The Dream Thieves: Review

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

"Ok, I really should have reviewed this right after I finished this book, because my memory is already slightly fuzzy. So excuse any off things you may have noticed, but I hope it is well enough explained."

I think The Dream Thieves was one of the most talked about sequels for fall. I was part of the group who was extremely excited to see what direction Stiefvater would take in this series. Well, I did expect this to be more action-filled(though it does have some memorable scenes of that) and maybe expected to learn more about Blue....but, even if I didn't anticipate most of this book, it still left me fulfilled-for the moment, though I still am excited for the 3rd book.

One of the fore mentioned unexpected turns this book took was Ronan. Of course, I thought he still would be an important secondary character, but the author may have even took it to the level where he is a main character in this sequel. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Stiefvater doing this: I even enjoyed learning more about him and his angst-type character. However, I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more of Gansey, and especially Blue, as I can relate to her better.

A huge part of this book was slow, I'd say that right off the bat. If you don't like character development and slow plot twists, I'd say you'd probably not enjoy this. I like fast-paces, but I also enjoy slow paces, when it is done right. I can enjoy Stiefvater's writing, because she is descriptive and makes me want to learn more about what will happen next.

The romance-ah. It was clearly a very not-in-your-face type of romance, which I'm all for. Most of it was quite subtle with the exception of one notable scene, which I loved. I can tell you that some fans of The Raven Boys will be happy about the romance, but I can't be sure, because it depends what team you're on.

You may have noticed how much I have talked about the characters and character development-that is specifically because a huge part of this book is dedicated to learning about new secondary characters( some surprised me, even) and old main characters. I didn't talk about Adam at all if you noticed, even though he is obviously important...if you read the end of The Raven Boys, you'll understand what I mean. But I didn't have so many thoughts on him as the other characters, so I decided you should just learn for yourself.

Overall, The Dream Thieves was well worth the read, with thought out characters and unexpected turns with a slight romance theme to it.

This Song Will Save Your Life: Review

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.












True fact: I prefer fantasy or action books about 10 times more than contemporary books, but after reading this book, I'm willing to say contemporaries are getting better each year. I mean, the only contemporaries that I have really enjoyed before this book was the Anna and the French Kiss series or the Perfect Chemistry series. Literally, those are the only ones I can think of at the moment. This Song Will Save Your Life was even better than those for me. You know why? Because this book could have been based off someone's life, because it was so damn(excuse my French, as some people say) real.

Elise, our protagonist, is your everyday music lover. Except for the fact that she has no friends, and cuts herself, once I might add. It's not like she's a depressed music lover, but she was different. She never fit in with any one. Until she meets Pippa and Vicky. And the club Start. Suddenly, she has a "boyfriend" and a few friends.

This book was nowhere perfect, but it was perfect for me. The writing was not quite beautiful, really more simple and easy, but I could easily relate to most everything Elise had to say. That's what made it perfect. Plus, it flowed nicely at a perfect pace.

The characters were written very well too. They each had their little quirks that set them apart from each other. Vicki was the fabulous singer, but also a smoker. Mel was the gay outspoken guy. Pippa was the slightly clingy girlfriend. Everyone of them had their faults, but that made it ten times better.

I think the ending was my favorite part of this book, and trust me, I had alot of favorite parts in this book. Why, you may ask. Well, it was realistic would be the most basic answer. But it also would have totally annoyed me if it hadn't ended like that(okay, it could have ended several different ways and I would still be happy). So, as it is, it was realistic, which just made me fall even more in love with the story.

Overall, a beautifully realistic contemporary. I loved the characters and how they each had their quirks. This author has some genius writing skills.

Debut Authors Bash!

Today, I have a special post! I got the chance to interview MINDEE ARNETT, guys! She is amazing! I loved her debut, The Nightmare Affair and can't wait to check out her upcoming book, Avalon! So, here we go!

Interview:
What did you do to celebrate your debut release?
With a valium and a shot of whiskey. Just kidding. Release day was super busy and stressful.
I did a very last minute tv spot and then had my launch “party” that evening in the midst of a 7-
inch snow storm. Good times. So instead of a big celebration, I celebrate every little thing, like
finishing a first draft, an edit, and so on. Usually this involves sushi and afterward some kind of
chocolate, preferably in cake form.

I can see from your sophomore book that you expanded your genre a bit- why is that? Did the
story just come out unexpectedly?
I’ve always had an all-encompassing love of fantasy and science fiction, so for me it’s not so
much of an expansion as simply the next story I had to tell. And after the sci-fi I’m planning a
high fantasy.

Who is your inspiration in writing?
I can’t say there really is a single person who inspired my writing. The inspiration for me is
simply a love of story. But some of the authors who have influenced me early on include
Jennifer Roberson, Roald Dahl, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling. These days I’m inspired by the
likes of Laini Taylor and Maggie Stiefvater.

Any author friends that were just awesome?(Haha, I should have said which authors.)
All of my author friends are awesome!

Did you always want to be a writer? Jobs that you did in your teen years :)
Yes, I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I think there might even be hard
evidence to back this up in my “career exploration” homework assignments from grade school.
As a teen I worked a lot of different jobs. My very first one was as a horseback riding trail guide.
I also shelved books at the library, cleaned stalls, and waited tables.

Amazing song that you just heard and fell in love with?
Probably my favorite new song is Below My Feet by Mumford and Sons. It’s kind of my “feel
better” song. There’s something very soothing and uplifting about it.

Are you a pantser( I don't know if I spelled that right!) or planner?
I’m a pantser who likes to stop and ask for directions. I’m absolutely incapable of outlining,
but when I’m drafting I don’t just completely wing-it either. When you’re writing a novel, there
a million different choices you can make from chapter to chapter, scene to scene. I generally
follow my gut instinct on these choices, but I always stop long enough to ask myself why this is
a good decision. Doing that helps me keep the story on track and headed in the right direction.

Farthest place you traveled? Places that you want to go to?
The farthest I’ve ever been is Puerto Rico. The place I want to visit the most would definitely be
the UK. I was an English Lit major, and I’m a bit obsessed with British tv (Doctor Who, Sherlock)
and literature.

What's your favorite food?
Sushi and Mexican are my two favs.

Favorite color?
Blue. I particularly love the shade for The Nightmare Dilemma.

Why young adult?
There’s definitely nothing easier about young adult, as compared to adult or even to middle
grade. Story-telling is tough all the way around. But my favorite thing about writing young adult
is how much freedom I have in terms of genre and content. I’m not sure that if I had started
out writing for adults that I would’ve been able to have both a paranormal and a science fiction
series happening at the same time. But YA is a very embracive category and not so hung up on
genre lines.

Thanks for a great interview!

Thank you, Mindee for a spectacular interview! You were an awesome interviewee :)

Now for the giveaway!

Giveaway:

There will be a total of THREE winners! Grand prize winner will receive a signed hardcover of The Nightmare Affair + swag. 2 runner-ups will win a swag pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway