Shadowspell ; number four!!

Title: Shadowspell
Author: Jenna Black
Page: 304
Summary: On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm. A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?

Review:
Okay, so i'm FINALLY doing a review on this. FINALLY.
But i'm going to be quick, cause i'm in a horrible mood, but felt bad about leaving yall in the cold, so i'm going to do it anyway.

Likes --
1. Keenan is my favorite. I named my bunny after him. True story.
2. The Erlking is AMAZING. I have a thing for dark guys (;
3. Dana's Dad is really sweet in a cold, fae way.
4. The way Jenna Black describes the scenary in this book is great. I could picture everything crystal clear in my mind.

Dislikes --
1. There wasn't enough Keenan
2. It felt like something was....missing. Its going really slow in some places, and it just seemed...lacking.

Okay, so that was incredibly short, but as i said, i'm in a horrible mood.

You can find this book here -- ( Amazon, Barns&Noble , Borders) and more about Jenna Black by clicking on her name.

Your irked blogger,
Holly

Spells ; number two!

Title: Spells
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Pages: 359
Summary: Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever. When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

Review --
Hey guys!! This is my second book of my 150 challenge! (hear by known as TMABCE ((most awesome book challenge ever)) )
Okay, so this book was..ehh. I loved reading it, and there was a cliffy at the end that makes me cant wait for the next book, but by when i was reading the last couple pages, i was just disappointed.

Likes --
1. Tamani. He's amazing, and deffinatly my favorite character in this whole series.
2. Avalon was just amazing, how they discribed it. It was just as a pictured it and then some.
3. The 'politics' i guess you could say. Or really how Pike described the society and the ranks.
4. The Fall Farie Institute was great.
5. Klea was a pretty kick a** character
6. The festivel was awesome. I liked how they tied in Shakespeare (:

Dislikes --
1. David. I just hate David.
2. Laurel needed to choose Tamani.
3. I really just don't like David at all.
4. The fact that Laural kepted playing Tamani.
5. Did i mention i LOATHED David?

Okay, so as you can see, i don't like David. The fact that in the end Laural was a major (excuse my french) bitch to Tamani (or she was going to be) turn me away from really liking the book. I never really hate a book, but i can hate characters in it (David).
I bet you, Davids going to turn out bad. In the book, it said the human relationships were frowned upon, because the human ended up hurting the Fairy. Foreshadowing anyone?
And i know its kinda shallow not to like a book because of it not turning out the way you want it to be, but ugh! SHE SHOULD BE WITH TAMANI!!
.......
*clears throat* sorry about that. I just couldn't help it.
But good news is, is that the next book 'Illusions' is coming out in May!! Not that far away! (and i know your thinking, ' Holly, thats 5 months away'. But in book time, thats a good thing. Cause you normally have to wait a year or two to get the next book.
But needless to say i'm very excited about this sequel!

If you haven't read Wings, i suggest you read it first because this book can get REALLY confusing if you haven't read the first one. You can get it here -- ( Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Borders )
If you've read Wings or you want to by Wings and Spells together, you can fins Spells here (Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Borders)
To learn more about one of my most favorite series (even though i hate David) and a pretty awesome author, you can go here ( Aprilynne Pike )

This book gets a 9/10 !

Later!
- Holly

Once upon a full moon ; number uno!

Title: Once upon a full moon
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Pages: 292
Summary: Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves -Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run. Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.
(Copy right to Ellen Schreiber)

Review --
I honestly don't know a better way to start off my 150 book chalenge than with this book. Its only 292 pages, and easy read, but a great read at that.
When i saw that the author of this book had written the Vampire Kisses books, i was like 'ohh lord. Not another Vampire author'.
I did have some dislikes though, so lets go ahead and get to the likes and dislikes list...

Likes --
1. The two main characters are likable. Which this is key, unless the main character is a villain, but even then the author wrote from that POV for a reason soo...
2. You understand where the separation in the East and West sides. They dont mix. Ever.
3. Celeste's two best friends are likable enough, but their annoying. The reason i'm putting them in the 'like' section, is because most friends are like this in High school. They're there for you, but they also want things to stay the same, never differ. They want you to have all the same friends, ect. ect.
4. I'm a HUGE romantic, so the romance in this book was great. But heres the thing again, WHAT IS IT WITH LOVE TRIANGLES?? I mean, not that i'm complaining, its just...why cant we have a normal story where its one guy and one girl, and they cant be together for whatever reason, but they do anyway. Why is there always a third person (almost always a boy)?
5. I think i'm in love with Brandon. Hands down...he's sexy (;

Dislikes --
1. Celeste seems very clingy. I mean, i know there 'meant to be together' and all this crap, but come on. Get yourself together girl.
2. Nash is an a**. He's a jerk boyfriend and a attention searcher. ew.
3. Even though the friends (Ivy and Abby) are in the 'likes', there also in my dislikes. They, to me, are not true friends. Their jealous of one another, and really, who wants friends like that?
4. Dr. Meadows is a jerk. Hands down.

So, over all, it was a pretty awesome book! It was released on the 28th of last month (December) so its brand-spanking new! You can get it here (Amazon, Borders, Barns&Noble)
This is also (like i said before) my first book in my 150 book challenge! It was a great start, and i'm about to start a new one (:
To learn more about Ellen Schreiber and her books you can go here ( Ellen Schreiber )

This book gets an 8.5/10 (:

Later!
Holly

Beautiful Darkness

Title : Beautiful Darkness
Author(s): Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Pages: 563
Summary: 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.
Rate : 10/10 stars

Review --
Wow. Just...wow.
Okay, so i literally JUST got done reading this book..and i'm thoroughly impressed.
So with out further ado, here are my top likes and dislikes..
Likes --
1. I live near south carolina, and they got the south right on the money. I know how small towns can be (thank god mines not like that), and they nailed it.
2. The main character Lena. She relates well to the reader (or atleast to me), and is also very much a girl. When i first started reading this i was like ' Lena's probably going to be a badass, and just going to blow everyone away.'...but no. She was a real girl (setting aside the fact that she can bring on a hell of a storm with just a thought).
3. I liked how the writers made the reader realize that Ethan, even if he hated it, was apart of that town. I guess why i liked it was because its SOOO TRUE!
4. Scene where their in the library...its just really cool.
5. The description was AH-mazing. Everything in my mind was sooo crystal clear, and thats really all the writers doing. So they did a good job doing that.

For the dislikes...i honestly dont have any. To me, this book was one of the best books i've read in a long time.

You can get the book here (Beautiful Creatures) and read more about the authors and their up coming books here (Caster Chronicles)

Later!
-- Holly

Most conflicted relationships/love triangles in YA novels

So, today during church, i was thinking (yes, i should have been listing, but thats beside the point) about the most conflicted relationships and/or love triangles in most YA novels. In most books, there's a whole triangle ( having one good relationship is soo yesterday ((i hope you picked up on the sarcasm in that, but if you didn't, then here's your clarification))), but there is some good books with the good old fashion love (:

1. Mortal Instruments Series - Simon/Clary/Jace
   

(by the way, this segment is loosely based on the first 2 books) Okay, so this is most possibly my favorite books of all time. And one of those reasons is because of the romance in it! Okay, so lets just start with Simon and Clary. They'd been best friends since they were little, and Simon fell inlove with Clary, but she didn't know. So this is the typical, i met you in dippers/small town romance. But then you get Jace, who is just...yum. Thats really all i can say about him. He's sexy, mysterious, kinda a jerk..which shouldn't be attractive, but it is. So theres an instant attraction there, but Simon feels out of the loop. So here comes the jealousy and all that. I'm not going to get into it all that much, because i don't want to ruin it for you, but its just drama drama drama! But i'd defiantly take Jace. Hands down.


2. Twilight Saga - Jacob/Bella/Edward

So...in every book of this series, there is a love triangle. Between the same people! Starting with Edward and Bella, they fell in love kinda fast. I mean, i know he's like, 107 years old, but still. They were all cute and cuddly in the first book, but in the second....oh HECK no. This is were the gorgeous Jacob Black come in. He lifts up Bella from where she fell, piecing her back together. He is there when Edwards off being stupid. In Eclipse, theres all sorts of crap. Like, THIS is THE books for a love triangle (personally, i think that Edward and Jacob deserves better). And honestly, if it was in real life, Bella would have stayed with Jacob...most likely. I can't say she 100% would have, because..well i'm not her. But....yea.

3. House of Night series -- Erik/Zoey/Stark

First of all, let me just say, i don't know if i get the names right, because i'm to lazy to go look up the names, and i read this book in middle school. So, with that outta the way, lets talk about them. Stark doesn't come into the books till the....sixth book...i think. Anyway. And Zoey and Eric were a couple til Zoey (the whore) slept with a teacher WHILE she was dating Eric (and she didn't understand why Eric was mad....), so they broke up. And they were going to get back together, and they did, til stark came. He started to kinda change things up a bit, and Eric becomes more possessive of Zoey, and she doesn't like that..at all. So they break up, and Zoey and Stark become a...thing i guess. Because they dont specify at first. And i'm not even going to get into Zoey's human boyfriend, Heath. She has a whole love square going on. So, all in all, Zoey is a whore, Eriks possessive, and Stark kicks butt.

4. Gallagher Girl Series -- Josh/Cammie/Zach

So, they really don't have a HUGE love triangle, cause both of them are really in different books. But you kinda put two-and-two together. Josh and Cammie are kinda cute together, you know...first love and stuff. I think Zach and Cammie are SO much better because Zach gets her. He understands her and all that jazz. He's sweet and caring....you know what? Josh and Cammie are cute, cause i want Zach.

5. Hush, Hush -- Patch/Nora

So this is the one i love the most, for many reasons. One, because i'm obsessed with fallen angles. I love books about them. And this is the classic romance of two people that can't be together, but they're with each other anyway. Patch is the classic bad boy who has a soft inside...like truffles. And i just really like Nora as a character too. She's pretty awesome. So, if you just want a classic romance with an AWESOME twist, this is the book you want.

Well, my fingers are killing me. I'm reading a book called Beautiful Creatures right now, and when i'm done i'm doing my first REAL review of it (:

Later!
Holly

PS -- Its finally Christmas music time!

Diary of a Country Girl -- A few of my favorite things...

So, today i was listing to the love of my life (aka my i-pod) and ' my favorite things' from Sound of Music came on, while i was updating a picture of my two most favorite things. So that made me start thinking...
What was a few of my favorite things?
So, heres a list of things that 'When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things..and then I don't feel so bad'

1. Reading. Just...reading. Is there any other explanation? I know a lot of people despise reading, but i honestly just cant wrap my mind around it. They can take you anywhere, and you get so wrapped up in it. You can immerse yourself in it. People say they can do that in movies, but i just cant sit still. I mean, if its a good movie (see Harry Potter - strike out or home run) then i can sit. But if its just...horrible (Percy Jackson) then i cant sit at all. But i can sit for 3 hours at a time, just reading. So this is probably my most favorite thing...ever.
2. Music. Music...is well...music. I can't really describe it, just because it means soo many things to soo many other people. You can listen to one song, and get something totally different out of then the person sitting beside you, listing to the same song. The singers (or musical instruments) can tell you things that NO one could be able to write down on paper, cause there are no words. A lot of people say that Miley Cyrus* and all of those teeny boppers don't do real music, and i used to agree. But the more i think about it, the more i'm changing my opinion. People out there probably think their music is life altering, and who are you to tell them their wrong? Thats what i LOVE about music. There's never a right answer.
   
3. Photography. I never really understood photography until this year. I'd always loved taking pictures, but now i'm starting to take it a little more seriously. I really like capturing things out of in the world, that some people would never have looked at before. And i love taking pictures with my crappy kodak camera, showing people that you don't have to have the nicest camera in the world to still see beauty (:
4. The last thing is writing. I've always loved to write, and i still love it, but its rare when i do. Its almost like its sacred to me. I know that sounds crazy, but hey, to be a writer you have to be a little off the straight line.
   

So those are my favorite things (: Sorry in advance for everything i missed spelled! This is the picture that also inspired this post --

Later,
Holly

*So..another thing about Miley, i herd her parents are splitting which is kinda sad. /: