News, Feedburner and other stuff

Hey everyone!

You might have heard that Google decided to shut down FeedBurner. So that means no more email subscription from them. No worries though. Karina from Nocturnal Book Reviews found Blogtrottr as an alternative. And it's so cool! You can even sign up and manage all your subscriptions and everything. And it's easy to use. So, if you want to re-subscribe by email, you can do so using the Email Subscription form on my  sidebar on the left. It should lead you to the Blogtrottr website and you put your email and how you want to subscribe (Daily Email, real-time email and other options). If it doesn't work, please let me know (my email address is rubys_books@yahoo.com - no spam, please!) Also, if you want to know more about what may happen with FeedBurner, read this post made Parajunkee.

That's one thing. Another news is that I finally finished the autumn header *points up*. I know it's a little naked, by I have a back-ache from hell and I really don't have any patience left to tweak it a little bit more. The doll was made using one of Ola's (Doll Divine) exclusive doll makers. One of the book graphics were made using a free tutorial from The Paint Shop Pro Users Group and the leaf brush and the pumpkins I made using a tutorial made by Louise G. And the shinny stars and the other book graphics were made with tutorials too, but I can't find any link right now. Will search in my history and put up a link as soon as I find it. Before you ask, yes, I use Paint Shop Pro. And no, I won't change to Photoshop. Tried that and it confused me for some reason.

I'm also half-done with my book badges graphics. I do hope I finish soon, though I can't promise when I'll start using them.

Yeah, so that's it for news and stuff. Now back to reading :D

Cover Love (26)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My pick this week:

 I love how her face and shoulder disintegrate into puzzle pieces and then into dust. Sort of like she's loosing her identity. It's also a tad creepy, how her eye is still intact, but half her face isn't.




Mila 2.0 - Debra Driza

What's your Cover Love this week?

Sunday Book Sountrack #1

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

This week's book soundtrack is for my newest literary obsession, Vampire Academy. What can I say, I love this series very, very much. If you want to read my review for Vampire Academy, go here.

1. Godsmack - Vampires  - Cliché ? Yes, yes it is and I'm not ashamed. I love that song and it seems perfect for almost every vampire book :D
2. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life - For me, this is the song for Lissa and Christian. Even the lyrics fit with how I see Lissa before she met Christian and how he helps her. Cheesy, maybe, but it still sounds perfect to me :D
3. Hugo - 99 problems - Love the song. But don't ask what it has to do with Vampire Academy. At the time it seemed like a bad-ass song meant for a bad-ass Rose  
4. Runaways - I Love Playing With Fire - If you've read the book, you might know which scene I think this is perfect for. If not, think about a certain necklace ;)
5. The Pierces - Two Can Keep a Secret 
6. Prince - When Doves Cry - If you've read the book, you know about the scene with this particular song. Can't say I'm a huge Prince fan, but now I can't hear that song without thinking about the scene. 

Fall Into Reading 2012

I remembered, I remembered! I'm actually proud of myself, since I had a very weird week and my internet connection wasn't working very well. Anyway, I really do want to be a good reader and manage to read all the books in my list. I know I said no more lists, but I was looking at my TBR pile last week and I thought that poor pile (ha! mountain is more like it) needs a little change. Fall Into Reading is hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. Before I share my list, here are the guidelines:

To participate, here’s what you need to do:

• Create a list of books you’d like to read or finish this fall. This is the only real requirement for participating in the challenge.

• Feel free to set some additional reading goals (such as reading to your kids two hours per week, getting through your pile of magazines, etc.). However, this is not required; setting additional goals is completely optional.

• Write a blog post that includes the list of books you want to read (and any additional goals you’ve set), and get ready to post it on your blog on September 22nd.

• Visit Callapidder Days on September 22nd to sign up for the challenge. I’ll have an official launch post up that morning, complete with an area for you to submit a link to your personal Fall Into Reading post, where it will be added to the master list of participants.

• Read! Work on your goals throughout Fall 2012.

• Report your results. Write another blog post in December to let everyone know how you did. (I’ll post an official wrap-up to the challenge on December 22nd, where you’ll be able to share your results.)

• Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your fall reading!

So, here are a few of the books that I hope I'll read during this challenge:

1. The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
2. Hell On Wheels by Julie Ann Walker
3. First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
4. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
5. The Mists Of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
6. The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair
7. The Clan of The Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
8. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
9. Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon
10. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

That's my list. Now, before you think I'm going soft, I have to tell you that I do plan to read more. But I'm trying to keep my goals simple.

If you want to participate, click on the button at the start of this post and read the guidelines. 

Re-read Book Review: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Series: Anita Blake #1
Publisher: Jove
Release Date: September 24th 2002
My Rating: 4 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law—as long as they don't get too nasty. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees—with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting—to help figure out who and why.

Trust is a luxury Anita can't afford when her allies aren't human. The city's most powerful vampire, Nikolaos, is 1,000 years old and looks like a 10-year-old girl. The second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude, is interested in more than just Anita's professional talents, but the feisty necromancer isn't playing along—yet. This popular series has a wild energy and humor, and some very appealing characters—both dead and alive.

The first time I read Guilty Pleasures was about 5 years ago. I remember I was still a newbie to urban fantasy and paranormal and I wasn't quite sure what I should be expecting. A lot of the elements in this book were new to me at the time I first read it.

I liked Guilty Pleasures the first time I read it and I liked it more now. Anita Blake is a strong character and it was easy to like her. She's calculated, or so I saw her. I thought she was pretty judgmental towards anything concerning vampires, from the creatures themselves to the humans that liked, loved and/or served them. I'd like to know what makes her hate them so. I get the fact that they are evil creatures and that she's a vampire slayer and she's been through some violent moments because of vampires, but I'd like to know what the starting point was.

There was a thing that bugged me a little about her. The book starts with a scared Anita. I know that being a warrior or a vampire slayer or an assassin doesn't mean you're not allowed to be afraid. I also know that not being scared of them would've been stupid. But for some reason I was hoping she'd be more like Edward, the other vampire slayer. He's colder, he's able to detach himself more and he can control his emotions and his reactions a lot better than Anita. I would've wanted Anita to be more like that. She has the reputation of a fearless vampire slayer, why not act like one?

If you're waiting for some steamy sex scenes, let me tell you there are none. That was one of the things that left me a little disappointed the first time I read the book. Even now, I still wished to see Jean-Claude naked, but I must have a little more patience for that *sigh*

Anyway, the book was a very good read. Fast paced, with some mystery, drama, suspense and action. The only thing I'm hoping for is that Anita and Jean-Claude do get to the naked part soon in the upcoming books :)

Book Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: April 10th 2008
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

In my opinion, Frostbite was just as good as the first book in this series.

The first thing that I loved and adored and made me sigh with relief was that there weren't too many "remember what happened in the previous book" moments. And those that did mention past events were waaay too short to bother me. That's one of the things that always scare me a little when it comes to series.

Rose is still as impulsive and sarcastic as she was in Vampire Academy. She'd still do anything to protect Mia and her friends. What was interesting in this book was that we get to see her interact with her mother, Janine Hathaway. Janine is a very interesting character. At first I have to say I didn't like her that much. But, seeing how acts and talks to Rose and also how she comforts her daughter at the end of the book made me completely change my opinion about Janine. Also, Dimitri's insight helped. There's this scene when he talks to Rose about her mother and the things he said helped me see Janine in a different light, so thanks Dimitri!

In Frostbite we meed another character, Adrian. Adrian is unique, sort of like the bad boy of the series. He grows on you as the story progresses. He's very funny and sarcastic. And he seems like he's always up to something. The one thing that he needs, in my opinion (and it's a constant thing until the end of the series) is maturity. He really needs to grow up a little. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy a lot, but he's a little too immature at times.

I liked the feeling of normality brought by Lissa and Christian's relationship. It's one of those "boy meets girl" kind of love story, without the unnecessary drama. Lissa changed since the events in Vampire Academy. She seems she's getting better, she's not as angry as she was then. And with each book she learns more about her powers and it's really fun to see that. I think Christian helped too, he has a good influence on her.

Dimitri is... well, Dimitri. He's still just as cute, sexy, strong, silent and powerful as before. He still loves the 80s music (and every time I think about that I love him a little bit more). We get to see a little of his control snap at a certain point and I thought he was very... sexy in that scene.

There's more drama and more heartbreak in Frostbite. The ending made me want to cry a little. I thought it was a bit unfair for one of the characters and also very tragic. I realize it was necessary to show how evil Strigoi are, but it was still heartbreaking. There's a lot of action, mostly towards the end of the book, a lot of suspense, humor, romance and some family drama.

If you're still waiting to read this series, do it now! Trust me!