tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327777441597853052024-03-14T09:12:19.556-07:00The Result of BoredomLionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-26757210394994118902013-02-11T00:00:00.000-08:002013-02-11T00:00:18.854-08:00[Review] Prodigy by Marie Lu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.<br /><br />It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. <br /><br />But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?<br /><br />In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.</i></span><div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST BOOK ARE IN THIS REVIEW SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GENERAL</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This book is... interesting. I've looked at a couple other reviews and most of the reviewers appear to have loved it so I was a little surprised when I didn't like it as much. It's possible that the insertion of a [useless] love triangle annoyed me enough that the rest of the book wasn't as fun to read. I remember really, really loving <i>Legend</i> so this is a little unfortunate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>PLOT</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Basically June and Day accept a job with the Patriots in exchange for them healing Day's infected knee wound and helping Day find Eden (his younger brother, remember?). At this point of time the old Elector dies and there is a plan in place assassinate the new Elector. June was someone Alden (the new Elector) appeared be romantically attracted to when he met her as the Republic's Prodigy and so she is sent in to infiltrate his inner circles and gain his trust while pretending she is incredibly sorry for setting Day free and that it was a mistake. She also is supposed to set him up for the assassination. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The plot and what was going to happen was really guessable. The author expressed the emotions of the characters in a way that made it fairly obvious what was going to happen (I guess that could be a good thing but it doesn't really leave many surprises). It also had that YA-y type of "surprising" plot twists so it wasn't very surprising. The real surprise lay in wait where I expected the surprises to stop occurring >.></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CHARACTERS</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>June</u>: She was basically the same old June Ipris with the amazing military skills. Her importance in the assassination plan made her the turning point in this story since so much depended on her.</span><br />
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<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: Day was also basically the same (even though he got a bit confused when a love triangle popped up in his life). He was the amazing, kind-hearted, passionate Runner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Alden</u>: He's the new Elector and appears to be kinder and more passionate about his country that his father ever was. However, he <i>is</i> the symbol of repression and that doesn't bode well for him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Kaede</u>: Kaede is a really, super-cool pilot for the Patriots. Although she is not as important of a character as June, Day, or Alden she sticks out with her personality. She might be my favorite character because of all the risks she takes for the things/people she cares about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LOVE TRIANGLES</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the three main love triangles. They are numbered in order of importance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WRITING STYLE</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Marie Lu had an interesting way of writing the book for two different viewpoints. Day's thoughts were fairly coarse and not cleaned up much, while June was very sophisticated and centered. These portray their backgrounds nicely, and I think she did well of the differentiation. On the other hand, I really disliked the color scheme of the text in this book. The light blue was a really weird contrast with the black. It was a light blue for Day and black for June. Also the font was different >.> It was just annoying me a bit while reading =.= There are pictures at the bottom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>THE ENDING</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The ending to this book was pretty interesting and <i>does</i> set up nicely for a third book. The little twist in the end makes me curious about what's in store for the Republic, and so I will probably actually read it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>COVER COMMENTARY</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Ohmygod the cover is gorgeous ^.^ The color scheme and the way the eagle appears to be a stencil type spraypainted thing ♥</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WARNINGS FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO READ THIS BOOK</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> There are mentions of a homosexual relationship between some of the characters. This doesn't bother me, but if you don't like even reading about that or don't want your child reading something like that, you should skim over pages 103-104 (in the hardcover copy).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I'm actually kinda happy that Marie Lu was brave enough to put even mentions of a homosexual relationship in a popular YA book. YA tends to skirt around the edges of anything that could be controversial. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>All in all, I would give this book 3 stars out of 5.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ALSO:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next book is supposed to be called <i>Champion</i> and is supposed to be released in 2014. No cover has been released as of this date.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PICTURES OF THE WRITING</span></b></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-21962990789504177522012-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:002012-10-14T00:00:02.552-07:00Cover Reveal! DARK NEBULA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hai! This is my first cover reveal, so I'm pretty excited :D The cover looks awesome too so my happiness is complete ^.^ I've read the first book in this series, <i>Rae of Hope</i>, and it's awesome stuff. You can find my review for it <a href="http://psychicpixie.blogspot.com/2012/04/RaeofHope.html">here</a> ;)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BOOK TITLE:<i> DARK NEBULA</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">AUTHOR: WJ MAY</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2012</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Book Description: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nothing is as it seems anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. looks Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon— the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness fade into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Has her destiny been written? Or will she becomes the one thing she hates the most-- her father’s prodigy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>~<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a>~~~~<a href="https://twitter.com/wanitajump" target="_blank">TWITTER</a>~~~<a href="http://www.wanitamay.yolasite.com/" target="_blank">WEBSITE</a>~~~<a href="mailto:wanitamay@aol.com" target="_blank">EMAIL</a>~~~<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/wanitajump" target="_blank">BOOK TRAILERS</a>~~~<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/812657.W_J_May" target="_blank">GOODREADS</a>~</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">OH AND GUYS. GUESS WHAT? :P <i>Rae of Hope</i> (the first book in this series) is going to be free to download on Amazon on October 15th... And ladies and gentlemen, guess what? That's tomorrow! ;) You'll find it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rae-Hope-Chronicles-Kerrigan-ebook/dp/B005LJEVJQ/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC&qid=1329789966&sr=8-2" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-51310046352734163442012-09-04T16:01:00.001-07:002013-02-08T14:42:48.317-08:00School >.><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hai guys. School started today and that means I don't have as much time T_T</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">September will probably have irregular posts (if any) until I can get used to it... sorry :-/</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No one actually reads this stuff though, so I'm probably good xD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That emoticon needs to be changed from "^.^" to "x_x" but I'm too lazy :P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm also on a bunch of clubs so... :-/ (i.e. yearbook ^.^)</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-88882738816241645212012-09-03T00:00:00.000-07:002012-09-03T00:00:13.586-07:00[Review] Princess Academy by Shannon Hale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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High on the Slopes of Mount Eskel, Miri's family has lived forever, pounding a meager living from the stone of the mountain itself. Miri dreams of working alongside the others in the quarry, but she has never been allowed to work there--perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small.<br />
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Then word comes from the lowlands: the king's priests have divined that the prince's bride-to-be--the next princess--will come from Mount Eskel. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose his bride, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift academy to prepare for royal lowlander life.<br />
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At the school, Miri finds herself confronting both bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicted desires to be chosen. Yet when danger comes to the academy, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates-- and the chance for the future that each of them is eager to secure as her own.<br />
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My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/294942388">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This book was really good. At first, looking at the title, I thought that it would be about all these girls just being shaped up and that the book would be all girly :-/ My first thought was proven wrong, and I couldn't be more happy about that ^.^ This was the first book of Shannon Hale's that I read.<br />
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<strong>About the characters</strong><br />
The characters were well shaped- especially Miri. They had their own personalities, and weren't copies of each other (which sometimes happens). The more minor characters, such as Peder, Miri's father, and Marda, all had personalities as well. <br />
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The names were a bit odd, and I tripped over them at the beginning, but I got used to them.<br />
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<strong>About the Plot</strong><br />
The plot progressed well, and smoothly which was really nice. The details that were given weren't given in a harsh or rough manner. Basically the prince of their land was told that he had to choose a bride from Mount Eskel. All the girls from the ages of fourteen to seventeen were sent to an academy (still on the mountain) to learn royal manners. They learned a lot, and they also found ways to use what they learned in everyday life (such as they had been trading linder blocks for much less than they should have, even through Mount Eskel is the only place with linder and linder blocks are highly prized). Eventually though, bandits come in order to kidnap whichever girl was supposed to be the prince's bride. The snows block them in, and give the girls time to plan something. Everything snowballs from there.<br />
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<strong>The Writing Style</strong><br />
The book was written really well, and it didn't seem rough of harsh or anything. I especially liked how they transitioned everything to make the plot link together. I suppose I should have expected this from the fact that this is a Newbery Honor book, though. The poems at the beginning of each chapter were nice as well.<br />
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Although this is slightly out of context, I also really liked the font type in this book. It was really pleasant :P<br />
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<strong>The Ending</strong><br />
The ending made a lot of sense and was a happily ever after ending, so I really liked it. It would work well as a stand-alone novel, but it was left so that a sequel <em>could</em> be written if people wanted (and obviously a sequel did come out (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12926132.Palace_of_Stone" title="Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale">Palace of Stone</a>)<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I can't wait to read it ^.^</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">It has a different cover type from the first one, so a new cover was made for the first one...</span>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-10331618579824768632012-08-31T09:35:00.000-07:002012-08-31T09:35:00.121-07:00[Review] Everneath by Brodi Ashton <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her friends—before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. <br /><br />She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.<br /><br />Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.<br /><br />As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s..</i><br />
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My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/279630249">2 of 5 stars</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">... I really didn't like this book >.< I'm sorry. It was ok, I guess. It was much too dependent on the romance for it to be actually good... The cover is beautiful though ^.^</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE PLOT</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Basically Nikki is back in the normal world after she was sucked into an underworld where immortals steal her emotions and feelings. She has 6 months in the normal world until she is pulled back into the Everneath. She and her boyfriend from before start researching the Everlivings (the immortal people) and anything to do with the Everneath to see if she can avoid going back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard this was based on the Hades/Persophone myth... well I am disappointed in that as well. I expected it to be all interesting about Hades and Persephone or even if they just based it loosely, but really... no.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>NIKKI (THE MAIN CHARACTER)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She is... weak. She is relying on others for her life and her decisions affect others too much. First she went into the Feed because Cole could take her hurt feelings and bad feelings away. Because she saw someone else come out of her boyfriend's bedroom. During the Feed, right after she vanished, she ripped apart the lives of her friends and family. Then, after the Feed, she would sit all alone waiting for the Tunnels to come and take her again. Originally she Returned so she could say a proper goodbye to her friends and family, but she never actually did- she would've just disappeared again. She also started creating strong bonds with her friends and family, which would hurt them AGAIN to break. I guess her only piece of backbone is that she doesn't want to Feed off others because she knows the pain, and would take the Tunnels over it (where she would become a battery for the Everneath until she completely ran out of emotions and everything, and just... vanished).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>LOVE INTEREST #1: JACK</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jack was her boyfriend before the Feed as well and it was because of him she agreed to it. She thought he was cheating on her. When she disappeared it was him that anchored her so that she would remain young and sane, and it was him that sent out search parties and everything. After the Feed, Nikki starts getting closer to him again, and tells him <i>everything</i>. He works with her to find an alternative to the Tunnels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>LOVE INTEREST #2: COLE</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cole is the Everliving that took her down to the Everneath and fed off her. He took all her emotions and everything, and when he found she was still young and sane after it, he offered to make her an Everliving and to make her the Queen. He's basically chasing after her the entire book and ruining her attempts at normal life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE WRITING STYLE</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The writing is good, but the switching of time periods could be done much better. The first couple times I got really confused, because even though it was labeled, Nikki "sounded" completely the same before <i>and</i> after, although after the Feed she was supposed to be all emotionless and depressed and basically empty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE ENDING</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ending was a twist, but a foreseeable twist. The series had to work somehow and so obviously something like that had to happen. What had been given away a couple pages before helped secure what I thought would happen >.></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I suppose I'll read the other books even though I didn't like this one much because I would like to see if it get's better/more interesting (surprisingly enough, that's actually happened before).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was written very, very late at night/very, very early... ignore the posting time >.< Please tell me if something is incoherent. I should probably fix anything like that...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bye now :P</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-52816618468938441532012-08-29T10:30:00.000-07:002012-08-29T10:30:00.908-07:00[Review] The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><u style="background-color: red;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">VERSION/COVER #1</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>When homeschooled farm girl Piper McCloud reveals her ability to fly, she is quickly taken to a secret government facility to be trained with other exceptional children, but she soon realizes that something is very wrong and begins working with brilliant and wealthy Conrad to escape. <br /><br />"Piper decided to jump off the roof. It wasn't a rash decision on her part. This was her plan: Climb to the top of the roof, pick up speed by running from one end all the way to the other. Jump off. Finally, and most importantly, don't fall. She didn't make plans in the event she did fall, because if you jump off the roof of your house and land on your head, you really don't need any plans from that point on. Even Piper knew that. So that's what she did. She jumped clean off her roof. But before we get to what happens next, you'll probably need to know a thing or two about a thing or two..."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: red;"><b><u>VERSION/COVER #2</u></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>You just can’t keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods.<br /> <br />Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie.<br /> <br />Sure, she hasn’t mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she’s real good at loop-the-loops.<br /> <br />Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma’s at her wit’s end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents’ farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities.<br /> <br />School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.<br /> <br />Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a middle grade book. A really good middle grade book. When I first picked it up, I thought it could just be a book that I would read to clear my head of all confusion >.< It </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">did </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">help with that, but it was quite amazing- the plot, the character... EVERYTHING.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically it's about this girl that can fly. When her family finds out, they try to keep it a secret, but that just doesn't work so she goes to a top-secret government facility where she has been told she could hone her flying skills and learn other skills necessary for survival. Unfortunately, all does not go as it should and Piper learns that there are lies everywhere and works with her fellow classmates to have a getaway plan. She goes through many trials, and becomes stronger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Piper, in general, is an amazing character. She's happy most of the time and nice and sweet and all those good things. She's also inquisitive and curious about most things, which gets her into a lot of trouble. I really like her for her inner strength though- although there were many attempts to break her, at the end she was as strong as ever, maybe stronger, as well as wiser to the world around her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other characters are well written as well. You get to understand a lot about them, in the short book, as well as watch them grow through out the book. All the characters are quite dynamic xD </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plot is actually much better than I expected. It's well written and well thought out. It's a middle grade novel and some of the themes are themes of oppression, choices, and two-faced people (people not being what they seem).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ending is really nice- like a fairy-tale ending. It ends in happily ever after, although because of the way it's written, it seems as if this book should have a sequel. However, this book came out 2 years ago, and I think a sequel would've come out by now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, about the writing style- I liked it. It was written in a way that Piper would've though and spoke when it was in her POV and however the other person would've spoke it it had been their POV, and that was important to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this review does not seem completely coherent, it would be because I wrote it way too in the morning/too late at night... The times are blending together xD... Yay me? Don't pay attention to the time is <i>says</i> I published it.</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-61531725274087721742012-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:002013-02-09T17:07:11.268-08:00[Review] Cinder by Marissa Meyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl...<br /><br />Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/260327359">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was really hooked onto this book as soon as I started reading it xD Even if you don't read the rest of this, know this: this book is amazing and you should read it as soon as possible xD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the review ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Plot</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm doing the plot before the characters because I have a lot of character sections >.> Basically Cinder is part of a world ravaged by a disease called letumosis*. She is "volunteered" by her evil guardian to be part of the cyborg draft (which is cyborgs on who the antidotes are tested on). She is the only cyborg who has ever survived this process, since in all other the disease kills them. She becomes part of the team fighting letumosis on volunteer basis and they are able to use her blood. She is also friends with Prince/Emperor Kai who is the heir/ruler of New Beijing, and she has connections with him. When the Lunars come to meet with Kai to make a treaty (of which their request/order is marriage) she runs into them, and starts learning about her past BEFORE her cybernetic operation, and the Lunar Queen's plan to rule the world. With what she learns about herself, she knows she is the only one able to stop Queen Levana.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book is based really loosely on Cinderella, and it's probably better that way, because fairy-tale constraints would have hindered the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Ending</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ending was a cliffhanger, of course, and I really want to know what happens next. Cinder was awesome, and they just <i>left it there</i> D:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the Main Character</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cinder is a really strong girl, considering that she was able to survive the events of the book xD She survived many things others couldn't, even though she is always laughed at for being a cyborg. Being the breadwinner for the family wasn't easy on her, but it helps that she is the “best mechanic in New Beijing." Also her adoptive family is horrible -_- The man who adopted her died soon after, and his wife is terrible to her. All the money Cinder makes is deposited into the wife's account- she is not able to keep it. Also, because she's a cyborg she can read others ID chips (everyone has one in order to be identified), knows when people are lying because of small signs such as a change in breathing, heart rate, etc. She's also able to do things such as increasing or decreasing how much noise she hears, which is helpful when she's in a really loud or really quiet place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Love Interest</b><br />The love interest is Prince/Emperor Kai (depending on what part of the book you're at), and he's pretty cool. His father died from letumosis (more about that below) and he's pretty strong/independent. He is able to (mostly) recover from the Lunar's magic, which is not something everyone can do. He's cool also because he accepts cyborgs, and doesn't think them as below him (which most people do).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Lunars...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lunars evolved from an Earthen moon colony centuries ago, but so aren't human anymore, and basically rule the moon. They are able to manipulate bioelectric energy (which is the energy that is naturally created by all living things). They can both detect <i>and</i> control another's bioelectric energy. You see what the want you to see, do what they want you to do, and feel what they want you to feel. This is how Lunars keep control. The only people who can ignore the ability are shells (Lunars who <i>cannot</i> manipulate bioelectric energy). Shells are executed while they are still an infant on Luna (the moon, basically). Some parents send their Shell children to Earth to save them, but very few do. The Lunar shells are where letumosis came from- they carried the disease down to Earth and spread them to the humans. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Letumosis- that disease that keeps on being repeated</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Letumosis is a deadly disease that came from Luna. Lunar shells carried it to Earth when they tried to escape Luna, and although it didn't affect them, it spread to "Earthens". There are four stages, and it is also called the blue plague since they turn blue. Symptoms that show the disease are that the skin is marked with bruise like spots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Setting</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I usually don't have a setting section. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Here's what it says in one section of the book.. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"126 years ago, the nightmare and catastrophe that was the Fourth World War ended, and the Eastern Commonwealth was born. It grew out of the unification of many peoples, many cultures, many ideals. It was strengthened by a single enduring belief that together, we as one people are strong. We have the ability to love each other, no matter our differences. To help each other, no matter our weaknesses. We chose peace over war. Life over death. We chose to crown one man to be our sovereign, to guide us, to uphold us—not to rule, but to serve." New Beijing (the place where it the book takes place currently) is in Asia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>The Next Book in this series is SCARLET. It comes out February 5, 2013. </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>It is based on Little Red Riding Hood.</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>The third book comes out in 2014 and is called CRESS. </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>It's based on Rapunzel, and the setting is the moon.</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>The fourth and last book comes out in 2015 and is called White. </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>I</u></b></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>t's based on Snow White, and the setting is the Sahara Desert.</u></b></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-4257736785635704882012-08-22T23:48:00.002-07:002012-08-22T23:48:19.417-07:00My posts...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm going to be trying to post reviews on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting next week. Yeah. Just saying that to anyone who reads this... does anyone want to comment? xD</div>
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No? I'm sad now :(</div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-30935903353465586812012-08-22T13:15:00.000-07:002012-08-22T13:15:00.264-07:00[Review] Why Shoot A Butler by Georgette Heyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320460145l/311134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Why Shoot a Butler" border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320460145l/311134.jpg" title="" width="209" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10044913-why-shoot-a-butler"><br />Why Shoot a Butler?</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18067.Georgette_Heyer">Georgette Heyer</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/396365405">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Summary from the back of the book: <i>It is a complete mystery why anyone would choose to murder the trusted old butler of Norton Manor. Barrister turned amateur detective, Frank Amberley has reason to suspect that the shooting involves the nervy young lady discovered at the scene of the crime, a snooping gentleman in the halls of Greythorne and then a second dead body. A dramatic tale of upstairs, downstairs and family secrets.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>The Plot</u></strong><br />On his way to dinner at the house of his aunt and uncle Frank Amberly, an amateur detective, takes a wrong turn. On that road he finds a murdered man in a car, and there is a young lady, Shirley, standing next to the car. He reports it to the police, but leaves out Shirley because he feels that she didn't shoot the man (who turns out to be a butler). However the police would immediately arrest and hang her for the murder if they knew about her. Amberly finds that this an interesting case and decides to start investigating because he thinks the murder is one part of a much bigger plot. He's correct of course, and it's fun to read about how he works.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>The Characters</u></strong><br />Frank Amberly is super-cool :D He, being a very rude person, has a huge collection of jibes and comebacks and uses them often as well, mostly and the incredibly dense policemen. He's really smart too, and he figures out the mystery quite fast, and spends most of the book trying to get evidence to back up his answer.<br /><br />Shirley, on the other hand is a lady with many secrets and holds the key to the murder and the rest of the mystery. She frustrates Frank a lot with her unwillingness to trust him, and that adds quite a bit of humor to the story :P<br /><br />There are many other characters of course, each different, from his uncle who hates any words about murder in his house, to Joan, his cousin's friend who is the one who lives in the house where the butler was shot. My favorite, however, is Lady Matthews, his aunt. She seems quite airy, and not all there- she drifts through topics a lot and says the randomest things and the randomest times- but she's quite cool xD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>The Romance</u></strong><br />The romance in this book came in at the very end. <a href="" onclick="showSpoiler(this)" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;">(view spoiler)</a><span style="display: none;">[It was one of those books where it was the girl is in danger and the guy finally realizes he loves her. I've read a lot of that in Historical Romance books. <a href="" onclick="hideSpoiler(this)" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span> It was slightly random, but it makes sense, I suppose. There was a cheesy line that didn't seem like that character would say it, but I guess it works if you need to wrap up the romance quickly :P<br />I won't give away who the people are, but you'll probably guess :P</span><br />
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<u>Excerpt with the awesome Lady Matthews:</u>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Lady Matthews relapsed into silence. Her daughter was surprised to see something very like a frown on her face, but failed to get her to talk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The frown was still there at lunchtime. Lady Matthews was unusually restless and twice murmured: ‘Why doesn’t Frank come back? Tiresome!’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shortly after two the telephone bell rang. Sir Humphrey, who was seated in the library, answered it and said a little hastily that Mr Amberley was not in, and he didn’t know where he could be found. Yes, of course a message would be delivered to him immediately he came in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Matthews, who had entered the room, wanted to know who was trying to get hold of Frank.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Fountain,’ said Sir Humphrey. ‘Most odd message!’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Well, dear?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘I’m to tell Frank that he’s gone up to London and won’t be in till late. Did Frank want to see him?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘I don’t know. Quite possibly. Did he speak about the book?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘It wasn’t Fountain himself. The butler gave the message. Said Fountain was particularly anxious that Frank should know he’d gone to London and would be at his club all the afternoon.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Matthews shut the door. ‘Very worrying,’ she said. ‘Must try and get Frank.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her husband declared himself quite unable to see why she should be worried, and once more settled himself with his book on the sofa. Lady Matthews sat down at the desk, sighing, and rang up Carchester police station. Sir Humphrey evinced a certain surprise, for only in moments of great stress could his wife be induced to use the telephone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sergeant on duty could give her no certain intelligence. Mr Amberley had been in Carchester during the morning, but had gone out with the chief constable. Since then he had not been seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Matthews, sighing more heavily still, rang up Colonel Watson’s house. The colonel was out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Sometimes,’ said Lady Matthews pensively, ‘one can’t help believing in a malign providence.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Amberley had not come in by four o’clock, she said that he was just like his father. This pronouncement roused all Felicity’s curiosity, for matters must indeed be serious if her mother said that. Lady Matthews refused to unburden her mind either to her or to Sir Humphrey. When she absently refused first a scone, then bread-and-butter, and lastly cakes, her relatives became quite worried and hailed the appearance of Amberley at a quarter past five with considerable relief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Thank goodness you’ve come!’ exclaimed Felicity. ‘Wherever have you been?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He glanced indifferently down at her. ‘Investigating last night’s affair. Why this sudden desire for my company? Can I have some tea, Aunt Marion?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His aunt chose two lumps of sugar from the bowl with extreme deliberation and spoke without looking up from this delicate task. ‘Two messages, dear Frank. Burdening my soul. That girl wants you. Either the Boar’s Head or the cottage. Such a disagreeable place.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amberley looked at her with a curious little smile in his eyes. ‘I wondered whether she would. All right.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Matthews lifted the milk-jug. ‘That butler. At the manor.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The smile vanished; Mr Amberley regarded her fixedly. ‘Yes?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘A message from Basil Fountain. He has gone to town.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘When?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘At about two o’clock, my dear.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Who gave the message?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘The butler. Didn’t I say so? His club, all the afternoon.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amberley seemed to consider, his eyes on the clock. ‘I see. I think, on the whole, I won’t wait for tea.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘No, dear boy,’ agreed his aunt. ‘Much wiser not. Something interesting to tell you. So stupid of Humphrey! That book. You’ve been at sea over it.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Entirely at sea. Well?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Humphrey left it at the Boar’s Head by mistake. He and Felicity, you know. Calling on Shirley. Forgot it.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amberley swung round to face his uncle. ‘You left it there?’ he snapped. ‘Did she have it?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Now I come to think of it, I did leave it behind,’ said Sir Humphrey. ‘We went back for it immediately, however. Miss Brown gave it to me at once.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Why the devil couldn’t you say so before?’ demanded Amberley. ‘When did this come out? Who knows about it?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Felicity, my dear. Told Basil Fountain. Lots of people know. Joan and that nice young man and me and the butler.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Felicity quailed before the look on her cousin’s face. ‘I’m awfully sorry if I’ve put my foot into it, but how was I to know I wasn’t to mention it?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘You’re a damned little fool!’ said Mr Amberley with distressing outspokenness, and was gone before she could think of a suitable retort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A moment later they heard the whirr of the Bentley’s self-starter. The car shot off under the window with something of a roar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sir Humphrey recovered from the shock of his nephew’s rough usage of him. ‘God bless my soul!’ he ejaculated. ‘Really, I had no notion it was so important. I began to be quite alarmed.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lady Matthews looked round at the cake-stand. ‘Why has no one given me anything to eat?’ she said plaintively. ‘I’m exceedingly hungry.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘You refused everything,’ Felicity reminded her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Nonsense, my dear. Give me a scone, please,’ said Lady Matthews, placid as ever."
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7402198-lioness"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-90503262870536188592012-08-21T20:14:00.000-07:002012-08-21T20:14:00.722-07:00[Review] The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6514178-the-knife-of-never-letting-go">The Knife of Never Letting Go</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/370361.Patrick_Ness">Patrick Ness</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/297422799">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back of the Book:<br /><i>Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden - a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.<br /><br />But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?</i></span><div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paperback copy: 479 pages</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is profanity often although the word f**k is always censored as "eff" or "effing."</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>About the plot:</u></span></b><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The plot was cool. The main character (Todd) lives in a town (Prentisstown) where the thoughts of men are all out in the open. In Prentisstown there are no women because apparently the disease that created the "Noise" (which is what the thoughts out in the open are called- it's so chaotic) killed off all the women and girls. A native species to the planet were said to have gone to war with the humans and used disease warfare against the humans when the humans arrived. The creatures, named Spackles, were hunted into extinction. Todd, while out gathering apples, finds an odd area of silence (which is odd cause even the animals have the Noise). He tries to chase it, but it gets away. When he returns, his caretakers say he has to leave because if any of the other men heard about the Silence in his Noise he would be in trouble. He leaves with his dog, Manchee, who also saw/heard the Silence. He has to flee through the woods he was gathering apples in and finds that the Silence is a girl. They flee Prentisstown together, since Prentisstown in chasing the both of them. Along their journey they unravel many, many lies and discover truths they would have never thought of...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't tell you anymore with out spoiling the story... sorry. It was a very original plot, however, and to see this type of society is cool. It's really different than most books, and more violent for a YA book, but awesome. What you learn throughout the book and how the information is placed makes the book even more amazing.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>The Characters:</u></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In general it was really easy to relate to the characters, mostly because the wording was closer to what we say in real life and that made them more realistic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Todd:</b> Todd, at first, is a very innocent, naive boy (considering his town). Of course, his town being all men, some who used to have wives, the only mental images he had of girls has them doing awkward things without clothes >.> So not naive in that sense. But he has no clue what the men of his town do or did, and he is completely innocent in that sense, enabling him entrance to places he wouldn't be able to get into otherwise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Manchee:</b> He is the cutest dog ever :P He might be slightly annoying, but is super loyal. His Noise sounds is full of squirrels and curiosity and going to the bathroom, and is what I'd think a dog would sound like if they could talk :P <span style="background-color: white;">I was so sad when he died that there were tears in my eyes >.<</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Viola: </b>Viola starts off as a scared little girl on a strange planet, but she soon grows into herself as she becomes accustomed to this world. She's a support for Todd, and helps him keep going when he wants to give up, and helps him when he gets into trouble.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>The Ending:</u></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ending is a cliffhanger T_T It makes me very sad. And the next book I'm probably going to read is <b>THE ASK AND THE ANSWER </b>(i.e. the next book). Thankfully I own it, so it won't be too much of a hassle :P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Ask and the Answer</b></span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-12028539848494840672012-08-20T00:00:00.000-07:002012-08-20T00:00:02.115-07:00[Review] Anna Dressed in Blood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9378297-anna-dressed-in-blood" target="_blank">Goodreads:</a><div>
<b>Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...</b><br /><br />Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. <br /><br />So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.<br /><br />When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.<br /><br />And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.</div>
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<b>About the Main Character</b></div>
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Cas is a ghost hunter basically. He does his job well but that leaves him isolated from the rest of the world. When he goes to kill Anna, he finds that at this point she is too strong for him to kill, although he is the one person she does not feel the need to kill. He is really well written, and because he's a male character there really isn't the need to talk about clothes, and jewelry, and makeup xD</div>
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<b>About the Ghost (s)</b></div>
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Anna was murdered (yeah I know it's obvious, but I'm re-stating). She has some sort of drive to kill whoever sets foot inside of her house, which she can't stop. For some reason when it comes to Cas she feels no need to kill him and so she doesn't. She just scares him. A lot. You get to learn more and more about her throughout the book and start sympathizing with her. She really is an amazing character, although violent at times xD</div>
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The other ghost is a very scary bogeyman that killed Cas's father. I won't giveaway much except that it scared me so much I had nightmares, and I don't <i>have</i> nightmares. I don't dream at all. Back on topic, it feels like the ghost is standing behind me, especially since it's 2:50 A. M. when I'm writing this. >.<</div>
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He is also a smart ghost </div>
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>.< </div>
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D: </div>
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T.T</div>
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<b>About the Plot</b></div>
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Basically Cas is a ghost hunter that goes to kill Anna, but changes his mind when he starts learning more about her and her past. And then he gets almost killed a bunch by some scary situations. Yep. It was really good, and amazing ♥</div>
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Kendare Blake is really imaginative and original :D</div>
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Also Cas and Anna start falling in love... it's really sad since Anna is dead... >.<</div>
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I wonder how that will turn out... lol.</div>
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<b>5 out of 5 stars YAY</b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12507214-girl-of-nightmares" target="_blank">Girl of Nightmares</a> came out a couple days ago. I need to read it xD</b></div>
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<b>Immediately T_T</b></div>
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<b>I've entered so many giveaways for it >.<</b></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-57773401121984958442012-08-16T02:38:00.000-07:002012-08-16T02:38:10.405-07:00[Review] Grave Mercy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9565548-grave-mercy" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: <br /><br />"Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?"<br /><br />Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.<br /><br />Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">♥♥♥I loved this book ♥♥♥</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I like historical books in general, and if you mix in assassins, I'm very happy xD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ismae was born with a mark on her back that showed that she had been expelled from her mother's womb with poison, but survived. Her father mistreats her, and most of the the people she knows mistrusts her for that, and says she is the child of Mortain, the god of death. She escapes from her arranged marriage and is taken to the convent, where she is trained in the assassin arts. Her minor assignments go off without a hitch, and she is soon sent to the High Court of Brittany. Many of the people there are double-crossing and cruel, but there are a few true, nice people. One of them, Duval, lets her stay in her house as his niece. At first neither of them like each other much, but slowly they grow to trust and love each other. Soon she is sent a message from the Convent the Mortain wants Duval killed, even though she has not seen Death's Mark on him. There is a traitor somewhere and she has been told to hunt him- everyone is telling her the traitor is Duval.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The characters are amazing. Most have many layers that are revealed and but do not conflict with each other. Ismae starts as a weak helpless characters, becomes a scary assassin without a conscience, then transforms into a still scary assassin who cares for others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The romance is not instalove :O That makes me very happy as the two (Duval and Ismae) slowly create a foundation for their love and build on it instead of going HAI YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL I LOVE YOU YAY RAINBOWS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I can't forget the end :O I really didn't expect it, but it wrapped up the book amazingly, although some cool characters died :-/ We also get to meet Mortain and learn more about the job of his daughters (which is not just revenge/justice).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All in all<span style="color: red;"> 5 out of 5 stars</span> and you should really read it if you haven't before :D</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't wait till <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9943270-dark-triumph" target="_blank">Dark Triumph</a> comes out :O HURRY UP!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know this is a short review, but it's so awesome that I can't form the words >.<</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-60633509699849123552012-08-16T02:00:00.000-07:002012-08-16T02:00:00.505-07:00[Review] The Selection by Kiera Cass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: 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.</span></i><div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />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.<br /><br />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.</span></i><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was an good book( i.e. it wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing :-/) Most reviews that I've seen either love it or hate it but I fall somewhere in between o.O I guess I'm just special that way :P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like the main character a lot. America was someone who wanted to live their life as they wanted it, not as society dictated it. However, she was somewhat confused and sometimes didn't know what should be done...like.. at all. Throughout the book she changed slowly and went from disliking Maxon because she thought he was a terrible person at first, to being good friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's my love interest paragraph that usually isn't necessary. Originally, America was "in love" with a boy named Aspen who was a caste lower than her and so more poor. He's the one that convinced her to apply for being Selected because the Selected get bumped up a lot of castes. Then he broke up with her T_T He's was really rude and annoying. Maxon on the other hand was sweet and kind (yes, I know stereotypical good boy, but really he's the prince so he has some problems on his hands as well). She, although she starts liking him, doesn't admit it to herself because she thinks she's still in love with Aspen. And then, at the palace, Aspen shows up as a palace guard because he got chosen to be one of them (immediately bumping him up to a high caste level as well). That was a little too convenient for my liking, but there has to be a love triangle somehow, right? T.T Really though. Love triangles are not always necessary..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plot was pretty good but the ending was fail. The book went through how a bunch of girls got eliminated and America and Maxon falling in love with each other and Aspen showing up, and so you'd think they'd show who won the Selection, right? I was waiting for it and then... IT DIDN'T HAPPEN T___T No one got selected, the Selection wasn't over yet. Wow. Ok. So that unnecessariness kinda brought down my enjoyment level. I suppose it's an extreme cliff-hanger, so... maybe it was needed somewhat? -_-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well due to the ending and the fact that the book itself was good, I guess I'll be reading the next book.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Incidentally, the 2nd book, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14748094-the-elite" target="_blank">The Elite</a>, comes out sometime in 2013.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I assume it has something to do with the fact that America is now one of the elite (I think last 10, I forgot >.<)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it has more to do with the rebel attacks that were mentioned briefly in the book :O</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That would be interesting...</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3 stars out of 5</b></span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-3882497839849105612012-08-16T01:21:00.000-07:002012-08-16T01:21:06.066-07:00[Review] Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10215349-the-immortal-rules" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>: "In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.<br />Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.<br /><br />Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.<br /><br />Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.<br /><br />But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.</i></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>General</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This book was good xD I don't say that books are bad very often because I try to read worthwhile books, but really this was amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Characters</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Allie was a really strong character and made you like her. She isn't one of those who would forsake life just because they felt they would become a monster. She decided to be a <i>good</i> monster (not sure if that works, though) and to drink blood as less as possible. She was helpful and caring, more than she was in her human life in fact. In her human life she thought only about survival, but in her vampire life (afterlife?) she starts caring for human life and how precious it is, and protects others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Zeke, the main boy character and the love interest, was also very strong, although he grew up memorizing certain standards and getting punished if he did not follow the orders of his extremely scary, but good-hearted, father. He [Zeke] was very kind to everyone and does what he thinks is right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then the more minor characters leave impressions as well. I especially liked Kanin, her vampire mentor who taught her how to stay hidden, and the rules of vampire life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Plot</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At first Allie hated the vampires and was one of the few people who were not blood cattle and her group raided every day when the vampires and rabids stayed hidden. One day, she and her group made a mistake while raiding a abandoned house for food and rabids attacked them. All but one in her group was dead, and she was dying when Kanin found her. He gave her the choice of 1. Dying or 2. Becoming a vampire. If you're attacked by a rabid though and die, you rise again as one of them, and he would not let that happen. She did not want to die yet and so she chose vampire life although she hated vampires. With Kanin (who was an outlaw and had no human cattle) she learned the rules of vampire life and how to survive. She also learned how to fight. At one point, another vampire who had a grudge against Kanin (you figure out why later) attacks him and she escapes and leaves the city. She meets a group of people who are searching for Eden (a vampire-free place) and also the cure to the disease that created the rabids. They travel at night to attract less attention, so she is able to help them. And so they go on...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I won't give up anymore :P But anyway, the rest of it, is good and you get to see a lot of different sides of people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Some things I didn't like</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well. I really liked <i>how</i> Julie Kagawa portrayed vampires, but I think there are too many vampire books around, and after a while, no matter how good the actual book is, vampires get a bit boring. Also, the book ended too soon, but that's ok 'cause Julie Kagawa is writing the sequel :D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The second book is called <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13581990-the-eternity-cure" target="_blank">The Eternity Cure</a> and it comes out April 1, 2013. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would really advise you to read Immortal Rules though. It's amazing :D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy it if you need to. I don't think you'll regret it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">4.5 stars out of 5 stars</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(which on GoodReads rounds to 5 out of 5)</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-43540654225330472442012-08-16T00:43:00.000-07:002012-08-16T00:43:30.648-07:00[Review] Jhereg by Steven Brust<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The first to be published, this is actually the fourth novel in the timeline of the VLAD TALTOS series. The books recount the adventures of the wisecracking hired killer Vlad, a human on a planet mainly inhabited by the long-lived, extremely tall sorcerers known as the Dragaerans. One of the most powerful bosses in the Jhereg--Dragaera's premier criminal organization--hires Vlad, one of their guild members, to assassinate Mellar, who stole millions from the Jhereg leadership and fled. Unfortunately, this thief turns out to be protected in a way that makes it difficult for Vlad to do his job without gaining the permanent enmity of a friend. The reader also learns more about Vlad's past in this, and in other, lives.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1281575.Jhereg" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jhereg-Steven-Brust/dp/0441385540/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343766130&sr=1-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Jhereg-Brust/9780441385546" target="_blank">Book Depository,</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jhereg-steven-brust/1014890582?ean=9780441385546&r=1&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&" target="_blank">B&N</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In General</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You should really read this book xD I'm pretty sure it's a YA book, by the way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Regarding the Plot</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plot was really cool :D Vlad was hired to assassinate Mellar (look at description) but basically he runs into a bunch of really interesting (to me) obstacles, such as the fact that Mellar is holed up inside of a castle who's guests are protected. You are not allowed to kill them permanently (you can revive people from the dead if their soul isn't removed) but Vlad needs to do that in order to fulfill his job. Coincidentally, the owner of the castle is one of Vlad's good friends.. Also there are a couple twists and turns in the story line, including the ending, which was quite unexpected (to me at least).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Regarding the Background Information</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The background information is really quite necessary in order to understand the book. In this series, this is the 3rd book if you read in chronological order (which should make it mostly nonsense to the reader who hasn't read the others) but it was the first book to be published so the necessary background information was given clearly. I haven't read the others and I found it all intriguing and clear, so hopefully others would too. The information itself is quite interesting, and also presented well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Regarding the Characters</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I really liked the characters xDD Cawti (Vlad's wife) was an awesome kick-ass female. Apparently she and her partner were told to kill Vlad before (not permanently) because they were assassins >.< Loiosh, his familiar, is also quite funny and a lot of the internal thinking happens through psionic contact (basically telepathy) which makes it a bit more interesting. I also liked Aliera (a sort-of cousin) xD The characters in this book are usually either powerful, smart, witty, kick-ass, or a combination of the four which makes it interesting when they clash as well. And of course Mellar and his incredibly detailed plan was the most amazing of all :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cons</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are not many. It's just that at times the descriptions are a bit too lengthy, but if you keep reading it'll become interesting again once they start doing other stuff :D</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4.5/5 stars from me :P</b></span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-74800256649551537552012-07-06T13:22:00.003-07:002012-07-06T13:22:39.512-07:00The Social Robot 3 Year Blogiversary Event<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The prizes are two $10 Amazon giftcards and a $10 Itunes giftcard. There are three winners, so hurry and join! :P</div>
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Click the picture to be re-directed to the site.</div>
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<a href="http://giveawaymonkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/win-amazon-and-itunes-gift-card.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOhbwDCmudS3M_SFtuuq8rbaRK74AtZWg2h2D45K5k7g0HhY0m_8NCDB1TnOC-ls_vaeIyxETPmhnTQHbna-0B9DMQ__cGb2k4ZtsxhJvkyN1wuiAvidTdp96Va-VGwOtUhZMU_dXu-w/s1600/robot-party-giveaway_thumb.png" /></a></div>
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</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-23204466325040484872012-07-04T15:54:00.005-07:002012-07-04T15:54:59.880-07:00Win a Free iPad 3 from XO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">XO is giving away and iPad 3 in order to create awareness for a new blog called <a href="http://blog.xo.com/" target="_blank">The Pulse</a> (<a href="http://blog.xo.com/">http://blog.xo.com/</a>). The winner will be announced on the blog and contacted directly on Monday August 6th, 2012.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ohmygoshbeck.com/2012/07/win-a-free-ipad-3-connect-your-business/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.ohmygoshbeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ipad3-300x182.jpg" /></a></div>
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</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-53910016238463402872012-05-13T20:30:00.000-07:002012-08-16T02:00:34.911-07:00[Review] Until I Die by Amy Plum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsj8g6rsPRNu59Yf1tbHHt3VwcKszggx9LHo6P5VY21r7n0xZV_mfV8Z8c9jwbGQhtqqLYayooODUfdr1SySErfEZaf9A_ehL5EaLeBjO4FdBm3Y1mZKlohQN5zwkLSL_fQl8yYLJfoHz/s1600/until+i+die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsj8g6rsPRNu59Yf1tbHHt3VwcKszggx9LHo6P5VY21r7n0xZV_mfV8Z8c9jwbGQhtqqLYayooODUfdr1SySErfEZaf9A_ehL5EaLeBjO4FdBm3Y1mZKlohQN5zwkLSL_fQl8yYLJfoHz/s1600/until+i+die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsj8g6rsPRNu59Yf1tbHHt3VwcKszggx9LHo6P5VY21r7n0xZV_mfV8Z8c9jwbGQhtqqLYayooODUfdr1SySErfEZaf9A_ehL5EaLeBjO4FdBm3Y1mZKlohQN5zwkLSL_fQl8yYLJfoHz/s1600/until+i+die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsj8g6rsPRNu59Yf1tbHHt3VwcKszggx9LHo6P5VY21r7n0xZV_mfV8Z8c9jwbGQhtqqLYayooODUfdr1SySErfEZaf9A_ehL5EaLeBjO4FdBm3Y1mZKlohQN5zwkLSL_fQl8yYLJfoHz/s320/until+i+die.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before I actually begin this review, I'm going to inform you that I recieved this book via <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway" target="_blank">First Reads</a> on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> :D</span></span></div>
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Summary:<i> Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.<br /><br />As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12908877-until-i-die" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062004042?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062004042&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/until-i-die-amy-plum/1106580339?ean=9780062004048&r=1&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&" target="_blank">Barnes and Nobles</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>In General: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he book was pretty good- better than the first one. Or at least that's my opinion. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The plot was less of a "will they get together" this time, which was cool. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was also a lot less Twilight-like (no offense to any Twilight lovers), but a bit predictable, especially near the end. I've seen this type of writing before, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">when the villain is the one person the main character is staunchly supporting.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> So. On to the broken-up review.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Regarding the Plot:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The plot was really cool this time. A bunch of the numa were trying to get the Revenants' "champion" (Vincent). So now they're all protecting Vincent (who at the same time is doing something dangerous so that he could fight the compulsion to die and stay with Kate). There were some things <span style="background-color: white;">*AHEM the guérisseurs*</span> that weren't quite wrapped up, but I guess they'll be wrapped up in the next book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meh. The main characters were pretty much the same except for Gaspard (weapons master) who we go to see more of and Kar who was getting weapons training and was less wimpy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Right. A warning. Kate decides she wants to have sex with Vincent (although it does not happen in this book...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also a lot of romantic, gushy stuff, although less than the last book.</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-3738683686122816292012-05-05T09:26:00.001-07:002012-05-05T09:26:07.016-07:00Cover Reveal!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The cover for the sequel to <i>Legend</i> by Marie Lu has come out :D</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It looks like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Prodigy</i> by Marie Lu</span><br />Blurb: Military-trained whiz kid June and Robin Hood-esque Day met in the first book, and now are off from Los Angeles to Sin City in Prodigy (G.P. Putnam's Sons), out in bookstores Jan. 29. The Elector Primo of the Republic has died, with his son assuming power over what's left of the USA's West Coast as it teeters on full-blown chaos. June and Day join up with Patriot rebels so they can rescue Day's brother and head east for the Colonies. In order to help, though, the rebels want June and Day to kill the new Elector, who may be a step up from his dad.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Current release date: January 29, 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Such a long time to wait! But I'm sure it'll be worth it, because <i>Legend</i> was amazing. If you haven't read <i>Legend</i> you should read it immediately!!</span></div>
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</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-9578895148917670932012-04-27T16:53:00.001-07:002012-08-16T02:00:44.699-07:00[Review] History of the World: Part I (1981 movie)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Summary: <i>Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Rating: R. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Run Time: 92 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Other warnings: Sexual jokes are present throughout the entire movie and there is quite a lot of profanity... so don't show kids this movie :P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I can safely say this was one of the most perverted movies I have ever seen. Apparently my friend was going to watch it once too, but her parents were like, "NO. This is too innapproriate." (Unlike mine.) But it was really quite funny as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was hilarious. They reimagined things such as the parting of the Red Sea (which turned out to be Moses raising his arms/hands because he was being robbed). Some parts of the movie were amusing innuendoes and other you wouldn't really be able to understand without knowing the basics of history and their rulers, but even I got them (and my general knowledge level is nearly null). My favorite part of the movie probably makes me immature but it was a part near the beginning of the movie (so it was in "Ancient Rome"). Tge main characters were walking into a place where the senators spoke in Latin (which sounded like nonsense). The main characters dessed up in togas and instead of speaking latin (which was BS to them), they just walked in saying, "bs, bs..." Yup. I'm officially super immature.</span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">CONS</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The only things that actually really annoyed/irked me was that the main characters stayed constant throughout the entire movie. Or atleast the actor, Mel Brooks, did... (He played the roles of Moses, Comicus, Torquemeda, Jacques, and King Louis XVI!) Oh, and the fact that at times it was too perverted for me to handle and so I had to turn away and plug my ears >.< My mom, of course, was like, "No, its a good movie, you need to watch <em>all</em> of it." T_T So I stayed through the torture and found the movie mostly to my liking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">They went through history like this:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>The Dawn of Man</u></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>The Old Testament</u></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>The Roman Empire</u></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>The Spanish Inquisition</u></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>The French Revolution</u></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Also, at the end, there was "<u>Previews of Upcoming Attractions</u>" in <em>History of the World: Part II</em> (which never came out).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>Trivia tidbit:</u> </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Apparently the catchphrase, "It's good to be king." originated in this film (it is used many times during "the French Revolution")</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><u>Quote: </u></span><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000316/"></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000316/"></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Jacques:</strong> Don't cry, my dear. I may not have been born a king, or lived like a king. But at least I can die like a king! <br />[He strides to the guillotine with dignity] <br /><strong>Citizen Official:</strong> Your Majesty, do you require a blindfold? <br /><strong>Jacques:</strong> None! <br /><strong>Citizen Official:</strong> Have you any last request? <br /><strong>Jacques:</strong> None! <br /><strong>Citizen Official:</strong> Test the guillotine! </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>[Another executioner triggers the guillotine; the blade comes down and chops the head off a wooden dummy] </em><strong>Jacques:</strong> Holy shit! Uh, wait! Wait! Last request! I have a last request! <br /><strong>Citizen Official:</strong> What is your last request? <br /><strong>Jacques:</strong> Novocaine! <br />[the Official confers with the Executioner] <br /><strong>Citizen Official:</strong> There is no such thing known to medical science! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Jacques:</strong> I'll wait! </span></div>
Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-12376762261648109892012-04-21T13:04:00.000-07:002012-04-21T13:04:27.300-07:00Do Something Selfless Team Abnegation Giveaway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">Today's TeamAbnegation Giveaway is for a finished copy of Insurgent or a $10 Amazon Gift Card (winner's choice).</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=iaarnaw-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0062024043&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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If you choose a copy of Insurgent you will be contacted on May 1st. As soon as your mailing address is received a copy will be ordered from either Amazon or The Book Depository. If you choose the Amazon Gift Card it will be emailed to you.<br />
<br />
There are several ways to enter. You can enter daily between now and April 30th to increase your chances of winning. There are 3 different messages you can tweet. Choose to tweet 1, 2 or all 3 each day.<br />
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Contest open to anyone who can legally enter.<br />
Ends 4/30/12<br />
<br />
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</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-77301876741837251992012-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:002012-08-16T12:14:22.072-07:00[Review] Rae of Hope by W.J. May <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1330488465l/12720979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1330488465l/12720979.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12720979-rae-of-hope" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodreads:</span></a><div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>How hard do you have to shake a family tree to find out the truth of the past? </i><br />Fifteen-year-old Rae Kerrigan has never questioned her family’s history. That is until she accepted a scholarship to Guilder Boarding School in England. Guilder is a very unique, gifted school. <br /><br />Rae has no idea what she is getting herself into or that her family’s past is going to come back and taunt her. She learns she is part of an unparalleled group of individuals who become marked with a unique tattoo (tatù) on their sixteenth birthday. The tatù enables them to have supernatural powers particular to the shape of their marking. <br /><br />Both her parents were marked though Rae never knew, as they passed away when she was young and never told her. Learning about her family’s past, her evil father and sacrificial mother, Rae needs to decide if there is a ray of hope for her own life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In General</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found this book really interesting and unique. It mimics Harry Potter in some ways, but the world that is woven is interesting enough that it doesn't really bother me. I would recommend you read it :D</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the Plot</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple months before Rae's 16th birthday, she was sent to a school for the gifted in England. She has no clue what she's getting into until she reaches there since her Uncle and Aunt have never told her anything about her past. Everyone at Guilder except for her knows about her past, and know her as the girl who's father used his magic for evil, which they are not supposed to do, and then died in a fire. All the students at Guilder get a tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù</span> <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on their 16th birthday (it pretty much grows on their skin) because of their bloodlines. This tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù gives them special powers, each conforming to the marking, which they are training to use. Rae's tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù is a huge fairy that's really pretty :) </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the book you learn about Rae's past along with her, especially about her father. There are people who want to harm her and people who want to enlist her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Main Character</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rae Kerrigan is a strong character, although slightly naive. She's really cool, and does what she seems is right, which is a strong point. At first she seems slightly confused and seems to think it's the world against her but she soon realizes she has true friends at Guilder. It seems all the guys at Guilder have a crush on her, and that gets quite amusing xD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About the Love Interest</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The love interest (the main one) is called Devon Wardell. He's really nice and well.. amazing. He's got a tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù of a Fennec Fox and has some fox-like skills.Some of them arecool nocturnal talents apparently, and super speed. On of Rae's inner thoughts were, "<i>Hmm... cute, superhero, tactful and now, trustworthy... nice package.</i>" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That sums him up pretty well ;) </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About Other Characters</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite among the more minor was Molly, Rae's roommate :D She's super cool and her </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù lets her meddle with electricity. She's a curious chatterbox, but a nice curious chatterbox, and on the first day Molly went around asking all the 16+ people about their </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tat</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ù xD Julian (a student who can draw the future) is pretty cool too xD And of course, who could forget Riley? They most prominent member of the boy with a crush on Rae (other than Devon). He was really funny too :P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Ending</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really didn't know who the bad guy was until it was revealed >.< Neither did I know who the good guy was. The ending had a bunch of twists that wasn't revealed before, and I found it really interesting :) I can't give away much with out spoilers, but yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Quotes xD</b></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<i>A boy on the opposite team dribbled the ball near his goalkeeper. In the blink of an eye, he’d passed midfield and streaked around a defense player. He took a shot on the net, scoring easily. Rae blinked and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.<br />“No goal! No goal!” Devon waved his arms in the air. “Riley, you know the rules. Only natural play—no gifts!”<br />“Give me a break! I can’t help if my slow running is faster than everyone else’s,” Riley shouted. His teammates cheered and slapped him on the shoulder.<br />“You’re not faster than the speed of light without your gift! No way can you argue with the laws of physics.” Devon tapped his head and the other boys laughed. “Trying to impress the girls?” The guys started walking over to where the girls sat.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“No goal! No goal!” Devon waved his arms in the air. “Riley, you know the rules. Only natural play—no gifts!”</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Give me a break! I can’t help if my slow running is faster than everyone else’s,” Riley shouted. His teammates cheered and slapped him on the shoulder.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“You’re not faster than the speed of light without your gift! No way can you argue with the laws of physics.” Devon tapped his head and the other boys laughed. “Trying to impress the girls?” The guys started walking over to where the girls sat.</i>" -page 19</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and then when Molly got her tatu</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<i>Molly scrunched her face into a puzzled look, then suddenly she brightened. “Holy crap! You’re right. I’m going to be able to create electricity or something super cool like that. Oh my goodness, this is going to be so awesome.” She swung around and grabbed Rae’s hands as she jumped up and down.<br />Rae went flying across the room. She slammed into the wall and slid down onto the bed. She rubbed her head, just above her ponytail. Shocked, she stared at Molly who stood with her mouth open, surprise written across her face.<br />They both started laughing.<br />Molly offered Rae her hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…I had no idea…”<br />Rae crawled around the outstretched arm, shaking her own hand. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll avoid the hand contact for a bit.” She stood. “I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting that.”<br />“Neither was I.” She spread her arms wide, bumping the wall. The lights dulled and then began flickering above them. “What the -- ?”<br />“Hand.” Rae pointed. “On the wall.” Shouts sounded outside the hall.<br />“Oops. Guess I’d better figure out how to control this.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. The lights stopped flickering and the shouts outside stopped.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Rae went flying across the room. She slammed into the wall and slid down onto the bed. She rubbed her head, just above her ponytail. Shocked, she stared at Molly who stood with her mouth open, surprise written across her face.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>They both started laughing.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Molly offered Rae her hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…I had no idea…”</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Rae crawled around the outstretched arm, shaking her own hand. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll avoid the hand contact for a bit.” She stood. “I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting that.”</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Neither was I.” She spread her arms wide, bumping the wall. The lights dulled and then began flickering above them. “What the -- ?”</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Hand.” Rae pointed. “On the wall.” Shouts sounded outside the hall.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Oops. Guess I’d better figure out how to control this.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. The lights stopped flickering and the shouts outside stopped.</i>" </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-page 59</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">5 out of 5 stars</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't wait for the next book :O</span><br />
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-49994588053587219952012-04-05T17:12:00.000-07:002012-04-05T17:13:49.018-07:00Failed Brain Lateralization Test Results<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table bgcolor="#b3c6b1" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #bdd1bb; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black; width: 270px;"><tbody>
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Brain Lateralization Test Results</div>
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<tr><td><b>Right Brain</b> (60%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.<br />
<b>Left Brain</b> (44%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://similarminds.com/brain.html">Are You Right or Left Brained?</a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://similarminds.com/personality_tests.html">Personality Test</a> by <a href="http://similarminds.com/">SimilarMinds.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My reaction: O.o<br />How in the world does this work? Last time I checked, 60+44 does not equal 100 XD<br />Someone help? :P</span></div>
</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-36897047141107502142012-04-03T23:52:00.001-07:002012-04-03T23:52:24.243-07:00$25 Amazon.com Gift Card compliments of Team Abnegation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guys! Again. I'm gonna be putting up a lot of Abnegation stuff because I'm Team Abnegation, and here's the latest :) You can get news about Insurgent and Team Abnegation here: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/abnegationfaction" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://bit.ly/abnegationfaction</a><br />
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</div>Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032777744159785305.post-58045178568441993612012-04-02T13:47:00.002-07:002012-08-16T02:01:11.701-07:00[Review] Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMFIRzmosYHVToVSWOdtEIGnq3X6eY6bUBpxEj9ssNvUyKH4D4lioihjxm8xoT8fbRl2D3FnsSPYdAa8keKv1xuqbsKNwSSmhk4QOA9Ttpf9tSVgT03eiQVY0DPC47O7aOP5M0kgHgshF/s1600/beautiful+creatures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMFIRzmosYHVToVSWOdtEIGnq3X6eY6bUBpxEj9ssNvUyKH4D4lioihjxm8xoT8fbRl2D3FnsSPYdAa8keKv1xuqbsKNwSSmhk4QOA9Ttpf9tSVgT03eiQVY0DPC47O7aOP5M0kgHgshF/s320/beautiful+creatures.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>There were no surprises in Gatlin County. <br />We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. <br />At least, that's what I thought. <br />Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. <br />There was a curse. <br />There was a girl. <br />And in the end, there was a grave. <br />Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. <br /><br />Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. <br /><br />In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved this book, which actually surprised me (the length made me think there was a whole lot of unnecessary stuff). My friend has been telling me to read this for a really long time, and I kept procrastinating when I saw that it was <i>563 pages long</i>. I finally did get it, but it still took me a couple months to get up the courage to read it >.<</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Vocabulary:</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Caster: </b>A caster has powers, although each caster has their powers focused in a certain area. There are healers, people who can LOOK like other things (illusionists), people who can look at a place and see through time periods (how the place was in the past and the present), etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On their 16th birthday, a caster chooses to be either dark or light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, anything highlighted in white so you can't see it are spoilers...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the plot is pretty much that Lena is a caster and she's a very, very powerful one. She's also the related to the most powerful dark caster. She's 15 and she's afraid that she's going to be a dark caster because a long time ago, her ancestor was cursed. The curse specifies that all of her descendants will be chosen to be light or dark by a really old book- they won't have a choice like most casters. This book is pretty much about Ethan and Lena, and how Serafine (the dark caster) keeps trying to kill Lena, and how they avoid it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The characters are pretty well rounded, and since this book is in Ethan's point of view, you don't go through the confusion of switching POVs, and we get to know a lot about Ethan, with out all the information seeming forced. You are also able to understand a lot about some of the less important characters, such as Link (Ethan's best friend) and Amma (Ethan's housekeeper). The characters are all pretty awesome, though, especially Lena's uncle, Macon Ravenwood XD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some entirely random reason, my favorite character was Macon Ravenwood. </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then, they KILLED him. Really, </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">why</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> did they have to do that? <--- that was </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rhetorical</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by the way. I </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">suppose</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"> I understand why someone had to die, and why it was Macon, but REALLY.</span> </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was the most amazing </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">character</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">! (to me) I suppose if I asked other people they'd say Lena, Ethan, or some other equally important character :-/ I guess Macon being nocturnal made Ethan call him a vampire but still T_T <span style="background-color: white;">Macon did not deserve to die by <i>any</i> stretch of the word.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, you should definitely read this when you can, and I will be reading the next book soon :D</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next book:</span></div>
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Lionesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00246643628716246832noreply@blogger.com1