Review: Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn

Title: Kitty Takes a Holiday
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Northville #3
Pages: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:
While hidden away in a cabin in the wilds of southern Colorado, Northville is finding it difficult to write her memoirs -- especially when someone keeps painting bloody crosses on her door and leaving mutilated animal sacrifices hanging in the surrounding trees. But her autobiography takes a backseat when werewolf bounty hunter Cormac shows up on Northville's doorstep with a bloodied Ben O'Farrell in tow. While assisting Bennett on a case in New Mexico involving a rogue werewolf, Ben was brutally attacked and, in less than four days, will experience his first Change. As Ben struggles to come to grips with his new affliction, Northville and Cormac talk to locals in an attempt to uncover who is using arcane blood magic to intimidate Northville into leaving. But when the full moon inevitably rises and Northville and Ben Change, the radio personality finds the unexpected: companionship, love, acceptance -- and the beginnings of her own pack.

My Review:
I am loving where this series is going. I was pretty doubtful if I would continue on with Kitty and the gang at the end of the last book. There were just a few things that rubbed me the wrong way, and I felt like I barely knew even the main character after the first two books, let alone any of the side characters. Something about the descriptions and even the characters actions left them feeling two dimensional...and not just flat...but almost see through. Think of it like art. In the first two books, you only get sketches, vague outlines of who these characters are meant to be. Even Kitty was only slightly more defined than the minor characters, which left me feeling rather indifferent to where her story went. I almost didn't care whether or not she lived or died. This book served as the color and depth that I needed for me to enjoy the series. I now feel pretty firmly attached to all three of the "main-ish" characters. I say main-ish because you never really know if Cormac and Ben are main characters or side characters...except Ben will probably have more of a role in books to come.

As you can read from the description, Ben is attacked by a werewolf and in now about to turn for the first time. I feel like the title of this book is a tad misleading, because Kitty in no way is on a vacation. She might be away from the radio station thing for a while, but her werewolf issues are coming hard and fast now that she's found herself a little cabin in the woods away from the rest of civilization. I think that there is almost more violence and darkness in this book than the other two...I think that's why I enjoyed it more...evil brings out the best in me :P lol not really...but it certainly brought out the best in Kitty. There was so much angst, so many woes for Ben, Kitty, and Cormac that it was like a room full of love-struck teenagers who don't know how to flirt with each other. You can see that each character is trying to keep themselves protected from being hurt by the others, but you just want to shake them and be like...stop that you silly-heads...you should be in love...not in this awkward lusty-like phase...

I like that despite the fact that Kitty is a werewolf, she is a normal person. Just getting bitten by a werewolf doesn't necessarily mean that you have to turn into this bad ass, leather wearing, swearing, biker type chick. Kitty is not that girl, and she doesn't allow her...furry little problem...to affect her personality. Sometimes I wish she would maybe grow a little bit more of a backbone...but she acts like a normal person when confronted with scary situations. She runs her ass off :)...Can't fault a girl for that. Despite her proclivity for running from danger, she will bravely stand up for her friends and her beliefs which is great...you don't want a waffley character who changes her mind every five seconds. The problems that happen are complicated, but Kitty reasons them out in an interesting way with a great amount of smarts...which makes her come off as a much more likable character than the last few books.

One thing that I thought was extra interesting was the addition of some rare supernaturals that are native to the Native American/Mexican culture where this book takes place. A lot of times I get bogged down by the whole vamp/were/fairy popularity thing. It is always a treat when something comes up that isn't in a lot of literature. In this book, there was an idea of a skin-walker...now you're probably thinking that this is just a typical were-wolf right? WRONG!! Super wrong in fact...but I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to ruin the book/ending. Let me just say that skin-walkers are pure evil...the extent of what they have to go through to become skin walkers can be nothing but evil so they make pretty spooky characters. Also, the family that produces the skin walkers are fascinating as well...Native Americans left with nothing sworn to get revenge on the people who ruined their lives...very cool. I really enjoyed the depth of these characters and creatures, and you can really see that Carrie Vaughn has done her research on the subject.

I give this book 4 out of 5 Keys! I had a much better time reading this one than the previous two. Either I am just getting more attached to the characters, or Carrie Vaughn has gotten more adept at making characters likable and fun. Kitty Takes a Holiday is really fast paced. It has a darker, more interesting plot than the last books and has lots of mystery, adventure, action, and romance. It's pretty much a literary cocktail of awesomeness that any bookish paranormal fan will like. There are a ton of paranormal twists and turn that keep you reading longer than you wanted to (seriously...I accidentally read through a meeting...bad Andra...bad) Definitely push yourself through the first two, because this series is getting good and I can't wait to find out what comes next.

Low Red Moon: By Ivy Devlin Review

Title: Low Red Moon
Author: Ivy Devlin
Series: N/A
Pages: 244
Publisher:
Genre: Paranormal YA
Source: Library

Good Reads Description:
The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver—deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school—Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him—at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.Part murder mystery, part grief narrative, and part heart-stopping, headlong romance, Low Red Moon is a must-read for teen paranormal fans.

My Review:

Alright...*sigh*...where to begin....I really wanted to like this book. One of my favorite types of books to read is retellings of myths or fairy tales. When I read the blurb on GoodReads, and found another take on Little Red Riding Hood, and of course, add in a dash of paranormal by making the wolf a shape shifter, and we will have a Happily Ever After custom made to make me happily ever after, or at least until the next day when I find more books to add to my TBR pile. However, after reading the book, I found the similarities between the fairy tale to be few, and the ones that did exist were rather childish. The book seemed more an adaptation of Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series. The parallels to red riding hood that were included were: the fact that the main character’s last name was hood, she lived with her grandmother, and there was a wolf and an axe hefting woodsman involved. But that was about it.

I really struggled to get through this book. It is pretty short, about 250-300 pages, and these would normally take me a day, two at most to finish. I dragged this book out for about a week. I tried over and over to get into the story and finally just gritting my teeth and forced myself to finish it. The characterization was flawed and incomplete. Normally, I connect very well with books written in the first person… only natural, as one of the benefits of 1^st person narration, as they make the reader feel like they are the main character in the story. Not the case in Low Red Moon. Avery, the main character, was so bland that I had to go back a few times just to remember her name. Her beliefs and decisions were elementarily spelled out for her, not allowing the reader to come to understand who she is through her actions. Very little depth is put into the characters of Avery’s parents, she just trudges on and on saying how much she misses them and how different her life is. The writing gets very repetitive and boring. Ben, Avery’s love interest, comes out of nowhere and has almost no physical description. He too spells out how he feels, rather than acting in any way that portrays emotion. The couple’s relationship fits the pattern of hot boy meets average girl, and they inexplicably fall in love out of the blue…There is NO originality in this part of the plotline. The romance and subsequent bonding are tedious and unexplained. I felt almost no connection to any of the characters in the book.

To be perfectly honest, I was kind of shocked that the author of this book has a successful YA series under a different name. The writing has a tone and style that is dumbed-down, a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Just because the writing deals with particular topics relative to teens and young adults, or has a protagonist who is young, DOES NOT mean that the readers can’t handle complex plots, subplots, and depth in their characters. Think of the most successful YA and teen books of our time. Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc. These books are just as complex as many adult books and the characters practically pop out of the pages they are so real. Perhaps what threw her was the addition of a paranormal element. Some authors seem to think that paranormal romances, whether for young readers or adults are “softer” than their contemporary counterparts. It’s like the addition of a vampire or fairy somehow makes the plotting less important because the readers have so much more to focus on.

I give Low Red Moon 1 Key... Not too much to say. I was NOT a fan. Nothing worked for me. At ALL. My biggest complaint was how rushed everything was. There was 244 pages, but the print was huge, the margins were enormous, and there was art on the tops and bottoms of some pages that took away from the story. So...clearly I didn’t like this book, but some other book bloggers have had much better experiences with it so I will link their reviews here so that you might have a bigger pool from which to decide if you want to read Low Red Moon or not. In my opinion, if you want to check it out from the library or get it some other way for free, go for it...but it's not worth the money to actually buy it in any way, shape, or form.

Bookworming in the 21st Century
Dark Fantasy Reviews

Well, That's it for me! Have a good Thursday :)

Dirty Little Secret

 Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!
To participate in the meme all you need to do is:
1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link below.
Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!
We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

"If you could shape shift into anything, what would it be?"

Definitely a Phoenix. I've loved them since Fawkes in Harry Potter, and I recently read a series that had them in there...plus I'm kind of a pyro and I love fire...Overall I would just like to be a regular shifter. You know, one that can take on any form? That way I wouldn't have to choose and I could be whatever I wanted at the time :)

 How about you guys? Will Alcide from True Blood have you turning into a slavering wolf once a month? Or do your tastes run to a more...feline nature?? Let me know for this weeks Dirty Little Secret!

Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Title: Need
Author: Carrie Jones
Series: Need #1
Pages: 306
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Paranormal YA
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

My Review:
Urgh...I don't quite know where to begin on this book. I don't like writing reviews that bash the novels, but to be perfectly honest...I have never felt like something wasted my time more than Need. There were a few redeeming qualities, but overall, I can barely remember what I read. It was the most unoriginal, unbelievable, cheesy book that I have read in months. I feel bad for saying this because perhaps it isn't what the author intended, but it really feels like she was just capitalizing on the surge of paranormal YA love that's been going on lately. This world, these characters, all have absolutely no life. I love it when an author's world spills onto the page and takes a life of its own, but these characters left me cold and irritated. They are cookie cutter pieces that when forced together make a YA novel that looks interesting enough(I really did like the cover), but is just a way to make money. It was Twilight, on the other side of the country, with pixies instead of vampires, and lacking in any form of plot or character depth.

Things I liked:

1. The quirkiness of Zara's phobia naming was pretty interesting. I liked seeing how the phobias applied to each chapter, and it gave Zara the semblance of a personality.
2. The dialogue between Gran and Zara. Gran was my favorite character. She was the only one who had a personality, even if it was slightly cliché. She jokes with her grand daughter, creeped on her grand daughter, and pretty much single-handedly dominated in the sarcasm department. I loved her. I wish my grandma was just like her.
3. The concept of the pixies. I love the fey, and everything fey related. I liked that Jones created a history that included fey, weres, elves, etc. By having an actual history to look back on, it makes the present day characters seem much more realistic.

Things that didn't work for me:

1.  When Zara arrives in Maine, she walks into school and makes friends and enemies on the spot. Literally, she walks into the office and the pretty popular blonde girl sitting there looks at her scathingly and decides that she hates her immediately. Then the hot over-achiever guy takes her to class and wants to be best friends. Um...why? Even the mean girls in my high school needed a reason to hate someone...they didn't just pick a random person on the spot to despise...There was no reason for the hate, no reason for the love, and the friends she made are such carbon copies of the cliché group of high school friends that its pathetic. 
2.  When said unoriginal friends find out that Zara is being stalked, they rush to the internet where they google stalkers, and guess what? They decide that the stalker has to be a pixie. And Zara's all " What? OMG? No Way?! Ok then, Pixies it is!!" Then they throw in weres for good measure and all decide to believe in them too. The fact that these kids just randomly pick up some book in the library and articles on the internet and then they magically believe in pixies was so laughable, I almost put the book down right there. SO unrealistic. There is no evidence, no pixie or were friends that demonstrate the paranormal, nothing...and they still believe? That’s like me finding out someone stole my mail and deciding that it MUST have been the elves and dwarves that did it...totally unbelievable. Which brings me to my next point.
3. So we find out later in the book that the Pixie King wants Zara's mom as his queen, and that she ran away from him so that she wouldn't have to become it. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to send your daughter to the very place that you ran away from to "keep her safe"...sounds logical to me. Because the King so won't use your daughter to trap you, and who knows with pixies...incest might not be frowned upon so you might have just sacrificed your daughter to the pixie king in your place...
4.  Zara herself was a flat, boring character. She barely thinks for herself, outside of naming random phobias. She accepts the idea that pixies exist without a blink, then when she finds out Nick is a were she has a panic attack...in the same boat, Nick IS a were and claims he loves Zara (after like...3 days mind you) and he gets angry and has a freak out when he realized Zara is half pixie...hello racism...or is it speciesism? Every issue is so overblown and dramatic, I found myself rolling my eyes more than scanning the pages.

I could keep going about the plot points I hated, the characters I hated, and the dialogue I hated for another 3 pages...but like I said, I don't like writing reviews that bash the books. I just wanted to point out a few of the reasons that this book really didn't work for me. It almost offends me when an author appears to be "lazy" and copies ideas from everyone else...it looks like they are only in it for the money, not getting the worlds and people in their heads down on paper for the rest of us to see. 

1/2

Rating: I am having a hard time rating this book...it wasn't complete drivel, and I did finish it...but overall, Need was a headache. I was annoyed and frustrated throughout the entire novel and was glad to be done with it :( It pains me to say that I will have to give it 1 1/2 Keys...It just didn't work for me, and I was mildly offended by all the material that appeared to be stolen from other books.

Review: Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen

Title: Flip This Zombie
Author: Jesse Petersen
Series: Living with the Dead #2
Pages: 272
Publisher: Orbit Books
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Zombie
Source: Bought from Borders *sobs*

Goodreads Description:
The Zombie Apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David. Their marriage is better than ever. They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they're starting a business. ZombieBusters-for all your zombie extermination needs.There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers...Except one of them doesn't want the zombies dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation. Mad scientists make for difficult clients and this time, Sarah and David might have bitten off more than they can chew.

My Review:
Dave and Sarah are back and this time, they have pretty much forgotten all of their marriage trouble from their lives before the zombie apocalypse. They are now certified bad asses who specialize in kicking zombie butt. They travel around what used to be the US, going from survivor camp to survivor camp to help out those who can't fight the zombies for themselves. They are also pretty much happily in love. So now you know what it takes to fix a marriage on the rocks...the end of the world and the death of half of the population of America. They've grown and developed into zombie killing Barbie and Ken...complete with all the accessories that come with the position. Machetes, hand guns, rifles...awesomesauce :)

One of the things I liked best was how Sarah would go into detail about how she and Dave would try out things from the movies. It was hilarious how some of these experiences would turn out. There was an epic Jackie Chan type moment that had me wanting to go make a ninja zombie movie...and then, you know how in every supernatural movie, the heroine has that one pose where she's got one leg jutting sexily out to the side, all while somehow showing off both her ass and boobies? Yeah, Sarah finds out that that move doesn't quite work in real life...the same thing with the skin tight, black leather ensemble. It's funny to watch the couple bumbling through the world the same way that any of us would be doing. I have definitely seen my fair share of zombie movies, so I feel like I would be pretty prepared...but Sarah and Dave make you think of the things that slip your mind when preparing for the apocalypse...like the loss of bathing facilities....bleh...There are so many pop culture references in this book that any fan of zombie/horror/action movies will love to find the hidden comments and jokes.

I loved the first book in the series Married with Zombies, not so much because it was super original or that it added some spectacular new element to the Zombie genre, but because it was just straight up hilarious.The situational humor and simply the way that Petersen words her biting wit and sarcasm really made the book what it was. I'm glad to say that book number two definitely delivers the same dose of awesome that I have come to expect. The introduction of Kevin and the Kid was really cool...Jesse Petersen really knows how to make a character come off explosive and awesome from the getgo. Take Kevin for example...he's this wimpy scientist type, but has somehow rigged it so he has the most explosives, weapons, etc in the area and basically can control whether or not Sarah and Dave live or die. His pathetic attempts at flirting with Sarah were so awkward I was practically twisting and turning in my seat. It's like those super awkward first dates you witness at the coffee shop. (For those of you who don't know, I spend quite a bit of my free time either reading or blogging in the shop down the street from my house...I get to see a LOT of awkward first dates) Kevin's flirting was a cross between high schoolers going out on a first date and not knowing how to speak to a member of the opposite sex, and those super awkward dates spawned by the internet...the "You don't look like THAT in your profile picture!" dates :)

Though still pretty hilarious at parts, Flip This Zombie has a lot less humor and a lot more blood, guts, and angst for the survival of the human race. As the slapstick comedy leaves, there is a lot more room for interesting plot developments. I'm not gunna lie, the plot of this book was pretty sweet. It still wasn't super original (you find mad scientists in almost every incarnation of the Zombie genre) it was really cool. The lab was just a fun place to hang out and see the characters interact with each other and their environment. The zombie gerbil/hamster things were freaking sweet and I enjoyed myself immensely during that section of the book. Now if only I could find a zombie hamster to go terrorize my roommate...the girl left her dirty underpants in the middle of the floor today! Seriously...she probably wouldn't even notice if a hamster got into her clothes, the dirty little pig...lol

I give Flip This Zombie 4 out of 5 Keys! It was a great addition to the series. It was really easy to get lost in the book...I sat down to read a few chapters, then the next thing I know I had been sitting there for hours and the library was kicking me out. The Kid was a great character...I loved that here was this violent, wild, foul-mouthed brat who acts like he owns the world...which I guess you could say that he does...he's survived this long into the zombie apocalypse after all... I also liked the ending a lot. It was a minor cliff hanger, but not too bad. It basically just makes you wanna get your hands on the next book as soon as humanly possible.

Review: A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

Title: A Kiss of Shadows
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Series: Merry Gentry #1
Pages: 435
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Bought

Goodreads Description:

Princess Meredith of the Fey has been on the run from the Unseelie Court for several years, having taken the human identity of Meredith (Merry) Gentry and working as a private eye who handles cases with a supernatural bent. During a case involving a bizarre cult and Faerie artifacts, Meredith is forced to use her magic. She is immediately noticed by her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness, who resolves to have Meredith brought back to the Court.The Queen seeks to find an heir to the throne because she feels her resentful and sadistic son, Prince Cel, isn't suitable to rule. She devises a strange contest between Meredith and Cel, decreeing that the first to bear a child shall have the crown. Thus begins a violent struggle between the rivals that involves unbridled passions, malicious attacks, and bitter betrayals. 

My Review:
I absolutely love this series. The funny thing about it, was that it was my first real introduction to adult literature, urban fantasy, erotic fantasy, and paranormal romance. I read it when I was 14. For those of you who have read anything by Laurell in the past, you are probably gasping and appalled right now. I will tell you, that it was a definite shock to go from reading kid's books and pre-teen books to reading Laurell. I swear that this woman has the sexual imagination of the original makers of the Kama Sutra. I went from reading books where the most intimate sexual act was kissing ( and not very descriptively either..) to reading full out, explicit, vigorous sex scenes with multiple faerie men...some with tentacles...To say that my entrance to the world of adult literature with this series was a culture shock is an understatement of epic proportions, but for better or worse, it was how I began my long time obsession with Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, etc. I'm not quite sure what it says about me, but this series has shaped my reading tastes, preferences, and choices since the time that I actively began developing my *ahem* romantic interests...So I like reading about orgies with lots of hot fey men...sue me :P

There is a LOT of sex in this series. I think that's only logical. After all, the premise for the whole thing is that a fairy princess is in a race to get pregnant so she can steal the throne from her deranged cousin. When the whole point of a series is to make babies...well there's bound to be a lot of babymaking activities right? Right. This first book has mostly strait-laced (though certainly very hot) sex. As the series progresses, Merry and her guard get a little more...frisky, shall we say? But in this book, the sex scenes aren't too outrageous...they are just hot as hell. I swear...if this book isn't making you take a cold shower every half an hour...nothing will. The best thing about it though, is that even the sex has a purpose. It isn't gratouitous...it isn't meaningless. It is a means to further the story, to break down barriers between characters, and to grow as a series. Even when the characters aren't having sex, they can be doing nothing more intimate than giving a kiss on the cheek or hand...there is such a sensuality in the character's actions that you get the shivers.

Laurell's work isn't simply telling a story. She breathes life into her characters until she leaves no room to argue that they aren't real. In fact, I know more about these characters after one book than some people I've known in real life for 5 years. The characters, the story, the court politics, the cultures of all the different fey races are simply fantastic. There is such vitality, meaning, and life in the whole entire world that just for the time your reading, you forget about this world and actually believe in Merry's. The difference between other author's novels and Laurell's are as dramatic as the difference between a pencil sketch and a full color digital photograph. Even the single most irrelevant character (a childhood friend, nameless uncles, etc) have enough depth and history to make them a main character in their own book. (Seriously...if Laurell went back and wrote a back story for every event, character, etc that is mentioned once and dissapears, she would have like...4-5 collections of amazing short stories.) All this vivid imagery, discription, etc. is so well interwoven into the storyline that you barely feel like you are learning about the character. Every move, every action, every single little thing that the characters do builds up an image of who they are as people. Reading this story and bonding with the characters was as easy for me as breathing.

The ending was amazing. The last chapter, the very last page holds you close and grips you up so that you are literally in pain until you get the next book in the series. I could try to sum up it's awesomeness, but I am feeling lazy today and feel like Laurell can do her own work justice much better than I can...so here is a paragraph from the last chapter of the book.

I don't want the throne if I have to climb over the bodies of my friends and lovers to get to it. I always thought love was more important than power, but sometimes you cant have love without the power to keep it safe...I can't be queen while Cel lives, no matter what my aunt believes. I pray for the safety of those I care about, and what I'm really asking for is power, the throne, and my cousin's death. Because those three things must happen to give us all safety. They say, be careful what you wish for. Well, be even more cautious with your prayers. Make sure, very sure, it's what you want. You never know when a deity may give you exactly what you ask for.

I give this book 5 Keys. I would give it 6 if I could. I think the plot is utterly fantastic, the court intrigue is diabolical, the characters are amazing, and the sex scenes are smoldering hot...That being said, if you don't like sex in your books...this series is not for you. Don't read it and write a review bashing it for it's sexual content. That is the whole premise of the series, and you know that going into it. I have been looking at the reviews on Goodreads, and the majority of the bad reviews are about the amount of sex...well...I only counted 3 actual sex scenes...though there was one or two very sensual scenes as well...That doesn't seem to be extreme amount of sex for a 435 page book. Also, if you even looked at the blurb, you would know that it's a series about a princess trying to get preggo...how were you expecting them to accomplish this? A stork? Well, that was my rant...This is my favorite Paranormal Romance series, and my absolute favorite series in any adult genre. I hope you give it a chance...even if you aren't into tentacle sex...

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to my stop on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! This is a fantastic giveaway of epic porportions...all devoted to Halloween! I know that a lot of you will be hopping right through, but I hope you stop and take a look around and find out that you really like it here...Yeah I know, I know, get on to the giveaway right??? Fine.. so most of you know me and my giveaway habits by now. You know that I like to keep a little mystery going, by not quite telling you what I've giving away..Well...I'm doing it again...For this giveaway hop I will be giving away a mystery box of Halloween books! These will range from the terrifying, to the hauntingly hot variety. To give me a hint of what kind of things you like (straight up horror like Stephen King, Spooky Short Stories, Kid's books, Erotica...whatever floats your boat...) Leave me a comment so I can try and personalize the box to your tastes!

To enter: Fill in the Rafflecopter Below! That's it! You can finish up here and then get hopping down the list of other participating blogs below to win fabulous Scary Prizes! Good Luck everybody and Happy Halloween!!

And the Winner is...

At the beginning of this month I participated in the Bridger Blog Tour! The author, Megan Curd, graciously offered to give out a copy of her debut novel to one of my lucky followers! Surprisingly, there wasn't very many entries...oh well...the better for those who did enter...As always, I will be emailing the winner after I post this, then if I don't hear from them in 48 hours I will pick a new winner...anyways, without further ado, the lucky winner of this book about fey, changelings, etc. is.....

DARCUS!!!

Congrats chicky! You have 48 hours to email me/tweet me/DM me/whatever your address and I will forward your information on to Megan! Thanks to everyone who participated and if you didn't win, you can still enter my 500 followers giveaway, or be on the lookout for my Spooktacular Giveaway Hop coming up on Monday!

Review: Blameless by Gail Carriger

Title: Blameless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: The Parasol Protectorate #3
Pages: 355
Publisher: Orbit Books
Genre: Steampunk
Source: Bought

Goodreads Description:
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season. Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council and to top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, which can only indicate that the vampires of London now inevitably want her dead.While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

 My Review:

Warning! This review will contain several spoilers from the previous books in the series, due to their relevance to the main plot lines of this one. If you haven't read the first books, Soulless and Changeless, then I suggest you do so immediately before you get all spoilery up in here with me. Plus they are amazing...this series is in my top ten best of the year so go out and buy them now!!!

Anywho...Blameless begins right where the previous book left off. Though you can't help but be pissed off at Conall Maccon for his serious buffoonism...this *ahem* distinguished English lord has just completely offended his dearest wife for suggesting that the child in her belly is not his...This would normally be believable, because according to all known lore, werewolves and other supernaturals can't have children. Yet, Alexia is one of a kind...in spirit and in species...She is a soulless and there has never been a werewolf/soulless child on record so you can understand why Alexia is pissed at her husband for thinking her unfaithful. I was absolutely shocked and appalled and Connal's reaction in the last book. He called her every name in the book then banished her from his castle...seriously Conall?? You total arse...you just kicked your pregnant wife out of her home for something YOU happened to participate vigorously in...douche...In spite of his hot headed and ridiculous reaction, you never quite lose sympathy with him. He is hurt, and reeling from the belief (however false) that the love of his life has cheated. He is a werewolf so cannot get drunk, except for drinking formaldehyde, which is hilarious. The scenes with drunk Lord Maccon were enough to bring tears of laughter to my eyes...I enjoyed him immensely.

I loved Alexia of course, the fact that she has been kicked out of her home is pitiable...but not nearly as bad as the fact that she now has to live back home with her ditsy, insipid, insulting mother and half-sisters who resemble nothing so much as pretty little vipers. In fact, it is her sister Felicity's fault that her disgrace is made public in London...This upsets her mother, Mrs. Loontwill,  to such a degree that she kicks Alexia out of her house as well...but not before producing one of my favorite scenes and quotes of the book. Basically the family is fighting over breakfast. Alexia has of course born the brunt of the displeasure and scandal for the house, and her sisters are constantly digging at her with sharp barbs of conversation. When Alexia discovers that it was Felicity who told the London socialites of her shame, she pours a tray of sausages over her sisters head, traumatizing her mother and turning her sister into a treacherous screaming child...but that is not all...here is a quote: "Alexia frowned. Her anger once again died, buckling under the ache of a were-wolf sized hole.Attempting to fill up the void with something, she helped herself to a dollop of marmalade and, because she had nothing left to lose, ate it directly off the spoon. At that, Mrs. Loontwill actually did faint." Perfect, refined, awesomeness at it's best :)

Also, with regards to the previous quote, I love that Alexia is not afraid of food. Her gusto for all things edible is quite hilarious as she samples all the different fares as she progresses across the European Continent. She's reminds me of a Victorian Stephanie Plum...for those of you not familiar with the Stephanie Plum series...she allows her fondness for birthday cakes, meatball subs, and pizza overwhelm even her libido sometimes. It is quite hilarious seeing Alexia turn to mush at the taste of pesto and marinara when previously she is such a hardened woman that she's practically an ice sculpture. Plus there are pretty hilarious effects to werewolves when dealing with a woman who's been eating garlic and pesto for a few weeks.

In the same route as the first two books in the series, there is a ton of action. And I don't just mean characters moving all around London and Europe. There are plenty of attacks, first by the mechanical ladybugs, and then by more and more sinister foes such as vampires and terrifying religious zealots. The inventions in this book were also fantastic. I especially loved the flying machine as well as the evil little paralyzing and poisoning ladybugs. Alexia spends most of this book on the run from her various attempts at assassination, due to the fact that she is no longer backed by Maccon's werewolves. I loved how she dealt with the different situations and characters along the way. Her soulless state, as well as her lineage, precedes her in many parts of the world, and she is treated with varying levels of both curiosity and disgust...very cool...I thought the book was paced very well. I spent most of the time wishing I could read faster and faster, though I was a little sad that this book, like it's predecessor, kept Alexia and Lord Maccon apart for much of the novel.

I give this book 4 out of 5 Keys! It was definitely a wonderful trip into the land of Victorian, Supernatural England...which is a trip that I feel is always worth taking :) I can't wait to read more about the Maccons, and especially get back to England and deal with the pregnancy, Madame Lefoux, and Ivy and Tunstell. I was actually pretty upset that Lord Akeldema was absent for the majority of the book, because he is one of my favorite characters. I am SO excited to see what develops with the new circumstances surrounding him and Biffy. This was an excellent read, and I recommend this series with TONS of enthusiasm...If I could dance the cha-cha while waving this series around and shouting about it's greatness, well...I would probably do it :)

Friday Memes!

It's Time for one of my all-time favorite memes! Feature/Follow Friday brought to you by the fabulous Parajunkee! It's a chance to get to know our fellow bloggers by bombarding them with personal questions and forcing them to follow you...well...not really...but it is freaking awesome so you should participate...This Week's Prompt is:

Q: What superhero is your alter-ego?

Like Parajunkee, I also have a thing for cats...though in my case it's the more extreme wild version. Say hello to Chetara from the Thundercats!!! Muy Sexy no??? I was a tad well, unborn...during her first incarnation ( I believe Thundercats were on in the 80's?) but I had a friend in high school who had all of the episodes on DVD and we would hang out and watch them in her basement. I love Chetara's kick-ass attitude and that she can hold her own in a pack full of boys.

TGIF is a weekly meme to re-cap the week’s posts & to propose a question for my followers. It is run by Ginger at GReads. This week's question is: What are Some Book Blogs That Make You Smile? Pick 5 book blogs you visit often & think others should, too:

That is a pretty hard question for me. I mean...I blog stalk SO much and there are SO many blogs that I have to constantly keep up with because they are really fantastic. I could probably name 15-20 without breaking a sweat...but here goes...

This should come as no surprise to you all. If you've found me , you've probably found Ashley, the Bookish Brunette...and she is 100% Fabulatude. Yes...that is a combo of Fabulous and Attitude. This chick rocks it, whether "it" is stilettos, or being one of the best book bloggers out there :)

Mickey at I'm a Book Shark is also amazing. This girly is a monster reader, and also reviews a ton of audio books, which is cool because she's helped me branch out and find great audio books that I'd never have tried without her...she is also a fabulous twitter friend to have and I wish her and her new fiance all the best :)

Melissa at Just One Opinion is a great Twitter-friend as well...she's always there with advice or just for a chat, and she has some really fantastic reviews and really awesome giveaways. Just please don't mention that for a brit, she doesn't really have an English accent :P. She's been living in America for years people! Things like accents tend to fade!! I <3 this chick and you should too...GO FOLLOW HER!!!

Missie at the Unread Reader practically needs no introduction. She is the fabulous creator of one of my absolute favorite memes...The Book Boyfriend!! *swoons!* Check out her site on Wednesday(or Topless Tuesday for that matter) and you will find yourself in need of a cold shower asap...Besides having pictures of guys with muslces and buns that I'd like to sink my teeth into...Missie is an AMAZING blogger...she's kind of my idol and I <3 her a lot. If you aren't following her, you're missing out big time!

Giselle from Xpresso Reads is a Reading DEMON...it's hard to keep up with this chick! lol...she has really interesting reviews as well and her site is muy pretty...plus...anything with Xpresso in the title has to be great right? right? RIGHT! Giselle is also very interactive! Her comments and thoughts on other bloggers post's are always funny, smart, or just awesome and nice :) Yay Giselle!

Happy Friday to all my amazing followers, friends, and fellow bloggers! I hope you have an amazing weekend!

Review: Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Title: Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Series: N/A
Pages: 354
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:
2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her house mate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

My Review:
This book was excellent! I have been really into contemporary YA lately, and I am constantly amazed at how good they are. When I was actually in high school there was a terrible selection of YA books...Basically you had two categories: Paranormal(which I loved) and the "Gossip Girl" type novels. I never have been a fan of the fluffy pink girlie novels. I feel slightly less smart every time I read them...so that left me kind of limited in my choices. Nowadays there is SO much more to choose from! You still get the dramatic clique novels and such, but there is a whole lot more about your average teenager. Ten Things We Did was like a slice out of the average teen's life...if something dramatically awesome happened to the average teen! I'm not quite sure what it was about this book that made it so good. You couldn't help but feel upbeat and smiley even when drastic things were happening to April and Violet.

These girls were brilliant. And let's face it, you have to be pretty brilliant in order to pull off the ultimate scam of living unsupervised for your entire senior year of high school. Some people say that it is unrealistic that the girls got to live on their own, but I say it was all because of their quick wit. Granted, it helped that Vi's mom was kind of a flake, but I had a friend with a mom like that in high school...She would let boys sleep over at age 14 and left for weeks at a time to go on random vacations...so it was easier for me to believe that the girls could get away with it than most. April's dad was a little harder to believe. If my parents were leaving me with another mom for months, they would INSIST on meeting up with her in person...but I guess I can believe that if they were pressed for time they could be okay with phone calls and emails. Speaking of emails...I thought it was absolutely genius to make fake emails so that each parent could "keep in touch" with each other. That way the kids can monitor exactly what information that the parents are giving each other...perfect scam. I'm so jealous...I wish I could have thought up something that epic when I was still young and irresponsible...lol

April was really easy to relate to. There were some times when you wanted to shake her and tell her to stop letting her guy walk all over her, but she is acting like any teenager when they are in the middle of their first real relationship. The first guy I really fell hard for kind of messed me up too...if my life had been a novel, I doubt anyone would have like my co-dependent, whiny, obsessed self. I skipped out on group projects for him, drove him all over town (he didn't get his license till he was 17)...looking back, I was as pathetic as the most devoted, love-struck high school characters that drive me nuts. I was happy that April was so comparable to me, she made me feel a little less embarrassed about my own high school sweetheart. I also loved that each character had at least one flaw and one redeeming quality. So often you get characters who are so sickly sweet that you can practically feel them giving you cavities. Or then the mean girl is such a bitch for no reason that she just ends up pissing you off. In Ten Things We Did, all of the characters had their own agenda and MO's. This gave them an amazing 3-D quality that a lot of YA books lack. I really loved all the different aspects of their personalities, especially the different love interests.

And speaking of love interests...the boys in this book were totally swoon-worthy!! I absolutely adored Dean. He's Violet's best friend and admirer, and is an all around great guy. I admit I was a bit uneasy when she used him to deflower her...I figured nothing good could come of that...but everything worked out eventually and with a lot of dramatics and hilarity  all around. Dean is utterly adorable and has that good guy jokester kind of vibe that all the girls are secretly looking for. Dean's brother Hudson is no slacker either. He has a little less banter and snark than Dean, but he definitely makes up for it with mysteriousness and kindness. He is generous, loves animals and kids, and doesn't judge April when some VERY unfortunate circumstances turn up. I actually wish we could have had a little more of him...I know she was dating someone else for the majority of the novel but still...he was amazing and I really would love another look at his hotness.

I give this book 4 of 5 Keys! It was a fantastic contemporary read! It's a bit on the lighter side which is perfectly fine. It deals with a lot of tough stuff in a suprisingly bright tone. Things like cheating, divorce, moving away from family, growing up, STD's are all dealt with in an optimistic way which makes them seem more hopeful than a lot of books regarding the same subjects. As devastating as some of those things are, Mlynowski leaves you with a sense that things will eventually get better, which I really liked. It was a fantastic book and a must read!

Dirty Little Secret

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!
To participate in the meme all you need to do is:
1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link below.
Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!
We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

This Week's prompt is:

"You have been viciously attacked, but then saved by the tall, dark vampire of your dreams; however, he has had to change you into one of the blood sucking denziens of the night to save your life. After realizing that your favorite snack is now going to be a sip of O negative, what food do you begin to think you will lose your immortality for?"

Absolutely, without a doubt, 100% PIZZA!!! The cheesiness. The deliciousness of sauce, toppings, crust...I am a total pizza junkie!! I could eat pizza every day for a year and never be sick of it! Besides...if you get tired of the standard marinara, cheese, whatever...there's always alfredo sauce, vegetarian pizza, dessert pizza...oh the possibilities! So what about you guys?? What would be the thing you missed most if you ended up as an undead minion? Chocolate? Coffee? Let me know and have a Happy Thursday you guys!!!

Review: A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner

Title: A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend
Author: Emily Horner
Series: N/A
Pages: 259
Publisher: Dial
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:
For months, Cass Meyer has heard her best friend Julia, a wannabe Broadway composer, whispering about a top-secret project. Then Julia is killed in a sudden car accident, and while Cass is still reeling from her death, Julia’s boyfriend and her other drama friends make it their mission to bring to fruition the nearly-completed secret project: a musical about an orphaned ninja princess entitled Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad.


My Review:
Seriously you guys...you HAVE to read this book. This is one of the best Young Adult books I have read this year, perhaps of all time. There are wow-worthy books, and then there are those books that are in a class of their own because they are so outstandingly epic. Dead Best Friend doesn't sound like one of them from the Goodreads description, but believe me, this was one of those books.  I actually had to read this for my YA Lit class, but it has by far surpassed any of my expectations and I definitely recommend it...actually more than any of the "fun" contemporary YA that I have read this year. There are so many wow moments that I can barely think of just one to show off how amazing this book was. The plot was different and interesting. The characters were dynamic and full of life. Even the setting wasn't the same old-same old boring small town setting. 


Let's dive right in there and deal with the elephant sitting on this book. The main character, and three of the main side characters are gay. There will be a few people who won't want to read this book just because of that simple fact, but those people are in the wrong. Though the majority won't identify with a homosexual lifestyle, everyone can identify with themes like love, identity, loss, growing-up, breaking-up, and pure unadulterated teenage angst. It explores the issues and feelings surrounding coming out of the closet in one of the most dangerous places in the world: high school. To be honest, as an entirely heterosexual female, I never really got to understand the lesbian perspective. This book is a heart-squeezing eye-opener for me, while at the same time it's a funny and cute romance. Overall this story is about friendship and growing up. Cass has to make a bike trek of a few thousand miles just so she can find herself and learn to depend on her friends. Its about finding a way to cope with the past and to get over it before grief can consume you. And it's also about a fantastically bloody play about a Ninja princess. 


 The characters were fantastic. Cass was so heart-felt and full of teenage angst without being annoying. There is real substance behind her teenage dramatics...I mean, come on...her best friend and crush is killed in a car accident two weeks before senior prom. I think that qualifies to let a person have the mopeys.  Though her reaction is a bit extreme ( She decides to bike halfway across the country), it is something you can honestly believe that someone would do to keep their grief at bay. People do extreme things when struck with such tragedy. I like that each character reacts to Julia's death differently, either by throwing themselves into the play, being sullen and forlorn, or biking from Chicago to California. Even the side characters were real, with fun personalities and mannerisms that really breathed life into what could have just been flat, boring, two dimensional cutouts. They were like the kids from Glee, mixed with hippies, mixed with the drama kids at my old high school...only if they were even more ridiculously flamboyant and awesome. They react like real kids their ages would have acted given the circumstances.The pure emotion behind every action in this book was amazing. Nothing is contrived or fake...I feel like this could be something I see just going down the block and peeking into the windows of the high school.


I loved the split plot featuring "Then" for the time just after Julia's death and "Now" for when Cass and the rest were working on putting on Julia's play. I think it really brought a lot of stuff into detail that you could have missed when reading a chronological plot, but you get a better chance to understand them when presented in just the right sequence. Each segment of both the "then" and "now" pieces were so interesting. A lot of them ended in cliffhangers which made me mad when they were switching between the two times...I just wanted to keep reading what I was reading! Still, my hatred of cliffhangers aside, each part was well written and fit amazingly well within the context of the story. I actually think that the placement was quite brilliant. It's very easy to get confused and disorientated when dealing with multiple times going on at once, but I never felt lost or confused. There was a lot of good work going on with the story...loved it! The only thing that I felt was neglected with the sub-plot revolving around Maggie...She definitely got shafted in the story...basically she gets attached to Cass who just uses her basically to launch her true lesbianic abilities, then leaves her. 


There were so many deep moments in this book. I could just sit here and list profound quote after spectacular quote and fill up ten pages of awesomeness. It was like Emily Horner has this inside access to every teenager's heart and mind and she hacks it so that she can get amazing quotes with tons of quirky humor. Sometimes they aren't even that profound...they just explain the inside workings of a high scholar's mind beyond any questions. Here's a good one right from the beginning... "Have you ever had one of those breakups that is so boiling-in-oil painful that you can't even stand to go to the same school anymore, lest you catch a glimpse of their face in the hallway and start crying all over your math test?". It's simple, straightforward, and to the point...but tell me if there isn't a single one of you who hasn't felt this way about an ex, especially in high school. 

1/2

I give this book 4 1/2 Keys out of 5. It was a truly amazing piece of literature that I think all teens and adults can identify with. I actually think it would be a great tool to use in high schools to help develop those terrifyingly horrible teenager's acceptance of people and their understanding of empathy. There was such a mixture of sadness, hope, laughter, and pain that I felt all mixed up at the end of the book...but it was a good mixed up. I actually would put this on my keeper shelf. It was that good.

Review: Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn

Title:Kitty Goes to Washington
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Northville
Pages: 321
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:
Kitty Northville had been subpoenaed to attend upcoming Senate hearings regarding paranormal beings. After Kitty consults with her lawyer, she reluctantly agrees to go to Washington. As a rogue wolf without a pack and no territorial home, her brief stay in D.C. may even be a kind of vacation. But Kitty begins to realize that the Senate hearings are only the tip of the iceberg of the complex and highly volatile subject of supernatural beings. Are they human? Do they have the same rights as everyone else? Or are they a disease that should be eradicated? While pondering these issues, Kitty becomes a prime target in a dangerous political game that includes a witch-hunting senator, an unethical doctor, and a reporter who will do anything to get an exclusive interview. 

My Review:
Kitty's second novel takes us to the nations capital as the world struggles to prove or disprove the existence of supernatural creatures once and for all. The campaign is lead by the notoriously Christian Senator Duke who wants to eradicate the supernaturals, and a scientist who just wants the credit of discovering and studying the supernatural races. So of course this trial is pretty intense. It could determine the fate of all supernatural beings in the world...and Kitty is a key witness. This book was pretty awesome plot-wise. There was the whole trial aspect adding tension and mystery because of all the key players. Insane religious-conservative senator, mad-scientist, insane-religious cult leader...pretty much everyone involved is crazy in some way. Then there was the vampire/were-animal politic webs going on, as well as a kidnapping attempt, and Kitty has to do her radio show during all of this. So many great plot features!

With so much going on, there was a lot less development and featuring of Kitty's show. I totally loved all of the ridiculous calls, and snarky comments that Kitty gave to those callers. They were still there, but there was a whole lot less of them. It was okay though, because the action, mystery, and romance more than made up for the lack of radio-show awesomeness. There was actually a lot of real life issues like racism, prejudice, sexism, and religion that were dealt with in this book which really gave it some depth. There was also some refrences to Nazi Germany that really creeped me out. There was a lab room at the Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology that was straight up terrifying because of the pain and torture it implies. We actually get to see the room's use firsthand later in the book, but it involves quite a bit of spoiler-dom so I won't get into it...you just need to read it because it is pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, though the plot was cool and interesting, the characterization left something to be desired. The characters in this book were a little bit difficult to form attachments with. You are already attached to Kitty, at least a little bit, but all the new characters was a little disconcerting. We met Alette the master vampire, Luis the were-jaguar, Ahmed the were-wolf, not to mention dozens of human servants, weres, journalists...and you never really form attachments with any of them. It's like all of the characters have the basics down like names, quirks, mannerisms...but they remain flat...just a sketch, instead of coming to life. You want to like them, or even hate them...but there's nothing there...no meat...no substance to draw you in an make you feel anything at all. The only constant characters so far in this series are Kitty, Cormac, and Ben the lawyer. Because you've seen them before, and they have a little more prominence, you are able to actually bond with them a little bit, but it still isn't as much as I would like...I'm not even sure what it is exactly that leaves me feeling so detached. I think it's because we don't get a lot of emotions behind any actions that characters make. We are told that the characters feel a certain way, rather than get show through action and personality how they feel. Hopefully this can change as the series goes on. I really enjoy a lot of the plot, but in order for me to fully enjoy a book, I have to have mad love for the characters.

Okay, so as odd as it sounds, I am a stickler for realistic situations and reactions in my paranormal fiction. We're already being asked to suspend our beliefs to the point of accepting the existence of supernatural creatures. In order to make these unbelievable things more realistic, it is good to have as much fact and realism in what actually is real so that we can better accept what isn't. Am I making any sense? Hopefully I'm not just rambling. In the case of Kitty's books, I am talking about America's reaction to discovering supernaturals. Of course there are people who think that the werewolves and vampires are just crazy people and fakes, but the majority of the country seems to accept their existence without batting an eye. That just wouldn't happen. If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I have seen this problem in other books. The problem is that by making a situation less realistic, it's harder to believe anything else about the book.Seriously... Any normal person would not just be okay if all of the sudden, monsters that everyone knew were make-believe started walking up and down the streets. There would be panic, riots...something. It would be complicated, and messy, and probably violent...because hey, that's how humans are. I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if there had been a more realistic reaction for a lot of the situations. It wasn't bad, it was just a tad unbelievable.

Overall, Kitty Goes to Washington wasn't bad...though it did kind of suffered the "sophomore book blah". Sometimes the second book in a series doesn't really know where it's going or lacks a certain power that the first on did. I did kind of feel that in this book, but there was still a lot going for it. It lead us down a path for the future so that I'm hoping the next in the series can grow from there. I think I will give this book 3 out of 5 Keys. You should check out this series if you are a fan of paranormals. I personally would go for the library rather than buying it though.

Dirty Little Secret

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets.  We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:
1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the Dirty Little Secret question!
4. Then add your link below.
Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!!  Let us know your answer in the comments!
We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

This Week's Question Is:

"Who is the villain you love to hate?" 

Woo that's a tough one. There are two villain's that I can't stand...but at the same time, I love that they are so maliciously evil.These dastardly villains are: Olaf from Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Series, and Ashleigh Goodling from J.L. Bryan's Paranormals series. 

 Ashleigh Goodling is not your typical villain...She's a teenage girl after all...but in some ways she is almost worse than your stereotypical bad guy. Ashleigh has the power to infuse her words, touch, and actions with love. This sounds like a great power to have...but you know what they say about power and corrupting...Ashleigh uses her powers to manipulate everyone around her into doing her bidding. Her cold and calculating nature and the way she manipulates everyone without a second thought is so disturbing and awful. These people are helpless to her powers and they are forced to do things against their will, their morals, their sexuality...absolutely anything that Ashleigh wants, she gets...and there's almost no way to stop her because while she's making you do these horrible things, you love her for it.

 Olaf is a serial killer. Our government chooses to look the other way as he plies his trade in third world countries. He's forbidden to "hunt" on American soil...but that doesn't necessarily stop Olaf. One of the creepiest, blood curdling things I've ever read was in Obsidian Butterfly (Book 8 in Anita Blake). Olaf and Anita are trying to kill an immortal, insane vampire...and they have to cut out his heart...Olaf grabs Anita's hand with knife, and uses it to sever all of the arteries...this wasn't the gross part...the part that really sticks with you, is that while he's dismantling a man in a hideously gruesome way...he's looking at Anita with heat in his eyes like he's doing other...more intimate things with her than cutting out a man's heart...then he kisses her...kisses her with the heart's blood pumping on her hands and face....*shudders* It is SO disturbing!

So That's my Dirty Little Secret for this week! Make Sure to check out Under the Covers for other creeptastic villains and have a Happy Thursday!!

Review: Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Title: Prom & Prejudice
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Series: N/A
Pages: 227
Publisher: Point
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Library

Goodreads Description:
After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?Will Lizzie’s pride and Will’s prejudice keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making?

My Review:
This was a cutesy take on an amazing classic. Actually...Pride and Prejudice is the only classic novel that I like. For an English major and avid reader, I guess I should be ashamed for not reading or liking the classics. I can barely get through even the assigned books for class when it comes to the classics. I can't understand some of the phrases, and the dialogue in most of them leaves something to be desired. I feel like I can't read the subtext when I just can't get my head around the dialect, the setting, and the characters. However, something about Pride and Prejudice was different. I think it has something to do with the movie starring Kiera Knightley. I fell in love with every single detail of the movie. The actors, the music, the dresses, the dancing...it was all so...perfect. Then when I read the actual book, I was able to not only get through it, but enjoy it immensely. That's why I was so excited to try out Prom and Prejudice. A modern take on the story I've grown to love has to be good right??

Well...kind of... I love that this book can introduce readers to Jane Austen in a way that they would probably be more receptive to than a dust old classic novel. A lot of the time, if a book looks too old or has hard words, kids and teens are really resistant to trying it. They think that they can't relate to the old characters and ideas that the book represents...Prom & prejudice takes the story and really gives it a push into the modern day. I really loved the prep school aspect of the book. I know a lot of people are sick of the prep school/boarding school theme that is pretty prominent in literature right now, but I am one of those people who is allowing it to progress. I love the casual air of the elite that these main characters have. Whether they are the silver-spoon set, or scholarship kids, the characters have this certain fantastic quality to them that I can't get enough of. I also really liked that the two schools were called Longbourne and Pemberly. Anyone who has ever read the actual Pride and Prejudice will really appreciate all the hints toward the original when they read this book.

Even the characters all feature the same names as in the original book. The only difference was that some of the family ties aren't there. For example, Jane is Lizzie's roommate rather than her sister. Though the name thing was kind of cool, it was also slightly irritating. The characters were photocopies of Austen's. Some people might like that idea, but I don't. I read lots of Austen inspired literature, and the best thing about the new characters are not the similarities to their counterparts...but their differences. The problem with this novel's plot was that you knew where everything was going. When the narrator was wondering what to do, you were skipping ahead because you already knew what she was going to decide and didn't wanna stick around to hear her waffle around for an entire chapter. It led for a little bit of boredom. There was just too much similarity for me to actually enjoy myself. There's a difference in doing a retelling of a story, and just re-stating the original in different terms. What would have been a carriage ride in Austen's book turned into a car ride in Eulberg's. That kind of repetitive and copy-cat ideas were just too frustrating. I liked it well enough, but I had a hard time making my way through something I felt like I had read before.

The entirely original part of the novel revolved around music and playing the piano. I was really grateful for these parts because it was while reading them that Lizzie seemed most alive. You could tell that these parts were the ones that weren't scripted by Pride and Prejudice, and that this was where Eulberg's experiences took over. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she studied music or piano, since her descriptions of playing were so vivid and thorough. I loved these parts for the pure emotion and color that they brought to the piece, and I am curious to see if any of Eulberg's other works are as great. I felt like these unscripted parts were by far better than anything drawn from Austen...which was the majority of the book. I almost wish that Eulberg would have allowed her own creativity and imagination to draw the plot lines away from the original a little bit so that it wasn't quite so predictable. It was when the author's own experiences and ideas came forward that I enjoyed myself the most.

I give Prom and Prejudice 3 out of 5 Keys. It was a good piece of Austenian fiction ( sorry for making up words...) but it kept far too closely to the original. If it would have been let out to breathe a little bit, and not kept so rigidly to every detail in Pride and Prejudice, I think I would have enjoyed it much more. I do think that it will draw in more preteen and young adult readers who would never have found Pride and Prejudice very interesting without the draw of a more modern setting. Overall it was a good experience. I finished it in a little over an hour so it is definitely a quick and easy read.