My name is Amber and I'm an aspiring YA author with a passion for movies and novels. If it's young adult AND paranormal and/or romantic (best if all three!) I'm there. Also, it seems fair to warn everyone that I am not a robot or a zombie and when it comes to the all important question: zombie or unicorns, I must side with the unicorns because they were my first love.
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Happily Ever Endings are ending summaries of novels that will be in series for your reading pleasure. That way, you can refer to them when the next book comes out if you can't remember exactly what happened.
Every Friday, I tell you a fairy tale exclusively through photos! Each week is a different theme and I search through Deviantart to find you the best of the best--whether they be pretty or spooky. All are welcome here! None of these photos are mine and you can always find a link to the proper owners underneath the photo in the caption area!
This week is one tiny fairy tale but that doesn't make it any less awesome. Let me be your wings as I take you through photos of Thumbelina. Just be sure not to get blow away.
These are all so whimsical and fun. I think my favorite though is number 6 because it expresses Thumbelina perfectly for me. I love how the doll is reaching out.
My Netflix queue is extensive enough to make even the most hardy blush and yet, I still have t.v. shows that I must watch when they return this fall. I saw Penelope at Reading Fever produce a list of new and old t.v. shows that she must watch this fall and I figured I'd share my own. So here's the daunting list my poor DVR is having to face.
Favorites:
The Vampire Diaries
CW | Thursdays 8/7c | Begins Oct. 11
The Vampire Diaries is a show a discovered when it was finished with its second season. I've been hooked every since. I love that it always keeps me guessing and never missing an opportunity to shake things up. I'm always left gasping and praying it's next week by the end of each episode and with the humdinger they threw our way at the end of last season, I'll definitely be glued to my couch all this year.
Supernatural
CW | Wednesdays 9/8c | Begins Oct. 3
Supernatural is another must-see for me. I'm so addicted to watching Sam and Dean fight it out against Supernatural forces and often times each other, that I go through withdrawals without their witty back and forth. And come on, Castiel is one heck of an awesome angel!
Suburgatory
ABC | Wednesday 9:30 | Begins Oct. 17
For me, the lead character Tess is exactly like Emma Stone in Easy A and since I love Emma Stone and Easy A, it's pretty much a given that I'll love this show. It's funny, sarcastic and touching watching Tess and her dad George try to muddle through Suburgatory together!
Once
ABC | Sundays 8/7c | Begins Sept. 30
I'd argue that the tagline got it all wrong. Magic already came via the first season of Once. I was really hoping to love it and by the third episode I was totally hooked. One of my favorite things about last season was trying to guess if the curse was real. I'll be interested to see where the show goes now that we know it is.
Face Off
SyFy | Tuesdays 9/8c | Began Aug. 21
I'm not normally into shows where people compete. I watch Top Model and Design Star when I'm board and re-runs are on but Face Off is the exception for me. I love seeing what magical make-ups the contestants come up with each week and the themes for each show.
Grimm
NBC | Mondays 10/9c | Began Aug.13
I love this show but I can stand to miss an episode here or there and then watch a few in a row. They always catch my attention when they are on but I want more Monroe and I definitely want to see Nick's fiance Juliet get in on the Grimm truth.
Awkward.
MTV | Thursdays 10:30/9:30c | Began June 28
So is Jenna going to end up with Matty or Jake? Like Suburgatory, I can't get enough of Jenna's dry humor. This show always has me laughing and I really like all of the characters on it.
New Shows:
Revolution
NBC | Mondays 10/9c | Begins Sept. 17
I heard about this show during the Comic Con coverage and it sounded awesome. I love that the main character is a girl and since I'm a huge fan of Billy Burke and he plays a kickass character, I think it's going to be awesome. Plus, I love the concept of electricity going out.
Elementary
CBS | Thursdays 10/9c | Begins Sept. 27
I love Sherlock (the book and the BBC version) so I figure I should give this one a try. I think it's also really interesting that they made Watson a girl in this one and I'll be interested to know how that changes the dynamic between these two characters.
Doctor Who
BBC | Saturday 9/8c | Sept. 1
Doctor Who isn't really a new show but since I've never watched it on air, I'm considering it new to me. My hubby and I watched the entire series in a few weeks and now we are all caught up and can't wait for Season 7.
Arrow
CW | Wednesdays 8/7c | Begins Oct. 10
Super hero story can be done on television because Smallville was such a hit. I just hope they can bring a little of the might to Arrow. If anyone can do it though, it's going to be the CW. They always have a good track record in my book.
Beauty and the Beast
CW | Thursdays 9/8c | Begins Oct. 11
I love Beauty and the Beast and I enjoy re-tellings so I think I'll like the spin on this one. I'm interested to see where it is going to go and how the season is going to play out.
I'm also thinking about 666 Avenue but it all might be too much. To add to that, I know The Carrie Diaries and Cult are must sees as well. Luckily, the don't air until mid-season!
So what is your t.v. schedule looking like this fall? Hopefully it isn't as daunting as mine is.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where you can post about upcoming books you're looking forward to. This is a wonderful chance for blogger to show off what's coming out soon that they are excited about! Every week my wishlist balloons thanks to this awesome meme.
1. Never trust anyone. 2. Remember they are always searching. 3. Don’t get involved. 4. Keep your head down. 5. Don’t fall in love.
Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans, to hide in plain sight from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”
But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…
The Rules is out April 2013 by Disney-Hyperion.
As a general rule of thumb, I love books about rules (did you see what I did there?). Seriously, a list of rules always draws me into a story and this one is no exception. It looks awesome!
Shipwrecked on an island seven years ago, Lucy has been warned she must never sing, or disaster will strike. But on All Hallows Eve, Lucy hears tantalizing music in the air. When she sings it, she unlocks a terrible secret: She is a Chantress, a spell-singer, brought to the island not by shipwreck but by a desperate enchantment gone wrong.
Her song lands her back in England — and in mortal peril, for the kingdom lies in the cruel grasp of a powerful Lord Protector and his mind-reading hunters, the Shadowgrims. The Protector has killed all Chantresses, for they alone can destroy the Shadowgrims. Only Lucy has survived.
In terrible danger, Lucy takes shelter with Nat, a spy who turns her heart upside-down. Nat has been working with his fellow scholars of the Invisible College to overthrow the Lord Protector, and they have long hoped to find a living Chantress to help them. But Lucy is completely untrained, and Nat deeply distrusts her magic. If Lucy cannot master the songspells, how long can she even stay alive?
Beguiling and lyrical, dangerous and romantic, Chantress will capture readers in a spell they won’t want to break.
Chantress is out May 7th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books.
Okay, why had I not heard of this one before? That cover is stunning and I love the idea of singing bringing on darkness. This sounds awesome and I needed a copy of it yesterday,
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:
-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others. Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!
Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
"She's in pain. Like she's being tortured. She was in my room last night. There were wounds, opening and closing on her arms and shoulders. I couldn't do anything to help her. She wasn't really there." (Cas)
--Pg. 82 of Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
If you had any doubs, put them to bed. This book is every bit as good as the first. I can't wait to get further into it. Spooky, creepy and loads of fun!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, they post a subject and the goal is to answer the question with your top ten picks. Once you've done it, link back to The Broke and the Bookish and check out what other bloggers have to say!
Top Ten Bookish Confessions
So this week, it's time to dig down deep and make a few confessions. This has been a tough list for me because I've never thought hard about the things I do while reading and I haven't really fibbed about liking something. Check out my list!
1) I can't read if I haven't written my own work for the day- I'm a slow reader anyway but it doesn't help that I can't read if I haven't written any of my own book. Every time I try to read if I haven't written something for the day, I feel intensely guilty, Suddenly, every sentence I read feels like it's mocking me because I could be writing instead of reading. This is why it takes me as long as two weeks to finish a book sometimes.
2) I refuse to put a book on my finished shelf if I didn't complete it- It's just one of my pet peeves. I like to look at my "read" bookshelf and know that every single spine on there is something I've read.
3) I won't make my mind up about a book until I've read it completely- I won't review a book early even if the review is due out because I have to read the whole thing before I can make up my mind. It's been rare but sometimes book will change my mind by the end which is why I have to stick with it.
4) If I like a book but don't like something about it, I'll change it in my head- If I'm not thinking about my own work while doing laundry or brushing my teeth, I'm thinking about how I'd change this or that in the book I'm reading. It's always interesting to see what I can come up with and a lot of times it makes me feel closer to the my current read.
5) I mouth the words- It's a habit I picked up early on when everyone told you to sound out the words. If I'm really trying to focus, I'll mouth the words as I'm reading which is another reason it takes me a long time to read.
6) I won't lend out my books- Unless I really, really know you I'm not going to lend you my book. I'd rather buy you your own copy than give you mine. Nothing against everyone else, I'm just protective of my books.
7) I read better at night- I also watch t.v. better at night and snack and cook and hang out with my husband. It's tought because I like doing lots of things at night but if I sit down to read I get through a good ways of the book with the covers around me.
8) Book covers fool me- I have loved covers and hated insides. I have loved insides and loathed covers. The fact of the matter is, if it is pretty I'm going to buy it and I've gotten burned because of it.
9) I buy more books than I'll ever be able to read- That's a fact. My tbr pile is out of control. It takes over an entire bookshelf and then some. But I want to support the authors and buy their books. I have every intention of getting to them eventually.
10) Filing fetish- One of my favorite parts of reading is getting to file that finished book away on the shelf when I'm finished. Nothing makes me more excited than stepping back and seeing how the new addition looks!
Some covers just work together...and some, not so much. I've decided to start up a semi-regular feature called Shelfmates to showcase series covers. I love getting the sequel to a novel and putting it up next to the first book so I thought this might be a fun way to do that on my blog! So here are some series covers and my opinions on how they look as a couple (or series...)!
Soul Seekers series by Alyson Noel
My first series up today is the Soul Seekers series. I've always liked the first novel cover because of the warm colors, the way her hair turns into birds and the dreamcatcher earrings. I thought that the combo worked really well. My intial reaction to the second cover was that it was also gorgeous but to me it feels less interesting. I think it is because they went with the pretty dress trend and we've already seen so much of it. I do like that it is turning into snow though. I think it adds an unique touch. Overall I think these work well on their own and in the series. My favorite cover is still the first one though!
Fallen series by Lauren Kate
I don't think I can compare covers and not include this series in these posts. I've pretty much loved most of them so I knew I had to include them eventually. I think that for the most part, Luce and her pretty black dresses (and one white one) knock it out of the park. My only exception to this rule is Passion. That cover has always driven me crazy because it doesn't work. Whoever worked on that cover touched up the model's arms to the point that they are non-existant. The girl's arms and shoulders look like a skeleton which totally takes away from the cover for me. I think my favorite of the series is actually Rapture but that might be because it stands out with its white dress.
Matched triology by Ally Condie
I remember seeing the cover for Matched on a blog before I was blogging anf being completely in love with it. After the spines and spines of black and dark blue, here was a white cover and it was so striking. I love everything about the cover for Matched still. Then I saw the cover for Crossed and was so disappointed. It didn't have half as much appeal as Crossed. Luckily, they made up for it with Reached which is back to its gorgeous appeal. I still think I like Matched best out of the bunch though!
Watersong series by Amanda Hocking
This is another novel that I fell in love with at first sight. The water is so blue and looks inviting but the skyline and moon look ominus. It's hard not to keep looking. I think Lullaby is the same way. It shows the turmoil of the first novel in the crashing waves and I love how the girl (who I'm assuming is Harper) isn't in the water because she's never gotten the allure of it. Both covers really work for me together and as a pair.
So there you have my set of four covers. I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite of the bunch though it seems that so far the Watersong series has been consistently strong. However, the fact that only one out of the five Lauren Kate covers bothers me are still pretty good stats.
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