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Coexist

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Book: Coexist by Julia Crane

Published by Valknut Press

Purchased for my Nook (151 pages)

Genre: YA: Fantasy

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Julia Crane

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends–she’s an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans. 

In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen. Against tradition, Keegan’s brother Thaddeus told her Rourk’s name because his visions warned him she’d need Rourk’s protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves.

Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan’s side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known.

An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan’s family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle…without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

I liked that Coexist is about elves who are living alongside humans.  I like that they all have different gifts.  And the fact that they don’t meet their soulmate until they’re both 18 is a really interesting idea- one I can envision elves sticking to.  I loved what she did with elves, and it was nice to see them take center stage for once.

But there were a few things that didn’t work for me.  Like, all of her friends knew she was an elf, but didn’t say anything until the battle?  That’s awfully convenient.  And she could sense a dark elf, but couldn’t sense her friends weren’t completely human?  It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, and I wish it was explained more.  Plus, anything we learned about the characters came out of nowhere, and only when we needed to know it.

The Great Battle was pretty lame, and it seemed like it was going to be a really  big deal.  Only it wasn’t.  All of that build-up, and it turned out to be pretty boring.

Let’s see…characters!  Keegan was annoying, especially when she found out she wasn’t the only non-human.  I get wanting to be special, but at the same time, wouldn’t it be nice to know you’re not the only one?  I thought Rourke was boring as well.

But Keegan’s brother Thaddeus was really interesting.  He had a lot on his shoulders, and I think I would have preferred him as the narrator because he seemed a lot more interesting than any of the other characters.

I also wasn’t a fan of the ending- it ended pretty abruptly.  Almost like Crane forgot to end the book.

Overall, it was just okay.  It’s an interesting idea, but a lot of it didn’t work for me.  It gets a 2 out of 5.

Storm Glass

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Book: Storm Glsss by Maria V. Snyder

Published by Mira Books

Purchased for my Nook (448 pages)

Genre: YA: Fantasy

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Maria Snyder

Goodreads Summary: As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers–particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade–require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance–including her own–Opal must control powers she hadn’t known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.

I’m quickly becoming a fan of Maria Snyder.  She really does come up with some interesting ideas, and her worlds seem to be pretty distinct.

First, I just love the names in Storm Glass!  They’re a little fantasy-esque, but for fantasy names, they’re not too crazy or out there.  I loved that she didn’t feel confident in her abilities, but became more confident over the course of the novel.  I loved how she used her magic- through glass animals that are used to communicate.

Snyder did a fairly good job at creating a memorable world, although there were times when I felt like I was missing something.  There are plenty of details and I had a good sense of what was going on…but there were times when I felt like I was reading the series out of order.

Other than that, I really like the setting.  And the society that Snyder created was also interesting.  I loved that there were a lot of people who had magic manifest in different ways and yet ended up in the same classes as everyone else because no one knew what to do with them.

The glass-making is a really interesting aspect, and I really enjoyed seeing it used in a really interesting way.  I also enjoyed seeing the Stormdancers and what they did.

I liked Opal, and how she doubted herself but still did what she needed to do.  She felt very human and flawed, and I liked that she wasn’t completely sure of herself.  But I felt like she did become more confident by the end too.

I didn’t like the love triangle, which wasn’t really a big surprise, because it felt really forced.  With both guys.  As much as I love romance, I’d rather it not be in there than feel like it’s there to create conflict.  There are a quite a few characters, but I think I liked Opal the best.

Storm Glass gets a 4 out of 5.  It’s a really interesting world, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Midnight Alley

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Book: Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

Published by Penguin Group

Purchased for my Nook (256 pages)

Genre: YA: Paranormal- Vampires

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Rachel Caine

Goodreads Summary: When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. 

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

So far, this is my favorite book in the Morganville Vampires series.  It’s not saying much, because I’m only on book 3…and 10 more to go until I’m all caught up.

So, we learn that the vampires are dying, and Claire is determined to find a cure.  Which is so Claire, by the way.  But since she’s Protected by Amelie, she gets assigned to help Myrnin.  It’s definitely a little sad, seeing the end of the sickness they have, and it was interesting to learn about why Morganville was founded.  Hopefully, we’ll see more of Morganville’s history.

And of course, we learn that Claire’s parents have moved to town…and are living in a Founder’s house.  This definitely complicates Claire’s life, and I really look foward to seeing how she deals with it.  I liked how we met Myrnin in The Dead Girl’s Dance but don’t know that we’ve met him.

The characters are still the same, although we see what it’s like since Michael turned vampire.  Eve just kind of goes with it, as does Claire, but Shane, of course, isn’t happy with what Michael did.  And Claire, of course, has to deal with signing the contract with Amelie.  I’m starting to get slightly irritated with Shane, but I kind of get why he acts the way he does.

This is the first time we really see things start to move along, which is fine because the first couple books were setting things up.  Still, I’m glad we’re starting to see where the series is going, because Morganville is a pretty creepy yet interesting place.

We also learn of a resistance of sorts, and that’ll add something interesting to the series too.  I don’t think it’s the last we’ve heard of them.

Midnight Alley gets a 5 out of 5.  This is such a fun series to read, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Top 10 Tuesday Rewind: 10 Trends I Want To See More Or Less Of

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Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top 10 Trends I Want To See More Or Less Of

Today is a Top 10 Tuesday rewind, which means we get to a pick any past topic we want.  I’ve decided revisit the bookish trends I want to see more and less of, plus a few I’m not sure about.  It’s amazing I managed to come up with 10 more trends, but as long as there are new bookish trends, I’ll keep talking about them.

Less:

  • Covers with pretty girls in pretty dresses.  Or a girl’s face.  Especially if it’s half of her face.  Don’t get me wrong, I like these covers, but can we see something else on a cover every once in a while?
  • Abrupt endings.  I don’t think this is an actual trend, and I really hope it doesn’t become one.  I’ve come across a few books where the book just kind of…ends.  I don’t mind cliffhangers, but I don’t want to feel like the author forgot to finish the book.
  • Adding zombies or vampires to books.  Look, I don’t mind the whole Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, or Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter trend.  I hate to judge an entire genre based on one book that I have read (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is the only book in this genre I’ve read and I did like it), but just seeing it is getting a little tiresome.  I don’t want it to become overdone.
  • Accents.  I’m not a fan of reading someone’s accent.  For me, it’s a huge distraction.  So far, Hagrid is the only character who can get away with it, but in general, I don’t particularly want to read someone’s accent.

More:

  • We really need a college-aged equivalent of middle grade.  More college-aged students, whether it’s in YA or adult fiction, is good.  Why is this not a thing?
  • Parents who aren’t absent, completely horrible or over-protective.  I don’t mind it every once in a while, but do we really need to see it in almost every single novel?
  • Cool author bios and acknowledgements.  I like how a lot of YA author bios and acknowledgements make them seem like real people, and not just people to be admired from a distance for writing totally awesome books.

On The Fence:

  • Extra content: It seems like there is an explosion of novellas in YA.  I don’t want it to be so important that I need to read it before the next book in order to know what’s going on.  And I don’t want it to feel like the author was asked to write something extra.  But if it’s a short story or “lost” chapter that the author wants to share with the fans, that’s kinda cool.  I think it just depends on how interested you are in the series.
  • Spin-off series.  Vampire Academy/Bloodlines, Percy Jackson/the Roman God spin-off, Weather Wardens/Outcast Season and The Iron Fey/The Lost Prince all come to mind.  I don’t have strong opinions either way because I haven’t read enough of the original and it’s spin-off to know for sure if I like it or not.
  • Companion books.  I’ve only read, like, one companion book, so I’m not sure if I like it as a trend or not.  Honestly, it seems like it’s a way to write a series without actually writing a series.  Maybe I just need to read more of them before I start judging it.

GG 1 x 8: Love And Snow And War

Posted in Season One, The Gilmore Girls Project by

Love & Snow & War originally aired on December 14, 2000.  It was written by Joan Binder Weiss and was directed by Alan Myerson.

In Love & Snow & War, the first snowfall of the year happens.  Lorelei has her first date with Max while Rory spends the night at her grandparents.  Lane slightly complicates Lorelei’s night with Max.

Opening Scene: The first of many town meetings.  I love these town meetings…and yet again, I totally want to live in a place like Stars Hollow, where everything is run by town meetings and full of really fun things like the Autumn Festival.  We meet Andrew, the owner of the bookstore, and the mayor of Stars Hollow.  Oddly, he doesn’t seem to be around much…and Taylor pretty much takes over that role.  But anyway, Luke doesn’t want to hear the story about the anniversary of the Battle Of Stars Hollow and the reenactment.

Lorelei’s excited about the first snowfall.  She has the uncanny ability to smell snow.  And she listens to a message from Max Medina over and over in the middle of the night.  She loves the snow because that’s when good things happen.  I prefer sunshine, 70 degree weather, and the ability to wear flip-flops year-round myself, but whatever.

Lorelei’s definitely excited about the different activities the guests at the inn can do, but Michel isn’t.  Lane is telling Rory about her crush on Rich Bloomenfeld is, and Rory is too distracted to listen.

Dean shows up at the bus stop, and Rory is excited that Dean seems to like Jane Austen.  He tells her she needs to read Hunter Thompson.  This is one reason why I don’t like Rory and Dean.  She loves reading and school and learning.  And that seems pretty opposite of Dean.  Opposites attract and all, but they just seem too different to really be a good match.

Lorelei skips Friday night dinner because of the weather, so Rory spends the night at Emily and Richard’s.

While taking a walk in the snow, she runs into Max, and they have dinner and a movie.  Lane runs her hand through Rich Bloomenfeld’s hair, and runs off as her band-mates laugh.

At Richard and Emily’s, Emily has no idea what to do for dinner, because the cook can’t get to the house, and they can’t go out to a restaurant.  Rory promises to whip up a frozen pizza.  It’s a pretty funny scene, and it really is interesting how much Richard and Emily depend on their servants.  Must be nice.

Rory looks around her grandparent’s house, and comes across a photo album that belonged to Lorelei.  She finds a picture of her parents, and puts it in her pocket.  Don’t worry, we’ll meet her dad.  Lane calls her, and is feeling jealous of Rory’s life.  Lane just needed her best friend, and Rory wasn’t there.  While they’re talking, the power goes out and they can’t finish their conversation.

Emily is freaking out about the oven timer, and can’t turn it off because she doesn’t know how.  Emily seems pretty sheltered though.  They do enjoy the pizza more than they expected- and Richard even hopes to have it again.

Lorelei invites Max in, because he really doesn’t have anywhere else to go.  But you can tell it’s hard for her, because she keeps her love life very separate from her life at home with Rory.  Admirable but Max brings up a good point when he says that at some point, a guy will be important enough to bring home, and Rory’s just going to have to deal with it.

Lane and Lorelei talk about touching Rich’s hair, and she spends the night at Lorelei’s house.  It definitely changes the night that Max and Lorelei were going to have.

Rory finds Max sleeping on the couch, she and Lane work things out, and the episode ends as Rory looks at the picture of her parents.

Pop culture References: American Revolution, USSR, Sergeant Pepper, Star Trek, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Hunter Thompson, Judy Blume

Favorite Lines/Scenes: From Taylor: “There is no use for a lava lamp, unless you’re on drugs.”

From Richard: “Rory, are you in any way malnourished or in need of a relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?”

Final Thoughts: Cool episode.  I liked but it doesn’t really stand out.  I can’t rememer when her dad shows up, but I think it’ll be a while before we do.  It gets 2 out of 5 mugs.

My Soul To Save

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Book: My Soul To Save by Rachel Vincent

Published by Harlequin Teen

Purchased for my Nook (280 pages)

Genre: YA: Paranormal

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Rachel Vincent

Goodreads Summary: The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for an eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….

My Soul To Save is the 2nd book in the Soul Screamers series, and I really liked it.  I really love how she uses Reapers and banshees, and I just love how she keeps introducing new things.  Like trading your soul to have a lifetime of fame and fortune.  And how they’re tortured for all eternity by a demon.

Kaylee’s not the type to go looking for trouble…well, she sort of is.  But she wants to help people, even if it means she could die.  She’s learning how to control her abilities, and I can’t wait to see what she can do with them.

Nash and Kaylee- I just love them together, and the fact that they need to work together is seriously cool.  Plus, they really are in this together, and it’s partly because they need each other to do their job, but also because they really do care about each other.  As for Nash’s brother, Tod, I love how he just loves to get on Nash’s nerves.

While they don’t save Addie, I get why she did what she did.  She was annoying at times, but she really did redeem herself at the end.  I loved the descriptions of the Netherworld and how dangerous it is.  It’s a place I think we’ll be seeing more of, especially if Tod sticks around.  And the corporation that Addie’s with?  It kind of reminded me of Disney, and how they get a lot of their stars when they’re 12 or 13 and how they kind of fade away once they hit 17 or 18.  I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but that’s what came to mind.

I’m really starting to love this series, and I’m not at all bored reading it.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.  My Soul To Save gets a 4 out of 5.  

Queen Of Fashion

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Book: Queen Of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore To The Revolution by Caroline Weber

Published by Henry Holt And Co.

Purchased for my Nook (432 pages)

Genre: Non-fiction: History/Fashion

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Caroline Weber

Goodreads Summary: In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette’s bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France

Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette’s “Revolution in Dress,” covering each phase of the queen’s tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles’s rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt “unqueenly” outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her.

Weber’s queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion–the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs–was also the means of her undoing. Weber’s book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history’s most controversial figures.

Queen Of Fashion was a really interesting read.  I don’t remember much about Marie Antoinette, other than a few details from a podcast the History Chicks did on her.  And her dying, of course.  There aren’t a lot of details about her childhood, and the book mainly focuses on her life in France.

I loved the focus on clothes and how her style really changed things.  One thing that stood out was the corset reserved for princesses and other high-ranking royalty.  Marie had to wear it on a regular basis, while the everyone else only wore it on certain occassions.  It was definitely more restrictive than the standard corset, and it was much more restrictive than the corsets Marie used to wear in Austria.  Even pregnancy didn’t exempt you from wearing it, and they felt the effects of it more than anyone else.  Fainting, heart palpitations and asthma were among the symptoms.

Appearnce and clothes were really important over in France, and it really signified a lot.  Etiquette and ritual was also important, but clothes really signified the structure of society in France.  Certain people wore certain things, and if you deviated from that…it was not good.

I was surprised to learn that there were people who didn’t like Marie from the very beginning.  I knew that people really didn’t like her towards the end, but when she first arrived- that was definitely surprising.

I did like the descriptions of the clothes she wore, although it did become tiresome by the end of the book.  People definitely copied her fashions for a while, but what once earned her respect would soon work against her.  It seemed like she didn’t get what her clothing represented to her subjects.

It was interesting to see Marie through the clothes she wore, especially since I never associated her with clothes for some reason.

One thing I thought was a little odd was how Weber referenced Antonia Fraser’s work several times.  I did enjoy the one book I read by Fraser, and it’s clear that Fraser’s work was very important to Weber’s book.  But in comparison to other authors mentioned, it was almost as if Weber didn’t use any other sources.

I will say that it is pretty well-paced, and it has a lot of details without getting bogged down with them.  It’s also pretty straight-foward and fairly easy to read.

Queen Of Fashion gets a 4 out of 5.

The Princess Diaries

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Book: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Published by HarperCollins

Purchased for my Nook (256 pages)

Genre: YA: Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Meg Cabot

Goodreads Summary: What? A princess??

Me??? Yeah, right.

Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there’s nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra.

Is she ever in for a surprise.

First Mom announces that she’s dating Mia’s Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn’t have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?

I completely forgot how much I loved The Princess Diaries until I read it for the first time since high school.

I love how it’s told in diary form, which fits Mia so well.  I just love Mia and how awkward she is.  I can relate to unruly hair and not doing well in math and a crush on a really cute guy.  Her reaction to finding out she’s a princess and her dealing with everyone finding out was interesting to read.  It’s very her, but it’s hard not to smile (or laugh) at her thoughts about what’s going on.

This was so fun to read, and I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to my memories of it.  But it did, and it’s nice to know that it holds up really well.  I feel like we get to know Mia really well, and I love her relationship with her mom.  There is a bit of role reversal, in that Mia’s making sure that everything’s okay.  But it’s nice to see that her parents are involved in her life.

Lilly is a little overbearing, but at least Mia made a new friend in Tina.  I definitely liked how Mia realized that Tina wasn’t as weird as she thought.

While I didn’t absolutely love The Princess Diaries, I still really enjoyed it.  It gets a 4 out of 5 for being funny, honest and real.

Masquerade

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Book: Masquerade by Cambia Hebert

Published by Otherworld Publications

Purchased for my Nook (392 pages)

Genre: YA: Paranormal

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Cambria Hebert

Goodreads Summary: Before. Everything was so much better Before. I wasn’t haunted by nightmares, my place at school was secure and my face was flawless. Now, I’m a freak and everything has changed. The worst part is that I can’t remember the night I was sentenced to the shadows. The memory has been stolen from me and I just can’t shake the feeling that someone, something is out there -watching.

Just when I think I have my life handled, Sam, with his intimidating golden stare and shiver inducing voice, makes me realize that I don’t know anything. He makes me see that my scars don’t matter. That they never mattered. I can’t help but fall for him, completely unknowing that he knows exactly how I got this way. Not knowing he was involved.

Heven has no idea how closely death stalks her. She has no idea what I have done to keep her alive. I fear the day she learns my secrets, finds out what I really am. But even then I cannot stop, I vow to make things right. Finally her hunter will be hunted, Heaven and Hell, faith and sin will battle, and we will be victorious. But first, Heven must learn to be what she never imagined. I know her strength is there – I feel it. If we are to overcome all odds, she must push past her flaws – her frailties – to become much more.

I really liked Masquerade.  There’s a sense of mystery for most of the book, and I really liked that.  We know that Heven has an accident, which left her with some pretty nasty scars, but what no one knows is what happened.  Until the end, of course, when we learn about who attacked and why they did it.

I loved the chapters where we see “the hate” and “the hope.”  You know they’re the one’s who know about what happened to Cambria, and while the hope, who turns out to be Sam, is totally obvious, it worked really well.

One of the things I loved was that Sam is a hellhound.  Definitely cool, and I liked that Heven is a Supernatural Treasure.  Of course, Sam has to protect her, and they are given a mission that they’ll complete in the books to come, which isn’t a big surprise.  But it’s also a pretty original idea, and I can’t wait to see if they complete the task that’s been given to them.

I wish we had more glimpses of Heven’s life before.  It’s referred to, but we don’t actually see it.  Still, we do get just enough to see how things play out.

I thought the characters were interesting, although I don’t particularly care for Heven’s mom or her friend Kimbra.  Her grandma is pretty awesome.  As for Sam and Cole’s dislike of each other…I think there’s more to this, and I’m not sure why.

No story is complete without romance, and I really liked it.  More than I expected, considering that it was fairly predictable.  But I still really liked it, and they are cute together.

Masquerade gets a 4 out of 5.  It is predictable but I really enjoyed it because I loved Sam as a hellhound and Heven as a Supernatural Treasure.

A Look Back At September

Posted in Blogging, General by

September is over, and October is here, which means it’s time for my usual monthly round-up and look ahead.

Gilmore Girls Project: I talked about Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 and Episode 6.

Top 10 Tuesday: Top 10 Books On My Fall TBR List, 10 Books That Make You Think, 10 Bookish People I Want To Meet, and 10 Series I Haven’t Finished

Books: Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones

Daughter Of The Forest by Juliet Marillier

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Other Posts: I talk about Pride48 and share the video for Crazy World

And this month, I plan on reviewing The Casual Vacancy, And The Band Played On, Queen Of Fashion and quite a other books.  We can’t forget about Top 10 Tuesday or The Gilmore Girls Project, and at the end of the month, I’ll be talking about NaNo.  There’s definitely a lot in store this month!