Beastly Trailers

To round out my little YA binge Stephanie of the Misfit Salon let me know the movie, Beastly, due out this Summer has it's trailers out. So, I thought I'd share it with you. This is one I really want to see. I think Beauty and the Beast was the only fairy tale I've really loved. So, without further ado, here are a couple of trailers...



So, what movies are you looking forward to this summer?

The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman

From the book:
Rain is a girl with a certain destiny, living in an ancient time of blood, raised on mares' milk, nurtured with the strength of a thousand Amazon sisters. A girl of power, stronger than fifty men, she rides her white horse as fierce as a demon. Rain~ Dream Rider, born warrior, and queen-to-be.

In truth, Rain tastes a different future in her dreams. She is touched by the stirrings of emotions unknown. She begins to see beyond a life of war... and wonders about the forbidden. And about the words that are never used... Mercy. Men. Love. Peace.

 The first words: "I was born out of sorrow, so my mother named me Rain." 

This sets the book up for a short and lyrical coming of age story through the eyes of Rain as one of the legendary Amazon sisters. Rain's birth was anything but joyous because it was born out of gang rape, so her mother shunned her. As she grows she learns everything she can about life of the Amazons. For knowledge is power and she much know how the whole society runs. She excels in horse training and riding and becomes as her grandmother, a true sister of the horse. Because she is a queen-to-be and also because her mother shuns her, she is set apart and often travels alone. These adventures with the advice from one of their most wise and psychic priestesses, Deborah, help her to see that what is beyond their borders is not all evil. Not all to be shunned. This becomes the beginning of her quest to becoming her true self, including her questions about if she wants to even be queen.

I think this book is a quick and interesting fictional look into a culture that did exist many moons ago (hey, got to get into character here). However, it really is a look at one girl's life as she questions and learns and grows into her own wisdom and seeks the courage to become what she should become. There are references of rape, and sex, but it is not done in a graphic way and dealt with in a way that would make sense at that time. I give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Loved this quote from the book: "The weak are cruel: the strong have no need to be."

New YA series coming!

Since it seems that I've been on a YA kick, I thought I'd share some news I happened upon at Kelly Gay's Blog. She is going to write a YA series with the first book called, "Darkness Becomes Her" under the pen name Kelly Keaton. She now has a Facebook page where she intends to write about her YA stuff. Go there and "like" the page!

This was taken right from the info page about the book:


DARKNESS BECOMES HER releases April 2011. A second untitled novel will follow in April 2012. 

Here's a bit about the book taken from the Publisher's Marketplace listing: DARKNESS BECOMES HER, (GODS & MONSTERS, Book 1), in which a hardened teen on the run searches for the truth about her monstrous heritage with a group of misfit kids in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans, a city state now run by the creatures of the night.

Website is in the works. You can also find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kellykeaton 

Yay! This one sounds like something I really want to read!

Captivate (Need #2) by Carrie Jones

From Goodreads:
Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town. 

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Their solution for the pixie problem in the last book haunts Zara. She's a pacifist who still lives in a world of good/bad, black/white with very little grey. Even though her world had opened to possibilities she never knew were possible she tries to cling to that old naive view. As the danger grows so does the band of 4 friends. This is part of the story I really did enjoy. They questioned and grew in understanding of themselves and the world around them. Zara learns that on occasion, violence, as abhorrent as it still is to her, might be necessary to save the one's you love. 


Zara is still my favorite character and her boyfriend, Nick also became a favorite of mine since his character became more developed in this story. I also just loved this story more than the first. The writing is wonderful and any criticisms I had in the last book vanish with this one. I also love the way each chapter is introduced. The last book, each chapter was introduced by a phobia. This one, it is a sentence or phrase from the "How to Survive a Pixie Attack" the group was putting together. My only major warning for this book is that it is a cliff hanger. I think I would have preferred it as a 800 page book instead of a cliffhanger, but you can't get everything you want. :) I can't wait for the next book and in the meantime, I give this book 5 stars!! This is the best book in this series... so far. ;)



I received this signed book from Free Book Friday!

Need by Carrie Jones

From Goodreads:
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

Zara is a young girl who's world has turned topsy-turvy. She lost the one she has always known as "dad" when he dies in front of her. She also notices a man who keeps showing up and scaring her and she finds that he is a pixie who wants her. She quickly finds good friends who help her come back to herself after her step-father's death. They also help her deal with the pixie who haunts her and find out exactly what he wants. What they know is that he is a King in search of his Queen and all he has to do is lay a kiss on her that will change her forever. 


I really enjoyed this story right up to the fast paced ending. The only big criticism I have is that it would have been nicer to have the story be a bit longer and I'd like better transitions between the scenes in some of the chapters. Those aren't huge criticisms and I enjoyed the book and recommend it for anyone looking for a good YA read. Oh, and those looking for a little romance won't be disappointed either. I gave this book 4 stars and I'm already starting on the next book, Captivate.


I received this signed book from Free Book Friday!

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

From the book:

Zach Barrows is an ambitious young White House staffer whose career takes an unexpected turn when he’s partnered with Nathaniel Cade, a secret agent sworn to protect the President. But Cade is no ordinary civil servant. Bound 140 years ago by a special blood oath, Nathaniel Cade is a vampire. He battles nightmares before they can break into the daylight world of the American dream, enemies far stranger—and far more dangerous—than civilians have ever imagined. 

BLOOD OATH is the first in a series of novels featuring Nathaniel Cade, the president's vampire.

I had a lot of fun with "Blood Oath". The author, Christopher Farnsworth is a scriptwriter and I think it shows in his book. The book reads like you are at a movie. In this book, Zach, the whiny overprivileged staffer reassigned after a indiscretion with the president's daughter meets the mother of all predators, the vampire, Cade. However, instead of being annoyed by Zach, he quickly proves his worth and become likable. We also get to find out how Cade becomes a vampire and how he earns his blood oath. This makes it a great rounded out book with no annoying blanks of critical information. There is also no information overload with this book, so it becomes quite entertaining.

There is more than one bad guy in this book and the stories meld into an exciting end with zombies on the attack! The book is a stand alone but the ending does leave room for the sequel. I, for one, would love to continue the adventures of Cade, the president's vampire. I gave this book 5 entertaining stars. Don't forget the popcorn when reading this book.

If you want a small view of how entertaining the book is, then take a look at this trailer for the book:

I'd like to thank Lydia Hirt from Putnam Books for this ARC. No compensation was received. The book is due to be published on May 18 2010

Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky Blog Tour

From the book:

When Jacob left home for a new life, he pretty much forgot all about Maryfield, North Carolina. But Maryfield never forgot him. Or forgave him.

After a failed business venture in Boston, Jacob Logan comes back to the small Southern town of his childhood and takes up residence in the isolated house he grew up in. Here, the air is still. The nights are black. And his parents are buried close by. It shouldfeel like home—but something is terribly wrong.

Jacob loses all his belongings in a highway accident. His car is stolen from his driveway, yet he never hears a sound. The townspeople seem guarded and suspicious. And Carl, the property caretaker with so many secrets, is unnervingly accommodating. Then there are the fireflies that light the night skies . . . and die as they come near Jacob’s home. If it weren’t for the creaking sounds after dark, or the feeling that he is being watched, Jacob would feel so alone. He shouldn’t worry. He’s not.

And whatever’s with him isn’t going to let him leave home ever again.

If you are looking for a ghost story, Firefly Rain might just be your pick. This tale weaves into Jacob's life and in a way it is more about finding out who he is as well as what is haunting him. The book moves along at a good clip and builds suspense. You have to keep reading just to see what is really going on, who are holding the secrets and who is really on his side and why. There are a few intense scenes and nothing too gory. I didn't find it too scary, but felt it is more like a good mystery with ghosts on the side. 


I give this book 3 1/2 stars. The book is a bit predictable in parts, but does have an ending I didn't expect but would have liked a bit more suspense building up to it. However, it is a enjoyable read and I would recommend it to someone looking for an interesting take on a ghost story.


A few of the other participants:
Patricia’s Vampire Notes 
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
My Book Views
I Heart Book Gossip
Brizmus Blogs Books
Simply Stacie
Jeanne's Ramblings
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

From Goodreads:

Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St Hauda's Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around icy bogland; albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods; jellyfish glow in the ocean's depths… and Ida MacLaird is slowly turning into glass. 

A mysterious and frightening metamorphosis has befallen Ida – she is slowly turning into glass, from the feet up. She returns to St Hauda's Land, where she believes the glass first took hold, in search of a cure. 

Midas Crook is a young loner, who has lived on the islands his entire life. When he meets Ida, something about her sad, defiant spirit pierces his emotional defenses. As Midas helps Ida come to terms with her affliction, she gradually unpicks the knots of his heart, and they begin to fall in love… 

What they need most is time – and time is slipping away fast. Will they find a way to stave off the spread of the glass? The Girl with Glass Feet is a dazzlingly imaginative and gripping first novel, a love story to treasure.

The description made me think that it was some sort of magical voyage between two people finding a way to each other with Ida's unusual condition as the catalyst. Instead it is a very strange and dark love story between Ida and Midas and the people in their lives. Usually these types of book I find hard to get lost within the pages. That was not the case in this story. It was captivating from the first chapter. 


In the story, many of the characters surrounding the couple who often also have a chapter with their own POV, are looking for some sort of redemption for a wrong turn they took in their lives. It was not that way with Ida and Midas. They were finding a way to wake themselves up to the world and those close around them. To have the courage to make their own mistakes. Although the characters were slow to wake up to taking chances with each other, it was still interesting to see how both characters change toward one another. It was frustrating especially because time was not on their side with Ida's condition getting worse. I did see Ida's condition as a metaphor for a terminal illness. If you consider it, what better metaphor than glass? It is something that alters her body, makes it non-functional and when people see the "glass" it is as if they look right through you. 


I did have a hard time deciding if I would give this book 3 1/2 stars or if I would give it a full 4 stars. My main objection is my own and had nothing to do with the writing itself. And by throwing out my personal preference, I'd have to say it was too well written for me to take it down slightly. Therefore, I give it 4 stars and recommend this book for people who want a dark, strange and lyrical type of romance story.


I won this ARC from the Misfit  Salon's Ginormous Giveaway. 

Jane Slayre by Sherri Browning Erwin Blog Tour

From the book:

“ READER, I BURIED HIM . ”

A timeless tale of love, devotion . . . and the undead.

Jane Slayre, our plucky demon-slaying heroine, a courageous orphan who spurns the detestable vampyre kin who raised her, sets out on the advice of her ghostly uncle to hone her skills as the fearless slayer she’s meant to be. When she takes a job as a governess at a country estate, she falls head-over-heels for her new master, Mr. Rochester, only to discover he’s hiding a violent werewolf in the attic—in the form of his first wife. Can a menagerie of bloodthirsty, flesh-eating, savage creatures-of-the-night keep a swashbuckling nineteenth-century lady from the gentleman she intends to marry? Vampyres, zombies, and werewolves transform Charlotte Brontë’s unforgettable masterpiece into an eerie paranormal adventure that will delight and terrify.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë has to be one of my all time favorites classic books. So, I was excited to learn that someone took that book and made a paranormal out of it. Sherri Browning Erwin has made what I believe as a successful adaptation of the Jane Eyre. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I can also see why some people may not like it. The purists who hate to have a classic “messed” with might not have the same fun that I had with this book. The main story of Jane was altered a bit and not just by the paranormal parts. Jane had a more amiable time with the humans in her life than in the original book. Her fortitude seemed to come more from the frightening circumstances in her life before she was old enough to handle such things. Even Mr. Rochester was more likable from his introduction into Jane’s life. It still was not a happy childhood, and Rochester is still forever the antagonist, but the main turning points in her life still held. It is as though a fan just tweaked parts of her life we would have all liked for our heroine. That I understand completely. :)

I do recommend this book for those who want to have a bit of fun with their classic version of Jane. Finding a new way to cheer for her. For those that are purists of classic literature, I suggest you pass this one and read the original Jane Eyre. I gave this book 4 stars and had fun reading it.

Below is a bit from the author and how she came to write Jane Slayre.


Some of the other blog tour participants:

Revenge of the Book Nerds
Drey’s Library
Crazy Books & Reviews
Book Junkie
The Cajun Book Lady
I Heart Monster
Books Gardens & Dogs
Just One More Paragraph
Gnostalgia

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning (Fever #3)

From the book: He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. 

When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it. 

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

I have been behind on many of my series but found some time and decided to continue the fever series since Shadowfever isn't too far away! I have to say that KMM does not disappoint with this third installment of Mac and Barrons. There were times (as there was in the other two books) when you just wanted to either kick Mac or Barrons in the "petunia" so they would both be straight with each other. Of course, if I didn't feel this way in this book, I would wonder if I picked up another series by mistake. The book is fast paced and enjoyable read until...

I had pondered about even mentioning the ending, but several people had mentioned it as a cliffhanger. Well, yes, it is a cliffhanger (I usually hate those) but there was something more in the ending I hated. All I will say is that it almost made me give it one star less. Upon reflection and the note by the author in the book, I decided this was EXACTLY the end and emotion that was intended so I gave back the star I almost stole. Therefore, this book has 5 stars and I recommend this series. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you start at the beginning with Darkfever. The series comes together much better that way for readers. 

Award!

I had received this award from Melissa (gotta love that name!) from My World in Words and Pages. She also has the best comments here on my blog!

I'd like to pass this award to the people who have supported this blog with their awesome comments:

StephanieD from Misfit Salon
K.C. from Smokinhotbooks
Nina from J'adorehappyendings
Melissa from i swim for oceans
C.K. Twilighter from Lovin' & Livin' Life in the 808

Misfit Salon Spring Fever Giveaway!

The Misfit Salon is giving away 2 sets of books to 2 winners. If you aren't familiar with these books, she has wonderful reviews that make you want to read them. The contest ends on April 30.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

From the book: There is no pity in Santa Olivia. And no escape. In this isolated military buffer zone between Mexico and the U.S., the citizens of Santa Olivia are virtually powerless. Then an unlikely heroine is born. She is the daughter of a man genetically manipulated by the government to be a weapon. A "Wolf-Man," he was engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and senses, as well as a total lack of fear. Named for her vanished father, Loup Garron has inherited his gifts. 

Frustrated by the injustices visited upon her friends and neighbors by the military occupiers, Loup is determined to avenge her community. Aided by a handful of her fellow orphans, Loup takes on the guise of their patron saint, Santa Olivia, and sets out to deliver vigilante justice - aware that if she is caught, she could lose her freedom... and possibly her life.

When I first picked up this book, I was thinking that it was another version of a werewolf story. Not exactly, it is more of a sci-fi superhero story. In fact, parts of it reminded me of the tv show, "Dark Angel." If you look at the cover, her coat is made to look like a cape (and I do love the cover).


This book is such a great read. Even in the slower parts of the book, it builds tension as to what is coming next. You also have great characters in the book, all you either like right away or learn to like as the story goes on. And although there is some vigilante justice, there isn't that much in the book as perhaps you'd like, but it makes sense in the story. Plus, you really root for the Santitos (the orphan's nickname) because of why and how they chose to help the other unfortunate people in the outpost. It's just a fun ride and one that keeps going until the end. Unfortunately, it is the end why I could not give it 5 stars. It lost it's star because of the way it ends. It leaves way too many open questions. I couldn't find out if there was going to be another sequel or if this book is a stand alone.  So, if it had given me, say 10 more chapters or guaranteed me a sequel (which I would certainly read), then it would regain it's last star.


It is an adult book. I must also say that there is sexual content, some violence and a lot of cussing. So, I wouldn't recommend it to the very young set. Otherwise, I do recommend this book wholeheartedly! It is such a good read. I give it 4 stars! Oh, and before I forget, there are parts to the book I would not recommend reading while in the presence of a sensitive, empathic dog (maybe that's just me...). In other words, make sure there is a tissue around in at least one or two parts of the book. 

Awards

I wanted to acknowledge some awards I received recently...



This one was from Larissa from Welcome to Larissa's Life



This one is from Sarah from My World of Books


I wanted to officially thank these two sweet people for thinking of me. And because I have received so many awards, I will only pass on the one that I haven't received before (since I already passed the other two on).

This one I received from Trini of A Book Lover's Review. I am supposed to:

Thank and link to the person that gave you the award.

Pass this award to 15 bloggers you've recently discovered and think are fantastic.

Contact the blogs and let them know they've won.

State 7 things about yourself.

1. This blog was supposed to be a painting a day blog with book reviews. Looks like it's the other way around.
2. I have long hair and have been threatened by strangers not to cut it.
3. I am a Coloradan
4. I love large dogs
5. I've owned the sweetest pit bull on earth when I was a kid.
6. I love Mexican and Italian food.
7. I have no more boring factoids to add. ;)

I pass this on to (in no particular order):

Book Chick City

I Swim for Oceans

I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read

Smokinhotbooks

The Cajun Book Lady

Welcome to Larissa's Life

Book Crazy

Books Obsession

Darkly Reading

My World of Books

Revenge of the Book Nerds

The Bibliophilic Book Blog

The Book Junkie's Bookshelf

Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books

Wicked Awesome Books

Seriously, visit these blogs. They are great!!!