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Friday, April 30, 2010

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About (31)

Fun Friday: Give me something to sing about! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.

I first heard this song on a Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles commerical, wrote down some of the words, and never looked it up. And then I THINK I heard it on Vampire Diaries (not sure, can't quite remember) and anyways, it's on my playlist now. Wow, I'm rambly.

So, it's called Second Change and it is by Shinedown.



Whatcha guys think?
Peace and cookies,
Laina

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Contest Closed

Thanks everyone for entering!! I'll tally up the entries sometime in the next week and post the winner as soon as I can.

Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff - To be released September 16th, 2010

Mackie Doyle seems like everyone else in the perfect little town of Gentry, but he is living with a fatal secret - he is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now the creatures under the hill want him back, and Mackie must decide where he really belongs and what he really wants.

A month ago, Mackie might have told them to buzz off. But now, with a budding relationship with tough, wounded, beautiful Tate, Mackie has too much to lose. Will love finally make him worthy of the human world?

(Summary from goodreads.)

I love changeling books. So so so so so much, I think they can be absolutely incredible. Have any of you guys read Changeling by Delia Sherman? So good. And this one sounds so so so good!

Next up, we have:

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - To be released September 28th, 2010

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Like. OMG. How AWESOME does that sound? Awesome sauce, even.

So what are you guys waiting on this week?
Peace and cookies,
Laina

Sunday, April 25, 2010

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is brought to us by The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea.

These last two weekends I've gone to the city with my auntie (which is why there wasn't one of these last Sunday or this Sunday, because I kept just getting home on Sundays and never found the energy).


(I typed this earlier in the week so these dates are, well, dated now.)

What I got last weekend (which is now two weeks ago):


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - Hardcover

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.


In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.


(Summary from goodreads.)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - Paperback

What if you had everything:

A gorgeous boyfriend who was madly in love with you?

Quirky hip parents who totally got you?

A musical talent that could take you anywhere?
What if your biggest problem in life was choosing which path to take?

Follow your first love - music - to New York City?
Or stay with your boyfriend, friends, and family?
What if one day, you went out for a drive...

And in an instant everything changed?

What if suddenly all the other choices were gone?


Except for one - the only one that truly mattered?

What would you do?


(Summary from goodreads.)

I absolutely love this cover. The girl's eyes are amazing, aren't they??
This weekend (which is now last weekend) I bought:

The Vampire Diaries - The Return: Nightfall by L. J. Smith - paperback
Elena Gilbert is alive — again.
When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her — the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon — she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back.

Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What's more, her blood pulses with an overwhelming and unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire.

Stefan wants to find a way to keep Elena safe so that they can make a life together. Damon, however, is driven by an insatiable desire for power, and wants Elena to rule as his princess. When Stefan is lured away from Fell's Church, Damon seizes his chance to convince her that he is the brother she is meant to be with...

But a darkness is infiltrating the town, and Damon, always the hunter, is now the hunted; he becomes the prey of a malevolent creature that can possess him at will, and who desires not just Elena's blood but her death.


(Summary from goodreads.)

I wanted the first bindup of these, but I grabbed the wrong one. Whoops. Ah, well, no biggie.


Shadowland by Alyson Noel - Hardcover

At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul.

Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before...


(Summary from goodreads.)

I have the first two in this series, but I haven't read them yet. My mom has and likes them, though, so I got this one.


And I also got something that isn't a book but I'm really really really excited about.


Voodoo by Alexz Johnson (CD)

I've been waiting for her solo CD for years and I just happened to find it in Walmart on Saturday and grabbed it because my eyes were bugging out of my head. It's soooooo good!!

Okay, so that's about everything for me.
If I get anything else this week, I'll add it.

Peace and cookies,

Laina


Edited to add after I typed this but before I posted it:


I got the mail Tuesday and found:

Vampire Theory by Lily Caracci - Paperback

Emalyn Archer has never imagined being ranked "Most Wanted" on a serial killer's hit list. She has never wielded a weapon - much less a designer stiletto - to save her life, has never driven a car off the top of a twelve-foot wall and most definitely doesn't think she'd ever fall for her best friend, the notorious player.

But there's a first time for everything. When mysteriously gorgeous Alan comes to North Willchester High, bringing with him the equivalent of the Apocalypse, Emalyn learns that change isn't always for the best. Particularly not when you're the sole saviour of a doomed (and oblivious) hometown and your tactical skills rival a fourth-grader's.

It will take a girl more than her rapier-sharp wit, serious
Chemistry lessons and a hunky sidekick to win the race against Alan's fanged armada. Particularly when her once-trustworthy allies are intent on serving her head on a silver platter to this debonair madman.

And the worst of it? She won't escape entirely human.


(Summary from the back of the book.)

I think this one is self-published (correct me if I'm wrong, but wikipedia says Outskirts Press is a self-publishing press or something along those lines, so...). It sounds good, though, so we're giving it a change, right, peoples? Oh, and it's signed!! (Me = absentminded today.)


Virginia by Susah Hughes - Paperback

Virigina Donato has always had an indefinable quality that sets her apart from anyone else Ivy Morell has ever known. But when this childhood friend and neighbor confides in her, confessing that she has been visited by an angel and asked to do something "momentous," Ivy begins to think Virginia has lost her mind. As Ivy struggles to make sense of her friend's bizarre claim, she notices other strange happenings in the Donato household. Determined to find out more, Ivy discovers that Virgina's older brother Paul may have a shocking secret of his own, one that could have dangerous consequences. Can it be connected to Virginia? Should Ivy tell? And is there anyone she can turn to before it's too late?

(Summary from the back of the book.)

I looooove the purple feathers on the cover, they are so pretty. In case you haven't noticed, I have a bit of thing for purple. :P

Thursday:

Emperor Dad by Henry Melton - Paperback

James Hill saw the theft of the British Crown Jewels live on CNN and had an uneasy suspicion that his father had invented teleportation. Nothing less could explain the theft and it made sense of his brilliant father's secretive new job. Bob Hill knew his discovery was likely to cause global disruption, and it was a development that couldn't be hidden away for long. To goad the nations into quickly finding ways to protect themselves, he'd decided to play-act a supervillian, right out of a James Bond movie, a self-proclaimed "Emperor of Earth" holding the world hostage. And the nations did react, finding a way to poison him in his secret hideaway inside Mt. Rushmore. But no one counted on James hacking his way into the family computer and giving himself access to the technology. With Mom and Oriel Meirieu, the beautiful girl he'd met while popping over to visit Paris, they evade the FBI, INTERPOL and even black-ops agents, saving Bob's life and facing the question: What exactly is a legal claim to power?

(Summary from goodreads.)

This author was totally supernice and if I wasn't drugged and my head all hurtful and not sleeping, I'd think of something more creative and expressive to say about this book. Let's just pretend I did, okay?
Oh, and I got this...

I was talking about my love of Elf on Twitter and basically Elaine/DrkCherry (whose blog link I can't find, I'm afraid. Like I said, airhead today) asked if I wanted one of these. OBVIOUSLY I said yes and I seriously nearly did a happy dance in the post office. This isn't my picture, but I can't find my camera, so it works. It's just so cute and compact and the colours and really really nice and - I'm ending the sentence here or it just won't end.

Okay, now I'm really done!!
Peace and cookies (again),
Laina

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Three Songs for Courage review

Modern day Laina here!! So, this was a review I wrote back in... September, I do believe, when I was sick with two different kinds of fever and running a fever on and off, along with being very loopy on cold meds. So please be kind if it's a bit funky :P Enjoy this review from past Laina!

Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier

Published: August 12th, 2008 (first published 2006) by Tundra Books
Genre: Historical fiction, I think. It's set in the 50s, so... Although maybe contemporary... my definitions here are a little hazy.
Page count:
324 in my paperback copy

Part of a series? Nope, it's a standalone.

Summary (from the back of the book): Summer, 1956. Life is cool in lakeside Erie View. The town's veterans of the two great wars struggle to shelve their memories and pick up where they left off, women with newfound independence work to rekindle their marriages, and teenagers with too much freedom live the secret lives of youth.

For sixteen-year-old Gordon Westley, this is the summer of first love, fast cars, the best buddies on earth, and heartrending tragedy; the summer he will explore the sweetest side of human nature and come to fear the darkest; the summer he must learn his third song for courage.


Review:
I really, really enjoyed this one. The setting of 1956 Ontario was just plain charming. I love reading Canadian books in general, and this was a particularly good one. Not to mention the cars from that time period make me drool... Gordon drives a 1950 Pontiac. Love it!


Plot: Three Songs for Courage is about the summer before Gordon Westley's last year of school, the summer of his first girlfriend, the first loss of a loved one, the summer he begins to become an adult. (How's that for writing about plot? Not bad, huh?)

Characters
: Gordon is sixteen-years-old and wants to be James Dean. He lives in a small town near Lake Erie with his parents, his grandfather, and his little brother Stan. And now I sound like I'm writing a book report. NyQuil'll do that to you.

Anyways, I loved his voice. I have a fondness for books told from a guy's perspective and the combination of that and the 50s stuff, it's just a really good narration.

The supporting characters were all three-dimensional and interesting as well. His little brother Stan was a total sweetheart that you can't help loving. Random thing that amused me, one of the characters was named Mary Davidson. One of my favourite authors is MaryJanice Davidson. Isn't that cool?

Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: This isn't major, but there were a couple times where the POV transitions weren't as smooth as they could be. It's written in third person, though, so it's not really a big deal. It didn't detract from the reading, even, it's just something I noticed because I'm nuts.

PG-13 stuff: Well, this is a book about sixteen-year-old boys in the fifties. So there's cursing, drinking, smoking, talk about sex. Nothing really obscene or graphic, but it is for a more mature reader.

Cover comments:
I'm not sure about this one. The boy's kinda cute. I just don't think he looks like Gordon. So I'm undecided. What do you guys think?


Conclusion: I really liked this one. The writing was smooth and consistent throughout the book and the setting was really neat, especially for me as I grew up in Ontario. I think a lot of guys would enjoy it, too, and relate to it. Some parts that they'd really relate to are highly amusing to girls like me. 'Cause you know, boys are weird. This one gets three and a half roses.



Peace and cookies,
Laina

Friday, April 23, 2010

Fun Friday: Give Me Something to Sing About (30)

So it's Sunday... So it's Monday... So it's Tuesday... So it's Wednesday... So it's Thursday... So it's Friday... This week has just gotten away from me so much. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Actually, I'm kinda dosed up on Sudafed right now to keep my head from, you know, exploding. Gotta love spring :P

Anyways, Fun Friday: Give me something to sing about! is where you guys get to see a song or two I like or that I want to talk about each week. Thanks as always goes to J.J. at Random Musings for help with the title.

So last weekend, I went to the city and I found Alexz Johnson's brand new CD, Voodoo, in Walmart, so I've been totally addicted to that recently. Last night (after conking out at about 3pm, sleeping til my mom woke me up at 10pm to watch Vampire Diaries, and then didn't sleep again til 7am), I fell in love all over again with this song, Look at Those Eyes.



LOVE it!! What do you guys, think?

Alrighty, since I'm pretty happy due to the Sudafed (goooood stuff), I'm working on some more posts right now, including dahn-da-da-da maybe even a review.

Have a great weekend!!
Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (40)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Hey, peoples! How's your Wednesday going? What do you think of the new posts? Okay, first up is:

Dark Water by Laura McNeal - To be released September 10th, 2010

Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt and her mother live in Fallbrook, California, where it’s sunny 340 days of the year, and where her uncle owns a grove of 900 avocado trees. Uncle Hoyt hires migrant workers regularly, but Pearl doesn’t pay much attention to them... until Amiel. From the moment she sees him, Pearl is drawn to this boy who keeps to himself, fears being caught by la migra, and is mysteriously unable to talk. And after coming across Amiel’s makeshift hut near Agua Prieta Creek, Pearl falls into a precarious friendship—and a forbidden romance.

Then the wildfires strike. Fallbrook—the town of marigolds and palms, blood oranges and sweet limes—is threatened by the Agua Prieta fire, and a mandatory evacuation order is issued. But Pearl knows that Amiel is in the direct path of the fire, with no one to warn him, no way to get out. Slipping away from safety and her family, Pearl moves toward the dark creek, where the smoke has become air, the air smoke.

(Summary from goodreads.)


Why I want to read it: 1. Mysterious boy/forbidden love. Yum. 2. The plot sounds awesome. 3. I honestly just love the title, although I'm not even sure why. I just do. 4. Do I need more???

Next up is:

Firelight by Sophie Jordan - To be released September 7th, 2010

With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.

(Summary from goodreads.)


Why I want to read it: SHE HAS SCALES ON HER FACE!!!!! That is quite possibly one of my favorite covers this year. Plus another forbidden boy/romance. And, hello! Dragons!!!

And also I randomly love the name Will. I don't know why.

What do you guys think?
Peace and cookies,
Laina

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (39)

Waiting on Wednesday is, of course, brought to us by the lovely Jill at Breaking the Spine.

#lainafact My mom's birthday is in August. (#lainafact is a thing I do on Twitter sometimes when I'm bored. Long story.)

Anyways, on to the books I'm waiting for this week.

Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart - To be released August 24th, 2010

Could any two sisters be more tightly bound together than the twins, Katherine and Anna? Yet love and fate intervene to tear them apart. Katherine's guilt and sense of betrayal leaves her longing for death, until a surprise encounter and another near catastrophe rescue her from a tragic end. Set against the magical kaleidoscope of the Philadelphia Centennial fair of 1876, National Book Award nominee Beth Kephart's book conjures the sweep and scope of a moment in history in which the glowing future of a nation is on display to the disillusioned gaze of a girl who has determined that she no longer has a future. The tale is a pulse by pulse portrait of a young heroine's crisis of faith and salvation in the face of unbearable loss.

(Summary from a link on author's blog.)

Why I want to read it: I love books about twins. And the fact that it's set in the past is awesome. That seems like a smaller theme in YA, but is still cool. Plus the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

The Julian Game by Adele Griffin - To be released either August 26th or September 2nd. (Amazon and goodreads differ.)

Raye Archer, a high school sophomore whose friendship with the diabolical class It Girl quickly escalates to a knock-down, drag-out war on privacy, loyalty, and reputation.

(Summary from goodreads.)

Why I want to read this: Adele Griffin is an awesome author. I love the names Raye and Rae. Adele Griffin is an awesome author. The girl on the cover has blue hair. Adele Griffin is an awesome author. It sounds incredible. Adele Griffin is an awesome author.

Okay, I think that's it for me for this week. Thanks for reading!
Peace and cookies,
Laina