End of 2012 Book Survey

This survey was created by The Perpetual Page - Turner, and I know that I'm more than a week late, but hey... I get credit for doing it. Right?

I may skip a few questions here and there because unfortunately, I didn't read as much as I wish I had this year and I can't just name every book I've read for every question. :-P

Anyways, here we go.

1. Best book you read in 2012?
   Wow. It's hard to pick just one. And even with the 4 that I think are tied for first, there are a bunch more that could be right up there with them. But right now I'm going to have to go with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev, and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.

2. Best series you discovered in 2012?
   Well, not necessarily that I discovered it, but I didn't start reading it until this year. But I read book one in The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck and even though the main character is irritatingly ridiculous at times, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series. Although I can tell by reviews written by other people that it's going to infuriate me almost as much as book one did.

3. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?
   Hmmm... this one is probably an easy one. There are LOTS of gorgeous (and some not so gorgeous but equally as awesome) covers... but I'd have to say that it's a tie between Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore and Mark of Betrayal by A.M. Hudson.

4. Most memorable character in 2012?
   Hands down, Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.  He was my hero from the moment I finished Linger and I loved him even more in Forever. It also helps that I adore listening to this man narrate his part. ::cough:: Wow. Dan Bittner is just.... ::sigh:: I may also have to go with Jason Knight from The Dark Secret Series. He had a rough start in the series but he completely redeemed himself and he's just wonderful.

Moving on...

5. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
   Oh geez. This one isn't steamy or anything like that. But War Horse by Michael Morpurgo literally had me so frustrated I threw my book across the room. It was basically one of those "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" type of books and I just felt SO bad for that poor horse and the good people involved with him (just the good people... the bad ones can go and.... ::ahem:: nevermind). I'm the type of person where if I watch a movie and a person dies, it's sad. But if I'm watching a movie and an animal gets hurt or dies.... it ruins my WHOLE week. And I'm sobbing like an idiot.

6. Favorite relationship from a book in 2012?
   Ooh ooh. Nate and Bertie from the Theatre Illuminata trilogy by Lisa Mantchev. I love Nate. He's a strong and handsome pirate who's completely smitten with Bertie. And Bertie is a strong and independent woman who has a heart the size of the world. They balance each other out nicely and he gets her. And he's a pirate. Did I mention that?

That's about all I think I'm gonna answer for now. I know it's only 6 questions, but I figure that's enough. And again, sorry I'm late. But better late than never! Word. Now get to reading!

Review - So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev

Act Three, Scene One
Betrie thinks her quest is almost done. With the help of Ariel and the rest of her friends, she has managed to find her father and rescue Nate from Sedna, the Sea Goddess. Now, all she has to do is reunite her father, the Scrimshander, with her mother, Ophelia, and she will finally have a true family of her own.

Exit Stage Right
However, things are never easy for Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Her father has vanished, Sedna is out for revenge, her own actions have trapped the Théâtre Illuminata in a strange kind of limbo, and the stress of her in-between state is tearing apart the fragile threads of her mother's sanity. Bertie's best hope for salvaging the situation may lie in a summons by Her Gracious Majesty, Queen of the Distant Castle, and the hope of winning the magical boon given to the best performance. Bertie is caught between her growing responsibilities to home and family, and the dream of flying free - just as her heart is torn between her two loves, Nate and Ariel. With so any forces pulling on her, how will Bertie be able to choose which wish to make come true?

So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev is definitely an amazing conclusion to the Théâtre Illuminata series. Somewhat heartbreaking, but absolutely amazing.

Bertie has rescued Nate and is in search of  a way to bring her family back together. The Scrimshander has disappeared though so that's a little difficult for Bertie. Not to mention things between her, Ariel, and Nate are as complicated as ever.

Personally, I've always been Team Nate. Sexy, rugged Pirates are kind of my thing. It honestly was never a question, even through most of book three. I always thought Ariel was cocky and arrogant and just a giant jerk. I hated the fact that he was pulling Bertie away from Nate. Hated it. But by the end of the book I was actually incredibly heartbroken that he was gone. I actually wished he'd come back. Don't get me wrong, I'm still totally team Nate... but it was a sad, sad ending.

Bertie is such a different person by the end of the series. At the beginning she seems a typical mischevious teenage girl up to no good but at the close of book three she's grown leaps and bounds beyond her years and I forgot she wasn't twice her age. From a bother to the Mistress of Revels who can bend and twist and move the earth with mere words, she's become one of my all time favorite characters.

Her silly little faerie companions are wonderful as always. And even seem to have grown up a tad themselves at times. But then they remember how hungry they are and all pretense of maturity is gone as they search for sweets to fill their bellies. I love them and their devotion to Bertie. They truly are wonderful little friends.

I think Nate has come to terms with the fact that Bertie isn't who she was before. She's not someone in constant need of a babysitter, a rescuer. Sure she gets in her fair share of seemingly impossible situations, but instead of fighting her battles for her, Nate has learned to fight along side her instead. He's there for her when she needs him and he knows to leave her be when she doesn't.

The series is, by far, one of my favorites to date. It ranks up there with the likes of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia, The Wolves of Mercy Falls and The Hunger Games, etc. I was incredibly sad with the knowledge that once I turned the final page of the book, there would be no more to follow it. That it was over.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something fantastical and magical to read. And even for those of you looking for the complete opposite. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the slightest.

In My Mailbox #31

Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren, for hosting In My Mailbox every week.

This week, I got a few different things.

The Caldecott Chronicles No. 2 by RG Bullet

The Earl of Rothshire has decided to leave Caldecott manor and find his son, Albert. His plans to ride his surviving horse, Willow, to London have derailed and the only other way to get there is to venture forth in a newfangled horseless carriage. Saffy insists on accompanying him, and together they make their way through the local villages encountering fights with undead and...the living.

And... the greatest thing my mailman has brought me in AGES:

That's right. My swag from the So Silver Bright book trailer contest!! Lisa sent me, not only the t-shirt I was hoping to win, but a bunch of other cool things too!

Sweet greeting-like cards

A backstage pass magnet

A thank you card

And there was also a backstage pass bracelet that I was wearing at the time, so I didn't get a photo of it. Here's a close up of my Team Nate t-shirt:

How cool is that? Thanks Lisa!!

Daring You to Read - Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Daring You to Read is hosted every week by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews.

Here's how it works:

- You choose a book you’ve read, loved and would dare your readers to read!

- The book you choose must be an older release (at least 6 months ago), because let’s be honest, we’re all quite aware of the latest releases.

- Write your own blog post, using the button and linking back to Tynga’s Reviews, inviting your readers to read your chosen book.

- Come back on Tynga’s Reviews and put your link in the linking tool.

- Browse other bloggers Dare and let them know if you’ve read their featured book, or plan on reading it.

- Super easy and an awesome way to discover that special book who might have slipped off your radar!

This week I'm daring you to read Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev.

All her world’s a stage
Enter Stage Right
Beatrice Shakespeare Smith (Bertie): Our heroine.
Nate: A dashing pirate who will do anything to protect Bertie.
Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom: Four tiny, mischievous fairies, and Bertie’s loyal sidekicks.
Ariel: A seductive air spirit. Disaster follows in his wake, but Bertie simply cannot resist him.
Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. The actors are bound to the Théâtre by The Book, an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of the actors, but they are her family. And she is about to lose them all because The Book has been threatened, and along with it the Théâtre. It’s the only home Bertie has ever known, and she has to find a way to save it. But first, there’s the small problem of two handsome men, both vying for her attention. The course of true love never did run smooth. . . .

Open Curtain

I loved this book. I had to read through the beginning a couple of times to understand what was going on... but that was only because I'd never read another book like it.

The faeries were great. They were troublemakers but had good intentions. Most of the time. Nate was my hero. Who doesn't love a dashing pirate? Bertie is your run of the mill teenage girl with bright blue hair who can write things in to being. And Ariel... Ariel is a gorgeous air elemental (who is followed by butterflies everywhere he goes) and competing for Bertie's heart with the handsome pirate mentioned earlier. Bertie? She's fighting to keep her place in the theater.

She's caused her fair share of trouble and is on the brink of being booted out by the stage manager. But for one condition: she has to play the part of stage manager herself and sell out a show. To do that she has to get all the players in the theater to work together and it's REALLY hard to do that. Will she be able to? Or will she have to leave for good?

This is a wonderfully original book that will captivate you and leave you dying for the next installment.

So go on and read it.

I dare you.

Book Trailer - So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev

Love this. Check it out!



Lisa is holding a contest on her LIVEJOURNAL to celebrate the completion of the trailer. Lots of cool prizes you can win. Go forth and enter!

Follow Friday #24

It's time again for Follow Friday! I'm a bit late posting this one, but better late than never right?
This weeks question:

Q: It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. so we want to know what you are Thankful for – blogging related of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

A. Well, there are a few different things.

1. First of all, I'm thankful for Jess aka The Cozy Reader. I don't remember how exactly I found her blog, but in doing so, I found literally HUNDREDS of books that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Some of them, unfortunately, I'm still waiting on. But I'd been in a reading rut, and I got so many great "suggestions" from reading her.
2. Second, I'm thankful for Siobhan at Totally Bookalicious for being my ONLY follower for the longest time when I restarted my blog.
3. I'm thankful for memes. Without them I wouldn't have gotten to meet some of the coolest book bloggers. I love checking in with The Story Siren every week to see what new books she has. It's a blast looking for teasers every Tuesday to post on Miz B's wall at Should Be Reading. And then of course there's Follow Friday brought to us by Parajunkee. I love reading her BB101 posts too. It's so fun to participate in these things and it gave me a chance to "meet" a lot of really cool people.
4. I'm thankful that blogging has opened up the book world to me. I've had the good fortune to meet Maggie Stiefvater in person during a book signing as well as authors like A.M. Hudson, Shelley Watters, and Lisa Mantchev online. They are all fantastic people and are all wonderful authors.

Books that I'm thankful for?

Harry Potter. Definitely. I used to read. A lot. And I know I've posted about this in here before somewhere, but I'm going to do it again. There was a time when I was severely depressed and couldn't figure out how to get out of my own way. I probably hadn't picked up a book in forever. And then I remembered Harry Potter. I'd read it in highschool, but I decided to pick it up again. Which was a big for me because I hadn't felt like even opening the cover of any other book in a long time.

Reading Harry Potter took me away from all the stuff that was being thrown in my face left and right. It let me be someone else for as long as I could stay awake and read it. It gave me something to look forward to and be excited about. And as silly as this may sound, while I'm reading, the characters in the books are my friends. It was my escape. They took me away to somewhere better. They let me stop hurting and being angry. I could breathe again.

I think Harry Potter will forever be my all time favorite series.

And with that, I've written too much and bored you all.

What were you all thankful for this year?

Disney Princesses - Historical Style

So, thanks to Lisa Mantchev and her facebook, I came across the coolest webpage I've seen in a while.

Claire Hummel, an LA based illustrator for Microsoft Game Studio Publishing, decided to dig a little deeper into the history surrounding our beloved Disney Princesses. Namely their fashion. She did some research on the supposed time frames of the movies we love and came up with more... historically accurate renderings.

I'll show you a couple of my favorites, but you can check out her article to see the rest of them as well as the blurbs she's written for each one!

So again, go check out the article Reinterpreting Disney Princess Costumes Through a Historical Lens. I love it!

Review: Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

Yay. It's been a long month, but I finished Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev last night.

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this one as much as the first. But I loved it.

The first book had me hating Ariel who, in my opinion, didn't really love Bertie but only wanted her to say he possessed her. The second, well, there were still parts where if I'd been Bertie I'd have slapped him in the face and never spoken to him again, but, you could see it was genuine love. And Nate. He'd been my favorite of the last book. I kind of have a thing for sexy pirates. But even he made me mad for a bit in this one. Tricking Bertie the way he did.

There were some parts in the story where, had it been a movie on TV or DVD, I'd have either had to change the channel or skip the scene. Those parts were the ones that make you embarassed for the character. That make you want to rush up to them and tell them to STOP TALKING because they're just making themselves look like an idiot. I.E. Bertie telling the woman she'd take her daughter with her and raise her. Ugh. It was a train wreck.

I liked the addition of the sneak thief. He seemed like a genuinely good guy, even if he was a bit of a thief. And he proved to be a valuable addition to their little troop. The faeries, as usual, were more concerned with their bellies than anything else around them. But even that was comical in most parts. The Scrimshander made me angry for the most part. Until he had a chance to explain everything to Bertie. Then I felt sorry for him. And Sedna... well, I just tried to type up what I wanted to say about her several times but I can't without giving away too much so I'll stop there.

I loved learning more about who Bertie was and where she came from. I liked watching her grow from the troublemaking girl at the theater to what she became throughout the course of this story. She is definitely a strong female lead who, even though she finds herself in bad spots quite often, never EXPECTS a man to save her. You know, the whole "damsel in distress" bit. Not that I have anything against that but I grow tired of reading about helpless women who can't keep themselves out of trouble long enough to take 2 consecutive breaths and expect everyone to trip over themselves to save her.

Definitely a great story though. I look forward to reading the 3rd installment!!

What Are You Reading?

So I've gotten sucked in to two different books. And I'm going back and forth between the two so frequently it's taking me a while to finish either one. But they're both equally interesting. The first is Perchance To Dream by Lisa Mantchev and the second is Legacy by Cayla Kluver. I'm a little more than have way through with the first and still pretty much just starting the second, but they're both so good it's hard to choose which one to pick up!

I did not have an IMM post this week because I didn't get any new books. But that's ok, because I've got so many books now that I haven't read that I may need to put myself on a book buying ban until I'm able to read them all. On top of the hard copy books I've got a bunch of books on my Kindle on my phone. I've been reading Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble for what seems like ages now. And it's not that it's a bad book. It's just that I'm a hard copy kind of person. So I really only get in to my Kindle every once in a while. That and because my phone has decided it no longer likes to work most of the time... so it doesn't. And it's just a hassle to try and use it.

And I'm a beta read for a YA project by Shelley Watters. This is the second project of Shelley's that I've had the privilege to be a beta reader for. She's a terrific author and I can't wait to see the LAST book of hers in print. I'll definitely be adding it to my shelves. It was awesome.

So that's where I am right now. I want you to know that while I haven't been able to respond to a lot of notes in the last couple weeks, I do read every single one of them and I appreciate them all. It's been a hectic/busy/stressful time here and I'm hoping that will settle down some time soon so I can get back to you all. Hope you have a beautiful week. Happy Monday!

In My Mailbox #5

Time for another IMM hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. IMM is to show off books you've bought/stolen/borrowed/begged for/been given/etc.

This is my pretty kitty (once thought to be pure Maine Coon, now looks like a mix between coon/ragdoll awww) Cinderella showing off all of the books that I received since last Sunday. Yesterday was my birthday so of course, I told everyone I wanted books. And books I got. :-) Two of them I've already read.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (which I'm reading with my 8 year old)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (which I'm also currently reading, AND it's my favoite movie)

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (the bookstore FINALLY got a copy in!)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (see my review here)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (read my review here)

Perchance To Dream by Lisa Mantchev

Lots of books! What did you get in your mailbox?

PS. I also got a TON of books for my Kindle Reader on my phone. But they were all free! WOot.

Review - Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

So I started and finished Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev within the last 36 hours. Took me about 10 pages to understand how it worked, but after that I absolutely loved it! Another one that is completely different than anything I've ever read before. And I love Bertie. She's great. Her little Faerie friends are too funny!

I'm totally rooting for Nate over Ariel anyway. Of course, that could just be because I totally dig pirates. :-P And unless Ariel finds a way to redeem himself in the 2nd book, I'm still not going to like him. LoL.

Completely surprise twist about Berties mom (no spoilers!) that I loved as well.

Definitely a must read. I can't wait to go pick up the second book. I know it's been out for a long time, but I've been waiting for my tax return to buy this one. I give it two thumbs up! Check it out.