Lisa has the perfect light lunch or afternoon snack.

-2 slices of white bread.

-slices of Turkey (however much pleases you).

-1 slice of Muenster cheese.

-1 slice of Swiss cheese.

-1 egg.

-Mustard

-Mayo

-Butter (for the pan)

1. Turn the stove on medium heat, using a large pan. Melt one spoon of butter in the pan, and then put both slices of white bread, side by side in the pan.

2. On one slice arrange your turkey and cheese slices. Allow these to cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.

3. In another smaller pan, crack your egg and cook it sunny side up.

4. Once your egg is almost completely cooked, flip the egg, making sure the yolk doesn’t break.

5. When both your toast and egg are done. Lay the cooked egg on top of the turkey and cheese. On the other plain slice, place your condiments. I used mayo and mustard!

This is perfect when you’re tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and just want something warm and filling! I made these for breakfast and they were delicious and kept us full!

“Welcome to Scion. No Safer Place.”

Ahhhh, sure! A completely believable slogan by a completely trustworthy governing body. Just as long as you fit into their nice neat little boxes and obey, obey, obey.

 As you would expect, we follow the young woman who commits treason by simply breathing. In 2059 London it is illegal to have any sort of supernatural ability, so for nineteen year old Paige Mahoney, being able to dreamwalk (her spirit can possess other people’s bodies) and walking the line between legality and the seedy underbelly of the organised criminal element, is ‘normal’.

It’s not until she is captured and shipped off to Oxford, a long forgotten and practically mythical place, that she finds herself under the tutelage of a race of otherworldly creatures. Will she open herself up to learning to hone her skills for the sake of this alien race? Or will she make a break for it and head back to London?

This book doesn’t really have a specifically defined genre, but it is most definitely speculative fiction. There is a little dystopia, a little Victorian fashion, a smidge of romance and a hell of a lot of paranormal butt-kicking, not to mention science fiction.

The pacing is varied enough that you would have to be extremely focussed to finish in a single sitting. That being said, I did find my mind wandering back to the storyline when I was at work, so there is certainly enough hook to bring you back after being forced to put the book down.

Paige is a dedicated and loyal character, and watching her struggle with her conscience was heart wrenching. I’m wondering how she will evolve over the seven-part series.

Though there are still questions to be answered, you are left feeling satisfied and hopeful for the next instalment.

 There are movie rights for The Bone Season being optioned and I think this dark, futuristic, struggle for survival would lend itself wonderfully to the big screen. Here’s hoping we’ll see Paige on the silver screen sooner rather than later.

http://samantha-shannon.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.boneseasonbooks.com/

Paperback, 466 pages

Expected Publication: August 20^th 2013 by Bloomsbury

ISBN13 9781408836439

The cover of Black City is mind blowing! It’s artistic and unique and I’ve never seen anything like it before. What do you think?

Black City is a broken down and damaged society and in shambles due to warfare.  Both Humans and Darklings (vampires) live in this society. But while the Humans reside inside of the city, Darklings are forced to live in the ghettos outside of the city limits. Black City is run a man named Purian Rose who is intimidating, scary, and starting wars to get rid of Darklings. Though most citizens or Darklings have never even seen the man, fear strikes them when they hear his name.

The story follows two very opposite teenagers. Natalie, the daughter of an Emissary of Black City and Ash who is a halfling (half human, half darkling), but is allowed to live inside the city because his father is human. While Natalie is used to living a pampered life, and almost never finding herself in any trouble, no matter how rebellious she can get, Ash is dealing haze (a drug found only in darkling fangs) just to earn extra money.

*I know how this sounds, rich and spoiled girl falls in love with poor bad boy. But Elizabeth Richards makes it much more than that.*

Being as rebellious as she is, Natalie is surprised when her mother enrols her into a working class school. There she recognizes the same guy she saw a couple of nights ago, dealing haze. The two couldn’t be more different, and because of that they bump heads and completely disagree. But soon, both start to have feelings for one another.

A human/darkling couple would never be accepted and is looked down on in the society that Purian Rose has established. So the two try their hardest to stay away from one another. But really, when does that ever work? Darklings are exactly what Purian Rose is trying to get rid of… yes, even Ash.

Before I say anything, I do have to admit that I went into reading Black City with a bad taste in my mouth. I was pulled in by the cover, but I became hesitant when I realized that was another book about vampires. I think we can all agree that the vampire thing is overkill. But Black City doesn’t focus on the entire “vampire” idea. That information is more in the background.

And one more thing, before I completely drool all over my keyboard and fan girl over this story, I want to get the negative out off of my chest first. The one and only thing that truly bothered me was the instant love between Ash and Natalie.

I really enjoy seeing two people who are so different deal with one another, and overcome their differences. But only after a couple of chapters, the two couldn’t stop thinking about each other, nor stay away from one another. I like seeing a little bit of conflict between Ash and Natalie. Then I wanted to see them be forced to work together, to solve whatever it is they need each other for, and then they fall in love… I just feel that the beginning of their relationship was a bit forced.

I think we’ve all seen movies about the rich girl who falls in love with the poor boy, and she is willing to do and give up anything and everything just to be with him. But Black City is so much more than that. Characters in Black City seemed to be real, and have substance behind them.

Ash is battling within himself, unsure of where he belongs, or who he belongs to. Natalie on the other hand is having mommy issues. She is also dealing with an obsessive ex-boyfriend, who is also her bodyguard. So it seems that she can never get away from him.

Purian Rose is the “cult” leader that the community never really sees, but still brings fear to many. Though he may seem to be trying to do the right thing, he isn’t.

The ending, you may ask? Well I can’t say anything about it, because I don’t want to give anything away! I promise it’s for the best!

The writing style was dark, scary and sexy. There was no room between action scenes and things moved quickly! If you haven’t read this one, or the second book, Phoenix, you should get on that!

Lisa’s smoothie looks absolutely delicious. She says, ‘This one is perfect for any hot day, where you just need something cold and refreshing! I love them! The recipe is also very flexible, use any fruit you like!’

-1 cup of frozen raspberries.

-1/3 cup of vanilla yogurt.

-1/2 cup of milk.

-a little bit of sugar, to sweeten, incase it’s a sower!

1. In your blender pour one cup of frozen raspberries, 1/3 cup of vanilla yogurt, and ¼ cup of milk. Blend until your smooth is…well smooth.

2. Continue pouring small amounts of milk into your smoothie, blending between each addition.

3. If you like your smoothie thicker, stop adding milk, if you don’t like it so thick, continue adding more milk, and blending until you reach the consistency you like.

4. If your smoothie is a little sour, feel free to add a small spoon of sugar, blend, taste, and continue until it meets your liking! Enjoy!

Bel says:

Out with the old… maybe!

This year I’ve been challenging the kiddo to watch some of the old movies that have since been remade, to see what she thought of both versions.

We haven’t gotten through many because, really, who wants to watch stuff that was made before their parents were born?

Film making techniques and the acceptable content levels have changed exponentially in the last 60 years, leaving a whole new world to be experienced from both sides of the coin.

We started with Doctor Dolittle 1967 Vs Eddie Murphie’s 1998 version. The old one is 152 minutes long and the more recent remake lasts only 85 minutes. Seriously? How much content have the younger generations missed… Giant Snails and the Push-Me-Pull-You aren’t very believable, but are a seriously cool thing to have in a crazy movie about a dude who can talk to the animals.

Karate Kid in 1984 was iconic, much loved and highly quoted. It ran for 126 minutes and even if you haven’t seen the classic, you’d still know the lines ‘Wax on, Wax off.” The newer one from 2010 with Jaden Smith actually goes for 140 minutes. We have yet to see the modernisation and I’m a little curious as to what is contained within all that extra time.

Freaky Friday with good ol’ Lindsey Lohan from 2003 far surpasses the 1976 version. The old one ran for 95 minutes whereas the new one was only 2 minutes longer. I’m not sure if it’s the extreme chasm that sat between Mother and Daughter before the switch, or the fact that you can get away with far more in 2003 films that you could in the 70’s.

Alice in Wonderland. To just say the title is to let the mind wander. But are you a fan of the cartoon or Johnny Depp? The 2010 film and the 1951 animation are both epic. The old runs for only 75 minutes whereas the new goes for 108 minutes. It just depends on what your taste is, or your mood. The Lewis Carroll story really lends itself to movie adaptation and I think you’d have to be a complete moron to stuff it up.

One we both agree sucks, no matter the era, is the Herbie franchise. The more modern one “Fully Loaded” stars good ol’ LiLo again, but the old one (pick one there were a bunch) for the sake of this example we’ll go with Herbie the Love Bug, sucked just as much. I’m okay with suspending my grip on reality to follow a young girl through a looking glass, but a VW beetle that splits in half and still works as two separate pieces… puh-lease.

What movie classics would you want to see remade and modernised?

How do you think some of our blockbusters will look in 50 years time?