Bloodthirsty

Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls.

Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before-he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part.

With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected.

Beth says 4.5 Stars...
After all of the build up, the review is finally here! This book was just hilarious. The plot was so entertaining; I mean seriously. The main character pretends that he's a vampire in order to get a date. It has some delicious satire of the vampire crazy. Let's be honest people; it's gotten way out of control. The plot and writing kept me in stitches constantly. Finbar (an excellent name) gets into some ridiculous situations, and I loved it. The pacing was well done overall, despite the fact that the book took a smidge to get going. The writing was almost creepily spot on for the voice of a 16 year old guy. It has all the things in it that I thought a guy would think, if that makes any sense.

Finbar was just what I wanted. He's the sensitive guy who should, if the movies were right, get the girl, but never does. His "transformation" is too funny. His obsessive pursuit of vampiric knowledge to his attempts to attain the proper vampire attitude had me giggling constantly. His family and the rest of the characters were perfectly adequate, but none gave me quite the level of delight that he did. The fangirls were probably second on the list of most entertaining; they reminded me a bit too much of people I've seen.

Overall the book was really good and one of the best debuts of the year. It did get a bit preachy, which I found a bit irritating; that's why I knocked it down some. However, this is a perfect read for those who love to hate the vampire craze, or just think that it's kinda funny. This is a refreshing bit of satire in a world saturated with vampire novels.
Book from Publisher

Contest Winners!

We're so excited to announce the winners of Bloodthirsty! They are *drumroll please*

Amy
Maddie M.
thetherin

If our lovely winners don't contact us at bnbookblog@gmail.com then we will go back to the random number generator and find these books a good home :) Thanks to everyone who participated, and our review of the book will be up this weekend. You all are in for some laughs.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Today we're a part of the blog tour for I Now Pronounce You Someone Else!

Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her cold, manipulative mother, distant stepfather, and good-for-nothing brother; Bronwen must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get back to her real family.Then she meets Jared. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants-and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. When he proposes four months after they meet, she says yes. But as the wedding day approaches, Bronwen begins to wonder if Jared is truly what she needs. And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lillywhite do?
from borders.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...

This book was rather divisive for me. There were some things that I really liked about it, and other things I simply didn't. I think that McCahan has a good deal of talent as far as pure prose is concerned. The town felt delightfully realistic, not contrived at all. An issue that I often have with realistic fiction is that some authors try to be too real and end up completely missing the mark. The setting of this book felt true to life, impressive for a first showing. The pacing was also well done with the book keeping a constant tempo throughout. The plot begins where I had my issues, however well paced it was. The crux of the book is that Bronwen ends up defining herself by her relationship. I shall not get on my special soapbox *again*, but it's something that really bothers me.

That brings me to Bronwen. I REALLY didn't like her. I found her to be weak and lacking in a fully formed identity. While some girls may relate to her issues and faults, I didn't and instead found them to be irritating. I will say that her voice was very fully formed and distinctive, with her character well drawn as well. However, none of this made me like her. That was my fundamental issue with the book. It would have been very good if I'd actually found the main character tolerable, but, alas, that was not the case. I found Jared to be rather blah; a nice guy, but lacking the smolder needed to carry the role of leading man.

Again, I'm very divided when it comes to this book. It's obvious that McCahan has talent, but I intensely disliked the main character, whose point of view the story is told from. Additionally, I was not a fan of the ending, but I shan't say more to spoil it. This will hit the spot perfectly for those who love romances and stories of girls struggling to find themselves.
Book from Publisher

Daughter of the Flames

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fifteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.
from randomhouse.ca

Beth says 5 Stars...

I was super excited when I picked up this book because I absolutely adored Marriott's debut, The Swan Kingdom. I had high expectations, which actually weren't met. The book was so different from what I thought it would be that it just threw all of them out the window. I thought that this was going to be one of those sweeping and epic fairytale novels, but I was completely wrong. Instead I was treated to a book that managed to examine issues of fate, identity, and political unrest beautifully. The plot was so unexpected, but absolutely delightful. I really enjoyed reading it; I couldn't put it down! The world was so interesting and simply sucked me in. I loved how detailed it was in such a small tome.

The characters were fantastic. Zira was a delightful heroine whose struggle with her identity wasn't overdone. I could feel her conflict, which was without self pity. It was simply trying to find her place and adjust to new knowledge of her past. She really changed throughout the course of the story, but it felt natural. Her strength, tenacity, and reason made me feel for and connect with her. The rest of the cast was equally well drawn, and another aspect I felt really shined was the main romantic relationship. It wasn't what has become the typical popular idea of love, instead it was based on mutual respect and earned trust. It was incredibly refreshing.

This is a delightful book. I would recommend it for fans of Tamora Pierce or other fantasy novels that feature a strong female main character. I read that there's going to be a sequel, but I'm honestly not sure how it'll work. I thought that it wrapped up rather nicely, and didn't leave everything hanging like most series books. I'm excited to see where Marriott takes the story, and will pick up the next book as soon as I can. Grab this one whenever you get a chance!
Book from Library

Bloodthirsty Giveaway!!!!!

We're super excited to be able to bring you free books! Thanks to our lovely friends over at Little, Brown books we have 3 HARDCOVER copies of Bloodthirsty to give away. We've posted a summary below, so read it and enjoy the hilarity. We're going to be posting a review relatively soonish, so get excited. So now to the rules of the contest which will end on the 13th of this month. They're the same as normal, just tweaked to fit the excellent theme:

+1 entry for leaving a comment with your favorite vampire (and why if you want to explain)*
+1 entry for becoming a follower
+2 entries for already being a follower
+1 entry for any tweet, you can get up to 5 (send us links)
+3 entries for making a blog post (send us a link)

EDIT: Sorry guys, this is for US and Canada only as per publisher requests :(

(Here's the summary from Amazon)
Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls.

Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before-he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part.

With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected.

This hilarious debut novel is for anyone who believes that sometimes even nice guys-without sharp teeth or sparkly skin-- can get the girl.

*(Beth totally votes for Spike from BtVS... swoon)

Mistwood

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

from harperteen.com

Beth says 2.5 Stars...

I was super excited about this one. Something that wasn't a paranormal romance, plus a debut. I was unfortunately let down. It had the same sort of general feel as Kristen Cashore's novels, but without the power and combination of everything that makes them so remarkable. The storyline had the potential to be interesting, and it and the concept were the two best parts of the book. I say potential because the writing kept everything from becoming great. The plot had issues with pacing and clarity. I didn't always know what was going on and why I should have been interested in whatever was occurring on the page. I spent a good deal of the book wondering why I was reading it. There was also an unequal distribution of revelations in the mystery aspect of the story, which can kill the pacing with swift blows. Additionally, the background and mythology of the universe weren't explored at all, which increased the feeling of artificiality in the world. I wanted to learn more about what made the magic tick, and was completely let down.

The characters weren't any better. I felt no connection to Isabel, which was partially due to her nature as wild and different. Even though I understood the need for this, it served to alienate me from the story; keeping me from becoming emotionally invested in her fate. Rokan was the most likeable of the characters, but that's really not saying terribly much. Every one of them was so incredibly flat that I couldn't bring myself to care about what was happening. It's not the fantasy element, but just that there wasn't anything remarkable in the slightest about this book.

This was so disappointing. I wanted to love it but simply couldn't. I honestly don't think that it's really worth it at all. So, even though I hate saying this about a book, don't pick it up. You won't miss a thing.
Book from Library