My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Summary: She doesn't see dead people, but…

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…

Review: Okay so I loved this book. I've had it on my bookshelf for a while, but thanks to me attempting to lower my TBR pile I finally managed to read it. This was a really good story with really good characters. I think Tod is my favorite and I'm really excited to see what happens in future books. I am a bit fond of Nash as well, and I don't like Kaylee's aunt and uncle. They annoy the crap out of me. I don't know what else to say so I'll just end off with if you like a YA fantasy book with a female MC then pick this one up!

5/5

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From Kristi at The Story Siren

So this past Saturday was my birthday and this is what I got!

I asked for Super Mario Galaxy 2 from my parents. They were very shocked that I didn't ask for books. Although my mom and I are leaving on Saturday to go to Florida for a week and she seems determined to find a bookstore for me so I'm guessing I'll have a pretty good IMM next week as well.

The book is actually an inside joke between me and the family that gave it to me. I forgot to take a picture of the card, but it's in the book. The balloon came with the book, and the family's 5 year old son picked it out. My guess is because he's been to my house a few times and knows that I have a fat tabby cat.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Summary: When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…

Review: This story was really good and kind of sad. It was well written, but I think I saw the end coming. I was a bit wary of a certain character. I hope in one of the other books you get more info on Slayer. I'm a big fan of swords with names. I think that they are very important character too.

I felt bad for Kate because it seemed like she could never catch a break. At the same time though I was a bit scared for Kate, because she always had an attitude with the people that could easily kill her. Because my nickname is "Lion Girl" (don't ask) I am very much rooting for Curran. Well at least until he screws up which could very well happen.

5/5

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Summary: The tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad. When Mole goes boating with the Water Rat instead of spring-cleaning, he discovers a new world. As well as the river and the Wild Wood, there is Toad's craze for fast travel which leads him and his friends on a whirl of trains, barges, gipsy caravans and motor cars and even into battle.

Review: This book was really not what I expected. I might be able to see how it can be called a "Children's Classic" because it's a good story to help children learn the value of friendship and how to mature, but there were a lot of things going on that I didn't really think were appropriate for children. Maybe it's different for European kids, but I can't imagine too many parents being okay with their children reading this book. The word "ass" was used a few times, at one point characters were drinking beer, and some of these characters were being shot at. It was a pretty good story, but I fail to see this book as bein children friendly. I think some teens or young adults would get a laugh from reading this because some of the situations are quite amusing, but other than that it isn't a book that I think is a must read.

3/5

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Summary: Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Review: This book was really good. I really liked the idea of only females being werewolves, because for me it set the empowering, female strength throughout the book. I think the book ended fairly well so I don't think there's a sequel which is really nice since I've been reading a lot of books in series lately. I really liked the twist in the story even though I liked a certain character. Oh well that always tends to happen to my favorites. I liked Claire's reaction to finding out about her family's heritage. Instead of just saying "okay whatever I'm a wolf" she freaks out which is what I imagine most of us would do. I just found her attitude very refreshing.

Most of the characters I really enjoyed reading about, except for Claire's mom. At the end I understood her attitude and how it was beneficial to the story, but she still bothered me. I really wanted to jump into the book and punch her a few times.

5/5

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From Kristi at The Story Siren

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I finished Claire de Lune already and it was pretty fantastic. I should have a review up later today.

I've heard lots of stuff about Cassandra Clare's books so I'm pretty excited to finally get to read City of Bones.

Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

Summary: We're the D'Artigo Sisters: Half-human, half-Faerie, we're savvy - and sexy - operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But our mixed-blood heritage short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And me? I'm Camille - a wicked-good witch. Except my magic is as unpredictable as the weather, which my enemies are about to find out the hard way...

At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to Otherworld and the local hangout for humans and beasties alike, our fellow operative Jocko's been murdered. Every clue points to Shadow Wing, the soul-munching, bad-ass leader of the Subterranean Realms. He's made it clear that he aims to raze humankind to the ground, turning both Earth and Otherworld into his private playground. Our assignment: keep Shadow Wing and his minions from creeping into Earth via the Wayfarer. The demons figure they're in like Flynn. After all, with only my 'bumbling' sisters and me standing in the way, how can they miss? But we've got a secret for them: faulty wiring or not, nobody kicks ass like the D'Artigo girls.

Review: I'll be honest with you all. I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I wasn't dying to read Claire de Lune. Even so, I did like this book a lot, and I love that the books focus on one sister then they shift to another one. Camille's life was really interesting, and I think she is the happy median between Menolly's ruthlessness and Delilah's kindness. Don't get me wrong I'm sure that D can be pretty harsh when she needs to be and I'm sure M has a bit of a softer side from when she was human.

The story was good, and I'm curious to see how Camille gets out of her little romance situation, and I'm curious to see how Delilah handles her romance as well. Of course there's also Menolly who doesn't really have a romance in this book, but from what I've read there's bound to be some. :)

4/5

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Summary: For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy"--a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up--and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

Review: This was a cute, middle-grade book that I think many will enjoy. Mibs is a cute character and watching her mature during the book was really enjoyable. A lot of the characters had to grow up on this adventure that they had which is good because the characters have ages between 8 and 16.

I really liked that kids could probably relate to the characters in this story over characters in other fiction books like Harry Potter. Savvy talks a bit about family structures and verbal abuse in a way that children can understand. 4/5

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Summary: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Review: Just for the record I haven't quite finished beating myself up for not starting this series when I first heard about. I don't really know why I didn't, but I was a bit late to the party. I'm here now though and boy am I excited. The story was very different from other YA stories that I've read. Though I kind of had my eye on the bad guy at the end from the very beginning so I kinda saw the end coming, but the story itself was really good.

I liked Rose and Lissa. I think you could really see them both grow throughout the book. Rose started off as this really strong, reckless female character with an "I don't care about anything except Lissa" attitude, but at the end she really starting thinking things through. Lissa appeared to be very timid and unsure of herself, but at the end she was a much stronger character. I think Rose and Lissa were on opposite sides of the Reckless-Responsible scale, but then they found a happy middle they could camp out at.

Oh and yes I must say that I'm all for Dimitri. Mason seems like a cool guy and all, but he's all about protecting Rose. Rose doesn't need protection; she needs to learn to protect herself. Dimitri gets that and he helps teach her self-defense. I'm very curious to see where this relationship goes. 5/5

Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

Summary: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible. Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad. The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

Review: So this book was really really good. I thought some of the language was a bit crude, but there wasn't so much to make the book unenjoyable. I think Nalini brings an interesting concept to vampires and another form of creature. I'm very excited to read Archangel's Kiss, but sadly I will have to wait to get it until the next time I get paid.

I really liked Raphael and Illium. I would want to see them as characters in a movie just so I can see their wings. I liked Elena and Sara too. As far as humans go they were really strong female characters that I would really look up to if they were real. I'm really curious to see how the rest of this story goes.

4.5/5

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From Kristi at The Story Siren

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (signed)

Swag: A tattoo, bookmark, and signed short story by Melissa Marr

All of this was won by the wonderful Aine from Aine's Realm

I started reading Vampire Academy today and I really think I'm going to like Rose. She seems like a very smart, in-your-face character that I'm really going to enjoy reading about.

Wanna win an e-reader?

Well The Bibliophilic Book Blog is having a contest so you can win one of 4 different kinds of e-readers!!!

If you wanna check out this awesome contest then click here to go to the post.

Mistwood by Leah Cypess

Synopsis: The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.
But when she is needed she always comes.
Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.
Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty--because without it, she may be his greatest threat.
Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.
Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

Review: This was indeed and interesting book. At first I didn't think I would like it because for someone with amnesia, Isabel seems to know a lot about herself and her surroundings. And she was really forceful with the prince so it seemed that she might have overstepped her boundaries a bit. Of course as the book went on I came to enjoy the story quite a lot. The twists were very much there, but I will always be wary of Rokan's crazy sister.

The characters were really interesting, but I wasn't really fond of the romance. I was really rooting for Ven, but I guess the prince really must get the girl. *sigh* I don't think that was spoilery, just common sense. I believe this is a stand-alone novel. I can't imagine how Leah would be able to pick back up from the end of this one.

If you like fantasy adventure then you should check this one out. 4/5

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Synopsis: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Review: I kind of liked this book a lot. I'm going to try my hardest to not compare it to Harry Potter so let's see how this goes. I really like the idea of having Greek gods introduced into children's books because I don't know that much about them so the Percy Jackson books are a great way to get kids familiar with this mythology. I kind of had the end figured out. I won't say too much about it because of spoilers, but I kinda knew that he was messed up. Ever since he was introduced I was very wary of him.

I thought the characters were pretty good too, even though if anything that was the biggest similarity to Harry Potter. I know I said I wouldn't, but this is all I'll say alright? Yeah the "brave hero" (Harry/Percy), the "know-it-all" female (Hermione/Annabeth), and the funny best friend (Ron/Grover). Even though it is similar to HP I will gladly be finishing this series, and I will probably start on his new series as well.

4/5

Manga and Random Stuff Bookcase

I was going to do 2 more days of this, but I can't seem to find my hat :(
and they aren't really relevant considering this is a blog for book reviews and all that so this will be my last video. Enjoy seeing how much of a nerd I am. :)

Birthday Bash Giveaway at Hooked On YA Books!

My computer is being difficult so I can't share the pictures, but you guys really want to go there because you get a chance to win lots of books by authors like Richelle Mead, Melissa DeLa Cruz, Melissa Marr, and Kelly Armstrong. Not to mention the fact that there are pre-orders up for grabs too.

Check out the BIRTHDAY BASH!

Reading Habits Survey

I've seen this around so why not post it.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
If I'm sitting in a chair and snacks are around then sure, but I usually don't.

What is your favourite drink while reading?
Dr. Pepper. It's kinda my favorite drink of all time sooo yeah.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
If it's a non-fiction book with inspirational quotes then yes sometimes, but not always. And never in fiction.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Bookmarks=love
Though I do leave the book open if I can't find a bookmark, but mostly I'm using my finger until a bookmark appears.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Fiction is kinda my thing, but there are some non-fiction books that are just wonderful. I enjoy reading both.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I can stop anywhere, but I'd rather not. I feel that if I do stop in the middle of a chapter then I won't fully understand what the author was trying to say to me during that part of the story.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
I haven't physically thrown a book yet, but some books did make me want to.
*cough* Radiant Shadows and Rampant *cough*

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
No. One thing I did learn in high school english was context clues.

What are you currently reading?
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan


What is the last book you bought?
A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
One at a time is enough for me.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
When I lay in bed and read it's nice.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
If the story is really good then I don't mind, but if the series never seems to end then I get sort of annoyed. Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake books are very much like that. I haven't read any of those books yet because quite frankly I wish they would end.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Kristin Cashore will always be one like that. And animal lovers should check out David Clement-Davies.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
By genre most certainly. As a future teacher I need to keep straight which books will be appropriate for my future classroom library. I can't have Harry Potter next to some book with steamy sex in it. That's just bad.

Dark Lover by JR Ward

Synopsis: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Review: I head these books were good so I had high hopes, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. I thought the story and the writing was really good which explains why I finished this book in 2 days. At the end I was really curious and ready to read the next book, but alas I have no money on me so I can't get it just yet. While the story was good I wasn't too big on how Beth and Wrath only knew each other for about 5 days and they already decided to have sex and get married within these few days together. I'm really big on having relationships before getting married and all that, but as they're fictional characters I guess it doesn't really matter. I don't think Wrath will be my favorite brother. In fact I'm a bit smitten with Tor at the moment so he might be my favorite. This weekend I do plan on getting Lover Eternal.

All-in-all I give it 4/5. I expect really good things out of this series now and I'm super excited to read the rest of them.

Tour My Life (part 2)

Forgive my cat. He's very good at getting in the way. :)

Tour My Life (Part 1)

So here are some pictures that I took of one of my bookshelves. I was going to take a video, but after I did my IMM vlog the computer decided to be a pain so I just took some pictures. I'm sorry if some of the pictures are blurry.

Some Classics and some Christian Fiction.
More Christian Fiction

Fantasy and some Paranormal

More Fantasy

Some Children's books
Old school books and some picture books.

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Books Mentioned:
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
The Emotional Struggle by Brandon Ryan

I also got swag from Hidden Haven!

The Emotional Struggle by Brandon Ryan

Synopsis: This book is my honest attempt at confession-a huge confession, requiring everything that had been lodged in the chambers of my soul to aid in expression. Drawing them out, I have broken the locks that kept my deepest thoughts stored away. This book means so much to me, but I know my stories. I feel them, just as you must living with yours. Yet this is just as much for you as it is for me. I typed this entire book with my left hand, solely the first finger of my left hand; it was for you. The Emotional Struggle has been a dream of mine, and it has been nearly three years in the making. It started with a year of writing everyday trying to perfect what was going to be a chance to inspire people; to understand that no matter how bad life can be at times, there is always a way out. And life can get better. But in order to get better, in order to leave the past behind, you have to fight. You have to hold your head high and know that there is a purpose for breathing at this very moment. There is always an open invitation of grace waiting for you in the pierced hands of a man who gave himself up for all humanity.

Review: Wow. If you want to read a book that is powerful in it's message then pick this one up now. I've talked to Brandon a few times on myspace and I knew he had a book out, but getting my hands on it was a bit of a challenge so before I actually get onto the review I want to say thanks to The Fiction Enthusiast for ordering this book for me. I was so happy that I got it.

Anyways I knew before I even read the book some of Brandon's story. He has CP (Cerebral Palsy) and on top of that he deals with the struggles every person has to deal with (school, family, relationships). He takes us on a journey through his life starting with his very first surgery and ending with compiling this book. One thing I will say is that while this is not a book just about God, Brandon does talk a lot about his relationship with God and how God has helped him with his trials in life so if you're open-minded about religion then by all means read this book, but if you are very set in what you believe and don't want to read anything else then this book is not for you. Brandon is an extrodinary person with a wonderful story to share and one thing that he stresses is that everyone has a story whether they believe it or not. That is something that I love because I want to remember that with everyone that I meet. He doesn't try to sugar-coat himself either. He's very honest with the fact that he wasn't a very nice person in school and he refers to high school a number of times. There are just too many good things for me to say so I'm going to end with a few quotes and a huge desire to share this book with you. 5/5

"We have to realize that we are stronger than we believe, that all things are possible, and nothing is ever impossible with God. We have to believe that we are something beautiful and not ugly. We have to believe and understand that there are going to be things in life that are, in fact, beyond our control and logic. We have to learn not to beat ourselves up for things we've done. That will only get us further away from freedom. And we don't need to be further away; we need to walk, run, leap, and even dive towards freedom."

"You really do matter. I can't stress that enough. It isn't okay to be trapped in a self-perception based on what someone else has said to you. It seems so small, but yet it's epic."

"The slightest thing can trigger awful memories. Sometimes, it seems tedious to think optimistically, because healing seems impossible. And while forgetting about the past is feasible, the hard part remains not wanting to just lie down and die when things get difficult. But we pick up the shovel and dig far enough to extract the unhealthy holds. After all, that's how we become free."

Of course if I wanted to be really awful I could take off major points for his taste in music. Limp Bizkitt and SlipKnot?? Really? Korn I can handle, but the other 2? *sighs* He did make up for it though with Chevelle because Chevelle=win.

Wicked Cool Vampire Themed Giveaway!!

Sara from Babbling Flow is giving away lots of signed books that have vampires as the central theme.

What are the prizes?

Twilight

The Vampire Armand

The first 3 Sookie Stackhouse books

Christopher Moore's vampire trilogy

Dracula and the Vampire Book

Yeah I know right!

Go here to fill out the form and try to win:http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/2010/05/very-vampire-may-giveaway-signed.html

Daughters of the Moon 5-9 by Lynne Ewing

5. The Sacrifice

6. The Lost One

7. Moon Demon

8. Possession

9. The Choice

So I was kind of put off by books 5-7 so I was surprised I kept reading. It's not so much that they were bad, but The Sacrifice focuses on Stanton which I'm not that fond of because it's called the Daughters of the Moon series and Stanton isn't a daughter. It was a pretty good story, but I wasn't quite sure if he was with Serena or not.

The Lost One kind of bothered me because Tianna was introduced late in the series, and I thought they were going to have to redo everything for her that was done for Vanessa in book 1, but it was executed well enough that it didn't annoy me too much.

Moon Demon only bothered me because through the entire book Vanessa was obsessed with Hector. I don't really like Vanessa to begin with so it was actually pretty hard for me to finish this book.

The 2 books that I really enjoyed reading was Possesion and The Choice. I just thought both were sad, beautiful, and done very well. I especially love the end of The Choice. I'm just curious to see how she finishes off the series. I'm not going to jump in and finish these books for a while just because I think I need a good break before I finish them off. I think I'm kind of burnt out from reading these books so I just need to read some other stuff to get my drive for the series back. They're really good books and I do very much want to finish them, but I think for the sake of these reviews I should take a break. For this set though I give 4/5

*Links to Goodreads*

Concert Review and Promotion for Some Cool Dudes

Okay so first off I went to a concert on Tuesday to see HIM at the beach. I'm going to put a little something about each band that played that night so you guys can decide whether or not to check them out.

Drive A-The singer looked like he was 15 and he didn't seem to control the crowd very well. He seemed to realize that too because he eventually got into the crowd to try to get them to start a mosh pit. I thought that they sounded okay, but I really didn't like the singer's voice. It sounded like he was making some weird screeching noise that got annoying after a while. They were the only band that played last night that did not seem to fit in with the others. They appeared to be a punk band, whereas the other groups there were melodic, goth rock bands.

Dommin-These guys were really good. If you're a fan of Voltaire then you'll like them. Their set was really good and they played well. It was a huge step up from Drive A.

We Are The Fallen-If you're a fan of Evanescence then you will really like these guys. There is a guitar player from Evanescence in this group, and the singer is an American Idol castoff (Carly Smithson). This was another band that I was very impressed with.

HIM-Yeah so of course the headliner band was fantastic. If you don't know who HIM is then go check out their myspace because Ville has the best voice that I have ever heard in a male. There may be a better singer out there, but I think it would take a lot to beat him. He sang some of his hits like Join Me In Death, Funeral of Hearts, Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly, and Killing Lonliness. He also sang some songs that I didn't recognize so I'm guessing they came off the new cd. Check out all of these guys and see what you think.

Now for promotion!!!

Today starts the Mother Marathon hosted by The Speed Gamers. TSG are a group of people who play video games for charity. I'm sure that sounds stupid to some people, but at least they are doing something they love and they are making something of it. The charity for this even is Susan G. Komen. They have also done events for charities to help those with diabetes and autism. They play other classics such as Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, and Metroid. These are really cool people so go check them out and see if you want to donate.

Be warned though if you check out the chat there will probably be some Chugga Fanboys there. Chuggaaconroy is a really popular Let's Player on youtube (he is actually how I know about TSG) and he is playing the second game in the series. People often ask to see his face because he is a very mysterious guy. When they did the Pokemon marathon he came on screen only for a few seconds in a mask so people are very curious about him so the chat might be hard to read as it will be flooded with similar comments to the following:
"Chugga do the epic 'NO'!"
"Chugga I love you!"
"Chugga can we see your face?"
"Will Chugga commentate?"
"When will Chugga be playing?"

Go check them out too if you wish. :)

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Synopsis: Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns . . .
Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.
Or not.
Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.
However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student . . . an attraction that could jeopardize everything.

Review: So this book was wonderful. I loved the twist that Diana gave to unicorns, but more thatn just that I loved how at the very beginning Diana shows the how current fluffy, nice unicorns are percieved. I also love how she talks about the different types of unicorns there are, but if I recall correctly we still haven't been introduced to one kind so I'm wondering if that will be part of book 2. I thought the story was really good even though I wanted to throw the book towards the end.

The characters were really likeable. You really get to see Astrid grow up during this story. The only thing that I didn't like was how Phil was huge on being a vegetarian, but she seemed pretty okay about killing a unicorn. It just seemed a bit odd. Other than that and the fact that a couple of the bits of storyline seemed kinda predictable this was a great book that I think anyone can easily enjoy.

5/5

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