A quick update

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted anything recently. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic for me since I was wrapping up my summer job and internship. Trying to relearn several hundred kanji hasn't helped things either. BUT. I am now back at school now and classes start tomorrow, so I'll be on a more defined schedule and able to update regularly again.

I also noticed that in my absence a couple of people actually gave me blog awards! That's super nice of you guys, and I'm really sorry that I haven't thanked you sooner. I'll be doing a *proper* thank you post soon, and spreading the awards around then.

Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Title: Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Author: Beth Fantaskey
Pages: 384

“Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica’s Senior Year “get-a-life-plan".

Enter a bizarre new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu who claims that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth and he’s her long-lost fiancé. He’s arrogant, officious, embarrassingly overprotective, and well, incredibly hot.

Armed with a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health and Emotions, Jessica tries to imagine the transition from an average American teenager to a glam European vampire princess. But just when things tart to heat up with Lucius, a devious cheerleader sets her sights on him.

Soon Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war- and save Lucius’s soul from eternal damnation. All of which leaves her to wonder: Wouldn’t life be easier if she could just fall for a nice mortal boy?”

~description taken from jacket cover

For those of you skimming, I'll say it now: Go out and buy this book. I made the mistake of getting it from the library, and now I have to wait a few weeks to have my own copy. Do yourself a favor and get your own.

Jessica, also called Antanasia, is one of the most appealing narrators I’ve ever encountered. She’s smart, honest, and most importantly, you really feel for her. When something goes right for Jessica, you cheer, and when something goes wrong you cry with her. I was entirely enthralled with the storyline, only putting it down when outside circumstances necessitated it. Even the ‘normal’ moments that weren’t especially climactic seemed it, simply because I was so interested in what happened to Jessica. This raw, emotional tie is incredibly difficult to pull off, and is what, in my opinion, truly makes a book great.

However, Jessica isn’t the only reason I love this book. I also attribute it to Lucius (or Luscious, as I like to call him... terrible pun). Lucius is nowhere near a perfect hero, but he is perfect for Jessica. He makes plenty of rude remarks about the American farmland Jessica’s grown up in, but she refuses to take any smack and hands it right back to him. Even from their first encounter in Jessica’s barn, you can literally feel the chemistry popping in the air when she stabs him in the foot with a pitchfork.

Seems a bit extreme? Just wait until you experience Lucius- you’ll understand then (and yes, he isn’t just a character, but an experience). Some of his lines are hilarious but others make you want to punch him in the face. But after you do that you want to snuggle with him all night long. Basically, he’s irresistible. One of the few heroes who you know you’ll still be fantasizing about months after you flip the last page.

The bad with this book? I couldn’t find any hints towards a sequel. There’s a brief epilogue story on the author’s website that I’m saving for when I’ve had a terrible day. Other than that, I’m not sure if there’s any planned continuation. The only consolation is that the author has published another novel, Jekel Loves Hyde, that I'll be picking up as soon as possible.

Grade: 5/5

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Title: Extraordinary
Author: Nancy Werlin
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory's ...more

Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory's magnetic older brother, Ryland, shows up during their junior year. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe, but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself. Soon she'll discover the shocking truth about Ryland and Mallory: that these two are visitors from the faerie realm who have come to collect on an age-old debt.

Generations ago, the faerie queen promised Pheobe's ancestor five extraordinary sons in exchange for the sacrifice of one ordinary female heir. But in hundreds of years there hasn't been a single ordinary girl in the family, and now the faeries are dying. Could Phoebe be the first ordinary one? Could she save the faeries, or is she special enough to save herself?

I think this one sounds really cool! Plus, the cover design is absolutely gorgeous, which always recommends a book to me. ;D

Master Review List

A
Academy 7
Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic Book 2)
Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex

B

C
Clarity

D

E
Everlasting

F
Forest Born

G

H
Hush, Hush

I
The Iron King

J
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

K

L
Looking for Alaska
The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus Book 1)

M

N
Never Cry Werewolf

O

P
Princess Ben
Q
R

S

Sing Me to Sleep

T

U
Un Lun Dun

V

W
Wildthorn

X
Y
Z

Read-a-Thon Update

Technically the read-a-thon started yesterday, but I haven't had time to do an official starting post until now. Here's a pic I took of the books I want to finish this weekend:

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

I had started Dracula before the read-a-thon started, but haven't finished it. So, I won't count that one towards any contests, but I still want to get it under my belt. And btw, did you notice I said the word 'contests'? It's because there's quite a few going on. Check out the picture at the top of those post and enter the read-a-thon yourself. It's not too late!!!