Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

This book is about Gretchen, an 18-year-old girl who lost her twin sister when she was seven, her brother Ansel, and her love interest Samuel. She travels to Live Oaks, South Carolina, where she befriends and moves in with Sophia, the town pariah who has secrets of her own. It's got a very fairy tale vibe, a la Alex Flinn.

My Thoughts:

1. Usually, suspense gets on my nerves; I HATE not knowing, but in this book, I really liked the lead up to discovering who Sophia truly was. 
2. This was surprisingly heavy for a teen romance. I'd say it has the same level of death as Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, though not nearly the emotional impact. 
3. Samuel and Gretchen are great! There's this one scene, page 235, that is just adorable! He's your typical bad-boy-with-a-sensitive-side that populates the young adult section, and call me unenlightened, but  I really love those types!

Who Should Read It:

1. Fans of Jackson Pearce. Though I did not fall in love with this book like I did with As You Wish, this is still a great book if you like her style.
2. Fans of modern day fairy tale retellings. I've been buying a lot of those lately, and I don't know if it's a trend or if I just happen to be picking them up, but this book definitely delivers on that front.
3. Romance fans! What is a book without romance? Not a book at all! 

Final Score: 8.5/10

I have tons of new books, so check back soon for more reviews! The next book I'll be reviewing Fateful by Claudia Gray (and it is AWESOME)!

Motorola DROID Bionic

Yes, I am WILDLY diverging from book reviews here, but this needs to be shared!
First, happy Black Friday!
Second, a review of the DROID Bionic -

My Thoughts:

1. The camera is AMAZING! 8.0 mp rear-facing, 1.3 mp front-facing and 1080 p video! It is to die for!
2. The 4G download speeds are amazing! Both for stuff off the internet and the Android Market!
3. The sound is great, the display is crisp and the interface is easy to navigate.
4. It is very user friendly - this is my first smart phone, so I would know.
5. There is a lovely selection of pre-installed apps, the browser is fast, the five home screens are useful.
6. As with any smartphone, we've got to talk about battery - I bought the extended battery and it is awesome! I've got like a good 12 hours without sacrificing WiFi, GPS or brightness!
7. Video playback - even 1080 HD YouTube videos is impeccable! 
8. It's nice to hold - even with the extra battery and the large case to accommodate it. I found the RAZR a little awkward, since it's so wide, but this was perfect!

Who Should Get It:

1. If you're in the market for a new smartphone, get this one! And get it now! What with Black Friday rebates, I saved like a hundred dollars on this phone! (I got the phone, the car charger + screen protector + case bundle, and the extended battery for only $249.99) And Verizon is doing twice the data for the same price, i.e. 4 GB of data for the price of 2 GB ($30/month)! Go! Now! I promise I'm not being paid by Verizon, it's just this phone is AWESOME!

For more info, check out Verizon's website here.

I bought a bunch of books today, and I'll be reviewing Sweetly by Jackson Pearce next. 

The Mark of the Golden Dragon by L.A. Meyer

The full title is actually The Mark of the Golden Dragon, Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea. It is the ninth book in the Jacky Faber series (see the full list here), which centers on Jacky Faber, an orphan from a poor area of England who ran away to sea in the first book (when she was like 10 or 12) and has been having exciting adventures one the high seas  and trying to live happily ever after with Jaimy Fletcher, love of her life, ever since (she's now 17 or 18). Before I jump into my review of the most recent one, I'll do a quick review of what we've had so far.

1. Bloody Jack
2. The Curse of the Blue Tattoo
3. Under the Jolly Roger
4. In the Belly of the Bloodhound
5. Mississippi Jack
6. My Bonny Light Horseman
7. Rapture of the Deep
8. In the Wake of the Lorelei Lee

So, Jacky pretended to be a boy, ran away to sea, became a pirate, escaped from a slave ship, came to America, fought in the Napoleonic War, searched for treasure and escaped from a convict ship (her own ship) bound for New South Wales, Australia. Currently, she is marooned on Burma with a small boy (Ravi) she picked up in India and everyone she knows thinks she's dead! 

On to the actual review!

My Thoughts:

1. This is a good installment, in my opinion. Adventure, romance, intrigue - it's all there. 
2. Some might think a series gets a little ridiculous by the 9th installment, and, in this case, they'd be partially right. This series isn't classic literature nor is it going for a realistic depiction of early nineteenth-century life. However, it is a fun, interesting, and entertaining read. 
3. Jacky is fun and likable, and her ongoing romance with Jaimy (and Randall and Jared and Arthur and Richard) is equal parts adorable, angsty, and amusing. 

Who Should Read It:

• People who have read the rest of the series. If you liked that, you'll like this.
• If you like historical fiction, you'll probably enjoy this one. 

Final Score:

• Entire series: 10/10
• Mark of the Golden Dragon: 9/10

For more information, check out the author's website here. 

Next, I'll probably reviewing Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, so stay tuned!

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

This is going to be a short one, since I didn't actually finish this book! This book is the love story between Nora and Patch, a fallen angel. It's the third one in the series; I absolutely loved Hush, Hush, the first one and Crescendo, the second one, had it's moments, but this one...well, I'll let you read on.

My Thoughts:

1. The premise of this one is that Nora has lost her memory of all the supernatural goings-on in her life, and I know that it's dramatic irony and all, but nothing annoys me more! Now, I'm okay with it if it doesn't go on for ever and/or the book is extremely well written/my favorite series ever (like in the case of The Son of Neptune). In this case it lasted at least to page 224, where I stopped. 
2. Maybe I would've liked it better had I re-read the first two installments in the Hush, Hush Saga and gotten back into it, however, I feel like I was getting out of it towards the end of the second book. 
3. I'm not sure why I suddenly no longer like this series, it's just that we're not seeing enough Nora/Patch. I loved their interactions, their love, their story and we've gotten so far away from that that I've lost interest. 

Who Should Read It:

• If you read the first two, I recommend you give this one a go. I never abandon a book series, so maybe that's just me, but I would advise you to check it out if you read/enjoyed either the first or second novel.

Final Score: 6.5/10

For more info, check out the author's website here. 

I'm 60 pages in to The Mark of the Golden Dragon by L.A. Meyer and I've also purchased Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, so look forward to reviews of those!

TV Shows You Should Be Watching

I've decided to branch out a little bit and recommend some of my favorite TV shows. If you find you agree with my opinion on various books, you might want to check out the following TV shows. (This is mainly shows in their first season, i.e. I'm not going to review Vampire Diaries because it is the greatest TV show ever and you should watch it every Thursday at 8 on the CW)

The Secret Circle - The CW, Thursdays at 9

My Thoughts:

1. This show is based on the book series by L.J. Smith, author of the Vampire Diaries book series!
2. It's about a coven of teenage witches, but still manages to be fairly realistic and believable. 
3. The clothes, setting, and atmosphere are excellent!
4. There's plenty of angsty romance to go around (This most recent episode the Jake/Cassie action was to die for!)

Who Should Watch It:

• Fans of L.J. Smith, i.e. fans of the Vampire Diaries, i.e. everyone!
• People who love supernatural stuff!
• Girls who love either melancholy sensitive types, brooding bad boy types, or boy-next-door funny types. Such is the beauty of an ensemble cast. 

Grimm - NBC, Fridays at 9 

My Thoughts

1. The premise is that Nick, a detective, is the descendant of the Grimms (as in the fairy tale people) and he has to solve crimes that are modern day fairy tales...dark fairy tales. If my review of Cloaked by Alex Flinn gave you no indication, I love modern day fairy tales! 
2. The special effects on the various creatures are well done.
3. Nick and his wife (fiance?) are so cute!
4. The show is intense and captivating, which, considering their plots are centuries old, is pretty impressive.

Who Should Watch It:

• Fans of some creepy/paranormal/supernatural stuff.
• People who love cop shows.
• Just, in general, this is a good show. 

Pan Am - ABC, Sundays at 10

My Thoughts:

1. This is the best show ever! Pan Am stewardesses in the Jet Age! So freakin' cool!
2. The clothes and music and cars are all so sixties and so cool!
3. One of the stewardesses, Kate, spies for the U.S. (during the Cold War) and their is this adorable, tragic love story between her and Nico (a diplomat from a Communist country, who spies himself and has to leave her! *cries*)
4. This show is funny, sweet, sincere, exciting, adventurous, adorable and everything anyone could want!

Who Should Watch It:

• Everyone! It has universal appeal! 

Terra Nova - Fox, Mondays at 8

My Thoughts:

1. I love time travel so, when people go back 85 million years because the earth is too polluted in 2149, I fell in love with this show!
2. The relationship between Jim and his wife Elizabeth is so cute! And between their son Josh and a fellow colonist Skye and their daughter Maddie and one of the soldiers, Mark! They're all so cute
3. There's plenty of intrigue with the people who went rogue (The Sixers) and their leader, Mira.
4. Always exciting or interesting and tons of lush sets! And some humor as well.

Who Should Watch It:

1. People into sci-fi or paleontology. (That was sarcasm.)
2. Fans of dramas against super cool backdrops.
3. If this sounds cool to you, then you'll like it. 

Hart of Dixie - The CW, Mondays at 9

My Thoughts:

1. This is fish out of water tale, where New Yorker Dr. Zoe Hart has to practice medicine in the small country town of Bluebell, Alabama. Read: Lots of laughs!
2. The relationship between Zoe and her neighbor Wade is equal parts adorable and hilarious!
3. This show is funny and sweet and sincere!

Who Should Watch It:

• People who like the whole trying to fit in thing; it kind of reminds me of Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon. 

The Final Verdict:

• The Secret Circle: 9.5/10
• Grimm: 9/10
• Pan Am: infinity/10
• Terra Nova: 9/10
• Hart of Dixie: 9/10

Stay tuned for more reviews!

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

This book, in true Alex Flinn style, is a modern day take on fairy tales. I haven't been able to detect a specific one like with the first novel of hers I read, Beastly, so it seems to be a compilation of various elements from various fairy tales. A teenage boy, Johnny, who repairs shoes, is chosen by the beautiful princess Victoriana to rescue her brother, Prince Philippe, who has been turned into a frog, stop the evil witch, and save her from marrying the evil witch's son (by marrying her himself). However, throw Johnny's undefined feelings for his bet friend Meg into the mix, and you get a better idea of the plot.

My Thoughts:

1. Generally, I don't read romance novels from the guy's perspective, since I find it difficult to really believe a guy has the kind of sappy thoughts I want in a love story. However, Alex Flinn's Johnny is wonderful! Very cute, very romantic, but also very real. This was very well executed, in my opinion.
2. In that vein, I just loved the voice of the main character, Johnny. He was funny and adorable and a little dense about Meg and just a really great hero. 
3. I absolutely love books with magic/fairy tales in them and this novel certainly delivered! It was all very familiar because, as an avid reader, I covered the major fairy tale stuff at a young age, BUT it was also extremely new - Alex Flinn's comic touches and plot twists keep you guessing.
4. This book had some really funny moments, particularly in the relationship between Prince Philippe and Meg!
5. I really love how classic this book feels. It's hard to describe, it just feels like one of those grand sweeping fairy tale romances. 
6. I found this book to be very engaging, as well - It's one of those ones you can lose yourself in! 

Who Should Read It:

• If you love fairy tales, then this book is for you!
• If you like comedy, romance, and adventure this is for you!
• If you're a fan of Alex Flinn's other work, then you should check this one out!

Overall Score: 9.5/10

For more information on Alex Flinn, check out her website here. I have tons of new books, so I don't know what I'll be reviewing next!