Sorry it's been so long

Sorry I haven't updated or posted a review lately.  I've just started a new job plus I'm back at school.  I'm trying to get into a schedule here.  I hope to have a review up soon :)

Just finished my first challenge...kind of.

It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I just got done reading the latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse Series, Dead and Gone.  I must say it was quite excellent.  There will be a review to come soon.  This was the first book in the series to actually leave me wanting so much more.  I love it!  I can't wait until May to get the next book in the series so I can devour it as well.

S.

RCA Give Away by Melissa Water Color

Melissa Water Color is giving away a Truly, Madly RCA.  You can check out her blog here (click "here").   You can also click here for Melissa's review of Truly, Madley.

Beautiful Creatures Review

Beautiful Creatures

Kami Garica and Margaret Stohl

 Reviewed by S.

Synopsis

Ethan Wate has lived his whole life within the confines of Gatlin County, SC.  Gatlin—like most other small southern town—is a place no one ever really leaves once they’ve been sucked in.  Although Ethan seems to fit in at school as the star basketball player, he yearns for so much more than what the small town has to offer.  Naturally, he would be attracted to any new girl who just so happens to blow into town.

Lena Duchannes is the niece of Macon Ravenwood, Gatlin County’s very own version of Boo Radley.  She is beautiful and different and Ethan is completely drawn to her, not because of the aforementioned qualities, but because she’s been plaguing his dreams for the past few months.  He is determined to uncover the connection they seem to share. 

The mixture of romance, suspense, and magic will surely keep the pages turning as readers race through days until the final hour. 

Review:

I cannot express to you how much I loved this book.  I bought in on a whim because I’d read a particularly intriguing review on Amazon and I do not regret it.  I like to think of the novel as a mix between Harry Potter and To Kill a Mockingbird with a pinch of Twilight just for good taste, which is probably the reason why I gave this novel 5 stars.

Beautiful Creatures is not only a fantasy novel, but also a haunting Southern Gothic tale.  Being from the South, I particularly loved this aspect.  It’s grotesque, mystical, and absolutely engrossing.  The story was so suspenseful I found myself reading on the edge of my seat. 

The characters of Beautiful Creatures seemed to fit into the atmosphere of Gatlin County perfectly, the “lynching mob” and all.  Marian is one of my favorite characters; she runs the Gatlin County library and talks in quotes from books and great leaders.  Lena’s family is captivating and Amma (Ethan’s “Nanny”) is quite dynamic.  Also, The Sisters (Ethan’s great aunts) are a hoot. 

The ending of the story ties everything together quite nicely.  It is then that readers realize just how star-crossed our two main characters are.  The romance between the two is quite organic and inspiring.  I’d recommend this book to anyone sick of the Twilight series.  Mark my words, it will be the next big thing.

Win a signed copy of Beautiful Creatures

boywithbooks.com is giving away a signed copy of Beautiful Creatures.  The information is below.

So, I have this extra copy of Beautiful Creatures on my shelf. And it’s signed by the authors. What ever shall I do with it?

• Enter by commenting below.
• +1 if you post a blog entry with a link here. Please post link in comments below.
• +1 if you tweet this (be sure to link, and try to make it @rowijo so I can see it). Please let me know in the comments below. 1 point only.
• +1 If you follow me on Twitter, or start following me. Post your twitter name below.
• +1 If you comment on some other post I have made in December. 1 point only. Please add the point in your comment below.

Best of all, this contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Yay! Contest closes December 31st, and I’ll post the winner at the dawn of the New Year, GMT -7.

What I'm reading right now

So, I mentioned in my last post that I would be doing the Sookie Stackhouse challenge.  This one is not going to be a problem at all.  In fact I'm already on the final published book of the series.  It has been a great year for Miss Stackhouse.  The hit show on HBO has become one of my all time favorite TV dramas.

I started reading Dead and Gone a couple of nights ago after finishing Beautiful Creatures (review to come).  I've got about a hundred pages left and I find it so hard to put it down.  I'm kind of forcing myself to slow down at this point.  I've raced through the rest of the series but I'm afraid that if I race through this book I'll have so long to wait until the next installment.  Does that ever happen to anyone?  You find a series you really love and as soon as you close to back cover you feel completely disappointed because now you have nothing else to look forward too until the next book, if there even is one, comes out?  I know I felt that way with the Twilight Saga.  I didn't start reading the series until the movie was out and there was so much hype about it.  I raced through the first three installments and as I finished the last I just felt so hopeless because I knew there would never be another book in the series.  It will be a sad day indeed when Charlaine Harris decides the throw in the towel with the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

I think the next novel on my list to read will be Hush, Hush.  I picked it up at Barns & Nobel yesterday.

-S

Sookie Stakehouse Reading Challenge

So I'm just recently joining this challenge, because it's the first I've heard of it, and because I've been reading the series a since a little after this challenge started. I'm currently on the last novel of the series, Dead and Gone, and I can't wait for the next installment (Dead in the Family) which is due out sometime in May. This Challenge is being hosted by Beth Fish Reads so check it out!

Info about Challenge (stolen from Beth Fish):

Welcome to the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge!

Here's your chance to catch up on Sookie and all her friends -- living and undead, fully human and not.

It's easy, it's fun, it's for you! And you have an entire year to complete the challenge.

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.

2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that linksspecifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.

3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.

4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

EDIT: You can join any time during the course of the challenge.

The Books:

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

Like I've mentioned been, I've reading these books for a while. I'll try to write a few reviews later.

-S