A New Look

Right now my blog is in the process of getting a mini-makeover! I've been designing it for a while and I really like it so far. Designing pretty-looking stuff isn't exactly my specialty, but I like the end result.

I'm not done yet, I've just changed the header and background but I'm working on navigation buttons and other stuff, so if you notice things that don't appear quite normal, that's why. I know currently as I write this I don't have any navigation buttons at all! But the construction should all be over by the end of the day.

I hope you guys like the new layout! I decided it was just time for some change around here.

EDIT: I'm finished with the re-design (I think). If anybody notices any glitches with my blog, please let me know! This whole make-over took me about 6 hours- yeah, I can hardly believe it took that long! It didn't feel that long, I had fun doing it. :)

Waiting On Wednesday: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating! It is hosted each week by Breaking the Spine.

My Pick is Divergent by Veronica Roth. Release Date: May 3 2011

One choice

One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs, and determines your loyalties . . . forever.
Or, one choice can transform you.

In Veronica Roth's debut novel, Divergent, a perfect society unfolds into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals, and unexpected romance.






Out of all the 2011 debuts, this is one of the ones I'm most eagerly anticipating. Dystopian? Check. Romance? Check. Awesome-sounding in general? YES! It looks so good! There isn't a whole lot of detail in the summary, so I don't know much about the plot, but it still looks awesome.

What's your pick for this week?

Book Review: Elixir by Hilary Duff with Elise Allen

Title: Elixir

Author: Hilary Duff with Elise Allen
Series: Elixir #1

Publisher: Simon and Shuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: October 12 2010

My Source: Read at Pulse It

My Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads Summary:

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world.

But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

My Review:

Yes, this book was written by a celebrity (Yes, THE Hilary Duff, the singer/actress). I know that might turn some people away from reading it, and it might make others more curious. I would have to say I'm part of the latter group- I couldn't help but be curious what one of my favorite childhood actresses had written! I was impressed. But I'm also crediting Elise Allen, who is listed as co-writer. She has her YA debut novel Populazzi coming out next year, which I hope to read considering I enjoyed reading this novel.

Thoughts of the author aside, Elixir was a romance/fantasy YA book that I enjoyed reading. The book revolved heavily around the plot. Clea- the protagonist- was constantly trying to find out answers to questions surrounding her dad's disappearance and a strange man that appears in all her photographs. It doesn't take long for the book to get going when she meets the man- his name is Sage- and falls in love with him. Her two best friends- Ben and Rayna- are two great supporting characters. Ben, of course, is Clea's other love interest, besides Sage. Yes, we have a love triangle here.

Something that might make sense to those who have read the book (no spoilers though!): I found myself liking Ben a lot more than Sage. Clea could've simply had a normal life with Ben if Sage wouldn't have been there. Plus, I felt virtually no connection between Sage and Clea. I still didn't trust him by the end of the book. Some of his actions, paticularly a scene that transpired between Sage and Clea shortly after they met- it was way too soon and I did not like it! It made me so mad at Sage! I don't want to give anything away to those of you who haven't read it, so I won't say anything else.

Getting back the story- the plot, though terribly unoriginal (I know I've read books with almost the same idea as the key plot), was well developed and I found myself not disliking it. I've read another series that I was reminded of constantly (once again, I won't mention because of spoilers). You'll know what I mean if you've read the book. I think the plot was much more developed here than in that other case- there was a lot of be revealed and we figured out just enough by the end of the book, though it still left me curious for a sequel.

The writing was good, pacing good, and overall I enjoyed it. Sure, there were a few flaws and people are complaining about the plot and the things left unexplained, but I thought it was a nice job. The characters were less believable for me, especially Sage. I gave this book 3.5/5 stars. It's the first in a series and I will probably check out the second one when it's published.

Buy From Amazon


Author Info:

Hilary Duff

Elise Allen

2011 Debut Author Challenge!

I find it hard to believe I'm nearing the end of the 2010 Debut Author Challenge and about to start reading books from 2011! I had a great time reading debut authors this year, and I'm looking forward to reading some new ones.

The Debut Author Challenge is hosted by The Story Siren. If you're interested in the details of the challenge, head over to her blog to check it out.

Here's my list for this year, though it's almost guarenteed to change to some degree. A lot of these authors I'm very excited about and can't wait to start reading.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Haven by Kristi Cook

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Warped by Maurissa Guibord

Rival by Sarah Bennett Wealer

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

XVI by Julie Karr

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Populazzi by Elise Allen

Wow, that makes me very excited for 2011! I can't wait. :)

Anybody else have some of the same books as me?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (A Movie Review)

Today I went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Yay! I was excited, but not one of those people that would go at midnight. (Not that I don't think it'd be fun, but just because I'm too busy!) This post will be a little different than normal because I want to post my thoughts on the movie.

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you do! Like many others, I love the books, and the books are always better than the movies, though the movies are great too. This installment was was one of my favorites in the series, though it was not without some flaws. (Side note: Deathly Hallows is probably my favorite book in the series, so that might have something to do with why I liked it so much.)

Being only Part One, I missed seeing a lot of characters/locations from the previous books. This was the first movie where none of it takes place at Hogwarts! And a lot of supporting characters who I love didn't get nearly as much- if any- screen time. I believe Draco Malfoy had a total of one scene, and most of the Hogwarts students- such as Neville Longbottom- weren't even in the film. I guess I'll have to wait for Part Two to see them.

Unlike some, I really appreciated the decision to divide the movie into two parts. This movie felt a lot less rushed than other movies based on books. They weren't trying to cram 700+ pages into two hours. That decision was reflected well in the movie- we got to see more character developmen. The relationships between Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the central focus in this film. I think we saw those three characters- and only them- on screen 90% of the time. It's an important part and it wasn't rushed.

On the negative side, even though most of the movie was well explained, there were a few plot points that could've been better explained considering the movie only covered Part One. The explanation of the Deathly Hallows was done well, but other things felt like the audience might have had read the book to understand why something happened. For example, the lady at Godric's Hollow- maybe I missed it, but her snake transformation was never really explained. Also, like in the book, the main characters Apparate around, and I don't know if that was explainined thouroughly. Parts of the movie may have not made sense to those who haven't read the books.

Nothing major was left out of the book that I remember- a couple small things added, but I don't think it harmed the movie. Similar to the other films in the series.

There wasn't an enormous amount of action, though I'm sure the Part Two will be the complete opposite. In spite of that, this film is very dark. It fits the tone of the book very well- Harry and his friends are dealing with dark evils much larger than them, so it's not going to be lighthearted. I liked it, though the target audience is definitely an older group than the first couple of movies, just as our main characters are older. (Look at this picture- they were so young at the beginning!)

As I expected, it was terribly sad! I will admit I came quite close to tearing up (and I'm one of those people that doesn't cry easily). Emotional but really, really good!

Nothing else to say, except I highly recommend it. If I were to use my rating system, it would definitely be a 5/5. I hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I did. :) It ended with such a cliffhanger, I'm dying here waiting for the next one...

Book Review: The Line by Teri Hall

Title: The Line
Author: Teri Hall
Series: The Line #1
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: March 4 2010

My Source: Library

My Rating: 3/5

Goodreads Summary:
Rachel lives with her mother on The Property. The good thing about living there is that it's far from the city, where the oppressive government is most active. The bad thing, at least to most people, is that it's close to the Line - an uncrossable section of the National Border Defense System, an invisible barrier that encloses the entire country.

She can see the Line from the greenhouse windows, but she is forbidden to go near it. Across the Line is Away, and though Rachel has heard many whispers about the dangers there, she's never really believed the stories. Until the day she hears a recording that could only have come from across the Line.

It's a voice asking for help.

Who sent the message? What is her mother hiding? And to what lengths will Rachel go in order to do what she thinks is right?

Written in mesmerizing prose, this futuristic debut examines one girl's struggle to risk crossing - not just the barrier, but the lines her mother has drawn to keep her safe from the secrets that Rachel is only just beginning to discover.

My Review:
This book is extremely hard for me to rate because a lot of parts were really good and others I strongly disliked. There were so many easy things that could've been fixed to make it great. I think my biggest issue was the pacing. This book is only about 200 pages long. The first 100 were spent setting up the background. Halfway through the book did ANY action start. It was really slow for me at first. Like, really, really, really slow. Hard to get through. Then, about halfway through it started to pick up. Then it kept going, as more started happening, it kept going and going. I started really getting into the story and the mystery, which was awesome. It built up to a climax at the very end and then suddenly- cliffhanger.

Ah! It made me want to throw the book across the room. I felt like the book had just started and suddenly it ended. I don't mind cliffhangers, but after so much preparation in the first 200 pages I was expecting more. Put simply, I hated the ending. Because it's setting up for a sequel, I understand, but this book was short enough on it's own that I think this book and it's sequel should be combined into one (of course, I haven't read the sequel yet, but that's how I feel from just reading the first book). Because of the length and the end, it makes me wonder if the author wrote it as one novel and then the publisher decided to split it into two to make more money or something. But that's just my opinion.

In terms of characters, Rachel was too naive and not as intelligent as I would've liked. She was always surprised when it turned out her mom or her employer Ms. Moore had some secret about The Line or collaborators that worked against the government. I was a little frustrated by the fact that she never saw some of it coming. I predicted a lot of what would happen in this book, and for awhile I was right on. Then, getting towards the end, I was pleasantly surprised when the plot started moving and secrets were revealed that I'd never guessed. It would've gotten a much lower rating if it wouldn't have redeemed itself at the end.

Since I had mixed feelings about this book, I'm giving it a 3/5. It's pretty short, so I would recommend it, but beware that it only starts getting interesting about halfway through. The way it ended leaving me dying to read the sequel... I feel like it's hard to judge this book on it's own without the next one. I'll be sure to get my hands on that as soon as I can.

Buy From Amazon

Author Info: Website

In My Mailbox (12)

In My Mailbox is a super cool meme hosted by The Story Siren, to give book bloggers opportunities to share books they've recieved.

I usually post an IMM on Sunday- but hey, I'm breaking tradition! It's not a normal week for me anyway- I usually get most of my books from the library, but this week has been a bit different- I only recieved two books and they're both e-books (typically not what I prefer reading, but this week has been one of those weeks I've felt like reading e-books...long story).

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa: The sequel to The Iron Daughter, which I just finished and it was amazing. I am very excited to read this one. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen!

Elixir by Hilary Duff with Elise Allen: This one interested me, and I'm about a third of the way through it. Good so far! Thanks to Pulse It, a division of Simon and Schuster.

That's all I recieved this week.

Week In Review

Reviews I posted:

• The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
• Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Currently Reading:

• Elixir by Hilary Duff

Upcoming Reviews:

• The Line by Teri Hall

And on a side note, my NaNoWriMo progress: I am at 14190 words. I know, I am very behind! I got really sick earlier the week and I'm just recovering (also the reason I hinted at earlier why I haven't gone to the library). So that put me behind my quite a few days. But I'm not giving up- I'll still finish, I'm just going to spend all day today playing catch up!

Happy Reading!

-Ava