Back in Action

That's right. You read that title correctly. I'm back and reading up a storm. And with such activities come the arrival of new video reactions to said novels. To wet your whistles I have whipped up a double look at D.M. Cornish's Lamplighter and Factotum.

I think the video rather speaks for itself, so I won't drone on unnecessarily. It feels great to be back though and I hope y'all are doing well in your various and sundry locations.

Until next time...

Two Reviews and a Butterbeer Kind of New Year

I'm so sorry to have been away so long, my friends, but I've just been so busy with things that today is the first time I've been able to check my blog since New Year's Eve. Honestly, I'm just glad that all the holiday parts of winter break are over. Now I can just concentrate on doing what I want to do.

Here's the next video review (it's double the normal content) so I hope y'all enjoy it.



I tried to condense the reviews, but I'm not sure it worked out that well. I really need to learn to plan before I start recording. I always have to cut long ramblings out because the videos end up being too long. I still feel like they're too long even after I've finished cutting and trimming the fat.

And I also feel like I don't ever get around to actually reviewing the books. The videos feel more like reactions. Perhaps I need to start calling them that...hmmm...

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was my favorite of the two books. I think it was because there weren't any needles like in Across the Universe. However, I felt more strongly for Amy and Elder than I did for Karou and Akiva. I can come up with no rational explanation for this. Really. My brain-heart works in strange ways.

I don't usually discuss the romance or plot of a book because I feel like it's something other readers are best left to discover for themselves, but I will say this: both of these books will challenge you to re-examine your ideas and conceptual frameworks of love and you will ache in your bones because of it. That is all.

Oh and don't worry, I haven't forgotten to provide the link to the Butterbeer recipes.
Recipe of the Week: Butterbeer. 
If y'all see my friend Jake, y'all can thank him for linking me to the recipes on Mugglenet.com. I just love fellow Potter fans. They're so ingenious. And now I know how to make Butterbeer three different ways! Oh the indescribable joy!

Here are some photos of me enjoying Butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Harry Potter Land). Enjoy! (I know I sure did!)

First glass at The Three Broomsticks!

Waiting for second glass at The Hog's Head.
The hog head on the wall moves and grunts!

Second cuppa Butterbeer in the pavilion
behind The Three Broomsticks/The Hog's Head. 

MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO Review

Normally I'm pretty certain about how I should go about reviewing a book, but in regards to Monster Blood Tattoo (Book One: Foundling), I'm on new ground. How so? Watch this to find out.



Now, if that hasn't confused you, just take a moment to think about what I've just said. Books aren't supposed to look like this unless they're written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the map and lore legend of the literary world. I'm seriously impressed. Actually, I was completely taken by surprise by MBT and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Exhibit A

The story, the world, the characters, all combined to suck me into a vortex of monsters, vinegar waves, and the plight of a boy with a girl's name (Exhibit A).

But that's not all. Oh no.


Exhibit B is a 102-page glossary of terms unique to The Half-Continent--a number not including the appendices depicting different "types" of people on The Half-Continent, various ships, the calendar system, and a highly detailed "exploded" map of The Half-Continent broken into six sections, among other things.

Exhibit B

I was very happy to have the glossary and the appendices, if only to assure myself that I guessed right about the definitions and to reassure my mind that the book actually happened. Plus, I really love visual aids.

When I bought this book on sale for waaaaay less than the amount it was meant to be sold for, I didn't know what I had in my hands. I admired the title and the cover, read the jacket and decided it would be interesting, but I had no idea just how interesting I'd find it. I have a book buying addiction, remember?

Now that I've read Book One: Foundling, I must read the others. I feel like a wit* is compelling me to do so.

I guess I know what I'm going to do with my recently acquired gift cards to bookstores.

Until next time...


*A wit is a type of lahzar whose powers are felt rather than seen, unlike the fulgars. Another name for one is a neuroticrith ("holder of a distorted mind"). Wits control the invisible bioelectrical field using the surgically introduced organs definitive of the lahzars. They are mostly monster hunters by profession.

(See what I mean? That glossary is fantastic! My definition is just a tiny summary of the one in the book.  The actual definition of a wit is nearly two pages long!)

DEARLY, DEPARTED Review

So, someday I will finally get the hang of not babbling like a loon when I'm trying to do a review of a book on camera. I feel like I'm getting better, but perhaps that's just me.

Here is the long awaited review of Lia Habel's Dearly, Departed. I just saw that the series title is Gone with the Respiration. Nice. That just made Ms. Habel go even further up my list of favorite people/authors.



A few things that I didn't cover in the video--I knew I'd forget something--were the cover, the wonderful pop and past culture references within the book, the multiple narratives used, and the history of the world as seen in Dearly, Departed.

The cover is lovely in a dark, gothic sort of way. I love both of those adjectives, so of course I had to buy the book. Habel has a witty writing style, quips and references come easily in the flow of the narrative. In fact, her use of multiple narrators to tell the story makes all of those cultural references seem effortless.

Although it feels to me as if Nora is the main character, Habel didn't limit the novel to just one MC. The book is broken up into many chapters told through the first person account of a different character.

Nora, Bram, Pamela, Dr. Dearly, and Captain Wolfe all have chapters in which they tell the story from their differing points of view. At first, it was a little odd, but I grew to love it. Even though Captain Wolfe isn't my favorite character and he doesn't get as much "air time" as Nora, Bram, or Pamela, it was interesting to get to see things from his perspective.

Also, the backstory for New Victoria and the Punk territories is wonderfully told. I'm not going to give much more away, but I enjoyed reading about how it all came about.

That's all for this post, but just keep one sleepy eye open for my next review. I'm still undecided which book I'm going to have a showdown with so...surprise?

Until next time...

RTW: Where My Money Goes

Welcome to our 110th Road Trip Wednesday!

 Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


 We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic: 

Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging!

Thanks for not judging because I have a problem. This problem is one that usually results on my checking account having a heart attack whenever I enter a bookstore. 

It doesn't even matter which store it is. Barnes & Noble, BAM!, local stores, the library book sales, Walmart, Target, gas stations, yard sales, Amazon, and the list can go on into eternity. I'm not picky about where I get my books. All that matters is that I get them. 

Take yesterday for instance, I wasn't feeling well and my Mom took me to Page & Palette, our local bookstore, and still I managed to come away with two books. 

In case you're wondering, I finally bought Across the Universe by Beth Revis and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks. Yay! More books for me to potentially review (if I ever have time to sit down and read them like I want to)! 

As it is, I can't seem to kick the habit of purchasing every book I lay my hands on. Seriously. I have to restrain myself from touching books because once they're in my hands, I'm not going to let go. It doesn't matter what they're about. 

I have multiple anthologies that I picked up at used book sales simply because I "wanted to see how heavy they are" and then couldn't pry my fingers away. I have two complete compilations of William Shakespeare's plays and poetry. 

Do I need two? Not likely. They just sit and take up valuable shelf space. Will I get rid of either of them? Probably not. I'm also a book hoarder. 

Alright, well, I know I promised y'all a book vlog about Dearly, Departed, and y'all will get it eventually. I've been distracted the past few days. I just now realized it is Wednesday. Time sure flies. 

Until next time...

BLOOD RED ROAD Review

THERE ARE SPOILERS. I KNOW FOR SURE THERE IS ONE, BUT THERE MAY BE MORE. CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.



SO, there's been a lot of comments lately about people wanting my Star Wars mug. I've become paranoid enough to hide it.

Good luck finding it to steal it. As you can see, I have not failed in my vlogging project yet. Day Two and I'm still allowing this to continue.

The next book on my hit list is Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel with Monster Blood Tattoo by D. M. Cornish coming in second. I'm hoping to finish them both tomorrow.

However, seeing as it's Eggnog Day tomorrow, I may not be capable of fulfilling that goal. Eggnog Day for my family means all the ladies of the family come over, as well as other lady friends we've known forever or who we may consider family ladies as well, and we make the most alcoholic eggnog ever. I'll probably have a post dedicated simply to eggnog tomorrow. There may not be a video though. I'm sure y'all understand why.

Until next time...

Vlog Intro

Vlog attempt number one, in which I ramble profusely and sip coffee out of my Star Wars cup.

 It's rough. I promise next time that I won't roll out of bed and make a video. That's a bit too raw and uncut for YouTube. It's funny though because I'm normally not that well-spoken before coffee. I think I was just really excited to get started on this new venture. Although, it's hard to tell.

 Tomorrow I will be posting my review of Blood Red Road by Moira Young. It sounds like I say the book is "bad" in the video, but I'm really saying "I was bad." The book was very good. Which you all will hear me say in the review.

 Have a great evening!

 Until next time...

Not RTW, This is a Sloth

Look at what I got today!

A baby sloth! Isn't it simply adorable? If you hurry over to enter YA Highway's Third Annual Winter Giveaway, you can get one of your very own!

This one is MINE. *pets sloth*

In other news, I have two more things to do today before I can officially say, "To heck with finals!" Both of them are presentations. I hate presentations. I don't mind standing up in front of class talking about stuff, but I don't like waiting for my turn. It makes me sick.

SO, I'm just going to go in there and be like, "Hey, I'm going first, and there's nothing anybody can do to stop me!" And then I'll proceed to take over the world.

Also, all of the responses I've had to my vlog idea have been positive, so I'm thinking that's what I'm going to do. You should all pray for YouTube. I have no idea what I'm going to unleash.

This Wednesday feels so weird without an RTW. I'm not complaining since YA Highway has that wonderful contest to fill it's place, but I guess I've become rather accustomed to being prompted into spewing my thoughts in a certain direction.

I mean, look at this post! It's a mess! I need guidance. There are so many topic threads that I have no idea which one to pursue...I really want to talk about that baby sloth but the vlog idea is pulling me in that direction...

Oh forget it. I'm going to go Tweet @aliciagregoire some more.

Until next time...may the force be with y'all! (Always.)

Idea for the Break

This post is brought to you by a study break. Study breaks. The only things keeping college students sane during finals week. Take yours today!

Hey folks! So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm going to do over my break because it's one of the rewards I give myself for actually doing work. I know for a true-blue fact that I'm going to be doing a MAJOR amount of catch-up reading that I've missed since the semester took over my life, but it seems to me like I should do something to celebrate each book that I knock off the list.

But what?

There are so many options. I could go the traditional route of writing a book review for each one. Those usually turn out alright.

Or...I don't know. This next option may be a little too "out there" for even me. Heck, I'll let y'all decide! I hate decisions anyway.

What if I did vlogs once every few days to "review" the books that I've read?

Would any of you watch them? Would I want to do them? Am I making any sense?

Technically, I'm qualified to make videos of myself. I took a class on it and everything. If y'all are real stalkers, you've probably already found the videos of me on YouTube talking about education. But I'm not encouraging anyone to watch those.

As it is, this idea is still in the "what if I did make book vlogs" stage. Any feedback from y'all will be taken thoroughly into consideration, even if you think I should stick to writing. (There's a rather large part of me that thinks that as well; probably the part writing this parenthetical statement.)

Until next time...