GUESS WHAT

Hey, guys!

GUESS WHAT!

Yes, I finally ended the giveaway! I know. I know, trust me; I know, I postponed it for a long time now, but I was really hoping more people would enter. (Plus I've been super busy.....)

Oh, before I begin, please, please, please, PLEASE, read this to the end, everyone. It's important.
  

ANYWAY.

So! DRUMROLL PLEASE....

*drums sound in the distance*

Wait. I don't have any... Where... It was a figure of... Oh well.

(There's about to be a few "official"s, be prepared...)

The official winner of an official copy of The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter is.....

JOHNNY BERGMAN.   So, hey, go check your email.


A HUGE thank you to all who participated! (Yes, all three of you...) I'm sorry I don't have more than one copy to give away! I'm hugely appreciative of all of you, ESPECIALLY Charlien Paule!

Remember that giveaway entries can STILL BE REVOKED... That means a new winner can be chosen if the current winner has ANY ENTRY revoked, thereby disqualifying said winner. I will be monitoring you, and until the book actually gets to you, I can (and will) disqualify you if you deserve it, and you will not be the winner, and you will not get your prize, and a new winner will be chosen. And I WILL hold this up, make no mistake about that.

Sorry if I seemed a bit...well, yeah. I just really cannot stand lies, or cheating, or anything that even a smidge of dishonesty is involved in. So be honest, and uphold your end of the deal so I can uphold mine. I'm really not angry, nor do I suspect that any winner would ever do this. However, I am also not a naive, innocent little girl who knows nothing of the world; I know some people do this, and I don't believe that any of you ever would, but I am watching you, just in case you do. It's not anyone's fault, and I'm not going to be that paranoid prick who doesn't trust anyone, because I do trust you guys, but I just really have to make sure. Sorry.

I am so, so grateful to you three who participated. You'll just have to believe me when I say that I wish I could give you all a special something.

The winner was picked at random. I'm sorry that you two didn't get anything for all your efforts, but thank you for trying! Maybe you'll win the next time I have a giveaway!

Charlien (if you don't mind me using your first name...), email me, please? I have something to talk to you about, but it is probably best to do more privately than, you know, a blog post to the world.

Jessica Clarke, you can also email me, if you would like. (OH, and it's awesome that our first names are the same. ^-^ I was super happy when I saw your name on the list of entries, it was pretty cool, even if we do spell them differently)

You two won't regret emailing me, I promise!

Thank you guys so much for participating! Again, sorry to Jessica Clarke and Charlien Paule. Try again soon, though!

As a reminder after my babbling:
Johnny Bergman, please check your email.
Charlien Paule, email me? My email is in the contact me tab at the top, so just click it and you'll see my email somewhere in there.
Jessica Clarke
I appreciate everyone who entered, and hopefully next time there will be more entries, and possibly better, or even multiple, prizes! Remember to keep spreading the word about my blog; the more coverage I get, the more giveaways I can do!


~J Hope

Giveaway!

Hey, guys, this is my first official giveaway!

If you guys will remember, I did some reviews on Aimée Carter's The Goddess Test series a little while back. Well, now I'll give you a chance to read the first amazing book in this series!

My review may have been a bit harsh, but I seriously did like The Goddess Test. I love Greek mythology, especially when a gifted author puts a spin on the classic myths!

Here's the giveaway, guys. There WILL BE MORE GIVEAWAYS TO COME.

This is just the first of many. So, enter, and I hope you all enjoy The Goddess Test!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Facebook!

Okay, guys, I officially made a Facebook page for this blog, so here's the link!

 https://www.facebook.com/JHopeReviews


I hope you go like it! :)






















P.S. There will be a giveaway real soon!

~J.Hope

The House of Night novels (HoN)

To be honest with you guys, I read the House of Night novels about four years ago. A few days ago, I started rereading them.

 

I love these books, and I have ever since my wonderful best friend's fantastic grandmother (or Nana, as we call her) introduced me to them four years ago!

 

They're unique, no matter what you may hear about the vampire genre cliche. They're totally and completely, 100% unique, and they're targeted at way more than just the young women audience. Okay, maybe that's where most of their fanbase lies, but that's also because guys don't typically open their minds enough to read, let alone want to read so-called "girly" books.

 

No offense to guys who read, because that is completely attractive when guys read. No kidding whatsoever. And I also think that EVERYONE, I mean everyone in the world, should read, so I'm not being sexist or anything like that, it's just a general statement and you guys who do read out there are definitely special and have nothing to be ashamed of and are amazing because reading is the most amazing thing in the world. And I know guys who read a lot get made fun of a lot, and you guys really shouldn't have to put up with that. Smart guys are way more attractive than dumb ones. Why do you think girls (women) all go for the doctor and lawyer types?

 

Okay, sorry for that little completely off-topic paragraph. Just wanted to be clear on my views.

 

Back to HoN. 

 

So, I recently started rereading these amazing books, and I want you to all come into these reviews ith completely open minds because I think I can promise that you won't regret it.

 

I'm in love with these characters, and these books. I haven't even begun to tell you of this amazing world of ancients, with vampyres and Marks and magick and Nyx. Stick around for it. You'll most definitely find something you like about these books, and I know that's a promise I can make.

 

~Jessicah

Hello, People of the World!

So, like the title says, HELLO!

So. Um. Hi.

I'll get right to the point because I'm not exactly very good at all this small talk crap. Even though I'm typing, not talking.

Whatever.

Anyway, so, I've been gone for quite a while. (Yes, I heard that "Thank you, Captain Obvious" statement you just made. Don't think I didn't.) So, I'll apologize now for all my absence(s), and all my future ones.

I had my reasons.

That's pretty much all you need to know, though I will tell you more, and I will try to not make it seem like I'm just making excuses, even though I don't really need to make excuses, since it is my blog and all. And no, I am not throwing myself a pity party. I just don't like people misunderstanding things and all things that come from someone are easily misunderstood, let alone things being typed.

But for you two loyal followers (who I appreciate very, very much!), and maybe a little for those of you who just happen to drop in sometimes, I will say that I have been super busy with school and life drama and lots of school and life drama. Oops, I said that twice. Well, I must say, school does take up a lot of time. And one's life drama kind of exhausts one. ("One" being me, in case you didn't catch that.)

So, if you really wanna know more about why I was gone, ask. I really don't mind at all, and actually appreciate it when people care enough to ask about what's been going on.

If you're fine with my crappy little explanation, I'm really okay with that, too.

I just thought I'd let you know why I haven't been on here in forever.

Just to clear things up:

I WILL NEVER ABANDON THIS BLOG.

If I have to take a temporary hiatus status, so be it, but I will not abandon it. It may change as I get older, as I grow, since it is a part of me and will grow with me, but it will never be abandoned.

I'll post about new books and things soon. Later guys. :)

~Jessicah

City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5)

Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis:
The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

 Why I Read This: 
I read the other books and wanted to read this one too, after the cliff hanger of the last book.

My Thoughts/Review:
"Harrowing" is a good word to describe this book (in more ways than one).

Clary, Simon, Jace, Sebastian, Maia, Jordan, Alec, Magnus, Isabelle and the Clave are all back for another installment of The Mortal Instruments series! While trying to figure what the heck is wrong with Jace for hanging out with Sebastian like they're brothers or something, Clary discovers that something is horribly wrong--Lilith's magic has bonded the two together; neither can die without the other dying, as well. Jace is submissive to Sebastian and loses himself, though he retains his love for her (no matter how twisted it becomes). Clary makes a move and acts like she's joining them, when she's actually communicating to Simon what's going on. Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to find a way to kill Sebastian without killing Jace--and they discover a solution that could end up killing someone in the process of getting an impossible weapon. Alec and Magnus have more relationship problems--problems bound to happen with a mortal and an immortal. Alec is tempted by an offer to take away Magnus' immortality, but will he take it? Will Jace live or die? Will Jace even get away from the control of Sebastian? Will Clary be able to pull of her most dangerous stunt yet? Will Maia and Jordan get back together? Will Simon and Isabelle be a happy couple? Who knows. You'll have to read to find out, I suppose.

On another note, we find out quite a bit about Sebastian in this book. I guess he's not all that bad of a guy, but still. Evil. Genius. Gotta admire his brains, though he does seem to underestimate Clary quite a bit, which wasn't necessarily the brightest move.

All those relationships that grow? Clary and Sebastian (as bro and sis of course), Clary and Jace, Simon and Isabelle, Maia and Jordan, and several others.
All those that crumble to dust? Sebastian and Jace, Simon and Maia, and Alec and Magnus (O.O)

The Alec/Magnus scenes were heart-wrenching and if they don't get back together, I will be forced to send angry fan letters to Cassy Clare because THEY ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER. I CRIED DAMMIT.

Anyway, it's an okay book overall, but it didn't live up to my expectations, to be honest. The first three books were better than these past two, and I hope the last one will be getting better. The plot was kind of all over the place, but I can deal with that as long as I can piece it together. It was still pretty clear in the direction the book wanted to go.

I won't hold as high expectations for the next book, but I definitely will read it. I didn't stick with these books thus far just to give up now. It's happening.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

SORRY (&Pottermore stuff)

Oh my God, guys, I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting lately! I have been super busy with summer projects (and school starts today for me so I probably won't be getting on a whole lot anyway). I'm sorry!

In other news (because the guilt is eating at me and I'm going to ramble about it if I don't stop now), I have a Pottermore account!

Actually, I have seven.

Yes. 7. VII. Sept. Seven.

WHY do I have seven different accounts, you ask? Well, it's simple. I'm very easily amused and I liked seeing which wand I would get each time. PLUS the sorting!

OHMYGOD THE SORTING.

I was sorted seven times. Every time I was sorted into the same house: Slytherin.

Because I'm just awesome like that.

ANYWAY.

I like Pottermore, but I don't have a ton of time for it, and plus you guys come first, like always.

But if you do happen to have a Pottermore account, my main account is GoldHex25191. Feel free to friend me/challenge me to a duel/whatever else you wanna do.

Just thought I'd explain to you guys. Once again, I'm sorry. I'm really, really, really sorry.

~Jessicah
P.S. There's a 'Contact Info.& Stuff' tab now which has my Twitter, Goodreads, email, and Tumblr.

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Title: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis:
The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And - most importantly of all - she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.
Why I Read This:
I read this because I had read the first three books in the series and was excited about where I thought this was going to go.

My Thoughts/Review:
I was very disappointed with this book. It took me forever to get through, and I even started on two other books while I was reading it because it was so boring nearly the whole time.

The entire book was just one big boring blob that was leading up to the very end of the book. There was next to no action, none of the stuff that I love Cassandra Clare's books for. It was okay, but not good. As of right now, I think TMI should have been a trilogy because this book was BORING.

There were two redeeming qualities: the ending (which was fairly awesome, considering the rest of the book), and Clary's training (which I was soo looking forward to). But they weren't even that redeeming.

Sorry guys, I can't really say much else because there's not much else to say. I just didn't like this book very much. It almost hurts me to give such a bad review of a book by Clare because I love her writing so much normally. Sorry, Cassandra.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

Important

Guys, I'm really sorry that I didn't get on and post Friday or Saturday. I've been at my grandparents' house with my mom. In East Texas. There's no signal, and the WiFi was turned off and my Grammy didn't turn it back on until today.

There's been good food and everything, and I like being with my family, but I haven't been able to read because the book I'm reading requires the internet, which I didn't have until now. I'll work on some more posts, guys. Sorry!

I really didn't know that I was going to my grandparents' house. My mom sprung it on me right before we left. I'll post later or tomorrow. Later, guys.

~Jessicah

Creativity and How To Overcome Writer's Block

This is going to be a short-ish post. Just a fair warning.

 

So, what's up, guys? If you write or do something creative, then you might want to check this out. This isn't just for writer's block. It works if you're in a funk for anything: drawing, sketching, painting, crafts, sculpting, photography, etc.

 

The important thing is to keep your creative juices going. It doesn't matter what you do to keep it going--you can be a writer and paint or something to keep the creativity up. You can do all sorts of things. The important thing is that you're doing it and keeping up creativity and using your brain to think of different ideas.

 

Also, get inspired by every-day things. The little things are what make the big things, and everyone likes when big things are made from their work, no?

 

It's just that so many things tell you to just keep going and stick with it. Well, if you're blocked on something, you need to remove the block with flow. Honestly, I've never given it a ton of thought until now. I always thought that I'd just get over it sooner or later, so why bother trying to get over something that's so hard to overcome? It's actually not so hard.

 

I love to write. I also love to draw/sketch/paint. Even sculpt, when I feel like it. A lot of authors also do some form of art, just because they're overflowing with creativity, or because they wanted to keep up their creativity and not get burned out doing just one thing. You can get burned out really easily if you don't watch it, but it's different for everyone. You can even just start on another project, and that might help, just for the sake of thinking about something different and new. It really does help.

 

Anyway, that's my take on writer's block and being in a funk. Stay creative, guys.

 

~Jessicah

Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters (2013 MOVIE)

Hey, guys. So, I saw PJO: SoM earlier today! It was pretty awesome.

Title: Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Release Date: August 7, 2013 (US)
Rating: PG
Duration: 106 min.
Synopsis:
Based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters. In order to restore their dying safe haven, the son of Poseidon and his friends embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find the mythical Golden Fleece while trying to stop an ancient evil from rising.

 Why I Watched This:
Because I foolishly thought that this movie would be better and more to the plot line than the last movie and I couldn't help it: I love those books. I had to see what they would do this time.

My Thoughts/Review:
I had never been so excited to see a movie IN MY LIFE. I've never gone to a movie on the day of the premier, and I was begging people to go see it with me! I just could not wait. I was so excited. I thought that maybe, just MAYBE, the director might have seen the light and realized that he did not need to screw with the plot line of the books so damn much. I get it, you have to make a few changes when making a movie from a book to fit it all into the time. BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SCREW WITH THE ENTIRE PLOT LINE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES.

I was sooo disappointed. It was good and had good graphics, but the plot line was too screwed. I hated it. If I hadn't read the books, it would've been awesome. But I did read the books. Several times, in fact. I fell in love with the books. My mom even said that she thought the movie was amazing. I simply told her that she needed to read PJO when she gets done with LotR (I'm practically in charge of what she reads).

The graphics were amazing and all, and I really liked some things that they did. However. It was so lacking in the humor that Rick Riordan had in his books, the banter, the everything. So many things were too....dull. Or too overdone. Or too LEFT OUT. Half the story line of the book was left out of the movie. The half that was left out was replaced by bits and pieces of skewed information from other books. IT SUCKED.

THE PROPHECY WAS CHANGED! WHY OH WHY WAS THE PROPHECY CHANGED?! THE PROPHECY WAS SOMETHING THAT I LOVED IN THAT SERIES AND THEY CHANGED IT! ALSO, THAT PROPHECY WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN YET! So disappointed!!! ARGH!

I hated this movie; I think it was an awesome movie, great actors (Logan Lerman is one of my fave actors, to be honest), but I just didn't enjoy it like I thought I should. It was way too skewed for me to enjoy it. Maybe I'll enjoy it once I've watched it again. Maybe my expectations were too high. I don't know.

If there's one thing this experience has taught me, it's that I will never get so excited about a movie again. I don't wanna be disappointed like this again. Ever.

On the bright side, at least Annabeth's hair was blonde(ish) this time, like it should be. PLUS, Clarisse was really pretty, though she was kind of OOC most of the time. PLUS, I really liked the character of Tyson, though he was also OOC part of the time (but only a little; not a whole lot). PLUS, Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson was still hot. Oh, and we were *coughFINALLYcough* introduced to Dionysus, who is kind of important considering HE'S A GOD AND ALSO THE CAMP DIRECTOR AND HATES PERCY'S GUTS.

OH AND WE GOT TO MEET GEORGE AND MARTHA YAY EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T AS FUNNY AS IN THE BOOK BUT STILL.

Okay, so the barrier was pretty cool, but I still wasn't very pleased over all.

So, as this is really turning out to be a rant about the movie, I'm just gonna go ahead and give the rating.

I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5.

~Jessicah

Writing

Hey, guys. So. I'm in the middle of writing a novel. Any advice, anything you can point out to me would be FANTASTIC. Or even links to advice, or something. I know, I could just Google advice for aspiring authors, but I thought I'd get some input from my followers first (no matter how few they may be), and people who just stop in as a guest may have some advice or something that I'd love to take a look at. Trust me, everything helps, no matter how little.

Ah, so, that's pretty much it for now. Later, guys. Please help?

~Jessicah

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis: 

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

Why I Read This:
I read the first two books in the series and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I'm very glad that I got over my fear of mainstream books being horrible (because not all of them are *coughMortalInstrumentscough*)

My Thoughts/Review:
City of Glass starts out with Clary getting ready to go to Idris with Jace and the Lightwoods. Jace is trying to get her to stay home, so he gets Simon out there to try to convince everyone that she changed her mind, while he had tricked Clary into thinking it was another time. However, it all goes wrong when some Fallen attack Jace, Simon, and the Lightwoods. They rush though the portal to Idris, taking the injured Simon with them, and leaving Clary behind in New York.

Clary soon finds out what happens, throws practically a temper tantrum, and makes a portal to Idris, nevermind the danger. She accidentally drags Luke along, and they land in the middle of a lake that the is like poison to Shadowhunters. Clary accidentally swallows some water, but they are now at Idris, on their way to Alicante, so there's nowhere for her to get help. Her and Luke get into Alicante illegally, so they can't let anyone know they're there, but Luke requests the helps of an unusual woman in the city to help Clary get better.

Clary's not supposed to go out because she's there illegally, but she does anyway, and she goes to see Jace and the Lightwoods, oblivious to Simon's dilemma, and that ends in heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Simon is being kept in the Gard's prison and coerced to try to sell out the Lightwoods.

Jace and Clary slowly but steadily find out more about their pasts, their family's past, and breakthrough discoveries are made. Their forbidden love is at an all-time high, even though they're trying harder than ever to make that not-so-obvious. The time comes to face it, to face everything, and to make hard decisions that could just result in the deaths of not just themselves, but lots of other people too.

This book was a great ride, though I didn't feel some emotions as I think I should have. I didn't get so sad where I should have, I didn't cry, I didn't get extremely happy. It's just not as much of an emotional roller coaster as I would've liked for it to be.

It was a good plot, with lots of twists that I didn't see coming. However, I had to skip through some parts because they were too boring for me to read all of it.

We find out more about Jace in this book, more than ever before, and we get to watch him grow even more, too. Same with Clary and Simon. Simon was a nice relief from Clary there for a while. I liked his point of view. Jace's point of view was also a nice change, but I didn't like it as much as Simon's.

Magnus was in here a lot more, which is an awesome thing.

I really liked this book, but it was not as good as its predecessors. I don't know what else to say. It was nice, but not fantabulous or anything.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)

Title: City of Ashes

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series?: The Mortal Instruments

Synopsis: 

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

Why I Read This: 

I finished the first book and I couldn't wait to pick up the second book and pick up where the first book left off!

My Thoughts/Review:

The book starts out slightly more captivating than it did in City of Bones, but it still wasn't a great beginning. I guess beginnings aren't Cassandra Clare's strong point.

It starts out with a poor, foolish warlock summoning a demon for Valentine, and all goes as planned--for Valentine. From there, the story winds into several twists with the unusual family of Jace, Clary, Luke, Valentine, and Jocelyn, as well as their close friends, the Lightwoods. We meet the boy, Max, and the adult Lightwoods, as well as a few other interesting characters. There are shenanigans, as always, but there are more dangerous aspects of what's going on and no one seems to be worthy of trust any more, even if they're telling the truth. Jace is locked away and Clary is worried and there's a love triangle and then there isn't and then there is--oh my, Ms. Clare, why can't your characters make up their minds?!

I really liked this story. It was constantly keeping me on my toes, wondering what would happen next. However sucky the beginning of the story may be, Cassandra Clare knows how to finish. She knows how to do things with an edge. I liked the plot of this story, and I was really worried that certain characters would die, since she seems to have no qualms about what she does to Simon in the book.

I loved Clary, but she was slightly more annoying in this one than the others. Jace was my favorite in this book (not exactly surprising), but I hated that he seemed to be blind to the others' feelings. I suppose that's just part of Jace, though. Simon was fun, but not one of the greatest characters ever. I liked him, but I was in love with Jace. Alec was cute. Magnus was awesome. Isabelle--I'm glad she didn;t show up too much. Max was so adorable! I didn't like Maryse or her husband, and I ended up having quite a bit of respect for Imogen. I loved all the twists with the characters; they all seemed so real.

"I am not," Alec said, through his teeth. "Just because you said dragon demons were extinct—""I said mostly extinct."Alec jabbed a finger toward him. "Mostly extinct," he said, his voice trembling with rage, "is NOT EXTINCT ENOUGH.""I see," said Jace. "I'll just have them change the entry in the demonology textbook from 'almost extinct' to 'not extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.' Will that make you happy?"

I really don't know what else to say about this book other than that I absolutely loved what Cassandra did with everything, and that I'll be picking up the third book in the series as soon as I finish this review, so I guess this is it.

I give this book 4.75 stars out of 5.

~Jessicah

The City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)

Title: The City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

 Why I Read This:
Some friends on goodreads made a topic about TMI and convinced me to *finally* read the book. I have been thinking about it for a long time, but I never really wanted to because is so mainstream, and most mainstream stuff is either really well-deserved to be mainstream and is genius, or it's a load of crap. Typically, it's the load of crap option. LUCKILY, The City of Bones is the first option and I'm really glad that I was convinced to read it.

My Thoughts/Review: 
So, lemme get the bad out of the way before I start on the good, since the good outweighs the bad by a lot.

This book starts out not very well. It didn't hook me from the first few pages, which really sucked because I've been reading some really awesome books here lately that had me hooked from the first pages, the first few paragraph, and in some cases the first sentence (*coughDivergentcough*).

That was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about it, except that it didn't make me cry at the parts that it was supposed to. Now, I'm not usually one to cry; I didn't cry at most of my family members' funerals. However, books are different for me. I get into the character and I disappear in the mix and swirl of emotions. I always, always, end up crying where I'm supposed to cry, where there's so much emotion in a character. My eyes did water when reading certain parts, but I didn't cry. I thought it was weird, and not necessarily bad, but very strange.

Now for the good.

There were a lot of long words in this book; most I knew what they meant, but some were words that I'd never even seen before. I like when an author uses long words. It gives me a sense of pride because I think, People do know how to use English in this world! Maybe there's hope for the human race, after all! Because, let's face it, most people nowadays are illiterate and hate to read and write. So, yeah. I liked the long words. I learned something new, which is weird because I usually know all the words that are used in a book. I just....really liked her diction.

I liked the scenery she did. She was awesome at descriptions, and at just fitting them in with everything and everyone else.

I loved the characters in this book. All of them. No matter how much they annoyed me or betrayed my feelings, I loved them. Clary was....different. I liked her as a heroine, even when she couldn't do a whole lot, because she was real about herself. She knew she was afraid. She felt guilt. She felt so many things. She was so real that I felt like I could have a conversation with her and not freak out because she's just so real and you hardly think of her as being not real. I feel like I'm best friends with her or something.

I loved Jace's character. I like the way he was written, and he also seemed really real. It was awesome, and I fell in love with him. I fangirled about him and got frustrated at his behavior towards Simon and then about his behavior towards Clary. The twists with this guy were not totally unexpected, but it was still a surprise. About a third of the way through the book, I thought, Okay, so this is gonna happen. I can tell. and then 100 pages later I thought, Nope, nevermind, it's not gonna happen because it can't now MWAHAHA I'm almost glad it can't! and then it happened.

Simon was another guy I fangirled over. It's hard to say anything more about him, especially if I liked him or Jace more (WHICH I DO NOT KNOW WHO I LIKE MORE DON'T ASK). I don't really know what else to say about him, other than I thought he was cute and sweet and nice.

Isabelle and Alec. Okay, I really liked Alec, I did, but I was not expecting that character twist. At all. I was totally shocked when Clary said it. Just....*shock*. And Isabelle was really grating on my nerves there for the longest time, and then I felt pity for her, and then she was badass and I didn't know what to think. I guess she was pretty decent, but she wasn't my favorite.

The plot of this book. Oh my goodness, it was such a good plot! I loved it. There were so many twists and so much suspense.. I got all tense and stuff. She had her world carefully planned out, and it put a new spin on the world of fey and vampires and werewolves.

And then there was comedic relief! I've never laughed so much or so hard in my life! I loved the comedic relief! I'm so glad she had it, just enough for the book, because authors nowadays are not getting in enough comedic relief (either that or they make their whole book into a comedian act).

Overall, this book was just really, really good and I loved it! I'm so glad that I read it. It was way over my expectations (which were pretty low, actually).

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

Naming Your Characters

This is my first post with writing tips, so don't take 'em too seriously. I'm not a published author yet, but I still want to give advice that I think would help with other peoples' writing.

So, if the name comes naturally, that's great. That's awesome for you. However, for many of us writers, naming characters is a struggle because we think too hard about it.

For example, I think that I struggle with character names because it has to mean something for me. Like, I'll go to Google Translate (I know, it's really a bad translator, don't get me started) and type something in English just to see the Latin outcome, then I'll look at the Greek outcome. I look at the outcomes and see if I can get a name from either one of them, and if not, I look at Japanese, then several other languages. I'm just trying to get a name that I know what the meaning is.

Or I'll go look on several webpages to see what certain names mean. I just like to know what the name means when I give it to a character.

My characters are like my children, they have to be given significant names.

Here's my advice for those of you who struggle with a character name:

• Don't think about it too much. You're over thinking something that should be super simple.
• Give your character a short name that's easy to write. One or two syllables would be best. At the very least, have a short nickname for the character. It's a whole lot easier to write. Take my name for example; 'Jessicah' isn't something that you want to have to type out when your ideas are trying to flow, but Jess is easier. Try to stick to 3-5 letters and it's probably a good name/nickname

I am by no means a pro at character names, but I thought I'd share a little bit of insight on it with the world. It may or may not work for you, and that's okay. You don't have to go by this. It just might make it easier for some struggling writers out there.

~Jessicah

The Prince of Denial

Title: The Prince of Denial
Author: Doug Wilhelm
Series?: N/A
Synopsis: 
The Prince of Denial is a YA novel that portrays the impacts on young teenagers of living with an alcoholic or addicted parent. Recruited to play a key role in an intervention that will confront his dad’s drinking and drug use, Casey at first refuses, then begins to break through to the reality that his family has never before acknowledged. With multiple characters, a strong vein of humor, and an unexpected outcome, The Prince of Denial is a young adult’s adventure in facing the risks, and discovering the power, of living your truth.

 Why I Read This:
I saw it on NetGalley and thought the title looked interesting. I looked at it closer and found that I'd never read a book like this before. I feel like some of the same elements of the book go on in my house (my dad is not an alcoholic, but other things). So I decided it would be an interesting read.

My Thoughts/Review:

Casey Butterfield does not want to admit that his dad has a problem, even when it's so obvious that he does. He cleans up after his dad, he cleans the whole house, he cooks, he does everything. He just wants to make it alright for his dad, make it to where he won't be angry when he gets home. He hurries home after school every day to make sure everything is perfect.

But Casey soon has to live up to the truth of what's really going on in his house. He begins to realize that maybe things aren't okay, maybe there is something wrong with what was happening, and it wasn't all fair to him. Along with the help of a couple of friends and one unusual adult, he begins to breakthrough all the walls that were put up and talk about the truth of it all. He starts to become himself, even if pain and anger and sorrow have to come out for him to get that way.

I really liked The Prince of Denial. I loved how it addressed that unspoken rule that you're not supposed to talk about any problems that you're having or that your family is having, you're not supposed to speak the truth out loud, like it'll make it true if it's out loud, but if it stays inside then it's not quite true. I have experience with that, so it really spoke to me.

I liked Casey's character a lot. He seemed like the typical teen who's hiding the stuff that goes on at home from everyone else, and then he starts to become who he really is and be a real teen and I love it when he does that. When he becomes a teenager instead of a just a little boy. He finally faces the truth and it's what's best for him. He was really well thought out and everything.

Tara was okay. I wasn't crazy about her, but I didn't dislike her either.

Oscar was a character. Geez, I loved Oscar! I love funny guys, so that went well with him.

It was pretty boring on a lot of parts, though, and it was all I could do to keep turning the pages. It was very slow and not exciting at all until near the end. It was just very hard to get through.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

The Academy - First Days (Year One, Book Two) (The Academy #2)

Title: The Academy - First Days

Author: C.L. Stone

Series?: The Academy

Synopsis:

Sang Sorenson used to be the invisible girl in class. As a new student to Ashley Waters High School, Sang hopes that her new friends will be the change she’s been craving and will make fitting in a breeze.
But Academy students aren’t there to take it easy. The high school is overcrowded and rife with violence. When fights begin, Sang will uncover the true reason the boys traded in their private school life for a public one.

This year, Sang will no longer be invisible. This year, Sang is a target.

The principal and vice principal are hot to take Sang down, and her own mother is determined to entrap Sang forever in her belief that the safest place to be is in the shadows. Despite this, Nathan, Luke, Kota, North, Silas, Victor, and Gabriel will discover Sang’s unyielding loyalty.

And they will sorely need it.

The Academy, supremely influential.

 

Why I Read This:

I was in love with book one of this series and thus looked all over for a copy of book two, which I do not regret having to buy to read. It was only $3 for my Kindle edition, so it's not much, but I think I would've paid more if I had needed to because I was interested in it.

 

My Thoughts/Review:

This sequel to the first book of The Academy series was amazing. I loved it through and through. While it doesn't have my usual likes for supernatural and things like that, I have always loved a good spy book.

 

This book starts off when Sang Sorenson and the boys are going to go to their first day of school at the new high school. Of course they stood out, they wore better clothes than everyone else, they were new, they were 7 freaking hot guys and one girl who kept to themselves. Them standing out quickly becomes a problem. Fights ensue, people are hurt, and everyone must stand together to stay out of it.

 

Sang has a problem with staying out of fights when people are beating up on her friends. In turn, she gets hurt. In turn, the guys are pissed, but also glad that she stepped in. She seriously needs training. Bad.

 

I loved Sang, don't get me wrong. She's probably my favorite heroin ever. I think she's so clueless that it's funny sometimes, but I get why she's clueless. I mean, she's never had friends before. We're going through more of what happened in the first book, except better than ever, and on a bigger scale. Now, Sang has to avoid certain people in school instead of just her mother, though there's a bit of that in there, too. Sang is so brave and loyal, as well as quite clever, though she tends not to realize it. I absolutely loved her character and while there were a few things I would've done differently, I admired her for the things she did. It was pretty awesome.

 

Kota, North, Silas, Luke, Nathan, Victor and Gabriel were all wonderful in this book! I lived for the moments where they showed up. I'm having trouble with maintaining who my fave is. I think it's still North, but I'm starting to like Kota, Victor, and Gabriel even more. And Luke. And...everyone else. Dang it! I love  them all, but I'm still in love with North. :) They're all so amazing!

 

So, I highly recommend that you go get this book. It's pretty awesome. Go find it and read it.

 

I can't wait for the next book to come out! The Academy - Friends Vs. Family (Year One, Book Three)! It sounds uber-good! I'm keeping it on my list of books I'm waiting for to come out!

 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 

~Jessicah

The Lone Ranger

I went and saw The Lone Ranger (2013) at the movies earlier today, and I thought I'd write a review about it. It's too good not to.

Title: The Lone Ranger
Director: Gore Verbinski
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 149 min.
Release Date: July 3, 2013
Synopsis: 
From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films' 'The Lone Ranger', a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice-taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Why I Watched This:
I have been a long-time fan of Johnny Depp (I mean, who isn't), and of course I wanted to see his latest movie! But, also, I have been wanting to watch this movie since I saw a preview of it a while back because it looked really cool and action-y and adventure-y and....kinda hilarious.

“I can’t decide if this horse is stupid or pretending to be stupid.” -Tonto, about the 'spirit horse' after it dragged John back out of the grave
My Thoughts/Review:
I absolutely adored this movie. One, I love Johnny Depp anyway. Two, this movie was pretty awesome on its own.

John Reid is a law-man in the Ol' West, but he's more of a lawyer than a ranger. When he gets stuck on the train that just so happens to have the notorious criminal Butch on it, heading to his execution, everything goes wrong as his gang tries to get him back. That's where Tonto comes in. Tonto is this big Indian (Native American, because everyone back then called them 'Indians') guy, who wears paint on his face all the time and a bird on his head. It's kind of weird, actually, but then again no one knows what to expect form an Indian in the West. It's the age of expansion and the railroads are growing by the day in Texas (WHOO TEXAS MY STATE BABY), no matter how much it has to hurt to 'progress.'

John gets to his home town after some shenanigans on the train there, and we find out that his brother is a ranger who has the girl of John's dreams and everything else that goes with it. Soon, though, John, his brother, and a few other rangers have to go searching for the criminal that escaped. That's when the real adventure starts. Heartbreak, greed, loyalty, corruption, insaneness, death, law, and so-called 'justice' all clash together and the lines blur as to what is what anymore. The Lone Ranger is born.

**

So, this movie was hilarious. Honestly, I loved John, I really did. I felt like I could've fallen in love with him. BUT, I just loved Tonto more. Maybe because Johnny Depp was playing him, maybe because of his being funny without trying, maybe because of his sarcasm/cynicism, I don't know. I just liked him better.

We could really see the plot unfold as it went along, and there were several twists and turns, but I was lucky enough to hypothesize during the movie about things that would happen, and most of the time I was right. However, don't think the movie is predictable. It's not. Get over that belief right now before you watch it because it's anything but that.

The characters also grew as it went along, though it was a very slow, painful, drawn-out process. It was hard to tell that they were changing at all because of them changing so gradually, but most of the people (*ahem*Tonto and John) turned out for the better. I'm really glad it was told the way it was. It was a twist I never thought of, and I loved it.

Stache: [as Tonto and John are running down on top of a moving train, they run into Stache at gunpoint] Going somewhere?
Tonto: Yes.
John Reid: [with chained hands in the air & connected to Tonto] No.
Tonto: Yes.
John Reid: No.
Tonto: Yes.
John Reid: No.
Stache: Shut up!
Tonto: [after a pause, Tonto see a mail hook approaching] Yes.
[the mail hook snags John's chains and hauls him and Tonto off]

**

This movie was all-around amazing and had so much awesometasticalerificexpealodociousness that it was bursting at the seams! It was amazing! Long live Tonto! (You'll get it after the movie... Maybe.)

I happily give this move 5 out of 5 ranger badge stars. ;)

~Jessicah

Introductions (The Academy #1)

Title: The Academy - Introductions

Author: C.L. Stone

Series?: The Academy

Synopsis:

With an agoraphobic mother and a barely-there father, Sang abhors the isolation keeping her in the shadows. The only thing Sang craves is a fresh start and to be accepted as ordinary by her peers, because for her being different meant being cast out alone.

When her family moves to a new school district, Sang infiltrates a group of boys nearly perfect in every way. Grateful for an influence outside of her parents’ negativity, she quickly bonds with the boys, hoping to blend in and learn from them what it means to have a natural relationship with friends.

Only the boys have secrets of their own and they’ll do anything to keep her safe from the knowledge of the mysterious Academy that they've sworn allegiance to. Bit by bit, Sang discovers that her friends are far from the normalcy she expected. Will her loyalty change when she's forced to remain in the dark, or will she accept that she's traded one house of secrets for another?

Meet Kota, Victor, Silas, Nathan, Gabriel, Luke and North in a story about differences and loyalty, truth and mystery, friendships and heart-throbbing intimacy.

The Academy, ever vigilant.

Why I Read This:

I was browsing NetGalley for anything that caught my eye, and this just so happened to. I'm quite lucky that it did catch my eye, because I had never heard of it before, an I'm really glad that I was able to see this place with Sang and everyone else.

My Thoughts/Review:

This was an amazing book, full of unexpected little quirks and fun things. It had me roaring with laughter at some points, then it had me crying. I feel like my emotions were on a roller-coaster ride that I did not consent to, but had fun on nevertheless....which is a good thing.

Sang Sorenson has never really had any contact with people before. She has....but she hasn't. She hasn't ever had friends, and definitely not any guys who hung around her. She's different. Her mother is practically a control freak and won't let any guys come around her, or she goes ballistic.

Sang wants freedom from the cage her mother has her in, though. And her unexpected meeting with these boys could bring with them just that. Plus, she'll have a chance at having a real relationship with someone as a friend. Soon, though, she finds out that there are secrets that have to be kept and tension rises. Can she stand being left out of the loop with her new friends, though?

**

I loved Sang. I could really relate to her. Well, not about being literally trapped in my house by my mother and all that stuff, but the way she acted. She isn't sociable, obviously. I can relate to that. The books thing, the hair thing, a lot of things and little quirks about her just got me relating to her. I happen to have controlling parents, as well, so I could relate a little on that spectrum. I just adored how real she was and how real everyone's reactions were.

Kota was awesome, as were all the other guys! If I had to pick a favorite, though, I'd have to pick North. I have this thing for bad boys, and he definitely has that image.

**

There were so many scenes that I loved in this book, but I don't want to spoil them! I can't wait to read the next book! I will definitely be keeping my eye on this series! :)

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah