My serious need for somone honest

First I would like to say that although that picture is appropriate for this topic, I have been seriously craving a burger since I found it.

I am in serious need of an honest person. Not honest like "You need a stylist ASAP!" (which is probably true), but honest like "I like this part of your story, but this could use some work". Only problem here is that I have searched the area that I live in and apparently there are no people who are interested in sharing their artistic genius with me, or reading my not-so-genius work of art. When I am writing I am my own critic and I pick myself apart. But, I also get no help from my friends because their all afraid to hurt my feelings. My blog, on the other hand, is not so popular (even though I keep talking to mostly myself in hopes that someday people will want to follow me). I feel like I am sitting here writing, "Dear Diary".

Anyways, back on track, I am looking for serious writers who hope to someday be published just like myself. I would prefer to find more experienced than myself. I am only working on my first book and it is not even in the genre that I intend to intrude upon later on. Maybe sometime soon I could find a partner or a group to take me in and help me become better at the thing I love most in this world (writing, not burgers or ice cream which are right up there too). For now, I am going to start on a new project. Wish me luck.

Writing and other dangerous activities

On days like today, when the weather is perfect for writing sappy love stories and making figures in the frost on my window, I find my mind running crazy with ideas. It's hard to resist the urge to brainstorm but I have no room right now for more book ideas. Over the last few months I have been working on a novel, which is going excruciatingly slow because of my lack of imagination in the book. While I have been dying to complete this project, I am more excited about other ideas that I've written down over the time that I have been working on said project. So, in spite of being utterly terrified of the idea of starting a new book and leaving my old project behind (for now), I have decided to work on another one of my ideas.

The only problem with this is that I've written down about five other different ideas for novels and their extensions and I'm not sure which I should choose. The most dangerous part of writing, for me anyway, is the decision of what to work on next. I have been considering this for about a month and I still cannot decide. I feel like my brain is going to explode. I have already narrowed the field slightly because one of my ideas includes traveling in my research and that is just not in my budget at the moment. So I was hoping that maybe someone could give me some feedback. On the right side of the page is a poll that will be open until April 1st. I have ideas for all of the options in the poll and I was wondering what you, as the audience, would like to read. You can choose more than one option because I have a few ideas that involve more than one of those elements listed in the poll in the story. Please, help me decide. The question to answer is really, what would you want to pick up on your next trip to the bookstore?

Review of Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler

     Synopsis: First love never dies. It's been a year since Ivy's boyfriend, Tristan, died. They've both moved on--Tristan to the other sid of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable, Will. Now Ivy's heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horrors of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.
     But then a car crash ends Ivy's life.
     As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she's left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family. Still, all she can think about is the love that she lost.
     But memories aren't all that's come back from the past. And this time, Ivy's not sure love will be enough to save her. 

For anyone who hasn't read the Kissed by an Angel Series, Ivy and Tristan were in a horrible crash leaving Ivy hurt and Tristan dead. While Ivy has no memory of the accident at first, she remembers Tristan and the loss of him is heavy on her heart. A story about love and loss that makes you feel all emotions along with Ivy, also possesses mystery and danger. I would really recommend this to people who enjoy the sweetest of love stories, fans of mystery, and lovers of fantasy. Kissed by and Angel, The Power of Love and Soulmates are the three books that come before Evercrossed. If you have not read the first three, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD. If spoilers don't bother you than feel free to read but if you like being surprised you should probably not go down any further.

After Tristan's death, Ivy felt that she would never love anyone again. But Tristan had come back to her as her guardian angel to save her from Gregory, her new step-brother, who was out to kill her. Ivy had unknowingly witnessed Gregory killing his mother, but when Gregory cut the breaks to Tristan's car, Ivy didn't just lose Tristan, she lost her memory of the accident and of the murder. Slowly, Ivy started to recover pieces of memory and realized that she was in danger. Tristan, who was then an angel, helped save Ivy with the help of their friends Beth and Will.

In Evercrossed, we start with Ivy in Cape Cod with her best friend Beth, Beth's cousin Kelsey and Dahnya, Kelsey's best friend. Beth, Ivy and Will are all trying to forget about the horrors of last summer. Ivy and Will are a couple now and he would do anything for Ivy, including risk his own life to save her. But when Ivy and Beth get into an accident and Ivy dies. Tristan risks himself for her, again, and breathes life back into Ivy. When Ivy wakes up in the hospital she has made a miraculous recovery, something that science just cannot explain. She also find out that their is another patient in the hospital that was found beaten and nearly drowned on the beach the same night of Ivy's accident-and he has amnesia.

In this story, Ivy falls back into a pattern of trusting people she shouldn't and risking herself again, against the advice of Beth and Will. There is a long part of the story that Ivy feels isolated from her friends and it only pushes her closer to this mysterious strange. Once again, Chandler writes a story of love and heartbreak that could make anyone wish for Ivy to be happy. An excellent story to be added to this series. It also leaves an opening for another novel, which I will most definitely be reading. Overall, an amazing story that pulls you right into the pages from the beginning to the end.

Up next on my reading list will be Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Review: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Synopsis: Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She has spent years keeping everyone at a distance—-even her closest friends—-and it seems as if her senior year is going to be more of the same . . . until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can’t seem to stay away from him. 
What she doesn’t know is that Luc is on a mission. He’s been sent from Hell itself to claim Frannie’s soul. It should be easy—-all he has to do is get her to sin, and Luc is as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance. But he has to work fast, because if the infernals are after her, the celestials can’t be far behind. And sure enough, it’s not long before the angel Gabriel shows up, willing to do anything to keep Luc from getting what he came for. It isn’t long before they find themselves fighting for more than just Frannie’s soul.
But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay . . . for all of them.

Luc and Gabe are each insanely hot and fiercely distrustful of each other, but that is where their similarities end. Luc is dark, dangerous, and hot as hell, which is actually where he came from. Luc was sent to tag Frannie's soul for hell and the few that tried before him had dier consequences. That will also be Luc's fate, a trip to the Fiery Pit, if he doesn't tag Frannie's soul for Hell. But Gabe isn't about the let that happen. Gabe is also insanely sexy and equally as interested in tagging Frannie's soul, except he wants it in Heaven's favor. This story made me think twice about my own choices between dangerous and safe, Heaven and Hell, and even wrong and right. Luc and Frannie alternate narration in this story and each of them have a different perspective which gives the story more depth. I felt the story's love triangle was confusing for Frannie but there is definitely room for teams in this book (and I would choose Luc any day!) A great story about making decisions and second chances. All the emotions in the book are felt by the reader and you feel equally as broken most of the time as Frannie. The characters in this story change and progress well. Overall, it was a great read and I cannot wait until I get to read Original Sin in July. I would absolutely recommend this book to others but maybe for older teens for parents who are concerned about mature language and some sexual content.

2011 Book List

Hi All! I promised a book list and you shall receive one. I am always open to suggestions about great books that I should read. I will list books with release dates from this year that I plan to read. I will do this in the following way. First, I will write the month in the middle. I know we're in March now but I'll start back in January. Under the month you will see a number first, which will be the date in that month. Next you will see the name of the book and the author. Finally, in parentheses, you will see the series (if any) that the book is part of. I can only post the dates that I have available but I will fix them if these dates change as soon as I can.

My Book List of 2011

*January*

4- Unearthly by Cynthia Neely

4-Awakened by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night Series)

*February*

1- Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Trilogy)

8- Cloaked by Alex Flinn (Beastly)

15- Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder)

15- Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany (13 to Life Series)

15- Frost Kisses by Kailin Gow (The Frost Series)

15- Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

*March*

1- Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall Series)

8- Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler (Kissed by an Angel Series)

8- Afterlife by Claudia Grey (Evernight Series)

21- Lemniscate by Jennifer Murgia (Angel Star Sequel)

*April*

5- City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments Series)

5- Where She Went by Gayle Forman (If I Stay Sequel)
21- Between By Cyndi Tefft

*May*

3- Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (Shade Series)
10- Die for me by Amy Plum

*June*
1- Bloodspell by Amalie Howard

7- Everlasting by Alyson Noel (The Immortals Series)
7- Possession by Elana Johnson
7- Hereafter by Tara Hudson

14- Passion by Lauren Kate (Fallen Series)

14- Trial by Fire by Jennifer Barnes (Raised by Wolves Sequel)
14- Hourglass by Myra McEntire

21- Stolen Nights by Rebbeca Maizel (Infinite Days Sequel)
28- Eternity by Heather Terrell (Fallen Sequel)
28- Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

*July*

5- Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers (Personal Demons Trilogy)

12- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy)

12- Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer (Meridian Sequel)

26- Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade Trilogy)
26- Wildfire by Karsten Knight

*August*

1- Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (Once a Witch Sequel)

1- The Iron Quill by Shelena Shorts (The Pace Series)
2- Eternal by Gillian Shields (Immortals Series)

9- All You Desire by Kristen Miller (The Eternal Ones)
9- Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

16- Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany (13 to Life Series)

23- The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (I Am Number Four Sequel)

23- Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy Spin-off Series)
30 Fury by Elizabeth Miles
23- Nocturne by Christine Johnson (Claire de Lune Sequel)

30- Twisted by Gena Showalter (Intertwined Series)

*September*
5- Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan (Immortal Beloved Sequel)

6- The Hidden by Jessica Verday (The Hollow Series)
8- Stay With Me by Paul Griffin
15- As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
20- If I Die by Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers Series)
20- Enthralled by Various Authors

*October*

4- Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush Series)
4- Eve by Anna Carey
11- The Death Cure by James Dashner (The Maze Runner Series)

18- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

18- Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
25- Destined by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night Series)

*November*

1- Crossed by Ally Condie (Matched Sequel)
1- Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck (Tiger's Curse Series)
8- Midnight Frost by Kailin Gow (Frost Series)
15- The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

*December*
8- Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey
27- Angel Fire by L. A. Weatherly (Angel Burn Sequel)

In The Beginning...

..There were books. OK, maybe not. But in my beginning there certainly are. I started this blog because I love to read and write. If it is young adult, paranormal, or a love story, I WILL read it. And if not.. I'll still read it. I have over one hundred books on my self and my room looks smaller after every trip to the book store. My husband, who I like to call Shnooks, says we will soon be broke thanks to my addiction. But yet, broke is OK with me as long as I have a story to read and light to see it.

I have so many great books and I am writing one of my own. I have ideas for six different books, most of which will not be able to end with just one book. I hope that through this blog you may get to know me and my humor (and sometimes the lack there of). I hope to write my reviews and that there will be people who are interested in them. Although, probably not. I will always give my honest opinions of books so that my future readers will know what I think and maybe that could help sway you into reading some of them.

There are a few authors that I may not be so biased about because, well, I love their writing. Most likely, If I write about Maggie Stiefvater, Kimberly Derting, Richelle Mead, or Shannon Delany, you might always find me excited and eager to share with you my happiness. Of course, there are a few more that might always get great reviews from me. I hope that this will not sway anyone away (but please allow this to sway you toward my blog).

I will work my wish list for the year of 2011--which will be modified throughout the year as more books announced. I will label it with 2011 Book List and then you can look back on it through the label and it will keep you updated as much I am. Thanks for reading.

Aeriell