Vampire Academy- The movie

I just don't know how I feel about this.....

Is the world ready? and more importantly: Dimitri

Waiting on Wednesday: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense (GoodReads).

This Waiting on Wednesday is for my sister, aka Crazy Camper. Because she looovvvvveeees VA and I think this is a series by Richelle Mead that we could both get behind! It is due out Spring 2013. What are you waiting on this week? Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine for hosting WoW!

Cruisin' Through a Series: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I am jumping on the Vampire Academy bandwagon full force- I even made Grad Student and our mother read them.  I reviewed book one here, but then read the rest so fast I didnt have time for individual reviews, so here goes my series  review, what we call "Crusin' Through a Series" when we stop living our lives and devote time to a single series. Sometimes this has to happen. And its spoiler free, of course!

• Originality: 7- good/ bad vamps.  I know that Twilight did this ( and actually once I had an ex-boyfriend buy me a bad vamp poster as a joke when it was way marked down on sale... and I have to admit it was for a reason, even teenage girls didn't want the bad vamps on their walls, and he was a bad gift giver too,  but I digress) but Vampire Academy did it BETTER.  The good vamps, their guardians, and the bad vamps made an excellent parallel world to human reality that was easy to get lost in.

• Absurdity: 4.  Eh, I found it easy to believe overall, and for a change, as the series progressed, it didn't get weird and out of control.  The plot moved forward with twists and turns, but really, it just got more awesome.  It was great to read a series where the following books didn't disappoint.  I think the most absurd was book two, which happens all over the course of ski trip to Idaho.  I know I read a Babysitter Club with this plot once.

• Level of Paranormal Romance: 15. O ROSE.  Now I know we have some die hard Adrian fans out there, BUT I am Team Dimitri now and for forever.  And the absurdity of books 4-5 and the love triangle is just plan old awesome, and had me routing for love.

• Level of Harry-Potterness: 6.  Loved the story, loved the characters and how they grew, cause they did, and most of all, loved the bad-assery of our main character Rose.  Thank you to Richelle Mead for making a character who was strong and hot, and knew it, and didn't mope around sadly and insecurely for a few hungred pages before 'finding' herself.  While Rose does change, she is still always a badass and I love her for it.

“If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you. End of story, Rose. Besides, you certainly keep your share of secrets too. You two have a lot in common."
"Are you kidding? He's arrogant, sarcastic, likes to intimidate people, and—oh." Okay. Maybe she had a point.” 

Great series.  I will probably buy these in paperback for myself, and as a devoted library reader, that is the high form of compliment I can give a book.

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

WHY ARE THESE covers so terrible?
They look like they were made in some
teen's basement rec room as fan art.
Seriously.

Welcome to rich-vampire-teens-go-skiing-ville, otherwise known as Frostbite by Richelle Mead.

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...  It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. 

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…(GoodReads)

• Originality: 6. I think the vampire politics seem pretty "new" in this series. The feeding politics, for example, are well done and districtive.
• Absurdity: 10. POSH RESORT= Cheesy. This reminds me of Blue Bloods WHICH I DON’T LIKE. A combo of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous opulence and vampires is not my thing.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 5. Ok, I have to admit, Dimitri is attractive. But really I feel I should be scoring "level of paranormal sluttiness"-- who are these people!?!
• Level of Harry Potter-ness: 1. You know how some books “show” and some writers can only “tell”? So much of the plot is “told” to us, the reader is never left to figure anything out. See: the preface to book two. CRINGE. I have already guessed the plot of book 3. And My mom, also having been “encouraged” by Crazy Camper to read these, has confirmed that I am on the money. Thanks, graduate school education, for teaching me to be such an effective critical reader.

CRAZY CAMPER (and the rest of the book blog world) DO NOT HATE ME FOR YUCKING YOUR YUM. I am going to continue to read these books. Because they moved CC to Google Dimitri and took over your life for a week. I have faith in your YA fiction choices.

Top Ten Tuesday: Fave Reads of Young Adult Fiction and Whiskey Sours

Happy Top Ten Tuesday, blog world! We love TTT (and The Broke and the Bookish for hosting it.) This week's list-mania is devoted to the Top Ten Books Read During the Lifespan of Your Blog. Now YAF & WS is still growing up, so our ultimate top ten is still in formation, but here are the books that we have spent the most time loving/discussing as a group. It is a big sign when not one of us but all of us read the same book.

1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. BAT BAT. BAT. I had to buy a copy to have on hand, just in case.
2. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Ditto on wanting to own a copy.
3. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. I just gifted Crazy Camper this book this weekend. I love it that much!
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Crazy Camper peer-pressured me into buying this one -- she literally cannot stop talking about how great Rose is.
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth. Our debates on this have been epic, but Goosie Mama truly stands behind this read.
6. Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. Crazy Camper and I enjoyed the heck out of this cowboy story. Will it stay on the ultimate top ten forever? Who knows, but it was a lot of fun.
7. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. It instantly feels timeless.

Check out our reviews for Texas Gothic, Strange Angels, The Scorpio Races, Vampire Academy, Jellicoe Road and both  Goosie Mama's Review and my review of The Sky is Everywhere and my review and Goosie Mama’s review for Divergent!

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead = LOVE LOVE LOVE.  

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school–it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's–the very place where they're most in danger. Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi–the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires–make Lissa one of them forever. (GoodReads)

So I actually dont know what the unspeakable nighttime rituals are... maybe I missed that? Nonetheless, I loved this!  I go through phases, Nook-lover, Nook-ignorer.  Currently there is no wait list to download these books from the library, so I took a chance and I am not looking back.

• Originality: 7.  I like the good/bad vamp spin to this book, as well as the addition of kick ass-ness and magic.  And as always, nothing like a good private school setting to get teenage angst going.  
• Absurdity: 5.  This is a book about vampires in high school who have magic powers.  Get over that absurdity, and the rest of it is pretty normal: crushes, dances, classes on how to kill vampires.   
• Paranormal Romance: 6/10. Ok, I give most of this a 6- there is some heavy petting high school style and some great insults to girls that let vamp boys drink their blood, but then POW 10!!!  Lust Spell. The hotter older mentor wins over insta-love any day.  When I was a highschooler, man did I love my college age sailing instructors.....Dimitri is A+ in my book.  O yea and Rose? She is a bombshell and she knows it.
• Level of Harry Potterness: 7.  Characters, actual introspection, challenges, plot twists!  I loved it.  Grad Student knows- last night I called her to ask her how her day was, and actually all I did was talk about this book and how I was having trouble downloading the next ones...oops.

And the best part? There are so many books in the series to come. Nothing better then the knowledge that you liked a book, and you can dive right into the next, and the next.  GS and GM- go get these books, then lets Google Hang out and drink wine ( it doesn't count as drinking alone if we are in person via the internet) and lets talk about these.

Vampire Academy- You Can't Make Me Stop

Last night, I came home from work with a serious headache- I had been up super late because I watched Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  and was totally scared and disturbed and couldn't sleep.  Never mind that I had read all of book 3 of Vampire Academy, Shadow Kiss, while at the lake in the day before, last night I read 335 pages of book 4, Blood Promise.

I. could. not. stop.

Today I arrived at work and Googled Dimitri Belikov.  What is happening to my life? I can't believe it took me so long to give these a try.  Reviews coming soon, but here is a message

GO READ VAMPIRE ACADEMY. o yeah, and Dimitri forever.

o heeeeeey Dimitri.

Friday Library Updates: The Good and the Bad

Good morning and cheers, internet! It is Friday. This feels excellent here in NYC, and I suspect everywhere else.

WOW this cover is bad news.
But CC has seen past it!

The good news is Crazy Camper just finished the first Vampire Academy book by Richelle Mead. It was a big hit and she is ready to get involved with the rest of the series. She was a bit distraught when book 3 arrived electronically before book 2, but Frostbite is now in her possession. Huzzah for a good book and the weekend!

The bad news. I am TRYING, TRYING, for the sake of science/the blog world/my own determination to see things through to read Rapture by Lauren Kate. It is not easy. I know we here at YAF & WS love to hate the Fallen series, and it in part inspired this blog's mission "to point out the crazy that is YA fiction" but Luce is getting under my skin. Gah! Wish me luck!

To end on a happy note, on the way to Zum Schnieder's to pretend we were in Germany last weekend (go there! go there!*) and we passed my local library! I demanded this picture. Goosie Mama and I proudly present my little local library, Tompkins Square. Happy weekend and happy reading!

*unless you are a real YA. Then I suggest the coffee shop over the beer garden.