Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica Packwood is your average, everyday teenager. It’s the first day of her senior year and she has high hopes and expectations for this year. Her “get-a-life” plan is in effect - she plans on hanging out with her BFF and possibly even dating the cute neighbor boy. And everything is going as planned until Lucius Vladescu (the mysterious, foreign exchange student) shows up.

Lucius not only claims to be her betrothed but he is also claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth - and if the two do not get married, their family clans will war. Talk about putting a screeching halt to her plans for the perfect school year.

Luckily for Jessica or Antanasia (her Romanian birth name), Lucius brought along a helpful copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions to help ease her way from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But will Jessica give up her normal life and embrace her darker nature?

I had such fun reading this! It is definitely not your typical vampire/love story. Jessica is this silly girl - she has this great sense of humor and sarcastic tone that I found quite amusing. Lucius was the dark and brooding vampire - but also sooo funny with his take on American culture. They are both very likable characters that you not only relate to and like but will also be rooting for from the start. They are both strong-willed, opinionated and had great chemistry. I loved their constant bickering. Although Jessica would frustrate me at times (yes, the girl would not believe in a vampire if he bit her) but in the end I thought both characters grew and became exactly who you hoped they would be.

The story is told through both Jessica and Lucius’ perspectives. I absolutely loved reading Lucius’ letters to his Uncle Vasile. These were hilarious and by far the funniest moments in the story. Another nice touch was how easily Ms. Fantaskey went from the rural Pennsylvania setting to the exoticness of the Carpathian mountains in Romania. I seriously had issues putting this book down - at no point was I sure what was going to happen. Jessica didn't like Lucius; then Lucius didn't like Jessica; there was no hope for a future... should you keep hoping... oh no. I mean I was taken in by the whole "bloody" [pun intended] mess.

All in all, this was very enjoyable and quick read. It is funny, romantic, action-packed and definitely keeps you guessing. I highly recommend to young adults as well as lovers of paranormal YA.

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Duty-bound to wed her father's choice in successor to the throne, Princess Alera of Hytanica believes that she is being forced into the worst of all possible fates' a marriage to the arrogant and hot-tempered suitor, Steldor. When a mysterious boy from enemy Cokyri appears bearing secrets and an entirely different view of what's appropriate behavior for a young lady, Alera learns that her private desires threaten to destroy the kingdom. When Narian's shocking past comes to light, Alera finds herself in a shadowy world of palace intrigue and ancient blood feuds, facing an uncertain future with dwindling options - and must learn to decide between right and wrong all alone. Marked by witty, rapid-fire dialogue and dramatic complexity that belie the writer's age, Legacy brings a fresh, new sensibility to age-old questions of duty and inheritance and to a young heroine's quest to find her true voice. [borrowed from Good Reads]

Cayla Kluver wrote this when she was 14! Unbelievable... the world that she has created is very impressive. It is extensively detailed, to the point where you can actually envision castle life. Her descriptions of people, places, foods, and clothing give it the feel for the medieval time it is set in.

Alera is a fantastic heroine - I liked that she is passionate, adventurous and opinionated - especially in a world where women must rely upon men. There were a few times where she did frustrate me, but she is only 17 and under the influence of her father.

Cayla's writing is superb for such a young age. Her writing style is simple but enjoyable. Although the story itself left me with many unanswered questions and, I will forewarn, the ending is a cliff-hanger (gosh, I hate those), but never fear it seems there will be two more books in this trilogy which will hopefully remedy that.

All in all, this was much better than I thought it would be. Obviously it is not perfect, but the flaws can be overlooked. The story has a little bit of everything including twists and turns that were unexpected. I truly enjoyed reading about Alera and her family and will be reading the upcoming sequels. Ms. Kluver is a rising star that I will definitely be on the lookout for.

This book was provided for review by Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.

Manic Monday Recaps (Week 11/02/09)

What a hectic week last week - with Halloween and all. I actually got more reading done then I thought I would - so I'm a happy camper.

This week I plan on reading the following:

Nice and simple. Not too much planned. I might squeeze in a couple more books if I get the chance, but if not, no big deal. I've surpassed all my goals/challenges this year so I'm in a good place right now. :D

Last week I read the following:
- Hannah (Daughters of the Sea) - Kathryn Lasky
- Ciao Bella - Gina Buonaguro & Janice Kirk
- The Monsters of Templeton - Lauren Geoff
- Hot & Irresistable - Diane Castell
- Fallen - Lauren Kate

I reviewed the following:
- Hate List - Jennifer Brown [review]
- Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout [review]
- Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen - Susan Gregg Gilmore [review]
- Willow - Julia Hoban [review]

Halloween was tons of fun. I have the coolest pictures of my children (a/k/a Thumbelina and Frankenstein) and of course Grant was also dressed up - he was a cowboy. I forgot my camera today and wasn't able to upload them though... urgh. But I'll post them up tonight. I spent yesterday taking down all the Halloween decorations - putting up Thanksgiving decorations and shopping for Christmas ornaments. Don't make fun of me - I love Christmas - and this year we're setting up a snowman Christmas tree - so new ornaments are in order. I'm also working with Ellie from Rainy Day Templates on a pretty Christmas template for le blog. So that should be up soon.

What do you guys think of all my new memes? i heart; Bookcase of the Week; Manic Monday Recaps. I'm also debuting a new one on Saturday - yep, Saturday Sayings. I figure I should do my best to keep you guys entertained - lol.

and that's all folks! Have a great week. Enjoy your reading and hope to hear from you soon.

Toodles.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap 2009

Join the fun! You can find swap info and sign up here.

But hurry, last day to sign up is November 12.

Giveaway Results: Halloween Giveaways

[photo via motley photos.]

and the winners are...

The winner of the Hexy Witch books from Linda Wisdom is:
- elaing8

The winners of Hellbound Hearts are:
- Madwoman-doing-cartwheels
- Jessica

The winner of Another Faust is:
- Bunny B

Way to go you guys! Winners were chosen using randomizer.org. I will be e-mailing each of you. You have until Thursday to get back to me, if I haven't heard from you by then, a new winner will be chosen.

If you're still interested in more giveaways, check out my giveaways page [here]. More giveaways will be posted later today and throughout the week - so stay tuned.

Bookcase of the Week (1)

Yep, that's right. A new Sunday meme. Why all the new meme's you might ask. Well because I've decided that my blog is boring. Only book reviews and nothing else. I like color and pretty pictures and I think my blog is lacking that. I try to participate in some of the mainstream meme's but prefer to be original. Thus creating my own meme's sounds more fun to me.

This will be a weekly event - every Sunday a new bookcase will be showcased. I find these online, in magazines or even those nominated through e-mail. That's right you can e-mail me a picture of your favorite bookshelf and I will gladly showcase it.. the only criteria - it needs to be awesome, fantastic or blow-my-mind amazing.

This week's bookcase:

Isn't it just dreamy? and it's color coordinated... Le sigh.

Believe it or not, I do not cook but I own over 100 cookbooks. I can't help it, I love buying and receiving cookbooks as gifts and I have all types (anywhere from dessert, soups, casseroles, etc.) The cupboards over my stove are full of them. My cookbooks would look fabulous in these -don't ya think?