SWOON Thursday

On one of my favorite blogs, YA Bound- http://yabound.blogspot.com/ - they do a little something called Swoon Thursday. And anyone can join in on all the fun! Here's the directions from YA Bound:

"From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog! We want to know :-)"

Mine was much too long to post on Twitter. I just couldn't keep it down to 140 characters. It even took me a while to narrow it down to what I'm going to share here.

So here's mine:

He cups the back of my head and rolls on top of me, his kiss deepening as the weight of him presses me into the ground. I wrap my arms around him, feeling his strained muscles through the fabric of his uniform. Then he pulls his face away, his eyes locked on mine. -- Unveiled by Trisha Wolfe SWOON #YABound

Now it's your turn! What made you swoon?


<3 Amanda Leigh

Major Revisions

I was wondering how everyone feels about revisions and editing? For my fiction class our final project is to write a 4-6 page story. My first draft was almost 8 pages. My second draft I cut a lot out and it was 6 pages. But guess what? I have to do some MAJOR revision and editing. My professor wants me to focus on one scene and expand it to the 4-6 pages to give everything more detail. She said I could turn my story into a novel (Hey, good idea! Maybe I will some day!) So I have to pick that scene, which means I have to let go of A LOT of scenes. The good thing is, I think this will make the story A LOT better (yes, I used "a lot" again). I'm actually sort of excited to do this. Sometimes I find I focus better and longer when revising than when writing my first draft. What about you? Do you focus better when revising or when writing your first draft?


<3 Amanda Leigh

Book Review: Black is for Beginnings (Blue is for Nightmares #5) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Blurb:
 "The series that put a spell on half a million young adult readers continues . . .in graphic novel format! Prophetic nightmares. Near-brushes with death. Killers pursuing her and her friends. Stacey Brown knows that being a hereditary witch isn't all it's cracked up to be.
All she really wants to do is work things out with Jacob and figure out what to do with the rest of her life. But before Stacey and Jacob can have a future, they must face their pasts. Black is for Beginnings reveals the never-before-seen backstory—and what lies ahead—for the young, spellcasting lovers.
It's happening again . . ."
Review:
I feel like I wanted to give this book about 2.5 stars. The story was pretty good and I'm glad to see closure with the relationship between Stacey and Jacob, because it was really open in the last book, Red Is For Remembrance. I'm just curious as to why the last book is a graphic novel. The first four were in traditional novel form and the last is a graphic novel. I don't understand why the format would be changed for just one book. Don't get me wrong, I love graphic novels, they can be really great. Looking at this a graphic novel, I've read better ones and ones with better artwork as well. Not that it wasn't good, the personalities of the characters came through fairly well. I just wasn't as impressed as I could have been. I am glad there was closure in the series. If you haven't checked out the other books, you really should, those ones I love. My personal favorite was the third book, Silver Is For Secrets. Still, if you read the first four check this one out to get closure on the series. Could have been better, but it was a quick read and was worth the time to read it. 2.5 Stars!


<3 Amanda Leigh

Book Review: Keys to the Repository (A Blue Blood Companion Book) by Melissa De La Cruz

                                                     Blurb:

"Lavish parties. Passionate meetings in the night. Bone-chilling murders. Midterms. The day-to-day life of Schuyler Van Alen and her Blue Bloods friends (and enemies) is never boring. But there's oh-so-much more to know about these beautiful and powerful teens. Below the streets of Manhattan, within the walls of the Repository, exists a wealth of revealing information about the vampire elite that dates back before the Mayflower. In a series of short stories, journal entries, and never-before-seen letters, New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz gives her hungry fans the keys to the Repository and an even more in-depth look into the secret world of the Blue Bloods. Won't you come inside?"                                      

Review:
I love the concept/idea for this book. It's a companion novel to the other novels in the Blue Bloods series. It has untold stories about the characters during the books and in between each book. As well as family records, short stories to explain things that have happened, character lists, dictionary of terms, chapters from a new series (Wolf Pact) spinning off from Blue Bloods and the first two chapters of Misguided Angel. Very informative and gave a lot of insight into the books. Really enjoyed it!!  5 Stars!


<3 Amanda Leigh