Review: Everneath

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Synopsis (From Goodreads):   Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. 

 Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen. 

 As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen. 

 "Everneath" is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Brodi Ashton's Everneath is a story that is loosely based off the legend of Hades and Persephone and Orpheus and Euridyce, which is exactly why I wanted to read this because I love Greek Mythology, especially the Mythology revolving around the underworld. Nikki Beckett has spent a decade in an underworld known as the Everneath, which was only 6 months on Earth. After returning home, she now has 6 months left to say the good byes she never had a chance to say before she disappeared before and also find the redemption she so desperately desires, especially with the one boy who the Everneath could never make her forget about, Jack, before the Tunnels come and claim her for the final time. The longer Nikki spends on Earth, the more of herself she gets back and the longer her bond to Jack grows, which doesn't please Cole who wants to take Nikki back to the Everneath to take over the throne in the underworld, convinced she is the key to help him achieve this. Nikki has to fight against time, and her confused feelings for Cole, to try and find a way to break all connections with the Everneath or is she fated to leave everyone she leaves all over again?

Ashton does an excellent job of making Nikki feel distant and emotionless at the start of the novel, almost draining (which was a bit hard to get into to read, but it really suited the story) and as the story progressed and the longer she remained on Earth she became more lively. This really showed how Nikki was developing throughout the story, and I love being able to see fully-fleshed out characters develop throughout the entire story. Nikki was a strong female, who knew what she was fighting for, but at times I just wanted to scream at her for the decisions she made. Some of the stupid decisions she made all revolved around a boy, which is why she is in the predicament she is in and she even admits it was her own fault, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Jack, is a strong and sweet character. He is a character who would do anything for Nikki and you can't help but feel sorry for him.  He's the exact opposite of Cole who is deceiving and slick, who always has to have the last thing to say and be around Nikki. All of these characters really makes the story interesting to read, and it's not the normal love-triangle that happens in most paranormal novels. The difference is that Nikki really doesn't want Cole to be around her, but because she has spent a decade with him in the Everneath she has some unwanted bond that connects them, and he is the one very much infatuated with her.

Aston has created an intriguing debut that is full of twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing until the end and I cannot wait until the sequel is released.

Source: audio book
2012 Debut Author Challenge: #10 of 12

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #53 of 50
2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge: #2 of 11

Inner Editor vs Inner Hinderer

Okay, I have to admit that sometimes it can take me a while to hammer out the first draft and that is because I can sometimes re-write sections three or four times and still not be happy with how that section is turning out, but during NanoWriMo I was determined not to let my inner editor dictate what to include or exclude from my story (yeah, I know that  some of my characters disappeared for long portions of the story and that I didn't introduce some of those characters until they were necessary, but I'll be able to go back and fix that in the next draft).

Once I stopped my inner editor from trying to change the story after I had already wrote it, I was able to get more of the story written in less time. I'm still not finished with the first draft, but I can at least see the ending in sight and I should be finished the first draft before the end of the year and then I'll be able to add any of the scenes or do any of the changes I need to make in the second draft without worrying about whether I'll ever finish the story.

So, this got me thinking, does the inner editor hinder the story's progress during the first draft? Is it better to write the first draft before worrying about editing the story?

Finally back!!!

YAY!!!

After a long month of busy writing with NanoWriMo, finishing writing nearly 100 reports (yep, you read that right), and working through a lot of very emotional challenges both in personal and school life I am back, and this time I promise to stay back.

Okay to report, I'll give the good news. I completed Nano :D...  I didn't even think I would make it since I went an entire week without writing anything, but I reached the 50K mark right on November 30th (still nowhere near the ending of the novel, so I have a lot of work ahead of me before I even have a first draft ready).

The past month has been quite hard to focus on anything, especially writing, I've been battling some health issues and then the school suffered a tragedy (a day before my birthday so it didn't really make me feel like celebrating) through the loss of a student, which has been tough on everyone, especially since the school is only 300 students.

But, I'm feeling much better now, there's only two weeks left of school and then I have six weeks of holidays to relax and recharge my batteries (which I feel I really need). There is also a Japanese holiday to look forward to which is coming up in a month, which I really nee to have my novel finished so I know what to research when over there.

So, in concluding, I'm glad to be back. How has everyone else been?

Ready, set, go...

Can you believe it's already November? All the writers competing in NaNoWriMo were all getting ready to pounce on their novel as soon as the clock struck twelve. Me, I got up very early to get a good head start (4:30 am... yes, that hour does exist), but it all failed since I spent all morning preparing for school.

Don't be disheartened. At the end of the day I still made over 2000 words (that's a good effort for the first day). I probably could have gotten more words done if I didn't have to constantly check facts (well, that serves me right for choosing to right a novel that takes place in Japan). Oh well, I do  love a challenge and I'll love introducing readers to the fantastic paranormal creatures that exists within another culture (I've already got plans for a Shinigami, Zashiki Warashi and a Kitsune).

Good luck to all writers participating in NaNoWriMo.

If you are participating how are you going? Did you get off to a good start?

Writer or eavesdropper?

Okay, I have a guilty confession to make. Sometimes I go to a coffee shop and sit down just to hear other people's conversations. Yeah, I know, that makes me an eavesdropper, but I love listening to real conversations and seeing how people speak (and perhaps pick up some interesting tidbits that could later be used to fuel my ideas).

But, isn't this one way to help create realistic dialogue? If you don't listen to people and watch how they act, how does the writer know they are creating realistic characters? That's my argument and I'm sticking with it.

Don't tell me I'm the only one who does this. Who else loves to catch bits of conversation? Who out there catches sight of someone (whether it's what they say, what they wear or how they look) and thinks that they could use that quirk in their stories? 

Review: Pretty Crooked

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Synopsis (From Goodreads):   Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected. 

 The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan. 

 But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Elisa Ludwig has created a hilarious modern day Robin Hood in her debut novel, Pretty Crooked. Willa never wanted to move, but when her artist mother sells her art for a lot of money, a move is exactly what they do. Now Will finds herself at an exclusive prep school and instantly welcomed into the Glitterati, the popular group. Not wanting to complain about her new friends, she tries to ignore that these girls could be behind a mean gossip blog, the Buzz who aims to make fun of the scholarship students. In order to put everyone on an even playing field (that is give the scholarship girls some money and new clothes), Willa comes up with the plan to become a modern day Robin Hood, which isn't as easy as she thought as she sets out to learn how to break-in and pick pockets. Will she be able to get away with this plan while still evading the cops who are getting closer to busting her?

On the surface, this would seem like the average mean-girls-get-what-they-deserve type book, but there are so many layers to this book, including strange parental behaviour and another mystery surrounding hottie Aidan (which I won't say anything about as it will spoil some of the mystery). Willa is a sincere character who just wants everyone at Valley Prep to be treated the same, and that may include stealing and giving new clothes and money to the poor scholarship girls who are constantly being bullied because they don't have money. Who wouldn't want that?

Elisa Ludwig does a fantastic job of immersing the reader into the glamorous world of Valley Prep, which helped to get the reader to know all about the characters before Willa's big plan begins.

Pretty Crooked definitely was a great build-up for the next book, but I felt there were too many subplots and mysteries happening in the background that didn't get cleared up by the end of the story, and this is one thing that let the story down. The novel is a fun, light read, and a must for anyone who loves the Robin Hood (stealing from the rich to give to the poor) storyline.

Source: ebook
2012 Debut Author Challenge: #9 of 12

2012 YA Reading Challenge: #52 of 50
2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge: #1 of 11

Would you be able to survive the apocalypse?

That was a question that I had to ask myself on Friday after a freak snow blizzard (yeah, it's not supposed to happen since we're in the middle of Spring here) trapped me in my small town. This is what I woke up to, which had school cancelled (yay!!!), but it also meant no power and all roads leading in and out of town were closed, and eventually I lost cell phone signal.

That's no that bad is it? With no stores open and unprepared (luckily I had boiled the kettle before the power blackout so I could make a cup of coffee), I could do nothing but stay in bed and hope the power of my iPad lasted (surprisingly it lasted a long time) before I turned around to a paperback book.

As lunch ticked around, I began wondering what there was to eat. I had plenty of microwave meals and frozen food (no good without power), I also had tins of sardines (which my brother thought was good enough to eat). Luckily after seven hours of isolation, the streets opened back up and power came back, as well as phone signal. Seven hours was all it took to question whether I could actually survive without power, phones or cars. I don't think I'd survive long if a real apocalypse did happen :(

So, I'm asking you, do you think you'd be able to survive if an apocalypse did occur?

P.S. On the weekend I purchased a battery operated light and a gas cooker (maybe that will help next time I'm stranded) :)