Review: Vampire Crush

Vampire Crush

By: A.M. Robinson

Publisher: HarperTeen

Published December 28th 2010 
Summary: I swear, my life was always totally normal.
Normal house, normal family, normal school. My looks are average, I don't have any superpowers, no one's showing up to tell me I'm a princess—you get the picture. But when my junior year started, something not normal happened. There were new kids at school . . . new kids with a wardrobe straight out of a 19th-century romance novel, and an inexplicable desire to stay at school until sundown.
And on top of that, James Hallowell showed up. James, who stole my sandwiches in fourth grade and teased me mercilessly through middle school. James, who now seems to have the power to make my heart race any time he comes near.
But something weird is going on. Because James rarely goes out during the day. And he seems stronger than your typical guy. And he knows the new kids, all of whom seem to be harboring some kind of deep secret. . . 

 Review: Vampires again? Yes, this is another book about the blood-sucking creatures. Vampire Crush did start out like many of the others, a high school girl digging to deep into places that she shouldn’t and finding out the big secret, Vampires are in her high school. This isn’t the only cliché that I found in the book, there were many but I absolutely loved it. 

Vampire Crush was hysterical it had me laughing during the whole novel. Well besides the times when the plot got a little scary…or maybe more then a little. One of my favorite things about this book was the romance, and how it wasn’t the main aspect of the plot. The mystery seemed to be the main part and that’s something different for Vampire novels. 


Each character in Vampire Crush had a distinct personality, from the main character Sophie who is smart, independent, and witty to Violet one of the vampires’ who is incredibly love sick and can’t get the hang of the new century. Violet is my favorite character, well next to James (the hot vampire). 


Vampire Crush was a hilarious, fun, and mysterious and even if it was a little predicable and followed some clichés, I actually really enjoyed it. If you like vampire novels this is definitely one you want to read. 

--Danielle

Waiting on Wednesday: Illusions

I was sitting at my computer this morning typing up a bunch a reviews when I realized it's Wednesday. Then I decided to do one of these Meme's since it's been awhile since I've been able to. 

Illusions, the third book in Aprilynne Pike's New York Times best-selling series, continues the story of a not-so-ordinary girl named Laurel.

Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.

But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.



I'm a fan of this series and can't wait to read Illusions but I can't say I'm looking forward to the movie. I'm tried of seeing my favorite books ruined on screen. 

So are you Team Tamani or David. This is one of the few books that I haven't been able to choose between with. Both are amazing and I just can't like one better then the other.

--Danielle

In My Mailbox (29)

Sorry this post is so late the video took forever to upload.

IMM
Library:
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe   **** Just realized that I never mentioned the name of this book in the vlog! I hold the book up but never mention the name. SORRY!
Cate and the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

As Christmas Presents:
Matched by Ally Condi
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

BN NOOK!!!!

Net Galley:
Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

E-book from Simon and Schuster:
Wiither by Lauren DeStefano


I might post a short review on my Nook sometime this week.


--Danielle

Journey To The Past

Journey To The Past: When most people go to the bookstore or library they look at the new releases, but what about all those other books? They deserve some love too. So once a week I write about a slightly older book.

Peaches

By: Jodi Lynn Anderson

Published in 2006

Amazon/Goodreads
Summary: Three Georgia peaches are in for one juicy summer . . .
. . . but Birdie would rather eat Thin Mints and sulk in the A/C. Leeda would prefer to sneak off with her boyfriend, Rex. And Murphy would much rather cause a little mischief. Together these three very different girls will discover the secret to finding the right boy, making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach. (From Goodreads)

Thoughts:

Peaches is a story that follows three different girls with completely different personalities, Birdie, Leeda and Murphy. Birdie grew up on a Georgia peach farm and is sweet and innocent. Leeda has the seemingly perfect life that she is unhappy with. Murphy is the complicated rebel. All three girls find themselves on Birdie’s Dads peach farm for the summer. Leeda their to visit her cousin and Murphy as punishment for trespassing.

On the farm the girls learn lessons and the importance of friendship and family with some romance thrown in. This book touches you and these characters stay with you. It’s the perfect book to read if you want to escape the winter weather for a few days. Then when you’re done you can pick up the sequels The Secret of Peaches, and Love and Peaches.


--Danielle

Giveaway - $30 CSN Gift Card

Recently CSN stores contacted me to host a giveaway. How could I say no? I’ve heard great things about their products from other bloggers. I’ve very excited to be working with them for this giveaway.

For the people that haven’t heard of CSN they are an online that sells everything from bookshelves to Modern Décor! Here are a few examples…



Lava Splash Feather Filled Pillow



4D Concepts Hanging Corner Storage



This giveaway is for a $30 gift card to spend on any of the CSN stores. To enter all you have to do is fill out this form below. You don’t have to be a follower to enter BUT you do have to live in the US or Canada since CSN only ships to those locations.

*The contest will close on January 30th!



Good luck everyone!
--Danielle

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else - Review-

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

By: Erin McCahan

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Amazon/Goodreads

Review:

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else surprised me. I thought it was going to be a quick easy summer romance kind-of book, the kind that you forget shortly after finishing. Erin McCahan’s writing was nothing like that.

The main character Bronwen Oliver is positive she was switched at birth. Ever since her dad passed away she’s had nothing in common with her family. Then after getting dumped on prom night, she reconnects with her brother’s old friend Jared. When they start dating everything seems to be perfect. Bronwen even feels like she was meant to be part of his family, since she fits in so well.

Even though Jared was a few years older then Bronwen he never tried to push her to far. He was the ideal guy, and he’s definitely better then most of the guys in paranormal books because he was so sweet and always treated Bronwen well. So when Jared surprises her with a proposal, of course she accepts.

That starts Bronwen’s journey to find herself, so she can make the right decisions for her and no one else. Even though the book covers topics like teen marriage and college. I would still recommend it to anyone six grade and up, because it has a great message.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else was one of those unforgettable books that you just can’t put down. It also leaves you begging for more. I would highly suggest it.

--Danielle

Trends In YA : Dystopian

The Trends in Ya is something that I've been starting to do every week. Sort of like my own meme. This week is dystopian. This is another trend that I am really starting to like. Here are a few examples some a few years old and some upcoming releases.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.
I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

*Inside Out is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it. You can find my review here.

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.



Hunger Games: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
 
 



Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.




What do you think about this trend?

--Danielle

In My Mailbox

I know this is late but I was on the Polar Express yesterday and I was Christmas shopping today. Here's what I got this week.

For Review:


Bought:


Thats it! What did you get this week?

Fragment Friday (2)

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chic this blog where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others! It's a fun way to learn about new books or to hear a sample from a book you're dying to read.

Here Comes the Bride — If She Can Pass Chemistry.

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?





Tell me what you think!


--Danielle

Blog Hop

I haven't been able to do one of these in a long time.

The Blog Hop is hosted by Jen at http://www.crazy-for-books.com/ , and go there to find out more about the Hop.

"What is the thing you like most about reading book blogs? Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely?"

Well I've never done a guest post or interview. I love hosting giveaways but my favorite would have to be meat new people that are as obsessive as me. In high school you don't find to many readers. I've heard the line "I hate books" way to much. Bloggers, readers, and authors are all amazing in this community and I'm so glad I started blogging, otherwise I wouldn't know any of them.


If your here from the hop make sure you leave a comment so I can 'hop' back :)


--Danielle

Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy Series #6): Theories

SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN’T READ/FINISHED THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY SERIES UP TO BOOK 6. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.



Tomorrow is a very special day. Do you know why? Last Sacrifice will finally be on the shelves, so we can finally know the ending to Rose’s story (for now at least). I’ve been following Vampire Academy since April 2008 when the second book came out. I’ve been addicted ever since.

Who killed the Queen?


This is the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind. There has even been a series of trailers about it. (You can find them here )

Rose, Christian, Dimitri, Adrian, and Lisa.

Those are the characters with a trailer, maybe because it was one of them but maybe not. Personally I don’t have any idea’s one who could have killed the Queen. It could be someone that we’ve never met. A queen must have plenty of enemies.

Now the next question that everyone wants to know, who Rose going to end up with. For this one I actually have a theory. By now you’ve probably realized that I’m a fan of Adrian. I do have a button in the sidebar for him. That doesn’t mean he’s the one I’m routing for Rose to with. It just means I like him. I’d be happy either way, Dimitri or Adrian. Both are amazing and care so much for Rose.

When Dimitri turned Strigoi in my mind they couldn’t be together anymore. Either she would have to kill him or she would get turned trying to. Now that he’s human again, I don’t think he could ever feel the same way around Rose again. In his mind he hurt her to much to ever be good enough for her again. This is where I think the title “Last Sacrafice” comes from. For Dimitri not to feel guilty anymore maybe he has to Sacrafic himself for Rose. Even though I wish Rose and Dimitri could be together I think she could be happy with Adrain.

On the other hand maybe it’s Adrian sacraficing himself for Rose. He’s so in love with her, I don’t think he could be happy without her.

The Last Sacrafic could go a million different ways. This was just my ideas. On the bright side, the book will be out tomorrow.

Do you have any theories?

--Danielle

Journey To The Past: Once Upon A Marigold

Journey To The Past: When most people go to the bookstore or library they look at the new releases, but what about all those other books? They deserve some love too. So once a week I write about a slightly older book.

It's been a VERY long time since I've done one if these. Hopefull yi'll be able to get back into doing one once a week again.

Once Upon A Marigold

By: Jean Ferris
Published in 2002
Amazon
Thoughts: ‘Part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ is the line on the cover used to describe Once Upon A Marigold. I agree with it completely. The story is about Christian who is infatuated with a princess, Princess Marigold. Only he’s just a commoner who lives with a troll and has no hope of ever being with Marigold. Christian grows up watching the Princess across the river until one day he decides to pigeon-mail her. This starts their conversations and love story. Once Christian turns 18 he gets a job at the palace to be near her. Then, of course, there’s an evil Queen that wants to get rid of Marigold so she can have the Kingdom. Christian tries to save the young princess, who also has a secret.

Once Upon A Marigold is a fun, witty fairytale. That keeps me entertained every time I read it. If you love fairytales like me, you’ll fall in love with the world and characters that Jean Ferris created. Then when you’re finished you can go on to the sequel. I haven’t been able to read it yet but I have heard great things about it, so I expect it to be just a great as Once Upon A Marigold.



--Danielle
On the topic of fairytales has anyone seen Tangled? I went to see it last Saturday and loved every part of it. It’s one of the best Disney movies I’ve seen in awhile.

Books From The Month

This is something that I started last month and I hope to do at the end of every month. Since I don't always get to review every books I read, or the review won't be posted till closer to the release date I wanted to make a post talking about all the books that I read that month.

Here's the video. :)

 

Leave a comment and tell me if you like concept and if I should keep doing them. If you want to jion in this month or the next you can! If enough people want to do it I'll add a Mr.linky to the next post. For now if you do one just leave a link in the comments.

--Danielle