Just Haze

Review: Torment [Fallen Series] (by Lauren Kate)

Torment [Fallen Series] by Lauren Kate

Publish Date: September 2010

Synopsis:  Hell on Earth.

That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.  It took them an eternity to find another, but now he has told her he must go away.  Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts -- imortals who want to kill Luce.  Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students:  Nemphilim, the offspring of the fallen angels and humans.

At shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives.  Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything.  He's hiding something--something dangerous.

What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true?  What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series ... where love never dies.

My Review

I give five out of five stars.

I loved the first book and from its ending, I was sure that it would be a series  After Tormet was released in September, I went ahead and downloaded it to my B&N Nook.

I love the story between Daniel and Luce.  In this book, Luce begins to doubt Daniel as he tries to protect her.  Luce begins to glimpse her past through the shadows that haunted her for most of her life.  She sees her past and even takes a road trip to see her previous parents and even meets her sister.  With this revelation, Luce begins to wonder what Daniel is keeping from her.  She tries to confront him with it but he just tells her that it's for her own good.  Luce begins to resent their love and the secrets that Daniel's keeping from her, most of all she resents that their love brings so much sadness to those families she is born to.  Although she begins to question all this, there is one thing that is for certain, that Daniel indeed loves her and will follow her to the ends of the world.

It's such a great love story and it isn't like Twilight where Bella doesn't question anything.  Bella just accepts the way things are.  With Luce and Daniel, Luce questions everything.  I definitely recommend this book.  If you haven't read the first one, buy it or borrow it from someone.  I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

 

Review: Mini Shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella)

Mini Shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella)
Publish Date: September 2010

Synopsis:  Nothing comes between Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) and her bargains. Neither act of God nor budget crunch can shatter her dreams of wall-to-wall Prada. Every milestone in her well-shopped life (travel, long-lost sister, marriage, pregnancy) inspires new vistas to explore in the name of retail therapy. But now she faces her greatest little challenge yet: Becky’s two-year-old daughter, Minnie.

While motherhood has been everything Becky dreamed it would be—Baby Dior, Little Marc Jacobs, and Dolce & Gabbana for toddlers—adorable Minnie is wreaking havoc everywhere she goes, from Harrods to her own christening. Her favorite word is “MINE!” and her penchant for Balenciaga bags, Chanel sunglasses, and online purchases has no rival under age five.

Becky is at her wits end. On top of this, she and her husband Luke are still living with her parents. Thankfully it appears house buying attempt number four is a go! Until a huge financial crisis causes panic everywhere, and nobody wants to shop—not Becky’s personal shopping clientele, not her friends, nobody. And with Luke in the doldrums, it’s time for Becky to step in—with a party: A surprise birthday party for Luke (on a budget) is the perfect antidote to everyone’s woes. At first. 

Will Becky manage to keep the party of the year a surprise? Can she hire jugglers, fire-eaters, and acrobats at a discount? Will enlisting the help of Luke’s unflappable assistant to convince him to have another baby realize her dream of matching pom-poms? Will Minnie find a new outlet for her energetic and spirited nature (perhaps one with sixty percent markdowns)? She is, after all, a chip off the old shopping block. And everyone knows a committed shopper always finds a way. 

My Review

4 out of 5

I've been a big fan of Sophie Kinsella since her first novel The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic was released.  After Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) gave birth to her daughter, I was wondering if Ms. Kinsella would write another book about Becky.  When this book came out, I was ecstatic to read it.  Instead of getting it for my Nook like I do with other books, I've purchased this one on hardback!  Instead of reading it as soon as I got home, it went into my TBR pile.  When I finallly had some time to devote to the book, I was a bit annoyed at how immature Becky still is.  She's a mother and her shopaholic tendencies were way out of control.... along with her child.  Despite the disaster of the news that the Banks are in serious financial trouble and the whole of England saving up whatever money they have left, Becky is still purchasing designer clothing for Minnie and herself (after Luke had told her not to).   I was most annoyed at this kind of behaviour.  It was good and fun to read when I was in my twenties and had no responsibilities or even a clue to what life is about, reading Becky now when she's supposed to be my age is simply quite annoying.  Her lack of responsibility and immature thinking made me cringe.  I'm not saying not to read the book... I'm just saying that be prepared to read a lot of stupid decisions.  It's still a good book... comical at its best.  But I think at some point, even being a shopaholic, Becky needs to grow up and think about others but herself.

Just a quick post... I will be updating, editing my blog in the next few days... adding old posts, etc. Please bear with me!!

Pumpkins and Skeletons

Yesterday, I finished the Jack Hallow amigurumi pattern.  It is a free pattern, so I only ask that if you download the pattern that you like the credit back to me and also not to use it for retail or commercial use.  If you are reading this blog post in my typepad account, you will find the pattern listed un the pages titled, “Patterns, Tutorials and More.”

Also, since it’s Halloween, I’ve added a new calendar available for download.  Right now, my digital artwork is very simple since I don’t have a lot of time to devote to create something very intricate.  I do apologize as well for the poor quality of this calendar.  It was drawn in such a quick haste that there are some discrepancies to it.  However, it is an October calendar so feel free to download it.

 

Angry Birds, Harvest Son, and Lunch

Enervate [énnər vàyt]  To weaken somebody's physical, mental, or moral vitality. 

That's what I feel.  I feel enervated.  For the last few days, I have been feeling rather tired and for the last two days, I've been emotionally and mentally drained.  I am not going to go in detail the causes of my exhaustion.  As much as I blog, I do not post anything personal in my blog.  Those are the most inner workings of my heart and mind and I do not easily share them with the World Wide Web.

To work out my frustrations and anger, I've completely immersed myself in things that do not allow me to think about the current situation.  The book I'm supposed to be reading for my Asian-American Literature class, I've completely procrastinated, but with the recent events, I've read the book during my break and lunch periods at work.  I've also began playing Angry Birds on my iPhone.  I guess you could say that I'm the angry bird and the pigs symbolize the people and things in my life.

Okay, such a negative post I guess, but I'm trying to air out my frustrations.  So, my neighbours, thanks a lot for reading and listening!

Review: Insatiable (by Meg Cabot)

Insatiable (by Meg Cabot)
Publish Date: June 8, 2010 

Synopsis

Sick of hearing about vampires?  So is Meena Harper.

But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe inthem.

Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural.  See, Meena Harpers knows how you're going to die.  (Not that you're going to believe her.  No one ever does).

But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when  she meets -- then makes the mistake of falling in love with -- Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark site.  It's dark side a lot of people, like ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien's already dead.  Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with.  See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able to look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future...

If she even has one.

My Review

Rating:  5 out of 5

This book is a modern day sequel to Bram Stoker's "Dracula."

The book starts out really well and coincides with a lot of the plot lines of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” as well as historical events of Vlad Tepes, also famously known as Vlad the Impaler.  I felt like I was in Meena’s shoes and can’t help but fall in love with Lucien as much as she did.  However, I was really annoyed at one particular Palatine Guard, Alaric.  He was so very arrogant when the novel first began that I felt like skipping his parts and going straight to Meena’s or Lucien’s point of view.  Although in the end, I couldn’t help but wanting Meena to fall in love or end up with Alaric since she does have a better chance at having a real life with him, given that his not dead.  

After finishing the book, I was wishing that Ms. Cabot would make this into a series since a lot of her books are series.  Thankfully, as I searched her website, I found that she is making  sequel and it is due out in the summer of 2011.