The day I meet Ally Carter and Melissa De La Cruz!!!

If you follow my twitter, you know i've been spazzing about meeting Ally Carter and Melissa De La Cruz on the 29th. And I went with my co-author (Hi, Eevee!) and it was AWESOME. Melissa and Ally are super funny and nice and awesome. We got there a bit late, so we didn't get to participate in the raffle which made me a bit sad because it was NECKLACES for the Keys to the Repository! That's awesome! And Gallagher Girl Iron-On Emblems. Which is also aweeesome! They answered questions about the books and writing and we're super helpful and just plain funny.

There was a HUGE line for the signing. Everybody ran to get to the front. I lost my co-author for a moment in a sea of people. It was EPIC. Sadly, I couldn't take a picture with them because they were running behind schedule and were gonna miss there flight.

That is HER. ALLY CARTER. That is my book. That is her signing MY book. *flails*

It's sideways because Blogger is stupid and won't let me rotate the picture. But that's Melissa! She's so sweet! She was talking to me and I had to take like a few seconds to like take a breath and respond. Lol, and then she said she'd heard of my blog. *dies*

And yeah, we all said our goodbyes and went to the YA section and they went through a secret exit hidden in the YA section. Lol, seriously.

And that was mt first signing ever! Got 4 books signed, 2 from Melissa, 2 from Ally and it was awesome!

And yeah, that's pretty much my awesomesauce day!
Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.

In My Mailbox Vlog (2)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie




If that doesn't work go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZLtqrXx9Q8

FOR REVIEW:

Stork (ARC) by Wendy Delsol (THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK FOR REVIEW GUYS! AHHHHHHHH!)

TRADED:

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Virgin Territory by James Lecesne
(Thanks, Kelsey!)

What did you get in YOUR mailbox?
Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.

The day: In My Mailbox VLOG!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Guys, I got so much stuff this week. SERIOUSLY. So I decided to do a vlog for IMM this week! Yay! Ok, tadaaaa. (P.S please tell me if i'm rambling or something because I tend to do that xD)



(If it doesn't work on your computer, go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EeUGrnv08o)

Review:

The Thirteenth Chime by Emma Micheals

Bought:

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Gifted:

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers (THANK YOU KELLY!)
Evernight by Claudia Grey

Contests:

South Beach
Hollywood Hills
Sea Change
The Year My Sister got Lucky
French Kiss
All by Aimee Friedmen

NightShade by Andrea Cremer (!!!!!!!!)

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

LOTS OF SWAG!

The day in which I am Wondrous Strange

Who: Lesley Livingston

What: Wondrous Strange

Where: Barnes & Nobles Book Depository Indie Bound

When: 12/23/2008

Why: Had already read it, wanted my own copy.

How: Bought

Since the dawn of time, the Faerie have taken. . . .

Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow always thought faeries were
just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery. He's a
changeling—a mortal taken as an infant and raised among Faerie—and within short
order he's turned Kelley's heart inside out and her life upside down.

For Kelley's beloved Central Park isn't just a park—it's a gateway
between her ordinary city and the Faerie's dangerous, bewitching Otherworld. Now
Kelley's eyes are opening not just to the Faerie that surround her, but to the
heritage that awaits her . . . a destiny both wondrous and strange

Review:

I'm gonna say something: I HAVE AN OBSESSION WITH FAERIE BOOKS. Seriously, love them so much. And Wondrous Strange was no exception! I love love love loved it!

The thing that grabbed me the most about this book is the way Lesley weaved together perfectly the world of Theatre and the world of the Fey. The fact that she is performing in A Midsummer Night's dream which just happens to have Puck/Oberon/Titania in it made me laugh.

The plot was very unique actually, even though it does keep to the whole, "fey royalty" that goes on in most Faerie Books. But there's something special about it, the way Lesley writes about Faeries had me flipping the pages quickly to see what was next. I loved how she mixed so many myths, so many creatures in the plot, weaving them perfectly together so it didn't seem weird at all. THERE WAS EVEN A SIREN IN IT. If you guys didn't know, I kinda have an obsession with Sirens. I think they're cool :P

Now I'll talk about Kelley, because she was one amazing heroine. I mean, she was perfectly stubborn (because sometimes they're too stubborn and it's annoying.) Also I love how when Sonny tried to convince her he was a faery, she didn't just accept it or stare at him wide-eyed. SHE LAUGHED! Honestly, if someone told you they were a faery changeling, you'd laugh too! I would! She was head-strong, did what she believed was right, and even though she fumbled on her lines the first time around, is an amazing actress! I always love seeing pieces of the authors coming out in the characters. Lesley is an actress as well!

Speaking of Sonny, *swoon*. Can I have one? Like seriously, are they for sale? Because I WILL buy! I mean: he kicks MAJOR faerie-butt, he's insanely cute, and even though Kelley laughs in his face, he still helps her! Again, TOTAL SWOON-AGE!

The ending wrapped up nicely, and DEFINITELY wanting more. Good thing Darklight had already come out when I read it.

COVER: Do I even have to say anything about this absolutely BEAUTIFUL cover! I mean, it reflects Kelley perfectly and has that air of mystery that the words have as well!

My rating: AWESOMESAUCE. From the characters, to the plot, to the romance (which you know is a must for me), everything was AWESOME! I have no complaints from this book.

Comment! Discuss! Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.

p.s THIS HAS A KELPIE IN IT! If that doesn't convince you to get it, I don't know what will.

The day: 2010 Debut Author Week: KIERSTEN WHITE!

AHHHHHHHH! Ok, I had to just get that out. I've raved about Paranormalcy a lot on Twitter and even a half-frantic post on here, because I.Want.This.Book.So.Bad :) Kiersten took some time off her craziness to answer my interview question! Paranormalcy comes out now in AUGUST (the 31st) instead of September! AH!

AND: You got questions? Ask them in the comments! She'll answer any questions or comments you'll have. AHH, ok some more excitedness xD

Summary: Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.
-from her site (Don't lie to me and say this doesn't sound amazing)

INTERVIEW:

If you had to live in a house with 3 fictional YA character, who would they be?

Dobby the House Elf, because I'm a rather unfortunate slob and I hate cooking (but I'd be very, very nice to him and pay him and stuff),
Continuing on a Harry Potter theme, Dean or Seamus or one of the other minor characters to whom nothing bad ever really happened, not because I especially love them but because I'd like someone who could side-along-apparate me and they seem like a safer bet than Harry, Ron, or Hermione, who always seem to nearly die
And finally, Evie from Paranormalcy, which I know is cheating, but she'd feel bad if I didn't list her. Plus, I think she'd be fun to hang out with.

What do you want to accomplish 10 years from now?

Ten years from now I want to still be writing and publishing books that people want to read, have happy, healthy kids (who will be teenagers--good heavens, let's stop thinking about that right now!), and have a positive impact on the world around me. Also, I want to grow eight inches. But somehow I doubt that's going to happen.

If you could say something to your younger writing self, what would you say?

"You're not good enough yet." But it's a good thing I didn't know it at the time, because if I'd had any idea how much work and rejection was in front of me, I probably never would have kept at it! So, perhaps ignorance is bliss? It's a good thing to start out writing starry-eyed and sure that because you wrote it someone will publish it. And then it's a good thing to learn and get rejected and learn some more until you really ARE there! So I suppose I wouldn't say anything at all, I'd just pat my younger writing self on the head and give her a cookie.

~~~

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Kiersten is so nice and it was such a pleasure to interview her!

Ok, guys! Ask questions and comment away! Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.