Ask Book Chic (17) + Contest!

Before I start today, in honor of World AIDS Day, I wanted to link back to an interview I did last year on Dec. 1 with Courtney Sheinmel, author of Positively which is about a young girl who is HIV positive. It's a wonderful interview and one of my all-time favorite ones. Check it out and also check out Courtney's book which is out in paperback!

I've run out of questions again, and you guys know what that means- CONTEST TIME! I have an extra ARC of Delirium by Lauren Oliver! All you have to do to enter is leave a question in the comments below. You can ask more than one question, but it won't count as extra entries or anything like that. This contest will end Friday, December 10 at 11:59PM EST. So go on and ask some questions; they can be about anything, whether it be personal, blog-related, writing-related, completely out there, whatever! Also, try to skim through the previous Ask Book Chics (each post has an Ask Book Chic label, so just click on that to get all of them) to avoid asking a same or similar question.

Cass asks "If you were to talk to Meg Cabot (again) what would you say?

What inspired "Fragment Friday"? (I WILL start doing them...one day) Why do you believe others will be interested in FF?

How many review requests do you get a week, on average? How about, what's the weirdest review request you've gotten? (Mine is this self-help book, but about money and business)"

1) It's funny that I'm answering this now because just today I had a small email exchange with Meg Cabot. I chat with her that way since I can't see her in person, though she says she'll be at RWA next July in NYC and I am going to do my best to be there so she and I (and maybe some others) can hang out.

But anyway, I was telling her that she should another Boy book (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, Every Boy's Got One) because those are my favorites. The reason this came up was because someone asked about a 4th Queen of Babble book and Meg was like "Well, I have this idea for something but I'm not sure if it should be for Lizzie (from QOB) or a character from Boy Meets Girl." I think Lizzie was left in a good place and doesn't need to be tampered with, so I demanded another Boy book be written. She said that she was leaning more toward that than a 4th QOB book. So if you're a fan of the Boy series like me and wanted another book, feel free to thank me when a new one comes out a few years from now. Because I made it happen. :)

As for face-to-face, I'm sure we'd chat about tons of things- we have a mutual love for Kathy Griffin, cats, awful reality shows (and good ones, like Kathy's D-List), and much more. I think she and I would have a grand time together.

2) Fragment Friday was inspired from my Fresh New Voice of YA posts where I'd record a vlog and read an excerpt from the two featured books, so it was originally just twice a month in the same week. My blogger friends Susan and Pam really liked that idea and wanted to do it themselves, so they came to me for approval since I was the one who had first started doing them. I agreed and we started Fragment Friday in July of this year.

I think others would want to join in because they can read a favorite section from one of their favorite books or a book they're currently reading and share that with their blog readers, thus hopefully sending them to that book.

It actually started out kinda strong and stayed consistent for a few months but recently, participation has fallen off (one week, no one else did one). This has led me to (HERE'S THE SHOCKING NEWS!) think about cancelling it or just making it once a month and let people know ahead of time the date it will be held. It's a hard thing to do every single week, not like In My Mailbox or Waiting on Wednesday. I'll continue doing it to the end of the year and then in January will either do the monthly thing or not do it at all. I'd still do it for Fresh New Voice, but there would be no Mr. Linky. What do you all think?

3) I don't get as many as you think, probably just a couple. I usually delete them if they don't interest me, which is almost 95% of the time. The reason for this is because of the fact that a lot of them have NOTHING to do with my blog. They're not YA reads, or even MG or adult chicklit. I get self-help, non-fiction, self-published stuff. It's not what I read!


Tara asks "Which do you think takes more time: reading the actual books or blogging about them?

Do you think you would read as much if you did not blog about the books?

Favorite ice cream flavor? (I just gave up sweets. Preoccupied. hehe.)"

1) Definitely reading them. Blogging about them takes maybe half an hour, at least for me. I don't spend days thinking about a book or anything. I just sit down and write out the whole review and set up the post in one sitting. Reading usually does take several days for me, unless it's a really quick read.

2) Yes. I read a lot for several years before starting the book blog, so having the book blog doesn't change too much. I'd probably continue buying the occasional book and borrowing tons from the library. I will say though that having the book blog causes a bit more pressure and I have to schedule books and I do think I read more because of how many books I get every month, therefore meaning I have to post several reviews every week. So maybe not as much because there'd be no rush for me to finish a book, but I do think I'd still have reading time every day.

3) I like the vanilla/chocolate combo, as well as mint chocolate chip. Also, why did you give up sweets? That doesn't seem right to me. I could never do it. I love them WAY too much.

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers Cover Reveal!

The cover for Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers, the sequel to Personal Demons, is out now!!



Isn't that cover gorgeous?! I love the blue and that we get to see a close-up of the sexy Gabe (he's totally mine!) and I can't wait to read it- the book will be out July 5, 2011! You can go to Lisa's blog and enter the Cover Reveal Contest. All you have to do is fill out the form with the Original Sin tagline ("Is Anyone Above Temptation?") and the blog you found it at (Book Chic!). Once you do that, you'll be entered to win an ARC of Original Sin as soon as she gets copies in, which should be within the next two months! Also, by commenting here on this post (just once), you get an extra entry! I moderate all comments and usually get to them quickly so just check back in a few hours to make sure your comment got through! Good luck to all!

To find out more about Lisa and her debut Personal Demons, go to these links:

My interview with Lisa
My review of Personal Demons
An excerpt vlog for Personal Demons

Stork by Wendy Delsol

Stork by Wendy Delsol
"Sixteen-year-old Katla LeBlanc has just moved from Los Angeles to Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, Katla soon finds out that she’s a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women tasked with a very unique duty. But Katla’s biggest challenge may be finding her flock at a new school. Between being ignored by Wade, the arrogant jock she stupidly fooled around with, and constantly arguing with gorgeous farm boy and editor-in-chief Jack, Katla is relieved when her assignment as the school paper’s fashion columnist brings with it some much-needed friendship. But as Homecoming approaches, Katla uncovers a shocking secret about her past — a secret that binds her fate to Jack’s in a way neither could have ever anticipated."- summary from Amazon

I liked this book for the most part. I have a couple complaints (ok, just one really), but it's a very original story. Obviously, just from the title alone, you can tell what this book is about- Storks, in human form. It's really clever how Delsol deals with this as well as with Norse mythology among other things, tying it all together. It's unique to have this kind of creature (of sorts) alone, but compared with this rarely-used mythology, you have a wonderful new paranormal romance.

My complaint with this book also stems from the paranormal romance genre, and that's the idea that the boy and girl are brought together by destiny, that they're meant for each other, yada yada yada. I see it way too many times and while Delsol gives a really good reason for it, it's still a bit cliche and brings the book down a notch.

The characters are all great, though there's focus and time spent on just a few and the secondary characters aren't very fleshed out. Delsol does however weave a lot of plotlines together very well- Kat's parents' divorce and her mom's subsequent dating life, dealing with the move to this new(ish) place, her mysterious past, her mysterious present, romance and mysteriousness with Jack (though he reveals a secret in the end that I'd known about for like 200 pages), a multiple attempted murder and who's behind that, and so much more. The book doesn't feel overstuffed in any way and everything is given its time in the spotlight and I was left feeling very satisfied with all the explanations.

Overall, it's a wonderfully unique book and definitely one to check out if you're looking for a new angle to all the paranormal romances out there.

FTC: Received ARC via Around the World Tours. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Meandering Monday (1)

OK, so over Thanksgiving, I decided that I simply could not do 5 reviews a week. At least, not right now when I'm finishing a book and then posting a review. Even with the job being gone, it's hard for me to read essentially 5 books a week because I have so many other important things to do, like sleep and watch TV. Oh, and finding another job.

So to kinda help me along in stocking up reviews so that I COULD potentially do 5 reviews a week in the future, I've come up with a new system to use each week that will be MUCH more beneficial to my sanity and will also provide a nice consistent schedule to the blog. Here it is:

Monday- I will be doing a feature called Meandering Monday, in which I will ramble on about things, present some links, and possibly also do a retrospective of the posts from the previous week if I did not do an In My Mailbox on Sunday.

Tuesday- Book review!

Wednesday- Alternating between Ask Book Chic (btw, this week I'm asking for new questions and of course holding a contest for a 2011 ARC!) and Author Interviews.

Thursday- Another book review!

Friday- Fragment Friday (come back for more info about this feature in this week's Ask Book Chic because someone asked about it; I have some SHOCKING news!)

Saturday- Yet another book review!


I really like this schedule and it'll be nice while I get back into the groove of reading books and getting ahead and all that. Fresh New Voice of YA will continue each month, so the schedule won't apply during that. I'm hoping to be ahead by the end of December so I can unveil a book-review-heavy schedule in January. Prepare your Goodreads and Amazon Wishlists so that they don't explode by the amount of books you'll be adding with all the reviews I'll be posting each week.

Anyway, that's enough about the schedule. Here's some links!

Little Willow and I FINALLY did another He Said, She Said for GuysLitWire. This time, we discuss Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

You can listen to my interview with Barry Eva aka Storyheart from A Book and A Chat here. It's just a half-hour long but it contains tons of awesome info about me!

Also, this post, as well as the site as a whole, has had me laughing hysterically since I first read that post a couple days ago. Thanks to Stacey Jay and Meg Cabot for pointing it out to me (via their blogs; they're way too important to send random links to me directly).

Finally, here's my retrospective for last week- I previewed the 2011 books Father of Lies by Ann Turner and My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison, posted an Ask Book Chic (where I talked about stereotypes, books-to-movies, and gaining a blog following), and also reviewed Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson, which is out in stores now.

Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson

Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson
"Sixteen-year-old Sophie knows there is more to the story of her parents' death. And she's on a mission to find the truth. To aid her in solving the decades-old mystery, Sophie has enlisted her best friend, Mikael, whose friendship has turned into something more. It's soon clear that Sophie's future is very much wrapped up in the details of her family's past, and the key lies with information only one man can provide: her parents' former employer, the elusive billionaire Alfred Nobel.

As the threat of war looms in Europe, dangers to Sophie and her loved ones grow. While her determination to solve the mystery doesn't waver, forces beyond her control conspire to keep her from her purpose. Then, news of her great-aunt Tabitha's death sets off a chain of events that leaves Sophie questioning everything.

The more Sophie learns, the more she realizes that nothing—and no one—in her life is what it seems. And coming to terms with the dark secrets she uncovers means imagining a truth that she never dreamed possible."- summary from Amazon

I was really excited for this book because I loved The Explosionist so much. Unfortunately, this book let me down. I mean, it's a nice read, but there wasn't as much suspense or action as the first book. The Explosionist had me turning pages and not wanting to put it down. I was able to put this book down easily over the past few days. It just didn't capture me like the first book.

I was a bit confused about some things because it had been a while since I had read The Explosionist, but Davidson does a fairly good job of getting you up to speed. The problem I had was that the novel would build up to something and then it was over and done with in a paragraph, if that, and in the most boring way possible. It just wasn't as action-y as the back of the book promised (nor was there much romance). There are gorgeous settings, so the summary got that right.

I did enjoy the character interactions, especially between Sophie and her cat Trismegistus which was fun for me to read while I was out of town because it reminded me of my own cat Hershey, who is exactly like Trismegistus- on the bigger side, loves to cuddle up with me in bed at night, and is quite dignified (more so than the usual cat). So that was nice to read about, and Tris is around for pretty much the whole story, which was great.

Overall, this is a good book, though slow-paced and a bit of a let-down from the first book. If I were grading it, it'd probably be a C+ book. I highly recommend buying The Explosionist if you really like historical fiction, but this sequel is definitely more of a library book.

FTC: Received ARC at BEA (signed!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.