Feeling Guilty

I'm feeling a little guilty for putting my blog on hold so I could spend all my free time plowing through Scott Westerfield's Ugly series.... not too guilty, but guilty.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Its a dystopian series that takes conflicted characters and plastic surgery to the extreme.  At times I wanted to slap a few of the characters and steal their hover boards, I think I might have even spoken out loud to Tally while I was reading.  The series was a quick read (4 books in 10 days) and it kept me wanting more.

Mark your calenders! CassaStorm is coming

Captain Ninja Alex J is at it again!  His latest novel CassaStorm is being released Spetember 17th, 2013.  Here's a peek...

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

 Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, his only struggles are occasional rogue pirate raids and endless government bureaucracies. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

 After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, shaking Bassan to the core and threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

 Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could be on its way back. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

Alex is also the creative genius behind CassaStar and CassaFire (both of which I have read, and enjoyed)

Print ISBN 9781939844002                  E-book ISBN 9781939844019

Starts with a death and ends with a funeral. (The Casual Vacancy book review)

Fortysomething  Pagford parish councilor, Barry Fairbrother passes away suddenly from an aneurysm.   Almost immediately, Pagford citizen's  begin to consider what the dead man’s empty seat means.  Some see it as opportunity for Pagford to finally rid itself of the Fields (a downscale neighbourhood), and a chance to shut down the local methadone clinic, used by numerous Fields residents.

The Casual Vacancy is riddled with racism, personal vendettas, corruption, whistle blowing and personal grudges that soon pushes the election into the backdrop and brings forth the hatred the villages of Pagford house for one another.  Teenagers are at war with their parents, neighbors are at war with each other, the haves are at war with the have nots.

The first hundred pages were hard for me, there are a lot of seemingly unrelated characters, and it felt like a lot of jumping around.  But by page two hundred, I was hooked! 

The Casual Vacancy is everything Harry Potter is not - drugs, swearing, self-harming, having casual sex, and singing along to Rihanna.  I still think its magical in its own way.

Hitting the books

Things are moving along with my summer reading, and I'm only getting slightly sidetracked. From my list, here are the 5 I have finished in order of preference...

Fault in Our Stars by John Green - A story about two teens one terminally ill, Hazel Grace, and another, Augustus Waters who is in remission. They immediately hit it off and change each others lives drastically.

favorite quote from the book: "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, than all at once."

I liked this book so much, I immediately downloaded two other John Green books to read!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - When Grace was a little girl, she was attacked by wolves in her backyard, not just any wolves… werewolves. What she remembers most from her attack, though, is the wolf with the yellow eyes - Sam, who lives two lives.

I have to admit, I've been on a little bit of a wolf kick lately, and I didn't just read Siver, I also read Linger and Forever (the other 2 books in the trilogy)

favorite quote from the book: “Books are more real when you read them outside.”

The Giver by Lois Lowry - Jonas, is a 12 year old boy who lives in a world without war, pain, hunger, death, misery or, even, bad weather, where everyone is happy and has their place in society, until he is chosen to become the Receiver of Memory. agonies of war and disease and loss, the heights of human achievement, freedom, music, colour, and the overwhelming power of love. Jonas must keep the memories and not share them with anyone.

favorite quote from the book "Memories are forever."

Thought this book as OK - didn't love it, didn't hate it.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks - Logan Thilbault served in Iraq. During his service on one of three trips there, he finds a picture of a girl. Carrying the picture makes Logan the luckiest man in the Marines, causing him to break the record of the most car bombs survived. His friend Victor tells him the mystery and “destiny” that he has and he goes out to find the women. When he does, he somehow falls in love with the girl, Elizabeth.

favorite quote from the book "The most ordinary things could be made extraordinary."

Like the other Nicholas Spark's novels, this was a quick and easy read.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown - When their mother is diagnosed with cancer, Bianca and Cordelia find themselves returning home to join their third sister, Rose, who still lives in their hometown. Bean and Cordy aren't returning to support their mother as much as they are impelled by their own messy life situations: Bianca because she has been fired for stealing from her job, and Cordelia because after years of living irresponsibly on the road, she has discovered that she is pregnant.

I couldn't really get into this book, I basically finished reading it because I started it.

favorite quote from the book: "Sisters keep secrets. Because sisters' secrets are swords.”

I'm part way through Game of Thrones A Feast for Crows (book 4), and The Witch's Daughter and I just started The Book Thief... will let you know what I think of them soon. :)

Its a party

A download party that is!


Stop by Stephen Tremp's virtual party and download his book!

So pop on over to say hello and nab his new book "Breakthrough".

I lost a few days again...

I had a great post planned for Friday. I did, really.

What happened? 50 Shades of Grey is what happened!

I am not the Danielle Steele type, I prefer Nelson DeMille or Stephen King, maybe a little Anne Rule, and Sookie Stackhouse, but with all the hoopla about this book I had to read it. I mean not every books gets banned from libraries, compared to Twilight, and Cinderella, and is called Mommy porn.

This is what EL James' website has to say - When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. you can check it out here


I don't want to give anything away - but I will say, if you are the sort of person who likes to go to the movies, and will sit through a bad one or two because your best friend loves it, then I highly recommend 50 Shades of Grey. If not, you could turn it into a drinking game... take a shot for each time the author uses "wicked grin", "flushed crimson", "panties", "inner goddess" or when Christian calls Ana "baby" - you could be flat out drunk by Chapter 4!

Laters baby, now back to reading A Storm of Swords and Insurgent.