tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84292231079429066392024-03-18T01:42:55.449-04:00Diamond&Coal Book ReviewsA blog of book reviews, mostly Young Adult with random others mixed in.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.comBlogger730125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-60759497674081008282016-09-09T00:57:00.001-04:002016-09-09T00:57:27.474-04:00Feature & Follow #37 -- Or the one where I go from "meh" to "LOVE"!!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 21.735px;">So, Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/2016/09/08/feature-follow-time-6">Parajunkee</a> and <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2016/09/feature-and-follow-friday_8.html">Alison Can Read</a>. It's where you answer the weekly question and then link yourself to the social hop! We each go check out the other blogs, helping to support our endeavors as a community. Also, do it just because it's fun! :D</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 21.735px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Q: </b></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever disliked or felt “meh” about a book only to later change your mind and love it?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: inherit;">A: I don't usually change my mind once I've read a book, but currently I'm re-reading </span><i>Throne of Glass </i>by Sarah J. Maas, and I'm enjoying it way more than the first time I read it four years ago (I wouldn't call it love thought)! :D</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16034235-throne-of-glass"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCqmACS8oYG0qVQs2KZK5j84Amv6DMBp57-l1x_IM4WY4NZKscODXPNKmnGSeKjcLpNLmhZoRpQBQCIANP0KK1erz8wivMVUgSFQiyBAWD6UVyo33iNQzp93R7hl4GCqSwSRSCdxCj8M/s320/16034235.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">I</span></span><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">f you stop by and want to follow us, we prefer<b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiamondCoalBookReviews/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/people/annapartrick5-2335813">Bloglovin</a> </b>and<b> <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaPartrick">Twitter</a> </b>follows (please and thank you)! <b>:)</b> Happy visiting everyone!</span></span></div>
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Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-36825095674958318462016-09-08T01:28:00.000-04:002016-09-08T01:28:12.335-04:00I'm Back!!! Or, the One Where My Computer is No Longer Broken! :)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>I'M BACK!!!!</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>So hey guys, in case you hadn't noticed, I've been gone for awhile -- about a year to be exact!!! I'm so excited to tell you that starting on Friday of this week, I once again have access to my own computer and can begin blogging on a regular basis again. If any of you have been friends with me on Goodreads for the last year, you know that I definitely haven't stopped reading in that time period. I will be posting reviews again, looking to get involved in blog tours and I also started a BookTube channel on Youtube about a few weeks ago now that I plan on updating a couple times a week (on a regular basis). So glad to see you again and I hope to get in the swing of things again very soon. But for now, all I can say is YAY! I'm back!!!</div>
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Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-60552090456111324682015-08-03T21:28:00.005-04:002015-08-03T21:28:47.882-04:00Captain America: Winter Soldier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: April 14th, 2010</span></div>
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<b>Captain America: Winter Soldier (Winter Soldier #1-2)</b></div>
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By: Ed Brubaker (Writer) & Steve Epting (Artist)</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Marvel Comics</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780785143413</div>
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<b>A midnight call to duty brings Captain America aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D Heli-carrier to identify the corpse of his most feared adversary: the Red Skull! The shocking murder of Cap's oldest enemy may not be the end of the Skull's plans, however, because whoever shot the Skull has stolen his final project: an unfinished Cosmic Cube with the potential power to alter reality itself. Adding to the imminent danger, a cadre of the Skull's followers has already set in motion a plan to ignite bombs in the heart of Paris, London and Manhattan -- causing untold destruction. Racing against these bombs' rapidly ticking clocks, the Star-Spangled Avenger must not only solve the mystery of his nemesis' murder, but find the Cube before it can be used in the Red Skull's malevolent plot against the United States! Then, the questions plaguing Captain America's dreams and memories have been answered in the most brutal way possible. And in the wake of this brutality, General Lukin makes his first move...</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">More like 3.5 stars. To be honest, the stuff with the cosmic cube was very "meh" to me personally. The "death" of the Red Skull was interesting though and I feel like if I had more background on it, I'd be more invested in what happened. That ending was creepy as Hell though! I do think I liked the way the movie was structured a lot better than this comic -- too much talk and not enough action! (Oh my God, I'm turning into my Dad...)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> However, I felt like this was not the place to start if I actually wanted to like Steve Rogers/Cap as a person. To be completely honest, he was kind of a </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">dick</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">...to everyone he spoke to for the ENTIRE comic. He's built like a mack-truck and spends most of his time breaking shit in blind rages, yelling at people, refusing to listen to anyone elses' opinions and looking downright scary! Not a guy I'd approach on the street for directions. More like someone I'd expect to go to rehab for one too many roid-rage incidents.</span></div>
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<b>***POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> Don't know all the history between him and Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13, but obviously there was some mega-tension and clashing of ideals going on between the two of them. Also was very put off by her basically</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="spoilerContainer" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">just wanting to shoot Bucky and get rid of him, regardless of the fact that he was a brainwashed hired-gun and none of it was <em>really</em> his fault -- all because his Philadelphia strike kills her ex-boyfriend. BOO-FUCKING-HOO Sharon, boo-fucking-hoo! To her it doesn't matter if Bucky's still in there or not, which didn't endear her to me AT ALL. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> Final verdict, I liked the movie better because it's more approachable for someone that's a noob like me. That said, I definitely want to read more Cap comics and will be continuing this series. Now excuse me while I celebrate Friday with a virtual drink or two...</span></div>
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Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-262256253751721972015-08-03T21:02:00.001-04:002015-08-03T21:06:16.998-04:00You're A Virgin, Who Can't Drive!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: July 7th, 2015</span></div>
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<b>As If!: The Oral History of Clueless as told by Amy Heckerling and the Cast and Crew</b></div>
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By: Jen Chaney</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Touchstone</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781476799087</div>
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<b>Acclaimed pop culture journalist Jen Chaney shares an oral history of the cult classic film <i>Clueless </i>in the ultimate written resources about one of the most influential, revered, and enduring movies of the 1990s -- in celebration of its twentieth anniversary.</b></div>
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<b>Will we ever get tire of watching Cher navigate Beverly Hills high school and discover true love in <i>Clueless? </i>As if! Written by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone, <i>Clueless </i>is an enduring comedy classic that remains one of the most streamed movies on Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes even twenty years after its release. Inspired by Jane Austen's <i>Emma, Clueless </i>is an everlasting pop culture staple.</b></div>
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<b>In the first book of its kind, Jen Chaney has compiled an oral history of the making of this iconic film using recollections and insights from key cast and crew members involved in the making of this endlessly quotable, ahead-of-its-time production. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how <i>Emma </i>influenced Heckerling to write the script, how the stars were cast in each of their roles, what was involved in creating the costumes, sets, and soundtrack, and much more.</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I really enjoyed this one! I'm grading up a tad bit due to nostalgia factor -- plus I'm looking forward to looking at the production/publicity pictures I'm sure will be included in the finalized copy. If you're a fan of <em>Clueless</em>, but don't know everything about it already, you will find this to be a fun book. It's mostly transcription of interviews, etc. with the cast and crew of the film that are still alive (the notable exception being the late Brittany Murphy, aka Tai) and there are some great stories from filming. Like the story behind the real Mr. Hall and the last-minute casting of the mugger who holds up Cher at the gas station.</span></div>
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I especially loved the stories from Amy Heckerling, Twink Caplan (associate producer and "Ms. Geist"), Paul Rudd, and Donald Faison. It follows from the pre-production and planning of <i>Clueless, </i>all the way to the cultural zeitgeist existing today. We get insights into the costumes, acting, directing, the soundtrack (with interviews from a few of the artists), and just about everything else involved in making a movie that you could possibly think of! Obviously there are some things that slightly contradict each other -- no one's memory is perfect after 20 years. But it's funny seeing them argue with each other over certain things and to get opposing viewpoints is wonderful. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of <i>Clueless </i>at all, you'll be surprised at how much you learn and the fun you have doing it! Thank you to NetGalley for this eArc to read and enjoy! :D<br />
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<b>VERDICT: </b>3.5/5 Stars</div>
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*<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I received this book from <b>Touchstone, </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">on </span><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">NetGalley</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was originally published on <b>July 7th, 2015.</b>*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-66506365486112280992015-07-14T13:52:00.001-04:002015-07-14T13:53:00.414-04:00All the Appeal of an Ambulance Siren<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: October 28th, 2014</span></div>
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<b>Gotham City Sirens: Book One</b></div>
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By: Paul Dini, Guillem March (Illustrations)</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">DC Comics</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781401251758</div>
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<b>This graphic novel features the bad girls of Gotham City! Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are tired of playing by other peoples' rules regardless of which side of the law they're on. These tough ladies have a new agenda that's all their own, and they'll use any means necessary to pursue it. But can they get along and work as a team? And who will get hurt along the way?</b></div>
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<b><i>Contains issues 1-13.</i></b></div>
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<u><b>Review (</b></u><u style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">HERE THERE BE SPOILERS, YAR!)</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I was enjoying myself pretty good for the whole volume, until that last issue. I was annoyed by the constant referencing of </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Hush</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> which I've never read. But it wasn't so tied into the story that I couldn't figure out what was going on and it didn't </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">really</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> diminish my enjoyment -- so I was letting it slide. I also really liked the portrayal of Harley as a somewhat coherent adult, albeit one with major issues and tendency towards childish behavior. The holiday issue with Harley's family definitely gives some background on how she could've turned out so messed up. So, things were chugging along decently. Than in that last issue things got really BIZZARE! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Selina's homeless sister Maggie, a former nun (who has been locked up in the mental hospital after going bonkers -- I'm assuming she escaped!), goes to see another nun -- a renowned exorcist. Turns out, she thinks Selina is being possessed by a cat demon of some sort and Maggie thinks she has to "free" her...then the nun's cat comes into the room and Maggie kills it and the nun, cause she's been "compromised." WTF???!!! Maggie then goes through her relics and gets possessed by an "angel" (probably not a real angel - they never are...), who wants her to kill Selina. Who she then doesn't kill, because when Selina ripped off a holy relic from Maggie's church when she was a nun, turns out she felt GUILTY and took it back. So there's "hope" of saving her...y'know, from the cat demon!!! </span></div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>2.5/5 Stars</div>
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Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-2474956126092065942015-05-21T23:34:00.006-04:002015-05-21T23:34:58.068-04:00Mismatched Lovers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: February 1st, 1979</span></div>
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<b>Harold and Maude</b></div>
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By: Colin Higgins</div>
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ISBN-13: 9780380003853</div>
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<b>Nineteen-year-old Harold Chasen is obsessed with death. He fakes suicides to shock his self-obsessed mother, drives a customized Jaguar hearse, and attends funerals of complete strangers. Seventy-nine-year-old Maude Chardin, on the other hand, adores life. She liberates trees from city sidewalks and transplants them to the forest, paints smiles on the faces of church statues, and "borrows" cars to remind their owners life is fleeting -- here today, gone tomorrow! A chance meeting between the two turns into a madcap, whirlwind romance, and Harold learns that life is worth living.</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Ugh. I know this is a classic, and I have a couple friends that absolutely loved it. Maybe it also doesn't help my opinion that I've never seen the movie? Not sure, but for some reason I'm not at all a fan of this one. It was okay, but overall un-inspiring for me personally.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I found it to be kind of similar to </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Love Story</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, in the fact that you can totally tell it was written to be a screenplay. It was never written to just be a book and for me personally, that hurt my enjoyment of it. There was no real flesh to the characters and barely any plot happening. And that freaking ending...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Since when is that the freaking answer? Maybe if I had seen the movie, or read this as a teenager, I'd have had more tolerance for the whole "suicide-star-crossed-age-gap-lovers" thing. But get this: I just didn't. She could have just told him, "Hey yo, I'm way too freaking old for you. Find a nice girl your own age and P.S. I'm going off on further adventures." Instead she committs suicide and Harold learns a nice, neat lesson? FUCKING GAG ME.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b>VERDICT: </b>2/5 Stars</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">*I received this book from <b>Avon Books </b>on <b>NetGalley</b>. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was originally published on <b>February 1st, 1979.</b>*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-15619588957725060212015-05-14T22:49:00.002-04:002015-05-14T22:49:41.795-04:00Crazy On You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: March 3rd, 2015</span></div>
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<b>Rocket Raccoon, Vol. 1: A Chasing Tale</b></div>
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By: Skottie Young</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Marvel</span></div>
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<b>Rocket Raccoon has been a hero to the weak, a champion of good, a heartthrob to many intergalactic females, but his high-flying life of adventure may be a thing of the past when he's framed for murder -- and the authorities aren't the only one on his tail! (Get it? Tail?) The real killer is an imposter who seems to be one step ahead of Rocket at every turn...now it's up to our hero and his best pal Groot to find the truth! With Macho Gomez and the Ex-Terminators tracking him, can Rocket make it out alive and clear his name?</b></div>
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If there's any comic that I can get behing whimsical, unrealistic-in-every-way artwork, it would be a comic starring Rocket Raccoon and his ever present buddy, Groot. So this time, it wasn't the art that got on my nerves. In fact there really wasn't much of anything that got on my nerves, so to speak. It was yet another case of the "mehs" for me with this book. I really enjoyed the first few issues, but I felt like it ran out of steam and I must be the only one who read this that DIDN'T enjoy the issue that was all "I Am Groot"s and pretty artwork. This whole book starts with Rocket on a quest to find the surviving member(s) of his race, that he found out about recently. Oh, and to clear his name of murder. Not that he hasn't committed murder before, but this rap sheet doesn't actually belong to him. So, it has to be another from his race, right? Then there's also the matter of all the ex-girlfriends that are trying to kill Rocket, for overall being a womanizing douchebag!</div>
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As soon as the story arc from the first three issues was tidied up, I felt like the last half of the "story" was just filler. And I think that's half of my problem with reading Marvel comics over DC. No matter which publisher, there's a 50/50 shot as to whether or not it's going to be any good, no matter what. But when you look at the pros and cons, I usually choose DC over Marvel. It tends to be because Marvels trade volumes are about 20-30 pages shorter (2 issues, give or take). Also, the story arcs, at least from the trades that I've read, seem to be more pointless/used to less effect. About half the volume is filler, unlike DC where even if it's shitty, all of it's pertinent. I guess what I've been learning from reading Marvel, and what I learned from reading Rocket Raccoon in particular, is that I'm old and a fun-sucker. Which, y'know, doesn't make me Marvel's ideal audience. In other words, I'm the perfect DC fan (to my DC-fan friends, just admit it to yourself).</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.4899997711182px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-70700666737816775282015-05-07T20:20:00.002-04:002015-05-07T20:20:44.350-04:00A Life of Her Own, With a View<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: January 27th, 2015</span></div>
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<b>Love, Lucy</b></div>
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By: April Lindner</div>
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<b>While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse have to be, does it?</b></div>
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I'll go right out there and say that I don't think this book is for everyone and it definitely could have been better. The original source material for this retelling is <b style="font-style: italic;">A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. </b>It is a comedy of social errors and the class divide, somewhat reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel, but not quite. This is less about following the rules of society and finding love with someone who might be slightly inappropriate, in terms of class. But in say, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Pride and Prejudice, </i>Elizabeth at least has some social graces and knows how to act in society. Also, she's not THAT far beneath Darcy, no matter what his pride says. She's a gentleman's daughter. Lucy Honeychurch in the original <i style="font-weight: bold;">Room, </i>falls in love with a young man named George who has no social connections, isn't rich and can't offer her anything other than his love. She has to choose between socially unacceptable happiness and marrying a man named Cecil (for whom she feels nothing), who could give her every comfort she's used to and more - plus she'd still be accepted in society with her family/friends if she married Cecil.</div>
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When you're adapting a story like that for a modern-day audience, set in the modern United States, it's difficult to translate quite what Lucy would have been giving up by marrying outside her social circle, in a downwards direction. So Lindner tries to resolve this by making Lucy an actress, who is going to the college her father wants, majoring in business and never acting again, all so he'll pay for college. That alone is somewhat far-fetched, due to the type of family she lives in and the time period. It's an upper-middle class, caucasian family, with no obvious religious affiliations and no real obvious reason for this strict point of view. Also, he forbids her to even continue acting as a hobby. Alrighty then...and she's supposed to take a trip to Europe in exchange for forgetting her dreams? On the trip, which she takes with Charlene (the daughter of her Mom's friend), she meets Jesse in Italy and he forces her to question how easily she's giving in to her parents about her future. I did like the little love-hate thing they had going on at first, but once she's into him she ditches Charlene and is downright mean to her, which I wasn't super fond of. Being a bitch to your traveling companion is just wrong, even if it's supposedly true love at stake.</div>
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Probably the stupidest thing about this for me, was Lucy's romantic life once she gets to college. While growing a backbone about being in plays/acting, she seems to lose all sense of self in regards to dating. Thinking that it's over between her and Jesse, Lucy starts dating someone who seems like the absolute perfect guy. Yet, she doesn't really have feelings for him. But he's the perfect guy, so she should just stay with him anyway, right? Then Jesse comes back to town, to be with Lucy, so she sleeps with him and goes on a date with the other guy the next day anyways, a "weekend away" on which he thinks they're going to have sex (I'm pretty sure it was the next day, I could be mistaken, as it's been a little while since I read this one). It's like she just wants to miserable. I think this novel should have been adapted in a different country/culture/place with other social expectations. Or at least there should have been better reasoning behind Lucy's actions and lack of self-worth. It made for an unlikeable protagonist which is never fortunate, unless it's on purpose. Sadly, I don't think it was on purpose in this instance. Overall, I give this one three stars because I could see the original glimmering underneath. I also know what it's like to give up the direction of your life to the needs/wants of others. But there was a lot of wasted potential in this one. Maybe as a fluffy beach read, if you decide to pick it up?</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</div>
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*<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-47978627115797285792015-03-13T15:44:00.001-04:002015-03-13T15:44:11.825-04:00Bite Sized Review: Lois Lane - A Real Work of Art <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSCGmBbuCB1ceYAeA-ZRV_gk_k48l8Kf_AOhgplrN6IJZ3h9nwfOJN11YiNOfdoTpweV7-AMAoFWA5poyrgbNHSgrXXYfKCDNhS2z7a7R8UPBhew7-jSVxmsN6fyeKEEMN-qLDYpIsHA/s1600/25113893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSCGmBbuCB1ceYAeA-ZRV_gk_k48l8Kf_AOhgplrN6IJZ3h9nwfOJN11YiNOfdoTpweV7-AMAoFWA5poyrgbNHSgrXXYfKCDNhS2z7a7R8UPBhew7-jSVxmsN6fyeKEEMN-qLDYpIsHA/s1600/25113893.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: </span><span style="color: #45818e;">March 4th, 2015</span></div>
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<b>Lois Lane: A Real Work of Art</b></div>
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By: Gwenda Bond</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Capstone</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780000000</div>
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<b>In high school art class, Lois Lane demonstrates her undeniable talent.....but not for painting.</b></div>
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<b>This is an official teaser short story for the young adult novel LOIS LANE: FALLOUT that takes place before Lois moves to Metropolis.</b></div>
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I normally don't care too much for short stories, especially ones that are under 50 pages long. I know that a lot can be conveyed in them if the right writer is guiding the ship -- but more often than not, these short stories and novellas for popular YA book series are just useless filler. This was available on NetGalley, so I requested it and hoped for the best. And I got it! Lois Lane is exactly how I wanted her to be - sassy, smart, and self-aware. Of course, she's a teenager, so there is some self-doubt. Lois is constantly moving around as an army brat, and she's in a new town again. All she wants is to figure out something that she's good at, something that can be just for her. So, Lois decides to try out an art class, and manages to get into more trouble than you'd think possible. If you're a fan of Lois Lane (especially as portrayed by Erica Durance on Smallville, who this Lois really reminded me of!), try reading this. I am now super pumped up for the full-length book coming out in May. I enjoyed Gwenda Bond's style and I will LOVE reading more of Lois' misadventures! Highly recommended.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5u9ElbEWNxk_S4UfqJMYYpjNOyeTdAPbB0lP2OHLFkTw13UjJV5V7db_CGQxWO2i7uEoaNEdUv-z9HHLL2muTxRsW6n5ad8gPo70VnJwx4ceN7ZpB9qUPsqWiyxn1N8Aw2nkoptguqg/s1600/13996455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5u9ElbEWNxk_S4UfqJMYYpjNOyeTdAPbB0lP2OHLFkTw13UjJV5V7db_CGQxWO2i7uEoaNEdUv-z9HHLL2muTxRsW6n5ad8gPo70VnJwx4ceN7ZpB9qUPsqWiyxn1N8Aw2nkoptguqg/s1600/13996455.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>4/5 Stars</div>
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*I received this book from <b>Capstone</b>, on NetGalley. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was published on <b>March 4th, 2015.</b>*</div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-38812846732524235502015-03-11T15:00:00.000-04:002015-03-11T23:59:10.042-04:00Love Strung (Love # 2) by Jamie W. Matlock BLOG TOUR -- Excerpt & Giveaway!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/2014/12/12/tour-sign-up-love-strung-by-jamie-w-matlock/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXk99hKYTinsoNN0BLjmF1VZc9BAZbTmHg0LDwL_LDYmdqT28CF3NvZcBGvzTBFANyHfZd3tD_FZ5ocNtlLew1RWPc4uiGoY-Hu5UVlsulclEGY3aST0cqxMKAfL8e0fZTlJg4H7A4DQg/s1600/LoveStrungTourBanner.png" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Love Strung by Jamie W. Matlock<br />(The Love Series #2 - can be read as a stand-alone)<br />Publication date: January 21st 2015<br />Genres: Contemporary, New Adult</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><b>Synopsis:</b></span><br />
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<span id="yiv9178716963freeText17017889712270768142"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Country music hopeful, Kennedy Masters is a leap-before-you-look type of woman. Live in the moment, the here and now. That’s her policy – anything other than that is boring, and she’s never been particularly interested in boring. So, when she makes the irratic decision to join country music’s reigning star, Mick Callahan, on his tour bus after a show, she’s just living right up to her life’s motto.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">The only problem?</span> Her snap decision making lands her on the front page news and it’s for less than desireable reasons. Even worse is the fact that Mick decides she’s his next conquest, irratically announcing to the public that they’re engaged.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">Her only option?</span> Hiding out at the Callahan Ranch until the storm blows over – a decision that she’s not altogether pleased with, but one that she must follow considering the circumstances. When unexpected sparks fly upon meeting Mick’s mysterious older brother, Griff Callahan, Kennedy’s left sorting through matters of the heart – something that’s not exactly her forte.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">And her career?</span> Well, it’s been labeled TBD.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kennedy must figure out a way to deal with her heart and her career, all while fighting her own feelings and fending off someone else’s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #0f61c8;"><br /></span><b>Goodreads: </b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22016964-love-strung?ac=1" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22016964-love-strung?ac=1</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Purchase:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">--Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Strung-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00S3AQ8SC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425321572&sr=1-1&keywords=9780996064828" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1426097918451_3530" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Love-Strung-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00S3AQ8SC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425321572&sr=1-1&keywords=9780996064828</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">--B&N: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-strung-jamie-matlock/1121097676?ean=2940149920587" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1426097918451_3523" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-strung-jamie-matlock/1121097676?ean=2940149920587</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">AUTHOR BIO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jamie W. Matlock is the author of The Love Series, which includes Love Aced & Love Strung. Bored with punching a clock and watching dust collect on the frame of her marketing degree, she decided to turn her lifelong hobby into a career and hasn't looked back since.<br /><br />Known for mixing both humor and drama into her novels, she likes for her readers to experience a gamut of emotions while enjoying one of her stories. She's also a sucker for flawed protagonists, strong male characters and incredible sex scenes, so be on the lookout for all three in each of her novels.<br /><br />Outside of writing, you can find her spending time with her family, yelling at a television screen during sporting events, nursing her coffee addiction and coupling a good book with a glass of wine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author links:</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8079033.Jamie_W_Matlock" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1426097918451_3573" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8079033.Jamie_W_Matlock</a></span></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><u>EXCERPT</u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Kennedy, I don't like to share." He had grown downright serious, the words
coming out as a growl. "And since
I've come to the realization that I can't keep my hands off of you, I'm sure as
hell not going to share with Mick."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> His possessiveness curled around me, making me feel things
that I couldn't process, didn't understand.
It presented emotions that I wasn't comfortable with, made me want to
run yet at the same time, enticed me.
The dichotomy of the struggling emotions was staggering. "We're not together," I pointed
out. "You don't have any claim over
me or me, you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> My words were a lie, something said mostly out of confusion
and I regretted them as soon as they left my lips. Shamefully - truthfully - I'd be his whatever
as long as he'd have me. I wasn't sure
of a lot of things where Griff Callahan was concerned, but I was certain of
this: I wanted him and was absolutely
powerless to stop it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> His eyes went heavy, narrowing as they fixed on me. "Sure as hell didn't feel like it when
your legs were wrapped around me so tightly I could barely breathe. Or when your thighs spread wide so I could
step in between them. Or when your back
arched towards me as cries of pleasure fell from your lips when I kissed your
nipples." The growl reigned supreme,
his voice bouncing off of the walls.
"Let me tell you something, Kennedy. If you think that was good, just wait until
you see what else I have in store for you, what else I have planned for
us. You'll be begging me for more,
screaming my name in your sleep because you'll want it so bad."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "I'm sorry," I mumbled, his words leaving me in a
hot stupor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "You're going to be sorry," he informed me, his
hands finding either side of my neck. He
brought my face close to his angrily, possessively, his thumbs pressing down
over my cheekbones. "Sorry I wasn't
your first and begging me to be your last," he mumbled. His eyes stared at my lips hungrily, my brain
processing his tongue sliding over his.
"Tell me what you want, Kennedy," he demanded, his voice
barely above a whisper, his anger seeping through making his gruff voice shaky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "I-I don't know," I stuttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> He jerked my body suddenly, my eyes widening in surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "I-you," I managed, the words tumbling out as if
he’d shook them from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "No part of you wants him? Not even the smallest inkling? You better let me know if you do and I'll
walk away right now." I could hear
the bitterness in his voice, the poison that the thought provoked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "You…only you. I
don't know beyond that," I admitted hesitantly, wanting to say the right
thing without give away too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "In what way?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Griff, please stop.
You're making me uncomfortable."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Oh, like the erection that I've had since you showed
up in my kitchen with that damned silk robe on and nothing else? Or the fact that I can't fucking sleep
because every time that I do, all I can see is you and that robe and your
nipples, hard and erect and so damned perfect-"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Griff, I said I'm serious, okay?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "You better not be messing with my head, Kennedy."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> His temper was spiking and my inability to be clear wasn’t
helping. His emotions were all over the
map and he was dragging mine along with his.
I needed to smooth things over, to tame the beast that was clearly on
the verge of breaking through. I wrapped
my fingers around his thick wrists, doing my best to capture the attention of
his angry eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> "I'm not messing
with you. I swear," I said
softly. "I know only a few
things. From the morning that I set eyes
on you in that kitchen, there was no denying which Callahan man I </span>wanted. I can't write
a song without it being about you. I
can't stand the thought of you being with someone else, touching someone
besides me. You've got me so twisted and
confused, so far from my comfortable center that I don't know which way is up
or which is down. I can't think straight
or breathe or form a cohesive thought when you're around. I want you near me, by my side, on top of
me…inside me. I want you every which way
I could possibly have you. I know I
shouldn't, but I do. I can't understand
it and I sure as hell don't know what to do about it, but there's absolutely no
way that my body will allow me to leave you alone."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>GIVEAWAY</u></b></span></div>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-37044877259179952642015-03-10T20:20:00.004-04:002015-03-10T20:27:52.378-04:00Every Body Talks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: October 17th, 2012 (first published 1999)</span><br />
<b>Body Bags (Body of Evidence #1)</b><br />
By: Christopher Golden<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Daring Greatly Corporation</span><br />
ASIN: B009SLYJ4A<br />
<br />
<b>When Jenna Blake starts her freshman year at Somerset University, she's not only living on her own for the first time, she's moving closer to the father she never really knew. It's an exciting time, filled with new faces and new challenges, not mention parties and boys and...corpses?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jenna is torn about her future. She'd like to be a doctor like her mother, but she can't stand the sight of blood. Her father, a criminology professor, thinks he has the answer -- and sends her to interview for a job with the Medical Examiner -- an interview that takes place in the middle of an autopsy!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>When a congressional aide goes violently insane, and then drops dead, the pathology team at Somerset Medical Center discover that his brain was ravaged with disease -- and loaded with insect larvae. When Jenna takes on her new job, she is drawn into a web of terrifying disease, dangerous politics, and intriguing mystery. And when one of her professors ends up dead, she starts making connections even the police haven't seen...which will bring her face to face with a pair of killers, one medical, and one all too human.</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Review</u><br />
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I didn't feel disappointed after reading this, like so many of the other reviewers here on Goodreads. You want to know my secret? Extremely low expectations, and the prior knowledge that Golden tends to be the master of the pulpy, Alloy-series type of book. It was a story centered around Jenna Blake, an incumbent college freshman, who is unsure what she wants to do with the rest of her life. All she knows is that her mother would love for her to be a doctor like her, but Jenna can't stand the sight of blood. Her Dad gets her an interview with the local Medical Examiner, who hires Jenna as a pathology assistant. The first big case is a man who was infected with a mysterious illness, of unknown origin and it becomes a priority to find out exactly what happened, when a teacher on campus dies of the same sickness. Coincidence or murder? That's what Jenna will have to find out, especially once her and her dad's lives are endangered. Can she survive her first week at college?<br />
This book is extremely short and I didn't really expect too much, since it is the first in a ten-book series. Also, it's original publication was sixteen years ago, in 1999. Some of the language, situations, etc. are kind of culturally dated (not as bad as most though, surprisingly). This type of book is the kind that people who are unfamiliar with YA, and it's ever-widening, reach like to cite when they malign it as all being unmitigated "trash." It's pulp fiction, pure and simple. I will say that it reminds me of Nancy Drew, in the sense that Jenna is pretty much just a cardboard cut-out, meant to move along the plot. Hopefully she and her friends (roommate Yoshiko & southern-boy Hunter) will be better characeterized/fleshed-out in later books. I do wish that the mystery had been more murder/crime and less of a politically driven, thriller type. I liked it enough to continue and see if the next couple are any good, but overall I wouldn't recommend it unless you like the type of book that's pure, time-wasting cotton candy. If you want a really great, plot and character-rich series by Golden, try his <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/103254-the-hollow">Hollow</a> </i>series, co-written with Ford Lytle Gilmore. Now THAT is an awesome series! :D<br />
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<b>VERDICT: </b>2.5/5 Stars<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
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Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-39184848107181191532015-03-04T20:09:00.003-05:002015-03-04T20:09:57.153-05:00The Heart Is a Complex Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Expected Publication: April 21st, 2015</span></div>
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<b>Things We Know By Heart</b></div>
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By: Jessi Kirby</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Harper Teen</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780062299437</div>
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<b>When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend's donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.</b></div>
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<b>After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent's heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent's, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.</b></div>
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<b>Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas -- a guy whose life has forever been changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it -- especially since he has no idea how they're connected -- but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she's falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she's lost...and all that remains at stake.</b></div>
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<u>Review</u></div>
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I am always on the lookout for books with unique premises. That said, though this one sounded a bit like a Lurlene McDaniel story, I'd previously read a book by Kirby that I liked well enough. So I decided to take a chance on this one and try it out. Let's just say I wasn't particularly impressed. Quinn is so broken up over Trent's death, that she decides to meet with the people that received his organs after the accident. The boy who got the heart doesn't reply, so Quinn does what she can to find him so they can meet. Only, she doesn't tell him about their connection to each other through her dead boyfriend's heart -- and a relationship is built, based on lies of omission. I wanted something else when I decided to read this book. I wanted a story about someone struggling with grief and learning to love again. I didn't really want a love story with the grief as a side order.</div>
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Mostly, it comes down to the fact that this book was bland for me. I was not surprised by a single, solitary thing that happened to these characters. Also, as sweet as the romance between Colton and Quinn was, and as much as I liked Colton, I really wasn't so hot on Quinn. I understand that she was grieving, not necessarily thinking things through. But just because she was dating Trent and the heart USED to be his, didn't give her the right to find Colton when he didn't respond to her letter. I honestly find that kind of creepy, truth be told. What entitles her to find him and build a relationship with him, based on something he has no knowledge of? I guess the difference between adult me and teenage me, is that I no longer find that kind of thing even remotely romantic (yet another reason that movie <i>Return to Me </i>is bizarre). </div>
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As someone who is a registered organ donor, I wouldn't want my loved ones harrassing the people who gets pieces of me to help them live their lives. My heart is just a heart; my soul is what they love and that will be long gone. Overall, this story was okay, Quinn's family was wonderful and the romance was sweet. But the cliche, predictable plot and underlying aspect of creepiness was too much for me to truly enjoy it.</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>2/5 Stars</div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">**I </span><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">reviewed this book as part of </span><b style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">Around the World ARC Tours, </b><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is <b>April 21st, 2015.</b>**</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-29798400416006955232015-03-03T22:59:00.003-05:002015-03-03T22:59:51.896-05:00Two Girls, A Guy, and...the SATs?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavb6vWsDXi_cQxkWTOSYKyRWGTpYtdkw0Tnt5mNgcYt7kpOmhJrwB5pHFLWndCiLm2hoVnot4MWygEhadlSGU-uvqoXr9Xpay-aHAu1Tekjnt-I0B-lC0HgktllBo8KHFGnVk0dZ6xrw/s1600/22864829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavb6vWsDXi_cQxkWTOSYKyRWGTpYtdkw0Tnt5mNgcYt7kpOmhJrwB5pHFLWndCiLm2hoVnot4MWygEhadlSGU-uvqoXr9Xpay-aHAu1Tekjnt-I0B-lC0HgktllBo8KHFGnVk0dZ6xrw/s1600/22864829.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Expected Publication: April 21st, 2015</span></div>
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<b>Wrong About the Guy</b></div>
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By: Claire LaZebnik</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Harper Teen</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780062252302</div>
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<b>As the stepdaughter of a TV star, Ellie Withers has it all: an amazing house in LA, a devoted friend who loved her before she even knew who Ellie's stepfather was, and a burgeoning romance with handsome Aaron Marquand. But Ellie isn't the kind of person who's content with simply having it all -- the people in her life have to be equally happy. And, of course, she knows exactly what they need.</b></div>
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<b>When Ellie's plans for her family, her friends, and even her love life don't turn out the way she imagined, she begins to wonder if maybe she could stand to learn a thing or two after all. Most surprising, though, is that the perfect person to teach her is the last person she'd expect.</b></div>
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<u>Review</u></div>
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Ellie has a charmed life with her Mom, famous stepdad Luke and little brother in an LA mansion. But she thrives on getting things to go her way, whether that means sharing her infuriating SAT tutor George with her less motivated best-friend Heather, getting her Mom and Luke to honeymoon where <i>she </i>wants them to, or planning the future of her own love life. When Luke's best friend's son moves back to LA for his senior year, Ellie thinks this might finally be the time to jump start her own romantic life. But there doesn't seem to be any chemistry to speak of between the two of them. With fake girls at school giving her trouble, fights with Heather over college (and surprisingly, a guy) putting a crimp in their friendship, and Aaron not being quite what he seemed on the surface, is it finally time for Ellie to admit that she needs to spend some time on her own life instead of everyone else's?</div>
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I am a sucker for Jane Austen retellings and had previously read <i>Epic Fail </i>and <i>The Trouble With Flirting </i>by this author, and really enjoyed them. That said, Elizabeth Bennet and Fanny Price were likeable heroines inherently and I was rooting for them in the original stories. Emma was not really a favorite of mine. I will say that Claire definitely managed to make the characters more approachable. I especially liked Emma's Mom and her stepdad in this book, and the overall family relationship (a great one). Heather was okay, but I do feel like she was dumbed down quite a bit to make the whole SAT situation more believable. I honestly felt like Emma didn't even need an SAT tutor, but it was a good way to bring George (aka Knightley) into the story and lessen the originally FAR more creepy age difference between him and Ellie (Emma). The were a few subplots, such as the one with Aaron's true object of affection, the one with a weird girl at school trying to get to Ellie's stepdad through her, and one with the slow development of Ellie's little brother/what could be responsible for it medically. Overall, a sweet and fluffy retelling of Emma that I enjoyed and would recommend, even if I didn't quite love it.</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">**I </span><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">reviewed this book as part of </span><b style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">Around the World ARC Tours, </b><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is <b>April 21st, 2015.</b>**</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-56460355045784862742015-02-27T01:17:00.002-05:002015-02-27T01:17:22.144-05:00Cart Yourself Away From ME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoKyBCvKr11A8QDnmD7Z0eKr8z7FRr42yZUC1QqIVWeKOvThjeC_9P3vvqW6brYnA3pmP8TH1xOJ2qcOmn0RGl6bdck7GWplhMCHzrez3BAK0AVuki8_u907SgJpUQlm0CzbpIPPp25k/s1600/13806919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoKyBCvKr11A8QDnmD7Z0eKr8z7FRr42yZUC1QqIVWeKOvThjeC_9P3vvqW6brYnA3pmP8TH1xOJ2qcOmn0RGl6bdck7GWplhMCHzrez3BAK0AVuki8_u907SgJpUQlm0CzbpIPPp25k/s1600/13806919.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: September 1st, 2012</span><br />
<b>Cart's Top 200 Adult Books For Young Adults: Two Decades In Reviews</b><br />
By: Michael Cart<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">American Library Association</span><br />
ISBN-13: 9780838911587<br />
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<b>Put together with insight and obvious affection, Cart's guide spotlights hundreds of great books for a hard-to-satisfy audience.</b><br />
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<u>Review</u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">So, let me just go ahead and admit it: I am a complete and total moron, who apparently can't read book titles. Ummm...yeah, I totally thought this was his list of the best YOUNG ADULT books from the last two decades!!! Totally missed the whole, </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">ADULT BOOKS <em>for</em></strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> Young Adults part of the title!</span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><img class="escapedImg" height="165" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1380403729/785482.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; max-width: 430px;" width="300" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> I had read a book of Cart's before, a history of the Young Adult genre, and found it interesting enough. I thought to myself, hey, why the hell not read what basically amounts to a mini-textbook?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><img class="escapedImg" height="256" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1391866151/8468044.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; max-width: 430px;" width="500" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> That said, his list of books was all the boring, bestseller crap everyone tells you to read all the time. I didn't see anything on there that wasn't un-interesting to me personally, or straight off a high school's required reading list! Also, what a douchebag (I know he's older than dirt, as he states his first professional library gig was in 1967, but still! How out of touch can you be, especially when being the "authority" on young adult literature?!)! This is a direct quote from his introduction:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><em>"I didn't regret saying goodbye to these early teen books, though I never dismissed them as being baby books, as some teenagers have over the years. On the other hand I certainly didn't regard them as having much literary merit or posing any particular challenge to high school-age readers. So where to turn to find the constituents of my new collection? The answer was simple: I turned to adult books."</em> </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> FUCK YOU, MICHAEL CART. FUCK YOU FOR JUDGING ME (and my fellow readers) AND SAYING YOUNG ADULT BOOKS ARE FLUFF/WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANCE. JUST...URGH!!!!! Perpetuating stereotypes and generalizations FTW, people.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><img class="escapedImg" height="207" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1403292967/10072332.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; max-width: 430px;" width="245" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><img class="escapedImg" height="270" src="https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1424301249/13742621.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; max-width: 430px;" width="480" /><div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>0.5/5 Stars (Only because this might be useful to librarians looking for adult books to recommend to teens - if they haven't read them all in school already, as most of these are required reading titles I recognize, etc.)</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-50829399207571224922015-02-21T21:05:00.002-05:002015-02-21T21:05:32.943-05:00Screams All Sound the Same<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvEbh-extcmMOmdTTyJPGE-wurqQ01aFC_hyphenhyphentoh2etzllI8ItaBYxZoG7IJCNArp4bQBTfnEe1K6dA5MXSuJfB8ZVWnt19uYyz497k9MFSw0APbJcDJUI27gQtjhb2tQ1CZA0tairu9g/s1600/18805623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvEbh-extcmMOmdTTyJPGE-wurqQ01aFC_hyphenhyphentoh2etzllI8ItaBYxZoG7IJCNArp4bQBTfnEe1K6dA5MXSuJfB8ZVWnt19uYyz497k9MFSw0APbJcDJUI27gQtjhb2tQ1CZA0tairu9g/s1600/18805623.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Expected Publication: May 26th, 2015</span></div>
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<b>The Tenderness of Thieves</b></div>
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By: Donna Freitas</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Philomel</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780399171369</div>
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<b>Jane is ready for a fantastic summer. In fact, she's pretty sure the universe owes her one.</b></div>
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<b>This past winter, Jane was held at knifepoint during an armed robbery and the specter of that night still haunts her. A summer romance with one of the town bad boys -- sexy Handel Davies, who takes her breath away and makes her feel like a bolder version of herself -- seems like the universe's way of paying her back.</b></div>
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<b>But bad boys always have secrets, and Handel's secret just might shatter Jane completely.</b></div>
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<u>Review</u></div>
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I just seem to be striking out with books lately, and this one was no exception to that rule. I requested this from the tour site that I belong to, because almost four years later I still remember her book <i>The Survival Kit </i>fondly. I remembered comparing her to Sarah Dessen and really enjoying myself while reading her books, namely her characters. I read the synopsis to this one and the comparison to <i>Gone Girl </i>(a book that, despite the hype, I still haven't read yet) did give me a moment's hesitation. But I decided to request it anyways, even though the synopsis doesn't exactly cover up what the big "secret" Handel's keeping is regarding. I have a soft spot for bad boys. Well, me and this book did <i>not </i>get along.</div>
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It started with a phrase the author, narrating as Jane in first person, uses in her thoughts - "me and my girls." That phrase sounds like some sort of animal pack, or something out of a Brooklyn-ized <i>Mean Girls </i>revival. This phrase happens at least four times within the first chapter. I flipped through and it happens way more than just that, with "the girls and I" heading chapter thirteen, for example. I am a freak and I know this, fully admitting it right now. But something about that phrase SCREAMS ghetto trash, Maury-show contestant -- or rich, spoiled, partying Daddy's girl. Either way, I cannot STAND that phrase. I have come to the collective realization that I am now officially old in a way that I never was before. Plus, the whole first chapter is a "meeting" between Handel and Jane, where he says her name twice, she says his once and he walks away. Then she goes and rehashes the whole thing to her friends as an "interesting" story. Overall, I think the current generations might like it, but I'm an old lady. I kept thinking to myself, who talks like that? And in what universe are this girl and her friends interesting? Not for me.</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>DNF, No Star Rating</div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">**I </span><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">reviewed this book as part of </span><b style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">Around the World ARC Tours, </b><span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is <b>May 26th, 2015.</b>**</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-19691794294259921062015-02-19T01:44:00.001-05:002015-02-19T01:44:29.115-05:00Spark Rising (Progenitor Saga #1) by Kate Corcino BLOG TOUR: Excerpt & Giveaway!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRngYFr51HCtVs3zNR986ta14YboBS9AWB5ZsV-uAVrwSk-JBDwqkC-CKUoJQ4Ux3FQoamQoyCv3XgAXJjpeRWB5-q3klsor4VeyAu3J1f5kBUmFhZwtpZt97_P4na3xkv41xrWOijEdY/s1600/SparkRisingTourBanner1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRngYFr51HCtVs3zNR986ta14YboBS9AWB5ZsV-uAVrwSk-JBDwqkC-CKUoJQ4Ux3FQoamQoyCv3XgAXJjpeRWB5-q3klsor4VeyAu3J1f5kBUmFhZwtpZt97_P4na3xkv41xrWOijEdY/s1600/SparkRisingTourBanner1.png" height="147" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Spark Rising by Kate Corcino<br />Publication date: December 15th 2014<br />Genres: New Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><b>Synopsis:</b></span></div>
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<span class="yiv0780906133elementTwo" id="yiv0780906133freeText35229161529773825"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All that’s required to ignite a revolution is a single spark rising.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Two hundred years after the cataclysm that annihilated fossil fuels, Sparks keep electricity flowing through their control of energy-giving Dust. The Council of Nine rebuilt civilization on the backs of Sparks, offering citizens a comfortable life in a relo-city in exchange for power, particularly over the children able to fuel the future. The strongest of the boys are taken as Wards and raised to become elite agents, the Council’s enforcers and spies. Strong girls—those who could advance the rapidly-evolving matrilineal power—don’t exist. Not according to the Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lena Gracey died as a child, mourned publicly by parents desperate to keep her from the Council. She was raised in hiding until she fled the relo-city for solitary freedom in the desert. Lena lives off the grid, selling her power on the black market.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Agent Alex Reyes was honed into a calculating weapon at the Ward School to do the Council’s dirty work. But Alex lives a double life. He’s leading the next generation of agents in a secret revolution to destroy those in power from within.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The life Lena built to escape her past ends the day Alex arrives looking for a renegade Spark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Goodreads</b>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22705139-spark-rising?ac=1" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22705139-spark-rising?ac=1</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Purchase:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Amazon: <a href="http://amzn.com/B00R0AT93C" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://amzn.com/B00R0AT93C</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">B&N: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spark-rising-kate-corcino/1120911400?ean=9780990732808" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spark-rising-kate-corcino/1120911400?ean=9780990732808</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtybVAsSWd1hY8_b_oBkAIKMsaSaYoAeTs0KYAXWICtZWOdyOnroo5sbLN-Lg5DAuPlYVHsAlGbd7UUdvUyr1lv6H77YBvMD5AuyLtwDmhDtokB9iF6UmkZHzH2RiE-AAQ2Cgj20XiK5U/s1600/SparkCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtybVAsSWd1hY8_b_oBkAIKMsaSaYoAeTs0KYAXWICtZWOdyOnroo5sbLN-Lg5DAuPlYVHsAlGbd7UUdvUyr1lv6H77YBvMD5AuyLtwDmhDtokB9iF6UmkZHzH2RiE-AAQ2Cgj20XiK5U/s1600/SparkCover.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">AUTHOR BIO:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kate Corcino is a reformed shy girl who found her voice (and uses it…a lot). She believes in magic, coffee, Starburst candies, genre fiction, descriptive profanity, and cackling over wine with good friends. A recovering Dr. Pepper addict, she knows the only addiction worth feeding is the one that follows the “click-whooooosh” of a new story settling into her brain.<br /><br />She also believes in the transformative power of screwing up and second chances. Cheers to works-in-progress of the literary and lifelong variety!<br /><br />She is currently gearing up for publication of Ignition Point and Spark Rising , the first books in the Progenitor Saga, a near future dystopian adventure series with romantic elements, science, magic, and plenty of action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author links:</span></div>
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<a href="http://katecorcino.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://katecorcino.com/</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8381085.Kate_Corcino" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4863" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #338fe9; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8381085.Kate_Corcino</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9TU0Alz_xIfkibsfiKiZggGNMJX3hioGGiMhyn4dJyEpgNXJHcahBjWGcq4y_1FtZpzVGkVAH3DxBUO2rWIp78S49Uwm76DMbw1BRjiDbbSyhFMmsH7Bw9Hk4vxQfBCb7aQKODYEd2k/s1600/Kate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9TU0Alz_xIfkibsfiKiZggGNMJX3hioGGiMhyn4dJyEpgNXJHcahBjWGcq4y_1FtZpzVGkVAH3DxBUO2rWIp78S49Uwm76DMbw1BRjiDbbSyhFMmsH7Bw9Hk4vxQfBCb7aQKODYEd2k/s1600/Kate.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">EXCERPT!!!</span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spark Rising’s </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">Lena Gracey does
things her way, with few apologies, even as Alex Reyes uses her need for
vengeance to draw her into a revolution. Frustrated, angry, and tired, all she
wants is a physical release, and she turns to the one man she thinks can give
her that with no strings attached. But the strong chemistry born of hard-won
friendship and the electrical power that seethes in both of them guarantees
they both get more than they bargained for…</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I
know you want me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Alex
growled and narrowed his dark eyes. “We all want you, because you’re special.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Then
give me fifteen minutes. You want to fix it. That will. Give me that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Fifteen
minutes of tension relief? That’s what you’re asking for?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This
isn’t about feelings</i>,
she told herself. <i>No feelings.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lena
lifted her chin. She wouldn’t play by anyone else’s rules. “Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Yes?”
Alex nodded. “It’s not me, then. Not personal.” He looked past her, his eyes
hooded. When he brought them back to her again, she could see the decision he’d
made. “Sounds like something I can live with.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She
leaned in as he reached to slide his hand up her jaw. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">His
palm cupped her face, fingers tangling in her hair as it slid forward. His
thumb moved across her lips. Lena slid her knees up onto the seat to either
side of him, straddling him as he pulled her mouth to his.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Like
the first time, the contact was more than lips meeting, the electric flare
deeper and brighter than it had been with Jackson. But this time, the only
thing soft about his kiss was his lips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Energy
surged between them. As his tongue traced the inside of her lips, a blazing
trail of shocks flared in her skin and exploded like bright lights behind her
eyelids. He sucked at her lips, first one and then the other, and energy welled
up from her. As he pulled and coaxed, the rising flow felt like fingers
stroking deep inside. Each time he drew her lip into his mouth to suckle at the
energy, those fingers of power slid up inside of her, moving toward him,
leaving a quivering, electrified trail behind. He drew her power into himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lena
pulled away, and the electricity crackled white energy between their wet
mouths. It hurt, little sparks popping against nerve endings. Alex’s eyes were
glazed. He wanted more. But it was her turn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She
lowered her mouth again, pulling the energy from him this time as she darted
her tongue between his lips. She framed his face with her small hands and
tapped the energy deep within him to draw it up into her through his nerves,
his skin, his lips, and tongue. <o:p></o:p><span style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">exploded
like bright lights behind her eyelids. He sucked at her lips, first one and
then the other, and energy welled up from her. As he pulled and coaxed, the
rising flow felt like fingers stroking deep inside. Each time he drew her lip
into his mouth to suckle at the energy, those fingers of power slid up inside
of her, moving toward him, leaving a quivering, electrified trail behind. He
drew her power into himself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lena
pulled away, and the electricity crackled white energy between their wet
mouths. It hurt, little sparks popping against nerve endings. Alex’s eyes were
glazed. He wanted more. But it was her turn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She
lowered her mouth again, pulling the energy from him this time as she darted
her tongue between his lips. She framed his face with her small hands and
tapped the energy deep within him to draw it up into her through his nerves,
his skin, his lips, and tongue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Alex
groaned and wrapped his hands around the backs of her legs. He slid them up,
cupping the curve of her bottom, fingers caressing the crease that led him to
her inner thighs. He drew her to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 25pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She
allowed it, pressing against his body. She wanted more of him. More pressure.
More skin against skin. Her hands sank down from his face to slip between them,
pulling on his shirt. She pulled it up and off, tearing her mouth from his for
an instant to yank the shirt over his head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He
worked the buttons of her shirt, fumbling at them in his hurry. He freed the
last of them, spreading her shirt open and back and pushing it off her
shoulders. He sat back to look at her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She followed his gaze to
his hands. They spread wide across her ribcage, his sun-darkened brown </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">skin
stark against her pale freckles. Above his hands, her skin curved into the
slight swell of paler </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">skin and peaked nipples. He slid his hands up to palm her
sensitive breasts, and she pressed into him, </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">sliding her hands up to cover his. His thumb circled her nipple then slid away as he pulled her up.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> He drew her into his mouth, the power slicking electric hot up her nerves. She arched her back, </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">melting into him, already shuddering with the force of the energy surging through her as he licked at </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">her. He slid his hands around her back, pulled her closer, holding tight. Everywhere their skin met, </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">the searing flux of energy wove between them. Each time their skin parted, a white arc of heat </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">spanned the distance and danced along their skin, joining them.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> Lena sank lower, pushing her hand between his waistband and his skin. She slid her fingertips </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">along his lower belly before dipping lower. The soft, almost delicate skin she found was a contrast </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">to </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">the rigid flesh it covered. She wrapped her hand around him and pulled energy along the length of </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">him.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Alex's hands and mouth stilled and his eyes closed.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Like that, do you?</i></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>GIVEAWAY!!!</u></b></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1424326500800_4857" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
</div>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-6123357098004212112015-02-17T23:08:00.001-05:002015-02-17T23:08:28.357-05:00Bite-Sized Review: K is For Knifeball, A Contact Sport You'd Do Well to Avoid...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i85MKZfCoQyHFwyKw8Ae_OJLs8ahOouRPTfyBihdOM66hGGGxy9-qjKAgmvH7_r1TcyKxoJIXcSG2QdqSLHT4BqYo2_goOWLudqdBFM5jqoRKqnjR-fx6V2bGhBn_vrrg32zgg9cjsk/s1600/14553581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i85MKZfCoQyHFwyKw8Ae_OJLs8ahOouRPTfyBihdOM66hGGGxy9-qjKAgmvH7_r1TcyKxoJIXcSG2QdqSLHT4BqYo2_goOWLudqdBFM5jqoRKqnjR-fx6V2bGhBn_vrrg32zgg9cjsk/s1600/14553581.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: September 26th, 2012</span></div>
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<b>K is for Knifeball: An Alphabet of Terrible Advice</b></div>
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By: Avery Monsen & Jory John</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Chronicle Books</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781452103310</div>
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<b>Adorable illustrated characters lead readers down a path of poor decision-making, and alphabetical, rhyming couplets offer terrible life lessons in which O is for opening things with your teeth, F is for setting Daddy's wallet on fire, and R is for Racoon ( but definitely not for rabies). With plenty of playfully disastrous choices lurking around every corner, this compendium of black humor may be terrible for actual children, but it's perfect for the common-senseless child in all adults.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<u>Review</u></div>
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What is with this trend of humorous books, that are "made" for children (but not really)? The authors of this book also wrote one called "All My Friends Are Dead." I kept having their other book recommended to me and was told constantly how funny it was - so, I figured I'd give this one a shot. After all, any book titled "K is for Knifeball," must be read and enjoyed with all the funniness the aforesaid title entails. Except for the fact that while, yes, this book made me smile a little bit, it actually wasn't something that I found hee-haw-larious like I expected. My expectations were probably WAY too high to be met in any realistic way, especially after all the recommendations. Really though, the best ones are already given away in the synopsis on the back of the book. Which, with the whole alphabet covered (kind of, they cheated with a couple letters in my opinion) you'd think there'd be plenty of room for funny stuff. But they seemed more intent on going for the cheap laughs. It might be black humor, but it was by no means SMART humor. And to me, that was it's biggest failing. What I personally want is the "Adventures of Knifeball." But you know what they say about not having everything in life.</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>2/5 Stars</div>
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<span style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.4899997711182px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-482549043375411792015-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T00:00:01.975-05:00Henge (Le Fay #1) by Realm Lovejoy BLOG TOUR -- REVIEW, GIVEAWAY!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://xpressobooktours.com/2014/11/24/tour-sign-up-henge-by-realm-lovejoy/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5SIUtunk2LYF8tHOr5w72c9W5Sbnyd9iATPrivD0zU_lkYNWtxsbGfQwi-EYP5yF1ckNXci17JrvXwal2Mv7XMrpGstQhTCqNXuDA1kVDzXy_tW-ukjqNfVQTwqvRm2MoQfpz8l37Os/s1600/HengeTourBanner.png" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Henge by Realm Lovejoy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Le Fay #1)<br />Publication date: November 11th 2014<br />Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><b>Synopsis:</b></span></div>
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<span class="yiv1410994970elementTwo" id="yiv1410994970freeText16321032968297111246"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Modern-day Camelot. Where knights no longer carry swords. Magic is dangerous. And those who seek control are not to be trusted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sixteen-year-old Morgan le Fay is a fire user. An ordinary girl with an extraordinary skill, she has the ability to create and command fire at will. Her dream is to become the Maven—the right hand of the future King Arthur. In the chance of a lifetime, Morgan is selected to join Arthur’s Round, an elite group of young magic users from which the new Maven will be chosen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Along with the other fire, water, and wind users in Arthur’s Round, Morgan is rigorously trained and tested. The handsome Merlin, a brilliant water user, takes a particular interest in her. Is his friendship to be trusted, or is Merlin simply trying to win the position of Maven for himself? Among the many rivals Morgan faces is the current Maven, Mordred, who seems determined to see her fail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But Morgan has a secret—years ago, her mother was executed for using fire magic, and Morgan’s desire for justice makes her more than ready to take on the challenge before her. Can she prevail in Camelot’s tests of survival and magic? Only time—and Morgan’s powerful fire—will tell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Camelot meets Hogwarts meets Panem in this intriguing, well-written beginning to a planned YA series.”–Kirkus Reviews</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Goodreads</b>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23151530-henge?ac=1" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1423787492550_6000" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23151530-henge?ac=1</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Trailer</b>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?</a>v=9qoGAE2s8RE</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Purchase:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Henge-Fay-Book-Realm-Lovejoy-ebook/dp/B00PBV1HKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416855764&sr=8-1&keywords=Henge+Realm+Lovejoy" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1423787492550_6002" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Henge-Fay-Book-Realm-Lovejoy-ebook/dp/B00PBV1HKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416855764&sr=8-1&keywords=Henge+Realm+Lovejoy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">AUTHOR BIO:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Realm Lovejoy is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle and works as an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out more about her and her book at <a href="http://realmlovejoy.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">realmlovejoy.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author links:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.realmlovejoy.com/index2.php#/home/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.realmlovejoy.com/index2.php#/home/</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7339930.Realm_Lovejoy" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1423787492550_6218" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7339930.Realm_Lovejoy</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorrealmlovejoy" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">https://www.facebook.com/authorrealmlovejoy</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/realmlovejoy" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/realmlovejoy</a></span></div>
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<u>Review</u></div>
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It's hard to find a good Arthurian retelling these days - even harder to find one that's a MODERN retelling of the well-known legends. Realm Lovejoy's <i>Henge, </i>the first in a series about a teenaged Morgan Le Fay, is both of these things. I started reading this book and was immediately drawn in by Morgan who seems like such a good girl, living in an isolated area with her overprotective father Gorlois, who has been told to hide her elemental ability with fire most of her life. At least, she's been hiding her abilities ever since her mother was executed for the murder of her husband using her abilities. But it's Morgan's dream to one day be Maven (basically main advisor) to Arthur once he's on the throne, like her Grandfather was to the Prince's grandfather. So Morgan sneaks away to compete for a place in the trials for Arthur's Round, whom the Maven will ultimately be chosen from. Even competing with a forged license and against her father's wishes, Morgan is chosen to participate in the competition. But does she even have any chance of winning when the man who convicted her Mother, the current Maven, Mordred, seems to be blocking her at every turn? And when some very fishy incidents involving the other candidates (including her friend Guinevere, and rival Merlin) and near death experiences seem to point towards illegal magic usage, Morgan may be fighting for more than just Maven - she might be fighting for her very life...</div>
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Morgan was such an easily connectable main character. She loves her father and still misses her mother, even after all these years. She just wants a chance to prove that she's not going to make the same mistakes her mother, Morgause, did and to renew her family's legacy. Morgan starts to really come into her own once she's competing in Arthur's Round, really learning to control the fire and do things with it she never imagined. I liked that Lovejoy put Mordred in a position of power, and in opposition of Morgan, especially considering that in the legends he's her son! It was an interesting dynamic, almost verging on complete role reversal. Morgan's the one trying to take over Mordred's position of power, instead of helping him depose Arthur. The take on elemental magic was interesting and the conspiracy involving some of the other candidates, along with the iffy-ness of Merlin's honesty/innoncence in the incidents makes things even more interesting. But probably my favorite things about this book were: Morgan's friendship with Guinevere, who has a healing ability (I have NEVER seen them represented as friends before in ANY retelling!), the twist near the end about what really happened the night Morgan's mother murdered her husband (never saw it coming) and the prophecy/visions Morgan has for her future. Not going to say anymore because I don't want to spoil it, but I really enjoyed this book! Can't wait to read what happens next and I'm really excited for Morgan's further adventures. I highly recommend it!</div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>4/5 Stars</div>
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*An ebook copy of this book was provided via the author and Xpresso Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review. No money or favors were exchanged. This book was published <b>November 11th, 2014.</b>*</div>
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<b><u>GIVEAWAY</u></b></div>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-79932133641528392242015-02-11T22:28:00.001-05:002015-02-11T22:28:08.565-05:00Good Girls Aren't (Always) the Fun Ones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: July 1st, 2014</span></div>
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<b>The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher</b></div>
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By: Jessica Lawson</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781481401500</div>
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<b>In 1860, eleven-year-old Becky Thatcher is the new girl in town, determined to have adventures like she promised her brother Jon before he died. With her Mama frozen in grief and her Daddy busy as town judge, Becky spends much of her time on her own, getting into mischief. Before long, she joins the boys at school in a bet to steal from the Widow Douglas, and Becky convinces her new best friend, Amy Lawrence, to join her.</b></div>
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<b>Becky decides that she and Amy need a bag of dirt from a bad man's grave as protection for entering the Widow's house, so they sneak out to the cemetery at midnight, where they witness the thieving Pritchard brothers digging up a coffin. Determined to keep her family safe (and to avoid getting in trouble), Becky makes Amy promise not to tell anyone what they saw.</b></div>
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<b>When their silence inadvertently results in the Widow Douglas being accused of the graverobbery, Becky concocts a plan to clear the Widow's name. If she pulls it off, she just might get her Mama to notice her again and fulfill her promise to Jon in a most unexpected way...if that tattletale Tom Sawyer will quit following her around.</b></div>
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I have to admire Jessica Lawson's ingenuity. As both a fanfic author and reader, I can more than respect a well thought-out "what-if" scenario. So, the switch in the personalities of Sid and Tom, along with the inclusion of Sam Clemens would have been more than enough to draw me in as a potential reader. Add in the fact that Becky Thatcher is actually the mischievous protagonist in this one, with Tom and Sid as side-characters, and you have me hooked like a large-mouth bass! Even with all of that aside, I actually <i>really </i>enjoyed this book! This is exactly the kind of book that I loved as a child, with a daring and adventurous heroine, well-drawn side characters (friends, family, etc.), and a rollicking plot full of fun. Becky has just moved to a small Missouri town with her parents, almost a year after the death of her much-loved and admired older brother, Jon. Becky's Daddy is busy being the town judge and has to deal with notorious thieves, the Pritchard brothers, on the loose and her Mama is sunk down into her grief, with no time for Becky. So she has plenty of time for mischief!</div>
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There are some sly allusions to the original stories by Mark Twain, especially with Sam Clemens as a stranded riverboat pilot, waiting on a part for his ship, and gathering material for stories he likes to write. Becky becomes friends with Sid Sawyer, almost immediatly puts the tattling Tom (brother of Sid) on her revenge list and is mostly just happy to make some friends and have adventures. But when attempting to get grave dirt for "protection spells" against the Widow Douglas (a known witch), so that the girls can win a five-dollar bet to take something from her house, they get into more trouble than they can handle! They stumble upon a grave-robbing and barely escape with their lives! Becky has to decide whether being grown up means telling the truth and accepting punishment, or having adventures - or if she can possibly do both. I love the writing style of Lawson in this book! Unlike Twain, the dialect isn't so heavy that you have a hard time reading it. It's still there, but not as thick. Also, there are some beautiful prose passages and Becky, is a loveable heroine who never once got on my nerves. Overall, I would recommend this even to people who just like historical fiction with a sense of humor, even if they've never read Mark Twain. You'll still like it, I promise. Or as Becky and Amy would say I "vow" it! :D</div>
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-- <i style="font-weight: bold;">'</i><i>I found my way to the riverbank.</i></div>
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<i>"Hello, Miss Issipi," I said. "You're looking awful pretty this morning, with that fog coming off your water. You're going your way and I'm going mine." I tipped my hat, but the Miss ignored me. I didn't mind a bit, though. I liked the river real well.</i></div>
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<i>...I stared at the Miss, watching the first bit of sunlight make flashes on the water. I wondered if Jon up in Heaven could see those flashes, if he'd met Jesus at all, and if he'd put in a good word for me.'</i></div>
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-- <i>"Kiss my grits," I swore. "That brother of yours has done it again." I hit Sid's shoulder.</i></div>
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<i>Joe spit on the ground. </i></div>
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<i>"How'd he find out, that sneak!" Though he sounded mad, I could tell Joe was as worried as the rest of us.</i></div>
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<i> "I thought I saw Tom when I was putting out your flames," I told Sid. "Probably told Aunt Polly that I tried to set Mrs. Douglas's house on fire."</i></div>
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<i> "Who's Mrs. Douglas?" Joe asked. His face wrinkled up like when Dobbins asked him a math question.</i></div>
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<i> "You can go to jail for doing something like that!" Amy cried.</i></div>
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<i> <b>And the widow might go to jail for grave robbing</b>, I thought. <b>Maybe we'll be stuck in the same cell.</b></i></div>
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<b>VERDICT:</b> 4/5 Stars</div>
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*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-73403496167008085112015-02-09T21:00:00.000-05:002015-02-10T00:37:29.377-05:00Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill -- Mini Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4lZj8UFnVHPBt_y4_dyrEon-taCTaNWX4TjFdoXWSGinswHu_JbqlMqFzUMVxLbR5uXzNDv0pSMKN3o4XjQul-R3wiMR02zGBSAgDiF5Zfm7bbzNT0JfYey9cFapH5rwVzHihxckfpo/s1600/13228177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4lZj8UFnVHPBt_y4_dyrEon-taCTaNWX4TjFdoXWSGinswHu_JbqlMqFzUMVxLbR5uXzNDv0pSMKN3o4XjQul-R3wiMR02zGBSAgDiF5Zfm7bbzNT0JfYey9cFapH5rwVzHihxckfpo/s1600/13228177.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: July 4th, 2012</span></div>
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<b>Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill (Batman and Robin Vol. II #1)</b></div>
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By: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason (Illustrator), & Mick Gray (Illustrator)</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">DC Comics</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781401234874</div>
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<b>Batman begins battling evil with his son, Damian, at his side and now realizes that the hardest part of the job may be trying to work together. As Batman and Robin try to adjust to their new partnership, a figure emerges from Bruce Wayne's past: his name is NoBody, and he's not happy that Batman Incorporated is shining a light on his own shadowy war against evil...</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For those of you unfamiliar with Damian Wayne's back story, here is the short version: Damian is the product of a drug-induced night of passion between Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) and Talia Al Ghul (daughter of the head of the League of Assassins). When Talia decides it's time for Damian to learn the bat-legacy from his father (who doesn't know he exists), she drops him off in Gotham. Unsure in his new relationship with his son, who is a miniature assassin and the exact opposite of Batman, they try to forge a connection despite their differences. In turn, they clash at every possible crossroads between good and evil, black and white.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Damian is still struggling with who he wants to be, his mother's son or his father's. As someone who has never read a Batman & Robin title before (including Batman and any of the other four Robins before Damian!), but being aware of Damian's origin story etc., I didn't have much confusion about the contention in his relationship with Bruce. I liked that this shows Bruce attempting to bond with Damian in a fatherly way as well, such as buying him a dog (a Great Dane that Damian eventually names Titus), and playing catch in the backyard. But when they're out in the field as B&R, I felt like I wasn't necessarily convinced that Bruce would even allow Damian to work as Robin. It's kind of like he didn't learn his lesson with Jason Todd. Yes, Damian's a trained assassin, but he's still an angry ten-year-old boy and often refuses to follow orders. In the fight scene in this book we get to see the consequences of Damian's borderline reckless behavior and the ways it brings him closer (and yet further in principle somewhat) from his father. The connection with Bruce's own past to the villain, NoBody, was interesting if somewhat contrived to display the dynamic of good vs. evil between father and son. Overall, a decent read. But definitely NOT my favorite of the New 52's so far.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-34975876972742669022015-02-04T18:01:00.001-05:002015-02-04T18:01:36.671-05:00At The End of the World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-v2y105QTbqM28U1PPL4msAd96Ol-Zsr2pmTCsXB2xdJ7S7TN7uc3ZNc_e-j3cX2Tdm2qXhoTsVHVhqJlPYKEATRNe1z8P2XpQ_LDgo61c8dWFUMkAif3CcRL4A-XbDfq5qUCrmcO_0/s1600/34497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-v2y105QTbqM28U1PPL4msAd96Ol-Zsr2pmTCsXB2xdJ7S7TN7uc3ZNc_e-j3cX2Tdm2qXhoTsVHVhqJlPYKEATRNe1z8P2XpQ_LDgo61c8dWFUMkAif3CcRL4A-XbDfq5qUCrmcO_0/s1600/34497.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: September 13th, 2005 (first published 1983)</span></div>
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<b>The Color of Magic (Discworld #1)</b></div>
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By: Terry Pratchett</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Harper Perrenial</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9780060855925</div>
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<b><i>The Color of Magic </i>is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins -- with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind. On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There's an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet...</b></div>
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I will admit that I've had this book on my shelf for at least a year, waiting for me to read it. I was a little bit scared, actually, because of all the negative things people have said about it on Goodreads, Amazon, etc. Apparently it's the weakest Discworld novel according to a lot of people. I haven't read enough Discworld to agree or disagree yet (exactly four of them, counting this one) on that particular point. But I can say that I enjoyed <i>Going Postal </i>and <i>The Wee Free Men </i>a lot more than this one (<i>Making Money, </i>not so much). There weren't a lot of laugh out loud moments to be found in this one for me. It elicited a lot of smiles, but no real laughs were emitted. </div>
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Probably my favorite thing in this book was the fact that it made fun of "fantasy" books so freely and openly. I thought it was awesome that the Gods were playing a dice game (obviously a nod to the immortal nerd pasttime, Dungeons & Dragons!) that determined the circumstances of Rincewind and Twoflower. I thought the whole Conan the Barbarian parody was a bit much, but the thing with Twoflower's camera was funny. Rincewind was an okay character, a failure at being a wizard and a fraidy-cat of the highest order - but very realistic in that aspect. Who (other than the oblivious Twoflower) would think that being a sacrifice was all part and parcel? Or that a Soul-Eating God was something to take a picture of and gawk at?! I loved the bits with the person-eating luggage and DEATH'S problems getting Rincewind to keep his appointment were some of the best moments in the book. Overall though, too much parody and world-building, but not enough actual story to keep me completely involved. I do want to know what's over the edge of the world, so I'll probably read the next one. Damn curiosity!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7rITJuYCYTKc-D0uNVMw6-w0Mopi5Fg4b1SbUjNG8K92e9b2y-ISU5PsoXoZcTI4ERxdvIip4201ioyPtBHn1U_FR3bD33M8gS2KRZI8xOzmkUenBg5vZLPp0I2VemQluF5E3-gKri0/s1600/tumblr_ln2x91ApaE1qi2g4fo1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7rITJuYCYTKc-D0uNVMw6-w0Mopi5Fg4b1SbUjNG8K92e9b2y-ISU5PsoXoZcTI4ERxdvIip4201ioyPtBHn1U_FR3bD33M8gS2KRZI8xOzmkUenBg5vZLPp0I2VemQluF5E3-gKri0/s1600/tumblr_ln2x91ApaE1qi2g4fo1_400.gif" /></a></div>
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<b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-25366082002868622812015-01-30T12:29:00.001-05:002015-01-30T12:29:44.282-05:00Feature and Follow #36 - Or the One Where We Talk Paper or Ebooks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWg4cpleFy30gfF_PnzOqWIQN-LQ-toWtvYkIYJQb6NXkT_AWhN_0Qx-gBXEg9mmjtwnHCGD4RULe5oaYShe4_Y648P8Qql2AyeSDQBGAGlhoABOXKL6RNQmpymOwSUssAI7IyKjRVu4/s1600/squee_FF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWg4cpleFy30gfF_PnzOqWIQN-LQ-toWtvYkIYJQb6NXkT_AWhN_0Qx-gBXEg9mmjtwnHCGD4RULe5oaYShe4_Y648P8Qql2AyeSDQBGAGlhoABOXKL6RNQmpymOwSUssAI7IyKjRVu4/s1600/squee_FF.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/">Parajunkee</a> and <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/">Alison Can Read</a>. It's where you answer the weekly question(s) and link yourself to the social hop! We each go check out the other blogs, helping to support our endeavors as a community. Also, do it just because it's fun! :D</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Q: Hard print (real thing) or Kindle/Nook, which is your favorite?</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A: To be honest, it's more of a 50/50 situation nowadays. I love the fact that I have so many choices when I'm carrying my Kindle around, and I have noticed that reading is easier on my Fire than it was with my Touch. But I do always have at <i>least </i>one print book in my purse at all times, and I do seem to read faster with an actual book most of the time. What about everyone else? What do you all prefer? Share with me in the comments! :D</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> </b>If you stop by and want to follow us, we prefer <b>Facebook, Bloglovin', and Twitter follows (please and thank you)! :) </b>Happy visiting everyone!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/diamondsandcoal-book-reviews-4500891/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPnHrNYmE5LKX7Fge6N_Ty26KcvFJnwhyphenhyphennS6ObNr5LCoyG9Hhnkd8xqxlSOhmD7u4m2tN-HpQrsxLTabX7MSEQ1s1yxI-oadvpTQoirEiCPVCjI75GB-wYmDKPFdBxnd7-z_7_QTNwIg/s1600/bloglovin.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-56865651431985056382015-01-29T20:07:00.004-05:002015-01-29T20:08:35.352-05:00You Can't Choose Your Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_yfNrov1Vn8Svm9EB3W5NwijulE4KX5EfBcbJmy5HsheA7bPtNSSBKAwRoIRBKdNlvN5UDfI_3hMIG_EkCeSOi5VVLKVzot2QeHMcXs4DZwCuzi8l3Ebafd0z99ur6WA8EWhsjswExQ/s1600/18373313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_yfNrov1Vn8Svm9EB3W5NwijulE4KX5EfBcbJmy5HsheA7bPtNSSBKAwRoIRBKdNlvN5UDfI_3hMIG_EkCeSOi5VVLKVzot2QeHMcXs4DZwCuzi8l3Ebafd0z99ur6WA8EWhsjswExQ/s1600/18373313.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">Published: March 18th, 2014</span></div>
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<b>Wonder Woman, Vol. 4: War (Wonder Woman Vol. IV #4)</b></div>
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By: Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang (Artist), Goran Sudzuka (Artist), Tony Akins (Illustrator), Dan Green (Illustrator)</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e;">DC Comics</span></div>
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ISBN-13: 9781401246082</div>
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<b>Wonder Woman's father, Zeus, has disappeared. Her family - aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, gods and demigods - form a pantheon of the most powerful beings in the universe. Intent on seizing Zeus' throne, they will destroy anyone who can stand in their way -- including Zeus' infant son, who might just have the power to ignite the apocalypse.</b></div>
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<b>But even as Wonder Woman and her few remaining friends scramble to protect the life of her youngest brother, her eldest has arisen. Known only as the First Born, he has spent an eternity in exile, his might and malice growing by the millennium. Now he will burn Earth and Olympus alike if it means he can be king of the ashes.</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Not my favorite of the series. I really enjoyed the last couple of volumes (iffy artwork aside, especially Hades the person-candle and Poseidon the talking-fish dinner) and have been wondering how they were going to resolve the whole magic, world-destroyer baby plotline. In the last volume they brought in Zeus and Hera's son, the first-born of all the gods' children. He was banished from Olympus and buried beneath the Earth. His sister Cassandra unearthed him and got him started on the path to taking his birthright - Olympus. Of course all those idiots up on the Gods' Mountain Resort (that's what it's drawn like anyways) are still focused on the baby. In the last volume War helped Wonder Woman, Zola, Hera and Lennox get the baby back from Demeter and Hermes. In this one it's more of the same band-on-the-run bullshit.</span></div>
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Substitute Dawn's name for Zola's and you've got the picture.</em></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Some cool moments, such as the boom tube trip with Orion (who also pops back in from the last volume), a character death I wasn't expecting and one that was supposed to surprise me and didn't. Gotta say that ending was anti-climactic for me. I guess I was expecting more of a battle or something to resolve that storyline. The whole thing with Hera at the end was nice. But then again, it's always nice to see that our favorite bitch-queen</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">does</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> have feelings, no matter how much she hides them. All in all this was very mediocre for me story wise and I'm really hoping that the next volume focuses more on Diana's newfound responsibilities and NOT the freaking baby or the power struggle for the Olympian throne!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b>VERDICT: </b>3/5 Stars</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span></div>
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-30509186775512176602015-01-27T19:40:00.004-05:002015-01-27T19:44:38.880-05:00GIVEAWAY for 1 Signed Copy (U.S. ONLY) and 3 e-books (INTL.) of "I Want Crazy" by Codi Gary!!! Hey everyone! I hope you are all having a great New Year so far, with many great reads in your book life! :D As of New Year's Eve 2014, I was tweeting a link to my <a href="http://diamondinroughcoal.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-top-ten-books-of-2014.html">Top 10 Books of 2014</a> (and the 10 runners up). I was just putting a blog post out there, sharing my opinions like usual. It started a conversation with romance author Codi Gary, whose wonderfully funny and touching book <i>I Want Crazy (Loco Texas #2) </i><b>(my review <a href="http://diamondinroughcoal.blogspot.com/2014/08/bring-on-crazy.html">here</a>)</b><i> </i>was part of my Top 10 list. She generously offered to send me a signed copy of her book and to send an additional one for this giveaway! Because I love this book so much (and it's only $0.99 for the Nook & Kindle right now!!!), I decided to spread the love a little more by giving away 3 ebook copies (format of your choice) as well. Just enter the giveaway below and good luck to you all! I hope whoever wins enjoys this book just as much as I did! :D<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfgjOshdQ2D8-gg6lYJiuppl9l4yJ0xorAB4Ng1tskxm_9wJXOPxw96PpZThOOW5lzDavDR_YqFuK5XCQ65vcpGB11eJF9hSueH8fhS8b4xId7ZuufVDCXdfdseNNQZZr3HI9XEtl4WM/s1600/21471824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfgjOshdQ2D8-gg6lYJiuppl9l4yJ0xorAB4Ng1tskxm_9wJXOPxw96PpZThOOW5lzDavDR_YqFuK5XCQ65vcpGB11eJF9hSueH8fhS8b4xId7ZuufVDCXdfdseNNQZZr3HI9XEtl4WM/s1600/21471824.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #45818e;">Published: July 8th, 2014</span></b></div>
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<b>I Want Crazy (Loco Texas #2)</b></div>
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<b>By: Codi Gary</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #45818e;">Books with Benefits Press</span></b></div>
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<b>ISBN-13: 9781941170007</b></div>
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<b><span id="freeText1276276239721403741" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Alfred “Red” Calhoun is in a rut so big, he doesn’t know how to climb out of it. After his second best-selling romance novel, Red signed a contract for three more books, but now he’s having trouble finding his romantic mojo. To top it all off, his favorite bar has been bought by a woman who wants to close down and re-vamp it. With his favorite place gone, Red is looking for a distraction…just not the kind that the bar-ruining Jessie Dale has to offer, no matter how hot she may look in a pair of paint-covered overalls…<br /><br />Jessie has been running away from trouble since the time she was a kid and now that she’s decided to make a place in Loco, Texas, she’ll be damned if she’s going to let a pain in the rear cowboy with too blue eyes chase her out of town. As Red and Jessie go toe to toe in an epic battle of wills, Jessie finds it hard to stay mad when Red’s kisses make her want to forget her trust issues…and take him home for a test drive.<br /><br />But when Jessie’s pissed-off ex comes to town to make trouble, Red finds himself playing a hero in his own life and can’t seem to stay away from the her. But will he be able to handle all the crazy baggage Jessie’s been hauling around, or will these two miss out on the greatest adventure of all…falling in love?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></b></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="4efe3dd83" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4efe3dd83/" id="rcwidget_6uep1546" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8429223107942906639.post-19943943847627596692015-01-25T14:59:00.000-05:002015-01-25T14:59:00.100-05:00I Fought the Law & the Law Won<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiOhyphenhyphenCy4tmG1l2kq6p6wDqg-6pA_Mvt2vddDz5z-L3Y397azAhlvKY4WiNVoljb7noV8OjaVy_YZ4XTajjSvxL1x-YGI7ChktRrBJbqa8nVfqCmM59ZARWzf2DZ6rTRQkHQZ1vQnrxzE/s1600/13533746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiOhyphenhyphenCy4tmG1l2kq6p6wDqg-6pA_Mvt2vddDz5z-L3Y397azAhlvKY4WiNVoljb7noV8OjaVy_YZ4XTajjSvxL1x-YGI7ChktRrBJbqa8nVfqCmM59ZARWzf2DZ6rTRQkHQZ1vQnrxzE/s1600/13533746.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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Published: November 13th, 2012<br />
<b>Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 1: Redemption (Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1 #1)\</b><br />
By: Scott Lobdell, Kenneth Rocafort (Illustrations)<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">DC Comics</span><br />
ISBN-13: 9781401237127<br />
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<b>No sooner had Batman's former sidekick, Jason Todd, put his past as the Red Hood behind him than he finds himself cornered by a pair of modern day outlaws: Green Arrow's rejected sidekick Arsenal, the damaged soldier of fortune, and the alien Starfire, a former prisoner of intergalactic war who won't be chained again. As a loner, Jason has absolutely no interest in this motley crew of outlaws. So what's he going to do when they choose the Red Hood as their leader?</b><br />
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<u>Review</u></div>
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For anyone unfamiliar with DC Comic lore, Jason Todd was Robin #2. That is, until the Joker beat him to death with a crowbar! But don't worry, Talia al Ghul (daughter of that crazy fucker Ra's al Ghul, head of the League of Assassins) threw him in the magical Lazarus Pit, which holds a liquid that restores people and can bring the dead back to life. Only, he's quite a bit fucked up now. Arsenal, also known as Roy Harper, was the sidekick for the Green Arrow - until he became a drug-addicted mess that even the villains wouldn't fight with. Now that he's clean, he's trying to make it on his own, without Arrow/Oliver Queen to help prop him up. Starfire, also known as Princess Koriand'r, has been in slavery since childhood when her sister sold her to appease the inavders that conquered their planet and destroyed their parents. Now that she's free, Kori will never be a slave again and life will always be on her own terms. Thrown together by circumstances beyond their control, the three must go on a mission together. But can they become a team? And what happens once the job is over?</div>
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Ugh. I just cannot <i>even</i> with this one. Probably the only reason I gave it more than one star was the scene where we get to see Jason's "best" memory (I loved the cute Robin/Nightwing brother moment) and the fact that I actually kind of liked Jason, despite him deciding to have sex with Starfire, who he knows has memory issues. And on that subject, yes she's been a victim, but man what a bitch! She sleeps with them both and from what I got her memory issues are mostly just that she can't "be bothered" to remember who is who (though I think she's lying about that, honestly). She even jokes about not knowing Roy's name one time, calling him Ray instead. At least, I think it was a joke (she doesn't seem to have a sense of humor, so I could be horribly wrong). In all honesty, yes what was done to her is absolutely horrific. But I don't feel like she was exploited in the comics like a lot of other readers do. I feel like she used sex as a weapon, to keep the guys from getting close to her and to hurt them preemptively. She used it to be in control (which someone as "confused" as she purported to be probably couldn't manage). So my sympathy is minimal for Starfire's portrayal. Watching Roy Harper, aka Arsenal mug his way through each panel as the comic relief was painful for me (it was too much like watching the dumb guy/comic portrayal of Flash, on the Justice League cartoons).</div>
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At least Jason seemed kind of pissed off/horrified that he was "sharing" Starfire with Roy, but good ol' boy Roy seems to think it's no big deal! And yeah that may be the more "adult" of the attitudes displayed, but if being an adult means being a swinger -- NO THANKS. It's not like I hate Lobdell either, because I just started Teen Titans Vol. 1 and I'm liking it so far (I didn't think I'd like Tim Drake either, after his horrible SUPER SECRET ORIGIN!). This just didn't work for me and it's one I have no regrets about not continuing with.<br />
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<b>VERDICT: </b>2/5 Stars<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.7350006103516px;">*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*</span>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575531265601099433noreply@blogger.com0