The Ghost and the Goth/Queen of the Dead Reviews

Sometimes a reader gets lucky.

I joined an ARC tour a few months ago and I've been lucky enough to read some really great books that little blogs like mine don't normally have the chance to review before a book's been published.  The tour part of the blog is sadly shutting down, but I'm grateful for the oppurtunity to have read so many great books (Entwined, Stay, Bright Young Things especially!).  Just Another Book Blog is a great site, and Giota will still have amazing giveaways.

I didn't start a book blog in the hopes of hundreds of free books pouring through my mailbox, authors anxiously begging for my reviews... Well, at least not realistically...  However, I'm a fan of books, of authors, and it's nice to occasionally read a book that hasn't been released yet.

I signed up for the Queen of the Dead book tour, despite the fact that it was the second book in a series and that I hadn't read the first book, The Ghost and the Goth yet.  When I got chosen to be part of the tour I rushed to download the first book onto my Kindle.  And I am so glad I did!

The first book introduces us to popular Alona right before she bites the big one.  Sadly, she's killed wearing her gym uniform within moments of being introduced to the reader.  In a cute twist, campus "it" girl Alona is mowed down by a school bus loaded with band geeks.  Now the only person in school that can see her is goth loser, Will, and he's not exactly a fan of hers.  Alona's life is over in more ways than one, her boyfriend and best friend barely wait a day before going public with their PDA, and she keeps disappearing and waking up in the middle of the road where she died.  Will has his own problems, battling a nasty principal and a devious psychiatrist, but it turns out that Will and Alona each have the power to help each other out.

In Queen of The Dead, Alona and Will are back, working together to help other ghosts.  Things start to go bad when they both get distracted by personal problems, and instead of working together they both try to handle things on their own.  Will's discovering uncomfortable truths about his dead dad and finds himself intrigued by a new girl, Mina, who can also see the dead.  Alona is troubled to see her parents moving on with their lives.  Feeling replaced by them and now threatened by Mina's presence, Alona is true dramatic form takes drastic action, leading to even more disaster.

I really loved both books, although I'm not sure how I feel about how Queen of the Dead ended.  There's a major twist, and although I saw it coming I'm still working out whether I like the twist or not, and what it might mean for rest of the series.  No matter what though, I'm sticking with the books.  I love Alona and Will's relationship, and the way that they really balance each other out.  Will and Alona really are better when they're together.  Both books are quick, entertaining reads.  And who doesn't love a good ghost story? 

The Ghost and the Goth and Queen of the Dead get Midnight Book Ratings of 11pm.  With Dewey's 24hr Readathon lurking not to far around the corner, you might want to pick up the first book in the series.  Queen of the Dead isn't out until June!

Goodbye to you, Borders!

Oh, Borders.

We had some good times.

Remember that one time when I discovered your Pumpkin Spice Chai and became addicted to it, only to realize that a large sized drink of it made me sick? 

Or the times when I was on a "bank run" for my old job, but really I was checking out your new releases and sales items?  Thankfully I carried a big purse so I could smuggle my purchases back into the store with none the wiser. ;)

You were there for me when I needed books, movies and cds. You had foreign movies that were so hard to find (including the horribly bad decision to buy Irreversible *shudder* but I don't hold you responsible).

I didn't mean to abandon you when I moved to Virginia, I should have made more of an effort to see you.

And to the Richmond Borders- we just met and now it's time to say goodbye... at least until your audio books are marked down to 75% or so. 

Good luck to all the lovely, book reading, soon-to-be-out-of-work Borders employees. May you find hire paying jobs with lots of down time to read.

I didn't buy much, since some Lint Licker decided to steal my husband's debit card number and buy stuff over the internet in France and Germany (I will pull a Lisbeth Salander and hunt down your punk ass and punish you in ways that make Jack Bauer look tame), but here's what I got:

The picture was taken with my phone so its not super clear, but it's trying to show you that I bought:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (since I am the last blogger in the blogosphere not to have bought or reviewed this book).

A really pretty edition of Jane Eyre- it's one of those books I have somehow managed to convince myself that I've read since I know the story so well, but haven't really.  Credit to my friend Bittner at Abducted by books for inspiring this purchase.

Two Scott Pilgrim pens.

A cute little notebook to keep with me and write down non-Kindle book quotes in.

A Borders reusable bag just because it said Borders on it.

And a handful of Borders free bookmarks.

These could very well be my last Border's purchases ever.  At least until they start making drastic mark downs, and then all bets are off and another farewell post might be spotted on here.

The Mummy Review

From Goodreads:
The Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice

In The Mummy Anne Rice weaves the same magic for the world and history of mummies that she previously did for the worlds and mythologies of vampires and witches. Ramses the Great lives, but having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell certain mummy hungers that can never be satisfied!

I recently re-read this book.  I remember really liking it the first time I read it, back in my early 20's.  It's still a good read, full of intriguing history- both Egyptian and Edwardian England, it's got an almost Gothic like romance and it's got a hot "mummy".   It was a nice break from vampires, zombies and werewolves, although Ramses is closer to a vampire than an actual mummy.

Julie Stratford is our heroine, and she's wonderfully independent and intelligent.  Her father discovers the tomb of Ramses the Damned and dies a mysterious death (well, not that mysterious to the reader, but I don't want to spoil anyone too much) and the mummy and artifacts are brought to England to be displayed at the museum.  But first they are placed in the Stratford home, and it is there that Ramses is awakened.  There is an instant attraction and connection betweeen Julie and Ramses (they're both attractive people, he's super sexy and naked and she's the first woman he's laid eyes on in centuries).  Because she's engaged to sweet, slightly dimwitted Alex, Julie tries to fight her feelings for Ramses... at first.  Much adventure ensues as Julie, Ramses and various friends and family travel to Egypt.  Ramses looses his poo when he spots the body of Cleopatra on display as a common mummy in a museum and that's when the real drama begins.

One scene that really stuck out was when Julie Stratford introduces Ramses to the streets of London, and he sees cars, and buildings and wonderful machines and inventions.  But then he sees a homeless person begging and he is stunned that in all these centuries since he last walked the earth, and amidst such riches, there is still poverty.   It gave me a lot to think about, just from that one tiny scene. 

Overall I enjoyed it, and wish that Anne Rice had written the sequel that the book hints at/begs for towards the end.  I doubt that she will ever revisit Ramses and Julie since her writing has taken a different path, but I can still hope!

The Mummy gets a Midnight Rating of 10pm.  The pacing was a little slow in places, so it didn't keep me up all night flipping pages, but it's still a great read.

Books You Love

Recently I hosted an event for my book club- The Valentines Book Swap.  Each member simply had to bring a book they truly loved (most of us brought several) to swap and share with each other.  The book did not have to be new, and could be any genre.  It just had to be a book you really loved.

Here's a few of the books I brought:

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.  Odd is my favorite character of all time.  Recently my friend Bittner re-read the first book so here's her awesome review.

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Griffin.  I really love these books, especially Something Blue.  They are books that I always want to read.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.  She's an amazing author and I truly love her books.










Books I love to share but didn't bring to the swap:

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot.  Heather Wells is one of my all time favorite female characters.
Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King.  It's the King book I lend out to everyone who says they hate Stephen King books.  It's a wonderful fairytale.
Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro.  She's my go to author when I need to laugh so hard I pass out. I'm a member in good standing in the Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club.
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  So many of my non-YA reading friends have not heard of this awesome book.  I'm more than happy to stage a book reading intervention. :)

And a couple authors I love to tell people about other than the ones mentioned above), Maeve Binchy, Joe Hill, Kristin Cashore and Christopher Pike.

What books do you love to share?

Stay Review

From Goodreads:

Expected publication: April 19th 2011 by Simon Pulse

(first published April 5th 2011)

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.
Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Stay explores the darker side of romance and shows that not all types of love are healthy.  There are signs in the very beginning that Christian isn't quite right, but Clara falls for him almost instantly and at first interprets  the warning signs as proof that Christian loves her.  The story flips between the now, where Clara and her dad are hiding out for the summer, to the past, where Clara and Christian first begin to date and the trouble begins.

I found the story very realistic, Clara's feelings toward Christian from the time they meet to the present are all over the place- she's not just some shrinking violet.  Granted, she blames herself too much, but when she finally begins to see Christian's love is obsessive and dangerous she does try to break away.  Clara, even while hiding from Christian, finds herself attracted to another boy.  While she has to learn to trust her instincts again it shows that life is complicated.  You can love a person who is bad for you, you can leave them, and you can fall for someone new.

There is a jab at Twilight in the book, which is fair.  Bella and Edward do have a somewhat obsessive love, but it's never bothered me because it's complete fiction, their love and their connection with each other is pure fantasy.  In Stay it shows that in real life that kind of intense focus suffocates and eventually leads to trouble.  Christian seeks to own Clara, to punish her for the very things that first attracted him to her, and to control her actions.  But he's not all bad, in the beginning he and Clara have fun together, which makes it that much harder for her to see the trap closing tighter around her.

Stay gets a Midnight Book Rating of 11pm.  I really enjoyed it, and it had me at the edge of my seat towards the end.  It doesn't quite pull off a full midnight rating because the build up of the tension didn't pay off in full.  But a great read, especially if you have a teen daughter... or if you are a teen daughter. :)

** I received a copy of this book to review through a Different Area Codes Book Tours . 

Top Ten Characters I'd Name My Children After

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

NEXT WEEK THE TOPIC IS: Top Ten Favorite Love Stories In Books...come on ya'll..we had to be mushy gushy for Valentine's Day! So tell us those romances that made you swoon the most!

Wow, this is both easy and tough... but here goes:

1. Dane (The Thorn Birds) I've just always loved this for a boys name since the first time I read the book back in my high school days.  My Hubs is convinced that if we name a child Dane then kids will tease and call him "Great Dane" but really, there are much worse nicknames to be had.
2. Jory (Petals On The Wind) Okay, I realize that this is a name from a VC Andrews book.  I get that.  Doesn't change the fact that I love this name.  I used to just love it for a boy, but I'm thinking it could also be a girls name.  
3. Clary (City of Ashes, et al) I love this name!  I think it sounds lyrical, and Irish.  :)
4. Turtle (The Westing Game) I realized long ago that Turtle would be a hard name to sell any potential baby daddy, so instead I named a dog after my favorite shin kicking character.  However that won't stop me from reading the book to my daughter (should I ever actually have kids) and convincing her that it's her idea to start going by Turtle as a nickname.
5. Odd (Odd Thomas, et al) Maybe not really, but if you knew me then you would know that the chances of me having a child that would totally live up to this name are like 1 in 2.  Or maybe just 100%, it'll just depend on how much damage to our children from my parenting skills that my Hubs is able to deflect. 
6. Bramble (Entwined)  I think her full name was Bramble Rose, but I just love the name Bramble.  I doubt I would have the courage to name my daughter that, because I will not have the money to send her to boarding school with all the Apples and Suries and Fifi Trixibelles.
7. Ingrid (Down the Rabbit Hole, et al) I never really loved this name until the Echo Fall series by Peter Abrahams.  I even love the nickname Girdie.  It helps that Ingrid is the smart, mystery solving, soccer playing daughter of my dreams.
8. Megumi (Battle Royale) I have loved this Japenese name from the moment I heard it uttered in the movie.  The book is even better.  Megumi is not a lead character, and because the novel  and movie and manga is about a bunch of kids being forced to kill each other off I don't feel it's a spoiler to tell you that Megumi is not a winner winner chicken dinner.  Still love the name though!
9. Charlie (Firestarter) I love little girls with boyish names, although I'd probably name her Charlotte where as in the book I think Charlie was short for Charlene.  I also really like Danny for a girl, but I can't remember if that's from a book or just a preference. 
10. Rowan (The Witching Hour) Without a doubt this is one of my all time favorite Anne Rice books (although I absolutely hate the two sequels-- sorry, Anne).  I prefer it as a girls name, as it is in the book, but it can be used for both genders.  

And that's it for me this morning.  Off to work many, many hours today (8:30 am to 10pm- ick!).  It's all good though, I get to read at work so I'm hoping to make a major dent in The Handmaid's Tale which I am loving.  Happy readings, ya'll! 

Vixen Review

From Goodreads:

Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.
 
Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?
 
Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .
 
Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . .
 
From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.

My thoughts:

Vixen is the second book I've read recently that takes place in the 1920's.  It's an era I really enjoy reading about- something about Prohibition and speakeasies really appeals to me.  Jillian Larkin does a good job setting up the time period without it feeling like you're reading a text book- I especially like how one of the character's has to bind her breasts in order to fit into the dresses favored by flappers. 

While I enjoyed the book overall, I didn't really connect with the characters.  I found Gloria completely naive and unrealistic.  Despite finding herself attracted to a boy who's not just from across the tracks but also black (in an era where bi-racial relationships were more than frowned upon), she just seems to go blithely on her way.  Gloria shuts her friends out, lies to everyone, and basically just irritates me.  What saved the character for me is that I was interested in Jerome, and want to see where the future takes them... because of course there's a sequel!

And then there's Gloria's best friend Lorraine. I wanted to like Lorraine.  I get the whole "stuck in Gloria's shadow and in love with a boy who is clueless to the fact that we are destined to be together" drama that is Lorraine's life.  However, Lorraine craves the spotlight and continuously makes a spectacle of herself in her efforts to be noticed.  It's hard to like someone that desperate.  Plus she's always jumping to conclusions that are just ridiculous.  I do think Lorraine is redeemable, but I'm not sure I care enough to wait for her to get aboard the clue train.

The characters that I did love were Clara, Gloria's "country cousin" and Marcus, Gloria's best friend and Lorraine's major crush.  Clara had depth and layers, and secrets.  I wish I had seen more of Marcus, but I really enjoyed his relationships with both Gloria and Clara, although I wish he'd been a little kinder to Lorraine- I know, I just said I didn't like her but Marcus was a jerk to her.

Vixen was a fun, easy read, one I think YA fans will enjoy.  There's romance, secrets, scandal, fashion and danger.  It's the first in a series and it's going to be released on Feb. 8th.  A good way to celebrate Valentine's Day if you've ever harbored a desire to slip on a cloche hat (I actually do own one) and flapper's dress!

Vixen by Jillian Larkin gets a Midnight Book Rating of 10pm.  I'll probably continue with the series, if only for Clara, Marcus and Jerome.