Mini Challenge: Hodge-Podge Proposal

This is a mini challenge from Erin Reads.  The first thing is to thing is to answer these three questions:

1. The first name of any character in the book you’re currently reading (or just finished)  (Scarlett)
2. The make or model of your current car, whichever you like better (if you don’t have a car, use one you’ve had or would like to have)  (Honda Accord)
3. A job you think would be especially fascinating  (video game tester)

Numbers 1 and 2 become the first and last name of your new character, and 3 is his or her occupation. Now briefly pitch me a new series in the genre of your choice based on this hodge-podge character.


So, here's my proposal!


Scarlett Accord is a tester.  She links into the system and allows the mainframe to run its experiments, new tweaks in advertisement and entertainment that will eventually be downloaded to every citizen.  But hey, it's money right?  So she has to deal with some crappy ads and play some obnoxious farming games.  It's really not a big deal.  Scarlett's never found her job dangerous, that is until she was "randomly" selected to participate in Beta X.  Quickly Scarlett realizes that this isn't a normal test and she'll have to start taking life a lot more seriously if she wants to find a way out of the system alive.

Mini Challenge: A Musical Bath

What song does the book I’m reading right now remind me of?


I'm currently reading Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce and I'm reminded of Dead is the New Alive by Emilie Autumn.  It's Scarlett's fighting music.



What song does my favorite book remind me of?


I'm not sure I have a favorite book, but Oh My Love by Bearfoot really reminds me of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  I know this song isn't french, but I love it so much.




Can I find a connection between one of my favorite songs and a story I like?


One of my all time favorite songs is One Day by Matisyahu, and I think this song applies to any book about exploitation, war, hate, and discrimination.  I absolutely love this song.  





And one final song is Gravity by Sara Bareilles.  I always associate this song with drug addiction (thanks to so you think you can dance).  Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Shine by Lauren Myracle come to mind.

Mini Challenge: Top Five

What are the 5 books you are looking forward to in the next few months or really into next year?


Oh this is hard, there are SO many!  I'll try and pick just five for you all.  Some of these are out and I just haven't read yet, and some of these I'm anxiously waiting for their release date.

Mini Challenge: Book Puzzle

Here's the next book challenge for the read-a-thon hosted at One Librarian's Book Reviews.  


For this challenge, you will be creating a Book Puzzle.  Essentially, this is a series of pictures, graphics, or photos that you put together that will describe a book title.  Mine may be easy, but I hope you can guess it!

The

 Of

and

Mini Challenge: Character Photo

This mini challenge is for participants in the 24-hour readathon by At Home With Books.

Take a photo of something that represents a character in one of the books you are reading for the readathon.

For halloween this year I dressed up as Scarlett March from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.  No one at the party I went to understood who I was (a "pirate witch" and "are you red riding hood? OMG what happened to your eye" were some of the guesses).  I don't mind though because I was still cool.  To me anyway.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: Hour 1

The read-a-thon has begun!  I'm updating from my phone because I had to run some software tests this morning so this post is short.  It will also be missing correct capatalization and punctuation (I've gone through and fixed this now) because for whatever reason I can't do that on my phone.

Anyway here are my answers to my introduction questions.

1. Where am I reading from?  Dayton, Ohio in the US
   
2. Three random facts about meI have a bachelors of science in electrical engineering.
   I was in marching band for nine years.
   I have been to England, Spain, France, Italy (twice!), Canada, and China
   
3. How many books are in you TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
   I have four books I'm current reading and my goal is to finish them. They are Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (a re-read), and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
   
4. What are my goals for the read-a-thon?
   My only goal is to stay up for the full 24 hours, which will be a challenge but I can do it!
   
5. Are you a veteran reader and do you have any advice?
   Nope!  This is my first time doing Dewey's read-a-thon but I've done other ones in the past.  I would say just read what you want.  Don't force yourself to read a book you aren't into.  

Ok that's it for now, more to come later!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

#1 in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series
Published on September 27, 2011 by Little Brown & Co.
5 stars

Goodreads Review
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a PERFECT example of paranormal romance done wonderfully right.  Everything about this book is fantastic.  The characters are all well developed and supported, the setting is imaginative and descriptive, and the plot is fresh and unique while still having the classic elements of the paranormal romance genre.

First let's discuss the characters.  The entire cast is charming, interesting, and very well written.  I absolutely love Karou.  I love her physical description with her blue hair and the double life she leads.  She's interesting and smart but still can make mistakes.  She goes through a lot of growth because she starts off very sheltered and a bit precocious and by the end of the book she has become a strong heroine.  I also liked Karou's love interest, Akiva, but not as much.  He was a bit more of a stereotypical paranormal romance "bad boy" but near the end of the book when we learn about his past he grows on me and I actually really liked him. 

As a bit of a side note, I really appreciated how the secondary characters (namely Karou's BFF Zusana) don't get forgotten about half way through the book when the romance starts to heat up.  This happens countless times in paranormal romance and it really grinds my gears.  I think the fact that Karou doesn't just forget about her friends is refreshing and shows her as a strong woman, capable of making decision and not defining herself by the man she is (or is not) with.

Now let's just talk for a second about my favorite character, Brimstone.  Oh my gosh, I loved him so much.  This could be partially due to the fact that I imagined him as the faun from Pan's Labyrinth:

Am I right?  Brimstone is hella awesome, I wish we had learned more about him from his point of view, not from other people telling us about him.  I LOVE his teeth collection and the magic behind them.  His home/workshop is just so creepy but at the same time the way Karou describes it makes it feel safe and secure.  Everything about Brimstone could be terrifying, but because we know Karou we see him as a fatherly figure.  He is an interesting character and despite what happens (no spoilers!) I really hope to see more of him in the next book. 

I was a little worried that this book was just going to be a run of the mill paranormal romance.  I had just read a book that I thought was going to be sweet but fell into that category, and I really didn't want to repeat the same mistake.  Lucky for me this was paranormal romance done so, so right.  I love the ending.  We get a lot of interesting back story which is almost a whole new book within a book (inception anyone?) but it never feels awkward or forced.  It totally fits the story and is integrated flawlessly into the pacing of the book.  (Dang writing this review is making me want to read it again lol)

Overall The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a fantastic fantasy that doesn't sacrifice any action or explanation of the mythology in order to have a spicy romance (and believe me, there is some fantastic romance too).  It's a perfectly paced and balanced story that does a great job of setting up the series story arc while still being an independent book in it's own right.  I highly recommend The Daughter of Smoke and Bone; it's in my top 10 for 2011 for sure :).