Isn't it just the best to read on a rainy day? :3
(Not that today's rainy... I just felt like rereading it.)
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Before I Leave~
Isn't it just the best to read on a rainy day? :3
(Not that today's rainy... I just felt like rereading it.)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Covers
My favorite covers are definitely Cassandra Clare's. However, I usually like simplistic covers that get the point across cleanly and nicely.
Clockwork Princess's cover just came out. Pixel by pixel, thanks to A GAJILLION re-tweets. Way overdramatized. It kind of made me dislike the whole publicity thing.
I think some of the only ones I didn't like were... well, I pretty much liked all of them.
In your opinion, what goes into a good cover, especially with color scheme and font? (I hate the covers that feature dolled-up goths/ soap opera stars. Please.) Red and black often looks tacky. I'll admit that the Twilight covers aren't totally awful. But seriously, what's with the apple?
Harry Potter covers are pretty cool. I mean, HP is so iconic per se that the covers kind of just enhance its reputation. They're quite subtle But take a look:
Clockwork Princess's cover just came out. Pixel by pixel, thanks to A GAJILLION re-tweets. Way overdramatized. It kind of made me dislike the whole publicity thing. 
I think some of the only ones I didn't like were... well, I pretty much liked all of them.
<--- This is JK Rowling's cover for her new book. I feel like it's something that I'd pick up at a bookstore. However, I might be slightly (really) biased because JK Rowling wrote my all time favorite book series... Maybe she's trying to make an impression because they're so different from
these. ------>
I love these covers!! The Deathly Hallows especially. it kind of ties back to the 1st book, which is really thoughtful of the cover artist.
What are your favorite covers and why?
I'll be out for three weeks. Twenty-one days of no internet and no blogging. D: Catch you later and happy blogging!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Book Review
I read The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda.
And.
WOW.
First of all, the cover is really good. The sword, the smoke, the leaves, and the shadowy figure behind her. Let's face it. When I go to the library, I judge books by their covers, all the time. Like Cassandra Clare's covers. Are. Amazing. But back to Devil's Kiss.
As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilqis SanGreal has grown up knowing she isn't normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her Order's ancient battle against the Unholy.
Billi's cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He's ready to reclaim her place in Billi's life, but she's met someone new: amber-eyed Mike, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly staking a claim on her heart.
But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the Order's ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for 100s of years--a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London's firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined.
Okay, I'll admit, I balked a little at the summary. Mainly because of the name. I'm a name freak... I love borderline-exotic names in fantasy books, dystopian, etc. Bilqis? I didn't know the origin, so I kind of winced a little. SanGreal? Would I have to go through the whole book struggling mentally to pronounce her name? And it was a touch...religious. I'm Hindu. Would this be too Christian-centered?
Eventually, I read it.
The book starts when Billi's facing the Ordeal she has to go through before being able to join the Knights Templar. Basically, she has to *kill* a little kid. Well, send him to the spirit world, or something along those lines. The kid is infested by an evil spirit. Eventually, her father has to help her a little, because Billi ends up hugging this spirit. But she gets through (after puking.)
Turns out the name 'Bilqis' is Muslim. Which was really cool. I don't think I've ever read a book with a Muslim heroine. Also, she's caring. A lot of books I see on Wattpad have "bad-ass" female heroines, who are ruthless and therefore supposed to make the book awesome. But that comes off as bitchy to me. Like they're shallow. Murder is no joke, and Billi didn't treat it that way.
All her life, Billi's dad --the leader of the Order --has oppressed her. He doesn't care much for her-- that's how Billi sees it, and I don't blame her. When she came home crying because another Templar bullied her, he told her that if she couldn't stand up for herself she wasn't worth much. All her life it's been this way. And then, when she meets Mike, who totally understands her ("My dad just wanted more, and more, no matter how hard I tried," he tells her) her dad says that the Order isn't a choice. Which ticks her off even more.
Then, when Kay comes home, she's pissed at him, too. He didn't send anything from Jerusalem (where he was training.) She attends school and has to fend for herself. After her mom died and her dad was put on trial for murdering her, people bully her all the time. And she comes to class with bruises from training. When Kay shows up, she doesn't need him. Or want him.
To make matters worse, her dad is all, "I'm proud of you, Kay," putting his hand on Kay's shoulder and smiling at him. Which he's never done with Billi. Ever. But Kay is honestly downright sweet. He's an Oracle, the one and only probably-most-powerful, second to John Dee (when I read this I thought of The Alchemist) and treated a lot differently than before training at Jerusalem.
Despite this, Kay is always there for her. He chases after her when she runs away from her Dad, who's being all nice to Kay and berating Billi. He holds her after she has a nightmare. And at the very end... well, I won't tell you, spoilers would ruin the story. The only time he made a bad impression on me was when he, you know, accidentally called all the spirits from Hell to haunt the streets of England by via the Cursed Mirror. Whoops!
But this book is so full of twists and turns, ones that are easy to follow and richen the plot, that I couldn't help but love it. The characters are extremely fleshed out. Obviously, the plot was well-thought out. The emotions were so well defined: I felt Billi's anger, her father's cold indifference, Kay's good-heartedness. I LOVED it. It's borderline religious, but I was distracted by the excellent writing.
★★★★★
And.
WOW.
First of all, the cover is really good. The sword, the smoke, the leaves, and the shadowy figure behind her. Let's face it. When I go to the library, I judge books by their covers, all the time. Like Cassandra Clare's covers. Are. Amazing. But back to Devil's Kiss.
As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilqis SanGreal has grown up knowing she isn't normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her Order's ancient battle against the Unholy.
Billi's cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He's ready to reclaim her place in Billi's life, but she's met someone new: amber-eyed Mike, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly staking a claim on her heart.
But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the Order's ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for 100s of years--a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London's firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined.
Okay, I'll admit, I balked a little at the summary. Mainly because of the name. I'm a name freak... I love borderline-exotic names in fantasy books, dystopian, etc. Bilqis? I didn't know the origin, so I kind of winced a little. SanGreal? Would I have to go through the whole book struggling mentally to pronounce her name? And it was a touch...religious. I'm Hindu. Would this be too Christian-centered?
Eventually, I read it.
The book starts when Billi's facing the Ordeal she has to go through before being able to join the Knights Templar. Basically, she has to *kill* a little kid. Well, send him to the spirit world, or something along those lines. The kid is infested by an evil spirit. Eventually, her father has to help her a little, because Billi ends up hugging this spirit. But she gets through (after puking.)
Turns out the name 'Bilqis' is Muslim. Which was really cool. I don't think I've ever read a book with a Muslim heroine. Also, she's caring. A lot of books I see on Wattpad have "bad-ass" female heroines, who are ruthless and therefore supposed to make the book awesome. But that comes off as bitchy to me. Like they're shallow. Murder is no joke, and Billi didn't treat it that way.
All her life, Billi's dad --the leader of the Order --has oppressed her. He doesn't care much for her-- that's how Billi sees it, and I don't blame her. When she came home crying because another Templar bullied her, he told her that if she couldn't stand up for herself she wasn't worth much. All her life it's been this way. And then, when she meets Mike, who totally understands her ("My dad just wanted more, and more, no matter how hard I tried," he tells her) her dad says that the Order isn't a choice. Which ticks her off even more.
Then, when Kay comes home, she's pissed at him, too. He didn't send anything from Jerusalem (where he was training.) She attends school and has to fend for herself. After her mom died and her dad was put on trial for murdering her, people bully her all the time. And she comes to class with bruises from training. When Kay shows up, she doesn't need him. Or want him.
To make matters worse, her dad is all, "I'm proud of you, Kay," putting his hand on Kay's shoulder and smiling at him. Which he's never done with Billi. Ever. But Kay is honestly downright sweet. He's an Oracle, the one and only probably-most-powerful, second to John Dee (when I read this I thought of The Alchemist) and treated a lot differently than before training at Jerusalem.
Despite this, Kay is always there for her. He chases after her when she runs away from her Dad, who's being all nice to Kay and berating Billi. He holds her after she has a nightmare. And at the very end... well, I won't tell you, spoilers would ruin the story. The only time he made a bad impression on me was when he, you know, accidentally called all the spirits from Hell to haunt the streets of England by via the Cursed Mirror. Whoops!
But this book is so full of twists and turns, ones that are easy to follow and richen the plot, that I couldn't help but love it. The characters are extremely fleshed out. Obviously, the plot was well-thought out. The emotions were so well defined: I felt Billi's anger, her father's cold indifference, Kay's good-heartedness. I LOVED it. It's borderline religious, but I was distracted by the excellent writing.
★★★★★
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
R? Who's R?
R: reviewer, reader, rater, the first letter of my first name, naRnia, potteRhead, the hungeR games...
Call me R. I hope you enjoy this blog, which is to be a mixture of things, not just reading and writing. Happy blogging! I'll be posting an actual post soon.
Call me R. I hope you enjoy this blog, which is to be a mixture of things, not just reading and writing. Happy blogging! I'll be posting an actual post soon.
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