Movie Review: Woman in Black

The Woman In Black

Directed by James Watkins

Starring Daniel Radcliffe

Rating: pg-13

Out in theaters

Synopsis (from IMDB):
A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.


My thoughts:
This movie is EPIC! Epic I tell you!

I had started to read this book a few months back because I like to read the book before I watch the movie, then I decided to stop after about 40 pages because I decided this movie is gonna be too awesome and I want to love that more than the book. I was not wrong to do this.

I went to the 9:20pm showing because night is the best time to see a scary movie. The theater was packed, almost completely full and it was mostly teenie bopers and 20 somethings like me. Then of course there were the cheap people that decided not to pay for a babysitter and brought their 4 year olds with them. Surprisingly, those little kids were the quietest of everyone in the theater. Hmmm bet that will change tonight. Those poor kids are probably scared for life because...

THIS IS THE SCARIEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN!!!

That is not a joke. I've seen tons and tons of suspense movies and they normally don't scare me at all. Back when The Ring was in theaters, my sister and I were asked to leave the theater because we were laughing so hard. It's hard to find a suspense movie that actually gets to me.

This movie got to me.

At one point, I actually yelled out "holy F**K" and jumped about a foot out of my seat. The whole audience screamed as well, so it's all okay. In total, I probably jumped out of my seat about 10 times (no joke. 3 times in the first 20 minutes alone). Some people even got up and ran to the bathroom after some particularly scary parts.

James Watkins did a fantastic job directing this movie. Everything about it was freaky, from the stupid kid toys, to the house, and especially the woman in black. Daniel Radcliffe was phenomenal. I know some people are saying they can never picture him being anything other than Harry, but that will not be the case. You completely forget that he is the boy who lived, and instead he is a freaked out father scared for his life.

So in other words, if you love suspense movies, you are in for a real treat, if you are seeing it because you love Daniel but don't like suspense movies (and Daniel is definitely hott hott hott in this movie), definitely bring people with you and something to hide behind (or do what my friend did and hide your face in your purse. haha). I personally wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone younger than 16, but I saw a lot of younger kids in the theater.

My rating: 10/10

I'm dying to see it again!

Blog Tour Review/Giveaway: Demons at Deadnight

Demons at Deadnight by A & E Kirk

Self published

Genre: YA paranormal

$10.99 (US paperback)

or

$2.99 ebook

404 pages

What it's about:

For seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey, survival is a lifestyle.

DEMONIC DESTINY

Aurora has the crappiest superpower on the planet. And it’s just unleashed a hit squad from hell. Demons are on the hunt, salivating to carve her carcass into confetti.
CHARISMATIC KILLERS

The Hex Boys—mysterious, hunky, and notorious for their trails of destruction—have the answers Aurora needs to survive. But their overload of deadly secrets and suspicious motives makes trusting them a potentially fatal move.
LETHAL ALLIES

The battle to save her family, herself, and stop demonic domination may cost Aurora everything worth living for, and force her to reveal her own dark secrets. But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull this off, and, chances are, teaming up with these guys will get her killed anyway.


My thoughts:
When I was looking at other blogs for the meme My Book Boyfriend, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, I came upon a blog talking about Demons at Deadnight and how it has not one, or even two hott guys in it, it has five. Yes, five hott guys. So after hopping on Goodreads and reading the plot, I immediately went to Amazon and got an ebook of it (btw it's only $2.99 on both Amazon and Barnes and Nobles, that's a pretty sweet deal right there). Then I stayed up all night and part of the next morning until I had read it all.

I loved it! I loved how yes, it was cheesey and everything was a little too convenient, but that's okay with me. I loved how Aurora's family was very close and the picture perfect family and how the Hex boys little group worked as a whole and how Aurora sneaks her way back into the group. Can't say I blame her, who wouldn't want to be in that group? Now I just have to decide, which Team am I? I'm thinking I'm Team Blake...or Team Tristan...or Logan... Oh, it's just too hard to choose!

Then there is the writing style itself. After I read the first few pages, I knew I was going to love the book just because of the way it was written. I liked how Aurora would say things like "and then I stood my ground and prepared to kick the demons ass. Nah, who am I kidding? I ran." (that is not a direct quote, just an example). I enjoyed how Kirk didn't try to get all fancy with her writing, using words that no real person actually says, instead it was more fun, energetic, and whatever else you can think of for "awesome."

The one problem I did have with the book was how none of the guys or Aurora recognized each other even though they were all childhood friends. That didn't make any sense to me. It had only been 8ish years and and while kids do change in appearance after that long, it's not long enough to not recognize them. So this had me scratching my head in confusion for a good part of the book.

My rating: 9/10

Giveaway!
Because this is part of the Demons at Deadnight blog tour, there is a giveaway! One lucky winner will get either a paperback or ebook copy of the book! YAY!

Rules:
*This is an international giveaway. Anyone can enter.
*I'd love if you follow my blog and also A&E's review blog Teens Read and Write. This isn't mandatory to enter, I'd just love it if you did.
*Comment on this post to enter. Leave your name and email address  I can reach you at.
*Giveaway is going from today (Feb. 3rd) through Friday Feb. 10th.
On Saturday Feb. 11th, I will email the winner. If you don't reply in 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.

Guess what? There is yet another giveaway that A&E are doing as well for a Kindle Fire. Pretty sweet I know.
To enter to win the Kindle Fire you need to know the secret phrase given out one word at a time by each blog tour host. Put the words together in sequential order and you'll eventually have the secret phrase! Right now you can Tweet and Follow on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page to get points but starting March 9 (at the end of the tour) you can enter the complete phrase on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page and earn BIG entry points! Your Kindle Fire will also include your choice of a DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT Skin. Either from the cover, or a Hex Boy group shot or individual "Team" skin of your favorite Hex Hunk!

My secret word is "WILDLY."

The banner at the top of this post is a direct link to the blog tour site. From there you can learn  everything else you need to know about this tour.

ARC Review: Allegiance

Allegiance by Cayla Kluver

Series: Legacy #2

Published by Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA

Release date: Feb. 28, 2012

What it's about (from Goodreads):

Only I saw Narian for who he truly was: a young man with courage and an independent mind, and made to pay for what was outside his control. He couldn't help his past any more than he could help the way those intense, deep-blue eyes pierced me and held me captive.

An eighteen-year-old queen in love with the enemy as their countries pass the point of no return...

Bound to a man she cannot love, Queen Alera of Hytanica must forget Narian, the young man who holds her heart. For Narian is destined to conquer Hytanica at the behest of his master, the powerful magic-user known as the Overlord. Alera doesn't truly believe Narian will fight against Hytanica-until Cokyrian troops attack with Narian commanding the charge.

Faced with the greatest betrayal a heart can know, Alera must set aside personal feelings and lead her kingdom through its darkest time. And when all hope, will and courage seem lost, she must find strength and remember that even the blackest night must have a dawn....

My thoughts:
Since the second I finished the first book in this series, Legacy, I've been dying to get my hands on Allegiance. The end of the first book left me dying to know how Alera was going to get out of this horrible mess she was in. I had to know.

So when I saw that Allegiance was available on Netgalley, I freaked out a little. There was definitely some squealing happening while I was requesting the book, and even more when I got it. I was so happy the wait for the book was over! I could finally find out what happens in the second part!

And it did not disappoint, at all. I loved every second of the almost 500 pages I read (the ebook is apparently 490 pages while the paperback is 300?). This series sucks me in so completely. By the time I'm done with one of the books, I feel like I personally know the characters. They are all so vivid to me.

This book was so heartbreaking. Kluver is one of those authors who does not hesitate to put their characters through absolute hell and back. You never know what is going to happen, and I love that. I love when authors are not afraid to kill off characters because anything can go. I never know what is going to happen.

There is a quote in Catcher in the Rye that I think fits perfectly for this book; "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you feel like it."
This is how Allegiance made me feel. Thanks to Facebook though, I can talk to the author and that's exactly what I did. I ran onto facebook and sent Cayla a message telling her how much I love her book. How it broke my heart but I loved every page of it.

My rating: 10/10
Can't wait for the final book in the series!!!!

On My Wish List (4)

On My Wish List is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City

Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

Published by NAL Trade

Genre: YA paranormal

$9.99 (US paperback)

302 pages

What it's about:

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.

Why?
It's like Hunger Games meets vampires. Awesome!

The Marked Son by Shea Berkley

Published by Entangled Publishing

Genre: YA

$9.99 (US paperback)

334 pages

What it's about:

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what.

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before...in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.


Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death...

Why?

This just sounds like such an Ariel book. It takes place in Oregon (yay for books set in my home state!), it has a guy as the MC (which I lovvvveeee), and plus its full of mystery and fairy tale creatures. That is definitely my kind of book.

Reused book covers

Anyone else noticing that the same covers are being used on books over and over again? With maybe one or two details switched around? Like the publishers wouldn't think we'd notice if they used the same cover again?

I feel a little cheated by this. I don't exactly know why, maybe because I think that's cheap of them, like they didn't care enough about the book to give it an original cover, or maybe the cover artist was too lazy. Either way, I don't like it.

To me, a cover says a lot about a book. The better, gorgeous, obviously spent lots of time thinking about covers, tell me the publisher has a lot of faith in the book. They know they can spend a lot of money designing a cover because they know they will definitely get the money back in sales. It also tells me how much the artist liked the book because they obviously spent more time trying to make it great. So when I see covers being reused, it isn't saying anything good to me. This just makes me sad, especially for the author. I've talked to a few authors before about their books and know that it very much upsets them when the cover didn't have any extra thoughts put into it.

Has anyone else noticed the reused covers? Are you bugged by it as well?

Review: Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Published by Harper

Genre: YA distopian

$17.99 (US hardback)

374 pages

What it's about:

Exiled form her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage-- and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

My thoughts:
Everyone has been talking about how great this book is. Reviews are posted daily for it, all the authors I follow talk about it, Veronica Rossi is doing lots of touring for the book, and everyone of those says this book was awesome wrapped in a binding.

When I started it, I very much disliked it. It just sort of throws you into this weird world in which the people live like very high tech moles. They wear fancy eye pieces that allows them to travel to different realms and make it feel like they are actually there, all while they are actually sitting in a dank little room. All of this confused me. I didn't understand how any of this actually worked and it wasn't really being explained.
Then  you had Perry's world, which is like living in the dark ages. That world made sense to me. The only thing that I found confusing was the aether. Is it some sort of horrible, magical clouds that cover the whole sky and destroy everything in it's path? And why do Aria's people die the second they are out in the aether? Just because they don't know how to survive or because their immune systems just can't handle it?

None of this was being explained and it was driving me a little nuts. But I forced myself to keep reading. I wanted to know why everyone loves this book. I had to focus not on the things that were pissing me off about the book, but at what I did like about it.

It turns out, once I got past about the first 130 pages or so, I was very much enjoying the book. Aria and Perry's relationship in the beginning was disappointing to me. It wasn't really grabbing my attention and wasn't what I was hoping for. By the time I hit around 250 pages into the book, I realized all of that had changed for me. I was fascinated not just by how Aria's and Perry's relationship flowed and evolved, but by how my feelings towards it changed right with them. While the characters were figuring out their feelings for each other, I was as well. I found that very cool. Normally once I decide I don't like a character, that never gets reversed, but it did in this book.

So overall, the beginning was a little too fast paced, but too slow all at once. I had issues getting into it, but once I did, I raced through it, wanting to know what happens in the end. I don't know if I will continue with the series, it was enjoyable while I was reading, but I don't see myself getting uber excited for the next book in the series.

My rating: 7.5/10

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Published by Poppy

Genre: YA

$16.99 (US hardback)

236 pages

What it's about (from Goodreads):

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.


My thoughts:
When I was going into this book, I thought it was going to be some sweep you off your feet, perfect meet cute, cheesey love at first sight story. I was so wrong about that.

There was nothing cheesey about this book in the least. Smith took a situation that is possible, but not probable, that could have easily turned into this typical YA chick lit, and turned it into something much more complicated and beautiful.

What I think a person should know going into this book, is that to me, it is more about a girl figuring out family relations and how to deal with heartbreak that only parents can cause. This book is all about a girl figuring out her daddy issues. Normally I don't like to read books with that subject matter. I find them whiny and obnoxious, but this one caught me off guard. I was so caught up in it, I found myself mimicking Hadley. She cried, I cried. She smiled, I smiled and so on. I couldn't help but follow her along. The writing style is what really brought this book to life. It could have gone wrong in so many ways, yet it was oh so right.

Was I head over heals for this book? No, but I really liked it. Liked it enough I did a My Book Boyfriend post about Oliver for it. I'll also think of this book every time I'm at the airport and get stuck next to the overweight, smelly guy, or the exhausted parents with the screaming kids, and think "where is a sexy Brit guy to sweep me off my feet and help me get through this crap."

My rating: 9/10