Writing Belle

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pure

Alex is back and better than ever in Pure. She's training with Aiden to fight daimons (Aiden is aka as the very, very swoonworthy Instructor who she is forbidden to fall in love with. Why? He's a pure-blood and she's a half blood) and her destiny is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Seriously. She's going to be the next Apollyon, which is a god-killer. Pretty cool, right? What's even cooler is that the other Apollyon, and also her other half, Seth, might just be the next/other/alternate love of her life. Or is he? Somebody is trying to kill Alex before she becomes the Apollyon, there's an entire slew of Daimon attacks going on and Aiden is kind of giving her the cold shoulder. So not cool for a dude who was very into her just last summer.
Let's hope Alex can fight her way through all these problems. (Knowing her, I'm going to assume she'll do just fine.)

You would seriously think that there is absolutely no way that Jennifer L. Armentrout could keep her books so continually heart-pounding and entertaining, but guess what? This book is just as entertaining and witty as Half Blood. I adore Alex's sense of humor. I was laughing out loud and my brother was giving me all kinds of weird looks. It was awesome. Everything is fast-paced and Alex is one of those heroines that kicks butt on a regular basis. You know. Some people take their vitamins daily. Alex beats people up daily. There is nothing cooler than that. Profanity and a little too much canoodling (yes, that is a word. Believe it.) were 2 things I didn't like about the book but I have nothing else to comment on! Team Alex.... :)

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Friday, April 20, 2012

200 Follower Giveaway!

What is UP, my fellow readers/writers and book lovers? May is almost upon us, and you know what that means? That’s RIGHT! There are 5 amazing new books that will soon be released (or have been released) into the YA world. And because I love you all so much, I’m hosting a 200 Follower Giveaway to show my appreciation for all my readers (and future readers, hehe). The winner of this giveaway will get to choose one of the brand new releases to take home, cradle, read, cherish, wear out, lend, read again, and again, and again…you get the idea. Check this out:

City of Lost Souls, by Cassandra Clare

(My personal favorite fantasy YA series of the moment)

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

(My go-to alternative to the Hunger Games. Pure epicness.)

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore

(Bitterblue was my favorite character in Graceling. This is just TOO cool!)

Switched, by Amanda Hocking

(I'm actually going to read this soon. I'm psyched!)

Until I Die, by Amy Plum

(The Sequel to Die for Me. Hopefully there's plenty of our French beau inside...)

Have you made your choice? Which one of these books would YOU like to take home? I could personally take home every single one of them and read them in a week without difficulty. But hey. Maybe I’m just weird. To enter to win one of these pretty babies, just sign up on the Rafflecopter form below.

I wish you good luck. J

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Legend

Day is the Republic's most wanted criminal - but he cannot be captured. June, on the other hand, is the Republic's most prestigious, brilliant military cadet. She is a prodigy. Cold, deadly and efficient. But when her brother is killed and Day is the prime suspect for the crime, she vows to hunt him down and seek her revenge. Everything is pretty cut and dried...or is it? The Republic may not be all that it seems, and Day may not be the criminal that June believes him to be. In fact, her entire life might be nothing but a web of lies.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced. Every page and sentence moved the story forward. The contrasting personalities of Day and June were great - and yet they were the same in so many ways, which I think was very clever on the author's part. I've heard that this book is a modern dystopian spin on Les Miserables. That's true, but it's a lot more exciting than Les Mis (no offense to Victor Hugo. I still love him.). The only teeny qualm I had was that June was flawless. And by flawless I mean she never lost a fight, never had to struggle with her abilities or take a beating and then rise back up. She was a little too perfect...and that was a little unbelievable. But hey, I'm not a stingy critic. I like girls that can take care of themselves and give boys a run for their money. Who doesn't? (don't answer that, boys) So basically I'm saying that Legend is a great book that everybody should read. Like right now. Seriously. Read it. Marie Lu is one extremely talented lady.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Under the Never Sky

Aria has lived in a Pod her entire life, in a protected virtual world where nothing bad can ever happen to her. Seriously. Fingernails aren't even allowed to grow too long. Split ends? Say it isn't so! Fever? Blasphemy. It's a perfect world...or is it? When Aria gets kicked out of her Pod, and into the real world, or what is called the "Death Shop" (and let's face it, that is a very accurate term), she teams up with a "Savage" outsider Perry to find her missing mother and to survive the dangerous forests and deserts of the outside world.

My feelings were mixed about this book. And no, it's not just because I can be a slightly emotionally complicated person. It's because I didn't warm up to the story until a little more than halfway through the novel. There were two reasons. One, it took me a long time to get into the swing of the futuristic lingo. What does "Aether," 'Sciri" 'Scent,' 'Pod,' 'Dweller,' 'Smartkey,' and so forth mean? I dislike it when you have to re-read pages over and over again to try and figure out what the author is conveying. Make it simple, please. Assume your audience isn't a technological genius and move on from there. Second, the main characters were very dark and non-relatable until they started showing their personality. Little glimmers of humor or humanity, so to speak, was when I really started to enjoy the story. When Roar - a funny supporting character - jumped in, the conversation kicked off and things got more interesting. So what am I really saying here? I liked this book. Definitely. But it wasn't my cup of tea until the halfway point.

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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Angelfire

Ellie has nightmares. Not just slightly scary, run-from-spiders nightmares, but flashbacks. Memories of dying over and over again and fighting heinous creatures known as Reapers. As it turns out, she has been reincarnated over the centuries and she is, in fact, a warrior. Seriously, the girl knows how to handle a sword. Or two. But it's not that simple. She doesn't remember everything from her previous lives: not her super hot guardian, Will, or that there is an Apocalypse coming and a big creature called the Enshi is probably going to eat her soul for brunch. Yup. The fate of the world is in Ellie's hands...and just last week she was worried about passing her lit test. How things change.

I loved, loved, loved this book! Sometimes I get so disappointed reading book after book that doesn't live up to its reputation, but this novel...whoa. I ADORE heroines who are tough, witty and can take care of themselves. Ellie is a confident girl who can kick major butt before breakfast while dealing with all of the things a normal teenage girl has to deal with. Like saving the universe from an Apocalypse. Totally normal stuff. Her guardian, Will, is completely swoon-worthy and entirely lovable with his old-fashioned sense of honor and loyalty. It's awesomeness incarnate. In addition, Ellie's sense of humor is brilliant. The story moves quickly and I wasn't bored for a moment. I didn't skim or skip at all. Every chapter counted and I enjoyed it all. Courtney Allison Moulton has taken fantasy, humanized it, and created a spunky heroine with a thrilling story. Long story short: all that hype you've heard about Angelfire? It's true. All of it. Read the book - you'll be happy you did!

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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Hunger Games Giveaway! Who Won?

May the odds be ever in your favor! Yup. The Hunger Games Giveaway has come to an end and it is therefore time for me to pick a winner. Or rather, for Rafflecopter to pick a winner. The computer does a much better job than I do. So the winner of the $10 Gift Card for Amazon to use on Hunger Games stuff is..... entry #560: Dianna B! Congratulations, and thanks a million to everybody who entered!!

(The Rafflecopter Announcement is below)

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Sidekick Tournament

Good afternoon, peeps! It's Friday, so it looks like I'm posting another tournament guest post. This time our sidekick advocate is Summer Day. She's advocating Laurie, from Little Women as her favorite supporting character, so I'll let her take it away and you can all decide if Laurie is worthy of your admiration!

Name: Summer Day

Authored: Pride and Princesses. You can purchase her book here!

Blog: Pride and Princesses

Favorite Sidekick: LAURIE from LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott

For those of you who aren't familiar with Laurie...

Okay readers, for all intents and purposes Laurie is actually a major character in Little Women, disguised in parts of the novel as a sidekick! The narrative is largely driven by the March sisters. It is through their eyes that Laurie (a gorgeous, intelligent, rich, handsome, loving and kind next door neighbour) enters the picture. Laurie struggles with his grandfather’s ‘plans’ for his future just as Jo struggles with society’s expectations of a traditional ‘little woman!’ Both Jo and Laurie are outspoken and kind and many readers (including this one) always felt they were ‘made for each other.’ (Just like Damon and Elena in The Vampire Diaries…well, not quite, but you know what I mean…)

Why Readers Should Love and Appreciate Laurie

He has many of the good qualities of a great boyfriend & amazing husband. Plus, he’s kind of heroic – saving Amy, allowing the sisters to make him part of their ‘secret society’ – at least in the film (!) After confessing his love to Jo (and being rejected by her) he goes off to Europe, meets Amy (Jo’s youngest sister) and makes a commitment to her! Even if he didn’t end up with his first love, Jo, instead of sulking forever, he eventually becomes the brother the other March sisters always wanted.

Why I Love Laurie and Why You Should Too!

Okay, at this point I have to say Christian Bale in Gillian Armstrong’s film version (with Winona Ryder as Jo and Kirsten Dunst as young Amy) is, to me, the definitive Laurie. It is hard to separate the written word character with Bale’s charming portrayal. The reason I love this character is that he portrays many of the characteristics that make a good boyfriend or husband. He has warmth, humour, loyalty, protectiveness (remember when he saves Amy after she goes skating at the frozen lake?) but most of all kindness. Laurie also grows in maturity throughout the novel and even though he marries Amy, thus becoming part of the March family, he always remains Jo’s ‘dear friend’. That said, this reader is sure in another universe, Jo and Laurie were made for each other…I guess the planets needed to align!

Little known fact

Little Women was originally published in two parts. In between the publication of Part One and Part Two the author (Alcott) received letters from readers requesting that Jo marry Laurie. Alcott responded by having Laurie and Jo marry… just not each other!