Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! Here’s to a great upcoming 2013 year. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year 🙂 Have a great time ringing in the new year. It has been a great year for me and I know that greater things are going to be happening next year.

Although I have only been blogging  since August, I feel like it has been a lot longer. I have discovered new blogs, amazing people and I do what I love doing, reading and writing. I’m hoping to blog daily in the new year and start doing some tours/ hosting as well.  It’s been great following and reading everyone’s blogs and seeing your perspective on the covers and the books. Thank you for following my blog. See you next year!

Book Review: The Amanda Project: Shattered

The Amanda Project: Shattered  by Amanda Valentino and Laurie Faria Stolarz

Published:December 27, 2011

Publisher: Harper Teen

Everything Amanda said about her past was a lie. Now, to save her, the truth must be revealed.

The search for Amanda continues in Book Three of the Amanda Project. This book is Nia’s version of the story and the search for Amanda. Nia, Callie and Hal were all brought together one fateful night and the search for Amanda began.

They are shocked to know that everything they have ever known or were told about Amanda was a lie and now the truth must be found out. Through Nia’s version, the group follows a new lead that deals with mysterious onyx eyes and snake symbols, an air craft field and the emergence of a new player to join their search quest. Will it be enough to uncover the truth and finally find what happened to Amanda?

Personal Thoughts:

This was book three in a series and I found it to be a bit confusing. I know that I will have to go back and read books one and two to see where the other two versions from Hal and Callie lead. I’ll be honest, the concept seemed interesting when I first picked up the book, but I struggled to finish it.  I think what really got to me as I was struggling to finish this book was the way it was written and the overall story plot. It seemed like there was a lot of repetition and not enough mystery. The characters weren’t fully developed, although I don’t know whether that is intentional or whether they are more detailed in the first two books.

I loved the cover and the design work within the books pages. It added a nice touch to the overall theme of the book. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointment and unfulfilling.

Nanowrimo- National Novel Writing Month

It’s November and you know what that means. It’s National Novel Writing Month. It’s a challenge for authors everywhere to write a novel in 30 days that is 50,000 words in length. That is roughly 1,666 words every day, which doesn’t seem to be that daunting when you break it down.

Would you be able to persevere through something like this? It would take a lot of time and hard work, lots of coffee and stress, but the end result would definitely make you proud of yourself.

I won’t be participating this year, but I am going to be challenging myself next year.

What I will attempt to do is start to write a post a day, which I know will be difficult as well. I know that some bloggers can post several times in a day, but right now I am not there yet.  With hard work, I know that I can write a post a day.

 

Question to my readers: Anyone out there participating in Nanowrimo? Has anyone ever done it in the past? What was your experience?

 

Book Review: Past Midnight

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen

Published: September 2010

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Past Midnight is about Charlotte Silver, a normal teenage girls who just happens to have parents that debunk ghost theories for a living. They travel all over the world searching for the next ghost phenomenon and proving that it is false. According to their theories, there are no such things as ghosts, it is usually something else such as energy, a creaky floor board etc.

She tries her hardest to keep it a secret for as long as possible but eventually someone finds out and her life is changed once again.

Everything changes when they visit Charleston and the ghosts begin to speak to Charlotte. She thinks that they have left her alone when they leave, but that is not the case when they make themselves comfortable within her dreams and in her bedroom.

To make it even more complicated, Avery, her new best friend is hiding something that happened the year before Charlotte came to the school. Everyone seems to know what happened, except her. Between the ghosts, her new life and friends, she is kept busy.

Through research and their ‘ghost’ equipment, the Silver family realizes soon enough that time is running out and something ominous could happen. Theories are thrown out the window when Charlotte is faced with the ghosts face to face and knows that she must do whatever necessary to bring closure, both for herself and the ghosts that are trying to move on.

Personal Thoughts: 

As a fan of the paranormal and ghosts, I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, they fell short. I was expecting a lot more action when it comes to the paranormal side, especially since Charlotte’s parents were into it hardcore, but there was not enough in my opinion.

The overall story captivated my interest, but the pacing was a bit slow. It only started to be paced a bit faster towards the end of the book and that’s when it really grabbed my attention.

I loved how the author had a nice mix between the paranormal and real life contemporary young adult life. It was an easy and enjoyable read and I’ll be looking into the other books in this series. You know what they say about series, one book you might not like, but another you will love. Let’s see what kind of paranormal is stored in the next book. 🙂