Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays: (July 31)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
My teasers:
"He had windy hair and cloudy eyes,and he was the kind of delinquent who had no other reason to steal except that he enjoyed it.His name was Viktor Chemmel."

-pg 294

teasers are taken from:

 

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

 

Monday, July 30, 2012

Book Review: Two and Twenty Dark Tales

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose RhymesTwo and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes by and 19 other authors

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Expected Publication:  October 16th 2012 by Month9Books
Blurb:   In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

My Review:

An ARC of this book was provided via Netgalley.

The delight in reading this is that you feel as if the stories are over
before they have even started.And every single story leaves you a lot to think about.Aside from the delight,there is also confusion,since you probably won't have much of a clue on the story.And yet,You'll feel goosebumps creeping up your skin.A better title for the book could not have been chosen.All of them really are dark tales and what's more,every single one of them starts and puts emphasis on a poem,which at first will reveal no signs of darkness but after you're done with it,you'll understand the dark meaning of each of these poems.These stories will bring you fear and fascination,both at the same time.

Recommended for lovers of poetry,classic tales,Evanescence(Yes,the band.Their songs would go perfectly with this book.) and strangely enough, lovers of fairy tales and their re-tellings.Even though this book reflects upon darkness instead of happy endings,I feel that fairy-tale lovers will devour this.Definitely worth a chance,though enjoyment depends upon the reader's taste.

View all my reviews

Book Review :The Enchanted Truth by Kym Petrie

The Enchanted Truth The Enchanted Truth by Kym Petrie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Expected Publication:  September 18th 2012 by Greenleaf Book Group
Blurb:  In this humorous and insightful tale, a modern day princess finds herself single and asking for magical intervention to change her sorry love life. Rather than casting a spell to bring Prince Charming to her rescue, a savvy fairy godmother gives the tenderhearted damsel an unexpected gift. By entrusting her true thoughts and desires to an unlikely confidant, the young royal soon discovers that the person who could make her life everything she dreamed it would be has been with her all along.

As author Kym Petrie herself realized, every woman needs a froggy friend and a secret journal—and enough adventures with the girls to keep her heart pounding and her mind racing. Life is meant to be about happy beginnings . . . you can never have enough of them.


My Review:


An ARC of this book was received via Netgalley


This book was so not what I was expecting.From the title and the blurb,I expected it to be a fairy-tale re-telling,like so many others,maybe in novella form.I was not prepared for a self-help book.And I have stopped reading those,since they never worked for me and unnecessarily got me hyped up.And plus I've never even been on a date yet,so I doubt that I need relationship advice.But I found it quite amusing,reading about our heroine of the story a.k.a the princess, and her love issues.But I think that it would be perfect for drama queens and teenage girls with love issues and help to boost their self-confidence,as well as a wonderful quick read.But it's definitely not for me.I prefer a bit lengthier book which actually has a story.Just to be on the safe side,I'd recommend it as a borrow-from-friend material.


View all my reviews

An Insight of the Characters' World: Guest Post by D.D. Chant


This is a feature where I ask authors to discuss about the background of their books
 and share their experiences in creating the world in which the characters are portrayed.This feature is mainly meant for authors who write dystopian,fantasy and historical YA novels.For more information on how this feature works,Click HERE .

I would like to thank D.D. Chant,author of The Promise, for agreeing to do such a wonderful guest post.Here's her Insight of The Characters' World in The Promise.

I love historical romance.
 
I remember the first HR I ever read, it was ‘The Convenient Marriage’ by Georgette Heyer and I was hooked! Victorian, Edwardian, Regency, Medieval…I loved them all!!!
 
But what was it that I loved so much about these stories???
Obviously I loved the romance, the adventure but that is true in any book whatever genre. And then it hit me, it’s the same thing that I love about post apocalyptic and futuristic stories: I love seeing the huge difference between the world I’m reading about and my own world and yet still seeing similarities too.

But why Saxon?

I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t know at first what period of history I was going to choose to set The Promise in. I wanted something different and unique, something unusual and after reading up on the Saxons I realised that I had found the perfect setting.

The period in Saxon England after the Romans had left was a very fascinating; King Ine of Wessex, the King that Rafe serves, was Christian and his laws reflected that fact. There were huge tensions between the different Kingdoms making it a writer’s paradise when it came to intrigue.

The time period was also very mindful of women and gave them a great deal of care that was missing from later times, which meant that Adele would have had a lot more say in her marriage and her life in general than women in future time periods when she would have basically been a method of transferring land and money to create an alliance between families. It is also suggested that well born women could be very powerful and well educated, and also that in some cases they could inherit. Which is obviously not what you expect from ‘The Dark Ages’!!!

I have deviated from fact in some place: in the story I state that Whitred of Kent died while Ine was still ruling...that is incorrect as King Ine abdicated to make a pilgrimage to Rome and Whitred didn’t die until the following year.
But it was necessary for the plot of my story.


Also I’ve given Whitred a daughter although I can find no evidence that he had one and filled in the blanks: I know that he had three sons and three wives, but cannot be sure which son(s) belonged to which wife.
The Promise was originally a standalone book, but by the time I had introduced Finan and Leofric I knew that there was more to this story than I had planned. I wanted to hear more about them and what would happen to them next. I also found myself interested in Daegmund and Anlaf of Gradock despite the fact that I had only planed them to have a small part in the story. Now I’m hoping to give them their own books in the Lady Quill series!


To everyone who has read my book, thank you so much for taking a chance on my story and I really hope you liked it and want to know what happens next.
To anyone thinking about reading my story: go for it!!! Lol!

Author Bio:

Hi everyone!


My name is Dee Dee, I’m twenty five and I live in a beautiful part of Devon, England with my family. I have a younger sister, Amy who is a brilliant guitar player, some chickens, Duck, geese, pheasants, a cat (that adopted us when we moved in!!!) and some Koi.


Broken City is actually my second novel. My first, as my Aunt so delicately put it, was crazy but in my defence I was only sixteen at the time. On the plus side I learnt a lot (or so I hope) and two years later ‘Broken City’ was finished. Due to the support I have received from everyone I have just started work on the next in the Broken City series! 

 
I have written another book ‘The Promise’, which is set in Saxon England it’s the beginning of a series and I have just finished my third book which is set in the distant future and is also the start of a series. It will be available for purchase early next year!!!


I really hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.


I love reading and have a kindle: I read almost anything with adventure and romance in it! I also like to cook and wear impractical high heels!!! And as you might have noticed I have a horrible addiction to exclamation marks!!!

D.D. Chant

 I have already reviewed The Promise,and found it to be quite wonderful.You can check out my review HERE.Here's a bit more info. on The Promise so that you can get familiar with it:

 Dear Reader,

I wish to tell you a tale that began with a promise destined to change the lives of many.


When only a child, Lady Adele of Berron lost her family during a dreadful battle and was betrothed to a stranger.


Lord Rafe of Valrek, only a boy himself when the battle of Calis raged, grew to be a feared warrior and trusted advisor to his King. But sadness filled his past and Adele served only to remind him of all he had lost.


However the promise that bound these two together caused great anger to some.

What, Dear Reader, happened in those days of treachery and darkness? Incline your ear that I may whisper the secrets that you so desire to hear......

Lady Quill

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Showcase Sunday #3

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Books,Biscuits and Tea and its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.


I didn't buy any books this week but did receive quite a few review copies.Here they are:

 The Enchanted Truth
by Kym Petrie
Blurb:  In this humorous and insightful tale, a modern day princess finds herself single and asking for magical intervention to change her sorry love life. Rather than casting a spell to bring Prince Charming to her rescue, a savvy fairy godmother gives the tenderhearted damsel an unexpected gift. By entrusting her true thoughts and desires to an unlikely confidant, the young royal soon discovers that the person who could make her life everything she dreamed it would be has been with her all along.

As author Kym Petrie herself realized, every woman needs a froggy friend and a secret journal—and enough adventures with the girls to keep her heart pounding and her mind racing. Life is meant to be about happy beginnings . . . you can never have enough of them.



 Ironskin
by Tina Connolly
Blurb:  Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.


 Two and Twenty Dark Tales
 by

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

 The City's Son
by Tom Pollock
Blurb:  Running from her traitorous best friend and her estranged father, graffiti artist Beth Bradley is looking for sanctuary. What she finds is Urchin, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London’s mystical underworld. Urchin opens Beth’s eyes to the city she’s never truly seen-where vast spiders crawl telephone wires seeking voices to steal, railwraiths escape their tethers, and statues conceal an ancient priesthood robed in bronze.

But it all teeters on the brink of destruction. Amid rumors that Urchin’s goddess mother will soon return from her 15-year exile, Reach, a malign god of urban decay, wants the young prince dead. Helping Urchin raise an alleyway army to reclaim his skyscraper throne, Beth soon forgets her old life. But when her best friend is captured, Beth must choose between this wondrous existence and the life she left behind.


 Dearly,Beloved
by Lia Habel
Blurb:  Can the living coexist with the living dead?

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling.


Awesome right!Can't wait to start reading them! XD
Happy Sunday! xoxo 

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of AchillesThe Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published:  September 20th 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Blurb:  Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.

Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.


My Review: 


To tell you the truth,I would have rated this book a million stars if there was such an option.The Song of Achilles is supposed to be a different version of Homer's ballad Iliad,told from Patroclus' point of view.But sadly,I have not had the opportunity to find out for myself.We did not read about this one at school.We only read about the Trojan War.So,unlike many others,I was not able to predict the storyline.For me,the experience was like reading a brand new book which I knew nothing about.At first I didn't think that I'd be able to get into it,but slowly,bit by bit,I found myself digging deeper and deeper.Every emotion of mine reacted to Patroclus' own.And let's not forget the fact that the ending broke my heart.I don't know if this counts as a spoiler since most people already know the story,but I still gave a heads up just in case.It was really painful,reading about Patroclus watching Achilles' actions after his death.I had tears pricking at my eyes when I got to that part.And while the ending was a heartbreaking,it was also a happy ending in a way since Patroclus and Achilles do get united, even though it may be in the afterlife.I officially hate Thetis,since if it weren't for her Patroclus and Achilles would have been a whole lot better.Even though Achilles is the good guy,I feel that he's a total jerk.Like Briseis said,Patroclus deserved a lot better.Actually,when it comes to Achilles,my feelings are mixed.There are times when I feel like I could hug him,while at other times,I feel like punching him in the face.Patroclus should've totally left Achilles for Briseis,but then again if that happened,there would'nt be a story.I'd recommend this to anyone who simply loves reading,though a bit more to fans of Greek mythology and romance.

Favourite quote from the book:
In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk.Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood, like a hundred golden urns pouring out the sun.

(P.S. You'll understand the significance of this quote once you've read the story.)

View all my reviews

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

My Book Boyfriend(4): Warner


My Book Boyfriend is a  weekly meme, hosted by Missie @ The Unread Reader, in which we swoon over boys in books!
Here is how My Book Boyfriend works:
On Wednesdays, make a post about a fictional boy that totally made you swoon! In your post, make sure you include your book boyfriend’s stats, a picture of what you imagine he looks like and some quotes from him that had you at hello. Credit the book and please include page numbers when you can.

This week's book boyfriend is Warner from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. To those who have read it, yes,I'm back to my falling-for-lunatics mode again.Now before I start swooning,let me show you how I imagine him to look like:






Facts about Warner:
  • He's the villain in Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me and leader of The Re-establishment.
  • He's insane,as in take-over-the-world type of insane,and I mean it literally.
  • He's obsessed with Juliette,the heroine of the story.He wants her for her lethal powers,and as we see later on in the story,maybe for something else. ;)
  • Aside from his obsession with Juliette,he's all dominant and cold-blooded.He can kill people without blinking an eye.
  •  Even though he's the leader of the Re-establishment,he's only nineteen.
Okay,so is he hot or what?! XD Now don't go with "or what"  but if you do,don't be surprised if  you find me banging at your door the next morning with a gun.Now I sound like Warner!Lol!!!So here are some quotes from him which had me "at hello":

“You're absolutely delicious when you're angry."

 “It's been me and you against the world forever," he says. "It's always been that way.” 

 “Life is a bleak place. Sometimes you have to learn how to shoot first.” 




"Waiting On" Wednesday: Velveteen

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
Velveteen
by Daniel Marks
Expected publication: October 9th 2012 by Random House Children's Books
From Goodreads:  Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.


My Thoughts: OH MY GOD!!!That cover!!!It reminds me of that time in the fourth grade when I decided to go all goth and most of the clothes in my wardrobe were either black or purple.Now this cover makes me want to go goth all over again! XD And let's not ignore the fact that somehow, the title suits the cover perfectly!Or maybe it's just the font.And the blurb,it's quite different from other paranormal books I've read this year.Look around you,we have so many stories on vampires and werewolves but very few on the afterlife.The only other story like this is probably Hereafter by Tara Hudson,but even then the plot has a lot of differences.If it were up to me,I'd probably rate this book four stars just on the cover and blurb!Can't wait for this to come out!
                                                         

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays: (July 24)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
 
 
 My teasers:
 
teaser#1
"It was on a sweltering morning two weeks earlier when Yoritomo-no-miya,Seii Taishogun of the Shima Isles,emerged from his bedchamber,yawned and declared that he wanted a griffin."

teaser#2
"One traitorous eyebrow rose toward Hideo's hairline."
 
-pg 06
 
 

teasers are taken from:

 
 Title:Stormdancer
Author: Jay Kristoff
 
 
                                                        

Spring Clean!!!

Guess what!Today I actually took up the time to clean up my bookshelves,thanks to a lot of yelling from my mom and I'm done cleaning THREE WHOLE SHELVES!Check it out:

  

Doesn't it look awesome?!I did a pretty good job didn't I.Well,back to cleaning the other shelves.See ya!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Book Review: The Promise by D.D. Chant

The Promise (The Lady Quill Chronicles, #1)The Promise by D.D. Chant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published
Blurb:  Dear Reader,
I wish to tell you a tale that began with a promise destined to change the lives of many.
When only a child, Lady Adele of Berron lost her family during a dreadful battle and was betrothed to a stranger.
Lord Rafe of Valrek, only a boy himself when the battle of Calis raged, grew to be a feared warrior and trusted advisor to his King. But sadness filled his past and Adele served only to remind him of all he had lost.
However the promise that bound these two together caused great anger to some.
What, Dear Reader, happened in those days of treachery and darkness? Incline your ear that I may whisper the secrets that you so desire to hear......

Lady Quill


My Review:


A copy of this book was provided by the author for review purposes.

I've had very few experiences with Indies before The Promise,and they were not that pleasant either.I found myself struggling to continue with those books.Which is why I had my doubts when I got an email from the author asking me to review her book.But the blurb seemed promising,so I went ahead with it.I already had a lot of review copies piled up so I had been neglecting this until one day I finally gathered up the courage to open up this book in my e reader.Now imagine my surprise when I found myself getting deeper and deeper into the story along with the passing of every page.At this point,I felt extremely guilty for neglecting such a wonderful story for so long!>.<
You know what they say about never judging a book by its cover?Well,I never even bothered to listen to that advice and it literally came and slapped me in the face!

The Promise had turned out to be a wonderful book right from the beginning till the end.No time was wasted with introductions; the author went straight to the point,which is a good sign,since I'm not much of a patient reader.The characters were portrayed wonderfully,and every single line draws you into a reverie.A must read for all fans of historical fiction.

View all my reviews

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Showcase Sunday #2

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Books,Biscuits and Tea and its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

Here are the books I bought this weekend:















And the review copies I got this week:



















































I also got these gorgeous bookmarks in my mailbox! XD
Cool,huh!Happy Sunday people! =D

Manga Crush #4: Gray Fullbuster

Daydreaming Bookworm  
 Manga Crush! is a weekly meme hosted here,at Daydreaming Bookworm where you rant about the manga character on whom you have recently developed a crush.For more info on the meme,click here .

For today's Manga Crush! ,I'll be ranting about Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail.As usual,before ranting,here are some info on the manga: 
Title: Fairy Tail                                                                                       Year of release: 2006                                                                             Status: Ongoing                                                                                     Author: Hiro Mashima                                                                           Artist: Hiro Mashima                                                                      Genre: Action,Adventure,Comedy,Drama,Ecchi,Fantasy,Shounen, Supernatural                                                                                          Blurb: Lucy is a 17-year-old girl, who wants to be a full-fledged mage. One day when visiting Harujion Town, she meets Natsu, a young man who gets sick easily by any type of transportation. But Natsu isnt just any ordinary kid, he's a member of one of the world's most infamous mage guilds: Fairy Tail.
Here comes the ranting! :)
Gray Fullbuster  is an Ice-Make Mage, a member of the Fairy Tail Guild and one of the main male protagonists.                                                                                                                              Gray has a laid-back personality, but will get serious when the time calls for it.He and Natsu have a friendly rivalry, and while they can often be seen fighting one another verbally or physically, the two are actually quite concerned about each other.Gray was quite obstinate and reckless when he was younger. Over time, he has attained a more cautious attitude towards life, and deals with problems carefully. He is very concerned about his comrades and is truly loyal towards the guild, but tends to trash talk every now and then. Also, he has a habit of unconsciously removing his clothes at inappropriate moments. 
I really had a hard time choosing for my Manga Crush! this week.I kept going back and forth between Natsu and Gray.Then I finally settled on Gray because I liked his personality way more than Natsu's.And the fact that he's hotter doesn't hurt either.Plus,ice is waaaay cooler than fire!Sorry Natsu!I think the reason why he's hotter is probably because he roams around with his T-shirt off most of the time.And the Fairy-Tail tattoo looks a lot better on his chest.If you've watched Fairy-Tail,then you've already seen what he looked like when he was a kid.If not,you can see it among my arsenal of images below.Sooo adorable! XD I used to read Fairy-Tail a lot but then,like so many other mangas,stopped because there was no end to it.I just hate it when that happens!Hopefully I'll get back to it again someday.Right now,I need to show you my arsenal of images of him.Here they are!
                                               
What's your Manga Crush! this week?Just leave the link to your post in the Mister Linky's Magical Widget below.

                                                    
                                                     

                                                    

Friday, July 20, 2012

Guest Post + Giveaway: Nordic Fairies by Saga Berg

 Saga Berg is a YA Author of the Nordic Fairies novella series.To introduce you to her series,she has agreed to do this guest post at my blog along with a giveaway.Thank you so much for agreeing to do the guest post and giveaway,Saga! :)




Hi, I’m Saga Berg, the author of the Novella Series, Nordic Fairies
The Nordic Fairies series is about Svala and Viggo who turned into Liosálfar, light Nordic Fairies, over a thousand years ago in Sweden. As Liosálfar, Nordic light fairies, their job is to do good and to uphold a balance in the mortal world. A balance, often compromised by the Döckálfar, Nordic dark fairies. 
Since the day they turned Liosálfar Svala and Viggo have lived over a hundred lives together. Svala’s life always start at the age of fourteen, Viggo’s at fifteen. They are kept apart until they fulfill their assignments, during which time they live with their Liosálfar care takers, Trym and Alva. During this time, they are strictly forbidden to meet. They’re allowed to reunite only once they fulfill their assignments, and then only for as long as The High Council decides. Their time together usually lasts for years, on rare occasions months, once only a few weeks. Then, without warning, it starts all over again.
The Liosálfar age over time in each life, and they always remember their past lives and experiences, though no one remembers them.
In the first part of the series, sixteen year old Svala turns on her TV to find Viggo in the public light, a popular movie star. This is not only highly unexpected, it indicates something is wrong and that Viggo is attempting to contact Svala before their assignments are carried out. Svala fears he has been compromised by the Döckálfar, and goes to seek him out. Turns out, Viggo is not easy to get to and Svala learns that things are not always as they seem.
In the second part, Freja, a public display of Viggo and Svala’s most painful secret forces Svala to remember events from her past she would rather forget. Tormented by guilt, Viggo breaks the rules and tries to contact Svala, but his attempt leaves her with more questions than answers and Svala worries about Viggo’s relationship with his co-star Amanda Jones.
The third part of Nordic Fairies, Döckálfar, takes us back to World War II where we find out what happened to Viggo during the war, and how he met Amanda Jones. In present time, Svala receives unexpected information about Amanda and Viggo’s relationship, leaving her unsure about who she can trust.
In the fourth part of Nordic Fairies, we’ll go back to the 80’s when Svala and Viggo ends up in High School together with their long lost daughter, who is now Svala’s age.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Nordic Fairies before, you can go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and get the first copy for free.
Thanks for reading!
/Saga Berg


 

 Author Bio:

Saga Berg was born in Sweden during the snow storm of 1979 and knew already at the age of seven that she wanted to become a writer. She studied English and Communication at the University of Malmö, then took her Bachelor in Marketing- and Communications at the same University.

 


After working a few years as a Marketing Manager, Saga Berg started writing the novella series Nordic Fairies, her first published story. Nordic Fairies is a low fantasy novella series with a new concept of fairies and introduces Nordic light and dark fairies, Liosálfar and Döckálfar fighting for balance in a contemporary world. The series has been very well received by readers in all ages with high ratings and amazing reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Two parts of the series is currently published, Nordic Fairies (Nordic Fairies, #1), and Freja (Nordic Fairies, #2). The third part, Döckálfar (Nordic Fairies, #3) will be released during the summer 2012. So far, a total of five parts are planned in the Nordic Fairies series. 

Since the first book is already available for free in Amazon and Barnes & Noble,Saga will be doing the giveaway of the second and third books of the Nordic Fairies instead.The giveaway runs till the end of August and is international.One winner will be chosen randomly.To participate in the giveaway,sign up in the Rafflecopter widget below.
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Insight of The Characters' World: Guest Post by Cassandra Rose Clarke


This is a feature where I ask authors to discuss about the background of their books
 and share their experiences in creating the world in which the characters are portrayed.This feature is mainly meant for authors who write dystopian,fantasy and historical YA novels.For more information on how this feature works,Click HERE .

I would like to thank Cassandra Rose Clarke,author of  The Assassin's Curse,for doing such a wonderful guest post at my blog.Here's her insight of the characters' world in The Assassin's Curse.

                                                                                                                                                                    
I’m not much of a worldbuilder. In college, I had a friend who devoted hours to elaborate, Tolkien-style worldbuilding, filling up three-ring binders with notes on his world’s languages, cultures, cities, and politics. He had maps. Lots of maps, impeccably labeled and colored in with Crayola pencils. He posted a sign on his bedroom door in the language he created, which involved not only invented words and grammar but also an invented alphabet. I didn’t do any of those things when I wrote The Assassin’s Curse. Most of Naji and Ananna’s world came about as I wrote the story, emerging out of three things I had planned ahead of time: the characters, the landscapes, and the premise. There was also a fourth ingredient to that literary stew, a nonfiction book I’d read a few years earlier called Under the Black Flag, which looked at the period in history called the Golden Age of Piracy. The book focused mainly on European pirates, particularly those in the Caribbean, but it included a chapter (or maybe a part of a chapter; I can’t recall exactly) which briefly discussed piracy outside of the West. The book mentioned a tradition of families living aboard pirate ships, and for some reason, that detail has always stuck with me.

 Eventually, I managed to work it into the framework of Ananna’s world, as it formed the basis for the structure of the Pirate’s Confederation. However, most of the world emerged organically from the trifecta of character, setting, and premise. Setting played a big role in this, actually. When I set out to write the story, I knew I didn’t want to set it in faux-medieval western Europe. The reason is pretty banal: I’m not terribly interested in medieval western Europe. I chose the desert largely because I wanted to write a story in a hot climate. I grew up in a hot place and that’s what I’m familiar with — I have a peculiar obsession with weather and climate and tend to write both into my stories whenever I can get away with it! I also love the physical landscape of deserts and canyons, because I find them beautiful, and that was how I came up with Lisirra and the surrounding desert, where the first half of the story takes place.

The world’s magic, on the other hand, evolved out of the characters, despite how tied it is to the landscape in-story. That was actually a decision I made early on, that the magic would reflect the people living in the world. But since place shapes us so much, the magic and the characters and the landscapes were completely braided together by the time I finished writing. I’m not sure I could have planned it better! I held all the worldbuilding in my head as I was writing: not just the setting and magic, but notions about the world’s politics and rivalries and languages. Some of it seeped through in the final telling, and some of it did not. I even held a map in my head of the journey Ananna and Naji take during the course of the story. I’ve always been one to do things backwards, and so only recently have I begun putting some of those thoughts down on paper, just like my college friend — although I’ve only filled a page or two of my sketch pad, not a three-ring binder.

Author Bio:

Cassandra Clarke is a speculative fiction writer and occasional teacher living amongst the beige stucco of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.



During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.



The Assassin's Curse will be published in October 2nd by Strange Chemistry.I had also managed to get my hands on an electronic ARC and am done with reviewing it as well.You can check out my review of The Assassin's Curse HERE .And here's a bit about the book so that you can get familiar with it:

 Ananna of the Tanarau is the eldest daughter of a highly-ranked family in the loose assortment of cutthroats and thieves in the Pirate's Confederation. When she runs away from the marriage her parents have arranged for her, they hire Naji the assassin to murder her.

When a mysterious woman in a dress shop offers her magical assistance for dealing with the assassin, Ananna accepts. She never went in much for magic herself -- she lacks the talent for it -- but she's not quite ready to die yet, either. Unfortunately, the woman's magic fails.

Fortunately, Ananna inadvertently saves the assassin's life in the skirmish, thus activating a curse that had been placed on him a few years earlier. Now, whenever her life is in danger, he must protect her -- or else he experiences tremendous physical pain. Neither Ananna nor the assassin, Naji, are pleased about this development.

Follow Ananna and Naji as they sail across the globe, visiting such mysterious places as the Court of Salt and Waves, in their desperate effort to lift the curse. Soon they will discover that only by completing three impossible tasks will they be able to set themselves free.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

My Book Boyfriend(3): Galen


My Book Boyfriend is a  weekly meme, hosted by Missie @ The Unread Reader, in which we swoon over boys in books!
Here is how My Book Boyfriend works:
On Wednesdays, make a post about a fictional boy that totally made you swoon! In your post, make sure you include your book boyfriend’s stats, a picture of what you imagine he looks like and some quotes from him that had you at hello. Credit the book and please include page numbers when you can.


I know that we're supposed to do this meme on Wednesdays,but as I already mentioned before in my "Waiting On" Wednesday post,I had a really tight schedule yesterday so could not sit on the computer.I really hope that you'll forgive me,Missie! :(


I've picked this week's Book Boyfriend from Of Poseidon by Anna Banks.His name is Galen I'm going to portray him the way Ms.Banks described him in the story,like a HOT Italian model. I know right!! ;)


So here's how I picture him:






























I don't know many Italian models so I settled on Taylor Lautner instead.You've gotta' admit,he DOES have a nice tan. =D

Here's another one:
















Facts about Galen:

  • He's a mermaid,er merman.Sorry about that,Galen!
  • He's a prince!Of Syrena,his mermaid-y civilization.(Oh,by the way,you call his kind Syrena,not mermaids,since that would make Galen really mad!)
  • He's got violet eyes and dark hair.(Yes,by now you'll probably be falling head over heels for him.)
  • He’s also an ambassador for his kind and keeps track on what us humans are doing and so that the existence of their kind does not get revealed.
  •  Since he's a prince,he's all possessive,bad-ass and dominant !XD 
Oh,by the way,I doubt that Galen ever played football.But since this photo looked so good,I decided to include it in the post.

Honestly,when did mermaids,*AHEM* Syrena,get soo hot?!Okay,I know about mermaids with their legends but what about mermen?This is obviously a new experience for me.And it's killing me that I probably won't get more of Galen until the sequel Of Triton comes out,which is like next year.Here are some quotes from Galen which "had me at hello":

“It's easy to remember, because dating rhymes with mating, and they're almost the same [...] So your mom thinks we're ma-- Uh, dating?” 

 “There’s nothing wrong with your daughter, Mrs. McIntosh. I said we’re not sleeping together. I didn’t say I didn’t want to.” 

If you haven't read Of Poseidon yet, then believe me when I say that you're missing out on one of the hottest fictional male characters ever created.I've read this like almost a month ago and I still can't forget about Galen!