Book Highlight - My Ex From Hell by Tellulah Darling

Title: My Ex From Hell
Author: Tellulah Darling
Series: The Blooming Goddess Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult, mythological

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Bloom wishes she’d been taught the following:
a) Bad boy’s presence (TrOuBlE) + teen girl’s brain (DraMa) = TrAuMa (Highly unstable and very volatile.)
b) The Genus Greekulum Godissimus is notable for three traits: 1) awesome abilities, 2) grudges, and 3) hook-ups, break-ups, and in-fighting that puts cable to shame.

Prior to the Halloween dance, Sophie figures her worst problems involve adolescent theatrics, bitchy teen yoga girls, and being on probation at her boarding school for mouthy behaviour. Then she meets bad boy Kai and gets the kiss that rocks her world.

Literally.

This breath stealing lip lock reawakens Sophie’s true identity: Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She’s key to saving humanity in the war between the Underworld and Olympus, target numero uno of Hades and Zeus, and totally screwed.

Plus there’s also the little issue that Sophie’s last memory as Persephone was just before someone tried to murder her.
Big picture: master her powers, get her memories back, defeat Persephone’s would be assassin, and save the world. Also, sneak into the Underworld to retrieve stolen property, battle the minions of Hades and Zeus, outwit psycho nymphs, slay a dragon, rescue a classmate, keep from getting her butt expelled from the one place designed to keep her safe …

… and stop kissing Kai, Prince of the Underworld.

My Ex From Hell is a YA romantic comedy, Greek mythology smackdown. Love meets comedy with a whole lot of sass in book one of this teen fantasy romance series. Compared to Kai and Sophie, Romeo and Juliet had it easy.

My Ex From Hell will be on sale for 99 cents from November 28th to December 12th!

Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

When the going gets desperate, the desperate send email 

          To: ????
          From: bloomingoddess@gmail.com
          Subject: Seriously?

          Dear Your Royal Imperialness Demeter, Goddess of Grain and Fertility, Preserver of Marriage, and Bringer of Seasons,
          Or can I just call you Mom?
          Bet you never thought you’d be hearing from me. Sorry for not having written sooner, but until about twelve hours ago, I didn’t know you existed. Nothing personal.
          See, yesterday, I was plain old Sophie Bloom. My life sucked in your typical 16-year-old ways. I was stuck here at Hope Park Progressive School on probation again (“mouthy behavior”), dealing with cliquish poseurs, rampant hormones, blah blah blah.
          Then I met a guy. I know that’s the worst cliché ever. But sadly, it’s true. And of course, me being me, he couldn’t be just any bad boy. No. He had to be Kai, son of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Anyway, he was really hot and there was this bone-melting kiss and … whatever. The point is, before he showed up, I thought I was human. Afterward, well, let’s just say everything changed. Who knew when I was cramming Greek mythology for my English final, I was studying the family tree?
          They say when you die, your whole life supposedly flashes before your eyes. When Kai and I kissed, here’s what flashed before mine—Mount Olympus, Zeus, the Underworld, Hades, and you. But that wasn’t my life. Or was it?
          Here’s the Wiki version. (Do you have Wi-Fi on Mt. Olympus?) Turns out I’m Persephone. Me, Goddess of Spring and Embodiment of Earth’s Fertility? Ew! Which makes me your kid, Hades’ target, and totally screwed. In the myth version, I’m the innocent maiden, you’re the grieving mother, and we’re reunited with great joy. Guess that’s why they call it a myth.
          I know I sound like a nut bar. And maybe I’ll wake up in a padded room restrained for my own safety. But in that moment with Kai, it felt real. Like I knew who I was. Or used to be. Those were my memories flashing before my eyes—not some fantasy or hallucination. Part of me remembered those moments. But where do I go from here? And is there an online tutorial I can take?
          I don’t exactly have your email. But if you’re a goddess, maybe you’ll know I’m writing. That I really need my mom right now. And if not—well, I guess I’ll save this for my obituary. Which I’ll probably need pretty soon because of the gods-wanting-me-dead thing.

          Take care.
          Sophie
          a.k.a. Persephone
          a.k.a. Goddess of Spring
          a.k.a. Your Daughter

Tellulah Darling

noun

1. YA romantic comedy author because her first kiss sucked and she's compensating.
2. Alter ego of former screenwriter.
3. Sassy minx.
Geeks out over: cool tech.

Squees for: great storytelling.
Delights in: fabulous conversation.
Writes about: where love meets comedy. Awkwardness ensues.

Sassy girls. Swoony boys. What could go wrong?

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TV Madness: Suits

This past few weeks I discovered the awesomeness called Suits. I have no excuse for waiting this long, I know! I'm ashamed of myself *hangs head in shame*.

This show got under my skin fast, from Donna's coolness, to Mike's ability to annoy Harvey faster than blinking, to Louis Litt's love for cats and his funny, sometimes weird way of looking at things. I love the banter, the constant movie quotes, the inside jokes between characters, the suits (let's be honest, most men look good in a suit, but the men on this show look damn hot in them!). I love Mike's story, even though I'm completely confused as to why he didn't try to enroll in a different college (but since I don't know how the educational system works in the US, I'm going to assume it's something related to either that or money). I love the banter between Harvey and Donna and how Donna makes saucy remarks just to get Harvey annoyed. I love how Harvey proves over and over how loyal he is to Mike and how he protects him even if it could cost him not only his career, but his entire life.

It's been a while since I've seen a show about lawyers and didn't immediately think of Ally McBeal. Not once during Suits did I think of the craziness populating that show. It's so refreshing. I love the actors, the dialogue is pure gold and the music fantastic. The suits are, again, amazing. And some of the women's fashion I've seen on this show is so gorgeous and elegant.

The entire show is great. And I don't think there's one thing that I didn't like. However, there's one thing, a huge, huge thing that I love more than anything else and it's this:

Harvey Specter's Vinyl Collection

That's right! Harvey's vinyl collection. Not many people know this about me, but I'll take vinyls over CDs or MP3s any time, any day, for my choice of indoor music player (just like I'd take cassette tapes over CDs and MP3 players in my car, but that's another story). I grew up in the 90s and I remember the years before CDs and MP3 players (at least in my neck of the woods, we were a tad behind with all the technology). And one of my fondest memories growing up was listening to old theater plays (think 40s and 50s) in my bedroom, while playing with dolls or coloring or just being lazy. Or listening to ballet music or old rock records. There's nothing quite like the sound of the vinyl and that noise at the beginning, the surface noise, is glorious and it's like making a promise, a promise of good music.

So when I saw the first two episodes and saw Harvey had TONS of records, I fell in love. It was insta-love, yes, but I couldn't help it. God bless whomever decided to make Harvey Specter a lover of vinyls. Good choice!

Now I'm waiting like crazy for the show to start again, because that last episode was epic! I am biting my nails, waiting to see what Harvey and Mike will do after... well, if you've watched the show, you know what I'm talking about! O____O

Obsessed With Covers #16: China Dolls, City of Eternal Night & Made You Up

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

This cover reminds me so much of those old photos I see from the 20's and I love it for that. I adore the fact that the background is sort of foggy and you can't really see that bridge. I wonder why. You know me, I'm all about figuring out if the cover fits the book. The model fits the title, if you ask me. Not only is her makeup really beautiful, her clothes remind me of the clothes of a china doll. So I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with that.








China Dolls - Lisa See

I think you guys know by now how obsessed I am with cartoonish covers, creepy covers and beautiful dresses. So if a cover has all those three elements together, you get awesomeness and an excited puppy called Ruby *points at self* Let's start with the dress, shall we? Her corset is made of leaves. I love that! And the gold and green colors blend together so well and it makes her stand out against the dark, creepy background. Why creepy? Well, you have the full moon (love!) and the tons of beads that hang from the tree and they remind me of Mardi Gras (would love to see it one day) and of spider webs. Not to mention those black thingies below her elbow which look like bats to me, but I may be wrong. And the entire city is dark violet. And her eyes are scary, because I barely see her pupils. Okay, I'll shut up now.

City of Eternal Night - Kristen Painter

This cover is very, very different from the other two. First, it reminds me of a Rorschach test. And after reading the blurb, I applaud the cover artist for making it like this, because it fits perfectly with the idea of this book. It isn't a happy cover, it kinda hints to a very serious, sad, incredibly heartbreaking story, yet it still gives me hope that there's going to be a happy ending in there somewhere.









Made You Up - Francesca Zappia

Reading Blogs & Eating Popcorn #6

Reading Blogs & Eating Popcorn is a weekly feature here at Ruby's Books, in which I share some of the posts written by other fellow book bloggers over the last week, posts that I loved so much I have to share. 

It's been a while since I did a post in this series and I'm sorry for that. There are tons of good posts out there that deserve to be read by as many people as possible, so I decided to bring this back. Here are some of the posts I read and loved this week:

• Alicia @ Awesome Book Assessment talks about Second Book Syndrome 
• Laura @ Laura Plus Books talks about Being An Easy Reviewer
• Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings gives great Advice for Starting a Blog
• Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk talks about the books that put science in science fiction in "Because Science!" (a rant)

I'm late to the party (I'm so sorry guys!) but November is the Sci-Fi Month. This is an event hosted by Rinn, Asti, Leanne and Kelly. There are a lot of amazing posts done by a lot of bloggers, so if you want to check them out, go here and read more about the event and the bloggers participating.

I've read tons of other good posts since I've been missing, but since I have a tiny brain, I didn't think to save all the links *head meet desk*. 

Are there any good posts you've read and loved recently? 

Confession Of A Weird Reader #3: Reading The Last Book In A Series

Hey you all, bookish people! Let's talk about the last book in a series. In the last couple of years some of my favorite series ended and I think a lot of us had to go through the heartbreak that comes right after reading the very last sentence in that particular book.

The news that a series is going to end always makes me anxious. It's one of those things I dread with all my heart and I always hope I don't see it on an author's website. And even if it's not about those big series, of over 6 books in it. Even just the release day of the third book in a trilogy that I loved makes me anxious.

 

I'm not ready for a series to end. I know at some point it should, but I don't want it to end. Not only because I'm so invested in the story, the characters and the world in that series, but because really, that series has become like... a magical portal to this incredible world that gives me immense joy and sometimes heartbreak. I know those characters. I cried for them, I jumped with joy or moped around with them. They're like friends.

Yeah, it might sound weird to non-bookish people, I know. But let's be honest here. Not only have you read their stories and seen them grow and develop and become great men and women, they've also changed you in a way. It always makes me angry when I hear people saying books don't teach you anything and I want to just smack them so hard, but I hear it isn't polite and that it's illegal in some countries *rolls eyes*

 

So, here comes the confession part of this post (it is titled that way, after all). I have yet to read the last 4 books in Women Of The Otherworld. It's not because I've stopped loving that series, I haven't. And I do want to read about *SPOILER ALERT* Savannah and Adam. But reading these last 4 books means reading the end. I don't want that. I've literally picked up those books and put them back on their shelf dozens of times just because of that reason. 

Not to mention that I've delayed reading the last Harry Potter book for a year after it came out, because I didn't want to read about any of my favorite characters dying in the last battle. Guess why I haven't yet read Allegiant and tons of other series endings. I had the courage to read Beautiful Redemption only because I knew there's a sequel. I'm a chicken sometimes, okay?

I have a hard time reading the last book in a series. Okay, so some authors, like Kelley Armstrong, are nice people and write little "What happened after" stories or novellas. It's not the same. And I know, I know, I said I love re-reads and I do. I stand by what I said. But it's still going to end again and again and again. Now, I know I could read stand-alones. But again, I love series. They're big and they give me time with characters that I love and they tell me more stories than you can ever fit into a single book. Plus, with series, there's a certain ease you have when reading from your favorite character's POV. It's like you're meeting with friends. 

What about you? Do you have a hard time reading the final THE END in a series, or is it just as easy as if it were a stand-alone?

Book Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: August 31st 2010
My Rating: 3 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

Disclaimer: Before I start my review I should warn you that: 1) my review might contain SPOILERS and some curse words and 2) There will be a few GIFs because words fail me at the moment and I need them to accurately convey what I'm feeling right now. 

So...Umm...I finished reading this book on Sunday and I'm still a bit confused about what I'm actually feeling about this book. I loved the first part of it. Adored it, actually. Then the second half of the book happened and I kept wondering "What am I reading? What did I miss?". I'm getting ahead of myself though.

So the first half of the book was great. A girl was murdered and no one knows why, there's another girl kidnapped and a race of warriors feared by all dark creatures that will do anything to protect the humans, also known as "mundanes". Everything sounds fine until now right? Right. Our heroine is a book lover as well and that was so great, because I love book nerds as heroes/heroines.

I have to admit to one thing first: I decided to read these books after I saw the movie. I saw the movie and I liked it (I know, I know, those who read the books were disappointed) and I thought I need to see if the books are just as awesome. The idea of a strong warrior race fighting demons, vampires, warlocks and other dark creatures has always appealed to me and it's still not getting old. I love that theme and so here I am. Granted, The Infernal Devices takes place before the events in the movie, but I always hated reading series/sagas out of order.  

I was thrown off by Tessa's naive nature, but then again she was a young girl in a new country, new continent, hoping to meet her brother whom she has not seen for a while. Plus, she's been God knows how many weeks on a ship and that would make anyone longing for some human interaction. Granted, there were people on that boat but maybe she was just shy *shrugs*. I did like the idea of her being kidnapped right as she arrived at her destination though. It made the villain be very scary, the fact that he acted right away, with no warning whatsoever. We are introduced to our hero (or so I thought), Will. Will is a smart-ass and I like that in a guy. Sarcastic and completely unashamed of his shortcomings. Sometimes he's a bit rude, but he secretly loves books and again my judgement was clouded by emotions. Then I got to know him a little bit and by the end I wanted to punch him in the nuts, just for shits and giggles, but that's another story. There's another guy in the picture, Jem, but I kinda didn't like him all that much. I mean, I didn't dislike him, but he was a little...he's a character I can miss, someone that I don't necessarily notice all that much.

Anyway, the first part of the book had a great deal of suspense, some mildly irritating moments involving a female Shadowhunter (of which I will refrain from talking about because then this review will turn into a rant about characters I'd like to bitch-slap into the next century), and some action-filled scenes, during which I was keeping my fingers crossed for the good guys.

Then... the rest happened. Here's the thing. I'm usually a forgiving reader. I understand that my expectations are somewhat weird in terms of how a book should end and that if I guess correctly what's going to happen sometimes that makes me roll my eyes, other times it makes me want to pat myself on the back for being a smart cookie. HOWEVER. Something happened here that didn't quite sit well with me.

First, how is it that the Shadowhunters, a great race of warriors, feared by all supernatural creatures, didn't know that one of their "trusted friends" was actually working against them? You'd think they would have the means necessary to control everyone 'cause, you know, they sounded like the freakin' police of the supernatural world. Amirite?

Second, why is it that it took the good guys so much time to even consider that the one guy feeding them information might be lying? Granted, the possibility didn't even register in my mind at the time, but why would they, the smartest, strongest, most fierce of all, took so long? And then, when time came for them to figure it out, Will said it like he said something ordinary, like...oh, I don't know, "The sun is hot". If it was THAT easy, why did it take so freaking long in the first place??? 

Then there's something...technical, if you'd like, that bothered me. It seemed that in the last...100-150 pages or so, there were too many important moments that could've been the ending of the book. Now, you might frown and look all confused, but usually big moments in a book signal the end of that book, right? Huge, bombastic moments happen once or twice, but this book seemed to have more. I probably wouldn't have noticed this, had the book been split in two parts. Then it wouldn't have been an issue. Since that was not the case, I kept scratching my head, wondering what could possibility happen next, because it seemed that all that had happened was all that seemed possible at the time. 

I'm not saying in any way, shape or form, that the book was bad. It wasn't, but the ending...Yeah, that was bad. The only way for me to express my feelings about the ending compared to how the book started, is by using this gif:

It was exactly like that. I'm now confused, because I don't know if I am ready to read further or not. I do want to read City Of Bones, but I just don't know... It's sad, because I see so many bloggers that I follow and that I trust that gave glowing reviews to this book and I'm sitting here all confused and pouting, wondering if I read a different book.