Deadline by Mira Grant

#2 in the Newsflesh trilogy
Published June 1, 2011 by Orbit
3 stars

Goodreads Review
Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

Review:  This review will not contain any spoilers for Deadline OR Feed because I could never ruin such an amazing book for you!

OK guys, you know how much I loved Feed.  Seriously, Feed is probaby one of my favourite books of all time.  I could not put that book down, and I was still thinking about the plot and the characters months after finishing the book.  So I think it's pretty obvious I had monstrously huge expectations for Deadline, and while the book was enjoyable, it fell far short of the ridiculously high bar it's predecessor has set.

One of my biggest problems with this "zombie" book was it's distinct LACK of zombies!  There's some running away from zombies, but they only actually encounter zombies like, two times.  I wanted a little more suspense and action!  Lots of Deadline was spent in conversation.  The characters spent way too much time talking about what they were going to do, rather than actually doing it.  These conversations wouldn't have been too bad, but we switch narrators from Georgia to Shaun, and his inner monologue is very repetitive and gets rather annoying after a while. 

I also am missing the love that I had for the supporting characters.  I loved Buffy and Mahir in Feed, but I didn't feel the same love for Becks, Alaric, and Maggie.  In general I just wasn't nearly as committed to Deadline as I was to Feed, which I think is pretty apparent considering it took me almost 6 months to read!

Deadline is a good follow up, but is missing a lot of the magic of feed, which is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm not as big a fan of Shaun as I was of Georgia, and none of the big plot twists seemed that shocking. I am still very excited for Blackout, and I think it will be awesome based on the ending of Deadline.

Show Your Support for Gay YA

Yesterday Amendment 1 in the North Carolina constitution passed, which defines marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman,  and thus joining the states that have an active ban on gay marriage (I'm sad to say my home state of Ohio along with 28 other states also have a similar amendments).  The exact wording of the amendment is "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognised in this state".  This amendment goes beyond gay marriage to invalidate all civil unions and domestic partnerships, regardless of orientation.   

This amendment weakens laws that protect unmarried domestic violence victims, unmarried parents, any private agreements between unmarried couples, any unmarried end of life arrangements, and also frees employers from providing health benefits to unmarried partners.  Again, this is regardless of the sexual orientation of the couple, just the fact that they are not married. 

This is extremely discouraging news.  As a strong supporter of the gay community and women's rights, seeing this blatant discrimination is infuriating and frustrating.  So what can we do? Why, we continue what we've been doing.  We support those who are victims of hate and discrimination and continue to spread our message of love and equality. 

One of the best ways to do this is by supporting authors and publishers who create books that deal with LGBT issues.  Share these books with your friends and family, and begin a discussion.  I honestly believe that through continual love, support, and understanding we will change the world and show that we all deserve the same rights, regardless of age, race, gender, orientation, or creed. 

List of LGBT Themed YA 

*This isn't a complete list, so please leave suggestions of other LGBT YA books in the comments!*

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
I am J by Cris Beam

Cinco de read-a-thon!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!  I'm celebrating with an impromptu 24 hour read-a-thon!  Why?  Well,why not?  But seriously, I'm doing this because I'm behind in my reading and I don't have anything else to do.  I'll be updating this post, along with facebook and twitter, every hour, letting you guys know my progress.  Feel free to join in, even if it's only for a few hours.

10:00am - read-a-thon begins!  Working on Velveteen by Danny Marks which I got from netgalley.  73% complete.

11:00am - Still reading Velveteen.  83% and shit is getting REAL.

12:00pm - I got distracted by hunger and my boyfriend waking up, so I didn't get as much read.  Still on Velveteen, 89%

1:00pm - Finished Velveteen!  Holy crap this is a great book!

2:00pm - Took a bit of a break to shower and such, but I did read a bit of Deadline by Mira Grant.  This is the sequel to Feed which I absolutely loved.  I've been reading Deadline off and on for months, and for some reason I just can't seem to commit to it.  I'm on page 319/581

3:00pm - Still reading Deadline, up to page 343

4:00pm - was reading Deadline, but somewhere along the way I fell asleep on the couch!

5:00pm - totally slept through this hour, woops!

6:00pm - Got back to reading Deadline, but we ate dinner so I didn't get very far.  page 367

7:00pm - I admit, I played Lego Harry Potter during this hour lol.

8:00pm - Still playing Lego Harry Potter, but I did read a bit of Deadline.  On page 388

9:00pm - for the next several hours my report will be the same, Lego Harry Potter and Deadline

10:00pm - Lego Harry Potter and Deadline

11:00pm - Lego Harry Potter and Deadline

12:00am - Lego Harry Potter and Deadline

1:00am - Lego Harry Potter and Deadline

OK so I won't bore you with the boring details lol.  Basically I played Lego Harry Potter and read Deadline until 5am then passed out on the couch.  I did finish Deadline, so I would consider this read-a-thon a success!  YAY!

Veronica Roth Book Signing!

Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

You guys, I had an amazing Wednesday.  I was so fortunate to be able to go to a Veronica Roth book signing at Joseph Beth book seller in Cincinnati, Ohio.  VERONICA ROTH, you guys.  New York Times best selling author of Divergent and just released Insurgent came to MY hometown.  *dies*

I had so much fun.  I got there SUPER early because I wanted to beat the traffic, so I ended up with about three hours to kill.  I got dinner and read some of Velveteen while I waited, so it wasn't a huge imposition or anything.  So many people showed up, the place was packed.  I was really pleased to see a lot of younger kids there, and some boys as well.  I love it when kids get excited enough about reading to want to go to an author event. 

At the start of the signing we were told that during release week Veronica was going to three places.  New York City for publishing reasons, Chicago her home town, and Cincinnati Ohio because the reading community is AWESOME and did a TON of publicity work for Divergent.  Pretty cool, right? 

Guys, can I be completely honest with you?  Veronica Roth is GORGEOUS.  Seriously, she so pretty I think I have a bit of a girl crush lol.  She's also funny and charming and intelligent, so no wonder she's created such fantastic books!

Veronica started the night off with a reading from Insurgent.  I actually blocked out a lot of it because I don't want anything to be spoiled, regardless of if it actually is a spoiler or not.  It's always fun to hear authors read their work, just not when I haven't read the book yet!

After the reading there was the typical Q&A session. 

How do you name your characters?

• The character names change a lot
• Roth tries to find names that walk that fine line between unique but not too weird
• In a move of pure awesome, Roth revealed that Tobias's name was in fact inspired from K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series (thus solidifying her extreme cool factor)

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into publishing?

•  Major in English
• Try and find an internship, even if it is unpaid
• Roth actually started her career wanting to be a copy editor because of her love of grammar

What is your favorite faction and what faction would you choose?  Who is your favorite character?

• Abignation is her favorite faction because they're the underdog and their virtue purveys their entire life
• Roth would choose to be in dauntless
• Tris and Tobias feel the most real
• Evelyn is her favorite new character

How many books will be in the series?  Any word on a movie?

• There will be three in the series, but the final one does not have a title yet (Insider Scoop:  it will not be "Detergent")
• Lionsgate bought the movie rights and a screenplay is being developed

How did you come up with the idea for Divergent?

• In her college psychology class, she was studying exposure theory for treating phobias which is where the inspiration for dauntless came from
• Roth then expanded on that idea and created a world where the dauntless could exist

What do you do when you have writers block?

• Roth admits that she's not the best at overcoming it
• Music is a big inspiration for Roth and she tries to find the right song for whatever scene she's working on
• She also walks away for a few days to get a fresh start

What do you wish you knew before you were published? 

• Don't read reviews!  It puts way too much pressure on you as a writer.

How long did it take you to write Insurgent?  What part of writing is the easiest, and what is the hardest?

• The rough draft took about three months with edits lasting around seven
• The hardest part of writing is knocking out the first draft, she admits to being a bit of a perfectionist.
• The easiest part is edits and re-writes.  Roth "cleanses by fire" and has no problem tearing a draft apart

After the Q&A session it was book singing time!  Even though there were so many people I didn't have to wait that long (yay pre-ordering!).  While in line I ran into some of my book blogger friends, including Lauren at Epilogue Review, Jenny at Supernatural Snark, and Dani at Refracted Light Reviews (hey girls!).

Signing my books!

Be Brave.  Be Strong.

I'd like to congratulate Veronica on her new book Insurget and thank her for coming to Cincinnati!  I had such a fun time, it was a really great event.  Oh and of course you all know what I'll be reading this weekend!

Top Ten Tuesday 5/1/2012: Books You'd Like To See Made Into A Movie

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish.  We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This is a great topic for the week, which is why you're getting two posts today.  I love thinking about what books will get made into movies and who I would cast as certain characters.  So for this list I'm going to take it a step further and cast one character for each of the movies.  I tried to pick actual teens, but there are a couple actors that just have a youthful feel lol.  Feel free to comment and discuss!

TOP TEN BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE MOVIES

1.  Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Rose Hathaway - Jennifer Lawrence

Dimitri Belikov - Alexander Skarsgård

ok so maybe this is more of a naughty fantasy, but wouldn't these two be fantastic?  I think Jennifer Lawrence could totally pull off Rose's fighting spirit, and Alexander Skarsgard is just a brilliant actor and I think he could handle the emotional side of Dimitri as well as have some awesome fight scenes.

2.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder - Jamie Chung

Prince Kai - Harry Shum Jr. (hello!)

It's hard to believe that both of these actors are 30 and still playing high school kids!  I think Jamie Chung was great in Suckerpunch and would look fantastic as a half cyborg mechanic.  And Other Asian from Glee totally gets my vote for a hot prince.



3.  Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Saba - Saoirse Ronan 

I need to tell you all now that I have a major girl crush on Saoirse Ronan.  I think she's a fantastic actress and does fighting and different accents very well (she's Irish but has done movies with an English, American, and German accents) and I'd love to add Saba's regional dialect to her impressive resume.  Plus I think she could kick ass in the arena scenes.

4.  Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna - Jodelle Ferland

Jodelle Ferland is a bit of a champion in the horror movie genre.  I think she's fantastic and I really can't picture anyone else as Anna.

5.  The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 

Meghan Chase - Elle Fanning

Prince Ash - Kit Harrington

Ok so I know there's about a 10 year age difference here, but I've always imagined Ash as older than Meghan, and look at these two.  They're exactly how I picture them.  Elle is a bit young but an amazing actress.  I also love Kit as Jon Snow and I think he could pull of Ash's cold exterior.



6.  Divergent by Veronica Roth

Tris - Annasophia Robb

I love Annasophia Robb, and I think she would be a totally kick ass heroine.  She hasn't done too many action flicks, but I think she would rock. 

7.  Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola - Emily Browning

Cricket - Toby Turner

Emily Browning has a really cool look and is a great actress, I think she would rock as Lola.  And you may not know Toby Turner but he's the popular youtuber tobuscus.  He's nerdy and funny and completely adorable, just like Cricket.  He's also tall, and Emily Browning is pretty short so it would create that fantastic height difference.

8.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Hazel Grace - Chloë Grace Moretz

Chloe Grace Moretz has made a name for herself as a young action star, but I was blown away by her performance in Let Me In.  I think she has a great talent and could totally handle Hazel's complex character.  (As for Augustus I have NO idea lol).

9.  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou - Emilia Clarke

Emilia Clarke is sexual and a fantastic actress.  I love her in Game of Thrones, and I think she would be amazing with the fantasy elements of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Also she totally rocks the silver Targaryen hair and could definitely pull off turquoise.

10.  Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Velveteen - Kat Dennings 

Velveteen is sarcastic and smokin', just like Kat Dennings.  I'm not finished with Velveteen yet, but I really think Kat Dennings would rock out with her cock out.

May 2012 New Reads

Here are some of the YA books and debuts set for May of 2012.  This isn't a complete list, just some of the ones I'm interested in.  I hope you enjoy!

May 1

Bitterblue by Kristin Chashore
#3 in the Seven Kingdoms Series

Why I'm Excited:  This may be one of the most coveted ARCs of 2012, and I am fortunate enough to have won one from goodreads!  I have only heard rave reviews for Graceling and Fire and now with this ARC I know I have to read this series.

Body and Soul by Stacey Kade

#3 in the A Ghost and the Goth Series 

Why I'm Excited:  This series just looks so stinking cute!  I have the first two books but haven't started this series yet.  I think these look like good summer reads, so maybe I'll pick them up to read by the pool!

Elemental by Emily White

DAC

Why I'm Excited:  The cover and the brief description give Elemental a very mysterious feel.  I love how the cover model doesn't have hair, it makes her look like an alien or supernatural being and I love it.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

#2 in the Divergent Series

Why I'm Excited:  Come on, do I even have to say?  Divergent was one of my favorite books of 2011, so of course I'm so excited for the next book in the series.

The Weepers: The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker

#1 in The Other Life series

DAC

Why I'm Excited:  So I'm pretty sure the American cover is on the right, but what originally drew me to this book was the UK cover (on the left), which was released back in February. The story sounds a little bit like the Fallout video games, which is totally ok in my book!

 Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

#3 in the Shade series

Why I'm Excited:  I've heard a lot of really good things about Shade and Shift, and even though I really dislike this cover, I'm still really intrigued by the story. 

When You Were Mine Rebecca Serle

DAC

Why I'm Excited:  I really like the spin on Romeo and Juliet that When You Were Mine takes.  It's told from the perspective of Rosaline, the girl Romeo was in love with before he met Juliet.  I'm a little worried about how this story will be handled, but I really want to read it and find out.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
#5 in The Mortal Instruments Series

Why I'm Excited:  Well I've only read City of Bones, the first book in the series and wasn't that impressed, this series is too popular for me to give up on yet.  I don't know if I'll get to this book before dropping the series, but as of now I'm excited to read more!

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Why I'm Excited:  This book sounds like the perfect book for Fairytale Fortnight hosted by Misty at The Book Rat.  I think this might be an interpretation of the frog prince fairytale?  That sounds rather difficult to pull off, so I'm excited to see what will be done!

Endure by Carrie Jones

#4 in the Need series

Why I'm Excited:  I've heard lots of good things about the Need series.  It's romance and pixies and all out end of the world war!  That and the beautiful covers really drew me to this series.

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

#1 in the Hemlock Series

DAC

Why I'm Excited:  This is a werewolf story that I might actually like!  I haven't found many just werewolf books that work for me, but I really like the murder mystery aspect of this story and I'm excited to see where it will go.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Why I'm Excited:  I've hear so many good things about Amy and Roger's Epic Detour that Matson's sophomore book sounds just as good.  It sounds a bit like a crying book (it's about a dad with cancer) but I think it will be a perfect summer read.

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

#1 in the Struck series

DAC

Why I'm Excited:  While I'm not 100% sold on the lightning aspect, I love the apocalyptic natural disaster that is the catalyst for doomsday cults.  I'm sure this story will be exciting and will probably have more than one twist.

Until I Die by Amy Plum

#2 in the Revenants series

Why I'm Excited:  This sounds like you're stereotypical paranormal romance, and you know what?  Sometimes that's exactly what I need.

As Dead as it Gets by Katie Alender
#3 in the Bad Girls Don't Die series

Why I'm Excited:  I read Bad Girls Don't Die and thoroughly enjoyed the lighter though still creepy as hell story.  I'm interested in reading the rest of the series and finding out what other crazy situations Alexis will find herself in.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
DAC

Why I'm Excited:  I initially was attracted to the UK cover, pictured on the left, which came out in February.  I love the spy story, and I like how it will be revealed in a flashback format.  It sounds like a really interesting historical read.


May 22

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
DAC

Why I'm Excited:  I really haven't read many mermaid type books, and while I'm not sure this is a mermaid book (more of an Atlantis type book) but it sounds like a watery forbidden love story that sounds really good.

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
#2 in the Steampunk Chronicles

Why I'm Excited:  Cover.  Plain and simple.  I haven't read the first book, The Girl in the Steel Corset, but after seeing this STUNNING cover, I really want to pick this series up.  (To be honest, I have no idea what it's about, nor do I really care lol).

Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
#3 in the Raised by Wolves series

Why I'm Excited:  This is the final book in the very popular werewolf series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.  I haven't read this series yet, but I've hear that it's a very good story and that many people regretted not starting this series sooner.






May 28

Underworld by Meg Cabot
#2 in the Abandon Trilogy

Why I'm Excited:  I really like Meg Cabot's adult chick-lit books, so I really want to check out her YA paranormal romance.  (Side note, I really don't like this cover model, she's a little too gaunt for my taste).






May 29

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore
#1 in the Angel Eyes Trilogy
DAC

Why I'm Excited:  Angel Eyes sounds like a fun paranormal romance full of drama.  I just hope this doesn't become too stereotypical. 

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini
#2 in the Starcrossed series

Why I'm Excited:  This series sounds like a really cool paranormal romance.  I like the Helen of Troy myth and I'm curious to see how this interpretation of that story goes.

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: The Lost Prince

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

Ok, so you guys all know how much I loved The Iron Fey series (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight) so I was very excited to see that Julie Kagawa was continuing this series but from the perspective of Ethan, Meghan Chase's little brother.
  

But...I'm not really sold on the cover.  If you remember, in the original series Ethan is introduced as a toddler and still a young boy by the end of the series.  So it's kind of weird to see him as some sexy shirtless dude (even if he does have weird tattoos which does make me want to read it to find out what those are). 

HOWEVER, even though the cover isn't so great, I love the idea and I think there is so much potential for this spin off.  As far as we know Ethan doesn't have any fey blood or special abilities, so I'm very curious to see how he deals with the fey (and Grimalkin better be in this book or I'll be PISSED lol).