Shutter

Goodreads Synopsis:    Horror has a new name: introducing Courtney Alameda.

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.

Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week.

My Thoughts:

-    Courtney said her book was like a video game, and she wasn't joking! There is even an epic boss fight at the end. 

-    I really enjoyed this story. It was super awesome and creepy! 

-    This is a must read for Fatal Frame fans!

-    The story is very fast paced. There really isn't a moment for the characters to stop and breathe. It is just go go go! And you never know what horror the gang in going to run into next.

-    The characters are all amazing! I loved Micheline and her crew. 

-    The romance was great. There was just enough to keep a reader happy, but it didn't overpower the meat of the story.

-    I don't know how Micheline stays sane after everything she goes through. Anyone else would need major therapy and pills. 

-    I loved how the Van Helsing and Stoker lines were part of the characters. It added a lot of nostalgia and fun. 

-    I've been looking forward to Courtney's book for a long time, and she didn't disappoint. I may be biased, but this one is a keeper!

Marissa and Courtney

Right before comic con Suey, Jenni, Tori, and I went to see Marissa Meyer at The King's English. She was on tour for her newest book Fairest.

She was really fun. She was so happy and full of energy.

She read an excerpt from Winter! That was creepy and awesome!

She talked about her inspiration for Fairest and how she had to write Levana story before she could finish Winter.

She talked about inspirations for different characters.

Me and Marissa! She had this really cool backdrop.

We went to Noodles & Company afterwards for some tasty food!

 Last week was Courtney's launch party for Shutter!!! I was so excited! I've been waiting for this for years!

Courtney wore this super cute outfit, complete with zombie skirt.

She had an amazing presentation!

She talked about book godfathers aka books that have influenced her life and writing.

She showed a clip of Van Helsing.

She talked about 15 year old Courtney.

She talked about meshing different genres together.

She talked about a lot of things only a highly intelligent individual like her would know about. It was cool.

Signing my book!

Behind Courtney starting on the left is Me, Jenny, Jenni, Suey, and Toto.

Afterwards, we wen to JCWs for some grub!

We haven't been here for a while, and it was good to be back. We used to go weekly.

Upcoming Events:

Ransom Riggs

February 25

The King's English @ 7:00

Jennifer A. Nielson

February 28

Provo Library @ 4:00

If any of you would like to come with us, let us know! We'll save you a seat, and you can dine with us afterwards!