Category: Uncategorized

YALL Fest Interview-Lisi Harrison

Leave a comment

Don’t forget to check out the official YALL Fest Website and Twitter pages. This event takes place Saturday, pharmacy November 9th, page and includes so many awesome young adult authors, its mind blowing. If you have a chance to go to this FREE event, definitely do so!

Screen Shot 2013-09-09 at 1.56.13 PM

Today’s YALL Fest Interview is with YA author, Lisi Harrison!

lisi-harrison-dc118ffc52a3eaca

Lisi Harrison is a young adult author who is most famous for her three series: The Clique, Alphas and Monster High. The Clique series has spawned 21 novels, and has also been adapted as a series of graphic novels as well. Lisi started writing this series after being approached  by MTV, where she was working, to write a YA series. She wrote it to show that the popular people don’t always have it going on. Monster High is also an extremely popular series, and has branched out into the web and toy stores everywhere.

Lisi will be one of the many authors in attendance at this fantastic event. Enjoy this short interview!

Q: What one thing do you need to have when writing?

A: A scented candle. Each book has it’s own scent.

Q: Describe your book in five words.

A: Popular freshman’s secret journals revealed.

Q: What is the hardest line to write-the first or the last?

A: The first. 100%

Q: Best writing tip you ever received?

A: Stop writing in the middle of a chapter instead of the end. It will be easier to start up again the next day.

Q: What is one adult novel you wished you had as a teen?

A: Stargirl

Q: Tell us five random facts about yourself.

A: I can’t run.

I have a tattoo with a type-o. Its supposed to say “creativity” but it says “dry”.

In college I thought it would be cool to get a tattoo in Chinese characters.

I was supposed to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. I changed my reservation at the last minute. Now every time I look at a clock, it says 9:11.

I can’t stand being asked about my “favorites”. I don’t have favorites. If I did, I’d forget what they are the minute you asked and would remember them the minute you leave. Its maddening.

I prefer to give six random facts

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write?

A: My office.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Pretenders #2: License to Spill

*      *      *      *      *

I hope you all enjoyed this interview with Lisi Harrison. Don’t forget to check out YALL Fest, and I hope that those of you in the area can make it out to this incredible event!

Book of the Week-The House of Hades

1 Comment

I was so excited to read this book, viagra sale and have been waiting so long for it to come out that I decided, what a wonderful idea to start reading it as soon as it downloaded to my Kindle and stay up ALL night reading it. At 3 am, I finally finished reading it, my eyes were bloodshot, and I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

But I will tell you this: it was definitely worth, it.

But don’t worry, I realize that its very very early in the release of this book to be posting this review, so its COMPLETELY spoiler free. I mean, this took me a painstakingly long time in order to make sure that I didn’t reveal anything to anyone.

If you DO want to talk about the book, send me a message, post on the forum, or hit me up on Facebook.

For now, enjoy this review!

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan 

12127810

Good Reads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository 

If you’re feeling crazy, you can head to Book Depository to buy a limited edition, signed and numbered copy for 85 dollars!

Genre: 

Young adult, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Greek Mythology

Part of a Series? 

Yes, the fourth novel in The Heroes of Olympus series

Please keep in mind that while there will NOT be spoilers for HoH, there will be spoilers for any previous novel, including those of Percy Jackson and the Olympians 

You May Like if You Liked: 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce

Age Recommendation: 

12+; I know that a lot of kids will read this book, but I will warn you, this book is a LOT darker than any of the previous books. Be aware of this with your children.

Plot Summary: 

From GoodReads:

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

The Bad: 

I wish I could have gotten a little more of Piper. Piper is one of my favorite characters, as you may have seen in my most recent Tuesday Top Ten. I think that she has way more to her than she thinks she does. She does have a moment where she really proves herself, and its seriously awesome. I just wish I could have gotten more of her.

The Good: 

The hardest part about doing this particular review is that I have to be spoiler free, since I have finished it before most other people. I started reading at at 10 pm, which was midnight EST, when it released. I finished it at 3 am. Most people couldn’t even go to a store and buy a book to even begin reading it.

So I need to be careful. Its only been out for two days and so I just want to make sure I tell you how much I loved it without spoiling it for anyone.

Bottom line: I LOVED this book, and it was way worth the year that it took to get here. The Mark of Athena leaves off on the most ridiculous cliffhanger EVER, which left me staring at the last page, thinking, “No. No way. There’s NO way he just did that!” Yeah, yeah, he did. And he enjoyed it too. Check out the dedication page of The House of Hades

photo

That made me laugh. I knew I was in for a good ride once I saw that, and you all will be too.

This book is considerably darker than the books that we’ve seen before. We are left with this ridiculous seemingly impossible task: Leo, Hazel, Frank, Piper, Jason and Nico are racing to The House of Hades to get to the door, while Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, with the plan to meet them at the Doors of Death. Both are crazy, dangerous, impossible tasks. Even though our heroes are demigods and they wield powers and weapons that are beyond this world, they are also just kids, and they make mistakes and their world gets hard and complicated. Demigods don’t usually get to live very long.

The journeys that each group takes are both incredible. The twists and turns, the warnings. The help they get along the way, the help that they may or may not be able to trust. The weapons that are used, and the obstacles they must all face. Its incredibly. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, or any better, or any more nerve wracking or entertaining, it does.

And all the characters grow so much in this novel. They are older teens, at the verge of adulthood, and in this book, you see them all grow up a lot. Everyone is faced with so much in this novel, and in different ways. Each character is tested, and the way they handle it is amazing, and you’re literally watching them grow up before your eyes. This is especially notable with Annabeth and Percy, the characters that we’ve known since they were children. I also think the growing up that Leo does in this novel is also HUGE.

I’m starting a thread on my forums, that you can access here, for those you want to discuss the books with spoilers and all that fun stuff. I hope to see you there, because I love this book, and its so hard to write this without wanting to burst out all the spoilers!

Rating: 

5 out of 5 Stars. Duh!

Recommended or Not? 

Yes. I mean, if you’ve already read the first three in the series, I’m sure you’re dying to read this one. So go out, buy a copy and dive in. It was definitely worth the wait. Now I just need to sit back and wait for the fifth book, The Blood of Olympus, which is set to release sometime in 2014.

*       *        *         *       *

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of the Book of the Week, and that you loved The House of Hades just as much as me.

Happy Reading!

Sweet Venom Book Review

Leave a comment

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

10429067

 


You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, more about but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

My Review:

You may have noticed that I’ve had a *slight* Greek mythology thing lately. I’m not really sure, but I think maybe it has to do with the fact that The House of Hades just released yesterday (expect a review tomorrow, as long as I finish it as quickly as I think I’m going to), and I just have always loved Greek myths.

But moving on, the fact that I’ve been reading a lot of YA that is focusing on Greek mythology means I’m more aware of it, and more likely to be critical of it. That being said, I was thoroughly impressed with the first book in Tera Lynn Child’s trilogy.

Like I said, the stories been retold and rewritten a million times. When the myths written as long ago as they were, of course this is going to happen. So its incredibly hard for you to rewrite something that has already most likely been rewritten. I’ve read Josephine Angelini’s trilogy, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s series, and both Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series. I’ve seen my fair share of YA Greek myths. So that’s why I really think that Tera did a great job with this.

We don’t see much of Medusa used in these books, as anything other than a villain, like in The Lightning Thief. Tera herself said at an event a few weeks ago in Vegas that it was hard research for her, because there isn’t much on her. By taking the myth of Medusa, twisting it so she was actually framed, and that her descendants have a destiny. I like the idea of twisting a myth and surprising the reader. That is definitely what was accomplished in this novel. The gods AREN’T good, they neglect and they run rampant on the world, and are so arrogant and emotional, and everything they do effects the human race. I love the idea that Athena was jealous of Medusa, and that things sort of boiled down from there because it seems VERY likely that this would happen. Goddess pride.

I’m not going to lie, I like the idea of the triplets thing, long lost, coming together to work together, to fight together and to protect each other. I had this…obsession when I was younger with twins, born from the height of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s careers, and the reboot of The Parent Trap. I was convinced that I had a twin somewhere, and that my parents had hid her away, and I was constantly begging them to tell me where she was. I was a weird child. But the idea of twins, and triplets, in a book seriously make me interested right off the bat. And sure the fact that Gretchen, Greer and Grace are so obviously different and come from vastly different backgrounds doesn’t bother me, even though its so obvious. I think its going to work well, as the story continues and they have to work together to fight the mythical creatures that keep seeping in our world.

Plus, San Francisco as the setting? Such a win. San Francisco is a bursting place anyway, so full of culture and people and places and its just 100% awesome. Its a perfect setting for all of this to be taking place. I can’t wait to pick up the next book.

It was awesome being able to meet Tera at her signing in Vegas a couple weeks ago! I’m so glad I picked up her book and read it! 

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite Percy Jackson Characters

3 Comments

Happy The House of Hades Release Day! I am so happy! I can’t wait to go diving into this novel! I’ve been waiting SO anxiously for this book to release ever since I finished The Mark of Athena last year. Such a cliffhanger.

Now, dosage to celebrate the awesome release of this book, information pills I have decided to have a Percy Jackson themed Tuesday Top Ten today.

I honestly thought this was going to be an easy Top Ten and I was soon proven to be completely wrong. But all ten are awesome, stuff and all the characters not on the list are STILL awesome.

10. Sally Jackson

010TLF_Catherine_Keener_002

Sally Jackson is a seriously awesome character in the novel. I think most middle grade/young adult heroes or heroines tend NOT to have parents. Its that orphan status that gives them the innocence and the drive to do the things they need to do. It also gives them the ability to do all these crazy things. There’s no authority there to watch them, really. But Percy is different: he has a mother, and a super loving and caring and sacrificing mother, and I think its awesome. Sally LOVES Percy, and does everything she can to make sure Percy is happy and safe. She marries gross and cruel Gabe in order to keep Percy safe for so many years. That right there is intense dedication. I also think its cool how, even though she loves and cares for him so much, she realizes who he is and what he needs to do, and knows that he can take care of himself. Plus there’s all the blue food. Any mom who goes out of her way to make all this food blue, because a jerk said something mean, is awesome!

9. Apollo

Dimitri_Lekkos_as_Apollo

Okay, so this isn’t at all what I picture Apollo to look like BUT I couldn’t find good fanart of him, so this is what we’re stuck with. I freakin LOVE Apollo. I love when he shows up with his convertible, bringing the sun with him every day. I think he’s like a ridiculous frat boy, or that boy in school that drives you crazy because he’s clowning around all the time. Or he even reminds me of my brothers, when they’re driving me insane. I like that he is joking around a lot. His ridiculous poetry, and his bursting into songs randomly. Please tell me that this made other people crack up too? Its like, this guy is a GOD. The SUN god. He brings the SUN everyday. Plus he annoys the heck out of Artemis and is always making moves on her Huntresses and its just all fun. I love that Rick will yank you from heartbreak to humor, and I love the humorous moments with Apollo. They never fail to make me smile.

8. Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Rachel_Elizabeth_Dare

You know why I like Rachel Elizabeth Dare? Okay, one is that her middle name is Elizabeth and that’s my middle name, which automatically equals cool factor. But I think I really like her because she’s so brave, and she’s so strong and she’s just a regular human (at first). You know, most people would meet Percy Jackson, and the situations he’s in, and FREAK out but she takes it in stride, helps him out, and then just continues to be there. I admit, I was a little frustrated when she was hitting on Percy, because I’ve been a Percabeth shipper from the beginning, but I love her as a character, and as a best friend for Percy Jackson. When she steps up to be the Oracle, and she continues to be a part of the world, I’m super stoked. I think she’s one of the best and strongest characters, because she’s a human. Its been confirmed that she’ll make an appearance in The House of Hades, which I am SO excited for!

7. Grover Underwood

brandon-t-jackson

Aw, who doesn’t love good ‘ol Grover. I like Grover because he isn’t the obvious hero. He’s bumbling, and he’s klutzy and he gets nervous and starts chewing on soda cans and paper, and he doesn’t always believe that he can do it. He is determined to find Pan, and to follow Pan’s mandate, and there are times when he can’t believe it, and its hard for him, but no matter what happens, he pushes on. He’s a great friend to Percy and Annabeth too. Both Percy and Annabeth are super brave and kind of crazy and reckless and Grover just kind of sucks it up and follows them. But on their journeys, he always has importance and he always kind of surprises everyone and prevails. He’s a strong character, and he’s intelligent and he’s Percy’s protector and he’s determined to do that. And he’s just so adorable too. Apparently he’ll have a slight appearance in HoH too, so yay!

6. Leo Valdez

Leo-Valdez-leo-valdez-16176443-1600-1200

Leo! You know why I love Leo. Okay, well there is a lot of reasons why I like Leo. One, I like that he’s kind of the loner in this group of couples, and I swear, I don’t mean that in a mean way. I know its hard for him, and that’s why I like him. I can understand that. I can understand being lonely and being the third wheel again and again and again, and not feeling like he’s important enough. But I think there’s a lot to Leo and I hope he can find someone. I think he’s extremely intelligent and the abilities he has with his hands, to build things, and to fix things is awesome. Its not as obvious as Percy controlling water, or Jason being able to fly. Its like a talent that is just reinforced by his parentage, from his dad, Hephaestus. I think its one of the best talents amongst the demigods that we get to know, because its not like he magically fixes things. He still has to tinker and figure it out, and he’s good at it. I also think he has a great heart, and its going to be great to see what happens next for Leo, and to see how his story evolves. And come on, Rick, let’s give him a girlfriend, okay? Haha.

5. Piper Mclean

Piper_McLean

Piper! Yes, I do like Piper, and I like her more than Hazel, which you will notice because Hazel isn’t on the list. (Though I do love Hazel, don’t get me wrong). I like Piper because her god parentage, and her powers, are so opposite of what she would want. She is the daughter of Aphrodite and can transform herself into perfection, and can charm speak anyone. And all of this is VERY begrudging to her at first. She does NOT like this at all. And I think that’s what endears me to her. I think if I found out that Aphrodite was my mother, and my power was beauty and persuasion, I’d be like, “how did I end up with the short end of the stick?” It just doesn’t seem like a great power, and because she hasn’t ever really displayed an obsession with her appearance before, she is just less than thrilled. I do love that she uses her persuasion to just get things like cars and such. That cracks me up. But I love that she learns to use this to her advantage. She doesn’t take advantage of people, but she uses it to gain the upper hand, to control situations and she’s good at it. So I love Piper. I love Piper because she has to build her confidence, unlike most of her siblings who just seem born with that confidence.

4. Tyson

Tysonsom

I LOVE Tyson, and honestly that’s helped along that Douglas Smith, who portrays him in Sea of Monsters, is just plain adorable. But I really do like Tyson, and I think that comes from what he teaches everyone and thats the idea of acceptance, tolerance and even friendship. Percy is totally fine with Tyson for a long time, until Poseidon claims him as a son, and its very annoying and frustrating to Percy. Then you have Annabeth and her fear and hatred of Tyson, and all Cyclops. Eventually his personality and loyalty and dedication wins everyone over, and its a learning experience for both Percy and Annabeth. Plus I think you’re apt to think Tyson is useless because he’s a Cyclops and he doesn’t talk very well, but he proves again and again how worthy he is to be claimed as a son of Poseidon.

3. Zoe Nightshade

Zoe_Nightshade_by_naiubl

Zoe! I miss Zoe. Zoe was one of my favorite characters probably because I tell myself all the time that I would not be a demigod, but instead I’d like to be a Huntress of Artemis’s and I would love to be the leader. I think Zoe is amazing, strong, brave, but still learning after all this time. Plus her grudging hatred of men, and her slow build in trust of Percy is just fun to watch. It goes back to that idea that people can change, and they can learn new things from each other. But more than that, she’s brave and so loyal to Artemis and she fights hard, so hard to get her back, and will do anything to get back. I like that she’s stubborn too, and that she is stuck in her old fashioned ways and says things like “thou” and “thee”. One of my favorite parts in all of the books is when they’re at the Hoover Dam, and keep saying things like “dam water fountain” and “dam tshirt” and Grover, Thalia and Percy are cracking up, and Zoe is so confused. I love that they mention it again in The Mark of Athena.

2. Percy Jackson

Percy-Jackson-Sea-of-Monsters-Image-0111

PERCY! I adore Percy, and yes, that is in part because Logan Lerman plays him, and he’s adorable and he was SO super sweet when I met him a few months ago. But Percy is the hero of the whole series, and one of the heroes in Heroes of Olympus series, and he’s a great character. Its his humor from page one of The Lightning Thief that really captures you into the entire series. No matter what is going on, he’s making you laugh. His sarcasm and humor keeps me addicted from page one to the very last page. And sure, his fatal flaw is his loyalty to his friends, but I love it. I love how loyal he is. He risks everything all the time for his friends and for his family, and even for people he barely likes such as Clarisse. I like that he fights so hard, and risks so much, and he does it all with such sarcasm and humor, and that he’s willing to push buttons. And I love his dedication to Grover and Annabeth, especially Annabeth. He really believes in her, and trusts her, and she’s the only person who scares him, which is how it should be ;)

1. Annabeth Chase

Stars On The Set Of 'Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters'

Annabeth is the best character in the entire novel because she’s so STRONG and FUNNY and WITTY and just plain awesome. I love that her strength is her cleverness and her ability to strategize. I love that she keeps up with the boys all the time, and its not like she’s a girl, she’s an equal with everyone else. She’s stubborn and hopeful and she is so determined. I always thought it was kind of funny that Annabeth is blonde, and that sort of “dumb blonde” connotation but she’s incredibly smart. I also like her hat, even though its a Yankees hat, and just…no haha. But she’s prideful and stubborn and can be judgmental but she always eventually realizes her judgements and her pride, and she does the right thing. Plus, she’s really nerdy with her obsession with architecture. And her relationship with Percy, the way she’s so in love with him, but she doesn’t let it control her, and she’s totally in control, and Percy can be SUPER scared of her, is just great. Percabeth for life.

*      *        *        *       *

Hope you enjoyed this edition of the Top Ten! I hope all of you have your copies of The House of Hades. I have to go enjoy mine now!

Happy Reading!

Book of the Week-Dreamless

Leave a comment

Normally, check I try REALLY hard not to do sequels as the Book of the Week, because if you haven’t read the first book, you really don’t know what’s going on, and can’t really read the Book of the Week post.

Or I’ll do sequels if I know that enough people have read the previous ones, like with Divergent or the Heroes of Olympus, which are two sequel books (Allegiant and House of Hades) that I definitely will be using as Book of the Weeks soon.

I already read Starcrossed, and to be honest, it just didn’t hook me that much. It was recommended to me by a trusted friend, someone who recommends books to me all the time, and I knew I had to keep trying, so I picked up Goddess. I read about half, put it aside, and read quite a few others books in the meantime.

Last night, I got about 75% of the way through another book, which honestly disappointed me hugely, and I gave up. Moving on down my list o’ books (which is pretty ridiculous and OCD….seriously), Dreamless was next, and I really had to give it a good try. I’m meeting Josephine next week at the Los Angeles Teen Book Fest (more on that later!), and I want to have an honest opinion about her books before I see her.

And the reason that Dreamless is the Book of the Week, and not just a mere review gets down to one point: that while the first book didn’t capture me and embrace me, the second one definitely did. I’m about a quarter of the way through Goddess, the final book of the trilogy, and can’t wait to see how it ends.

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

12995284

GoodReads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Fantasy

Part of a Series?:

Yes, the second book of the Starcrossed trilogy

Please remember that while there will be NO spoilers for this particular book, there will be spoilers for the first book.

You May Like if You Liked:

The Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Age Recommendation:

Please keep in mind that these are MY personal recommendations, and it varies between each person. I know that some YA is a little more adult than others, and I don’t want to encourage a younger teen to read something that isn’t appropriate for them. 

13+:

Plot Summary:

Dreamless continues the story of Helen Hamilton, a shy girl living on Nantucket Island whose desire for an ordinary life was thwarted when she discovered she is a Scion, a descendant of a Greek god and a mortal. Each Scion has a power, and Helen’s is the ability to travel to Hades.
 
Helen is determined to use her talent to stop a war amongst the gods and change her destiny, which is to live a life patterned after that of the tragic Helen of Troy. But her quest may cost her Lucas Delios, the boy she loves.

Dreamless really follows Helen as she uses her power to Descend into the Underworld, to discover a way to gain favor with the Furies, to help break that curse where Scions of opposite families want to kill each other, especially since Hector is a traitor and the Delios all have blood lust when around him. But the more she Descends, the more it takes a toll on herself, and everything and everyone around her.

The Bad:

It took a REALLY long to get through this book. I started it, then put it aside, then picked it up again, then put it aside. The first half of the book just really drags, as Helen Descends into Hades over and over and over and over and over again. It just got really repetitive and honestly, kind of boring. I was like, okay, something needs to start happening or I’m going to throw something. I didn’t end up actually throwing something but I did set this book aside a few times. It just didn’t compel me at first. I think once the second half picked up, and Helen had more of a direction, and so did the rest of the story, and she finally felt more of a handle on things, the book sped up and I finished the last half last night, easily.

I also *think* that Josephine is introducing a love triangle in this book, and that just made me incredibly frustrated.

The Good:

I liked the twist on the Furies in this novel. I think that’s a huge thing that brought me back into the novel. The Furies are always portrayed as evil, or at the very least, completely inconvenient. They’re still totally NOT good in this book as well. They are the cause behind the Scions having such hatred toward each other and why Ariadne and Lucas and Jason want to tear out Hector, their family, whenever they are near him. And Helen is determined to fix that. I like that her approach in fixing this is so different than anything else, and its ultimately a good thing. The solution to the problem isn’t as easy as you’d think it would be, especially with the general attitude toward The Furies.

I also like the direction that Helen is going in. She’s really stepping into her powers, and embracing exactly who she is. I know that in the first book, she was still learning but there were times when I wanted to kind of punch her in the face. But in this book, I really begin to admire the strong person that she is. Because she doesn’t just have these powers, and a physical strength, but she’s extremely clever as well, and that really makes for a strong character. I say again and again that physical strength is incredibly awesome in a character, but that a lot of people think a character can ONLY be a strong character if they’re a fighter or a warrior, or any of that, but intelligence makes for an incredibly strong character. Helen has both, definitely.

She really built up a story that left you panting for the next book. Second books need to be that bridge between the first and the third and it really does that. I immediately wanted to read the next book, which was difficult because it was 2 a.m. I really liked that Josephine filled my new addiction to Greek myths in YA lit and that she did so in such a unique way.

I love all the new appearances of gods as well too. We see so many different versions of the gods and goddesses in different books, and there’s always a different perspective of who is ‘good’ or who is ‘bad’, and I am intrigued at who is on what side in this book. I’m also interested to see what sort of havoc they wreak on the world because Josephine doesn’t hold back, you know? She really takes this idea and matures it in a way that you’re almost horrified. You’re horrified that this could be happening to any one of these characters.

And seriously, I just gotta say it? Can Daphne please just tell Helen and Lucas that they aren’t really cousins? I am so heartbroken over that, it makes me think of Jace and Clary in Mortal Instruments, and I can’t handle it. Its so full of angst and I just want to punch them both, while at the same time, hoping they’ll make out. Yeah, I said it.

Rating:

3.75 out of 5

Recommended or Not:

I’m in a serious Greek myth thing going on right now, and I think I’m blaming Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Covenant series, which you all saw that I BUSTED my way through in a matter of days. I also have Dreamless left to read of this series, and House of Hades comes out on Tuesday, and I also just recently purchased Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs, which has some Greek myths thrown in there. I need a break from dystopians haha.

But that being said, I really liked THIS book of the trilogy so far. Starcrossed was really hard for me to get through, maybe because I hadn’t quite fallen into my Greek obsession yet, or maybe because I was waiting for the sequel. Its like Empire Strikes Back, or something, which we all know is infinitely better than the first one (though the first one is my favorite!), and I honestly think, yes, please read this series. I think its a unique look at the myths of Greece, which is hard, with so many books attempting to do so.

So after that long rant, yes, I recommend this book :)

*      *      *      *      *      *

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s Book of the Week. Stay tuned for next week’s when I review Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades!

Happy Reading Everyone!

YALL Fest Interview: Kami Garcia

Leave a comment

Don’t forget to check out the official YALL Fest Website and Twitter pages. This event takes place Saturday, drugs November 9th, cure and includes so many awesome young adult authors, viagra approved its mind blowing. If you have a chance to go to this FREE event, definitely do so!

Screen Shot 2013-09-09 at 1.56.13 PM

Today’s YALL Fest Interview is with Kami Garcia. 

kami-garcia-fichas-autores-L-X-HOnP

Kami Garcia is well known as the co-author of the best selling series Beautiful Creatures, which has been adapted for a Hollywood film, written with author, Margaret Stohl. Beautiful Creatures follows the characters of Ethan, a normal Southern boy, and Lena, a Caster, afraid of her own destiny. Kami’s new book, Unbreakable, has been described as close to the show, Supernatural.

Check out this short interview:

Q: What one thing do you need to have when you write?

A: I need three things: my laptop, my headphones and a Diet Coke.

Q: Describe Your Book in Five Words.

A: Paranormal. Ghost-hunting. Intense. Romance. Secret Societies.

Q: Tell us 5 Random Facts About Yourself

A: 1. I don’t know how to ride a bike. 2. I used to be an artist (a painter). 3. I won’t fly without my huge charm necklace that I believe will keep the plane from crashing. 4. I believe in ghosts. 5. Every time I write a book, I worry that everyone will hate it.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am working on the second book in the Legion Series, the sequel to Unbreakable. Like Unbreakable, the sequel is very intense and has plenty of paranormal elements. But I think it’s even more romantic and surprising than the first book.

Q: What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

A: My favorite genre to write is definitely urban fantasy/paranormal romance. I love to read paranormal but I am also a huge fan of horror, crime fiction, high fantasy and science fiction.

*      *      *       *      *

I hope you enjoyed today’s YALL Fest Interview with author, Kami Garcia!

Kami Garcia is heading out on tour for the release of Unbreakable starting tomorrow, so check out the dates to see if she’s coming near you!

1376576_686962671332652_1999939906_n