Beautiful Creatures

Today, like yesterday, I spent most of the day engrossed in a book. The book I was reading today was absolutely FANTASTIC. Like, I'd put the book down, walk by a mirror, and be like "...wait a second. That's me. Oh, right, this is the real world. Becky, not Lena and Ethan." It's that well-written. You can completely forget about the real world and just get lost in the characters and their story.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, tells the story of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. The people of Gatlin, South Carolina are pretty much stereotypical Southerners. Their families have lived in Gatlin for years and years and years, and they still have Confederate flags and talk about the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence, and nothing ever changes. Ethan Wate is the only one who seems to want to leave. So when Lena Duchannes moves to town and things start happening, Ethan can't help but be drawn to her.

A strange song called "Sixteen Moons" keeps popping up on Ethan's iPod. The weather goes crazy around Lena. And strangest of all, they have the same dreams - about each other. As their friendship grows and changes, they discover a mystery, a curse, and things that Ethan never could have dreamed he'd encounter in Gatlin. Danger, mystery, romance, magic, and a sense of something bigger coming... this novel has it all.

I know I rant and rave a lot about great books, but when I say a book is good, I mean it. And when I say a book is great, I mean it. And when I say a book is Seriously Fantastic and you Must Go Read It Right Now, I most definitely mean it. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES falls into that last category. The conflict, the mystery, and the danger are all wonderfully developed, and the story moves quickly (so don't let the length of the book scare you off). But the action does not at all take away from the characters. Ethan and Lena are two very complex, very real characters who really can make you forget about yourself for a few hours. I completely adored this book. Not an exaggeration. Read it, you guys, it is made of awesome. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a beautiful book.

The sequel, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, is slated for release on October 12, at which time I will most definitely need to acquire a copy. You can find out more about the authors and the book at their website.

I love finding super-mega-awesome books like this one.

Love,
Bex

Radiant Shadows

So we're gonna call this the Saturday, May 29 post, because I didn't realize it was this late.

Today, I did something that was very enjoyable. I woke up, ate breakfast, and then curled up in my room with the windows open and a lovely breeze, and I read a book. This book was Melissa Marr's Radiant Shadows, the fourth volume in the Wicked Lovely series.

It was fantastic. And awesome. And all sorts of other lovely adjectives. I loved it.

The Wicked Lovely series is about faeries. There's the Summer Court, the Winter Court, the High Court, and the Dark Court. There's a great cast of characters, and so far none of the books have had the same main protagonist (Aislinn was key in both Wicked Lovely and Fragile Eternity, but FE was really more about Seth...but if you haven't read them, then you don't know what I'm talking about, and if you have, then this is an unnecessary explanation, so. Moving on).

Anyway, the fourth book, Radiant Shadows, is about Ani and Devlin. Ani's a halfling. Her mother was mortal, and her father is Gabriel, the leader of the Wild Hunt. Ani is different because she survives on both touch, like the Hounds of the Hunt, and emotion, like the Dark Court. And she can feed from both faeries and mortals, which is pretty much unheard of. She's different. And she's not supposed to be alive.

Enter Devlin. Devlin was supposed to kill Ani when she was an infant, but at the request of Rae, a dreamwalker, he didn't, thereby betraying the two faeries who created him. He watches Ani, and struggles to fend off emotions that as High Court, he shouldn't feel.

Ani and Devlin's lives become intertwined, and...well...all sorts of interesting things happen. Don't want to tell you too much more because then you'll think you don't need to read the book (and you know how I detest spoilers). Radiant Shadows can pretty much stand on its own, I think, but I say this having read the other three books - and you won't want to read just this one because they're all so good!

It's a faerie story with courts and rules and a Faerie realm, and no mention of Titania or Oberon, which is a pleasant change. And the characters are just spectacular. And there is so much more to all of it than battle scenes and dark romance. There is plot. There is intrigue. There is humor. There are characters who are absolutely unforgettable. And there is a whole fictional world that you will just want to get lost in. It's a spectacular series, you guys. I'm not just saying that.

The first book is called Wicked Lovely and you should all go read it now. Find out more about the series and the author at Melissa Marr's website and her blog. The fifth and final book, Darkest Mercy, is slated for release sometime next year. I hope I can wait that long.

Love,
Bex

Mini-Blog: Dodgeball

My father has just insisted that we watch the pilot episode of the old TV show Freaks and Geeks. It portrays the geeky kids as hating dodgeball.

Kid on TV: Dodgeball is a really stupid game.

Me: Yes. I agree.

Little Brother #2: You're a geek!

I don't see how that's a problem.

Love,
Bex

Make a Wish

It's 11:38 now. But a little while ago, it was 11:11. Which means, make a wish. In honor of 11:11, I have created a wish list to share with you:

-Air conditioning. My mother has decided that we don't need A/C until it's something like 95 degrees outside. It's in the low 80s right now. I don't want to waste energy or anything, but my room is disgustingly hot. Not sure why. I want it cool.

-Time to write/read without feeling like I should be doing thesis instead. Of course, that's not gonna happen until December of this year. And at that point, I'll feel like I should be doing college/financial aid applications instead of thesis instead of writing or reading. Guilt is something I'm gonna have to get used to.

-A solution to these story issues. Right now I feel like I'm writing a completely different story from my old one, but it's just a rewrite...the characters and the basic premise are the same. But it's so vastly different. Wow.

-More openness from people. I think there are a lot of people who are very accepting and other people just don't realize it. I wish that people didn't feel like they had to be afraid to say things because of what someone else was going to think or do.

-A strawberry or watermelon slushie. Some sort of cold, fruity drink. Have I mentioned it's like a boiler in here?

-To not have to worry about college yet. Because seriously? I don't know where I want to go, or what I want to do, or anything. And I am definitely not old enough for college yet. Am I? There's no way. Time is insane. Eek.

And those are my wishes for the night. Some of them are a bit more simply stated than others, some are rather more profound than others, I'll leave it up to you all to determine which are which. For now, I'm trying to figure out New Chapter One.

Love,
Bex

Space Cowboys!

So, since KD is already feeling all vindicated, I'ma give her one more outlet and credit her here too. Love you bunches K.

What, you may be wondering, is the mysterious and wonderful KD feeling so vindicated about, you might ask? The answer is: because I watched the pilot episode of the show Firefly and admitted that she was completely and utterly right to work so hard at convincing me to watch it.

Seriously, you guys. It is AMAZING.

Nathan Fillion, and space cowboys, and plastic dinosaurs, and legitimately funny jokes, and Wash (who is seriously the best character likeever), and ahhh it's fantastic. Watch it watch it watch it. ♥

Ahhh Firefly = awesome.

Also CH has convinced me to try Skype. I was under the impression that Skype was just for video chats, but apparently it's got regular IM too, so I've been figuring out Skype this afternoon. It'd probably more interesting if I had more contacts than just CH and KD, especially since KD's laptop is in the shop so she can't use Skype. Hmm.

Does anyone else out there use Skype? What do you think of it?

And what do you think of FIREFLY?! It's amazing, riiight? Yes. You know it is. XD ♥

Must get some sleep, I have to take a pre-cal final in the morning. Much love,
Bex

Drafts

So, remember that vampire story I've told you guys about?

Yeah. That one. The one that I kind of quit working on because I got so sick of "Good Vampires" (even though there are a lot of really awesome good-vampire stories still out there, such as the Vampire Academy series and the House of Night series and the Evernight series and the Blue Bloods series and a lot of stand-alone novels like Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, and yes, even Twilight - someone remind me to tell you about my thoughts on Twilight later). There are good ones out there and they are fun to read, but I was tired of being hit over the head by Good Vampires every time I walk into Barnes & Noble. I didn't want to write one.

But I missed Eliza. And Ben. And Greg.

Well, I had a brainstorm. And it involves Bad Vampires. YAY!

I lovelovelove this new idea. It's gonna do wonderful things for the character development and I think it's gonna make the story a lot more focused and a lot better in general and I'm really excited about writing it.

But it's gonna take some major restructuring and rewriting. There are going to be favorite scenes that I'm going to have to completely get rid of or at least alter significantly. I knew this was going to happen when I started writing. So so so many writers have said that you have to "murder your darlings" and be prepared to get rid of bits you like for the sake of the story. But it is sad.

At least now I'll have some deleted scenes to share if I ever get famous for it. XD

Also, the following entertaining videos were shared with me by my father. You should watch them. They're funny.

Bronte Sisters Power Dolls video
OSU Flash Mob: Don't Stop Believing

Now I'm gonna go figure out this new storyline. Because it's awesome. At least, I think so. G'night, all!

Love,
Bex

Spirit Bound

Okayokay so I know I have a limit of One Post Per Day, but consider this make-up for not having posted at all this weekend. I just finished reading Richelle Mead's newest Vampire Academy novel, SPIRIT BOUND, and I kind of had to post something.

I will warn you now that there will be a large part of this post that is gonna be highlighted because it contains SPOILERS. So please, if you haven't read the book and are planning to, don't highlight it, don't read it, just don't touch it. I don't believe in spoilers, but I have to get this out of my system.

SPIRIT BOUND picks up essentially where BLOOD PROMISE left off. Rose is still trying to decide between the two most important people in her life. Only now, it's a lot more intense. This right here is only a minorly spoilery synopsis, so if you've read the other four books and just haven't read this one yet, this bit should be fine. Very little that the book jacket won't tell you: So, Rose is on her Impossible Quest to save Dimitri from being a Strigoi, and they set Victor Dashkov free from prison to get information on how to do it. And when this quest puts Lissa in danger, Rose has to make some tough decisions about what matters. Meanwhile, there's all sorts of drama at the Court, not the least of which is Adrian Ivashkov. (Personally, I am now leaning toward Team Adrian, but I was a little that way to begin with.)

And THIS is where the mega-spoiler rant is gonna be (I'll keep it brief), so DON'T READ THIS unless you've finished SPIRIT BOUND: *ahem.* 1. I wanna know where Victor Dashkov has gotten off to. They kind of ditched that storyline halfway through. I want! 2. Tatiana = mystery woman. And now she's dead! What?! So, I wanna know who set Rose up. 3. I think I'm Team Adrian. But Dimitri...ooh this situation is tough. 4. Who set Rose up as the killer?!?! Oh wait - did I mention that already? >_>

*Ahem.* Okay. I think I'm done. (CJ, I'm calling you tomorrow. Expect it.) If you haven't read the Vampire Academy series, you really should. They're fantastic. And yes, they're vampire novels, but it's a totally different spin on vampires than TWILIGHT. If you're just as sick of "oh yes vampires are all lovely people!" as I am, fear not. Yes, there are good vampires in the VA series, but there are bad ones too, and there are no werewolves at all. (I don't mean to be hating on TWILIGHT. I just feel like it's overdone.)

Okay, I'm not making my point very well. Rose Hathaway, the VA protagonist, is possibly one of my favorite fictional characters ever. She's so much fun to read (she's gotta be fun to write - I should try a charrie like her sometime), and she's so real, and the stories have just the right blend of action and mystery and intrigue and romance and it's FANTASTIC. The first one is called VAMPIRE ACADEMY and they're by Richelle Mead, and you can find out more about her on her blog or her website.

Readreadread. ♥

And now I really am done blogging for today. Promise.

Love,
Bex