I didn't add this onto our Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2012 list last year because there wasn't a trailer yet but now there is one now. Enjoy.
When an evil spirit hatches a plot to take over the world, the immortal Guardians join forces to protect the hopes, beliefs, and imagination of children all over the world.
I think the tooth fairy is adorable and I love the design of the sandman and Santa's tattoos. The movie looks like it's going to be pretty great.
So far I have loved everything I have heard by Snow Patrol and the sad thing is I only own a handful of their songs. This song unlike the other songs I've heard by them didn't have me instantly loving it. It actually took me listening to this on repeat and paying attention to the lyrics before I could truly appreciate it. Discovered on the play-list for Maggie Stiefvater's Linger
Have you discovered any favourite songs lately? Share them with us! Also check out the songs on our music player in the sidebar.
Rules:
1. To enter to win you must be 14 years old or older to enter.
2. All entries must be done through THIS FORM.
3. The 2 books will be for 1 winner.
4. This giveaway is open to the US ONLY.
DEADLINE April 6th 2012
Giveaway Policy:
WildFire Writing and it's contributors are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipping or items shipped from 3rd party sponsors.
Winners will be chosen randomly by WildFire Writing using Random.org.
You do not have to be a follower or subscriber to participate.
Winners will be contacted by either Sandy, Reeshe or Kitten of WildFire Writing via email.
All books in this giveaway, unless stated otherwise, are paperbacks.
If you are also having a giveaway this week feel free to join I am a Reader, Not a Writer's blog hop below but ONLY for BOOK and BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAYS.
In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better... Written by Warner Bros. Pictures
Premier Date
11 May 2012
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, vampires. What else do you need?
Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Étienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?
I added Anna and the French Kiss because almost everyone I knew had loved the book and had given it five stars. I was certainly surprised by this because if you read the title, look at the cover and read the synopsis it comes off as a light chick-lit read. Something to put you in a good mood for a bit but not something that would garner the amount of positive response from readers that it had received, so I picked it up.
It didn’t take me long to finish Anna and the French Kiss, it really was a quick read filled with humour, romance and charm. The main character Anna has been shipped off to boarding school in Paris for her senior year without her consent and at first she’s upset about this because she’s being pulled from the only life she knows and being forced to adapt to a new culture and make friends. However, it doesn’t take very long for Anna to find a group of friends to tag along after and soon after that it takes her even less time to become one of them especially when she instantly clicks with the beautiful Étienne St. Clair.
This novel was very much a romance and I knew that going in but I wasn’t really that much invested in it. I certainly think that both Ann and Étienne have great chemistry, the way their dialogue just flows naturally back and forth between them and the way they both just seem to understand each other but I didn’t really care if they got together and only wanted them to be together so that Anna could stop fawning over Étienne. What I really enjoyed was that the story wasn’t just about the romance; it was about Anna coming to terms with herself. Like any other normal teenage girl Anna makes mistakes and she has flaws and dreams and it was great watching her make mistakes and learn from them and grow. It was also fun to read about her new group of friends in Paris, they were all unique individuals that stood out very fresh in mind and who I wouldn’t have mind learning more about.
So I will be picking up Stephanie Perkins’ next book (Lola and the Boy next Door) which is a companion piece to this novel about a different set of characters, because I did enjoy her story even if I didn’t love it as much as everyone else.
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Ender's Game is a story of a six year old boy named Andrew Wiggins, or Ender as he is affectionately known. The youngest of three children, he is know as a Third, in a time when it was forbidden to have more than two children in a family.
He is taken from his family and sent into space to Battle School, to train to protect the earth from a deadly formic race know as the Buggers, which are bug-like creatures who tried to invaded the Earth and cause another world war. They didn’t win, but destroy a lot of people in the process. This is when the government came up with the idea of Battle School.
Ender is among other highly intelligent children from around the world, but he is the youngest ever picked. His older brother Peter and sister Valentine are just as smart but were not chosen. Peter is crazy or so everyone thinks, but I feel like he is misunderstood. He like to see pain and death, and because of this he was not accepted into Battle School. Valentine is too mild mannered, which is why she was not chosen.
Ender has to grow up pretty fast in order to survive this new environment. These kids are super intelligent and some extremely aggressive, but Ender has a big heart and soon finds himself in the role of leader; to a bunch of kids who could use the extra help, when it comes to training. The Teachers see his potential for promotion and add even more pressure.
It is sad to read about the things Ender has to go through, but in the end, he still tried to make it better. His power of forgiveness of still trying to show the world that just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you have to kill it.
I found Ender's Game to be a most unusual book, mainly because it in not my usual area of reading. It is this unusualness that drew me it. The story has totally captured my mind. At first I thought it is going to be a hard luck story but it turns into this story about a boy (Andrew Wiggins A.K.A Ender) and his will to live and over come his fear.
Main Stars
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson
Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, and Elizabeth Banks
Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.
As a fan of The Hunger Games trilogy I went into this movie, despite my best efforts, with very high hopes. Which of course always worries me because the higher the hope the lower the chances they will be met. This is almost always the case for me with book to movie adaptations despite my understanding that there will be necessary changes in the movie version. Scenes and characters will be changed or completely left out while others will be added to better adapt the story and sometimes I can live with the changes no problem but other times they will jump out and nag at me. To reduce the possibility of this occurring, from my experience, its best to always treat the movie as a separate entity and refrain from comparing it to the book. So the question isn't “was The Hunger Games movie as good as the book?” No, the question is “was the The Hunger Games a good movie?”
Judging from the reactions of the group of nine people I attended the movie with (only two of us actually having read the books) I would say that the majority of people (if not everyone) thought that the movie was very good. Kitten thought it was awesome, Reeshe, judging it as a movie alone, gave it a 4.5/5 and I have to agree with her. My little brother had already said he wanted to get the DVD before the movie was even finished and my little sister kept going over parts of the movie on our way home. Even my co-worker, who just saw it yesterday, said that The Hunger Games was one of the best movies he had seen in a long time.
What I really enjoyed about The Hunger Games is that it did not fail in engaging me. Maybe part of it is because I was already invested in the characters by reading the books but throughout the film, from beginning to end, the movie had me sitting still with tension, gasping in shock, laughing at shots of humour and crying with grief at heart-breaking moments. Even when I knew what was coming, apprehension would take over as I waited for a scene to play out; this I think had a lot to do with use of sound in the film.
Throughout the movie at particularly pivotal scenes there would be no background music at all telling us how to feel - just the characters, their dialogue and their actions. For many parts of the film I thought this technique worked very well to establish the atmosphere but at other times I thought it was overused and left a scene feeling awkward or incomplete. I haven't heard or read anyone else commenting on this particular aspect of the film, however, so this may have just been me seeing this as a problem. Something I have heard more than one person mention though, including myself, is the use of the shaky cam. I don't like this technique very much; it makes it very hard to focus on a scene and if it's over used it can move from irritating to headache inducing. Thankfully the shaky cam in the film did not become that severe of an issue for me and I will admit there were many times where its use made me feel like I was right in the middle of the action. But, like the "lack of sound" technique when overused I did find the shaking camera irritating when it made it difficult for me to tell what was happening in a scene, particularly in a fight.
Thankfully though these issues were minor when you look at the movie as a whole and focus on what did work. The casting for the movie, in my opinion, was spot on. Jennifer Lawrence was Katniss Everdeen; the emotions she displayed through just her facial expressions spoke volumes. The games puts their contestants through a lot of torment even before the actual fighting begins and the way Jennifer played in every single scene felt positively genuine. She could be vulnerable and caring while also being strong and determined. Another favourite was Josh Hutcherson, who played the charming and manipulative Peeta Mellark, for me he was another actor who became the character. It's also I think important to mention that although each of these supporting actors only had a handful of scenes - Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, and Elizabeth Banks that each of their roles stood out to me and are not easily forgotten.
Judging as an Adaptation
In the hands of someone else who might not have respected this series I could easily see this movie just be a shallow story about children killing children on reality TV but the core of the book is much more than that and I think that the movie captured it perfectly. There were changes of course, a character was removed, and scenes were added while others were left out but I was fine with all of them. I even think that the movie was better for it. There is one vital aspect from the book however near the end that was left out, and I had not remembered it until Reeshe had mentioned it that may affect how the future movies are made. I think though that the change still has time to be salvaged if they address it in the second movie so we'll see what happens when Catching Fire comes out so I still give the movie as an adaptation a 4.5/5. Reeshe on the other hand was not happy with a few of the changes made, particularly ones that had to do with portrayal of the character personalities and development and rates the movie, as an adaptation, a 3/5.
On April 13th 2012 the contributors of WildFire Writing and my little sister will be attending, for the very first time, an Anime Convention. Because of where we live things like conventions about fandoms is a luxury we aren't privy to because well we live in a tiny place and so although there are fans of anime and manga here we're more of a cult following. The same goes for comics, and other similar things. To prove this, if you ever come down to Grand Cayman, just go into one of our three book stores and look for a volume of manga. The chances of finding more than one are rare, the chances of finding one you're interested in are pretty much nil.
So anyway sad and pathetic story set aside you can say I am pretty ecstatic that I will be going to an anime convention in less than three weeks. I've actually been planning this trip since last year and at the time was even considering the possibility of cosplaying but I couldn't decide what I wanted to be and ran out of time. So my Doctor Who tees will have to do since this convention is also going to be a scifi one.
Advice I've been given on attending any convention
Where comfortable shoes. There will be lots of walking, think of your feet.
Brings snacks and a bottle of water. Food sold in conventions can be pricey, there should be water fountains where you can refill your bottle if you finish it.
Take a backpack with you, you're most likely going to stop by the artist alley and vendor room and you want a place to put your purchases so you can keep your hands free.
Take a camera, to you know, document all those lovely memories not to mention there might be some kick ass cosplaying going on. But you know before taking pictures of strangers get their permission first and ask if you can post the pictures online.
Have cash, chances are no one in the artist alley will have a credit card machine or will be accepting your checks, the same thing might go for the people in the Vendor Room. Cash is quicker and more reliable.
As the days for the convention pass prices might drop but if on the first day you see something you REALLY want and its limited you might not want to risk it being sold to someone else because you're waiting for the price to drop. Grab it now!
Don't spend all of your money on awesome stuff. You're a person and well you need to eat. At the end of the day after all that walking and shopping and people meeting you're probably going to be hungry and want something that didn't come in a plastic bag and you'll most likely need money to get it. Separate your food money from your shopping money.
Hopefully I'll remember all these tips myself when the time comes and I'll make sure my friends and sister read this post too so they aren't scolding at me in my well prepared glory as they suffer hunger pains.
Have you ever been to an anime convention or a convention of any kind? Faerie Con? BEA? A Whovian convention? Maybe even SDCC? How was the experience? Is there any advice you can give me that I haven't mentioned in this post?
First of all thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway and became a new follower (the numbers were beyond surprising). I hope to hear from you all in future posts, don't forget about the blog now that the giveaway is over ;).
Second of all here are the two winners for the giveaway. Chosen through random.org to ensure complete randomness.
Vickie Reljin
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Lis Carcamo
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain
Along with the books both winners will receive a bookmark from the Cayman Islands (meaning it was actually made here, which is actually a rare thing because we import almost everything).
The winners will be notified later today and if they do not respond within 48 hours new winners will be selected and notified.
Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway and make sure to check back with the blog soon for more giveaways as the WildFire Writing team continue to clear out our shelves.
If you live in North America then The Hunger Games releases in a few hours, I do not live in North America. I envy you people and you're midnight premiers, but no matter, Reeshe, Kitten, and I along with my siblings will be seeing the movie tomorrow first thing after work. So starting from dawn tomorrow until 6:30pm I will be avoiding anything Hunger Games fandom related because I refuse to be spoiled or influenced more than I already have been.
Are you going to a midnight premier? What scene from the book are you hoping to see the most? What changes (characters, scenes, lines etc.) from the book could you live with?
It's not possible to catch all newly revealed covers all the time right when they are shared with the public. Sometimes a gorgeous cover that has been around for months or even a year can slip by our radar and are only discovered by accident or referral. So below are a few lovely covers that are just getting our attention now.
Charmfall (Dark Elite #3) by
Chloe Neill
(US Edition)
Frostfire (Daughter of Flames #3)
by Zoe Marriott
(UK Edition)
Daylight Saving
by Edward Hogan
(UK Edition)
Flutter (My Blood Approves #3)
by Amanda Hocking
Charmfall released this past January so I am going to assume the cover was probably revealed at least six months ago. Frostfire will be released this July in paperback but I think the cover was revealed back in November. Daylight Saving came out last month and Flutter was published in 2010!
My fav here is Daylight Saving and not just because it's blue. The entire layout of the cover just makes it stand out, the rippling of the text gives off a slightly chilling vibe and I love the clock face in the background.
The story of a young heiress's initiation into the dark society of the Chicagoland Vampires continues...
Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they're enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite. But should people learn about the Raves - mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle, the citizens will start sharpening their stakes.
So now it's up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavoury aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media. But someone doesn't want peace between them - someone with an ancient grudge...
Friday Night Bites is the second book in the the Chicagoland Vampires series. It is the same style as the first, with the twists. However, there is a lot more to this one.
At times I was a bit upset; with the back and forth between Merit and Ethan, but I like seeing the pain in the ass they are to each other. They both love it, even thought they complain about it. I think they would make a beautiful couple, if they ever got together, which might make things run a bit smoothly in the house.
They love each other too much; like they are made for one another. When they are around each other, sparks fly, and when they are apart they can't stop the pain of wanting to see one another. It is funny at times, but other times; you envy them for finding each other. Throughout this book I had a lot of mixed emotions.
Merit has her own problems to deal with, such as the vampire within her wanting to be set free. I have a feeling that if that happens, all kinds of stuff will go down. She is hiding it from everyone; that the vampire is not part of her; they are two people in one body. Can she handle it? I know she can!
Of course, you also find out the bad guy; from the first book is back, and is causing all kinds of trouble, which adds more thrills to this book. I really do hope that she pulls through for the sake of a lot of people.
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate students introduction into a society of vampires.
Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's trading sweating over her thesis; for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps; loyal to Ethan "Lord of the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's night life may be the first skirmish in a war and there will be blood.
I found Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, book #1) to be a very nice book. Merit is a normal twenty-eight year old woman and graduate student who has to now put that aside to learn to become a vampire. At first you think "Hey, who wouldn't want to have some of the things she is offered." Then throughout the book you get to see Merit grow into what she is supposed to become.
Ethan, the vampire who changed Merit can be an ass, but I think it is because of the years of losing those he's loved. He is old but there is something that keeps him and Merit connected. Even though some hate is there, I just can’t think of any reason, other than both of them being from different times, for them not to be together.
When Merit takes the vows to keep the house staff, Ethan makes her Sentinel of the house. There has not been a Sentinel in the house for a long time, but he gives her this position. She quickly finds out what is going on around her and for her. She not only makes friends, but also finds out things that her Grandfather has been hiding from the family.
I don’t want give too much away, but you should definitely add this book to your reading list. It not only keeps you guessing but it lets you down easy one minute and then makes you jump out of your seat the next. Merit is the kind of person everyone wants to be like when they look at their life. Everyone would like to have the will to push through and survive.
Thank you very much Chloe Neill for this book and I can’t wait to read the others. I really hope that you keep the books coming with the twists and the drama, and the romance that happens every now and then. I love when I feel connected to a book in so many different ways.
The next book in the series is Friday Night Bites.
It is now officially the start of Spring and for this Spring WildFire Writing are cleaning out the book shelves and passing on our books to you. To start us off on the right foot we are participating this week in I am a Reader, Not a Writer's Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop. We are also not the only ones, check out the list below for more giveaways!
Rules:
1. To enter to win you must be 14 years old or older to enter.
2. All entries must be done through THIS FORM.
3. There will be 2 winners, 1 book each.
DEADLINE March 25th 2012
Giveaway Policy:
WildFire Writing and it's contributors are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipping or items shipped from 3rd party sponsors.
Winners will be chosen randomly by WildFire Writing using Random.org.
You do not have to be a follower or subscriber to participate.
Winners will be contacted by either Sandy, Reeshe or Kitten of WildFire Writing via email.
All books in this giveaway, unless stated otherwise, are paperbacks.
The cover of Torn is beautiful and it is the second book in this series following Switched.
Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world. Step into the world of the Trylle, and prepare to be enchanted….
When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself-that she's a changeling switched at birth-she knows her life will never be the same. Now she's about to learn that there's more to the story…
She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined-and they'll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers-and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who's strictly off limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.
Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she's ever wanted…in both worlds.
As a special gift to readers, this book contains a new, never-before-published bonus story, "One Day, Three Ways," set in the magical world of the Trylle.
Wendy is a Princess of the Trylle (Trolls), who was switched at birth to be raised by humans. Growing up she knew that she was different, always feeling like an outcast. I don't think that her mother trying to kill her at age seven made it any better.
In the beginning of this book, Wendy finds out her real father is not dead,as mentioned by her real mother. He is also the one person on earth who would kill a fly for making too much noise flying around. There is a great story and some history in this book, but you also get to see the beautiful story of Wendy's mother acting with love and showing true weakness.
Torn was basically about Wendy having to choose between love or duty; I wouldn't know what to do. I loved Torn because of the battles Wendy fought; not only her own inner turmoil, but also the person she is in love with, the person she is to marry, her mother and on top of all that; her people.
I know this review is a little short but I truly want you all to read the book, without me giving anything away. It is a story that will touch and break your heart, if you let it.
This book is everything and nothing I expected. I was not disappointed at all, which is why I gave it 5 Stars. I cant wait to read Ascend! The covers are so beautiful, I believe they match the stories perfectly.
Everyone LOVES that book! Why don't I? How do you handle being the one reviewer who doesn't like a book that's taking the blogosphere by storm? Do you write a review? Pretend you didn't read the book?
I actually have a lot more to say when it comes to books I really didn't like so a negative review is almost always posted. And to be honest if it’s a book the masses seem to love that motivates me a lot more to share my negative opinion about the book, maybe to add some balance to the universe? I don’t know I guess it’s the same reason I try to write a review if I LOVED a book that isn't wildly popular or known. I think readers deserve to know about it, either to not miss out or to not get blindly pulled into hyped up books.
With my first negative review I must admit I thought something was wrong with me because I seemed to be the only person to hate the book but it didn’t stop my review from being posted or from being negative. Also, even if I hate a book I never flame it, bash the author, or specifically order someone to not get it. I just honestly state what I thought about it and if there is anything positive to say about it I’ll try and state it so my review doesn’t come off as too harsh but I never prevent myself from posting a negative review about wildly loved books because it’s my blog and I don’t want anyone dictating what I can write on it.
With the way things are going this year with cover reveals I have no idea how I am going to make a list of favourites when the end of the year comes.
Serpent's Kiss (Witches of East End #2) by
Melissa de la Cruz
(US Edition)
Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by
Sarah Rees Brennan
(Click image to see back of the cover)
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
(US Edition)
Foretold (The Demon Trappers #4)
by Jana Oliver
(UK Edition)
Velveteen (Velveteen #1) by
Daniel Marks
I am so happy that Unspoken's cover is illustrated. I think illustrated covers are probably my favourite kind of covers that a book can have because that is when you know that the cover was made for the book with the book in mind. There won't be any faux pas of another cover using the same stock image or anyone calling the cover generic. I have also never seen the colour pink used on the cover of a Gothic novel before but I love the shade used here and I love that this will make the book stand out on book store shelves.
What's your favourite cover here? Do you agree or disagree with my views on Unspoken's cover? What recently revealed cover has you all happy?
Reeshe, Kitten, and I all have limited space in our respective homes which means very few places to fit our growing collection of books, and while we all have shelves for books it hasn't stopped them from spilling into drawers, onto desks, into closets and boxes. And the situation is only going to get worse if we don't make some space so WildFire Writing has decided to go through our collections and pass them on to you, our followers, books we are never going to read or re-read again.
To aid us in this our first giveaway will be apart of I Am a Reader, Not a Writer's Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop.
The Hop will be from March 20th to 25th (next week!) and our giveaway will be open Internationally.
The Legend of Korra is an upcoming American television series set in the Avatar universe as a spin-off of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is expected to air on Nickelodeon on April 14, 2012. The series is currently under production and is expected to run for two seasons and a total of twenty-six episodes, with options for more. The co-creators of the original series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will personally write all of the episodes to allow for a tighter storyline.
The new series will take place seventy years after the end of the Avatar: The Last Airbender story arc, with new characters and settings. The protagonist of the new series, Korra, the Avatar after Aang, is a hot-headed and rebellious young woman from the Southern Water Tribe who is "ready to take on the world." The series will follow Korra as she faces an anti-bender revolt while mastering the art of airbending from Aang and Katara's son, Tenzin. - avatar.wikia.com
If there is something I've wanted from the series for the longest time it has been a premier date and now we have it. Typing it twice just to make sure it sticks with you:
The cover for The Crimson Crown was actually suppose to go up with the Cover Up #2 post but I completely forgot about it when I did the actual post -fail-. I am surprised Reeshe hasn't noticed this yet and scolded me for it hmm. Oh but she will now when she sees this post -runs away-.
The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4) by
Cinda Williams Chima
(US Edition)
The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl #8) by
Eoin Colfer
(US Edition)
Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4) by
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
(US Edition)
Romeo Redeemed (Juliet Immortal #2) by Stacy Jay
(US Edition)
Falling to Ash (Moth #1)
By Karen Mahoney
(UK Edition)
It's hard to choose which cover here I love the most, its obvious that February and March has not failed to give us some beautiful covers. Crimson Crown is another gorgeous addition to the Seven Realm series, The Last Guardian is my favourite out of the illustrated versions of the Artemis Fowl covers. Where Romeo Redeemed lacks in text beauty it makes up for in a steamy image and gorgeous colouring, and Falling to Ash saves itself from becoming a typical generic paranormal YA cover with wonderful effects (look at the moths).
What cover do you like the best? Are there any other recently revealed covers that had you instantly falling in love with the book?
Reeshe and I have been meaning to incorporate music into the blog (a playlist of some kind shall be gracing our sidebar soon) and recently we've both discovered a few songs we think are too great not to share.
Revealed about two weeks ago but just discovered by us today is the cover for The sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.
If you want to find out more about the book click on the cover.
And for those of you who haven't seen the cover for the first book or have forgotten what it looks like.
Reeshe Says: I think that both of the covers for The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers are very beautiful and at a first glance The Crown of Embers does seems kind of cluttered but then when I continue to look at it, I start to notice the details in the cover and I understand everything that is going on and soon realize that the cover isn't cluttered at all. When I really look at both books I can feel the power each one has to draw people in with a single glance, and I think the person who designed the covers knew and understood the tone that would represent both books best. I think that these book covers are inspiring enough on their own, even without the story.
Sandy Says: I always like to see a sense of uniformity amongst covers in a series and when I say that I mean I like my covers to look like they are part of a set, not look exactly the same. More Seven Realms and less Evernight which I think is what has been achieved here with The Crown of Embers, the layout and font are obviously the same but the images, colours and textures are different. It's more sea and sky while The Girl of Fire and Thorns is more Earth. I love the colours and contrast of the second but I think they went a little overboard with textures, making it look a bit messy.
Production Company
Screen Gems/Lakeshore Entertainment/Saturn Films
Director
Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein
Writers
Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, J. Michael Straczynski
Allison Burnett and Len Wiseman (story)
Main Stars
Kate Beckinsale,Stephen Rea
Michael Ealy, Theo James and India Eisley
When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrior Selene leads the battle against humankind.
The moment I saw the trailer for this movie my first impression was that it reminded me of Resident Evil which disappointed me. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Resident Evil but if I am seeing a trailer for an Underworld sequel it should have the vibe of it's predecessors not the vibe of an unrelated movie franchise. Initial vibe disappointment set aside I was also worried about the lack of Scott Speedman in the trailer, Michael was a pivotal character in the first movie and a main character in the second and after finding out that Scott Speedman wasn't in this movie but his character was I didn't want to see the movie at all. I of course came around when I found out that he might possibly be in the fifth.
Underworld: Awakening begins with Selene recounting the events of the first two movies and ending with the fact that the world is under Martial Law because humans have now discovered the existence of both vampires and lycans referring to them as the Infected. Queue in a montage of scenes and news reels showing what looks to be S.W.A.T clad men forcibly entering homes and exterminating anyone they discover to be "infected" amid riots and bombings and you get a pretty good idea of how crazy the world has become. Which is why Selene tells us that her and Michael are leaving tonight, leaving to go where the viewer doesn't know nor does it matter since both Selene and Michael don't escape, in fact Selene gets captured and entombed in a container of ice for twelve years while Michael's fate is unknown.
What is found however is a little girl who isn’t human with a mental connection to Selene. Why they have a connection is pretty obvious but I had a hard time even considering the factor until it was actually stated in the movie. Selene and Michael have a daughter, a twelve year old girl who is in fact a hybrid and the institution who had captured Selene want her, not only that but so do the lycans.
Underworld: Awakening was an unsurprisingly, fast paced action-packed movie filled with guns, head-slicings and the usual vampire versus lycan fighting scenarios. I found it vastly entertaining but entirely too short. The movie is a mere ninety minutes long and could have been lengthened and fleshed out with some much needed character development and world-building. We barely find out anything about Selene's daughter, how she came to be, how her life has been, we don't even get her name. We also don't get any explanation on how the world became to be the way that it is. How did the humans find out about lycans and vampires, how was it so easy for them to find most of the covens and lycan hideouts and why was the story moved from Great Britain/Europe to the USA? The location change made no sense to me and caused the mood to feel like a diluted version of the previous Underworld films in my opinion.
Still, despite these few failings if another sequel is made I will be seeing it because I am quite curious to find out what happens next. And if you're an Underworld fan don't miss out on the movie, I think you'll enjoy it, but don't expect it to be your favourite.
Let's talk about a positive aspect of blogging! How has blogging influenced your real life in a positive way? (not related to books or reading) Have you learned to be organized or are you more social now for example?
Not related to books? I have no idea. I don’t think I am more organized I still leave things to the last minute, procrastinate, miss personal deadlines, reply to emails late and I certainly utilize twitter a lot more than I did in the beginning but what motivated me to get a twitter was so I could follow authors so I could keep updated on their work. And now besides my friends I follow other bloggers and publishers and other book related things xD.
Oh wait!
Blogging has made me a lot more html and CSS savvy I can do formatting without having to use the Compose screen and I can add captions to images, create tables, add shadow to text or put blocks of a post in div “boxes”. I can edit my template and make blog buttons scroll, turn an image into a button and other neat little things that I had no idea how to do before I started a blog. Now I am trying to learn how to make my own template (on Scribing Shadows) or add a sidebar here on WildFire Writing. I also want to learn how to develop/design websites which is something I wanted to do before blogging but blogging has certainly made me a lot more motivated and knowledgeable.
