Monthly Archives: December 2013

Book Review: Destiny

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Destiny CoverBook: Destiny by P.T. Michelle

Published October 2013 by Limitless Ink Press|327 pages

Where I Got It: Nook Store

Series: Brightest Kind of Darkness #3

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Destiny on Goodreads|You can find P.T. Michelle on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: When destiny is on the line, will love be enough to light the way?

In order to save Ethan, Nara gets pulled deeper into his dark world, where everything she thought she knew about Ethan and herself turns on its head. Ethan and Nara turn up the heat with bone-melting seduction and heart-rending moments, but surprising revelations, lies, treachery, betrayal, and unimaginable evil will challenge their relationship and their future together. As the stakes rise, encompassing more than just her relationship with Ethan, will Nara make the ultimate sacrifice?

I’m really liking this series!  Destiny was a really interesting read, and every book in this series reveals more about this world.  But as my questions get answered, I find that I have more questions about this world and what’s going on and what it all means!

So, we learn more about Corvus and the Order and that there’s a Master Corvus who only appears when needed.  And we learn why Nara was in so much danger in Lucid!  We finally learn what Ethan knows, but it definitely takes a while, as there are some…issues…that need to be taken care of first.

I definitely like Nara and Ethan working together, and they really are better and stronger as a team than they are when they’re on their own.  Actually, it’s nice to see people in it together, because I feel like that doesn’t happen too often.  But I’m glad things work out for Nara and Ethan.  At least, I’m glad that things work out in this book, because I have the feeling that things are going to get very interesting in the next book.

We also meet Nara’s dad, and I’m hoping we see more of him.  I feel like he’s going to have more of a role, but what that is, I’m not sure.  Well, I’m hoping he has more of a role, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.

And the ending!  I can’t believe I have to wait for the next book, because I really want to know what happens next.  There was definitely some yelling involved, because there is a bit of a cliffhanger.  An idea that seemed so simple in Brightest Kind Of Darkness is so much more involved than I ever imagined.  But in a totally good way, because there’s so much more to this world than I could have imagined was possible.  And I can’t wait to see what else is revealed about the world Nara and Ethan are living in, because I feel like there’s so much that will surprise me in the next one.

Final Thoughts:

I really like this series, and I’m always surprised with how interesting this world is!  I’m definitely looking forward to the next book to see what we learn, because questions get answered, and a ton more take its place.  Destiny gets 4 stars.

Audio Book Review: Changeless

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Changeless CoverBook: Changeless by Gail Carriger, Narrated by Emily Gray

Published March 2011 by Recorded Books|Run Time: 10 hours, 33 minutes

Where I Got It: Audible.com

Series: Parasol Protectorate #2

Genre: Adult Fantasy/Paranormal/Steampunk

You can find Changeless on Goodreads|You can find Gail Carriger on Twitter, Facebook and her website 

Goodreads Summary: Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

CHANGLESS is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

I loved Changeless!  It was such a fun book to listen to, and I loved the adventures and trouble Alexia got herself into.

Alexia is absolutely hilarious, and I couldn’t help but laugh almost the entire book.  I can’t help but love Alexia.  Especially when she’s with Maccon.  I just love the two of them together!  Actually, I love Alexia with pretty much anyone.  Like her friendship with Ivy, or how she was with her sister or many of the other characters we meet throughout the book.  Because we meet quite a few new characters, and see quite a few old characters.  I did like the new characters, who made Alexia’s troubles really interesting.

So, in Changeless, we learn that there’s something that can neutralize vampires and werewolves.  Naturally, Alexia is unaffected, but also blamed.  At least, she is at first, because she’s soulless and can do that.  But not to the scale that happened in Changeless.  Everything gets sorted out, of course, and there are a few other interesting things that come up throughout the book.

Especially the part that happens in the last 10 minutes or so.  I’ll admit, I did figure it out right before it came up, and it will make Blameless a really interesting book to listen to.  I mean, Alexia’s not lying, and we know she’s not lying, but other people don’t believe her.  Like Lord Maccon, for one.  It makes me wonder if it’s somehow connected to the supernatural neutralization, or if there’s something else going on.  Because it involves Alexia and Lord Maccon, and so it’s not going to be normal.  Because nothing in their lives are normal.

Emily Gray is such a great narrator!  She really captures the essence of Alexia and who she is, and Alexia really comes to life because of her.  Whoever decided to go with her as the narrator did a great job in picking her.

Final Thoughts:

Changeless is such a great sequel to Soulles, and I loved it much more than Soulless.  I still like Soulless, but Changeless was really fun to listen to.  I can’t wait to see how the ending of this book gets sorted out in the next book.  Changeless gets 5 stars.

ARC Book Review: Elizabeth Of York

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Elizabeth Of York CoverBook: Elizabeth Of York by Alison Weir

Expected Publication Is December 3, 2013 by Ballantine Books|Expected Number Of Pages: 536

Where I Got It: netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction- History- Tudor England

You can find Elizabeth Of York on goodreads|You can find Alison Weir at her website

Goodreads Summary: Many are familiar with the story of the much-married King Henry VIII of England and the celebrated reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I. But it is often forgotten that the life of the first Tudor queen, Elizabeth of York, Henry’s mother and Elizabeth’s grandmother, spanned one of England’s most dramatic and perilous periods. Now New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir presents the first modern biography of this extraordinary woman, whose very existence united the realm and ensured the survival of the Plantagenet bloodline.

Her birth was greeted with as much pomp and ceremony as that of a male heir. The first child of King Edward IV, Elizabeth enjoyed all the glittering trappings of royalty. But after the death of her father; the disappearance and probable murder of her brothers—the Princes in the Tower; and the usurpation of the throne by her calculating uncle Richard III, Elizabeth found her world turned upside-down: She and her siblings were declared bastards.

As Richard’s wife, Anne Neville, was dying, there were murmurs that the king sought to marry his niece Elizabeth, knowing that most people believed her to be England’s rightful queen. Weir addresses Elizabeth’s possible role in this and her covert support for Henry Tudor, the exiled pretender who defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and was crowned Henry VII, first sovereign of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth’s subsequent marriage to Henry united the houses of York and Lancaster and signaled the end of the Wars of the Roses. For centuries historians have asserted that, as queen, she was kept under Henry’s firm grasp, but Weir shows that Elizabeth proved to be a model consort—pious and generous—who enjoyed the confidence of her husband, exerted a tangible and beneficial influence, and was revered by her son, the future King Henry VIII. 

Drawing from a rich trove of historical records, Weir gives a long overdue and much-deserved look at this unforgettable princess whose line descends to today’s British monarch—a woman who overcame tragedy and danger to become one of England’s most beloved consorts.

I’m super-fascinated by the Tudors, and I’m also a huge fan of Alison Weir, so I knew I had to read Elizabeth Of York.  I don’t know much about her, or the Wars Of The Roses, since I tend to read about Henry VIII and his wives and children.  It was great reading about Elizabeth, since I didn’t know a lot about her.

The first few chapters…they were a little hard to go through, mostly because I found it hard to keep up with all of the people and events Weir writes about.  It’s fairly easy to understand, but it’s a lot to take in, and I think I need to read the book a few more times with pen and paper to have a better grasp of everything.  It’s very readable, but my head swam with names and such.

One thing I thought was interesting was how Henry VII kind of needed her to make his role as king legitimate.  It’s not surprising, given there was a war over who should be king, but it’s still interesting that marrying someone like Elizabeth neutralized some claims to the throne.  Not completely, of course, and some of them must have taken their toll on her.

Another interesting thing was the possibility that Henry VIII named his daughter Elizabeth after his mother.  I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but it does make sense.  I also thought that Henry would want to have a relationship like the one his parents had to be interesting.  It seems like Elizabeth and Henry VII had a really good relationship and marriage, so Henry had a relationship to look up to.  I don’t know why that surprises me, but it does.  Of course, trying to find someone like his mother wasn’t conclusive or anything, since having heirs was really important.

While I found the first chapters confusing, they were also really interesting.  I liked reading about her childhood, and you could easily focus in on that part of her life.  Having to live somewhere really secure because of living in uncertainty, and losing her 2 brothers and not knowing if they were dead or alive, and holding out hope…I do have a lot of sympathy for her.

A lot of the book, especially those early years, focus on what was going on around Elizabeth, since there isn’t a lot we know of that time in her life.  So I don’t mind that part of the book is more about the people around her, because it shows how she became the person she did, and why things went the way they did.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Elizabeth Of York was very readable, and I liked learning more about her.  It was hard to keep track of what was going on at the beginning, but in the end, I learned a lot!  Elizabeth Of York gets 4 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2014 Releases I Am Dying To Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish. Every week, bloggers from all over are invited to share their own Top Ten List based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Tuesday Header

Top Ten 2014 Releases I Am Dying To Read

I can’t believe it’s almost 2014!  This year went by really fast, but it also means that some amazing books are coming out sometime in the next year.  There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading, and while quite a few are the last books in their respective series, I’m still excited to see how things turn out.  And I think it’ll be the reason why I get caught up on the series I need to catch up on.  Here are the books I’m really looking forward to reading!

  1. Cress by Marissa Meyer.  I think I’m looking forward to Cress the most, and February 4 seems so far away.  I’m definitely going to be waiting impatiently for Cress to come out.
  2. Infinite by Jodi Meadows.  Because I’m looking forward to seeing how everything gets wrapped up.  And I want to see life outside of Heart and Range!  At least January 28th isn’t too far away!
  3. Ruin And Rising by Leah Bardugo.  It’s the last Grisha book.  I’m sad that this series will be over, but I also want to know how it all ends.  It’s going to be long wait for June 3.
  4. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi.  I’m super-excited about Ignite Me, even though I still need to read Unravel Me.  I’m definitely planning to be all caught up by February 4!
  5. Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins.  This series is definitely one of my favorite paranormal series, and while I’m sad to see the series end, I also want to know how it ends.  Like most of the other books on this list.
  6. Dreams Of Gods And Monsters by Laini Taylor.  I still need to read Days Of Blood And Starlight, but I’m still excited about this one.  I’m hoping to be all caught up by April 8, when Dreams Of Gods And Monsters is expected to be released.
  7. Into The Still Blue by Veronica Rossi.  Because it’s Into The Still Blue, and who isn’t excited about it?  I can’t wait until January 28th, when it’s expected to come out!
  8. Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I got so excited when I heard there was going to be a spin-off of Beautiful Creatures that focuses on Ridley and Link.  Because I’ve always liked their relationship, and it’ll be nice having a series where they take center stage.  I’m definitely looking forward to May 6.
  9. Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.  I LOVED Anna And The French Kiss, and really liked Lola And The Boy Next Door, and I can’t wait to read Isla.  May 13th is the expected release date for Isla, and it seems so far away!
  10. Forever by Karen Ann Hopkins.  I’ve been looking forward to January 28 for a while…because of how Belonging ended.  I just need to know how everything gets resolved!

Gilmore Girls Episode 3×8: Let The Games Begin

Posted in Season Three, The Gilmore Girls Project by

Let The Games Begin originally aired November 19, 2002.  The teleplay is by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and the episode was written by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Sheila Lawrence.  This episode was directed by Steven Robman.

Gilmore Girls Season 3 Graphic

We open this episode with Lorelei and Rory slowly walking to Luke’s after the 24-hour dance marathon.  It took them so long to get there that it’s time for Rory to go to school.  Jess and Rory see each other, and are all awkward.  Lorelei, of course, has to explain to Luke that Rory and Dean are not together, and that Jess and Rory are now together.  Luke thinks it’s a good idea, and hope Rory will be a good influence on Jess.  Lorelei thinks it’s time Rory had a Jess.

At Friday night dinner, Emily isn’t happy with the salad, because walnuts keep appearing in it, no matter how many times she has the maid re-do it.  Rory and Richard go into the kitchen for some soda (Rory) and ice (Richard).  He tells her he’s going to visit Yale one weekend, and he asks Rory if she wants to come.  Rory, being Rory, agrees to go.  When she tells Lorelei, however, Lorelei wants to go back inside, because she thinks Richard is up to something.

Rory stops by Luke’s after school one day, but things are still weird between her and Jess.  And, of course, the trip to Yale, in which Emily and Richard talk about their time there.

And then…they arrive at the main administration building, where we learn that Richard has set up an interview with the Dean Of Admissions.  Lorelei isn’t happy, and even Emily is surprised.  And this is when Richard starts talking about how Lorelei doesn’t understand the college admission process, because she never went to college.  It’s his job to make sure that Rory knows her options, because Rory’s education isn’t something that is going to be left to chance.  Lorelei goes outside to call a cab, and Emily follows her to tell her that applying to Yale could make Rory look even better to Harvard.

Rory finishes her interview, and isn’t happy that she didn’t have time to prepare.  She would have worn something different and would have had her transcripts and letters of recommendation ready if she had known.  And she tells Richard that she would have gone through with the interview if he had just asked her, because she wanted to do it right.

She and Lorelei go back to Stars Hollow, where they eat tacos at the diner.  Jess and Rory make up excuses to leave, and Luke tells Lorelei about the ground rules he has for Rory and Jess.  Lorelei, however, tells him that they’re totally together at the moment, and Luke decides he has to go looking for them.

After Rory meets up with Jess, she goes to talk to Dean.  She apologizes for treating him horribly and for doing the things he said she did.  She’s surprised that he hasn’t told his mom yet, and answering the door with his mom being really nice to her would have been weird for Rory knowing that his mom is going to hate him soon.  And his sister is going to hate her when she finds out they’re not together. Dean makes a snarky comment about how horrible it is that someone doesn’t like her, but they both hope that one day, Dean doesn’t hate her anymore.

The episode ends with Rory and Lorelei looking at Yale brochures.

Thoughts:

Even before I knew who wrote the episode, I knew Amy Sherman-Palladino wrote it, because there are some issues between Lorelei and Richard.

I normally love Richard, but he made me so mad in this episode!  I agree that Rory needs to look at all of her options, and not just focus on Harvard, but then again, we don’t see her think about other schools.  We just see her focus on Harvard, so it’s pretty one-sided.

I don’t think Richard went about it the best way, and I really think Rory would have down the interview if Richard asked her.  Plus, it’s an interview for an Ivy League school, and that’s not something you just spring on someone, especially someone like Rory, who needs to go in really prepared.

I thought Richard went a bit overboard when he was talking about how he’s in a better position to help Rory because he went through the college application process.  It totally makes it sound like he’s better than Lorelei because he knows what Rory is going through.  And that you can’t understand the process if you don’t go through it.  I kind of agree that Rory has a good chance of getting into Yale since Richard went there, but wouldn’t Chilton be offering support and guidance?  Unfortunately, his good intentions didn’t go over well, and I think he could have gone about it a little differently.  Also, I know Lorelei is insistent that Rory is going to Harvard, but I think she also needs to be a little more open to the idea that Rory could apply to other schools.

Oh!  Rory applying to Yale, which makes her look better to Harvard.  That seems a little off to me. Like, why and how would Harvard know if someone’s applied to Yale and Princeton?

And Rory talking to Dean…when he made the snarky comment about people not liking Rory…I was all, Go Dean!  Because Rory is so worried about people hating her, and it was actually kind of nice to see him point it out that not everyone is going to like her.

Favorite Line/Scene:

None for this episode

Pop Culture:

The Donner Party, the Wiffenpoofs, Perry Como, Nancy Reagan’s war on drugs, Oprah’s book club, Romeo And Juliet

Episode Rating:

I really liked this episode, and I feel like this one opens up the possibility of Rory thinking about colleges other than Harvard.  No ASP episode is complete without tension between Lorelei and her parents. This episode gets 4 mugs of coffee.

Book Review: Charade

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Charade CoverBook: Charade by Cambria Hebert

Self-Published by Cambria Hebert|332 pages

Where I Got It: Nook Store

Series: Heven & Hell #2

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Charade on Goodreads|You can find Cambria Hebert on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: Dying at the hands of a psycho was a shock. Having my life returned to me by an angel was incredible.

Being named a Supernatural Treasure and being given Sam as my guard was pretty darn awesome. Acquiring a debt for it all—well, I should have seen it coming.

Now here we are, fighting demons from Hell, caring for a boy that I just don’t trust, and traveling to faraway places to return a treasure to its rightful place. Nothing is as it seems. Everyone wears a mask; everyone puts on a charade. It’s up to us to separate the truth from the lies and reality from fiction. A hard task when my new reality involves fallen angels, witches and dragons… and did I mention Hell?

Anchoring me down through it all is Sam. Sam, who must face tragedies of his own and is put to the test again and again.

If we fail in our task, life as we know it—life as you know it—will end. Forever.

There was so much I didn’t expect from Charade, but I really liked it!  Things are not what they seem, and it made Charade a really fun read!

Just when I thought I knew what was going on, Hebert would do something that would completely take me off guard and remind me that I really have no clue what is going on.  There were definitely a few parts I should have seen coming, and while there times when something was off, I could never quite figure out why…because my theories tended to be smashed to bits.  There was so much mystery, and I loved that I didn’t quite know what was going on.

Trouble abounds for Sam and Heven, and that trouble comes in several different ways, none of which I want to reveal, because that will definitely be giving something away!  They do go to Rome to put the map in its rightful place, and of course, things go terribly, terribly wrong.  So I’m hoping things will go back to normal in the next book.  Because I don’t think I’ll be happy if they don’t.

I really liked seeing Sam and Heven narrate the book, and they often took turns narrating in the same chapter.  It worked really well, and they both had their own voice and their own stories, and it was nice to see what things were like for the two of them. I do wish they got to spend a little more time in Rome, because that part of the book went really fast!

I really like Heven, and already, Heven’s changed quite a bit!  I really liked her in this book, and I just love her grandma.  I’m still not a fan of her mom or Kimber, which is still kind of warranted in this book.  I’m actually neutral about Sam, but I did like how he was protective of Heven and how he wanted to take care of his brother Logan.  Logan, by the way, was really annoying throughout the book…but I totally understand why he was acting like a brat for pretty much the entire book.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Charade, and how nothing is what it seems!  Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I was proven so wrong, and I liked that I was kept guessing.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.  Charade gets 4 stars.