Retro Demonology by Jana Oliver

Name - Retro Demonology
Author - Jana Oliver
Publisher - St. Martin's Griffin
Release - December 13, 2010
Rating - 4/5




Review - Retro Demonology has a very interesting concept. I can't say it's all that original, but it's far more intriguing than than others like it.


This bonus short story was fun, humorous and not the least bit boring. I finished it in mere minutes, even though it's not very long at all.


Oliver's writing style is very addicting. It lures you in like a sirens song. 


From the moment I finished Retro Demonology, I knew that I will not be disappointed with the rest of her work.

Hush Money by Susan Bischoff

Name - Hush Money
Author - Susan Bishoff
Release - August 3, 2010
Rating - 5/5


Summary - Be normal, invisible. Don’t get close to anyone. Kids with psychic abilities tend to mysteriously disappear when they get noticed. Joss has spent years trying to hide. Now she has an unasked-for best friend, who is the victim of an extortion plot by the school bully, who used to like Joss, who is best friends with her long-time crush, who is actually talking to her. Life just got more complicated. 


Review - Wow. I wish there were more books like this one. These types of books are rare. The type that can appeal to almost any readers.


There are so many different aspects to Hush Money. Some parts are very touching, while some are very action packed.


In Hush Money there are two main characters, Joss and Dylan. Joss is the kind of girl who would go out of her way to avoid trouble, but will stand up for herself if needs be. Joss is also very stubborn, which I can easily relate to. Dylan hangs around with the worst possible people. I find him to be quite relatable. The characters and their personalities were very well developed.


I loved Hush Money. It draws you in from the very beginning until the very end. It will leave you aching for more.

Interview - Courtney Allison Moulton

Books by Courtney Allison Moulton - 
Angelfire(coming soon)

Interview - Tell us about ‘Angelfire’.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent

the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

How long did it take you to write ‘Angelfire’?

I wrote Angelfire in 39 days.

Where did you get the idea for ‘Angelfire’?

I was watching the movie The Time Machine in which a scientist builds a time machine in order to save his fiance’s life after she dies tragically. He gives up after watching her die again, recognizing that he can’t change her fate. I wondered what it would do to someone who wouldn’t stop trying to save the person he loves.

Who/what inspired you to write ‘Angelfire’?

I love quirky, but strong heroines who have these enormous supernatural destinies, like Sailor Moon and Buffy, and I wanted to create my own. Ellie is Angelfire is a lot like Sailor Moon in that she is a bit of a reluctant heroine at first, but she really steps up to the plate when she needs to.

Why did you chose to write about reapers?

I wanted to do something different, that nobody had done before (at the time I wrote Angelfire in 2008). I wanted monsters who are all completely unique to one another and terrifying in their own ways, and I wanted to write fight scenes and action sequences no one had ever seen before, especially in YA.

What got you into writing?

Since I learned how to write, I’ve been scribbling stories everywhere I could. I was one of those bad kids who wrote their own stories and drew their own pictures on the insides of library books. My mom used to yell at me so much for that… When I discovered the Goosebumps books in the third grade, I decided that I wanted to be RL Stine when I grew up and write scary stories my entire life.

Do you listen to music when writing?

Yes! I love music and when I’m writing, I’ve got music playing. I love movie scores, especially those scored by Clint Mansell and Hans Zimmer. I also find a lot of inspiration from my favorite bands like 30 Seconds to

Mars, Red, and Lacuna Coil.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Nothing is more valuable than a beta reader to supply a keen, fresh set of eyes to a manuscript. When someone tells you that your work is good, figure out how to make it great.

Courtney's website - www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com

Create a Cover: Random Magic by Sasha Soren

La Femme Readers is hosting a Create a Cover contest. All you need to do is create a different cover for Sasha Soren's Random Magic. You can enter here.

Here is the original.

Here is my cover. Tell me what you think!

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is Hosted by The Story Siren. Here's what I got this week.

Snow Queen by Emma Harrison (signed)

Edge of Escape by Debra Chapoton (ebook) 

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

Thanks to - 

Kieran Scott

Alex from Electrifying Reviews 

Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan

Name - Tunnels of Blood
Author - Darren Shan
Publisher - Little, Brown
Release - April 23rd 2003
Rating - 4/5


Summary - Darren, the vampire's assistant, gets a taste of the city when he leaves the Cirque Du Freak with Evra the snake-boy and Mr. Crepsley. When corpses are discovered--corpses drained of blood-- Darren and Evra are compelled to hunt down whatever foul creature is committing such horrendous acts. Meanwhile, beneath the streets, evil stalks Darren and Evra, and all clues point to Mr. Crepsley. Can they escape, or are they doomed to perish in the tunnels of blood?
Information from http://www.goodreads.com/




Review - Darren Shan has created yet another gory tale, but this time he added in a dash of romance to Darren Shan has created yet another gory tale, but this time he added in a dash of romance. 

Tunnels of Blood was, in my opinion, the best so far in the series. It introduced some new characters into the story. Murlough was one of those new characters. And the best character of this book I think. Murlough is the villain on this book, but he is the good kind of villain. Debbie is the other new character and the love interest of Darren. She was the missing piece to the puzzle. She is the reason this book was better than the others.

This book had just enough romance to even out the gross-out factors. In the other books it was really lacking in the romance factor.

Darren Shan keeps his story's fresh and fast paced. A wonderful read.

Cover Creation (1)

Hello everybody, Cover Creation is a meme hosted by Jessica over at The Chapter Chicks. I love remaking book covers. I don't use any special software, all I use is http://www.picnik.com/. Today i'm remaking the cover of Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender. Tell me what you think!

Here's the original cover which I love.

Here's my cover. Creepy right? It kinda scares me. 

Create a Cover Contest: The Saphire Talisman by Brenda Pandos

Hi! La Femme Readers is hosting a cool contest where you create a new cover for The Saphire Talisman by Brenda Pandos. You can win awesome prizes and it's fun re-making covers.

This is the original cover - 

This the cover I made - 

You can see the other entry's and enter here.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Name - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Author - Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
Publisher - Knopf
Release - October, 26th 2010
Rating - 5/5


Summary - “I’ve left some clues for you. 
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Information from goodreads.com

Review - 

I. Love. This. Book. 

I devoured this book. I started it last night and finished it this morning. It was light and fun and once you start reading it you won't be able to put it down.


This book is probably the best winter/holiday season book I have ever read. When I finished reading this book I was definitely in the holiday mood. 


Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have crafted yet another amazing book together.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Name - Crescendo
Author - Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher - Simon & Schuster  
Release - October, 9th 2010
Rating - 4/5


Summary - Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away, and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home. 

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch, or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?Information from www.goodreads.com


Review - 
Crescendo is engaging, thrilling, and suspenseful. From the very beginning you are pulled in and thrown onto a fast paced, emotional roller coaster.


While reading Crescendo, I actually felt anger, sadness, and even sympathy. When a book can make you feel all of those emotions and more, everyone should read it. The only problem I had with this book was the writing. Sometimes there were scenes in the book that really didn't need to be there, and some aspects of the book were almost exactly the same as the first in the series.


None of the characters really blew me away, but some were very relatable.


All in all a good book. I think if you liked Hush, Hush then you should pick it up. If you didn't like Hush, Hush then you should still pick it up. 

Debut Author Challenge

Kristi over at The Story Siren is hosting the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. I have never participated in a book challenge before, so I am very excited for this. 

Here are a couple of book I would like to read - 

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

So Shelly by Ty Roth

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

You can sign up for The Debut Author Challenge over here.

In My Mailbox (6)

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

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Heist Society by Ally Carter

The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

What did you get this week?

In My Mailbox (5)

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

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

I can't wait to finally read this book!

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

I don't know much about this book, but it looks good.

From Alex at Electrifying Reviews

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Swag - 

Beautiful Darkness pin 

Caster Chronicles bookmark

Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) Tattoo

Fatal Infatuation: ALMOST HUMAN ~The First Trilogy~ bookmark (signed)

Firelight Sticker

From Christine Johnson - 

4 Claire de Lune bookmarks (signed)

4 Claire de Lune stickers (signed)

What did you get?

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Name - Beautiful Darkness
Author - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher - Little, Brown
Release - October 12th, 2010 
Rating - 5/5


Synopsis - Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. 

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Information from Goodreads.Com

Review - Amazing, this book was simply amazing. Kami and Margie's writing styles blend together to make this irresistible southern gothic come to life.

Beautiful Darkness was my most anticipated book of 2010 and it definitely deserved that anticipation. From the very beginning of Beautiful Darkness I was hooked. The town of Gatlin and all of the characters flourished in this astounding sequel. 

Lets talk some more about the characters. Liv was probably my favorite character in this book. I love people with accents so obviously she would be my favorite. Liv was definitely a good addition to the book. She is the typical know it all everyone loves. She is like the Hermione Granger of Beautiful Darkness! I also love Lucille. Yes one of my favorite characters is a cat, but this cat is seriously awesome! I don't really know why I love Lucille so much, but she kind of makes the story better for me. I always laugh when Lucille just shows up next to Ethan.

At points it got a little slow, but only for brief moments. Otherwise the writing was better than most. 

This book was excellent. I recommend everyone to read this book even if you didn't like the first in the series. 

New Banner

As you may have noticed, my blog has a new banner. I never really liked the other one so I am going to try this one out. I love this one? What do you think of it?

In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to show of all the stuff we get each week.

Hush Money (Talent Chronicles) by Susan Bischoff

I love this cover! I love the concept! I love this book! I am reading this right now and I love it! 

Thanks to - 

Susan Bischoff

What did you get this week?

Winner!

The winner of the signed copy of The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 2), goes to... Mary3195!

Interview - Christine Johnson

Books by Christine Johnson-

Claire de Lune

Nocturne(Coming Soon)

Claire de Lune - Torn between two destinies?

Claire is having

the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps cha

tting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threate

ns her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Information from Goodreads.Com

Interview -

1. What are five words that come to your mind when you think about Claire de Lune? Excitement, romance, challenge, struggle, acceptance

2. How long did it take you to write Claire de Lune?

All told, from the first word of the first draft to the moment it hit the shelves was about two and a half years. The different drafts took varying amounts of time, from seven-ish months for the first draft, five for the major revision, two for the minor revision and then weeks for things like copyedits, etc.

3. Where did the idea for Claire de Lune come from?

Claire was born the way almost all of my ideas are - by what-ifing. When I thought of the idea, I’d just read a bunch of YA novels with a human girl who fell for a supernatural guy. I thought “what if the *girl* were supernatural? And what if she were dating a human guy?” It was a teensy little poppy-seed-sized idea, but after a lot more what-ifing, it got more and more interesting until I knew that I *had* to write it!

4. What character can you most relate to from Claire de Lune?

I’m going to take Claire out of the equation here, because it’s just too easy an answer. So, aside from Claire, I probably find it easiest to relate to Victoria, just because she’s the most like me. She’s a good girl, sort of quiet, part of the group but not the head of it - at least, not right now. But she has an inner strength that I admire and aspire to have.

5. Was it easier writing Claire de Lune or Nocturne?

They each had their challenges. CLAIRE was hard because I was building the world from scratch, but then again, I had zero external deadlines when I was drafting that book, which meant I got to take as much time as I wanted/needed creating Claire’s universe. With NOCTURNE, I already had a solid mythology for my wolves and a developed cast of characters, but my deadline was pretty tight and my youngest child was VERY TINY when I drafted it. It was quite challenging in its own way!

6. Who is your favorite character to write?

Again, *other* than Claire, who’s too easy an answer, I’d have to say Emily. Her voice is very, very clear in my head. In fact, I find it very difficult to *make* Emily say anything. She knows what she thinks and is very stubborn! Plus she’s fun - she’s larger than life in many ways, and her flamboyance is very refreshing to write.

7. How do you choose names for your characters?

I have a couple of favorite ways to pick names. I love baby name websites - I can go and browse through thousands of names, sorting them in multiple ways, including by meaning. What a name means is important to me, though it can be overridden if it’s fitting in every other way. For last names especially, I like old cemeteries. I like to look at the names on the headstones and pick from those. I figure, people put up headstones so they’ll be remembered - and what better way to “remember” them than to use the name in a book?

8. What is your favorite YA book?

My favorite book changes daily. Seriously. I can tell you that *today*, my favorite YA novel is Libba Bray’s GOING BOVINE, but tomorrow it’ll be John Green’s PAPER TOWNS and the day after, it’ll be Holly Black’s WHITE CAT. I love so many of them, and it all depends on my mood what my favorite right *now.

9. Do you participate in NaNoWriMo?

Not exactly. When I’m drafting (which is often,) I have daily word minimums to reach. I sort of do NaNoEveryMo, really, as I hate to be between projects. If I’m not revising, I’m drafting. Otherwise, I don’t have anywhere to put my crazy and it spills over into my real life. Everyone’s happier when I keep that stuff on the page!

In My Mailbox (3)

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

The Devouring #3: Fearscape by Simon Holt

I absolutely can't wait to read this book!

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

I actually haven't read her other books, but if I like this one I will probably check them out.

What did you get this week?

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

Title - The Haunted
Author - Jessica Verday
Publisher - Simon Pulse
Release - August, 1st 2010
Rating - 4/5




Summary - After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with by the bridge where her best friend drowned - the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead - Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, determined to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into schoolwork, perfume-making and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be able to help her get over Caspian once and for all. But Abbey is never going to truly be able to move on from Caspian and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side: for Caspian is a Shade and Abbey is his destiny. The two are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow and the famous legend that binds their fates - a legend whose true ending and dark truths they are only just beginning to guess...
Information from Goodreads.com


Review - I love this series! The Haunted is the second book in The Hollow series. The Haunted is actually better than The Hollow, The Hollow was good, but The Haunted was great. The Haunted starts off at the end of the school year when Abbey is still at her aunt's house, but she soon gets a call to come back to Sleepy Hollow for the opening of the bridge that her best friend Kristen fell of off last year and died.


At the end of The Hollow their was a big cliffhanger. I don't want to give anything away so I won't say any more. The story behind The Haunted is somewhat original, but it has some very unoriginal characteristics, like the all mighty love triangle, everyone loves it, but it is not at all original. Someone should write a book with a love square.


The writing style was amazing. Some people don't like so much detail, but I love it. Jessica never lacks in detail of any kind. She'll include all the smells, tastes, looks and everything down to the minute details. 


Most of the characters were good, but some were lacking. Abbey the main character was very original. She is a perfumer which I never knew existed. I always thought that all perfume was made in factories by machines. I never knew you could make perfume out of oils in you own home. That's why I love books, you always learn something new.


Caspian is Abbey's main love interest in the books. Caspian is very chivalries. He is the Prince Charming every girl is waiting for with a twist. He has all snow white hair except for one black stripe, he loves snickerdoodles, and he is an amazing artist!


Ben is what completes the love triangle. Ben is an all around good guy, he's smart, helpful and nice. It's sad how ignorant he is about Caspian, at points I wished I could have jumped in the book to tell him. It got annoying at points.


All around this is an awesome book. I think anyone who likes paranormal romances will like this book even if they didn't like The Hollow.
Buy the book on Amazon.

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at the The Story Siren. It's a time when you get to show off all of the cool stuff you got this week.

Tempted by P. C. Cast and Kristen Cast

I've read the first three books in this series, but I never got around to reading the rest. It's a great series so I want to start reading it again.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo is the sequel to Hush, Hush which is one of my favorite books, so I can't wait to read this one.

My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

I have heard amazing things about Amanda Hocking's books, so I thought I should check one out.

Fate by Amanda Hocking

Since I'm pretty sure I am going to like My Blood Approves, I just went ahead and got the second book.

I also won Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness bookmarks from Once Upon a Twilight on Twitter.