Beautiful Darkness? Or An Unappealing Light?!?!? Beautiful Darkness-

Beautiful Darkness... the second book to Beautiful Creatures. By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl..........
I had previously stated. QUOTE-UNQUOTE "The only thing I'm worried about is that the story may lose its essence of magic. How long can they draw out Ethan and Lena's story? I don't want it to fall into just a love story between the two seeing as how all the mystery and thrills and chills were in the first."   ehem* clearing my throat.... I take it back.... 
Even though Ethan and Lena's story continues. It is so much more than just their love story. It's all of the characters. I'm swept up into their world and quite honestly... I don't want to leave. I'm not sure if any of you out there are like this but I have fallen in love with the characters from a story... And as fast as I'm reading this series I will soon be done. It's almost like losing a friend, or in this case friends. How could you come to care about all of these menacing dark personas and yet in them you find light... as it says in the book. "In darkness there is light. In light there is darkness." 
But let's get down to it now that we can all see how completely mesmerized and infatuated I've become over these books: It's even MORE thrilling and enticing that the first with all of its twists and turns. We are drawn deeper into the tunnels that lay beneath what we thought Gatlin was.... We follow Ethan on a hard and trying journey against time and darkness to save the one he loves. 
I'm scared to read the third but so far they have shot over and beyond my expectations. And although I'm not to sure about how I feel about what happened to Link and Ridley... The ending left me on the edge of my seat.. popcorn still en route to my mouth... and as I turned the last page and saw that there was no more to read of this book..... My popcorn went flying. I jumped up in anger thinking 'I cannot believe this...'. And yet my heart was screaming with joy There's More!!! There's More!!!!!! ;) interested???? Read On!
-D- 
kiss approved :****  4/5

A Beautiful Mess? Or Evil Thoughts?!?!?!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Sit back and relax... but be ready to hold on to your seats!!!! As I was reading this in the beginning it felt a little jet laggedy... Like a slow start to a movie, however by a few chapters in the wind was whipping through my hair, I didn't want to sleep, or eat (let me say I love food.. so that's big ;) ).  You're flying in the action up into the night reading. And when your body can't take the lack of sleep anymore your brain doesn't want to rest because it's going crazy wondering what's going to happen, it's left begging for more. 
Now if you're not one for paranormal, mystery, romance, death, ghosts, magic etc... I would probably dissuade you from reading this and say to check out some other book. HOWEVER, that being said if you are it's a must read! 
Halfway through I was dying to read the next one. I wanted to figure out what was going to happen. It's one of those stories you get lost into that you want to reach in and become part of these women's words, the world that they creates. You want to meet each of their characters because you love them just as much as you were meant to. 
I was introduced to this book through a coincidental conversation. I was talking to a friend about this new movie that was coming out in theaters and how I desperately wanted to see it. Said friend informed me that this movie (Beautiful Creatures) was based off of a book. Now anyone that knows me knows that I must read the book before seeing the movie! But it's almost a catch 22..... Now I'm scared to watch the movie because I'm not sure the characters in my head will be anything close to the actors/actresses. haha. 
Buuuut now that I have finished the book I am in a flurry of oh my gosh's and what's going to happen next's. I don't know if I'm surprised at the ending it only made sense to give a hint as to what was going to happen with Lena..... but they just reiterated the question I was dying to know and that there was more drama to come. The only thing I'm worried about is that the story may lose its essence of magic. How long can they draw out Ethan and Lena's story? I don't want it to fall into just a love story between the two seeing as how all the mystery and thrills and chills were in the first. They have their bar set high so I guess I will just have to read on and see!!!! 
kiss approved :**** 4/5
-D- 

Bound- A Thrill? OR A CHILL!?!?!?

This book by Kira Saito has such great potential but I'm so disappointed to say it was as if juvenilely written and published. It's a huge turn off... there are typos everywhere, which no book is perfect and for me I understood what the writer was getting at, however not everyone is going to feel that way. All of the little things add up and it starts to lose you as a reader, the story isn't smooth. It's like having small chunks of unmixed flour in your cookie dough.
Even in the beginning I felt as though the characters weren't fully believable and or they were underdeveloped. We look at Arelia a young girl who just found out she had a long unknown great aunt and yet it takes her about five minutes to be ok with her grandma who didn't tell her and then later on she isn't. She flips flops with her emotions throughout the entire story. As a reader you become confused. You should  always be in tune to your character as a writer... you should know the difference between what they would and wouldn't do or how they would and wouldn't feel.
Another pet peeve is the brand names being dropped like flies here and there and everywhere! It's like over sprinkling a cookie... you want them scattered about not in globs... For instance instead of saying that Arelia's best friend Sabrina uses a. b. and c. as a young girl to explain she's high maintenance... there are different ways of explaining like saying she can't get a spot of dirt on her clothes without changing or doesn't leave the house without her makeup and two pairs of different high heels. I'm personally not a fan of name drops, it doesn't impress me or make me feel any closer with the characters. I want to be able to relate them to my own life.
As a writer you would think you would follow the culture and ways of speaking depending on where your story takes place. I'm not sure while I read this if I was truly in New Orleans with Grandmere Bea a voodoo queen or if I am in just any other state with a regular grandmother. It needs cultural voice and taste, something unique, that takes you to the heart of New Orleans and their cultural ways....
As much as I wanted to read the second one to see if it gets any better I will not be doing so. All I can say is I'm disappointed it wasn't a better read. (Don't ever judge a book by its cover that's for sure)
-D- :* 1/5

A Comedy? Or a Bad Punchline!?!?! (Tina Fey's Bossypants)

Tina Fey. You've seen her on SNL... 30 Rock.... or maybe you have no idea who she is. But regardless she has a knack to make people laugh. And at the heart of this female feminist comedian is a mother, a daughter, and a woman with her own thoughts and feelings. Her book shows just this... her behind the scenes, backstage, story of how she came to be the Tina Fey we know and her random funny and other deep down serious stories along the way.
My good friend suggested we read a book together and I was all for it! I knew of Tina Fey but don't watch that much SNL or had any idea she had written "Mean Girls" (which by the way I looove). So when she gave me the title I quickly downloaded it, I'm always down to laugh. Little did I know until getting into the book that it wasn't as light-hearted as I assumed it would be... but you know what they say about assuming: "it makes an a** out of u and me".
That being said whether you love her or hate her, and whether you agree on any of her personal beliefs, one thing is true... she is full of vinegar and cake vodka ;)
There were quite a few parts in this book for me that was older than my young-ness knew... whether she talked about things that happened when I was a wee little thing or people that were more her generation than my own it was difficult for me to find a connection. There was more than once that names were dropped and I had no clue who she was mentioning... easy enough if you have google or friends and family older than you but neither of which I had the gusto to do at the time haha. That being said I wouldn't recommend it for the younger generation unless you're into years before your time or if you're looking for a light, quick, read- because that it is not.
However if you Love Tina Fey, SNL , or a mother/woman looking for a laugh and a woman to connect with that has a hell of a story than get down to it! She's a kick and a roll in the hay in some parts but there are other parts that are more of her story that she tells in a down and dirty raw essence.
kiss approved :*** 3/5
-D-