I follow Lisa Schroeder’s blog, so when I saw CHASING BROOKLYN, at Borders, I snagged it from the shelf & peeked in.
Novel-in-verse? Not my thing. Put it back.
But hey, I like her blog right? So I might as well read a few pages.
Interesting…
Still, not my thing. I put it back again.
Next day, the images from those few pages won’t let me be.
I bought it via iPhone’s kindle. (Three cheers for pj-book-buying.)
And read the story. Read and read.
And read.

Can I just say I am completely, utterly, hopelessly smitten with this book? One of these days, I’ll write an ode to it. Yes, it’s that good.

(I’ve included quotes from the book in the header. Keep hitting Refresh. You’ll see one.)

Girl Templar supreme

In library news, DEVIL’S KISS by Sarwat Chadda arrived at my local branch last week (along with a few others I’ve yet to read). While I didn’t entirely buy the book trailer’s promise of “Forget Buffy, Billi SanGreal is all you need to know” (I’ve seen five seasons of Buffy, and I can tell you – Billi just isn’t at that level of kickass yet. However, I will grant you that Billi SanGreal is a much cooler name than Buffy Summers), it was certainly a fun read with a beautifully well thought out ending sequence. How the antagonist is defeated took my breath away. Very inventive. I like muchly. Her adventures continue this year with a new book, coming out in the fall I think, which I will definitely add to my list.

On a side note, one of the supporting characters, Percy, has massive shoulders and a tanklike chest. I bring this up because Percy’s tanklike massiveness is mentioned nearly very time his name shows up. There were several key scenes where I was lost to the dramatic intensity due to general eye rolling and thoughts such as “What? Massive? Percy? I had no idea!” The other characters are mercifully free of never-ending description, except perhaps for **** (name removed for non-spoiler purposes) who, for a while, is unbelievably sexy in every line. Of course, every good YA with a dash of romance needs one of those, right? Heck, some super popular books contain nothing but sexy line descriptions. (cough*twilight*cough)

In case my general recommendation just isn’t enough for you (there’s no pleasing some people), I’ve embeded the trailers for both books after the jump.

(Read on: watch the book trailers!)

Awhile back, I stared a video book review site linked to an account on YouTube. Though it’s sadly lacking in updates, I haven’t given up on it – it’s much too fun. Not only talking to the camera (and then a wider, online audience), but getting feedback on my comments. One note especially, recently received, made me smile.
(Read more…)