Infinite Days

Review Time! I love the rain but when the postman puts a parcel pick up slip into my mailbox instead of the parcel itself, that's when the rain gets annoying :P My copy of Infinite Days should have arrived on the 29th bu due to unexpected rain the only thing that turned up was the slip. I only got around to picking it up yesterday ....

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.


Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

The Short Story? - Wow, I can't believe I waited until 2011 to read this debut. It was absolutely amazing! I pretty sure this is one of the best if not THE best vampire novel I have read! Definitely one extraordinary debut that is bound to linger long after I finish.

The Long Story ? - I can't remember the last vampire novel that I have read and enjoyed, excluding Last Sacrifice which is more Damphir and I can never hate Adrian. I don't read many but first vampire novel that comes to mind is Kissing Coffins ( which I didn't finish). However, I truly believe that Infinite Days has renewed my faith in Vampire Fiction. I would say it is the best 2010 debut I have read this year but to be truthful it's the only debut I have read this year....

The originality of this novel is truly mind-blowing. Rebecca has managed to break all cliches about Vampire Fiction and write a novel that is a first in it's kind. Wait for it...The vampire turned human instead of the other way around. The whole concept of Vampire Fiction, in which I mean vampire/human relationship, human turns vampire to be together forever, is challenged in this novel. To reverse the whole "stereotype" of a vampire and write a novel based on that idea is truly incredible.

The novel takes an interesting perspective as it alternates between the present and the past, giving readers the opportunity to understand what Lenah was like before and after her transformation from vampire to human. I also loved the characterisation in this book, although Rhode was only a small part in the book, I fell in love with his beautiful personality. Lenah was also an intriguing character, ignorance of the modern world combined with the loss of her vampire powers gave her an appearance of harmlessness although she was anything but.

The book was pretty slow paced yet it was comfortable to read. As  much as I love a book that's packed with action. I had no objection to the leisurely pace of Infinite Days. The writing was beautiful as well, again I felt as if I was as audience and watching a series of events unfold.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Infinite Days. It was comfortable, beautiful and original. If you haven't read this book already, please do! I simply can't wait to read the sequel ;) Rating 5/5

Badass Bookie xx

My New Bookshelf!

Hey! Guess what? For my birthday/ christmas ( too close for seperate presents) my dad promised me a whole room makeover complete with new furniture, wallpaper you name it! So I was entitled to a new bookshelf!

So take a lookie -

So here's what's left of my books after I packed up anything published before 2008, put them in boxes and stored in the garage. There are a few exceptions but the majority was published in the last two years :)

How do I organise my books?

Top Shelf -

Stand - alone, first in the series and all paperback ( my entire bookshelf only consists of 7 hardbacks) Colour co-ordinated ( mostly). It's also organised by size.

Middle Shelf -

Colour co-ordinated so that the entire shelf is mainly black. The is where all my series' go. As you can see  barely any of them are completed :P As much as I try to complete a series it never happens.

 Bottom Shelf -

This is where all my hardbacks, ARCs, Signed books go. It's also the home to my books that didn't fit on the first two shleves :)

However, that's only part of the bookshelf...

That Blue Box is my Swag Box :)

Badass Bookie xx

The Body Finder

Review Time! I finally finished The Body Finder after putting it off for soooooo long! It's also the second book in the Readathon that I'm supposed to read I didn't get to finish the other two but I was still pretty happy :)

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself

The Short Story ? - One of the best debuts of this year! I can't believe I left it to the last minute to read!!! Um, I may have suffered from a little heart attack in the last chapter because of the SHOCKER ending but really fantastic! I can't wait to read Desires of the Dead!

The Long Story ? - When I first picked up the book, I read the blurb and thought - paranormal, it can wait, nothing special. Oh, how wrong I was! Firstly, it wasn't even a paranormal, I mean sure Violet had a special ability to seek out the dead but it wasn't paranormal. It was more of a intriguing mystery and romance. Secondly, it was special. It's probably one of the few books that are really original. I mean never even thought about relating to other books special.

The Body Finder is written in third -person so more than once I got confused when it said "she" and "her". However, after all the first-person books I have read lately it was a nice change to read something that wasn't just from one person's perspective. It was refreshing to read something that was narrated! I actually prefer third-person so it was a bonus!

The writing was comfortable and simple, rich language that only authors and English teachers would have heard about was limited. I would think that the author put alot of thought into this book to make it YA friendly, nothing too complex but yet still very enjoyable.

The plot was by far the most memorable part of this book. It was original, a little but of romance added to a lot of suspense and mystery. It wasn't paranormal yet Violet had a unique ability to seek out dead things. It was all about finding dead people but it wasn't gruesome. It was ...different in a good way.

Overall, I would have to say it was one of the best debuts of 2010. It's a shame I couldn't review in the 2010 ( it really does pain me) but nevertheless, it was fantastic. Prepare yourself for the last chapter, I almost got a heart attack. The cover is also hauntingly beautiful. Rating - 5/5

PS- This review is about ..jumpy and awkward because I started writing this two days ago but never got to finish...apologies.

Badass Bookie xx

2011 Debutante Event Winners!

Hello Everyone! Sorry, about the delay!!! I know I was suppose to post this yesterday but mum and I had a Desperate Housewives Marathon which was hard to turn down because it's the best show ever! Anyway, back to winners!

Julia Karr Giveaway

Signed ARC + necklace

#392 - Logan Turner

Amy Holder Giveaway

Signed ARC + Swag

#34 - Cass

Bad Taste in Boys Giveaway

Pre-Order 

#805 - Ivy

Possession Giveaway 

Pre-Order 

#15 -  Natalie Aguirre

Dearly, Departed Giveaway

Finished Copy ( Signed)

#452 - Laura Montoro

Rival Giveaway

Pre-Order

#33 - Tiffany Dall

Across the Universe Giveaway

Signed ARC + Pin Buttons

#363- Belle Découverte

The Liar Society Giveaway

(2) Pre-Orders

#110 - Savannah Smith

#138 - Crystal Fulcher

Haven Giveaway

Pre-Order

#418 - mary ann

Unearthly

Pre-Order

#305 - A Canadian Girl

The Faerie Ring

Pre-Order

#54 - Dazzling Mage

Wither

ARC + 'Special' Swag

#247 - April X

I will be sending email very tomorrow morning, it's 10pm right now and my brain is fuzzy with all the entries I have counted. So first thing tomorrow I will be sending email! Just a quick note that Winners have 48hrs to reply after the email.

Badass Bookie xx

Shade

Review Time! I'm going along with the flow, so read and review and than read some more. I participating in the Out With a Bang Readathon so I reading and reading and reading. I've got about four more debuts to read before the end of tomorrow. Unlikely, but I'll give it a try.

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.
Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.
Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.

The Short Story ? - It was a surprisingly short book! Not literally but it took me a day to read it and with 300 pages I would have thought it should have taken me longer. I haven't read any reviews of Shade before I picked up the book and honestly I didn't know what it was about ( no blurb or anything) but I quite enjoyed reading something I was clueless about!

The Long Story ? - The best way I can sum up this book is - average. I simply don't know what to think of it other than it was good. The goods and bads balance each other and it just wasn't good or bad enough to be more than average. I actually googled other bloggers review on this book and many have said they loved it but it just wasn't anything special for me.

I enjoyed the book and found it very interesting, especially since it's a paranormal that focuses on ghosts instead of the usual vampires. The idea of the Shift ( everyone born after the Shift can communicate with ghosts) is very clever and I would  think a great deal of research and thinking was required for this YA debut. The writing was comfortable and the beginning of the book was really great. Another great thing about this book is that the pages fly, it was so easy to read that I didn't even notice I finished until there wasn't another page to flick. This brings us to the "bads" of the book.

Problem One, abrupt ending, it wasn't a cliff hanger it was just abrupt. The last few pages weren't even that exciting, no action in epic proportions or any proportion on my radar and yet it ended with I quote - "Wow". Um, talk about abrupt?

Problem Two, the plot was quite boring. I think that this would be one of those series' that gets better with each book. However, I feel that the author should have put a little more action into the first book and maybe given a few answers. Like baiting the readers. It just seemed a little dry to me, the idea behind the whole plot was clever with the Shift but the plot itself was like I said a little boring or dry.

Overall, I feel that putting aside the dry plot and the abrupt the ending the book was actually really good. If it has a little more action I think I would have loved it. However, under these circumstances I would say that the good and bad balanced out each other giving this debut an average rating, okay maybe a bit higher. Although, it could have been better it was still a great book and I think that if you looking for something original - read this :) Rating - 3.5/5

Badass Bookie xx

Out With A Bang Reathon ( Late ) Sign Up

Ahhhhh I haven't even released there was a readthon that highlights 2010 Debuts....I mean there are others out there who share my obsession in reading 10's in 2010 :) SO that's why this is a late sign up.

Anyway the readthon runs from 29th ( My B'day !!!) to 31st of December and is aimed at finishing all the good debuts that you haven't gotten around to reading!

My list includes -

I've already finished Shade and I'm reading Nevermore right now so hopefully I get through at least THREE of the four.

Badass Bookie xx

The Sky is Everywhere

Review Time! By the time you read this I will be a year older, because I was suppose to post this yesterday ON my birthday but it was really hectic since we also moved to a new house yesterday :) Anyway, back to books ( which I didn't get any for my b'day ) I still trying desperately to read all my 2010's in well, 2010. I think I have four more to go before the end of the year which is ... tomorrow.

( Goodreads) Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding

The Short Story ? - Well, I have to say that it turned out better than I thought it would! My friend read this book and pretty much ruined everything so I wasn't planning to read this but then I won a copy and it's was just tragically calling my name and I just had to Pick.It.Up.

The Long Story ? - I don't read, no, I don't enjoy reading books with the themes Death and Depression. I don't enjoy book with punchlines like " My path the healing my broken heart after my loved one died" or " I don't think I will ever be happy because such and such died". I read alot of contemporary but I usually avoid the death and depression ones. Which, my readers, is why I didn't really want to read - The Sky is Everywhere.

The 100 pages of The Sky is Everywhere was exactly that. Depressing to read, boring, no action, went around in loops but always ending with self-hating or self- pity. However, I've read so many good review on this debut and I pretty sure not everyone one of them is a pessimist or a sadist with self-esteem, so there must have been something good about the book right ? The writing was comfortable enough, the theme D&D made it seem uncomfortable but really Jandy is a wonderful writer, the characterisation was great but it didn't seem special enough to me.

Enter Joe Fontaine, love-interest, musician and french and the whole book changes. Joe wasn't a catalyst, suddenly it wasn't s hard to read this book because it wasn't depressing anymore. Lennie started to be something human again and it was like the sun broke through the storm clouds. It became something that I could read and more importantly review because it wasn't so depressing.

So when Joe took up  the job as a main character the whole book changed and it was from there that I really started reading the book, feeling connections and emotions between the characters and more importantly understanding why this book has been awarded so many great reviews.

The Sky is Everywhere is truly a remarkable book, the title itself has alot of depth to it but to see the changes is a character's personality, the journey from D&D to Hope and Love is really quite memorable. Joe was a catalyst to the book and more importantly he was pretty cute :) Although I got off to a rough start with this book, I ended up loving the ending. Rating 4/5

Badass Bookie xx