Create a Cover

I first saw this at The Story Siren, and it's so cool!
Here's my, well Michelle C. Thomas', Debut Novel...

Blend

By Michelle C. Thomas

So, apparently Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick are my cover models.

I'm okay with that they are my two favorite Gossip Girl characters! :)

P.S.- The white is supposed to be a Polaroid. I tried to add a border so you could see it better.

Since this one came out kind of weird I "cheated" and decided

to make another one.

Now Presenting Michelle C. Thomas' Second Novel...

Shower

By Michelle C. Thomas

Technichally this wasn't the first picture with person, but the first had some nudity so I just went with this one...

CREATE YOUR DEBUT YA COVER

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click
http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click
http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click

http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 – Post it to your site along with this text.

Contacting Me...

Want to get in contact with me? My email is lightningstreak123@comcast.net!
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Authors/Publishers:*
Hi, if you are an author or a publisher and would like to have your book promoted I would be more than willing to help you.
I accept ARC's and books already on the shelves. I am a lover of all genres of YA and tend to stay in that area, but I have been known to stray away into the occasional MG or Adult novel. Currently I clean out my library, and other nearby ones, of all their YA books, but if I were to get your book for review I would make it my top-priority!
Also, I would be fully up to doing an author interview or hosting a contest to promote your book, or any other fun way to get the word out about your book!
If you would like me to promote your book or have any questions/concerns please contact me at: lightningstreak123@comcast.net
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Fellow Bloggers:
If you would like to be added to my blog roll, or have any questions or concerns of any kind, feel free to contact me at: lightningstreak123@comcast.net
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Concerns about contacting me?
There is no need to worry! I am around my computer a little too often and tend to conatantly check my email every couple of hours. Most likely you can expect to here from me within a day.
Once again, feel free to contact me at my email for any reason at: lightningstreak123@comcast.net
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*Disclaimer:
Authors/ Publishers, as I have stated I am more than willing to promote your book in about any way. I will go out of my way to make sure the word is spread about your book, but if I were to be provided with a copy of your book, in any format, I can not guarantee a "good" review. I rate on what I think is fair, and what the book honestly deserves. Having said that I almost hardly ever give a low rating, the lowest I've ever gone is a 3 star rating. Back when I just did reviews for my own amusement, I hated giving low ratings, I tend to focus on the good of the book in my reviews. Though, I do tend to point out the characters that bugged me, but more in a way of the character's experiences in the book, rather than how it was written.
Still wanting to contact me? Do so at lightningstreak123@comcast.net
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To Contact Me Right Now Click HERE.

Contacting Me...(Directly)

Foxyform Formmailer

Review Archive

Here is a list of all my reviews... (Enjoy!) Note that my review style has changed throughout so the set-up might be different based on the review.

A
♥ Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
♥ As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

B
♥ Beautiful Disaster by Kate Brian

C
♥ Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

D
♥ (The) Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart

E
♥ Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

F


G


H
♥ (The) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I
♥ (The) It-Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

J


K


L


M


N
♥ Notorious by Cecily von Ziegesar

O


P


Q


R


S
♥ Suspicion by Kate Brian
♥ Skinned by Robin Wasserman

T
♥ (The) Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

U


V
♥ (The) Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struglle by L.J. Smith

W
♥ Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
♥ Willow by Julia Hoban

X


Y


Z

Please Ignore!

I am working on my Link Bar currently and I have to add a couple of posts to link them to, so please ignore the next five or so posts!

But you will soon be able to use my Link Bar, Yay!

:)

USvsUK: The Truth About Forever

US vs. UK is a meme hosted over at Wondorous Reads.
Basicly the title is self-explanatory, this meme is one
designed to show US and UK covers of a book, and decide which one is better.

And now for today's contenders...

(The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen US vs. UK)

On the US Side...

On the UK Side...

My Pick: I'm definitely going with the US cover, on my scale it is a 4.5/5! Personally I was never a fan of the UK Dessen covers, they're just kind of blech! And this cover is no exception, it is only a 2.5/5 on my handy dandy cover rating scale!

Now that you've seen my pick, Who do you think won the Battle?

Recommendation: The Truth About Forever

.
The Truth About Forever
By Sarah Dessen


Summary (from Goodreads):

In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her
father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth.

In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior.

Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds
herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose
chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own.

As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice.

Though it feels like her future ended with her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings. Dessen charts

Macy's navigation of grief in such an honest way it will touch every reader who meets her.

All of the Dessen trademarks are here: a girl in transition, a wonderfully fleshed out cast of secondary characters, and of course, the luminous, powerful writing itself.

From What I Can Remember:

*This was my first Sarah Dessen novel, and it started my love affair with all things Sarah D
Dessen!

*Dessen created a character so incredibly relatable, though I could not relate with her experiences, her take on everything was so undeniably relatable!

*Wes stole my heart in this book, it was one of the first books that the romance in it just took me to another place where I didn't want to leave. (If that makes since)

*This book was heartbreaking, and raw, and funny, and far surpassed any expectations I had going to it! (Truthfully I actually didn't have any expectations going in, but nonetheless they would have been surpassed!) :)

*I did not like Jason one bit, he annoyed me from the get-go.

*I wish I could be apart of my own "Wish Caterring Crew"!

(Sorry, that is all I can remember)


Want more Sarah Dessen? Try Just Listen, Lock and Key, This Lullaby, Along for the Ride (plus some others...)

Cover Comments: I always thought this cover was so visually entertaining, one time in English I just sat there and stared at the cover completely enthralled. (I had finished the book and had nothing else to read.) :) (4.5/5)

Overall Rating:
(5/5)



Would I recommend this bad baby? Ugh, Yeah! I think it is every avid readers right-of-passage to read atleast one Sarah Dessen novel. And while there are many wondrous Dessen novels to choose from, this one I hold particurarly close to my heart!

First Things First

So I know I have not put any reviews, or well anything up lately, but I promise to have a lot of them up soon!
My stupid procastination has come and bit me in the butt and I have been doing that! (Also, I have this weird obsession of trying to watch every single VlogBrothers videos) :)
But rest assured I would much rather be doing this! And come the return of school, and as soon as i get my summer-homework done, I promisepromisepromise that I will keep updating this blog and all the wonders that come with it.

As I have yet to finish all my "recommendations", I am going to organize them a certain way before I move on to my glorious reviews! (Yay!)
And on to organization:
*First all of my 5 star recommendations
*Then all of my 4.5 star recommendations
* Next 4 star, 3.5 star, 3 star
(Side Note: These are all stand-alone novels)

Then...I will move on to all of my series recommendations!

That's about all folks!
Stay Tuned for AWESOME!

USvsUK: Elsewhere

And another cover meme...

US vs. UK is a meme hosted over at Wondorous Reads. Basicly the title is self-explanatory, this meme is one designed to show US and UK covers of a book, and decide which one is better.

And now for today's contenders...

(Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin- US vs. UK Hardcover vs. UK Paperback)

On the US side...

On the UK side...

(Hardcover)

Also on the UK side...

(Paperback)

My Pick: I don't think any of these covers are truly fitting of the book. But if I had to pick, and taking in the creative format of each one, my order goes as follows:

1.) UK Hardcover (now that I think about it, this one actually is fitting, the binocular-look out things, what are they called?, were in the book, and even without that the cover just looks really cool!) 4.5/5

2.) UK Paperback (while it may not fit the book per-se, I like the looking out at the ocean feel) 3/5

3.) US Cover (I like the snowglobe, but I just don't think it's fitting of the book) 3/5

Now that you've seen my pick, Who do you think won the Battle?

Recommendation: Elsewhere

This one's going to be a short one...

Elsewhere
By Gabrielle Zevin

Summary (from Goodreads):

Elsewhere is where 15-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died.

It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different from it.

Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth.

Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

From What I Can Remember:
* This book was awsome! I fell in love with this book.

* The concept was so cool, this was unlike anything I have seen at the time.

* I remember the ending of this book maybe not being the best one I could have imagined, but I also remember it being so extremely poetic to the book that it would probably have been an injustice to the book to use another ending.

That's all I remember. It feels like forever since I read this book.

Like Reversing in Time? Try Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Cover Comments: The cover is nothing special, but I also think that the snowglobe is simple and understated, and to a point, fitting to the book. (3/5)

Overall Rating:

(5/5)

.

I would recommend to everyone to at least read once. I don't know if I were to re-read this book it would make as big of an aspect, but I know the first time around it did!

Battle of the "Backs": The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks

First off Battle of the "Backs" is a meme I made up. Basicly it is a cover contest between the Hardback cover vs. the Paperback cover.


Let the Battle un-fold...
Todays contenders are "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks" by E. Lockhart Hardback vs. Paperback....


Hardback a.k.a.- Hardcover















VERSUS...




Paperback














My Pick: Ehhhh, Toss up? They're both about a 3/5 and while I like the dog-seal on the hardcover, I also like the hiding behind the tree/ really big building thing going on on the Paperback. So I guess my vote for the winner of the battle would have to be the Paperback becuase not only does it have the tree/ building but also the little dog!

Who do you think should be the victor of the Battle?

Recommendation: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks

As I said in my earlier post, I will be "recommending" books that I read too long ago to review accurately.

So I'm starting from the back of my Goodreads Read Shelf up.

And the first book at the back of my shelf was...

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks
By E. Lockhart

Summary (from Goodreads):

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.

Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”

A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure.

A sharp tongue.

A chip on her shoulder.

And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.

No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.

Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.

Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.

Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.

When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.

And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

From What I Can Remember:

*This book made me want to join a secret society.

*I don't remember the guy at the beginning of the story's name, but I was always secretly hoping that there would have been a connection with him and Frankie.

*I truly admired Frankie's independence and self-confidence. I kind of envied her for that reason.

*I never liked her boyfriend Matthew.

*It made me irritated when people under-estimated Frankie, but she sure showed them! She kicks butt! :)

Yeah, that's about all all I can remember.

Cover Comments: I thought it was clever how the cover incorporated the seal of the dog.(3/5)

.

Overall Rating:

(5/5)

I would definatley recommend this book to any girl who wants to read about a kick-butt heroine, a secret society, and lots of funny pranks!

Side Note

Sooooooooo.... I finally have my review system down! Yay!

Expect to see them all pouring in at once for the next few days though because I'm trying to catch up on all the books I've read recently.

Also, for all the books I really liked or just liked, but I read too long ago to review I'm going to have "Recommend" them instead of reviewing them. :)

Like I said, expect them to come in at about all the same time...

Anyway, here's my flashy little symbol I'm going to use in my reviews...

The ratings will be out of 5, and half stars included!

Now I'm going to get back to posting my reviews! Hip, hip, hooray!

Waiting on....Reviews

I know I haven't had any reviews up, well ever, but it's not because I don't have some ready, because I do, it's just I'm not sure how I want to organize them. I'm debating between a few different styles....

But I should have decided/ have my reviews up in the next couple of days. Promise. :)

Blech...With a side of amusing...

Noooo! School. :(
(Don't worry there's a reason I'm posting about it, I'm not just trying to torture you by talking about it!)

So for this coming school year I have a hard schedule, at least in my opinion, here it is:

AP US History (AP stands for Advanced Placement, and they are really hard college courses! On the bright side you do college credits for them)

Honors American Literature (Honors classes are advanced but you don't get college credits for them)

Honors Algebra II (On the bright side, at least I don't have to do Geometry Proofs anymore!)

Biology (Uhhh, I cant think of a bright side)

Spanish II (Absolutely no bright side!) :(

Advanced Journalism (Class that puts together the Yearbook and the School Newspaper) ( Yearbook= :) Newspaper= :( )

But anyway, my AP and Honors Lit class are blocked, which means they have a similar curriculum so they teach together, and I'm scared, because I'm guessing they're mean, because they already gave me Homework! Gasp. The Audacity! I know right! And it wasn't even a little homework, I'm talking this...They already gave me two textbooks, ten worksheets, two books to read (not fun books, 1800's boring books- not to say all old books are boring, but these ones are), a letter of introduction, and there making me read the first 3 chapters of my AP book, and I'll be tested on it first week of school...Evil Teachers! (Not to say all teachers are, but these ones are)


Anywho, I decided to write my letter of introduction today, and I think it's pretty funny, here's the link to it...
http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dds6gnsj_0ftsmfbg9&revision=_latest
(P.S.- after first page and a half it stops being funny...)(Actually, re-looking at it no one will probably find this funny, but whatever....

Okay so I still have to start putting my reviews up and start doing my memes but it might take a little while longer because I have to get all that stuff done, and have time to read my books...

Stay tuned for awesome...

Do you like?

Sooooo, the big burning question, Do you like the new layout????

I personally love it. But in my opinion, How can you not???

And just in case you didn't see the other slightly-hideous layout (probably because I made it myself), so you don't have anything to compare it to... I'm going to do a Before and After...

(Well, I actually never took a picture of my blog, but I still have the header saved, so we'll do a header vs. header.)

Before:

(Sorry the text is kind of blurry)

Vs.

After:

(Side Note: the Link bar isn't shown)

So now you've seen both choices? Who do you think the winner is, Before or After?

Side Note: Sorry to disappoint any you Before people, but I will never switch back to that! :)

P.S.- Are you in love with my layout? Want the genius who created my layout to possibly create you one? Go to Blog Designs by Denise and check it out... (By the way, she's really good and nice, and put up with me and my million questions/ requests!)

Okay now I'm off to actually add stuff to my cool new blog....
Stay tuned for awesome...

1st in a Series Challenge 2009

So I know it is a little late in the game, but honestly do you think that could stop me?

So on with the challenge...

This year the Bloody Bookaholic will be hosting this year's challenge.

On with the rules...

Guidelines for 1st in Series Challenge 2009

1. Anyone can join.

You don't need a blog to participate.

2. Read 12 books that are the first in any series.

You may read & list your chosen books any time during the year.

3. Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.

4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

My List:

1. Blue Bloods (Melissa De la Cruz)
2. A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)
3. Blue is for Nightmares (Laurie Faria Stolarz)
4. The Host (Stephenie Meyer)
5. Dream Girl (Lauren Mechling)
6. City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)
7. Marked (P.C. and Kristin Cast)
8. Private (Kate Brian)
9. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Ally Carter)
10. Pretty Little Liars (Sara Shepard)
11. Privilege (Kate Brian)
12. Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Jen Calonita)

I know what you're thinking, "You're Finished! Hooray!" Yeah, well I feel unfair saying I finished I mean I read all those before I even started writing reviews for my site. So....I'm going to still do the challenge, end on the same deadline, have the same number, but starting RIGHT NOW! I'm fai rly certain I can complete this challenge, but things might get a little shaky since I have a lot of stand-alone novels I wanted to read, but I accept this challenge, and I WILL complete it! (Don't believe me, Watch Me!) :)

My Second List:

1. Wicked Lovely (Melissa Marr)
2. Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)
3. The It-Girl (Cecily von Ziegesar)
4. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and the Struggle (L.J. Smith)
5. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
6. Skinned (Robin Wasserman)
7. The Dark Devine (Bree Despain)
8. The Maze Runner (James Dashner)
9. Hush, Hush (Becca Fitzpatrick)
10.
11.
12.

Stay tuned to see how my list plays out!

Last Updated: 12/15/09

Greetings!

Hola,
Well I was originally going to wait until my new blog layout was up until I started posting regularly, but I have absolutely no idea when it's going to be up, so I thought I should just start posting anyway. Right? Right. (Glad we're in agreement)

So as I am just starting out my sight, I decided I'm going to tell you what you can expect on a weekly/ daily basis...
(Side Note: These memes won't start until next week, when I feel I have my feet on the ground...)

Sunday:
The infamous "In My Mailbox" (Hosted by The Story Siren)
(In My Mailbox is a way for Bloggers to tell their readers what they got that week in books. Whether it be from the library, bought, borrowed, or for review, anything goes)

Monday:
Movie Monday (Hosted by Princess Bookie)
(which is basically just a meme that shows what movies I am looking forward to.)

Tuesday:
Teen Tuesday (Hosted at their own blogsite Here)
(this meme is just like a review of what we've read, currently reading, and are reading next)

Wednesday:
Waiting on Wednesday (Hosted over at Breaking the Spine)
(Waiting on Wednesday is a meme designed to tell us what books we are looking forward to)

Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday:
Nothing definite planned, but in the future, Who Knows? :)

Also I will be doing a lot of memes having to do with Book Covers, such as US vs. UK, Lookalikes, Cover Craziness, and whatever else comes to mind. I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out exactly what I'm going to do. :)

And now bringing out the Big Guns... (Book Reviews!)
Of course I'll be doing book reviews, what kind of book blogger would I be if I didn't do book reviews? I'll try to right reviews for all the books I've read previous to this blog, but I can't do all of them because I won't remember everything that happened, and my initial thoughts after reading the book. Lucky for me (and you), I have written a lot of reviews on my Goodreads, so I'll just copy those into my reviews!
You are probably going to have to bare with me for the first few reviews though, they probably aren't going to be that good, or long, at least not till I get some practice!


Well, I think that about covers it for now...
So for the time being,
Peace Out.
Dani

Can't Wait...

Okay, so a couple of days ago I saw this post over at the Book Blogger that she had got her new layout by over at Simply Vamptastic Reviews for Free(!), and that the first few people to contact the owner of Simply Vamptastic will make free layouts for them to build up her profile. So naturally I contacted Denise, (the owner), and told her I'd be interested in a layout, because let's face it, my layout is kind of lame.
Recently, Denise sent me a preview of my new layout, and let me tell you it is gorgeous, I LOVE IT SOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH! Don't believe me, well take a peek for yourself: http://newvp3.blogspot.com/!


Just looked? Don't you love it!

Ahhhhh! Can't wait until its up for good!


UPDATE 8/20: Please do not click on that website link anymore, because that is the home to Denise's new project link....and even if it's not yet, you are just going to see the same layout you see right here Silly!

Hey, Hey, Hey!

Hi. Hello. Hola. Howdy. Aloha. Bonjour? Greetings.
However you say it, the meaning is the same.
I have had this blog-domain forever but have finally decided to use it. Woo-hoo!

So, what will I use this blog you might ask? Well, all kinds of things silly!
Books, Movies, TV, funny things, basicly, The Works. =)
But before I set forth on that journey of awesome, I feel inclined to introduce my-self.
So here it goes...

The Name is Dani. (Remember that)
I'm a high-schooler, I'm kinda weird, so I hope that is okay with you.
Also, I lovelovelove books, movies, and TV.
Yeah I kinda hate "About-Me's" so for now that's all I got.

Peace Out.

(until a later time)

But Until Then,

Dani <3