Ratings

RATINGS: ***** Absolutely Loved It **** Really Liked It *** Liked It ** It Was Okay * I Couldn't Finish It

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Vortex: Return of the Effra by Lindsey J Parsons



Vortex: Return of the Effra Vol. 1
by Lindsey J. Parsons
June 2012
AFS Publishing

On a night when prophecies stir, an outraged dragon vents his anger, Damian is ripped from everything he knows and Sam's nightmares become real...


Sam isn’t enjoying university life, she’s disillusioned with her course and having second thoughts about her future. It doesn’t help that she keeps having a scary, recurring nightmare and when she thinks things couldn’t get worse a creepy man follows her back to her room.

Damian is unique, he has silver eyes, horns and wings, he is also being visited by a ghost girl. She looks so sad and frightened he feels compelled to help her, but the night he reaches out to save her from a dragon’s fiery breath he gets ripped from his life, his world, from everything he knows.

Now it’s Damian who’s lost in an unfamiliar world that’s devoid of magic and full of strange monsters. His only connection with home is Sam who he recognises as the ghost girl. Sam has to put aside her fear and disbelief in Damian’s explanations about himself to try and help him find his way home.

But in a world without magic is this possible?



First of all let me start by saying I love love LOVED this book, seriously it is made of the most awesome sauce in the world. The story is written in such a way that I felt as if I was watching a movie. I could picture every little detail, every facial expression and almost hear every sound. It was fast paced from the beginning and I was immediately thrown into the story, there was never a dull moment. Parson's writing is incredible.

My favourite character? Hands down Damien!! At first I wasn't sure what to make of him but after his first meeting with Sam, I fell in love. He is completely clueless about everything going on around him and this lightens the whole tone of the book, he is like a child when it comes to everything in the human world and it's impossible not to love him, especially the moment he thinks Sam doesn't like him, I was so sad for him that all I wanted to do was give him a cuddle. He also has a dark side that we only see glimpses of but it's enough to make me believe we will be seeing more of his 'true' nature, I think he is the perfect example of human nature at it's worst and it's best which is ironic considering he's not human.

And Sam? She is a REAL character and I say this because her reactions when first meeting Damien are what I would expect from myself if I was in her position. She thinks he's crazy and dismisses everything he tells her and it's a long time before she even begins to consider that he might be telling the truth, and even then she doesn't fully accept anything until she has seen it for herself. She is a typical teenage girl that has no clue what she wants to do with her life, she also isn't afraid to be mean to the people around her, typically speaking her mind wherever necessary, no matter the situation. I love that she hasn't been described as having a boring, mundane life which is typical of YA books but instead her life really is normal, sometimes boring but real and I appreciate that because I can relate.

I also loved how Parsons wrote from both of their perspectives as it gave me, as a reader such a good insight into how they are both feeling in every chapter. I was filled with tension throughout the whole book because I desperately wanted Sam and Damien to realise how they felt about each other and Parsons didn't disappoint. This story really puts to rest the old saying, never judge a book by it's cover.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants a good love story that is touched with humour, tinged with sadness and full of hope. Big thumbs up!!

Find out more about Lindsey J Parsons
here


Rating * * * * *

- Stephanie

Monday 30 July 2012

It's Monday! What are you reading?


This is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Justice: Deck of Lies by Jade Varden
Other Systems by Elizabeth Guizzetti
Vortex: Return of Effra by Lindsey J Parsons


Ghostly Encounters by Suzannah Daniels

I was given these books by the authors for review and I would like to thank them for providing them.
Reviews will be posted in the next couple of weeks and I can't wait to get stuck in.

Check out Jade Varden's blog here

Check out Elizabeth Guizzetti's website here

Find out more about Lindsey J Parsons here

Check out Suzannah Daniel's website here
- Stephanie

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1)
By Melissa Marr
12th June 2007
HarperTeen

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.
 

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.


I have mixed reviews about this book, I really enjoyed reading it and being in Aislinns world but when it ended I couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment and it wasn’t with the story, I felt that it came to a natural end and Marr has definitely given faeries a new identity but something is missing. I feel as if the relationships weren’t developed enough for the story as a whole to be truly believable or they weren’t explored any further and I was expected to already understand the previous relationships.

I really loved Seth as a character and loved that he was so open and honest throughout the whole book, it was refreshing to have at least one character that wasn’t hiding something and I also loved that he wasn’t described as a typical ‘preppy’ boy. He’s a goth/emo (It’s not quite clear) and he has piercings and tattoos and still he’s described as beautiful. I love that Marr broke the mould with this character and I think he fits in well with today’s society and he’s more ‘real’ than any other character I’ve come across even if he does live in a train.
Aislinn on the other hand is a character that I can’t quite relate to. I really loved her in the beginning because her reactions to the situations she manages to find herself in are real and believable but once the faeries start interfering more in her life, her whole personality seems to change and she forgets every rule that she’s been brought up with. She goes from being a wary teenage girl to a gullible one. It makes the story less believable and confusing.

I couldn’t stand Keenan in the beginning because although he is meant to be this old, wise king, he acts like a typical teenage boy and when things don’t go his way he begins to act like a spoiled brat. His feelings for Donia were completely predictable and I could see that coupling a mile away even if he seemed to be clueless. I felt her appearances in the story didn’t add to it as a whole and weren’t necessary or they could have been, if they were longer and more relevant to the situation instead it just seems that she is a whiny, jealous ex.

And Beira? She’s supposed to be this scary intimidating villain but I wasn’t convinced. She’s portrayed as almost too cruel if that’s even possible? And there wasn’t much of a backstory involving her, except that she killed Keenan’s father and bound him using the Dark Court. I haven’t found an explanation as to why. She is just a power driven woman with no personality.

I enjoyed this book as a whole and I really love the concept of the courts and the invisible faeries, Marr made it all believable but I feel that the characters should have been revised because they lacked a certain…something. They didn’t feel real to me and I didn’t believe that their actions are typical of who they are. I am excited to see where the characters go from here and I hope that Marr manages to give them more depth, I feel that this was more of a starting point for a story than a story as a whole and I am looking forward to being thrown back into it.

Check out Melissa Marr’s website here

Rating *  *  *

- Stephanie

Saturday 28 July 2012

Nocturnal by Chelsea M. Cameron

Nocturnal (The Noctalis Chronicles #1)
by Chelsea M. Cameron
11th February 2012
DRC Publishing

Seventeen-year-old Ava-Claire Sullivan isn't one for doing the expected. Especially when she finds out her mother's cancer is terminal. After a crying session in the local cemetery where she's attacked by one strange guy and saved by another, she doesn't call the cops. Because those guys definitely weren't your average hooligans.

And the one who sort-of saved her? Well, he's odd. He doesn't seem to breathe or smile or have anything better to do than wait in the cemetery for Ava to come back. Which she does. Call it morbid curiosity. Even after he warns her that he's dangerous, she can't stop wanting to see him, talk to him, be with him.

There's something about Peter that provides a much-needed escape from her mother's diagnosis and her tenuous relationship with her father. Even her best friends Jamie and Texas don't know what it's like to face death. But Peter does. He already has. He also made a promise a long time ago that could destroy both of them.

When everything in your life is falling apart, what are you willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever?


I did enjoy this book but I can't say it wowed me, in fact at points I was ready to put it down and forget about finishing it but because I hate to leave things half done I carried on and I'm glad I stuck with it because I ended up liking the story even though it felt like more of an introduction than a full book. I feel like I've been introduced to a story and a bunch of characters but I don't feel like I really know any of them.

The story started out strong with Ava finding out her mother's cancer is terminal in the first chapter and with the arrival of Peter shortly after i thought it was going to continue at the same pace but it slows considerably and with the next fifteen chapters I found myself daydreaming because there was nothing remotely interesting happening.

There isn't much I can say about Peter, he doesn't have much of a personality and I understand why. His character only works because he's supposed to be devoid of human emotion but this does make the book rather boring because there isn't an exaggerated, over the top personality to balance out his lack of one. In my mind this should be Ava but she's too preoccupied with her depression, which has filled the book with melancholy. I found it really hard to connect with Ava because I can't relate to her situation, all I can do is speculate about how I would react and feel if I found out my mother was going to die. It was frustrating because i could understand her feelings and her actions but I couldn't relate to them.

The only thing that had me laughing out loud was the moment Ava finally finds out the truth about Peter because she reacts like a NORMAL human being. She doesn't smile and pretend it's fine, she freaks out even though up until that point she'd known there was something off about him. It's a real display of human nature and it was refreshing to have a real human reaction to a situation that is far from normal.

I also felt that the book was all about Ava which for the most part is fine but I wanted to know more about the other characters. I have a vague understanding of their back stories but I'm still not sure of who they are or what role they play in this instalment.

I love Ava's mother and she is definitely my favourite character because she has me believing that things are really going to work out well for Ava and that even though the situation seems hopeless, there is always something to be thankful for. She is the one thing that made this book even remotely cheerful, which is ironic considering she has terminal cancer.

This book may have been slow to start but I won't hold that against the series and I'm looking forward to the next instalment. I'm hoping Cameron provides more information about the Noctalis and I want to see more of Ava's relationships with her friends.

Check out Chelsea M. Cameron's blog here

Rating * * *

- Stephanie




Friday 27 July 2012

Hollowmen - Amanda Hocking

Hollowmen (The Hollows #2)
by Amanda Hocking
8th November 2011
Fraggin Aardvark

After six months in the quarantine, Remy finds out things are much worse than she feared. Her plans to escape come with a heavy cost, and she realizes that zombies aren't the worst of her problems

I was slightly disappointed by this book because although it picked up where the first one ended and the story never faltered it was almost an exact replica of the first book, in the sense that it was about Remy’s journey to find her brother again and then it swiftly turns into a journey across country to head to somewhere that isn’t overrun with flesh eating zombies.

The one aspect of this book that really frustrated me was that I was hoping to find out more about the original characters in the first book but Hocking killed them off early on and introduced a whole new group to travel with Remy and although I developed connections with the new group of people it was hard not to think about Harlow, Blue and Lazlo.

I missed Lazlo in this book, I missed his charm and carefree attitude and I was extremely disappointed that he was only present for a couple of pages because I was really hoping that Hocking would explore his and Remy’s relationship further instead of creating a Boden as a new love interest for Remy without a conflicting one.

Again it was filled with brilliantly described action scenes and plenty of gore and there’s no doubt that Hocking is a beautiful storyteller but at the rate the characters are killed off I couldn’t help but feel that they were put in the story simply to fill up the pages. I enjoyed the book because I enjoy Remy’s world but I felt that the story had major holes in it and was again frustrated that there was no search for a cure to the Lyssavirus and the characters seemed to give up and just accept the world they are living in.

The ending was sweet and I felt that the story came to it naturally but I was hoping for something that would provide some answers about the zombies and how exactly they came into the world but my questions remain unanswered. I can’t believe that someone with Remy’s nature would simply stop fighting and decide to settle down as a family, especially since from the beginning the story led us to believe that Remy and her brother were the only people that could save the world.

I was hoping for another book but after reading Hocking’s blog can see that it’s unlikely there will be another one in the near future however if her plans change I will be looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Remy and her new family (also I hope Lazlo is thrown back into the story).

Check out Amanda Hocking’s blog here

Rating *  *  *

- Stephanie






Wednesday 25 July 2012

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine

Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3)
by Kiersten White
2nd August 2012
HarperTeen

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.

So much for normal




I'm so excited for this book! I can't wait to see what's in store for Evie and the rest of the paranormals.
Also I cannot believe how gorgeous the cover is!
Just a few more days!!

- Stephanie




Darkness Breaks - Jessica Sorensen

Darkness Breaks (Darkness Falls #2)
By Jessica Sorensen
4th June 2012
Createspace

Kayla made her choice and now she has to live with it. She stays with the Day Takers, hiding in the city, staking vampires. But fighting vampires as a human is difficult.
Sylas constantly pressures Kayla to choose the life of a Day Taker. But until Kayla knows what Monarch is planning, she can’t make her choice. Plus there’s Aiden. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t stop thinking about him.
As Kayla’s memories resurface, the pieces of her history unfold. She learns of Cell 7, a place that Kayla believes holds the answers to the creation of the virus. But getting to Cell 7 is a dangerous mission. And with Kayla's strength weakening, it's one mission she might not make it through alive.





This book was as good as, if not better than the first and I finished it from cover to finish in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down, it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride and my emotions are all over the place. I was immediately thrown back into the action and questions from the end of the first book were established again within the first few pages, so it was easy to get right back into the heart of the story. Sorensen is an amazing storyteller and her ability to mix glimpses of the past with the fast moving action of the present if truly remarkable, she uses every word carefully, never wasting a moment and each chapter propels the story forward.

The thing I loved the most about this book? Sylas. If you know the series then you know we meet him briefly towards the end of the first book. From the first glimpse I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I knew everything there was to know about him and although I still have a hundred more questions I haven’t been disappointed. It is great to see the relationship between Sylas and Kayla develop and some of his walls begin to come down but what surprised me the most was that when Kayla’s memories begin to resurface it’s more about Sylas than Aiden despite what Aiden’s had her believe from the beginning.

I was surprised to find that my opinion of Aiden changed completely in this book, originally I thought he was sweet if not a bit too sensitive but now I have this sense that there’s more he’s hiding from Kayla and his treatment of her is starting to grate on me. It’s one of the things I don’t understand about her, she is a strong independent woman and yet she still allows Aiden to put her in a position that delays her in completing her task. The one question I want answered about him, why doesn’t he want Kayla to change the world? I was also glad to have more of an insight into Ryder and her true feelings towards the brothers, I never expected to find out that she was a key player in the story and that’s what I love about Sorensen, she never fails to surprise me.

I can’t wait to read the next book because I’m hoping there will be a more in depth look into the mind of Monarch and exactly what his plan is and whether he truly has lost all of his humanity, I want to know who’s side he’s on and if Kayla will finally accept the truth about him- that he isn’t the person she thought her was. The one question I can’t wait to have answered and I’m sure Kayla can’t wait either is how did the virus spread?

The expected release date of Darkness Fades, the third book in the series is expected for October 2012.

Check out Jessica Sorensen’s blog here

Rating *  *  *  *  *

- Stephanie

My Book Boyfriend #1 Seth


My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie at the Unread Reader
For my first book boyfriend I have picked Seth from Half Blood (Convenant) by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Stats

Very tall
Shoulder length blonde hair
Impossibly perfect features
Perfect white teeth = nice smile
Golden skin
Wears all black most of the time
Strange Eye Colour: Amber, nearly iridescent
Inky black marks across his skin
His beauty is cold and hard, the gods had forgotten to give him a touch of humanity
Younger than he first appears
He's the Apollyon: Has a big reputation as being  powerful



 Seth sat on my bed, hands folded in his lap. His hair hung loose around his face. There was a devious smirk on his face that said he's totally gotten a glimpse of my lacy bra.

"Thank you for the gender lesson. I've always been confused when it comes to boy and girl parts, but once again, not what I'm asking"



A playful smile graced his lips. "So? What are you going to do about it? Throw your mashed potatoes at me? I'm consumed by terror."

"I think that's possibly the nicest thing you have said to me. Ever." - "I think I need a moment to recognize and cherish this."



"She's fated to be your other half." - "Oh. Oh. No." - "Seth frowned at me. "You don't have to sound so disgusted."
 "You're such a stalker, Seth. How long were you standing there?"


Playing Seth is British Actor Alex Pettyfer because that first image is how I imagine Alex saw him for the first time. Scary but somehow beautiful.


I picked Seth as my first Book boyfriend because he literally did have me at hello, I'm not sure if this is because I tend to prefer the bad boys in general or because he intrigued me more.

- Stephanie








Tuesday 24 July 2012

Teaser Tuesdays


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading



Dreamless (Starcrossed #2)
by Josephine Angelini
5th July 2012
Macmillan

The Teasers are:
#1
"I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry, OK? I didn't mean to stab you!"


#2
"I forced you, Helen," he said quietly. "I made you kiss me, and I'm so sorry."


- Stephanie

Monday 23 July 2012

Hollowland - Amanda Hocking

Hollowland (The Hollows #1)
by Amanda Hocking
5th October 2010
Createspace


"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.



This book shows an apocalyptic world full of zombies and one girl’s struggle to find the brother she was separated from. I was drawn into Remy’s world from the very first page and enjoyed the exploration of human nature when faced with only one choice. To survive.


I enjoyed that this book focused around a strong female lead and it reminds me very much of Alice and the Resident Evil series, considering that humans are turned into zombies by a virus; the Lyssavirus. Remy is tough, brutal and incredibly strong in every sense of the word. She has one focus; her brother, and refuses to let anything stand in her way. She is a born leader and fiercely protects her pack of sidekicks; Harlow, a 13 year old girl with an attitude; Lazlo Durante, a spoiled rock star who has survived purely by luck and Blue Adams; a medical student with a soft nature but this doesn’t stop her considering branching out alone, she isn’t afraid of what’s waiting for her but only of what’s happened to her brother.
This is an action packed story from start to finish and Hocking’s action scenes are so well written you can picture every punch (which isn’t an easy thing to do). She never misses a chance to throw in some gore which is perfect for this genre although not great if you have a weak stomach and the best part of the story hands down is Remy’s ‘pet’. Along the way she finds a lion which she quickly names Ripley (anyone else thinking of Alien?) that seems to have an affinity with Remy; she recognises the heart of another lioness.


The end is somewhat anti-climactic and predictable but raises questions that I hope will be answered in the sequel, this book honestly blew me away and exceeded my expectations because Hocking has written a book based on the end of the world but manages to sneak in romance and love although Remy would never admit to those feelings.
I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the sequel and hope Hocking throws in a search for a cure to the Lyssavirus because so far there has been no mention of it and this detracts from an otherwise brilliant story.


Check out Amanda Hocking’s blog here
Rating *  *  *  *  *
- Stephanie

Friday 20 July 2012

Darkness Falls - Jessica Sorensen

Darkness Falls (Darkness Falls #1)
by Jessica Sorensen
14th March 2012
Jessica Sorenson 


When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across. Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:
Rule #1—Never go out after dark.
Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.
Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.
But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply?
The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires.
No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure.

Sorensen has completely changed the word vampire by portraying them as not the beautiful, mysterious creatures that we have come to know but by making them ugly, scary and the monsters that they were originally made to be, this book is a refreshing break from today’s stereotype.

I fell into Kayla’s world easily and after the first few chapters it was easy to grasp the backstory and understand just what Kayla’s world was about. This book shows an apocalyptic future filled with vampires that were created as a result of something humans did but the most intriguing thing is that no one seems to remember life before the virus spread, except Kayla. Just one memory, but it’s enough to keep her asking questions.

I was completely blown away by this book because it has kept me confused and intrigued, I still can’t figure out how everything fits together or even who Kayla really is and that’s how I know I loved it. Being able to see the end of a story a mile away is something that constantly irritates me because I want to feel shocked and surprised by a character and their decisions.

Sorensen has achieved this flawlessly because Kayla herself doesn’t even know who she really is or what she wants. The gaps in her memories creates gaps in the story that make it impossible for me to fill, I can’t guess what’s going to happen because I don’t have all the information and that makes this a gripping read.

My favourite element of this book is that it’s not a love story; it’s a story about a girl struggling to figure out who she really is and what role she plays in the world, much like the rest of us. Love does come into the story pretty early on but not in the way I was expecting and it never becomes the focus of the book, it is something that so far has been kept to the side and only mentioned where necessary and that’s because Kayla doesn’t really understand love or any of her feelings in general and this is something else that makes it impossible to know which direction she’s going to take.

I couldn’t have guessed that this story would take the direction it did and I was genuinely surprised to find that it is not a story that focuses solely on the supernatural but a story that combines magic and science to an extent. I am looking forward to seeing where this story leads and what’s in store for the next book it has already become one of my favourites.

Check out Jessica Sorensen's blog here

Rating * * * * *

- Stephanie

Monday 16 July 2012

Die, My Love - Penelope Fletcher

Die, My Love (Dark Creatures #1)
by Penelope Fletcher
7th August 2011
Poison Princess
Contains adult language, extreme violence and explicit sex. Recommended for ages 16+


Blurb:
If you had to become a monster to be with the man you loved, would you? Or is that a question you cannot answer? You see, for me the problem was never should I be reborn, but when. That and I knew the moment I saw Ben I would die. Let's be honest, rumors blood drinkers are real have had the world in a grip of terror for years, and I'd always known I was waiting for him. But there are ... things about my kind I do not yet know. This frightens me. Whispers of what these creatures really are is one thing, but the reality of what I have chosen to become? That is something else entirely.


Honestly, I found this book very hard to read in the beginning because it is written using stream-of-consciousness and this took some getting used too, it wasn't until I had read at least two chapters that I was able to make a real connection with her and that was only because Lee is not a stereotypical 'perfect' girl. She isn't supermodel skinny or extremely tall, she is completely average and she's okay with that because she knows not everyone in the world is 'perfect'. I have to admit that this is one of the only redeeming qualities of the book.


I enjoyed being in her world but can't help but be disappointed with how quickly she accepts everything and how quickly the story came to its conclusion. It is very hard to believe that she would have fallen in love with Ben without ever having spoken to him and this is something that is repeated within this genre time and time again. It is also hard to make an emotional connection with the characters because their backstory's are almost non existent and for me when a character died it resulted in me having no reaction to the event and honestly not minding if they would be around for the rest of the series.


Penelope has written a story that is completely about the intensity of love and how everything else pales in comparison but by focusing solely on the theme, the characters and their stories have been overlooked and even though it is somewhat unrealistic at times this is a fresh take on the vampire genre and I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for the rest of the series and the characters.


Check out Penelope's website here


Rating * * *

- Stephanie

Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake...

It was my 21st birthday on Tuesday!! Eeeek!! I was hoping to feel enlightened or have a moment of clarity about the meaning of life now that I'm a real adult (but I feel no different) and I wasn't really expecting too but it would have been nice.

Anyway, I got some amazing gifts including some Prada Candy perfume that is completely lush and a beautiful iPad that I can't put down but best of all I got...amazon vouchers!! Haha only kidding (the iPad is awesome) but I have been on a serious book binge and then as suspected I got the follow up email from Amazon asking me to review my purchases and that has lead me to here because I've been planning on starting a blog for the last two years but have never quite gotten around to it so here it goes.

This is where I'm going to be as often as I can reviewing every book I can because I love reading and I love writing. I'm hoping for once a week but as I said above it's taken two years to start this so I can't make any guarantees (I'll try my best).

I won't pretend to be the most literate person in the world or the most talented writer but I am a closet bookworm and a total nerd and sometimes I want my life to be a book and I think these are pretty good qualifications.

I also encourage you to share your thoughts on everything I post. I believe in the freedom of speech.

Enjoy or Go Away. (Again only kidding, please don't hurt me)

- Stephanie