The Grace and Nate Story

This is another of Tora and I's writing collaboration. Grace and Nate have taken up a very significant portion of our lives, and are two character I, personally, am hopelessly devoted to :)

I'd explain all about them to you now, but I don't have to, because this video I made says it all for me. Hope you like it. Originally, it was just for twinsister dearest, but it's up on Youtube anyway, and what better place to share it than our dedicated ranting/venting/spouting the blog?

By the way, this was my first ever video, and I did it a while ago, so please excuse any terribleness you may find in it. And also, that music isn't Michael Buble's Lost. Not at all. No way. Never.

Allie

Book Review 7 - Wintercraft, by Jenna Burtenshaw

I first read this a while ago, long before I was considering books for review, and though I enjoyed it, I didn't get around to reading it for a second time until very recently! I hadn't heard of it at all, and basically picked it up at the library because I liked the sound of the blurb and the cover looked pretty cool....To me, it was less YA fantasy and more general fantasy, but I think maybe I'm just too used to reading American YA fiction...

This is one example of a book
where the cover really makes a
difference - it's gorgeous, and
really intriguing!

Anyway. The book's protagonist, Kate Winters, lives in a world where people and their communities are isolated, fearful, and ruled over from afar by the mysterious High Council. The country is in the midst of a war that seems to have been going on for ever, and to 'help' the war effort, the High Council send out wardens to take people from their homes and families. No one knows when they'll strike - ten years ago, they took Kate's parents.

When the wardens return to Kate's hometown, her uncle Artemis is one of the prisoners taken by the wardens onto the Night Train - but she has other problems to be worried about, what with her being hunted when she finds out she is one of the Skilled; a person cursed with the ability to see both the living and the dead. Along with her friend Edgar, she must run from one of the most feared men alive: the terrifying and sinister Silas Dane.

(OK, so I may be a little prejudiced towards Silas. How dare Jenna Burtenshaw sully the name of the best vampire character EVER? I mean the Silas from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, by the way. But I digress.) Add to that an ancient book called Wintercraft, and a setting that becomes a character in itself (the cities and the country are very vividly described and easy to imagine), and you have a combination of storylines that, given the relatively short length of the book compared to most other YA fiction, create a world that pulls you in from the very first page.

Within just a few chapters you have been given enough information, and yet there is enough with-held, to make you very curious about the history of this fantasy world and its characters. Some scenes early on in the book make you think the book is darker than it is, and indeed it does return to this tone later on, but you shouldn't be discouraged if you don't think it's your kind of thing. There is something for everyone in Wintercraft. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns at every corner, but still manages to have a steadiness to it. With so much mystery involved, it's important that it doesn't meander, and Jenna Burtenshaw's writing suits this planned style - she is a very skilled storyteller, especially in her description.

It did have it's downfalls, though, and they are obvious enough to really bring down the standard of what could otherwise be an outstanding story.

First, and most importantly: I didn't bond with most of the characters. Kate is a little bit too tame for me, and though there are times when she is required to be very courageous, it felt fake. She didn't jump off the page and it affected my desire to finish the story (though I am glad I persevered!) and Edgar, especially, got on my nerves - which isn't something that often happens for me - and I found myself wishing Jenna Burtenshaw had created a stronger secondary character. He did grow on me, but it impacts on a story when a character feels so out of place for so long like it did in this book. However, Silas (and his bird) is such an intriguing and complicated character that his ability to keep you guessing really keeps the reality of the story alive. The other criticism I'd have for Wintercraft is that it's pace was sometimes too slow even for me.

Over all, I think there was a lot of potential in Wintercraft that sadly wasn't utilised - though I also think that it's a very good start to a series that I will definitely be picking up again sometime in the future.

Writing: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5 (but only because Silas is worth a point and a half all by himself!)
Plot: 4/5
Impact: 2.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
In less than five words: fantasy, SILAS!, mysterious, intriguing, promising.

Allie

A Plea to Silent Readers

And yes, I totally needed to give this post a no-nonsense title. *stern look* You know what this post is going to be about, and you better listen up....


If you are a silent reader who never comments, we can't know if we are saying things that you like or not. Or what you would like more of, or less of.  So I'm asking you, please, silent readers of the blogosphere, let us know what you like about this blog. We want to know who you are!  I've personally fallen in love with blogging, whether I know there are readers or not, but I know that I get a lot more enjoyment out of it when I know that my efforts are not being wasted, and I can feel like  what I have to say is actually being heard. 


We're not asking to become the #1 blog on the net. We're - well, I - am just saying that a little interaction with our readers would be apprieciated.


Big love to y'all...(yes, I recently re-watched the episode of The Big Bang Theory with Sheldon's sister Missy in it. Her and Penny combined have had a bit of an unavoidable effect on my speech...)


Allie

Waiting On Wednesday #6 - Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown

Meme borrowed from Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today's book: Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown

Publication Date: June 12th, 2012 (Soooo far away...)

Summary from Goodreads: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy.

But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls.

Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

What a brilliant premise! Completely unique. There hasn't been a good mermaid book on the YA scene in a while, let alone one with MURDEROUS MERMAIDS, and a MALE PROTAGANIST! Eeks!

From what I've heard, it really does live up to expectations - I have a feeling that the will-they-won't-they element that appears in it will have me on tenterhooks. There's a real obstacle stopping Calder and Lily being together, and if Anne Greenwood Brown utilises this in the way I hope she does, you really won't know what's going to happen.

Speaking of the author, she's likes the Coronas and Damien Rice and Franz Ferdinand! Score, sister! What's not to love? Really can't wait for this one.

Allie

A couple of book-blog contests for you...

Well, since we're not doing our contests here, (yet!) I thought I might as well share some giveaways from other blogs I read and follow, so you can have a chance to enter, too.

I don't have much time to search out giveaways right now, but here are the few I've seen so far today:

My Cute Bookshelf Giveaway - In Jennie's own words:

I've recently reached 500 followers on the blog and to celebrate this, I have decided to host a giveaway! 2 lucky winners will get a book of their choice from the list below. I've decided to include a lot of hot new releases. ;) Most of these are young adult books, but I've also included some adult ones I either loved or am looking forward to reading.

Xpresso Reads 500 Followers Celebration Giveaway - In Giselle's own words:


I'm incredibly excited to have reached 500 followers already and I have only been blogging for a bit over a month! It's amazing! I have already made tons of new blogger friends that I adore and I'm completely in love with my new hobby. I hope that you're all enjoying my blog and that it lives up to your expectations! ;)

WOW! There are so many books on those lists that I want to read! *dances* Go on, head on over and check it out...there's bound to be something there for you.

I'm going to edit in the other ones later...

Allie

It's A Feast of Stolen Goods Today (OK, that was a crazily obscure reference to one of our earliest posts...)

Continuing...

See title. Might as well do my own version of what Tora posted....'tis fun! Also 'stolen' but not from Alice's iPod.

 "Always assume you're being watched. That way, when people start shooting, there's no need to be alarmed."

"Life is always better with a soundtrack." (Actually, this is one of my own.)

"And shall I die - and this unconquered?" from 'Tamburlaine' by Christopher Marlowe - or my mate Kit, as I like to call him. (Have I mentioned how much I like the film Shakespeare in Love? Except Gwyneth Paltrow. I CANNOT STAND Gwyneth Paltrow most of the time. *shudder* Too much airy-fairy and not enough kick-ass. But I digress. She is all right in SiL. However, Joe Fiennes is simply unbelievable...in a very good way.)

"How do you come up with ideas?" - "By sheer perseverance to the point of madness." Charlie Chaplin. Highfives, Charlie! A perfect excuse to lock yourself in a room for eight hours trying to think of a path around writer's block.

"Anybody can make the holes. Only the Swiss can make the cheese." I don't have a clue who said this (except Joe Craig, whose website I found it on) or why they said it, but it can be interpreted in too many ways not to count for some kind of inspirational quote.

"Everybody lies." - Dr Gregory House, from House. What more can I say?

Allie

Waiting On Wednesday #5 - The Lost Princess, by Galaxy Craze

Meme originally by Jill at her blog Breaking the Spine.

This Wednesday's Chosen Book: Well, see the title of this post, but just to clarify, yes, Galaxy Craze is a person....
Release Date: May 8th, 2012 (the only bad thing about doing WoW posts is finding out how loooong we'll have to wait to actually read the books!)

Look at this cover! Isn't it stunning? I love how eye-catching  and contrasting it is. I'll give you the Goodreads summary to read after you absorb the gorgeousness of it.

Happily ever after is a thing of the past. 

The year is 2090. 

England is a barren land. Food is rationed. Oil has decimated the oceans. The people are restless. 

A ruthless revolutionary enacts a plan to destroy the royal family, and in a moment, the king is dead. His heiress, Princess Mary, and her brother, Jamie, have been abducted, and no one knows their fate. Princess Eliza Windsor barely escapes, and finds herself scared and lost in London's dangerous streets. 

With a mind for revenge and the safe recovery of her siblings, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. There she is tempted by her first taste of independence -- and true love. Ultimately she must summon her courage and fight to ensure that she does not become... The Last Princess.

How amazing does this sound? Like historical fiction...only future-fiction. It's pretty unique in it's premise of featuring a royal family as the main characters against a backdrop of the classic dystopian scenario. I can't wait to find out how a tale of love and looking out for your family (while being a PRINCESS) can be intertwined with the danger and information needed to keep you hooked on a story like this - with so many dystopian novels round now 9and so many of them being brilliant, more to the point) it's important to stand out from the crowd, and from what I've heard so far about The Last Princess, it's doing it's job pretty well....

So, what are you Waiting On this Wednesday?

Allie

Spooky, scary, supernatural....

(I promise I promise I promise I won't do any more Halloween-themed posts...)

All right, so this post will basically do what it says on the tin. And I know Tora hates when I do those kinds of posts, but c'mon, I couldn't resist. Lately I've seen so many books around that could be classed as Hallowe'en-ish that I just have to do a post about them. I won't bore you for long though (unless you are a book-fan, in which case, WELCOME! and I hope you enjoy the post.) I'm going to do one of my favourite spooky/scary/supernatural books from both children's novels and YA books.

First up, taking the prize for (Funniest) Spooky Kids' book(s):  Debi Gliori's Strega Borgia Chronicles (to give it it's proper title). 

There are two trilogies; the 'Pure Dead' trilogy, and the 'Deep' trilogy. The books take place in the magnificent StregaSchloss (what a name for a house!) and features the Strega-Borgia family; Signor Luciano, Signora Baci, and the children, Titus, Pandora, Damp, and later, Nieve. They are bizarre and hilarious character who come to life very easily - the books are hilarious and action-packed. Think the Addams Family, but kids under 12 will probably get the most enjoyment out of it. 

Oh, and did I mention the cryogenically frozen Strega-Nonna, and the monsters Ffup, Sab, and Tock? (Better mention Multitudina the Illiterat too lest she bite my ear off...)

And now, taking the award for YA Supernatural/Scary/Spooky book for this Hallowe'en....

(OK, so it'a not so much a single book, as an author.)

L.J. Smith, you may take your bow!

Her books, especially the Night World series, feature the classic portrayal of vampires, but crossed with elements of romance, and of course set in our modern-day world. She also wrote the Vampire Diaries (that TV show...you know the one, with the AMAZINGLY HUNKY vampire brothers? Ha. I knew that would get your attention...! But it's true.) which I have read, though I have to say I don't like those ones as much. (No offence, AMAZINGLY HUNKY vampire brothers who feature in the series.)

I'm definitely not a massive vampire fan, but they are my guilty pleasure, now revealed to the world. And, in a perfect twist of fate, there's probably a copy of one of her books in every library in the world, thanks to the recent craze -started-by-the-book-which-shall-not-be-named, so there's no excuse for not trying them.

Anyway, I better go now before twinsister dearest murders me* for mentioning the v-word on the blog.

*runs* 

Allie

*with a knife in the drawing room! We're so playing Cluedo tomorrow. And that will be the end of the Hallowe'en festivities. I swear I'm not into it as much as my recent posts have made out. It's just I've gone on a blogging binge and it happened to occur around this time of year...

Yes, Halloween is completely commercialised and Americanised and whatever other words there are for stuff like that. But....

As much as I try to abstain from it (unlike Tora, there will be no Halloween  parties for me - not even trick-or-treating) somehow, it always sneaks in...sly old fox of a holiday....

Our bathroom is currently a homage to Psycho. Blood-hand-print-stained shower curtain, and everything. There are a lot of Halloween sweets. And coloured hairspray for the others who are actually going to participate in the strange tradition of traipsing around from house to house in the pitch dark and freezing cold, with steadily growing bags of junk and money (OK, that part I'm not so objectionable to) with a large group of people dressed in varying types of black bin bags and white bed sheets.

(And all right, all right, I know there are so fantastic costumes out there. Like - hello! - Amy Winehouse. Picture this: little primary school kid, cute as button, with a huge knotty beehive and layers of mascara. Obviously without the alcohol and drug addictions, but still! Only at Halloween...)

And, even better. Bellatrix Lestrange! Can you imagine?


HOLD ON!

....            
                                           
Seriously, that comparison was not intentional....but I so have to put it live on the blog now.

Right, now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find my missing black t-shirt....

Allie

Who We Should Aspire To Be Like

This will probably just be a quick post, but I realized the only mention I'd given one of my favourite blogs was just a fleeting link in a post ages ago, that's not even on the main page now (to any new readers: oh yes, there's more! We're nearing our one hundredth post, so there's a couple of pages for you to look at and help spread the insanity if you manage to get through this front page without overdosing on madness/becoming seriously maimed/scarred for life).

I first heard of Alice through the Post Pals charity. (You can see my previous post about it here - see how nice I am, linking you to it, and everything? - or, better still, visit the Post Pals website) I'd tell you about here, but what better way to do than through her own words? From her Blogger profile:

About Me

Alice x

Hi, I'm 15 years old and live with my parents and sister in Ulverston. I've been fighting cancer for almost 4 years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one :( I'm hoping to write in here as much as I can and I'm also going to show my bucket list which I'm trying to get done before I have to go. Hopefully, I'll update as I tick each one off the list :)

Her blog is simply called 'Alice's Bucket List' (that was another link, by the way. In case you didn't notice), and well, it does exactly what it says on the tin. But also, much more.

It is a story full of positivity and strength, made all the more touching because this isn't just something in a novel you can pick up and put down at will; it is someone's life. It is a glimpse into the lives of Alice and her whole family (including her sister Milly who deserves a major shout-out too; she's an amazing fundraiser, as well as suffering from a condition called Crouzon Syndrome herself - and reminds you that the way bad things - whether health-wise, life-wise, or anything-wise - affect you is all down to your attitude. Where there is darkness, there must be light. Falling down, no matter how hard or how far or for how long, must always be followed by getting up again. This is what Alice does, despite the trials she has gone through, and the challenges facing her.

(Now you can see where the post title is coming from, right? So, Tora, if you'll forgive me this once for having it so straight-up and 'obvious', I think it really has some meaning.)

I am not saying Alice is Superwoman. She is an ordinary girl in extraordinary, harrowing circumstances that unfortunately affect too many people, who has decided that this chapter of her journey should be shared with the world.

(Am I preaching? I really hope I'm not. And if I am, well, let's just hope it has some kind of purpose. I think it does.)

So. Go there. Read and take inspiration. And then come back here and finish reading this post and see how different the light you see it in is.

I'll leave a space here to indicate you reading Alice's blog.




Sorta makes you appreciate being alive, doesn't it?

Allie

When I grow up...I am NOT going to be a member of the Pussycat Dolls.

....I am, in fact, going to, one day, get myself a writing-room/study, like this:

And yes, it IS going to be that tidy. Even though this is me we're talking about. I can't write with my room all messy or my feng-shui all messed up. (I knew that much before I even knew about feng-shui.) By the way, it is in a shed. So what? *pointed stare*

Or maybe...it's going to be like this:

Just look at that comfy chair! And the gorgeous desktop computer that probably crashes a lot less than my own dear laptop...I might swap the rug, but I'd defintiely have one. I'd need it there for when I get so frustrated I need to lie on the floor and throw missiles stuff at the ceiling. Couldn't do that without a nice fluffy rug. And it's in an attic! With a skylight! :D I have always written well in attics. With skylights. *nods*

OK, so maybe there's a third choice I have in mind....But LOOK! It's so pretty...! The only thing I woudl change would be to make the chairs softer. And bigger. And- what the hey, why not add a bed in there, as well? Knowing me I'll probably end up doing a lot of late-night writing/watching films while eating junk food pretending I'm writing and not consoling myself over stuff, and life in general...

I'm going to stop talking now.

Allie

This post will most definitely not be all about muffins.

No way.

But. I made muffins today. And they are delicious. Even if I do say so myself...

They are also even more delicious because fo the fact they were almost-but-not-quite stolen. Though thankfully they were not. Sighs of relief all round, people...

I can't cook much - hands up people who live off frozen food, toast and popcorn when left to fend for themselves? MEE! - but I like baking. A lot. Mainly because even when you mess up things still taste great. Usually. And, yes, I know stuff can still go wrong, but boy, all the exploding oven doors are SO worth it, in the end.

Also, LOOK! A cool frog I don't know the name of, but with funkiest frog-skin ever.

I have listened to some very funny songs, some cracking music (currently, Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes), talked to my twinsister about many things in a very short space of time, begun writing again after being too busy to do anything constructive for the past few days, and will be competing in showjumping tomorrow.

These are the reasons why I am happy right now.

Go forth and be happy too, dear readers!

A very cheerful Allie