Ohayocon and an explanation!

Hey Everyone,

So, I haven’t blogged since I finished Beastly and I want to apologize for that: so, sorry! I have been very busy with the start of classes. I have decided to take on an extra class this semester, while still holding up a job and all four clubs I am a part of. Generally at the end of the day I literally just fall into bed, exhausted, and fall straight to sleep without glancing at my books. Also, I went to Ohayocon this weekend with my school's anime club! It is the anime convention in Columbus, Ohio I had a great time and it was such a great birthday weekend! That’s right! I am officially nineteen as of January 28, 2011. It was my first con and it was most definitely a memorable experience. Some of my favorite pictures from Ohayocon are posted below.


I got so freaking excited when I saw Captain Jack Sparrow! :D Isn't his costume amazing?


Look! It's Totoro. This guy was pretty amazing as well. :)


Anyone who has seen Tangled must realize why me and my friends practically jumped these people to get their picture. ^.^


I applaud this person for walking around in this all weekend, it could not have been much fun. It had to be hot in there! Props for the awesome costume and for being an awesome pokemon!


The jester from Hunchback of Notre Dame another character that I practically mauled asking for his photo. He was very nice about it! :)


Haha anyone who grew up in the 90's has to remember the powerpuff girls! I thought this was really creative and was so excited to get his picture.

Anyway those are some of my favorite pictures, but I took a ton more! If you want I will share more with you all.

Back on subject, as you can imagine these past few weeks have been hectic and I have had little to no free time on my hands to read, let alone blog. I hope to be changing that very soon. I am just about 2/3 through Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner (which is great by the way! I am not disappointed at all). I will have that review up by the end of February the latest. Things should be settling down on this front (I hope!) as I get used to the work load and get my schedule all figured out. Right now I am just trying to balance everything. Anyway, I hope to be blogging, and reviewing, soon!

Happy reading to you all! See you (figuratively speaking, of course) soon!

-She who Reads A lot

Beastly

A beast. Not quite wolf or gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature with fangs, claws, and hair springing from every pore. I am a walking monster. You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. And I’ll stay this way forever—unless I can break the spell. Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly…beastly.

Review: So, as suggested by the title and summary, Beastly is a modern day tale of Beauty and the Beast. If you have ever seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast then you know the plot of this book with some subtle differences. We start off with Kyle Kingsbury a self-centered, good-looking son of a famous newscaster who has had it pounded in his head from day one that looks get you everywhere in this world. He is the kind of guy you really love to hate. He is a jerk and loves to rag on anyone who is remotely ugly or unpopular, he revels in torturing them. This is what lands him in this whole situation in the first place. He decides he is going to torture a funny looking girl in his English class, Kendra.

He tells her he will take her to the dance, but in reality is planning on going with the hottest girl in school and completely humiliating Kendra publicly, just because she tells Kyle he is basically not nice. Well, long story short Kendra wants to teach him a lesson and casts a spell on him. He transforms into a hideous beast and he has two years to find someone who loves him despite his appearances, or he remains a beast forever. After his father realizes the condition isn’t reversible he banishes Kyle to a secluded house in Brooklyn with only a blind tutor and maid.

Will is basically Lumiere and Cogsworth combined and Magda is obviously Mrs. Potts. One main difference in Beastly and Beauty and the Beast is that Kyle learns rather quickly to appreciate the beautiful things in life, like roses and he learns how to be kind and sincere as he suffers. Our Belle’s name is actually Linda and instead of being beautiful she is fairly average looking with a heart of gold and instead of a well-meaning inventor, he is a drug-addict who could care less for his daughter. In fact, he offers Kyle his daughter in exchange that he does not turn him into the police after being caught breaking in.

This book is fun, sweet, romantic, fast-paced, and funny. I caught myself laughing out loud more than a few times. The book moves very quickly and I devoured it in less than four days. You will fall in love with Kyle/Adrian and feel for his plight as you are rooting for him to get the girl.

It isn’t anything terribly engaging on the intellectual end, but it is pure fun brain candy.

Rating: 4/5 I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fast, fun, romantic read.

Reviews from the pros:

“A delicious love story…romantics everywhere will adore this book.”-Annette Curtis Klause, author of Blood and Chocolate
“Teens will…race to see if the beast gets his kiss, lifts the curse, and lives happily ever after.”-Kirkus Reviews

“An engrossing tale.”-VOYA