TTT #18 Top Ten Settings Megan Would Like to See More Of

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.

This week's topic is.......Top Ten Settings Megan Would Like to See More Of


1) Underwater: I just love mermaid books, and dolphins, and swimming, and the idea of scuba diving or becoming a mermaid, (not that I've attempted either of the last two) but as you can probably infer, under the sea holds a soft spot in my heart as far as settings go. Can't have too much H2O! 











2) In the mountains: Because mountains are just so cool! I don't think I've ever read any books that specifically take place in the mountains, but I think it would be an interesting place to explore as a setting. So much stuff could happen! With all the caves and rock climbing and dangerous passages, and ups and downs, (literally!) I think it would make for a great backdrop! 












3) Pirate ships: I love me some pirates, Captain Jack, Captain Hook... (newest fav is Captain Hook from ABC's Once Upon a Time!) And I also loved Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates by Sean Cullen. I thought it was hilarious! I would just really love to see more books written about these crazy dudes! (And dudettes :P) 











4) Tropical Islands: This one sort of ties into the previous one, as pirates often discover tropical islands, but it doesn't necessarily have to! There's something magical and mysterious and just awesome about a tiny patch of land far away from any other land in the middle of crystal blue water...










5) Floating cities/in the clouds: WHY NOT??? 

6) Normal suburban setting: Because it seems like most books these days take place in fantasy, dystopian or some other modified version of reality. We need to go back to what we know best! Our own hometowns! 












7) New York City: I've ALWAYS wanted to go to New York City, it's still on my bucket list of places to go. I just love the hustle and bustle of that big city atmosphere. So exciting to me! 












8) Secluded castles: Castles are so incredibly pretty, and I love pretty much every book I have read that takes place or includes a castle. I love the beautiful imagery they provide. 

9) Run down mansions: I've had a craving for mystery-genre books lately, (anyone have any suggestions?) and a run down mansion seems like the perfect setting for that type of story! Mysterious, slightly creepy, and a lot of awesome. Oooh, maybe some ghosts in there somewhere too... :) 










10) Hotels: Could be old style hotels or newer ones, but just the concept of living somewhere that is not technically home. I guess I'm thinking of a Suite Life of Zack and Cody sort of idea, which I've never seen in a novel before! 












What other places would you guys like to see written into books? 

keep readin' it write! 
Megan 

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Review: Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .

Lament is a dark faerie fantasy that features authentic Celtic faerie lore, plus cover art and interior illustrations by acclaimed faerie artist Julia Jeffrey.

While this book wasn't quite up to the same AWESOME as Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, I still wasn't disappointed.This was just her debut novel, anyways. She has obviously improved as a writer.

As always, Maggie Stiefvater's writing is something I admire. It's just so beautiful and vivid and gives this extra quality. So when it was that combined with the faerie element of the story, it created something almost dream-like, really fairytale-esque. Reading her writing just makes everything sound better and draws me in more.

I loved her use of the more traditional faeries and the superstitions that go with them. After I read this and the next book in the series, I went and looked up this kind of faerie to see what else I could find out. There's some pretty good stuff out there involving Celtic faerie lore!

As far as characters go, they were not lacking. Deirdre, or Dee, isn't my favourite heroine of all time, but she at least doesn't sit by and let things happen. She has her moments where I was starting to get annoyed, but she also has some good scenes, too. And another thing: Dee's family is... interesting. 

James was my favourite, I think. He's one of those witty, sarcastic, and just overall hilarious characters, but with more to them, too. He's got his own secrets and problems. Plus I can't help but feel sympathy for all of the situations he's put in throughout the book. 

Then there was Luke, the mysterious faerie boy. I was torn through the whole book whether to root for him or against, and I mean that in a good way. 

Overall, I was very happy with this book and didn't once hesitate to keep reading. The main characters were all ones that I liked. I'm a sucker for books that include lore and fairytales, so it gets bonus points for that, too. And then there's the writing, which is just wow.

The Good: The faerie parts, the writing, the characters.
The Bad: Dee made a few decisions that I was not impressed with. But everyone makes mistakes, right?
The Verdict: A very solid 4/5 stars.

Rachel

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TTT #17 Top Ten Reading Goals for 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.

This week's topic is.......Top Ten Reading Goals for 2013

As always, these are in no particular order and any books are linked to their respective pages on Goodreads just incase any of y'all are interested. :)

1) Get through my TBR stack BEFORE buying any new books...(not sure how well this one will work out...)

2) Read The Hobbit and the LOTR Trilogy (I know, I know...it's pretty sad that I haven't read these yet...)

3) Get into a new genre. Maybe some mystery, or chick flick types to switch it up a bit. 

4) Reread the Harry Potters. It feels like it has been too long....(too long meaning about...5 months? ha ha ha...)

5) Read some other types of books. Like nonfiction type books that will help me expand my other interests such as photography, art and fashion.

6) Read posts off of Smart, Pretty and Awkward regularly. It often has very inspirational quotes and interesting ideas for everyday life. (I know this isn't a book, but it's still reading! ;P)

7) Read everyday. Even if it is only a couple pages.

8) Read my own writing... and to do this, I'd need to WRITE something for me to read! (Is this cheating? Teehee... I guess technically this is a writing goal....OHWELLS)

9) Keep up to date with current events. ie: Read the newspaper, or other news sharing websites. I have noticed in the past I have been kind of ignorant when it comes to current events locally and around the world, so I'd really like to change that.

10) Read at least 2 books per month. Preferably more, but that's the bare minimum. ;)


What are your reading or book related goals for 2013? I'd love to hear what you guys plan to do this year to keep yourselves word-surrounded!

keep readin' it write!
Megan

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Review: Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. 

The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapated mansion. Schuyler is a loner...and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

After seeing this series on the shevles of the library for months and months and months, I finally decided to read it. There's a bunch in the series, so I figured that if they turned out to be good then I would have something to keep me occupied for awhile.

It started out as a "Why on Earth did I choose this book?" kinda book. Not good. Pretty much, it got started off by introducing us to one main character, Schuyler Van Alen, but giving a huggeee back story and all sorts of information about her. And then I thought it would finally get started into some story-stuff, anddddd....... it switched perspectives. It did that for several chapters, introducing new characters with new POVs, huge info-dumps (especially describing their clothes and the name brands they were wearing), and just as I got interested it would switch.

Finally the story did start to pick up a bit, and some of the characters got interesting, such as Jack, Oliver and Bliss, although a few are downright intolerable. The idea behind the vampires in this story is quite fascinating. The way they work is something I've never heard or thought of before, and their history, which is mentioned in the prologue, was one of the few things that kept me reading. 

As far as characters and character relationships go, I was not to impressed. Schuyler, who was sort of the 'main' main character, was just odd. She didn't make any sense. All of the teens in this book belonged to a very prestigious private school in New York, and all are very very wealthy. Yet Schuyler acts like she's quite poor sometimes, but at the same time she doesn't. She flip flops between all sorts of different attitudes. Pick a personality and stick with it, girl! 

Mimi irked me to no end, as well. She was overly self-righteous and arrogant, and not in the way that makes a book interesting.

The POV shifts, were, however, interesting. I liked seeing different sides of the same story for this plot.

A few other things bothered me, too. The book took forever to getting around to the fact that many of the main characters were vampires. It kept dropping major hints and clues as if we didn't already know what they are, but if you so much as look at the cover or read the synopsis it's a complete giveaway. It was unnecessary foreshadowing for something that we already knew.

Also, there was whole paragraphs and pages entirely devoted to what characters were wearing. Sure, it's nice to get a sense of what a character looks like and how they dress, cause this can tell us a lot about them. But when every outfit they wear is described down to what brand their shoes are, it's not so interesting anymore. I ended up skipping (gasp!) some of these parts.

And then then ending was a complete let down. I know that since it's the beginning to a series, there would be some things left open and most likely some cliffhangers, but there was  absolutely nothing tied up and no answers given. I want to find out what happens, but at the same time, it was almost a complete waste and I don't want to spend my time reading another book if I might not like it when I could be reading something I know I will like. It was not satisfying.

Overall, this book was full of things that, for me at least, distracted from the book. Buuuuut, it also has a bunch of redeeming features. The history of the vampires, for instance, and the reason behind the name "Blue Bloods". (I don't want to say, because I'm not sure how spoilery it would be. Quite a bit, I think.) Plus the way the vampire society works and the fact that there's secrets and different sorts of mythology, tied in to some real history and some people-figures from long ago, and it was enough to keep me fascinated.

The Good: Concept, history, basis of the vampires
The Bad: Info-dumping, somewhat odd characters, unsatisfying ending.
The Verdict: 2 1/2 stars out of 5. 

Rachel

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YA to You Contest

You may have already seen elsewhere, but Beth Revis, Marissa Meyers, Marie Lu, Victoria Schwab and Megan Shepherd have unveiled a new contest!

YA 2 U: The Official Site.

Basically, these authors will be going to a select city that is selected by US, the readers. Vote for your city or nearest city, and the place with the most votes will get a visit from these authors!

Rachel

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YA Holiday Roadtrip

YA Highway just finished Friday with different questions and things to answer in a five-day road trip carnival. I just found out about it the other day, and since it's still the holidays and the year is soon over and because I felt like it I decided to see what I could come up with.

I'm not going to answer all of the questions because I seriously can't think of answers for all of them. This is part of the reason why Top Tens are so challenging for me- I have the hardest time remember all the books I've read farther back than 3 or 4 months, and then I also can't remember when I read them, or why exactly I did or didn't like them. Ramble ramble ramble, long story short, these are only some of the answers.

Also, these are books not necessarily released this year, just that I read this year.

From the first day, Monday the 24th, here's the questions I chose to answer:

 Best Book Of The Year: I have troubles choosing favourites, but the ones that stand out the most are The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Forever AND Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater.

Most Unexpectedly Delightful Book Of The Year: I'm thinking this might be Anna and the French Kiss, seeing as I held out for so long to read it and was prepared to have it disappoint.

Book I Can't Get Out Of My Mind: 

Best "New To Me" YA Author: Maggie Stiefvater, hands down. She's now one of my favourite authors.

From the second day, Tuesday the 25th:

Best Sequel: Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater. I love this book so incredibly much, it really captured my mind.

Best Debut: Hmm.... tough one. I think Anna and the French Kiss may have been one of the best debuts I've read.

From the third day, Wednesday the 26th:

Best "I Want to Go to There" Setting: Tortall, hands down. Always, always, always want to go to Tortall from Tamora Pierce's books.

Favourite YA Characters: Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss, Ismae from Grave Mercy, James from Lament and Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater, and Cole from the Shiver trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.

From the fourth day:

Best in YA films/television: Does Disney's "Brave" count as YA? Hahahaha.... Umm, Avengers I think? HUNGER GAMES. And that is all I can think of. See, I told you I was bad at these!

Best Music to Write To/Be Inspired By: During November, NaNoWriMo, I tended to gravitate towards Songza, using, mostly, one of the Indie Coffeeshop playlists to listen to. I like the more alt-pop/rock whatever you call it, and also stuff like Imagine Dragons and Neon Trees and Fine Frenzy are good for me to write with.

From the last day:

Most Anticipated Book Releases in 2013: Tamora Pierce is coming out with a World Companion Guide to Tortall. Saying I'm excited for that is the understatement of the week.

Most Recommended (By Me): Anything by Tamora Pierce or Maggie Stiefvater. Anna and the French Kiss. For historical fiction lovers, Grave Mercy and The Gathering Storm. 

Have a good New Years Eve, if it isn't already 2013 for you! And a late Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, if you celebrate(d) any of those!

See you next year!

Rachel

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Short Story: "Eyes"

Hey, all you Write Readers! I have something a bit different for you today... For those of you who have been reading our blog since the beginning, (we love you!) you may already know that we have had plans to include our own writing on this blog, as well as the reviews that we post. We still have bigger plans in that regard in the works, but for now, I wanted to share a little tiny short story I wrote a few weeks back that I am very proud of. I decided to write it on a whim, I wasn't in the best mood that day, and Rachel suggested I write! She knows me too well that one... writing always does make me feel better... :) 


Anyways, here is my short story, called Eyes. I hope you like it! 

I stared into his eyes. I felt like I was staring at a brick wall. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but to tell you the truth, I wasn't so sure with this doorknob. I could never tell what he was thinking. And it certainly didn't help that he never SAID ANYTHING. Whenever I tried to have heart to heart with him, he would just STARE. It's like, dude, do you even know what to do when someone is talking to you? You REPLY. Speak. It's not that difficult. Open your mouth. And SAY SOMETHING. Don't just sit there. It pissed the heck out of me.

He blinked. I was about ready to slap him silly.

"Well?" I said impatiently. Actually, impatient is not a harsh enough word to describe how I was feeling.

"I dunno." he finally mumbled. Well then. I should have guessed it. Of course his reluctant reply would be something entirely impossible for me to work with. How in hell did I get stuck with this guy? What did I ever see in him? I should just leave. I thought to myself. No, I couldn't. What would he do about the... situation? But what could I do to help him with that if he refused to talk to me about anything? God, why was this so incredibly infuriating?

"What did she say?" I asked him, trying to calm myself down. It wasn't going to help me any to get angry. As much as I wanted to right now. He would just back off like last time, and not even give me useless replies like 'I dunno'.

I waited for a couple minutes, giving him a chance to respond. His gaze had shifted to the floor. His messy blond hair was shining in the warm afternoon sun. "Drew?" I prodded again.

"I love you." He murmured. My heart skipped a beat. My breath caught harshly in the back of my throat, and I almost started coughing.

"W-what?" I said, quieter this time. All of my previous anger and resentment had vanished.

"That's what she told me." he said, still staring into the cracked concrete sidewalk. "She said 'I love you'."

"Oh." My heart fell. Of course he wouldn't have... I was being stupid. The fire of my anger started to regain prominence within me.

"So... what should I do?" Drew looked up at me now, his stunning brown eyes looking inquisitively into my own pair of the same colour. He was finally opening up, after all this time, finally revealing his soul to me. Too bad the curtain of my own jealous rage prevented me from noticing.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and wish you a Happy New Year! Prepare for an epic 2013 jammed packed with more original writing like this from the both of us! 

keep readin' it write! 

Megan 

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