Let's Get Steamy 2.0 Update!

It's creeping up on us guys! I know...I know...I've still got a couple months of waiting...but I can barely contain my excitement for what is building up to be a Steampunk event of Epic Porportions!

As a recap:

Last February was the first ever Let's Get Steamy: A Celebration of All Things Steampunk! Let's Get Steamy is an annual (as of now) feature that showcases all aspects of the Steampunk Genre! I basically take over my own blog with a barragement of Steampunk posts until you can't even contemplate how awesome each and every visit to the blog is. And when I say every aspect,  I mean EVERY aspect. Last year saw artists, musicians, authors, jewelers and SO much more all drawing together to show off the amazingly creative and awesome genre! Due to the MASSIVE success of Let's Get Steamy last year, I've decided to host it once again!

First of all...to those of you scratching your heads and wondering if you are reading the right words on the screen. YES. STEAM-PUNK...if you don't know what that phrase means take a quick stop right  HERE and read a post from last year about  Steampunk 101 to try and get an idea. We don't want you confused!

February is coming up FAST so I am starting my hunt for authors to feature for the event! I've already received quite a few offers and I am finding some absolutely AMAZING new Steampunk authors so you all should be getting your corsets and cravats ready so that you can join us for this celebration full of clockwork, gadgets, and awesomeness!

I want to make this year's celebration even bigger and better than ever! I've already started stockpiling prizes (believe me guys...there are some AMAZING prizes this year!) and making pleas to artists and authors to be part of the event and I need your help! I would LOVE It if you, my AMAZING followers could help spread the word about the event! Tweet, Blog, Facebook, Tumble, ANYTHING to get author's and other blogger's attention! And remember...some of the best Steampunk artists and fashionistas are on Etsy so don't forget to ask them too!! Here's a premade tweet to make it easy for you!

" Calling all Steampunk Authors! Participate in @Andra_Lyn s Let's Get Steamy 2.0!http://unabridgedandralyn.blogspot.com/2012/08/calling-all-steampunk-authors-bloggers.html Celebrate all things Steampunk! RT PLZ "

As a bonus, for every place you spread the word, come back here and leave a comment. I will pick a random comment every few weeks and give out a Steampunk book of your choice (up to 10$) just for spreading the word! This giveaway will continue until I have absolutely NO spaces to fill up on the schedule so get to spreading the word! The more places and times you post about Let's Get Steamy, the more chances you have to win!!!

If YOU are an author of a Steampunk novel, series, short story, whatever, and want to be featured on Let's Get Steamy 2.0, feel free to email me! (andralynn7@gmail.com). I will include the tentative schedule below and keep updating it as authors, artists, and guest posters decide to participate!

Let's Get Steamy 2.0 Tentative Schedule!

~~~

Classics

2/1- Opening of Let's Get Steamy Post! Guest Post: Jude the Steampunk Gypsy
2/2- Guest Post Introduction To Steampunk, Review: The Infernal Devices
2/3-Guest Post History of Steampunk, Review: The Time Machine

Victorian England

 2/4- Gail Carriger (Interview +Giveaway)
 2/5- Philippa Ballantine: Interview, Review, Giveaway
 2/6-Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris: Guest Post and Review #2
 2/7- Guest Post: World Steam Expo (Dahl's Doll)
2/8- Karina Cooper (2 Reviews, Interview, Giveaway!)
2/9- Review: Timeless by Gail Carriger, Guest Post: Steampunk Romance (Ruby's Reads)
 2/10-

2/11- Review: The Hunchback Assignments, Movie Feature: Hugo (2011)
2/12-Guest Post: Steampunk Lifestyle (Aron Beattiger)
2/13-Innocent Darkness by Suzane Lazar
2/14- Artist Spotlight: Ever After Esther
2/15- Guest Post: Nerds are Sexy! Why you should date a Mad Scientist!
2/16- Short Story Saturday: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk
2/17- Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Coller by Kady Cross (+ Interview)

The Weird West

2/18- Review: The Buntline Special
2/19- Movie Feature: The Wild Wild West (Movie)
2/20-
2/21-
2/22- TV Feature: The Wild Wild West (TV Show)
2/23-
2/24-

Steampunk Favorites

2/25- Cherie Priest (Reviews, Interview +Giveaway!)
2/26- Jay Lake (Review)
2/27-
2/28-

~~~

And guess what?? I don't need just books to review! I would love to feature other bloggers, authors, even just crazy Steampunk Readers who know a lot about the genre! I have a list of guest posts that I would like to showcase on the blog and would love to have you!  Check out the list below and just send me an email (andralynn7@gmail.com) letting me know which one you'd like! Or you could write your own guest post! I would love to include anything you guys would like to write about, as long as it revolves around Steampunk!

Guest Posts Needed: 

Intro to Steampunk

History of Classic Steampunk (First wave..i.e. LITERAL Victorians) 

History of Modern Steampunk (Second Wave...i.e. modern popular Steampunk)

History/Futuristic Steampunk...(I.E. Cyberpunk, Futuristic, etc) 

Steamiest Men in Steampunk

Nerds are Sexy: Why Date a Mad Scientist, Engineer, Alchemist, Etc?

Steampunk Conventions: Her Royal Majesty's Steampunk Symposium 

Steampunk Conventions- Clockwork Con

Steampunk Conventions: World Steam Expo

Steampunk Conventions: (OTHER)

Where is Steampunk Going?

PRIZE UPDATE:
Ha! You thought I had forgotten prizes?? Of course not!
One of the most fun parts of Let's Get Steamy last year was to reward the dedicated commentators, posters, and featured bloggers with snazzy gadgets, cool fashions, music and more! I'll tease you with just a few of the featured items I will be having up for grabs!

I will once again be featuring a vest made from Esther at Once Upon a Bustle ...She was one of my most popular Fashionistas last year and I can't wait to have her back! My brother had decided to adopt the vest that I have up for grabs..but I had to hide it from him so that I could give it to one of the lucky followers from Let's Get Steamy 2.0!No worries...he didn't get his smelly boy germs on it...in fact he looked quite dapper and I may have converted another to my Steampunkish cause!

Goggles! Yes! I will be featuring a pair of custom made, completely original creations! Though not as extensive as the picture above, they are undoubtedly very cool and definitely something that any Steampunk fan will want in their dressing cabinet. :) Those are just TWO of the awesome prizes lined up, not including books and movies and countless author giveaways being planned!


Thanks in advance for spreading the word you guys! You never cease to amaze me by being such fabulous followers and friends! I hope to see you all stopping by as more posts go up and of course during all of my regular blog features!

Blog Tour! Matt Archer Monster Hunter

 

Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a weekend camping trip at the local state park. Monsters are real. And living in his backyard. But that's not the half of it. After Matt is forced to kill a strange creature to save his uncle, he finds out that the weird knife he took from his uncle's bag has a secret, one that will change Matt's life. The knife was designed with one purpose: to hunt monsters. And it's chosen Matt as its wielder. Now Matt's part of a world he didn't know existed, working with a covert military unit dedicated to eliminating walking nightmares. Faced with a prophecy about a looming dark war, Matt soon realizes his upcoming Algebra test is the least of his worries. His new double life leaves Matt wondering which is tougher: hunting monsters or asking Ella Mitchell for a date?

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job.
Kendra believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica. More information about the Matt Archer universe, works in progress and the nature of the Higgs Boson* can be found at www.kendrachighley.com

(*Yeah…not really. We’ll let the scientists handle that part.)

~~~~~ Excerpt~~~~~

I watched the creature’s shadow get bigger and bigger as it headed my way. It didn’t creep. It didn’t barrel toward me. It strolled, like it wasn’t the least bit worried about what it would find inside the tent. Terrified or not, something about its arrogance filled me with cold fury. My muscles burned and my heart beat double-time; I probably didn't have a prayer, but I wasn't going down without a fight. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit by and let this thing kill my uncle.

Uncle Mike usually brought a rifle with him, just in case we met a bear, and he’d made sure I could use it. I dug around in our bags, throwing clothes everywhere, but the rifle wasn’t in the tent. The only thing I came up with was a wicked-looking knife with a smooth bone handle. I pulled it out of the leather sheath, shocked by its weight. It was much heavier than it looked and my fingers buzzed, like the knife was vibrating in my hand. I must’ve been shaking really hard.

I gripped the handle of the knife, hoping I didn’t end up stabbing myself by accident. The blade was longer than most hunting-knives I’d ever used—maybe eight or nine inches—and honed to a sharp edge. I had no idea where Mike would buy something like this, but one thing was for sure: no one would want to be on the receiving end of this weapon. It looked like it could gut a buffalo.

The creature walked the perimeter of the tent, brushing up against the nylon, and a rancid scent wafted through the walls. I gagged and threw up a little in my mouth. The stench reminded me of how the vent in my room smelled after my guinea pig got loose and bought the farm in the air duct. Seriously freaked out, I held still, clutching the knife so hard my knuckles ached. I was planning to let the beast stalk around outside as long as it wanted. One thing Mike taught me during paintball was to make your target do the work. If you could be patient, you’d get the better strike, and I’d only have one shot.

The beast paused and I took a gulp of cold air, knowing I wouldn’t have to wait much longer. With a blur of claws, dark fur and sharp teeth, the thing crashed into the tent, ripping the nylon with one slash. I didn’t have time to think or even get a good look at it. When it pounced on top of me, I thrust the blade into its stomach and twisted. The handle burned in my hand, glowing a faint green.

The beast howled and struggled against me, until I thought I’d drown in the reek of its fur. Somehow, I squirmed out from underneath it just before it collapsed on the floor of the tent. Once it was down, I stabbed it in the back, over and over, swearing at the top of my lungs. Some kind of red-rage took control, and I didn’t stop slashing until the thing shuddered and was still.

In the quiet, I fell to my knees, shaking all over.

When I could finally breathe without wheezing, I gathered up the last shreds of my courage and found our lantern in the wreckage. Scared pissless or not, I wanted to see what attacked me. Squaring my shoulders, I turned on the light.

Then bit my own tongue trying to hold back a scream.

The creature was misshapen, with a huge head, pointy ears and narrow snout, and it had to be at least eight feet tall. Teeth like tusks protruded from its lower jaw. It had brown fur like a grizzly’s and its paws looked like a bear’s too, except bigger, with those brutal, velociraptor claws. If that wasn’t weird enough, the thing’s arms and legs were long, like a man’s. It was like some mad scientist threw a bunch of DNA into a blender and this is what came out.

What the heck could it be? Was it some kind of alien? A scientific experiment gone horribly wrong? Did we have a Dr. Frankenstein living in Billings? Seriously, the creature looked like a resurrected Wookiee made from spare parts.

Utterly creeped out, I pulled the knife out of the beast’s back and dropped it on the ground. My hands had blood on them, dark stains glistening in the moonlight, and now that I wasn’t fighting for my life, I shivered, half-freezing and clueless about what to do next.

~~~~To Be Continued...~~~~ 

The Sunday Post (11-19 to 11-25)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 

Hey you guys! Wecome to my Sunday Post! I almost didn't get it out this week because of all the holiday madness so sorry that it's a tad late! I've had so much happen to me this week I don't even know where to begin! Lots of good news...no bad news...that I can remember...and lots of Thanksgiving food that made me OM NOM my way into a bigger size pair of pants...But it was worth it! :) Now, sit tight and I'll tell you about my week...AND what you can look forward to on the blog in the next week or two. Unfortunately...I didn't get to some of the posts I wanted to last week so some things may look a bit familiar...still I hope you will enjoy!

Because I'm a romantic, I'm going to tell you all about my love life first! No, No, No...I'm not going to tell you about my love-shenanegans (I only talk naughty-talk with my twitter followers :P ) But I will tell you that I finally FINALLY got together with my highschool sweetheart the day before Thanksgiving!

Now that you adequately know my joy...and hopefully aren't running away screaming...I shall fill those of you who don't stalk me religiously in on me and my new manfriend. SO...New Boyfriend and I go way back. We've been neighbors since I was 3...yes...he lives three houses down from me and has for my entire life... It's one of those stories. We were friends in highschool and flirted like...um...flirty people the entire time. Four years of non-stop, disgustingly sickly sweet, flirty gushy teenager-ick. But nothing ever came of it. We moved away, kept in contact every few months, but for the most part let each other go. But there was always this...thing...whenever we would come home on breaks...it was like we unpaused our relationship and picked up right where we left off. The flirting, the chemistry, the heat...would all come rushing back and it would be like we were highschoolers again. As for this last week... Long story short, I've been head over heels for the jerk since I was sixteen and it has taken the last six just to get him to ask me out. He did. Finally.. Mission Accomplished.

In an offhand way, some of you may feel like you already know him...since I tend to include posts about our sordid history in my Book Boyfriends, Read-Alongs, etc...and I'm pretty sure I mentioned him by name at some point. New Boyfriend (henceforth to be referred to as NB) will probably crop up now and again...but dear god do I hope he never reads this post :P

This week on the blog look for:

• Matt Archer Monster Hunter (Blog Tour +Giveaway!)
• Let's Get Steamy 2.0 (Update and Giveaway!) 
• Waiting on Wednesday  
• First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones ( RevieW)
• Fangtabulous by Lucienne Diver ( Review)

So how was your week lovelies? Did you go Black Friday Shopping and get a ton of books...i mean...electronics and gadgets...) Did you get to stuff yourselves with Turkey and Stuffing and Pie like me? Or perhaps you too found yourself a little...closer to someone? Let me know! 

Review: Suck It Up by Brian Meehl

Title: Suck It Up
Author: Brian Meehl
Series: Suck It Up #1
Pages: 336
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Date Published: May 13, 2008
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Paranormal YA
Source: Library

Synopsis:
ARE YOU UP to your neck in bloodsucking vampire stories? Tired of those tales about dentally enhanced dark lords? Before I wrote this book I thought all vampires were night-stalking, fangpopping, bloodsucking fiends. Then I met Morning McCobb. He’s a vegan vampire who drinks a soy-blood substitute called Blood Lite. He believes staking should be a hate crime. And someday he hopes to march in a Vampire Pride Parade. He was also the first vampire to out himself and try to show people of mortality, like you and me, that vampires are just another minority with special needs. Trust me—this is like no other vampire book you’ll ever feed on. So, as my buddy Morning says, “Pop the lid, and suck it up.”

My Review:
Like many of us readers who frequent the Young Adult section of our bookstores, libraries, and Amazon.com...I've kind of gotten a little tired of the vampire craze. There's a few gems out there, but so many more fanged flops that I've gotten to the point where I usually need at least two or three stellar recommendations before I'll even think about picking up something with vamps on the cover. But then I was  browsing in the library and found this little beauty lurking on the shelves. Not going to lie...I grabbed it immediately. It looks like the kind of book that is different, and definitely not afraid of poking fun at itself. I was definitely right with this one and I am really REALLY glad that I gave Suck It Up, and Brian Meehl a fighting chance.

Most of the teen vampires today are, in addition to being drop dead gorgeous, crazy with a side of fries. There's so much angst and brooding, I wouldn't be surprised to see teen vampires doing swan dives into a swimming pool full of stakes and garlic and I'm constantly amazed that they can learn to pull themselves out of their puddles of self-loathing long enough to save the heroine or fall in love or whatever it is they are supposed to be doing in their respective books. Well...Morning McCobb is NOT one of those angsty teen heart-throbs. Despite being a neglected orphan for the majority of his young life, he's kept up his spirits with one motto..."Suck it up"..This is what got him through his first vampire attack. He got turned at the ripe old age of 16, when most kids are worrying about acne and growth spurts for a few short but painful years, Morning's going to have to deal with them for the rest of his life. Which will be a while, seeing as he's now immortal and all. He can't even fit in with the other vampires his age, who seem to all fit the sexy and mysterious mold so easily. They're all powerful, mystical beings while Morning likes to shape-change into mist and trees...and drinks the soy based blood substitute: Blood Lite.

But everything changes for Morning the night he graduates from Vampire League training. Because of his more...docile...appearance and nature, he's been chosen to be the spokesperson for vampires everywhere as they make the grand gesture of coming out of the coffin. Enter his new PR spokeswoman, and her daughter Portia, an aspiring film director looking to create the best application to film school imaginable: a personal interview/documentary of the first "outed" vampire. I absolutely loved the way that Meehl created his characters to be realistic. They don't always make the right choices, they aren't "loves at first sight", they're complicated and have lots of problems to deal with before they can have a good relationship. Portia was one of my favorite characters. She's Morning's love interest, but the entire time she's caught up in her own insecurities about how all men are sexist pigs and will end up screwing her over. She also has her own prerogatives for getting close to Morning...She wants to further her career, and she knows it's bad to take advantage of a teenage boy just to get ahead, but she talks herself into her own bad behavior by saying..."Eh...he'll probably break my heart anyway so why not get something out of it" Though she had these issues, she never sounded whiny or mopey. She was fierce and fabulous and even though she doesn't seem like the most relatable character, I totally adored her. Also, because each character had their own personal hang-ups and intimacy issues, they were able to develop a relationship more slowly. Feelings grew naturally in a way that was expected but sweet. And it was refreshing to not hear the same old..."we're soul mates" lines over and over again. 

To add drama and a bit of tension to the mix, there's another culture of vampires out in the world called loners. These are the rabid, uncivilized vampires of legend who commune only with nature and treat humans as the meals they are. Loners have sworn to keep vampires a secret because humans would be none too pleased to discover that Loners consider them a walking Happy Meal.  When one Loner catches a sight of Morning shape-changing on television, he takes it upon himself to rid the world of this interloper for the sake of vampire kind. Poor Morning can't seem to catch a break anywhere.

I really liked the dynamics and world building incorporated with the vampire culture. It was an interesting take on vampires to create them as a sort of minority group. Though usually in the minority, vamps are usually interpreted as the elite, not the downtrodden "misfits" of society. I liked how you could make slight connections between the way vampires were treated in this world, and how some minority groups are occasionally treated in our own. I also enjoyed the power play between loners and leaguers. It reminded me of the Strogoi and Moroi in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series...only not quite as evil.  The power play and levels of tension made the story that much deeper but at the same time I never felt like I was getting preached to about equality or whatever. It was just a good story with a tightly woven plot that rocked at being funny in an understated way.

I give Suck It Up Four out of Five keys! It was heart-warming, slightly freaky, tense, well written, and unpredictable. There was just a lightness to the story and the writing that assured you that the author and the subject shouldn't be taken too seriously...that though it is an interesting book, it's not something that should haunt your dreams or become your obsession.  For those of you who love vampires but are kind of sick of the melodramatic darkness that is usually associated with YA novels, Suck It Up is a refreshing change. I really enjoyed my reading experience and can't wait to get my hands on book two, Suck It Up and Die.

Review: The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison

Title: The Blonde of the Joke
Author: Bennett Madison
Series: N/A
Pages: 272
Publisher: Harper Teen
Date Published: August 25th, 2009
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Library

Synopsis:
"There are three and only three rules for shoplifting," Francie instructed me. From the very first day Val meets the outrageously blond Francie, she realizes that Francie has the gutsy courage and determination Val has always envied. But Francie sees something in Val too--something that Val's never noticed. "You've got that sneaky thing about you," she says. "I bet you have a dark past."And just like that, the blonde and the brunette become partners in crime.Thanks to Francie, Val is suddenly taking risks, taking charge, and taking what she deserves. But as the stakes get higher, Francie and Val find themselves more and more tangled in a thrilling web of love, lies, and shoplifting. Soon it becomes clear that the darkest secrets have yet to be discovered. . . .

My Review:
I was a tad confused by this book. The premise and the title makes me think something hilarious and sweet , but definitely fluffy and probably not something entirely intellectual.  Yet the book actually read a lot smarter than it sounds. I wouldn't be surprised to see it used in a classroom somewhere. However, because it wasn't what I was expecting, it took me a while to get into it and then to actually make myself finish it. What I thought was going to be a quick one-seater turned into a week long process, and at the end I came away with a bit of a headache. Let's get into the meat of the book and I'll try and show you what I mean.

Val is one of those average girls. You know the kind. They populate the majority of classes in high school never really standing out in a good or bad way. Chances are, YOU are one of those girls. Never part of the golden inner circle of popularity, but far from being the butt of people's jokes or objects of humiliation that the popular kids like to pick on. Then all the sudden, Francie steps out in all her blond glory and sweeps Val up in a whirlwind of personality. Through the bonds of mallhood and shop-lifting, both girls experience the complications of friendship and love, mixed with even deeper problems buried within their own psyches.

Oddly enough...I really identified with Val. One scene in particular where her physics teacher doesn't remember her name reminds me of this professor I had. I come into class prepared and ready, always read the materials, always have at least some smart things to say for discussion, and write papers that are usually 2-3 pages longer than they have to be...yet she does not seem to understand that my name is not Erica, or Andrea, or even one time Rachel...makes me feel a tad invisible and I can see where Val comes from by wanting to stand out, even if it's in a way that attracts negative attention...like wearing tight clothes, dying her hair, and acting like she doesn't give a S**t about anyone.

Like I said at the beginning, this book is not the fluffy cute piece of puff-ball reading that you expect it to be. There's tons of illegal activity from gregarious amounts of shoplifting, to verbal and mental abuse. Both Francie and Val have horrible family lives that I would be terrified of being trapped in when I was a teenager.  Alcoholism, death of family members, neglect, smoking and under aged drinking are staples, and the language is crude and full of VERY vulgar imagery. Overall it's just...not a nice book...you kind of feel sick and dirty after reading it, but at the same time it provokes some interesting questions and really makes you think. I almost want to say that this book kind of ends up being two parts. The first part is the fun, interesting, funny part about two girls growing up and becoming friends over the bond of shoplifting. The second half is much darker and revolves around the strange and psychotic. I felt like the majority of questions were left unanswered and undeveloped and I was kind of lost right up until the end where I was given much food for thought...but ended up getting my thoughts in a jumble because I couldn't figure out what the author was trying to say.

One of the biggest issues that I found within the book was a kind of weird, but blatant, homophobia. Francie and Val even kiss at one point, but nothing is said about it. There's just this weird kind of moment where the character is thinking " I love her, but not in a lesbo way." I was really confused by the kiss itself because it seemed to come out of nowhere, and then I was even more confused by this just...constant homophobic presence. It's like all the homoerotic characters are the ones who end up getting killed or having tragedies happen to them, not to mention the constant usage of words like fag and faggot.  In this day and age, that kind of horrible homophobia should not be encouraged in teen books, especially because it wasn't dealt with. There was no resolution, no protestation from Val defending her gay brother...it was just...accepted that gay was bad.

I had a hard time rating this book. It's one of those books that really make you think, or stand up and take notice of a particular theme or event. But it just wasn't that enjoyable. For literary merit, it might rank a 4 or 5 Keys, but for pure enjoyment's sake I would say it's about a 3. There was a lot of times in the book where I would be put off by a certain thought or remark from the character's and I was often reminded that a male author was the one who wrote this book. Part of me questions how much a man can know about the inner workings of a teenage girl's mind, but then you can't argue that some authors can alter sex flawlessly in a believable way. Think J.K. Rowling. But for some reason I just kept thinking "THAT'S not how a girl would act" or "I've never heard a girl think something like that". I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I think it might have benefited the story had either Francie or Val be a boy so they could play the role that Madison obviously spelled out for them. 

Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 

Happy Sunday everyone! It seems like the holidays have crept up on me this year! I have been crazy busy finishing up school and attending weddings of all sorts of friends and extended family and all the sudden this week is THANKSGIVING! Holy Crap! This next month will probably be just as crazy as the last and I am hoping to get back into the swing of things on the blog and post more regularly for you guys :) Know that I'm working on some big things for the next year so all of your visits, comments, and tweets are appreciated! I look forward to spreading the holiday cheer and good luck of the New Year with everyone!

This week on the blog look for:

• The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison (Review) 
• Suck It Up  by Brian Meehl (Review)
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Let's Get Steamy 2.0 (Update Post)
• Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan (Mini Reviews)
• First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones 

Giveaways! 

Because I love you followers so much I am extending my Follower Love Giveaway! Click on the button to the right or just right HERE to go to the giveaway page and win Boxes of Books or (INT) a book of your choice!

Beth Revis is giving away a SIGNED library of YA books...I kid you not! So get there ASAP! 

Why I Love YA!

In case you haven't heard, the AMAZING Beth Revis, author of the Across the Universe Trilogy is being INSANELY generous this Thanksgiving season. In honor of her love of YA, she is giving away an entire library of YA books that are SIGNED! Crazy right?? So in honor of this giveaway I am doing a post about the different reasons that I love YA. Let's see if I can narrow it down to just a few...:)

First of all, there are SO many reasons why I love YA.  In fact there are probably more reasons than I can write in just one post. YA is an adventure just to begin, and it connects people across the world in the love of characters and their fantastic worlds. I'll try to write down just a few of the many reasons that I read almost 90% YA books...despite having left that age bracket many...MANY years ago :)

The world building. In a really good YA novel, it seems like the author takes extra time, goes that extra mile, to create a world that stands the test of time and is, for lack of a better word, amazing. Think of all of the fantastic worlds that YA authors have created. Panem, Hogwarts, The Great Divide. It's almost as if because the author is attempting to get into the mind of a teenager, they can suspend their belief easier and can use their imagination more so that a world that adults might not accept really comes across as realistic and lifelike.

The innocence of young romance. This one might make me sound a tad bit like an old fart, but hey...I gotta be honest with my lovely followers right? Well...YA brings me back to a time where things were a little simpler in romance. Right now I have so much going on in my own personal life dealing with the drama of a really intense relationship. As intense as boyfriends might seem in high school, they at least don't expect you to adopt their kids, or move with them across the country, or leave your high profile job to be a wife and mother. Sure there is drama and angst in every high school relationship, but it seems to be a lot more...well...fun...then. You don't have adult worries to sidetrack you from how much you care each other, and it makes everything seem sweeter and more real. I love going back to a time when every new kiss was a wonderful experience and that adrenaline and butterflies are everyday occurrences just when the character's crush holds her hand.

The fast-moving plots. I don't know whether it's because half of the Young Adults today have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and they can't pay attention to something that takes a long time to read, or if it's just the style that YA has evolved into, but YA books tend to move with the pace of the road runner escaping Wil-e-coyote. For me, that's awesome. It means I can usually get into the book right away and spend an hour or two reading high-paced, super energetic, absolutely mind-blowing stories. And that rocks!

Those three are just a few...there are so many more reasons out there to love YA! Let me know a few of YOUR reasons in the comments!

The Dark Light of Day Blog Tour!

Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, and the world from slipping back into chaos.

Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, the daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret: She was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of, and some would consider her an abomination.

Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or to attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome everyone to the Dark Light of Day Blog Tour! As you can tell, this is NOT your typical urban fantasy book. In this world, there is no snappy, witty, yet damaged heroine who will save the world from utter destruction. The world's already gone to hell. Literally. I absolutely LOVED the premise behind this book! The darkness. The evil. Everything is so black, but so real. This is truly a new an original series that I'm sure fans of the paranormal will love. To give you a bit of a sneak peek, here's an excerpt for your enjoyment! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Failing is not an option...

“I’ve been watching you, wondering, waiting to see where you’d end up. After
all, there are other demon law schools,” Seknecus said, making a moue of distaste
that made it clear exactly what he thought of them. “But I was happy to see that you
chose St. Lucifer’s.”

Technically my mother chose St. Lucifer’s . . . But there seemed no reason to
interrupt just to clarify that bit of misinformation. Seknecus wandered around the
room, picking through papers, flipping open and quickly shutting the front covers of
various leather-bound books, never meeting my eye. I had no doubt, however, that
his attention was fully focused on me.

“So, you see, seeing your name on my List wasn’t exactly a surprise, although it
appeared much later than I would have liked.”

He did look at me then, with a frown of disapproval. I did my best to look
expressionless because none seemed appropriate. It wouldn’t do to look amused,
bored or, Luck forbid, rebellious. Seknecus stared at me with narrowed eyes and then
went back to wandering.

“You’ve got some catching up to do,” he said, addressing a copy of Sin and
Sanction: Codification & Case Law. “It doesn’t matter why or what excuses you’ve
got for yourself. You will be held to the same standards as everyone else, regardless
of whose daughter you are. And you’ve missed a lot of class already.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off with a wave.

“Manipulation class,” he clarified. “You’re going to have to work ten times as
hard as everyone else just to pass. Quintus Rochester doesn’t go easy on students and
he’s likely to see your absence during the early part of the semester as a challenge.
You know, failing is not an option. Not if you want to live.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Bio:

Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Jill earned a bachelor of science from
Penn State University and later moved to
Baltimore to attend the University of
Baltimore School of Law, where she
graduated magna cum laude. She went on
to practice law as a “dirt lawyer” for ten
years, specializing in real estate law,
municipal development, commercial
leasing, and anything involving
exceedingly lengthy legalese-like
contractual monstrosities.

Jill now lives in rural Maryland with her
two children and husband, who is a
recreational pilot. Weekends are often
spent flying around in the family’s small Cessna, visiting tiny un-towered
airfields and other local points of interest.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Operation Endgame by Christi Snow

Title: Operation Endgame
Author: Christi Snow
Series: When The Mission Ends #1
Pages: 302
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date Published:June 20, 2012
Format: eBook
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: Bewitching Book Tours

Synopsis:

It’s been six months. Six months since Jake Madsen let Chris Robertson die. Six months since the passion between Jake and Cassie, Chris’ sister, stepped over the line. But now Cassie’s being stalked and it’s time for Jake to swallow his guilt, grief, and lust so he can save her life, even if it’s a life without him. He owes it to his dead friend and he owes it to Cassie. He’s fallen in love with her, but she doesn’t have to know that for him to keep her safe.

My Review:

One of the best things about this book was the very beginning. The prologue gives you a glimpse into the childhood of both our love interests, as well as the huge bond between them and their families. From the few pages the prologue entails you gain a real bond for Cassie, Chris, and Jake, and immediately identify with the tom-boy with the riot of red hair as she kicks her future loves ass at war games. Then when the book flashes forward and begins with Chris's death you actually feel it in your gut. Cassie and Jake aren't the only ones who want to cry when they get the news. Then the problems really begin when Jake and Cassie comfort one another and Jake heads for the hills, supposedly for Cassie's own good. 

*sigh* When will boys learn? When they do something that they think is for "our own good" they tend to make a huge mess of things and end up hurting us way more than they would have if they would have just freaking TALKED to us about what was going on in their crazy heads? So basically Jake screws everything up and makes things HELLA awkward between him and Cassie. The only thing that stops them from completely destroying their friendship is that Cassie needs help. She has begun to be stalked by someone envious of her military tactical skills. This brings Jake running even though he and Cassie both have yet to recover from Chris's death and their amazing night together. Now Cassie, Jake, and Cassie's friends and collegues are all in danger as the stalker continues to become more and more violent, leading to a conclusion that no one saw coming. 

Cassie was a pretty good character. She was strong and bright, and I really loved how passionate she was about her job. It was cool to see a woman in such a high-powered career like a military tactics professor. Especially because of how complex her job was and involved things that are traditionally seen as "male" jobs. It made her come off even smarter than she herself proved to be. She also wasn't quite the ball buster you would think would come from a tom boy whose entire family is in the Armed Forces. Instead, Cassie was sweet and caring with just the slightest edge to her. She also had a kind of feisty streak that made you love her even more. The one thing that got to me about her wasn't really her fault. It was more of a dialogue problem between all of the characters. Dialogue is tricky. When there isn't enough thought put into it, the conversation can come off as choppy and insincere. But then when it seems like too much thought is put into it, words sound fake and entirely contrived and you feel like your're choking on the conversation. So that was my real flaw with dear Cassie as well as most of the other characters.  

Jake was....difficult. Aside from my initial dislike because he left without a word in the middle of the night ( I HATE when guys do stupid pigheaded things like that!) I did like his character. He was a little too angsty for my personal tastes. He had a war wound, survivors guilt about Chris's death, a misguided determination to keep an irrational childhood promise. All in all...dude's got issues! But he was a very nice alpha male :) Which are of course my specialties :) I enjoyed how much he cared for Cassie...just not his issues with handling it. If he would have just come out and been like " I love you, but I feel guilty because I'm banging my dead best friend's sister" There would never have had to been all the angst and kidnapping and crying and bruises and all that. But then again, there would be no story...so I guess I will have to love Jake in all his melodramatic glory. Plus he's a Military Hottie. In my book, they ALWAYS get at least one or two free passes. 

For the most part, the mystery of the novel was great. The stalker keeps upping the ante with his messages and then attacks against Cassie and her friends. There's a constant thrum of tension and suspicion throughout the book that leaves you tense and excited to see where the story goes next.  I was kept guessing almost the entire time and even though I had my suspicions about multiple suspects for the attacker,  it was almost impossible to tell who the villain was until the big reveal. That being said, after the villain was unmasked everything good about the story fell apart. It went from an at least half-way different story with tension and uniqueness to being something campy and idiotic. It wasn't even as if Chrisi had lost steam or anything...it was just that things went from being a good adult novel to being as childish and corny as if it was a Saturday morning cartoon. The villain made no sense. He kept talking about ruling the world and taking Cassie as his tactical mistress and blah blah blah. So unrealistic. So cheesy. Cassie, Jake and the gang deserve a better ending than that and it totally threw me off and made me like the book a lot less than I had up until that point. 

I give Operation Endgame Three out of Five Keys. It was a good read. It probably would have rated at least a Four if not higher. There was just such an abrupt change from a great story into a sub-par one that I got comepletely thrown off. It was almost as if a different author wrote the first 3/4 of the novel and then their assitant picked up the last half. I will say that I felt compelled to finish it despite my misgivings so it did that that going for it. Overall I will say that it was an average to decent Suspenseful Romance. If you like that kind of thing this one might just tickle your fancy, but to be honest it probably won't stick in your mind as one of your top ten or anything like that. 

Review: Hex and the Single Witch by Roxanne Rhodes

Title: Hex and the Single Witch
Author: Roxanne Rhoads
Series: Vehicle City Vampires
Pages: 224
Publisher: Bewitching Books
Date Published: September 28th 2012
Format: eBook
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Bewitching Book Tours

Synopsis:
Anwyn Rose is descended from a long line of powerful witches yet she can barely cast spells young witchlings have mastered. She has one functioning witch gift, the power of knowing, which she puts to good use as a Detective on Flint’s Preternatural Investigation Team. It’s a new era in Vehicle City, supernaturals are running the town. The P.I.T has their hands full with paranormal crimes. Top priority is a serial killer, who appears to be a vampire, draining young women in the city. Anwyn is on the case with her sexy partner Detective Mike Malone. Complicating things is her relationship Galen, a vampire who looks more guilty than innocent, although Anwyn trusts her instincts even if her power is on the fritz. Mysterious spells, compromising situations, and a possible demon on the loose make it hard to focus on the case, but Anwyn has to make things right before the human police execute the wrong vampire. Hex and the Single Witch contains magick, a little bit of mystery, a lot of supernatural mayhem, and a sexy love triangle that will leave you wanting more.

My Review:
I wanted to like this book SO much. I always get a secret thrill when a book takes place in my state, somewhere I've visited, or especially in an area I'm really familiar with. Well...Flint, Michigan...yes, the most violent city in the country...is about 1 hour away from where I go to school. Even so, it was really cool to get to see a Flint taken over by paranormal beasties and have the hardships (and murders) that occur there being explained away by vampire attacks, or an evil presence. The only problem was that there was not a lot of description of the setting and if I had not walked down Saginaw Street, or been to the shady side of town, or visited my own relatives in Flushing, I doubt I would have been able to create a detailed picture in my head.

The dialogue was amateur at best, almost undecipherable at worst. There were times when I had to ask myself who was talking several times, and then when I still couldn't figure it out I had to trace my way back quite a few lines until I could find who initiated the conversation. I HATE THAT! Also, sometimes the phrasing would be confusing so I would find myself reading a sentence several times to make sure I understood what was being said. This pausing to re-read really jarred me out of story-mode and each time it happened I found it harder and harder to get that movie playing in my head.

I will say that I found a few of the mechanics of Rhoad's vampires to be really unique and intriguing. Up until now I have never found a really good, logical reason for vampires to have powers. Usually it's just magic or metaphysics that are used to explain away turning into bats or having other supernatural abilities. In Rhoad's world, the vampires with powers were people who already had a few drops of supernatural blood in their DNA. That's seems pretty scientific to me...and believable. I mean, in real life there are genes that can only get activated by something occurring (a bad trauma, chemo, radiation exposure, etc) and when the genes are activated a person can express those genes in an entirely new way. So logically, a trauma(being bitten by a vampire, turned, etc) could have the same affect on supernatural genes in someones genetic makeup. Thus, a human who had a werewolf as a great-great-great-great-grandpappy could potentially be a vampire that turns into wolves, or can speak to wolves, etc. Either way, I thought Rhoad's explanation was smart and made me think.

Honestly, the sex scenes in this book felt a lot like straight-up porn. Maybe it was because the descriptions were so coarse and vulgar, without a single hint of the emotion...the depth that I've read in other books that have sex as a main component makes even extremely explicit material seem...well, not porn-like to say the least. I've read a lot of books that have erotic scenes. I've read books that have almost exclusively sex as the plot, and I've never felt as dirty and gross as when I was reading the sex scenes in this book. Not to mention most of the sex scenes seemed to come out of nowhere and failed to fit into the plot at all. I mean the characters would be discussing a murder...talking over the body even...and our lovable heroine would be thinking about her shiny pink dildo at home. In VIVID detail. Then there were the scenes themselves. Some of them were okay...especially with the humans..but the vampire love scenes? BLEH... They weren't hot, they weren't a turn on. Each and every one was either like...an internal mental battle because the main character liked to be bitten and was wondering if that made her a whore (what?) ...or was an angsty and over dramatic "I love you but I'm going to kill you because I'm a monster!" *sob* ... I mean, find a new topic already. We've already had enough self loathing vampires in our lives. No one thinks vampires are monsters anymore. Stop having a fricking cow about how much you like to suck blood...it's what you freaking do.

Another thing I found horribly wrong with the book was the world building. You can either have your Urban Fantasy world where humans know about Paranormal beasties, or they don't. Maybe create a world where only a select few individual humans know about the supernatural (I.E. the Prime Minister in the Harry Potter series). The one thing you can't have is a world where the creatures came out of the primordial closet...and then have humans forget about them. That's just wayyyy too unrealistic. It was just too much for anyone to accomplish with any kind of finesse. Rhodes gave it a valiant attempt...It would have been fine had she just not included EVERYTHING that could possibly happen if creatures of the night existed. So they tried coming out of the closet. Humans panicked. Mass hysteria ensued. Thousands, both paranormal and human, were killed. Witches cast a "forget" spell on the whole human race. Now preternaturals and humans live and work together side-by side...some people having forgotten that vampires and witches exist, others still remembering. Okay...What? How totally confusing is that? AND illogical. First of all, how many witches would it take to cast a forget spell on 8 billion + people. A whole fricking lot is what I'm thinking. Way more than could possibly exist. You all know me. I love suspending reality for a bit when I jump inside a paranormal book for a good read. However, if things don't make sense and couldn't logically exist (in some twisted paranormal way) I get pissed off.  By having paranormal creatures kind of out of the closet, it made it really difficult to understand the parameters of the world that had been created. Apparently the law enforcement knows about paranormals...because they have a whole paranormal unit. But if every law enforcement sector knows about paranormals HOW can the other people not know about them? It was a little ridiculous and I had a lot of difficulty trying to understand the logic.

So...though there was a few redeeming qualities about Hex and the Single Witch...I'm going to have to go with 2 Keys for it. It almost doesn't even deserve the second key...but I will leave it because it doesn't warrant the "I'd rather scrape my own eyes out than read this again" that my 1 Star rating denotes. I thought that it had some potential. Roxanne has some really interesting thoughts regarding the history and genetics of paranormal creatures that I thought was really cool. Still, I just could not get over the holes in the dialogue, plot, and the awful and degrading sex scenes. Save this one for the very bottom of your TBR list. It's better than nothing if you don't have anything else to read, but to be honest, I'd rather read the nutrition facts on a cereal box.