ARC Review: A Little Night Magic – Lucy March

January 23, 2012 in Reviews

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • List Price: $14.99
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (January 31, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1250002672
  • ISBN-13: 978-1250002679

Buy A Little Night Magic at:

Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories. Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends . . . but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed.

As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side . . . and in the cross fire. Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

Liv’s had a crush on Tobias for ages, but he is passive aggressive with his feelings. He’s hot and cold, sending mixed messages all over the place. Finally after having enough and needing a change, Liv books a trip to Europe. But then a customer comes in and changes the life she knew, forever.

I can’t really explain my issues with this book without spoiling it for you all, sorry this is going to be the weirdest review I’ve ever wrote.

Long story short I was left feeling like someone should have known and helped Liv out long before the end of the book. I also wasn’t a fan of the maturity levels, their supposed to be in the their late 20′s but they acted like they were in their early teens. I feel like it would have done better as a YA, not an adult novel.

While the first few pages of A Little Night Magic were funny, it felt like something happened and the plot got all sorts of weird. I loved some of the dialogue and the quirkiness of the characters, but I was disappointed in the way the story turned.

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Screw You Google Friends Connect!

January 22, 2012 in Books & Reviews

As of March 2012, Google will be “retiring” Google Friends Connect for non-blogger blogs. We run on WordPress over here, so that means after months of trying to make that GFC widget work, Google is killing it for us anyway. We don’t know what that means in terms of Google Reader, in case you followed us through GFC and we disappear from Google Reader.

You can follow us in a variety of ways:

Go to Google Reader, at the top right click SUBSCRIBE, then enter in our website addy.

Subscribe to updates via RSS


Subscribe to email updates which is on the sidebar of the blog

Follow us on FB

Follow WLP on Twitter

Follow Spaz on Twitter

Follow Seleste on Twitter

Follow Mitch on Twitter

Follow Sara on Twitter

So there are a TON of ways to find us, WLP is also on Google+ but I really don’t use it (I have enough to do with FB and Twitter). We hope you’ll stick with us and remember to jump ship from GFC before March!

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Seleste reviews: Cads and Cadavers by Kelly Lougheed

January 22, 2012 in Young Adult Reviews

  • Paperback: 196 pages
  • Publisher: Mundania Press LLC; Large type edition edition (December 10, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594261458
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594261459
  • Price: $11.95
  • Kelly Lougheed’s Website

Buy Cads and Cadavers at:

When Velma’s dead boyfriend Leroy appears to her in the school biology lab one night, it’s awkward because (a) she happens to be dissecting his body for a science fair project, and (b) she never figured out how to break up with him after her roommate informed her that leaving a Post-It note on his dorm room door suggesting they never see each other again was cold and heartless.

Leroy tells her a sob story about the vampire who drained his blood, and annoyingly demands that Velma, despite the insane amount of math homework she has, avenge his murder.

But the only local vampire Velma knows is the chivalrous, dashing Dennis she ran into in the graveyard one night when she was digging up Leroy’s body. His mere presence makes her hyperventilate and compulsively smooth down her hair, the signs of true amour. In one of their intimate graveyard chats, Dennis assures her that he sucks only the blood of rodents…

But is he just lying to win her heart?

Or does another vampire walk hidden among Velma’s peers?

 

Cads and Cadavers was an interesting read for me. I started out loving Lougheed’s voice. She made Velma highly intelligent (the story is driven by her desire to get into Harvard) and irreverent (she doesn’t care about anyone who gets in the way of that Harvard plan), and kind of an idiot (digging up your ex-boyfriend to dissect is ALWAYS the best plan, right?). It’s a unique and interesting combination in a heroine. I also loved the jump-off point of the story where Velma digs up a hot vampire while trying to dig up her dead ex-boyfriend. It was fun and interesting. I popped some virtual popcorn and dove into the story.

Then things got a little dicier for me with the way the characters spoke and it felt… off. The plot started feeling oddly familiar (even though it wasn’t–I’m not sure how to explain how that worked) with the killer vampire and the roommate secrets and the prince (did I mention there was a prince?).

About halfway through the book (it was in the midst of having my in-laws over for the holidays and I was a little slow on the uptake) it finally hit me that Cads and Cadavers wasn’t a paranormal romance but a satire of paranormal romances. Suddenly all the over-the-top language and descriptions of glistening hair and whatnot made sense. At that point, I started enjoying it again.

I will say that I’ve realized I prefer reading short satire over longer pieces, but this one was fun, filled with teen angst and drama, and still smart. As usual in a satire, the characters were all caricatures, but in this one they struck so close in many ways to those in most young adult para-roms that the sting was more biting than usual. It poked fun at everything from character names with unusual name spellings to strange love triangles to stalking to all the people in the background who don’t know anything unusual is going on. So, from that perspective, it was great on pretty much every level (characters, plot, language use).

Like I mentioned though, most of the satire I read is of the short story variety, and at almost two hundred pages, this was almost too much for me. The humor started becoming less funny for me as I went on (at least until Princess Kristina–with a K–showed her true colors. She was easily my favorite character.)

In the spirit of total disclosure, if you are a die-hard para-rom fan and get angry when people mock the genre, you will probably hate this book. If, however, you know that every genre has its tropes and cliches and you don’t mind seeing them made fun of (aka if you are a fan of spoof movies), you could do far worse than Cads and Cadavers. I’m rather looking forward to checking out Lougheed’s other books as well.

Favorite passage (I’m a science geek, what can I say?):

The ghost eyed his removed rib with disgust. “Could you please not do that in front of me?”

Velma began to hum a tune as she continued prodding his internal organs, her red ponytail hanging over her shoulder as she bent over his corpse, slicing tissue away from the bones.

Leroy ground his teeth. “Fine. I’ll tell my story and then maybe a lump will emerge in your throat and your eyes will fill with tears and virtual rivers will gush down your face because you’ll feel so guilty, and then you’ll avenge me!”

“Sounds good,” agreed Velma. “Whoops, I think I just stabbed your left ventricle.”

 

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Roving Reporter PJ Schynder Interviews Vernon Brown

January 21, 2012 in Books & Reviews

Vernon Brown is a fitness model and personal trainer featured in multiple fitness articles. He was nice enough to continue our series of fitness interviews with tips on how to keep up with our fitness goals through the winter.

***

 PJ Q1.With the winter weather, it’s hard to get out and stay active. Do you have any tips for staying active and in shape through the cold months ?

Vernon: I think a completely universal tip i can give for staying fit during the winter months is “how bad do you want it” and are you setting realistic goals to get there. I use those phrases to say its great to have a goal but depending on regionally where you are based do you really think you are gonna get up at lets say 7am to jog,run,walk,boot camp, etc..when its 25 degrees and frigid? Some would say yes but the majority will give you a flat out no! Me being part of the latter group..lol. I am fanatic of keep a schedule and still getting up early early and get to the gym, alot of places have classes they teach more frequently during the winter months just for the reason that its to cold to workout outside( you never know you might meet your future workout buddy ). If you don’t have a gym that teaches classes or can even get to a gym never fear. whenever i cant get a a gym when I am a fanatic of my exercise bands and youtube, sounds crazy but it gets the job done.

PJ Q2. Winter weather means comfort food, but so many comfort foods are bad for you. Can you give any tips for sticking to a weight loss plan or healthy eating routine when we crave home baked mac and cheese or steaming hot chocolate?

Vernon: Cravings here’s a subject i battle with constantly, especially mashed potatoes.mmm. OK the best 2 plan of attacks that i can offer are portion control and 1-2x a week cheat meal. Its OK to eat the mac and cheese just make sure you are not eating a entire souffle dish worth of it! its about realising you want certain things but having the will power to only eat a small bowl of whatever comfort food you are craving. this time of ear there are functions, gatherings,etc. where you are gonna be surrounded by the foods you want and make your mouth water. Just have 1 to 2tablspoons of your favorite thing and leave the guilt of breaking your diet at the table. Another things i practice regularly are cheat meals. They are a good way to give a fresh start on your week and help with keep “the monkey off your back” but remember “cheat meal” not cheat day. not gorging on food all day long..lol

PJ Q3. As winter progresses, many of us are trying to keep track of our weight loss and fitness goals. Do you have any suggestions for how to track our progress?

Vernon: Tracking weight loss or fitness goals is one of the components to achieving your goals. I personally use a log book of everything I’m doing from diet to exercises to weight. You can see what worked for you and what didn’t and have a later reference to follow in the event you want to repeat a previous workout or food regimen. The scale can be used as well to see weightloss or gain by numbers which can be motivating tremendously for a visual representation of your work. Other then of course you noticing or others noticing the change in your appearance of course. i am not a fanatic about the scale however but it is a necessary tool. The scale can lie to you you may weigh the same after 2 weeks but there is no way of tracking the muscle to fat ratio, water retention (hormones in some cases) and honestly poor calibration of the scale.

PJ Q4. What are your goals for the winter months?

Vernon: A personal goal for me is to stay in summer shape throughout the winter. When its not beach weather or tank top season its easy to let a few pounds slide here or there. Not this guy! holidays are a great time but new years resolutions are great but why pack on 8-12lbs (average weight gain for this time of year) and wait until the new year for a new mindset. Start now!

You can find Vernon on Facebook for more great fitness tips and inspiration:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/vernonb3

 

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Lucky In Love – Deborah Coonts

January 20, 2012 in Reviews

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 374 KB
  • List Price: $3.44
  • Publisher: Forge Books (January 17, 2012)
  • Sold by: Macmillan
  • Language: English
  • Deborah Coonts Website
Buy Lucky In Love at:

Lucky O’Toole, the vice president of Customer Relations for the Babylon, one of Las Vegas’s most over-the-top strip properties, is seriously regretting booking a reality television show, The Forever Game, in the hotel’s small theater.

The four contestant-couples add their own mischief to the incendiary mix normally available in Sin City while competing for a Las Vegas wedding extravaganza. The host of The Forever Game, Trey Gold, appears interested only in keeping the spotlight on himself while the contestants run wild, sampling all Vegas has to offer and threatening to blow the whole show out of the water.

Not only must Lucky keep the couples from killing each other, killing their relationships, or ending up on the front page of the Review-Journal, she has to navigate her own rocky road of love. Teddie, her live-in lover, seems ready to chase a new career as a singer, leaving Vegas . . . and Lucky . . . behind. And the Babylon’s new French chef seems determined to muddy the murky waters of love even further.

Then there’s Lucky’s mother, Mona, who never could leave well enough alone . . .

I had never read a Deborah Coonts novel before starting this novella, with a promise that I wouldn’t get lost in a world I was unfamiliar with. Truer words have never been spoken! Instead of getting lost, I immediately fell in love. How could I not? Lucky’s mother, Mona,  owns a whorehouse! Hello!

Plus it has lines like:

The dildo-wielding banshee.

Tell me THAT doesn’t make you want to know what the hell came before and after that line.

Lucky In Love takes place after book two and before the February release of So Damn Lucky. It’s a short story that will introduce you to Lucky, her father’s casino (Babylon) and the over the top people of Las Vegas.

In this novella, Lucky is trying to deal with the contestants of a reality show that is filming at the hotel on top of her love life. It’s cute, snarky and a perfect intro to the series.

If you’ve read the series, you’ll enjoy Lucky In Love. If you haven’t read the series, you’ll scramble to read the previous books in the series before February!

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