I AM NUMBER 4-Movie Review

Okay, what can I say but it’s been a sucky movie season and this movie looked like it rocked. In a few words I can sum it up for you, “Don’t believe the hype!”

This is the blurb from Fandango.com
Three are dead. He is Number Four. D.J. Caruso (“Eagle Eye,” “Disturbia”) helms an action-packed thriller about an extraordinary young man, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him.

MY FAV SCENE:


THE BAD GUYS:


MY REVIEW

Maybe I’m biased because I’ve watched tons of scifi movies, read scifi books, write YA scifi, but dag on, this had so much more potential on the big screen and they literally blew most of it. Not to mention the mediocre acting, lame script, and the unbelievable stupid lines in it all. I groaned and so did my husband up until, the best part….the part that we wished would have been laced throughout the entire movie – the action packed, speed induced fight scene at the end.

The opening part of the movie unveils the mystery who is John Smith, he falls in love with a hometown girl with an addiction to taking pictures that include him. His protector is freaked that she is going to give away is cover and wants to leave. John refuses because hey – he’s fallen in love, and for his kind, they only ever fall in love once. Now I have to admit the guy that played the role is a hottie, but the girl they paired him up with … boring! Why couldn’t he fall in love with the hot, bad, girl that saved his sorry hide? Anyways, we don’t see her until the end when it appears she decides to save his butt in order to save her own. Oh, and the lights in his hands reminds me of ET or the movie Cacoon.

Because the ending more than made up for the dragging of the beginning, I give this movie a 3 brands out of 5 (I use brands because he gets a brand – burn, every time one of his kind dies).

ABOUT THE BOOK:


I AM NUMBER FOUR, by BY Lore, Pittacus. I’m naughty bad, the book is sitting on my shelf. I just got it the day before we went to see the movie. I sure hope it’s a lot better than the movie was. It got great reviews, so I’m betting it is. Here’s the link to buy yours- Click.

Love Sucks by Lauren Hammond

I got a copy of Love Sucks from the author to review. Stay tuned for my 2cents.

Amazon Synopsis:
In England during the seventeen hundreds, Cara Jones had her human life ended for her and she became a creature of the night. One moment she's an adolescent young woman living her life, the next she's lurking in the streets at night looking for her next meal. The vampire slayings in England became so brutal the whole race was nearly wiped out. So Cara and the clan she called her extended family fled to the U.S. to make a home. They kept to themselves and stayed out of trouble by feeding on recently deceased corpses and cleaning out blood supplies at local hospitals. When one of the clan members makes a mistake, they are once again being hunted and Cara is the only one who makes it out alive. Cara is officially the last vampire on earth. So when Cara awakes from a two hundred year slumber, she awakes to a new city, new people, and a new way of life. Cara sets out on a journey to find her soul mate, the one person who is designed for her. Along the way she encounters a zany new friend, a jealous co worker, and a man whom she can't live without. Dr. Jared Sayers is her destiny. Will Jared give up everything he knows to be with Cara? Or will she wander the earth for the rest of eternity alone?


MY REVIEW:
One of my reasons for continuing to read this was my love for the main character. Even though, Cara was a vampire, she had a sense of innocence that I simply fell in love with. This would be a decent read for a teenager because it didn't have large doses of gore or sex. The large part of the beginning of the novella centered around Cara getting used to her vampire tendencies. Her love afair with Jared was sweet mainly because of her innocence and apparent old fashion ways. I loved the way she decided to fight for his love even though she felt like a monster. Its a calm settle read with bouts of excitement thrown in just the right places. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Lauren Blog:
Blog: http://laurenhammondnovelist.blogspot.com/ or http://punkinhouse.com/

Twitter: @NovelistLauren

Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lauren-Hammond/100755776636370

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8610521-love-sucks

Book Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLY_qY57n5U

Literary Agent Website: www.adamanagementgroup.com

Book Signing and Latest Book Reviews of BANDITS

Okay, here's another week of excitement. Yeah, I've been furiously working on editing my MG novel and outlining a new series while anxiously waiting for reviews to come in on BANDITS.

MY BOOK SIGNING at BARNES & NOBLE

This was my first official bookstore signing of the year. It's a finishing off of my tour of THE PACK, my upper YA, but I was giving away a free ARC copy of BANDITS. It was a great crowd and I sold ebooks and paperbacks at the event. The owner even invited me back for the summer book festival. I was so honored.



Me with Eva, local Book Blogger. There were 3 other great Local Authors in attendance!



BOOK REVIEWS for BANDITS ARE COMING IN and SO FAR ARE GREAT!!!

I can say that I'm humbled to the point of tears. Yep, tears, that I got emails regarding reviews of Bandits.

Here's the first one:

Please drop in and comment.

Eva's Sanctuary:

5 out of 5 stars,
http://vampirekiss1967.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-of-bandits.html

The other is from Librarian, Dawn Lewallen

Her email quote: "Finished Bandits this weekend. LOVED it!!!! I especially liked how you were able to show the character's disgust and frustration without having them go into a swearing tirade and the romance between Jade and Daniel was gentle and romantic. A perfect YA novel!!"


YAY!!!

So if you want to review BANDITS, let me know :-D We still need some great blog reviewers to take a peek at it.

Also, stay tuned it goes for official review at Foreword Magazine this week...*I'm biting my nails for that one*

ARC Review jitters-Thanks Bergamot Book Diary for the shout out :-D

I'm so happy Orhedea offered to review the ARC for BANDITS

Please drop into her blog and say hello. I hope she likes it since she isn't into Scifi, but BANDITS is a character driven story, a coming of age, and a life changing story in a scifi/fantasy world of sorts. So I'm crossing my fingers she loves it.

Check out Bergamot Book Diary at http://bergamotbook.blogspot.com

I'm STILL LOOKING FOR REVIEWERS...if you are interested leave a comment :-D

I Got an Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award!! Yippee!

On Valentine's Day I was lucky enough to receive The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award from Kelly Hashway at http://www.kellyhashway.com/apps/blog/. Thank you, Courtney!


Here's how the award goes:

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award.

2. Share 4 guilty pleasures that you have.

3. Pass the award along to 6 other sweet blogs


Guilty Pleasures:

1. Cereal for Dinner -- I'm a sweet cereal addict and have a bad habit of eating it for dinner.

2. Watching Foreign Martial Arts Flicks -- I go to the local flea market and buy these babies 4 for $20 it is an obsession I can't seem to outgrow ever since I saw my first Bruce Lee Movie.

3. Baking -- I love to bake and eat what I bake, but since I have to watch my weight as a writer I don't bake as often.

4. Playing -- I enjoy making up games and playing with my kids. Hide and seek is my favorite where we hide candy to seek and who ever gets the most wins. I also like playing the monster - cruel I know.


Six Sweet Blogs:

1. Bookish In A Box

2. The Owl

3. WordSmithsonia

4. Kate The Book Buff

5. Book Reader's Heaven

6. Emma Micheals

SPEED DATING - Movie Review by Diva Monique

Movie Diva MONIQUE reviews Speed-Dating.


Three friends are at the heart of this story; the funny, but lazy guy Dog (Chico Benymon, Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story) and is-he-gay-is-he straight wallflower Beaver (Leonard Robinson, Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out) own a failing nightclub that needs to come up to code and Too Cool (Wesley Jonathan, Roll Bounce) only uses the facility to host speed-dating parties in order to get his macking game on. Just like with any romantic comedy, love, loss, family and learning lessons are in order.


I found the film quite charming, to be honest. It entertained me, and isn't that what you want from a movie? I thought many of the jokes were fun and entertaining, and the story weaves when you expect it to bob. I was actually surprised by the turns it took, which kept me even more entertained. Holly Robinson Peete's role in the film was subtle (probably too subtle for my tastes), but she puts a lot of emotion into the time she's given, providing a bit of solid ground for this film.


If you want to have a fun time watching a film, then this film is for you.

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW you WERE A Writer

It’s funny, many people do various jobs, have hobbies and don’t realize that hey…I’m a writer too. One of the main group of hidden writers are Bloggers. Yep, bloggers. Lately, there’s been talk on the web about book bloggers, book reviewing and the strength of a bloggers review. Believe it, those book bloggers that read tons of books, have a following, and write reviews consistently are indeed WRITER’s.

The HIDDEN WRITER

Bloggers

I mean I’ve gone to some blogs that probably get more reads per day than some online book review magazines. Not to mention, they read, manage contest, tweet, and promote their site – amazing!

Trip Review, Movie Review, and Others that leave reviews

Do you realize that lots of people that write a review for a hotel, car service, trip, location, movie or etc tend to leave reviews regularly? Those people may not consider themselves writers, but when you write something that someone else can’t wait to read – you know what… you are a writer. I’ve gone to places like mousebuzz, tripadvisor, cruisecritic and etc to plan some of my trips and not only are there regular posters on those forums but some of the reviews are pretty darn extensive.

The closet writer

Many writers write only for themselves originally. Some only ever write for themselves. Others want to take it to the next level and get their stuff published. But the closet writer just likes to share the news, whatever that news is.

Did you start off as a closet writer? I DID. I used to write extensive Trip Reports for my friends, with pictures and itinerary included. They’d request them from me on a regular basis when they were traveling. I was also an avid forum hopper (on travel forums, Disney forums and movie spots). I just loved to share my experiences. Then one day, I came out of my hiding place and started to write, finish a book, started a blog, and still haven’t given up all of my closet writing.

Are you a Hidden Writer?

CIN by Christina Leigh Pritchard

TEEN BOOK REVIEWER, Nyia's in the HOUOOOOSSSE!

We just finished the book C I N, by Christina Leigh Pritchard

Amazon Synopsis:
The Doctor said I should be dead. My heart beat furiously. I looked up at the flashes of lightning in the sky. Yes, I should be dead. Why wasn't I? Seventeen year old Lisa Brown's life is falling apart. First, her mother and father divorce, then their house forecloses and now, her mother has decided to commit herself to a psychiatric hospital. If that weren't enough, she must leave sunny south Florida to attend a boarding school full of geniuses in cold, Lynn, Massachusetts. The city where the locals taunt "Lynn, Lynn, city of sin; you never come out the way you went in." And, they aren't kidding. Lisa must live in a tiny shack with two strange teenagers, a dog named Pig who growls when you look at him and a cat named Rat. "Mind the cat," everyone says. What the heck is wrong with this place? Lisa thinks she's landed in her own house of horrors with the anti-social Alex and his facetious sister Ally. But, the real drama begins the day she is struck by lightning


NYIA's Review:

This was one of the best mystery books I have read in a long time. Lisa the main character had a mom that she knew didn’t love her. When her mom lost her job she left Lisa with her aunt. For some reason Lisa’s aunt stayed gone most of the time and told her to be nice to these two teenagers that lived in the house next to hers at this school her aunt ran called C I N. The kids were strange and acted old. I don’t want to give the mystery away, but Lisa gets struck by lightning 2 times and lives. After that everything goes crazy. This book was slow in the beginning but got interesting really fast. The guy that’s in love with Lisa though seems creepy to me, in a stalker way, but that was the only thing about the book I didn’t really like. I give the book 4 out of 5 lightning bolts.

Purchase book here: Amazon

That's YAmore Blogfest- Part 2

Thanks Oasis for YA for hosting this That's YAmore Blogfest since I'm a hopeless romantic I just had to share mine :-D

This is PART2 tease from BANDITS which releases, June 1st, 2011. If you want to see what led to this read here: CLICK

It's the first ever tidbit of romance that I've shared with anyone outside of my beta readers and editors for the book. I really hope you enjoy it.

If you want to review the ARC just send me a note in the comment with your email address. Otherwise, just enjoy :-D


***
THE KISS * To see the scene before this check previous post:

“Just don’t touch me okay? I want you to feel just… the kiss. You touch me, and I stop.” He swallowed. Putting both of his hands on the wall to secure himself, he fought against the desire to pull her to him.

His eyes traveled down her face as he drank in her beauty. He moistened his lips and reached out to stroke her cheek. His lightly tanned thumb caressed her cheek, a contrast to her exotic skin. He placed his hand back on the wall, closed his eyes, and leaned in to kiss her. The second his lips touched hers, he felt it - a burning in the pit of his stomach that snaked up his chest and clinched his heart. I’m in trouble.

She sighed, and Daniel slanted his eyes to watch her through his darkened lashes. Her fist balled as she fought against every natural urge to wrap her arms around him. She took a breath, and her lips opened slightly.

His eyes closed, and his knees were on the edge of buckling. The need to deepen the kiss seized him. Oh God! I better stop. Before he could stop himself, though, he dipped inside her mouth and then pushed away. Watching her, he had a deep desire to kiss her again – and again, and again. Dangerous, Jade, you’re going to get me killed.

THAT's YAMORE Blogfest

Thanks Oasis for YA for hosting this That's YAmore Blogfest since I'm a hopeless romantic I just had to share mine :-D

This is a tease from BANDITS which releases, June 1st, 2011.

It's the first ever tidbit of romance that I've shared with anyone outside of my beta readers and editors for the book. I really hope you enjoy it.

If you want to review the ARC just send me a note in the comment with your email address. Otherwise, just enjoy :-D


***

He got to the door and glanced back at her over his shoulder. His heart caught in his chest while he spied Jade, who stood there with her eyes closed. Her fingers were pressed against her eyelids in an attempt to stop her tears. She was trembling slightly as whimper caught in her throat. Aww hell! It’s just one kiss, for her birthday. I can give her that. Swallowing away his apprehensions, he turned around quietly and walked toward her.

She didn’t move, didn’t notice that he hadn’t left. Standing directly in front of her, he took her hands from her eyes. He held them firmly to stop her from covering her face again. Slowly, she opened her eyes and frowned. Her long dark lashes held the moisture of her tears.

“I’m sorry, Jade. You just, just… caught me by surprise.” He lowered his voice to a smooth, calming whisper. “I’ll give you this one kiss –as a birthday present. This has to be the only one... and it’s our secret, just between us,” he said and released her hands.

She leaned back against the wall. Looking up at him, she gulped slowly. She licked her lips and replied in a hoarse whisper, “Do it,” and closed her eyes.

WINTER'S END by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Guest TEEN BOOK REVIEWER NYIA is in the houuussseeee!

We just finished reading Winter's End and she's here to share her 2cents about it. It's a French book and she read the translated version.

Amazon blurb:
In a dystopian world, an oppressive revolutionary group has taken over. Four teenagers escape the "boarding school" where they have been held since their parents were murdered 15 years earlier for being part of the Resistance. Milena and Bartolomeo become romantically involved and run away together, as do Helen and Milos, separate from the other two. Ultimately, Helen, Milena, and Bartolomeo are reunited in the capital city where they find work at a restaurant doubling as a front for the Resistance movement. However, Milos is imprisoned and sent to a training camp from which he will be forced to compete in one-on-one, barbaric arena fights to the death. As a translation from the French, this book is successful, with only occasional minor awkward moments that do not detract from the story's compelling setting, mood, and tone. Most characters are adequately drawn but some disappear and never return.

NYIA's REVIEW:

I didn't know that I loved dystopian books so much. This book showed me that. I really liked Milos and all of the characters. I got attached to them. There was not many boring parts, because each character was in first person in some parts. Also, there were some parts that changed to 3rd person. It had me worried for each one of them and I really wanted them to get away from that terrible place. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was the ending. I even cried when I got to the end. I give it 3 out of 4 stars only because I wish it would have ended differently.

MY FROG TURNED INTO A PRINCE

My best friend in High School lived in another town. She was pretty, perky, and best of all knew a lot of boys. One of her favorite things to do was to match make. Unfortunately for me, I was a glutton for punishment and went on 3 disaster dates due to her practicing being the new matchmaker.com.

She called and was like, "I've got the perfect one for you. I really do. I know what you like now. Took some practice, but trust me. I got this."

I generally told her off for her last 3 mishaps. The pock faced kid that picked his nose. The octopus that couldn't keep his hands to himself and the 'no show' that called to tell me that his girlfriend found out about me - Say what?!

But this one, she promised was perfect.

Well this time, I took it slow. I talked to the guy for about 2 months before I met him. Now we were supposed to mail each other pictures, but it never happened. Then eventually, we both decided to be surprised since we figured the major issues were cleared up. Like telling and confirming the basics of what we looked like. I didn’t count on tidbits from my match-maker friend. I asked him for references! Yep, I spoke to his buddies, and family members (like younger siblings who were too young to be jaded.)

THE MEETING

Well, at the time I lived in the city. He lived in the suburbs in a nice neighborhood. But what I liked about him was he had street smarts from growing up in Grand Rapids / and Saginaw, MI. Even so, he was very intelligent and could speak ‘street’ and suburb like me. See, even though I lived in the city, I went to Catholic School where ‘proper’ English was only allowed. If you slipped into slang – you got slapped, literally!

So, he caught the Metro train, then the bus to my neighborhood. I took my ‘aunt’ along, who was more like a cousin. We were both the same age and she had explicate directions to scope out the bus and to take my ditch him with our made up excuse if the guy was a dud.

Now, the moment of truth – I laid eyes on him and was like, “WOWSA!” I literally had to gulp my heart back in my chest.

He looked at me and smiled (I believe he was thinking the same thing – but I was wrong.)

I stood there and grinned like a fool, then tripped forward as my cousin elbowed me. Oh…forgot she was still there. I whispered to her, “Beat it!” and she promptly left.

Then I looked back at him and he was frowning…yep, frowning. The first thing he said to me was, “Ummm, you don’t look like what I thought. Are you sure you’re 15? I mean…you are really small. How tall are you?”

Okay, yeah, I’m only about 5ft to his 6ft 2inches, but I was funsized!

THE UGLY TRUTH

Well, truth was, he was not cut out for long distance romance. I found out through a reliable source (his best friend who was ‘crushing on me’) that he was running around with another girl – heck a few other girls. So I confronted him and he fessed up the truth. Gotta say I was impressed with his honesty - as blunt as it was. However, he did warn me by saying, "Do you really want to know? Cause I'm not gonna lie." Now what person in their right mind will say, "Oh lie to me..." So I told him I could respect a dude that spoke the truth, but a liar, I'd never respect - so spill it. All he simply said was, "Yes, I've been seeing other people. You live too far away." And of course, I dumped him.



THE FAIRY Tale ENDING


We decided to remain friends. And after 8 years of true friendship, we dated for about 3 months and have been married for 18years. So I lucked out and married my frog – who turned prince – after having 8 years to grow up.

Where The Heck Is Prince Charming?!

(Don't you just love this off version of Princess and Prince?)

What’s the Deal with Disney Prince’s?

Okay, today I was chatting it up with a friend. We were talking about one of a girls most sizzling topics – MEN/BOYS and our Prince. Well, since I have two girls who love, love – love Disney films, as do I, I’ve seen most all of them to do with a Princess and a Prince.


However, I’ve realized that in the last two FairyTale based movies I’ve seen by Disney – something MAJOR has changed. The Prince in shining armor is a –WIMP, DEADBEAT, THIEF, LEECH and NO ACCOUNT, POOR, NO-JOB HAVING…cutie.

Yep, the only thing they left the Prince of today was good looks!

IS THAT MORE REALISTIC?

I’d say no way…okay, yeah in some ways. In the way that guys are human and are not infallible saviors to all that is female. Now as far as these Princesses taking a frog and turning them into a Prince…I can say it could happen. But mostly in real life – a person is who they are. They …themselves have to want to change, improve, and be responsible. So if your prospective Prince doesn’t have it together, don’t have expectations that you can change him. Give him his own time to grow up – and take time to grow up yourself too.

BUT I WANT PRINCE CHARMING BACK!

Now I can’t just say that Princess – Tiana got dogged out on the lack of a Prince Charming. Her Prince was attractive, and sort-of charming in a run around with many girls way. Rapunzel also had a cute deadbeat that she insisted on beating constantly with a frying pan to set him straight. Why couldn’t he be more charming, instead of conceited and a criminal?

I WANT IT ALL

Since we are talking Fairy Tales, I would like stronger Princesses that take charge of their situation and getting themselves saved. But can’t the Princess be strong and get the Handsome, Strong, Die Hard In Love with You, Saving…Prince Charming too?

Now Disney…go create that Fairy Tale!

VALENTINE's WISH

Now for those out there that don't celebrate Valentine's day - my dear husband is with you. I however, will enjoy ANY opportunity to get or give candy. I also am just a loving person that likes to show those around me (friends, my man, or family) that hey - 'Somebody Loves You' nothing wrong with that. Now do I have to BUY something to say that, Heck no, lots of times I just make them something special. But you know what I do most of all? I don't expect it in return. When you love someone, you just do :-D

WHAT'S YOUR VALENTINES day FROG Prince or Princess story?
WHY don't or do you celebrate it?

AND if someone came up to you and gave you a gift - would you throw it back at them?

Are you Ready for Valentine's Day?

Yippee! Love is in the air. Stay tuned for a great week of love stories, Princess and Prince talk and the announcement of the winner of the Bandits giveaway!

If you have a luv story to share - doesn't have to be yours, gear up and post it in comments on Monday!

Monday's post is "Where's Prince Charming"

HOT 2011 Movies Coming out!

Oh Yeah, baby! The weekend is here and it's reading and movie time.

I just have to tell you about all the movies I gotta see this Summer. Tell me which ones you like:

This one is just my speed.

HANNA
-Young Kick Butt Girl! Innocent and exciting!



THOR - uh, need I say more?



PRIEST - Vamps, I'm so addicted



PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN...Love it!




Of course there's HARRY POTTER and BREAKING DAWN, but I bet you've already seen those.

So, what are you waiting to see this year?

HOW TO DITCH YOUR FAIRY by Justine Larbalastier

NYIA our Teen Book Reviewer is in the HOUUUUUUSSSSSEEEE!

She can't wait to tell you about a fun YA book named HOW TO DITCH YOUR FAIRY by Justine Larbalastier

Amazon Blurb:
Grade 6–10—Fourteen-year-old Charlie, a fair-to-middling student at the "all sports, all the time" New Avalon high school, is cursed with a parking fairy (the driver finds the perfect parking spot if she's in the car) and determined to do whatever it takes to swap fairies with her archenemy, Fiorenze, who's been "blessed" with an every-boy-will-like-you fairy. But what Charlie doesn't know is that the grass really isn't greener on the other side, as proven by the many complications that ensue when she successfully ditches her parking fairy and finds herself saddled with slavish and unwelcome attention from every boy in sight. —Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library, OH


NYIA's Review:
I read this in like just 3 hours it was a fast and funny book. There were even some parts that made me giggle. I did figure it was unrealistic to want to get rid of the fairy and why would someone want to give up it all for a boy, but it didn’t make me stop reading. I didn’t really understand the whole fairy thing, like where they came from or why they had them, but it didn’t matter too much, I still enjoyed it and would give it to my friend. I liked the characters and they are what really kept me reading on. I give this book 4 out of 5 wands.


This is the cover My mom bought. I new it would be a funny book from looking at the cover:


This is the first cover: