It may sound absolutely insane, but I can now sleep better at night knowing they're all finally together.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS?! It's the release of the Forest Born special edition with the BEEEE-YOUTIFUL Alison Jay cover. Have you bought yours yet? I've had mine preordered for SEVEN MONTHS. It should arrive tomorrow.



Well? Did you buy it?

Here's the new book-trailer for Crossed! You have to click here to see it.

What do you think? Honestly, I LOVE IT!

So this week Bree Despain revealed the cover for the third book in the Dark Divine series. And there it is. You can click if you want to see it bigger.

I like the cover, and I like the IDEA of the pose, but honestly... it kinda creeps me out. What's up with the evil claw-hands? And at first glance I thought there was some boob-age showing. For me, this series has never been a "bare-back/chest" kinda story. If they cut off the hands/torso and just left the legs facing backwards, I think I'd like it a lot more.

EDIT: I decided that this cover needed my photoshop assistance. I am not skilled enough to completely remove the font and change it to be more script-y like the others, or move it lower on the cover, so this is the best I could do. But this is more like what I would want to see:

I do love the color, though! But just for kicks and giggles, and since it seems to be tradition, here's my green-ified version of my adjusted cover:


What do you think about the actual cover? What do you think about my adjustments?

Here are the other two, in case you're curious.

I don't often do this. In fact, I can't think of a time I have EVER done this, but I want to re-highlight a book.


I read this book back in May and in my review I said it was a masterpiece. I want to repeat that IT IS A MASTERPIECE.

Don't believe me? Well, it's now been 5 months since I read it, but tonight I met the author and as soon as she said hello to me I unexpectedly BURST INTO TEARS and began to blubber about how "It's one of the best books I've ever read. I never thought I'd ever get to meet you." Then she stood up and hugged me. I seriously wasn't feeling emotional at all until she spoke to me and then all the emotions I felt while reading this book came RUSHING back. GAH! It is SOOOO good! Don't let the phonetic writing or lack of quotation marks throw you off. Please. Give it a chance.

Here are links for you:


And here's the picture of me and Moira. Edited, of course, to hide my face.


(many thanks to Diana for taking this picture for me!)

This list has been floating around the blogosphere, and my next review still needs to be polished before I post, so I figured I might as well participate!

Below is a list of 100 YA books/series that someone thought were the top YA books/series. I dunno who made this list. And I definitely don't agree with some of their choices, but it's just for fun. So no big.

Here's how I did it. I bolded all the ones I have read. I italicized those that I started but haven't yet finished. I underlined those I really want to read or intend to read soon. And I crossed out those that I don't even intend on reading (either because I started them and didn't like them, or I know they have too much language for me, etc.).

Enjoy! If you do this, link to it in the comments! I want to see!

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Callagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

In total I have read (or partially read) 43 things on this list! Not bad!

The other day my blogger-friend Gabrielle Carolina pointed me to a review of Enclave that she thought would tickle my fancy. She was right. That review was by Steph Su (you can read it here) and it was EXACTLY what I had thought about the book, and EXACTLY what I wish I could be articulate enough to say.

Instantly I went into a serious bout of blogger-envy/depression.

Why can't I write reviews that good? How come I always feel like my reviews are confusing? How come I can't wear pencil skirts? How come people don't want to share my reviews with their friends?

You know, the usual stuff.

I HATE doing that! Even typing all of that down made me want to punch a hole through my computer! I'm glad that I get self-deprecating during envy-bouts rather than cruel. I don't go around saying "She thinks she's so great. Well... she's a poo-face!" or anything like that. Which is good. I don't want people to hate me. But hating myself isn't any better!

So how do YOU fight envy? It doesn't necessarily have to be blogger-envy. It can be car-envy. Brain-envy. Pencil-skirt-wearing-ability-envy. Anything! I need tips!



P.S. Not fishing for compliments here, fishing for advice!

P.P.S. But I don't mean to say you can't compliment...

P.P.P.S. Still not fishing!

Release Date: August 30th, 2011
Genre:  Romance, Paranormal
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 564
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Series: Intertwined #3, (Review of #1, Review of #2)
Summary (Spoilers, highlight to view):

His vampire girlfriend might have brought him back to life, but he's never felt more out of control. There's a darkness within him, something taking over…changing him. Worse, because he was meant to die, death now stalks him at every turn. Any day could be his last.


Once upon a time, the three souls trapped inside his head could have helped him. He could have protected himself. But as the darkness grows stronger, the souls grow weaker—just like his girlfriend. The more vampire Aden becomes, the more human Victoria becomes, until everything they know and love is threatened.

Life couldn't get any worse. Could it?

Blurb: Sexy, suspenseful, and oh-so sexy (yes, again), Twisted is sure to keep you on your toes.

Review: As always, it's awkward to review the third (but not final!) book in a series when there's a good chance that the majority of you have not yet read any of the previous books. So I'll keep this brief.

The first book in this series (Intertwined) was AMAZING. Probably one of the best books I've read all year. The second book (Unraveled) was an UBER disappointment because it was nothing but romance. This book is very much a mix of the two.

There was still A LOT of romance (probably MORE than was in Unraveled) but it was pared with A LOT of action and intrigue which made it all right. My [usual] standard is that if you can take out ALL of the romance and still have a good story, then it's [usually] a good book. Due to the fact that this book is nearly SIX HUNDRED PAGES LONG, you could take out the romance and still have a good story.

Along those same lines, I do think that this book could have been shorter. There was a lot of internal conflict things that I felt were restated over and over and over and I just wanted to scream I GET IT,  ALREADY! However, Showalter doesn't make you feel like you're being strung along, so it was worth.

Oh, and a warning, there's some UBER-cliffhanger-ness at the end of this book. The kind that makes you want to grab the book and shake it until it comes apart at the seams. I'm not sure whether or not I think the cliffhanger is brilliant, or a COMPLETE cop-out. The jury is still out.

Okay. To sum up what is probably a confusing review: if you like this series so far, then you'll like Twisted. If you haven't yet started this series, and don't mind a lot of romance mixed in with your action, then give this series a go. It's pretty good. If your tolerance for paranormal romance is worn down to nothing, then maybe you should avoid this one. The first book will trick you into thinking it's more action-oriented than the series actually is.



*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.

Hey y'all! So I hate doing these posts, 'cause y'all probably didn't even notice I was missing for a week+. But just wanted to tell you I'm back. Where was I? Well, ALL of my classes decided to have tests last week; and since I'm a math major this was no small feat. As an added bonus I started feeling sick on Thursday and it has turned into a full-blown death-fest! Aches, brain-fog, dripping face, tasted for human flesh, etc. I thought I was getting better yesterday, but today I have developed a cough. Hurrah.

Luckily I have me some pretty sweet cough syrup that my local pharmacy MIXES ITSELF so you know it's some serious biz up in here. Now I'm a zombie on DRUGS!

Today I'm packaging up all of the birthday bash books (and Supernaturally, sorry Margay!) and sending them off. Tomorrow I'll start reviewing again (I am up to my EYEBALLS in review-books that I actually WANT to read! Why couldn't this have happened in the summer?); and I think my eyes have stopped watering enough for me to start reading again (which is good because Sweet Venom is AWESOME so far, peeps.)

But as for right now, I'm hungry. I think I've got some leftover brains casserole in the fridge.

Peace out!