My 2011

Hi all!
Time to close 2011 and look into the new times coming in 2012;=) Here´s my 2011 for you and it has been lots of Imaginaerum this year, hair colour changes and various clothing outfits.

Enjoy!

January:

February:


March:


April:


May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

A grey day in Copenhagen

Hi all and sorry for my abscence, but at the moment my life spins fast and my days are full, but now I have some photos to show you from a grey, rainy day in Copenhagen two days ago.

I had to go to Copenhagen to visit the American embassy for a VISA interview and I had to get up really early (5.50) and even if I had set my alarm, I always am so afraid of over-sleeping, so I couldnt get much sleep in the night. I woke up so many times thinking: WHAT´S THE TIME??? - chech my watch, notice that it still was 3 or 4 or 5 and I could lie down some more time.
But a crappy night it was and when I finally went up in the darkness I got myself some coffee, put on clothes, some make-up for the day that was easy and fast:

- some foundation from Chanel, mineral powder from ID, bronzing on the cheeks from Bodystore, pink rouge on top of that, gold eyeshadow from MAC, eyeliner from Lancome, mascara from MAC and lipgloss from Maybelline.
Here´s my tired face at 6.15 in the morning;=)

Then down to the train station, ordering the biggest coffee they had, some yoghurt with granola and rush on the train. Took 1,5 hour cause we were delayed (as always on the train) but I were in good time before my appointment time at the embassy.
When I came there, they were really nice and welcoming and after 1 hour I was ready and my VISA approved;=) US - here I go again!;=)

If I am in Copenhagen I feel needed to do some strolling around checking the sales and do some errands for the tour that I cant find in my small city so I took the whole day visiting both stocking boutiques, jewellery stores, shoe stores e g and of course I had to eat some sushi. Found a super good sushi place next to the wonderful lingerie store I visited called Anne Sax, who helped me with all the things to wear on stage under my new dresses;=) Great staff and I will for sure go here every time visiting Copenhagen.
The sushi place had brown rice to make it a bit healthier and I ate edamame beans with lemon and salt and 8 pieces of Ebi makis with spicy ingredients. To drink a super good organic ginger-orange drink. Yummie!

After this I strolled and got some nice things for the boys and I also visited my favourite place - the DISNEY store;=) Got Nemo some fun stuff and I´ll show it later for you cause I need to do a video on it, they are soooo cute.

At 6.30 I was home again and the boys got so happy with the small things I had for them and I was happy after a day of danish kindness and with the happy feeling of having gotten my VISA and we are all set for Los Angeles!

Oh, and in COS I tried on some stuff like this cute striped sweater but I only got stuff for the tour so this had to stay in the store.

Nemo got this wonderful body with the angel wings on the back and the words "angel of love" in the front. Really cute!

Now I just came home from a wonderful run so time to hit the shower! Will post some photos later on from my visit at mum´s place yesterday where I took some photos of Signe and Stjärnan for you all.
Enjoy this day and hey, soon its 2012!

X-mas run

I have celebrated my x-mas day with a nice run in fast paste in the forest and by the ocean. So nice!

It´s +8 degrees here today and I can´t complain about the weather anymore...maybe we´ll be lucky enough and skip winter and get spring already?? Give us Mediterranean weather, yeah!

Oh, and someone asked why I wrote "Tompa" for Tuomas and that is a common swedish nickname for those being named Tomas, which is our way of saying Tuomas.

So now you know (curiosity killed the cat, or?=)

What do you say about me having a nice raffle next week where I give away some of our new merchandise t-shirts??? Would someone like to win that?

Enjoy the day now!

Happy Birthday "Tompa";=)

May you have the BEST of birthdays!!!!

HIP HIP HORRAY from us all;=)

totally sweet day...

Hey everyone!

It's FRIDAY!

I'm excited!

My mom's coming up from Florida tomorrow.

We're taking a week off from work. Yes, you read correctly...the Locksmith is closing down for a week! Yay....I needed some time to kind of unwind and go back to normal after the month or so we' ve had.

I wanted to make a sweet Thursday post to show what else my hubby had going on in the kitchen, but time got away from me, I had a sick terror with me and she pretty much killed my day.

so...without further ado, I bring you a cheese cake brownie. :)

this was delicious!!!! :P

also, DH made chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and Snicker doodle cupcakes with a cookie on top. My teenyterror took the liberty of photographing the ChocoPB it because I was sooo tired...

this was da bomb as well!!! the frosting tasted just like the filling in a peanut butter cup. The snickerdoodles were all gone so quickly to photograph....:blush:

My kids all had their hair cut. I'm not supposed to post any photos online yet because the girls want to see the surprise on everyone's faces....so I will have to wait a bit longer to show it off....all I can say is that they all look so beautiful!!!!

Well...I am going to say it in advance, because I don't think I'll be blogging or online til the new year,

I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas full of Joy, Cheer, and Peace. I hope that it's everything you all expected and then some! :D

Stay safe!!!

isn't it funny? The irony isn't lost on me....

Hey bloggy peeps!

I've been going through the wringer lately. I'm exhausted and ready for a break. I'm hoping that the upcoming celebrations will go easy on me, so that I can feel re-newed again.

I've been seriously missing scrapping. SERIOUSLY. Remember how a couple of months ago I was thinking of quitting?

The desire is there now, but time. Time keeps running away...and taunting me with the "na, na, na, na, na's, can't catch me!"  I see these calls for DTs and I am so tempted to sign myself up. But then reality hits. Can I really get in, and if I do...realistically, as things have been pretty much crazy, will I have enough time to dedicate and do my best?

So....I'm sitting out on all of the alluring calls. But I've decided to start scrapping again earnestly, just for pure enjoyment.

Because I really need a way to blow off steam and relax.

This week, I found some old teenyterrors' photos, and a couple of videos of my teeniest terror. They made me cry. Yes, cry! They have grown up so much, and I don't have a teeny baby to care for anymore. I regret the choice my DH & I made to not have anymore. So as I showed my kids how cute and teeny they were, I told DH aloud...."I want a baby!"

Want to know what Nani proclaimed?

"Mommy, I am your baby!!!"

I looked at her in shock.

Now let me explain:

This child would get so angry and pout whenever customers would walk into the shop and look at how she's grown and exclaim "is that the BABY???" (they'd remember me being pregnant with her).

She'd promptly put her hands on her hips and angrily proclaim: "I-am-NOT-a-BABY!".

see the irony here?

Teenyterrors, Easter 2005

Teenyterrors, Easter 2011

My mommy will be here in NY at the end of the week. The kids are looking FWD to having her cooking...LOL...and she's looking fwd to cooking for them.

Wolfsbane: REVIEW

*****FINAL RATING: 4.65 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Wolfsbane was a vast improvement on its predecessor, Nightshade. It still provokes my dear inner feminist, but I handled it better. It was a beautifully written book and seemed more original than the last.

THE HEROINE
CALLA TOR
Calla improves in this book and becomes much better at standing up for herself. She still makes bad decisions sometimes, but she deals with the consequences. I liked her very much in the first book, finding her very relatable, but in Wolfsbane I really grew to love her as a character. She is much more developed and I feel like I can relate to her a much deeper level. As much as she still irritates me at times, I understand that not everyone is perfect. She also blames herself, although sometimes she's so self-pitying it's sad.

THE LOVE INTERESTS
RENIER LAROCHE
We find out something immensely interesting about him in this book, which made me love him infinitely more. He doesn't appear very often, but when he does he makes a huge impact. Some of the things he does are questionable, and while I can't say I agree with them, I can absolutely understand why he did them. Heartache can break even the strong.
SEAMUS DORAN
I really don't like Shay. He's bossy, pushy, and is the most annoying male-dominant "hero" I've seen in a long time. He is always telling Calla what to do while he gets to do whatever the heck he wants. It's very obvious that he thinks highly of himself. I don't like the way he acts and he makes that dear inner feminist in my cry out in absolute horror.

THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
ANSEL
Oh, what heartbreak. What devastating heartbreak. Oh, my heart absolutelyaches for him. He is beautiful and tragic. Just so beautiful and tragic. Real-life feelings wrapped in a fantastical package.
CONNOR
I love Connor. I really do. He's funny and fun, and I legitimately enjoyed reading about him. He was definitely one of my favorite characters.
ETHAN
Dear Ethan. As someone who has lost dearly loved ones, I understand his pain and deep desire to lash out. He was one of the most understandable characters in the novel and even though it surprised me, I found myself really liking with him and forming a deep connection.
ARIADNE
I didn't like her at first, but she grew on me. I found her to be a person with an interesting past and a bright future. Her Weaving ability was also fascinating and quite original!
MONROE
Oh, dear Monroe. My heart went out to him for some reason the moment he was mentioned. He just has such a heavy aura of sadness and regret that it immediately shows through. He was one of my absolute favorite characters.
SABINE
I actually liked her in this book. We find that she has been in so much pain, and I absolutely find her to be a very nice kind of girl.
BRYN
Poor Bryn. She has such a hard time of things, but she still remains loyal. She's a wonderful girl and I hope to see more of her.
MASON AND NEVILLE
They are just so fun. I love reading about them. They seems to have a wonderful relationship and they have marvelous senses of humor.
DAX AND FEY
I wasn't really very shocked. But I was saddened.
COSETTE
Oh my God, it's just so heartbreaking. Fear can do things to a person, drive them into awful choices.
THE SEARCHERS IN GENERAL
They seem like a genuinely fun-to-be-around people! They contributed largely to the immense pleasure I found in reading this book. They seem so down-to-earth and natural, not uptight and power-hungry. I really liked all of them.

THE PLOT
The plot was fascinating, watching the Searchers plot against the Keepers. Their world is so beautiful and magnificent that I was immediately drawn to it. There is a lot of action at some points, although it does start off rather slowly. Still, it was nicely executed. It was also a lovely original concept, which I enjoyed. I did, however, find it to be a bit anticlimactic. That was a shame, as my anticipation dissipated, but it was still very, very good. I really, really liked it and found there to be unexpected things as well as decent foreshadowing.

THE ROMANCE
REN AND CALLA
This was, quite sadly, very absent. There are several revelations which made me squeal with joy, but as Ren does not appear often the romance here is sadly lacking. Still, it left me with immense hope for the next book.
SHAY AND CALLA
Shay and Calla's romance is so full of lust. I really hate it. And if you ask me, they don't even love each other. Shay always treats Calla like dirt, and pushes her too hard to get over Ren. He's also overconfident and convinced he knows everything about her. There's no substance to their romance and it fell very flat to me.

THE WRITING
Cremer writes beautifully. She has a gorgeous, descriptive hand. Calla's voice has grown and well, becoming more mature and sure of itself. Cremer's writing, always lovely, has improved immensely and is one of my favorite things about this book. It seems real and genuine as opposed to the slightly forced tone it had in the previous book.

THE ENDING
Cremer sure knows how to end a book. This huge cliffhanger left me literally on the edge of my seat, clamoring for the next book. It is hopeful and beautiful and carries so much anticipation and the possibility of happiness. I thought it was very nice but didn't feel overused. It was perfect.

WRAPUP
Yes, I'm reading Bloodrose. After an ending like that, I have to. But in all seriousness, I would read it without the huge cliffhanger. I am greatly looking forward to the end, as I found this book quite enjoyable.

FINE.

Stop American Censorship

Okay, guys. Normally I try not to post about things like this, but this particular bill has made me unbelievably angry. SOPA is ridiculous, unconstitutional, and a complete violation of our rights. Read the First Amendment. I'm not going to say any more because if I do, I will absolutely explode in anger. I don't get even annoyed easily, but this has left me absolutely seething.

By the way, this is just like the Clean Air Act. And the Patriot Act.  For some reason, the government thinks if they give something a pretty name we're too stupid to figure out that the Act name is really just a sham. It's ridiculous. (See what I mean about seething?)

I've censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet--a bill that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/19650/uncensor

████ ████████ ██████████ ████████ is ██████████ ██████████ and a █████████ of the █████ █████████. We ████ to ████ ████ now and ███████ our ██████. The ████ ████ is ██████████ ████████████████. It ████ be ███████ at all █████.

Vanish: REVIEW

*****FINAL RATING: 3.75 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Vanish was much, much, so much better than its predecessor and had a exponentially better ending. I enjoyed it very much. The characters were better developed and we saw more of the drake lifestyle and culture, as well as getting to know other characters better.

THE HEROINE
JACINDA
Jacinda improves marginally in this book, but still, I'm grateful. She is still irritatingly indecisive about pretty much everything. I suppose I've probably gotten used to it, but it still irks me. Ah, well, moving on. I do like her better in this book, as she feels much more relatable. I connected with her and understood her better.

THE LOVE INTERESTS
CASSIAN
Where we only get teasing glimpses of Cassian in Firelight, in Vanish we get to know him much better. I fell absolutely in love with him. He intrigued me in the first book, and in this book my curiosity was almost satisfied. He is kind and, moreover, accepting. He doesn't push too much and seems to know where to draw certain lines. He seems like an extremely genuine character with feelings. He's sweet and sacrificing. I really enjoyed him in this book and he made it much more enjoyable for me, probably worth at least a few star points in himself. He was also an effective antidote for Will.
WILL
I have never liked Will. In Firelight he drove to Jacinda's house in the middle of the night because he wanted to see where she lived. Ladies, if you think this is hot, don't. Stalking is not hot, it's creepy. And in this book he only grows more irritating and immature. He's pushy, whiny, and annoying. He wants to do things without ever thinking about the consequences. He doesn't care about anyone or anything except, essentially, himself. He's also a jealous jerk. Again, jealousy? Not. Hot.

THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
TAMRA
She was rather annoying as well. She wasn't terrible, but definitely not my favorite. She was overly infatuated, which I suppose she couldn't help, but she could've helped what she'd done about it. I was looking forward to getting to know her, but was disappointed. But, she did score a few points with me near the end of the book. And then promptly lost them.
ZARA
Jacinda's mother seems so…I don't know, absent. I get that she's depressed, but as a mother, she has a responsibility to her children. She didn't fulfill it, leaving them completely alone. As such, I don't really regret too much what happened to her.
MIRAM
I din't much like her, but I actually understand her quite well. She's upset and hurt, and so she lashes out at Jacinda. She actually has more depth than it originally seems like.
AZ
We don't see a whole lot of her, but what we see I like. She feels like a genuine, fun person to be around, the kind of girl you'd like to know. And she doesn't go all forgiving on Jacinda-like a normal person, she needs her time to be angry.
CORBIN
What a creep.

THE PLOT
This book actually mostly failed here. There wasn't a whole lot of plot. Mostly a bunch of what-do-we-do-with-Jacinda-the-traitor stuff. But I do love the view we get of draki life in this book, even if there's no real story to go with it. Still, there wasn't nothing. There was definitely both external and internal conflict, even if the internal was a bit on the melodramatic side. I didn't hate the plot, but I wasn't enthralled. Much of the story is the romance, which I will transition to right now.

THE ROMANCE
CASSIAN AND JACINDA
Cassian and Jacinda's romance is mostly light but gets a bit heavier once or twice. It seems genuine. Cassian is willing to make sacrifices to show that he really loves Jacinda, which is always beautiful in a romance as long as it isn't over-the-top, which this isn't. He also seems to accept her for who she is and not try and change her. It builds with a charming anticipation and does not disappoint.
WILL AND JACINDA
They were a bit too heavy with the PDA in Firelight, and it grows so much worse in Vanish. (Sophie, your romance-novel-writing-self is showing. Please remember you're not writing one now.) Frankly, it's DISGUSTING. There is no other way I can describe it. They are just…too gross together. I mean…ick. It's lusty, heavy, stereotypical teenage angst at its finest.

THE WRITING
The writing was still. A bit fragmented. But it was a major improvement on Firelight. Jacinda's voice is also more refined. She talks like a normal person would actually talk, but does feel a bit clichéd. Besides being a bit choppy, the writing also lacks a but of detail in some places and has too much in others. But there are also some absolutely beautiful lines I adore as well.

THE ENDING
I could predict it long before I got there, but this does not mean it was bad. Just a bit obvious. And it was much, MUCH better than the ending to Firelight. It makes much more sense. However, it does feel rather forced, as if it was simply done to be done, and not because it would have really happened. In fact, it was rather unrealistic. But still, quite nicely done.

WRAPUP
Yes, I will be reading Hidden. Which, by the way, is not the best title, and has no cover art yet. But that aside, Vanish ended on far too big of a cliffhanger for me not to continue on, and besides, I'm beginning to genuinely enjoy the story.

FINE.

Melt down....

Hello!

Have you ever had a whole bunch of things occur all at once at the wrong time, when you're so busy with other things that need attention and then you just try and handle it all gracefully, patiently, calmly as to not have everyone else freak out? Well, that's what these past weeks have been like...we're not dealing with life and death situations, but wow...life would be a whole lot easier if we weren't dealing with them ALL in one shot!

I just have to be grateful for having a shop and working with my hubby. I don't think any employer would be as understanding as I would've needed them to be. Yes, I am always looking for something to be thankful for...because it usually makes me feel better. If you keep looking for more things to feel dumpy about, it just drags you down deeper and deeper into dispair.

I have a layout to show you!!!

Thanks, Elizabeth, for reminding me. LOL!!!

As you may already know, AAM is back up to challenging! Our latest challenge is YOUR Brand. (click on the link for more fabulous layouts!)

Here is the layout I made. :)

Can you believe that I was stuck!?? I had a hard time getting my layout together. I just didn't know how to describe myself without being sarcastic or a negative Nelly. Asking my family didn't help much, either... they said things like "stylish, beautiful, etc...those seemed a bit shallow to me...but I guess this is how my girls see me, so I will take those words as complimentary and enjoy it for now...because I'm sure the love affair with mommy will end as soon as they want to wear stuff that I won't allow. Oh the joy! :giggle:

Also, up on the blog is a post by yours, truly! I do hope you check it out, and even maybe just leave a comment letting me know how you get past those "stuck" moments! LOL. I know...shameless plug!

Clockwork Prince: REVIEW

*****FINAL RATING: 5.00 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Only the second 5.00 star book I've read this year, but utterly and completely deserving. I can honestly say that I have no real complaints. Everything was beautiful, from start to finish, and I was unable to put it down even once. The cover is absolutely marvelous and made me fall in stand love, and I was not disappointed.

THE HEROINE
THERESA GRAY
Tessa grows and changes much in this book as compared to Clockwork Angel. She expands and becomes, in my opinion, much more likable. She is heartbreakingly real and absolutely wonderful. She's courageous, beautiful, and undeniably relatable. She has an aura of power but also of innocence. Tessa is strong but acts very human. She is a wonderfully written heroine and I cannot wait to read more about her.

THE LOVE INTERESTS
JAMES CARSTAIRS
I am absolutely Team Jem, a fact I have never tried to hide. There's something about him that's heartbreaking and beautiful and very, very attractive. I was immediately drawn to him in Angel and have been continued to be drawn to him in Prince. I love reading about him almost more than anything. I actually read pages 201-205 probably like 941,526,234,146,134,455,245,274,982 times. I think the scene is that beautiful. I enjoy nothing more than daydreaming about him. He's kind, and even-tempered, but somehow still not boring. I think he's amazing, and definitely one of my all-time favorite characters. He's like my ideal of a perfect man. (He actually reminds me of my boyfriend rather a lot. They both act similar and they're both-well, I may as well say it-dying. Still, I hope something can be done so that he'll live. Both of them. But I digress-this is getting rather personal.)
WILLIAM HERONDALE
I'm going to be brutally honest here: I did not like Will at all in Angel. But in this book, he grew on me immensely. I found myself actually attracted to him and by the end of the book, I had fallen in love with him. It would have been difficult not to-he's so beautiful and determined. As I learned more about him, the less I began to dislike him. He grows stronger and much nicer in this installment until I had a hard time remembering why I disliked him so much in the first place. Will took his place as one of my favorite book characters easily.

THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
CHARLOTTE AND HENRY BRANWELL
Charlotte and Henry are developed beautifully in this book. Their relationship grows as well, and a certain scene that took place between the two of them actually moved me to tears, it was so sweet. I adored them and I certainly want to hear more about them. They each grow individually as well, becoming stronger.
GIDEON LIGHTWOOD
He surprised me. I expected a much different kind of character than I was presented with, and I believe I'm a little in love with him too. He was unexpectedly beautiful. I hope to see much more of him in the upcoming Princess. He seems quite kind and sympathetic, as well as all-around good.
BENEDICT AND GABRIEL LIGHTWOOD
Father and son, each is a very intriguing and deep character. We don't get to see a whole lot of them, which is a shame, but perhaps we'll see more of them later on. They played significant roles that I would love to see expanded.
JESSAMINE LOVELACE
First, I feel compelled to point out that this is what jessamine looks like:

That aside, she had an interesting plot twist as well. She intrigued me from the very beginning of the book but I never saw anything coming until it was revealed. It was an unpleasant but well-done surprise that was significant and not at all dull.
NATHANIEL GRAY
I love how Clare deals with family drama and hatred. In TMI it was Clary and Valentine; in TID it's Tessa and Nate. I have my own family issues so it's interesting for me to read about these things. But again, I digress. Nate is a very well developed character. He plays no small role, which didn't completely shock me but there were some aspects I did not see coming. We see more of his real character in this book, as opposed to the mask we were given in Angel.
MAGNUS BANE
I love. But then again, who doesn't? We only get little teasing glimpses of him in this book, but each is exquisite and I adored each one. I hope we have more of him in Princess.
SOPHIE
Not just a maid anymore, Sophie contributes to the plot of Prince significantly. Also, I liked her much better in this book than in the last.

THE PLOT
The plot must have had 473 twists, which kept me constantly guessing. It was quickly paced but not so fast that I couldn't breathe. I constantly felt like I had to absolute know what came next, leaving me unable to put the book down, even for a single aching moment. It is beautifully original and historically correct as well. Enough questions and conflicts are resolved that I didn't get totally frustrated, but I was still left absolutely aching for the next book. The plot was wonderful and made this book completely un-put-down-able! Clare has created such a marvelous world and seamlessly incorporated it into what was real. Instead of feeling false, it feels undeniably and absolutely real.

THE ROMANCE
JEM AND TESSA
Jem and Tessa's romance develops far more in this book than it did in the last. It is subtle and sweet, but is most assuredly there. There is undeniably chemistry between them that heats up very quickly in this book. It's most certainly not clichéd or overdramatized, but feels realistic. It sizzles but is not overdone. It feels like a real, genuine love that grows and changes throughout. It is slow, but steady, the kind of feeling that lasts.
WILL AND TESSA
I love both Will and Tessa, but I will never love their romance. It reminds me too much of Jace and Clary. Don't get me wrong-I love Jace and Clary's romance-but I don't want to read about the same couples again. And again and again and again. But it's also less-I feel chemistry, but not love. More like heavy, heavy lust, which, let's face it, is wonderful, but fades.

THE WRITING
I will probably continue to be blown away by Clare's writing until I die. It is absolutely beautiful. It is descriptive, it is pretty, it is lovely. It describes everything in immaculate detail and doesn't leave the feeling of holes or confusion. The book is mostly told from Tessa's point of view, and Clare gives her an achingly read and beautiful voice, which was impossible for me not to admire. There was no way that with such beautiful writing I could not have loved this. It is incredibly well-written.

THE ENDING
Hello, surprise. While it wasn't completely unexpected, it wasn't the number one outcome I had predicted in my head. It was fantastic and desperate and beautiful. I really, really liked it. But as I do not want to give anything away I will say no more!

WRAPUP
Oh, yes, I will be reading Clockwork Princess. As soon as I possibly can, and desperately. I need to get my hands on it.

FINE.

Covermance Special: Bloodrose! (3)

The fact that the Bloodrose cover is out is not new news. Many of you, myself included, have been drooling over this gorgeous cover for months. Hello, what's not to love?

So, you may wonder why I am creating a post on this subject.

But wait one moment. You may want to know what that dotwhack is doing on the upper-left-hand corner of the cover.

Well, darlings, the fact is, Barnes & Noble will be carrying an exclusive edition of Bloodrose! It will include an exclusive story about the Keeper's past and the Searcher's future. This edition will only be available through Barnes & Noble, so pre-order your copy today!

Exclusive Edition of Bloodrose at B&N.com

Summer 2012!

Dual Jewel and Key Necklace - $75 NZD

Jandal Earrings on .925 hooks $25NZD


Woodcutter Pendant - $42 NZD


Pinecone Necklace - $25 NZD


Tree of Life - $42 NZD


Curious Rabbit Ring $28 NZD

Hello My Wonderful Supporters and Friends,

Here is what I have been working on - please message me to order - I do have paypal and bank deposit options :) If you have a credit card you can automatically use paypal. I only charge $6 worldwide or $4 within New Zealand :)

Merry Christmas! God bless you, each and every one x

Annie :) xxx

Unearthly: REVIEW

*****FINAL RATING: 4.80 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Unearthly is probably one of the best, if not the best, angel books I've ever read. It was refreshingly original and I really enjoyed reading it. The characters have a sense of realness and emotion behind them, and the plot isn't annoying slow, but still keeps you guessing. And do I even need to mention the gorgeous cover?

THE HEROINE
I love Clara. I really do. She's probably one of my favorite YA heroines. She is a strong, confident girl who tries to do her best. She doesn't always succeed, but who does? She genuinely cares about other people. She isn't annoyingly perfect and seems very human, even though she is part angel. Clara is extremely relatable as a heroine and I adore her for it. I cannot wait to read more about her in future installments.

THE LOVE INTERESTS
CHRISTIAN
I am partial to the name Christian, so I am probably biased. But anyway, I found him extremely interesting. Yep, he kind of acts like a jerk a few times, and I don't like that at all. But he can also be very sweet. I found myself wanting to know more about him. I have a love-hate relationship with him at this moment, but I'm hoping that will change as time goes on. He's a bit clichéd at the moment, but we'll see. I still really, really enjoy reading about him.
TUCKER
Not gonna lie: Tucker is sexy. Very, very sexy. But kind of annoying at first. I'm not prejudiced or anything, but first impressions mean a lot to me and I hate the one he makes. But, I can forgive him for it. I have a friend who married this guy. The first time she met him, she told him she didn't like him and when he kept asking her out she thought he was weird. And now they're madly in love, so I can see how Clara and Tucker's relationship grows and changes. And I do love Tucker, I just wish he hadn't been quite such a jerk. But, ah, well, not everyone's perfect. And he grew on me fast. I love how he's not stereotypical and seems quite original.

THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
JEFFREY
I found Jeff to be a very interesting character. Of course, it does not help that I am also partial to his name as well. But I believe if he had been named Roger (a name I cannot stand since being forced to read Lord of the Flies *shudder*) I would have loved him just as well. He's so intriguing, what with his wings turning dark and all. That definitely caught my interest, and I was disappointed that that wasn't explored more in this book. At least I will have the pleasure of looking forward to it and more of him. He made me laugh.
ANGELA
She has a big role as well, though I won't say what it is. But she's a beautifully written, well-thought-put character with an enjoyable personality but is obviously flawed. She seems very human. She's the type of girl you secretly want to be but would never admit it.
WENDY
She's a sweet, down-to-earth girl who cares about Clara immensely but is only human. She brings Tucker and Clara closer together, which moves the story along quite smoothly. She is not only functional but fun, and she made me giggle quite a few times.
MAGGIE
I did not like Clara's mother very much. I hate the "I'm keeping secrets from you for your own protection" thing. I'd much rather know the truth than live a lie, and no matter what the consequences, it is almost always safer to know. She rather irritated me, but she was obviously loving and trying her best, she I'm hoping she'll redeem herself.
SAM
Hmm… interesting. For a character with such a brief but important appearance, he has quite a lot of mystery and drama surrounding him. He seems haunted but also a slave to his nature, and it'll be interesting if we hopefully see more of that.
KAY
NO. Just, NO. She screams cliché.

THE PLOT
I subtracted no stars for the plot from my rating. The plot was well-thought-out, original, and very attention-grabbing. I was never once left bored, and I read with such a fury that I burned through the pages very, very quickly. It does't move to slowly but it also does't go so fast that you're totally confused as to what's going on. The ideas and events happen in an order that makes sense. The story isn't monopolized with pointless chapters where nothing happens; everything is relevant. There's enough information left untold for a sequel but not so much that you get overly frustrated. The plot is unlike that of any other book and for that, I love it. I also read this book out loud to a little girl I was babysitting. Yes, I skipped the somewhat sexy parts. Anyway, she loved it too.

THE ROMANCE
Clara and Tucker developed as a couple in a way that made sense, progressing through natural stages. Definitely no annoying insta-love. They have such a sweet romance once it begins but it doesn't monopolize everything and leaves the plot to continue. Of course, their romance alone is a huge plot point. I love the fact that it never feels thrown in my face. It's definitely there, but I don't have to hear about every single tender moment. Clara's relationship with Christian is interesting to follow as well. As first it seems like they will undoubtedly be together, but as the book progresses this is cast into doubt. Their romance, if you could call it that, fluctuates and changes throughout. Several interesting twists are thrown in as well. Their relationship is developed beautifully as well and is not annoying or overly clichéd.

THE WRITING
This novel is written in Clara's voice, which is beautifully written by Hand. Her writing style is pretty but not overly poetic and is easy to understand. There's not too much detail, and no obvious evidence of her having to try too hard. Contemporary language flows across the page and matches the way young people speak today instead of being outdated. The writing is accurate and descriptive. Hand's writing is not immature and it does not sound inexperienced.

THE ENDING
The ending will leave you wanting more. Desperately, because I know that's how I felt. It's beautiful, but leaves you hanging. I must admit I really did not see it coming but I wasn't too shocked when I read it. It made sense with the way the story had progressed and felt well-thought-out and not thrown in. I loved the element of surprise.

WRAPUP
Of course I will be reading Hallowed! Unearthly left me absolutely dying for it. I will be reading it as soon as is possible with a vengeance.

FINE.