Happy Halloween

Happy haunting tonight! I hope everyone has a fun Hallows Eve full of candy comas and candy hangovers!

Look! I carved a pumpkin! I haven't done that for forever.

Can you tell who it is?

Kiersten White and Ally Condie

There are so many author events going on!!!

Kiersten White at Teen Book Fest

Kiersten had a fun presentation. She talked about how we don't live in a book, and we aren't the chosen one, but it's okay.

Kiersten never got a letter from Hogwarts

She never developed cool mutant powers and joined the X-men. 

She never got to choose a faction and be divergent (and date Theo James).

It was a fun speech. Since we don't live in a book and aren't the chosen ones, our choices won't destroy the world, we won't have a crappy 2nd book, and we aren't in peril. She also talked about choosing ourselves and becoming whoever we want to be.

Kiersten signing my book. I'm so excited to read this one!

Ally Condie's Launch Party

Ally talked about her new book, Atlantia.

It is a Little Mermaid retelling in a Dystopian world. I'm really excited to read it!

Here is me and Jenni talking to Courtney.

Suey and me and our books!

Jenni won an extra copy of Atlantia, and she gave it to me!!! SO AWESOME! Jenni is the best! (And not because she gave me a book)

The three musketeers!

These two have become my besties! Love these ladies!

Ally signing her book!

Upcoming Events:

Shallee McArthur's Launch Party

Orem Library @ 6:30

Nov 4

Jessica Day George

Provo Library @ 7

Nov 13

Magic Under Stone

From Goodreads:    For star-crossed lovers Nimira and Erris, there can be no happily ever after until Erris is freed from the clockwork form in which his soul is trapped. And so they go in search of the sorcerer Ordorio Valdana, hoping he will know how to grant Erris real life again. When they learn that Valdana has mysteriously vanished, it's not long before Nimira decides to take matters into her own hands—and begins to study the sorcerer's spell books in secret. Yet even as she begins to understand the power and limitations of sorcery, it becomes clear that freeing Erris will bring danger—if not out-and-out war—as factions within the faerie world are prepared to stop at nothing to prevent him from regaining the throne.



My Thoughts:

-    This wasn't as good as the first one. I gave it a generous rating on Goodreads.

-    I don't understand why Nim feels so bad for bringing Erris to life. He is in a much better state than before.

-    I feel like Nim is forcing herself to love Erris. It just doesn't seem genuine. I think she likes the idea of loving him. 

-    Nim is so dramatic, and Erris is just as bad.

-    The Jinn was interesting, but he was kind of a wuss. 

-    A lot of the book was slow. It didn't really grip me til towards the end. 

-    The ending felt rushed and abrupt.

-    I was really disappointed with this book because I really liked the first one. 

First book in the Magic Under duology

(cover is linked)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books and Movies for Halloween

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books/Movies to Read/Watch to Get in the Halloween Spirit

Lets start with books:

 
 


Movies:

 
 

Heir of Fire

Goodreads Synopsis:    Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

My Thoughts:

-    This series is so epic and amazing! It is one of my new favorite high fantasy series of all time!

-    Yes, I snapped at my family when they interrupted my reading time. I kinda feel bad about it now, but I was just so enveloped in the story. 

-    I love that this book was mostly about the characters finding themselves. Celaena obviously has a lot of baggage she had to deal with and face, and I liked getting to know her better as she faced her inner demons. Chaol was trying to figure out his loyalties, motives, and what he wanted to do with himself. It was nice to see Dorian move one and grow as a character.

-    I liked the new characters that were introduced. Sorscha was an interesting character. I didn't know if I should trust her or not. I liked Rowan a lot even though he was a jerk. Celaena and Rowan really needed each other. 

-    The parts about Manon were intriguing. It was something new thrown into the mix, and I didn't want to feel sympathy or like the even iron ladies, but Manon and Abraxos are intriguing. I'm excited to see what role they will play in the grand scheme of things. 

-    The ending was OMG!!! I need the next book! It is killing me! Who knows what the king will do next!? What is Celaena going to do next? It is crazy awesomeness! 

Previous book in the Throne of Glass series

(covers are linked to my thoughts)

 

Anime Banzai

Last weekend I went to Anime Banzai with my brother. It was so fun!

There weren't very many panels I wanted to go to this year. It was a little disappointing.

On Friday we went to a panel where three people had made the same sword but with three different methods. That was cool. We also went to a panel that talked about creativity and mental illness. The therapist talked about how to create a character with a mental illness. I really want to cosplay, so we went to the Cosplay on  Budget panel. I'm hoping to get a head start for next year's cons. We also went to a Legends of Hyrule panel, and it was a geek fest. A little too much geeking out for me.

For dinner, I ended up at Applebee's with my brother's friends. They were three bronies, and it was weird.

Cosplays I saw on Friday:

Darn sun! This is Lightning from FFXIII. I'm playing this right now. I saw two other Lightnings, but didn't get their picture.

Howl, Sophie, and Turnip Head from Howl's Moving Castle! They were amazing!

Porco Rosso! I think this is the same one as last year.

 On Saturday, we got there early enough to get into the Anime Music Video Contest. Some were good, some were bad, and I closed my eyes for a couple.

Cosplays:

Master Roshi!

Totoro!

Raven from Teen Titans!

Mr. Piccolo!

This is the crowd for the Cosplay contests. It was so packed and started LATE!

Here is the children cosplayers. The little girl dressed as Cinderella was hilarious! She sang the ABCs for us.

We went to The Electric Universe panel with Chuck Huber. He was hilarious. Half the stuff he said was cool, and the other half was BS, but he was funny. We also went to What's New in Anime, and I found a bunch of anime I want to watch. I can't remember what other panels we attended. We went to the festival, but I don't remember what else.

I picked up some cool mugs for my family. I should get a picture of that.

Anyhoo! It was a fun weekend.

I think I'm fully recovered from Banzai, but I'm in a Anime/Manga craze right now.

Magic Under Glass

From Goodreads:    Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.


My Thoughts:

-    I knew near to nothing about this book when I started it, and I was pleasantly surprised.

-    The story was very compelling and had me hooked from the beginning. The protagonist was so intriguing.

-    I loved how complex a lot of the characters were, especially Hollin. Everyone had different motives and plans.

-    The politics were complicated, but I think I understood everything alright.

-    Linza only shows up a few times, but she is awesome! I love sub-characters like her.

-    I'm excited to read the next book. I hope we get to learn more about Nimira's past and country. 

Top Ten Tuesday: New Series I Want to Start

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top New Series I Want to Start

New as in the last year or two. There are so many!
I picked books that came out in 2013 or 2014.