For all the Mortal Instrument readers out there, Cassandra Clare made a promise to her twitter followers that when she reached 10,000 followers she would post the short story about Jocelyn’s early years.

OF COURSE I cannot keep this too myself. I have to spread it around.

Congrats to Cassandra and thank you so much for sharing Jocelyn’s story with us! I loved it!

the link:  http://bit.ly/bXFyh3

The protagonist is a 16 year old girl, Jess Parker. She’s an outsider and a big target for bullies.  One day she gets an invitation for The Cinderella Society, a secret society of the most popular girls in school. Finally, when joining TCS, Jess has the chance to have friends and to just fit in. Being in TCS, you get to reinvent yourself, with a makeover and all. You go to classes to learn who you really are, how to make yourself better and into the person you want to be and, at the same time, to learn what the Cindys are all about.

Unfortunately, for every ‘good guy’ there has to be a ‘bad guy’. Where there are The Cinderella Society, there is also The Wickeds. The Wickeds target innocent girls to do their biddings for them. They are also the ones who were bullying Jess since she started school.

Upon joining TCS, “Jess discovers there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself on the outside.  She has unknowingly become part of a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and now the Cindys in charge need Jess for a mission that could change everything.

Overwhelmed, Jess wonders if The Cinderella Society made a mistake in choosing her.  Is it a coincidence her new boyfriend doesn’t want to be seen with her in public?  And is this glamorous, secret life even what she wants, or will she risk her own happy ending to live up to the expectations of her new sisters?”

For me, this book was really inspirational. For someone who never wears the ‘right’ clothes and was never really in the “in-crowd”, it sort of makes me want to go back and try high school all over again. (I said, sort of.) It’s learning to use the positive things in your life for the good. Don’t focus on the bad things about you, focus on the things you are wonderful at and go with those.

I said that this was a wonderful book for teenage girls, but I take that back. There is a message for anyone, no matter what age you are. Anyone can learn from this book. Even though this isn’t really what I usually read; it doesn’t have any faeries, werewolves, vampires, etc. anywhere in the book, but I fully recommend you read it. It’s a very easy read and you won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis for Wake:

Not all dreams are sweet.
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does — they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant….

If you are looking for some very quick reads, you should pick up Lisa’s series. Wake is a very good introduction to Janie and later on a character named Cabel (whom I love) and Fade continues on with their story. By the time Fade comes around, a few people know about Janie’s ‘gift’ and she’s getting better at controlling it. Cabe is there along Janie trying to help her and work on his own problems.

I can’t wait to see what awaits Janie & Cabe in the next book. So help me! Tell me if you go out and get the books, let me know that my spreading the word really worked! lol..

The Hunger Games From School Library Journal:

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districs, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.

 
When I picked up The Hunger Games, I could not put it down for anything. Probably from the very beginning of the book, it had me captured. Seeing all the things that Katniss and her family have to deal with on a daily basis, and then the feeling what she feels when she has to leave everyone she loves to go compete in sick, sadistic games that the government force them to participate in. Suzanne Collins knows how to get you into the story. There were times where I actually felt scared when she was having to fight for her life or triumphant when things went her way.

I absolutely love the Hunger Games and suggest it to everyone I know!

I’m not going to post the summary for Catching Fire here because it would have major spoilers in it but I wanted to make sure and post that there is a sequel to the Hunger Games. And I know once you read HG, you will want to turn right back around to the store and pick up Catching Fire.

I had a whole year between reading Hunger Games and Catching Fire and luckily, these are the type of books that you don’t have to reread to remember what happened. As soon as I started reading CF, the first book came right back to me and I was raptured into this book nearly as fast as I was in Hunger Games. In all actuality, I probably enjoyed Catching Fire better than Hunger Games but they are so close it’s hard to tell.

Synopsis:

In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town’s founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause.

But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant–perfect–through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar’ s built a business sabotaging his father’s scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they’re turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?

Then he meets Nia, the girl he can’t stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever. Keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more

I absolutely loved this book. It’s completely different from any book I have ever posted about but is pretty high up on my list of favorites.  Candor brings you the Stepford-esque community. The adolescents in Candor do their chores, homework and work without complaining. The adults quit addictions and get the life they always wished for.

From the outside looking in, Candor looks like the perfect community. No backtalking from the kids, perfect grades and absolutely no rule breaking. Kid’s don’t vandalize property, they don’t steal. They are perfect.

Oscar Banks is the son of the town founder, Campbell. He has learned his dad’s secret ways of creating subliminal messages in music to control others’ minds. He has fought hard to control the messages in his own brain and helps other kids fight it too. For a small price, of course. Everything goes to plan, he has his rules. Everything happens in a specific way and if it doesn’t go as planned, it risks Oscar’s side business being discovered.

Enter Nia. She is THE girl for Oscar. She is wild, artistic, and everything that Candor is not. He has to decide, does he want to keep her in Candor and have her become one of the brainwashed girls or does he tell her goodbye so she won’t lose herself? 

Getting hooked into this book didn’t take long at all. If you’re looking for a good read and something a little different, check out Candor today!

Click Here for the original Spooktacular Giveaway post on Page Turners.

Page Turners is hosting a Halloween themed contest. The prize(s) will be a surprise, but they give you a few hints.

• A new book (one that has been released in the last 3 months) that deals with something paranormal/fantasy.
• a gift card of some kind
• Halloween movie
• lots and lots of treats

This contest is open to everyone. They will be using random.org to pick the winner. To enter, leave a comment letting them know one of your favorite things about Halloween.
~ Extra Entries ~
+1 for being or becoming a follower
+2 for guessing my Halloween ringtone
+1 for following us on twitter
+1 for posting about our contest somewhere(leave us a link).

Contest ends on Oct. 30th the winner will be announced on the 31st.

My most recent read was Lament by Maggie Stifvater. I’ve stepped away from the vampires for now, but trust me, I will go back.  I’ve never really been that interested in fairies. Even less so than I was about vampires. But when someone tells you it’s a good book, you have to try it out right?

Lament summary from Maggie’s website:

“Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She’s about to find out she’s also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. When a mysterious boy enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of nowhere, Deirdre finds herself infatuated. Trouble is, the enigmatic and conflicted Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin—and Deirdre is meant to be his next mark. Deirdre has to decide if Luke’s feelings towards her are real, or only a way to lure her deeper into the world of Faerie.”

To purchase Lament from Amazon, click here.

Lament was the August Book of the Month over at Mundie Mom’s. And unfortunately for me, I received the book the day before the MundieMom chat with Maggie was supposed to take place, so I wasn’t able to join in. I probably wouldn’t have asked questions anyway, but I love hearing, or in this case seeing, the authors inspiration for the books and seeing what other people thought about the book as well.

I actually really enjoyed reading Lament. I’m not all that familiar with the fey, except for what I had read in The Mortal Instrument series so I was happy to read more about them. Maggie did a really good job writing this book.

It didn’t take me all that long to get hooked into the book and when I did, I didn’t get bored with the story. You learn more about Deirdre and her family history with the fey, then there is the mysterious Luke that you just can’t figure out.

I think if you enjoyed books like Twilight and the Mortal Instruments, you will really like Lament. Maggie also has another book out that I’m looking forward to reading but I’m going to have to add it to the to-read list for now, might get to it in a month or so. The book is called Shiver and goes in another direction, Werewolves. You can find out more about this book at Maggie’s website or purchase it here on Amazon. I think I read that both Lament and Shiver are the first books in their series. I’m not sure how big the series are going to be but I know I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the sequels.

Right now, I’m reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. This book is not in the YA section like the Twilight Saga. It is a romantic Science Fiction novel. I’m just starting it so when I get done I’ll let you know what I think. Also, be on the look out for this month’s release of Catching Fire. It is Suzanne Collins’ sequel to Hunger Games and I plan on starting it right after I get done with The Host . I don’t think I ever blogged about the Hunger Games, but I really enjoyed it, and found it to be a very quick read. I think it is still in the works, but Hunger Games (IMDb) is supposed to be made into a movie, coming out somtime in 2011, so make sure you read the book before the movie. The books are always better

I absolutely love the The Sookie Stackhouse aka Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. This was the first series I was actually able to get into after reading the Twilight Saga. It begins with book 1, Dead Until Dark and is up to book 9, Dead and Gone, with book 10 being released in October 09. You might be familiar with the HBO Series, TrueBlood, that is based off of this book series. I do have to say though, the tv show isn’t completely true to the books. Of course, they had to add stuff in and change it around to make it more interesting and make it last longer, but I think they’ve gone a little crazy with the series. I’m all ok about reading about the biting and sucking blood crap but when I have to watch it on tv, it gets to me a little too much so I’ve given up watching.

Charlaine’s vamp’s are traditional vampires. They can’t be out during the day time, the have sharp pointed teeth and they are mean as hell, not including vindictive and manipulating. Plus, Charlaine doesn’t stop at vampires, there are many different mythical beings that show up throughout the series. I think these books are really good and easy reads. There was a good 6 month break in between reading From Dead to Worse and Dead and Gone and I picked it up easily. I really thought I would start book 9 and not remember anything that happened before that but she did a really good job at summarizing things that had happened in the previous books.

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life–and one of her coworkers checks out…Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea. A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that’s hard to put down, and should not be missed (Susan Sizemore)

I think if you have time, you should  check out this series. If not, add it to your to-read list. They are very entertaining and not as pg as Twilight was, if you catch my drift. These books can be found on Amazon, here.

The last time I did a post about the books I was reading, I was about to start the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. Dani keeps telling me it is so good and once I get passed the first book, I’ll like them. I’m sorry but If you don’t even enjoy the first book, why get into them? The first book should be the hook into the series, not the one you just try to get past to hopefully find something better within the series. I read about halfway, still didn’t get hooked so gave them up.

I then started reading the House of Night series by PC & Kristin Cast. It’s a mother/daughter collaboration and very well written. This is another series Dani has been trying to get me to read. Even before Twilight. I was skeptical at first especially when she started explaining it to me. But since I didn’t have anything else to read after the Mortal Instruments, I decided to give them a go.

The House of Night is full of Vampyres but PC & Kristin were like Stephenie Meyer and didn’t follow the rules that most books or movies have about Vampires. For one, you can tell they are spelt different. And also in this series, a vampyre isn’t created by being bitten, they are Marked which is the first title of the book series. When they are marked they get a blue outline of a crescent on their forehead so everyone knows what they are, a vampyre fledgling. In these books, it isn’t a secret that vampyres exist. Everyone knows about them and some are even well known singers, actors and actresses in the real world. They go to a special school called the ‘House of Night’ where they learn about the history and about the becoming of vampyres. Eventually when a fledgling becomes an adult vampyre, their outline of the crescent will be filled in.

These vamps can still go out in to the daylight, even though it is tough on their eyes. No sparkling vamps in this book. Also as a fledgling, they don’t like blood. Actually, most fledglings can’t stand even thinking about drinking blood, they think it is as gross as a regular human would. Also PC & Kristin’s vampyres have powers. Yeah, some are like Stephenie Meyer’s vampire powers but these remind me more of witchcraft. They rely heavily on the elements around us. Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit.

If I’m remembering correctly, it didn’t take me a long time to get hooked with these books like it did in City of Bones. I think it was just a few chapters in, actually. And when I got hooked, I couldn’t put them down. I had to find out what was happening next. I’m thinking I might go back and revamp the series this summer since I did read them pretty fast. That way when the 6th book, Tempted, comes out in October, they will still be fresh in my mind.

To finish up, here are a few editorial reviews I pulled off of amazon.com:

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up—In 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres not only exist but are also tolerated by humans. Those whom the creatures “mark” as special enter the House of Night school where they will either become vampyres themselves, or, if their body rejects the change, die. To Zoey, being marked is truly a blessing, though she’s scared at first. She has never fit into the human world and has always felt she is destined for something else. Her grandmother, a descendant of the Cherokee, has always supported her emotionally, and it is she who takes the girl to her new school. But even there the teen stands apart from the others. Her mark from the Goddess Nyx is a special one, showing that her powers are very strong for one so young. At the House of Night, Zoey finds true friendship, loyalty, and romance as well as mistrust and deception. She realizes that all is not right in the vampyre world and that the problems she thought she left behind exist there as well. Readers will identify with many of the characters, especially the protagonist. The story moves quickly (a little too quickly at the end) and purposely leaves many unresolved issues. A good choice for those libraries serving fans of the occult, but be aware that the book contains some suggestive language and sex.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reviews:
“From the moment I stuck my face in this book it hooked me!  Totally awesome new take on vampires!  Marked is hot and dark and funny.  It rocks!”
–Gena Showalter, author of MTV’s Oh My Goth
 
“Cast reeled me in from paragraph one.  I snorted and giggled through the whole thing, and devoured it in one sitting.”
–MaryJanice Davidson, New York Times best-selling author of the Undead series

The trilogy is call The Mortal Instruments. written by Cassandra Clare. I heard about these books because of Stephenie Meyer’s Book of the Month list. She had City of Bones on there since last August I think I finally decided to start them in December.

I’m not really good at describing books, seems like I just get people confused (hehe) so I’m getting this description from Cassandra’s Website:

City of Bones begins with a sixteen-year old girl named Clary Fray, who lives in New York with her mother, an artist. She comes home one night to find her apartment ransacked, her mother gone — and a slavering demon ready to tear off her head. Once the demon’s dealt with, Clary follows the clues to her mother’s disappearance into an alternate New York filled with hideous demons, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves and the scariest thing of all: the secrets of her mother’s past. She also finds herself torn between two boys — her best friend Simon, for whom she’s developing new feelings, and the mysterious demon hunter Jace, who has a past more tangled than her own. She becomes a part of the secret word of the demon hunters, or Nephilim, and as she does discovers she might be more connected to them than she originally thought. City of Ashes continues Clary’s adventures with Simon, the demon hunters Jace, Isabelle and Alec, the warlock Magnus, and the mysterious Raphael. City of Glass takes the characters to the demon hunters’ exotic home country, Idris

I found City of Bones really hard to get into at first. It took maybe a third of the way in to really start enjoying it. Then as City of Ashes rolled around, I already knew most of the characters and alot of the background information so it was really easy to like it. City of Glass just came out 2 days ago and I finished it this morning. Again, it was really simple to jump into the book. Even though its been a month or so between reading COA and COG, I didn’t have to go reread, it just came right back to me like any good story should. I think Cassandra did an awesome job at tying up all the loose ends. It didn’t leave me hanging wanting more, it was pretty much perfect. If you are looking for some good reads, I suggest these books. Especially if you liked the Twilight Series. Cassandra is a big fan of Twilight and Stephenie Meyer, the author of Twilight, is a big fan of the Mortal Instrument series if that is saying anything lol.

Cassandra is coming out with another series in the Fall of 2010 called The Infernal Devices. They are meant to be a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series. The MI is set in modern day New York where as the Infernal Devices takes us back one hundred and forty years to the heart of Victorian England, exploring an earlier era in the history of the Shadowhunters — a time before the Accords, when Downworlder and Shadowhunters were at each other’s throats.

I think next on my list of to-read is the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. Dani has read some of them and thinks I will like them too. I’m starting book 1, The Angel Experiment, tonight. When I get done w. the series, I’ll try to do a post about them too.

Until Next Time!