I Suck at Blogging and Entice by Carrie Jones

I know what you’re thinking.

I’m a loser-blogger.

I have no real excuse, other than my laziness. I can’t even blame my lack of blogging on my new addiction to Glee, even if said addiction is borderline scary.

So, Readers, I apologize… to all 2 of you.

Although I have not been blogging, I have been reading. A lot. In fact, I have read all of the sequels that I planned on blogging about during “The Season of Sequels.” So, I am going to continue with my season, and will try my hardest to get all of the sequels blogged before the first day of spring (eep! So excited! Warm weather! No snow!).

Wish me luck!



First up: Entice by Carrie Jones


From the flap:

The clock chimes the end of an hour and a shudder breaks through me.


“What if he’s dead, really dead?” I suck in the air, trying not to give in and cry. “Gone- forever dead, you know? And I changed for nothing.”


The clock downstairs keeps chiming midnight. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that’s not how things have worked out. For starters, well, Nick is gone. He’s been taken to some mythic place for warriors called Valhalla, where Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. It’s just not going to be easy.

Meanwhile, Bedford needs its warriors more than ever, since a group of evil pixies is devastating the place, with teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent. But even if Zara and her friends can find the way to Valhalla, there’s that other small problem: Zara’s been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to leave with her? Especially considering she hasn’t turned into just any pixie…She’s Astley’s queen.



From me:

I liked this latest addition to the Need series. Carrie Jones’s characters are funny, sarcastic, and, most importantly, real. To me, they sounded like actual teenagers – y’know actual teenagers who fight pixies, who are pixies, and who can morph into animals. Zara is a heroine that the reader can root for, usually. She is strong and independent, and is rarely whiny. All good qualities in female characters. We see Zara and Astley become closer…Zara even meets the ‘rents…kind of. And I found myself wanting Zara to forget about Nick and to stay with Astley and become his real queen. Not that I wanted Nick to rot away in Valhalla. Not at all. But, Astley is such a neat character. I hope he finds a nice girl pixie to fall in love with in the next book.

As much as I enjoyed this book and the others in the series, I think that I’m ready for something new. Not quite sure how I feel about reading another book in the series. I’m finding that I might be a trilogy kind of gal. Stretching the story out beyond three books feels too long, too much story. But, then again, maybe not. We’ll see.


Jones, Carrie.  Entice.  Bloomsbury: New York, 2010.

The Mercy Falls Series: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Howdy All,
Continuing my "Season of Sequels," next up is Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.

From the flap:

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf whole denying the ties of being human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces – wolf and human – with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Favorite Quotes:

Page 70:

“I struggled for words to explain it. It wasn’t all about almost losing Sam and wanting to keep him near. It wasn’t all about lust. It was about falling asleep with Sam’s chest pressed against my back so I could feel his heart slow to match mine. It was about growing up and realizing that the feeling of his arms around me, the smell of him when he was sleeping, the sound of his breathing – that was home and everything I wanted at the end of the day. It wasn’t the same as being with him when we were awake. But I didn’t know how to say that to Rachel. I wondered why I’d wanted to tell her. ‘I don’t know if I can explain it. Sleeping feels different when he’s there.’

‘I’ll sure bet it does,’ Rachel said, her eyes wide open.”


I love Grace and Sam together. They’re sweet, but it’s never too saccharine. When we see them together in the book, it’s easy to see that they are better with each other.



My Thoughts:

I really, really enjoyed this sequel to Shiver. As I said in the “quotes” section, I love reading about the relationship between Grace and Sam. Not only do they deal with paranormal issues (Grace is becoming a wolf and Sam is unsure that he will stay human), they deal with real-life issues, as well. Grace has to defend her relationship with Sam from her parents’ judgment, something that many teens face. Her reaction, and theirs for that matter, seemed real and full of emotion. What I’m trying to say is that this series is about more than werewolves – it’s about two people who have to face many obstacles in order to be together.

My one complaint about the book is the addition of Cole. I found nothing redeeming about his character whatsoever. I figured we were supposed to wrinkle our noses at him when he was first introduced, and I also figured that he would do something to “prove himself.” I never found that Cole presented himself as likeable or even useful. Maybe things will change in the next book, but I’m not holding my breath.

Overall, it’s a great read. Check it out before the next book, Forever, is released this summer.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and a Special Offer from Bree Despain

Hello fellow readers,

Finally, finally, finally I am posting on Mockingjay and the rest of The Hunger Games books. Why post on all three books, you ask? Well, #1 - they're awesome, and why not? #2- Season of Sequels, remember?

Just fyi, I’m skipping the favorite quotes section of the blog for this post because I don’t want to give ANYTHING away. I know most people have already read it, but just in case.

But wait, there's more.... Author Bree Despain has just announced a special deal: from now until November 22 her (fantastic, wonderful, magnificent) novel The Dark Divine will be available as an e-book for only $2.99 from most major booksellers (Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, Borders, Books-a-Million, etc.) and from many indie booksellers. This is a great deal for a great book! Download and read TDD before the sequel, The Lost Saint, debuts in December.

Back to the blog...

From the flap (Mockingjay):

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans – except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay – no matter what the personal cost.


From me:

This is one of the best series I have ever read. The books, The Hunger Game, Catching Fire, and the final book, Mockingjay (if you’ve been living under a rock), are some of the most well-written, action-packed books ever. Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and Haymitch all became real people, more so as the series progressed.

I would hate to spoil Mockingjay for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. So, I have a very, very short review – this book is made of awesome.

I will say that this novel is written in regards to Katniss’s internal conflict, which I really liked. Not that it didn’t have action; of course it did. However, the story really shows the reader how Katniss grapples with her difficult decisions.  Personally, I like Katniss and I liked trying to understand her and her thinking throughout all of the novels, especially Mockingjay.  All of her decisions made sense to me, even if some of them threw me for a loop at first. 

If you liked (loved) the first two books, you will definitely love this last installment. Promise.

I'm Baaack...Kinda

Yowza. 

I know. 

It's taken me roughly a million years to get back to my blog.  However, I have great ideas in the works.  Great, entertaining, bookish ideas.

Several wonderful books have sequels coming out (or are already out) this fall/winter.  So, I have taken it upon myself to declare fall and winter of 2010 "The Season of Sequels."  I'll be blogging about the first book(s) in the series and then reviewing the latest book in the series or trilogy or saga.  I'm very excited about this project (so is my mailbox...Amazon has been working overtime with my orders), so please stay tuned for the first post: Mockingjay.  It should be ready to go early next week :o)