ARC Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Title: Starcrossed (Starcrossed #1)

Author: Josephine Angelini

Pages: 487 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen

Published on: May 31st' 2011

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

Hihi. Excitement! Starcrossed is the first book in "Starcrossed" series. It was such a powerful and romantic story that I was reacting like crazy to some parts of the book. When I turned the first few pages of it, I devoured it like a maniac and finished it in a matter of hours. The story gets to you. It's interesting at the beggining, exciting at the middle, romantic in the end. I love how Helen was so clueless at first and as she learned what she was, she was all excited and really eager to learn. It's like an ancient Greek Romeo and Juliet but modern minus the whole suicide thing in the end. . . It's SUCH a must read. Fans of supernatural, history and romance novels should really read it. ENJOY!!!

SPOILERS~SPOILERS~SPOILERS~

Hihihi. I knew something special was going on with Helen the minute she dished about the pedophile touching her hair then her smelling burnt hair. At first, I thought she had fire powers and etc. But then I realized it was like, lightning. I also thought it was electricity because when Lucas uh, pinned her to his chest(?), she got a cramp and he let her go and "started convulsing on the floor"<- (I got that from the book) but then, lightning and electricity somehow go hand-in-hand, right? I also love how Lucas was so deeply madly in love but wouldn't try touch her because it would break the treaty made and start another war which will be worse and longer than the Trojan war. I also had mixed feelings when Noel, Lucas's mom said they were supposed to name him Paris. *sigh*

Rating:

Blog Tour: Detour 2 Death by J.R. Turner

Here is our interview with the lovely J.R. Turner:

Did you always want to be an author?

Yes! But like many authors, the way toward publication was long and winding. In second grade I wrote my first poem, then shortly after, my first play. The play was actually performed by other students for the entire school. I think at that point, I was hooked on the idea of becoming an author. I was a precocious child, which wasn’t always good for me. I understood adult concepts far too early and had difficulty just having fun as a kid. In eighth grade, I was caught reading a dictionary for fun—and the teasing didn’t end!

There was definitely an upside though. I excelled in school with little effort, which left me ample time to pursue writing and reading—my two loves.

What is your reaction whenever you see your books in the shelf of a store?

Oh gosh, this sounds weird, but I get a little freaked out. Normally when I go shopping I’m dressed in sweats, my hair in a ponytail, and usually I’m in between carpooling for my kids separate events. I always fear someone will recognize me and I’ll have to stand there like a doofus wishing I had dressed up a little. I live in a small town and having everyone know who you are makes it a little hard to relax in a book store.

I once dropped in to pick up a copy of Stark Knight to mail to someone. I had run out of those at home and figured it was faster and easier to just grab a copy from the bookstore. The gal behind the register chuckled and said, “I’ve never sold an author a copy of their own book before!” And yes, I was wearing sweats with my hair in a ponytail! ;)

What gave you the idea for a character like Kaylee Hensler?

All the books I had written before I began the Extreme Hauntings series featured strong female leads. They were the kick-butt, Lara Croft type gals who punched first and asked questions later. When my publisher asked me to write a YA series, I was a little stumped, until I figured I’d take one of my heroines back in time and see what she might be like as a teen.

Since there is a lot of physical action needed, I wanted to give Kaylee a chance to have some practice. Making her skater and captain of her swim team really pulled out the sort of elements in her character I thought were necessary for the upcoming battles she faced. Giving her a shrink for a dad and a social-worker mom with a history studying angelology gave Kaylee the necessary understanding of human nature to help her get through the more emotional aspects of the series.

Did you base your characters from real live people?

In some cases, yes. Mostly on secondary characters. The elderly man in the hospital in Detour 2 Death is based on my father. In DFF: Dead Friends Forever, Frank is based on a friend of my husband’s who helped us paint our first apartment and Will is based on a boy I dated when I was sixteen. In School’s Out 4-Ever I went a little different, since I had never been to a boarding school. I based the headmistress on Carol Lombard and Destiny is actually based on Destinee from Rock of Love with Brett Michaels.

The premise of Detour 2 Death is very interesting and gives only a bit away, can you tell us more about the third installment of your series?

This book was interesting to write because so little of it takes place in the real world. Most of it is in two different realms—a haunted “dark side” of the main location, a hospital, and a placed called Feverland that is deep inside the mind of Davey, her best friend who is in a coma.

Exploring all the aspects of the more primitive side to a person’s character, in this case Davey, created a much more violent overtone than I expected. Kaylee is torn between keeping her promise never to abandon him, and protecting herself from his rage. This dynamic was exceptionally difficult to write.

What gave you the idea to use ghosts, reapers and such?

Well, I didn’t feel comfortable giving Kaylee and Uzi to battle terrorists and bad guys, so I figured going supernatural would be truly awesome. She can blast monsters and evil entities to hell and back with the power of her mind—and the power that she’s gained from being healed by an angel in the first book.


QUICKIES:

Angel or Demon?

Angel, of course! But my horns hold up my halo ;)

Coffee or Hot chocolate?

Coffee, but did you know if you mix Vanilla Carmel Latte from International Coffee and hot chocolate, it tastes fabulous?

Cold or Warm?

Both—love my iced coffee. Currently, I’m addicted to McDonald’s Caramel Frappes.

Romance or Thriller/Mystery?

Gosh—love the mix of both!

Comedy or Horror?

Definitely horror ;)

Left or Right?

I’m a Righty :)

Up or Down?

I’m tall—and usually in a great mood—so I’d say up!

Movies or Books?

Both—but of course if I had to choose one, it would be books ;)

Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Fiction, totally.
Writing Indoors or Outdoors?

Oooo—I love writing outdoors—but I get soo distracted. So, for my pleasure—outdoors. For productivity—indoors ;)

Check out her new book Detour 2 Death! :)

Top Six Hottest Bookish Guys I'd Want to Date!

These are the Top Six Guys I'd totally want to hang out with~ I chose them because I think that the authors did an excellent job in making their characters realistic and concrete! :)



Ash from The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa because Ash is totally HOT and has a total badass aura around him. And his love for Meghan is so sweet! I get tingles every time I read a scene about them~ :) (I totally bawled my eyes out in the one!)



I ABSOLUTELY LOVE DEREK! If he was a real person I would totally marry him if I could! He's so... Fragile. There's something about the way Angela Morrison made this character that makes you ache and care for him.



I think Martin has to be one of the most caring guys i have ever read about. The way he stands up for Alex is extremely impressive. I love the way he's always there for her when she needed someone to vent to. I'm pretty sure most girls would like a guy like this! ;)



I think Jay has to be one of my all-time male favorites! He's so compassionate to Violet and he's so protective of her. But not too protective of her that he's invading her space but just being there for her... Wow. I can't wait to read more about Jay and Violet in Desires of the Dead!



This spot totally goes to Alex because of the things he did for Lena. Delirium was such an amazing book and it became even more amazing because of Alex. I LOVE ALEX. Period. Next!



I'm picking Delvin for this one. Even though he's a total nerd, I like him. He's cool in a dorky way! :D And I'm a total dork! So, I'm tight with Delvin!

WINNERS!!!

WINNERS!!! Whoot!

For the SWAG winner:

CONGRATULATIONS to GILLIENE!

And for the *signed* copy of TORMENT by Lauren Kate:

CONGRATULATIONS to PRECIOUS!

We have already mailed out your prizes~ :)

THANKS FOR ENTERING! :D

Review: The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Title: The Secret Year

Author: Jennifer R. Hubbard

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Publication date: January 7th 2010

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly. Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one?not even Julia?s boyfriend? knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can?t mourn Julia openly, and he?s tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia?s journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he?s desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)

Review:

This book gave me really mixed feelings. The ending left me confused and depressed. Half the time I was reading it I wanted to chuck something at Colt and scream at him saying, "Dude! Julia's dead, let her go! She probably never loved you anyway!" What I didn't like about the book is that in the end he wasn't able to get over her properly and ended up losing great people. I disliked Julia. I thought that in a way she was only using Colt to have something interesting in her life. It's like she just wanted something in her life that was different. The story was very sad but I wouldn't call it tearjerking, just really sad. The ending was sad. The romance was sad. Though I'd have to say, kudos to Jennifer for her beautiful writing. Even though the story was (again) sad, her writing is great! You can really feel how Colt felt when he lost Julia. Especially since people didn't even know they were together, he wasn't able grieve for her properly and openly.

Though I prefer the cover of the paperback version more. (The hardback cover sort of got me in trouble in school. Haha.)

Rating: