Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead
Release Date:
June 12, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Library

Summary

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?(courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Richelle Mead knows how to deliver. In Bloodlines, she created a fascinating backdrop where vampires masquerade among humans at a boarding school. A prominent Moroi royal is in danger and is being hidden here in Palm Springs. Sydney the Alchemist is tasked with concealing the identities Jill and the other moroi and dhampirs. It makes for some great plot lines, but who am I kidding? Why am I really reading this series? Two words: Sydney. Adrian.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Manga Mondays #127: Afterschool Charisma vol. 1 by Kumiko Suekane

Manga Mondays Meme!

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Afterschool Charisma vol. 1 by Kumiko Suekane


Summary

History repeats itself... Or does it? St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school: all of the students are clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon, Mozart, and Freud. All of them, that is, except for Shiro Kamiya. As Shiro struggles to adapt to this unusual campus, St. Kleio's first graduate, the clone of John F. Kennedy, is killed. Are the clones doomed to repeat the fate of their genetic progenitors, or can they create their own destinies? And how does a normal boy like Shiro fit in? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

Can you imagine a school made up entirely of clones? Not just any clones, but the clones of infamous historical figures. From the revered (Florence Nightingale) to the talented (Mozart and Marie Curie) to the hated (Hitler). St. Kleio Academy has them all. Except for Shiro. He's the son of the academy director and the only non-clone in school.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #121

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins
Release Date:
March 13, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Source: Library

Summary

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?(courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

In a world crowded with paranormal romance, an author has to work really hard to stand out. Rachel Hawkins does just that with her Hex Hall series. How? Humor. Snark. Like many well done paranormal romances, the Hex Hall series features a well developed world, a surprising plot, likable characters, and an enticing romance. But the use of dry wit alongside life threatening scenarios in a way that complements the tension rather than seeming out of place makes the Hex Hall series special.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Twilight of the Future: What's Next for the Cast?

This is a departure from my normal book related discussion posts. As you all know, I'm a huge Twilight fan. I love the books as well as the movies, despite recognizing the faults in both.

I was trying to come up with a discussion topic for today and I kept thinking about Breaking Dawn 2 and what the major actors are going to do next. Whether their careers will last beyond the final Twilight. So I thought it would be fun to discuss each of the actors in turn. I'm going to guess about their future success or lack thereof in Hollywood plus a few (somewhat cutting) comments about my personal opinions of them.

Oldie but goodie photo
Edward and Bella: Rob and Kristen

I'm tacking them together, because my assessment is basically the same and they always seem to be a pair anyway. I think they stand the greatest chance of having long, successful careers. A lot of people criticize their acting, but I think they play the roles they're given quite well. Neither of them are particularly emotive and both are rather awkward. Luckily, there are quite a few roles where the characters' personalities are awkward and non-demonstrative. Kristen especially is different than most of the young actresses who are either bubbly gum cheery or tearing off their clothes sexy. She fits a niche that Hollywood appears to be looking for right now.

They both seem to be making the right moves to position themselves in the Business. By aligning themselves with couture designers (Balenciaga for Kristen and Dior for Rob), they give off an aura of refinement that is different from many of their peers who fall over themselves to front a cheap (quality and/or cost) line of clothing or perfume. As for the whole couple thing, I don't know whether that helps or hurts them. Part of me thinks its all staged for publicity. It looks quite suspicious. On the other hand, they sure went out of their way to hide it for a long time. Plus, the gossip columnist I consider most reliable (Lainey Gossip) says that all her sources indicate that it's real.

Jacob: Taylor

What a sweet kid. Unlike many viewers, I do not swoon over Taylor. He's good-looking, definitely, but the ten year age difference makes me look at him with an "Aww, how cute...pat on the head" mindset. He seems like such a nice boy. Unfortunately, I think the piece of lint I just flicked off my sleeve acts as well as he does. And judging by the abysmal reviews his action movie Abduction received, Hollywood agrees. I hope he's able to take some good acting lessons, make a turn around, and find success. He has the looks and fitness of an action star. A kid as good as him deserves to do well...but only if he figures out how to act.

Alice: Ashley

Ashley tries. Tries what you might ask? Whatever it takes, I'm guessing. She has had more non-Twilight roles than most of the other supporting actors. But I don't know if she'll be able to parlay that into a successful career. I think her problem is that she's the opposite of Kristen - she's just like every other young Hollywood actress. She's very pretty, she's sweet yet sultry, etc. Her acting is just fine, but I haven't seen anything that makes her stand out. Not that it matters, but I can't decide whether I like her as a person. She's hard to read. I picture her as (a) the super nice girl next door who'd be your best friend or (b) the snobby mean girl who turns her nose up at you if you don't meet her impossible standards of perfection.

Jasper: Jackson

I would love to see Jackson do well. He is such a cool guy. Funny, handsome, talented, really charismatic. I don't know if he has much lined up outside of Twilight anymore. I hope he finds more roles. He seems like a good actor - or at least as good as the other young actors. And he has that nameless "something" that makes you want to watch him more. He left his band 100 Monkeys last year. I wonder what was behind that. I'm thinking that getting his girlfriend pregnant put a major kink into his plans. I sure hope he's able to move beyond it and find success.

Rosalie: Nikki

Nikki intrigues me. She's been typecast as the edgy bad girl for almost her entire career. She has the attitude to play such roles well. But she also seems like a smart, cool, fun girl. Not saccharine sweet in the way that Ashley comes off. I'm surprised that she hasn't gotten more significant roles. I see her as a character actor, not a leading lady, but I still figured she'd be out there more. I do think that she was foolish to get married so young (not that I can talk much, since Nikki married at 23 and I got married at 25. It just feels a lot younger). I wonder if that will negatively affect her career. Or positively affect it. I don't know.

Emmett: Kellan

Personality wise, I lump Kellan in with Ashley. Both come off like sweet, fun loving people, but not distinctive. Hot, uber built, testosterone driven, action star wannabes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. What sets Kellan apart from the crowd? Nothing, as far as I can tell. Like Taylor, Kellan seems like a nice guy. And because of that, I hope he'll do well. But other than a remake of Tarzan and a few tiny things, I don't really see anything leading in that direction.

Carlisle and Esme: Peter and Liz

Just like Edward and Bella, the "parents" are similar to me. Peter and Liz were relatively established character actors when they started filming Twilight. Their roles in Twilight were basically supporting character roles. They're roles outside of Twilight have been character roles. I see them continuing to have moderately successful careers mainly outside of the spotlight. Liz never seems to like the attention from Twilight which I presume is why she was hardly ever interviewed. I don't know much about her, but she seems decent. Peter clearly loved the attention and interaction with fans. He's always struck me as a really cool, outgoing, fun guy. I sure think it's sad that he and his wife split up. Unfortunately, it's unusual to see Hollywood couples last as long as they did and they still came to the same end as most.

What do you think about the actors' futures?

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Release Date:
April 3, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Source: Library

Summary

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?(courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

I Hunt Killers is a perfect Halloween read. There are no ghosts or zombies or vampires. Rather, it features gritty murders, a possibly unreliable narrator, and more details than I ever thought I’d know about how to kill a person. Holly Black said after reading this book: “I no longer want to be left alone with Barry Lyga.” That was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I see what she’s saying.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Manga Mondays #126: Skip Beat vol. 27 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Manga Mondays Meme!

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Skip Beat! vol. 27 by Yoshiki Nakamura


Summary

Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Kyoko’s having trouble getting into the role of Cain’s sister. But is it because she can’t relate to a spoiled punk princess, or because she can’t let go of the fact that Ren is playing Cain? And Ren faces his own challenge with the situation. Can he stand to have the woman he loves treat him like a brother?(courtesy of the back cover and Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

Ren and Kyoko are busy becoming Cain and Setsu (on an unrelated note, I wonder if "Setsu" is pronounced Set-soo or Sets, since the "u" is often silent in anglicized Japanese words). Kyoko gets hit on by a bunch of scruffy looking hoodlooms who want to take her home and have a good time. Kyoko as Setsu says she doesn't have a problem with that, but they'd have to get past her big brother first.