Book Review-The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.


My thoughts:

This book was definitely something that was unexpected. But not unexpected bad, unexpected good. At first I was not really sure what it was about. Is it about seeing dead people or is it about witches and sorcery. And then toward the end I was thinking, “oh so there’s werewolves in this book too.” But I guess in the book’s defense I was fore warned because one of the main characters called “their kind” the “supernatural.” But the werewolf thing definitely came out of left field; it was excited and I was totally surprised.

So I was thinking, “What’s up with this whole group home thing and why were her guardians so quick to send her there.” To me, being sent to a group home, especially at her age, would be a last resort; there are no parents around, parent kicked the child out or it is the other option than jail. Certainly getting sent to a group home for having a freak out moment at school seems pretty extreme.

Of course it was obvious that there was going to be a sort of romantic connection between Chloe and Simone. I’m sure that they would be cute together and all but they’re chemistry just didn’t seem to jump off the page to me. I’m hoping that Derek is going to grow out of his puberty acne, develop a personality and become the hunky hero that saves the day and gets the girl.

But then again, these are just my thoughts and I will most likely be reading the Awakening and the Reckoning. I hope in the future book that Armstrong will delve more into the history of the “supernaturals” and more into Chloe, Simon and Derek’s family histories.

Holiday Break reading challenge

The holidays are always a great time to catch up on reading and have a little down time because there's no school. No textbooks to read, assignments to finish, papers to write or deadlines to worry about. The only thing I'm going to have to think about it which book I'm going to read next. Which is great because I came across this awesome reading challenge hosted by the Library Lounge Lizard. Not only is it pick your own books and read at your own pace, but it's also interactive with giveaways everyday. If you want to sign up, go through her blog, not mine. Here is some more info about the challenge:


1) Anyone can participate. I'm focusing on teachers and students, but if you want to cram a little extra reading in during the holiday season, please join us.

2) The Reading Challenge is designed to be self-paced. I will ask for you to set a goal for the number of books you want to read, but if you don't reach the goal - no big deal. This is for fun.

3) You don't have to provide a list of books you plan to read in advance. You can, but it isn't required. My mood determines what I read so I usually don't stick to a list. If I can't do it, I don't want to force others to do it.

4) The Holiday Break Reading Challenge corresponds with my time off from school. So, it starts on Friday, December 18, 2009 and ends on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at Midnight.

5) I'll have a section set up on the blog for reviews. Please link your reviews of the books you complete during the challenge.

6) Everyday there a new "Challenge" will be posted. These "Challenges" are designed to help you get to know other bloggers, talk about what you are reading, and share information about books. A new Mr. Linky (if I can figure it out) will be used in each post to record everyone's responses.

7) HERE IS THE BIG ONE! At least one prize will be given out everyday during the Reading Challenge. This might be a book, a bookmark, or other swag. No specifics lined up yet.

8) Be sure to follow the Reading Challenge on Twitter. New challenges and prize information will be announced there, too.

9. Grab the button to put on your blog.

Book Review-Night World Vol. 1 by L.J. Smith

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shape shifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.

My thoughts:

I loved Night World: Vol. 1. It was so exciting and faced paced I could hardly put it down. I thought it would take me a little while to get through because it is 700+ pages but I flew right through it. There was a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter which made it hard to take a break because I had to know what happened next. I was also unsure how the book was going to flow with three separate stories in it, but I thought it was very interesting how the three stories were tied together.

The first story in Night World: Vol. 1 was my favorite. It really set the stage for what type of book it is and even gave a little background history of the characters. The two main characters are passionate and I definitely found myself rooting for their love. What I also really like about this book is that it is not strictly vampires or werewolves; it’s all of them put together and more.

The Night World series has my full recommendation for those who enjoy vampire book or the paranormal genre in general. I will definitely be continuing in the series and will probably pick up L.J. Smith’s other books, as well.

Blogsplash and Surprised Kitten

Fiona Robyn is an author and she needs some help getting the word out about her new book Thaw. Here is an exert from her blog with more information.

"Ruth is 32 and she doesn't know if she wants to be 33. She commits to writing a journal for three months before she make her final decision.

Ruth's diary is my novel, Thaw, and on March the 1st 2010 I will start blogging the entire thing here.

I'd like as many people as possible to hear about the opportunity to read Thaw for free. I'm asking bloggers to participate in a Blogsplash on the 1st of March 2010. They'll publish the first page of Ruth's diary on their blogs, with a link on the bottom to my blog so people can continue reading.

If you're a blogger and you'd like to join in, email me at fiona@fionarobyn.com or leave a comment here. Once you're on the list I'll add your blog to Friends of Thaw.
If you'd like to read Thaw online, put your email in the box below and sign up to 'Fiona Robyn's Quarterly Newsletter' and I'll send you a reminder just before it gets going.
If anyone has any other ideas for getting the word out (i.e. if you want to interview me or if you have any contacts in the media) I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you, wonderful bloggers and blogreaders."

So this week has been a rough one. I came across this video about a week ago and not matter how mad, sad or frustrated I feel, it never fails to make me smile. It is by far the cutest kitten I have ever seen. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do!

Review- Why I let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood

Description from back of book

Sometimes you have to break away…

When my boyfriend dumped me on the last day of school, it was just the icing on a ten-layer my-life-sucks cake. Hacking off all my hair and dying the stubble orange seemed like the next logical step. Okay, I was acting out. But my parents freaked and called the travel agent, and before you could say “Let’s fix Morgan,” I was being sent on a bike tour of Ireland. As if pedaling my way across the entire country with a bunch of losers in padded shorts is supposed to cheer me up?

…to find your way.

So I’m hating the Emerald Isle, hating my tour mates, liking-yet-hating the cute redheaded guy who drives the luggage van-when a most unusual bike accident tosses me headfirst into some crazy, once-upon-a-time corner of the past…I’m talking faeries and wee folk and a hunky warrior dude names Fergus, who knows how to treat a girl who’s part goddess. (Hmm, wonder who that might be?) Now, in addition to biking across the country, I have to help undo some evil curses and perform an impossible rescue. Some vacation, right? But in the middle of all this becoming-a-legend stuff, I’m realizing there’s some growing I need to do-and I don’t just mean my hair…

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this light-hearted, comedic journey of a young teenage girl. It’s sort of what I expected it would be. It’s a quick read and really fun the whole way through. The main character, Morgan, is a typical teenager; low self-esteem, her whole world revolving around her boyfriend and her world almost ending when he dumps her. But I can really relate to her too, even though she’s only sixteen. I changed my hair almost every time my heart was broken.

Although I read the whole book, I was unsure if the dream sequences of the story were supposed to be real. It could have been her unconscious mind trying to understand the mythical legend that Colin had told the night before or maybe it was real and she showed up just when she was needed like the prophesy predicted.
In the beginning, Morgan commences the trip with her teenage angst attitude which hurts some of the people around her. But throughout the book, she realized what an amazing trip she’s on and that she should be having fun instead of sulking. I guess she finally begins to understand that the world does not revolve around her and that she should be a little nicer to her little sister.

I also really loved this book because I too have visited the Emerald Isle. Her descriptions of the beautiful countryside brought me back to my too short vacation nearly a year and a half ago. But I don’t think I would enjoy a bicycle tour in Ireland because it did rain everyday and that was during the summer. Not only do I love Ireland but I am mostly Irish and I love anything that reminds me of that trip. *Picture of me chasing some sheep in Ireland*

Vampire Love

Vampire Fiction Reviews from LoveVampires.com

Vampire fiction is my most favorite genre of books and it's always great to find a place or website that loves what you love. While I was surfing the web the other day, I came across this website that is completely devoted to vampire fiction novels. The website's artwork is dark and beautiful and it every vampire piece of information that you could want. It's full of book reviews, videos, author interview, contests and giveaways, newsletters and even vampire merchandise. This website sells any piece of vampire paraphernalia that you could possible imagine. Twilight books, Blue Blood books, Twilight Saga movie soundtracks, Vampire Weekend cd's (which I am currently listening to), Interview with a Vampire (movie), seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and much, much more.

Although the website is very dark and almost morbid, it has a review for almost every vampire book I have ever thought about reading. Anyone who has any kind of interest in vampires will find this website intriguing and worthy of being explored.



LoveVampires.com is loved by The Great Escape!

Soon to be posted this weekend:

Book reviews of Night World Vol. 1 by L.J. Smith and Why I let my Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood! Stay tuned.....

Blah! That's how I feel

This week has been a rough one and it's only Wednesday! I've had the worst sinus infection, NyQuill induced comas have left me sleeping until almost 11 in the morning and I feel like I've got nothing done. Not only that but I looked at my schedule of assignments for my class and I missed a whole paper last week! But on the other hand, I finished Night World Vol. 1 (700+ pages) and I am moving right along with Why I Let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood. My class will be over in about 2 weeks which means a whole christmas break for reading and blogging! I'm so excited. I have a lot of books waiting to be opened and read and I almost don't know where to start.

Well, today is wednesday and I wanted to give my two cents and post my "Waiting On" Wednesday. This week I chose to highlight My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxendra Harvey. This books sounds very interesting with a well though through history that makes the characters seem almost real. I normally wait for books to be released in paperback (it's just what I prefer) but I am considering buying this one is hardcover when it becomes available. We don't have to wait too long for this book since it's release date is in January!



The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.









"Waiting on" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.