Weekly Wrap Up (7) Jan 18-24

So if you have missed anything, or everything, this post is kind of excellent for you! And if this is not your case, well, you get to know about other blogs who are quite excellent.

Bloody Bookaholic

Books Reviewed

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Other posts...

Teen Ink

Magic Under Glass (Cover Post)

Twilight: The Graphic Novel

US VS UK

My Current Read: Bleeding Violet

Now What Have My Bloody Affiliates Been Up To...

Check out Natalie's Weekly Wrap Up

Eleni got a new layout!! You have got to see it, so pretty. She also reviewed Wondrous Strange and Darklight, both by Lesley Livingston.

On the other side of the galaxy, Rachel has done her Mailbox Monday.

Staysi is still MIA =[

I'm so sad... I miss her.

Sandy did a review on For Keeps by Natasha Friend and she gave an award away!

Teens Read and Write are having a Mega Contest! So you better go over to their site because it is freaking awesome!

Now I gotta go and do some homework. Why isn't it summer already? Oh! I almost forgot. My Blogaversary is in exactly 6 days. 6 days! So close! Be prepared, because I had a contest in mind. And it's going to blow your mind. Also on the week of my blogaversary I will have an interview with one of my favorite authors.

Stay Tuned!

Weekly Wrap Up Created by Mindful Musings; Affiliate Updates by Bloody Bookaholic.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Title: Bleeding Violet

Series: Should be, but ain't.

Author: Dia Reeves

Pages: 464

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Reading Level: Young Adult

Spotlight: Characters

Rating: .7

"Crazy never looked so beautiful"

Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Taschima:

My first favorite of 2010!

This book went above any expectation I had of it. It's dark, it's gory, strange beyond any doubt, and completely unique. Which makes it completely and utterly awesome.

Hannah is this crazy girl and when I say crazy I mean the whole combo. On the very first chapter we find out she hit her aunt with a rolling pin and a little after that she swears that if Rosalie kicks her out she is going to paint the walls with her own blood. I just said she was crazy! And one of the things about her is that she is sooo different from other female protagonist. She ain't all bad, but she ain't all good either. She has her good, bad, and ugly sides all in one character. Some things about her may bother you if you think the main character should be perfect that's for sure (example, she has a tendency to sleep around). Now, she doesn't try to be a hero. She doesn't have to save the world. She only wants for her mother to love her, and this is one of the main points that keep us glued to the book (other than Hannah herself, you never know what she is going to do next).

Other characters are Wyatt a guy that at first I didn't like, and even thought that I would never like him, but after he stop being an asshole he became a pretty lovable character. He is smart, he has guts, and he's hot. I don't love him, but I certainly can see why he and Hannah ended up together.

Another very important character is Hannah's mother. A woman who everybody admires, but that nobody talks to. Nobody knows about her; her character is so gray. Sometimes you just wanted to shake her even though you could understand where she was coming from.

I so loved this book, but I give it a 4.7 because I found out that it doesn't have a sequel and I didn't felt closure at the end. I felt like the second book could have been even better. So many paths were left open and a number of things unanswered. Like for example, Hannah can talk to her father, but her father is dead. Now, her father helped her with things Hannah didn't know about throughout the book and the whole time you could have think that maybe is her mind making her spooky hallucination but it couldn't be. Things happen that are not explain thoroughly and I so wished this book had another one coming up.

Is like Dia Reeves made me fall in love with Portero (the world of the book) and now she is taking it away without giving me time to heal, and a number of 'why's' were left behind.

Oh and just so you know, it may be YA but there is sex, cursing (I believe), and other disturbing things so if you do not feel comfortable with this don't read it.

I loved it, I so did. Everybody should read it.

My Current Read: Bleeding Violet

I am going to do this post more often. Every time I start a new book and am half way though it I am going to do a post about how it's going so far, my suspicions, doubts, wonders, etc. I think it will be a great way to get you familiar with the book before I do a complete review on it. Kind of like dipping your toes on the water before diving in.

My current read is Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves. I cannot believe it took me so long to start this book. It's amazing! Completely an utterly insane which is what makes it pop and sparkle. Such a great find, and such a great read.

The main character Hanna hits her aunt on the head with a rolling pin and runs off to find her birth mother Rosalie. She soon finds out that Rosalie is so NOT the perfect mother, in fact I don't think she has a motherly fiber in her being. Did I mention Hannah is completely insane? Though I am starting to wonder where the insane stops and the special starts. I have my suspicions she is more than a very insane girl who is obsessed with violet and being loved/accepted.

Here is a summary of the book:

Love can be a dangerous thing.... Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

I strongly believe this summary doesn't completely encompass the insanity of the novel. The novel and the characters just go against any common sense! With the summary you would just think Hannah is a sick mental patient, but she is so much more than that. I love how Dia Reeves has managed to captured the essence of Hannah and make us love her. Even though you know you should feel worried for your well being around her you just can't help but cheer her on like if you were her best friend.

Now guys play nice and meet Hannah:

"Don't make fun of me, Wyatt. I remember thinking that night in the dark park that you were a robot. I remember wanting to cut you open with the machete to see the gears with my own eyes."

-Hannah

Pg. 237

Creepy right? The way Dia writes it, it's like so normal. Like everybody had the need to open up somebody from time to time. Some normal activity, like wanting to eat ice cream or watch a movie. Sure, normal, until you read it a second time and your like 'Wait a minute...WHAAT!'. I'm telling you, so much fun this novel.

This is going to be one of my favorite reads of 2010, perhaps my first favorite read of 2010.

US VS UK (6)

I just noticed that when I write US VS UK you read it like us vs UK... Lol totally not my intention.

US VS UK is hosted by moi. I don't know how long ago. But I found it is a great way to compare and contrast what works for some and what doesn't.

This couple of rounds are for the series Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz.

Round 1

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

US-UK

The US one looks too pale for my taste. I do like how the city is on the bottom of the cover though, representing the setting and the class standard of the Blue Bloods. Now in the second cover the girl is pale but not pale dead like in the first one. They are similarities, the pearls, the bite, but are different in color, pose and font. For me, this round is won by the UK.

Round 2

Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz

US-UK

This has to be an US win. Though I enjoy the color of the second one I think the US one is stronger. The UK one is hell a pretty, but the US one for me is more in tune with the story. It's just not showing how pretty they are, but how powerful.

Round 3

Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz

US-UK

UK win! I like the pose of the model and how vulnerable she seems. While the US one seems like a sticky tattoo is put on the back of her neck and the model doesn't really show us anything since the focus is on the tattoo.

Round 4

The Van Alen Legacy

US-UK

They both are pretty, they both have bridal themes, but the US one is prettier. The pose for me is just better. I love it xD One of the best covers of 09.

Well that will do for today. Its a tie!!! Yay!

Twilight: The Graphic Novel

First of all, you ever heard of the saying "Don't kill the messenger"? Yeah, well, don't. I am the messenger, I didn't actually did the idea of making IT into a comic book.

While I think the comic book idea will surely bring more readers into our great YA genre, I just have to say it. A comic book? Seriously? I thought Twilight was famous enough already xD It just seems like they are just trying to squeeze until it is completely dry. Aren't a couple of you people just tired of Twilight?

I just wish some novels like Beautiful Creatures, City of Bones, The Hunger Games and Vampire Academy received his much attention. These are a couple of my favorites, and they are amazing in writing, plot and characters. Why don't they get as much attention? It is all just plain old luck?

Anyways, yeah, they are making a comic, and I guess I have to admit the art is pretty great... No, not great, FANTASTIC. Love the art.

Look at the cover:

Fan-fricking-tastic. The light, the color, the drawing in itself... I would give my left hand just to be able to do this from my mind (can't give the right one because then what's the point?).

Although I think the character is way to perfect to be Bella. She ain't suppose to be this wow. She is a rather normal girl until she goes all vampire mode. Then she is beautiful, just like in that picture.

I think the series lacks the action you would expect from a comic book. I mean superman and other heroes live here people. But it would make for a good addition to the Twilight phenomenon considering the pictures that talk angle. And yes I may be a little hypnotized by the art, but who wouldn't be?

One more pic before I go:

That's as large as I could get it to be. But if you would like to read an article about the comic, and see a larger picture, please click here. I found about this because I was at Stephenie's site looking for news about The Host, her adult book which I really liked. Will they ever make a sequel to it? Goodness I hope so.

Anyways let me know what you think, good or bad addition? The art? Do you think the girl in the cover looks like Bella or do you join in my thoughts of this girl looking too perfect to actually be our clumsy HUMAN Bella?

Gotta go to sleep, write ya all later!

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Magic Under Glass

Series: Magic Under Glass

Book #: 1

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore

Pages: 240

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Reading Level: Young-Adult

Spotlight: Themes

Rating:

"Magic can surely be a funny thing."

Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir.

Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

Taschima:

Magic Under Glass was a fantastic tale. It's full of lovable and also horrid characters. They aren't horrid in the way the are developed or portrayed just that they are the bad guys and oh goodness how I hated them xD

Nimira, a performer who ran away from home, is spotted by the wizard Hollins who takes her back to his home to be a singer to his automaton. But a lot of secrets roam in that house, from ghosts and spirits to a fairy prince trapped in a fate no human or fairy should ever face. Will Nimira succumb to her fears? Or will she face them head on and change her destiny, along with those of who she is close to, forever?

One thing the author is very good at is making you feel a certain way about the characters and the story. As you may well know the romance of the story is between a girl and a clockwork, and there are so many ways that could have gone awry but the author pulled it off with amazing ability. I loved the clockwork! His emotions were so powerful and real while he was in his non animated form. You could almost touch them.

Now moving to the girl. She was believable and strong. Though I didn't really connect with her as I do with other female protagonists she was a good character, they all were really, but the story for me didn't concentrate on the characters perse, it rather concentrated on the portrayal of emotion, feelings, love, sacrifice, and loss.

Favorite characters: Annalie, Linza, & The Clockwork.

Ugh I so don't wanna be a spoiler so I will talk around the edges. A thing that happens in the book I wish it didn't happen because I didn't really like how a character changed. Though its a very important thing and I knew it would happen I just think it took away the mystery, the allure, and some of the love I felt towards the book. Why? Because I didn't like what came of it.

Another thing is the book could have been longer. What's the thing with small books this days? Or maybe it's just the books I'm reading right now? xD

But maybe things will get better as the story progresses in the second installment. Yes, there is a sequel and I can honestly say I can't wait to read it.

Magic Under Glass

Well, I am totally out of the loop apparently since I just found out about the cover controversy for Magic Under Glass. This are my 2 cents:

I know that being aware of things like this is important and everything, but unlike when the controversy was about the cover of Liar (which was clearly a huge mistake from the person who made the cover, I mean white white girl on a cover that is suppose to be for a dark colored skin person? Come on of course people are going to be angry!) I think this one is just not that big of a deal. From my perspective, and I am holding the book in my hands right now, the skin of the girl in the cover ain't that much different from mine, and I am absolutely not white.

"Tassim, in the far East... in Lorinar, she is nothing but a dark-skinned amusement"

So from this you think of the girl as being exotic and darker on the skin department than most girls. But there is another part where one character named Hollins describes her skin as having a "golden glow".

If I were to go to a place where the majority of the population is white I would too be claimed as having dark-skin. Like I said in a comment of mine I would describe my skin as having a golden glow, doesn't mean I am brown perse. Let's see, I consider Brazilians to be exotic and they aren't necessarily brown colored. Most of them have a golden glow. Also just because you are a certain race doesn't mean every person is going to have the same color of skin. My sister is white, she is Puerto Rican like me, and my brother is a little bit darker than me.

All I'm trying to say is don't ban Bloomsbury from your buying list just because. True they may have made some mistakes here and there but if you ban them you are hurting the authors more than the publisher. The author made the story, not the cover. If you don't like the cover well, put your own cover on top of it or something xD The author is the one who poured their hearts into the story and not giving them a try because of a cover mistake is just not fair for anyone.

Again, I understand the importance of the matter and I am not saying it's not important to fight for what you believe, but really when you are in the middle of publishing a book a lot is going on and authors most of the time don't have a say on the book cover and a whole lot of the time the people who do the covers don't read the book. But in this one I think they did good. I like it. Then again everybody is different and have different tastes and opinions.

And those are my two cents,