I hope Santa stopped at the bookstore...

Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas full of friends, family and lots of shiny books. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face.
Happy Holidays!

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

What do you do when you're 16 and your previously undiscovered musician boyfriend writes a hit song about how you dumped him and now you can't go to school, to work, let alone on a date without the paparazzi or drooling fans dogging your every step? And so begins Audrey as she explains her side of the story on how her ex-boyfriend Evan shot from obscurity to stardom by using their break-up as inspiration for his bands' hit song "Audrey, Wait!". Audrey has always lived and breathed for music - the louder the better - but now that musicians, magazines and even MTV want a piece of her, all Audrey wants is for people not to see her as a fluff-brain teen obsessed with fame.

What has to be the best part of this book hands-down are Robin Benway's descriptions of Audrey's interactions with her friends: her outspoken best friend Victoria, Victoria's chill boyfriend Jonah, and her so-lovable shy and quirky co-worker James. Like Audrey, all three are seriously obsessed with music but each one helps Audrey handle the media attention in importantly different ways. Teenage potty mouths aside, some of their exchanges were frickin' hilarious, making this one heck of a page-turner. For a good idea of the crazy way Audrey's mind works, take a look at this apology scene between her and James.

All I wanted to do was apologize to him and make it right, make it like it was before.

So of course I answered the door wearing a ring made of aluminum foil around my head.

"What is that?" James said after he had rushed inside and Pierce squealed out of our driveway. He tapped at my makeshift arts-and-crafts project with one finger. "Are you trying to attract aliens?"

"No, they've probably already heard of me. But this," I added as I gestured to my head, "is my halo."

"Your what?"

"My halo. You might have noticed that it was missing earlier today. But good news! I found it! And it was sitting right next to a big apology for you."

I could tell he was trying not to laugh, which was exactly what I wanted him to do.

"A big apology?" he asked. "Or a huge one?"

"Gigantic. Elephantine."

"Elephan -- what?"

"PSAT word. But don't interrupt me!" I sidled up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my face against the cold denim of his jacket. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I was crazy. I was DramaGirl."

That girl totally cracks me up ("But good news! I found it!") -- and that, my friends, is what makes this book so fun. Hilarity and friends who are dang good at keeping Audrey sane yet who don't hesitate to call her on her crap. I dare you to try out the first chapter of Audrey, Wait! and see if you're not cracking up just like I was after only a few lines.

I am so not a hip music person by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought I'd take a page from Audrey and compile a playlist from the song quotes she uses to begin each chapter of her 'confessional.' Just make sure you turn it up real loud.

book source: The Epic Rat giveaway

See Michelle Laugh: The Ultimate Showdown

Let me preface this by saying something first: The Hubby is an engineer and often exhibits a somewhat skewed sense of humor. So when he told me all his co-workers were a-flutter over a music video I sort of nodded and agreed to watch, not really expecting much comedy wise. And surprise, surprise - it was dang funny (no really, that's a big surprise). Supes of every ilk make an appearance and I couldn't help but give a little cheer of glee when my favorite family-psychologist-never-nude-Blue-Man-wannabe Tobias Funke popped up.*

Who are you rooting for?

*you've really never partaken of the awesomeness that is Arrested Development?? I'm so sorry. Really. Please do yourself a favor and get to Bluth-ville pronto while preparing for some serious hilarity. And loose seals. Or is it Lucilles?

Cover Alert & Excerpt: Bewitched & Betrayed

As a Christmas present to her readers (thank you, thank you!), Lisa Shearin has graciously posted the cover and chapters 1-3 of her latest Raine Barnes book Bewitched & Betrayed due out April 2010. After hurrying through her previous three Raine books (one, two, three), I promise I'm trying to wait very impatiently for Raine to pick either Tam or Mychael.

waiting...

waiting...

Ash by Malinda Lo

What drew me to this book first off is the gorgey cover. And trust me when I say that it's even prettier in person than on this here screen.

After the death of her beloved father, Ash is left to fend for herself against her cruel stepmother, who forces her to work as a servant to repay her father's debts. Lost in her despair, far away from friends, Ash begins to seek out the faeries - when she meets the dangerously beautiful Sidhean, whom she hopes will take her away from all her pain and misery. Then Ash meets the King's Huntress Kaisa who befriends Ash and teaches her to hunt and ride; showing her things Ash never thought possible. Kaisa's friendship forces Ash to consider her choices and eventually leads her to turn to her dark faery for help as she tries to keep her place in the world of the living for a chance at love.

Knowing Ash was a Cinderella retelling I was looking for the proverbial plot devices and was pleasantly surprised to find only slight mentions at the most. Yes, Ash is orphaned and left to her cruel stepmother, yes, she ends up sleeping next to the fireplace a time or two, and yes, she does charm the prince at the ball - but those details are by no means the most intriguing parts of the story. Malinda Lo seamlessly weaves a lyrical story of not just a girl trying to find her place in the world but also of faeries and love and the strength to fight for what you want. All this happens in a completely spell-binding new world that I found myself too lost in to even begin thinking about how this is not your traditional wishy-washy Disney Cinderella. Ash is no storybook princess and it's no surprise she is drawn to the King's Huntress with her steady sword and ability to roam free.

I do wish Malinda Lo had taken a bit more time to explore Ash's world since the world building was only partway explained and I wanted more back-story on the Huntress, more about the faeries, and more about the royal family and their customs. Each of these facets brought a new and compelling aspect to Ash but the details for each left me hoping for more. Although, what we do get is unfailing beautiful and compelling and made this a standout amongst other Cinderella retellings.

Since I've never read a book that featured same-sex romance, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well Malinda Lo handled the entire situation. It's not over the top and the buildup quietly subtle and by no means unnecessarily dramatic. In Ash, homosexuality isn't even an issue, which created this wide open space for Kaisa and Ash to maneuver in since no one even felt like it was anything out of the ordinary - other than the fact that the two were well on their way to True Love Land.

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Smugglers review
Library Lounge Lizard review
Pop Culture Junkie review
Presenting Lenore review
S. Krishna's Books review
The Story Siren review

book source: Presenting Lenore giveaway

Men in Tights

I just spotted this courtesy of Katibabs over at Babbling about Books and couldn't help but start jumping up and down in my seat. Okay, and maybe some squealing was involved too.

Russell Crowe as Robin + Cate Blanchett as Marian?
Yeah. Thinking I'll be first in line for that one ;)

And because I just don't think I can wait nine more days for this duo...

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

As always, I'm trying to keep things spoiler-free here, but trust me when I say you won't want to read this review unless you've already read the heart-stopping Hunger Games. What are you waiting for? Go read it! Now!


After defying the Capitol and President Snow in the last Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta have returned home as joint victors – an unprecedented achievement – to find they are still in as much danger as before. This danger however is not such an in-your-face-fight-for-survival, but nonetheless deadly with exponentially more lives at stake. All Katniss wants to is to return home after the Games and resume her former life: hunting with Gale, arguing with the black market vendors of the Hob, and generally keeping a low profile. That dream however is shattered after President Snow makes it perfectly clear to Katniss that he expects to be fully convinced of her undying love for Peeta not just on their Victory Tour but permanently. And if she can’t? The consequences won’t just be limited to herself this time: her family and friends would be the Capitol’s next targets.

On thing I really like about Suzanne Collins’ books is that I never really know what will happen next. Her constant twists and turns catch me of guard and I really, really like that. Despite the somewhat rushed, horribly abrupt cliff-hanger ending (why do authors ever feel the need to do that to their readers?!?) Catching Fire held me from the get-go and played havoc with my emotions the entire ride.

So much about Catching Fire is focused on relationships and barring Katniss' interactions with Gale and Peeta, I eagerly anticipated any scene where Cinna came into play. The man is a genius designer and I couldn’t be more impressed with his subtly and symbolism in everything he creates for Katniss. A talented designer and truly committed to Katniss, Cinna is one stylist I’d want in my corner too.

I’ve read many reviews that compalined that the pacing in this book was off – to which I say, not off, just different. For a while Katniss really doesn’t do much of anything besides try to figure out where she stands on a variety of subjects: how she feels about Gale, how she feels about Peeta, how to convince the President she really isn’t trying to foment a rebellion, etc., etc. This is a drastic change of pace in one sense, because Katniss isn’t physically fighting for her life every at every turn. Instead, she’s waging war on a variety of fronts, only now she has to think about how to keep her family and friends alive too. So for a 17 year old, she’s got a lot on her plate and I, for one, was intrigued by her inner turmoil and struggle to define herself. Which maybe makes Catching Fire more of a coming of age/determination story than a dystopian survival novel, but differences aside, I loved it and can’t wait to see where that cliff-hanger ending will go next.

series reading order:
~ Hunger Games
~ Catching Fire
~ untitled book 3 due out Aug. 2010

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
The Compulsive Reader review
Karin's Book Nook review
Linus's Blanket review
Presenting Lenore review

book source: Book Binge giveaway

Stumped by a subplot

Ready, Set, GO! for some massive ramblings on my part.

So I'm just about finished reading Audrey, Wait! (so very, very fun) when this one little random scene pops up between the title character and this way secondary character from her school, Tizzy, and I still can't quite wrap my brain around the significance of what happened. The most annoying part is that it wasn't even that important of an exchange. Although after repeated attempts at trying to tell myself just that, I still can't let it go. Did this girl Tizzy mean her gift to Audrey as an innocent joke or was she just being downright rude? And why, above all, do I care about this unimportant snippet?!

I Don't Know!!

Sad part is, this isn't the first time I've found myself in such an agonizing situation. More often than not, I find myself going back and forth on possible interpretations of a scene that has no real impact (whatsoever) on the overall plot of the book. What I really should be trying to puzzle out is why does it matter so much to me in the first place? The only conclusion I have come to is that I am crazy. Certifiably. But some people might see that as a cop-out.

So. Please. Someone tell me I'm not crazy and that you too find yourself in agonizing situations such as this. Or if you've read Audrey, Wait! and know what in the heck I'm rambling on and on about, please feel free to explain what you think happened in that one-sided gift exchange.