Friday, October 28, 2011

Evanescence - Music Review

After gothic-rock band Evanescence was broken apart by Ben Moody and a few fellow band members leaving to form We are the fallen,with Carly Smithson from American Idol, most people were not expecting Evanescence to continue. But AmyLee continued to sing, and after Haiti was devastated, contributed a song that was supposed to go on the last album, The open door, called Together again, which was made into a single album.

And now, not long after that, they are coming out with a brand new album! It is self titled, Evanescence. Currently, three preview tracks are out, and I have links to all of them.
 
 
The official music video for the first released song, What you want.

Personally, I loved the song, and I thought the lyrics were brilliant. They immediatly caught my attention, and I enjoyed listening to Amy`s lovely voice in a whole new song. The beat was good and really agreed with the vocals.

Made of Stone was a very good one, too. The lyrics popped out at me, along with Amy`s vocals. I personally loved the guitar, but thats me. This link will take you to one of the pages on the  Evanescence official website. You do not have to click anything, the music will start all on its own. Just scroll down to continue reading the lyrics.

The Other Side is another brilliant song. I honestly had to follow the lyrics to know what she was saying, but as I figured out the words, I could understand it a little. I think most people will like this one.

Enjoy the songs. :)

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Incarceron

Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison -- a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a device -- a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born ...
xxx
Defiantly not the description on the back of the book I read, but its still good. I guess I should start my review out with this.
I have been trying to read this book for the past TWO years, and have finally been able to sit down and read it through. And I will admit, I quite enjoyed it. It was better than I thought it would be, and I didn't want to put it down. There werent any funny parts, which kinda made it a bummer. I mean, they are in a prison, so they should at least make a funny, right??
One thing I liked about this book is that there were always twists and turns and surprises, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the world, where a prison talks and there are many worlds inside of it. I think its pretty cool that these people banded together, or apart, to create their own little "paradise" inside of a hell, and on the Outside, how the queen rules and they live in the past, away from all the gadgets and gizmo's of today. I think it would be cool to live in a world like that, but with some of the benefits of today's era.
From the beginning, there is action, and it grabs you like a freaking fish caught on a hook. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of the book, my brain turning and turning, figuring out the mysteries of Incarceron. I was kinda bummed when, at the end of the story, they still didn't tell us who Sapphique was, even though they hinted that it was the warden. Butt... no more spoilers for you :P.
Comment below and tell me what you thought of the book.

<3: Ce-Ce Wroth

                                                  


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS GIVAWAY!

Go to the Qwillery and enter in the contest to win "A vampire for Christmas", plus two extra gifts :)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Haunted by your touch book givaway

http://paranormalromanceaddict.blogspot.com/2011/06/monthly-giveaway-haunted-by-your-touch.html
Go above and enter in the book givaway for Haunted by your touch.

The Den of Shadows Quartet

FOUR COMPLETE NOVELS—ONE CAPTIVATING WORLD
In the Forests of the Night
Three hundred years ago Risika had a family—a brother and a father who loved her. Three hundred years ago she was human. Now she is a vampire, a powerful one. And her past has come back to torment her.
Demon in My View
Jessica isn’t your average high school student—she’s an acclaimed published author of vampire fiction. Now two new students at her high school strongly remind her of her favorite characters. But those characters only live in her imagination—right?
Shattered Mirror
Christopher Raneva and Sarah Vida may look like a normal high school couple, but he’s actually a vampire who’s sworn off human blood and she’s an incredibly powerful, vampire-hunting witch. As if that weren’t enough to prevent their love, his past and her future collide when they get tangled up with Nikolas, one of the most reviled vampires ever.
Midnight Predator
Once a happy teenager, Turquoise Draka is now a vampire hunter. Her current assignment is to assassinate Jeshikah, one of the cruelest vampires in history. But to do that, she’ll have to enter Midnight, a fabled vampire realm, as a human slave. . .


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Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has a very unique writing style. Aside from a few slow spots, I enjoyed reading this. The Den of Shadows Quartet is, in all sense of the word, a quartet. Four full novels make up this book, each one better than the last. I love how she writes her own version of vampires and witches, and here's what really caught my attention (other than the cover) is that the enemies of the vampire are NOT werewolves, but various witches. This novel has the first four books in the series, with one other book, the fifth one called Persistence of Memory, (not included) its own novel. If you understood that.
Amelia is also the author of the Kiesha`ra series, where she introduces another world that she thought up with her own brain.
Overall -- I give the book a 4 out of 5, and it is on my suggestion list. It might be missing a point, but that's only because of how the book started out.

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Individual ratings
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In the Forests of the Night
This is a story about an unwanted turning and where hatred flows throughout the character`s story. There are no humans or witches in this one, but a rivalry between Risika (or Rachel, as she was originally called) and Aubry (he is also one of the main character`s in Demon in my View), two "powerful" vampires. Basically its a story about Risika finding her true self and gaining back what she had lost.
I give this story a 3 out of 5 because it was absolutely confusing. Sure, Amelia tried her best to catch the reader up with various flashbacks, but I was still lost despite her efforts. The real action doesn't happen until a few chapters before the book ends, so that's another reason why I give it a low rating. And, as I noticed in all the books, a surprise ending that makes everyone wish they knew more concluded the book.

Demon in My View
Jessica is a loner, an adopted girl who everyone seems to hate. One thing about the description is that two of her characters are not from her books (although one, who is a witch, was familiar to her because of her bloodlines), but one, who is Aubry from the first one. Instantly Jessica is drawn to him, and its the first book inside the novel that even hints to a love interest (and is the first one that even has the characters kiss). I ate it up, I will admit.
I don't want to give any spoilers away, so I will not say anymore. My rating for this book is a 4 out of 5. It was better than the first one, but there were still questions I had to ask, though the ending was strong.

Shattered Mirror
Psssttt! I hate being lied to. The description is all wrong, but I guess it can hint towards the right direction. This book is about the daughter of one of the greatest witches (the cousin of one of the heroins in Demon in my View) and so it can connect to the previous book. This one goes more in depth with the witches and their world, and has its own "star crossed lovers", between a witch and a vampire. This is one of my favorite books in the series, with a 5 out of 5. It goes in depth and I didn't want to put it down. Another thing that made me love, love, love this book is that there isn't really a happy ending. It is unlike any other vampire/ witch book I have ever read, and I didn't want it to end. This is defiantly a MUST read.

Midnight Predator
This I will also say is a 5 out of 5. I loved it, and it introduces shape-shifters and human vampire hunters.  Who doesn't love those? Basically the description is right, but one thing that it doesn't mention is that the person who Turquoise is sold to also has his own dark path. There are plenty of OMG moments in it, and I guess you could say that that's what made me want to not put the book down. Trust me, I didn't put it down even when my hands fell asleep. This is also a MUST read (emphasis on the must) and I wish Amelia would write another book with these characters so I can see what paths they (mostly Turquoise) chose to go down.

<3: Ce-Ce Wroth

Thursday, October 20, 2011

SPECIAL POST

This is not one of my normal posts, but it is pretty special.
http://qwillery.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-with-sara-humphreys-and.html
click that link to go to a givaway for one of the must-have books of all time, Unleashed. I will admitt that it sounds friggen cool and I am going to make sure that I put it on my reading list. Although it wont be anytime soon, it might be in the next month or so. Look over to the right and you will see my reading schedule is already filled. It normally doesnt take me this long to read a book, but I do have school work on and the honer-roll to maintain.
Until then, enter the givaway and cross your fingers!
- <3:Ce-Ce Wroth

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Thirst No.1 by Christopher Pike

As to blood -- ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty....
Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.
Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....
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Thirst #1, which is actually three books wrapped into one honkin paper back (or hardback), was a 3 out of 5 to me. I felt like the story progressed too fast. I would have loved it if the author would have went more in depth with Sita`s ( Alisa, as she is called on the back of the book and throughout  most of the story. You will understand the name usage when or if you have already read the book. If you haven't read it -- NO SPOILER HERE!!) story. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and I would recommend it. One thing that also got to me was the constant death of her lovers. In one story she would have one and he would die in the next one, and at the end of that same story, she would get another lover (and she quickly falls in love. A lot.), and he would die in the next one. It was aggravating because as I'm reading, I start to like these guys, then they just suddenly die. Its a WTF?!?! moment. 
However, I loved the way Christopher weaved the past into his story. I'm not sure if all of it is true (not the best historian, people), but I would slightly compare it to Anne rice`s Vampire Chronicles, but with less depth. He has all the right history, and he just inserts his character and it works perfectly.
As I have said, it is fast paced, but a very good read. If you see it in your Library or you happen to have extra cash when you go shopping, or you are simply looking for new and interesting reads, then you should definitely pick up Thirst.

<3: Ce-Ce Wroth

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Darkest Surrender

Long ago, twelve immortals warriors – each more dangerously seductive than the last -- stole and opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the evil from within. Now they carry that evil within themselves. Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath. When a powerful enemy returns, they will travel the world in search of a sacred relic of the gods – one that threatens to destroy them all. 
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Out since September 27th, 2011, is book 11 in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter, The Darkest surrender --

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain.
For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor’s edge of surrender.
Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die.
Strider is a distraction she can’t afford because he has an agenda of his own—steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter—the love neither had thought possible.…
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This is one of the highly anticipated books of the year, but what I'm waiting for is The darkest Seduction, Paris`s story. If you are not familiar with this series, I highly recommend it.
It was amazing, of course (I absolutely wouldn't expect anything less from Gena Showalter), and it was much better than the rest of the books. Many things are revealed, such as an apocalypse and who will cause it, and the absolutely horrible (?) things that Paris has to go through to get his woman back.
And there are many, many words that can possibly describe this brilliant piece of work, and I can think of three - Hot, Sexy, and Hilarious - and its all wrapped into this sexy, book that nobody (not even I, I will admit) will be able to put down, and will probably want to break whatever they are reading it from (in my case my tiny MP3 player) because the ending is a f-ing cliffhanger.
Below I have provided and excerpt, so if you haven't read the book yet (which you should. immediately), then scan your eyes over this teaser (literally), and feast your mind with Gena`s brilliant work. (OK, I think I over used the word Brilliant. Enjoy -insert smiley face with fangs here-

An Excerpt From…

The Darkest Surrender

by Gena Showalter

“I WANT HIM.”
“Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah. The day of the Unfortunate Incident, something you made me swear never to discuss, even upon threat of death. And I won’t discuss it now, so don’t get your panties in a twist. I just thought you were more careful with your affections nowadays.”
Kaia Skyhawk peered over at her twin—Bianka the Heavenly Hills Ho, as Kaia had recently dubbed her. A name her precious sis deserved. Girl had nailed an angel. A freaking angel. ‘Course, in return Bianka had dubbed her Kaia: Bed-warmer of the Underworld for getting down and dirty with Paris, the biggest man-whore in existence.
The title didn’t sting nearly as much as her last one. Fine, her current one. Harpies had long memories, and shouts of “Look, everyone, it’s the Disappointment” still happened anytime she ran into another of her race.
Anyway. Bianka was as ravishingly gorgeous as ever, a dark fall of hair cascading down her back, her amber eyes bright. And just then she was flipping through a rack of designer dresses, a mix of determination and concern radiating from her.
“That happened, like, a million years ago,” Kaia said, “and Strider is the first man Fve…damn it, he’s just the first man I’ve wanted, truly wanted,” she added before her sister could comment on her “boyfriends” throughout the centuries, “since. Or ever.”
“Actually, that, as you called it, happened a mere fifteen hundred years ago, but we aren’t discussing it. So what about Kane, keeper of Disaster, huh? I thought you once had a moment with him? A shock to your senses or something like that.”
“Nothing but static.”
A snort full of amusement. “Try again.”
“I don’t know. Maybe his demon sensed a kindred spirit in me and reached out, hoping to fan the flames of a romance. That doesn’t mean Kane and I are destined to be together. I’m not attracted to him.”
“Better, and okay, Kane’s out. Maybe you need to look elsewhere for a boyfriend. Like, say, the heavens. I can set you up with an angel.” Bianka held up a flowing swath of blue material with sequined flower appliques sewn into the top and layer after layer of lacy ruffles at the bottom. “What do you think of this one?”
Ignoring the dress as she’d been ignored, Kaia pressed on. “No set ups. I want Strider.”
“He’s no good for you.”
He’s perfect for me. “One, he doesn’t belong to another Harpy. Two, he isn’t psychotic. Well,” she added with a few seconds of afterthought, “he isn’t psychotic all of the time. And three, he’s…he’s my consort, I know it.” There. She’d said the words out loud to someone other than herself and the brain-damaged man in question.
My consort.
Consorts, as Kaia now knew, were extremely hard to find and utterly cherished because of that. Actually, they were necessary. Harpies were volatile by nature, dangerous and, when annoyed, lethal to the entire world. Consorts calmed them. Consorts appeased them.
If only you could select your consort from a catalogue and be done with it. Instead, instinct picked for you, and your body followed suit. Wouldn’t have been so bad, except each Harpy was granted one consort during her seemingly endless life. Only one. You lost him, and you suffered eternally. If you didn’t kill yourself outright.
That Kaia had once tried to steal Juliette’s, that Juliette had been without her male all this time, not knowing whether he lived or had died, hating him for what he’d done but needing him anyway, that Juliette still loathed Kaia and had promised retribution—retribution the bitch still clearly planned to achieve—shamed her. But then, what could she say to defend herself? Nothing!
She had disobeyed. She set the man free. She had unleashed his fury upon an unsuspecting community.
Every year Kaia mailed Juliette a fruit basket with a “sorry about you consort” card, and every year the basket was returned with rotten apple cores, black banana peels, and a picture of Juliette flipping her off with “Die, Whore, Die” written in blood somewhere.
Only reason Juliette hadn’t yet attacked was out of respect for Tabitha, who was still a force to be reckoned with among allies and enemies alike.
Don’t think about the past. You’ll start spiraling.
She’d think about her consort. Strider. Barbaric, slutty, idiotic Strider. He was an immortal warrior who’d long ago stolen and opened Pandora’s box to “teach those asshole gods a lesson” for daring to pick a “mere woman” to guard such a “dumb relic,” and because of his rampant senselessness, he and the friends who’d helped him—the infamous and deliciously frightening for everyone but a Harpy Lords of the Underworld—had been cursed, forever forced to carry the demons they’d set free inside themselves.
Strider, the beautiful moron, was possessed by the demon of Defeat. He couldn’t lose a single challenge without suffering debilitating pain. Of course, that made him determined to win everything, even something as silly as Rock Band. Which she refused to ever again play with him because she’d totally nailed the bass, then the drums, then the mic, and he’d spazzed out and yelled at her before passing out and twitching with pain. So melodramatic.
Anyway, his determination made him stupid, egotistical, stupid, an all around asshat and stupid! But…there was no man more handsome, no man more fierce.
No man who wanted less to do with her.
Had she mentioned he was stupid?
“Well?” Bianka shook the dress in Kaia’s face, forcefully claiming her attention. “Opinion, please. And sometime today.”
Focus. “Don’t kill the messenger, but that thing will make you look like a cracked out prom queen who has no plans to sleep with her boyfriend when the big dance ends—because she doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’s too weird. Sorry.”
Bianka merely shrugged, unperturbed. “Hey, cracked out prom queens might be weird, but they’re hot.”
“If hot is a synonym for destined to die alone, you’re right. So go ahead. Buy the dress, and I’ll buy you a hundred cats to keep you company while you spend the rest of eternity trying to figure where your relationship with the angel went wrong, never really understanding that the problems started this very night”
“Do you know anything about me? Hello, I like dogs. But fine, whatever.” Red lips pursing, her twin snapped the hanger back onto the rack and continued her search for “the perfect gown” to wear when she broke a bit of bad news to her consort, Lysander.
Poor Bianka. She hadn’t just nailed an angel, she’d bound herself to one. Forever. Lysander lived and worked in the heavens and was so boring Kaia would rather shove bamboo splints under other people’s fingernails than spend time with him. Okay, bad example. She actually enjoyed shoving bamboo splints under other people’s nails.
There was something so best-musical-ever when people screamed and begged for mercy, and she could listen to a good musical all day.
“Kaia?” Bianka said. “What the hell are you sighing about?”
“Musicals.”
“Musicals? Seriously? When I’m dying for help? Will you just listen to me for once?”
“In a minute. Geez. I really like this thought train.” Or rather, she’d liked the station stop before the musicals. A male this boring needed an equally tedious nickname…like…Pope Lysander the First. That’s right. He was an elite warrior with wings of gold and yeah, he was a demon slayer extraordinaire, and okay, that was sexy as hell, but he was also morally upstanding. Like over the edge OCD about it. Kaia shuddered with distaste. He was slowly but surely sucking the fun right out of her once delightful sister.
In fact, Lysander’s aversion to blatant shoplifting was the reason they had abandoned Budapest—too many prying eyes—returned to Alaska and broken into Anchorage’s Fifth Avenue Mall at night rather than taking what they desired in broad daylight. As usual. Again, too many prying eyes.
To be honest, Kaia was kind of embarrassed about the concession. She would have told her man to take his request to “please don’t steal in front of humans, it gives them ideas” and stuff it up his ass. Also, she despised the lack of thrill, needed it to soothe her darker side, but whatever. She loved her sister. More than that, she owed Bianka a debt she could never hope to repay.
They might not ever discuss the Unfortunate Incident, but Kaia had never forgotten it. (See? A Harpy with a long memory.) Every day she remembered how Bianka had writhed in a pool of her own blood, her eyes glassy with pain. How moans of pain had parted mutilated lips.
Bianka sighed. “Okay, let’s get your problems out of the way so we can concentrate on me. Tell me why you picked Strider as your heartmate. I know you’re dying to extol his virtues.”
For a moment, Kaia could only blink at her sister, certain she’d misheard. “Are you freaking kidding me? Heart-mate? Did you just say heartmate?”
Bianka snickered. “I did, and I almost gagged. Ly-sander’s influence, you know. Anyway, Strider’s such a tool. And a challenge.” Another snicker echoed. “Get it? A challenge…he can’t lose one…but he sure as hell acts like one.”
Kaia rolled her eyes. “I think you’ve been hanging with the angels too much. Your IQ has dropped.”
“What? That was funny.” Square-tipped nails painted bright blue drummed against the metal rack between them. “And by the way, the angels aren’t that bad.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, my love.”
Bianka blew her a kiss full of fang. “All’s I’m saying is that Strider’s gonna be a handful—and not the good kind. He’s—actually, wait. I recant. He’s too big to be anything but a good handful. Or more. But he’s also gonna be a bad one. Wait. That doesn’t ring true, either. How should I put this? He’s going to—”
“I get it already! He’s got a huge package, and he’s irritating as hell. What’s your point?”
“Glad you’re finally up to speed. It’s sad, really, that you need so much explanation.” The sparkle in her sister’s eyes dimmed. “Anyway, you told him how you felt about him and he rejected you. He’ll be annoyed by any further contact you initiate, and an annoyed demon-possessed warrior is a global disaster waiting to happen.”
“I know.” If she had realized his importance to her sooner, she wouldn’t have slept with his friend Paris, the keeper of Promiscuity. Otherwise known as Paris the Sex-orcist, a male so sensual he could make your head spin. And if she hadn’t slept with the Sexorcist, Strider the Stupid wouldn’t have rejected her.
Maybe.
Or maybe he would have. Because to her consternation—yes, consternation, and not an all-consuming, organ-flaming rage—he kinda sorta desired another woman. Haidee, a pretty female who belonged to his friend, Amun, keeper of Secrets.
At least Haidee was off limits, and Kaia didn’t have to worry about Strider getting handsie. Honor among evil demons, and all that.
But damn it, just the thought of his gaze on another woman caused Kaia’s nails to elongate and sharpen, her fangs to sprout and her blood to boil. Mine, every cell in her body cried. She would kill anyone who made a play for him, as well as anyone he made a play for; she wouldn’t be able to help herself. Her dark side would take over, driving her to protect what was hers.
“Seriously, he’s lucky to be alive, and not just because I want to chop off his man parts and feed them to zoo animals while he watches,” Bianka continued. “Any man who can’t recognize your worth deserves a good torturing.”
“I know.” Not because Kaia was anything special—though she was, kind of, maybe…damn it, she used to be—but because no one could reject a Harpy without suffering severe consequences.
Actually, most Harpies would have taken Strider despite his wishes. So maybe she was the stupid one for allowing him to push her away. She just…wanted him willing. She needed him willing. To abscond with him was to defeat him, and to defeat him was to hurt him.
She couldn’t bring herself to hurt him. Even at the expense of her sanity.
“You’re too good for him, anyway,” Bianka said, loyal as always.
“I know,” she repeated once more, lying this time. She would only ever be a disgrace to her clan. He deserved better.
Her sister sighed. “But you still want him.” A statement of fact, not a question. “Yeah.”
“So what are you going to do to win him?”
“Nothing,” she said, fighting a wave of depression. “I chased after him once.” And he’d found her lacking. “I’m not going to do it again.”
“Maybe—”
“No. A few weeks ago, I challenged him to kick more Hunter ass than me.” Hunters, the enemy out to destroy all things demon. The fanatics loved to go after innocents who dared get in their way. The pre-dead guys who would meet the tips of her claws if they approached Strider again.
Well, if they dared approach him with a weapon in hand. She might let them crawl toward him to apologize for the trouble they’d caused throughout the centuries. Torturing the Lords—only she was allowed to do so. Blowing up buildings—yawn. Could they be any more B-movie? Sooo irritating. Decapitating the keeper of Distrust—okay, that one was a little more than irritating, considering Strider was still messed up about it and everything.
Speaking of Distrust’s murder, Haidee had helped carry it out. Yep, that Haidee. The one Strider desired.
Kaia didn’t understand it. If he could want Haidee despite her crimes, why couldn’t he want Kaia?
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Read the book and would love to leave your own review? Comment below and I would love to compare my opinions on the book with yours.

The Darkest Seduction cover-


<3: Ce-Ce Wroth