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Thursday 19 May 2011

DISNEY for Adults I think!!

Oh oh oh!!... I was g-imaging for pics of the Beast for my review and stumbled upon probably the best discovery since Bookdepository.com

Seriously you have to check this out!!

David Kawena is a (crazy outstanding EPICALLY talented) artist that takes Disney heroes and makes them.. well HOT!!! Can you believe that he draws these..

Here are a few of my *ach hmm* personal faves.. but the link to his Deviant Art page is here.. Please take a few moments to oogle the talent!  haha!!

 Did you see his, his.. *clears throat* Sword!!??


Prince Naveen.
"Princess and the Frog"

I don't think that's a frog!






















Hercules!!!!























There were so many to choose from, but I had to put Eugene (Flynn Ryder) from Tangled cause I am currently in love with that movie.. But daa-aammn, I think I love it a little bit more, for some reason..
hmm.. He's too big for my page!! :)





These are incredible drawings!

David Kawena I envy your talent!!

Review

Goddess of the Rose by P.C. Cast    4 Stars


My First P.C. Cast book and I was not disappointed.
I admit I was a little intimidated by reading anything by P.C. Cast solely because of the huge amount of books she has (and I own). Equals part fear of disappointment, and equal parts fear that I would love her writing.

It was great!

Mikado aka Mikki, named after a rose, has grown a passion for roses, this is fueled by a family tradition where she has developed a special gift for tending her Roses. This gift lands her in trouble, though. Trouble being the form of a Beast capturing her into the 'Realm of the Rose' where she is now the Goddess Hecate's  Empousa. Commanding control of the Elements, Wind, Water, Fire and Earth. Mikki is in command of the Realm and all it's Roses and she must ensure that the Realm is not compromised by Dream Stealers, as it's Realm and all that surrounds it is actually a delicate web of dreams, nightmares, wishes, and lots more. So, there is no chilling out by the fountain with cocktails. No!

Up until Mikki is captured by the Beast, she has been enjoying nights filled with erotic and sexy dreams involving someone/something that stalks her naked through the garden. This sexy game of cat and mouse ends with her discovering abruptly but not un-wantedly that her stalker is in fact the Beast. So when she is kidnapped, initially things are a little unusual. But Mikki's reactions are great, very realistic and I really enjoyed being her, for a few days. Especially all the cheese she got to eat.. Yes, at first Mikki feels as though she is nuts and perhaps should NOT still be enjoying the dreams, because of what 'he' is. This obviously is confronted in the story as the main theme, as Mikki can't help but fall in love with Beast.

P.C. Cast write a really good story, they don't just write a book solely for the sexual climax, but wait, don't sigh with disappointment ladies. It's a lovely story and one that shows acceptance, love and determination. Obviously, at the end of Beauty and the Beast, typically Belle is offered a dashing prince transformed and they live HEA... boring!!


Well, the Beast in this book is different to the Beast from Disney, he is more human, more man, if you know what I mean!
But, this time Beast is far more charming and beautiful in his true form. He still has his moments of gruff and growl, but this only excites Mikki further. The roles of 'tortured love' and heroine 'discovering the beauty from beneath' is done, thankfully, without reading books and snowball fights. While that works wonders for Disney (and I love the movie) but this needed to be more about two adults. Two adults, maybe not human but falling in love despite the differences and dealing with other people's judgement and prejudices. At least, as in Disney, Beast was still a romantic. And really who could resist that smile??

And no, this is not a book about Bestiality, it's about love and acceptance and loving someone for who they are, not what they are. If you ever enjoyed the story of Beauty and the Beast, I would recommend this.

Then I ask you, which would you prefer.. Beast or Prince??

Woah!!!   Wait a second!! Helloooo Prince!!


I don't remember him on my DVD, I might need to re-watch it!! *rummages through DVDs* Where is that Special Edition?? Disney R18+

Wednesday 18 May 2011

May Purchases

Happy Mother's Day!! (okay you can see how behind I am, when I started this it was Mothers Day)

Yes it's confession time. My purchases so far, for May are not actually that bad... so far!
Mainly because I never get to the shops and I am broke... but that very rarely stops me.



I have some books on pre-orders that should turn up in a few days.. fingers crossed.

Blood Law by Karin Tabke - $29.95 - Temptations Romance (lovely ladies)
Abandon by Meg Cabot - $11.00 - Kmart
Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon - $20.00 - Kmart (large paperback)
Bite Club by Rachel Caine - $13.00 - Kmart
Stolen by Lucy Christopher - $9.79 Book Depository
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain - $13.00 - Kmart
Die for Me by Amy Plum - $13.33 - Book Depository - pre-order
Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh - $8.50 - Book Depository - pre-order
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater - $13.00  Target
Sins of the Flesh by Eve Silver - $14.00  Target
Betrayal by Gillian Shields - $11.59 Book Depository
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - $18.14 Book Depository
Entwined by Heather Dixon - $15.78 Book Depository
The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper - $7.81 Book Depository
How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper - $7.81 Book Depository
Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - $7.81 Book Depository
Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep - $7.81 Book Depository

So 17 so far..


Monday 9 May 2011

Review

Stolen by Lucy Christopher    5+ Stars


*Spoilers*
Such a beautiful story, tragic and very complicated but wonderful. One of the best I have read!
Every time I thought about it, I would cry, it was something that I was still thinking about at 3am this morning when I couldn't sleep.

Lucy Christopher's style of writing it as a letter, had you in Gemma's shoes from the first sentence and it's tense all the way through. It's a little like a car accident, you can't seem to look away.

Gemma is kidnapped by Ty, a beautiful young Australian man with piercing blue eyes, blond hair, tanned skin and a strong muscular body, and he loves her and he has taken her away, in the hope she will love him back. Now if you don't think that isn't complicated, well we haven't even started.

Normally in these situation (victim/abuser/captive/kidnapper) you expect a certain amount of predictable behaviour. But, there wasn't anything predictable about Stolen. And you have to keep reminding yourself that Ty kidnapped Gemma, remember that.

Gemma is the abuser in this story, not Ty, she physically, verbally and mentally abuses Ty. He is the vulnerable person in the story and Gemma is strong, stronger than she probably thought she was. She finds out how to upset him and read his behaviour very quickly and uses it to her advantage. She's almost cruel to him. But you see, this is Lucy's brilliant way of making you sympathetic towards Ty.

Ty never hurts Gemma, he is never sadistic or cruel, he never touches her, never forces her to do anything she doesn't want to do. Infact, Ty cares for Gemma, worries she isn't eating or drinking enough and saves Gemma countless times and looks after her, nurses and is gentle and kind. Not the predictable and stereotypical behaviour of a kidnapper.

Gemma hates Ty, but there are tiny, tiny moments when her attraction to him pops up to the surface. Between her fantasising about killing him and escaping, she also sneaks peeks at his body and then feels sick to her stomach for actually looking. But, Ty is after all the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. Confusing!!???

Gemma never gives up, she is always trying to escape. She is certainly far more tenacious than I would have been in that situation, although she doesn't know what the Australian Outback is like.
Nothing as far as the eye can see!

It was unnerving to hear about all the time he had actually been in her life in England watching, the things he knew about her, whether she remembered them clearly, or the way he did, it was a way to leave some doubt in your mind about him. Then Lucy turns it back on you when Ty tells Gemma about how he saved her from her creepy friend in the park that was chasing her. Right there, you have just done a full 180 again, instead of creeped out, you're grateful!

I fell for Ty much earlier than Gemma ever did, and I don't know what that says about me, but given the filtered version of her life back at home, all the negative, there was nothing happy or positive about her family or her life back in England. Which is done on purpose, so it wasn't hard to fall.

The end was crazy, I still want to cry when I think about it. I suppose, like Gemma you don't know what the right thing to do is, and what the best thing is to do and what everyone expects you do. Sometimes they aren't the same thing. And as Gemma tries to explain, Ty isn't a monster! He does everything for her, anything he can. He gives up everything, knowing he will lose her forever and his life is over if he comes with her and he still stays with her and turns himself over to police. She wants him though, you see Gemma has fallen in love with Ty and even though she has her parents back all she wants is Ty, his arms around her, his smell.
Again might I remind you that he kidnapped her! Do you see how complicated and confusing this is! UGH!

The ending was brilliant, perfect, because you are left wanting Ty to get off, and really you don't know what will happen, it's easier that way. Gemma promises that she will tell her story, not what the lawyers want her to say and not a lie to make it look better for him. But about how he kidnapped her from everything in her life, stole her, and showed her something beautiful out there and that something magical happened between them. I am not ashamed to admit that I do wish that there was a sequel or an epilogue or something, I suppose I really couldn't stand the thought of Ty in prison, without her..

So I recommend this to anyone that wants a book that makes you think, really think about how you feel and how you would react if you were Gemma. It makes you think and second guess yourself.
Fantastic Book!! - Stolen by Lucy Christopher.

Thursday 5 May 2011

Review

Outside In by Maria V.Snyder


When I finished Inside Out I couldn't wait to get into the sequel. Picking up from where we left off. Lots of change, chaos, panic, and disgruntled people.. Sounds like a typical office. 

Trella hasn't really learnt her lesson from Inside Out, she has gone backwards, back to her disinterested attitude she had before Broken Man. Everyone else is trying to cope with the changes around Inside and she is more interested in hiding in the Expanse. She's not a coward, she has ended up with all the responsibility that she really doesn't want or is ready for and naturally she pushes it all away, preferring to hide from it and hope that everyone else can do it without her. 
But, Trella is so good at leading, solving problems and seeing both sides of an argument, that she is a natural leader. People are drawn to her for that as it shines in her personality. 

The problems in the first book seem insignificant to the sequel, but I suppose things are never easy, and its realistic because these issues would happen in real life. From one extreme to the other, though. So many laws and duties and deadlines - to people not turning up for work at all and sabotage for power. 

Trella did frustrate me a little in the beginning when she pushes herself away from everything and almost everyone. She has been independent for so long, that I suppose learning to trust people is difficult but she doesn't try nearly hard enough. She is cruel to Dr Lamont and thankfully Riley calls her up on it and I was glad for that. Riley is the level headed character, fighting with his feelings for Trella and his inability to influence her and gain her trust. This obviously has a strong impact on their new relationship. 

The story premise was very interesting and I suppose borders on Sci-Fi, but only slightly. The writing really gained momentum in this book, and didn't let up. Snyder's world was very different, I suppose given it's a confined and closed environment that is so stark and dry she was really able to paint her own harsh landscape. Very different to the Study series and its lush and changing sceneries. Overall the writing was great, Snyder knows how to write a great story and can really suck you in! Snyder is certainly not afraid to put her heroine through HELL!!




Outside In is due in store (Target, BigW & Kmart) July 2011.. Check out Harlequin Teen for more or Maria V. Snyder's website

Review

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder


Queen of the Pipes - Trella - she is our Heroine and definitely someone you want fighting on your side. 

Trella is a scrub, her job/life is to clean the air vent and shafts, not a glamourous life, but she uses these to escape from her existence in Inside. To escape the noise, smells, people, the basic crapiness that is life on Inside, living in close quarters with approximately 22,000+ people... 

She is independant, resourceful, tenacious, very smart, and tough! Her world is turned up side down when she gives in to her curiosity to prove her friend Cogon and Broken Man wrong about a possible 'Gateway' or outside. But what she finds is something worth fighting for. 

I love Maria V. Snyder Study series and I suppose looking back, it might be a little dystopian, in it's own way. But, Inside Out touched on that genre more. I get into a dystpoian novel, get hooked and then don't want to read anymore. Not because it's bad, but because I worry, sad little person that I am. 
Authors are the masters of destiny and can very easily kill people you have inadvertantly fallen in love with. It sucks (gawd, what a baby). 

Although, I am finally realizing that the point of a dystopian novel is; yes our characters live in a crappy life/environment/world and horrible things happen to nice people. But the whole story is about those characters and their fight to make a better world for them to live in. Which makes for a great story!! 

At first I found Inside Out difficult to keep up with what was going on and where, because of the layout, but once I finally let go of that I got into the story better. Then I got hooked, it speeds up, takes a breath, then starts up again faster. I liked the delicate romance that was built with Riley and Trella, and I look forward to that heating up in Outside In. Poor girl needs a break!! 


2011 New Covers

Some new covers that are definitely going to be in the running for 'Best Cover 2011'


You can pre-order a lot of these titles on BookDepository.com - pics are from GoodReads!!

Please make sure you get the correct ISBN number to ensure you get the right cover.. If in doubt check Goodreads or google it..
I have to admit that I am in love with the new 'Silence' cover by Becca Fitzpatrick

Sunday 1 May 2011

Can you NOT judge a book by it's Cover??

I can't.. I admit it, I judge. I am super judgy! I am the reader/buyer and therefore the Judge, Jury and Executioner to the Author/Publisher.. This judgement is irrefutable when it comes to what I am spending my money on and what type of story or picture is going to spark my interest long enough for me to read the blurb on the back! You do not want to be found wanting!!!!!
If I like the story and perhaps not the cover, I will scour Goodreads and the Internet until I find a cover that pleases me and possibly pay more for it.. Its pathetic, I know.. But if I am spending the money, I want my book to look the best...


Sometimes it's an extreme difference and one you could potentially be beaten up for, if caught reading a book with a *ach hmm* cringe worthy cover on public transport..  These usually consist of pictures with flowers or tartan, animals (mostly Stallions) a castle and hair that blows in every direction and makes a Pantene advert look like dirty mop head.. (right) I have read Moning's Highlander series and they are fabulous, one of my fave's!!

Then there are the covers that are soo good you buy the book without even caring how good the story is or what it's about.. These eye grabbing, jaw dropping covers are becoming more popular. (left is the Adonis 'Jed Hill') Just incase you're wondering the book was just as awesome as the cover!

And no, they are not all of the 'panty wetting muscled chest - I need to rub the book all over me' kind.

Some beautiful covers are in the Young Adult variety, actually there are so many I had trouble picking one...


Now-a-days a book cover is as vital to a book's success, as a movie's publicity, actors, and promotional products (trailers, posters etc) is. If you advertise a movie badly, people will assume that the movie is a product from the same machine.

Book Covers have an even harder time, you can't simply slap someone like Ryan Reynolds on a book cover and ride him all night on his abdominal's fame for the sales.. (Oh, how I wish they would put Ryan on book covers!)


A cover must appeal to a much wider demographic. In sum up.. A cover could kill your book or make it a top seller!! (I'm sorry, but did you see Ryan there on the left??)

Harry Potter - prime example - It was released with Adult Covers.. Harry Potter has been read by all ages, unprecedented success, but it made it more appealing to the 'older audience' by releasing Adult Covers. Therefore, expanding it's demographic and increasing sales. Same story, but we can't help but feel the cover of a book we are reading reflects on ourselves, and therefore feel we are being judged by what it is we are reading..


So would you conclude that we do all judge a book by its cover..??


Book Covers and their release are now on count downs.. Some are so beautiful that times I am tempted just to buy a book for it's cover, as opposed to not buying it cause of it's cringe factor..

Some covers expected to dazzle this year are ... 
Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare
Silence - Becca Fitzpatrick
Iron Knight - Julie Kagawa
and many more....