A Moment, Please?

So first off, I just kinda realized that the more time that passes the more I'm talking about myself and my life and shit in my blog... and that's basically what I have been trying NOT to do since I started writing.  So I kind of feel like I failed you guys, in a way.  Maybe not... but I still sorta feel that way.  But I guess I came to an unspoken understanding that there was no way for me to actually discuss my opinion on a book or musical album without giving at least a little insight into why I feel that way.  You know?  Giving a legitimate reason for a belief helps you guys understand why I feel the way I do.  Believing something just for the hell of it is kind of a shitty way to live life, eh?  So I guess maybe I'll cut back on the blather?
Don't count on it...

Anyway.  Second.  Today I finished reading this book:

Forever: Maggie Stiefvater

This book concludes the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater, a series that I've been in love with from the very first page of Shiver, book one.

I'm going to try really hard not to give any spoilers because Clare is reading book 2 and I really don't want to ruin it for her, so this is going to be kind of hard.

The tension that begins to rise in the other books continues to rise for the grand majority of this novel as well.  And there's some serious tension in here.  The guitar strings are being tightened until eventually they break.  Every one.  Well... Yeah.  I'm gonna stand by that.

The ending/conclusion of this novel is bittersweet.  I like it, I really do, but it isn't entirely happy.  However, endings are never entirely happy, so therefore I'm kind of glad that it didn't come out perfect.  At the same time, the optimist in me still wishes that things had worked out for the characters for which they didn't.  If you followed that you're in good shape.
I'd have liked to see a little bit more between a couple of the characters, though I totally understand that it wasn't their story.  Nonetheless.

Something else kind of exciting!:

Lookit lookit!! A movie poster for Shiver!!  With Emma Watson!! Which means it couldn't be too terrible, right?  If Emma's in it?  Don't ruin my hopes and dreams.

Anyway.  That's exciting.  Definitely going to that in the theater--and I know who I'm bringing with meeee! Hopefully.  With any luck.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! =D

I mean, nah.  It'll be okay. *sniff* Whatever. lol


 Aaaaaaanyway.

Okay... So... Yeah I forgot what I was intending to talk about.  Soooooo I'ma go.  Kay?  Kay.

Byyyyye!
--Emily Renae

Coninuation of Last Post

Onto literature!  Because the music post got WAY too long.

Phenomenal Girl 5: A. J. Menden


HAH! The cover makes it even worse! HAHAHAHA!!!!!


Okay.  This purchase was a complete accident.  I downloaded a preview of it onto my Kindle and was still a n00b and therefore trying to figure out how to get it off and accidentally bought it... and then got off the screen to cancel it before I could manage.
I gave my mother $5 for this purchase.  Ugh.

And oh my gosh, can you read what it says on the bottom of the cover?  "Love can be super rough" *cackle* Wtf... Romance novels. My God.



It's... It's... bloody terrible, that's what it is.  I mean, it's got some interesting plot elements, I guess, but it's like... really, guys?  Come on.


It's about superheroes--there's it's first strike, right?  And it's supposed to be a romance novel--strike two.  And we haven't even gotten into it yet.
So Lainey Livingston, aka "Phenomenal Girl 5" (there were 4 ahead of her apparently and apparently they recycle names; whatever) is trying to get into the EHJ--an acronym I can't remember something about Hands of Justice. don't ask for the E--and has to train for 2 years with "The Reincarnist," a guy that keeps coming back as a 20 year old every time he dies.  And he's been around a very long time.  I'll just bet you can see where this is going, can't you?  Yes.  She has the hots for her boss.
Only--surprise!--just as soon as they realize they have something, he dies and is reincarnated and have to start over again. Because he can't remember her and there's a major miscommunication that could've been resolved just by, ya know, communicating? And blah blah blah.
AND THEN!  Wait til you hear this.  Their romance has the power to bring about the end of the world. HAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!  It's so so painstakingly... just... I don't even know if it's cliche or what it thinks it is but it's just awful!


And I read this thing!!


Oh well.  It had some cute moments.  The 'sex scenes' were totally skipped over and alluded to so it's kinda like... meh.  I don't know.  It wasn't miserable to read the thing.  But I can assure you that I mostly only read it for the comedic value.  I wasn't hanging on "suspense" or dying to know what happened.  I already knew what was going to happen.  I called most everything a couple of chapters ahead.  It's okay.  It was entertaining nonetheless.  I don't always look for something that's gonna cause me duress while reading. hahaha


But gosh; just look at that cover, would you?  Pffhahahahaha.  I cannot believe I read that.  Tara would die laughing.  I just know it.  Clare, how are you doing?  Okay?  Good.  Just checking.

Forever: Maggie Stiefvater


This is the last book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.  I just bought it on Wednesday.  It came out last month. Like... 2 weeks ago or something.  I haven't started it yet.


Why do I blog about stuff I don't technically know anything about?  Hahaha.  I don't know.  But I guess I'm just excited to have it.


In the first book, Sam is a werewolf but finally gets his chance to meet Grace, the girl he's loved for a very long time.  But his time is short, and so they try to find a cure.
In book two, Grace is having health issues.  She's also having family issues, because her parents decided all of a sudden to parent, never mind that they haven't been for the past several years.  Her parents really pissed me off in this book, I won't lie.  There are also more characters that were brought into this book and I'm curious to see how they play out roles in Forever.
Book two ends on a major cliff hangar, one I wasn't really surprised at her making but was still kind of annoyed by.  I hate cliff hangars.  I'll go buy the next book even if I'm not left hanging from three fingers and I can't tell if there's a ledge just below me or not.  You know?  But that's me.
Anyway.  so Forever has a lot of ground to cover.  I'm confident that it'll manage, though.  Maggie Stiefvater has swiftly become a trusted author in my repertoire and I look forward to finding more of her material. (=
But this is probably what I'll queue up next for literary experiences.  Even though... I have 90-some other books to read... oops.  My bad.  Oh well.

Paper Towns: John Green


So I bought this book... John Green intrigues me.  There's just something there.
Anyway, I bought this book on Wednesday as well and haven't started this one either.  I'll get there.
But this guy has a crush on a girl he really doesn't know (but is pretty sure he thinks he knows from the sounds of it) but admires from afar until one night she shows up and invites him on shenanigans.  Who doesn't go with the girl they're secretly in love with for shenanigans in the middle of the night!?  So that could be interesting.
Well, the rest of the novel is apparently supposed to be about how she leaves him clues to get to know her better and--surprise!--he realizes that he really doesn't know her at all and she's not who he thought she was.
We never are.
So I'm interested to see how it goes.  It feels like it'll be a little more in-depth than Looking For Alaska--which I am reading and is going very well, by the way.  But as writers gain experience and et cetera et cetera our material gets better. Go figure. haha.  So we'll see!




Okay!  So that covers music and books.  Now I suppose we're on to me.
My wisdom teeth came out on Wednesday!  (Right after I bought 11 CDs and 2 books.  Yes, really.)  All four of them.  Gosh.  I do not remember going out... at all... Which is vaguely creepy.  I don't like it.  I remember the exact moment I went out when I broke my arm, and that was over 10 years ago now.  But I don't remember going out on Wednesday.
When I woke up, a nurse was strapping cold packs onto my head.  My blood pressure reader thingy ripped itself off of my arm and then screamed because Oh no! Emily doesn't have blood pressure! but I did it just didn't know it.  and I had this overwhelming, inexplicable urge to cry.  For no reason!  The nurse said that the drugs do that to some people, and I'm taking her word for it because it makes me feel better.  But it was horrible!
I managed to contain myself most of the rest of the day, but that night, man I just couldn't help it.  And I don't mean leaking some tears cry.  I mean like CRYING crying--on the verge of sobbing crying.  It was miserable and really frustrating and I was so mad.  And I couldn't do a damn thing about it.  My face didn't even hurt yet!
But I think it was just from the anesthetic and extra drugs trying to leave my body because I was fine in the morning and haven't cried since.
They had me on some pretty heavy-duty drugs actually.  Oxycodone every 4 hours, high-dose ibuprofen and high-dose amoxicillin every 8 hours.  I quit taking the oxycodone yesterday afternoon and have been mostly fine so I probably don't need it.  I took one last night when I went to bed, though, because my jaw hurt so damn bad.
I'm okay this morning though.  At least I seem to be.  I don't know, the drugs have had some really weird side-effects.  Like, I think I'm slightly allergic to the oxycodone because it made my skin itch like MAD.  Specifically my torso area.  So that was annoying.  But that stopped too, and I'm not sure if it was the oxycodone or not because I didn't itch when I took it last night.  Who knows.

I'm supposed to go to work tomorrow.  That could be... rough.  It will probably be very rough, actually.  I'm not thrilled for it.  I wish I hadn't told him I could work on Sunday.  It was probably a really dumb idea.  Oh well.  I'm [not] sure I'll be fine.

Anyway, so that's what I've got.  I think my CD comments were a little more... unhappy than usual.  I wasn't in the best of moods last night while writing them I suppose.  But you give a good review when your mouth hurts!  And I did mean what I said.  So whatever.  They can cope.

Yawning hurts like a mofo.  No lie.  My jaw is extremely stiff and I think it pulls on the stitches a little bit.  I don't know.  But my face hurts.  Don't tell my mother.  I'll be fine.

Anyway, I think I'ma call it quits now.  So ta ta.
--Emily Renae

Some Updates

Remember this book?  I talked about it a couple of weeks ago.  I'm sure it wouldn't take too much looking to find my original mention of it.

Anyway, I finished it last night.  It was really good.  Apparently there's another that I need to go find called Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie.  I'm... very curious, to say the least.

So... basically, Dierdre is a cloverhand--(clover allows humans to see Them; cloverhands don't need to assistance, they just can. make better sense?)--and has enough power that the Faerie Queen feels wholly threatened by her.  Plus, there's a lot of ugly history with Luke, the hottie that took up interest, so there's a lot of convolution there.

It never ceases to surprise me how much plot can be wrapped up in teen fiction like this.  (Truthfully I'm not sure why, because it used to be the whole of what I read and I don't read flat/empty novels.)  But there's a lot going on in these.  There's a reason it's called The Faerie Queen's Deception: There's a lot of it throughout the novel and you don't become privy to most of the truth until the end.

Something else I rather enjoyed about these novels was that Maggie divided the sections of it by calling them "Book One" etc.  and every book got a quote, or a portion of a song or something.  I like when authors do that.  It's kind of like... I don't know how to word it properly.  I just like it.  Roll with it.

I don't think I've talked about this before, because I do not remember that book cover.
Demons are a Girl's Best Friend: Linda Wisdom

Can you tell it's a romance novel? Jeez.  I don't think I'd have bought it if I'd have had to go through checkout with that cover in my stack.  I mean really.  "He's so hot, he's literally smokin'!"??  REALLY??  Jeezuz.
And for real, I did not picture either character even remotely like suggested on the cover.  I'm really glad I bought it in e-format now because I don't think I'd have enjoyed it as much with that staring up at me.
I know they say "don't judge a book by its cover" and that's DEFINITELY true in this case.  But I have a tendency to do it anyway.  This book is not as crass as the cover leads you to believe it should be.

And yeah, it's kind of a romance novel, but the sex scenes are so vague it hardly counts.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I didn't buy it for sex scenes. (Those are added bonuses when they show up--Don't look at me like that, Clare.  Just because I can admit it...) *cough* >moving on>  It's a fantasy/action/romance, though I'll admit it's a tad lacking for action.  And the "climax" was pretty anti-climactic, I won't lie.  It was so... It was as if she was trying so hard not to be cliche, she ended up being obnoxiously cliche in a different way than what she was avoiding, if you know what I mean.
Like if option A is cliche, you go for option B.  But if option B would piss off the masses, you go for option C.  Except that option C is just as freakin cliche as option A, just in the way that anyone who doesn't take option A will take option C.   So it's like... backup cliche?  I don't know how else to explain it.  Maybe it's me. hahahaha.

Looking for Alaska: John Green

Okay, so I just started reading it (awhile ago) and I'm not very far into it.  The prose is interesting.  A little raw, but it is one of his earlier novels, (First? I think Abundance of Katherines was first, followed by this one...) so that I don't really mind.  I mean, I don't mind some not-quite-flawless prose now and again because it kind of makes me feel a little better about my own endeavors.   I find the way John writes enjoyable, but there's something there, behind the words and the intent... I can't quite put words to it yet.  But it's piquing my curiosity.  I hope I'll be able to explain what I'm getting from him by the time I'm done reading it.  I'm sure I need more time to analyze it.  And read it... hahahaha.

The plot is interesting as well.  So far I'm not entirely positive what it is exactly... except that this boy just moved to a boarding school, has already started smoking (sorta; it didn't really work out so very well his first go) and gotten totally stuck on some chick named Alaska--hence the title.  Beyond that... Not too sure.

Clare is probably snickering at me right about now because she's already read it and knows the score.  I, on the other hand, am still in the dark.  We shall see.

Moving along.

Breathe Carolina: Hell Is What You Make It

There's totally like, designs in the base colors of this album cover, but you can't see it because they're... hiding.  You can hardly see them when you're holding the CD in front of you.  So you'll just have to take my word for it. (=

I bought this CD a few days ago in Williston... removed all the plastic, read the lyrics in the booklet... and haven't managed to bother listening to it yet.  God, I feel so lazy. Or something. I don't know.  I just haven't done it yet! D=
I feel really bad now.  Like, I've been meaning to do it.  I just haven't.  You know it is sometimes?  It's been like that.  I'll probably go put it in my computer when I go up to bed (theoretically to bed) and either have already posted this or am finishing doing so.
And no, I won't come back and talk about it.  Sorry if I disappoint. Oh wellz.

I like Breathe Carolina, though, so I'm sure it'll be excellent.  So far I think their first album was my favorite, though. (Before now they had 2.  So it's not like I had much to choose from. hahaha)  The lyrics on this album are interesting, though, so I'm interested in seeing them put to music.

Other information I feel the need to share with you:

• I finished my novel the other night!!! =D =D  That's totally exciting, in case you didn't gather that from my extraneous punctuation and double super-happy faces.  I'm jacked.  Thrilled, for that matter.  It needs a fair amount of revision, especially the first half, but still.  I just have to throw in a bunch of like, foreshadowing and allusions to things and whateverz.  Because I added stuff in the second part that I hadn't decided to do in the first part that need to appear before they did..... If you followed that sentence you're in good shape. hahaha.
• I'm working on another story that I started eons ago.  This one is of an entirely different caliber than my novel, and only probably short-story length, but it's something I've enjoyed writing anyway.  It's kind of about people and the changes we undergo.  More specifically, how much we change when we put ourselves in a new environment for a period of time and the people we knew before aren't looking at us, holding us back from who we know we can be if we'd only free ourselves from the binds of our 'image' or reputation.  These things are mostly background themes, and only come up in passing. Mostly it's just the obvious that's present in the prose and the plot lines.
  If you read my material, you would discover that most of the themes and points that I'm attempting to make are subtle and in the background.  I don't have a tendency to say directly "this is the point I'm trying to make with this story so listen up and learn something."  That's not my style.  I just write in a manner that allows anyone who would like to get something out of it to do so.  You know?
  Sometimes you're just looking to read something without having morals/etc forced upon you and other times you just want to see things in what you're reading without the author telling you directly what they're trying to tell you.
  Reading experiences are personal and should be allowed to remain that way.  What an individual is going through in his/her life at the time they read a novel entirely shapes their interpretation of it.  The way they interpret the themes and such should be able to ride on that as well.  But that's me.
• I have surgery on my face on the 3rd.  All 4 of my wisdom teeth are impacted and therefore require surgical extraction.  I'm... not thrilled.  I actually just had a really horrific dream about it the other night, but I'm nowhere near as nervous about it as my subconscious seems to think I am.  that doesn't make any sense.  But rationally, I know I'll be fine and I'm not really... like... worried. I guess. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not all gung-ho about letting some guy just start cutting into my mouth. But I'm not in a knot about it, either.  It's just one of those things that has to happen.  Just updating you. (=
• There was something else that I was totally going to talk about here..... and it wasn't boys... which is something I almost always have to force myself not to talk about because I look back at it later and feel like a complete tard.  Yes, I just said tard.  Get over it.  So now I think I'm goign to be done since I'm getting all rambly again.  Oops. (=

So that's what I have for you tonight.  Hope you're all well. Stay classy. ;P

I'm out.  Ta ta.
--Emily Renae <3

Oh My Gosh

I'm actually posting two consecutive days in a row.  Is that weird or what? hahaha.

Okay, so yesterday I talked about a whole bunch of music.  Could've kept going, but chose not to.  The inability to keep my eyes fully open and focused may have had something to do with it. haha.
Anyway, onward!

Since yesterday was music, that means today is literature.  (By the books it's supposed to be something else but since when do I really follow my own schedule?)  I have some books I would like to talk about! (=

First up:

Before I Fall: Lauren Oliver

It's a teenage girl's version of Groundhog's Day!! You know that (I think) 90's movie with Bill Murray?  Where he wakes up the next morning and it's still the day before.  For like, a year and a half or two years or something before he finally figures it out and makes his life move forward again.

I haven't gotten terribly far into it; my Kindle tells me I am 17% done.  I had actually started reading it in Wal-Mart one time while I was waiting for my mom and it had kind of interested me.  (At least I think this is the one... O_o)  So I found it pretty cheap for Kindle and just got it.  So far she's gone through the original day and woken up with the memory of dying (not really a spoiler, actually...) but there she is--and oh yeah, it's yesterday.
Supposedly she's going to seduce her math teacher?  I suppose that may have had something to do with why I decided to actually buy this. hahahaha.  I'm so awful.  But really, when you're reliving the same day over and over and over again, what kind of weird shit would you pull just because you could?  If you know everything's going to be the same when you wake up again... You could wreak some real havoc.  It's not like it's permanent, after all.
If you killed yourself in the morning, would you have to go the entire rest of the day dead, or would you just automatically wake up again..?  Would you even know? Interesting concept to consider.

Bossypants: Tina Fey

This is not what I was expecting.  I don't really know what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't it. haha.

It's nonfiction, of course.  It's amusing. It's interesting.  It's pretty fun to read.  Moderately informative without being exactly educational.  So far it's been a bit of an autobiography, but she's led a rather interesting life.
For example, did you know that she got slashed in an alley on her way home from Kindergarten?  She doesn't really talk about it, but it comes up.  I found it interesting.
Supposedly she has a scar... I've never noticed it... Maybe I'm oblivious?  Or TV has some killer makeup artists. Who knows.

Regardless, it's an interesting read and probably the first nonfiction book I've bought to read voluntarily.  (I don't do nonfiction much.)  I like Tina Fey. (=

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception: Maggie Stiefvater

I should start off by saying I have developed a legitimate love for Maggie.  I've been reading her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy (Forever comes out this month.  I'm on stand-by) and I've decided that I really like her writing style and her material.  She writes really good material.

The Mercy Fall trilogy is (semi-unfortunately) classified as "paranormal romance" in B&N (which it is, but it's sad that there has to be a whole category for it since Twilight, but that's another story) if you want to find it.  Apparently they're really popular?  News to me.

Anyway.  Lament.  Dierdre is apparently attracting Fae attention.  If you want to read it there's not a whole lot more I can say.  She's an amazing harpist/singer and I think she's pretty.  Her best friend has an unrequited  crush on her.  She's totally falling for a mysterious guy that just showed up named Luke.  And he's a hottie, no lie.  It's a good story.  A very good story.  I'm pretty hooked.
My only complaint is that it's formatted very poorly for eReaders, like my Kindle, which is what I have it on. (Obviously or I wouldn't comment.)  It's not a new thing, poor eReader formatting, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.  Overall it doesn't really affect the reading experience, though. It's just my OCD going haywire in the background periodically. hahaha.  Oopth.

Hunt the Moon: Karen Chance

*Happy sigh*  I love these novels.

The ending really pissed me off though.  It's an audible, breath-taking cliffhangar for another book which won't come out for at least a year.  Which is sad.  Understandable, but sad.  And *censored for the sake of anyone who actually wants to read this series and not have it totally spoiled because that's really obnoxious and I would hate to ruin it*.

I am going to say though that I've found myself in a spot with this newest installment.  I've almost reached a Team Pritkin vs Team Mircea--like Twilight's monumental fan-base thing?  Only I'm totally Team Both!!  Which is... probably somewhat whore-ish to suggest, but really... Dating doesn't have to be with one person at a time.  At least not until you're serious.  Casual dating with multiple people is totally okay.  I don't really consider it cheating.  Just because you go on a date with a guy doesn't mean you're "together" you know?  Our generation has gotten really weird about that.
Anyway, the love triangle.  Mircea laid claim on her in a way that makes the vampire community consider them married, only--tough luck--Cassie didn't authorize that.  So she's making him "date" her... It's... complicated.
Pritkin, on the other hand... Pritkin is a mage--and there's a pretty intense story there that I am not going to share with you--and also half-demon (which you don't know so promptly forget!) but his demon half is incubus--which you also totally don't know--and there's a long, interesting back story on all of this stuff but the point is that his relationship with Cassie is extremely convoluted.  There... is only sort of a relationship.  He's her personal trainer slash body guard slash... et cetera.  But there's always been this crazy romantic tension between them that's been mostly untouched.  Mostly.
But I like Pritkin!  For all he's infuriating, I really really like the guy.  I don't know.  It's complicated.  I'm waiting for the next book to see where things end up.

I could go on--for a very long time, actually--but I think I'll stop for now.  I'm at my great-aunt's place with a bunch of people and sitting at a computer is moderately anti-social.  So that's all you get for now.
Hey. Chill. I posted yesterday!  You're already spoiled.

Anyway, I'm out.

Ta ta!
--Emily Renae <3

Whoot!

I actually don't really have much cause to "whoot" right now, but it sounded pretty dang good for a title so we're goin with it!  Eat it.
Actually, I should probably be nice, because I have reached "whoot" status with the knowledge that I actually have readers! =D  Which means I'm totally not just talking to dead space anymore.  Which is nice.  Most definitely.

As an English major/Nazi/nerd/enthusiast/what-have-you, all of my fragments really kinda half-bother me... But as a writer, they're just part of the ball game.  It's kind of an internal war, actually... Same with words like 'goin' and 'kinda/sorta' and 'cause'... Ah well. =P

SO! I'ma talk about more books now.  Because books are fun to talk about.  And because a certain (beautiful) friend of mine (named Clare) said she needed new reading material.  This may or may not be of any assistance to the lovely lady, but it may be to anybody else that happens to stumble across me and find me as amusing as she miraculously does.

(By the way, Clare... I'm probably going to refer to you a lot now since I know you actually read this. hahaha.  See what you've done?) ;P

Actually, before I get to my reading material, I'ma talk about Clare just a little.  Nothing too personal like last names or anything, but I'ma share with the rest of you why she is so utterly awesome.
A.) Her name is Clare.  Like, come on.  that just automatically makes you cool.  And adorable.  Which she is, by the way.  I'm not going to share pictures, but she's super super cute.  Just trust me.
B.) She took 1st in Humorous Interpretation at state speech last year. As a junior. With this AMAZING speech called A Hotel is a Funny Thing.  (It might be "Hotels" not "A Hotel" but I don't remember and it hardly matters.)  She does an epic persnickety-British-man voice--which also totally makes her awesome on the spot, by the way--and the ease with which she just moved from one voice/character to the next was on the verge of astounding.
C.) She's seen every Vlogbrothers video ever recorded and even knows Hank Green's "Lady Lady John Green" song.  (It's from the first month of their videos like, 5 years back, if you decide to try and go find it.)  I don't think that the guy that introduced me to the Vlogbrothers even knows the "Lady Lady John Green" song. And she's read John's books.  I mean come on.
D.) She's going to this epic nerdfest in Orlando this summer--at which both Vlogbrothers will be present and I am immensely jealous for anyone curious--because her sister bought her tickets.  Which just totally makes her awesome by association.
Am I the only one associating "pure unadulterated awesomeness" with nerdiness?  Maybe.  But she's also super cute and immensely sweet and I just happen to love her to pieces.
Even though we've spoken like, 3 words to each other in person... Who said the internet was only good for porn?!  Hahahaha. (Avenue Q reference there... for anyone cool enough to catch that...)

Anyway.  Now that I've totally gone on about my beautiful and awesome friend to... well, probably mostly her (haha) I shall get on with my actual intended subject matter.  Literature!

Infinite Days: Rebecca Maizel

Okay, here's the scoop: It's about a girl who was a vampire but now isn't becaauuuse of this big epic process thingy that killed him and saved her... and then her ex-coven is going to come searching for her and blah blah blah...  And then... I'm not going to tell you the ending because it would really ruin it.

It's a really really weird book but totally worth your time.  I absolutely loved it and am waiting for the follow-up that should be published really soonish.  I hope.

And the cover is freakin' epic.  When I was reading it, I actually would just sit and stare at the cover for unknown periods of time.  I'm not quite certain what it was I found so compelling--still find--but it's just... interesting to look at.  So I looked. (A lot.)  Not creepy/weird at all...

The prose is great.  The filler is, too.  There's not really anything in it that just makes you roll your eyes and think "well that was a stretch."  The love triangle is pretty cliche, but she does it in a manner that's rather acceptable, I thought.  All-in-all I liked it.

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball: Risa Green

She has an interesting first name. I've never met a Risa.

So this book is about a bunch of sophomores.  One of them has a crazy aunt who left her the noted pink crystal ball.  It's like, a pink magic 8 ball. hahaha.  But the answers are kinda strange.  And every time this girl asks for something, whatever she asks comes true.  When she asks it for stuff for other people, mass mayhem ensues.  Which, of course, they don't figure out until the end of the book.  (Even though I figured it out the first time.)
Anyway, there's of course romance involved.  How would it be legitimate teen fiction without any?  The relationship is kind of cute, though, so I'm not complaining.

As a whole, the story was a tiny bit frustrating to read, but mostly just because they're so young and naive and...well, oblivious.  Kinda stupid.  Have a knack for overreacting.  (Sounds a lot like 10th grade.)  I just have this thing where I don't like to read books focused on kids younger than me.  Kinda dumb, probably, considering I'm not really a kid, anymore, but still.  I can't help it.

It was good, though.  I really did like it.  It was fun to read and worth the time. (=

 Shiver: Maggie Stiefvater

It's the first book in a series about werewolves, but the specifics of the creature are a lot different.  It's actually really interesting, and I was impressed by the creativity and the... (shit I just lost my word...) innovation in recreating the werewolf.

Basically, they aren't subject to the full moon, they're subject to the weather patterns.  When it's cold, they're wolves; when it warms up, they're human.  It's personal when a body makes the change, but each body only has so long--also personal--before they just stop changing and remain a wolf until they die.

It's a really sweet love story, though.  He's a wolf; she isn't.  She rescues him.  They actually have a chance to fall in love (and do, of course.)

There's so much involved that I really don't want to give it all away because it would really kinda ruin it.  It's an excellent novel and it was something I totally couldn't put down.  I just devoured it mercilessly.  The prose is elegant and beautiful.  The characters are deep, with genuine personalities--they're people that I feel like I could meet on the street and recognize and be able to have a conversation with.  The plot is well-thought-out and incredibly interesting.  I give it at least 4.5 stars.  I really did love it.

Linger: Maggie Stiefvater

This is the sequel to Shiver, and it's just as good as the first but a bajillion times more frustrating.  Grace's parents have become complete assholes and pissed me off at every single possible turn.  A couple other characters are a bit annoying.  Sam and Grace are having some issues.  Grace keeps getting sicker and sicker until you learn something really strange that I'm not going to tell you because--hello!!--spoiler alert.

Once again, the prose is beautiful.  The conflicts are real, and I definitely reacted on an emotional level.  The characters are well developed and easy to identify with--some of them, anyway.

They're just good books.  That's really all there is to it.  I'm waiting not very patiently for the last one to come out July 12, Forever.  UGH! THE SUSPENSE IS AGONIZING!

I'm serious.  They're really that good that I'm that antsy about it.  I highly recommend them.

I would probably talk about music and stuff too, since I didn't have time to post yesterday, but it's 10 to midnight, and I have play practice in the morning at 7. (For a play that isn't going to work, and if they keep trying to make it happen it's going to be a big ol' epic fail.  I don't want to be associated with or involved in it but I can't seem to walk away.  Unfortunately, I think we're all going to have to.  It sucks. It really does.)

So anyway, that's all I've got!  No playlist tonight but the sound of my own tapping keys.  Sorry for that.

With love,
Emily <3