Bookish Britt

Must be that time of year, because the contests lately have been crazy good! One of Princess Bookie's contests is for up to 3 books from the picture here! I know at least two of these books aren't even out yet! So click on the picture there and enter yourself in the contest!

Nothing brings back fond memories of my childhood like Disney Princesses turned Zombie. (I think I may have found my next Halloween costume idea) Since I've unofficially turned this week into my blog's Zombie week, I thought I'd share this. Especially since Zombies have become another "it" paranormal fiction topic.

I had a healthy debate with some urb fantasy fic readers about how girls like vampires and men like zombies. I'll admit, I find vampires more appealing than zombies, but I think the sun is setting on ultimate vampire fan-dom. (No pun intended) Even with Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries (I think VD is actually a hindrance to the Vamp genre...but I still watch it. Cause let's all admit it: Stefan is hot) the paranormal fic community is getting bored with the long-toothed. Zombies, however: you get to blow their heads open in a spectacular display of blood and gray matter. So if you are gore-phillic, like myself, Zombies fit the bill.

But where does the romance fit it? Either you get zombie-love, like in Generation Dead by Daniel Waters. Which I personally found to be a bit like a zombie, dull, lifeless and slow-moving.
Or you get a spectular post-apocolyptic survival romance like The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Which I thought was heart-wrenching and wonderful. But tragic in the end, of course. I know there are other zombie books out there that I've get to delve into. So is there another take on romance in zombie fiction? Because if there is, I'd love to hear about it and try a new book or series. Not that my TBR pile isn't big enough.

Bloody Bookaholic blogger Taschmina is hosting a (in her own words) **Ridiculously Awesome Contest** It's so ridiculously chock full of free books and swag, I'd almost say Ridonculous. The top prize is 7 books, but there are 7 winners -- so plenty to go around! Not to mention, she gives PLENTY of ways to earn extra entries. And more books will make their way into the contest for the more followers she gets. So haul your tush over there and sign up for her contest! Because to tempt us and cause major book envy she posted a picture. -drool-

So this has to be in the top 10 blog giveaways I've seen in my brief stint in the book blog-verse!
To quote Jennifer, there is:

1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth Prize Pack - contents: Signed paperback copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, 1 bookmark featuring hardback cover, 1 bookmark featuring new paperback cover, 1 The Dead-Tossed Waves sticker and 1 The Dead-Tossed Waves bookmark, 1 author business card featuring image of The Dead-Tossed Waves
2. The Pace Prize Pack- contents: Signed paperback copy of The Pace by Shelena Shorts, stuffed koala bear, 'Weston' pin and signed bookmark
3. Ink Exchange Prize Pack- contents: Paperback copy of Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr, Ink Exchange temporary tattoo, "Solitary" court band (bracelet)
4. Wicked Lovely Prize Pack- contents: Paperback copy of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, "Summer Court" court band and "Winter Court" court band (bracelets)
5. Prophecy Of The Sisters Prize Pack- contents: Signed audiobook of The Prophecy Of The Sisters by Michelle Zink, bookmark

I encourage you visit her blog and enter on the form! Who couldn't use some YA book swag?

-sigh-....makes my contest look like a brass farthing doesn't it?

I don' t know if you've noticed, but there seems to be a new theme in commercials and I just love it!

Twilight Verizon Commercial

I love this commercial! Except the jab at Jacob. They stopped airing this commercial after a week and I'm wondering if it was maybe because of pressure by Summit Entertainment?

Vampire "Bing" Commercial


This one was just kind of cheeky and it was cute. It's been kept around awhile.

Now then, it is far too long until the third season of True Blood premieres and I've heard rumors that the Eric/Sookie relationship is going to develop and I want some Vicking lovin'! And of course the end of June we've got the Eclipse premiere, and I'm unhealthily obsessed with it. -sigh- Back to reading!

So I kind of slipped out of the blogosphere for awhile, there. Part of it was the hurricane that is getting married, out-of-state, the day after Christmas, last-minute. Don't do it, people. I can attest that my sanity barely survived. But the ultimate result is that I'm married to my boyfriend (now husband) of 9 years. I've only been married a little over two months, but I can only say great things about it so far. So as a consolation I've got a few photos from the wedding below.

Part of my hiatus was that I've been reading other peoples blogs and brainstorming ways to make my blog different or more interesting. So far, no ground-breaking ideas, but I didn't feel up to posting for awhile because I didn't want to be just another book blog. So I plan on having regular posts here, and not just directly related to books. Although, one look at my browser history and/or apartment will tell you that doesn't leave a whole lot left in my life! Now GO and enter my contest!

I actually stumbled upon this book in the the pages at the end of Rachel Vincent's My Soul To Take. I've never actually gone by an advertisement in a book but I was glad I did!

Nitty Gritty:
My Rating 4/5
Book 1 of a trilogy. Next Book in series: The Iron Daughter to be released 8/1/10
Book Description (shamelessly c/p'ed from PBS):
Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined -- the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king.

Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy... and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart.

My Own Personal Take on the book:

First of all, lets talk about the cover art. Yum! And those delicious little swirls are actually raised on the cover and decorate the page edges throughout the book. I love those little things that make the book visually attractive. Because I'll openly admit I bought this book because of the cover art more than the description.

Now onto the content. I really like Julie's style. She mashed up a lot of fae mythology and introduced some entirely new ideas about the fay. Namely, the Iron Fey. I feel like talking too much about the Iron Fey would be a spoiler, so I'm going to tread delicately: in most fae books they talk about how the fae are "loosing" their magic/power. Man is more and more dependent on technology and iron, which is toxic to the fae. And part of the Fae's power is mans belief in them. All those Old Wive's tales that used to be passed on to children to keep them from misbehaving, that sort of thing. But what no other author has addressed is the Fae-world's adaptation to this power vacuum, as Julie did. The Iron Fey. So for that, I have to commend her imagination.

I liked Meghans character overall. Sometimes when a character is thrown into the deep end of a new and strange world, they tend to get whiny or just keep underestimating situations based on disbelief and it really annoys me. But half-breed daughter of the Summer King, Meghan went in for a penny, in for a pound. And the sidekicks that help her follow the yellow brick road, as it were, Robbie (aka Puc), The Ice Prince (Ash) , and Grimalkin (snarky cat creature) were enjoyable. I'm really looking forward to the relationship between Meghan and Ash develop. Granted they have a bit of the "forbidden love" thing going on being from opposing fae courts and all, which can be tiresome if it's not done right.

I've read this from other reviewers, but there are elements of this book that are very similar to the Labyrinth. (One of my favorite movies, so NOT complaining) Mostly the stolen baby brother aspect and her having to travel through a crazy new land to retrieve him. But also the "pack rat" characters near the end. I also saw some Alice in Wonderland aspects, namely Grimalkin and how he's pretty much a dead ringer for the Cheshire cat. And some of the parts involving the Iron Fey seemed a bit...out there. At least to me, they did. Like the Iron King having a Blue tooth headset. I guess it made sense, but I couldn't really take it seriously. But of the whole book, that is my only real complaint. I am looking forward to her next book!

Julie of course, has a blog. And it's pretty fun to read, like a lot of the good YA authors. So go visit it!