Blood Coven Books

As it's been pointed out by my fabulous friend Erin (check out her blog here), I've been doing quite a bit of YA reading recently. This is mostly because YA novels are quick reads, and for the last few months, my attention span has been similar to that of a lawn gnome. As in, nonexistent. Anyway, I've been working my way through the Blood Coven series by Mari Mancusi, and I would definitely recommend it.


Mancusi definitely has a gift for campy horror, and her tone kind of reminds me of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. Sunny's quest to find the Holy Grail after she gets vamped (due to a case of mistaken identity - the vampire in question was supposed to bite her twin sister) is sweet, funny and slightly awkward, in a good way. The characters are easy to relate to, and it's an original take on vampiric politics, as opposed to the same old "council that has rules and regulations with the oldest vampires who take out the youngest ones." Do I even have to say who I'm insulting there? I think not.




I may have liked Stake That even more than I liked Boys That Bite. Rayne is a lot more interesting to me as a character. I'm not sure why I like her more than Sunny (yup, their names are Sunshine and Rayne, haha) but it could have something to do with the fact that she has more of an attitude problem and definitely doesn't like being told what to do...I don't know anyone like that :) And she has a way more kick ass boyfriend. Not that the Holy Grail search wasn't romantic, but Jareth's origins are so complex and intriguing. And did we notice that Jareth never accidentally bites the wrong girl?



Girls that Growl was immensely entertaining. Only the goth girl would have an undercover assignment to become a cheerleader and save her arch nemesis/captain of the football team. Let's just talk about creative problem solving strategies for a sec. Rayne's technique for landing a spot on the team was very humorous, especially after she spent, oh, say, 10 whole minutes practicing and fell on her face during her try out. And I loved the development of friendships, especially Cait and Rayne's, and Mandy's admission about why she and Rayne parted ways years ago. The only thing that bothered me about the book was the Rayne/Jareth interaction. If I wanted to list to non-stop bickering, I would watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 or Dr. 90210. It definitely annoyed me a little. But other than that, I really enjoyed it.

The 4th book comes out in January...I'm not very good at this whole waiting patiently thing, but I'm trying, and luckily there are a whole bunch of other exciting things coming out in the meantime *cough Vampire Academy Book 4 cough* so hopefully it will curb my YA appetite until then. It's back to Sunny's POV, and I'm hoping it's just as good as the others.

Also, FYI, if you're interested, Barnes and Noble ordered a whole bunch of these books, so you should definitely pick them up and support Mari! Or, you know, the lib's good too.

Yumi Kim Friends and Family Sale

Great news! Yumi Kim is having a friends and family sale, and you're all invited! Here's the dirt:

Before we host our mega sample sale in a few weeks, we want our Friends & Family to get first dibs on YK's Spring/Summer goodies!

YUMI KIM is offering 50% OFF ALL Spring/Summer goodies online and in our shop!

ONLINE SHOP: www.yumikimshop.com

You must enter at check out discount code: ykfamily

Or you can mention the mailer in our flagship store in order to receive the discount!

YUMI KIM

105 Stanton Street

(corner of Ludlow)

Please pass the great news along to all your Friends & Family!

Post it on Facebook...Twitter it...help get the word out!!!

We have LIMITED stock and it's going FASSSSSST!

XOXO,

YUMI KIM

If you can get it, I recommend the vine floral jumper...totally hot.

Carpe Corpus

Just finished reading Rachel Caine's latest installment in the Morganville Vampires series, Carpe Corpus. It was definitely up there as far as my favorites go. Maybe not first place...I still really have a soft spot in my heart for the first book, but very exciting and well written. Lots of action (including some we've been waiting for the WHOLE FREAKING TIME) and she still managed to surprise me with a couple of wicked twists and turns. And you really can't help but to love Shane <3.

One of my favorite things about Rachel Caine is that she's not afraid to take risks in her writing. A lot of authors have a centralized cast that stays stable from one book to the next, and while Rachel Caine does that also, she's not afraid to take what you know about those characters and tweak it in an unexpected way so that they seem to develop along the way. And unlike some authors, she's not afraid to kill off major players (cough *Stephenie Meyer* cough).

Side Note: For real, that really really bothers me. If there's a war or an epic battle of some sort (you too, JK Rowling), people are going to die. Not just the bad guys. Not just the people who I have to sit there and go "who the hell was that?" until I reread the book 11 times and figure out why they were ever mentioned to begin with. Real, important characters that I am actually attached to.

End Rant.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out any books in the series, I would highly recommend it. Another great thing about them? They are like $6.99, so pretty much fit into every budget out there. And if not, well, there's always the library.

Far From You

Last week, I picked up a bunch of new books from the Strand for 48 cents each. A great investment, if I do say so myself :) I spent this rainy Sunday afternoon reading Far From You by Lisa Schroeder.

This book is amazing! It's a less fantastical, updated version of the Alice in Wonderland tale, and it definitely hits home. This Alice is struggling to find her place in her father's family after her mother loses her battle with cancer. But when a snowstorm strikes while Alice, her stepmother Victoria, and her baby half-sister Ivy are driving home from a family trip, Alice learns that things (and people) aren't always what they seem.

I would highly recommend this book. It's written in verse, and it's got the YA coming of age and self-understanding themes in a funky and uplifting kind of way. It's enough to make you believe in happy endings again...although this ending was happily realistic, my favorite kind. Alice is an incredibly complex character, and so authentic, without being overtly teen-angsty over her struggles. Love it!

Sleep and Such

How many days of no sleep does it take to make you an insomniac? Perhaps I should give up the coffee, tea, Mountain Dew, chocolate, etc, before bed...perhaps. Not likely though. Rereading Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (such a good book!)and trying to do some cleaning.

If the painters who were supposed to arrive at the buttcrack of dawn yesterday show up, I will be seriously pissed. I waited 8 hours for them...the least they can do is allow me to slumber uninterrupted. Thank you :)

LFO

This just in: apparently Rich Cronin of LFO actually wrote Summer Girls himself. Who knew? That explains a lot. Suddenly I understand why Shakespeare, Larry Byrd and Macauley Culkin are all mentioned in the same song. Now if only I could figure out the thing about the marmalade...

PS LFO Reunion show on July 18th at the Highline Ballroom...who's in?

And no, that part wasn't a joke.

Vamped...along with other things

Can I just say, I love the book Vamped by Lucienne Diver. It's spectacularly campy and just a fun read. Check out the author's site here. She's quite entertaining, and I loved the interview I read the other day about the book. If you like Buffy, or if you like teen fiction, you'll love it!

In other news, the new television series Vampire Diaries, based on the books by LJ Smith, starts in Sept. Can't wait! I might actually have to get one of those converter things so I can watch this one...or maybe I'll watch it online, lol.

And third, Jimmy Choo for H&M? Divine!

PS For those of you worried about R-Patz after his taxi issue yesterday, don't worry. He didn't actually get hit, it was just a close call. Newsflash: walking in the street in NYC is always a close call, haha. Could have been worse...it coulda been a bus.