Must Read Monday (#3)

<div align="center"><a href="http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com" title="Fans of Fiction"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/angelalwayz26/chicks3.jpg" alt="Fans of Fiction" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Hey all! Thanks for stopping by.

The goal of the Must Read Monday meme is to find share your love of great books with others in the hopes that they'll add a new title to their To Be Read list.

Instead of answering a question, you are basically creating intrigue for other hoppers. What makes your book so swoon-worthy? What do you absolutely have to mention so they'll read it?

On your post, you'll make an acrostic puzzle (think of it as an overview/book blurb type of thing).

When you leave comments on other posts, be sure to mention whether you're adding that book to your TBR pile, and what part convinced you to do so.

It's all about powers of persuasion, people:) You might have to think a little, but channel that inner-creative goddess (or god).

I will feature two bloggers who had the most creative posts the following week, and those will be required follows if you wish to participate again.

It's always difficult to choose the winners because everybody's acrostic impresses or excites me in a different way. The ones that stood out to me the most from last week were:

1. Sheree from Beckoned by Books (Fallen)

and

2. Pam from At Home Between the Pages (Shiver/Linger/Forever)

REMEMBER: You must follow these ladies to participate this week!

Sheree's acrostic about Fallen was written in 1st person, which really drew me in. She made it sound like an eternal love story that was complicated and maybe on the verge of obsession.

Pam did puzzles for the three books of the Shiver trilogy. Her short acrostics created intrigue and painted another everlasting love story. Check out both of their acrostics from last week!

Now it's your turn! This week's category is all about LOVE:) Choose a romance or any story with a sizzling relationship--one that maybe even made you fall in love with a fictional character. Make sure you mention the romance in some way without giving spoilers!
For specific ways to build your puzzle, click here, but pretty much any style of acrostic is welcome.

My choice, which happens to be dystopian:

           Because Dauntless is her chosen path

                                 TrIs must forever forsake her family

Her instructor Four creates an inconVenient distraction

                                         hE's older, intimidating, secretive, skilled

                   Does she imagine an attRaction on both ends?

                             Four can see this Girl is not an ordinary initiate,               

               rescues her from certain dEath at the hands of competitors

                                   but caN they save the world and each other    

                            when the enemy sTrikes at night?

Have fun with it and try to spread the word.

Next week's category: Contemporary/realistic fiction

Guidelines:

• Must become a follower to participate.
• Follow the two winners from last week to participate.
• Grab my button to place in your post.
• Make sure you have a backlink in your post to each weekly post I put up, not just to my website.
• Where it says your name please include name @ blog name and your main genre in parentheses. Ex: Jenna @ Fans of Fiction (YA)
• Your exact post URL is the one that goes in the linky box, not your website.
• This meme is for BOOK BLOGGERS ONLY.
• Don't just hop around; leave comments! We all love reading what others have to say.
• Enjoy!

Read More

Feature and Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop (#7)

Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read host Feature and Follow Friday. If you want to get to know some awesome people and have fun hopping, it's the place to be on a Friday!

Q: If you could have dinner with your favorite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

Remy from Sarah Dessen's This Lullaby (I wish I had the guts to slurpee people's cars!). I would serve a make-your-own mac and cheese bar where we could top our macaroni with anything and everything. I've seen it done at weddings. And Remy's wouldn't be disappointed with the food selection; she's used to scrounging up whatever's in the fridge and creating a meal. Her boy Dexter and his roomies make that a constant competition between them (think worse than poor college kids who live on Ramen).

Then, once we were besties, I'd invite Death from The Book Thief. Not so he could steal her away but because he has quite a sense of humor. Plus, he relates to everything in colors. I would be completely enthralled with his account of his collections over the ages while Remy sipped a slurpee too loud and made sarcastic comments from the other end of the table. 

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jen @ Crazy For Books. It's a chance for us book bloggers to hop around, make new friends, and get to know one another.

This week's question:

What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Even if you don’t celebrate, what kinds of costumes do you like?

So it's not anything super short or skimpy, if that's what you were wondering. Some girls can pull that off, but I'd be pulling whatever it was down all evening.

In 8th grade my mom made me a Warheads costume out of felt with arm and neck holes. Do you remember that particular brand of sour candy? She drew the package's picture on the front and the back (a guy puckering his lips) and I put my hair in pigtails and my cheeks had red circles. That year my younger brother was a homemade Dr. Pepper complete with an aluminum pop top hat. Our costumes rocked! Anything creative and fun makes me smile. I wouldn't even mind trying a couple's costume with the hubby one year.

Share your answers with me...you know you want to!

P.S. Come back for my Must Read Monday meme when the new week rolls around. It's a blast in a glass:)

Read More

Must Read Monday (#2)

<div align="center"><a href="http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com" title="Fans of Fiction"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/angelalwayz26/chicks3.jpg" alt="Fans of Fiction" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Today begins week two of my new meme, Must Read Monday!

The goal of this meme is to find those books others are excited about to add to your To Be Read list.

Instead of answering a question, you are basically creating intrigue for other hoppers. What makes your book so swoon-worthy? What do you absolutely have to mention so they'll read it?

On your post, you'll make an acrostic puzzle (think of it as an overview/book blurb type of thing).

When you leave comments on other posts, be sure to mention whether you're adding that book to your TBR pile, and what part convinced you to do so.

It's all about powers of persuasion, people:) You might have to think a little, but channel that inner-creative goddess (or god).

I will feature two bloggers who had the most creative posts the following week, and those will be required follows if you wish to participate again.

*You can help me judge by leaving a comment on my post with the most creative/convincing one you've seen after hopping around.

Last week's winners were hard to choose because there were so many creative acrostics!

 (drumroll, please):

1. Aimee @ Getting Your Read On (The Death Cure)

and

2. Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves (The Hunger Games)

                                                   

Aimee really made a lasting impression with her last three lines, "One thing is sure: the time for lies is over." I haven't read this, but I will now because of the poetic cliff hanger she's provided us with! Kristan really captured the essence of The Hunger Games and slipped in a little bit for every type of reader: hints of romance, family bonds being tested, intriguing plot hook of the death games, and even the strong traits of the main character.

Hop on over and check out their posts from last week. You must follow Aimee and Kristan to participate in this week's Must Read Monday.

This week's category: your favorite paranormal pick. This can include any of the paranormal subgenres (like paranormal romance).

Some of you asked me to announce the following week's genre/topic so you can get your puzzles ready. So, next week's featured acrostic will be based on your favorite romance (any book at all that has a great romance in it!). 

Here's my paranormal pick. I tried to make it into more of a story this time. Remember, these can be any kind of acrostics you want: one word per line, several per line, or you can use the title's letters to start each line. See samples here.

                                              Teaching becomes Willie's escape from

                                a Home where her stepfather lives,

                                                  whEre babysitting and farmwork bring her down

                                   She Runs away to Cherokee territory at 17

                                       preEtends to be Angelina, English teacher

                                  Very strange noises fill her room

                         the spirit of drowned Ella, they say

                     Eli SeveNstar steals Willie's breath away

                       But teAcher-student love is forbidden

                                   Willie must coNquer divide between Cherokee girls' prejudice

              and risk her life to lay a ghosT to rest.

Guidelines:

• Must become a follower to participate.
• Follow the two winners from last week to participate.
• Grab my button to place in your post.
• Make sure you have a backlink in your post to each weekly post I put up, not just to my website.
• Where it says your name please include name @ blog name and your main genre in parentheses. Ex: Jenna @ Fans of Fiction (YA)
• Your exact post URL is the one that goes in the linky box, not your website.
• This meme is for BOOK BLOGGERS ONLY.
• Don't just hop around; leave comments! We all love reading what others have to say.
• Enjoy!

Read More

In My Mailbox (#6)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren for bloggers to showcase what books they collected over the course of the week, whether it be by purchase, library, giveaway win, or publisher.

From NetGalley:

A romance in Ireland. Really, Ireland is all that sold me-- the one place in Europe I need to go before I die. I'm interested to see how religion is slipped in.

When I read this book Sarah Dessen fans would like this book, I had to get my hands on it. Where I live, we've recently had five cupcake stores open since the summer. Looks like sweets are in:)

From Karen @ Books Beside My Bed:

All about ballet dancers; has the potential of Center Stage (but hopefully not the offputting sexual elements of Black Swan!).

From Kathy at Read This for her Crossed Tour:

I checked my mail every day in anticipation of this second novel in the Matched series. I read it in two days (even at school while my kids were testing). Read my review here.  I'm looking forward to the third in the trilogy. If the first two are any indication, I'll be waiting another year:(

What's in your mailbox this week?

Read More

Review: But I Love Him

"Tonight was so much worse than anything before it. Tonight he didn't stop after the first slap.
At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.
This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong."
-Goodreads

Stats:

• Publisher: Flux
• Release date: May 8, 2011
• Page count: 245
• Unique elements: Story is told backwards from present to past and each chapter is labeled with a date and how many days into her relationship the main character (Ann) is
• Would appeal to: Fans of serious contemporary topics

Favorite Quotes:

"But even when I stop crying, even when we fall asleep and I'm nestled in his arms, this will leave another scar. No one will see it. No one will know. But it will be there. And eventually all the scars will have scars and that is all I will be, on big scar of a love gone wrong."

"I want him to be whole so I don't have to try so hard to make him that way."

"I should have known when he said, 'You're so lucky I don't hit girls,' that one day he would."

"He squeezes my hand. I don't move, just let the car idle where we sit, somewhere halfway to nowhere but not nearly far enough away from everything."

"I wanted to be his life preserver, the thing that would keep him afloat. Instead, he became my anchor. And I'm tired of drowning."

This story took me by surprise. It's powerfully moving in all the right ways.

The thing that stands out to me, that screams brilliant, is that Amanda Grace wrote the story backwards; from Ann's worst beating all the way to the first day she meets Connor. I couldn't help wondering if she originally wrote the story forward and then rearranged the pieces, but because of the author interview in the back, I know she didn't. She wrote it with purpose, and that purpose gave it a punch. I won't forget this book anytime soon.

Here's what Grace has to say about people who read books about abusive relationships and their judgments: "So often, a person thinks of themselves as too smart to end up in a similar situation. As the person reads, he or she chooses a defining moment (often the first time an abuser pushes or hits the victim) where they say to themselves, 'that is when I would have left.' From then on, they place a certain amount of blame on the victim for being in the situation in the first place. By telling the story in reverse chronological order, it removes the reader's ability to judge the protagonist. They don't know the events that led up to the abuse, so they can only sit back and observe."

It's true-- we're all completely guilty of this. How many times have you seen a movie or even a person in real life and thought, "Why the hell don't they leave him?" (It could be a her too). Surely you'd put your foot down if you got slapped.

Yes, I did see Ann as weak in the beginning. She's lying on the floor amidst shards of glass and curled up in a blanket with the dead bolt locked. How could she put herself through that? But when you see glimpses of the boy Connor used to be-- his charming smile, his infectious laugh, his love of board games, planning surprise dates-- you can't help but feel sympathy for his situation.

Connor saw his dad beat his mom his entire life. His mom sat back and took it and merely tried harder to please him. Even though he knew physical abuse was wrong and continually saved his mom from it, those images and thoughts and feelings had become buried in his subconcious.

Do I still blame him for becoming a product of his environment? Of course. But learning his backstory that way helped me understand what growing up in a broken home had done to him.

Blake is a wonderful character. The reader keeps seeing hints of something that happened between Ann and Blake in the woods, and it takes awhile to discover what that is. There's one point prior to those hints where Ann looks into his eyes and sees the life she could have had and you know something's between them. If only we had a tendency to choose the good guy, girls, and not try to fix or change anyone:)

I fell in love with Abby, the strong friend who was left in the dust. The author did an excellent job of showing how, when one person consumes all your time and his mood depends on your actions, family and friends slowly get pushed out of the picture.

My heart ached at Ann's relationship with her mother. But in regards to their relationship, I appreicated the ending.

Something else that struck me was the way Ann judged Connor's mom over and over. She couldn't understand why his mom kept putting up with her husband's hits and abusive language. She pitied everything about her. Ann even wished she would pick her son over her husband for once. Then Ann morphs into a younger version of Connor's mother. The making up excuses, the remaining in an unhealthy relationship because he might collapse if you can't pick up the pieces. There is a great moment at the beginning where Ann is watching Connor's mom keeled over in the grass while Connor's dad is burning things in the yard and Ann knows her relationship has nearly hit rock bottom. She says, "If I look in her in the eyes, I'm afraid I will see myself." She knows her life has gone down the wrong path, but she loves him too much to leave. Interesting how she could see the wrong in everyone's relationship but her own until it was much too late.

Final verdict:
A heart-wrenching look at the whys and hows of abusive relationships. Grace manages to create sympathy for both the abuser and the abused, forcing the reader to take a hard look at any 
pre-disposed personal judgments of abuse victims.

Read More

Rampant

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student ... an attraction that could jeopardize everything. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

So, this is book one in the Killer Unicorns trilogy. Yup. Killer unicorns. That almost put me off the series, and I'm really glad it didn't. This book is a ton of fun, with a diverse and engaging cast of characters led by one kick-ass unicorn hunter. The mythology is fascinating, the action exciting and tense, and Peterfreund even raises issues of gender, environment, and violence without ever seeming boring or preachy. Astrid is one of my new favorite heroines, and happily the second book (Rampant) is out and the third is on the way. 

Read More

Hex Hall

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 


By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. 

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

I liked Hex Hall, but I can't say I loved it. The setting was promising, the mystery is absorbing, and Sophie's pink-loving, reluctant-vampire roommate makes for a great best friend character. Those aside though, the book fell a bit flat for me. I was hoping for a bit more world-building, or at least more magic...? I'm not sure. Either way, not a fav.

I have heard this book described as a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight, which I think works. If you're looking for a school story, a paranormal romance featuring a witch instead of the normal line-up of vampires and werewolves, or if you're a bit nostalgic for Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, you might want to give this one a shot.

Read More

Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

Oh, *bleep*! I loved this book! Evie is a fantastic narrator: quippy and fun, but still sympathetic and believable. How could you not love a girl who divides her time between hunting spooks and devouring fluffy teen dramas with her mermaid best friend, all while slinging impressive amounts of snark? So. Much. Fun. For any fans of Buffy, Hellboy, Vampire Diaries, The Killer Unicorn trilogy, or if you're just looking for some fun paranormal fare, this is a must-read.

Read More

Feature and Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop (#7)

Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read, allows bloggers to visit two feature bloggers and make new friends in cyberspace. All you have to do is answer a question and then see what everyone else has written.

What superhero is your alter-ego?

Honestly, it's got to be Rainbow Brite. In my eyes, she'll always be super. She protects the colors of the world, spreads love and rainbows all around--my type of girl. Plus I wouldn't mind riding on the self-proclaimed "most magnificent horse in the universe."  Thank goodness for 1980s cartoons.

Jen at Crazy for Books host this marvelous meme meant for blog hopping and getting to know one another. This week's question:

What is your favorite type of candy?  

I'd have to say a Skor bar. It's always been Snickers, but more and more, I find myself going to gas stations and picking out the Skor with it's carmelly goodness! (Much better than a Heath, in my opinion; I'm salivating as I write this).

What about you? I'd love to hear the superhero who captures your essence, and what delicious treat melts in your mouth (I can't stop thinking of chocolate).

(Don't forget to check out our new meme, Must Read Monday...next week, bloggers will create an acrostic puzzle centered around their favorite paranormal book!)

Read More

Masquerade Blog Tour Featuring Jeremy Rodden

Welcome to Fans of Fiction! Today we're a stop on the Masquerade Blog Tour. If you're here, you're learning about Jeremy Rodden's amazingly funny book Toonopolis: Gemini. You could also just be randomly passing through, in which case you should keep reading (and it's your lucky day). I've reposted my review below for anyone who missed it. You can also go to www.toonopolis.com to learn more about the book and the author. 

AMAZING NEWS: If you travel on over there and comment on the author's blog today, you will get a coupon for a free copy of this ebook, which is well worth your time. By commenting, you will also be entered into a "Cartoons Through The Years" drawing, which includes a Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD, an Animaniacs DVD, and a signed hardcover of Toonopolis: Gemini.

Commenting on my blog post will also get you a coupon for the ebook of Toonopolis: Gemini. So what are you waiting for?

*If you comment here, please leave an e-mail address so I can send the coupon code to you.

P.S. If you fall in love with this book, and it's kind of hard not to, you can check out the above website for details on Rodden's new novella called Toonopolis Short: Anchihiiroo (about the Rogue from Animetown) which will be a free download until the end of 2011.

Goodreads Summary: 

"Toonopolis is a cartoon city that is home to the thoughts and ideas of all sentient beings in the universe. As the center of the Tooniverse, it acts as an other-worldly rest stop for these creations.

Gemini is a teenage human boy who is thrust into Toonopolis through his father's scientific research program. He loses part of himself in the process and immediately begins a quest to regain his lost memories with the help of his Tooniverse guide named Jimbob the Talking Eggplant.
After an altercation with a mysterious Shadowy Figure, Gemini's mission is changed, and he begins a new quest to defeat Shadowy Figure and protect Toonopolis from his nefarious destruction. Along the way, he meets new friends, discovers just how diverse and strange Toonopolis is, and learns lessons about compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and being true to oneself."


My review (posted 9/4/2011)
Stats:
Publisher: Portmanteau Press LLC
Release date: May 10, 2011
Page count: 314 (paperback)
Format: Kindle ebook
Unique elements: Illustration (by Cami Woodruff) at the beginning of each chapter of a character that the reader will meet
Would appeal to: Anyone who likes Saturday morning cartoons or Marvel comics, fantasy fans

Favorite Quotes:

"'The shopkeep was only selling wooden weapons. I asked her about metal ones, and she said you weren't high enough level to use metal yet.'"

"'Speaking of cats, here is lesson two: Feline Matter Rearrangement Impermanence, or FMRI.' 'Say what?' Gemini responded. 'Anything done to a cat is not permanent...' Professor Rabbit retrieved from his desk a remote control with a single red button. When he pressed the button, a cartoon-style anvil fell from the ceiling onto the cat. Gemini gasped at the blatant violence right in front of him...The cat was left as a two-dimensional circle, much like a Frisbee, on the ground...'You see. No damage done.' The cat shot a hateful glare at the professor, suggesting that it did not agree with his analysis of the situation."

"'How did you get in here?' asked Miss Fire. 'We found the secret switch of predictability and climbed the rope ladder of awesomeness into your lair of...' Jimbob began and struggled for an appropriate adjective to describe an open room with nothing but a circular table in the center. 'Cool?' he ventured."

"'Funny,' observed Jimbob, 'it was just a clear sky. It seems like the rain only appeared suddenly for some sort of dramatic effect, setting up a more interesting fight sequence.'"

"'You humans seem to have vampires on the brain. We have been inundated with tons of vampires for years upon years. We didn't know what to do with all of the vampires sent to us from Sorting Square, so we created the Sea of Vampires with them'...'So you're saying that so many humans have created vampire toons that there are enough to fill an entire sea?' asked Jimbob in shock...I blame Anne Rice.'"

My first requested review. It was an enormous privilege to read the first in a fantasy YA series by Jeremy Rodden, an impressively creative individual who has created a toon world where it's always Saturday morning.

How can you not like a book with a talking Toonopolis guide named Jimbob the Eggplant? He has hands that appear whenever he needs them. Reminds me of Veggie Tales, but Jimbob's a much wittier vegetable.

This genre of YA is not something I'd normally pick up. I am so glad the author contacted me! It has humor, style, clever banter, and fabulous character names. I think I've found something to advertise to my sophomore boys that they might...(gasp)...enjoy.

This would be a fabulous teaching tool for middle or high school English. As far as figurative language goes, Rodden weaves devices seemlessly throughout the text. I spotted personification, allusions, irony, paradox, similes, puns, hyperboles, idioms, cliches, and onomatopoeias.

The allusions were amazing. A mention of Scooby Doo or Rainbow Brite made me wistful for childhood. There are nods to novels like The Wizard of Oz, when Gemini must walk on a Rainbow-PEZ road to get to Toonopolis and the Sorting Square (a little Harry Potter in the mix!) Not to mention, references older teens and adults would get like X-Files...reminded me of Shrek because only the older crowd understands certain jokes.

Description was superb. Rodden found so many different adjectives and verbs that I was amazed-- another thing I could stop while reading in front of my class and say, "Look at that diction!" I hardly noticed repetition. Two words I did notice use a few times were "confrontation" and "wisp," but they were both important to the story and necessarily repeated. There were two sentences with two verbs used in a row (one that should have been taken out but was forgotten), but it did not disrupt the flow of reading very much.

As far as accents go, you've got the gambit: gangster, New York, Irish, British. I loved the diversity of characters. Some mythical Greek creatures appear, but also brand new ones that Rodden has created. The reader sees talking objects everywhere. In cartoon land, as long as something appears to be real, it doesn't really have to work.

Early on, one of my favorite parts was when Gemini had to visit Professor Rabit to learn about the Laws of Cartoon Physics. That way, the Outsider Gemini will succeed through the various lands- Adventure Realm, Supercity, Animetown, Camenot (and I can't continue because half the fun is discovering the names for yourself). Even though I loved Jimbob (he truly has the best lines in the book!), I appreciated Sir Hawk's character because he represented the chivalry of medieval times. The word "paladin" was even introduced (and I saw "wince" and "consternation" which are two vocab words my students had last week...strange coincidence). Animetown was hilarious to me-- the slow motion fight scenes, the word "kawaii" (I used to live in Japan), the way characters' heads and eyes grew two sizes bigger when they were surprised.

Gemini's adventure is sliced by reports from Agent Mimic who is running Operation Gemini from the human world on planet Earth. Parts of those reports were confusing to me. I got the idea that Gemini/Jacob Grenk was the "Agent" referred to, but I couldn't figure out why he would have been given a list of targets from the Agency to destroy. It's possible the overall plan for the operation comes out more in book 2. I liked the idea that humans and cartoons had a direct effect on each other's worlds and that when a creation rebels against its master, the human goes a little crazy.

There was a pretty big plot twist toward the last quarter of the book where Gemini learns something interesting about himself and why he must face Shadowy Figure.

I'm pumped about reading the second book to see what happens to all the characters. By the end, I felt proud of the bond between Gemini's gang and wanted them to go on another adventure together. I hope we see more of the same characters again, as well as some new ones!


A delightful read that will make you laugh out loud, root for the good guys, and wish you had a talking eggplant as your sidekick.

Read More

Review: Relatively Honest

"Eighteen year-old womanizer Daniel Revelstoke leaves his native London to study at the University of Oregon, dreaming of seducing one American girl after another. But he soon meets a new kind of woman in classmate Julie French. Her cleverness and resistance land Daniel in love for the first time in his life, to his deep confusion.  

 However, Julie's long-distance boyfriend and a bizarre family secret stand in Daniel's way to winning her. Since he can't quit obsessing over her, he decides to hide a few truths in order to draw closer to her, hoping that maybe she'll return his love and, when she finds out his devious path, forgive him. It's a gamble, but all's fair in love and college."

- http://www.mollyringle.com/relativelyhonest.html

Stats:

• Format: ebook

• Publisher:  ireadiwrite Publishing

• Release Date: September 11, 2011

• File Size: 876 KB

Favorite Quotes:

“And while ordinarily I didn’t mind lying to help spread the rumor that I was charming, today my mind was short-circuiting.”

“20,000 students attended the University of Oregon at any given time. About 10,700 of them were female. Already good: more women than men, which meant a bigger pool for me, and less competition. Assuming as many as half were totally undesirable (which seemed a high number), that still left 5,350 potential dates for me. Assuming that of those, another half wouldn’t have me due to reasons like having a boyfriend, being a lesbian, or planning to become a nun, I was still left with 2,675 possibilities.”

“JET LAG is a right bitch.”

Random things that I liked: 

The chapters weren’t very long and made for a quick read.  I also like the titles of the chapters; they were clear-cut and told you exactly what was going to go on.

Review:

Relatively Honest was a much more fun read than I was expecting.  It sounded like an interesting story but I assumed it would be more of a mopey, dramatic type of read.  The story is told from the viewpoint of the main character, Daniel, and highlights his thoughts and reactions to others.  Although I cannot know for sure, I felt that the author did a good job of capturing how an 18 year old man-boy would think and respond to situations.  The writing is pretty clever and the character is actually funny.

Daniel was born and bred in England and has always had an affinity for American girls.  He is the typical charmer with a great accent that draws the opposite sex in.  His description automatically had me picturing Robert Pattinson- so Twilight fans you’ll love that!  Because girls have always thrown themselves at him, Daniel has never put much thought into how he treats girls and has certainly never had the desire to stay with any of them for too long.

Although Daniel is a womanizer and has treated girls wrongly in the past, he is determined to turn that around with Julie.  From the beginning Daniel’s interest in her makes him realize how his previous girlfriends felt about him and causes a change of heart.

Daniel is attending the University of Oregon and is roomed with a goth named Sinter.  He was a good addition and was more likable than other typical “goth” characters seem to be.  Sinter challenge Daniel’s behavior at times but is overall a good friend.  He has his own issues that he is dealing with but it didn’t detract from the main storyline.

I do not want to give away the big twist in the story, but I will say that I did not like it.  It touches on a taboo subject and automatically put me off.  Honestly, I was tempted to stop reading.  I am not one to give up on a book, so I pushed forward and was glad I did.  The author managed to grasp my attention again made the twist work.  Don’t give up- keep reading!

Overall I thought that this was a fun read.  It has a little bit of everything- love, lies, secrets, friendship, and humor (the most important ingredient in my book!).

                                                       

Read More