Want to Win a Signed Copy of Wake by: Lisa McMann?

Here's how,

Kelsey over at Just Blinded Book Reviews is throwing an amazing contest complete with Swag, and I don't mean two bookmarks, this is INTENSE Swag with 30 different items, plus of course a signed copy of Wake by Lisa McMann.

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Mini Interview with Robin Maxwell!

Interview with Robin Maxwell

1) What was your process in starting to write O, JULIET?

In the days after I had made the decision to retell the Romeo and Juliet story – for the first time in literary history as a novel – two thoughts began warring in my head: “You’re a genius – lucky as hell that no one’s thought of it before... and “You’re out of your friggin’ mind!”

Yes, I knew I would feel comfortable in late fifteenth century Italy. My last historical novel, Signora da Vinci, had been set there. For that book I had outdone myself in researching the period (to the point I thought my head would explode). I loved the Italians, and the thought of setting my Romeo and Juliet amidst them really got my creative juices bubbling.


2) Was Shakespeare the first to tell the Romeo and Juliet story?


Not at all! Since ancient times, countless “girl-and-boy-from-warring-families” tragedies have been written. The Roman writer Ovid’s “Pyramus and Thisbe” tells the story of forbidden love between a girl and boy from two feuding families, and a secret rendezvous in a tomb…one that ends in tragedy. The Greek author Xenophon in his “Ephesian Tale” spins a wild story that includes a trip abroad, pirates, a crucifixion and sleeping potion, all of which culminates in a tomb. There had been three Italian short stories written in the fifteenth century about these star-crossed lovers, and in the sixteenth one long English poem. Of course Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” had been adapted into Broadway musicals, ballets, operas, and even a graphic novel but these, in their own way, faithfully adhered to the great man’s work. Then there were the countless movie versions. These were even more devoted presentations, simply filmed versions of his play.


3) Were you nervous about competing with Shakespeare?

It did give me pause to take on the Bard and one of the most beloved literary works of all time. I thought, "What about all those Shakespeare nuts out there who would rip me to shreds for daring to tread on these sacred shores?" What I had in mind was rewriting the story in my own words, in my own way. I knew I needed to lengthen the period over which it was told from a few days to a few months, and I wanted to change the setting from Verona to Florence (where the “historical” Romeo and Juliet had played out their drama. I’d be fleshing out the lives, character arcs and motivations of Romeo and Juliet, losing some characters (Juliet’s nurse!), and adding others (a truly evil suitor and a best girlfriend). I’d be changing the helpful cleric from Friar Lawrence to Friar Bartolomo, and giving him a public face – the man who taught a weekly symposia on Dante Alighieri at Florence Cathedral (this really happened!).

I decided that both Romeo and Juliet would, like so many Italians of that time, be Dante freaks, and that part of their initial attraction – aside from the proverbial but perfect “love-at-first-sight/sexual chemistry” – would be their shared passion for that legendary poet. Then I really stepped in it. I cast the pair as amateur poets themselves. “Now you’ve done it,” I thought, “Now you have to write love poems in both their voices!”

I suppose the greatest challenge was what to do with the ending. Should I stay true to the classics or let either Romeo or Juliet live...or both? Either way was bound to be risky.

But I took the plunge and I have to say, I'm quite happy with the results. I hope you'll read O, JULIET and decide whether my choices work for you.


Thank you Robin so very much for the interview! Check out her website for some more fun stuff. http://www.robinmaxwell.com/

Waiting on Wednesday [2]

Forget-Her-Nots

by: Amy Brecount White

When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door, Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn’t so awful after all — until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something — something magical — is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can’t seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don’t always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she’s soon besieged by requests from girls — both friends and enemies — who want their lives magically transformed — just in time for prom.

*This book sounds so cute! I love the flower's love language, My grandmother always told me about the different meanings flowers had and I feel that I'll be able to relate to this one quite a but.

What are you guys waiting for?

Twilight's Final Straw...

Twilight's Final Straw...

The other day while browsing at my local Books A Million I found something that angered me. It completely and utterly made me cringe.

Look at this:

Do you see it?!

The little circle in the upper right hand corner declaring it "Bella and Edward's favorite book?"

That is NOT a sticker. It is imprinted directly on the book, and that is what makes me sad. I LOVE Wuthering Heights, and I really do love this cover as well, it's more appealing to a younger audience than any other cover I have seen, but the fact that Bella and Edward have to be stamped directly onto it to enhance sales is where my heart dies a little.

I know I'm probably just going crazy, but I've had enough of Twilight. There are so many amazing books and authors out there, I mean now I can't even have Bronte without some reminder of Twilight.

I understand why the publishing companies would do this as Twilight is huge right now, I get that and I'm not mad at them, rather I just don't understand how the movie can come out and suddenly everyone is obsessed.

At my school every single freshman and sophomore girl is going crazy with Twilight fever (many of which even refuse to read the book) I had my Twilight phase, I did, and I don't consider myself to be a Twilight hater - I still love the books it's just the extent of their popularity that gets me.

I'm sorry if this offends any of you, but it's just how I feel from what I have witnessed personally. To prove I am not a Twilight hater here is an example of how big of a fangirl I was at one time...

Yes, I stood in line for four hours after Eclipse came out, met Stephenie Meyer, and got all of my books signed, and it is still one of the best days I remember, but yes I do love Twilight, post movie Twilight is the one I have come to be disappointed with.

I'm sorry if I have upset anyone with this post, it's not what I meant to do, it's just how I feel.

Please feel free to comment with your thoughts.

The Lonely Hearts Club :by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Lonely Hearts Club

by: Elizabeth Eulberg

Love is all you need…or is it?
Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She’s had one too many bad dates, and has been hurt by one too many bad boys. It’s a personal choice…and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny’s not the only girl who’s tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worse) in order to get their guys…or the way their guys don’t really care about them.
Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club (named after Sgt. Pepper’s band), and Penny finds herself near legendary for her non-dating ways – which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can’t help but like…

From Me:

Before I start, let me just say that I am a Beatles fanatic. They're quite possibly my favorite band, and as soon as I saw this book I knew that I would absolutely adore it, and I was right.

The Main character Penny has sworn off boys for the rest of her high school career because of a bad experience with her childhood friend Nate. She begins The Lonely Hearts Club because she has given up dating, but in the beginning she doesn't really speak of the club and has herself as the only member, but as word spreads and her closest friends join her the club grows, and sometimes adding people who aren't always for the best.

I really enjoyed this book and found it a cute read. I loved the Beatles references I found everywhere and liked the idea of the club as being first and foremost a place for friendship and support.

I loved the relationships between the people, the friendships between Penny, Tracy, and Diane I found to be realistic between that of best friends, and of course the relationship between Penny and Ryan I LOVED. He was a very serious change between that of Nate, and was a genuinely sweet guy.

If you don't like The Beatles or don't know them that well, that's okay as the references are definitely not what carry the story, you'll enjoy it just as much whether you know 200 Beatles songs or 2.

I give it and 8.5/10.

-Christina

Waiting on Wednesday [1]

Waiting on Wednesday [1]

I just found out about this book recently and I squealed when I saw it! I LOVED The Summer I Turned Pretty, so I can't wait to read the sequel, I want very much to see what comes next for Belly :)

PLUS, the cover is gorgeous. Just as pretty as the first cover, I can't wait! Be sure to check it out April 27th!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by: Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by: Carrie Ryan

In Mary's world, there are simple truths. Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

This book broke my heart.

I know, this isn't necessarily a bad thing - I mean it shows I was that involved in the story that it could break my heart, but it still wasn't a pleasant thing to have occur.

I love this book.

And I hate this book.

Both of these things are true, but I never realized how much of a fairy tale girl I am until I reached the end of this.

I never remember reading a book that enthralled me quite as much as this one did. I didn't put it down, and I was not willing to stand up until I had finished it in fear that moving would ruin the magic.

I hope you understand what I mean by saying I loved it and hated it. I did not despise it, I did not think it was poorly written, I did not feel it was lacking in anyway, but I did become disappointed with the end.

I read this book days ago, but I'm just now posting the review for a reason, I've been so unsure of it, and just so unsure of exactly how I felt. I've never had a book work up my emotions like this one, but I still remain blown away.

I think that's the important thing, the impact it ended up making on my feelings. I feel that is what made this book great.

I loved the Sisters, and the village and all of the secrets drove me crazy. The love was real and heartbreaking and made me just want to yell at the characters all of the time.

I highly recommend it to anyone.

Now I'm going to await the zombie apocalypse :)

It gets a 9.5

-Christina