Bel:

Cover

I deliberately got the UK cover because I think it was prettier. It has foil work and yep, pretty much everything else is the same. Love me some foil. Shiny!

Characters

I think the theme this year is blurring the lines between good and evil. So much potential for nasty people here, and then, I can’t say to much more or else there will be spoilers.

Favourite

I’m going to pick the same one as I am guessing both Krista and Lisa will pick… COLE!!! Just cause he’s *sigh* Cole.

Least Favourite

Wren and Poppy. What a pair of fair weather friends.

Beginning

Alice begs her parents to take them all to Emma’s ballet recital. Thing go from bad to worse and Ali’s life will never be the same again.

Storyline

Ali has to try and fit in at a new school after moving in with her Grandparents. Friends are made, lust is in the air and what on earth was that smell in the backyard?

Ending

You won’t guess it, and I’m not telling. ENJOY!

Thoughts

Zombies, I thought, what on earth are the other girls making me read this month? However, I kept the hope alive because Gena Showalter’s books have kept me company on many a late night. She certainly didn’t disappoint this time around and now I’m gonna be twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next book in The White Rabbit Chronicles, Through the Zombie Glass. Thank goodness there was as much romance as there was fighting and the restless dead, because Gena is a master at romance writing.

Quote

“I can’t promise we’ll ever use you for a hasty getaway,” Cole said, “but with a little work, you might be able to race my grandmother-while she’s on her scooter.”

Krista:

Cover

I was instantly attracted to the cover of this book, the colors and details really stand out. Beautiful dress and I love black covers on books. The summary sounded amazing – a heroine to root for. I was expecting a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, but this is its own and completely different story with very little similarities to the world of Wonderland, if at all.

Characters

There are a lot of characters in this one, but it mostly focuses directly with the relationship between Cole and Alice. So not too overwhelming.

Favourite

Cole definitely grew on me by the end of the book (complete hot-ness factor) but my favourite character was Kat. She liked to tease, but was never brutal, mean or a bully. I liked her because of her completely honest way of looking at herself and situations, always telling it how it is, and with humour.

Least Favourite

This may be a shocker, but I didn’t like Justin. Thrown in as a possible love interest at first, I feel like we never got to know him. Thus he was no competition at all for Cole as far as a relationship. And we didn’t get to know him on a personal level, he was too shy and didn’t play a big enough part for me to feel he was needed. I thought his sister played a better role than he did and we get less of her than we do of him in the pages. But she made a bigger impact to the storyline and the scenes that she is in.

Beginning

There is a little bit of background story in the first couple chapters explaining Alice and her life with her parents and sister before the accident. But then the first half of the novel really focuses on the romance she forms with the bad boy Cole. Cole’s name was mentioned more in this book than the word, monster or zombie.

Storyline

Alice’s father has always been paranoid and never lets them out at night because of the danger/creatures that roam around. Her mother seems mostly distracted and worried about her alcoholic father rather than caring for the children as she should (forgetting birthdays etc) When Alice runs a guilt trip on them for her birthday a horrible accident happens and she loses them. Now, having to move in with her grandparents and going to her parents old school, she learns more about the hidden dangers that killed her family, and meets Cole, dangerous, brooding and hot! Alice decides that she wants revenge on the creatures that ruined her families life, and she is willing to fight and put her own life on the line to get it.

Ending

Although it didn’t end with a cliff-hanger, you can get glimpses of where the ending is heading throughout the story. There are several hints dropped, maybe to prepare the reader for the decisions that she must make.

Thoughts

I agree here with Belinda that when it comes to romance, this author knows how to write it well. And I would suggest that readers interested in this book should be more of a romance reader than a horror reader, because as somebody who does not like romance, I was disappointed with how much time was spent on the relationship aspect. Also for those that are looking for a traditional Zombie, you won’t get that either. The author has put a twist in the story that seemed a little religious to me and as somebody who was looking for some good old fashioned Zombies, I wasn’t a fan of how they were portrayed here, or the way they had to be battled, or how not enough people died. I can say that I’ve never read anything like it before and she really has a way with dialogue, banter, humour and dynamics between the characters. It was what kept me reading.

Quote

“As you so eloquently pointed out in the forest, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but we almost…you know… in public!”

“You know. That’s what you call it?”

Was that amusement in his tone? “Do you want me to punch you in the face?”

“No, I want you to be still and listen to me.”

“That’s not happening.” He sighed, a wary sound. “Even if I promise not to you know in public again?”

Lisa:

Cover

Never really having seen the cover before, I actually went to my local library to go pick up the book and I was amazed!! It isn’t shiny, covered in gold or glitter, but there’s a tremendous amount of detail and thought put into it. Not only is the cover amazing, but also the back and the inside.

Characters

Overall, I found the characters to be really unique and interesting. Sometimes a little too lovey dovey and mushy, and other times a little too “hardcore”. But I really liked the main characters Alice and Cole, I liked their friends, and I even liked Alice’s grandparents and their “talks”!

Favorite/Least Favorite

Alice in Zombieland didn’t have any characters that I disliked, or found annoying, so I don’t actually have a least favourite. I did feel that the connection between Cole and Alice was a little over done, and too lovey dovey for me. For goodness sake, they barely know each other, and he’s already telling her what to do, and what he needs to do to “protect” her! Another thing I found a irritating about Cole was that he didn’t know what he wanted, one minute he wanted to be with Alice, the next he didn’t. Make a decision and stick to it!!

I do have to say, there were a lot of times that Cole’s over-protectiveness was cute, and Alice’s fantasies were interesting, and in the end I really enjoyed the two, and the way they were, when they were with one another.

Beginning

The story starts on Alice’s Birthday (that her parents forgot all about), and like any other day, she isn’t allowed to leave the house once its dark, and her family isn’t going to her little sister’s, ballet recital. Finally having talked her parents into letting them attend, the night turns bad within the blink of an eye.

Middle

After having lost her sister and parents, Alice moves in with grandparents, lives in a new house, that isn’t zombie-proof. She goes to a different school where she meets Cole and has an instant connection. As she learns more about this bad boy, and his mysterious friends, Alice find out that she isn’t the only one fighting the zombies.

End

I hate reviewing this part, because I always feel like I’m giving too much away, if I haven’t already…

Deciding to join Cole and his friends on their hunt for zombies, Alice realizes that her dad was right about everything, and that she is a lot stronger and more powerful than she thought she was. With the help of Cole, she begins her training to hunt and kill zombies…even if they are her family.

Overall Thoughts

…uhhhhh… LOVED IT, COULDN’T GET ENOUGH, AND CANT WAIT TO GET THE NEXT BOOK!!!

STARDUST: Gift Edition by Neil Gaiman

Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie . . . and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man’s life.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a tale of the dark and miraculous—a quest for true love and the utterly impossible.

Tristan, a young strong and determined man decides to win the heart of the fair, Victoria. To do that, he must cross the wall to get her a fallen star. This is a fairy tale story for adults, full of dark characters, some sexual relationships and a little cursing. The story pivots on Tristan showing his love for a girl by getting her a gift that she cannot refuse. His travels through the lands beyond the wall will not only test his true feelings for Victoria, but he will learn a truth about himself and his destiny.

Tristan Thorn, a naive and overly optimistic boy runs into the star-turned-girl, Yvaine. Yvaine has had a very rough landing. She’s in pain and kind of pissed off that she fell in the first place. Not only do several people desire her as their own, but she’s stuck with a young Tristan, a newcomer to the land. Together they have to endure many struggles before they can finally get back home.

This story is very imaginative, yet not as humorous as I suppose I was expecting. It has a darker fairy tale feel, closer to the Grimm Brothers than Disney. Although all aspects of the story work really well together, there are times when I wanted more from some characters. When the book came to a close, it certainly wasn’t with a happily ever after. It’s a very contemplative and melancholy ending, yet perfect for the characters in this tale.

William Morrow & Company has recently released the newest editions of this book both the special gift edition and the Signed Gift Edition. I received a copy of the gift edition which is has a gorgeous blue cloth cover with a gold stamped cover.

publisher: William Morrow & Company (October 30, 2012)

• Language: English
• ASIN: B00AU9CYZK

Autumn is upon us in Australia. Which means it’s almost time for the butterflies to head to warmer places. Not that we’ve seen too many in the last 6 weeks due to rain, rain and more freaking rain.

As for the Northern hemisphere people, Spring is gearing up to bloom soon. So I figure we should have a bit of a celebration of all things butterfly.

Here is KlairedelysArt with a Butterfly Queen eye shadow tutorial that is just precious.

cutenails will send our hearts a flutter with this nail art tutorial

MyCupcakeaddiction helps us out with an extremely simple butterfly cupcake decorating tutorial

Leyla Torres got me in a flap looking for pink origami paper after watching how to fold a Swallowtail Butterfly… So pretty.

I hope you like the tutorials but I thought I’d leave you with a small clip of a Queens Alexandra Birdwing. Thanks to EarthRangersBBtW for this lovely piece of footage.

Oh and because the boy threw it out the window.

by Gregg Rosenblum Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky —they live with their parents in a secret human community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world—by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.

Revolution 19 is a cinematic thriller unlike anything else. With a dynamic cast of characters, this surefire blockbuster has everything teen readers want—action, drama, mystery, and romance. Written by debut novelist Gregg Rosenblum, this gripping story shouldn’t be missed.

When Kevin, Nick and Cass were young, the adults worldwide were fighting wars using robots. The robots suddenly revolted against their commanders, and then upon all man-kind. They set up their own cities and put chips in the humans they chose to survive, re-educating them to fit into the society that the robots built. When Kevin, Nick and Cass’s guardians are taken by the robots to this city, they decide to go and rescue them.

The pacing of the novel is perfect. There is very little down time with the combination of several characters story-lines to follow. There is always something happening with each of them, giving the reader different angles to the story until they come together again. All the parts of the story are given to us as we read with no large info dumps and a good amount of dialogue. There are not many big or “wow” moments, but it’s constant and great for younger readers as well.

I haven’t read a book before where technology has completely taken over man-kind and is “retraining” them into a society that is suitable for them. I’ve seen mixtures of the two, but in this city, it’s the robots calling all the shots and handing out the punishment. I did find it interesting that the society they did build had similarities to our own, so it’s not very hard to imagine this happening.

This book is a good starter book for those that maybe nervous jumping into a futuristic, science fiction, robots world. It doesn’t contain a lot of uncomfortable events, and very little fighting. The story is pushed along by the main characters trying to outsmart the robots rather than physically overpowering them. I found it almost too easy for these kids to overpower them the way that they did. The main characters are stronger, more determined and strong willed than any of the adults and bots. It has a great storyline of personal empowerment and fighting for what’s right and not giving up.

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published January 8th 2013 by Harper Teen ISBN 0062125958 (ISBN13: 9780062125958)

Despite attending the same school, Jeane Smith and Michael Lee are worlds apart. She’s prickly, refuses to submit to or even acknowledge convention, and spends more time with her online friends than anyone at school. He’s captain of the football team and keeping on top of his grades at school while being a perfect son and older brother at home.

They have never had a proper conversation before but when Michael suspects that his girlfriend might be cheating with Jeane’s boyfriend, things change. Suddenly Jeane is meeting Michael’s family, Michael is following her online and they can’t seem to stop kissing one another.

Adorkable does not look like the kind of book that I would ever in a million years pick up, let alone buy. The picking up was not my fault; I work in a bookstore and on occasion I have to pick up all manner of odious books. The buying, however, was voluntary; and due largely to the fact that I wanted something super-fluffy for a trip to the coast.

I sort of got it; but also I sort of didn’t. Adorkable is an adorkably fluffy read with some seriously wonderful ideals underlying it. When Jeane calls herself a feminist on page ten, I realised that the novel probably wouldn’t make it down to the coast with me. And it didn’t; I read it before I went.

Though Adorkable mostly pivots around the two main characters, these characters are strong and dynamic enough to support the plot without the whole premise disintegrating around them. They are also surprisingly and refreshingly different; and chapters alternately written from both Michael and Jeane’s perspectives play up the contrast. Jeane is sarcastic, witty and used to fighting for everything she has; while Michael is even-tempered and used to things coming easily to him. Compelling back-stories make both characters easy to relate to and, when they fight, they both do and say some terrible things but it’s impossible to side with either of them.

Therein lies the magic of Manning’s writing. She doesn’t simplify things by showing only one facet of situations. She shows them as they are; messy, convoluted and complex. Where Michael and Jeane’s ex’s could have been written off as malicious plot-devices; Manning humanises them. Jeane still wants to be friends with her ex because she genuinely likes him as a person and, while Michael probably won’t be close friends with his, it’s more because they have little in common than anything else. Similarly, Jeane’s neglectful parents are humanised to a point where you feel more sympathy for them than anger towards them.

Adorkable is a larger than life and laugh out loud YA romance. What makes it stand out so superbly is that the characters push this story along; not the events around them. Don’t judge this book by its cover; the cover undersells what is actually a genuinely moving story.

Adorkable – Sarra Manning

Atom Books (May 24, 2012)

ISBN: 9781907411007