C.L. Causer's Blog, page 11

Top Ten - Bad Boys

Top Ten - Bad Boys in TV/Films


This topic may seem a bit random compared to the other two Top Tens I've started with, but after watching Rebel Without A Cause (For the first time) the other day, I  think it's time to bring attention to the fact that a percentage of movies out there include a bad boy element. And no matter how appealing or loving the 'good guy' is in the movie, you still fancy the 'bad boy' equally if not more than he's better counterpart. 
There are many theory's, Freudian and other head shrinkers that delve into why we like the 'bad boy' elements. But I say why fight it. It's just a phase that probably won't effect who you end up with in life, unless you have a whole sadist things going on then you are on your own. But for the other's, just let your freak flag fly and enjoy the no holds barred adrenaline rush in liking the undesirable, mysteriouso guy from the wrong side of the tracks!



The one's that didn't quite make the cut ...






<----Interview with a Vampire
'Louis' and 'Lestat'
Lestat: No one could resist me, not even you, Louis.
Louis: I tried
Lestat: And the more you tried, the more I wanted you.







                              'Cappie' from Greek --->
                                "Aww. We're not gonna cuddle?"
<----- 'The Fonz' from Happy Days
"I'm not the dreamer. I'm the dreamee"





'Johnny' from 2 Broke Girls ----->
"From pimp to pimp. Help me out with your girl."







<------ 'Draco Malfoy' from Harry Potter Series
"It's true then. What they're saying on the train. Harry Potter
has come to Hogwarts.






'Greg House' from House M.D ---->
"Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is almost always somebody
                                screwed up."




<-------' Xavier Laflamme' from GoonDoug: Where's Laflamme?Gord: Probably giving some single mother herpes in the parking lot





 'Seth Bullock' from Deadwood ----->
"There's a blood stain on the floor"









And Now... The Top Ten!


Number 10



'Dean Winchester' from Supernatural


Supernatural is one of my favourite shows and Dean is the best character on it. He carries his characters issues perfectly. From the angry face off with his Evilself in 'Dream a little dream of me' where his evil self screams back at Dean - "You can't escape me Dean. You're gonna die. And this. This is what you're gonna become"

To his more humorous lines like "Do you think it's because we're so awesome? I think it's because we're so awesome", "Your, er, half-caf, double vanilla latte is getting cold over here, Francis" and "There's a ton of lore on Unicorns too. In fact, I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams and that they shoot rainbows out of their ass."




Number Nine








'Johnny Castle' from Dirty Dancing

Johnny is one of the best male main characters in an iconic movie such as this one. His black ensemble and his wicked moves charmed this 'ol heart of mine back when I was in jelly sandals and dungarees. A film with a great sound track, Dirty Dancing is bound to get you up on your feet and dreaming endless dreams of his jump of the main stage and Baby running in to his hands.
"Nobody puts baby in the corner"



Number Eight







'Kenickie' from Grease


While my mother and my friends swooned over John Travolta's character 'Danny Zuko, I never understood the attraction. For me, it was Kenickie all the way. I loved Rizzo's character and to me there story was the main love connection in the film.
"Relax. A hicky from Kenickie is like a hallmark card, when you only care enough to send the very best!"



Number Seven




'Mal Reynolds' from Firefly/Serenity

What's not to love about Firefly? You have deep space travel with a mixture of incredible technology and 'Wild West' idealism, a great script and a main character who is as aggressive to his enemy's as he is protective over his crew.
"We're not going to die. You know why? Because we are so...very...pretty."



Number Six




'Sonny Corleone' from The Godfather

It was hard to choose just one bad guy from The Godfather, as the whole cast is set in about the New York gang crime families. However, Sonny was the best looking one. He's not however the type of guy I would every go out with in real like. He cheats on his wife and he's violent. But despite all this, there is something that draws you in. Like a stupid moth to a burning flame.
"You've gotta get up close like this and - badaBING - you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League Suit."



Number Five



'Jax Teller' from Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy follows the main faction of SAMCRO motorcycle club in Charming, California. The gritty drama pulls you in and like The Godfather, it was hard to choose just one bad boy. Jax is the main character in the program and like the rest of the club, they seem to treat their 'old ladies' with respect. If only it wasn't for the stealing and gun running....
"Most human beings only think they want freedom. In truth, they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism. The only freedom man really wants, is the freedom to be comfortable."




Number Four




'Logan Echolls' from Veronica Mars

He seems like a softie in comparison to Sonny Corleone and Jax Teller, but Logan holds a dear place in my heart. His character of Veronica Mars went from the 'obligitory psychotic jackass' to the only true love interest from Veronica. I was never a fan of Piz and Duncan and I couldn't wait for the on and off again relationship between them two to be back on again.
Logan: I thought our story was epic, you know. You and me.
Veronica: Epic how?
Logan: Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. Epic. But summer's almost here, and we won't see each other at all. And then you leave town... and then it's over.
Veronica: Logan...
Logan: I'm sorry about last summer. You know, if I could do it over...
Veronica: Come on. Ruined lives? Bloodshed? You really think a relationship should be that hard?
Veronica: No one writes songs about the ones that come easy.




Number Three



'Patrick Verona' from 10 Things I Hate About You

No words.... Just this!





Number Two




'Jim Stark' from Rebel Without A Cause


As I said in the intro, I watched Rebel Without A Cause for the first time a couple of times and I instantly fell in love with James Dean's character. Each other the main three characters have Daddy Issues, but the tight knit little family unit they create is heart warming and the heat between Jim and Judy is evident. My favourite parts is when the three of them are sat in the decrepit gazebo, leaning on each other as if they need the close contact to make it through.
"If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace."




And Finally




Number One






















'Spike' from Buffy The Vampire Slayer


Spike is the only vampire I would let on any of my Top Tens. He showed the true nature of vampires, as well as the post-soul 'cuddly' version when even then he still kicked ass. I miss the time when vampire were horrific and ugly when they changed or fed. But Spike is my all time favourite vampire. His hatred of the slayer eventually turned to obsession and then a twisted form of love, but even then it was complicated and never truly like other love stories. Spike was brilliant pre and post soul, and in my opinion he will forever be the best vampire around.

Pre Soul -
Buffy: What are you doing here? In five words or less.
Spike: (Raising fingers) Out. For. A. Walk.....Bitch


Post Soul - 
"You listen to me. I've been a live a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. Don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker. I've only my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain, so I make a lot of mistakes, a lot of wrong, bloody calls. A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of -- you. Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say I love you, it's not because I want you, or because I can't have you, and it has nothing to do with me. I love what you are. What you do. How you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You are a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy."

The Girl Is Murder - Review

The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines



Published - Roaring Book PressNum of Pages - 342My Review
4/5

'It's the fall of 1942 in New York City, and Iris is dying to help out at her father's detective agency, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her new public school. But when Pop adamantly refused her help, Iris quickly realises that it's much easier to lie than to ask permission. Suddenly, this once-obedient former private-school girl is sneaking out of the house, double-crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till the early morning hours. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private-eye business.'
REVIEW
As I've said in the previous blog, I'm really into hard boiled fiction at the moment. But it has to have a strong female lead, preferably someone in high school. When I found The Girl Is Murder, I thought the prayers of my Veronica Mars withdrawal was answered. Iris is a good detective who uses her personal life, her Pop's experience in Pearl Harbour and her Mother's death, to influence and help her investigation into the disappearance of a boy at school. 
While lying to the popular crowd, she and her knew friend try and find out the truth about the missing persons case. When the truth finally comes out, there are small twists and turns that makes you appreciate that this book was a straight forward, easy to figure out case. 
As far as I can tell, this series is a three part trilogy so I'm interested to find what happens in the next two. And with Iris questioning the death of her Mother, she opens up her own personal investigation. One that could make or break her newly returned family.
The running theme of the series is that Iris has to find out the truth about her mother's suicide, so it artfully links the books together nice and neatly. 

The Christopher Killer - Review

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson




Published - Sleuth/Speak Num of Pages - 274My Rating - 
5/5

'As the daughter of a Colorado County coroner, Cameryn Mahoney is no stranger to death. She's always been fascinated by the science of it. So when she convinces her father to give her a job as his assistant, she's thrilled to finally get some hands-on experience in forensics.  But Cammie is in for more than she bargained for when the second case that she attends turns out to be someone she knows- the latest victim of a serial killer known as the Christopher Killer. And if dealing with that isn't hard enough, Cammie soon realises that if she's not careful, she might wind up as the killers next victim.'
REVIEW
This is a first, but hopefully not the last, for this blog to have a book with five stars. Lately I've become obsessed with crime fiction. More specific would be 'hard boiled' noir type books (another review I will be adding today is from one of these books). But unfortunately there isn't that many in the market. I've read loads of adult crime books by authors like Cathy Riechs and Tess Gerritsen, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across 'The Christopher Killer'.

While targeting a younger audience, which could be tricky due to the content, Alane Ferguson didn't compromise the integrity of the forensic sides for a more adolescent readership. The science side was fantastic with it's accuracy.

  Cammie, the main character, is a brilliant little Nancy Drew with an unwavering critical eye. She followed the clues, despite thinking that two of the new accequentances were the actual killer.
One of whom, the Deputy Crowley, in my head I had pictured as Joe Anderson from films like The Crazies and the television show The River.



After enjoying the first book, I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I just they are as great as the first!

Free Promotion

The twitter feed has been buzzing the past three days, and I feel sorry for the people having to read my constant tweets, due to Power Within's first free promotion. 
With help of my awesome friends and great book bloggers, they managed to spread the word of the promotion. My thoughts and webpages were barely off Amazon. Trying to see if anyone had bought it. 
Going from the mid 400,000 rank straight to its peak of number 3 on Tuesday, it stayed in the top 10 for the SciFi Adventure category.... and I couldn't have been more happier. 
I was worried that the poor sales from before the promo had put Power Within in the back for book choices. But the sales from the three days alone, has assured me that there is an audience for the book. However small. 
So I wrote this blog post to mainly thank everyone who helped promote the book and to the 770 people who took a chance and downloaded Power Within over the past three days. 


THANK YOU ALL!!


Chantelle xx

Ch 1 of Deadly Secrets

I've finally gotten around to uploading the first Chapter of Deadly Secrets. It can be found in the Willowhall Series page, or if you're really lazy, click here.
Hope you enjoy 
:)

Top 10 Chick Flick Books

10  -  'Girl Meets Ape'  by Chris Manby (2005)

When Dr. Jennifer Niederhauser takes on the role of head of the chimpanzee project at Prowdes Animal Sanctuary, the uptight young zoologist is looking forward to making her mark in the conservation world. But the ramshackle regime at Prowdes seems set to defeat her. The chimpanzees are uncontrollable. And the keepers are wilder than the chimps.

It doesn’t help that Jennifer first set eyes on her second-in-command, Guy Gibson, when he was half-naked and covered in baby oil, stripping for a crowd of bachelorettes. How can she take him seriously after that, no matter how much he tries to impress her? Six weeks after arriving at Prowdes, Jennifer has almost decided never to work with animals or the childish again. Not that her job is guaranteed . . . Prowdes is in big financial trouble too.

Salvation comes in the form of a television documentary team who want to film the progress of a chimp called Ulysses, the sanctuary’s most recent arrival. Prowdes definitely needs the money. But does Jennifer need the exposure to the show’s smooth presenter – Dr. Timothy Lauder – chimpanzee expert and, more importantly, her ex?


9  -  'With Or Without You'  by Carole Matthews (2007)

After her boyfriend, Jake, dumps her for an Angelina Jolie look-alike who climbs Mt. Everest, Lyssa Allen decides maybe a little adventure of her own can win him back. Leaving hair dryer, lattes and dreams of babies behind, this tougher-than-she-thought London editor sets off for Nepal.Her month-long sojourn teaches Lyssa that her horizons are bigger than she knew -- and the man of her dreams far different than she thought. She even gains a new perspective on her former baby obsession. As her eyes are opened by her handsome American tour guide, Lyssa wonders if she can ever return to her old life. And when it's time to go home, she faces the hardest decision of her life.


8  -  'Where Have All The Boys Gone?'  by Jenny Colgan (2005)

Where have all the men gone? Faced with 25, 000 more women than men in London, and gleeful media reports that it's statistically more likely for single women to be murdered than get married, Katie is reached an all-time low. But all is not lost! Another hilarious high-concept romantic comedy from Jenny Colgan. After yet another absymal date, soulless week in her PR job, advertising margarita-flavoured toothpaste, and being mugged by a man who criticises her choice of mobile phone and state of her handbag, Katie has had quite enough of London, thank you very much. So when she sees an advert for a press officer in the Scottish highlands, Katie forgets that she comes out in hives when she goes to Hyde Park, and doesn't 'do' wellies, and applies. On arrival, Katie thinks she's in heaven. For her destination - the tiny town of Fairlish - turns out to have the highest ratio of men to women in the British Isles. Oh, and they're all rugged, outdoorsy types as well. Katie also discovers it's her job to save the beautiful local forest from developers, along with her grumpy boss Harry, and starts to see her priorities in life shifting. Yet there's still time for a little romance with gorgeous local newshound Iain. - who just so happens to be the sworn enemy of Harry, a man himself to whom there's more than meets the eye.


7   -  'Mad About The Boy'  by Maggie Alderson (2003)


'Some of my best friends are homosexuals. I just didn't expect my husband to be one too.' A year after Antonia and Hugh move to Australia with their 4 year old son Tom, everything is going terribly well. They have a lovely house, they're very popular - and then Hugh tells Antonia he is gay and has a boyfriend...It's only the arrival of Ant's outrageous lavender-haired uncle Percy that lifts her out of her depression and sends her off to the gym - to combat the lardy thighs her comfort eating has given her - where she meets the mysterious James, and falls head over heels in lust. Soon Ant finds she's over Hugo - but by then her problems are only just beginning.

6  -  'Boy Meets Girl'  by Meg Cabot (2004)


Meet Mitch Hertzog...ever-smiling corporate lawyer, defender of the downtrodden and king of aborted dinner dates. Good enough to eat. Meet Kate MacKenzie...idealistic office worker, reluctant deliverer of termination notices and queen of instant messaging. As sweet as sugar. Meet Ida Lopez...cake, cookie and pastry-maker extraordinaire, purveyor of the dessert trolley and goddess of all things mouth-wateringly yummy. As nice as pie. Together they must battle tyrants and despots to find truth, justice and the perfect double fudge pudding.


5  -  'The Summer I Turned Pretty'   by Jenny Han   (2009)



Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

4  -  'The Nanny'  by  Melissa Nathan  (2003)

When Jo Green takes a nannying job in London to escape her small-town routine, complicated family, and perfect-on-paper boyfriend Shaun, culture shock doesn't even begin to describe it. Dick and Vanessa Fitzgerald are the most incompatible pair since Tom and Jerry, and their children - glittery warrior pixie Cassandra, bloodthirsty Zak and shy little Tallulah - are downright mystifying. Suddenly village life seems terribly appealing.  Then, just as Jo's getting the hang of their designer lifestyle, the Fitzgeralds acquire a new lodger and suddenly she's sharing her nanny flat with the distractingly good-looking but inexplicably moody Josh. So when Shaun turns up, things get even trickier.


3  -  'Divas Las Vegas'   by Belinda Jones  (2001)


Friends forever, Jamie and Izzy share a dream: a glitzy double wedding in Las Vegas. At age 27, they’ve had enough of dodgy boyfriends and are ready for dodgy husbands—all they have to do is find them. And where better than Vegas itself, where the air is 70 percent oxygen and 30 percent confetti? But as they abandon their lives in sleepy Devon for the eye-popping brilliance of Sin City, their groom-grabbing plan starts to look less than foolproof. And those problems they thought they’d left behind—like Izzy's fiancé and the alarming reappearance of Jamie’s first love—just won't go away    

2   -   'Strings Attached'   by Judy Blundell (2011)



When Kit Corrigan arrives in New York City, she doesn't have much. She's fled from her family in Providence, Rhode Island, and she's broken off her tempestuous relationship with a boy named Billy, who's enlisted in the army.The city doesn't exactly welcome her with open arms. She gets a bit part as a chorus girl in a Broadway show, but she knows that's not going to last very long. She needs help--and then it comes, from an unexpected source.Nate Benedict is Billy's father. He's also a lawyer involved in the mob. He makes Kit a deal--he'll give her an apartment and introduce her to a new crowd. All she has to do is keep him informed about Billy . . . and maybe do him a favor every now and then.
AND Number One is....
1  -  'Size 12 is not Fat'   by  Meg Cabot (2006)


Heather Wells Rocks!

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knowsteenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen — not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives — even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! 

House of Echoes - Review

House of Echoes by Barbara Erskine

Published - Harper CollinsNumber of Pages - 420My Rating -

The Past isn't always dead and buried....
When Joss Grant, adopted at birth, inherits Belheddon Hall - a beautiful old house on the East Anglian coast - it is like a dream come true. Eager to begin a new life there with Luke, her husband, and Tom, her small son, she is also impatient to find out about her newly discovered family who lived there for generations.But not long after they move in, Tom wakes screaming at night. Joss hears echoing voices and senses an invisible presence, watching her from the shadows. Are they spirits from the past? Or is she imagining them? As she learns, with mounting horror, of Belheddon's tragic and dramatic history, her fear grows very real, for she realises that both her family and her own sanity are at the mercy of a violent and powerful energy which seems beyond anyone's control.
REVIEW
As a horror fan, I believe we have become very audio/visual when it comes to horror. Through campfire stories to watching horror flicks on the big screen. We've become almost dependent on cheap thrills and chills. Unable to be scared for anything else. We've desensitised ourselves. So when it comes to reading a scary story, I find it hard to be appropriately frightened. House of Echoes satisfied me in no other horror-esque way that films can't. Erskine described the haunted Belheddon Hall in such detail that is similar to haunted house films like, The Haunting (1999), The Others (2001) and The Innocents (1963). But with it written on paper, the effects was much better and it pulled me in completely. Like in The Innocents, or the book Turn of the Screw, the haunted house drove the main character into finding the truth about the house and it's ghosts. But at a cost. Not only did everyone around her begin to question her sanity but also she did. And that confusion and frustration was tangible on the pages. 

Summer Series

[During a spending spree on Amazon second hand book site, I bought a lot of summery fun, light reads. Most were okay. Not really worthy of writing a review. But there was one book I really enjoyed. The third and last in the series came out in the UK a couple of days ago. Having finished the seconds AND third book within two days, I can now review. So here it is...]


The Summer Series by Jenny Han





Rating as a Series-
3.5/5
Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.
REVIEW
I will say this for this series, I deals with more issues than any other Summer books I've read so far. The first book, 'It's Not Summer Without You', was brilliant. I read it in one sitting and I couldn't wait for the next book. Isabel 'Belly' Conklin goes to her mothers best friend, Susannah, summer house with her family every year. She and her brother, grew up with Conrad and Jeremiah (Susannah's sons) and Belly has been crushing on the eldest, Conrad, since she was a kid. But that year she was determined for it to be different. And it was. I loved this book, because Jenny Han created a world around the Summer house and the beach. She described it so astute, that she could practically taste the sea salt.   While Belly's relationship with the two brothers differs for each book, the first is my favourite. The second books was brilliant because it dealt with everyone's grief when Susannah lost her battle with cancer. Everybody deals in different ways and Jenny Han managed to show each of the characters in different stages. The third is probably my least favourite, which bought down the series rating as a whole, because when Belly chose Jeremiah they seemed like they were going to last. Then she finds out that he cheated. But she takes him back and almost to prove there love to each other (her to prove that she isn't in love with Conrad and Jere to prove that the other woman didn't mean anything) they decide to get married. I have issues with people cheating in relationships. It's not something I can forgive and when I see a character who I've really come to like forgive so easily it loses my interest. but that it more personal to me than the actual book. I will say this, I can understand why she forgave him but I'm happy they didn't go through with it. 
The worst/annoying part about this series was in the second book, during everyone's grief, Conrad was continuously portrayed as the bad guy and Jere became Belly's love interest. That book I could understand. But the third book came along and the characters did a full 360. I appreciate that it was a couple of years later, but it was like Jenny Han was forcing me as a reader to like Conrad better than Jere by playing my off with one another. Despite the complete character shift in basically two chapters. 
A summer series you 'wish you were here' for.

Starters - Review

Starters by Lissa Price

Published - Random HouseNumber of Pages - 336My Review
'Callie and her little brother are on the run, living as squatters, fighting off unclaimed renegades who would kill for a cookie. But with the Body Bank, comes a promise of much needed cash, and with it, hope. And then despair...The Bank allows teenagers to rent out their bodies to those who want to be young again. But Callie's renter intends to do more than party in her body. She intends to murder...'
SPOILER Ever since the war between the States and an un-named country (but instead called the Pac-Rim countries) there has only been two types of people. The Starters, who are the young children and teenagers, and the Enders, the elderly. A 'Spore' attack from the enemy killed almost all the adults. The young and the old were vaccinated early and they alone survived.   Callie taking care of her ill seven-year old brother applies for Prime Destinations, or as she calls it The Body Bank. Here they put the Starters to sleep and they let the Enders leave there old and arthritic ridden bodies to be young again. For a very steep price. But during Callie's third month-long rental something happens where she wakes up back inside her body. She gradually learns that the renter in her body want to murder a Senator. The senator is pushing government to collect all the unclaimed minors and lock them up, ready to be used at Prime Destinations. While Callie would receive much needed money for her time, this new law will see starters forfeit their bodies forever. The renters will become owners of their new young body. 
REVIEW
Though I bought this for the cover (I'm not ashamed to admit it because it was awesome!) and after watching the interactive cover and reading the blurb, I was really looking forward to reading it. And I wasn't disappointed. The technology behind the Prime Destinations is something I'm sure every older person thinks about sometimes in their live, I know I would. And the gradual build up of the plot was great and the slow drip of pre-story, like what happened to Callie's parents, was good. It would have been better if there was more story about life before the war because when the ages of the Enders were said it was like 200 year olds and so on. So technology must have been pretty good before the war to keep life long, but it was never said. The relationship with Callie and her brother was very brief. Callie seemed to spend more time with Blake (the Senators Grandson). I would have liked more interaction with Callie and her brother or even Callie and her friend Michael, which was implied to have a love connection, but it was not described very well.  The bad guy, The Old Man, who is boss of the Prime Destinations features heavily in the end third and he is probably the most interesting character. I thought it was her father at one point, then a lady's grandson during another point. I read this book in about two days and I'm interested to see what the next book, Enders, is going to be like. 

Under The Never Sky - Review

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Published -  Harper Collins/ Atom 2012Number of Pages - 376My Review -

'Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of the Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she has never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.The Arie meets an Outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.'

SPOILER Aria lives in a virtual world. Her people moved into the comfort of the space less and impersonal pods after the Aether (the sky) started to flare and strike the earth, scorching everything in its path. When Aria tries to find out information about her mother, who Aria can't contact due to 'technical difficulties', and in the process unleashes a fire in a pod almost killing her. The counsel blaming her for the deaths of three of her companions lie about taking her to see her mother and instead dumps her into the barren wasteland of the Outside.   The she meets Peregrine or Perry who has just lost his nephew after some dwellers (people like Aria who live in the pods) kidnapped him. Reluctantly joining forces, the two of them work together to find people who can help break Aria into Bliss, her mother's research pod. 

REVIEW
I'll say firstly that I don't like giving books low marks. Only few books I've ever read, have deserved 1 out of 5. When I get a low/ bad review for my book, it is disheartening. But I feel that this book, wasn't really for me. It took me almost three weeks to finish actually reading it. That might be due to work and University time constraints, though I have to admit that I didn't look forward to reading it. So I put it off a lot.   Anyway, I picked it up because I love distopian stories. The idea of people living in pods, with the ability to think of a world and actually feel like they are there (like a super advanced game of second life) is fascinating. Probably the only redeeming factor within in this book is the idea of the technology, and it wasn't talked about very often. The Outside world was almost like a viking life and that too was really interesting. Perhaps if the story focus more of the technology or the Outsider village life, it might have impressed me more. But then it wouldn't be a love story about two opposites.  The love connection between Aria and Perry was predictable and I knew what was going to happen only 10 chapters into the story. I like surprises. I need to be guessing or I get bored and I tend to skim read to get it over with. And unfortunately, it happened in this case. There wasn't much that kept me interested once the physical relationship between Aria and Perry progressed and the ending when Aria found her mother, made the deal with the counsel-man and then left looking for the Still Blue, could have all been slowed down and expanded. 
Technology is extraordinary but the love story is underordinary.