The Fame Game, by Lauren Conrad

In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.

Reality TV isn't really familiar to me, though it isn't completely unfamiliar either. With this book, I felt as though it was pretty much like reading a book based on a reality television... and I'm not talking about the part of the book that is indeed about a reality show. If that was the intended outcome, then Conrad definitely succeeded in that. If it wasn't... well, it was.

This is a spin-off series from Lauren's L.A. Candy series. I have to admit, I tried reading L.A. Candy and it really just didn't work out for me - which is why you will never see a review for that book on this blog - I don't review DNF's for many reasons, including being fair to the author and giving them more positive publicity through those that do enjoy the books. With that being said, I can say that it was a good thing that I did read at least some of L.A. Candy because it helped the scoring of this book.

One of my big things in reading a book is checking out the writing - and every single aspect of it. I can honestly say that the writing in this book compared to L.A. Candy is much MUCH better, and it really shows that the author has evolved with each of her stories. I also enjoyed Madison as a character, which was surprising to me considering that I spent a good portion of the book having a very love/hate relationship with her.

As a matter of fact, I had a love/hate relationship with most of this book and its characters - ultimately finding more "hate" with the other characters than "love" like I did with Madison. Unlike her role in the L.A. Candy series, Madison is definitely more fleshed out and developed in this book, which is its own saving grace considering this is her book/story. The other characters fell a little flat for me. There wasn't much growth nor maturation, rather the characters seemed to be shallow and not much more past that. However, they were pretty good for some laughs.

The plot of this book was pretty much non-existent... or just seemed to play hide-and-go-seek with me, and I failed miserably at seeking. I couldn't tell you a single commentary about what the actual storyline of this book was as it felt more like a story told the way stories are told in tabloids - which, again, could have been a nod to that whole "reality television" feel that seemed to have been missed on me.

I'm sure it seems that I am ripping this book a new one because I hated it, but it's not true. In fact, it wasn't an incredibly atrocious read - it was actually fun. I'm just being hard because I feel like this story could have been taken to the next level because it does have the potential to get there. Having said all of this, even though this wasn't my favorite read of the year... I could definitely see where a lot of teens and reality show fans would love this book. If you're one of these, I would recommend checking this book out and forming your own opinion.

Rating: ★★★✩✩ Avg 3.57
Source: Young Adult Books Central

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Title: The Fame Game
Author: Lauren Conrad
Series: The Fame Game, Book 1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 313 pages
Release Date: April 3, 2012

Purchase Book
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound

Blog Tour: Character This or That List with Velvet {Giveaway!}

This post is part of THE FORGETTING CURVE Blog Tour. To view other posts, click here. Want the chance to win a hardcover copy of The Forgetting Curve and/or some really awesome swag? Read below to find out more!

Velvet's This or That

Cats or Dogs? Cats. Although she likes dogs—and her house is full of them—she’s more a cat person. Fiesty, independent, and particular.

Autumn or Spring? Autumn. It’s more suited to her wardrobe.

Movies or Music? Music. Velvet writes songs and promotes underground concerts.

Books or Computers? Books. She’s not that into technology.

Black & White or Colors? Black and white for her clothes, a touch of color for her hair.

Group or Solo? Group. She hangs with a group of friends, but she often feels alone.

Day or Night? Night. That’s when she promotes her secret concerts.

Reality or Virtual Reality? Reality. She has no interest in the virtual world.

Rain or Sunshine? Rain, but with an undercurrent of sunshine.

Half-Empty or Half-Full? She starts off half-empty, but grows toward half-full.

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Want to win a copy of The Forgetting Curve?

I have a hardcover copy of The Forgetting Copy, along with some (signed!) swag that I'd like to give one lucky follower. As much, five other followers will be chosen to also receive some TFC swag. Want to enter? Just make sure you follow this blog and leave a comment below with your e-mail address.

Winners will be chosen May 15, 2012 and notified via e-mail. There are NO restrictions - because I love you all, I am making this giveaway international!

Blog Notes

Hey, everyone! I'm sure you've noticed that I've been spending a considerable amount of time away from my blog lately. There's a few reasons for this that I'd like to tell you about, as well as some changes that's going to be going on around here in the near future.

First thing first. You see that little blob to the left of this? That's my baby! I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and seriously over the moon. BUT, with this pregnancy comes with something I wasn't prepared for - crazy fatigue and nausea. I've literally been in my bed and on the couch more these past few weeks then all my life combined. It's to the point where simple things like household chores and just getting online is a challenge because it zaps what little energy I have in a matter of moments. Add to this the fact that Blogger hates me and has decided to start randomly deciding to not post a majority of my scheduled posts and... well, I think you see my dilemma. Up until now, there's really nothing I could do about it. But with the homestretch of the end of my first trimester in the midst and my health slowly (but surely) returning back to normal, I can happily say that this is about to change - very soon.

So, here are the changes I'm looking into....

More reviews. I have a ton of books that I have read and never reviewed on this blog. We're talking hundreds. Add to this my book-buying obsession has not waned much at all, and the result is a ton of books that could be reviewed for this blog. I'd like to post at least two or more reviews a day to try to catch up. Not only is this more exposure for the books (past, present and future), but this is a lot more substance for my blog - which is something I've wanted for a while.

Less requests. This one hurts my heart but, for right now, it's something that has to be done while I play a very extensive game of catch-up. I've decided the best way to deal with this is to cut out all requests except for published authors (this includes the publicists and publishers that work with said authors), authors I have already established a relationship with and, of course, Young Adult Books Central. I am too in love and believe in this site entirely too much to give it up. Everything else - the printed publications, the writing and self-published works - has been cut out. I don't like doing this, but my time is too limited to do as much as I was doing before.

To meme or not to meme? I still haven't decided on this, but I think the memes will more than likely be cut out on the blog. Right now, I'm playing around with the idea of highlighting the best part of the memes on my Facebook page instead - it's simpler and adds more content there.

Keeping the blog tours. I will still continue to set up a few blog tours and participate in tours as well, but it will be more selective and limited than before.

This list seriously gives me a headache and makes me want to scream, but it's something that has to be done. With these decisions, I'll be able to concentrate more on what I started this blog for - the book reviews - and less on outside distractions. This may change in the future but, for now, this is all I can figure out to keep me sane.

I've drafted many posts already that I'm going to manually post starting next week. By giving myself this week-long window, I am much more confident that I will be able to keep up with this ideal pace on the blog.

I thank you all for still following. As a matter of fact, I'm planning something special very soon to show you exactly how much I appreciate the loyalty.

XOXO

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

THE IMMORTAL RULES, by Julie Kagawa, has to be the best book that I have read this year. At first a skeptic (Dystopian with a side of vampires? Yeah, I've seen that quite a few times!), the story quickly transformed me into a true believer. Though, to be honest, I don't think it surprised me any. Kagawa has a way with words that is like magic, turning simple descriptions into realistic settings that you can almost sense with all five of your senses.

For me, the characters were probably the selling point to the whole story. You have an incredible female lead that not only grows, but stays consistent in herself no matter what is happening in the book. This works incredibly well because Allison (lead) starts off as a strong character, yet somehow manages to grow and become an even stronger character by the end. The other characters stayed very true to their own stations as well. It's a very harsh world that THE IMMORTAL RULES takes place in and everyone seems to know their place in that world very well. Though, no matter how dark and dreary the world seems to be, there are always a handful of those who believe that it is better somewhere else and they will stop at nothing to get to that place. To be honest, their drive is endearing and I love the fact that it seems none of these characters seem to want to give up - no matter how hopeless they may feel at times.

This book is a little heavy... on descriptions, character emotion, story leads, etc. However, I couldn't see the book working any better with less story. Everything written in this story has a place and has a reason to be there. Every sentence has a purpose and to read it all is even more enthralling than reading a book with less... it has that much of an impact on the entire book. With Kagawa's twist of her own mythology on vampires, I know that all of my paranormal lovers will enjoy this tale. And even if you don't like vampires, if you like Dystopian stories then you will not want to miss this one. This story is about much more than vampires, but you'll have to read for yourself to understand what I'm talking about. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

My Rating: ★★★★★ 5.00
Avg Rating: ★★★★✩ 4.29

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Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden, Book 1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Hardcover, 504 pages
Release Date: April 24, 2012

Purchase Book
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Kiss Off Blog Tour Kick-Off

Hello, lovelies! Today is the beginning of the newest tour that I'm hosting, THE KISS OFF! This is an incredible book by author Sarah Billington and I hope you enjoy this tour (and book!) as much as I have enjoyed putting everything together. Below are the dates and blogs participating in this tour. Be sure to keep an eye out, as the tour is filled with more information on THE KISS OFF, as well as fun interviews, guest posts from the author herself and much more.

Tour Schedule
Monday, April 23 - Review @ ChickLitGirl
Tuesday, April 24 - Interview & Review @ Readinista
Wednesday, April 25 - Review @ The Writer's Republic
Thursday, April 26 - Review @ Simplistik
Friday, April 27 - Guest Post & Review @ A Word's Worth
Saturday, April 28 - Review @ Shweta's Book Journal
Sunday, April 29 - Guest Post @ Chocolate Coffee Books
Monday, April 30 - Review @ The Secret Life of An Avid Reader
Tuesday, May 1 - Interview & Review @ Dead Trees and Silver Screens
Wednesday, May 2 - Guest Post & Review @ I Love YA Fiction
Thursday, May 3 - Guest Post & Review @ The Reader's Antidote
Friday, May 4 - Review @ The Life of Fiction
Saturday, May 5 - Guest Post & Review @ Crazed Bookie
Sunday, May 6 - Interview @ Review @ Maji Bookshelf
Monday, May 7 - Guest Post @ The Magic Attic
Tuesday, May 8 - Feature @ The Australian Bookshelf
Wednesday, May 9 - Review @ Book Briefs
& Feature @ Candice W. Coghill's Blog
Thursday, May 10 - Interview @ 1001 First Lines
Saturday, May 12 - Guest Post @ The Bookshelf Muse
Monday, May 14 - Interview & Review @ Pages of Forbidden Love
Tuesday, May 15 - Guest Post & Review @ The (EPIC) Rat
& Review @ The Magic Attic
& Official Release of THE KISS OFF