Follow and Advocate Announcement!

Q: Birthday Wishes — Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake…who is it and what book are they from??

OMG - Really? I'm such a floozy when it comes to this - but it actually fits my announcement! I would pick Magnus Bane from either the ID or TMI series! Why Magnus? I love his style- I never know what he is going to be wearing, but it is never less than perfection. I love how he is extremely loyal to his lovers and eventually the heroes of the book like: Will, Alex, Clary, Jace, and Tess. 

Plus can you imagine the stories that he would have to tell. I bet a person could listen to him for hours about the things he has to say and the things he have seen!

So what is my announcement? The wonderful sisters of The YA Sisterhood have chosen me as Magnus's advocate for the 2nd YA Crush Tourney! Yep - I get to shout to the roof tops how awesome Magnus is! Yeah - I couldn't ask for an easier job!!!

How can you not want to vote for him?

Keep an eye out for all the voting that will be going on! If you don't follow them already - I suggest you do!

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been  looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves  that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

I have never read a mermaid book before and this was a wonderful one to start with. We start by meeting Emma with her face glued by sweat to the hottie that is Galen. Hello Galen. Nice to meetchaya. I love when authors do this, make our heroines or heroes go through an embarrassing  moment, that could really happen. First I laugh then I say, that could have been me, thank Jesus it wasn't! Because of this Emma is likable from the beginning. (Yeah, Galen too).

In the very first chapter, so it's not a spoiler, Chloe, Emma's best friend is killed (didn't see it coming to the extent it played out too). This impacts Emma heavily but because of this and Emma's actions during the attack, Galen is almost certain that Emma is one of them. So he does what any normal teen would do, he moves to Jersey to figure it out. 

Galen causes quite a stir at Emma's high school and the she is loathe to admit it, with her too. Galen doesn't know how to act around Emma, but it is clear that he only has eyes for her, but her stubborn side refuses to awknowledge anything he says until they basically go on a field trip to the bottom of the ocean and she can "function" normally. The attraction starts to build and then they figure out Emma has a gift that makes her extremely special, like special enough for Galen's kingdom that he can never have her, even if he is the prince of his kingdom. So there are a lot miscommunications and Emma really believes that he is just curious about her, that it's plutonic, but poor Galen - his hands are tied! GAH!

As far as characterization goes, Galen seems unchanging in his qualities. Emma, however, becomes more confident and sassy as the story goes on, but it's not done immediately. She grows into it. 

Toraf - haha - love him - the kiss scene - haha. 

The ending - SPOILER-ISH - 

I thought that Grom was going to want to marry Emma and Galen was going to have sit back and watch the ceremony - though looking back now, Emma would never have allowed the ceremony to take place. 

I also thought that some how Nalia was going to be Emma somehow - hey, it was a possibility. 

I did not see, though I should have, how it was going to end.

Then Wa Bam! The ending cliffhanger sentence! Yep - now I don't know what to think.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.


Ms. Oliver got the "love" thing correct. Love makes you make terrible choices, do things you never would, act in foolish ways. Then we meet Lena, who absolutely agrees that love is a disease and the way Oliver describes it, why wouldn't someone believe that?

Lena is at a point in her life that she is waiting for the procedure that makes it (mostly) impossible to fall in love. She is being interviewed and tested so she finds her match that is suitable and it is all Lena wants. Except during her interview, Lena doesn't answer the way she is supposed. She doesn't give them "sunshine-y" answers.

And while she is in her interview she meets Alex, an "invalid", a wild boy, and someone Lena cannot stay away from, though she really does try, but her best friend gets in trouble, and she is slightly curious.

Ms. Oliver also got the "love" thing correct half way through. Love makes the world rose colored and perfect. I still remember the first boy I had a crush on, my first love, I mean, who doesn't?  It was great to see Lean fall in love.

My one gripe with the book was the action in the book. Clearly, I knew Lena was going to rally against the government. I like that. I just didn't think the book showed anything. Though Alex was extremely heroic and brave, I needed like 50 more pages of Lena rallying or making a plan. At this point, I don't know for sure if Lena is going to do something.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

I thought Mara's disclaimer, at the beginning, was awesome! I was pulled right in. I wanted to know about her "body count" and why the lawyer said change your name, and what high school student needs a lawyer?!

Something that worked really well, that doesn't always in novels, were the flashbacks. They were such teases. They gave the reader and Mara just enough to make us think we were going to get an answer, and then shut the door in our faces. Keeps a person wanting more.

Something that didn't sit well with me, but was rectified, was Noah's change for Mara. He had the rep - love the rep - and then all of a sudden went down the love road and was a one woman USO. However, 2/3s through, Noah tells Mara why he is all about her. I didn't see them being so closely linked. I thought he was just the hott dude in the story.

I feel bad for Mara throughout this whole story. To imagine you killed your best friend. To not know what happened. To burn your arm under piping hot water because you think you lost your mom's earrings but they are stuck in your ear. Then - she starts to see the dead. I honestly wondered if this book was going to end with her being committed.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I heard this was based off of a fairy tale, 12 dancing princesses?, and I had never read it, so I didn't know a thing. I saw a pretty dress and was hooked. I would have so worn that dress to prom. Anyone else?

I loved the concept of a dating contest, much like the reality television shows that have dominated the first decade of this century, ones that I am guilty of watching. Flavor Flav! I immediately liked America, one for her name and what it stood for, and the fact she didn't care that Aspen was a 6 and she was a 5. She wasn't going to judge someone based on their number, but on their qualities, which I believe is essential to a great heroine.

America isn't thrilled about being selected, but Aspen insists on it, and she goes along with it because she loves him. Except, right before America leaves Aspen turns into a jerk. In fact, I will say, throughout the entire book, I did not like Aspen. He's selfish and that is unacceptable for America.

Maxon, poor guy, dating for the first time, on national television? How embarrassing! Do you remember those awkward moments? Eesh, wouldn't go back to it, ever. I did love the first kiss. I thought the whole scene was super sweet and innocent. I loved how he dealt with America's funny moments, like yelling at him, and how they have a secret sign, and how quickly they became friends. I generally like him.

Celeste - what a great character to hate.

What about the rebels - I need to know more!

I will say, my biggest problem with the book, was the story just started to get juicy and "meaty" when it was over. I felt like I was being cut off at the knees. I need more. Like a hundred pages more! It may just be me being greedy.

Great book!

Why I never get anything don.

You know - I have big plans for myself - huge ones but I never seem to get as much as I want done - like finishing my manuscript by April 30, June 1. So why does this happen to me. I came up with five things.

The first Mia. She's 95 lbs of I-want-my-mom-to-love-me. She will crawl up into my lap, on my wheelie chair, and send me rolling across the room.











The second my job - yeah - kind of important. We have a very successful Powder Puff game this week. I would like to mention that as a Powder Puff coach, I have never lost.

The third, books. You may not know this about me, but I like to read a lot. In fact, I get downright obsessive about books, series, and authors, and do nothing else.

The fourth - food. I LOVE TO EAT. I love to cook. I love to eat what I cook. I have to clean up the hurricane that goes through my kitchen every time I cook. hmmm... food. Speaking of which.

 The fifth - sparkly things.

So those are my distractions - what are yours?

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.



I was hooked by the fact that Juliette can't touch people and by the mention of X-men. (Recently I have embraced my inner comic book geek.)

I was super intrigued by how Mafi wrote the novel, with Juliette scratching out her inner-most thoughts. I thought, this was a wonderful way to let us know what Juliette was really thinking and wanting, but how she still edited her thoughts. I think a lot of us are guilty of this.

How horrible for this girl to have to go through with this - ROGUE - but she is not "Rogue". So we meet her, and she is trapped in a psych ward/prison with no human contact, and in the beginning, I kind of thought she was mad. Then we meet her cell mate - who is super up to something and Juliette knows him - but doesn't know if he knows her.  But that has it's own mystery that I shall not reveal to you.

Then we meet Warner - creepy, truly mad, in power, in love with Juliette. He's a great villain because, he's creepy, master plan in place, the ability to see it through, and he legitimately believes he is right. When he speaks, you can tell he really wants Juliette by his side to rule.  Juliette, I don't think at any point, wants to be the weapon that Warner wants. It never tempts. She sees it as her becoming the monster that people have always thought she was.

Steamy, steamy scenes with Adam. Steamy. Yep.

The end - is totally X-men-Esq and I can't wait for the sequel!

What were your thoughts?

Also check out my current giveaway here.