Top Ten Tuesdays: Top Ten Books to get you into Halloween

This is a weekly meme hosted by the girls at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week: Top Ten Books to get you into the Halloween Spirit

Well, I don't know about anyone else but me, in October I crave spooky/creepy books. Granted I tend to do this year around because I'm a big fan of the paranormal stuff, but in October it gets worse. So here are my spine-tingling picks for Halloween:

1) Dracula by Bram Stoker-Long before there were sparkly vampires who made vampires into a popular love interest trope, vampires actually used to be scary respectable creatures of the night. This book is why.

2) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley-Every time some literature snob says women can't write horror I point to this book.

3) The Shining by Stephan King-Well, pretty much all King's early stuff will work for Halloween. The guy is king of horror for a reason but The Shining is the most freaky of them all.

4) Anna Dressed in Blood/Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake-Ghosts are my favorite supernatural creature and Blake took the ghost genre and turned it on it's head in a fabulous way. I'm currently reading Girl of Nightmares and it is just as good as book one.

5) Coroline by Neil Gaiman-Fabulously spooky story about a girl saving her parents from a monster who steals children. Highly rec the movie as well which follows the book rather well considering things.

6) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman-Yes, another Gaiman book. This man writes fabulous ghost stories, what can I say? This one is about a boy who is raised in a graveyard by ghosts.

7) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl-You can't have a Halloween list without some witches (they are my second favorite after ghosts). This series isn't totally scary persay but some of the imagery in it is haunting and a big part of it takes place on Halloween. Plus, Gaitlin is like the perfect setting for Halloween. Incidently book four comes out today. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

8) The Fear Street series by R. L. Stine-If you haven't at least heard of R. L. Stine then you had no childhood. Fear Street was my crack when I was in middle school. Pretty much any of the books will do (if you can find them, I don't think they're published much nowadays, the only place I've seen them is used bookstores and libraries). My favorite is probably the The Fear Street Saga which chronicles the Fear family and tells about why Fear Street is so cursed.

9) The Mediator series by Meg Cabot-Yes, more ghosts. This series chronicles Suze, a girl who sees ghosts. And it is a big pain in the behind for her. Good if you liked to be spooked but not too much. Plus it's got some hilarious stuff, for instance Suze's mentor is a old priest in charge of her high school who also sees ghosts. Needless to say, they have differing ideas on the ghost thing.

10) The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong-Okay, this is a bit of a stretch but I feel it's got some spooky parts in it so it totally counts in my book. The main charactor is a necromancer who sees and can summon ghosts to her. There's some really freaky parts in it because of this gift.

Book Review: The Immortal Rules

TITLE: The Immortal Rules
Book 1 in the Blood of Eden series
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian, vampires, adventure
PREMISE: In a world where vampires have taken over, Allie fears and hates them. But then one night she is forced to turn into the very thing she hates...
MY REVIEW: If there is one thing I love about Julie Kagawa's books that keep me coming back for more: it is her creativity. She manages to take somewhat tired trends (in this case vampires and dystopians) and makes them feel shiny and new by using new ideas. I mean blending vampires with dystopia? Brilliant. Sure, the romance is a little lackluster for my taste (sorry, I found Zeke to be kind of boring), there are one or two world building issues I have, and the ending wasn't much of a surprise but it's a good ending and a great lead in for book 2.
Kagawa's writing is also just lovely. She manages to get you to picture these fantastic worlds she creates without going overboard with purple prose and she creates interesting characters that you root for in the process. Boring Zeke aside, Allie was interesting to me. I do sort of wish other female characters had been just as well portrayed as her though. The whole treatment of Ruth and the obvious intentional bashing of her just made me roll my eyes and I will say a giant flaw in this book is that Allie literally is the only strong female shown. It's the one thing that annoyed me in this because I don't like it when authors obviously make other female characters weak to make their main character look badass/strong. I also remember this being a thing with the Iron Fey series. It's something I wish Kagawa would work on. What, is female friendship dead in this future or something? Male friendship seems to be doing okay so I don't see why female friendship is no where to be found.
But other then that personal annoyance this was a great start to a fabulous new series and proves that Kagawa is here to stay. Iron Fey was not just a fluke. I'm always pleased when authors do something other then their popular series and take chances like this because this is actually quite different from Iron Fey. I can't wait to read book 2.
WHO SHOULD READ: Iron Fey fans, dystopian fans, Hunger Games fans, vampire fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five samurai swords

Weekly Recs (1)

This will hopefully be a regular feature here on this blog from now on (I know, I know, you've heard that before). This is similar to my previous Saturday Recs idea but I've decided to expand that idea to include TV, Movies, and Anime as I love all of those things as well as books. I've also changed it to weekly because I won't always be able to do them on Sunday as I my posting schedule is at the mercy of the retail schedule lords. So you never know when a day will be a weekly rec days. Keeps things interesting, right? So here's the first (of hopefully many) weekly recs post.

Weekly Recs: Currently running TV shows I recomend.-I am somewhat of a TV addict, I admit. I am into so many shows it's probably very sad. Netflix getting all the older shows on tv as well as older seasons of current shows does not help matters (I am currently neck deep into LOST for instance and kicking myself for never watching it while it was on the air). So here are all the shows currently still ongoing (either on hiatus, in the middle of a season) that I rec. For your sake I'll do the shows by channel.

FOX: I still am rather upset at Fox for the Firefly debacle so out of protest I don't really watch them all that much anymore. Plus Fox News makes me want to punch something so there's that as well.

I used to be into Glee but I got so fed up with it last season that I quit it (but I still occasionally buy the music and I keep up on what's happening through friends). I rec the first season of Glee. The first is the best. It was all downhill from there.

Bones-Forensic mystery show staring the man formerly known as Angel (who ruined all other vampires for me) and Emily Deschenel (Zoey Deschenel's sister (or is it cousin?)). Fun mystery of the week stuff with a witty cast. I have to say Bones is not as awesome as she used to be but the show is still very worthwhile.

I also hear Fringe is good but I've never seen it so can;t say for sure. But if you have access to it I would totally check it out.

CBS: Big Bang Theory-The show about nerds dedicated to nerds and nerd culture. But don't let that scare you off. Catch a episode or two on TBS reruns, that pretty much will give you an idea of the whole show.

NBC: Community-Also a comedy that is very nerdy (and kind of better then Big Bang even though I love Big Bang).
30 Rock-Because it's 30 Rock.

CW: Vampire Diaries-Well, I admit I have a love/hate thing with VD. It's got huge huge flaws but is still entertaining if for nothing other then to snark at.
Supernatural-One of the last shows left over from WB (oh WB, I miss you). For a good reason.

ABC: Once Upon a Time-Once is perfect for people who love fairy tale retellings and Disney. It's a fun and always twisty show. I gaurantee you will never look at Rumplestiltskin the same again.
Revenge-The most soap operish primetime show in awhile with two fabulous leading ladies and so many OMG moments you'll be hooked from episode one.
Castle-A writer follows a female cop because she is his muse (and more). Hilarious cast, fun mysteries, and so much meta/genre references.
Modern Family/The Middle/Suburgatory: ABCs comedy Wednesdays are pure gold.
Nashville-This is a tentative rec. The show is only two eps in so for all I know it becomes horrible later this season.
Scandal-One of the few shows with a african american female lead played by the always fabulous Kerry Washington. Follows the scandals that rock DC politicians and the woman whose team helps the people involved in said Scandals.

Misc. Channels:
Downton Abbey-Historic costume drama at its finest.
Warehouse 13-A show I wish was more popular about agents who track down historic artifacts that wreak havoc and store them in a warehouse to keep the world safe.
Doctor Who-Longest running show on television for a reason.
Being Human (BBC version, not bastardized SyFy version): A ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire all live together. It works out about as well as you'd expect. Has some wonderful philosophic thoughts on it about what it means to be...well human.
Game of Thrones: Wonderful example of how to make a book adaptation work as a series.
True Blood: Granted, TB is another show that gets love/hate from me due to its huge flaws. But again: entertainment factor is huge still.
Sherlock: A modern day Sherlock and Watson solve crimes. It is awesome.

Book Review: Underworld

TITLE: Underworld
Book 2 in the Abandon Trilogy
AUTHOR: Meg Cabot
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Paranormal/Urban fantasy, romance, retelling
PREMISE: Piarce is now stuck in the Underworld against her will and does everything she can to return home.
MY REVIEW: I'll be the first to admit it: I am a Meg Cabot fangirl. This is the author who basically introduced me to YA with the Princess Diaries. Plus she's hilarious and one of the few classy YA authors out there. All current YA authors need to take a leaf out of Cabot's book on how to conduct themselves online and with their fans. So that said, I don't think this trilogy is Cabot's best work, but it still is better then most.
On one hand I love the plot of this. Cabot's vision of the Underworld and the mechanics of it and her descriptions are all the things I've come to love about Cabot's writing. Plus, Piarce is a likeable heroine. She doesn't just take her boyfriends word for things and when he pulls douchebag crap she calls him on it. This is one of the few Cabot relationships I've had a hard time getting into and I've read one or two comments comparing it to Patch/Nora which just NO. Because Nora never ever calls Patch out on being a ass and certainly would never have the balls that Pierce does and she most certainly does not actually care about her friends/family like Pierce actually does. Plus there's a huge difference between this and Hush Hush: Cabot makes sure to tell us over and over again that what John does (kidnapping Pierce) is NOT okay. She makes sure to point out all the problems with this relationship as well as the good points of it. I'd much rather have a author is aware of the problematic issues in the book then a author like Fitzpatrick who doesn't seem to understand all the problematic messages she's sending. And I say this as a person who does mildly enjoy Hush Hush despite herself. I like Hush Hush but it's relationship make me want to bang my head against a wall.
This is one of the times where I think the plot outweighs some of the bad points of the relationship in the book. I like the trilogy, don't get me wrong, but it's got issues. However this is still one of my preferred Persephone/Hades retellings because it actually does point out the things that were wrong with what Hades did instead of making it super romantic.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that liked Abandon, Persephone/Hades myth fans, fans of mythology, Cabot fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five  necklaces

Book Review: Something Strange and Deadly

TITLE: Something Strange and Deadly
Book 1 in a new series
AUTHOR: Susan Dennard
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Zombies, alternate history, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Eleanor Fitt lives in a world where zombies are very real and a common fear. When her brother goes missing she finds herself pushed right into the world of zombies...
MY REVIEW: I liked this a lot. I will say a lot of it reminds me of Dearly Beloved (a personal favorite from last year) and it isn't a perfect series. Some of it is questionable. For instance Eleanor's judgement of feminine females got on my nerves a bit oh and I'm sorry but the girl on that cover does not look at all like she has a eating problem. No corset is that good. But overall this book did what it set out to do which is entertain.
Because this was some entertaining stuff. Dennard's writing is great. She has nice simple prose that explains what's going on without being over the top about it and this world she created is endlessly interesting. The characters are fun even if they aren't fully fleshed out. There's a fast pace to it with something always happening. It's a very readable book but also doesn't make you feel like you're losing IQ points while reading it.
A few predictable twists aside this was a fun ride and I look forward to the rest of it. I recomend this for all zombie fans. Especially those into historical fantasy.
WHO SHOULD READ: zombie fans, Infernal Devices fans, Dearly Beloved fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five corsets

Book Review: Tiger Lily

TITLE: Tiger Lily
AUTHOR: Jodi Lynn Anderson
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Retelling, fantasy
PREMISE: Before Wendy came to Neverland, Peter Pan ran around the island with a girl named Tiger Lily....
MY REVIEW: I'm going to go ahead and say it: I never liked Peter Pan. No I don't mean the book. Bite your tongue, Peter Pan the book is fabulous. It's one of those I think everyone should read, and if you say you haven't, I tend to judge you. No, I never liked Peter Pan the character. I always felt he was a bit of a selfish jerk. Fascinating jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. I kind of always wanted Wendy say up yours and take the Lost Boys and take over Neverland. Alas, time period it was written, this was never a possibility.
This is one of those type of retellings that I adore. It takes a well known story, doesn't totally change it to suit the authors purpose but does sort of flip it and make you look at it in a new way. It's written in wonderful way as well. I adore Anderson's type of storytelling. True, it's not terribly subtle but it's written in a way that actually reminds me of JM Barrie's style and it feels wonderfully appropriate. The author makes Tiger Lily a full person instead of a stereotype and I absolutely love what the author did with Tinker Bell here. This is Neverland but it's also sort of different from say...the Disney version of Neverland. It's a retelling that does its own spin on Peter Pan but does it without walking all over the original material like oh say Scarlet did with Robin Hood.
I actually want to say this is my favorite read of the year. Literally the only flaws I see in it is that maybe the ending is a bit rushed. I sort of wish we had gotten more time with Wendy. I think this and Cinder and Code Name Verity are my top three YA debuts, unless a better book comes along later in the year. Unlikely.
WHO SHOULD READ: Peter Pan fans, anyone inclined.
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five lilies

Book Review: The Demon Catchers of Milan

TITLE: The Demon Catchers of Milan
Book 1 in a new trilogy
AUTHOR: Kat Beyer
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban fantasy
PREMISE: Mia gets possessed by a demon and soon learns that excorcising demons is part of the family business.
MY REVIEW: I'm torn about this book. On one hand the author has fantastic writing. She's atmospheric, she great at having you picture things, and the idea is somewhat creative.
On the other hand...I was confused a lot of the time. Mia wasn't totally fleshed out enough for my taste and don't get me started on the whole flirting with your cousin thing. Yeah...NO. I think you can say this was a idea I liked and I liked the glitter but the overall execution of it? Not so much.
I will give the author several points for the idea and the wonderful writing style but...I think this one is a library read only.
WHO SHOULD READ: Supernatural fans, urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five candles

Book Review: So Close to You

TITLE: So Close to You
Book 1 in a new trilogy
AUTHOR: Rachel Carter
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Time Travel, romance
PREMISE: Lydia discovers that her grandfather's stories about a local lab are actually true. But this truth comes at a cost.
MY REVIEW: Sigh. Another time travel book. Another wasted oppurtunity of a somewhat cool idea. YA authors, you can do so much with time travel, why why WHY do you all insist on focusing time travel books on boring melodrama? Just...WHY? Do I have to sit you down and make you watch Doctor Who, Quantum Leap, or heck even LOST to make you people see what you can do with time travel? If you insist on making this a trend in YA at least have the decency to make it interesting. Also really helps if the time travel is plausible. This? Not plausible. Also again: BORING.
Basically Lydia is Bella Swan with red hair and maybe a bit nicer who somehow magically gets transported to the nineteen forties. Now me, I'd be freaking out and finding my best way to get home but Lydia? Somehow manages to keep calm and poised and is all "oh, nineteen forties. Interesting" and then proceeds to flirt with two boys who basically do everything for her and something about her ancestors who totally cool with having a complete stranger live with them for a indetermined amount of time. Oh and did I mention one of the boys may be a ancestor of hers? That's not disturbing at all. Add in a stereotypical plot, boring stock characters, and okay but nothing great writing....it all adds up to a yawn of a book. I mean maybe the surprise about the grandfather in the end will lead to something but I honestly wasn't given enough to care about these flat characters that I probably won't bother to find out by the time the next book comes out.
I suppose this book does have some entertainment going on. I suspect fans of romance would actually enjoy the flirtation and not be bothered by how much the time travel takes a back seat to it. But for me this was boring, sloppy, and typical YA du jour. Nothing new to add to the table at all.
WHO SHOULD READ: Time travel fans, Hourglass fans (though Hourglass is better), romance fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five yawns


Book Review: Team Human

TITLE: Team Human
AUTHOR: Justine Larbelestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Vampires, urban fantasy, parody/humor
PREMISE: Mel is not a fan of vampires. When a vampire starts going to her high school and her friend falls for him, she knows she has a big problem on her hands.
MY REVIEW: This my friends is the book I've been wanting since vampires became a thing in YA. First off, I will do a disclaimer: this is a parody. Book parodies are apparently not everyone's thing for some odd reason so there is a good chance you won't be a fan of it or of the humor (and admittedly some of the humor did wear thin at times). Luckily for the authors I adore book parodies. It's totally Terry Pratchett's fault. I've been waiting for a vampire parody since forever and here's one and it's glorious.
Okay yes, Mel can be annoying. Also some of the jokes did fall flat as they sometimes can in these types of books. But for the most part, this gave me a major happy. I think it's clever how it handles the vampire subject. It does mock it yes, but it does so lovingly and actually has arguements for both sides of the vampire arguement. Surprisingly it doesn't just bash vampire books for kicks (although there are one or two mocking grins Twilight's way but c'mon. It's TWILIGHT. If one does a vampire parody then one must include Twilight. It's like an unspoken rule) Also for a parody I thought the plot and the characters were pretty well done. There's diversity in the characters, Mel is called out on her flaws and she actually grows as a character, there's actual female friendship and the interaction/dialogue between the characters is fabulous.
So this is pretty much a personal favorite of mine. I loved it so much I'm thinking of giving Justine Larbelestier another chance despite being less then impressed with the one book of hers I've read. Perhaps Liar is better. But again, I must point out: parody. So I write this knowing there is about a fifty percent chance people who read this review may not love it as much as I did.
WHO SHOULD READ: Parody fans, Twilight fans with a sense of humor about the series, vampire fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five Team Human shirts because there need to be some.


Stacking the Shelves: Oct. 13th

This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week.

Downloaded to Kindle:

Thin Veil Book 1: Through the Door by Jodi McIsaac-Adult fantasy that is under the current monthly deals.

Witch Eyes book 1 by Scott Tracey-LGBT fantasy that is currently free on Amazon.

Library Haul:

Blood of Eden book 1: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa-Kagawa's new vampire dystopian series that I'm currently reading and am loving the hell out of.

Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson-YA fantasy/dystopian debut that sounded interesting to me.

The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long-YA debut about faeries. I can never resist faerie books.

Gilt by Katherine Longshore-YA debut and Historical fiction that people have been raving about. Doubt it'll live up to my love of Code Name Verity but you never know.

Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn-YA debut that has gotten several good reviews and sounds a little like Heist Society so I'm in.

Secret Letters by Leah Scheier-YA historical fiction debut that involves Sherlock Holmes and mysteries. I'm in.