Confessions of a (Teenage) Geek: Geek Tuesdays

On the iPod: The Pretender - Foo Fighter

• Oh hi there blog readers. This week's Geek Tuesday is focusing on video games and my obsession with them (and, for a larger part, button mashing)
• Video games like Final Fantasy, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham Asylum and such have been a huge part of my life. And to that I blame my older brother, who shall be referred to as "Lord Vader". No seriously, I call him that.
• I think what I find fascinating about these games is sort of the quest aspect to them. Final Fantasy you're trying to save the planet from destruction, Tekken is you fight your way to the top (as a respective character, with an ulterior motive for entering the Tekken competition), and for Batman, you're fighting your way out of Arkham Asylum.
• How cool is that?!
• And the ultimate epitome of a quest game (well, in my opinion!) is Kingdom Hearts (now, that's an obsession)
• I also have a bit of an obsession with button mashing because I suck absolutely at playing the game and so I just wing it.
• Way to teach me, Lord Vader.
• Anyways, I think thats my absolutely most FUN thing I do when I'm absolutely annoyed at someone. It's usually a family member....

Confession of a (Teenage) Geek: Geek Tuesday's

On the iPod: El Tango de Roxanne - Jose Feliciano/Ewan McGregor

1. Yay, Geek Tuesday is at its 4th post. Boo Yah!
2. So, this time, my geekiness will be based on musical movies. Like see the above picture.
3. I guess it all started with that One Buffy episode, but whatever. I like them.
4. I especially adored the Phantom, Moulin Rouge, Rent and other stuff like that
5. Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog is also one of my favorites. And Rocky Horror Picture Show.
6. It's kind of this unnatural obsession because everytime I hear soundtracks from any of them, I feel like belting it along.
7. And I suck horribly at singing but that's never stopped me!
8. Dr.Horrible and Phantom make me cry though. It's probably because Penny died and Christine left the Phantom for that jerk!
9. Moulin Rouge, however, takes the cake and I bawl.
10. Huh. So what are your favorite musical movie type things.

The Iron Witch

On the iPod: Lights - Ellie Goulding

News first: You guys, I HAZ 14 FOLLOWERS. I find that amazing that you 14 follow me and my crazy shenanigans and still read this. I find that pretty rocking!!! And to all you 14: you make my day. Oh gosh you make me wanna dance.

Anyway, I think I'll review the Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney.

Goodreads says: Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Whoa, Iron Witch was pretty cool and offers a new take, blending alchemy with faeries. Iron Witch has Donna, our socially awks teen who people talk behind her back and her best friend Navin, who, people like. But not his freaky friend. So as per usual, this story starts off with our protagonist being all normal and stuff and going to a party with Navin AND THIS IS WHERE THE WEIRD SHIZ HAPPENS. Donna, to escape the raging drunks downstairs, goes up to the roof to clear her mind and there (at the roof) she meets Xan. Xan is mysterious and gorgeous and there's that bond between him and Donna (roll your eyes but this bond makes sense!). So, when these two meet up again, it's for a different purpose. Navin's been kidnapped by the fey and it's up to Donna to save him. Of course, their journey takes longer and there's bits of action but it's setting the story up for the next series.

The alchemy part of Iron Witch is basically how there are Orders, and they're involved with the faeries. It seemed pretty grounded with the other stuff but I felt as if Karen Mahoney could have expanded it to really tie it in with the book.

I thought that Maker was pretty cool, in that mad scientist quirky way, and there were parts that creeped me out. I basically imagined Maker as Doctor Finklestein in Nightmare Before Christmas.

rating: 7/10

Angels and Twilight-y-ness

On the iPod: You are the One - Shiny Toy Guns

Hello bloggers, now that I've gotten back to my regular schedule of bloggy-bloggingness (it's a word if I said so!) and I think y'all have had enough of the 'good' reviews to get some 'meh' reviews.

Today's post: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Well Goodreads says: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

My review: Well, Hush, Hush was currently following the whole 'fallen angels' trend like a bit ago and me, being a stark raving angel fan was like "I Need to Read this!". And so I read it, and was like OHMYGOD but my friends, that wasn't my reviewer side; that was my fangirl side and that was BAD. So a few weeks ago, I decided to re-read it and no offense to the author, It made me want to hurl, quite frankly. I mean, Becca Fitzpatrick has okay characters that need some serious fleshing out, and they need to have some growth. But they had none, and they all fit stereotypes.

Vee - was a bit off the voluptuous side..... I'm sorry what?! Vee was fat but you know she had some damn great scene time unlike Nora. Plus, she was damn entertaining.

Nora - was about the equivalent of a doormat and deader than a door nail. She also lied, chronically and kept running back to the psycho who wanted to kill her. I thought of her as Bella 2.0 but you know, at least Nora didn't become a doormat for months after Patch broke it off. She just went to another psycho. This girl has some bad mojo.

Patch - dear god, there's something very wrong with this boy. You've all heard of those controlling-but- sensitive-in-the-gooey-center boys. Patch skipped that and went to borderline psycho like Michael Myers from Halloween. 'Nuff said.

the other characters were the stereotypes and I, being faithful to any series, desperately read on,because I hoped it would get better. It didn't; it just fugged with my mind that I am still reading the series, out of morbid curiosity, to see how this all ends and Patch and Nora's relationship is mostly lust, and it's eh. I'd like it if the characters at least developed the relationship but it's more of a BOOM, hate, BOOM, lust and repeat, and the Patch/Nora relationship, if fleshed out, would be amazing, but for now, I'll stick with my Aura/Logan/Zachary relationship.

HOWEVER, what I did like about this book: well, the mystery and the climax were the only things I like that it had going because the romance part sorely missed its mark. It makes me want to cry in my coffee.

I recommend checking this book out from the library instead of buying it (but that's just me) and I really think some people might like it. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Rating: 6/10

P.S Becca Fitzpatrick is a quite awesome person as I talk to her on Twitter. Just FYI.

Paranormal Books amidst piles of Fantasy, wait WHAT?!

On the iPod: I Miss You - Blink 182

Hola, blog readers, I recently started this one book like a while ago and finished it just to forget it because 'lo, I slept most of the summer (besides blogging and the YAcT) so it's about time this book got reviewed.

Goodreads summary:

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Oh god, Shade was such an emotional book for me that it's really nice to find a paranormal book that wasn't really fun and comical in a sense, as much as it was dealing with the emotional backlash of losing someone AND still have them without you, but not with you.

Crazy right?!

Well, Shade's about Aura Salvatore and her boyfriend, Logan (the geek and the rocker love) with another twist thrown in; teenagers or those born *after the Shift* can see ghosts while their parents have to rely on BlackBoxes (<--the salt against the ghost). So, one day when Logan's off after a concert and he and Aura are, um, going to consummate their love, he dies. Yep, but he's still here in the world living as a ghost. And then you throw in Zachary, who's so understanding, and kind, and incredible and alive, well then, you have yourselves a quite thoughtful Urban Fantasy/Paranormal/YA that's really beautiful and all I can say is, pick up a copy for yourself. Jeri Smith-Ready wrote a flawless and timeless book that deserves this:

Shade also has that very *doomed relationship* (between Logan and Aura) feel to it, and I loved it. It also included a decent love triangle because it had a purpose (le gasp! it's true though). I'd say Shade deserves a 10/10 on the WondefulbookshelfofJaz scale.

I'm pretty sure that's a first here.

p.s wanna know more about Jeri Smith Ready and her schmazin' books? Go here!

Peace!

The Iron Fey series

On the iPod: Sour Cherry - The Kills

Yeah, the blog post title is a bit of a doozy isn't it? Iron Fey is a contradiction and it's SO MADDENING but hark! fellow readers, I am here to explain the reasons as to why you should definitely read The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

The story starts off with our female heroine, Meghan Chase, a misfit in her human world because there's something off about her. Well, we also find out dear ol' Meg is turning sixteen. And crap hits the fan as Meghan's gets a rude slap to the face as she finds out her little brother, Ethan, has been kidnapped by the Fey and into the NeverNever. Commence flailing around in the new, strange, wondrous freaky world and geeky friends turning amazingly hot (no people, it's not sarcasm). As Meghan goes into the NeverNever with the only intention of getting her brother with her prankster BFF/hot fey (Puck AKA Midsummer's Night Dream), the discovery that she's actually the half daughter of Oberon, King of the Seelie Court and she's falling in love with the prince of the Unseelie court. Yeah, this is one hell of a ride but it's totally worth it!!! Of course there's also the times when Meghan makes some impulsive/rash/stupid decisions and her adventures effs up but you know, that's what makes The Iron King so fun! That even our heroine where she might not quiver in the face of dangers, screws up royally on the way to it!

The Characters:

Meghan is actually pretty freaking fierce for finding out she's half-Fey while trying to rescue her little brother. 'Course, there's always those times when she really needs to get the f*** outta the way when BAD THINGS ARE FALLING IN FRONT OF HER.

Puck: dear god, Puck, can you be real?! Could you...BE MY FRIEND?! I absolutely LUURVE you OH SO MUCH. it's actually kind of ridiculous.

Grimalkin is basically the Cheshire cat of this series, he's snarky and has a remarkable deadpan for a cat. He's like the embodiment of what every cat would say/do/be like if they could.

Ash, oh you mother-trucking, son of a gun. You're so flawless yet so flawed, how could you be so?! I think that the series of the Iron Fey is really taking its time to mature, because he's so stand-offish in the first book and he gradually opens up throughout books 2 & 3.

Overall I'm giving Iron King a solid 8.5 out of ten rating, so scat. Read it.

Texans and Goths

Hiya everyone, I just saw the calender and saw that summer is dwindling. WTF?! It's August and I realized "Summer goes by fast" except when you're reading because then you're either in Spring, Winter, Paris, or the Underworld (and come on you guys, who doesn't want to be in the Underworld in the Spring) *crickets*

Anyways, I just finished Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore and it was pretty fanfreakingtastic. It's got humor, snark, paranormal, a hot cowboy, sassy witches and it will make you snort with laughter (so don't be drinking Caf-Pow* while you're reading this.)

Texas Gothic is about Amy (Amaryllis) Goodnight living in the chaoticness that is the Goodnight family. The Goodnight's are a *big* family of witches (no guys! YEAH) who have an affinity (like Daisy who's a psychic and Amy's sister, Phin, who works well with kitchen magic) but Amy doesn't really have an affinity. And she's glad of it. Amy's the "normal" one in the family of witches that helps maintain the sense of normalcy to the outside world and hides the eccentricity of the Goodnights. So Texas Gothic has Amy and her sister Phin ranch-sitting for their Aunt Hyacinth when one day an unfortunate accident (the goats Taco and Gordita in a tree...) has Amy meeting the neighbor, who is the Hot Cowboy, Ben. But soon after the goat incident, a ghost gets through their Aunt's protections and starts haunting the ranch and Amy. Without giving too much away, Amy and Phin are then involved with another local ghost story in their town and they have to be solved the mystery.

Texas Gothic was.... amazing. Snarkily delicious. Hot. I didn't dislike anything about this book and that's pretty awesome (well except for Emery...) and I also LOVED that Clement-Moore has women in the field (of science, anthropology) which leads me to the whole girl-power thing is KA-POW. I loved how the Goodnight women were there for each other and could hold their own (Daisy, I love you. No seriously, you dress like Abby and I think Abby is schmazing).

Confessions of a (Teenage) Geek: Geek Tuesdays

1. I think I'll do a list for today's blog post.
2. So continuing off from the past weeks, Geek Posts I think I should mention again: I'm a HUGE Whedon fan. It's actually ridiculous and that I came up with a song for author Beth Revis. I'll link it soon.
3. I might also add, I'm a HUGE SMG (sarah michelle gellar) fan, that I am SO EXCITED FOR RINGER. and that new Buffy movie in talks. I IZ EXCITED!
4. Believe it or not, I found a new obsession called Lost Girl (for like 18-25 but yanno, age doesn't stop me)
5. It's. SO. GOOD. it messes with my psyche every freaking week.
6. GAH!!!!!!!!
7. I keep going back to Etsy to stare longingly towards all the steampunk stuff. *longing stare*
8. DOCTOR WHO KEEPS GETTING SO AMAZING I MIGHT DIE.
9. The Iron Fey series mocks me ,but I GET 3 DAYS OFF SO HAH!
10. I should probably continue my homework during my free track but I'm blogging, so HAH.