Review: Fangirl

 Info:
Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Source: Purchased.

Synopsis: 
 From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review:
The best word I can think of to describe Fangirl is: lovely. It really was a sweet read. I loved the characters and I loved the representation of fans and our fandoms. I can definitely see why this one has been so popular in the blogosphere. I think a lot of us book bloggers can relate to Cath because we've been there. At least I know I have.

Cath was a flawed but compulsively likeable character. I could definitely relate to her social anxiety, although my own is to a much lesser degree. I also loved her dedication to her love of Simon Snow, Rowell's fictional world within this contemporary book.

And Levi! He really deserves the title of "sweetheart" (if you've read it, you'll understand). He's so sweet and friendly and kind and even though he made a few mistakes, I'm glad he was able to redeem himself. Plus he's a ranch kid studying range management which gains him a heap of bonus points from this ranch kids with an unfinished degree in animal health.

There were also a couple characters that I wanted to climb into the book and shake. Wren, although she gets some redemption (with a ton of help) and Laura who I still can't help but hate.

This one is still a contemporary and I did cry in a couple spots (both in combinations of sad and frustrated). PMS probably didn't help.

Fangirl is a fun read with something to offer fans of contemporary growing up stories and fans of fantasy. 

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December Paranormal Reading Challenge: Other

Yikes! I can't believe it's already December 12!  definitely apologize for being so late posting this! My life has been a bit crazy the past couple weeks and blogging has fallen behind.

Anyway, this month is our Others month, so any paranormal creature that doesn't fit in any of the other categories. Examples are: Gods/goddesses, centaurs, etc. Whatever you can think of! Remember to link up below.

This month we have a prize kindly donated by author Kaitlin Bevis. She has donated an ebook of her novel Persephone, a YA read featuring gods and goddess. Thank you so much Kaitlin!

Also, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the challenge. It was both Jessi and I's first time running a reading challenge and I can definitely admit that there were a few mistakes made. I'm hoping to run the challenge again next year with a few improvements! I'd really like to hear everyone thoughts and whether or not you'd be interesting in participating next year. Thanks!

Blog Tour: Scion of the Sun

I'm excited to share a guest post with you from Nicola Marsh, author of Scion of the Sun! I'm always interested by the research authors do for their books and I love to hear about all the cool stuff they've learned along the way. Read on for the guest post, some info about her new book and a giveaway!

10 (or whatever number really) Things I Learned While Writing Scion of the Sun

1. Crystals have so many uses.

2. Tom Welling is perfect inspiration for a sexy warrior.

3. Everything does revolve around the sun.

4. The Celtic calendar is based on solar equinoxes.

5. Ogham (ancient Celtic alphabet) represents sacred trees.

6. Biokinetics can alter human DNA.

7. Astral projection/teleporting means you get to meet hot guys in two planes of existence.

8. Sororities aren’t so bad.

9. Clairsentience means you can see the future, not the past.

10. World building is incredibly hard work.

A language based on sacred trees?! That sounds pretty awesome to me. I'm a big fan of the Celts actually. Thanks so much to Nicola for being on my blog today and I hope you enjoy the rest of the tour.

ABOUT SCION OF THE SUN:

Title: SCION OF THE SUN
Series: THE SOLAR SNATCHERS SERIES
Publication date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9850294-3-2
ISBN eBook: 978-0-9850294-2-5
Author: Nicola Marsh

When she least expects it, sixteen-year old Holly Burton’s unremarkable life is shaken to the core. A vision of the mother Holly never knew leaves her questioning everything she believes.

Eager for answers, Holly enrolls at a boarding school for highly gifted students in Wolfebane, New Hampshire. But things will get worse before they get better, as Holly accidentally transports to a parallel existence where she's confronted by a dark and ancient evil.

With the help of Joss, a sexy alpha warrior sworn to protect her, and her new BFF, the equally swoon-worthy Quinn, Holly faces her fears and an unlikely adversary in a showdown that is worse than anything she could’ve possibly imagined …

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ABOUT NICOLA MARSH:

USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair for adults and riveting, spooky stories for teens.

She has published 43 contemporary romances with Harlequin, Entangled Publishing and indie, and sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Her first mainstream romance BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD was nominated for Romantic Book of the Year 2012. Her first indie romance, CRAZY LOVE, was a 2012 ARRA finalist.

Her debut young adult novel, a supernatural thriller BANISH, released with Harlequin Teen August 2013, and her YA urban fantasy series kicks off with SCION OF THE SUN, November 2013, with Month9Books.

She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a 2013 RBY (Romantic Book of the Year) and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and a multi-finalist for a number of awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has also won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

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Giveaway
One (1) print copies of Scion of the Sun by Nicola Marsh and Endless by Amanda Gray, and one (1) $15 Starbucks Gift Card (US Only)

One (1) ebook copy of Scion of the Sun by Nicola Marsh and Endless by Amanda Gray (INT)

 

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Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

 Info:
Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: September 2011
Source: Purchased..

Synopsis:
Cas Lowood, armed with his late father's athame knife, kills ghosts. In Thunder Bay, Anna, forever 16, drips blood on her white dress from throat slit in 1958, and rips apart anyone who enters her house - except Cas. He makes new friends - high school queen Carmel, jock Will, admiring nerd Thomas and Tom's voodoo grandpa Morfran - to fight this demon.

Review:
Anna Dressed in Blood is another case of a book not quite living up to the hype. Everyone I talked to loved it and as Halloween approached, it felt like everyone was talking about it as their favourite scary read. It didn't help that I also had the ending spoilered a bit.

Now, I didn't think Anna was a bad book. It just didn't come close to the hype surrounding it for me. I didn't really connect with Cas and at time I found his voice to be unrealistic, even for someone who's life is as messed up as his. Anna felt a bit flat to me; she didn't have tons of personality. She went from being crazy-ass-scary to feeling a bit bland to me.

The other major issue I had was with the romance. I kind of got blind-sided by it. While I wouldn't classify it as instalove, it felt very sudden for me. Maybe I'm really dense and missed some clues, but it felt like Cas woke up one day and was suddenly in love.

I did like the plot, although I wish Cas had killed more ghosts though the book. That part of the story reminds me of season one of Supernatural, which I loved. Also, the baddie at the end was pretty bad-ass. Voodoo freaks me out a bit anyway, which made things even creepier.

Overall, I'm finding this one difficult to review. I'm not sure how I would have felt if I'd read this one right when it came out, but as it stands, it was nothing special for me. With that said, I do still plan to read Girl of Nightmares and I already have a copy of Blake's new book, Antigoddess, which I'm excited for.

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Cover Compare: Beautiful Creatures

This is a common thing, but I rarely actually like the movie version of book covers. I like imagining my own faces for the characters, rather than having Hollywood stars planted in my mind before I even start reading. Today's example? Beautiful Creatures, which I own and still haven't read. Original is so much prettier than the movie cover. No contest this week!

Movie tie-in

Original

Paranormal Reading Challenge: Werewolves/Shifts Month

I apologize for posting this a bit late, but here it is! Shifters month. Or werewolves. You pick!

So far I haven't fallen in love with any werewolf books. I did enjoy Skulk by Rosie Best, so that's going to be my recommendation for shifters. Because who wouldn't want to be able to shift into a fox to run around London thwarting evil!

This month I'm planning to read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I've read The Raven Cycle books and really enjoyed them, so I'm excited to try another Maggie series. Apparently at the end I will be posting an ugly-cry photo on twitter at some point in the series as per Maggie's personal instructions (seriously, she told me to and therefore it will happen).

I can't wait to see what book you guys will be reading. Link up here!

Review: Offside

 

Info:

Title: Offside
Author: M. G. Higgins
Series: Counterattack #5
Publisher: Lerner Classroom
Publication Date: April 1, 2013 (Originally published December 28, 2012)

Synopsis:

Between finishing late school projects and looking after her brothers and sister, Faith Patel barely has time to play soccer. And when she's at practice, surrounded by girls who can afford to play in club leagues, she doesn't even feel like part of the team. So when Coach Berg starts to give Faith extra attention, she feels . . . really special. It might be crazy, but suddenly Faith has a crush on her coach. Can she keep her head in the game? The situation gets worse after Faith's frenemy Caitlyn decides that Faith's getting special treatment. Will Caitlyn tell the rest of the team--and make Faith into a total outcast?

Review:

I didn't know this was a novella when I started it. I usually don't bother reading novellas because I find they often lack depth. I also didn't know it was part of a series, although I don't think I lost anything by starting with #5.

Offside wasn't a bad read, but neither was it very memorable. I did enjoy the soccer aspects and I also liked how important family was in this novel.

The 'romance' aspect of this one didn't do it for me. I know lots of girls develop crushes on teachers, but Faith went a little crazy with it. I mean, she was fantasizing about cooking him breakfast every morning! Also, the ending felt super rushed, which likely has a lot to do with it being a novella. 

This book had the potential to hit on some major issues, such as inappropriate relationships (such as teacher-student) and bullying, but it definitely felt like it stayed in a very 'safe' place and didn't push the boundaries.

Over, Offside was a quick ok read that I likely won't remember a few weeks from now. Read it if you're a soccer fan who likes novellas. Also, why is the girl on the cover white? She does not look like Faith at all!

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