Saturday, March 24, 2012

EvilEva Reviews... Daughter Of Smoke And Bone

EvilEva reviews ...... Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

Dissecting The Cover:

I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY HATE this cover. Just looking at it makes me wanna vom all over myself. I don't even know specifically what it is that I don't like about it. I just really, really hate it.
And after reading the book, I don't really understand how the cover correlates with the story. I don't know if the blue mask is supposed to represent Karou's blue hair or if it's supposed to be Madrigal in her mask at the Warlord's birthday. Either way, I HATE the picture.
I think the typeface of the title is pretty cool. Maybe if the cover had been more minimalist, like just the blue feathers on the back cover, I would have liked it more.
I think it'll be interesting to see what kind of design they use for the sequel. Hopefully not another big ol' masked head that's all up in yo grill.

Let's Review:

Karou isn't your average art student, living in Prague, drawing beautifully grotesque monsters in her many sketchbooks. The monsters Karou sketches are very real. In fact, in many ways, these monsters are her family.
Like Brimstone, her curmudgeon boss/father figure who sends Karou on mysterious errands, collecting teeth from various hunters around the world and returning them to him.
Karou doesn't know what Brimstone does with the teeth or what their significance is but she's somewhat content with being paid in small wishes for her troubles.
Then one day Karou is unable to gain access to the portal that leads to Elsewhere. Because it's now an inferno, emblazoned with a black handprint.
For unbeknownst to Karou, a war has been raging for years against her chimaera family and angels called the seraphim who are responsible for the charred portals. 
When Karou has a run in with one of the seraphim, she's ready for a fight. But she's unprepared for what the angel has to say. The truth about her family, about their war, and the truth about Karou herself.

Here's What I Think:

How can I even begin to review this book? Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a BIG story, coupled with a BIG sub story at the end. And it's all connected.
Karou's story is what starts us off. Karou lives in Prague where she takes art classes with her BFF Zuzana, tries to minimize all contact with her ex Kaz, and, oh yeah, works as a tooth-thieving liaison for her chimaeran boss Brimstone.
Then one day her world is turned upside down when the portal between the regular world and the chimaeran world goes up in smoke and is rendered completely useless, cutting Karou off from the only family she's ever known.
Even though it takes 140 pages to get there, this is really where the story begins. Because it's at this point that Karou truly meets Akiva.
And then shit starts getting crazy. Mysteries start to unravel, the truth starts to come out and then suddenly we're transported to a different time, a different place and a different girl by the name of Madrigal. 
Madrigal is a chimaera that has, ahem, a history, shall we say, with Akiva. 
I actually liked Madrigal and Akiva's story more than his story with Karou. Which is kind of odd, considering. 
You'd have to actually read the book to find out why preferring one girl's story over the other's is odd. It's much too spoilery for me to share. 
Anyway, I liked Madrigal and Akiva as a couple. Their story was this tragically romantic Romeo and Juliet type story. And I'm kind of a sucker for that. 
Again, I know that probably sounds weird to my fellow Daughter of Smoke and Bone readers, but I can't help it. I just liked their story more. 
But, swoony times aside, both Karou's and Madrigal's tales are beautifully written with rich descriptions of this fantastically weird world that Laini Taylor has created. 
As someone who hasn't traveled much, I appreciated the vivid depictions of Prague, Morocco and even the fictitious Loramendi. It helped me sink into the story and allowed me to feel like I was right there with Karou, haggling over teeth with Izil in Marrakesh; through the dark passages behind Brimstone's restricted door; and promenading through the Serpentine with Madrigal and her friends. 
It's kind of funny though, that one of my favorite aspects of the book is also my only gripe about it. 
Why, you may ask? Well because I felt like there were times when the author was a little too descriptive. I mean, I like to visualize as much as the next person, but I don't need 3 whole paragraphs describing a door. Just tell me why Karou is going through it. 
That was my one and only problem with the book. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in this strange world of war torn realms and star crossed lovers.

Swoony Times:

Okay, you guys, I've gotta admit, Akiva is pretty friggin' swoony! He's strong and hardened and intimidating but he's also gentle and sweet and loving. He's kind of the Mr. Darcy of angels.
At the beginning of the book, Akiva is all business because something happened to him (can you say tragic past?) forcing him to shut down his feelings. But then he meets Karou and there's just something about her. Thus Akiva starts to soften and we see the sweet, protective side to him start to shine through. 
There are a few great kissy bits between Akiva and Karou but the hot stuff really smolders when Akiva and Madrigal are together.

Bonus Shizz:

Otherworldly Creatures!
Daugther of Smoke and Bone is full of angels (aka the seraphim) and demons (aka the chimaera.) And Laini Taylor does a wonderful job of describing them, both the exquisitely beautiful and the tragically grotesque.  
I don't know which my imagination got a kick out of more, the angels with their beautiful perfection and their amazing, powerful wings. Or the monsters with their multi-animal mutated bodies.

If You Liked That, Try This:

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

The Scale Of Judgment Says:

......4.
A beautiful story of love and war, monsters and angels.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Books Into Movies And Books Into TV News (Plus i Reveal A's True Identity!)

What up, y'all? i've got even more Books Into Movies and TV news for you. Plus two new clips from The Hunger Games! Only 3 more days, y'all! *squeals with Peeta-lovin' delight*

More casting news for the Beautiful Creatures movie. Jeremy Irons nabbed the role of Macon Ravenwood. Do you think this movie will be anywhere near as anticipated as The Hunger Games is now? i just don't know about this one, guys. 

Get ready to crap your pants, Twihards! Because here is 15 seconds of Breaking Dawn Part 2 which won't be in theaters until November 16th. But rumor has it you can see a full trailer when you catch The Hunger Games movie this weekend! In the meantime, enjoy this little tidbit (if you can. i mean, it's really short.)



Speaking of The Hunger Games, here's the link to yet another clip from the movie! In this one Katniss is saying her goodbyes to Gale before she gets shipped off to the Capital.

And here's a clip featuring an evil meeting of the minds between President Snow and Seneca Crane. 



i am so beyond ready for this movie!!!!!
BTW, you can prep yourself for the arena with the soundtrack which came out today and which i'm currently listening to! :)

And now for a little Books Into TV news:
Someone has been cast as the rival against Prince Maxon for America Singer's affection in the CW's The Selection. And that someone is William Moseley who will play Aspen, our heroine's "impoverished blond paramour."  William Moseley is no slouch when it comes to the whole "Books Into" thang. He played Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia movies.
i have to admit, i'm getting kind of excited about this series. So far it's got a pretty decent cast, plus the premise sounds really interesting. i really wanna read the book too. It's written by Keira Cass and will hit shelves April 24th.

Lastly, i've got Pretty Little Liars news, A has FINALLY been revealed! And it was kinda lame. i mean, seriously, i was really disappointed. If you didn't see Pretty Little Liars last night and would like to know who the hell A turned out to be, stick around cos i'm about to drop that knowledge on yo ass. If you don't wanna know, then you've officially been Spoiler Alerted.

Spoiler Alert!


Here's the big ol' secret: A is......... wait for iiiiiiiiiiiit........... Mona!
Yeah, just like in the books. Very anticlimactic considering they've been kinda forcing her down our throats majorly the past few episodes, you know what i mean? There were several episodes at the beginning of the season where Mona was pretty much absent and then the last like 5 episodes it was Mona Mania. So that was a little disappointing. But those Pretty Little Liars, they're a tricky bunch because, yes, we did finally discover A's identity but now we've got all these other questions. Like what was up with Jenna and Lucas and that person in the black swan dress that may or may not have been Melissa? And was that really Maya's body? And did anyone else think that Aria looked like Wednesday Addams by the end of the episode? 
Well, all these questions will hopefully be answered next season which starts sometime this summer.

Not quite Wednesday Addams here.
So that's all the Books Into Movies and TV news i've got for you today. Come back soon when i'll undoubtedly be fangirling the fuck out over finally seeing The Hunger Games!!!

Monday, March 12, 2012

More Hunger Games Movie News And Other Movie News That Isn't Hunger Games Related

Here's yet another Hunger Games clip for you, my friends! Does anyone else get the feeling that we're one clip away from just about seeing the entire movie already? i mean, give us a little something to look forward to in ONLY 11 MORE DAYS, Lionsgate!!!!!!!!
Anyhoo, here's part of Peeta's interview with Caesar Flickerman. What do you guys think?



And i'm sure my fellow Hunger Games fangirls have already checked this out, but for anyone who hasn't, here's the link to find your Hunger Games name as well as the way you'll be killed.
i'm Beetee Bogsworth from District 4 in the 20th Hunger Games and i was killed by eating raw Jabberjay. Seems like kind of pussy way of dying, but whatevs.

In other non-Hunger Games news, another person i don't know has been cast in that movie i don't care about. i'm, of course talking about the Beautiful Creatures adaptation. The role of Link will be played by Thomas Mann.
Is anyone really fangirling it out over this movie yet? If so, please tell me what you think about the casting choices so far as i didn't really care for the book and thus i don't really care about the movie.

That's all the scoop i've got for you today but visit again soon for even more dish.
And don't forget, The Hunger Games movie comes out in a mere 11 days!!! March 23rd it's going down! Fangirl it out in the comments section.

Friday, March 2, 2012

More Hunger Games Movie News As Well As Books Into TV News, Books Into Movie News And Just Plain Ol' Book News

i'll start with the fangirliest news of all:
The cast of The Hunger Games is on this week's (March 9th) issue of Entertainment Weekly!!! There are plenty of new pics including one of Woody Harrelson FINALLY looking suitably Haymitch-drunky as well as a fantabulous new Effie outfit!!! Plus there's a ten-page spread giving you the deets on everything from the soundtrack to what's being left out *cough* Madge *cough*
Also here's a little clip from the movie!!! Which comes out so very soon!!! (March 23rd to be exactly exact!!!) It's one of my favorite moments of Katniss' badassery from the book.



On an unrelated-to-The-Hunger-Games topic, there's also an interview with John Green in the same Entertainment Weekly issue. He talks about his new book (The Fault in Our Stars,) about Vlogbrothers, and what he might write about next.

This is kind of old news but still totally worth sharing, J.K. Rowling will FINALLY write another book,y'all! There's not too much info out yet, in fact, all that we do know is this book will be aimed for adult readers and it'll be very different from the Harry Potter series.
We'll get more information later in the year according to Little, Brown (who will be publishing the book as well as making an assload of money off of it) like what we can expect plot-wise and when the book should be hitting the shelves. So i'll definitely keep you posted. Who else is excited as hell about this news?!   

Awhile back i told you guys that The Carrie Diaries was gonna be made into a TV show for the CW. Well we now have our Lil' Carrie Bradshaw. She'll be played by Annasophia Robb who is no stranger to the "Books Into ..." world as she's starred in Bridge to Terabithia, Soul Surfer and the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But no one remembers the chick that played Violet Beauregarde, EVERYONE knows that Sarah Jessica Parker IS Carrie Bradshaw. So Annasophia has some mighty big (not to mention super stylish) shoes to fill. Will she be able to deliver?
i haven't read The Carrie Diaries so i don't really know what to expect from this show except for the fact that it takes place in the 80s. Which could be awesome or very, very tragic. i might give the show a chance but i'm not on pins and needles for its premiere. What about you guys? Have you read the books? Are you looking forward to the show or do you think it's something better left to the grownups?

i've got more Beautiful Creatures casting news for ya. Like i've said before, this isn't really one of the Books Into Movies that i'm particularly jazzed about but i know that the books are popular and deserve spazzing about for some people so it is for these people that i deliver this news. Emmy Rossum has been cast as Ridley who is a character that i barely even remember. So i don't know if this is a good casting choice or not. If you're fangirling about this book series being made into a movie, please tell me what you think about Emmy in this role.

Lastly i've got some Books Into TV news about a book that hasn't even come out yet. It's called The Selection by Kiera Cass. The book doesn't hit stores until April 24th but the rights to the show have already been picked up by the CW. The premise sounds like a dystopian fairy tale version of The Bachelor.
Ethan Peck will star as Prince Maxon aka the dystopian fairy tale Bachelor. Aimee Teegarden will play America Singer, one of the 35 contestants (?) competing for the prince's heart. And Sean Patrick Thomas will also star on the show as an advisor/etiquette coach who apparently doesn't have a name yet. i always think of SPT from back in the day when he starred in Save The Last Dance. If he adds "dance instructor" to his title i might just watch the shit outta this show!



Sean Patrick Thomas: teaching white girls to dance since 2001.
Watching that clip made me remember how good that soundtrack was. Y'all remember K-Ci and JoJo? My favorite was You Can Do It by Ice Cube though. Remember that one? "You can do it put your back into it." Now try to NOT have that stuck in your head for the rest of the day. :)