Debut of the Month - All About Ruta Sepetys

 

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Debutante Profile

Name - Ruta Sepetys                                                                              

Debut - Between Shades of Grey

Genre - Historical                                                                          

Website - Ruta Sepetys : Between Shades of Grey                     

Facebook - HERE

Ruta Sepetys was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. She wrote creepy stories as a child and told anyone who would listen that she was going to marry Roald Dahl. In addition to music and writing, Ruta enjoys teaching at the university, collecting eccentric art, and traveling with her dreamy husband. Ruta’s work has taken her to 41 countries on six continents. Her adventures have inspired dozens of stories and since she has intimate knowledge of heartbreak and teen angst, she decided to write books for young adults. Ruta’s degrees have nothing to do with literature, but do involve failed attempts at becoming an opera singer, an investment banker, and Roald Dahl’s wife.

Dream Debutante Dress - In which Ruta took the time to photoshop....



HOW cute is that???

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What the Deb has to say about herself :

Badass Bits About Ruta:

• I have a problem pronouncing my own name, which makes introductions a bit difficult.

• As a child, each Christmas I begged for a badass Big Wheel like this one so I could race cars on the street and tie myself to their bumpers. Santa never came through. Badass bummer.

Oh, the big wheelie....

• My sister and brother both have psychic ability. I do not.


• In high school I was voted ‘Best Dancer.’ I was pretty excited until my friend informed me that the translation was, ‘most likely to be a stripper.’


• When I was in Lithuania on a research trip for my book I prank-called everyone in our group at 3 a.m. They still talk about the phantom caller at the hotel. They still don’t know it was me. Bad, bad debutante.


• I am a trained and seasoned wedding crasher. Check your wedding video. I might be in it.


• I used to have Camaro hair. It was so big it wouldn’t even fit in my passport picture. One Christmas Eve I accidentally set my hair on fire and well…that was the end of the Camaro hair.

• I am currently working on my next book and the research required interviewing prostitutes in New Orleans. See! Historical fiction is not boring!

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Well, that was certainly exciting! I have got to say I'm still laughing about the hair on fire thing :) BTW, I had to google Camaro Hair. Also, what kind of historical fiction involves prostitutes??? All these pictures of New York in 1800s is coming up in my head, I think the girl on the cover of The Luxe just popped up too, oh and there goes Ian Somerhalder.... Anyway! Guys, please, please check out Between Shades of Grey which is on sale...March 22nd? I've heard great things about it and my copy is sitting beside me right now so if you want read my review that's coming up! This novel makes you want to cry, so be prepared for some heart moving story....

Badass Bookie xx

Masquerade ( Blue Bloods #2) Spoiler-free

Review Time! I've been dragging this review out! Meant to post this on Friday but then the blogging hangover kind of got the better of me so now it's being posted on Monday! Now, Masquerade is the second book in the Blue Bloods series which is like, an International Bestseller. When I read the first book I wasn't all that impressed, it seemed a little average to me but apparently it gets better so I just had to give it another go!

(Goodreads) Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man who can help—her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman—a true Blue Blood affair. But it's at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will forever change the course of a young vampire's destiny.

The Short Story ? - I have say that it definitely did get better! One thing about the blue bloods is that they are addictive! I couldn't put the book down, it was either read it all or don't read it at all! I stayed up late finishing it! Love the plot, love the originality, love the blue bloods!

The Long Story ? - So I would like to thank-you my bestie for recommending this series to me in the first place. Believe it or not, I used to hate reading paranormal but my bestie persuaded me to read Vampire Academy and then BAM! Paranormal junkee was born....

One thing I love about the series? It's very original. For example, the blue bloods are immortal but they grow old and die just like anyone else BECAUSE they reincarnate. Plus, their blood is blue and they're just as bratty and snobby and bitchy like the girls on gossip girl even if they're a million times older. Maturity does not come with age, it depends on who you are.Which is quite interesting since I LOVE books about social hierarchy ( don't judge me) and designer clothes :P Think of The Blue Bloods as Gossip Girl with Fangs!

Another thing I liked is the lack of Human and Vampire romance! No offence to anyone but it's just getting so old, two years, too old. Even if it's fiction keep it realistic, there a higher percentage of vampire-vampire romance than vampire- human romance. However, I smell a vampire-human romance blooming near the end of this book so *hopefully* I'm wrong!

Romance! This brings me to my next point! Oh, what a tangled web! The book is written in the perspectives of so many characters that while it's not that hard to follow, it's still a struggle to keep up with who loves who and whose going to cheat on who! And let me tell you, it's a temptation not to flip ahead and read the more interesting romances first but then the book wouldn't make sense soooo I restrained myself :) However, I can't complain about a lack of romance. this one is for the romance junkees!

Last but not least, the characterisation is wonderful! Reading Masquerade is like watching soap drama, there is someone to play every role - the nice one, the mean one, the boy whose stuck in the middle, the wealthy, the poor, the weird and the list goes on! Beautiful characterisation truly! Best of all, everyone is beautiful yet they are flawed in one way or another making them more human? Whether it be jealously, insecurity or just the passionate love of teenagers, there is something for us all to relate to!

Overall, I simply can not say enough about how great this book is! This is definitely a series that gets better and better! Masquerade had it's flaws ( like over describing designer clothes when I'm sitting at the edge of my seat waiting to see what comes next) but I have to say I loved it! Schyuler is a great characters and I can't wait to see what happens next. Beautiful, dark and totally awesome! Bookie Approves! Rating 4.5/5

Badass Bookie xx

In My Mailbox #24 + Winners!

Hello Lovelies! I sorry I've been a little MIA this week but unfortunately my school life has caught up and I was desperately trying to finish my science essay draft and then I went into this blogging hangover from too much school but I'm back, back, back so everything good! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Basically we showcase the contents of our mailbox! I do IMM every two weeks btw!

In My Mailbox -

For Review -

ARC Entice ( #2 Violet Eden Chapters) by Jessica Shirvington

ARC Forgotten by Cat Patrick ( debut - I think)

( Thanks to Hachette and Hardi Grant Australia)

Won -

Signed XVI by Julia Karr + Swag ( 2k11 Street team)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

( Thanks to 2k11, Candance @ Candance's Book  Blog and Laura @ All of Everything)

That's it for IMM and here are the winner for The Book of Tomorrow and Here Lies Bridget Giveaway!

The Book of Tomorrow - #38  Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives

Here Lies Bridget - #57 Maddie.M & #13 Lisa Potts

I have emailed you all and please reply within 48hrs or else....

Badass Bookie xx

Breakfast with the Bookie - The Big Question: How Old is Too Old for YA ?

Breakfast with the Bookie is a weekly feature hosted here at Badass Bookie. Every Wednesday morning (or afternoon depending on where you are) I post a discussion post for everyone to read along with morning up of coffee ;)

Today’s Topic – The Big Question: How Old is too Old for YA?

It’s common knowledge that authors write for different age groups. We start with the picture books, then the chapter books, then the middle aged books then the YA books and finally the Adult books. The transition for me through the previous stages have been easy but YA is such a broad genre with so many great books that I don’t think I can ever let it go.

YA or Young Adult refers to the age bracket, 13 – 21 year olds. Well, I guess we can stretch the bracket to 24 but you get what I mean. I have never thought about this before but how do we make the transition from YA to just plain old A? One of my biggest fears is that one day I will magically stop reading YA without finishing all the good books out there ( scary aye? Global Warming and World War Three are nothing compared to it pfffft.)

So I’m curious, what age do you think is too old for YA? A part of me wants to say 30, but that would be hypocritical since I’m probably going to be ones of those Twimums that wear Team Jacob (FTW!!!) t-shirts to the bus stop and carry around books about teenagers falling in love and social hierarchy. Another part of me wants to say never but I would imagine there must be a cut off line between young adult and plain old adult. If not, why do authors bother writing adult fiction?

For me right now, I’m going to just go with the flow. I highly doubt that I will read YA for the rest of my life (the truth hurts). If I get to the age 30 and think I’m too old for this, I probably pick up my first book where the protagonist just went through and ugly divorce and am currently unemployed. We put an age group on a book depending on how well we can relate to it.

I like to think I’ll never get old, never have to do my own laundry and never have to pay the bills but that’s wishful thinking, just like the fact that I will forever read YA. However, in the mean time I going take down the YA genre one book at a time ;) BTW I’m betting 30 as too old for YA.

Badass Bookie xx

Prom and Prejudice

Review Time! Two weeks ago I received a copy of Prom and Prejudice for review from Penguin ( thanks!) I have to say I was very excited to read it, I loved Elizabeth Eulberg's first book, The Lonely Hearts Club which btw is fantastic and if you haven't read it you should ( I insist you do :P) ! Anyway, my thoughts...

(Goodreads) After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.

Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Will Lizzie’s pride and Will’s prejudice keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making?

The Short Story ? - Undoubtedly a fantastic and enjoyable read! It was simply such a relaxing read! I'm a little disappointed in the romance ( or lack of romance) but even with the celibacy going on, I still enjoyed it which is saying something when this bookie is a romance junkie...

The Long Story ? - I going to start this review with a confession - I haven't read Pride and Prejudice, I haven't even watched the movie. I haven't read anything by Jane Austen and can't see myself doing so in the foreseeable future. Classics and I have a love-hate relationship that will probably blossom into something else when I'm 40 and too old for YA. Right now I am taking down YA one book at a time.

However, that being said I would probably enjoy it if it was even half as good as this retelling! I can't emphasis enough how good it is! It was like a stress relief, I have been doing some 'hard-core' reading lately and a light contemporary ( the kind I like) was just what I needed! I love, love, loved it! It was really cute and 'light'. Something that you don't have to predict what happens next, something that you can just go with the flow. Sick of boys? Date this book ;)

Elizabeth Eulberg was one of my favourite 2010 Debut Authors, I absolutely love her writing style! It's comfortable, it's quirky, it's funny and more importantly it's so YA. I'm not sure whether it's just me but some YA authors write using language that I feel is too complex for YA readers, it's uncomfortable because you skip over every second word. What I love about Elizabeth's writing is that she understands her readers!

The plot can only be seen as cute and quirky! Can it be true that opposites attract? Throughout the whole book, Darcy and Lizzie have this rocky relationship where they strongly dislike each other ( on the outside) but they feel this strong pull towards each other ( it's called love). The development of the story is really quite excellent! Very  free willing and ...relaxed :)

I'm a little disappointed in the lack of romance but I can somewhat get that 'maybe' that's what the author intended on. I would imagine that a kiss would have caused a scandal back in the days when the original Elizabeth Bennett was alive let alone what we teenagers today call hook up so maybe the lack of romance all relates back to Pride and Prejudice. However, there was not ONE kiss through the whole book, bit a extreme but I still liked it so....

Overall, a quite excellent read! Very well written, comfortable and interesting! Fantastic characterisations that can easily be connected to original characters with a quirky modern SO twenty-first century twist! Who needs romance with such fantastic writing? Ms. Eulberg you have done it again! Rating 4.5/5 ( hey, romance junkie, I can only rank it so high with a lack of romance, talk about prejudice)

Badass Bookie xx

Breakfast with the Bookie - Reviewers : Do You Still Buy Books?

Join together and let's discuss! Breakfast with the Bookie is a weekly feature on the log where we all join together and discuss YA everything! From pet peeves to cliches to genres to advice! The list goes on and on! It's held every Wednesday morning ( or afternoon depending on where you live) so that you can read it with your cup of coffee ;)

This Week's Topic -  Reviewers : Do You Still Buy Books?

Okay so I understand that we are ALL book reviewers but this one is manly for the book bloggers who receive book for review from publishers. I curious, do you guys still buy books? Do you still buy book even if you receive them for review? Do you still buy a book even if received an ARC? Do you still buy books even if you are piled under the ones you receive for review?

I have never been a big book buyer. I spend time in bookshops almost every weekend, but nine time out of ten, I come out empty handed. My mum drilled into me long ago 'don't buy something if you don't love it'. I love books and reading in general but when I take the whole concept apart, I only have a few favourites.

I started my blog thinking that an amateur blogger who has a limited vocabulary will NEVER get ask to review something for an author or publisher and I accepted that. I blog for me, it's something I love and I would keep doing it even with no strings attached. I was very surprised when an author contacted me to review book ( and send it all the way to Australia) ten days after I started my blog, I had exactly five followers so you could imagine my surprise :)

From there my blogging blossomed! Three months later I was asked to review for Penguin and then many other publishers. Even when I started blogging most of the books were from the library, I tend not to go back and re-read books, I find that there are so many books out there it would be a shame to spend precious time re-reading a book I have already read! Anyway, I stopped buying books altogether once more review copies started coming in. The last printed book I bought was in July, it was an hardcover copy of The Carrie Diaries by Candance Bushnell.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I can't afford to buy books in fact my parents give me a weekly BOOK BUYING ALLOWANCE ( $5/week not much but still). I simply find that I haven't got the time to read books I bought along with those I get for review. For example, I bought a copy of Hourglass by Claudia Gray one year ago and it's still sitting on my shelf - unread. The books I buy just end up sitting on my shelf collecting dust.

Another reason I don't buy book anymore is because everything I want to read comes in the mail for review from publishers! I'm SO SO SO grateful for all the lovely publicists at publishing houses who are willing to send book to bloggers, thank-you! I don't usually go out and buy a finished copy if I receive an ARC but then again, Australia's ARC distribution is extremely low, we just get sent finished copies ( with the pretty covers =P )

So I for one, don't buy books anymore, although I would probably pick up a copy if I REALLY wanted it ( I counting down the days til paperback release of The Rise of Regenade X, I will cry if I don't read it soon). Otherwise, I would go to the library and get a copy ;) What about you? Do you still buy books?

Badass Bookie xx

Extra Extra! Read All About it! Badass Bulletin #2

Hello Lovlies! It's time for the second edition of Badass Bulletin! The Bulletin is a monthly newletter that goes out with the lastest new in the YA Blogsphere as well as on this blog! It can feature anything from cover reveals to book-into-movies news to new books on the block!

On The Blog This Month -

I haven't planned much for March so it's going to be a go with the flow month. I might be able to squeeze in an interview with an author so look out for that! As usual there will be ' Debut of the Month' however, our debutante is yet to be determined ( in the midst of confirming ...) In all boring March here at Badass Bookie!

Winners of the Here Lies Bridget and The Book of Tomorrow giveaways will be announced later this week ( when I have the time to tally up the entries and pick a winner :P)

On the Blogosphere -

Cover Reveals :

Uncommon Criminals ( Hiest Society #2) by Ally Carter

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston

So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Undercurrent ( Siren #2) by Tricia Rayburn

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

UK Cover for The Demon Trappers #2, I have to say I liked the first cover so much better :P

Forbidden ( The Demon Trappers #2) bu Jana Oliver

In Other News -

Cat Patrick, author of Forgotten has recently sold movie rights to Paramount. Haliee Steinfeld ( True Grit and rumoured Katniss for Hunger Games) is attached to play lead role as London.

That's all! Come back tomorrow for Breakfast with the Bookie ;)

Badass Bookie xx