Buy It or Borrow It # 2: Red Dress

Buy it or Borrow it? is inspired by HGTV’s Buy it or List it. The point of this meme is to showcase two books that I am interested but I’m having trouble deciding if I should get them. Hopefully, my readers can help me make an inform decision and help me pick one.

This week’s theme is the red dress.

First up is Breathless by Cole Gibson

Obituary-reading emo girl Edith Small is broken – the end result of forcing herself inside a mold that doesn’t fit. All she wants is to conform to her strict sergeant stepfather’s rules long enough to make it to graduation day. But a boat accident threatens to unravel the life Edith has worked so hard to keep. After waking up in a hospital with a lacerated shoulder, Edith fakes amnesia. Because admitting she received her injuries from a blue-haired girl who breathes underwater is all the reason Sir needs to send Edith on the first bus to military school. Safe at home, Edith struggles to put the nightmare behind her. But the mysterious creatures that live in the ocean aren’t about to let her forget. After meeting Bastin – a strange boy with silver hair and black eyes – on a secluded dock, Edith learns about the war raging undersea to end human existence. A war that Edith, unwittingly, has become the key to winning. In a world where death is an ever-present shadow and motives are as dark as the bottom of the ocean, Edith must decide if her life is worth risking for a love that can’t survive past the shore.

I love underwater imagery so this is captivating. The red dress is nice, it’s not as glamorous as other dresses but it is a nice dress. I’m curious about the main character, Gibson describes as “emo” so I really want to see her scene and how well it is portrayed.

Second book is Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Vanessa Adler isn’t so sure she really belongs at the School of American Ballet. But dance runs in her family. It’s been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother and mother were prima ballerinas, and her older sister Margaret was, too. That is, until Margaret mysteriously disappeared from school three years ago. Vanessa is heir to the family’s gift and the only person who can fulfill her sister’s destiny. She has no choice. But she never could have guessed how dangerous the school is. The infamous choreographer, Josef, isn’t just ruthless with his pupils, he guards a sinister secret, one in which the school’s dancers-prized for their beauty, grace, and discipline-become pawns in a world of dark, deadly demons.

I love the red dress, it’s disintegrating into flower petals. Stunning. The story line is interesting because it is ballet. I haven’t read anything about ballet; seen plenty of movies though. It feels a little more contemporary than paranormal so it is a little outside my range.

εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

My preliminary decision is that I should buy Breathless and borrow Dance of Shadows. Right choice or wrong choice?

Late Start to the Year due to Identity Theft

I think it is quite apparent that this blog is on its last legs….at least that’s what I would think because there has been no activity on this blog for quite some time.

Fortunately, that is not the case. I’m still around alive and kicking so the blog will continue. However, I do owe my readers an explanation. It’s really simple. January hates me and I have been battling with it for a very long time. Bad things happen in January but this means war.

War? That is a serious accusation but it is justifiable.  My identity was stolen in early January. What a great start to the new year. It just so happens that I have no idea that my identity has been stolen until I start to receive phone calls from Target and Wal-mart. At first, I thought they were phishing calls so I didn’t pay much attention. My bank reassured me that nothing was wrong with my accounts so I go on living. Two weeks later, lo and behold, I have credit cards in my name to companies that I have never heard of. It was a horrible feeling just knowing that someone had stolen such vital information from me.

The emotional stress of knowing someone has taken my paper and credit life for their own was further increased when I attempted to make a police report only to find out that the police station closes at 5 PM and I was two hours too late. The isolation and helplessness that I felt is something I never wish that any of you go through because it is a rude awakening. I mean, at 5 PM, the police station is closed and it is also closed on the weekends. Crime is 24/7 occurrence and I have to wait to report a crime, what the hell! I felt helpless and angry with everybody. Seriously, Taco Bell closes at 10 PM and the police station closes at 5 PM, obviously food is much more important than helping citizens ( No offense to Taco Bell, I love Taco Bell) but it still pissed me off.

I have never had an experience with the police that was positive or negative. I have always been the casual observant who watches someone get arrested. I watch cops from afar so I guess I had neutral to positive views on them because they help keep the city safe. Now, I just think they hire cold people. Filing a police report reassured me that I did the right thing and it has return a false sense of security again but the feeling of helplessness and isolation are still  running through  me. However, it was such a cold process that I didn’t immediately feel better after filing the report.  I actively had to convince myself that I was going be fine  and I’m just starting again to believe that.

The feeling of helplessness is bad and dealing with the credit card companies doesn’t help. It  was a grueling process just trying to talk to a representative when the automated machine insists that it can help me and there is no option to “talk to a representative.” There were some companies where it was fast and easy to get a transfer to a human. Some companies had me in tears and ripping my hair out because I could not get a transfer to a real person. For one specific company that I don’t even shop at, I slammed my hand down on my desk after 15 minutes of arguing with a machine and then the machine was “ I will transfer you to a representative.” I was so agitated that I could not even speak to the person when she answered. I told her “ I need a few minutes to calm down” because my anger and frustration laced my voice and the last thing I wanted was to take it out on a person who was going to help me deal with the problem. She was extremely nice and probably the most helpful out of all the agents that I dealt with. After talking to her, I was much more calmer in dealing with the credit card companies and honestly, bored with dealing with them. It didn’t even phase me after a while; I had become numb.

I sincerely hope that none of you ever go through this because it leaves you with a sense of vulnerability that does alter your view of the world. I feel the need to be colder and be more on guard against the world where before I was like still living in a world that I had faith would treat me nice if I was nice to it. It was a naïve perspective, I admit that but I wanted to believe that. The world has put me through some bullshit before so I know it can be a cruel world but I have always been able to take a lesson from those moments that have benefited my life. I just don’t know what lesson to take from this. How does this help me? Because I have no idea.

January always means a bad time for me but it is usually small things. I have to replace this or that, my leg acts up because of the cold, small things that make life a little miserable. It’s never been this bad, this sense of helplessness and bleakness that January brought with it makes no sense to me.

Now that January is over, I can safely say that I feel that my life is slowly piecing itself back together and I feel more confident in interacting with the world. I’m making a full return to blogging and hopefully, you’ll make the return trip with me.

A Happy New Year

Have a great New Year’s Eve!

Have a great New Year’s Day!

I wish you good luck in completing your resolutions if you are making them. If you are not, then just enjoy your year.

Eve is for partying while the Day is for visiting family, lol. Well, at least it is in my family. Let’s keep it a small secret.

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you.

I hope you have a pleasant day and enjoy your evening.

The Return of Persephone

Well, it has certainly been a long time since I posted a review or even updated this site. Life left me behind and I’ve been playing catch-up and that is why I have not updated the blog. I’m so sorry that I did not keep contact with any of my followers and that I fell behind on my reviews. That is so unprofessional of me (not that I’m a professional reviewer, I just do this for fun but not reviewing makes me seem like a slacker).

On a very sad note, I will not be able to finish the 150+ Reading Challenge since I’m only at 76 books right now. I honestly cannot bust out over 50 books in less than one month so I’m just going to aim to reach 100 (and that might not be possible either). As for the other challenges, it may be possible to finish some of them. My long extended break really hindered me.

I also cannot believe that I miss my own blog anniversary. It was December 3. It’ so funny because I was planning something special but now, it’s like worthless. I guess next year, I better not miss it, lol.  I’ll just do something special for New Year’s Day or something in January.

With that being said, let’s finish 2012 and start getting ready for 2013 and the challenges ahead.

Promo Post: Bones Wires by Michael Shean

Title: Bone Wires
Author: Michael Shean
Series: Standalone
Genre: Science Fiction
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase:Amz/ B&N

Blurb from Amazon:
In the wasteland of commercial culture that is future America, police are operated not by government but by private companies. In Seattle, that role is filled by Civil Protection, and Daniel Gray is a detective in Homicide Solutions. What used to be considered an important – even glamorous – department for public police is very different for the corporate species, and Gray finds himself stuck in a dead end job.

That is, until the Spine Thief arrives.

When a serial killer begins harvesting the spinal tissue of corporate employees all over the city, Detective Gray finds himself plunged into the first truly major case of his career. Caught in a dangerous mix of murder, betrayal and conflicting corporate interest, Gray will find himself not only matching wits with a diabolical murderer but grappling with his growing doubt toward his employers in the dawning months of the American tricentennial. A thrilling mystery set in the same world as the Wonderland Cycle, Bone Wires is a grim trip into the streets of the empty future.

Promo Post: Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Title: Flight
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Series: The Crescent Chronicles # 1
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source:  Bewitching Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N

Blurb from Barnes & Nobles:

Sometimes you just have to take flight.
A summer in New Orleans is exactly what Allie needs before starting college. Accepting her dad’s invitation to work at his hotel offers an escape from her ex-boyfriend and the chance to spend the summer with her best friend. Meeting a guy is the last thing on her mind—until she sees Levi.

Unable to resist the infuriating yet alluring Levi, Allie finds herself at the center of a supernatural society and forced to decide between following the path she has always trusted or saving a city that might just save her.

I will be posting the review tomorrow so feel free to come back to read it.

Buy it or Borrow it # 1-Steampunk

If you came here for Wishlist Wednesday, then I apologize. I’m no longer participating in that particular meme. Instead, I created my meme or at least named my own meme. Buy it or Borrow it? is inspired by HGTV’s Buy it or List it, oh, I like that show. The point of this meme is to showcase two books that I am interested but I’m having trouble deciding if I should get them. Hopefully, my readers can help me make an inform decision and help me pick one.

This week’s theme is Steampunk.

First up is The Iron Duke by Meliean Brook.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.
But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

It sounds fantastic but there is a review that mentions the “good rape” (someone else called it sexual assault). It seems like the main character is assaulted by the male lead character and they end up falling in love. It’s like, do I really want to read this? I don’t know if it is rape or sexual assault (either one, it is wrong). A part of me wants to read it because I want to see how the attack is dealt with and there are also a lot of positive reviews about this book.

εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

Second up is Incarnation by Emma Cornwall.

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, a beautiful vampire seeks out the author of Dracula–to set the record straight . . .

If one is to believe Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale, Lucy Weston is Dracula’s most wanton creation, a sexual creature of the night who preys on innocent boys. But the real-life Lucy is nothing like her fictional counterpart—and she demands to know why the Victorian author deliberately lied. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she’s determined to track down the very fiend who transformed her—from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires, to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness, and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy must battle her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she must make a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—what it means to be human.

I love Dracula and I love reading re-telling but I’m never satisfied with most re-tellings. The new versions just disappoint me or they take an element that I love and just screwed it up. Mind you, there are some fantastic re-tellings out there. Lucy is such an important character to Dracula that I’m worry about how she is going to be portrayed. The blurb is already changing the core of Lucy’s character so how much can i take?

εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз__εїз_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз_Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ_εїз

So what do you think? I would love to know which book will I take the least offence to, lol. In all seriousness, I’m thinking borrow both from the library (if it has it). Right choice or wrong choice?

Wishlist Wednesday # 25

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It is the place to showcase one book that has been on our wishlist.

On My Wishlist is:Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

 

Blurb from Amazon:
Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv.

The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose–stay with Viv or let her go–before the window closes between them once and for all.

Cover Love: I like double figure in the water. It fits the blurb with the transition between parallel worlds.

I’m looking forward to this book because it sounds extremely contemporary. It deals with loss and letting go. At the same time, it uses a parallel world to deal with the loss. It is an interesting combination and I hope that it doesn’t disappoint.

Wishlist Wednesday # 24

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It is the place to showcase one book that has been on our wishlist.

On My Wishlist is: House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier

Blurb from Amazon:
Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own way.

Sweet and proper, Karah’s future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life… if she agrees to play their game.

Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage’s offer of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage?

With the arrival of a foreign bard into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom.

I’m loving the green cover. That’s what drew me to the book. From the blurb, I like the two sisters being so different from each other but their fates are still intertwined.

The setting worries me a little because it sounds like it might be in a medieval world. I like the medieval world…I just prefer to not read it frequently.