Review: Destined

Title: Destined
Author: Jessie Harrell
Publisher: Mae Day Publishing
Pages: 368
Challenge: None
Source: Own 
Buy the Book: Amazon

My Rating:

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear. As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.  --summary from goodreads.com

Such a remarkable retelling of Eros and Psyche! I made the HUGE error of staring this at 10pm; I devoured it in one sitting... Wasn't done til 3AM -ish. Gosh, SO GOOD!

In DESTINED we follow Psyche, a young girl whose beauty attracts Aphrodite's attention. When a misunderstanding happens, Psyche ends up offending Aphrodite, and she is cursed to fall in love with a terrible a monster. Enter Eros; hot, gorgeous, delicious, Eros. He ends up pricking himself with an arrow and ends up falling in love with Psyche. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Classic retelling, why read the book?"... Because I said so -_- ! No, I'm only messing, DESTINED was such a beautiful and romantic tale, fans of Greek mythology will not want to miss this adventure.
 
I loved how the author told the story from two points of view: Psyche and Eros's. Harrell sure did work the point of views to her advantage, she would switch at just the right moment, leaving us hanging with suspense! I loved Psyche, she was very easy to relate too... You know, in personality, not the whole "most beautiful face" fact. I admired how she never gave up and fought for what she wanted. Eros *fans self*, LOVED HIM! I'll admit, he was a jerk in the beginning, but he definitely won me over with his romantic side.

Overall, I can almost assure that if you're a fan of classic Greek re-tellings, you will devour DESTINED in one sitting, I know I did. I was so sad when the book ended, I wanted MORE! This is a must read, folks. Seriously up there with my favorite books of all time. If you haven't had a chance to get your hands on it, you are missing out!

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages: 236
Source: Own

My Rating:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more? Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. -Summary from goodreads.com

I bought the book, read it, enjoyed it, put it back on the bookshelf, and that was it. It was a really cute read, but that was all it was, cute. I didn’t give it much thought until I sat down to write this review.

I’m a hopeless romantic, and let me tell you that the romance in this one wasn’t all that great. Sure we had our fun, meaningful, and even thoughtful moments, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression. I thought maybe the dialogue would save this one for me, Oliver is quite the charmer, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

I am always quick to fall for the main guy lead, but there was something about Oliver I just didn’t like. SPOILER!* The way he acts with Hadley when she finally finds him… ugh. He was so indifferent! I mean I am aware of the situations and they are at a funeral, but still. This chick just spent the last few hours searching for you, the least you can do is give her some attention. He DOES make up for it later, but still! END* I always thought I was a fan/believer of the whole insta-love (don’t judge me) but this book proved me otherwise.

Now, the book wasn’t completely bad, we had our funny moments that had me smiling from ear to ear. Not to mention all the family drama, very good back story. Very deep and real. I’ve seen what a divorce does to a family, and this book was enough to have me keep reading till the end just to see how things would work out.

Movie Monday (2)

Just a meme I came up with that should help me look forward to posting on Mondays because if there's anything I love more than books, it's movies :)

This week's Topic

10 books I’d like to see made into movies

1. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting- I love this series! Particularly Jay, he is just awesome! I don’t know what actor I’d chose to portray him because now that I think about it, we don’t get much physical description. I’m guessing the author did that on purpose just so we can all imagine our own Jay, but either way, I’d love to see this series on the big screen!

2. Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck- From what I hear this one is already in the works :) But I’m still adding it to my list just because I can :)haaa! They better stay true to the book and mess the movie up…. *cough* Percy Jackson *cough*. This book has so much movie potential. Can not wait!

3. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick- Do I even need an explanation?... I do? Ok…. PATCH <3 There you have it.

4. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks- I was lucky enough to receive an arc of this book and let me tell you, it is amazinggg! Seriously, one of the best mermaid books I’ve read in a while. Legit. I would be curious to see how a director would incorporate it onto the big screen…. It’d be a challenge, but it’d be worth it.

5. Creatura by Nely Cab- Indie writer/ phenomenal author. Everyone denies having enjoyed Twilight at some point, myself included. But when I was in need of a twilight fix (I didn't know what to read next, nothing satisfied me), I came across CREATURA and was blown away. It was everything I needed and more. Yes, it's very twilighty, but it's such a unique story in itself. If you haven't yet, you should add this to your reading pile!


6. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin- I have no idea how this movie would even begin, but I do know one thing; they better cast the most gorgeous man alive to play Noah<3 I'm not much of a movie-release-campout sort of gal, but if they ever made Mara into a movie, I'M THERE!

7. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han- One of my favorite contemporary novels. I think I have a mini girl crush on Jenny Han. I would LOVE to see this story on the big screen.

8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White- Wouldn't this be such a fun, cute, yet action packed movie? A pink taser, vampires, fairies and water spirits... Um, yes please!

9. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins- The mother of YA book humor. I don't think I've ever laughed out loud so much while reading a book... I can only imagine how much funnier a movie would be :) I would pay be money to see this book come to life!

10. Die For Me by Amy Plum- maybe it's the french atmosphere, or maybe its just the cute french boys, BUT this book really needs to be optioned for a film. Mrs. Plum did such an amazing job at bringing her story to life... <3 it's pretty magical. I loved it and would add this one to my very short "movie midnight camp out" list.

In My Mailbox #11

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Ontario Teen Book Fest Recap

I love going to author events! It’s always fun to be able to meet the voice behind the book ;) A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend this year’s Teen Book festival which was held in Ontario, CA :) My cousins and I drove out (only about a 35 min drive from home) and we were able to meet some awesome authors; Anna Carey (EVE), Josephine Angelini (STARCROSSED), Jay Asher (13 REASONS WHY) and Alexandra Monir (TIMELESS).

The event started off with some introductions and an apology…. Tahereh Mafi was supposed to be joining us on the author panel, but something came up last minuet and she had to cancel. After the intros each author read a bit from their books. Here’s a short clip of Jay Asher reading from “13 Reasons Why”, which I learned that day, is in the works to becoming a movie, YAY! Can’t wait to see it on the big screen. I apologize in advance for the bad quality, I recorded this with my cell phone because my camera was acting up :\

 

After each author read from their books, we went into the crazy discussion on how each author started writing and how they got published. Did any of you know that Alexandra used to be a teen pop singer? Also, it took Jay almost 12 years to finally sell the book "13 Reasons Why"... Talk about never giving up on your dreams. Anna mentioned that she always knew she wanted to be a writer, even though the idea itself terrified her, she thought authors spent their days at home in sweat pants eating spaghettio's out of the can :)haha! She mentioned that through her job at an editorial, she met other authors and got inspired to finally write her book. "There came a time when I knew that I would never be satisfied with just reading other people's work. I had to write my own." Anna shared with the audience. We heard some pretty admirable stories!... 

Gorgeous, I tell ya!

Out of all four authors, I have to say that Mrs. Angelini's publication story was the funniest and craziest! It practically happened overnight. "After I was done writing it (referring to Starcrossed), I didn't know what to do next." she said during the panel talk. "I went back to my husband, handed him my first draft and said, 'here, read it.'" :) I was literally laughing out loud! Speaking of which, can I just say how absolutely gorgeous Mrs. Angelini is… like seriously, HOLY WOW! Her author picture, which is totally beautiful, DOES NOT DO HER JUSTICE! Plus, she is probably one of the funniest, most down to earth authors I have ever met.

Afterwards, there was Q&A with the audience, followed by my favorite part; the meet and greet book signings :) Since I'm not such a social butterfly, I don't really mingle after an event, but I am so glad I was able to attend this signing. Thank you so much for the Ontario Senior Center for having hosted this event <3 Hope to attend next years event as well.

blurry.... darn phone!

Me and Jay Asher! *squee*

She was so sweet!

Thanks for stopping by! Have you been to any author events lately? Share your stories with me :)

Oh, blogger! How I've missed thee....

Hi everyone, *waves*

I hope you all had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend, I know I did :) Lots of fun family time at the park <3 Loved it.

Family Pic! :) Yeah... My Gma had 15 kids!

So I’ve been missing in action around here, and it makes me sad :( I came to a point where it was either blog, or get my translations done for work…. And since blogging doesn’t pay my bills, I think you all know what road I took *lowers head in shame*… But hopefully that changes today! Thank you for all for sticking around, I am ready to talk books! :)

Just because I haven’t been blogging, doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing book related activities. A couple weeks ago I attended a book signing and got to meet the famous Jay Asher *squee*! I was so excited! He wasn’t the only author present, Alexandra Monir (TIMELESS), Josephine Angelini (STARCROSSED) and Anne Carey (EVE), were all on the panel too! I’ve scheduled a little recap post to go up in a few hours with more details and pictures if anyone is interested <3

Ok, I am off to schedule more posts :) wooo! Talk soon.
xoxoDiana

Review: The Future Of Us

Title: The Future of Us
Author: Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 356
Challenge: None
Source: Own
Add to Goodreads

My Rating:
 

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future. By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present. -summary from goodreads.com

Wow. Talk about a blast from the past. I’m going to feel so old telling my kids that I was born before the internet. This book had me thinking, but not enough to leave an impression. I give this book more like 3 1/2 hearts.

The book is well-written and is narrated back and forth between the two protagonists; Emma and Josh. Emma did get on my annoying side every once in a while, but only because of her negative attitude. Also, the way she tried to “erase” her friend’s pregnancy, NO WAY! You don’t do that. Unwanted pregnancy or not, that was not her choice to make. That docked her off another couple points in my book. Josh was just awesome, he was funny and loyal; 2 traits that every best friend must have, in my opinion anyway.

The plot offers an interesting premise, one that made me question my, “online life” today. If you really think about, we share a ton of personal information online. There was this scene where Emma logs into facebook and ponders, “Who would share such personal information on the Internet?”… *raises hand slowly*… I’ll be honest and say that after finishing the book, I logged into facebook to sort of evaluate my own page. I do know one thing though, I would have killed to have been able to log into my current facebook account while I was in HS…. that would have been something.

The only thing that bugged me was the fact that there were a ton of plot holes. I know that usually tends to happen to time travel stories, but in The Future of Us we don’t get an explanation of any kind, it just happens. Which worked out ok, but I just wish the authors would have added more plot twists (story was very predictable), or even an epilogue from the future self’s of Josh and Emma.

My Book Boyfriend (4)

My pick this week:

Will 

From- Angelfire by Courtney A. Moulton

There was a lot of mystery to Will, the Guardian, in Angelfire. I'll be honest, I often times found myself annoyed with Will for purposely holding back information from Ellie in regards to her ancient warrior powers... But then later on in the novel you find out his reasons why and everything he does for Ellie…. *sigh*. I need to find myself a Will.But for now, my mental representation of him, portrayed by Matthias Lauridsen, will have to do <3


Description:

-Tall, maybe six feet, and broad shouldered.
-Bright green eyes.
-His hair looks black, until caught in the sun, it reveals a more walnut color.
-Twenty or twenty-one years old.
- Black, spiraling tattoos all up and down his muscled arm.  

"...he gave me a quiet smile, one that amplified the gentle contours of his face, the curve of his lips, the little line beside his right eye that appeared when he smiled."

Favorite Scenes/Swoon-worthy quotes:

"And everytime you die, a little piece of me dies with you.” -Will to Ellie

“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life." -Will to Ellie

“As I swung a third time, he grabbed my wrist. "That's enough hitting," he growled. "You don't exactly hit like a girl, you know.”  -Will to Elli

“I have a ninja sitting shotgun. Of course, I'm tense.”  -Ellie referring to Will

"Ellie, you need to understand," he said softly. "I exist only to serve you and fight by your side. Whether that fighting is to preserve your life or to make sure you smile, that is what I am built to do. You're all I have, and I will watch over you forever.” -Will to Elli

Have you read Angelfire? Wasn't Will just, magnificent?! What do you think of Matthias Lauridsen as Will? Share your comments below!

I still haven't had the chance to pick up WINGS OF THE WICKED (book 2) but hopefully that changes and soon! I think a re-read of Angelfire should do me some good ;) Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Monday (1)

Just a meme I came up with that should help me look forward to posting on Mondays because if there's anything I love more than books, it's movies :)

This week's Topic

My top 10 movies of 2012 (so far!)

1. THE HUNGER GAMES- Do I even need an explanation?! Camped out a whole 8 hours in advance. It was well worth it. Brilliant movie! So sad to hear Gary Ross won't be directing Catching Fire.

2. 21 JUMP STREET- omg! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during a movie! Not a movie for younger viewers, even though the majority of the audience watching this movie were teenagers. Channing and Noah make an awesome undercover team!                                                                       

3. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS- Barely saw this one last night and it definitely left it's mark. Unlike any other movie I've seen. I literally turned to my BF like 10x's during the movie and asked him, "What the hell are we watching!?" Super twisted and just weird. I'm not feeling that ending, though.

4. CHRONICLE-  Whoa. Such an intense movie. Was not expecting it to be so good. Loved it! It's like a boys gone wild type of movie, only these boys have telekinesis powers.

5. JOHN CARTER- Such a fun movie to watch. I went with my brother, and to be honest I wasn't expecting much.... Boy, was I surprised! Plus, John is a total hottie ;) Same guy from Friday Night Lights. 

6. MAN ON A LEDGE- Surprisingly good! Watched this last week, although it's been out for a while. The concept overall seems lame, really; a man on a ledge?!...(anyone remember Phone-booth?) But overall the movie has a very well thought out back story that will keep you hooked til the end.

7. THE WOMEN IN BLACK- Although the movie overall was a bit disappointing, I still adored every minuet of it (I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I felt). It was good to see my beloved Harry Potter outside of the wizarding world ;) 

8. UNDERWORLD AWAKENING- One of my ALL-TIME favorite movie series. Fell in love back in 2002 when the first Underworld movie came out. I have a girl crush on Kate Bekinsale. I was a bit disappointing that Michael doesn't make an appearance in this installment, even though his character is still very much involved in this movie (watch it, you'll see what I mean!) Very happy to hear that another Underworld movie is in the works :)                                                                                         

9. CONTRABAND- Mark Wahlberg can do no wrong in my book ;) Cheesy plot line (boy gets caught up with Narcs, ex-narc brother in law must save his sorry ass) but overall filled with plenty of action and explosive scenes! Kate Bekinsale as a blond is just a bonus ;)haha!               

10. JOURNEY 2- I was craking up! Not usually a Vanessa fan, but this movie made me see her in a completely different way. Plus, it was nice to see Josh Hutcherson in a movie before I saw him in the HG. Definitely a movie to watch with the family :)

That is my list for this tiring, yet moving onward, Monday. Any good movies you've seen lately that you'd recommend? let me know :) Thanks for stopping by.

Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Pages: 476

Challenge: None
Source: Own
Buy the books: B&N / Amazon 

My Rating:

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. -summary form goodreads.com

Maybe it was my love for The Mortal Instruments or maybe it was just my mood, but I was expecting a little more out of Clockwork Angel. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed it, but I was not feeling the whole, "OMG! BEST BOOK EVER" vibe I've been seeing around the blogger-sphere!

The plot was simply alright. I felt like the author started off right with her awesome world building and a kick ass back story. She even spaced out the action scenes long enough for me to take a sincere interest, but towards the middle I found myself skimming through… and that’s never a good sign. The ending and mysterious nature of the characters is what kept me flipping the pages.

Tessa in my opinion rocked! (I think I like her more than Clary- TMI). I’ll be honest and say that I had a very difficult time in accepting the love interest between Tessa and Will. I don’t know why but it just felt so forced and rushed. Also, what he says to Tessa at the end was just RUDE. Who does he think he is?!

Something that bugged me beyond belief was the similarities between Will and Jace (TMI). I knew that there would be similarities between the two characters since they‘re related…. but really?! They’re practically the same person! Brooding attitude towards life and how much they hate themselves… Come on!? I know it’s the same type of back story, but this is supposed to be a whole different series. In regards to teams, I think I’m leaning more towards Jem. Hopefully we get a little more of him in book 2.