Beauty or Beast

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
482 pages
Buy it @ book depository


Every year, the Scorpio Races are run on the beaches of Skarmouth. Every year, the sea washes blood from the sand. To race the savage water horses can mean death, but the danger is irresistible.
When Puck enters the races to save her family, she is drawn to the mysterious Sean, the only person on the island capable of taming the beasts.
Even if they stay together, can they stay alive?
A breathtaking ride that will make your heart race.

Review: My first thoughts of this book when I started reading were that the writing was so beautiful but I couldn't connect with the story.

I read "The Wolves of Mercy Falls" (also by Stiefvater) and was interested at the idea behind the story but I didn't really connect with the main characters. It was the same feeling I had when I was reading this, such a unique idea to write a story about sea horses that eat people but the people still go ahead and 'tame' them to ride them in the "Scorpio Races". It took me 300 pages before I started to love the book, it took an interesting turn and I started to feel for Puck & Sean.

We read the book from two characters points of view; Puck (aka Kate Connolly) & Sean. The book doesn't go backwards and forwards between characters, as in one chapter Puck the next Sean. At times you will read three consecutive chapters from Puck's point of view. This I found a little confusing at times when I didn't concentrate on which character I was reading, at times it was quite funny because I would think I'm reading Sean's part when in fact it was Puck. The times when I did this the most was at the end because I wanted to rush through to find out what happened next.

I have to mention Corr. Corr is Sean's waterhorse that he has ridden in the last 4 'Scorpio Races'. Sean has created a close bond with this beast and I couldn't help but fall for Corr by the end. I think it's because we see Corr through Sean's eyes and see the love that's there.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned in previous reviews before but I'm not a crier. I rarely cry in movies or books and if either of these achieve tears then they must be good! Well I didn't cry at the end but my eyes did well up. I don't want to give too much away but it felt like losing a pet and them finding their way back to you.

I have taken a star off mainly because I didn't have that connection to begin with but it got there in the end. On a side note, I liked how the book threw you in the deep end when it came to the story behind the waterhorses or 'capill usice', as you read you learn bits and pieces of background mythology.

Read my other Maggie Stiefvater reviews: 'Shiver', 'Linger', 'Forever'

On the cover: I LOVE this cover! It's so pretty and the swirls continue onto the back cover as well.

What I'm reading next: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Have you read a Maggie Stiefvater book before?

90's cartoons were and are awesome!

This is my part two to my nostalgic post about kids TV shows I grew up watching and loving. This time I'm showing you some shows from the 90's, so enjoy!

Captain Planet and the planeteers

Captain Planet, what can I say? A blue guy with green hair helping some teens to save the planet, very cool!

Widget the World Watcher

That purple alien sent to save the earth from evil. Another cartoon based on saving the planet, looks like they were trying to tell us to care for our planet over 20 years ago!

The Ren & Stimpy Show

That crazy cat & dog pair who are crude and hilarious!

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Those Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were awesome! I loved the Pink Ranger of course.

Pokemon

Gotta catch 'em all! I remember getting up early before school to watch Pokemon on tv, I still play it on my gameboy :)

What cartoons did you love to watch as a kid?

Handle with care...because you'll be disappointed

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
477 Pages
Buy it @ book depository

Things break all the time.

Day breaks, waves break, voices break.

Promises break.

Hearts break.



Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?

Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Handle with Care brings us into the heart of a family bound by an incredible burden, a desperate will to keep their ties from breaking, and, ultimately, a powerful capacity for love. Written with the grace and wisdom she's become famous for, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult offers us an unforgettable novel about the fragility of life and the lengths we will go to protect it.

Review: Firstly I need to say I didn't actually finish this book. My initial reason for not finishing this is because I was bored and one of the characters frustrated me. But that wasn't my final reason for not finishing.

I've read many Picoult books before so I know what to expect from them but this one felt like she simply used her formula of 'Mum', 'Dad', 'Child with issue', 'Sibling', 'Lawyer' & 'Extra' as her characters and picking something wrong with the child that is confronting and completely devastating.

You find out that Willow (the Child with issue) has Osteogenesis Imperfecta also known as OI or what I liked to call it, brittle bones. She is born with it and will have hundreds of breaks over a period of her life. I wanted to know what someone with OI would look like so I googled it and I was deeply disturbed. The pictures I found on the internet were so horrific I had to stop looking.

Basically, Willow's mother decides that she can sue her obstetrician (which happens to be her best friend) for not picking up Willow's disability in an early ultrasound.

There were 15 discs in this Audiobook and I had gotten to the 6th Disc and was so bored! Willow's sister really irritated me too. I was sick of her always complaining about living in 'the sticks', not being able to go to the mall and many other teenage selfishness because of her sister's disability. While Willow was the one not complaining even if she had a bad break! I just wished that for once Picoult had written about a sibling that was supportive of not only her disabled brother/sister but also her parents. I know a lot of teenagers think of only themselves but it would've made at least one character interesting in the story.

There was a side story with the lawyer being adopted and trying to find her birth mother. So I'm assuming Picoult put that in there to flesh out the story because there wasn't enough in the main story to keep people interested.

So because of these two things (boring & sister was annoying) I decided to skip to the 13th Disc to see how the story was going and found that it was up to the court case and was still boring! I then went onto Wikipedia to read the plot and found out what happens in the end and I was angry! I was so glad I didn't invest my time listening to this just to have THAT happen in the end, I would've felt like throwing the audiobook out the window of the car! People who have read this will know what I'm talking about.

That's when I made the decision to not continue listening, I could've put up with boring and the annoying sister but not that happening in the end. I have read other reviews about this book and some people think the same as me.

On the Cover: The little girl on this cover is really adorable and her eyelashes are awesome! I wish I had eyelashes like that.

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Have you read a book that you were glad you didn't finish?

'Tis the Season to be jolly

Don't you just love Christmas? I know I do. Living in Australia we don't get a white Christmas which is disappointing because snow makes everything look magical. I also love buying & receiving gifts, I like to see the look on people's faces when they're opening up their present I chose for them. What I also like about Christmas is that you get a holiday to spend with your loved ones, and after a year of work it's nice to have some time off. Yesterday I put up my Christmas Tree and wrapped a whole lot of presents, phew took me most of the day! But there is more wrapping to be done (once I buy some extra gifts).

Above is a cute Christmas video I made using Animoto to showcase some of my Christmassy products available through my Love Sami Facebook page

Do you love or loath Christmas?

Mary Quinn is on the job

The Traitor and the Tunnel (The Agency #3) by Y. S. Lee
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
373 pages
Buy it @ book depository

Get steeped in suspense, romance, and high Victorian intrigue as Mary goes undercover at Buckingham Palace - and learns a startling secret at the Tower of London.

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there's a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary's onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary's most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn't be higher - and she has everything to lose.

Review: I love these books. Mary Quinn is an awesome character; she's witty, brave and independent which a big thing for a women living in the 19th century. 

Some time has passed since the previous book and Mary has finally graduated and become an official detective with The Agency. She has been given her first assignment since graduating to work as a maid in the Buckingham Palace to find out who has been stealing knick knacks from the Queen. These novels are light mystery stories with no horrible murders and light humor. Perfect for teenagers or anyone looking for something a little different but nothing too heavy. There's also some interesting history going on, after reading this it makes me want to research Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales to find out if they were really like they were portrayed in the book. 

Oh and James! At the end of the previous book Mary had told James something about her childhood which left him upset at her and not wanting to have anything to do with her. I was completely shattered! Their relationship up until then had been so fiery, what with their constant arguing with each other one moment and then passionately making up the next! So you can see why I got quite upset when I thought this will never happen again. Well, he doesn't get away so easily! He's back and oh so swoony *dreamy eyes* 

In the last book Mary found some information regarding her father and in this book we find out what really happened to him after all these years. I found this part of the story a little disappointing and that's why I took a star off. That's the only small thing I could fault with this otherwise I highly recommend this fantastic series!

To read my review of 'The Body at the Tower' click here
(My review seems a bit harsh, not sure why I didn't like it as much because I really liked this one...)

On the cover: So this cover is ok, but I would've prefered the other one on the goodreads page. This cover does depict a moment in the books though which is cool!

What I'm reading next: Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Do you like Historical novels?

Poor Unfortunate Souls

Move over Disney Princess, the Disney Villains have taken over! 

The Disney Villains are becoming more and more popular.

I thought I would compile all the Disney Villain merchandise for all you lovers out there!

The link above takes you straight to the Disney store where you can search through all the evil you wish.

Threadless Tees has a new range of Disney Villain T-shirts, my favorite is below.

I have mentioned this very talented artist's designs before but here is Hungry Designs awesome Ursula (from The Little Mermaid) brooch, she's so beautiful.

In a previous post I spoke about the Disney Designer Princess Dolls, well there are now Designer Villain Dolls! I wished they had created some of the male Villains too, for example Jafar from 'Aladdin' & Dr. Facilier from 'The Princess & the Frog', that would've been cool.

Below is a picture of some of my favorite villain merchandise from the Disney store

Which Villain is your favorite?

Book cover style ~ Clockwork Princess

I'm not sure if you've noticed but I love books, I also love a good looking cover. 

Another one of my favorite things is fashion like clothing and accessories.
So I thought it would be a perfect thing to mesh these together and start my 'Book Cover Style'.

In this post I will show you a favourite cover of mine and 

show you how you can re-create the look of this cover. I hope you like it!

The book I've chosen for my first Book Cover Style is 'Clockwork Princess' by Cassandra Clare.

This is a beautiful cover and the model is drop dead gorgeous, I bet she felt exactly like a princess wearing that dress! So below is the cover and underneath that is my re-creation.

Clockwork Prinncess by lovesami featuring a black eye liner

Skirt Victorian bustle skirt steampunk skirt prom skirt corset skirt
140 AUD - etsy.com

Red brooch
19 AUD - etsy.com

Vintage jewelry
24 AUD - etsy.com

Smashbox black eye liner
19 AUD - beauty.com

Small Brown Leather Journal/Notes Book with Vintage Skeleton Key
18 AUD - etsy.com

To re-create this book cover the total cost is $220, not exactly cheap but how can you resist that dress!

What book would you like me to re-create next time?