as she had found out before fleeing.


Taking two steps back she yelled at him, "I've learned a lot since our last meeting."


"She fumbled for the umbrella which lay a few feet away, broken and wet.”

“A life line, the umbrella, if only she could reach it.”