Waiting on Wednesday (10)

Title: Chain Reaction

Author: Simone Elkeles

Release: August 16th 2011

Goodreads Summary: Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn't live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he's never known, and just when he thinks he's got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father?

Continuing all the steamy romance of the first two books, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles gives fans one more satisfying taste of the irresistible Fuentes boys.

I can't wait to finally read this! After reading about the other 2 Fuentes brothers I know that I just have to read this the minute I buy it! Especially after having to wait so long for it. =)

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Title: Romeo and Juliet
Author: William Shakespeare
Published: 1595
Pages: 112
Rating: 4/5
Summary: "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,"

With these first lines, Shakespeare's timeless play of young love and untimely death begins; as in life, it is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, always poignantly beautiful. While our emotions are moved by the imagery and rhythms of Shakespeare's verse, our minds are delighted by the sharpness of his insights into life, death, and the human condition.

Review: Ever since I was smaller I had heard about Romeo and Juliet but I never really had the desire to read the play. Thanks to my English class I read and let me tell you it was fun reading it in class and hearing what others thought about it.

I think everybody pretty much knows what the play is about. You know, about Romeo and Juliet who can't be together and their families hate each other. Even knowing what was going to happen at the end I found myself wanting to keep reading.

I still think that Juliet could have been a better character but I think the way she acted went along with the time period in which the play was written. Still, it just seemed weird reading about how much she loved Romeo the second after they met. And Romeo was no different. He was supposed to be in love with Rosaline and said he would never stop loving her and the moment he saw Juliet he suddenly loves her.

Even though the play focuses on Romeo and Juliet, I found that I really liked reading about the minor characters. Especially the nurse. They each had their role in the play and their equal on the opposite family. And now I have to talk about the nurse. Some of the things she said were hilarious. Especially the double entendres. It just shows that some things just don't change, even with time.

I still don't get why it's such a famous story but I know I enjoyed reading it. Yes, the love between Romeo and Juliet isn't all that believable but I found that I didn't care. By the time we finished it I could easily understand the language that they talked in. The only think that I complain about is that my teacher made us annotate it into modern English which some fun away from it. But she did show us the 1968 movie version which kind of made up for it. Plus, it was just funny watching it.

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday!!

Book Blogger Hop is a fun meme hosted by Crazy For Books. Enter your link and go hop around other blogs that are out there, ready to be discovered!

I know I haven't joined the hop in a while but I figured that now that I don't go to school I can take my time to visit blogs. Plus, I've enjoyed not having to worry about school. And since this week I've done nothing but stay at home and read think I will enjoy visiting other blogs. =)

When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?

I have a long story about this but I'll make it short. It was reading the Harry Potter books. Before then I didn't even like or enjoy reading. I know right? Crazy. That's when I started reading and after something sad happened in my family, I realized that the one place that I didn't feel so bad was in the world of books. So now I can't seem to stop reading. =)

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1.Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2.Follow our Featured Bloggers
3.Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4.Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5.Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

I'm not big into books that revolve around the fae. So if anyone has any suggestions as to what are some good books just leave them in the comments! But, the one story that I've read about the fae and enjoyed is the series by Julie Kagawa, Iron Fae.

If you're visiting, make sure you leave your link and I'll make sure to visit your blog!

Tens List: Top 10 Scary Moveis (Bloodspell)

Today on the blog we have Amalie Howard, the author of Bloodspell, to tell us her top 10 scary movies!

Scary movies are my kryptonite. Seriously, for someone who writes about blood-sucking creatures, you’d think that I would at least have some edgy horror tendencies. But the sad fact is, I just don’t. Scary movies scare the pants off me! My thinking is that scary movies are like combustive fuel for my already overactive imagination! Sometimes my dreams are so realistic that I talk in my sleep or in worse cases, sleepwalk. That’s the worst! I usually have terrible nightmares after watching horror movies. Put it this way, the other day I watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and I had dreams of Medusa chasing me around a maze all night long and trying to cut off my head! If you’re familiar with that movie, those snakes were pretty vicious-looking! That said, I do take preventative measures and have some base rules for watching horror movies – 1) I have to be in the right mood, 2) I have to be with someone (watching alone is a definite no no), and 3) I have to have other people sleeping in my house the night of the viewing. Number 3 is a hard and fast rule, otherwise I will literally stay awake all night long.

So all that said and caveated, here’s my list of my top ten scariest movies, most of which I’ve only had the guts to see once, and some not even the whole way through! Don’t be surprised if some of them fall into the borderline (aka wimpy) horror categories.

10) The Shining – oh yes, couldn’t go near my window for weeks with this one.
9) The Blair Witch Project – this one was one of the first “reality-type” films of its genre. I saw this in the theater and I was literally jumping out of my skin if someone as much as twitched in the seats behind me.
8) The Grudge – it’s not one of the best movies, but that part with the thing in her head! OMG. Still gives me the shakes!
7) Night of the Living Dead – this was the first zombie movie I ever saw. “Brains, brains!”
6) The Ring – I actually couldn’t watch this in its entirety, it was that petrifying. Even the trailer freaks me out.
5) Rosemary’s Baby – classic antichrist old-school movie. Nightmares for weeks – talk about dreams being scary, imagine the dream sequence in this film!
4) Silence of the Lambs – loved this one, it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’m more into this type of psychopath-type horror/thriller movie. It’s still super creepy.
3) Let Me In – I actually loved this movie. It was scary and dark but also beautiful.
2) Alien – classic “pee-in-your-pants” sci-fi, and definitely has to be in the top 3.
1) The Exorcist – I will never ever watch this movie again or any current or future remakes of this movie ever. That’s how terrifying this one is to me. That’s why it’s number one. The mother of scary movies.

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

Title: Wildefire

Author: Karsten Knight

Release: July 26th 2011

Goodreads Summary: Every flame begins with a spark.

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

 

I haven't read many books that have to do with some kind of mythology but I think this would be awesome! I've been hearing really good things about this book so I can't wait to read it!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Published: 1847
Pages: 408
Rating: 5/5
Summary: Part love story, part mystery, part Gothic novel, Jane Eyre is also an exploration of an independent woman's struggle to escape the repressive forces of Victorian society. Jane's life seems to be a search for happiness and acceptance and she narrates her story in such a suspenseful and enigmatic manner that the reader is eager to learn more about her.
Jane is a plain, simple girl, with little to offer her benefactress or the society around her. She is defiant and stubborn with strong moral values that give her strength to overcome the oppression she often suffers. When she becomes the governess for a young French girl, Jane has no idea what lurks in the depths of the isolated Thornfield mansion: joy, laughter, hope, love, fear, secrets, attempted murder...

Review: This was the second time that I read it and I loved it as much as the first time or even more!

Jane starts her story when she is small and in the care of an aunt who doesn't like her or want her to be in her house. She is treated bad and desires to leave her horrible short life to a better life. She is sent to a school where she is treated as bad but soon things turn better. During this time she is given an education that eventually lands her a job where her life drastically changes from the calm and neutral that it is to a life with more things than she could imagine.

I love how Jane seems to belong on a more modern time when women are treated more equally than her time. She keeps to her beliefs and honestly doesn't care what the people of higher status in society will care. Despite the women of her time are not given the education that we now have, she took advantage of the education that she was given and made it the most out of it. Jane might be a very big reason why I love this book so much, how brave and strong she is even though I think at times she might have taken better choices.

And what about Mr. Rochester? He was different from what I read most of the time but I loved him as much. For one, he was double the age of Jane (which I admit creeps me out a bit) and he makes some very stupid choices. This time around I knew what was happening but that didn't stop me from wanting him to make some different choices. I think that what happened to him at the end was something else that made me love him. He didn't end up being perfect but I could tell that this was the way it had to be.

I loved talking to my classmates about it and listening to what they thought was going to happen. During class discussions I wanted to say things but I knew that I shouldn't ruin a great story to the rest of them. Most of the time I dread having to read books that are required for school but this was an exception. Definitely a book that I think even those who dislike classics would enjoy!

In My Mailbox (46)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren! This week I went to Alyson Noel's signing at Orange so I got a book signed by her!

Bought:

Everlasting by Alyson Noel

I got it signed!

For Review:

Eden by Keary Taylor

Ever since Keary started talking about her new book I've been wanting to read it. Now I'm happy that I get to read it!

Other:

Swag of Head Games and Stealing Bases

Swag of Everlasting

I got this at the signing.

Thanks to Keary Taylor and Keri Mikulski!

In My Mailbox (45)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren! This is what I got in the past 2 weeks which isn't much but I'm excited to start reading them!

Won:
Haven by Kristi Cook
From YA Fresh!

Bought:
Die For Me by Amy Plum

Other:
Hunted bookmarks

Thanks to Kristi and DJ!

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

Title: Uncommon Criminals

Author: Ally Carter

Release: June 21st 2011

Goodreads Summary: Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

I recently read and reviewed Heist Society and I loved it! Ally is a genius! I can't wait to see what next thing Kat does and how she solves the problems that she gets herself into! =)

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Title: Strange Angels
Author: Lili St. Crow
Published: 2009
Pages: 293
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis: Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Review: It had been a really long time that I had been wanting to read this book so when I finally got the chance to read it I was really happy.

The story starts off with Dru with her dad. After she goes to school and sees that her dad is still not home she starts to get nervous. Later when she hears someone trying to get inside her house she realizes that it's her dad, only he's a zombie. Soon after Dru is forced to take a course of action when she's left alone in the world. She uses everything that she knows to survive but she knows that she will need a bit of help.

Dru was a great character! She was left alone and had to find a way to stay alive while all these mean things kept coming at her. She managed to kill them eve if it wasn't in the best way and that's something that I loved. She didn't want to depend on anyone to get her out of things and always took the lead when she needed to. Dru was a strong character that I wish I will see in future books! Plus, I want to see more about her powers!

And what can I say about Graves and Christophe? Graves wasn't the superhero that we commonly see in a lot of YA books. Despite this he should that he was brave and that he wouldn't give up just because he was scared of something. And Christophe happened to be the opposite. He showed up to save the day but i think he was a bit creepy at the beginning.

Now that I've read this book I really want to read the second. I want to see what happens next and how things turn out to be. I'm happy that I won't have to wait for the next book to come out! =) So glad that it turned out to be a good book!