Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Release date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 240
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided from Netgalley
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
Ebook available from: Barnes & Noble | Amazon

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her.


Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

I have been dying to read a mermaid book! I did wish there was more time in the water, since Esmerine is a mermaid, but I didn't actually mind. I loved the rigid society of the mermaids and what being a siren meant, though. :) Altogether, the story was really cute and a lovely quick read.

The first thing that struck me, after the beautiful blue cover, was the character's names. I loved them all! the names were so interesting, but not strikingly odd. Esmerine and Dosinia are just the sort of names I would imagine for mermaids, and they really give off the right kind of vibe for the book.

Some people have commented that they felt distant from Esmerine, which I didn't find to be true. Though a first-person narrative might have worked better, I didn't feel like there was an obvious distance. I really didn't get Dosinia, though. I thought I had a bit of a grasp on her at the beginning, but at the end of the book, I didn't get what she did or said at all. There seemed to be little connection between how she acted when she was with humans and when she was with Esmerine.

I thought the romance was really nicely done, too. There was no love triangle, a welcome relief, but real obstacles. The relationship was developed and fulfilling and just the kind of thing I like to read every once in a while.

Between the Sea and Sky is truly a novel about a girl discovering who she is and learning to make decisions not for others, but for her own happiness. It has a nice message and is definitely an enjoyable read I will come back to when I want a pick me up.

Risk a paper cut? A good addition to the ever-growing mermaid trend, Between the Sea and Sky is a sweet tale of growing up.

Jane by April Lindner

Release date: October 11, 2010
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 373
Format: Advance Reader's Copy
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
Ebook available from: Barnes & Noble | Google

What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rock star?

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

Oh, how I wanted to just love this. I enjoyed it, but that was only because of the threads of Jane Eyre that were woven into the story. I was more interested in figuring out who was supposed to be whom than the actual story. Jane Eyre is my favorite book. Ever. So I can't take a modernized version lightly.

Jane follows the original story very closely, mostly only changing details that wouldn't work in today's society. Most character's names are mostly similar and work fine to me. I wanted to laugh every time I heard our modern Mr. Rochester's name: Nico. Where did that come from?? I understand he's supposed to be a rock star, but he could easily have a normal name. In the original, Mr. Rochester's name is Edward, a very traditional name. I think Mr. Rathburn's name could have been in the same vein: classic. BLEH.

I thought the story was interesting enough, and worked decently well as a modern version of Jane's situation. I thought Maddy (Adele in the original) was cute, if underused and without the depth I always thought Adele had.

My biggest qualm really lies with Jane herself. Something in Jane's character was lost in the retelling. Jane Eyre is such an enduring character because of her integrity and strength in making the tough choices she makes. She defies the ideas of her times and does what she thinks is best. This is why I love her. But Jane Moore doesn't have that spirit. There's something lacking there, and I can't get over it. This is really what barred me from liking the book in its own right. If her character had been captured, or even had a different, more modern spin, I could've overlooked the other things.

Risk a paper cut? Fans of Jane Eyre may not completely enjoy it, but I think it's worth the time. Those who may be afraid of reading Jane Eyre might find it a good way to get into the story, though the original is infinitely superior.

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop #15

Whee! It's Friday! I really would like to sing a certain song named "Friday", but I shall refrain from annoying you all. I promise. :) It's my Fall Break this week, and I'm quite happy about it all, so woooooooooo!

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read each week and is a joint effort between all of us bloggers to find new blogs to read, love, and obsess over. Plus each week a different question is answered, so we can all learn a little bit more about the bloggers whose opinions matter to us. :) Tally ho!

Q. If you could have dinner with your favorite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?
ME. OOOOH. Erm. These are always such hard questions. So, I'm just gonna say this counts. I'd like to have dinner with Tina Fey. She's totally a character in her own book! That'd be the best dinner EVER. I'd not be able to breathe by the end of the night. :) For dinner, I'd say we would have tacos. Tina Fey seems like a taco kind of lady, don't you think? I'm definitely a taco kind of girl.


And now we're on to the hopping fun! Book Blogger Hop is a weekly party for book bloggers to connect. It's hosted by Crazy for Books and lasts Friday through Monday every week. Sadly, Jen has said that the hop will be taking an indefinite hiatus after this week. :( So we'll have to make this one count!

Q. What's your favorite Halloween costume? Even if you don't celebrate, what kinds of costumes do you like?
ME. I always love homemade costumes more than anything else. They don't really have to be wonderful, but I just like the spirit of it. I love it even more when they're super creative. My favorite costume I've ever done was when my friends and I dressed up like the characters from Up. I was Karl. :) See? AMAZING. That's me and my friend Kelsey. She was the house. Hehehe. We had a Kevin and a Russell, but the only picture with them in it is baddd. 


HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL! Don't eat too much candy and get sick, because that ruins your Halloween. Don't be lame like me and have to go back to school and go to meetings. I don't get to have fun. :( But that's okay, it's not like a trick-or-treat anymore... It stinks getting older, doesn't it?

Halloween Giveaway Winners!

The Halloween giveaway is done! I've picked the winners through Rafflecopter, which uses Random.org for random number generation. So, without further ado, I'm pleased to announce the winners!

Entry #706, Stella (Ex Libris), has won the copy of Sunshine!

Entry #10, Amber, has won the copy of Warm Bodies!

Entry #701, Ashley, has won the copy of Anna Dressed in Blood!

Entry #501, miki, has won the copy of The Poisoned House!

And right as the giveaway was ending, Pepper Thorn, author of Princess Rose and the Crystal Castle, offered an ecopy of her book for me to give away as well, and that went to...

Entry #402, CYP!

All of the winners have been contacted, and should be receiving their prizes shortly! 

I'd like to extend a HUGE thanks to Pepper Thorn for her graciousness, and to everyone who entered and publicized the giveaway. You all are wonderful, and I'll be hosting another giveaway very soon! 

I hope everyone has a super scary Halloween, and a lovely Thursday! (I know I will. I'm going to the place where I get all my ARCs. *evil laugh*)

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Release date: December 8, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 452
Format: Hardcover
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
Ebook available from: Barnes & Noble | Google

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

So pretty... :) Anyways, I started Fallen with only a vague realization of what it was about. I picked it up, just to stroke the pretty cover, and just started reading. I didn't have any preformed opinions or ideas, and I felt that helped me enjoy the book more than I might've if I had read more about it.

I was immediately intrigued by what had happened to Luce, and snapped up every little morsel of information about it hungrily. And, I did LOVE the prologue. I just can't help but get a bit excited with 19th century setups, no matter what other qualms I have with a story.

Despite Mr. Smolder's (Daniel's) odd entrance, I was intrigued. I didn't find him too appealing for much of the book, but eventually he grew on me, and I'm hoping seeing more of him not being a jerk will make me like him more. Honestly, I was all for Cam for most of the book, just because he was (seemingly) normal. Also honestly, I wanted to kill Luce for all her pining after Daniel for most of the book. I mean, she really got into some mild stalker territory, in my book. Little bit creepy... Once things came into the light, I couldn't rationalize wanting to kill her anymore, though she kinda was dumb.

Mmmmm, supporting characters. I liked Penn and Arianne. Penn reminded me a bit of myself: not comfortable at parties, nerdy, but super nice (At least, I think I am.) Arianne was fun and goofy, and many times a good relief to Luce's serious broodings on her "unfortunate" (Why quotes? I'm not finding it so unfortunate.) love triangle.

Fallen was really just an okay read for me, but despite that, I really couldn't stop reading it and I am excited to read Torment very soon. AND OH! We were reading Paradise Lost in my lit class while I was reading this. I thought it was good picking on my part. :)

Risk a paper cut? Erm... I could go either way on this. If you're a fan of angels, let's say yes. If you want to punch girls who like jerk guys, let's just go ahead and say no way.

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa - A Spoiler-Free Review

Release date: October 25, 2011

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Pages: 386

Format: Egalley

Source: Publisher provided through Netgalley

Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Ebook available from: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Google

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.


I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.


My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

I have loved every single preceding Iron Fey novel, but Julie Kagawa absolutely blew me away with The Iron Knight. It started off much like the other three books for me, but somewhere in the middle took a turn into something so much deeper. Ash's journey was one of epic and unforgettable proportions.

I got started into the Iron Fey series later than most, but I dived heart-first into the stories and haven't looked back since. We watched Meghan grow from a rather whiny normal teenager into a formidable queen and got to see her somehow melt the heart of the ice prince. But Ash was always a bit of a mystery, even as we saw more and more of him. Reading The Iron Knight from his point-of-view was emotional, beautiful, and fulfilling. We finally get to see how his mind works and just what has been tearing him apart for so long. It's been worth the wait. Before, all we'd seen Ash do was assist Meghan in her troubles, but now we get to see him truly step into his own story and see just what he's made of. (And he's even better than we can imagine.)

We see the return of all of our favorite traveling companions--Grimalkin and the ever witty Puck--along with some new, rather familiar, characters as well. I loved seeing the rapport between Ash and Puck as always, though this time around it took a more pointed turn. We also see a whole lot more of the Nevernever and beyond than we've ever even dreamed of. There are twists and turns and hidden paths everywhere, most of them unexpected and wonderful.

I want to talk about, in super generic terms, what Ash has to endure for Meghan. I am betting it's not going to make much sense, but I was rather moved by it. I anticipated certain trials similar to those I've seen in other books, but Ash's journey is so different, meaningful, relevant, and touching that I was just floored. Not only did it make me love Ash ten times more than I already did, but it made me think about my own life and how I was spending it and what I was valuing. It takes something special to do that, and The Iron Knight really is that something special to me. It has definitely become one of my favorite books, and will afford many subsequent readings.

Risk a paper cut? I think I've said enough, haven't I? I don't think much more gushing is necessary... :)

On another note, if you want to freak out about, well, the whole book with me, please feel free to email me! I'd love to fan-girl about. :)

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop #14

Friday! :) I'm sorry I missed last week, but I got out into the middle of nowhere and had no internet, so I couldn't post or do anything remotely internet-related, which was lame. Oh well!

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read each week and is a joint effort between all of us bloggers to find new blogs to read, love, and obsess over. Plus each week a different question is answered, so we can all learn a little bit more about the bloggers whose opinions matter to us. :) Tally ho!







Q. What superhero is your alter ego?

ME. Erm... Uh... *thinks* I dunno... So according to this quiz I just took online, I'm Spider-Man, which I could live with. Obviously, I'm the girl version of Spider-Man. I think it fits. I'm a bit of a nerd for sure. :) Plus I think swinging around New York City on some web would be fantastic fun. 


And now we're on to the hopping fun! Book Blogger Hop is a weekly party for book bloggers to connect. It's hosted by Crazy for Books and lasts Friday through Monday every week.







Q. What's your favorite type of candy?
ME. I LOVE love LOVE Twix. They're crispy and chewy and yummy and good. I like Snickers as well, and Raisinets, though I actually prefer the drugstore brand, because theirs are more chocolate than raisins. Hehehe. I only use the raisins as an excuse, since I'm kind of eating something good for me! :)


Well, that's all I've got to say. Riveting, I know. Don't worry, I am this cool all the time. :) Hehehe. The great thing is, you guys don't know just how uncool I am! Oh wow, I'm super rambling now. I quit. Bye.