2010 Challenge!

What is this challenge exactly?

• The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.

• Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

Interested? Check it out here.

Anyways, here's my list (: I have to say, I don't own any arc's of these whatsoever. And a head's up, the ones I just HAVE to read are in bold - not that I don't really, really want to read all of them. Because, trust me, I do :D

• The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
• Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus
• Other by Karen Kincy
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
• Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
• The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
• Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story by Adam Rex
• Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
• The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (Have arc)
  
• Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
• Sleepless by Cyn Balog
• Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine
• In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
• Anxious Hearts by Tucker Shaw (Have arc)
  
• Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
• The River by Mary Jane Beaufrand
• Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams
• The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

Ooh, doesn't that just interest you? xD.

In My Mailbox! [: [19]

Sorry it's been awhile, but I've been stuck reading the books from last week or the week before that? It's been taking me awhile to finish, but it's all cool...The pile is finally down some! Anyways, I got four books this week! None for review, all borrowed. But yeah! The Story Siren created this meme, but you already know that(: Tempted is actually the audio book of it, :P Thought I'd try something new.

What did you get?

Writers Wednesday 2

Hi ya, I hope you're ready to read some more of my novel for Nanowrimo. This meme was created by Just Your Typical Book Blog. So definitely go check hers out as well. It's really a funny story. Back to mine though, this is another one that's found throughout the novel itself.

This is one of her dream's dream's memory. Does that make sense? I bet it doesn't, but whatever.

"The chairs and beautiful setup in the garden was even more gorgeous from the actual view. The smell of lilies fill my nose and I breath it in deeply. Taking it all in. I spot Laylon with his green eyes sparkling brightly. With happiness. He folds his hands in front of him and looks innocent as ever."

This is just a playful moment between my two of my three main characters. xD

“Don’t you already spend enough time with me?” I stated the obvious. We finally arrived back into the living room. Laylon shut the door behind him softly and headed towards me. He wrapped his hands again around my waist, his forehead resting on mine.

“Never.” He breathed into my ear. Then he licked my cheek and ran to the other side of the room.

“Ew!” I yelled, running around to where he was. He moved quickly back to the other side. “That was not cute, Laylon!” His laughed reached my ears from behind me , he grabbed me from behind and I squealed.

“You know you liked it,” he whispered in my ear again. We fell backwards onto the couch laughing.

Review: Girls That Growl by Mari Mancusi

Title: Girls That Growl
Author: Mari Mancusi
Publisher: Berkley Jam
Pages: 249
Rating: 3/5

"Rayne McDonald thought getting into the Blood Coven was the hard part. But now there's a new breed of trouble in town...and the former slayer and her vampire boyfriend may be the only ones who can stop it. Now that she's an official vampire and full-fledged member of The Blood Coven, Rayne assumes her vampire slaying days are over. Sure, she doesn't have any vampire powers, thanks to a mutated blood virus, but she and Jareth can go out in the sun, which is a pretty good trade-off. But just when Rayne's starting to enjoy her afterlife, she's contacted by Slayer Inc once again. It seems that a member of her high school's football team has disappeared—and the powers-that-be think the cheerleaders had something to do with it. Now Rayne has to infiltrate the squad before the cheerleaders have a chance to sink their teeth into someone else..."

My thoughts:

Girls That Growl is the third book to the Blood Coven series and is full with more supernatural beings. It's full of funny moments and action.

Rayne is a vampire slayer, whose, well, a vampire. Her character is totally goofy, and smart minding. She's my favorite character. Throughout the book you'll get funny remarks from her. The character is also emotional. The writing this time was okay, but it's not really my favorite. I don't know what to call it exactly. First person first person? I don't know, but it showed the characters more. Does that make sense? The plot was a lot like the second one. Sunny had to go to England to find a cure for vampirism, this one has to deal with this time Rayne going to England to find the cure for the cheerleaders. It felt like I was reading the same thing over again with different reasons and causes.

Overall, this is a cute quick read that will bring you into another realm of vampires and (SPOILERS) werewolfs. (SPOILER OVER) I reccomend that you pick this series up(:

Teaser Tuesady [12]

Should Be Reading started this Teaser Tuesday meme. This week's teaser is going to come from Girls That Growl by Mari Mancusi. Mm, nothing like some vampires to brighten your day. *Insert goofy grin*

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Sunny puts a finger to her lips and motions for me to follow her into her room. I do, taking one last shuddering glance at the place formerly known as my bedroom. This time Mom has gone too far."
-Page 75

Review: The Everafter by Amy Huntley

Title: The Everafter
Author: Amy Huntley
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Pages: 148
Rating: 5/5

"Madison Stanton doesn't know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this—she is dead. And alone, in a vast, dark space. The only company she has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things Maddy lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that with these artifacts, she can reexperience—and sometimes even change—moments from her life.

Her first kiss. A trip to Disney World. Her sister's wedding. A disastrous sleepover. In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and sometimes frightening truths about her life—and death.

This is a haunting and ultimately hopeful novel about the beauty of even the most insignificant moments—and the strength of true love even beyond death."

My review:

The Everafter is a heartbreaking and amazingly unique book that takes you on a journey with the main character. See what she sees, even feel what she felt.

Madison, our main character, died and she knows it. Yet apart of her doesn't know anything. She doesn't remember any memories. But there are these objects that stand out, gleam at her. They throw her memories at you, and slowly she remembers everything up to her death. Snippets and dominant memories. I loved that part of the book. Huntley made her feelings amazingly realistic. The writing gave descriptions of each and the plot twisted and smacked you in the face towards the end, but it was all leading up to it.

Overall, this book is absolutely amazing and is completely and utterly a unique view of the afterlife. I'm definitely looking forward to more of her writing!(:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon! (:

**This contains no spoilers!**

So we, me and my aunt, had this planned out for months. And finally, finally!, the day came. You should have seen me. I was talking up a storm because I was so excited. So we drive then get there perfectly fine. It was way too early, so we went to White Castles to sneak in a snack and looked like idiots from giggling too much. xD. Back to the theater, we found ourselves sitting under an Eclipse poster for about an hour. We attacked the door where the movie was showing. And was still showing the other part. Get this, I was able to see the corner of the movie. And my self restrain was running low. So I peeked, but didn't see much.

Then there was this guy. He seemed purty normal to me. Cept' he's wearing all black with a trench coat. When I look closer his eye are ICE blue. No lie, it wasn't natural. Then I saw his teeth... he had two inch fangs. So that pretty much convinced me there are vamps. Shut up, I know you can get extensions and stuff along with contacts, but still! Enough of this crap...let's get to the good stuff!

I heart Chris Weitz. He made the movie so much better than the first one. He stayed absolutely true to the book and that amazed me. Somehow, he Incorporated a lot of dialogue. Jacob. No words can describe how good his acting was. Not to mention the...erm... build. The wolfs. They're sexy and are now my favorites. Edward. Omg. He was so depressed looking and delicious. The movie was everything I expected and a lot more. The ending pissed me off, I'm not kidding! I was reading some reviews saying the ending wasn't in the book. I totally disagree. It was the exact ending just mixed around. So yeah, I totally disagree with all of you who say that. Still... I swooned xD. The acting was suburb, definitely amped up by a lot of levels. The vampire running was much better, it was realistic. Jasper! I loved that he talked in this one, and each time it was really funny. Awww. I loved it. Oh, yeah. I did. Then we went home, or at least we tried.

We got lost. I witnessed a creepy down at three in the morning, which happens to be the witching hour. Evil crap comes out at that time. Or so I heard. It was still creepy! After an hour we made it back. The stars were amazing, I never seen so many! (:

So yeah, I thought I would blog about this on a personal level and not book related. It wasn't so much a review, but hey, who cares, it's New Moon!(: I'm going to look for online version, seeya.

Review: Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

Title: Pretty Dead
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 195
Rating: 4.5/5

"People pity me, but mostly they feel envy. I have all the luxury and freedom a girl my age could want.

Something is happening to Charlotte Emerson. Like the fires that are ravaging the hills of Los Angeles, it consumes her from the inside out. But whether it is her eternal loneliness, the memory of her brother, the return of her first love, or the brooding, magnetic Jared—she cannot say. What if it's something more . . .

Something to do with the sudden tear in her perfect nails. The heat she feels when she's with Jared. The blood rushing once again to her cheeks and throughout her veins.

For Charlotte is a vampire, witness to almost a century's worth of death and destruction. But not since she was a human girl has mortality touched her.

In what way will you be transformed?

Until now."

My thoughts:

Pretty Dead is a story about a vampire, Charlotte Emerson, that's starting to get things only humans get in their lifetimes. She's changing, and she can't stop it. I liked her character a lot. She was portrayed as someone who was something they no longer strives to be in. And she wanted to change that. Her emotions filled the book, but they mixed together flawlessly. Her creator, William, is dark and pretty weird in my eyes. Every where he was put in the book, it was creepy. Emily was the human she loved. She was Charlotte's best friend. She was well portrayed as innocent and fun loving. They all fit Charlotte's story well, and I liked that.

The writing and plot in this fast read were amazing. Each and every thing that Block described, were vividly painted with words. Speaking of pages, this indeed was a fast read. But that wasn't a problem at all.

Overall, I think that this book was much deeper and a different kind of vampire story that I've seen out there and read. I recommend that you pick it up.

Contest

Okay, since I had a guest post with L.M Preston, she told me I could hold a contest. So want to know what's up for grabs? An arc of her upcoming book Alpha-X, a tee-shirt, and some swag. Do you want to enter? Well keep on reading.

I made a form for the first time, and I'm seeing how this works. Just fill it out here and you'll be all set. Easy peasy. Comment with any questions you have about the form. Swear you will? I don't want to confuse anyone. I'll reply with a comment on your recent post (:

But yeah, go on and enter. The winner will be announced January 1st @ Midnight wherever you are!

It is open internationally, so it's not just open to the United States and Canada. Woo, everyone loves that idea don't we? Of course. I think I have the basics down. Go to the form, now.

Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Title: The Hollow
Author: Jessica Verday
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 513
Rating: 3/5

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead???and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. It only makes things worse that everyone now treats Abbey like either a freak show or a charity case. Thank goodness for Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Review:

The Hollow is a dark, mystery, love novel about a town with a legend. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

I'm have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it, I really did, but something was off for me. Abbey, the main character, is grieving over her best friend and the author portrayed that really good. I could almost feel her pain myself, if I lost my best friend. Caspian was an okay character. To me, he was really distant and barely talked. Not exactly a brooding bad boy. He has a reason though and that only covers a bit of the reason behind it. I felt that her grief of her best friend was what most of the book was about. In the beginning.

Towards the middle/end it started to get good. Sleepy Hallow made itself known. It's a lot of pages, and it's too many. The writing was beautifully descriptive when it had to be, but sometimes it got overly descriptive. And the suspense toward the end? It made helluva good ending.

I can't wait for the next one, and hope just a tiny bit that it'll be better. Overall I enjoyed this book towards the middle and end because it sent you on a twisty turvy plot smack in the face. Do I recommend this book? Yes, even though it starts out slow and can be overly descriptive in all the wrong places.

Win The Hollow's Perfume!

If you have read The Hollow, you know that Abbey makes perfume. Am I right? Yes, do you want to win those perfumes? Including Caspian's, Kirsten's, and Abbey's. I know you wanna... so where I'm heading is a contest at Books Obession. It ends when New Moon comes out! Or if you have no sense of reason, it's Friday.

Here's theee link, go on go and enter it. I know you want to smell the perfumes in the book. I know you do! :P And just shut.up about the picture. Of course I didn't want to see the full on kiss, but of course I had to post it. And of course I saw it anyways and it's very passionate... Sigh. I'm going to continue watching some more, so, uh, yeah go check that contest out and...sneak a look at that picture I know you wanna!

Ahem, rambling, sorry >.<

Guest Post with L.M Preston: A Christmas To Remember

Since Christmas is coming up, good gosh, I decided to let author of the upcoming teen book, Alpha-X post about a Christmas memory that she remembers most. Keep on reading to find out.

___________

Christmas has always been a bitter sweet occasion for me. I love Christmas now because I have four active kids and a husband of which to create traditions. However, prior to getting married, Christmas would sadden me because it was around Christmas time that I lost my grandmother of whom I was extremely attached. Now, life has a funny way of rejuvenating you and allowing you to grow up. Hence, I will share a Christmas memory that still touches my heart.

About five years ago, my husband and I decided to do something different for Christmas. We decided to take that time to travel with our family. Our most memorable trip was a trip to Vermont. This particular Christmas, we experienced the Christmas Spirit of goodwill towards all men first hand. After packing our car to the hilt with presents, snowboarding equipment, and luggage, we took off. We drove there from our home, and it was a long drive. We sang songs, played car games, and watched movies.

Finally, we arrived at Smuggler's Notch, a resort in Vermont that had tons of stuff to do on site. We had plan to never have to leave the resort. Once we got settled into our three room condo, we realized that we needed to go to the grocery store. My husband took my older two kids with him to the store. After they left, I started pulling off our socks into sock bombs. My husbands and I had planned to have a hide and go seek, sock bomb attack game with the kids once they returned from the grocery store.

Several hours later, I started to get concerned. I got no call from my husband, because there was no cellphone reception in the area. All I could do was wait. A knock came on the door, and my husband and two kids stood there with a gentleman. The kids looked shaken and my husband just hugged me. They had been in an accident, which my husband said could have been fatal. They were driving back from the store and drove over black ice, which slammed them into the guard rail of the bridge.

The angels that made my Christmas one of the most precious holidays ever, were the kind of people I met in Vermont. The nice gentleman that was standing there with my husband was a mechanic who owned a local shop. He towed our car and gave my husband a ride to our resort. He also helped us bring up our grocery. His wife came and picked me up several times to run errands, and the resort staff treated us at a local restaurant to dinner. It ended up taking the mechanic several additional days to fix our car, and the resort allowed us to stay free of charge.

It's times like these where I am just humbled by the kindness of people. This particular trip is looked upon fondly by all of us, since we had angels posing as humans that made our Christmas in Vermont on of the most inspiring holiday's ever.

In My Mailbox! [: [18]

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at The Book Junkie. This week I borrowed five from my library and bought one. I also won one. Woot. Anyways the book for review was mailed to me by the publisher. It's two weeks worth xD.

For review, bought, and won.

Yep, that's all that I got this week. Going to go read some more.... What did you get?

Secret Santa @ Books Obession [:

Do you love the idea of secret santas? Ah, come on, I know you do. Ashley at Books Obession is having one. It sounds really cute. Wanna know how it works?

You get signed up and then you get partnered with someone else that signed up and they gift you with a book or books. And you do the same! (: It's really easy and a great way to give this Christmas season . But she needs more participants. So it'd be great if you can go take a peak and join it (: Click the smiley.

I know you wanna [;

Updates

Haven't had one of these in awhile. So let's get down to the good stuff. Sorry I haven't been posting reviews, and posting more "fillers" as you call it. I've been busy between NaNoWrimo and being in a reading slump. You know, where you just don't feel like reading? I know you've had one of those before. And I'm getting sick. A headache that throbs & and reading tiny print? Ow.

But I'm reading Candor, so that review should be up soon. I still have about six or seven more books to read. So that means six or seven more reviews for my blog. You just have to stay tuned. I just need a really good book to bring me back out of that reading slump (:

Yeah, so think of my new layout as a new start (: I'll be better with my blog, I pinky promise. Anyways, isn't that picture funny?

Writer's Wednesday - NaNo

I saw this meme on Just Your Typical Book Blog and I thought I'd particpate. I am doing NaNoWrimo after all, so I thought I'd share. I do warn you though, my writing isn't that good. So don't be amazed or nothin'. And one more thing, it'll be just parts I share not the whole thing... Lol. For my own pride, haha, xD.

I wrote this part and I really liked it. I mixed my favorite band into it. Ah and I think I did it very well. And don't fret, because this is apart of chapter 6. So you won't understand it.

The shower gurgles and sprays to life. I know Mom was taking a shower. The weather outside was nasty and wet, so I don’t blame her for wanting to shower. I needed one, just to get the scent of roses off of me. But it wasn’t going anywhere and it was starting to freak me out. Maybe my nostrils were attached to it and it really wasn’t there. But it wasn’t my nose.

Good Charlotte blasts its way through my speakers and fills my room with a punk melody. I hum and sing along to it the best I can. But I was off key, which wasn’t bad. Or was it? I was never a good singer. Curse anyone who ever said I was. The lyrics fill my ears. And now I'm making a change, I'm living the day. More true than true.

Layouts & Stuff...[:

I was getting tired of my current layout so I had someone redesign it. Thanks to Kelsey at Just Blinded Makeovers, I got that. It's what I had in mind, vintage and purty. So what do you guys think? And if you're noticing the new title of my blog, yes I did change it. I didn't make it too tough on you guys. Just lose the read in front of it. So it's Darling Reviews. It sounds much better doesn't it? I'd like to think so. So yeah, what do you guys think?

And if you're reading this (which I hope you are) I'd like if you could edit your blogroll and dismiss the read in front of it. It'd be helpful! Sorry if it's too much trouble.

Ah it's freakin' adorable... [:

Teaser Tuesday [11]

Well, sorry for the lack of bookly posts. I've been focused on my writing (NaNoWrimo) and getting school stuff finished and turned in. But I'll more book type posts beginning with this Teaser Tuesday. I pinky promise, [:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

"BigMouth to mission control - thank you for finding the impulse-control button in time. Inflammatory and indiscreet announcements are so last week for me."
-My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman
p. 167

Check It Out...!(:

Ah yes, see now I have found a guy that sings very well.
(:

1:22 - 1:23 is hot, :P

Review: Going Bovine By Libba Bray

Title: Going Bovine
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 480
Rating: 3/5

"Can Cameron find what he’s looking for? All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most."

My thoughts:

Going Bovine is a witty yet sad novel that will have you laughing out while your parents look at you like you're on crack or other drugs. It's definitely readable.

Cameron's character was your typical bad boy, who sometimes did drugs. He comes off as someone with a great sense of humor and doesn't really let anything bother him. Then he's diagnosed with mad cow disease and is going to die. He doesn't take it seriously to the end. At times, the reality and non reality clashed together into something totally confusing. But I liked it either way.

I haven't read any of Bray's work, but I found out that it's pretty good. She was able to making something tragic with a mix of humor. Has any author been able to recreate that? I highly doubt it. This book had me mixed on whether I actually liked or not. It made me laugh uncontrollably, but the theme throughout it has me confused. Whatever. I do recommend you go out and buy/borrow it.