Book Hop & Follow Friday (1)

Participating in a couple memes to spread the blogging love this wonderful Friday afternoon. Book Blogger Hop is hosted over at Crazy for Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View

What book influenced or changed your life? How did it influence/change you?
This one is so easy. Harry Potter, hands down. Harry Potter made me believe in the power the written word can have, how to love characters who aren't even real, and to believe in magic. J.K. Rowling is a veritable saint in my book.

What book(s) have you discovered lately from someone's book blog?
So many! Definitely the two that are sticking out right now are "The Iron Thorn" by Kaitlin Kittredge and "Mercy" by Rebecca Lim.

Review: The Luxe

Title: The Luxe
Author: Anna Godbersen
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Category: Young Adult
Page Count: 464 
Release Date: September 2008
Source: Library
Quick Rating: 4/5

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.

Irresistible boys with sly smiles and dangerous intentions.

White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.

This is Manhattan, 1899...

Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone - from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud - threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future.

With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city’s gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or it, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan’s most celebrated daughter disappear.

In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

 The first thing that drew me to the Luxe series was, of course, the absolutely stunning covers. What girl can resist those kinds of beautiful dresses?

As much as I really loved the book, I’m actually finding it kind of hard to write a review for it. My thoughts are kind of all over the place in regards to The Luxe. One thing I really liked was the flow. I’m a big fan of alternating chapters, and I found I just could not put this book down. I devoured it in two nights before bed, staying up way later than I should on a work night. I also loved all the little notes and “newspaper” clips at the beginning of each chapter. Little details like that win big points in my book.

(Follow the jump for more!)

Spreading the Word

 

So Pam at Bookalicio.us is hosting this absolutely amazing contest! Not only are there toooons of prize packs, she's giving away a Nook Color for a grand prize! How freakin' awesome is that? Hurry on over to the site and get your entries in: http://bklc.us/2y!

Happy Anniversary, Bookalicio.us!

Wordsworth Classics Reading Challenge 2011

Hosted by: The Deranged Book Lovers So, one of my blogging resolutions was to read more classics. Lucky me, I stumbled upon an actual challenge asking me to do just that. I have tons of classics sitting on my shelves at home, and working at a library gives me access to practically any classic I could ever want. I'm still setting my sights kind of low this year, with a plan to read one classic every two months (hopefully - cross your fingers!). Here's my list so far:

•  Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (Jan/Feb)
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Mar/Apr)
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (May/Jun)
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Jul/Aug)
• Dracula by Bram Stoker (Sep/Oct)
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Nov/Dec)

So, I am a "Bourgeois" with a target of 6 books.

In My Mailbox (1)

So please forgive my very late, very first IMM. I'm doing this right before dinner, and I'm rushing, because it literally just hit me that today was Sunday. Go-go holidays for throwing off my week! I promise, one day, this will have a spiffy little image and will look way less craptastic. One day. 

ARCs:

• The Girl Who Became a Beatle by Greg Taylor  

 

Bought:

• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (my review here)
• Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (Couldn't resist with the movie coming out!)
• Ash by  Malinda Lo

Borrowed:

• The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
• Rumors by Anna Godbersen
• Envy by Anna Godbersen
• Splendor by Anna Godbersen

So that's what I got this week. What's in your mailbox?

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

Review: Dead Until Dark

Title: Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Category: Adult Fiction
Page Count: 320
Release Date: January 2008
Source: Bought
Quick Rating: 4/5

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much. Not because she’s not pretty. She is. It’s just that, well, Sookie has this sort of “disability”. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too datable. Then along comes Bill. He’s tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting for all her life…

But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s a vampire with a bad reputation. But he is an interesting addition to the town, and Sookie can’t help but listen to what everyone else thinks about Bill…especially since she’s starting to fall for the buff blooksucker. But when a string of murders hits town - along with a gang of truly nasty vampires looking for Bill - Sookie wonders if having an undead boyfriend is such a bright idea.

And when one of her coworkers is killed, Sookie realizes that Bill and his friends may have some specials plans for a woman who can read minds…

First off, I’ll admit, I never would have actually picked up any of the Sookie Stackhouse books if I hadn’t happened to catch one random episode of True Blood. There was this gorgeous, buff werewolf, and I’m such a sucker for werewolves. So, I just had to start reading!

Dead Until Dark is the first in the series, and for me, it’s a little bit of a slow start. I can tell a lot of groundwork is being laid, and I can tell there’s a lot we’re going to learn about vampires in later novels, but it still felt a little slow on the build-up. This book never actually hooked me - as in, I never had that I-can’t-put-it-down feeling. I found I could drop the book in the middle of a sentence and be fine with it. However, one thing that kept me reading way just how conversational the book felt. I felt like I was sitting down with Sookie over coffee and she was telling me an amazing story. I also quite liked the mixing of genres. It’s like a strange paranormal/romance/vampire/detective novel, and I love it! The constant dabbles of humor were wonderful, and the…ah…”romantic” scenes were delightfully steamy without being overtly vulgar. Nothing turns me off a book more than vulgar, uber-descriptive sex scenes.

As for the main characters, I found I liked Sookie in the sense that she was strong and willful, and could obviously take care of herself, but I oftentimes found her a little annoying when it came to Bill and vampires in general. I get the obsessed-with-vampire vibe from her, and I get that they’re fascinating and a new race and all, but when you’re so willing to defend them to your fellow humans, even the unquestionably bad ones, it’s just a little weird. I did like that she was a virgin, instead of some backwater hussy, especially when you compare her to Jason Stackhouse, her brother. As for Bill…well…he kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I found him manipulative and possessive and a little creepy. The love and trust between Bill and Sookie came out of no where for me. I felt it wasn’t developed enough. She loves him because she can’t hear his thoughts? She loves him because he was her first? She loves him because he’s a vampire? None of this was made exactly clear, and I just hope there’s more development on their feelings for one another in later books. For me, it was like Edward from Twilight all over again. I just don’t get these vampire-obsessed girls! There’s perfectly good men right in front of you, and they aren’t undead!

Speaking of perfectly good men, that brings me to secondary characters. Can I just please have a Team Sam button? Hot, owns a bar, is a shape shifter - what more do you need? But besides my love for Sam, I really appreciated how much all the characters, even minors, felt like they had such depth. While it was a lot to keep track of at times, it gave a sense of depth to the book, like these were real people in a real town. Even the other vampires were very well done. I really hope to see more of Eric in the future as well - Viking vampire? Yes please! And I really want to figure out exactly who Bubba really is. I have an idea or two, but I want it said!

As for originality, Charlaine Harris really made her own vampire world, and it’s fantastic! Legal citizens, synthetic blood, hotels just for vampires? Totally unique! I can’t wait to read more and find out more about the whole political aspect to their culture. I also really liked that all the vampires were a little sinister and creepy, even the “good” ones. No pansy vamps to be found in these books.

On a final note, I did feel the main murder plot was very well done. I totally did not figure out who it could be until almost right when Sookie did, and those last few scenes were intense and powerful. I really think the last third of the book was the best.

The Final Word: Slow start, but a lot of potential. The world is unique, and I love the take on legal vampires. Bill is a little creeptastic right now, but we’ll see if he grows on me.

Overall:
Cover:
Concept:
Characters:

Tea: Something rich and dark! Obviously quite a few black teas would do, but from my own shelf, I would pick Chai Spice Black Tea from Stash premium teas.

*Special Note: I rated the cover so low because I’ve just really, really never been a fan. The covers have made me pass over these books for a couple years, and while it’s totally the wrong thing to do, we all judge books by their covers. I’m a total book-cover junkie. I thought they were juvenile fiction when they first starting coming out, from the cartoon-y art style. :-P

2011 Debut Author Challenge

 So the blog isn't even complete yet, and I'm signing up for my first challenge! It was on my resolutions list for 2011, and I thought I'd wait until everything was up and running, but I'm just so excited about it I couldn't hold off! I only recently found out about this fabulous challenge hosted by The Story Siren at the end of last year, and I'm stoked to be a part of it this year. I'm setting my goal at the minimum this year - only 12 books! Since I'm new at this, I don't want to overwhelm myself right off the bat. However, I'm totally up for surpassing my goal. ;D Below are some of the titles I'm interested in getting my hands on this year:

• Warped by Maurissa Gui Bord
• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand *
• Timeless by Alexandra Monir
• Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis *
• Vesper by Jeff Sampson
• Choker by Elizabeth Woods *
• Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
• Haven by Kristi Cook
• The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
• Wither by Lauren Destefano *
• Entwined by Heather Dixon
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys*
• Enclave by Ann Aguirre
• Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis*
• The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens *
• Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
• Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

* Indicates I already have a copy of the book, being either an ARC edition or a bought copy, and that these are definite picks for my list.

So, yeah, obviously way more than twelve, and I'll probably end up updating this list a lot. There are a lot of fabulous books coming out that I want to read - I just hope I'll have time to get through even half of them!