Pure Tour!!

Bonjour, fellow Half-Bloods and Pures! (Don’t worry. No prejudice here!) Today is the next to last day before this fabulous Pure tour ends. And thankfully, our half-blooded and pure peeps, Alex, Aiden and Seth, (aka the dazzling protagonists of the Covenant Series) dropped by to give their impromptu opinions on some of the songs that popped into my head when I was reading Half-Blood. And right now I'm reading Pure. Hence the playlist. Oh, and I’m Team Aiden, by the way. (Sorry you had to hear that, Seth. You’ll just have to deal, as I’m sure Alex will tell you. Quite pointedly, too.) 

Okay, here we go!

                                           Under My Bed, Meiko 

Aiden: I'm digging the guitar riff, but ah, the lyrics...

Alex: Wow. This reminds me of something. *Stares at Aiden*

Seth: Le sigh. 

                          Set Fire to the Rain, Adele 

Aiden: These song choices are really uncomfortable.

Alex: *Snort* I'm going to set fire to your rain, baby. 

Seth: I think you both should hear the message loud and clear. 

Alex: Anyway, the song really is beautiful. I can relate. Seriously. Especially "there's a side to you I never knew. All the things you say, they were never true."

Seth: Awkward.

Alex: Funny, Seth, just who am I talking about.

Aiden: Yep.

                     I Want You to Want Me, Cheap Trick 

Alex : Oh, now this song is like Seth's Anthem. 

Seth: "Didn't I. Didn't I. Didn't I see you cryin'!"

Alex: Shut your face.

Ha. Isn’t Alex awesome? No wonder Aiden has a thing for her. Okay, so for the duration of the tour, there are some awesome giveaways going on. To enter, leave a comment telling me who your favorite Covenant character is. Then, include a link to this post when you go to enter the contests held by these two fab blogs: ‘A Cupcake and a Latte:’ http://www.mochalattereads.blogspot.com/2012/03/pure-blog-tour-starts-now-two-fabulous.html  and at Stuck in Books right here: http://www.stuckinbooks.com/2012/03/pure-by-jennifer-l-armentrout-blog-tour.html

So what are you waiting for? Get up, grab a copy of Pure, and start reading!

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Pure Tour!!

Independent Book Blogger Awards!

As if I needed another reason to love Goodreads. Today marks the beginning of voting for the Independent Book Blogger Awards, and Goodreads is playing the fabulous host to this contest. The winner will get a ticket to the book Expo in New York City (not to mention a sweet trip to the Big Apple). My blog is actually entered in the contest, so please take a second or two to vote for my blog! Yup. That's right. I am an independent book blog, and although my chances of winning are slim, I'd like to try anyway (I've been listening to a lot of lectures on positive thinking, in case you didn't notice).

Voting is open until April 23rd and offers four categories: Young Adult, Adult Non-Fiction, Children's and Publishing Industry. It's really a great way to find some awesome new blogs in addition to voting for mine... *wink wink*
Please vote, and happy reading!! 

Vote for this blog for the Independent Book Blogger Awards!

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Independent Book Blogger Awards!

Eve

Eve has come. Literally. Eve has escaped a prison-like school where she and her fellow students are taught that men are evil, the world is a dangerous place, and that it is their duty to help reestablish the New America that has been ravaged by the effects of the Plague. Too bad it's all a lie, and the girls at school will really only be used to repopulate the new world - whether they like it or not. So when Eve discovers the horrible truth, she hits the road in an attempt to escape. But the King and his soldiers will not tolerate disobedience. She'll be hunted to the ends of the earth. She will survive only if she can depend on the help of her friends and her main squeeze, Caleb. 

I read this book in a couple of hours. It's really short, really fast. In some ways this is the beauty of the book. There's no long-winded backstory on the destruction of America that makes you feel like you're back in history class. The book just begins and all at once you're submerged into Eve's world. However, there were more than 4 or 5 times that I was struck with a feeling of: "There is no way Eve would do this," or "that's unbelievable." Why? The plot was that Eve had been brainwashed for 12 years to obey the government and take their word for everything. The idea that she would flee the life that she has always known so suddenly didn't hit home for me. She was literally acting the part of a brainwashed automaton for one minute, then in the timespan of 1 hour she was ready to flee the government schoolyard and hate her captors.  People who have been brainwashed for that long and that intensely take weeks, if not years, to convince them that what they have known is not the truth. It would have been better if Eve had been painted as a figure who had always had suspicions about the school, always been curious always doubted the status quo and was constantly searching for truth. In addition, she wasn't a very strong heroine. I mean, there comes a point when the main protagonist has to quit crying and whining, and Eve didn't manage that until the literal final 10 pages. 

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Eve

World War Z

World War Z has ended. Although it goes by many names, this is the one that has stuck. After zombies have ravaged the world and destroyed most of its population, one lone journalist takes it upon himself to interview survivors of the great war: the biggest war to ever hit planet earth. The war against the living dead. In one epic 300+ page collection of fictional interviews with veterans and survivors of the bloodiest event in future history, Max Brooks has created a zombie book that anybody who appreciates the genre will enjoy. 

One of the things I really loved about this book was the fact that although the reader is going through interviews with vets or survivors of the apocalyptic catastrophe, you totally understand it all. It's fantasy, but it all seems real and it all makes sense. Each section of the book builds on the last one in a subtle way, therefore you feel as if you've been "educated" so to speak, about the history of the war. It's really clever. The interviews focus on the memories of soldiers, pilots, survivors, smugglers and more. Each one has a different point of view about the war. What is truly frightening, perhaps, is the fact that although World War Z is purely fiction, the governmental mishandling of the threat of the undead is chillingly similar to how many governments react to the presence of real threats today. Corruption. A media always looking for a sensational story, distorting the facts and thus leaving the public uniformed about the truth. Max Brooks has cleverly weaved harsh reality and the bloody, horrifying fiction of zombie lore together in a book that actually makes you think about the consequences of mankind's actions - or lack thereof. 


P.S. World War Z is now being made into a feature film that stars Brad Pitt. I'm not really sure what role he'll be playing - there are a million of them in the book - but I'm excited to see how the movie turns out! (I'll be the person in the theater covering my eyes) 

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World War Z

Sidekick Tournament

Every Friday - from now until I run out of guest posts - I'll be tacking up posts from different bloggers. Why, you ask? Because sidekicks, or supporting characters, are often overlooked in favor of heroes or heroines! These posts are each written with the blogger's aim to sway you over to thinking that their sidekick is the best. Well, who you love the most is up to you, but you can enjoy the post below and enter the corresponding giveaway I'm having right here: Hunger Games Giveaway!

Today's guest post comes from the lovely Kris, who runs A Book From Snowy River 

Sidekick: Meredith Sulez (Vampire Diaries)

Why Kris LOVES her Sidekick –and why we should, too!

Meredith Sulez is an awesome 18 year old human character in the popular series, the Vampire Diaries. Known for being rational, smart, graceful and very skilled, she is best friends with Elena Gilbert and Bonnie. If you ask me, she is the perfect best friend – strong, fearless, loyal, independent, calm, caring and knows how to kick butt! Don’t let her non magical status fool you, she is actually a vampire hunter and has the skill to take them down. Not only that, but she is one of Fell’s Church most wanted girls – tall, olive, black hair and piercing dark eyes. Sadly for the boys in town, her boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman, the school’s history teacher won her first. You may think it’s odd with the age gap, but she is very mature.

The one thing that makes her even more amazing is that Damon admits he is afraid of her and you know if Damon is afraid, she is not someone to be messed with.

Damon and Meredith having a conversation about her spiked fighting stave:

“So you really don’t know how to use it?”

“i’d just started practising when Shinichi turned up. But, no, I don’t really have a clue. I’m just pretty good with a bo staff, though, so I just use it like that.”

“You didn’t use it like a bo staff on me.”

“I was hoping to persuade you, not kill you. I couldn’t think of how to explain to Elena that I’d broken all your bones.”

All in all, she is my favourite sidekick simply because she doesn’t try hard to be something she isn’t. She’s a normal girl that just happens to be skilled in defending her friends – in fact, if you compare her to the other girls, she is the strongest. You should love her too, because she is the glue in the group, keeps everyone strong and grounded. If it wasn’t for her, there are many moments they wouldn’t have survived. All stories need someone like Meredith.

‘Bonnie, I have a duty to help look out for everyone now,’ Meredith said simply.' 'Damon's dead. Stefan doesn’t want to hurt humans, and that handicaps him. Elena’s powers are gone. Even though the kitsune were defeated, we still need protection. We’ll always need to be careful.’

Meredith can also be found in the new episodes of the Vampire Diaires, as Meredith Fell, a doctor/vampire hunter. As we all know, the tv series doesn’t follow the books to the word, but there is no doubt Meredith’s strength and qualities in the book have been transferred to the tv character.

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Sidekick Tournament

Why We Broke Up

Min is breaking up with Ed. She has a lot of reasons for it, and she recounts them all in this book, in a letter to Ed, along with a few cute little illustrations of the objects that remind her of the episodes that lead up to the breakup. This book, which was authored by the man known to most people as Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), is honestly one of the worst books I've ever read in my life. And that, dear reader, is saying something. Because I have read many lousy books. 

What's so surprising is that somebody who wrote a series as utterly brilliant and fascinating as A Series of Unfortunate Events would write a book like this. I have no intention of being mean and I have nothing personally against the author. But the book was written in a way that made it extremely difficult to stay interested. First: dialog could go on for pages at a time with no break, and I would often forget who was talking. By extension, that dialog was often confusing. I felt like I was running in circles. Second: What was going on? The book was literally like trying to piece together a mosaic. I knew that something bad or exciting was happening, but because of the 'artistic" writing I couldn't quite put my finger on exactly what was going on, which means I was skipping paragraphs or pages to try and figure out what in the name of Lemony Snicket was happening. No, no, no! NEVER confuse the reader like that! Third: Why did Ed and Min really break up? I expected it to come in short snippets that led up to the breakup, but it basically came in one swoop at the end of the book, rather than building up to it. I mean, the book IS called 'Why We Broke Up." So am I recommending this book? No, although somebody might like it. Somewhere. But it's sure not here.

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Why We Broke Up

Hunger Games Giveaway!

“There is no place for a girl on fire.”

You know who I’m quoting. Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of Suzanne Collins’ brilliant series, The Hunger Games, which spans 3 books. The movie adaptation was just released on March 23^rd. Being the completely normal, totally not-obsessed person that I am with the series, I was there on the first day of opening, in the morning. It was brilliant. Everything was spot on, and the directors and actors were as true to the book as they could possibly be. And let me tell you: if Hollywood makes more movies like this, their lukewarm box office sales will definitely heat up.

Since I love The Hunger Games, I want to give you guys an opportunity to snag a copy of this awesome book that is now an equally awesome movie. 
So I'm giving away a $10 gift card for Amazon to one lucky winner!!! (Feel free to happy dance.) 
You can find the book on Kindle for 5 bucks, or you can pick up some awesome Hunger Games apparel, magazines or even a replica Mockingjay pin. (I'd so go for the pin. It'd look great on a business suit lapel. Not that I'm trying to send a message or anything. *cough*) You can enter in the easy breezy rafflecopter form below, and don't worry - this is an International giveaway!

'Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!'


Terms: The gift card can be used to purchase these items. I am just suggesting them, but you can buy whatever you want! :) 

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Hunger Games Giveaway!