Fill in the Blanks

Hey Blogger Buds,
I know Friday isn't my posting day, but it's the 31st, and I found this great game-thing which was started over at Book Rat. (The post is here) The gist is that you answer the questions with the titles of books you've read this year. As I've mentioned before, I don't have books recorded from the entire year, but whatever.

Describe Yourself:
Candor
~Means "Free" apparently

How do you feel:
Burned
~From schoolwork

Describe where you currently live:
Brave New World
~This day and age

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Elsewhere
~Yes, I am avoiding this question, what makes you ask?

Your favorite form of transportation:
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
~I'm sure they all move pretty quickly. Especially the wardrobe.

Your best friend is:
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
~We do get along quite well, even though we haven't had chance to talk too much lately.

You and your friends are:
Something Like Fate
~Aawww, aren't I cheesy?

What's the weather like:
The Lightning Thief
~The sky is actually clear

Favorite time of day:
Night Whispers
~I had to put MG in here somewhere...

What is life to you:
Wondrous Strange
~I have a point, no?

Your fear:
Fire
~Reasonable, IMHO

What is the best advice you have to give:
Never Cry Werewolf (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side in close second)
~I have proof this is important. I have a buddy, Aesop, to back me up!

Thought for the Day:
I am Number Four
~I have three older siblings

How I would like to die:
Catching Fire
~Not really. This would be incredibly painful

My soul's present condition:
Graceling
~I flatter myself


I don't think these answers are too shabby. I'd love to hear your answers!

Peace,
R

The End of 2010

So Blogger Buds,
I was debating whether or not to post, but come on, I have to talk about the fact that we're approaching January    1st!
So, I'm not going to get all technical, but I need to tell you some of the highlights of the year.

So, top 10 in 2010: (I only started recording books in March or so, so I have no idea how much I read)(No order)

• Crank by Ellen Hopkins-I can't believe it took me so long to read her books, Hopkins is wonderful!
• Angel Experiment by James Patterson-This book was sitting on my pile for a while. Then I got an audiobook, but for a bit I couldn't use my iPod, so I picked up the copy I had hanging around, and kinda read the whole book (and went back to finish the audiobook) Great.
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater- I don't know what to say. LOVE HER
• Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel-mind-blowing and beautiful
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore-She's my top author. Ever. (Beats even Shiver)
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins-of course HG is in here, but this was my favorite of the series.
• Babylonne by Catherine Jinks-I'm really not much of an historical fiction fan. I mostly read the Roman Mysteries (MG) but I LOVED Babylonne. It's a companion to a quartet I never read, but I loved this book
• Candor-I reviewed this a few days ago, gushing about the awesomeness.
• Night Whispers by Erin Hunter-MG, but I've been reading Warriors for years. This book reminded me of a soap-opera, but I still really enjoyed it.
• Iron King-just incredible with awesome characters

Top 11 in 2011 that I look forward to:

• Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton-my longtime followers will know I've been drooling after this for a while
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore-I need to explain?
• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater-see "Bitterblue" above
• Iron Queen+Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa-LOVE her, and I don't consider putting 2 books together ascheating
• Enclave by Ann Aguirre-I've been waiting for this book back from the old name and cover
• Steel by Carrie Vaughn-Swords and evil people? What can be better?
• Shur'tugal by Christopher Paolini-remember that dude? Who sold millions of dragon novels? Well, he's supposedly publishing the last one this year!
• Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel-look at the above list for proof of my LAV
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis-Sci-fi mystery? I've heard a lot about this one!
• Vanish by Sophie Jordan-I spent ages waiting for Firelight, and it left me in suspense
• Illusions by Aprilynne Pike-loved the first two Wings books, can't WAIT!

Now that books are done...

In 2010 I joined the book blogging community. I presently have >75 followers and found many great books. Looking at the 10 books above...

Thank you Blogger for: Candor, Crank

Thank you Goodreads for: Infinite Days

Thank you other internet places for: Maximum Ride, Hunger Games, Shiver, Graceling

Thank you library for: Babylonne, Iron King, Night Whispers

And of course...

Resolutions:

Read

Follow some sort of blog pattern

Write.

Write more

Finish a manuscript

Finish another manuscript

Do something great

Don't get all my posts in after midnight!

It's after midnight. Happy Friday!

Peace,

Riv Re

Candor Review

(This post was written last Sunday)
Hey Blogger Buds,
I finished Candor by Pam Bachorz yesterday, and I want to gush about it while it's still fresh in my mind.


Blurby:
In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages that turn even the most troubled kids into model citizens. On the outside, he's the perfect Candor teen, and no one knows that he's built an entire business around helping new kids escape before the Messages take hold.
But then Nia Silva moves to town, and Oscar thinks she's perfect exactly the way she is. Soon he must make a choice: let Nia be lost to the brainwashing, or help her stay special and risk himself in the process.

Review:
Quicky: Tear-bringer with an incredible lesson and an ending to blow you away.


Ramble:I started Candor on Friday night and finished it Saturday night. It  was that good. A book has never made me cry, but Candor came close.
I loved this book.
So, how to review it?
Oscar Banks was a very interesting character, who refused to act like everyone else and be a slave to the Messages. We can learn a great lesson from Oscar: Just because you're always being told to do it, and everyone is doing it, doesn't make it right. The magazine says be a size negative. If you look around, everyone thinks that's the right thing to do. But is it really?
And then he meets Nia. I don't really understand the pull Oscar has to her, what makes him keep thinking about her, but she's such an incredible girl and fully worthy of Oscar's affection. He would do anything for her.
Oscar's father. He's not a real villain. He's just a sad man. But he's not someone you're meant to like. Pam Bachorz balances on that fine line of dislike.
The whole orange thing. The color theme of the book is orange. Look at the cover: white....white...white....ORANGE! More proof about being your own person, an individual.
The plot is brilliant. It's such an interesting idea, of your subconscious listening even when you don't.
Dystopia or realistic fiction? Neither? Both? Your call.
The writing style is it's own. Like no other. Part of this is because the book brought me closer to tears than any other.
And then this beautiful book had to end. It's an ending the likes of which I've never seen. It's a Happily Ever After for the characters, but it leaves the reader unsatisfied. The ending embodies the statement (SPOILERY!!) Ignorance is bliss. I would LOVE to read a sequel.
I got Candor from my library, but it's a book I love so much I want to buy it so I can read it over and over again.
Rating: 8* Too incredible for five stars.


Linkage: Goodreads Amazon BookDeposity AuthorSite


HAD to share the trailer, cuz this was soooo awesome



Peace,
R

Sapphique ARC Review and Happy Holidays!

Hey Blogger Buds!
I was going to make a quickie post yesterday, but my cousin got engaged and the party was last night. I didn't get home until after 1 am, so....here I am! Merry Christmas to those celebrators, Happy Hannuka to those celebrators, and Happy Kwanza to those celebrators!

A few weeks ago I won a contest. (Yay!) One of the prizes was an ARC of Sapphique by Catherine Fisher. The book comes out in two days, but I have a review planned for then but I want to get my review in before the release date. Whenever I get ARCs I like to write something about them, even if I didn't get the book in exchange for it. I chose to write this review of Sapphique.

All links below.

This review CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM INCARCERON the previous book.

Now that that's out of the way....

Blurby:
Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside. Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but Finn doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment? And can you be free if your friends are still captive? Can you be free if your world is frozen in time? Can you be free if you don’t even know who you are?
Inside Incarceron, has the crazy sorcerer Rix really found the Glove of Sapphique, the only man the Prison ever loved. Sapphique, whose image fires Incarceron with the desire to escape its own nature. If Keiro steals the glove, will he bring destruction to the world? Inside. Outside. All seeking freedom. Like Sapphique.

Review:
Incarceron was a pretty good book, but Sapphique blew me away. I remember really enjoying the previous book, but  this was wonderful, though it had it's problems.
Incarceron was told from the POVs of Claudia and Finn. Catherine Fisher artfully switches between characters throughout the story, without the clear-cut switches of the first one. It transfers smoothly and I loved seeing the points of view of the different characters.  Very few of them had hidden thoughts. Because of this, I'll talk about more than  one or two characters, like I usually do.
~Claudia Arlexa started off obnoxious and self-centered. She softened up a lot, and you can really see this when she thanks a servant in the Wardenry and surprises them. In the middle of the book, Claudia gets a real reality-check when she sees the commonfolk of the Realm. She's a fearless, tough, MC, though I can't really see her ever surviving the Prison, the way she was brought up.
~Finn Starseer/Prince Giles(?) is incredible. He was a bit of a bother in the beginning, exploding at the littlest things, but he has such a true self-doubt that you can't help but like him. He's brave and even after living in the Prison, he's kind.
~Attia, the dog-slave. She's brilliant. Remember all the plot twists in the end of Incarceron? I hope when a book ends that way, but there were a handful of twists like that in the beginning, which was hysterical. She maintains faith in Finn, that he'll come back for her, and she puts up with Keiro, which is a miracle.
Speaking of Keiro, aaawww. He's infuriating, but you can't help but feel bad for him. He's a half-man and he hates himself for it, but he still loves himself. (That's a spoiler from Incarceron, not Sapphique, for those getting mad right now.) He's so annoying and full of himself in the beginning, but he becomes a bit more tolerable as you go along. Definitely pitiable.
~Jared Sapient. One thing that bothered me thoughout Incarceron was his age. Just like Cinna from Hunger Games, I had no idea how old he was throughout the first book. Fortunately, shortly into the second, Queen Sia confronts him about his illness and mentions that he's barely thirty. I love Jared. He's awesome. So selfless and brilliant. He really loves Claudia, as obnoxious as she is, and he always does what's best for everyone, even when that puts is own life at risk.
~Rix was hysterical. I couldn't figure out if he was insane or telling the truth throughout the entire book, but his tricks were incredible. You'd have to read the scene in the Dice with the attackers to fully understand...
~Incarceron. The Prison is its own character, is it not? Incarceron is just evil, though a tiny bit pitiable. He wants one little thing, and everyone is against him. He was forced to act a certain way, so he fought back.
Wow. That was a long character analysis.
It was a thrilling, action-packed book and I have only a few complaints. I felt like there were a handful of quick problems that came before some of the characters, and they weren't described well enough. I had no idea what happened, and in the end they were all fine. Especially the ending. It was like "What's  happening?"
My other problem was the questions left unanswered. You never learn how much metal is in Keiro, and the real truth about Giles/Finn/whatever.
The ending was odd. It made sense in a way, but some stuff was just weird.

That was pretty long review.
5 stars
Links: Amazon Author Site Goodreads Book Deposity

Some stuff I had to share:
"Once Incarceron became a dragon, and a Prisoner crawled into his lair. They made a wager. They would ask each other riddles, and the one who could not answer would lose. It it was the man, he would give his life. The Prison offered a secret way of Escape. But even as the man agreed, he felt its hidden laughter.
They played for a year and a day. The lights stayed dark. The dead were not removed. Food was not provided. The Prison ignored the cries of its inmates.
Sapphique was the man. He had one riddle left. He said, "What is the Key that unlocks the heart?"
For a day Incarceron thought. For two days. For three. Then it said, "If I ever knew the answer, I have forgotten it."
--Sapphique in the Tunnels of Madness"

Peace,
Riv

The Triskaidek Review

Hey Blogger Buds,
Wow. I thought I scheduled this. I KNOW I scheduled this. I must have clicked something at some point, I'm sooo sorry this didn't go up. So here it is.
I received a book a while ago, and let me tell you,  I pushed it off for way too long! So let me introduce, The Triskaidek by Basil Sprig. (Various links below)
My Midway Mention is here. I gave it 4 stars at that point.


I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.


Blurby:
On the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month of her thirteenth year something rather strange happened to Alley Willowwood. In fact it was so strange the only way she could explain it was... magic? Welcome to Camp Fae where the fairies send their kids each summer to learn magic. Alley has more to learn than most since she didn't even believe in magic. Now she has to solve an important mystery to stop a treacherous villain from using his magic to take over the world.


Short Review:
Alley is a sweet character with a heart in the right place who makes mistakes like the rest of us. The story has a unique voice with memorable characters and great plot twists. The creativity of this book was wonderful.
I recommend it for mature 10 year olds, but mainly 11-13 year olds with a love of faeries and an imagination good enough to take it all in.


Long Review:
I'm going to try not to sound like I'm repeating the MM. The book has a really original voice that I see rarely. While being told in 3rd person, it's giving you great insight into Alley's thoughts, while the narrator has his own opinions and even addresses the reader.
Alley is cute and earnest. She's trying to help everyone, though she is making plenty of mistakes along the way. She even has her own "Look" for when she's mad at people. The Look gets a bit annoying after a while, but it's sweet in its own way.
This book has so many great supportive characters. Although the first friends she meets sorta fade into the background, it all comes together, and Alley has some absolutely incredible friends throughout.
I had some problems with this book, though. Everyone seems to love Alley and she's pretty perfect, fairy-wise. She didn't even know fae existed, and then she comes to Camp Fae and she's the best at everything she tries. I was hoping she'd just have some sort of #epicfail in one of the basic things she tries...and blowing things up doesn't really count. The book was also a bit too complex for the targeted age group. I was confused at all the different elements and groupings in the camp, which play a major part in the whole thing.
But overall, I must say it was a really enjoyable book.


Rating: **** 4 stars. Good book, good writing.


Camp Fae blog. Camp Fae website. Goodreads. Amazon. Book Depository.

MUST READ

Yes. I'm already violating my new schedule. Deal with it.
Go to the left sidebar. The second widget is about forms. Take a peek. Even if you don't fill out the first two, please to do the third.
Thanks :)
Riv

Blog Schedule (Take #2) and I Need YOU (Please Read)

Hey Blogger Buds,
I've decided on a new blog schedule, which might make sense. And I'll try to stick to it! Life=hectic, but I love my blogger buds, so I've decided on what to do! I'll be posting 3 times a week (that's the plan, at least!).

Sunday-My Random Ramblings. This can be writing, funny stories I heard, interviews, guest posts, or...something. I have no idea.
Tuesday-Book Review/MM/TBRs/Something else book related.
Thursday-I have a new meme that I really want to try, so I hope it'll work.

This Tuesday I have a review going up. And it's DEFINITELY going up. I even scheduled it :)

Another thing. I'm planning to write a post on writing fight/battle scenes. They're a specialty of mine. Swords, fists, magic, all of it. So to do this post, I want your input! Please fill out the form below! EVERYTHING is optional, so you can fill out as much or as little as you like. I'll give credit to you if you want when I write the post.

Can't see it? It's HERE.



Thanks for filling it out, and t'is all for now, folks!
Riv

NaNo Results

Well, I failed.
But I was doomed from the beginning.
My life had perfect timing. The beginning of November was when school decided to tackle me, and my computer decided to die on me.
But I accomplished some things.

1)I wrote ten thousand words. Those of you who write a lot are shaking your head sorrowfully, maybe even crying. But this is good for me. I don't have much time to write,
2)I've been taught a valuable lesson. If you want to write a book, write. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you read all about those on other blogs, but it takes a certain experience to listen.
3)I've fallen in love. Not in that way, but NaNo was just the break I needed to make me yearn for Eberheardt.
4) And next year? Maybe I'll try NaNoWraMo, if it comes up again.

Hope you guys did better than me! Share in the comments!

Peace, Love, and Books,
Riv

Any Dark Divine Fans?

Oh yeah? There are a couple, well the prologue is ONLINE, for YOU to read!
*pauses for squees*
Yeah? Well, go to RT Book Reviews, and read the prologue of TLS!
I'm awesomeness for sharing the news, right?

Happy Holidays and a Contest

Hey Blogger buds!
So, I've been working on a handful of posts of awesomeness, including one to sum up my NaNoWriMoTayWay (National Novel Writing Month Take Away [ie, what I gained]).
But there are more important things to discuss. First, I'm tossing some linkage at you.
The League of Extraordinary Writers are giving away pre-orders of ALL of their awesome books that I want so go enter!
Wait a minute...*lightbulb*
*muttering to self* If all my follower[love]s enter, then I'll have less of a chance at winning...

Wait! Stop! Don't go enter. Those books are really bad and not worth your time, so just, you know, move along...*shifty eyes*
And, they're TOTALLY not giving stuff away all week. *cough*

Uuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh....

So! Next order of business!
*sings off-key*
We wish you a merry christmakwanzakah, we wish you a merry christmakwanzakah, we wish you a merry christmakwanzakaaaaaah....
And a happy New Year /slash/ Legal Holidaaaay!
Good tidings to you, and to all of your kin /slash/ brethreeeeeeeen!

Okey-dokey. I celebrate Hannukah, the holiday of scarfing down your weight in donuts (and celebrating Heaven's Help in winning the war, but of course that's a minor detail compared to all the calories :P )
So, of course, I wrote up a list of things I want for the holidays. Don't worry, I covered the basics:

• unicorn
• palace
• island
• narwhal (they're AWESOME!!!!)
• llama (there have have been lots of dilemmas [de llamas] in my house lately ><, though none for me xD)
• sword

I was hoping that they'd say yes by the time I got down to the smaller stuff.

• horse-back riding lessons
• computer
• cellphone
• (new) iPod
• camera
• eReader
• Of course, they could cover all five with an iPhone
• bow and arrows
• gift cards
• books
• donuts (I was hungry!)

Of course, my dad had the best line: "While everyone is celebrating X-Mas, we celebrate the day AFTER it!" That's the day of deals, of course :)

And if you haven't seen it, this vid got over two million views in a week.



Remember, while you're buying all your gifts, give a little, and donate to a local charity! Not everyone gets presents during the holiday.

Happy holidays!