Book Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls: written by Patrick Ness, inspired by Siobhan Dowd, and illustrated by Jim Kay

Release date: September 27th, 2011

Publisher: Walker Books

Format of Novel: Hardcover (Library book, thank you college!)

Summary (From good reads): The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth

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You never know what a short novel can do to you unless you read it completely. As I write this to you, it would be only two days since I've read this beautiful book and I could NOT sit here and review it personally for you guys. This story, oh this story, it ripped my heart out with feels. The story was short and direct, the protagonist Conor, such a heart breaking kid considering what he was going through during this short novel, and the concept of the monster was simply beautiful to the core!

The story itself was about Conor, who is thirteen and living with his mother who is dying of cancer. During the struggles, he faces bullying, his hidden anger about his mother's illness, and the monster who has the shape of a giant tree who is also a odd story teller. Personally, I think that this was really cool having the monster tell Conor stories to teach him difficult lessons that would had be use in reality and the concept of the story as a whole was really heart-breaking and yet necessary for a coming of age story. Plus as a bonus, this story takes place in Ireland, which was a nice surprise in my opinion because of a lot of the stories I've been reading lately takes place in America or fictional worlds.

What I really liked about the story is the fact you as the reader are able to feel the emotions the monster wanted Conor to feel and to learn how to let go and move on. The story's moral was very deep and emotionally powerful enough to teach readers the stresses of overcoming a love one's death and with Conor, the author did a terrific job of doing that. I highly recommend this story and the pictures so you can capture the emotions of this novel.

Happy Howling.

I really recommend this novel

The end of it all, Welcome December!

Hey everyone, happy late December! (I'm a few days late, sue me, ha).

What is up everyone, welcome to the month of Winter's beginnings. NaNoWriMo was officially over a week ago and surprisingly I kicked it's ass! o-O It's so weird, but it felt awesome to win the event for the first time ever. I somehow managed to get to the 50k with five words ahead and only 2.5 hours remaining. I could've written more if I wanted too, but I had other homework to attend too at that time, including now since it's finals time.

Anyway, I'll keep this post short and basically go over the concept of what are the future plans I have in store for you all. I plan on writing throughout the majority of my month long break and posting on watt pad. When I have my first actual story posted on the 19th, I will be putting a link of it in my next post for you guys to enjoy. Along with that, I'm currently prepping for the booktube account I mentioned a little while ago and I'm praying I don't sound like a major idiot on you tube. Like the watt pad, I will be posting a link of my channel in the next post. However, I will not be posting a video till January 1st, mainly because of the 'new year' fever, but rest assure the videos will be began and also I will be returning with blog posts as well.

That's all I really got to say at the moment, right now finals are kicking my ass and I have to get back to work. Bye for now wolves and remember:

happy howling!

NaNoWriMo Post: The final countdown, help us all.

Hello my fellow wolves!

So I'm returning here to give you all a update on NaNoWriMo and let me tell you something important because I think you may take this to heart if you are a student like I am. NaNoWriMo is hard as all living hell!! School will kick your sorry butt into the curb till you will become brain-dead once all of the major school you have done is completely. Don't get me wrong, going to college will help you get somewhat further in life and I'm not bitching about that, but after dealing with so much crap and school work, it makes writing fairly difficult. I will tell you know, I am really surprise to be at 26k right now and I truly didn't think I would get that far this year in school, but hell if I lose this year's event, I will be happy to be where I am at now than to never start it from the get-go.

Since we are nearing the end of the event, I bet all of you are speed demon writing like I am just to get to a high ass word count. As a writer, I will push you and tell you to keep going because after writing for a certain amount of time, you will develop the urges to keep writing even when you can't because of life in general. The urge is strong I tell ya, it's crazy. If you are doing well, then congrats you're kicking ass, but if you're like me and are lacking, it's okay, keep trying even if you don't have the emotional and mental energy to do. I'm telling you, this event will make you grow as a writer. I promise. If you keep trying, things will get you far in writing.

In other relatable news, I've decided to try out book-tubing next year. I'm sort of figuring out, what better way to try to meet writers/readers than by doing that. I've always wanted to try it, but never had the guts to do it (plus I'm not that pretty to stare at..). But, considering I am going to be done with my second-to-last semester of my senior year in college, I'm starting to warm up to the idea of book-tubing. When I watch the other book-tubers like Polandbananasbooks, katy-tastic, etc and authors like Susan Dennard-- I get so excited because of the way how they are able to geek about books and other things freely without the bitter judgments. In a way, I feel like I need to start making a impact in literature and give out my opinion as a repayment to other writers and readers that want to explore the world that fiction and art can give us.

But yeah, that's all for now. Till I get things set up, I will be posting the links to share and get some stories prepped up for you guys on watt pad as well.

Till next time, guys.

Happy howling!

Weekly post of NaNoWriMo One

Hello everyone, welcome to November and in the writer's world-- NaNoWriMo! So I know I promised to be around more in the blogging world, but school took over my soul. Damn you college and the senior year. Okay, small hate rant over, let's talk.

NaNoWriMo is a time of heaven and frantic hell. A time where the writers to come together and enjoy our company to share our stories and bounce off inspiration. But, it's also a fun contest. Now I know what you're going to ask me, 'Do you win anything? How is this a contest?', in all honestly on my part, when I talk about a contest for NaNo-- it's basically a personal contest. A mental and emotional goal to yourself to reach the 50,000 word mark of whatever novel you're currently writing. I mean yeah you don't really any official prize, but you do get a chance to feel the burst of excitement when the creative juices pour into your mind and the empty/unfinished document you have sitting on your laptop.

It's suppose to encourage you as a writer and have fun with other writers around you in your home town or in another part of the world. It's a fun global event that I personally recommend for you guys to try out some time. Hell, you can join right now and get your butt into speed writing. This is a hard and fun event, but very fulfilling if you are truly serious as a writer.

In my personal weekly update, I'm somewhat close to the daily word count, but if as a college student, it is very difficult to maintain doing the event and keeping a keen eye on making yourself write. Since the event started, I somehow managed to get to 10k with my draft thus far, but this weekend was seriously lacking on my end and I didn't meet the word count for the last two days. So at this very moment, I'm working on it for day 9 so I can update the word count this coming Wednesday, why you ask? Well because I can, muhahaha and I also want to see if anyone will catch up or smash me like a ton of bricks with their high word count. Oh course that being said, I do have to keep up with the homework since I do have a major paper due on the 21st and some other wacko stuff approaching soon, so I'm not sure how this is gonna work out with NaNoWriMo.. I don't know, my school life is odd, like yours I'm sure. Hehehe.

So how are you guys doing in NaNoWriMo? Let's chat about it in the comments below. I hope to hear from you guys. And remember, Happy Howling my fellow wolves, stay tune for a few upcoming reviews for the week and next Sunday's NaNoWriMo weekly update on Sunday the 16th.

Bye for now!

Book Review: Maze Runner series

The Maze Runner Series: Written by James Dashner
Release Date: October 6, 2009 (when the series began)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format of Novels: Paper back.
(Sorry for the no formal summary, I am doing the review on the entire series, not just this book. The website is being stupid so I couldn't post my box set of this series.)

Book order: "Maze Runner", "Scotch Trials", "Death Cure" and the prequel "Kill Order".
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I'm sure you guys had seen this series before if you are ahead of the reading world, but if you are like me and didn't find out about this series till recently-- then I welcome you to this review. So over the summer I had stumble upon this series and decided to get the box set for it. And after reading the four books in a single month, let me tell you-- what a quick ass read for all four of the books! I mean, other than the 'mystery' tone and the fast pace of the stories itself, I did enjoy the plot and a couple of the characters. (-pets Thomas and Newt's heads silently-). The story is literally about a young man name Thomas who has zero memory about his pervious life other than his name waking up on a elevator that leads to the maze and a group of weird dudes who built a life for themselves after going through the same process as him. Things are weird, confusing, and funny. The only thing that caught my attention was how the entire trilogy was based off a science experiment to fight off against this disease called the flare. Normally I'm not a fan of science fiction, but I enjoyed the suspense was nice and the characters were humorous. The only issues I had with the entire trilogy was how most of the characters were very bland while imaging them, the plot was to dry as well. I really wish Dashner added more to the series as whole because if it turned out the like the movie did, then readers would've been so much happier.

The prequel was different however, I read it first before I read the trilogy. I know what your thinking, what the heck right? Well my answer to you is that I rather read the prequels before the main series at times, especially if it is only one prequel novel.. The 'Kill Order' is takes place thirteen years before the trilogy starts. It follows a whole new set of characters like Mark, Trina, and DeeDee and how they are in the beginning stages of the flare disaster after it destroys the majority of the planet. To me personally, this story was a lot more exciting than the 'Maze Runner'. Like the trilogy, I did have the issue plot wise. I felt as so Dashner needed to make the plot twists more dramatic, and he should've focused on the point of view. Instead of focusing on just Mark (who was one of my favorites), he could've focused on the other characters, it would've given us readers a better view of what's going on in the story and see how the impact of the other major characters.

Above all, I found this series to be a decent one. It was fun to read it during these stressful times at school and I really loved watching the movie as well. Sure it wasn't one of my favorite series, but the good part of it all was the characters and man the boys are funny as hell. Gotta go for now, I'll be back to discuss NaNoWriMo and give you all more reviews.

Happy Howling fellow wolves!

Things to come in October

Hey guys, I'm here to give you a heads up about what's to come in the month of October on my end since I didn't have enough time this month to give you all book reviews and writing updates. I feel like I should explain myself to you guys so I won't feel so guilty about it and that you can keep up to date on everything, including future posts on watt pad ;P.

~I have actually submitted some poems to my school's literary magazine

~Book reviews are going to be posted on Thursdays and Saturdays only. I have four classes on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays so I need time to focus on school. I've also joined in sparring time with my friends and creative writing club to improve my writing. So yeah, basically I needed the realistic balance in life so I didn't go bananas when school started.

~I will begin posting some stuff on watt pad and returning to read other writers' material during the middle of the month. I realize that I've been really neglectful towards my duties as both a reader and writer and I want to make sure I end 2014 with a bang by keeping up with everything. However, since I'll be working on NaNoWriMo and my classes, I just hope I can find a balance for this mission of mine. Not just for you guys, but for myself as well.

~I will be posting all things writing related in another blog called xKacooleyxJournals (and yes its on here too, I will provide the link for it on Saturday.) This idea came to me after realizing that I needed a way to stick to back into the writing business. .-. With this blog, I will be posting all of my stories' process and announce updates for them instead on here. This blog is for book reviews and nerdly things :P hehe.

So yep, here are the ideas I have in my world! I hope you guys are doing well and can't wait to get this journey started.

Till next time, happy howling!

Latest writing update (no. one out of many!)

Hey fellow wolves!

I hope everyone is doing well since the last time we talked, especially now that school has officially begun this month (some are earlier times hehe). So today I wanted to inform you guys about what's to come about with my writing and when I'm gonna start posting shit once more. I figured now would be a good time to explain what's going with my writing so I don't feel like I'm not showing you guys anything other than these weird ass posts of randomness. Alright-y then, here we go:

Due to school, I've only done a short story and a free verse poem. The short story Broken Wings is a story I've been thinking of out of boredom for the last three years I believe, but I gotten it done last week while I was being lazy instead of doing school. It came out decently well, but oh course writers can't ever avoid the editing process. (Kill me now for just thinking of it. lol). But, by the middle of October, I will be posting it on watt pad and probably fiction press. I know, its been a while, but still-- I gotta give you guys something since I haven't been posting my stuff for you guys to see lately..

Another update I will totally love to give you all is that the progression of my 'Roaming Wolves' series is now underway! It's my attempt at writing a manga series and so far I'm in love with the concept of it. This is my third biggest project along side with the Soldiers of Oblivion series and another special project that I'm not gonna say yet to you guys just because I can do that. Hehehe ;) I'm honestly hoping that by the time the middle of October hits, I will be able to share the first chapter of the first act to the series along with the edited version of the first book to Soldiers of Oblivion and the other special project on watt pad. I just really, really hope that you guys will enjoy what I have to show you as a story teller and that my brats (characters) will be amazing in your eyes during the first drafts, revisions, and hopefully the officially published versions of everything.

Till next time, happy howling my fellow wolves.

~Over due~ Personal update: 8/29/14

~HELLO EVERYBODY!~

How's life been for you guys?! I'm so (1000+) sorry for not updating as much I should, but things gotten odd and busy since the last time I wrote to you all. Since my last post which was around late July (wow so a month, damn!), I've been doing odd things yet again, but it was mostly getting ready for school and work. But luckily, I can tell you guys even more weird stuff that occurred in my life. Let's get started my fellow wolves!

First things first, I'm finally 21 as of August 10th! In all truth here, being twenty one is still feels like you're a kid, but instead even more 'adult' responsibilities are handed to ya (which sucks). Yeah its fun to feel like an adult, people of age are pretty much still at risk for getting into some deep shit, but instead of getting the easy way out, you're shit out of luck.

Second, I went to my first ever concert with my buddy aka best friend in the city right before school began, do you wanna guess who we saw??. (Pictures are blurry, fair warning)

You guessed it...

 

LINKIN PARK!!! (30 seconds to Mars and AFI)... We were close to the stage when Linkin park was performing, but I couldn't get pictures of them performing, so the screen was a giant help. Linkin Park is a huge favorite of mine and I consider Chester and Mike to be heroes in my heart through their music. They help me get through some tough shit and the ideas I get for certain stories from these songs are simply amazing (in my head oh course hehe). I hope you guys will have the chance to enjoy their voices because they don't disappoint in person. It was breath taking.

Alright enough about that, so the third thing I will like to point out: prompt writing is awesome. Now let me explain why I state this. Once a upon a time, I hated prompts mainly because of the way my mind worked when it came to writing in the past, but ever since I found some interesting ones to try out, I grew to enjoy them and it actually helps with the focus to actually write something down for future writing time, even if it is short or a pain to come up with a quick idea for it.

Lastly, I'm back in school. This time however, I'm a senior and almost able to touch the bachelor's degree with my bare hands. It's just so weird to think that I'm going to have this particular and the first one in my family to obtain it, especially if you're a weirdo like I am.. I mean, regardless of almost getting this degree, I'm still at odds with the classes I'm taking as an English Major. I rather take writing classes to benefit my writing for you guys, but at the same time-- I do like to read and learn about the histories of writers from all over the world. It's amazing how some of them were the shy ones like we are and somehow, they made history. I can't wait to be a part of that history, so we must learn everything for knowledge right?! :)

In conclusion, things in this writer's life is still odd, but I will try to update more for you guys about my actual writing and reviews. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your summer/winter (in other countries) and good luck in your studies. :)

Happy Howling my fellow wolves!<3

When finding ways to deal with stress

Hey everyone,

I apologize for not being around in the last week or so. Other than the work card, I honestly don't have a excuse for not posting much on this blog. Things at work have been stressful and with school coming at the end of August, its a hassle to figure stuff out. Now, let me to the actual post of this blog. This is not a book related thing since I'm currently reading the book I want to review next, so I wanted to talk about stress since I know everyone in the world deals with it in many different ways.

As a individual, I find it difficult to deal with stress when it comes to both writing and personal life. Sometimes I would feel anxious and not being able to think straight. Most of the time when I am conflicted with stress, I do talk to my mother and discuss what to do afterwords. However, when dealing with over lapping talking of everyone else and there statements to relax, I feel like I want to kick someone in the ass. Do you guys ever get that feeling? So as a result, I'm either too annoy to deal with things or simply heading towards the path of blasting music into my eardrums.

But lately, I've been thinking. Even though most of my stress is minor compare to the many and unbearable things that have been going on in this weird ass world, how do they deal with it? I mean yes they keep it inside and burst eventually or go to their 'gods' to prey for safety, but are there other ways to deal with things? So, let's figure it out together.

Sometimes people will need to get out of the house to hang out with friends and rant till you can't hold your breath anymore. Or eat. Eat lots of food. Especially dessert. Or go crazy and scream till you are smiling up a storm to people that are staring at you, and so forth. But what if you are not like that? What do we writers/artists/odd balls do?

We binge.

We binge on reading, writing, drawing, watching movies/anime/our favorite shows, and basically everything else.

Us odd balls like to get away from reality whether we are alone or with a small group of friends that have many similar interests. It's like entering Narina, but better because we get to explore our creative sides and maybe figure out if we want to share it witho other people so we can develop a friendship with them and help get rid of the stress we hold inside.

Now I'm not saying the oddball version of stress is a way to go, but it helps out. Hopefully one day everyone on this planet can come together and get along so stress doesn't take over all of us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritual. Until then, what are your stress relievers? How do you personally deal with it in a positive sort of way? Do you talk to people or escape reality through your passions?

Happy Howling guys.

Book Review: The Restless Dead

The Restless Dead (Ten Original stories of the Supernatural): Written by M.T Anderson, Holly Black, Kelly Link, Libba Bray, Herbie Brennan, Nancy Etchemendy, Annette Curtis Klause, Deborah Noyes, Marcus Sedgwick, Chris Wooding
Release Date: July 10th, 2007
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Format of Novel: Paper back
Summary (From good reads): Enter the murky world of the undead. From a beyond-the-grave stalker to prankster devil worshippers, from a childish ghost of the future to a vampire lover with bloody ties to the past, the characters in these ten original stories will send shivers down your spine. Why do we fear the undead? Find out in this spooky companion volume to GOTHIC! TEN ORIGINAL DARK TAKES, and enjoy another graveyard walk in the company of ten contemporary masters of horror and suspense.
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I remember a few years ago that my mother gotten me this book to read. Thinking that it was a zombie book, I decided not to read it mainly because I'm not a huge fan of zombies in novels. (due to the over popularized books/shows/movies of the creature of the un dead). But since I started my job a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give a chance and man I wish I could slap my past self in the face for being stupid with books. This collection of short paranormal stories kept me on my feet and interested with each page that was turned.

The stories were a weird thing since they were pretty long. I honestly couldn't understand most of the stories that were being told, but as I gotten to the end they were about mainly ghosts, murderers, and the psychological aftermath with the families and individuals that were telling the story. Out of all stories in this book, my top favorite one was Bad Things by Libba Bray. Her story in particular was the one I was most curious about because it was about a young man and his friends trying to figure out what's causing the rise of the satanist rituals and mysterious deaths of other people. The way it was written was a page turner since it felt like you were looking at another thriller and you think that everyone was gonna die at the end, however that wasn't the case. The ending of this short story was very amazing and I was pleased with the way she wrote it as a twist.

With this book, I was pleased with the authors that wrote the ten short stories in this. I was able to understand the concept of some supernatural fiction and the methods of writing longer short stories without chapters. If you guys are aspiring paranormal writers like I am, then pick up this book to explore new authors if you haven't heard of these guys before. :)

Happy Howling!

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (#1): written by Laini Taylor
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Little, little brown for young readers
Format of Novel: Paper back
Summary (from good reads): ~First book to the trilogy~
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
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This book is a new trilogy I have been hearing about lately and so after getting this from Barnes and Noble about a month ago, I gave a whirl. Let me just say, holy crow! Laini Taylor is amazing! This book is so so so awesome and the world building was truly a wondrous thing to grasp. I literally finished this book within a three day span, despite the fact this book was over 60 chapters. The story itself felt like I was pulled into a fairy tale and an original one at that too.

The simple idea of having the biological and the history of chimeras is truly what sparked my interest for this story. In most young adult literature, it amazes me to see that there are barely any stories about chimeras like the ones you see in this particular novel. I mean yeah there are chimeras in some Young Adult fiction, but they are normally the smaller bad guys. In this case, I was so happy to see that these wonderful creations are both good and evil. I think that with the chimeras in the story along with the angels, it really brought out a originality that I can really grin too when reading it. So as a result to it, when I get the money to do this, I'm going to get up and get the other two books just to see what happens to Karou and Akiva.

And speaking of Karou and Akiva, man oh man did I enjoy their characters. There a balance of each other and they contained that particular curiosity and selfishness that ended up causing them the issues they were gonna face towards the end of the story. But considering that this book is the first one to the trilogy, I'm pretty sure that we are gonna see more craziness soon.

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Incarnate & Progress on camp NaNo

Incarnate (New Soul trilogy #1): written by Jodi Meadows
Release Date: January 31st, 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (From good reads): New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

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Hey guys, hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend (for the Americans out there). I'm finally back for a bit since work has been very hectic lately. (I've been getting a lot of hours since I started the job so yeah.. Can't do much sorry). So make the camp nanowrimo short, I haven't been writing. The idea for the project (first draft of it) is still lingering in my noggin, but the writing has not been really successful mainly because of work and partly for the ideal fact I don't feel like writing whenever I do have a day off since I now normally get one or two days off per week.

Now then, in this review, I wanted to discuss Jodi Meadow's Incarnate mainly because I was thinking about this book at work and I still remember reading it a year since I really enjoyed it so much. This story brings out the interesting topic of reincarnation along with the ups and downs with it with Ana, a new soul that was brought suddenly into this magical world. She was one of my favorite characters other than Sam because she contained the natural curiosity a lot of people need to have these days. It reveals the natural observer in her personality which makes her very original since many of the other characters in Jodi's world is already familiar with it since they have been reborn over and over again.

Another thing that sparked my interest in this story was the fantastical world building. Jodi's wording in this book brought out the wonderful imagery that was presented in the story. I fell in love with this world because it related itself to musical elements and the chapter with the masquerade ball was absolutely perfect! I didn't wanted to put the book down afterwords because right after that event, it lead to the huge attack from the dragons and syph creatures (which was awesome as well).

I'm hoping that eventually I will be able to pick up the other two books to this trilogy and the short novella Jodi Meadows wrote for this series so I can discuss it for you guys, but in this I can't. If you guys are looking for a good read, this book is really good and full of wonder images for your creative and day dreaming purposes. She doesn't disappoint her readers and I'm glad she didn't since this novel was her debut one. So enjoy reading and see you guys next time.

Happy Howling!

Book Review: Champion

Champion (Legend#3): written by Marie Lu
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Format of Novel: Hardback
Summary (From Goodreads): He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion? 

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position. 

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything. 
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~Warning: The following review will have some fan-girling and spoilers. If you have not read this book, please read the other two books before reading this review.~

After receiving this book for the holidays by my awesome roommate, I finally gotten the chance to read it after making a goal to read the first novel to "Game of Thrones" completely. In the end I'm glad that I waited to read this book because this novel was a really good end to the entire trilogy. The plot was fast paced after eight months from Prodigy, and we got to feel more emotional depth between the two focused characters, June Imparis and Day Wing. With the sudden rebellion from the Colonies, Day and June are also facing a difficult challenge to stop the new found plague and to somehow bring all countries together as a whole instead of going against the Republic. Minus the fast pace of the sudden battles between Commander Jamieson and the leader of the Colonies, I did enjoy the romantic moments we got to see with Day and June, which made it so heart wrenching to see the actual effects of Day's disease taking over him slowly.

I also enjoyed the way June was becoming more humane and going back to her roots as a soldier instead of a odd politician. It shown that while she did care for her beloved country, she did wanted a normal life and she wanted to be with the people she truly cared about and avenging her brother Metais. The other characters grew on me as well, but not like Day and June since they were more in the background instead. I was glad that Tess and Eden made it out of the testing and plague okay and that they were able to help out in the battle after all.

What really killed me was the end. I couldn't believe how Marie Lu created the emotional feels between June and Day. I'm really grateful that the author included the epilogue because if she didn't, then I probably would've cried like I did with Alex Bracken's Darkest minds trilogy. The epilogue gave a new start and a shine on how much everyone has grown and gained a certain peace in themselves and the world around them. All in all, Marie Lu's trilogy as a whole was fantastic and I truly recommend this series to you guys. It was well thought out, the characters were brilliant, and the story overall was memorable.

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Prodigy

Prodigy (Legend #2): Written by Marie Lu
Release Date: January 29th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Format of Novel: Hard Cover
Summary (From Good Reads): ~Second book to the trilogy~
Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
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~Warning: There will be a couple of spoilers for people that haven't read the book yet.~

In this exciting sequel, readers are left in the aftermath of Day and June's escape outside of the Republic's Los Angeles. With the older brother of Day dead in his place, he follows June as they search for a way to escape the military's hands. In a odd turn of events, they stumble upon a rebellion group known as the Patriots, the only group in their country with a deep desire to take down the Republic once and for all. In spite of joining them, the real question still lies within this story, can the duo trust the group or be alone in the upcoming war?

I read this book last year after buying it with the money I gotten from the holidays. Just like the prequel, Legend, I fell in love with this book. It was so fast paced and June and Day's character growth kept on moving along with the actions. Not only that, I also loved the new characters Marie Lu introduced like Pascao, Eden Wing, Commander Andrew "Razor" Desoto, and Anden Primo (the new elector). And the amazing return of Tess and Kaede. Each of the secondary characters had a specific growth to them and it really killed me when death lingered on some of them.

In terms of the plot, Marie Lu seemed to focused more on the political development between the people that were involved in it and the Republic as a nation. Regardless of the fact that Day's point of view was in this book, I felt as so this story was mainly about June and the discoveries she soon finds while trying to manuplate the new elector for the Patriots. I noticed right away that June's character growth was more focused since she shown deep signs of doubts and self yearning to heal and figure out her feelings for Day. I loved her as a character in this book because I had the need to hug the crap out of June since she lost her brother and her 'perfect' world kept crashing down all around her. I also felt the same way when it came to Day as well since he personally witnessed his older brother and mother murdered in front of him by the military.

All in all, this was a wonderful sequel and considering it took me just two days to wolf down the last book to this beautiful trilogy-- I will post a review for Champion tomorrow afternoon. Prodigy was quick, powerful, and all in all, crazy with a side of action and love. If you guys haven't read this book or Legend do so now, you will not be disappointed. Happy Howling!

Camp NaNoWriMo

Hey everyone, how are things? I apologize for not posting in over a week, but after finally landing a job I needed to get things figured out. Since the last time I have posted, I had worked in Dunkin' Donuts where I live, however after dealing with the morning rush over there- I froze and went to another job as of yesterday evening. As much I was grateful for the job, I couldn't do it, but now I'm working at a movie theater in my hometown and let me tell you something, I love it so far. Yeah I know it's only the first few days, but I felt like I was cloud nine over there. It's a really cool job so far and I can't wait go back there this week. :) And considering that most of my hours over there are in the late afternoon, I have time to interact with you guys on here and do some writing!

Speaking of writing, let's talk about the latest event that's approaching very quickly-- Camp NaNoWriMo. This particular event is a sub event for the actual NaNoWriMo that takes place in November. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place in two different months, April and July. Now I know a lot of you are writers so you guys do know what it is, but I'll explain for those who don't understand it. :)

Camp NaNoWriMo is a free event where you reach a word goal on your current story project, whether is a first draft or a revision of your special story project, or even a sequel to a trilogy/series. The normal word count you have to reach by the end of the month is 50,000, but experienced writers can go beyond that if they wish too. It's very similar to the NaNoWriMo and the pre NaNo that takes place in October. You get to meet fellow writers and create daily word goals for yourself to improve your writing. Even though you don't particularly win anything, this event helps writers during the summer to become stronger in what they wanna do in life. I love these events because it helps me figure out what story needs to be done, how to understand the concept of deadlines and stress, and the concept of having fun with your story. I'm gonna give it another whirl with a project I've been planning since I got home from college, so I hope you guys are gonna give it a try with your story as well. I'll post my updates on and I'll love to hear from you guys and your progress as well!

Here's my profile, you have a account, feel free to add me!: http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/rayne-wolf

A new discovery: Weird Fiction

Hey everyone, happy father's day!

Hope everything is going well. So this weekend has been a odd yet exciting one for a couple of reasons. One: I got a job and I start Monday morning. And two: I've been researching again. To me, researching literary stuff is a breath of fresh air because I have been in a slump lately, and after finding out that I was hired somewhere brought my spirits right back up. It's exciting to feel like an actual almost twenty one year old and having the ability to earn my own cash, but it is also nerve wrecking because of the fears of messing up in front of the public. But, as a writer, I know I have to build up the courage to speak to people one day and this new job will be the ideal concept for me to learn.

Speaking of learning, like I said a moment ago, I have been researching. I wanted to re educate myself with the different types of fiction the entire world likes to create. For example, psychological, speculative, and so forth. However, by my surprise when I was looking up the horror fiction, I stumbled upon a whole different concept of ghost fiction. I'm sure you guys probably have heard of this particular type of fiction I'm going to explain to you, but in case you haven't-- allow me to explain it to you. Surprisingly, its called "Weird Fiction". Odd right? Even I was surprise about it.

Weird fiction is a concept of ghost/macabre stories, and a sub genre of speculative fiction. It was created around the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The concept of weird fiction focuses on a specific elements of horror, supernatural, and fantasy. As it blends in with other elements like mysticism and scientific, the word 'macabre' is taken very seriously in writing. If readers and writers were to understand macabre and enjoy in literature, just make sure you are mentally and emotionally prepare for it since macabre is the concept of absolute gore and violence. When reading a novel with macabre in it, you have to breathe in the air of death, the un-dead, and hell. And writers, you have to deliver it if you want to scare the crap out of your fellow readers. If you want inspiration of this sort of thing, read some Edgar Alan Poe, Stephen King, and H.P Lovecraft. In America literature, they are the kings of this sort of thing. As for the multi-cultural literature, look into Hans Holbein the Younger and Ingmar Bergman.

Bottom line here is, weird fiction is around and hopefully it will continue to grow even stronger with the speculative stories in the near future. I hope you guys enjoyed this little lesson and I'll see you all tomorrow. Happy Howling.

Book Review: Legend

Legend (Legend Trilogy #1): written by Marie Lu
Release Date: November 29th, 2011
Publisher: Putman Juvenile
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (from goodreads): What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. 
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 This is the first book to Marie Lu's debuting trilogy and holy crow what a impact this thing had in late 2011 to now! This book is the start of the trilogy with an amazing plot, characters, and the world behind it all. I fell in love with the dual point of views and the characters, especially the two main protagonists were so emotionally wrenching, I think I will go bear hug their creator!

Legend begins with the concepts of getting to know the well know prodigy, June Iparis and the underdog (whose really a wonderful bad ass) of the Republic slumps Daniel (Day) Wing. Readers will see how crazy people like June and Day will go to protect the values and families they deeply care for so much. In terms of the story itself, the main plot of Legend is mostly focused on the developments of June and her realizing that her world is a crazed up one after she goes off to locate her older brother's killer. I liked that readers got to see both sides of the story because Marie Lu was able to deliver the emotional outage of how Day and June feel about the world around them and we get to see that these two characters are very similar to one another even though they were raised very differently.

What also makes this story really appealing in my eyes is the idea of the different diversity within the characters. I loved the idea of Day being half Mongolian and Kaede being one of the few Japanese women in the series. It brings a thought of races coming together in the worse of times and it made me smile to see them being really amazing characters that grow further as the trilogy progresses.

The plot sounds similar to the Divergent trilogy, but I'm so, so, so glad that it's nothing like it at all. Marie Lu knew what she was writing about, she knew the characters, and this book was a fantastic start to her debut trilogy. 

Happy Howling.

Book Review: Scarlet

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format of Novel: Paperback
Summary (from goodreads): ~Second book to the series~ Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner
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~Warning; there are some spoilers if you haven't read the first book yet~

As promised, this is the review for the second book of the Lunar Chronicles. Upon reading this, I got into more than the first book for a couple of reasons. One-- I love the red riding hood fairy tale and two, I loved Scarlet and Wolf. Both of these characters shined and they truly took everything to the next level to the series in my eyes. Now before I give my intake on how much I enjoyed these two, allow me to go about the other parts of the story.

In the exciting sequel to the Lunar Chronicles, the story takes place right after Cinder is arrested for her crimes in the palace and in a brand new location (fictional Paris/France). By doing this, readers were allow to experience the continuation of older characters with their struggles and see the beginning parts of how the newer characters are forced into Cinder's now longer quest to defeat the Lunar queen. Unlike the previous story, I thought that in terms of pacing, Scarlet was faster in some areas because of the increased action with Wolf and Scarlet as they go to rescue Scarlet's grandmother. And because of it, it made me enjoy the concept of the two newest characters as a whole along with Captain Throne and how they are now a part of the action. This book in general was a enjoyable read and it makes me really want to go buy Cress right now! Any who, speaking of the new characters, let's talk about them.

Since the story was based on the concept of the Little Red Riding Hood, Marissa Meyer focused on the developments of Scarlet (red riding hood) and Wolf (the big bad wolf) as key characters for the series. I truly loved these two as characters because of how much different they yet she kept their roles as those specific characters in check. I loved Scarlet for being spunky yet gentle and passionate about everything in life. She made me want to hug her and connect with her so she wasn't so alone in her quest since you know... (For those who read this will get what I mean here). Yet she also made me feel like I should run away from her since I don't want her shooting me with that gun xD. As for Wolf, man he is one handsome cutie pie. He's strong, angry, passionate, yet so shy and unsure about everything. I loved him more than Prince Kai and Throne. Wolf in my eyes is exactly want Cinder and her rag-team of awesomeness needs to get the ball rolling so I was in awe to see him becoming a key member of the group.

In general, this story was an excellent installment for the Lunar Chronicles. It will keep you wanting more, the character are very memorable, and writing is beautiful. If you haven't picked up the first two books of this series, please do so if you are looking for new stories to read. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1): Written by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Fewiel and Friends
Format of Novel: Hardcover
Summary (From Goodreads): ~Book one to a four book series~ Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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Before I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, I never knew there was another modern 're-telling' of the epic fairy tale Cinderella, until I read this book. At first I wasn't too keen about the sci-fi concept towards this novel, however once I did a little research and read the book after it was release, I fell in love with the story. The story is about a young teenage mechanic named Cinder and her quest to figure out the mysterious lunar queen after encountering the young and very handsome Prince Kai. In her world, you get to experience it in different sectors, but in this first book, the story focuses on New Beijing and the current plague that is hurting the majority of the population. The setting in the story was told a very interesting way. In my head, it felt like i was dealing with a sci-fi world with all of the mentioning of the futuristic technology, but when I read this, I quickly fell in love with the narrative and the characters. Those couple of things made the story more interesting and entertaining.

Out of the characters so far in the series, I have to say that Cinder is really one of the main favorites in my heart. I loved how she is a outsider to many people, yet she is willingly to do anything to fulfill her younger sister's dying wish and figure out the meaning behind the Lunars. She shows the qualities of a female protagonist with intelligence, bravery, girly awkwardness, but she is also sensitive, emotional and so forth. 

One of the only things I didn't like about her was the way she let people abuse her verbally. I mean, yes I do understand the idea that she has to muster the hidden courage and get that push out of her, but I think by the time she does take action where the climax in the story takes place-- she is already a weaker character in my eyes and things are deadpan towards the end. However, its also makes sense since we do get to Cinder becoming a even more stronger character as the series progresses. Sometimes I just don't enjoy the concept of the first book to a series being at odds with the climax and falling action, but in the end I had to remember that this story is based on a different idea of Cinderella so your gonna see the missing shoe, the epic escape and everything else that is related to the story.

Over all, I enjoyed Meyer's debut and I just read the second book, Scarlet. I recommend this series for those that really enjoy these particular modern fairy tales. Marissa Meyer is a powerful, energetic, and talented writer. You will learn how to feel inspire with her amazing world building and crave more as each page is turned.

Stay tune for tomorrow for my review on Scarlet! Happy Howling my fellow wolves.

Online Story Review: A Little Insane-Building a Monster

A Little Insane- Building A Monster: Written by Amyscene
Location of Story: WattPad.com
Number of Chapters: Fourteen
Part of a Series?: Yes.
Summary from WattPad: Hart is supposed to be alone. His dark world has no room for another. Especially not his new victim, Riley. But this time it's different, and there's no going back once this twisted romance unveils
~First book to a series~
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I figure that I'll post a different type of review today since I didn't post as much last week. In this particular review, I am going to focus on a story I quickly fell in love with on watt pad. I shall warn you now, this is a boyxboy/yaoi/male slash story and if you are not into these sort of stories-- then don't read it or read this review.

Any who, let me first say that I absolutely LOVE the cover! It's so beautiful and matches the story as a whole. Feel free to cover lust of Amyscene's talent. Haha. Now, the story in general at a glance feels like a typical thriller/slash feel within the content. However, once you got further into the plot, holy crow its so different because:
 Cue the paranormal and mind blowing undertones!

Its so dark and gory. It's beautiful with character development between Riley and Hart, the romance is creepy yet so right when dealing with a story like this, and the secrets. Man oh man the deep secrets behind Hart's motives with Riley so crazy and confusing, it will keep you wanting to read more and more. That being said, let's talk about the two focused characters. Now I won't go into full details considering this is the first book to Amyscene's series, but I'll give you a small insight on them.

When the story begins, we are introduced to Hart right away. He is know to be very violent, intelligent, and very fashionable in a way. Right away, you can see that he possesses the typical traits of a serial killer, so when we see the interaction between him and Riley, we can tell right away what's going to happen. Yet as the story goes deeper into the mystery depth of it, Hart has a struggling personality, as a reader, you shouldn't connect with him since he is the 'main' villain, but at the same time, you can sympathize with him because he leaves off a vibe that makes you want to hug him till you physically can't breathe, especially with the moments with Riley. Now before I end this review, let's talk about Riley.

Riley is the victim in the story, yet somehow readers like myself can probably feel that he's something completely different the more you read it. I personally enjoy Riley because of how he tries to get to know Hart and trying to escape the house that he's held captive in. He's a sweetheart and I just want to hug him. Amyscene really knows how to create innocent yet crazed male characters and I really look forward to reading the sequel to this series. I'll see you guys later and here is the link to Amyscene's watt pad account. Feel free to take a glance at it and at mine too. Happy howling!

Amyscene's watt pad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/Amyscence
Mine: http://www.wattpad.com/user/xRayneWolfx

Why I think Good-reads is a awesome website

(This is a short blog post, thanks for the 150+ views! Feel free to comment!!!)

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Goodreads.com, its a cool site. It's one of the only sites I have been using to keep track of what books I've read, what books to read in the near future, and so forth. I'm sure many of you readers have an account to this or any other website that relates to good-reads. (Please let me know, I'll love to sign up for one!). I mean, you are a huge reader then you should probably sign up to keep track and get to know other readers.

I signed up for this site a few years ago, I figured why not since I knew I was going to be more of a avid reader by the time I got into college. At first I believed that the site was boring, being a shy person in general, I never really interact with other readers as much as I should. Once I gotten to know a few people at the last college I went too, I found out that they used this site too. I was excited to add them and figure out what books we could geek about whenever I saw them. I literally have this one friend on Good-reads from college I met three years ago that has probably read WAY more books than everyone I know and myself in the entire world. I mean, holy crap. She is a crazy and speedy reader, which is pretty awesome since she is also a mother to a young toddler so you gotta wonder how the heck she manages to read so much.

Not only you can keep track on what books you want to devour, you can also look up your favorite authors! I mean really, its so cool to see the authors you enjoy be on that site and read their blogs and see what books they're grabbing for their own personal down time. Hell you never, you'll probably enjoy the books you're reading or point you to a brand new book you never even heard of before. It's a great thing to see since you can probably have a small chance to be a part of interactions things or a promotional events for authors.

All in all, I suggest you guys take a look at this site. If you already did, feel free to add me on there: (xRayne Wolfx). I promise I don't bite and I hope we can all chat about books in the near future. Stay tune for tomorrow (I don't normally post on Wednesdays), I'm gonna attempt a anime review post next! Howl fellow wolves, bye for now!

Book Review: DarkFever

DarkFever written by Karen Marie Moning
Release date: October 31st, 2006
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format of Novel: Hardcover
Summary (From goodreads.com): ~Book one in the series~ MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

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Alright, again I apologize for not posting as much. My internet was being weird and I was caught up in reading this book just so I can review it on hand. So unlike the previous of books I have review in this blog, this book is more a higher 'young' adult range or as people would say it now-- new adult fiction. This involves more sexual undertones and informational background on what fairies are.

As I read through this book, I can say that I'm not really big fan of it but I did enjoy it at the same time. No not because of the sexual stuff, but it was mainly because of the plot and characters overall. Now I get that this book is the first one to the long series, but I felt that Moning should've added a lot more than what a first book can handle. The book itself was okay and the narrative was really cool since it felt like I was personally listening to MacKayla's telling me the entire story herself. However, regardless of that fact, I did have issues with book.

The plot in my opinion felt empty. Moning did create a interesting world and characters, but the story line didn't really have much. For twenty five chapters, I wanted more. I think the story could've created a buddling romances between MacKayla and Jericho, but since I still need to read the other books I don't have much of a opinion to give a full-on review about the series as a whole. With the characters, I didn't enjoy MacKayla as much as I would like too. At first I felt as so she was really, really whining, but as the story continued on, I grew to like her snippy attitude when she arrived in Ireland. As for Jericho, I like the idea of him being a mysterious bad guy, but I really wanted him to give out a little more emotion as a person. In a way, he was dry and all he gave a crap about was the Sinsar Dubh, which is the most important object talked about in the story. 

While I did enjoy the read and the new experience on reading about fairies, I wish this story had more depth towards it. I am curious about reading the other books to this series, but I'm not sure if I'll enjoy fully since I had some issues with this one. But, like any other book, its a read and if you guys are into faes/fairies and celtic mythology, then pick up this book for your curious minds. Have fun reading and see you guys tomorrow.

Book Reivew: The Alchemy of Forever

The Alchemy of Forever written by Avery Williams
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster books
Format of novel: Hardcover
Summary (From Goodreads.com): In the first novel of the Incarnation series, the immortal Seraphina grapples with a wrenching truth: Falling in love might mean succumbing to death.People say “love never dies”…but love might be the death of Seraphina.

Seraphina has been alive since the Middle Ages, when her boyfriend, Cyrus, managed to perfect a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. Sera ran away from Cyrus years ago, when she realized that what they were doing—taking the lives of innocent people—was wrong. Yet she doesn’t want to die, so she finds young people who are on the brink of death, and inhabits their bodies.

Sera has just landed in the body of a girl named Kailey who was about to die in a car accident. For the first time, Sera falls in love with the life of the person she’s inhabiting. Sera also falls for the boy next door, Noah. And soon it’s clear the feelings are returned. But she can never kiss Noah, because for her to touch lips with a human would mean the human’s death. And she has even more to worry about: Cyrus is chasing her. If she stays in one place for long, she puts herself—and the people she’s grown to care for—in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that’s eluded her for centuries: true love?

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I apologize for not really posting as much this week, I have been job hunting the last couple of days and getting my stories prepped up for watt pad and fiction press for updates. Any who, this story (Alchemy of Forever) is the first novel to William's series. When I first picked up this book, I was hesitant about it at first since it was a short novel for a debut. (It was only 260+ pages long). What brought me into this story was the summary before I went ahead and brought it. In my personal opinion, the summary felt like I was dealing with the concept of the philosopher's stone and the Elric brothers in Full Metal Alchemist. But after reading it, I found it more interesting in terms of the romance and how Seraphina yearned for a life outside of her eternal one.

The pacing was fast, and mostly well done, but I did loose the plot of the story in a few spots. The plot in general was amusing, though I wished I saw more of Cyrus being a creeper and affecting Seraphina more sinister-like rather than using simple magic tricks. The characters overall were pretty cool and original like the plot. I did sympathize with Seraphina at some points because she knew what she was doing was the wrong thing to do, but I didn't since she had been a part of Cyrus' plans for a long period and has killed innocent people so she can live more in a different body before it took her long enough to realize it was wrong.

In the end, the story overall was a decent debut for the series. I haven't found the sequel to this book yet, but I'm hoping to locate it soon or hear about it being out in stores near my hometown. The only thing I wished that this story had was more suspense and a little more interactions with Cyrus and Seraphina so I can feel the tension rise between them. And also have more characters involved in the plot as a whole. Other than that, the story was really good.

Book Review: Doubt

Doubt written by John Patrick Shanley
Release Date: December 1st, 2008
Publisher: Theater Community Group
Format of the Novel: Paper back
Summary: Couldn't find a proper summary for this particular story.

(Sorry for not posting yesterday, was spending memorial day with the family)
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Unlike the other stories I have review in the last week or so, this one is was a short play with 64 pages to its name, a movie, and a Pulitzer prize for drama under its belt. I read this last fall for my Intro to creative writing class and we have watched the movie as well. In my honest opinion, the short book was better than the movie.

This play focuses on the emphasis of doubt when people witness some serious situations that are normally kept secret in the 1960s. In this story readers are focusing their attention on the main nun, Sister Aloysius Beauvier and her growing mission to discover the truth between Pastor Brendan Flynn. Upon learning about possible inappropriate actions between Pastor Flynn and one of the young students at the church, both Sister Beauvier and Sister James attempt to figure out the truth by lying and watching Pastor Flynn with a very close eye.

Considering the fact this play contained a limited point of view, readers are mostly focused on Sister Beauvier and how she goes on her rampage to keep the church to its original standards instead of going through changes. As a reader, you can easily see the tension rising and how Sister Beaunver beings to lose herself as a person. This whole play brings out different questions with wither or not people should take action for stuff that never really occurred and that's why Shanley uses the term 'Doubt' in a very powerful and realistic way. This play was very enjoyable regardless of the fact its a short and somewhat religious play, and I enjoyed the movie even though it dragged on. If you want to focus on realistic fiction, then go this short play.