Geek Chic: A Firmoo Prescription Glasses Review

So I've worn glasses since the 6th grade. I remember senior year of High School (ugh that was a long time ago) I got my first pair of thick frame glasses. That was before these types of glasses became super mainstream so I was a little self conscious at first but I loved them.

Flash forward to now, I've had pretty much the same pair/style of glasses for 6+ years. I have been wanting to go a bit more daring but was having a hard time picking a style, color etc. Too many choices!

My current glasses:

Those glasses served me well but the glasses were looking pretty worn and I wanted something a little more daring. For months I had been trying to figure out my next pair of glasses. Then one day I heard from Firmoo.com an online glasses store with a global reach. They offered to let me select a pair of glasses with my new prescription to try out and review. So because of this offer I felt this was my chance to be a little daring with my new pair. So I really went for it (in my opinion.)

The pair I picked out, you can see them online here:

They came with a nice case, cleaning cloth etc.

So just like I felt back in High School, I wondered did I go to far, do these work for my face? At first I was a little self conscious but I'm happy to say it's been a few weeks later and I LOVE MY NEW GLASSES. A friend even told me these are the glasses I've always needed they totally match my hair and my style. And I have to say I agree! It took several days to get used to my new prescription but after that and wearing them day in and day out I love how they look on me!

Have to throw a crazy one in here!

If you are looking for your next pair of glasses I would definitely suggest Firmoo.com They have a range of prescription glasses and even prescription sunglasses. The prices are extremely extremely affordable (I believe the price of mine were $26) and the quality is great! I might even have to get a second pair!

Their website is full of information on the glasses including reviews, pictures of people wearing the exact style you are looking at and a feature that let's you upload an image of yourself to see how the glasses would look on you.

And here is the very best part, Firmoo has a program where you can order your first pair of glasses from them and they are free, you just pay the shipping fee. Check it out here. 

Received glasses courtesy of Firmoo for the purpose of review

Review: My Wonderful World of Shoes by Nina Chakrabarti

My Wonderful World of Shoes is perfect for shoe lovers, fashion lovers and people that just love to sit down and color! Basically it's good for all ages! I've been a fan of Nina Chakrabarti's books ever since the first one My Wonderful World of Fashion came out! They are very multi-use, you can look at them as an art book or a coffee table book or you can literally sit down and color in them!

Beyond all that I really like Nina's style of illustration, sense of humor and even just the way the books are designed, I'm a sucker for cardboard and sparkly metallics and of course pink! 

So obviously I'm a huge fan of her work I think they make great gifts for girls of any age and just make you smile! Since I have all her books my only issue with My Wonderful World of Shoes would be that I wish it had more of the interaction and variety of prompts that her previous books have. I get that this is solely (ha!) focused on shoes but I would have loved to have seem a page filled with a shoe pattern or someone wearing the shoes, some variety in the layout. But overall this book is definitely still a win!

Here's a page I colored (yes I still like to color!):

A little about Nina and her studio:

Nina's My Wonderful World of Fashion Website- you can design your own shoe in her app! So fun!

My Wonderful World of Shoes was released on September 19th
Genre: Art/Fashion
4/5 Stars
Review Copy

Review: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips

 

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you might have heard, I'm obsessed with the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips.

 

I've always wanted to try these salon effects nail strips. I even bought some about a year and a half ago but have never opened them. I was afraid I would have so much trouble putting them on that I would ruin them and there would go $10 down the drain.

 

I finally gave them a whirl last week and I am obsessed. I applied the leopard print Sunday evening and about a week later on Monday I took them off. I really only had chipping on one nail out of 5 (I didn't apply them to all my nails.) I just put on another set (pink polka dots) last night and for some reason this set has a little more chipping, I think it might be user error in this case with how I filed them this time.

 

 

 In the past week I've compiled a nice little collection of these and I can't wait to keep using them. I like that each set comes split into two packs, so if you are like me and only want to do half of your nails with the strips and the rest with polish the other half of the strips won't dry out and you can get two manicures out of them. I really can't get enough of these!

 

 

 I've been enjoying seeing people's reactions to my manicures and think I have convinced a few people to also try them out to see how they like them! Have you used these? How did you like them?

Received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster

Review: Twisted: A Pretty Little Liars Novel by Sara Shepard

I'll be honest. After the series had ended with the last book, and it was supposed to be finished I was kind of sad but understood. And then all of a sudden, the series was back from the grave, probably at least in part because of the success of the tv show. I was definitely skeptical, really could it come back and keep going after everything that had happened? Well I'm here to tell you it's TOTALLY BACK and just as great as it was before!

I'm going to try and keep this spoiler free.

So with the last book a lot of the questions were answered (it was supposed to be the last book after all). There was one possibility that was left open and this new book totally takes that and runs with it, it runs so far I still have no idea what's going on! But this book was awesome, it starts a whole new set of mysteries and the risks and possibilities for trouble are so much bigger that before.

As always, each of the girls have their own story lines, I always forget one of the big differences from the books to the tv show is that in the books the girls aren't actually friends that much of the time whereas on the tv show they are. So not surprisingly the girls aren't really on good terms for much of this book, but that's because they are keeping such a huge secret that they can't stand to look one another in the eye. Luckily by the end we know as much as they do regarding the secret (I think) so it's definitely satisfying in that way.

If you are a lover of PLL the books or the tv show I'd say read this. If you haven't read or watched PLL what are you watching for, it's so juicy and fun and scary and awesome! Get in on it! But seriously, if you are new to this series, start from the beginning, it wouldn't be much fun starting in the middle!

Twisted was released on July 5th 2011
Genre: Young Adult
4/5 Stars
Purchased

Amazon.com:

It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The pretty little liars have more secrets than ever—twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild. 

Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship. 

Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore . . . eventually.

Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found by Sophie Blackall

I'm a big fan of non-traditional books, ones that don't exactly fit in any one category and Missed Connections by Sophie Blackall is a great example of one. Sophie Blackall has a fascination with missed connections, a glance on a train or a brief chat, a meeting at the time didn't maybe mean a whole lot (or maybe it did) and a person wishing after the fact they could get in touch with the person.

Missed Connections is a blog turned book of beautifully illustrated missed connections. Blackall takes the words people have written and turns them into beautiful pieces of art. Originally I was taken with Blackall's beautiful paintings (beautiful and delicate detail and color) but I also found the idea of exploring Missed Connections really interesting. Blackall has written a really nice introduction to her book so when you look at and read the missed connections it is much more meaningful than just looking at some pretty pictures.

One of my favorite Missed Connections from the book

If you loved missed connections or beautiful artwork you should definitely check out Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections.

Missed Connections was released October 4th 2011
Genre: Awesome
4.5/5 Stars
Accepted Review Copy

Suburgatory: A TV Pilot Review + An Advance Viewing

Last week I received a bag of goodies in the mail. At first I was confused, what were they for and then I read the note from Dallas Royce and saw the card about an advance screening of Suburgatory which is a new fall tv show from ABC I was excited for!

Oddly enough I was really into some of the things in the bag, what does that say about me, yeah I'm from the suburbs. :)

 Because I was already so excited to see this new sitcom I sat right down and watched the pilot episode and let me tell you, it did not disappoint, I actually liked it even more than I thought I would.

The show features Tessa (I love her look of disgust) and her father George (Jeremy Sisto as a father?! It's crazy, when I think of him I think of Clueless and Six Feet Under, definitely not a father but it somehow works) who move from NYC to the suburbs. 

I found it to be a wonderful fish out of water story filled with sarcastic dialogue and narration, perfect suburban imagery and a whole bunch of laughs. If you like Mean Girls you'll love this!

One of my favorite characters is Dahlia (in the leopard print skirt) who has some of the funniest lines and deadpans them perfectly. Basically this show was awesome and if the creators can keep it going full steam ahead they are going to have a great show on their hands!

Are you interested? Here's the trailer:

 

While the show doesn't premiere until tomorrow (This Wednesday at 8:30/7:30 Central on ABC) I am able to share a code that allows you to watch the episode right now! If you can't tell I'd definitely recommend it!

To view, visit www.abc.com/suburgatoryscreening 

Enter Code: pWNlhSSKa

If you check out the show, now or when it premieres stop back and let me know what you think! This Fall TV season is turning out to be something great!

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Earlier this summer when I found out the Lying Game was being made into a ABC Family show jut like the author's other series, Pretty Little Liars, I squealed with glee. And while I didn't finish the book before the show started it got me going on it.

For anyone else that has read the first 8 books in the Pretty Little Liars series there is a sort of funny connection (I think) between this series and that one, anyone else notice that? Anyhow onto the story... this is another mystery that involves a set of twins, one living and one dead (?) whom both narrate. The living twin, Emma ends up taking over her sister's life and tries to figure out what happened to her sister Sutton, who is basically a ghost who has no memory of what happened to her.

This first book in the series is very much a set up for the whole series (Just like the first PLL book) so not a ton is revealed or really happens for that matter but I'm really excited to see where it goes. I love the whole concept of the Lying Game, which is actually a game and I hope we get to learn more about that in the upcoming books.

And if you are interested I would definitely suggest the tv show, right now I think I might like that a little more than the book but of course everything happens faster on tv! ;P As it stands now the show is a little different than the book but we'll see how it plays out!

The Lying Game was released on December 7th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
3.5/5 Stars
Got copies from several places!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins + A Chance to Win Lola

Unless you are living under a rock you probably have heard at least a little something about Anna and the French Kiss. Maybe how squee worthy St Clair is or how it is the best type contemporary fiction out there. And you know I'd definitely agree with all of that. It was just a fun book but not a fun book you'd just brush off and go on your way, a fun book that stays with you. If every book had just a little bit of Anna's magic that would be a dream come true.

I really adored the setting of this book, boarding school in Paris, can you say jealous? I know I can. It sets the stage for Anna and what a beautiful stage it is. And St Clair, what a sweet character. I really think this book could become a wonderful movie. All the lusting these kids do it's crazy!

I'm going to keep this review brief but I wanted to touch on the very few things that bothered me in the book, I thought Anna cried a bit too much, I mean yes she's a teen, far away from home and going through some emotional stuff, but still. Too much. And the way something played out (vague to avoid spoilers), I wasn't so happy with it, but oh well.

Luckily I've had the chance to read Stephanie Perkin's next book, Lola and the Boy Next Door, the companion to Anna and I like it even more! Ahh Stephanie Perkin's has a gift and I hope she never stops using it.

Anna and the French Kiss was released on December 2nd 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Speaking of Lola, I have an extra copy I want to give away to one of you!

Here's how to enter to be the winner of an ARC of Lola and the Boy Next Door !

Fill out the entry form here.

Entries left in the comments of this post will not be counted.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S.

You must be 13 years or older to enter this contest.

The giveaway will end August 17th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

I'm asking for your address straight up.  I will also email you so you know you have won. I will delete the spreadsheet once I have got the winner's information.  

Bridesmaids: A Movie Review

**I was hoping to post this in the morning for anyone that was planning to head out and see the movie tonight and wanted some info but as a lot of us known blogger was down. :( **

Remember forever ago when I used to review movies, you know when they were more than a 1 sentence reaction? Well it's finally time for another one of those! Last week I had the exciting opportunity to see a screening of Bridesmaids and boy was it funny!

It was a great balance of everything in love in a funny movie! Tons of laugh out loud moments and I mean tons but also a good amount of heart. It's definitely not a chick flick, daring to go to a few OMG they did not go there places having me practically in tears from laughter. But it also explores friendships between women and how they can change due to any number of factors.

Some of my favorite moments include a plane and a cameo by Melissa McCarthy's husband, a chocolate fountain, lip syncing and 2 British siblings. I definitely can't wait to watch this movie again!

First let's talk about the cast, so so many wonderful actresses and a few wonderful actors as well. 

The movie stars Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) as Annie who also co-wrote the movie as the best friend and Maid of Honor of Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live, Away We Go) as Lillian the bride, and Rose Byrne (Damages) who I always thought more as a dramatic actress as Helen the very put together new friend of Lillian. The cast of bridesmaids is rounded out by Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls) like you have never seen her before as Megan, Ellie Kemper (The Office) as Becca and Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911) as Rita. So definitely a very talented and hilarious cast.

You'll also see a cameo appearance by Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as Ted who I've always thought should do more comedy, 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live come to mind as HILARIOUS and Chris O'Dowd (The IT Crowd) takes the cake as my favorite male cast member, I love this guy! 

I do wish we would have seen more of Becca and Rita, their storylines were much smaller than the rest of the women. I could not get over Melissa McCarthy and Megan, in a lot of scenes she stole the show.

Some of the funniest scenes were between Annie and Helen, Lillian's two best friends. They are complete opposites, Annie's life has pretty much fallen apart while Helen's cannot be more put together. The tension between them is hilarious, though they have just met for the first time at Lillian's Engagement party it doesn't stop them from going at it from the very start.

Oh man how I adore Chris O'Dowd and I had no idea he was even in this movie! When he came on screen for the first time my friend had to shush me because I was so excited and started chattering.

One super random comment, Kristen Wiig has the best earrings in this movie, did anyone else notice this? So if you go to see the movie I hope you enjoy it and stop back to tell me what you think!

Synopsis:


This spring, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) and director Paul Feig (creator of Freaks and Geeks) invite you to experience Bridesmaids. Kristen Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.


Annie’s life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian’s maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she’ll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you’ll go for someone you love.


And I have some 2 Bridesmaids Survival Kits to share with 2 of you!


Bridesmaids Survival Kit - Mesh bag filled with:
·         lip balm
·         mints
·         comb/mirror
·         nail files
·         shot glass engagement ring
·         Bridesmaids T-shirt
·         And a copy of the official soundtrack!


Here's how to enter!!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.


Entries left in the comments of this post will not be counted.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S.

The giveaway will end May 27th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Prize provided by marketing firm**

Blog Tour: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Amazon.com:

Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you." After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him.

Written with whip-smart precision and charm, Attachments is a strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut about falling in love with the person who makes you feel like the best version of yourself. Even if it's someone you've never met. 

 

It's kind of funny that I originally was attracted to this book because part of it was told through emails. I thought it would be a fun book but it turned out to be one of my all time favorite books, and actually I'm pretty sure my #1 favorite of all time. (I don't joke around with favorites I think I've had maybe 6 in my life?)

Let's talk a little about the plot, so yes, there are those emails I was talking about between 2 friends Jennifer (who is married) and Beth (who has a long term boyfriend). Now we get to read these emails because it is Lincoln's job to monitor the emails at the newspaper they all work at and his portion of the story is told through I guess you would call it narrative? Emails with questionable content for whatever reason (flagged words etc), go to Lincoln and he is supposed to crack down on the offenders. I bet you are thinking "Say what, that's a crazy job!" And while it is, it makes a little more sense because the book takes place in 1999. So after reading a bunch of their emails Lincoln starts to feel weird about contacting them about their conduct but can't seem to stop reading their emails and ends falls for Beth in the process.

Lincoln is sort of lost in his path through life, he's gone to school A LOT, lives with his mother still (he's in his late 20s), is sort of shy and is still really affected by his one major relationship he had in his life. Basically he's a really sweet guy but no one but his small group of friends would know it and at first I don't think we the reader do either. In a lot of ways it kind of creeps me out how much I related to and understand Lincoln. And that's one thing I really loved about this book, of many. 

The way the story evolves just hit all the right notes for me, seeing Lincoln starting to better himself for a woman he doesn't even really know, seeing Beth really decide what to do about her relationship... I really can't put into words how just right and wonderful this book is. It made me laugh, giggle and literally cry tears of joy over the ending of this book. I was so invested in the story. There are some wonderful twists and nuances I'm dying to tell you about but it's so much more fun if you read it yourself!

And oh that ending, talk about perfect, I finally realized, reading the ending, Attachments reminded me a lot of one of my favorite movies Amelie (the plot, the magic, the wonderful ending just so many things). 

 

I read the book about a month ago over about 2 super busy days (every time I was at home I was reading) and whenever I think of it or mention it my heart literally leaps, I know that sounds super cheesy but I mean it. There is no way I can do this book justice so if you are at all intrigued do yourself a favor and check it out! I try not to tell people flat out, read this book, but seriously READ THIS BOOK!

 

Attachments was released on April 14th

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

5/5 Stars

Review copy provided by publisher for blog tour

And luckily enough I have the chance to give one of you a copy of this book!

Here's how to enter to be the winner of the Attachments:

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. and Canada only.

The giveaway will end May 19th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

Entries left in the comments of this blog post will not be counted, please fill out the giveaway entry form.

**Prize provided by the publisher **

Blog Tour: Goodnight, Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Amazon.com:

New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros absolutely dazzles in this quick-witted, laugh-out-loud funny, and highly moving love story that will set readers’ hearts atwitter. 

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard"—a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical—Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?

Or is he?

Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss—a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation. 

Being a fan of twitter and romance and novels told in the epistolary format I just had to give this book a read! While it did succeed in entertaining me and keeping me coming back for more (which isn't happening a lot lately to be honest) I feel like I just needed more in a few instances.

Using something like Twitter I think this book could have benefited from a bit more design and formatting a la the book Tweet Heart. Having the tweets treated pretty much like the rest of the text in the book had me confused a bit at the beginning as far as if it was an actual tweet or a direct message. Also to help shape this conversation between Abby and Mark I would have loved to have seen some of their just regular tweets not directed at each other.

Their tweets were pretty fun, though sometimes very full of current pop culture references which might not stand the test of time or fly right past some people's heads. I loved the idea at the heart of the book, Abby struggling to write her second book after a huge amount of success with the first and some wonderful stranger there encouraging her to do so. 

From the summary I knew they had to be some kind of twist coming about Mark and who he really was. So I definitely kept reading to find out what it was. To be honest I was hoping for something a little different, trying to be vague here to not give much away. Also I would have loved a bit more at the ending, it ended pretty quickly for me. But overall a fun book!

Goodnight Tweetheart was released on December 14th 2010
Genre: Contemporary Romance
3.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Blog Tour: The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent (True Vows)

Amazon.com:

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot com! An online dating service is not Michelle Snow's idea of how to find love, but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn't brought a date home in ten years, she's professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery.

Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn't exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there's no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn't so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing—until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: 'I like your smile.' Todd likes—a lot—the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C.

It's serious mojo-at-first-sight but there's a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a 'You've Got Mail' courtship when video cam kisses just aren't enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles? 

Ever since I heard about the True Vows series (the first reality-based romance series) last Spring I have been so excited about the concept! Taking a real life love story and turning it into a book, how cool! I would love to find out more about how the books were written, did the authors interview the couples. read interviews with them, how much is straight from the couple and how much is the author's addition, I just love the concept!

And specifically with The Icing on the Cake which deals with Michelle's dreams of opening up a cupcake bakery, I mean what's not to love about CUPCAKES! Michelle and Todd meet via match.com. I sort of figured there would be a bit more in the book about online dating but they meet up face to face pretty quickly and the whole internet relationship thing is very short lived.

Like a lot of the romance novels I've read, I love that The Icing on the Cake switches between both Michelle and Todd's perspectives, I felt like I got to know them both equally that way. And the story is rather sweet, you can tell they are both genuinely caring people and since this is about real people, I love knowing these two are really out there living their life together! One of my favorite passages is about a tour of bakeries that Todd puts together in New York City for Michelle, I am happy to say I have been to two of their stops, delicious!

But, since this is based on a real life couple, the ups and downs and excitement you find in all stories is sort of softened, nothing really that shocking happens, they both have their own personal struggles and triumphs but I guess I could have used a little more zing in one way or another.

Overall a sweet book from what looks to be a very promising series of books!

The Icing on the Cake was released on September 14th 2010
Genre: Reality-Based Contemporary Romance
3.5/5 Stars
ARC picked up at BEA

I also have the opportunity to give away the entire 3 set series (The Icing on the Cake, Hard to Hold, and Meet Me in Manhattan!
To read about the series click here.

Here is how to enter!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the US and Canada only, and no PO Boxes. 

The giveaway will end November 29th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

Entries left in the comments of this blog post will not be counted, please fill out the giveaway entry form.

**Prize provided by the publisher**

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Amazon.com:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I really loved and appreciated The DUFF. In a sea of Young Adult Literature it really comes off as authentic and real to me. I loved the storyline, a girl falling for the guy she she cannot stand, I mean how does that happen and once it does what do you do!

I adored Bianca she's a rather average and normal girl but she's not boring or someone that fades into the background, she's a real person with real problems and I loved seeing her story unfold on the page. And Wesley, who doesn't know someone that comes off slimy like that! All the characters in the book were great!

I know a lot of people have commented on the language and the sex in this book. This is my take on it, the language didn't bother me one bit, I actually liked that it was written that way, it made the dialogue seem a hell of a lot more real that way. And the sex, while there was a lot, it didn't happen without explanation and I found the book to really flesh out and explain everything, nothing was meaningless.

Overall this was a breath of fresh air and I can't wait to read more from this author!

The DUFF was released on September 7th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
Picked up at BEA

iDrakula by Bekka Black

Amazon.com:

The classic vampire story that started it all gets new life for a generation of connected teens

18-year-old Jonathan Harker is diagnosed with a rare blood disorder after visiting a Romanian Count. His girlfriend Mina and a pre-med student named Van Helsing team up to investigate the source of the disease. The teenagers discover a horrifying truth: the Count is a vampire. The harrowing events unfold through emails, text messages, web pages, Twitter feeds, and instant messaging-the natural modernization of Bram Stoker's original Dracula, which was written in letters, diary entries, and news clippings.

While I've sort of been put off paranormal lately, iDrakula called to me, with it's unique way of storytelling and I'm so glad I picked it up!  Not having read the original of even seen a movie version of Dracula (which I did so afterward and of the two iDrakula wins) it was fun to experience the story in one of my favorite ways, through emails, text messages, web pages etc. I've heard that the original is told in letters and diaries, so I think it's really fun to see how that was modernized in this book too!

It really sucked me in and I finished it in about 2 sittings which never happens for me. I definitely thought it was creepy and mysterious. But at the same time I felt sort of removed from the situation, but I think that is just the case with this story because of the way it's told, even the original. One thing I would have liked was just more, the story moves at such a quick pace it's over like THAT. So maybe a little bit more detail would have been nice!

Reading iDrakula has opened me up to exploring other versions of the story and that I'm definitely excited about!

iDrakula was released on October 1st 2010
Genre: Young Adult
3.5/5 Stars
Picked up at BEA

Scott Pilgrim Vol 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Amazon.com:

Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. But the path to Ms Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends stand in the way between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down?

I'd always been interested in checking out the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. And then the movie came out, so of course I went to that first. I ended up adoring the movie, probably my favorite so far of 2010, and left with my face hurting from laughing so hard. I then finally decided to give the graphic novels a whirl. I'm sort of under the impression that the movie spans all the books but we will find out if that is true!

I liked the illustration style of the book, because of the size and shape of the book, I was worried that it might be too manga for my taste (I haven't read a manga yet because I don't really like the style of art I've seen in the ones I've flipped through) but I turned out to be completely wrong and thought the illustrations were great, I especially liked the big eyes.

I couldn't help, and can't help here talking about how the graphic novel and movie are the same. You can definitely tell they stayed as close as they could for the movie to the graphic novel. I had to laugh at the fact that this weird hat that Scott wears in the movie originated in the graphic novel, and how close they got the people in the movie to look like the kids in the graphic novel.

And of course, I adore the story, it's cute, hilarious and just awesome. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life was released on August 18th 2004
Genre: Graphic Novel
4/5 Stars
Borrowed from Local Library

Don't Stop Believin' The Unofficial Guide to Glee by Erin Balser & Suzanne Gardner

GoodReads.com:

he kids in McKinley’s high school’s glee club “New Directions” might not be the most popular in school. For every chart-topping song “New Directions” belts out at practice the glee kids are liable to get a slushie tossed in their face by a football player or harassed online by the creme-de-la-creme of the school, one of McKinley’s “Cheerio” cheerleaders. But fictional popularity aside, the television show Glee is unquestionably a runaway hit, and audiences can’t get enough of their story: from the songs to the students, and especially the wacky teachers.

Don't Stop Believin': The Unofficial Guide to Glee is for Glee fans who demand more once the curtain falls. From information about the stars, the music, the trivia, and the in-jokes, to analysis of each relationship and fashion choice, Don't Stop Believin': The Unofficial Guide to Glee is the go-to guide for all things Glee. The book is thorough enough to satiate even the most dedicated of fans, yet accessible enough that a casual viewer can enjoy it.

Don't Stop Believin' in my mind was pretty perfect when it comes to giving all the dish and facts on Glee. It starts off with a few chapters on how Glee came to be and backgrounds for all the main cast. Then it dives into the bulk of the book, breakdowns of all the episodes.

I loved how the episodes were broken up into sections, so say you weren't interested in the best Sue quotes from the episode (How Sue Cs It) then you could just skip that section, but who wouldn't be interested in that! I personally read and enjoyed all the sections, my only comment would be that it would have been nice to have a Brittany quote section, though her quotes often popped up in other sections of the recaps. I also thought it was cool that there was a section that compared Ryan Murphy's other show Popular to Glee (That's Pretty Popular), which made me decide it was about time to watch Popular again, and so I am.

I think this guide lends itself wonderfully to all sorts of Glee fans, the ones like me that want to gobble up all the information all at the same time and read it straight through, and those that would prefer to leisurely flip through when they are watching a certain episode, it's all here. There is even a small section of color photos in the middle, not so large that it eats up the rest of the book but enough to give your eyes a rest half way through.

If you are a fan of Glee, hands down this Glee guide is for you!

Don't Stop Believin' was released on September 1st
Genre: Non-Fiction, TV
5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Amazon.com:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Hush, Hush is a hard one to wrap my head around. I loved how mysterious it was, Nora has all these unexplained events happening around her but why? And she has this new lab partner that is basically hell bent on getting to know her and is a weird cross between a major flirt and a creepy creepy dude. She knows to stay away from him but he keeps appearing and giving her rides etc so that doesn’t really happen. He didn’t seem extremely scary to me but enough to warrant her fear. But she also can’t help her attraction to him though she sure tries.

I liked Nora’s character but her friend Vee, while funny, WOW she was kind of an idiot. I could have done without her, she was just getting Nora into trouble instead of really helping her with anything.

But towards the end when all the angel stuff (yeah that’s what I’m going to call it) comes out it’s sort of contradictory. One angel tells another if you do this you will be back in heaven and do this, and then they do just that but they end up doing something else instead of going back to heaven. I know that sounds really vague but I don’t want to spoil. Also, aren’t angels supposed to be nice, not fallen angels but normal angels, they don’t seem so nice.... It was just really confusing to me. And my interest started to wain towards the end.

I will say it will be interesting to see where the story continues in Book 2 Crescendo.

Hush, Hush will be released in paperback on September 21st
Genre: Young Adult
3.5/5 Stars
ARC reviewed from publisher

Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz

Amazon.com:

In her first full-length graphic memoir, Julia Wertz (creator of the cult-hit comic The Fart Party) documents the year she left San Francisco for the unfamiliar streets of New York. Don’t worry—this isn’t the typical redemptive coming-of-age tale of a young woman and her glorious triumph over tragedy or any such nonsense. It’s simply a hilarious—occasionally poignant—book filled with interesting art, absurd humor and plenty of amusing self-deprecation. Box by box, Wertz chronicles four sketchy apartments, seven terrible jobs, family drama, traveling fiascos, and too many whiskey bottles to count.

Being a fan of Fart Party, I was so excited to see Wertz had a new book out and in this case it's a more of a whole store, a graphic memoir, instead of stripes compiled together.

I really think there was no way I couldn't like this book, Julia travels to New York to see what she thinks of it there and being a fan of New York myself I love reading about people's experiences with it.

While we might not have a lot in common hobby wise (I SO don't like beer), I feel like she's the comic voice of my generation. She perfectly describes what it's like to be a 20-something, sometimes you just have no idea what is going on with your life and it sucks. Through it all though she keeps a mostly positive attitude and finds new adventures and discovers more things about herself.

Wertz's sense of humor is great, and no it's not just a fart party people! She's funny and her illustration style is approachable, she keeps it simple and that's what I love in my graphic novels style wise. Besides the humorous bits she mixes in the hard parts of her life and the troubles with her family, to me it flows really well and it extremely honest yet she never gets to down, always seeing the hilarious side of every situation.

If you want to try something a little new and different in graphic novels and are ready to break away from the "classics" of graphic novels, give this one a try!

Drinking at the Movies was released on August 31st 2010
Genre: Graphic Novel
4.5/5 Stars
ARC from Amazon Vine

Degrassi: The Next Generation Extra Credit #3 and #4 by J. Torres art by Eric Kim (#3) and Steve Rolston (#4)

Missing You Degrassi: The Next Generation Extra Credit #3

Spinner has been dumped by Darcy for his cheating ways! But with God as his witness, he promises to get her back no matter what it takes - including resisting all manner of temptation, all summer long. When arch-nemesis Jay Hogart offers to help, Spinner finds himself torn between "good" and "evil." Which one will win out?

Considering what Liberty's been through recently, it's no wonder she's spending her summer vacation moping about. Her parents suspect post-partum depression, but something else is weighing on her mind. Could Liberty be planning a desperate move?

The third book in the Degrassi: TNG Extra Credit series takes us into Spinner and Liberty's worlds. I really like how this book shows what happens to Spinner over the summer so there is a bit of explanation when the new season starts and if he is or isn't back with Darcy!

I think this might have been my least favorite of the books illustration wise, some of the facial expressions were not really detailed enough and some of the wide shots were way too cartoony for me, it made for a disrupt in the story.

Overall though, another fun installment in the series!

Missing You was released on April 24th 2007
Genre: Graphic Novel/TV/Young Adult
4 Stars
Purchased from Amazon Marketplace

Safety Dance Degrassi The Next Generation Extra Credit #4

When Marco sees Dylan get into a fight with a homophobic hockey player, he's suddenly super self-conscious about the way the world looks at him. Dylan wants to take their relationship to the next level, but Marco is holding them back. What will it take for Marco to move forward? Ashley is back from merry ol' England but she's finding it hard to reconnect with her stepbrother Toby and to rekindle the romance with ex-boyfriend Jimmy. Is her talk of all things British keeping them at a distance...? Or is it her hideous hat?

Like the other books in this series, this book focuses on two characters, this time Marco and Ashley. Marco is/was one of my favorite characters so I loved that he got his own story in one of the graphic novels! I really love the author's sense of humor, bringing in the running gag through the books of Ashley's really ugly hat from the season finale of season 5. It was darn ugly!

What I liked about the artwork in this installment was how clean it was. Clean and crisp lines create my favorite types of graphic images in graphic novels!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the Degrassi: TNG graphic novels, now that it's been a few years since these came out and there is a whole new cast of characters I would love to see a some new installments of the graphic novel series!

Safety Dance was released on May 8th 2007
Genre: Graphic Novel/TV/Young Adult
4 Stars
Purchased from Amazon Marketplace

Blog Tour: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Amazon.com:

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver—deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school—Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him—at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.Part murder mystery, part grief narrative, and part heart-stopping, headlong romance, Low Red Moon is a must-read for teen paranormal fans. As breathless as Twilight and as spooky as Shiver, this is a book to be devoured in one sitting—by an acclaimed YA author making her paranormal debut under the pseudonym Ivy Devlin.

I have been barely reading any paranormal for the last year, it just wasn't feeling like my thing and I was getting sick of the repetitiveness but I wanted to read Low Red Moon because of who was writing it. Unfortunately I don't think I was ready for more paranormal.

I was definitely interested in the mystery in Low Red Moon, Avery's parents die and she's found with their bodies but doesn't really remember a thing, besides seeing a flash of silver. That was definitely my favorite part of the story, was it a paranormal creature or something or someone else? I also liked Avery being reunited with her Grandmother, after the falling out her father had with her Grandmother years ago.

Other than that, like I've heard others say this reminded me a lot of a mash-up of a few other paranormal stories, the hint of mystery is there, the romance etc. I was hoping to really be gripped by this story by something fresh and brand new but sadly this didn't happen for me.

I think if you are a paranormal fan though, you might want to check it out!

Low Red Moon will be released on September 14th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
3/5 Stars
ARC picked up at BEA

Center Stage Book Tours