Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3) by Gail Carriger

Summary: Sophronia continues second year finishing school in style -- with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown. She, best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and charming Lord Felix Mersey stow away on train to return classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspects what or who would be aboard the suspiciously empty train.



My Favorite Quotes: 
“That's a very murky position," objected Felix.
"So's the weather. But this is England, we must learn to live with uncertainty.”
― Gail Carriger, Waistcoats & Weaponry




My review: This book was by far one of the best in Gail Carriger's Finishing School series ! I loved Sophronia's character development, and  we got to see so much emotion from her. The language and dialogue is as fun and witty as ever, and honestly this series just keeps getting better and better.
Such a great read! It took me a moment to get my head back into the characters, but then the escapades just took over. Sophronia's plans - or lack thereof - for her future, the conflicting demands of friendship (or more) and loyalty, and lessons in fighting with fans all mingle in a wonderful mess of scrapes, foibles and general fun.

Seduction and Snacks (Chocolate Lovers #1) by Tara Sivec

Summary: Claire is a twenty-something, single mom that grudgingly helps her best friend sell sex toys while she attempts to make enough money to start her own business to give her foul-mouthed, but extremely loveable (when he's asleep) toddler a better life.

When Carter, the one-night-stand from her past that changed her life forever, shows up in her hometown bar without any recoll(more)



My Favorite Quotes:
“I shouldn't be allowed to think when I'm drinking.”
― Tara Sivec, Seduction and Snacks

My Review 

Warning: DO NOT read this book in public. If you do, you have fair warning that you may be apprehended and brought to your local mental hospital.

I love love love this book!!! Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec is pure awesome sauce! Never, and I repeat, NEVER has a book made me laugh this hard. I don't usually do reviews on books that aren't YA, but this book was just amazing. Now I'm not saying that this book was perfect, but it damn near was. I mean this book deserves a category of it own.

Listen to everyone when they tell you to read this book because you'll laugh your little tush off. Cause You WILL! This book is a must read. Go find it now!!

Five STARS!!

CHARACTER BOOK LOOK: FAIREST BY MARISSA MEYER

Character Book Look: Queen Levana from Fairest by nereyda1003 featuring Arteriors

Sarah Dessen Interview

If you’re a fan of the young adult genre (and if you are, you don’t need me to tell you that there’s more to it than vampires and werewolves), you’re probably heard the name of today’s interviewee. She’s the author of 10 novels (many of them New York Times bestsellers) which have won numerous awards and accolades. Just a few examples: Just Listen was a Booksense Top Ten Pic, An ALA Best Book for Young Adults and in YALSA Teen’s Top Ten; This Lullaby was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Borders Group Original Voices Finalist, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist and Someone Like You was An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a barnesandnoble.com Best Teen Novel of the Year, Winner of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award and was adapted into the movie How to Deal. Her most recent book, What Happened to Goodbye, was released in May 2011. I hope you enjoy this interview that I think is a revealing (and, from a writer’s point of view, reassuring look) at the life of a prolific and popular author.

I’ve read that several of your stories have been influenced by your real-life high school experiences. Prior to publication, have you ever spoken to any of your friends who you felt may have recognized themselves in your characters? 
I've been pretty careful not to use anything too specific about anyone. I find that the more I depend on real life, the less interesting the story is. It's much more common for me to take something that almost-happened, or I wish had happened, and then follow that possibility. That said, I have used names of my friends as teachers and other things, just as a little wink. Also then I will know if they actually read the book or just said they did.

On that note, do you ever refer to old journals, yearbooks or photos to jog your memory of what life was like when you were in high school? How do you keep in that mindset? 
Personally, I don't have to work very hard. I still live in my hometown and pass by my high school regularly, and I did marry someone I met then, as well. However, if I spent ALL my time with high school friends that wouldn't be good either. I think the mindset, for me, comes mostly from just remembering. It was not the best time for me. But the upside is that the feelings and events are kind of burned into my brain as a result.

In an earlier interview you said, “In high school, I was the oracle. My friends both loved and hated this about me.” How so?
I remembered all the stories. I still do. Which means that if my friends ever wanted to revise their histories to deny certain things (boys they dated, in particular) I would totally correct them. They hated that. On the other side, though, I was the one who could tell all the stories and make us laugh. Someone has to remember. Even if you sometimes want to forget.

Do you ever disagree with your editor? How do you know who is right? 
I'm lucky that I have a really, really good editor in Regina Hayes at Viking's Children's Books. I call her my Just Right, as I have former editors the way other people have ex-boyfriends. Some were good fits, some not so much. Regina is VERY wise, and she won't push an edit unless she really feels it needs to be done. I also have learned to pick my battles. If you fight for every single thing, your voice loses impact. Editing is altogether collaborative, in the end. If you have someone good, you can learn SO much.

What do you think is the difference between a Young Adult book and an adult novel that happens to be about a young adult?
I know there are librarians that have much better answers to this question. To me, the difference is that a novel that involves the narrator looking back with adult perspective is contemporary fiction. A narrator who is a teen right then, without benefit of hindsight, is a young adult book. But I may be totally off on that. There are a lot of theories!

For you, what’s more difficult, writing the first draft or the editing process? 
Always the writing process. Editing is hard but nowhere NEAR as tough as facing that blank page and blinking cursor each day. You're all alone and no one else can do it. At least with editing you have someone in the trench with you.

Have you written any complete books that didn’t get sold? Do you consider those dead and buried or do you think about trying to resurrect them and alter them? 
I have SO many books I didn't sell. Some my agent rejected outright, others made it all the way to my editor to be turned away. Not everything is a winner, which is tough when you've devoted eight or nine months of your life to something. But usually, if I am honest, I have a sense when I'm rushing something or it's not right. I just hope I'm wrong. My agent is so totally honest, which is just what every writer needs. She won't let me sell a crappy book, even if I want to. I also have a few regular fiction books that I wrote years back that no one was interested in. I'd love to think they're good enough to get another shot but...I think if I write for an older audience, I'd like to do it with all the experience I've had in the last ten years, not with something from before.

When you found out that you were having a baby, did you make a schedule for yourself in terms of how writing, editing and publishing would fit into your pregnancy, delivery and then early days of child-rearing, or did you just make it work as you could? 
I was writing Lock and Key when I found out I was pregnant, so we knew we were dealing with a time issue more so than the other novels. I finished it in the spring, edited during the summer, and finished everything on my end it pretty close to when my daughter was born in the fall. Because we did the writing and editing much closer together than normal, I had from September to May or so to just adjust to being a mom before I had to start promoting. And I did a VERY small book tour, only four dates or so, only one overnight. But writing with a kid isn't easy. I have sitters who help me weekday afternoons, but if they get sick or have a conflict, I just don't work that day. The controlling writer freak in me goes NUTS when that happens. But I just have to roll with it. So I try to do just that.

How much time to you allot yourself each day or week to be in touch with your fans or promote your books? It seems like that would be a tempting way to “work” while simultaneously procrastinating writing. 
I feel like Twitter was tailor-made for me, because I can do short spurts all day long. I loved myblog, but doing daily, then thrice weekly entries was really time consuming. 140 characters is perfect. And I just have to be super strong when it comes to my work time. Shut the browser, ignore the email alerts, and just WRITE. It's actually easier now that I know I only have four hours a day, five days a week. It forces me to get serious.

You’ve said: “I am a serious rule-follower, sometimes to my detriment.” What does that mean? 
Oh, I just can't ever be a free spirit and just relax. When it comes to work, as I said above, this is good. I'm very disciplined, which with writing is often half the battle, or more. But it also means that if I want to, say, play hooky and chocolate and watch Bravo all afternoon, I feel horribly guilty. I wish I could find a nice balance. I wish I could find any balance, these days.

How do you feel about Goodreads? I know a lot of authors consider it a necessary evil.
I belong to Goodreads but honestly am not super active on it. All this stuff would take all day if I let it! I do Twitter, very little Facebook, the occasional blog post and very few emails to my mailing list. And that is still a LOT. I am lucky to have a very web-savvy assistant who does some of the heavier lifting for me.

Do you have a tradition for celebrating pub day?
I usually try to read at one of my favorite hometown independent bookstores, The Regulator, on my pub day. We've done that the last four books or so and now I am superstitious about it. Also I eat a lot of potato chips and try NOT to obsess, usually not very successfully.

Which magazines do you subscribe to? 
Oh, dear. I should totally say The Economist, right? Truth: US Weekly and Entertainment Weekly. I also get Newsweek but I'd be lying if I said most weeks it didn't go directly into recycling. Sigh.

I know you like Modern Family: what other shows do you watch?
This is another guilty pleasure of mine, TV. I love ALL the Housewives franchise on Bravo, but pay penance by only allowing myself to watch them while I'm working out. (Also, my husband will not tolerate them on in his presence.) I also regularly watch The Office, Parks and Recreation, The New Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Kitchen Nightmares and Good Morning America. Sadly, that is not the whole list, but I'll stop now.

What’s been your favorite book that you’ve read with your daughter recently?
We are really loving Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich. We are also big fans of the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney. I love how much she enjoys reading. She looks nothing like me---a ringer for my husband---but with her love of stories I see myself in her.

What’s your worst (by which I mean best) waitressing story? 
I had a woman slap my hand once. She'd ordered a salad and eaten it. The plate was clear, fork diagonally across it. I asked if I could take it, she ignored me, so next time I went by when it had not been touched, I reached for it. She smacked my hand. I remember going back to the wait station all like, "I cannot even begin to talk about what just happened at table two." It was awful. I still see her around town sometimes. Am always tempted to smack her, but have restrained myself so far.

Vampire Academy By Richelle Mead

Summary: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.


My favorite quote:“Lissa and I had been friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us up together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell Vasilisa Dragomir and Rosemarie Hathaway was beyond cruel, and we’d—or rather, I’d—responded appropriately. I’d chucked my book at out teacher and called her a fascist bastard. I hadn’t known what those words meant, but I’d known how to hit a moving target.
Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.” ― Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy


My Review: Considering that Twilight wasn't my favorite series on the face of the planet, I was a little skeptical about picking up another vampire based novel or series. I was a little bit stubborn when it came to reading Vampire Academy. Part of me honestly thought that a vampire series couldn't impress me after experiencing how oversaturated the genre had become with depressing characters, plots, and stories. I wanted to understand why so many people were such fervent fans of this book series.I went into this book wanting desperately to hate this book, but by the end of this book I found that I had turned into one of those fervent fans.
This book was definitely a different from the millions of books out there about vampire.'Vampire Academy' is one of the best young adult books in the paranormal genre I've read in a really long time. There are strong female characters and a great storyline with a plot that is immensely intriguing. I would highly recommend this book to all paranormal fans in a heart-beat. Why it took me so long to start this series I don't know, but I'm so glad I've started it now. It's brilliant and I'm completely hooked!

CRESS (LUNAR CHRONICLES #3) BY MARISSA MEYER

Summary: In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent (more) 

My favorite Quote: 
“Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?"
He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder.”

My review: AWESOME. INCREDIBLE. BREATHTAKING. WONDERFUL. NON-STOP ACTION. I can't put into words how much I love this series and book. This book literally had me fan-girling.

Let me one of the first to say that The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite YA Science Fiction series of all time. More than the complex and detailed writing and the awesome characters, the book has what I deem is the most important... heart. By "heart", I mean it has that amazing ability to reel you in and lets you experience the world and the emotions the characters in the most remarkably spectacular way. I am not saying the series does not have its flaws, but the over all amazingness of this book makes up for any and all flaws.

One of the many fantastic things about The Lunar Chronicles are even though it's retelling of well known fairy tales we grew up to and we fondly love. They are refreshing, totally different and there's always something new to offer and some twist you didn't see coming.

Just to make it clear, I adore the world that Marissa Meyer has built. Cress is one of those books that I'm glad is 500+ pages long because I love being in Marissa Meyer's world again and I want it to last forever. The way each of her books build upon the last is simply put: masterful and pure genius.

Cress, is a story initially centered on Meyer's Rapunzel. Cress is locked in a satellite (see what she did there) where she has been forced to use her considerable hacker skills to assist Queen Levana in many of her evil plots. However, secretly Cress has long been assisting Cinder and the rest of her band of fugitives. As Cress begins, their worlds are about to collide in the most devastating way possible.

OVERALL RATING: 

The Anatomy of a Misfit By Andrea Portes

SUMMARY :This emotional, hilarious, devastating, and ultimately triumphant YA debut, based on actual events, recounts one girl’s rejection of her high school’s hierarchy—and her discovery of her true self in the face of tragedy.

Fall’s buzzed-about, in-house favorite.

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she’s a freak:... (more)


My favorite quote: “I mean if there was any justice in the world you wouldn't even have to go to school during your period. You'd just stay home for five days and eat chocolate and cry.”
― Andrea Portes, Anatomy of a Misfit



My Review: This book and I have a love-hate relationship. This book was nice and all, but the characters and the plot were just a little hard to relate to. The characters were more than a bit vile sometimes. I do think some teens will really relate to and like Anika (the main character). I think she was very negative and sort of a snob in her own way. She may have had a rough life ( lots of us do ), but that made a shell on her that made me just not really care for her character enough to want things to be better for her. She did grow on me, but some of her decisions made me want to smack the living daylight out of her.

 The descriptions of people were hard to relate to. I don't think there was a positive description, except maybe Anika's mother. And some of  the things that was said/written in this book was really offensive. The whole town seems to have something against all black people, foreigners, and anyone with a religion. Until the very end, it was all first world problems and angst.

I am a little mad at myself, because despite everything wrong with the book I still sort of enjoyed the book. I only find myself wishing that the beginning was as good as the last 30-40 pages of the book.

The Naturals By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t r...(more)


My favorite quote: “You feel stupid. Doesn't mean you are.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Naturals


My review: This book was neither here nor there for me.  It was an emotional roller coaster. All you have to do to get the book in a nutshell is imagine Criminal Minds for young adults. The Naturals are a crack team of teenagers with special abilities who are being trained by the FBI to solve cold cases. Each of these teens has some kind of talent in reading crime scenes: the ability to profile, analyse, or use the powers of deception. The reader gets a glimpse inside the killer's demented mind and it is rather creepy. I would have been creeped out just writing this book. I heard that this book might be turned into a TV series. I can really see that. It has all the elements that a good TV series needs: suspense, action, and lots of young people.
Some parts of the book were totally boring and cliche. The love triangle was a little (okay maybe a lot) unnecessary. I think I would have liked the book more if the author (the lovely Ms. Jennifer Barnes) did not try to carry out that somewhat stupid love triangle.
 Cassie (the main character) was a little annoying and frustrating (and a bit flat in character around the middle part), but I still liked her...well sort of.  I didn't really feel connected to Cassie, she seems strong and brave but you aren't really invested in her till the end.
The story idea is really cool I think. Teens working for the FBI! I know it's not very likely, but I really enjoyed this set up and the overall story. Cassie gets training, gets secretly involved in a real case and gets herself in danger. Pure entertainment from start to finish. Overall, it was a nice and entertaining read. I give it a 3.7 out of 5

Dorothy Must Die By Danielle Paige Book Look

Dorothy Must Die by nereyda1003 featuring a silver plated bracelet

Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter

Through the Zombie Glass by nereyda1003 featuring a leather hat

Book Title: Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2)

Book Author: Gena Showalter

Release Date: 09/24/13

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Summary: Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they've got mine...
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong. After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst?...(more)

Ensnared by A.G HOWARD Book Look

Ensnared by nereyda1003 featuring ASOS

Book Title: Ensnared

Author Title: A.G. Howard

Release Date: January 6th 2015

Summary:After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She's determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass wor...(more)