Monday 30 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (93): Noelle's Christmas Crush (Crush #4)

BOOK REVIEW:
Noelle's Christmas Crush


Okay, I read this a couple weeks ago but I'm getting to the review now.
This is the 4th book in the Crush series by Angela Darling. And you can go check out reviews to the first three books here, here, and here.

That out of the way, let's get to the review.

Like most of my Christmas-y reads this year, I read this a bit earlier then the actual season start (and now with American Thanksgiving over, Christmas and New Years' are in full swing).

So this book, Noelle's Christmas Crush is about, well, 12-year-old Noelle and her crush on a classmate, Noel. Hehe. I still giggle when I think or say their names together: Noelle & Noel sitting (under) a (Christmas) tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.





This is what I found when I searched up that old playground song. Best picture of this ever (look at their lips!)... Hahaha.


So Noelle likes Noel and she wants to invite him to her birthday party. She's on of those (lucky? unlucky?) people born on (or near) a holiday: Noelle's birthday is on Christmas. She hasn't minded this before, but this year she's 12 and older and she wants an un-Christmas birthday. Basically she wants a separate birthday party and she wants presents that are a combo of her b-day and Christmas.


Anyways, she's in party planning mode and the best way to cap off her party would be if Noel were to accept her invitation. You'll have to read the book to find out if he does.


What I liked about this book was the family element. The other stories had bits and pieces of it, but not to the degree of this book. I think that goes to say it went with the holiday theme, but it was still heartwarming following Noelle interacting with her older brother and her parents and aunts and uncles and Grandmother.


The one thing I thought was cheesy was Noel was born on Christmas Eve. That had me rolling my eyes, but I let it go since it didn't get in the way...too much. The ending was my favourite surprise as Noelle comes to learn something really special about Noel's life.


Again: you gotta pick up Noelle's Christmas Crush to find out what I'm hinting at and join in on the fun and sweetness of this short read.


Other than making me hungry (the mention of holiday treats) I would recommend this book to anyone interested. Upside of picking this one up is that you don't have to read the first three books to enjoy Noelle and Noel's story.


My verdict:




(5 stars)

Sunday 29 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (92): Cassie and the Woolf (Twice Told Tales #2)

BOOK REVIEW:
Cassie and the Woolf


I found this series by accident.
I was looking around in the MG/juvenile section in my local library and I found this title by author Olivia Snowe and illustrator Michelle Lamoreaux. I'm happy for the accident, even if the read wasn't so great.

I'll explain: like most writers/readers, I love reading fairy tales, comparing and debating the themes and subject matter in fairy tales and folklore, so I was perfectly at home with this re-telling of "Little Red Riding Hood" in Snowe + Lamoreaux's Cassie and the Woolf.


So in this version we have 13-y/o Cassie Cloak -- *ahem* real original name, lol and instead of a "red riding hood" she's got her nifty "red raincoat" -- and she's all grown up now to go fetch her grandmother's daily meal and deliver it to her without the company of her mom. On this trip she's caught up in a storm and she's cornered by Caleb Woolf, the antagonist and Cassie's school peer -- although Caleb's two grades older.


Caleb follows her to Granny's and the rest is history, of course, or according to Perrault the corruptness of stupid mothers and older females and naive little girls who let "big bad" men into their homes and lives...and between their legs?


DISCLAIMER: Cassie and the Woolf is PG, if you don't count the psychological eff-ery at the end of the book. Which brings me to the problem with this re-telling: how Cassie (or LRH) was portrayed and her character arc. There should have been some kind of warning that this read like a dark MG (think along the lines of Gaiman's Coraline). There was even a hint of magic that wasn't handled very well, because it felt more like a deus ex machina then a natural growth out of the conflict and plot.


Little Cassie was kinda...witchy. I mean, the ending was SO messed up. Like beyond levels of messed up. I really thought I was being Punk'd until I saw it was, indeed, THE END.




It was just weird. I won't spoil it, so go pick it up, but I warn you be prepared to make that ^^^ face above.

One pro (worth this review's 2 stars) was that the story stayed as true to Grimm version (and Perrault as well) as an MG read could without crossing parental boundaries and pissing people off. 
Basically the message remains the same, don't invite trouble and stay vigilant as naivety is NOT cute all the time and can lead to real problems (plus the modern caveat of settling scores).

My verdict:




(2 stars)

Saturday 28 November 2015

BAKING REVIEW (11): Chocolate Crinkles

BAKING REVIEW:
Chocolate Crinkles

Hello! I can't believe I'm at baking review #11 already. I had a lot of fun in the kitchen, baking these treats and then eating them for the reviews. ^^

But as the year went on I started to get stuck on what I wanted to do, and since I'm limiting my resources to what I have in the kitchen, it's been pretty hard. Finally I settled on something simple enough to do without caving and making a trip to the grocers to buy ingredients.

My November treat was a type of cookie I'd never heard before, chocolate crinkles.
Have you tried it before? Yes? No? Let me know either way.

Now I used a recipe like this one (only with less eggs) for the chocolate crinkles. I don't recall the actual link for the cookies, but they were very similar.


Now here's an example of what the finished product looks like from this blog, Simply Recipes:



Very pretty. You can see why they call it chocolate crinkles.

And here's what mine looked like:




Doesn't look as great (I scrimped on the icing sugar), but apparently it tasted really good (according to my family). I had a contrary opinion. I should preface my review by explaining that I actually find brownies too rich for my taste, although I have no problem with double fudge chocolate chip cookies. The chocolate crinkles felt too dry. I had them with milk and it helped, but I would have appreciated them more if they were moist.

It was really a brownie-cookie rolled in confectioner's sugar.
Personally I'm not raring to try the recipe again, but I figure I might try to redeem myself with these cookies some day.

In the mean time, it was so-so and my 2.5 rating reflects that.
If you ARE a brownie person (like my siblings and parents) try the crinkles for yourself. It just might suit your tastes and give you a new recipe to add to your favs inventory.


My verdict:

❤.5

(2.5 hearts)

Not-So-Official NaNo Update #4 & #5: The end is just the beginning.

NOT-SO-OFFICIAL NANO (NOVEMBER 2015):

BLOG UPDATE #4 & #5

I wasn't planning to post this as it is obviously late, and I'm combining two weeks into one post. And it's gonna be a short post because it's only making it glaringly obvious how little I did this month where writing is concerned. -sigh-

I'm trying to keep my chin up though. I know I'll be freer in three weeks and I can play catch-up and try to finish the novella I started this month by the end of the year (hopefully).

What else can I say, but now as NaNoWriMo draws to an end that I'd like to congratulate all winners (present and future), as well as those who took the plunge, created and shared their novel goal on the official site and tried to write the 50K -- that's important, the trying.

Now whether you're writing for fun or hoping to one day write full time, you deserve this banner for your efforts -- 50K win or not:



The next step is for you to finish what you started if 50K didn't = THE END.
I'm serious. Go back and keep writing. Even if it takes 100 words/day (or 10-20 minutes/day) for another whole year to finish. Slow and steady still wins the race, remember?

Even if you plan to never write again.

It's one thing to hit 50K in a month, it's a whole other thing to finish a novel. An actual novel, folks. That takes a lot. (And it seems to never get easier.) I'm sure you heard it before 'but the end is just the beginning', and at the risk of repeating myself over and over, though you might not be planning to write another word in this lifetime at least I think you can agree with this at least: a lot of people want to finish a novel -- it's one of those "goals" like "eating healthy this year" or "exercising more", and a lot of people fail at it. Don't be one of those people if you've already made it this far. Don't make this the beginning of a failed goal. Just finish the darn novel.

Good luck with the writing and any other future goals, and thanks for sticking around (if you did).

Friday 27 November 2015

Pre-winter blues. (Big Dreams Blog Update #26)

UPDATE DAY!


Quick update -- as I almost forgot to do this today...

Before I jump in, if any of you are interested in signing up for the Do You Have Goals? blog hop hosted by authors Misha Gericke and Beth Fred, click the big link above to the sign-up page. There's about 12 of us right now and the usual saying applies here, 'the more, the merrier'. You can also click HERE.

This month has been stressful.
Really stressful.
It's not that my plate is any fuller than it was the month before necessarily; I mean school is coming to a close, so with Finals looming closer and assignments, etc. I've just been worrying about everything and not really giving myself time to breathe.

As far as my writing goals for November went I didn't get far. I wasn't planning to do NaNo, but the idea was to write 500/day. I did write for about the first week and a half to 2 weeks, but the rest of the month was fruitless. I don't like saying this because it doesn't put me in a "good light", but I just wasn't in the mood to write. Mentally, I was worn out. I had a lot of days where I didn't want to get out of bed and start the day. I'm calling it the "pre-winter blues" or maybe it's an early bout of seasonal affective disorder. I know they say Blue Monday is in the 3rd Monday of January, but is there such thing as a Blue Month to describe the anxiety I've felt in November?



Reading was okay, too, for the first half of the month but that flopped as well. I'm in the middle of my 95th read for the year, so that's something to celebrate, but I still have a few reviews to catch up on.

For December I'd like to try to finish this novella that I started. I want to see the rough draft through by the New Years' Eve. And, though I haven't talked reading goal for a while since I completed it back in July, I'd like to try to read and review book 100. I know I can do it, especially as I'm free for winter break by Dec 18th.

It's getting colder over here. I hate winter.
I feel so sluggish and I wish we could hibernate, stay indoors for the four months and read and sleep the frost and snow away. *sigh*
We saw the first dusting of snow a few days ago, but it's just been rain and chilly gusts since then. I'm hoping it stays away for a couple more weeks.

How's the weather been for everyone else?
Is it getting icky where you're at, too? Or are you in summer bliss?

And before I forget anything else: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to any Americans. The holiday spirit doesn't quite much the mood I set up here in this post, nevertheless there it is.

Friday 20 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (91): Athena the Brain (Goddess Girls #1)

BOOK REVIEW:
Athena the Brain


I've been meaning to read this series for awhile, but I only got around to it a couple weeks ago. I love mythology (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Native American, etc.) and I was excited about the MG feel.

I was right to be excited -- Goddess Girls #1, Athena the Brain, was so cute and genius. I really admired the touches of Greek myth in the stories. So let me start with a background...

The Goddess Girls series is set at Mount Olympus Academy (MOA), a school for godgirls and godboys and other mythological creatures: each of the stories in the series features the problems of one of the girls. Athena is the brainiac goddess, the newest addition to the Academy and she's making friends and trying to not disappoint her father, the King of Gods, Zeus.

This review is short because I liked the book. The author(s) used really inventive techniques, and I think it would be a great way to introduce young girls (and boys, not discriminating) to Greek myth. For instance, there was a competition for the best invention by a God (judged by the Greeks/humans) open to all the students attending MOA.

I also liked how some of the Greek myth traits/characteristics were entwined with the plot and conflict in interesting ways (e.g. with Medusa).

The only down side of this first story was the chronology -- the age difference between the characters. I know that sounds weird since the Greek gods were immortal or ageless, but Hermes was described as being a young boy and the trio of brothers, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus were old men, and so on.



But suddenly Poseidon is a "godboy" in this and all the godgirls and other mythological girls are drooling all over him. (Check out the cover and look to Athena's right and compare tween Poseidon from Goddess Girls to old man Poseidon who fathered many children.)

The end was a bit abrupt as well. It tied everything together, but the big "conflict" sorta fizzled out a bit...you have to go read the book though.

And so on that note if I interested you at all, pick up this first book and see if this series is for you. No harm, no foul. Bonus points for being a quick read.

As for me, I'm on the hunt for Book 2 already.

My verdict:

✮.5

(4.5 stars)

Tuesday 17 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (90): Lindsay's Surprise Crush

BOOK REVIEW:
Lindsay's Surprise Crush


Another Crush title!
I can't get enough of this series... I've got a crush on Crush, teehee.

*ahem* Back to the review. Book #3 in this series by Angela Darling stars heroine Lindsay and her best friend, Nick. Lindsay is just starting 7th grade, and she's looking forward to junior high -- as most of us were I'm sure (i mean lockers!?! Whaaaat.) She's also stoked to see Nick after not spending a rare summer attached at the hip. Now if only she could stop looking at that really hot guy in her homeroo-- oh wait! That's Nick.




Since she hasn't changed at all over the summer, you know not counting being free of braces, Lindsay hardly expects for Nick to have grown several inches and filled out with muscle. And instead of feeling like she's catching up with an old friend, she's suddenly way too focused on her new crush.


I definitely have a soft spot for the friends-to-lovers trope. And I felt so bad for Lindsay. This was (is?) my favourite book: the only one to really keep me on the edge of my seat until everything tied up together in the last page.


Every time Lindsay and Nick were on the page, *swoon*... Give me a second.

Also, since we're dealing with school, there was plenty cliched conflicts, archetypes?, but a lot of tropes were turned over on their head: the nerdy band kid, the popular sporty girl, the misunderstanding with the bff, etc.

I only wish there was a part two of Lindsay and Nick, who I will now dub Team Nicsay: yes, yes they do deserve a couple name.


Now what are you waiting for? Go pick up Lindsay's Surprise Crush and be prepared to do a lot of this




My verdict:




(5 stars)

Monday 16 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (89): The Agony of Alice (Alice #1)

BOOK REVIEW:
The Agony of Alice


I think I already mentioned this in a previous review, but my reading has been leaning toward MG and it will remain like that for the rest of the year. I neglect this age group because I tend towards adult romances (i.e. Harlequin), so once I picked up one, I'm finding it hard to get out of this mindset.

Ahh, youth! Do you remember being eleven-twelve and getting into a fight with your friend, or being reprimanded by your teacher, or having your crush smile at you...okay, most of these still get my heart racing in some fashion, but at 11-12 it feels like the whole world is hinged on whether your friend accepts your apology, your teacher will tattle on you during parent-teacher conference night (or whatever they call it where you are), and deciphering your crush's cryptic smile -- was s/he smiling because s/he likes you, OR were they trying to not laugh at the piece of lunch rimming your gums?


Being a adolescence is SO complicated guys!








So in this first story of the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Book 1, The Agony of Alice, introduces readers to 6th grader Alice McKinley. She's just moved to Silver Springs with her dad and 19-year-old brother, Lester, and she's ready to make sense of the last year of her elementary years.

Now you're probably read the first 60ish pages of this story and want to toss the book. I cringed A LOT. I mean A LOT. Alice's little antics touched home, even though I wasn't nearly as rude as she is at the beginning. I did stupid things as a kid, but I prided myself on being semi-decent.

Get through those pages and you're gold -- I mean you'll start to see why I LOVE this book and will totally read it to my future children. The Agony of Alice, at its heart, tells the coming-of-age story of a young girl and sees her through one, teeny stage of her life but in a potent way that resonates with older readers as well.

I didn't need to be 11-12 again to understand it bites when a person you idolize doesn't care for you the way you do. Or finding out someone likes you and not being prepared for it, or even doing something embarrassing and making a colossal deal of it...when everyone else has already forgotten your blunder.


I wasn't bothered by the language either. I really thought that it might affect the way the story was told -- The Agony of Alice was published in 1985 -- but I could still enjoy the book even if a few things were clearly dated...


If I interested you at all, pick up the first in the Alice series (I do believe the books have been re-vamped by publisher Simon & Schuster)...



So yeah, another reason to pick this series up!

My rating:




(5 stars)

Sunday 15 November 2015

Not-So-Official NaNo Update #3: What's in a name? What's in a title?

NOT-SO-OFFICIAL NANO (NOVEMBER 2015):

BLOG UPDATE #3

This is going to be a short update, but then again my blogs are usually short (and sometimes coherent, if I'm lucky).  Hopefully a more light-hearted topic this go around.
Names!

*rubs hands together*
I could go on for hours about name origins, my favourite names as of now, nicknames, spelling variants, sounds and rhymes of/with names, guilty pleasure names, etc.


So since I'm, sorta, in the middle of writing 2-3 WIPs...actually more like jumping around until one story sticks, I've chosen a lot of names this month (for 3 couples to be exact). Usually I'm "whatever" with any other characters BUT my MCs -- they get the choicest fruit when it comes to names.

I don't know about any of you: I can't continue if my main characters' names don't fit. Right now I write solely in the romance genre, and so that would be my couple's names. And they usually have to go together, not in the "Brangelina" style, but I'm careful with things like:

1) choosing the same first letter for my H/h (i.e. Ashley and Aidan...okay, that's not too bad, maybe Ashley and Asher -- that's silly).
2) same ending syllable (e.g. Cole and Nicole are WAY too close)
3) and that goes for surnames too (SOMETHING Price and SOMETHING Preston)!

Just some of the reasons I can think of when I make my naming choices.
I mostly write for contemporary, but I do have some fantasy stories/ideas laying around and roaming about my mind. For those types of stories, I might make up names, find certain patterns with names and use that as a jumping point and create meanings, or what I'm gonna call right now "character emblems", from a combination of parts of a name (not quite morphemes, but the equivalent to lexical suffixes and prefixes to generate that perfect name).

What are some of the resources I use?
-naming sites, e.g. nameberry, behind the name, babycenter, babble, etc.
-books (lots and lots of books -- don't bother buying books unless you're REALLY obsessed with names and can't live without adding to your growing collection...or, um, expecting??? borrow them from the library)
-want to go visual, check out some vloggers who are name crazy too (I personally like AnastasiaRuby, also fellow Canadian!)

For my current WIP -- well current as of this afternoon -- my hero's pseudonym is Orazio Black (he's not human so the concept of names doesn't exist AND ), and my heroine is Autumn Hayes. I personally love the names. Autumn & Orazio, Orazio & Autumn.

-le sigh-

So I'm done swooning. Gonna get back to thinking/dreaming up what scenes I'll be writing tomorrow. Cool?

As for story titles, I keep them tentative. They will remain tentative unless they're picked up by a publisher and that publisher wants to change it or modify it or whatever. Some of my titles are really tentative, as in I don't care for them but it beats the dreaded UNTITLED document. I can't stand leaving stories without a title.

And some titles I'm all for. I'm in love with them AND if they were ever to get picked up, I would want them as is...but we'll see how that works out.

Okay. I'm done. Signing off with this update blog post.

BTW people who are doing NaNo: YOU ARE AT THE HALFWAY MARK.
Do not give up. This is the point where you'll feel prone to give up. Keep writing no matter the word count. Let's do this!

Sunday 8 November 2015

Not-So-Official NaNo Update #2: First sentence, first chapter, first draft...countless meltdowns.

NOT-SO-OFFICIAL NANO (NOVEMBER 2015):

BLOG UPDATE #2

As I write this I finished the first sentence, not quite done working on the first chapter (prologue actually!) and with a plan to finish the first draft by the end of this year -- I can only hope, and WRITE; write lots!

So what does this not-so-official NaNo update post/blog cover, other than it being another slightly coherent post from my local write-in?

You looked at the title, didn't you? Yes, it's (partially) about the pitfalls of the first sentence, first chapter and, more generally, the first draft.

As a disclaimer, I won't be covering everything that can be covered (and has already been covered) in this post. WAY too lazy and uninspired for that.

Now let me start with what I believe is a universal truth: most firsts are pretty emotional...either negative emotional or positive, or maybe even some where in between.

Sums up how I feel looking at a blank Word document.

For instance, I know some first sentences are amazing the moment I close it off with a period. It's that "AHA" light bulb moment where everything falls perfectly into place. And then sometimes the following sentence gives me a hard time.

If you're anything like me (personality-wise) you both dread and welcome firsts, be they the first sentence, first page, first time riding a roller coaster or eating, *makes a face*, dango for the first --and last--time.

Honestly. I get this rush! I'm scared and excited and nervous and totally jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store with unlimited access to EVERYTHING. It's like the first day of November, knowing everyone's kicking off with a goal to hit 50K and end up with a semblance of a "full-length" novel.

Does this sound like you?

Well let me give you a personalized tip -- personalized because I take my own medicine, folks (preach it, teach it bby): embrace that first, and hold it down, suffocate it and then move on.

Seriously though, answer this question: What do you lose if you DON'T write a first sentence, a first page, if you don't continue from page to page for that matter and hit THE END?

You say 'my precious time', I say 'go away and stop bugging people about your pipe dream to write a novel one day'. If you're seriously committed to at least seeing a first draft through then pull up a chair for another...err, minute or so (I'm on borrowed time as the write-in comes to a close).

So you want to write a novel? Want to get past several first to the last sentence of your masterpiece...well for starters 1) set a smaller word count, be that daily or not. If you keep it small, you're more likely to reach your word goal AND that might give you a boost to write a bit more...and then just a bit more... You get it, right? See the simple logic, the 2 + 2 = 4 math.

Secondly, you're going to have to set aside any assumptions of HOW your work should look like because it MIGHT not look like that and you can just get over yourself right now. What is up in your head won't necessarily translate to the page and that's because your head -- unless you're some kind of savant -- doesn't hold a novel-ready book. It just doesn't. Cool?

And finally -- I love finally -- write for you. I mean even if you're planning to actually send this WIP off to an agent/editor some day, you still have to write the story of your heart THEN tailor it to the story that can sell as well (without losing the heart).

I have to sign off this post now, but I hope this has helped in giving you an extra pep in your writing journey.

Now because I'm in the mood, I'll share the 1st sentence of my current work:
"Her thighs still pulsed from where he’d violently grabbed and pried them apart."

That's it!
I'm not even sure if that is a "powerful/good enough" first, but it's my first and I don't care what anyone else thinks. (Unless it's a future editor.) Otherwise, nah.

Signing off after this friendly message:


Friday 6 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (88): Maddie's Camp Crush (Crush #2)

BOOK REVIEW:
Maddie's Camp Crush


Another great addition to the Crush series by Angela Darling, Book TWO Maddie's Camp Crush is . By which I mean if I had to choose to spend time with Lauren from Book One and Maddie in this second installment then I'd pick...MADDIE.

Wanna know why?


Well first off Maddie isn't annoying like Lauren was -- she also doesn't scheme like Lauren did. Maddie likes Gabriel, the love interest in this story, and she feels that insecurity that comes along with liking a hot guy and knowing other girls have a crush on him and COULD steal him away... (like he was yours in the first place, ladies).


But it's a "relatable" feeling for the most part. I mean I imagine a lot of 12-year-olds think like this somewhat. Heck I know some adults who do some stupid, crazy things in the name of love (or even lust).


What I really liked though was how Maddie came in on her own, and how Gabriel was just one part of her revelation over summer. Ever since she lost her father, Maddie's been struggling to find a new normal in her new (sadly enforced) family dynamic. One there's the whole guilt of leaving her mom alone during the 6 weeks at camp (she's an only child!) and two, she's hoping her camp besties don't single her out the way her regular school friends and community has been doing: she just wants to be treated normally -- not like the sad-poor-girl-whose-lost-her-father-and-should-therefore-be-treated-with-an-extra-gentle-touch.


The whole point of the series, though what I'd call an MG (female-geared) contemporary romance, is more about character growth and moralization. Especially as it's written from Maddie's POV. Like if there would be a moral/theme for Crush Book Two I'd call it as "accept that change will happen, and not all types of changes are in our control, but learning to recognize happiness/joy in the moments of unwelcome change will keep us afloat"...or something equally wise (and probably better written than what I wrote).


Better yet here's a quote from the book:

"The world will change and go by plenty fast outside of camp, but inside all I want you to do this summer is have fun and enjoy it." - Maddie's Dad

AND that's all well and good, but you want to know all about Gabriel, don't you?

Oddly I read Heather Davis' Never Cry Werewolf (which stared a British love interest in a summer camp setting) and now there's Gabriel (Maddie's British crush) and it's set in a camp!

Do I have my own theme going on here...?

Anyways, Gabriel was a cutie! Very "crush"-worthy, *nods enthusiastically*. For one he wasn't stuck up. And two, the poor guy was lonely as well. Like Maddie's he, too, is going through a big change -- not parent-dying grief-induced type of change, but parents-divorcing, moving-continents type change, and Maddie becomes sort of his pillar of support/confidante and vice versa.

Like I said, all very adorable.

ALSO as a bonus, Maddie's friends are super hilarious. Emily was my fave! Keep an eye out for her (not that she's hard to miss)!

If I intrigued you at all, grab a copy of Angela Darling's Crush Book 2! And the great thing is you don't have to read the books in order -- so if you wanna read Maddie's story then you can skip Lauren's in Book 1. (Though I loved both stories!)


My verdict:




(5 stars)

Wednesday 4 November 2015

BOOK REVIEW (87): Never Cry Werewolf (Never Cry Werewolf #1)

BOOK REVIEW:
Never Cry Werewolf


Totally planned to have this book review posted for Halloween...or even All Souls' Day, but life sorta caught up to me (that and EXTREME laziness).

So this was my Halloween YA read (last year it was Ghost House!) and my, what a read. I'm not a fear junkie and I love nothing more than combining my romance with just a bit of tension (of either paranormal or contemporary variety) . I wouldn't call this horror, because it isn't, but it definitely had the potential with a couple scary, in-the-woods-at-night moments.


What is Heather Davis' debut Never Cry Werewolf about?

It stars *ahem*troubled*cough* teen Shelby (whose last name has escaped me) and her journey to summer (rich) brat camp in the woods of Oregon (again, I don't remember the exact location). And she's all geared up for a crappy summer until she meets her camp crush, hero Austin Bridges III (<-- I will never try of writing/saying his name xD). But she can't have a crush, since the whole reason she's spending here summer vacay with rich brats are because she was caught in trouble with one too many boys/boyfriends.

And Austin is a whole lot of trouble from the get-go...but now he's confiding his dark, super weird secret with her? She's sure there's no way he's telling the truth about his family being a bunch of genetic werewolves.


Now let's sidetrack a bit...


Have any of you seen Nina Dobrev in action pre-TVD?




Have you heard of the 2008 direct-to-TV supernatural horror movie, Never Cry Werewolf?

Well although I liked the plot of Heather Davis' Never Cry Werewolf so much better, I thought that the title was almost irrelevant... I mean the title doesn't refer to Shelby. She's definitely not a blabber-mouth -- actually she's quite loyal, and I loved that about her, even if she wasn't always swept up by the hotness of Austin Bridges III.


Nina Dobrev's character in Never Cry Werewolf actually fits the whole "boy-who-cried-wolf" theme/moral.


BTW the movie and book are DO NOT REMOTELY have the same plot!
I just wanted to compare the titles because I have to admit it's what hooked me to pick up both.

There's only ONE character who might fit the bill in the Davis' Never Cry Werewolf, and that's closest character to an antagonist (and this antagonist is more of a nuisance, or an annoying threat -- no real threat is presented). Which is probably the only reason I docked off a half-star rating: there's really no threat...I mean there is, but it's more of a time constraint threat. Okay, I lied, I also found some of the interactions a bit childish and contrived.

However it was balanced by Shelby's well-plotted GMC. My heart ached for the poor girl, which was weird because from the beginning I anticipated she'd be annoying as hell for the next 200+ pages. It goes much deeper than the superficial boy-crazy teen image, but you'll have to go read the book to understand what I mean.

Other than that I got what I wanted from Shelby x Austin's story, and I'm looking forward to picking up the follow-up two novellas! If you're interested in a tame YA pnr, then I suggest you pick up Never Cry Werewolf.


My verdict:


✮.5

(4.5 stars)

Sunday 1 November 2015

Not-So-Official NaNo Update #1: Ideas and the Dollar store

NOT-SO-OFFICIAL NANO (NOVEMBER 2015):
BLOG UPDATE #1

First update.
This is going to be a quick (and therefore probably messy) post. I'll try to keep this coherent post-NaNoDayOne phase.

Hello NaNoers, fellow writers and bloggers.
Reporting from my local write-in, I just cleared through the finish line of the 1667 goal for NaNo.

Honestly I didn't want to go but I'm SO glad I forced myself to face the dreary weather on this chilly November 1st afternoon. But as promised I needed material for my Update posts, and since I figured my conscience was just too big to lie and feel good about it, I decide to pack up my laptop and bundle for the inclement weather.

So this part is all about ideas...and the dollar store?

IMO one of the most frequent qs I hear directed at authors/writers is "how do I/you write a book?" Another variation of this question can be "Where do I start if I don't have an idea?"

I think we ALL are capable of ideas, but that extra level flavouring these questions above is "how do I know my ideas are any good" (especially if I'm considering publication). Simple answer: you don't. I mean, sometimes you do, but you really can't know unless you're actually done drafting for the first time.

You see a first draft is part 'oh-what-was-I-thinking' and part 'there's-something-here-somewhere-deep-under-all-the-crap'. And I think sometimes the first part stops us from seeing our first drafts through to some "end". You probably heard it before, but you can't edit a blank page (the genius of Nora Roberts).

You JUST can't. It's physically impossible. But try it by all means and you'll see my point very quickly: and that point is, you have to mire through all the suckage that will be your 1st draft.

So where do the lack of ideas come to play?

Well sometimes when you're hung up on waiting for that perrrrrrfect idea to strike, or you DO have this fantastic idea for a story but it's not coming out on page the way it looks like in your head...

First, you're not alone. My current WIP has been an ongoing "should-I-do-this-or-should-I-abandon-it" tug-of-war. Why? Because it wasn't matching up with the awesomeness going on in my head.

Secondly, you're the only one who can pull yourself out. The answer for why you didn't write anything isn't out in the Internet (so stop wasting your time surfing the net when you could be writing), it's locked in your head.

So where do ideas come from?
I think it was Stephen King who said, from Walmart...

Are you back from Walmart yet?
Okay, you realized ideas are a little bit harder to get than just a quick trip. "But my friend just got an idea in the shower", you cry -- and I say "great"! Great for your friend. But ideas don't equal plot. Not decent plot anyways.

Takeaway nugget then: ideas do not a plot make.
What makes a plot is planning, of some sort, or a pantsing approach that still takes into consideration characters' goals, motivations, conflicts (GMCs), etc. I mean, you don't REALLY need this, but I believe these are the basics.

I'm more a pantser, so I like to think I know what I'm talking about. What I did this time around is grab my lovely colour-coded index cards and (since I'm writing a romance) plotted out my hero and heroine's GMCs and their romantic GMC as an overall.


(green for heroine, orange for hero, pink? for romance GMC)

After that I took regular lined cards and . This go around I'm using something called the "headlight" method to plot my chapters. TL;DR version*: that means I only have a certain amount of chapters plotted beforehand (so right now I got my prologue and Chapter One, that's all).

Today I whipped out the 'prologue' card and went to work on this chapter. I'm hoping to keep this going and not burn out before the end of November (although OFFICIALLY I'm not don't NaNo this year).
Caveat: I'm letting my pantsing self go nuts whenever I can just because it gets the words out -- and sometimes those words are actually really good.

(got the lined index cards from the dollar store, where magic is hidden behind some other questionable products)

All in all don't let the lack of ideas seduce you, don't let the fact that your great idea is just too great for paper/computer stop you: just run with it and see where these plot bunnies lead you. Just make sure to bring an umbrella for a day like today when the rain is unpredictable and the plot bunnies lead you astray.

*Want the longer version? Check out this Swoonreads blog where I stole this idea from!