Happy birthday Harry Potter!!!

Today is July 31st and that means it's Harry Potters birthday! He turns 31 today. Craziness.

Because JK Rowling gave Harry her birthday, I'd like to give a happy birthday to the woman herself, JK Rowling!

2nd Book Rule

I've mentioned what I like to call "the 2nd book rule" a few times in reviews and I think I should clarify this rule a little more.

Lately I've noticed that a lot of YA authors are doing the same thing when it comes to the second book in their series. At the end of the first one, the two main characters have gotten together. Most of the time at least one of the people in the couple is a paranormal of some sort, be it vampire, witch, shifter, or so on. At the end of the book they have finally gotten together, are happy and so on.

Now comes book 2. It's a few months later, the non paranormal of the group is all happy, but the paranormal character is starting to freak out. Maybe they are going to hurt their partner, that they are bad, that they have no souls, blah blah blah and so on. Then the rest of the book is spent with one of the characters spends the whole book freaking out and whining. ALL THE TIME. They go through complications, break up, or whatever, only to end up back together in the end. The most famous of this 2nd book rule would have to be New Moon. Other books that have followed this trend are the Beautiful Creatures series and now Paranormalcy. There are lots more that also follow this rule.

I hate this rule. It bugs me. I find it a new trend that is not necessary and I will dock points from a review if the author does this.

Review: Supernaturally

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Published by Harper Teen

Release date: July 26th (US)

Series: Paranormalcy #2

$17.99 (US hardback)

336 pages

What it's about:

Evie finally has the normal life she's always longed for. But she's shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she's given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie's faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there's a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.



My thoughts:
I am so madly in love with Paranormalcy that I had a very high expectancy for Supernaturally and I'm really sad to say that it did not live up to my expectations.

Supernaturally did was I like to call the "2nd book rule." Now for me to explain the 2nd book rule, I would have to give away some spoilers so I won't do it. Just think of all the most popular YA paranormal romance book series and think of the second book. What do they all have in common? New Moon, Beautiful Darkness.... and so on. Anyways, Supernaturally followed along with this trend and I was sad to see it do that. I was hoping it wouldn't and that it could move on to be something really fantastic.

Another problem I had was that Evie complained during the whole bleeping book. None stop. This was a new character development for her that I was not thrilled with. Evie has swung her way up to one of the top spots in my favorite characters list and I was sad to see her take a downward dive. I would like to add thought that Lend is still way high up there on my list. How can you not love Lend? He sadly played a small role in this book and I'm hoping that in book 3 he will be in it a lot more.

Besides these complaints, it really was still good. There is still the same voice in it that always catches my attention and that I love (and after watching an interview with Kiersten White, I totally understand the voice now). There is a new character, Jack, who I found really interesting because he is such a man child.

I really can't wait for the 3rd book in this series now that the 2nd book has finished and all the necessary problems have been answered. No doubt the 3rd one should be as good as the first.

My rating: 8/10
Good but not fantastic. Anyone who has read Paranormalcy should still read this book though.

Borders going out of business sale

What is the world coming to when Borders books goes out of business? I honestly cried when I saw that they were closing. I live about 2 minutes away from Borders and go there a few times a week. Not only do they have books but they have my favorite coffee drink (omg mint chocolate coffee??????). Now my city does not have any new bookstores. I will have to drive all the way to Portland if I want a new book! That's an hour for me.

Anyways, Borders sales start today. Everything in the store is up to 40% off. Now would be the time to go on a shopping spree if you want to spend the money.

Top Ten Tuesday--Books that should be required reading for teens

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks topic is TOP TEN BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR TEENS.

These are in no particular order. Just whatever I thought of first. I'm mostly trying to think of books that I tend to throw at everyone I can.

1. Harry Potter by JK Rowling:
This is a series that everyone needs to read. Not even a should, it is a need. These books changed the lives of so many people.

2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer:
While this is not the best written series, it does do something to people who read them. I know many people, myself included, that after reading this series, they became obsessed with reading. Many people owe Stephenie a thank you for bringing them back to the reading world. This is why I have a Twilight background and Harry Potter. The first series I fell in love with and the second that brought me back to reading.

3. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:
These books are jaw droppers. I think it would be really cool to study these books in english class. It would be a whole lot cooler than the crap I was forced to read in school.

4. Looking For Alaska by John Green:
I was trying to decide which of his books to put on here and decided on this one. This would be a really cool but to rip apart and analyze the characters. John's writing is brilliant.

5. Far From You by Lisa Schroeder:
I think this would be a really good one to read in a creative writing class because it is written in a different format. Plus it's beautiful.

6. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare:
This would be a good book to read with Harry Potter and do a bunch of comparisons. A side by side look at writing techniques and so on.

7. Divergent by Veronica Roth:
I really don't know why I put this on here, but it kept popping out at me. Maybe just because I love it so much.

8. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:
AIW is everywhere! I think this is the book that I see most referenced in literature. Plus it's full of awesomeness.

9. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger:
I think they got this one right when they make you study it in school. I loved this book.

10. Anything by Shakespeare:
This one I do agree on because shakespeare is everywhere. You need to know these things. Bill Shakespeare will always be in style.

Books I think they should stop forcing down teens throats in school:
1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
What a absolutely horrible book! Everyone has the exact same voice, it's boring, and all around just horrible. Why do they make kids read it????

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck:
Painful.

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte:
I will never understand why people like this book. Cathy is obnoxious and Heathcliff is evil.

4. Paradise Lost by John Milton:
I honestly fell asleep three times while trying to read this epic poem. I've never before fallen asleep while reading. Who decided this was a good poem to have people read????

Review: Legacy

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Published by Harlequin Teen

$9.99 (US paperback)

496 pages

What it's about:

I noticed his eyes. They were blue, sharp and intense. Despite the youthful glows of his suntanned face, his eyes were cold and unfriendly, suggesting he had great experience in the world and was now expecting the worst.

In her seventeenth year, Princess Alera of Hytanica faces one duty: to marry the man who will be king. But her father's choice of suitor fills her with despair.

When the palace guard captures and intruder—a boy her age with steel-blue eyes, hailing from her kingdom's greatest enemy—Alera is alarmed…and intrigued. But she could not have guessed that their clandestine meetings would unveil the dark legacy shadowing both their lands.

In this mystical world of court conspiracies and blood magic, loyalties will be tested. Courage won't be enough. And as the battle begins for everything Alera holds dear, love may be the downfall of a kingdom.

My Thoughts:

Okay just so everyone knows because this was a little confusing for me, but Legacy has been published three times now. Once back in 2008, then in hardcover in 2009, and now it is being published again in 2011. All of them have different covers but is the same book. This also means that you can find it in used bookstores or really cheap online. I got mine for $1 on Borders.com in the used section. This being said, I'll move onto the actual review.

I am a sucker for princess stories. I've always wanted to be a princess so when I saw that this was about a princess named Alera, I knew I had to read it. It didn't disappoint me.

While the book is pretty slow, I found myself enjoying every page of it. And there are a lot of pages. My copy has 444 pages. I kept thinking that I figured out the twist to the story, and I never did. I'm normally really good at figuring out what is going to happen, but Kluver did not go with the normal twists. I'm glad that all my ideas on what I thought was going to happen didn't actually happen.

I loved most of the characters and connected with them. After finishing the book, I feel like I am personally involved with the characters and have a big need to find out what happens next. By the end of the book I found myself going "gahh!!! It can't end this way!!!" and I'm dying to read the next book.

What also blows my mind about this book and I kept it in mind the whole time I was reading the book, is that Cayla Kluver was only 15 when this book was published for the first time. The book is so grown up with her writing and did not feel like it was written by someone so young. I won't lie, it made me love the book even more.

My rating: 9/10

Review: Spellbound

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

published by Harlequin Teen

$9.99 (US paperback)

324 pages

My thoughts:
This was a fun little read that while some of it was a bit cheesey, most of it was fantastic. I had lots of fun figuring out what was going on with the characters and really enjoyed their personalities.

The real problem I had with this book was there were a few editing errors. I did read an ARC for this book and I really am hoping these errors were fixed in the final copy. In a few parts I could tell where the author had originally had said something different and went back and changed it and it did not line up properly with what she had said earlier. The reason this really bugged me was because it confused me when it came to a few of the characters personality. Mostly Brendan.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Emma's personality. I liked how she really didn't take crap from anyone and knew how to handle herself. She was a great character. What else was nice was there was the right amount of skepticism from the characters. I find it frustrating when a character spends the whole book not believing what is happening, but it is also weird when the character believes whatever is going on right from the beginning. There needs to be the right amount of "what the hell?? Is this real??" in the story and Spellbound had the perfect amount.

I will definitely be reading the next book in this series whenever that comes out.

My rating: 9/10

Just Got Back

Fantastic. Spectacular. Magnificent. Superb. Awesome. Brilliant. Amazing.

All words that describe the last Harry Potter film.

I had the best theater. We yelled, we clapped, we hooted. We were awesome. At the end I screamed out "Mischief Managed" and everyone laughed.

Now I'm going to cry myself to sleep because I can not believe that it is all over. It all ended just like the posters promised.

Stupid posters.

Wizard Swears

Today is the last time I will be going to a Harry Potter midnight showing! The thought of how this is the last Potter movie makes me want to cry. How is it all over? How????

In honor of the new movie, I thought I'd post one of my favorite Potter themed videos.

Dobby's sock

Top Ten Tuesday--Authors I'm dying to meet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Todays top ten tuesday is top 10 authors I'm dying to meet!

These are in no order:

1) Julie Kagawa:
OMG seriously. I've become such a huge fan of hers.

2) John Green:
I have a mega crush on him. His books are brilliant.

3) Olivia Cunning:
I want to ask her how she gets anything done when she has thoughts like she does in her head. haha and to thank her for creating Brian and Trey.

4) JK Rowling:
Ok I have actually met her before, but I wasn't positive it was her until it was too late to talk to ask her any questions (seriously, who would have thought JK Rowling would be riding coach from Paris to Edinburgh???) I need to know 1. Where are Harry's grandparents? Both sets couldn't have been much older than 50 when Harry was a baby and 2. Does Voldie have a sex drive? He's evil, but it doesn't mean he doesn't get horny. These questions need answers.

5) Janette Rallison:
Her books are so cute. I think it'd be fun to meet her.

6) Jeaniene Frost:
I've talked to her in emails but she needs to get away from the east coast and make it over to the west coast!!! I've been in love with her books for.... 5 years now?

7) Kiersten White:
I have fallen madly in love with Paranormalcy and I would love to know the person who created Evie and Lend.

8) Stephanie Perkins:
From reading her blog and talking to her on FB, she seems so cool! She'd be fun to just hang out with.

9) Agatha Christie:
THe queen of mystery books apparently was painfully shy so meeting her (if she were still alive) would be kinda awkward but really cool.

10) Lewis Carroll:
I know he may have been a child molester but I still want to meet him. I don't care if he came up with his idea of Alice In Wonderland because he was high, he still had a fantastic imagination.

11) Edward Lear:
Because 10 is not enough.

12) Shel Silverstein:
So I like meeting dead authors.

This week should be called "top ten however many I can think of" because I don't like to pick and choose. Even though I did. Stephenie Meyers and Tabitha Suzuma were originally on my list as well.

blog taking a back seat

I feel bad, my blog is taking a back seat to my life right now. I have been enjoying my summer while also doing some soul searching, mostly about how much college is a waste of my time and money, what to do with my future. You know, the normal soul searching questions.

My soul searching tends to involve loud music and lots of painting which is why it takes up so much of my time. I'm hoping to have my blog up and going again sometime soon.

Thanks everyone for sticking with me and my blog. I appreciate it.

--Ariel

Review: The Day Before

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

published by Simon Pulse

Genre: YA

$16.99 (US hardback)

306 pages

What it's about:

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her ipod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. B ecause Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last.

My thoughts:
Lisa has done it again, written such a fantastically beautiful book that I couldn't help but cry and adore it.

I always fall in love with Lisa's characters. Amber and Cade happen to meet each other the day before they both have something big going to happen to them and decide to spend the day together. The way they meet, what they do together, and the automatic connection they have is so beautiful. It would make the perfect chick flick movie because it is such a fantastic meet-cute.  The way both of the characters finds themselves and learn and grow just in one day is mind blowing.

Plus it doesn't hurt that Cade is pretty much my dream boy. Dark hair, skinny jeans, drives a yellow VW bug, and blasts Fall Out Boy? *swoons*

I had a very close connection with this book. Amber has died red hair, lives in Salem, and her favorite place is Newport Oregon. I can honestly say that fits me perfectly.

Like most of Lisa's books, it is written in verse. This is perfect. It is so beautiful. DO NOT LET THE VERSE FORM SCARE YOU AWAY FROM THIS BOOK! I feel the need to say that in every review I do for Lisa. The verse cuts out all the excess and leaves you with the raw emotions. Lisa does a fantastic job of writing the verse to fit perfectly. I'd also recommend listening to Pink and Death Cab For Cutie while reading this book. It sets the tone and adds a little extra to the book.

My rating: 10/10

You can not get a more beautifully written book or such a sweet story plot as a Lisa Schroeder novel.

To get a better idea of how amazing Newport Oregon is, here are some of my pictures from there. These were all taken on a random beautiful day in February.