Busted

                Hello happy readers!  I am super excited to share with you todays review of a cute fun contemporary.  I missed the signing for this because I had to work and this transition to night shift has kicked my butt to the point I didn’t even get to call in to order a book to be signed to pick up next week.  Sigh.  After finishing this book I am even more disappointed because it was so much fun to read.  The book in question, Busted by Gina Ciocca.  I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this from NetGalley and the publishers for an honest review.

Rating: 5 Stars

                Marisa was just a normal girl getting some supplies on her way to see her bestie for a night in when she finds her besties boyfriend up to no good.  After some snooping she confirms he is a cheater and somehow she is now being asked to snoop on purpose for an ex-frenemy, Kendall, who has been back in town and might just have changed her ways.  Kendall wants Marisa to spy on her boyfriend, TJ, as he may have a mystery girl, only to find that as she gets to know TJ to try and get the dirt that she is crushing on him and she might be the mysterious girl….yikes.  There is a lot of snooping to be done and it might be more than a two-timing boy that ends up busted.

                This story first and foremost made me think of Veronica Mars which is a show I absolutely adored.  So win there.  Marisa starts out in a solid win from me because she not about to let someone hurt her friend if she can help it.  Her relationship with Charlie (BFF) reminds me in ways of my own relationship with my bestie.  All the characters really come to life as you read the story and find out the dish on each of them.  Digging into the lives and lies of others is not as fun as one might think and it leads to its own set of problems.  I love the dynamic between the different characters and how it is clear that each one has motives and personalities that make the decisions they make seem legit and true to them.  No one is perfectly blameless or flawless. 

                The story is very character driven and moved pretty fast for me.  I liked the drama that came with the story and I was eager to see how things would play out for everyone.  I had a good time reading this and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light hearted contemporary or has ever dreamed of being a on the sly PI when in school. 

                Until next time…

Top Ten Tuesday: Fandoms!

                Hello everyone!  Top Ten Tuesday is just how it sounds, a topic is picked and we put our Top Ten for that in a post and share and check out everyone’s answers.  Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

The top ten today is:  Fandoms I’m a part of!

La Femme Nikita- I was maybe a smidge too young to really watch this but I remember loving it so so much.  I remember trying to record all the episodes on VHS (before seasons regularly came out or there was Netflix) and being mad hey wouldn’t fit.  I could name every episode in order of every season.  It was serious.  I didn’t know what a fandom was then and had the internet been like it is now I would have found it!

Moonlight- This TV show really made me understand what a fandom is.

Twilight- I fell hard into this one when I first marathoned the books and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Disney- I’ve always been a huge Disney fan and still as an adult today love all my childhood Disney tales and watch them on the regular.  I get all gooey when I see cute Disney merch and kids finding my favorites for the first time.

Harry Potter- Do I even need to explain this one?  I found it a little later than many but I was so glad when I finally gave in and fell in love.  I still haven’t been to the park yet, but that is a goal of mine in the near future, maybe even this year. 

Sarah J. Maas- Both of her series because I can’t pick just one.  The amazing talk about these and the artwork that fans much more talented than I have created…it’s intense and I love it.  She has also nearly broken all of our hearts several times over so yeah.  I would be broke if I allowed myself to shop on some of the beautiful and amazing sites.  I just reviewed and caught up on Empire of Storms in the Throne of Glass series but A Court of Mist and Fury just....it got to me on such a level I can't process! 

Veronica Mars- I didn’t watch it until it was over sadly.  I didn’t have the channel at first and then once I did I couldn’t start it from the middle (I just can’t) so I watched it when they came out on DVD.  You know because streaming wasn’t as popular and I lived in the middle of the country with snail internet speed.  Bright side when I did get to watch I was able to marathon through and have done so several times and it’s always a fall back to put on and just love.  I was a huge Veronica/Logan shipper!  I was thrilled about the movie and the subsequent books.  I’m a happy little marshmallow.

Vampire Academy- This series…it just blew me away.  I waited until it was over to read and I’m glad I did because it just blew me away.  I read them all pretty quickly and just fell in love with the characters and the story and was rooting for my favorites from the start.  I remember being upset that most of my friends hadn’t read these yet and I had no idea who to talk to about it having not yet discovered all the joys of the bookish community.

Supernatural- I’ve been watching this for so long and it regularly ends up in everyday conversation even if the other person doesn’t know it.  My friends and I send back Supernatural memes and such it’s always great.

The Shadowhunter Universe- I love all of these books.  This deep and never ending world full of characters that we love is amazing.  I love how things in one era may come into play in the present day and how some immortal characters can cross over between them all.  It’s such an amazing world!

General Hospital- This is a soap which I have been watching all of my life.  I kid you not when the 50^th anniversary came about there was a special People edition for it and it have time lines for each decade and such and I was reading my copy because of course I have one and I saw plot points for stories I remember and when I saw the year I actually had to stop and look it up.  Like verify I hadn’t lost my mind.  I did in fact remember story/plot points from when I was 5 years old.  WTF? Everyone watched so it was always on each day in the background and eventually I started paying close attention to it but I apparently retained much more than I thought.

                I could really have just listed all the shows/series/books/things I love and filled pages and still never had enough but I figure picking out a couple of the top/active ones was enough.  I can’t really think too hard on it though because even as I get ready to post I want to add/change things.  It’s like picking a favorite book, impossible!

                 Tell me what you think of my list in the comments below.  Also please link back to your Top Ten as well so I can check out your list and see what I missed!

Hemlock

                Hello happy readers.  It has been an interested few days.  Real quick reminder my giveaway for a SIGNED copy of Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman is still open with 4 days left (3/7/16) so don’t forget to enter here.  Many of you may have noticed I’m trying to put a huge dent in some of the books/series I have that have been sitting around for a while waiting to be read by me I find it refreshing I mean I clearly bought them for a reason, I wanted to read them.  Last month I read through the Hemlock trilogy by Kathleen Peacock which I rather enjoyed and plan to review them all for you guys.  But today we'll just review book one, Hemlock.

Rating:  4 Stars

                I admit I’d forgotten what this series was about prior to picking it back up.  Basically it’s about werewolves.  Lupine syndrome (LS) is a known thing in the world and werewolves are not looked upon happily but treated as a biohazard basically, something most fear.  Mac’s world has been screwed up since her best friend Amy was murdered by a white werewolf.  Since her death she’s been haunted by dreams of her dead friend.  When an extremist group known as Trackers come into her town of Hemlock, it’s to combat their werewolf problem.  While some might try to hide their symptoms and stay out of the camps others develop bloodlust, what they say killed Amy.  Unable to think of anything else Mac decides to investigate her best friends murder herself and is thrown into the danger of it all.

                The story moves along pretty easily and kept me interested and I learned what was happening in this world.  A small town with its social class divide and a string of attacks that were never solved and pretty interesting characters.  Mac lives with her cousin Tess, who is pretty much a punky awesome guardian, after her criminal father abandons her at a motel.  She has a crush on her best friend, Kyle, and is also looking after Amy's boyfriend, Jason, who has taken to making some rather questionable decisions since her death.  When we meet her Mac has already been through some stuff.  She has some issues of her own but she is strong and determined.  She was relatable. 

                Parts of the plot, a murdered best friend and trying to uncover what happened in a town with a strong economical divide, made me think of one of my favorite TV shows of times past, Veronica Mars.  Jason at times reminded me of Logan, Amy to Lily, and of course Mac to Veronica!  That only made me fly through the story more, and of course there was much more to the death than meets the eye.  But watching as they uncovered it was rather fun and some of the things that happen along the way were definitely something to keep your heart pumping.   

                More than a who done it, we have the moral implications of the LS being out there.  How it and anyone infected or sympathizers with infected are viewed in the new world.  Does being infected with LS make you less human?  What is the right way to handle the infection?  So many different questions, I loved how the story played on that throughout the whole series.  What makes one human?  That's all for book one I look forward to reviewing the next two books as well in the coming weeks so keep an eye on that.  I'd love to know what you think down below in the comments. 

                Until next time…

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line: Veronica Mars in book form need I say more

                I was planning to post this quick review yesterday and not on the 4^th of July but I wasn’t in that big of a mood for cheerful things after waking up to news that a good friend of my family and my mom’s best friend had passed away then having to go to the dentist on top of that.  My heart goes out to her family but until there is something more I can do than send good wishes I will do what I know brings me joy, reading and sharing books with you. 

                I was debating on doing a review of this book when I first read, or really listened, but decided to go ahead and do it.  This is my first audiobook experience and that is The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas.  Basically for those of you who don’t know it’s a book series that is taking up where the much beloved Veronica Mars show ended several years ago but then fans brought it back for a movie just last year after a ten year break.  Yes it was a movie on kickstarter with the core cast and some all coming in and it was just beautiful.  I reviewed it here.  The book series takes place just following the events in the movie.  It could be read without having seen them it gives you what you need but I don’t know if it would be as good without it as that is what connected me to it.

                We basically follow Veronica on her journey in Neptune as Keith is still recovering and she is adjusting to her life change.  Neptune has taken a hard hit over the years and has some serious corruption going on.  Veronica is struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat by catching the available cases until she is able to score a big one.  Now with it being spring break season and the town being flooded with college students looking for a good time for a week of crazy fun.  When one girl disappears from a party Veronica is called in to investigate.  Only this is no simple missing persons case.  The house the victim was last seen in has some secrets held inside and soon Veronica is in way too deep.  Things hit closer to home as new developments make it personal for Veronica.

                I listened to this on audiobook rather reading it because I found out that Kristen Bell, who was Veronica Mars herself, was the one narrating it.  How could I pass that up?  Finding that out worked perfect with my UtopYA trip and an 8 hr drive both ways.  I love tunes but only so much before I want something different.  So I listed to half there and half back alternating with music.  For fans of the show and movie, the show had it’s voice-overs at times from Veronica and hearing her read the book put me right back in front of the TV.  I could visualize everything and she had Veronica’s voice down, because she lived it so long and KNOWS the character as well as the others.

                 I was captivated and so sad when I had to stop it at times.  I find driving to music is easier areas where my GPS is going to be talking to me, I can lower music and hear over but for the audiobook I didn’t want to miss anything.  Overall I can’t go into detail because it’s a PI story and that would ruin it.  But I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED it!  It was list watching the show again and it stayed true to the show and everything us Marshmallows love about it.  I do wish there was a bit more Logan in it but I hear there is more of him in the next book, Mr. Kiss and Tell.  I also hear the next book is even better than the first and this is hard to believe.

                However, this is where I am stuck in a bit of a conundrum.  I loved the first one so much and a huge part of that was listing to it and actually hearing Veronica.  The second book is out which I was thrilled about but it is not narrated by Kristen Bell but another female.  I’m sure she is a great narrator and I’ve heard she does other audio books and I have nothing against her but…I want Veronica.  I was spoiled with her and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.  With this I’m unsure I’ll be able to listen to the audiobook and not spend the whole time wishing it was Kristen Bell doing it.  So my other option is to do as you do with any book and read.  I think I was spoiled with the first audiobook though as I’m so conflicted about it.  I guess I’ll just have to figure it out the old fashioned way, marathon the 3 seasons on DVD and the movie to procrastinate and then figure out what to do.  That’s all for now Marshmallows.  Have a safe and happy 4^th of July.

Rating: 5 Marshmallows 

And because it's awesome:

Veronica Mars: The Movie

                So I'm a bit behind, as usual but in my defense I've been recovering the last few days, I am now free of my annoying glasses.  Yep I bit the bullet and let the doctors laser my eyeballs, clearly they gave me drugs to make it happen so I didn’t freak out like a ninja.

                Anyways I had been super excited for this movie ever since I heard it was officially happening.  Thank you fans and kickstarter.  I loved this show and it hardly seems like 10 years have passed.  To prepare I did marathon 3 seasons of this funny and addictive show.  I was breaking Veronica Mars.  To get back in touch with my character where they left things.  Now there were no showings near me in the limited release, and I was devastated.  Then as I happened to be on the phone with my mother at the time, she was checking movies to watch with dad that night and mentioned she saw it was listed On Demand…I was in shock and quickly snatched up my own remote hoping my provider also had it available and score they did and cheaper than a movie ticket.  So I lucked out got it cheaper than a ticket and got to watch it from the comfort of my own home in my pjs with real food.         

                Also for people who might not know after the show was canceled on the season 3 DVD the producers put the season 4 pitch, this mini start of the show that kinds tells where it would be going.  Post college and FBI academy first day with the FBI.  Well the trailer made me wonder…things ended different for our teenage detective.  With that in mind I do think not knowing anything about the show you may be lost in part of the joy and intrigue  This movie was simply put, made for fans of the show.

                9 years later, Veronica has escaped Neptune and that life and has created a new one for herself.  When Logan needs her help and she can't resist the pull.  Just a quick visit to help an old friend before starting her new job and life with everything going for her, right? 

                We have all our favorite characters from the show.  To name a few, Veronica, duh, Logan, Daddy Mars, Wallace, Mac, Dick, Piz, Weevle, Vinny, Sacks, Leo, and so many more.  A reunion or our people, literally at the Neptune High 10 year reunion.  Whatever happened to all those 09ers, PCHers, and everyone else? 

                What I loved about this, aside from seeing my characters back together in Neptune, was how it felt natural.  It's been 9 years, they have each changed some as everyone does over time and as you grow but at the core they are still the same.  They kept that essential quality that made them, who they were and who the fans loved.  So with veronica being the trouble magnet that she is clearly trying to get back in the saddle for a farewell case, one last gig, will spell trouble.  Old tricks of the trade with new knowledge and in a town that is the epi-center for the class war with the rich 09ers and the poor.  What's a girl to do?  And can I mentioned seeing Logan in uniform, ummm…hello an hit pause for a moment.

I'm with Veronica on this one, he should wear this and only this.

                The only bad things I can say about this really are simple.  The first which might have been only be a problem with my provider, I wouldn’t be surprised, was during the club and party scenes the music was so loud it drowned out the conversation no matter what tricks I tried with my volume.  The other were some small changes that yes over time you expect change but new home, new offices, jobs (again Logan in uniform people), a little explanation as to how they ended up there would have been nice.  Maybe it is just me being a needy fangirl but I wanted a bit more details on our beloved characters. 

                Overall I give it 5 Marshmallows it was similar to the a season, condensed in a single movie.  Full of all the stuff the fans love.  I have watched it a handful of times and can't wait to see it again. What about you?  Have you seen it?  Were you a fan of the show?  What were your thoughts?  Please share below.