tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61578393714386955622024-03-14T03:39:50.163-07:00YA Anonymous- for YA addicts<center><i>"It was books that made me feel that perhaps I wasn't completely alone."</i>- Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.</center>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-78112611806537574842012-12-10T23:06:00.002-08:002012-12-10T23:16:40.321-08:00Little Update For You Guys<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">Hey guys!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">It's Celine here, sorry about how me and Ela haven't been on our blog in ages, if you have even noticed. So I thought it would be nice if I put on a few excerpts and update a few things. Hopefully they interest you and that we can both start coming on a bit more in the near future.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">Thank you for everything and following us.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">It means so much! :)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">My Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare little review.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.96666717529297px;">From July (I know it is AGES ago, but anyway, here it is!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px;">When I saw the COVER...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px;">*yelps in joy and does a happy dance*</span><br />
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<img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="350" src="http://images.wikia.com/icarly/images/e/ed/Scream.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px; max-width: 430px;" width="450" /><br />
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<img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="350" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110716161112/glee/images/f/f4/Jim_Carrey_dance.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px; max-width: 430px;" width="450" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px;">When I saw the RELEASE DATE...</span><br />
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<img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="400" src="http://www.sectalk.com/board/public/imported_images/4.bp.blogspot.com/faint-o.gif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.981481552124023px; max-width: 430px;" width="450" /><br />
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Here is a funny post I found on Cassie's blog.<br />
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<div class="title" style="color: #494949; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
If Will Herondale were a doctor...</div>
<div class="chat" style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(222, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 10px 10px 0px;">
<div class="lines" style="margin-left: 1px;">
<div class="line odd" style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Patient:</strong> I have a terrible stomach ache</div>
<div class="line even" style="background-color: #dedddd; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Will:</strong> I'm afraid you've got Demon Pox</div>
<div class="line odd" style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Patient 2:</strong> I've been coughing a lot lately</div>
<div class="line even" style="background-color: #dedddd; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Will:</strong> That's Demon Pox</div>
<div class="line odd" style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Patient 3:</strong> HELP! I've been shot!</div>
<div class="line even" style="background-color: #dedddd; color: #494949; margin-bottom: 1px; padding: 3px 5px;">
<strong>Will:</strong> DEMON POX!</div>
</div>
</div>
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GUYS HAVE YOU SEEN CASSANDRA'S CLOCKWORK PRINCESS SOUNDTRACK?<br />
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<div class="title" style="color: #494949; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
Clockwork Princess soundtrack</div>
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<strong>Hey Cassie, I was just wondering if you had a playlist for CP2 and if so, would you mind sharing it? :) — shadowhunters-pet-duck</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Sure! In no particular order:</div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Libertines: Music When the Lights Go Out</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Is it cruel or kind</em><br />
<em>Not to speak my mind</em><br />
<em>And to lie to you</em><br />
<em>Rather than hurt you?</em><br />
<br />
<em>And alarm bells ring</em><br />
<em>When you say your heart still sings </em><br />
<em>When you’re with me</em><br />
<em>Oh won’t you please forgive me </em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Snow Patrol: If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>And I knew the beat since it matched your own beat</em><br />
<em>I still remember it from our chest to chest and feet to feet</em><br />
<em>A fire a fire, you can only take what you can carry</em><br />
<em>A pulse your pulse, it’s the only thing I can remember</em><br />
<em>I break you don’t, I was always set to self destruct though</em><br />
<em>The fire the fire, it cracks and barks like primal music.</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Bright Eyes: Perfect Sonnet</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Lately I’ve been wishing I had only one desire</em><br />
<em>Something that would make me never want another</em><br />
<em>Something that would make it so that nothing matters</em><br />
<em>All would be clear then</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Foster the People: I Would Do Anything for You</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Every day is a battle I face</em><br />
<em>Strange life I live </em><br />
<em>But it’s what you’ve decided</em><br />
<em>I give it all into your hands</em><br />
<em>Do what you will with me </em><br />
<em>And I’ll I smile when you speak</em><br />
<em>Remember all those times </em><br />
<em>I was hoping for something?</em><br />
<em>And shaking my head </em><br />
<em>From all that I’ve done</em><br />
<em>But you never left me</em><br />
</div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Elliot Smith: Alameda</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Thinking about your friends</em><br />
<em>How you maintain all them in a constant state of suspense</em><br />
<em>For your own protection over their affection</em><br />
<em>Nobody broke your heart</em><br />
<em>You broke your own because you can’t finish what you start</em></div>
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<strong>Cake: Love You Madly</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
</div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<em>I don’t want <span class="il">to</span> hold back</em><br />
<em>I don’t want <span class="il">to</span> slip down</em><br />
<em>I don’t want <span class="il">to</span> think back <span class="il">to</span> the one thing that I know I </em><br />
<em>Should have done</em><br />
<br />
<em>I don’t want <span class="il">to</span> doubt you</em><br />
<em>Know everything about you</em><br />
<em>I don’t want <span class="il">to</span> sit across the table from you </em><br />
<em>Wishing I could run</em><br />
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Left and Leaving by The Weakerthans</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>My city’s still breathing (but barely it’s true)</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Through buildings gone missing like teeth</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>The sidewalks are watching me think about you</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Sparkled with broken glass</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>I’m back with scars to show</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Back with the streets I know</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Will never take me anywhere but here</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Destiny by Zero 7</strong></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>The journey’s long, and I feel so bad.</em><br />
<em>I’m thinking back <span class="il">to</span> the last day we had</em><br />
<em>Old moon fades in <span class="il">to</span> the new</em><br />
<em>Soon I know I’ll be back with you</em><br />
<em>I’m nearly with you, I’m nearly with you.</em><br />
<br />
<em>When I’m weak, I draw strength from you</em><br />
<em>And when you’re lost I know how <span class="il">to</span> change your mood</em><br />
<em>And when I’m down you breathe life over me</em><br />
<em>Even though we’re miles apart, we are each other’s </em><br />
<em>Destiny</em></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Exit Wounds: The Script</strong></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
</div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<em>And it hurts so bad</em><br />
<em>That I search my skin</em><br />
<em>For the entry point</em><br />
<em>When love went in</em><br />
<em>And ricocheted </em><br />
<em>And bounced around</em><br />
<em>And left a hole when you walked out </em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
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<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<strong>Grizzly Bear, Knife</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<em>I want you to know</em><br />
<em>When I look in your eyes</em><br />
<em>With every blow</em><br />
<em>Comes another lie</em><br />
<br />
<strong>Block Party: I Still Remember</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
<em>And I can see our days are becoming nights.</em><br />
<em>I could feel your heartbeat across the grass.</em><br />
<em>We should have run.</em><br />
<em>I would go with you anywhere.</em><br />
<em>I should have kissed you by the water</em><br />
<br />
<em>You should have asked me for it</em><br />
<em>I would have been brave</em><br />
<em>You should have asked me for it</em><br />
<em>How could I say no? </em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173;">
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<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Wraith Pinned to the Mist by Of Montreal</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Maybe I’ll never die,</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>I’ll just keep growing younger with you,</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>And you’ll grow younger, too.</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Now it seems too lovely to be true</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>But I know the best things always do.</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>All the Rowboats: Regina Spektor</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>But the most special are the most lonely,</em><br />
<em>God, I pity the violins</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>The Reeling: Passion Pit</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>And all at once i feel this, oh how it clings to me</em><br />
<em>it reels and calls me towards it, confounding destiny</em><br />
<em>and i can feel the madness inch by inch</em><br />
<em>the more i run the more i am convinced</em><br />
<em>a color all these like the branches glimpse</em><br />
<em>just like the saddle in the foggy mist</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Yo La Tengo: Tears are In Your Eyes</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Although you don’t believe me, you are strong</em><br />
<em>Darkness always turns into the dawn</em><br />
<em>And you won’t even remember this for long</em><br />
<em>When it ends all right</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Ocean Breathes Salty: Modest Mouse</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Your body may be gone, I’m gonna carry you in.</em><br />
<em>In my head, in my heart, in my soul.</em><br />
<em>And maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll both live again.</em><br />
<em>Well I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. </em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Wishing Well: Airborne Toxic Event</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>So you stand on the corner</em><br />
<em>Where the angels sit</em><br />
<em>And you think to yourself,</em><br />
<em>“This is it, this is it,</em><br />
<em>This is all that I have</em><br />
<em>This is all ll I can stand</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong>Casimir Pulaski Day: Sufjan Stevens</strong></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>In the morning in the winter shade</em><br />
<em>On the first of March, on the holiday</em><br />
<em>I thought I saw you breathing</em><br />
<br />
<em>All the glory that the Lord has made</em><br />
<em>And the complications when I see His face</em><br />
<em>In the morning in the window</em><br />
<br />
<em>All the glory when He took our place</em><br />
<em>But He took my shoulders and He shook my face</em><br />
<em>And He takes and He takes and He takes.</em></div>
<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
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<div style="color: #6e7173; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<i>---</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Clockwork Princess Snippet</div>
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<div class="title" style="color: #494949; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; padding: 10px 10px 0px;">
Clockwork Princess snippet</div>
<div class="copy" style="color: #6e7173; padding: 10px;">
<div style="padding: 0px;">
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<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>“You do not want to help us,” Will said to Magnus. “You do not want to position yourself as an enemy of Mortmain’s.”</em></div>
<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>“Well, can you blame him?” Woolsey rose in a whirl of yellow silk. “What could you possibly have to offer that would make the risk worth it to him?”</em></div>
<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>“I will give you anything,” said Tessa in a low voice that Will felt in his bones. “Anything at all, if you can help us help Jem.”</em></div>
<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Magnus gripped a handful of his black hair. “God, the two of you. I can make inquiries. Track down some of the more unusual shipping routes. Old Molly —”</em></div>
<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>“I’ve been to her,” Will said. “Something’s frightened her so badly she won’t even crawl out of her grave.”</em></div>
<div class="p1" style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<em>Woolsey snorted. “And that doesn’t tell you anything, little Shadowhunter? Is it really worth all this, just to stretch your friend’s life out another few months, another year? He will die anyway. And the sooner he dies, the sooner you can have his fiancée, the one you’re in love with.” He cut his amused gaze toward Tessa. “Really you ought to be counting down the days till he expires with great eagerness.”</em></div>
</div>
</div>
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Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-78617811337941575512012-09-24T16:47:00.002-07:002012-09-24T17:11:51.640-07:00Pledged by Gwynneth White- Review<img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1341737787l/15707192.jpg" /><br />
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<i><span id="freeText630777814872583788"><b>Everyone has a soul mate. But what do you do when your soul mate would rather give his soul to the demons than be with you?</b><br /><br />Seventeen-year-old
Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient
curse is tearing him away. And the demons who invoked it will stop at
nothing – even murder – to claim him as their own.<br /><br />How can she win against a curse so binding that it has damned countless others to this same fate – an eternity alone?<br /><br />The
answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all,
travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden,
and life – and death – hang on a pledge.<br /><br />Follow Erin and Seth as
they travel to ancient Shenaya and confront the curse that has plagued
their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic
Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to
keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.</span> </i><br />
(Blurb from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15707192-pledged">Goodreads</a>)<br />
<br />
*****<br />
<br />
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars<br />
<br />
We were so excited when we were asked to join the Pledged Book Tour, as it was our very first book tour that we'd be participating in (yay for us!). And we got even more excited when we read the blurb for <i>Pledged</i>. Paranormal romance? Yes please.<br />
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<img height="181" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7o6jrJYDU1qkhrrvo1_500.gif" width="400" /><br />
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One of the things we loved about this book would probably be the actual story itself, and the way Gwynneth White wrote it. <i>Pledged</i> is written in third person omniscient, and let us tell you, we can't list the number of books that were written in this point of view that failed miserably. This is not one of those books. The language is simple and easy to understand, which is helpful as there were a lot of details us readers need to know to understand the plot.<br />
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The only negative we could say about this book was that Erin didn't really live up to that "kick-ass" heroine that we were expecting her to be. There were times in the book when she didn't strike up as believable, for example when she was fully ready to accept that Seth was her soulmate and that they were meant to be together. We liked Seth, however; his part of the book was more believable to us. His responses to the situation they were thrown into felt more real- like when he couldn't just choose a girl he'd only just met over his brother. It also helped that he was hot. Yeah, okay, we more than liked him. Shhh.<br />
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<img height="224" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma29t5vpbY1ro4or7.gif" width="400" /><br />
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Overall, we enjoyed this book a lot, it was action filled, plus the romance was well written, after we got past the whole character thing up there. We're definitely looking forward to the sequel!Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-73733189919702536092012-09-07T02:59:00.003-07:002012-09-07T03:00:52.175-07:00The Fault In Our Stars by John Green- Review<img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikibmPIEXr60WXS_hSxdX_Jwotr-1BREBK4bJgb6Q0u0oghewCgV87PiCI2Y_XAOP9NlTD6xbMCzpRpdnxoU2K5DTZ2hf3eJj3tDBBWMDv8C09QfFhw2-6HHonJwjiY2pJ7vli7sH5kMRo/s400/tumblr_ltboy5Tgo61qjhzvpo1_500.jpg" width="264" /><br />
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<i><span id="freeText5079965687417551617">Diagnosed with Stage IV
thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical
miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.<br /><br />Two years
post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too
post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she
could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered
to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant
chemical assault.<br /><br />Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer
kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to
her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected
destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how
sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that
everyone leaves behind.</span></i> Blurb from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13035203-the-fault-in-our-stars">Goodreads</a><br />
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*****<br />
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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars <br />
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This is me right now:<br />
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<img height="177" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m70oga8OGO1rt166j.gif" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="246" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9fln4ofLg1qiit33.gif" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="163" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m656qhUyPt1r6r7t1.gif" width="320" /><br />
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I can't even. John Green. <i>That man</i>.<br />
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****<br />
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One of the things about me that can tell you if I really like a book or not, is if I've borrowed a book from the library, read it, but <i>still want to buy it from the bookstore</i>. <i>The Fault In Our Stars</i> is definitely those books. I am so in love with this book, that I am tempted to buy every single edition of this- paperback, hardcover, whatever- but such expenses is too much for my wallet. <br />
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<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6h83174w81rwcc6bo1_250.gif" /><br />
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John Green continues to baffle me with the way he writes his books; his prose, his characters, the plot- everything. He could make me laugh like a mental patient one minute, and then bawl like a five- year- old the next. The way he writes and the things he writes about is so relateable to any teenager out there and I love that he understands. I mean, trying not to sound like Patrick here during that chocolate selling episode in Spongebob, but <i>I love that man</i>. The amazingness is to much to describe. <br />
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<img height="240" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9df22LPyb1rt9xz0.gif" width="320" /><br />
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Lord, and Augustus. And the metaphors. And Hazel and Gus together. I absolutely loved how their relationship was very real and nothing seemed fake or cheesy (not that I expected fake cheesyness from John Green). Such perfection. I loved it. I loved all the other characters as well, Isaac, Van Houten, Lidewij, and how they were all relevant to the story (because I hate useless characters).<br />
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<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m83m9fLvw61rwjnjko1_250.gif" /><br />
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There's nothing negative for me to say about this book. <i>The Fault In Our Stars</i> was pretty much perfect.<br />
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In the end, I loved, loved loved this book; it was hilarious, witty and insightful. It just made me loved John Green more and more excited to read his other and future books. So now, if you excuse me, I am off to the bookstore hopefully to find a copy of <i>The Fault In Our Stars</i>.Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-81581502136066240562012-08-26T01:27:00.001-07:002012-08-31T21:52:09.003-07:00Clockwork Princess SpoilersHey all, thought we would post some Clockwork Princess spoilers that you may or may not have read already. We hope they help satisfy your Cassandra Clare longing, we know they did for us. :)<br />
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<b>Teaser 1:</b><br />
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<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“What are you doing following me around the back streets of London, you little idiot?” Will demanded, giving her arm a light shake.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cecily’s eyes narrowed. “This morning it was <em style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">cariad </em>(note: Welsh endearment, like ‘darling’ or ‘love’), now it’s idiot.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Oh, you’re using a Glamour rune. There’s one thing to declare, you are not afraid of anything when you live in the country. But this is London.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m not afraid of London,” Cecily said defiantly.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Will leaned closer, almost hissing in her ear <strong style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">*and said something very complicated in Welsh*</strong></span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She laughed. “No, it wouldn’t do you any good to tell me to go home. You are my brother, and I want to go with you.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Will blinked at her words.</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You are my brother, and I want to go with you.</em></span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the sort of thing he was used to hearing Jem say.</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Although Cecily was unlike Jem in every other conceivable possible way, she did share one quality with him. Stubbornness. When Cecily said she wanted something, it did not express an idle desire, but an iron determination.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Do you even care where I’m going?” he said. “What if I were going to hell?”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’ve always wanted to see hell,” Cecily said. “Doesn’t everyone?”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Most of us spend our time trying to stay out of it, Cecily. I’m going to an ifrit den, if you must know, to purchase drugs from vile, dissolute criminals. They may clap eyes on you, and decide to sell you.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Wouldn’t you stop them?”</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I suppose it would depend on whether they cut me a part of the profit.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She shook her head. “Jem is your <em style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">parabatai,</em>” she said. “He is your brother, given to you by the Clave, but I am your sister by blood. Why would you do anything for him, but you only want me to go home?”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“How do you know the drugs are for Jem?” Will said.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m not an idiot, Will.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No, more’s the pity. Jem- Jem is like the better part of me. I would not expect you to understand. I owe him. I owe him this.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“So what am I?” Cecily said.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Will exhaled, too desperate to check himself. “You are my weakness.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“And Tessa is your heart,” she said, not angrily, but thoughtfully. “I am not fooled. As I told you, I’m not an idiot. And more’s the pity for <em style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">you</em>, although I suppose we all want things we can’t have.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Oh,” said Will, “and what do you want?”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I want you to come home.” A strand of black hair was stuck to her cheek by the dampness, and Will fought the urge to pull her cloak closer about her, to make her safe as he had when she was a child.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The Institute is my home,” Will sighed, and leaned his head against the stone wall. “I can’t stand out her arguing with you all evening, Cecily. If you’re determined to follow me into hell, I can’t stop you.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Finally,” she said provingly. “You’ve seen sense. I knew you would, you’re related to<em style="border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> me</em>.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Will fought the urge to shake her.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Are you ready?”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She nodded, and he raised his hand to knock on the door.</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Teaser 2:</b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Will’s eyes met Tessa’s as she came closer, almost tripping again over the torn hem of her gown. For a moment, they were in perfect understanding. Jem was what they could still look each other straight in the eye about. On the topic of Jem, they were both fierce and unyielding. Tessa saw Will’s hand tighten on Jem’s sleeve. “She’s here,” he said.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jem’s eyes opened slowly. Tessa fought to keep the look of shock from her face. His pupils were blown out, his irises a thin ring of silver around the black. “Ni shou shang le ma, quin ai de?” he whispered.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Teaser 3:</b></span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Will!”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He turned at the familiar voice and saw Tessa. There was a small path cut along the side of the hill, lined with unfamiliar white flowers, and she was walking up it, toward him. Her long brown hair blew in the wind — she had taken off her straw bonnet, and held it in one hand, waving it at him and smiling as if she were glad to see him.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His own heart leaped up at the sight of her. “Tess,” he called. But she was still such a distance away — she seemed both very near and very far suddenly and at the same time. He could see every detail of her pretty, upturned face, but could not touch her, and so he stood, waiting and desiring, and his heart beat like the wings of seagulls in his chest.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At last she was there, close enough that he could see where the grass and flowers bent beneath the tread of her shoes. He reached out for her —</span></div>
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<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Teaser 4:</b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“If Jem dies, I cannot be with Tessa,” said Will. “Because it will be as if I were waiting for him to die, or took some joy in his death, if it let me have her. And I will not be that person. I will not profit from his death. So he must live.” He lowered his arm, his sleeve bloody. “It is the only way any of this can ever mean anything. Otherwise it is only —”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Pointless, needless suffering and pain? I don’t suppose it would help if I told you that was the way life is. The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away,” Magnus said.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; color: #666666; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: none; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I want more than that,” said Will. “You made me want more than that. You showed me I was only ever cursed because I had chosen to believe myself so. You told me there was possibility, meaning. And now you would turn your back on what you created.”</span></div>
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<br />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-82228313549817603662012-08-13T18:24:00.003-07:002012-08-13T18:26:01.440-07:00Pledged by Gwyneth White- ExcerptsHey, guys!<br />
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As promised, we have here excerpts to<i> Pledged</i> by Gwyneth White. They're pretty exciting :)\<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">THREE SHORT EXCERPTS FROM <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">PLEDGED<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">By<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">GWYNNETH WHITE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">We have chosen the
following excerpts to give your readers a glimpse into the lives of the main
characters in <i>Pledged</i>, namely: Seth
and Erin, Jared and Sophia, and Caleb and Talitha. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">EXCERPT ONE: Meet
Seth and Erin . . . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Despite the heat, Seth felt icy.
Dread could do that to him. Or so he had recently discovered. Deep breathing
usually calmed him, so he sucked in a lungful of desert air and told himself to
relax. It didn’t help. By the time he’d walked from the aircraft to the
immigration hall he’d ripped off a jagged piece of thumbnail, already bitten
raw. He handed his US passport to the Botswanan border official, and, after a
frown, and a stamp, he joined the crowd at the baggage carousel. Botswana in
southern Africa was the last place on earth he’d ever have picked for a holiday
destination. But he wasn’t here on holiday. Not even close.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">His backpack was slow
in coming. Tired from his long-haul flight from New York, he leaned against the
wall and closed his eyes. Almost as if to mock him, the hated vision that had
brought him to Botswana burst into his mind. In an instant he was back in
ancient times, watching a man he knew only as Gideon. As usual, Gideon was huddled
on a windswept hill with his band of hopeless soldiers, waiting to be
slaughtered by a huge army gathered in the valley below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Seth snapped his eyes
open to stop the battle from waging in his mind. It wasn’t that he was
particularly squeamish; he’d watched enough movies to iron clad his stomach
against gory visuals. But no movie had ever left him icy with dread the way
Gideon’s battle did. And the reason for that was simple. The moment the visions
had started, he had known that the war, fought so long ago in a place he’d
never heard of, was far from over. And, as reluctant as he was, he too was
being enlisted to fight in a cause he didn’t understand or want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He forced himself to
focus on the present: Erin, who waited for him in the arrivals hall; his
brother Kyle, whom he’d come to Botswana to visit; Kyle’s expedition to find
the Lost City of the Kalahari . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He ripped off another
piece of fingernail. Thinking about the search for the Lost City was almost as
bad as the war-vision. <i>I hope Kyle never
finds the damned place</i>. He slapped his hand on his thigh. <i>Enough! </i>Grabbing his backpack off the
carousel, he set his face into a smile and strode into the arrivals hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The first hurdle was
finding Erin. She was due to arrive an hour earlier on a flight from Cape Town
in South Africa, one of Botswana’s neighbours. He’d never met her, although
they had spoken over the phone once. Then she’d described herself as “a short,
seventeen-year-old (a year younger than him) with a mass of ginger hair.” She’d
sounded nice. Meeting her was the one ray of brightness in this otherwise dark
picture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He stopped to scan the
crowd. A petite girl with shoulder length, reddish-blonde curls, dressed in
skinny jeans and a purple blouse, immediately caught his eye. It had to be
Erin. <i>Nice legs.</i> <i>What’s it with girls that they always under-sell themselves? </i>He
studied her face with his artist’s eye<i>.
Vermeer would’ve killed to paint her.</i> Suddenly wishing he didn’t look so
grimy after his three plane-changes, he walked over to join her. “Hi, I’m Seth.
You’ve got to be Erin. My brother’s just married your sister Izzy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“And after only
knowing each other for about a week.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Her dimpled grin was
infectious, making him crack his trademark crooked smile. “Madness.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Mysterious.” Erin
cocked her head to one side, seemingly appraising him. He knew he had been
accurate when he’d told her he was tall and dark-haired. But what he had failed
to mention was what girls had often said they liked about him: his strong,
angular face, softened by expressive brown eyes. He watched her eyes rove over
his grey <i>Muse:</i> <i>Resistance</i> t-shirt, taking in his broad shoulders and chest. From
there they darted down his black camo-pants to his boots. Amused by her blatant
assessment, he cocked his head to one side, watching her. Suddenly Erin giggled
– was she embarrassed? – and picked up her bag. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“We’ve yet another
plane to catch. My fourth in the last twenty-four hours,” Seth said, hoping to
explain away his rumpled appearance. “To a place called Maun.” <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“So we do. Let the
adventure begin.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">EXCERPT TWO: Meet
Jared and Sophia . . . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jared nodded at Sophia
and Kezeah without any sign of recognition. With two of his Pledged up front
and two at their rear, he marched them down the corridor to a flight of stairs.
Once at the bottom, he ducked beneath an archway, opening onto to a gloomy,
narrow tunnel. Erin, never keen on dark, claustrophobic spaces, took a deep
breath and paused. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“C’mon,” Seth said.
“The sooner we walk through it, the quicker we get to the other side.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“What happens if
what’s on the other side is even worse?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Then you’ll know for
sure that the dead guys are leading this expedition,” Seth said, wanting to
deny the painful burning in his heart that reconnected him with a cursed Jared.
He grabbed Erin’s arm and pulled her into the passage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">They’d taken no more
than two tentative steps along the uneven floor when Sophia stopped. “Commander,
I am <i>not</i> walking through this
snake-hole!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jared turned back to
look at her. With none of the fear or diffidence Erin and Seth expected from a
boy with limited to exposure to girls – especially beautiful ones – he
answered, “Of course, my lady. You’re from Norin, where I understand you live
in grass huts.” He gave a sardonic smile. “But don’t despair, you’ll soon get
used to bricks. Even our own Outcasts have learnt not to flinch at the sight of
them.” He continued down the passage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Seth’s mouth dropped at Jared’s rudeness;
this was so foreign to the Jared he had seen just moments ago in his vision. It
just added to his anger at Reuel’s Curse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Pledged at
Sophia’s rear prodded her back; she gave him a fierce look and started walking.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For Seth and Sophia,
both taller than Erin and Kezeah, negotiating the tortuous twists and turns of
the tunnel was no easy matter. Stooping, cursing each time they bumped their
heads on the rough ceiling, they struggled after Jared, but he kept up the
merciless pace until they reached a dark staircase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Her temper now as
short as her breath, Sophia stopped walking and locked her arms across her
chest. “Having just cracked my skull open, you now expect me to scramble up
those treacherous stairs too. No doubt hoping I’ll fall and break my neck.
Well, forget it. I’m not moving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Sophia!” Kezeah
whispered, jabbing her in the ribs as she stepped gingerly onto the first
narrow step.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sophia ignored her.
“Only savages and rats live in places like this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Jared’s
eyes narrowed. “Savages and rats, you say, my lady?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sophia set her face
into a cold stare, locking her hypnotic blue eyes on his. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He surprised her by
holding her gaze. “I hate to disappoint you, my lady, but Lord Rustus, Lord of
the Household, under the direction of the Overlord himself, has chosen your
apartment. Surely you don’t question their judgment in this matter?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “As a
matter of fact, I do.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “In
that case, I’ll gladly pass on your concerns. If that’s what you really want.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Enough,
Sophia. This isn’t a fight you can win.” </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Sophia’s Guardian had joined
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">EXCERPT THREE: Meet Caleb and Talitha . . . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Erin flicked her hair
behind her ear and watched Caleb straighten his clothing. He took a deep breath
and entered the hut. They followed right after him, drifting through the closed
door as if it didn’t exist. Seth laughed, holding his hand up to Erin for a
high-five – until he noticed that
Caleb’s <i>Gefallen</i> had also wafted into
the cabin with them. Even though he had no idea how to defend Erin from a ghost,
he stepped in front of her to protect her. But the wraith ignored them and
sailed over to Caleb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> A tall, blonde-haired girl with
almond-shaped brown eyes was waiting for Caleb. For Erin, the recognition was
instantaneous; it was Talitha. “She’s so beautiful!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 21.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “She’s okay,” Seth replied, looking her
over critically. “But I don’t think Caleb’s here for her looks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-prop-change: white 20110930T0918; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“What’s
that supposed to mean?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-prop-change: white 20110930T0918; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“You
said yourself that Caleb’s a good-looking guy. I bet he could have any girl he
wants around here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Erin frowned; then she
smiled as understanding dawned. “So, in guy-talk, you’re saying he loves her?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Seth chuckled as he
picked up Erin’s hand and put it on his heart. “Tell me what you’re feeling?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Erin gasped at a
disconcerting pulse thrumming in Seth’s chest, over-riding his own heartbeat.
“It’s . . . no . . . It’s not possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “I’ll bet it is. It’s Caleb’s heart beating.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“How do you know it’s
him? It could be Talitha.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“It started the moment
I saw him. It’s like it’s there to stop me denying that he and I were once
friends. And I was watching Talitha when he walked in. She smiled, and it felt
as if someone had just shot a thousand volts through him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“It’s amazing you’re
so connected that you can feel him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Seth wasn’t so sure he
agreed; it made being here just a little too real. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Erin felt her own
heart and could faintly discern Talitha’s heartbeat; it was nowhere near as
strong as the thump in Seth’s chest, but then, she figured, she wasn’t in
denial the way he was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> They fell into silence as Caleb opened his
arms to embrace Talitha. She draped her arms around his neck, twisting the dark
curls tumbling onto his shoulders. He kissed the nape of her throat and ran his
lips up her neck, over her chin to her mouth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“This is awkward,”
Erin murmured, looking away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“You don’t say. All
this way just to watch them making out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">*****</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">These excerpts are
issued by Swallow Press for use by bloggers participating in launch and blog
tour of <i>Pledged</i> by Gwynneth White.
Any queries can be addressed to Andrew at sethanderin@swallowpress.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-10741957575049405562012-07-23T23:45:00.000-07:002012-07-23T23:49:10.312-07:00The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan- Review<img height="400" src="https://www.geneva304.org/mcs/jwehrmeister/2009%20Viking%20covers/Lightning%20Thief.jpg" width="270" />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 stars</b><br />
<br />
<b> </b>
<i>Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.</i> (blurb taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28187.The_Lightning_Thief">Goodreads</a>)<br />
<br />
****<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I don't really know if people count the Percy Jackson books as YA, but I do, so here you go: </span><br />
<br />
I'm slightly ashamed to say that I watched the movie before I read the book. But I'm even more ashamed that I watched the movie only to experience the hotness that is Logan Lerman.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRC2-X8LcGrUgMqPRUnB9MDS1-tGr11NYdwvt0oTQmkMTbA6yX0" /><br />
<br />
But, come on! Someone tell me that <i> this </i>, is not hot:<br />
<br />
<img height="182" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw1v1d9k4n1qjuvtn.gif" width="320" /><br />
<br />
Really. What did I tell you? (I do imagine that you probably won't read the rest of the review anf just stare at this gif instead, but that's no reason not to like my review! :D)
But, I really have to thank Logan. I really do. Because without his unfreakingbelieveable hotness, I wouldn't have watched the movie, and I would've never read the awesomeness of The Lightning Thief.
Yes, I loved the book. I've always taken an interest in Greek Mythology and I thought Rick Riordan's take on it was very unique, and unlike anything I've read before.
I absolutely loved Camp- Halfblood. Well, it sure seemed better than the budget summer camps I've been to. RR seriously out did himself with writing the camp. I could imagine everything vividly and I like to think that I know the camp from back to front. The cabins would have to be my favourite feature of the camp, though. If only they were like that in the camps I've been to.<br />
<br />
<img height="168" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltrnm2pVm71qhh46u.gif" width="320" /><br />
<br />
Percy. What can I say? The guy has amazing underwater powers, is kick- ass and is a demigod. He's super loyal to his friends and family, is brave and has the looks (this is the part when you look at the gif of Logan Lerman again ;D). And he can make me laugh. Come on. You have to give a guy who make you laugh some credit. In short, the guy's the full package.
Another thing I loved were the other characters. Especially Annabeth, who looks like Cinderella in Percy's words (am I right? I don't have the book on me, sorry. Stupid library fines). And I'm expecting something to develop between her and Percy, if you know what I mean...<br />
<br />
<img height="240" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luhev7lZCJ1r220kbo1_400.gif" width="320" /><br />
<br />
So, yeah. I loved the book, it was exciting, fast- paced and humorous. Just one thing though, I'm kind of pissed that they didn't have cabins in the movie. Or Clarisse. Or the Oracle. Though it's hardly RR's fault. I just had to get it out there.Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-91780256589408150432012-07-15T00:17:00.003-07:002012-07-23T23:51:10.944-07:00The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson- Review<img alt="The Sky Is Everywhere" height="400" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301590944l/6604794.jpg" width="264" />
<br />
<br />
<i>Blurb</i><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><i>Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transfer from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding. This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.</i></span>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Rating: 5 out of 5</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I love this novel! My FAVOURITE non-series book! So interesting and romantic.I couldn't put it down.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">This book is truly loveable.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The tension between Lennie and Toby and Lennie and Joe make this book heart-throbbing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Lennie. At first I was actually annoyed with Lennie, and how she couldn't help herself with Toby. Like he was your sister's boyfriend, what are you thinking?</span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://images.wikia.com/degrassi/images/9/96/SIMON-CONFUSED-GIF-2.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" width="256" /><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">But then I thought what would this book be without their little problem. With Lennie not being able to control herself and Toby... Which brings me to my next keypoint.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Toby. When Toby practically jumped straight to Lennie after his girlfriends death I was like what the fuck is wrong with you?</span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l597/ayannnaya/KingsleyWhatsWrongWithYou.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" width="256" /><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">But then I started to understand him more and what he was dealing with. He adored how close Bailey and Lennie were and when Bailey died Lennie was the only one left...(I don't want to spoil it anymore for people who haven't read this book yet.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Joe. "Joe is any parents and girls dream." </span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm191/N3lly_J3lly/GIF/GIF-SIGH.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" width="256" /><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">He is the one who makes you feel like you don't need to be anything more than you already are.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">He is one of those people who always knows how to cheer you up, the one that knows your every feeling and the one who always has a smile. He is charming and i found it so sad when he found out the girl he was falling for was in between falling for him and her sisters boyfriend...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The word building and how there are random but pleasing and meaningful poems added at the start of chapters are very interesting and I give props to Jandy Nelson.</span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j112/tjeremiah/3ea24fc3f2a6f2995fb1eafe225bac08.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" width="256" /><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">This book is full of obsticles and you just have to be there at the finish line waiting for the results.</span>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-68754215192538326912012-07-05T01:45:00.004-07:002012-07-05T01:48:22.064-07:00Pledged Book Tour and Launch!Great news guys! We've been included to participate in a book tour and launch on Pledged by <a href="http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.co.nz/">Gwyneth White</a>!<br />
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<b>Here's the cover (which looks ah-mazing):</b><br />
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<img height="400" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1339787472l/15707192.jpg" width="281" /><br />
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<b>And the synopsis:</b><br />
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<i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everyone has a soul mate.
But what do you do when your soul mate would</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">rather give his soul to the demons than be with you? </span></b></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seventeen-year-old Erin has
a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient promise is tearing
him away. And Reuel, the demon to whom the promise was made, will stop at
nothing to force Seth to forsake Erin and to worship him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How can Erin win against a
pledge so binding that it has damned countless others to the same fate she and
Seth will face if Reuel wins – an eternity alone?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The answer lies in the
past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a
dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a promise.
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to
ancient Shenaya to break the pledge that has plagued their families for
millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the
disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love
untainted.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">And a little bit about the author:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have spent my entire life living in a parallel universe of
make-believe characters, only coming back to reality for long enough to check
that no one burnt the house down in my absence. A few years ago I decided to
commit some of those ‘friends’ and their stories to paper. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Soul Wars Saga</i> is the result of those
efforts. Before that I co-authored two non-fiction travel books – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Complete Guide to 4x4 Trails </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ultimate 4x4 Guide</i>. Both books
became instant best-sellers in South
Africa where I live. And before that even, I
studied a degree in African History and Politics at the University of
Stellenbosch. When I’m not writing, I am a wife to Andrew and a mom to Stephanie,
Erin, and Kate, our teenage daughters. My family and I live in a small town
outside Cape Town with two dogs, a cat, a horse, and some neglected fish. Now
that you know a little about me, I would love to get to know you. Please
befriend me at:</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Twitter</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">: @GwynnethWhite</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Facebook</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gwynneth-White/172095512890074</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Goodreads</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7360328-gwynneth-white</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blog</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">: <a href="http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.com/">http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Email: </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="mailto:gwynnethwhite@4xforum.com">gwynnethwhite@4xforum.com</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We don't know about you but we're excited! Over the following months we'll be posting more about the release on this book including excerpts, trailers, interviews and the review before we host a giveaway for Pledged (and we know how much you <i>love</i> giveaways.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, for the time being, we shall happy dance.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img height="300" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m39k1xU8En1qm1xbk.gif" width="400" /> </span></div>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-43751721382331320642012-07-01T00:23:00.002-07:002012-07-01T00:28:39.749-07:00Insurgent by Veronica Roth- Review<img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDY1kjRTtFVMIWOoJwmxk2_tFwxqe9OIeOz1_dpm-1MWnPKMZHlQCada5a6ne8AiLyEdGBGkVaeC3PYRu1AyTNilsvDCM6r7jFmcnSRNB0onksx9INijH58eq6WoLrhF87jT2siZ4ox6OT/s400/314772_281427445217498_151780294848881_1152897_737238917_n.jpg" width="263" /><b> </b><br />
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 stars</b><br />
<br />
<i><span id="freeText5768654359273159236">One choice can transform
you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as
unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue
trying to save those she loves--and herself-while grappling with
haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty,
politics and love.<br /><br />Tris's initiation day should have been marked
by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day
ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the
factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be
chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more
irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions
but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and
shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if
she does not know what she may lose by doing so. </span></i>(blurb from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent">Goodreads</a>)<br />
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**** <br />
<br />
I think this book should come with a sticker at the front saying: <b><i>WARNING: this book contains intense surprises and mind- blowing suspense and may cause extreme cases of tears, laughter and severe heart-beat rates.</i></b> Because for me it SO did. <br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6d3piZCjQ1r93l9w.gif" /><br />
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Which is to say that I loved this book. Maybe more than <i>Divergent</i>, actually. It totally exceeded all expectations I had and ended that reputation of the second book in trilogies being the worst.<br />
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One of the things I would like to applaud Veronica Roth for was how she wrote Tris and Tobias's relationship. After that absolutely gorgeous way the two of them got together, I was worried about how Roth would continue their relationship. The obvious easy thing to do would just pop pointless make-out sessions in there that would suggest that they were still going strong, but, like in the first book, I was glad that their relationship remained <i>real</i>. In this book, the Tris and Tobias's trust and loyalty of each other are tested. Secrets are kept, lies are told, and yet, the two still somehow keeps it together with their faith and belief of one another. I <i>love</i> the way Tobias believes so much of Tris that it pains me that he is only a fictional character. It really does.<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m066qkDFUZ1qmioz3.gif" /><br />
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Roth's characters remain as one of my favourites. They were fantastic, and full of personality and definitely <i>believable</i>. The only thing I disliked about the characters was the fact that, yes, Roth introduced many great characters, but she killed them off in half a second when I would've liked to get to know them more. You know when you are successful at character writing when your readers mourn your characters deaths. <br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqusfh9rBo1qc8l0f.gif" /><br />
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I know that in the first book, most of us had problems of believing the world that Roth created; how would a world with only five virtues work? Well, most of the questions were answered for me in this book. Obviously not <i>all</i> of them. If that were the case there would be no need for a third book. :) In <i>Insurgent</i> we get to visit all of the factions (which was great; I was always curious about how the Amity headquarters looked like) and more and more was revealed about how, exactly, Tris's world became the way it is. Which means that there was a whole lot of action, suspense and drama, and I know how much you all love this sort of stuff. :)<br />
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So. The things I liked: Tris and Tobias's romance, the other characters (and their relationships with each other *shh, Uriah and Marlene*), more information about this world, the action, the drama, the suspense and the surprises. The things I didn't like: the sudden deaths of my (beloved) characters and the fact that I did not buy this book. <br />
<br />
But the latter can be easily fixed. Off to the bookshop I go...<br />
<br />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-87412715548510929592012-06-26T00:42:00.000-07:002012-07-01T00:26:43.612-07:00The Dark Artifices<img height="400" src="http://themortalinstrumentssource.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/564607_320667458000649_320440148023380_765844_806527097_n.jpg?w=213&h=300" width="283" />
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<i><span style="border: medium none; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: medium none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="background-color: transparent; border: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Synopsis (Book One): </b></span><span style="border: medium none; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: medium none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Los Angeles, 2012. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to the eradication of demons and being the best, fastest and deadliest Shadowhunter since Jace Lightwood. Raised in the Los Angeles Institute, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian. As Emma hunts those who caused the death of her parents, the trail they’re following leads back to those they’ve always been taught to trust. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with Julian — her closest friend and, because he is her parabatai, the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.</span></i>
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GUESS WHAT?</div>
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If you haven't heard already, Cassandra Clare is writing a new series that will be published after The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. The expected release date for book one is in 2015.</div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">My reaction to Cassandra Clare's new series...</span></div>
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://images.wikia.com/victorious/images/1/15/Demi_scream.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Oh yes, I was a pretty happy girl. </span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="320" src="http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs1/1629410_o.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" width="320" />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-57691081950915134622012-06-19T21:12:00.000-07:002012-07-23T23:51:21.084-07:00Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- Review<img alt="Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)" height="400" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268805322l/6148028.jpg" width="264" />
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<i><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br /></b></i><br />
<i><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Blurb</b></i><br />
<i><b style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">/Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.</b><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol-- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.</span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.</span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">In </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Catching Fire</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn./</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia,serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Rating: </b>5 out of 5 stars</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">My first impression on Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">*sigh* Oh, Finnick Odair </span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Oh yes. I was completely awestruck!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">There is no doubt that Catching Fire is a captivating novel. Making you question friends, allies and the enemy all in one moment. The non-stop surprises from Peeta always rouse my attention and the unknowing acts from Katniss know how to keep me reading. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Before I started reading Catching Fire I was filled with questions like, "What are they even going to do now the games are over?" and "Will it meet or top the standards of the first book?"</span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Well, Suzanne Collins sure knew how to fool me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">So when I finally made time to read Catching Fire, I was just like. Oh. Yup. *psst* I knew that!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The plot and the way the story built overtime sure helped with all the tension. When I was near to the finishing page I felt everything happen all at once and was like, "NO, why is this ending all so soon", when the book itself isn't even that short. But with the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6157839371438695562" style="color: #666600; cursor: pointer; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;">(view spoiler)</a><span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> starting at around the last 3rd of the book it all seemed like it came to an end pretty fast. But as I said, there is no underestimating Suzanne's timing of situation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The last 8 1/2 pages had me wishing for more! Knowing the fateful truth that again I will be left with numerous unanswered questions...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">So I guess I will just have to get stuck into Mockingjay as soon as I finish this review...</span><br />
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<img alt="description" height="256" src="http://gifs.gifbin.com/042009/reverse-1240479220_baby-reading.gif" style="border: 0px none; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" width="320" />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-4488945872204614372012-05-02T20:44:00.001-07:002012-05-02T20:51:05.939-07:00Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver- ReviewSo as promised, I took some time (or rather, the flu got to me and forced me to take a day off school) to go and write a review after Celine's and my long break. Here you go: <br />
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<img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1310371414l/9593911.jpg" /><br />
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<b>Rating:4 out of 5 stars</b><br />
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<i><span id="freeTextContainer2321833703154974744"><i>I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, <br /> pushing aside thoughts of Alex, <br /> pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, <br /> push, <br /> push, <br /> push, <br /> like Raven taught me to do.<br /> The old life is dead.<br /> But the old Lena is dead too.<br /> I buried her.<br /> I left her beyond a fence,<br /> behind a wall of smoke and flame.</i></span></i><span id="freeTextContainer2321833703154974744"><i> </i></span> <br />
(blurb from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9593911-pandemonium">Goodreads</a> <br />
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My God. That ending. That had to be the most awkward "awkward moment" I've ever read in a book. EVER.<br />
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But then a bit later on, it hits me how hilarious the situation Lena's gotten herself in and the laughter starts.<br />
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Oh, Lena. You poor, poor girl. <br />
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But what a hell of a book. Where is the next one when I need it the most?<br />
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Before reading <i>Pandemonium</i>, I really doubted that this book could follow up to [book:Delirium|7686667] and its (tragic) ending. There had just been too many shitty sequels that could make me enthusiastic about reading them. But I really should've known better than to doubt Lauren Oliver.<br />
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In <i>Pandemonium</i>, Lena is having to survive in the Wilds with her new friends, is having to prove herself worthy to be in the resistance, and is having to forget the boy who made her rebel in the first place, <i>infected</i> her, Alex. <br />
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I know that in <i>Delirium</i>, a number of people didn't find Lena that "kick-ass" heroine that we all love (in her defense, all those rules would scare me too, into rebelling). But in <i>Pandemonium</i>, I feel that she definitely redeemed herself. Now without all those regulations and boundaries, Lena was able to unleash her inner survivalist, which wasn't a very easy thing to do, after all that she's been through. She even is deemed strong enough by her fellow rebels to be part of the resistance. I definitely saw more of Lena in action scenes (and winning) in this book than in the previous. So I definitely think of her as part of the "kick-ass heroine" club now.<br />
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I also know that a lot of you didn't really like the fact that Lena is "allegedly" going to fall in love with someone <i>other</i> than Alex, and I'm sorry to tell you guys, but that fact <i>is</i> true. If that is enough for you to run away screaming from this book, by all means, do, but let me just tell you now, you are missing out on a hell of a lot of goodies if you do that. I have to admit though, I did <i>kind of</i> dislike Lena's new love interest. It might be because he, for me, was a little naive or it could be plainly just because he wasn't <i>Alex</i>. Also, at times, I felt that their relationship was a little forced. The love interest, Julian, would say weird things like, "your hair smells like roses" or "your waist is so small" (yes), that not only creeped Lena out, but creeped me out too. I don't know if it was just lack of being around females that made him act this way (and trust me; I go to an all girls school and whenever a person of the opposite walks by, my beloved classmates throw themselves at him) or what, but I was pretty skeptical of him at first. After a while, though, and getting to know his character more, he grew on me, but of course, before it got more than that, the ending got in the way of everything (as expressed in the mini review above).<br />
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An aspect of the book I really enjoyed was Lena's life in the Wilds. In <i>Delirium</i> we didn't really get to experience the Wilds too much and that was something I was really looking forward to in this book. As cool as I thought it would be, living in the Wilds, it ended up not being the "paradise" that I was expecting. It was actually pretty brutal out there, and with the addition of Scavengers (Invalids that attack just for kicks) it became even harder to survive out there. I quite liked all the new characters too, Raven, Tack, Hunter. Loved them, and the fact that they gave birth to Lena in the woods, as Lena said about Raven in the book. <br />
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Other than creepy Julian and the random add of Scavengers (and the possible future love triangle as hinted in the ending of <i>Pandemonium</i>), I very, very much enjoyed this book, and you have no idea how much I'm craving for the next and final book. But I guess after that killer cliff-hanger, who wouldn't?Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-90215566193375940372012-05-01T22:34:00.000-07:002012-05-01T23:03:30.638-07:00In Which We Win (another) Blog Award, and Other Things We've Been Doing<div style="color: #666666;">
Hey guys! </div>
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We know we haven't been around for a while (school's just basically pushing us to the limit; anybody else know the feeling?) and this is really the first time we've been able to sit down and just <i>blog</i>. You'd think that for a couple of weeks, there wouldn't really be much going on, but when Cel and I checked our blog today, we got some messages saying that we were given another blog award (excited as!).</div>
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So, there's a high note to come back to after numerous tests and assignments, huh?</div>
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First of all, we want to thank Rachel@ <a href="http://unforgetablebooks.blogspot.co.nz/">Unforgettable Books</a> and Debbie @<a href="http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.ca/">Amethyst Eyes</a> for honoring us with the Liebster blog award. Thanks, Rachel and Debbie!</div>
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This award basically gives recognition from a fellow blogger. So it's a great way of sharing the fantastic blogs you come across.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">The Rules: </span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Nominate up to five(5) others for the award.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Let them know by comment on their blog. You can even send them a tweet. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Post the award on your blog.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Follow Shannon@ <a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/">Blogging from A to Z</a>'s blog and at least consider joining the <a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/">A to Z challenge</a>. </span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">These are the blogs we have decided to award:</span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span"> Carol @<a href="http://imavoraciousreader.blogspot.co.nz/">I'm A Voracacious Reader</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"> Allie @<a href="http://place-for-book-lovers.blogspot.co.nz/">A Book Lover's Blog</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"> Aly @ <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blueicegal-fantasy4eva.blogspot.co.nz">Fantasy4eva</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"> Eileen @<a href="http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.co.nz/">Singing and Reading in the Rain</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"> Alba @<a href="http://bookpics-reading2alba.blogspot.co.nz/">BookPics</a></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">Congrats to all the we've chosen! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">P.S: And just so you know, we will be posting some reviews soon; even through schoolwork, of course there's still time for us to be reading! :) </span></div>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-48902999429471826022012-03-19T22:22:00.001-07:002012-03-19T22:25:04.185-07:00The Help by Kathryn Stockett- Review <img height="400" src="http://fiusm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/AP090406042250.jpg" width="264" /><br />
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<i>Three women, Aibileen, a black maid and raising her seventeenth child; Minny, Aibileen's best friend whose cooking is wanted all over town but whose sass is not; and white Miss Skeeter who had just come home from college and is in search for the maid who raised her, all come together to tell their story. Little do they know, what they are planning are more dangerous than they thought.</i><br />
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b> <br />
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I'd wanted to read <i>The Help</i> for a while, but that massive queue for this book at the library was pretty detracting. I can tell you now that this was my first time being number 243 on a reserves list. Not even for <i>Twilight</i>, did I end up having to wait for so long. Four months I had to wait. And I wasn't even sure if I could finish the whole book and three weeks didn't seem like enough.<br />
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Turns out, the wait was worth it and I didn't even need the whole three weeks, I finished well within the return date.<br />
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The topic that this focuses on was a topic I was unaware of. I mean, I was aware that discrimination was happening in the world, but I never knew it was ever <i>this</i> bad. Plus I think Kathryn Stockett did a fantastic job at this. I was amazed at how simple her style of writing was and yet she could excel at describing an environment like this one. And this is her first novel! Goodness…<br />
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One of the things I loved most about the book was the strong narrative voice. Even with three points- of view, I could flick to a random page and be able to tell who exactly was speaking. There would never be a time where I’d sigh with relief when a particular person’s chapter ended, in fact, I dreaded that moment because I desperately wanted to know what happened to Minny when Johnny came home. Which resulted to me reading on, and on, until, before I knew it, I’d finished. <br />
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Another thing I liked was the fact that the one word of which was the name of the characters oozed personality. It’s like you can just say, “Skeeter”, and I’d be able to tell you what she’s like on the spot. I would do it now, of course, but you’re here to read about how great <i>The Help</i> was, not so that you can admire my many talents. And another thing I liked was that all three main characters, Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter’s lives were linked in some way and so were the other ones. Nothing annoys me more than useless characters. <br />
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I loved, loved <i>loved, The Help</i>. It was easy yet informative. Serious yet humorous. So go read it now! While I’m off in search of the movie…<br />
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<i>Ela's note: Okay, so I know that this isn't exactly a young adult book but, I thought this book would teach you a lot about what happened in the past as it did me. Plus it's just a good read :)</i>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-70104156030425439312012-03-08T20:21:00.001-08:002012-03-11T23:24:36.977-07:00Giveaways and the Likes...First giveaway! @ <a href="http://booknerdreviews.com/">Book Nerd Reviews</a><br />
<a href="http://www.booknerdreviews.com/march.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.booknerdreviews.com/march.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://booknerdreviews.com/">Book Nerd Reviews</a> is hosting an international giveaway including the books <i>Article 5 by Kristen Simmons, Our Fault in the Stars by John Green, A Million Suns by Beth Revis</i> and <i>Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood</i>. Interested? Click <a href="http://booknerdreviews.com/2012/03/march-2012-giveaway/">here.</a><br />
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Next giveaway @ <a href="http://www.sparklingreviews.com/">Sparkling Reviews</a><br />
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How awesome does a $500 Amazon gift voucher sound? Pretty damn cool, we can assure you. Sparkiling reviews is hosting a giveaway at her blog. Click <a href="http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/03/explanations-good-things-and-giveaways.html?showComment=1331533099242#c3783258472556899303">here</a> for more information.Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-19195396659174130472012-03-06T23:17:00.001-08:002012-03-06T23:21:18.151-08:00Tagged!So after one blog award after another, we are pleased to tell you followers that we have been "tagged"!<br />
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<b>What is tagging, exactly?</b> Well, the idea around this is that you come up with 11 questions and then tag 11 people, then the 11 people answer those 11 questions, then come up with a set of their own 11 questions to give to the 11 people they've tagged. And it goes on and on. Very cool.<br />
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First, we want to thank Sarah@ <a href="http://teenagefeelin.blogspot.co.nz/">That Teenage Feeling</a> for tagging our blog.<br />
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<b>Rules:</b><br />
<ol><li style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You must post the rules. </span></b></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged. </span></b></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tag eleven people and link to them on your post. </span></b></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let them know you've tagged them!</span></b></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ela's Answers to Sarah's Questions:</span></b><br />
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<div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>1. Fill in the blank. When I'm not reading I'm ______</b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">On the internet or writing. <b> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">2. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">When I was six or seven, I had this Barbie book that had all these careers in it, with Barbies as the models. I always loved the model for the landscape architect, so that was what I dreamed to be (yes, silly, I know).</span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>3. What's the best non-YA book you've read recently? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><i>The Hunger Games the Official Illustrated Movie Companion</i>, probably<b> </b>(what can I say, I am definitely excited for the movie).</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">4. What was your favourite book as a child and why? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><span style="background-color: white;">Hmm.... I don't know. I can't remember that far back. Something Barbie related, I'm sure.</span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">5. What song or artist are you loving at the moment? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><b style="background-color: white;"></b><span style="background-color: white;">I am absolutely, absolutely in love with <a href="http://www.fosterthepeople.com/us/home">Foster the People</a>, and their song, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04TXoFI6CSM">Houdini</a>. Other bands I'm loving are <a href="http://www.grouplovemusic.com/">Grouplove</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/younglyre">Young Lyre</a></span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">6. What food/drink/ is unique to where you live? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">Pavlovas, I think. They're, like, meringues with cream and fruit, such as kiwifruit and strawberries on top.</span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img src="http://www.bigoven.com/pics/rs/256/pavlova.jpg" /> </span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">7. What is your favourite Disney movie? If you haven't watched/don't care for Disney, what's your favourite cartoon? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">Does <i>Tangled</i> count? I know it's a newer one. One of my older favourites is <i>Cinderella. </i>And no, me liking it doesn't have any relation to the fact that Cinderella has the word "ella" in it. </span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">Tessa Gray from the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, no question about it. Though, I think I would do a worse job at choosing between the two boys....</span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">9. What was the last book that made you cry? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><b style="background-color: white;"></b><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11563110-hallowed">Hallowed</a> by Cynthia Hand. *Sigh* It makes me sad just thinking about it.</span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">10. What would you name the autobiography of your life? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">The autobiography of my life? Would I even become famous enough to have an autobiography?</span><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b style="background-color: white;">11. If they made a movie of your life who would play you? </b></u></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">Anyone, really. As long as they're funny and not bitchy when the camera's off them. But I think I would be more interested in who plays my love interest.</span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img height="300" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrnjmvHsxs1qc0231.gif" width="400" /></span></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
Celine's Answers to Sarah's Questions:</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>1. Fill in the blank. When I'm not reading I'm</b></u> surfing the net, hanging with friends or txting.</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>2. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?</b> </u><br />
A singer (silly I know, I'm not even good, haha) [Oh, whatever. I know you're good- Ela butting in]</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b><u>3. What's the best non-YA book you've read recently?</u> </b><br />
<b> </b>No idea....</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b><u>4. What was your favourite book as a child and why? </u></b><br />
I actually can't remember, probably Winnie the Pooh or something.</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>5. What song or artist are you loving at the moment?</b> </u><br />
FOSTER THE PEOPLE!!! (I'm seriously going to kill my IPod and Phone from it playing Torches 24/7, haha), Young Lyre and Grouplove. </div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>6. What food/drink/ is unique to where you live?</b> </u><br />
I don't think there is anything that unique from where I live, well nothing I can think of anyway so I'm just going to look at Ela's answers... I think Pavlova is the best answer :D</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>7. What is your favourite Disney movie? If you haven't watched/don't care for Disney, what's your favourite cartoon?</b> </u><br />
When I was little a used to love Tweetie Bird and Mickey Mouse. But I would probably have to say everyone loves Elmo. XD</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?</b> </u><br />
Tessa from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, but I think I would be better with the boy decisions, haha. But if I couldn't be Tessa, I would be Clary from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. <3</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>9. What was the last book that made you cry?</b> </u><br />
Hallowed by Cynthia Hand *tear*</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>10. What would you name the autobiography of your life?</b> </u><br />
Autobiography, ngaw yup that will so happen... :D</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><u><b>11. If they made a movie of your life who would play you?</b> </u><br />
I don't mind, I totally agree with Ela though, I am more curious about who will play my love interest. <3 hehe.</div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">***</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">Our 11 questions:</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><ol><li>Where in the world do you want to travel?</li>
<li>What would you rather- ebook or hardcopy?</li>
<li>What book are you most excited to be turned into a movie?</li>
<li>If you could magically transport yourself into any book/movie, what would it be and why?</li>
<li>What author would you be dying to meet?</li>
<li>Is there a book that you could recommend to us? </li>
<li>If you changed your name, what would it be?</li>
<li>If you could go to a time and place in a book, where and what book would it be?</li>
<li>If you could get an author to add another book to a series, what series would it be?</li>
<li>Who is your book character crush and why?</li>
<li>If you could be a character from a book/series, who would it be and why?<b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></li>
</ol></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">***</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">The people we have tagged:</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><b style="background-color: white;"> </b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">Jennifer Stone@<a href="http://ayareadersjourney.blogspot.co.nz/">A Reader's Journey</a></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Colette@ <a href="http://anovelonasummerafternoon.blogspot.co.nz/">A Novel On A Summer Afternoon</a></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Mia@ <a href="http://themusescircle.blogspot.co.nz/">The Muses Circle</a></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Rachel@<a href="http://unforgetablebooks.blogspot.co.nz/">Unforgettable Books</a></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Emily@ <a href="http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.co.nz/">Confessions of A Bookaholic</a></span></li>
<li>Michelle@ <a href="http://michellechewwrites.blogspot.co.nz/">Michelle Chew Writes</a></li>
<li>Eve@ <a ?="" href="http://evequinn.blogspot.co.nz/%3EEve%20Quinn%27s%20Notebook%3C/a%3E%3C/LI%3E%3CLI%3EKimi@%20%3Ca%20href=" http:="" kimisokool.blogspot.co.nz="">Life of An Obsessive Compulsive Reader</a></li>
<li>Emily@ <a href="http://doodlesbookblog.blogspot.co.nz/">Doodle's Book Blog</a></li>
<li>Kate@ <a href="http://katesbooklife.blogspot.co.nz/">Kate's Book Life</a></li>
<li>Nicola@ <a href="http://apocketfullofbooks.blogspot.co.nz/">A Pocket Full of Books</a></li>
<li><span style="color: black;"></span> Genevieve@ <a href="http://booksaremyheroine.blogspot.co.nz/">Books Are My Heroine</a></li>
</ol></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">***</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br />
</b></div><div style="line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;">Congrats to all that we've chosen!</b></div>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-39443081744890139962012-03-06T21:08:00.000-08:002012-03-06T21:08:12.978-08:00New Excerpt From City Of Lost SoulsHere is a new excerpt from City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare<br />
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<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51McrIQX0%2BL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /><br />
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They stared at her, astounded. "Are you out of your mind? How the hell are we supposed to kill Simon? No dice," Clary retorted furiously. "You know what happened to Lilith. We have <i>no</i> chance, and I'd never murder my best friend."<br />
The Queen regarded her coolly, amusement glittering in the depths of her leaf-green eyes as she watched them trapped by her deal, their butterfly wings flapping feebly while she mercilessly drove a stick into their bodies. "Is that your final answer, then? Once you decline my offer, it will never come again."<br />
Isabelle opened her mouth, defiance against the Seelie Queen evident in the set of her jaw. But Jace beat her to it. "No. We need some time to confer before making a decision."<br />
The two female Shadowhunters stared at him in rage and disbelief. "You're joking," Clary intoned bleakly. "You'd kill a living person to trace a glamour that would only lead us on a wild goose chase? You'd do this for a dead person?"<br />
Softly, Isabelle spoke with absolute conviction, "Jace… I know Simon doesn't mean nearly as much to you as Alec did, but I doubt Alec would want you to kill some innocent person for him."<br />
With the light extinguished in his eyes, Isabelle thought Jace had come to his senses, and would draw the line at homicide, but she was disappointed. "He's not a person."<br />
The words seemed to bury themselves into Isabelle's chest, before groping for her heart and tearing it out, dropping it on the floor and grinding it beneath a heel of a boot. Distantly, she remembered the words she had said to Simon once: <i>My mom didn't tell me who she was. She just told me you couldn't really trust men.</i><br />
<hr noshade="noshade" size="1" />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-84931362494899953802012-03-04T22:36:00.000-08:002012-03-04T22:36:31.553-08:00The Sagacity Quest- ARC Cleanout Giveaway<a href="http://www.thesagacityquest.blogspot.co.nz/">The Sagacity Quest</a> has an ARC giveaway including books such as <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10677277-article-5">Article 5 by Kristen Simmons</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9548964-fracture">Fracure by Megan Miranda</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8419647-never-eighteen">Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic</a>. For more information, click <a 02="" 2012="" arc-clean-out-giveaway.html"="" href"http:="" href="" www.thesagacityquest.blogspot.co.nz="">here</a>.Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-52168595495551243822012-03-01T00:17:00.005-08:002012-03-06T20:55:59.258-08:00Hallowed by Cynthia Hand- Review <img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Cj1hjw8d0Fkr5TfsY3JtsKoGuqPYkY1hQhQELZVFwXyBhl9uHxJfdpaORS8V7nUJRFWM8-9ivnuwi0FYp1f-ocK4n6FjeztQYNbMoz30gP7r7L-Z3Y-valTHZAfUWE4nyzakwzPt6yo/s400/Hallowed_c.jpg" width="265" /><br />
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 stars</b> <br />
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<em>Clara Gardner is an angel-blood with a purpose. She must find out what her purpose is and filful it.</em><br />
<em>On her way to finding out what her purpose means, she faces decisions and incidents with Tucker and Christian. </em><br />
<em>Whilst Clara is trying to figure out all her new problems and challenges, she also learns that she will lose someone. Someone she loves.</em><br />
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Captivating. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand leaves you wanting more. Exciting and deeply romantic, I'm so joyful to have finished the book but also sad knowing it will be a LONG wait for the next... ;( <br />
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<img alt="description" height="300" src="http://gifs.gifbin.com/1237811334_crying-in-the-audience.gif" width="400" /> <br />
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Clara has a purpose, a purpose that at one point she thinks she knows and the next finds out the detial is something completly different. Cynthia Hand writes in a very good structure, always making you want to find out more. <br />
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<img alt="description" height="300" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_left48gCkY1qf8yek.gif" width="400" /><br />
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The quizzical love connections between Clara, Christian and Tucker result to finishing a beautiful novel. <br />
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I was all "She has to be with Tucker, he's so sweet and caring" after i finished Unearthly. But now after finishing Hallowed and learning alot more about Christian, my balance between the two are leaning over to Christian more. Don't get me wrong, I still love Tucker, I'm just saying that Christian really showed what he's worth and how caring he is thrughout the book, whereas Tucker seemed more defensive and not as much there. <br />
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To conclude this though, this book is not just about Clara and her infinate Christian and Tucker problems. Hallowed also puts Clara in more complicated decisions resulting from her purpose, which she still is learning about every second. Clara also learns she will loss someone she loves, someone she may have took for granted. <br />
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I loved this book, definately one of my favourites. It's just a book you have to read, after Unearthly ofcourse. :DCel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-90202421249390034372012-02-27T21:30:00.001-08:002012-02-27T21:35:41.115-08:00Delirium by Lauren Oliver- Review<img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298079937l/7686667.jpg" /> <br />
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 stars</b> <br />
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I have to admit, I'm a curious person. So when I heard that people were saying this book was <i>very</i> similar to <i>Matched</i> (which I loved), I just had to find out. Because I was absolutely, absolutely sure that no dystopian book would top <i>Matched</i>.<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpskjnZlb51qfiszl.gif" /><br />
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After finishing, I could see the similarity between the two books, as both books focus on the aspect of love as a forbidden thing. But each of the two authors had very different takes on it.<br />
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Basically, in Lena's world, love is thought of as a disease. So when she falls in love with a boy called Alex, she has to hide it from her family and her society, who would ultimately imprison her like her mother.<br />
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This plot, love as a disease, I think is a very hard topic to pull off and make believable because love is very much welcomed in our world. But Lauren Oliver did a fantastic job at it. Each idea was backed up by information, such as The Book of Shh. Her writing had a "pretty" prose and was engaging, something that I always look for in a book.<br />
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I loved all the characters, all were very fitting as relevant to tell the story. Though, I have to say, I didn't like Lena in the beginning of the book. She wasn't that strong confident, "I don't give a damn about you, I'm gonna fall in love and deal with it" type of person but when the book hit the middle, I could see her transitioning into just that. I can tell she'll be lick- ass in the next book (especially after what the poor girl had to endure at the end).<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyuui1mgUl1qjmuqa.gif" /><br />
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The romance isn't what I would call Instalove. Okay, so there was the instant attraction as soon as they met (which is normal, I think, as a teenager myself), but the rest was fine. No indescribable pull. No "I can't live without you" cliches (though the next book would finalise that for me). Nope. It was cute, in that cute "first love" type of way.<br />
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I am very, very much looking forward to the next book, as I think it would give us a better view on Lena's character, whether she weaken or strengthen despite her circumstances. But, Alex. I will miss those amber eyes of yours.<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwrjxs3XWd1qhlcsh.gif" />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-16196089589803429972012-02-16T21:01:00.000-08:002012-02-16T21:01:16.068-08:00In Which YA Anonymous Wins a Blog Award<div style="color: #666666;">We have some news. Awesomesauce news, in fact. YA Anonymous won the <i>One Lovely Blog Award</i>! Not only did we get awarded this once, but twice (from different people, of course). Oh, happy times....</div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">First of all, we'd like to thank Mia @ <a href="http://themusescircle.blogspot.co.nz/">The Muses Circle</a> and Aai Marsh @ <a href="http://books-alltheway.blogspot.co.nz/">Books With Marshmallows</a> for picking our blog to receive this award.<a href="http://themusescircle.blogspot.co.nz/"><br />
</a></div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">This award was created for people to pass these awards along to deserving blogs so we can discover new and great blogs.</div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNh5LwM9SaengcmnhyphenhyphenB1axenjXvTgY4TlzUqLaGa43rW0BVIL66bB08EvRTl9_AsxrT3T9KKyJXBoELRAdtASjnvLEv9Kc4pEEtyWnD4bZFxZ9rwkEfhVOvEE5gMk4sBehKM_zpAzLaTP/s400/lovely-blog1.jpg" /></div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;"><b>Here are the following rules for this award:</b></div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">1. Link back to the person that bestowed the award upon you.</div><div style="color: #666666;">2. Follow the person that bestowed the award upon you.</div><div style="color: #666666;">3. Pass along to 15 Lovely Bloggers!</div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">Listed below are the blogs we've chosen to receive this award:</div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">(In no order)</div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;">*Valerie@ <a href="http://thegothicballerina.blogspot.co.nz/">The Gothic Ballerina</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Jamie@ <a href="http://mypersonalbookclub.blogspot.co.nz/">A Book Club of One</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Alexandria E@ <a href="http://allieellie.blogspot.co.nz/">The Stuff I Say</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Alison and Daphne@ <a href="http://wingedreviews.com/">Winged Reviews</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Eunice@ <a href="http://bookoverdose.blogspot.co.nz/">Book Overdose</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Laurie@ <a href="http://ufreview.com/">Urban Fantasy Review</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Soumi@<a href="http://www.thoughtsandroses.blogspot.in/">Pages From My Thoughts</a></div><div style="color: #666666;">*Amber@<a href="http://www.thereadingaddict.com/">The Reading Addict</a> </div><div style="color: #666666;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_14_1329453149681185" style="color: #666666;">*Jennifer@</span><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517"><a href="http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy.blogspot.co.nz/">Reading ans Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">*Michelle@<a href="http://michellehodkin.blogspot.co.nz/">The Michelle Show</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">* Wendy, Reynie, Leanne and K@<a href="http://backinthemidnightgarden.blogspot.co.nz/">The Midnight Garden</a></span><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517"> </span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">*Sam@<a href="http://realmoffiction.blogspot.co.nz/">Realm of Fiction</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">*Anna@<a href="http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogspot.co.nz/">Books to Brighten your Mood</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">* Tristen@<a href="http://totallybookedsolid.blogspot.co.nz/">Totally Booked Solid</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">* Natalie@<a href="http://www.mindful-musings.com/">Mindful Musings</a></span></div><div style="color: #666666;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666;"><span class="yiv1902178568Apple-style-span" id="yiv1902178568yui_3_2_0_24_13293788284361517">Congrats to all those that we've chosen! </span> </div>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-51710404668639498162012-02-15T00:28:00.000-08:002012-02-16T20:31:43.390-08:00Impatience... for Unearthly #3ANYBODY ELSE FEELING THE SAME WAY...??? :/<br />
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<div class="reviewText mediumText description" itemprop="reviewBody">*Tears streaming down face* <br />
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<img alt="description" class="escapedImg" height="300" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120115212726/glee/images/a/a2/Santana_Crying.gif" width="350" /> <br />
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Why is this taking so long...? :( </div>Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-9241576318573687292012-02-08T16:59:00.000-08:002012-02-08T17:04:53.479-08:00Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi- Review<img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1310649047l/10429045.jpg" /><br />
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<i> Juliette can't touch anyone. She <b>won't</b>. Because when she does, bad things happens. Dead things. The Reestablishment has her locked up, away from anyone she can harm. But when they think Juliette may be what they need now, what they need in a dying world, Juliette has to make a decision. To be a weapon, or to be her own person.</i><br />
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<b>Rating: 2.5 out of 5</b> <br />
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Mixed feelings for this one, I must say. The plot itself was promising; the writing mostly executed well, but then there was the problem of the main character: Juliette.<br />
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In the beginning, I really didn’t understand why people bagged on her so much, or why they said she was a whinner, or why they said she didn’t make any sense. I mean, cut her some slack, she’s been in this prison for what- nearly a year? Without anyone to talk to? I’d be pretty messed up by then too, if I were her (especially for my poor impatient, talkative self). I’d thought that the writing just added further to show that she was, going crazy (even though Juliette denied it, time and time again).<br />
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But then there came the escape. I’ve read a lot of books where, at this point of the book, at the point of possible <i>freedom</i>, the main character would unleash their inner heroine and rule the world (well, not really, but you know what I mean) and I really thought Juliette would step it up.<br />
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Then it got to the part where she really, <i>really</i> pissed me off. It was when her and Adam were basically running for their lives with about a hundred soldiers with guns behind them, and then Juliette basically goes and says, "I can't run because I'm a broken girl, Adam!". Puh-lease. You can't go around saying that when just a few hours ago you broke a concrete wall with your bare, I repeat, <i>bare</i> hands. No, you just cannot.<br />
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But with that said, I remembered what Mrs. Evans told us in English about seeing whether the main character has changed in the beginning of your story and at the end, and if it did, then you have a story (I am, actually, quite appalled that I remembered all this; by the end of fifty minutes worth of English with Evans, you'd be a zombie. She's THAT boring). And I guess Juliette <i>did</i> change by the end, saying that she was "ready", though ready for what, I have no idea.<br />
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I liked Adam enough, but I still do not understand why he likes Juliette so much. Sure, she's "good" and "still gives a damn about the world", but she doubts his love for her all the time. I swear she asked him about ten times why he cared about her so much, doubtingly, only to have Adam reply back a sweet answer that should set any girl's mind at ease. But apparently not Juliette. And then there was the fact that, until they got to Omega, there were <i>no female characters apart from Juliette</i>. Do I need to say more? I don't think so.<br />
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I really don't know how to move on without going on about Juliette again (that should say something about my feelings about her), so I'll just conclude now.<br />
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Well I liked the plot; I don't think I've read anything like it before, and the writing had the "pretty" prose that I love but Juliette was just a massive downer for me. But I will be reading the sequel. Hopefully that will change my mind about Juliette.Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-9664122157630180352012-02-05T21:22:00.000-08:002012-02-05T21:22:15.349-08:00You said that Will/Clary wouldn't work together, nor Jace/Tessa.? By Cassandra ClareI was wondering could you tell us why that is? <br />
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Tessa: Have you read this latest novel? It is my favorite!<br />
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Jace: No. I was polishing my latest gigantic weapon.<br />
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Tessa: A fine pastime for a gentleman, to be sure, but what do you do with your leisure time, sir?<br />
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Jace: More killing. My job is my hobby.<br />
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Tessa: I am not dressed for such activities.<br />
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Jace: My sister Isabelle could lend you an outfit.<br />
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Tessa: Is that your sister? I thought she was a prostitute.<br />
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Will: Ducks! Confound all ducks!<br />
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Clary: Are you all right?<br />
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Will: Lo, for a duck is man’s greatest enemy. You know I hate everyone, don’t you? Don’t get too close to me, or it will be your ruin.<br />
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Clary: You seem to be fond enough of that silvery-haired guy.<br />
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Will: My love for Jem passes your mere understanding.<br />
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Clary: So you’re gay, right? That’s okay.<br />
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Will: No one has ever suggested I was overly merry before. Have you read Tale of Two Cities?<br />
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Clary: For school. It was boring. <br />
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<br />Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157839371438695562.post-17253581140291114712012-02-01T23:00:00.003-08:002012-02-02T22:38:25.629-08:00Divergent by Veronica Roth- Review<img height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYajdObGZGS0386wfm5Jdusi35vw-Pu0vYTf897KsJrWchN84ZkI37Ri5PYh9eOIeH4o3PvzKC_NticpvxWndJtypHgWHVFkMXnU4JQU-gvY4DvEMsUqaEyca6ByMPUbtXpqhDQxKHK0F/s640/Divergent+hc+c%282%29.jpg" width="422" /><br />
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<i> In Tris Prior's world, every person is sorted into one of the following faction: Candor, for the honest, Erudite, for the intelligent, Abnegation, for the selfless, Amity, for the peaceful and Dauntless, for the brave. Tris is currently in Abnegation, a place where she feels like she'd never really belonged and with her sixteenth birthday nearing, she will finally be able to switch factions. But with the pressure of looking after her parents and her brother making an unexpected decision, Tris isn't sure if her choice should benefit her family- or herself.</i><br />
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b><br />
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It was one of those times of the year I was having, when it was summer and everybody was off on vacation <s>except for me</s>, when all of the good T.V shows have ended and the movies out at the cinemas were either too kiddie, or needed an I.D (which I didn't have), and when I didn't have anything good to read (stupid library).<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrdu9moLNz1qhafj6.gif" /><br />
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Divergent was a book I'd wanted to read for a long time but I didn't have enough money (it's not my fault the malls have "End of Spring" sales) and the library kept on cancelling my request (I guess they didn't have enough money either). But my mother, thankfully noticing my pouty face, gave me Divergent as a late birthday present. And then I did a little happy dance because it meant not spending the rest of my summer like a zombie. You know, if the book <i> was </i> as good as everyone's been saying.<br />
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<img src="http://assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/dancing/23ma42w.jpg.gif" /><br />
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And it was. To me, Divergent was my cure to my post- <i>Hunger Games</i> hangover. Yes, it was really that good. It had all the things I crave for in a book: kick- ass characters, an easy to follow but elaborate plot, non- cliche romance, and humor, of course. <br />
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Why yes, there is a romance, and no, it is not Instalove (I can just hear your sighs of relief). It's a nice cute type of romance, not rushed, and it didn't include those rapey, stalker types of guys (not naming names *coughs*). Nope, just Four<spoiler>/Tobias</spoiler>, whom I like very much. So, I approve!<br />
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<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltvvfjiYw71qdbxx9.gif" /><br />
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I loved all the characters; they were all relevant to the story and all had a legit relationship with each other, not just dangling uselessly in the novel (I refuse to name names *ahem*). Tris wasn't annoying to me at all, she was definitely <spoiler> "Dauntless" </spoiler>. Better than the whinny "heroines" we get now... And I liked Will. No, me liking him doesn't relate to the fact that he has the name of one of my top YA crushes (yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. Herondale). No, he's funny, okay? Humor's a good enough reason to like someone, you know. Sheesh. ;)<br />
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Roth's writing was very descriptive, which made Tris's world become very real. There was an actual story behind this world unlike in some other books (still not naming names....). <br />
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So, yeah. I loved Divergent. I am very much looking forward to the sequel, because after that killer of a cliff- hanger in the end, who wouldn't?Cel and Elahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900134131089246529noreply@blogger.com2