[APRIL UPDATE] The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club & GOALS

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : April 2018 ~

I missed last month's update, and this wasn't intentional but it happened and I decided to just let it go. I guess you could say I've been busy with my rescue group, with work, and with life in general, so that has sort of taken over. But I'm here this month, and I've got a book to talk about! I must say that it's not a particularly amazing book, but it's certainly the one that entertained me the most this month. That book is ... 

R.L. Stine's Point books were a staple of my childhood/tween years, and I still enjoy re-reading them today. As an adult woman it's interesting to read back and realise how un-pc certain aspects of these books are through the viewpoint of today's lens. This book, for e.g., features a teen girl getting both scared and a little excited when she's surrounded by menacing dudes in heavy metal t-shirts.

Still, despite the awkward moments like the one described above, I found a lot to love about this re-read. One of the things I loved most was the description of the garishly 90s clothing the characters wore. Examples:

• The dudes in Def Leppard shirts paying to get their white "high tops" polished
• Jerry's tie-dyed jean cut-offs and a black-and-white striped crew-neck pullover (wuhhh?)
• Karen's short pink skirt over black bicycle tights and a white midriff top, and of course her rollerskates (date with Jerry!)
• Jerry's white tennis shorts and a shiny blue, sleeveless t-shirt
• Vince's faded cutoffs and no shirt (hey, Vince? You had me at your metal shirt from earlier in the book!)
• Ann-Marie's Day-Glo green bikini

There was a lot else to like, too, such as these favourite moments of mine:

• The jellyfish. Oh man, that amused me!

• The part where we get the imagery in the narrative that matches the book's front cover. Noice!

• The fact that certain expectations of characters' natures get turned on their head in the end

• This quote which is a thought from Karen after she finds a note from Ann-Marie on the fridge, held by a magnet: "How did people ever communicate before refrigerator magnets? she thought." Keep in mind this was before mobile phones were a general fact of life.

• The phrase: "... bombed off to the hospital."

And my personal favourite quote from the entire book, which made me burst out laughing:

"She could hear the wet suit ripping, a frightening sound,

like a lobster being torn apart."

So this re-read was quite a bizarre experience for me. For one, I didn't really remember much about the book at all - I'm not 100% convinced I ever read it in the old days, but then I think I must have. For another, it was extremely dated, but in a delightfully amusing way.

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"It's the ultimate beach party in California. And Karen, who's just broken up with her boyfriend, is going to enjoy every minute of it--especially having two new guys who like her. But the party takes a nasty turn when Karen realizes someone is out to spoil the fun by getting rid of her."

Currently (re-)Reading:

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Currently Reading:

Alice Will (Dreams of Chaos, #1) by Ashley Chappell

~ Do You Have Goals? : April 2018 ~

Each month, a group of bloggers report on what goals they have been working to achieve in the last month. A while ago now we set longish-term goals (and they were meant to be big goals, so we could feel bold and daring!) and each month we're tracking our progress towards achieving those goals. Check out the Do You Have Goals? blog for a list of participants, and feel free to join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

This month's updates on my own creative goals:

• EDITS/WRITING - Things have really slowed down for me lately, as mentioned above - rescue chaos is getting in the way of my story plotting/editing/etc. But I've still got thoughts churning away in my head, and I'm eager to get stuck in as soon as I can. My little critique group is my main lifeline to this at the moment.
• Music - It's all completed from my end, in terms of vocals and final thoughts, but apparently my bandmate's computer just died, so not sure if that affects our project's outcome or not. ;) 

And that's about it for now. How are you doing with your goals/projects/etc?

[FEB UPDATE] The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club & GOALS

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : Feb 2018 ~

Wow, here it is! My first post for 2018. I've done a lot of reading so far this year, largely because while I was overseas I was sick practically the entire time, so on those days when I did a lot of lazing around I took to reading. And reading. And reading. Anyway, for February this is the book I enjoyed the most, keeping in mind that I didn't rate any of my reads 5 stars during January or February.

I've had this book on my Kindle for aaaages but only just read it now. Even though it was a light-hearted kind of simple little story, I really loved it - it had me cracking up on a regular basis, and the romance was pretty steamy even with two virgins as the main characters. ;)

Emma annoyed and (totally) exasperated me sometimes, but I couldn't hold it against her when she pretty quickly realised what an idiot she was after every idiotic thing she did. Guy had a lot of patience considering he's 70k years old and definitely knew better in some instances than the 22-year-old (yep, quite the age difference, and Emma comments on this at one point too!) with far less life experience.

I'd recommend this for anyone who wants a fun, light read that includes some parts that may or may not make one gigglesnort.

Some of my fave quotes:

• It was like being trapped in a huge spinach salad.
  
• This coming from someone who'd seen it all over the course of tens of thousands of years: the rise and fall of dozens of empires, entire civilisations disappearing, some into the ocean--countless genocides and wars, the birth of gangster rap and reality television.
  Yes. Terrible, awful things.
  
  
• “Holy crap, woman! What was that?' Guy stared down at the twitching right half of the body. He was morbidly shocked and incredibly proud.
  
  She shrugged casually. 'Payback. Hell hath no fury like a Payal scorned. Can we go now?”
  
• "You're an awesome god of death and war."

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"Twenty-two-year-old Emma Keane has a secret friend. He’s powerful, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome. In her dreams, anyway.

In real life, he’s an enigma. Maybe just a teensie jealous. Definitely overbearing. He’s also a voice only she can hear.

So who or what is he? He won’t say. But if she wants to be free, to be normal, Emma will have to trek to the jungles once ruled by the Mayans and find the forgotten ruin holding the answers.

However, the ruthless deity she’s about to unknowingly unleash on the modern world, might not be so easily extracted from her life. Bottom line, he’s got enemies, and now, so does she."

Currently (re-)Reading:

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

~ Do You Have Goals? : February 2018 ~

Each month, a group of bloggers report on what goals they have been working to achieve in the last month. A while ago now we set longish-term goals (and they were meant to be big goals, so we could feel bold and daring!) and each month we're tracking our progress towards achieving those goals. Check out the Do You Have Goals? blog for a list of participants, and feel free to join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

This month's updates on my own creative goals:

• EDITS/WRITING - I keep getting assaulted by new story ideas! They are more enticing than trying to untangle the messes that are the existing stories. But I have my little critique group to keep encouraging me to do the "hard" stuff as well as nurture my shiny new ideas. Currently I'm trying to figure out how my novel SUNDOWN fits into a template of accepted romance story 'beats', to help me identify what needs working on.
• NaNoWriMo '18- I know, I know, it's REALLY early to be thinking about this, but with the numerous ideas that have sprung themselves on me in recent months, I will have a big decision to make come November. Still, I'm pretty sure I know which idea I'll be running with ... at least until the next "better" idea leaps at me, anyway.
• Music - My task at the moment is to have a good listen to the final mixes my bandmate has sent me and send him back any notes. From what I've heard so far, there's one song I'm not sure I'm happy with in terms of the vocals, but I hope I'll get over that and realise it's great as is, so I don't have to do anymore recording. :P I'm hoping to have my notes back to my bandmate by this coming weekend.

And that's about it for now. How are you doing with your goals/projects/etc?

[DEC UPDATE] The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : Dec 2017 ~

Firstly, I've decided to post my Goals post separately this month. I'm not even sure if that blog hop is still going ahead, but even if it's not, I'm going to talk about my goals and what I've achieved (or not achieved) this year. Secondly, I'm not actually here! I'm currently travelling so I've pre-written and scheduled this post.

Now, onto the book review part of the post! I've decided that this month I'm going to cheat and choose two books. In reality I'd probably like to choose four, but I'll stick to just book #1 of the trilogy I finished, as well as the other book that was its greatest competitor. My choices for December's books read are:

Melina Marchetta - On the Jellicoe Road

I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. Wow! I absolutely loved it. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, I found myself a bit confused about who was who in the flashback scenes. I got used to those scenes, of course, once I knew what they were, but I think it'll be a lot easier when I re-read the book (and oh yes, I will be re-reading it!).

I read Marchetta's Looking For Alibrandi back in high school days, since it was a prescribed text, and I really enjoyed it, but this one went that extra step into 'special' territory for me. Obviously Taylor is a great character, but Jonah is amazing and I love how things unfolded between the two of them. The turf wars were fun to read about, especially as the story progressed. I wonder what Taylor's forebears would have thought about how things ended up!

Pretty early on I suspected the true identify of the Hermit. What a sad story those five friends had - as if it hadn't started out badly enough for them. But their friendship was so strong and amazing to read about, and I felt like Taylor and her friends were forming their own similar posse.

Okay, enough rambling - let's summarise: I loved it, I'm so glad I finally read it, I will definitely re-read it someday, and savour every moment all over again!

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs - the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.

And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor's only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother - who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road."

Jenny Han - To All The Boys I've Loved Before

First up: IT'S GONNA BE A MOVIE ERMAGERD! Now, onward!

This book made me go 'nawwwww', so I gave it 5 stars. I guess we'll see how I feel later once the fervour has died down (ETA: now it's "later" and I still feel that way).

There's a bit of a love triangle (well, really, there are sort of two), but I may have made assumptions about what would happen and I may have been proven wrong in the long run.  The supporting characters were fantastic - I think Kitty might be amongst my faves, even though she was a total brat sometimes almost all the time. She was so matter-of-factly bitchy that you kind of had to admire it! She's definitely the most strong-minded of the sisters, and she was constantly cracking me up.

I also love Lara Jean's conversations with Peter, where she brings him down a peg or two without even intending to, e.g. talking about how Gen has him "whipped" as if it's a basic fact, and one that everybody accepts. He's desperate to argue the point, of course.

In some reviews I've noticed a comparison of this book to Little Women, but as I haven't read that one (gasp!) I can't comment on that angle. But I can say I bloody love this book, and the two that follow as well, and cannot wait to see the movie.

P.S. Team Peter!

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once? 

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control."

Currently (re-)Reading:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

[NOV UPDATE] Cephalopod Book Club & Goals

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : Nov 2017 ~

It's been another month of quite a few reads, but this month I did not have any 5-star reads to choose from. I had quite a few 4-star reads, and the top two were the one I chose, and the final book in the Jessica Darling series. It was a tough choice, because I am so in love with that series, but I decided that I would choose Cassie Mae's Switched as my book of the month this month. Here's my modified GoodReads review:

Recently I went on a little Cassie Mae book buying binge, and this was one of the books I picked up for my Kindle. I wasn't sure what I would think because I didn't love the premise of a girl trying to break up her bestie's relationship - part of me thought I might detest Kayla all the way through. Thankfully I wasn't disappointed, because there was character growth and, after all, human beings aren't perfect, and I don't want to read about perfect Mary Sues anyway!

Having read many of Cassie Mae's books by now, this is probably amongst my faves. It helped that there were times when I literally burst out laughing and couldn't stop, and there was even gigglesnorting involved. So, humour? Big tick! (and they say laughter is the best medicine, sooooo...this book is healthy to read!) I loved the hero, Wesley, and as mentioned above (and as I saw mentioned in some other reviews too), I wasn't sure if I was going to think much of Kayla, but thankfully across the span of the book she learned and grew as a person. I will say that I think she was a very lucky girl to have such an understanding bestie!

All in all, this was a nice and swoonworthy story with imperfect characters who grew as people. Oh, and there were a couple of total hottie guys to drool over. What more could a (romance-loving) girl want?

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"Ever since high school, Kayla has been crazy for gorgeous football player Talon. But before she could muster the courage to tell him, he became a hot item with her beautiful BFF, Reagan. The only person who knows Kayla’s secret is Wesley, Talon’s best bud—and he’s got it bad for Reagan. Now they’re all in college together, hanging out 24/7. For Kayla, seeing the two lovebirds together is absolutely unbearable. So Kayla and Wesley hatch a plot to drive them apart before Talon has a chance to give Reagan the Christmas gift she’s been waiting for.

Soon enough, the once happy couple is fighting. Reagan suddenly can’t get enough of Wesley’s goofy sense of humor, and Talon seems to be paying more attention to Kayla than a guy who’s “only a friend” ever should. But just when everything seems to be falling into place, Kayla and Wesley accidentally spend a night together and discover a hitch in their plan they never considered: that switching partners may not lead to a perfect ending after all."

Currently Reading: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

~ Do You Have Goals? : November 2017 ~

Each month, a group of bloggers report on what goals they have been working to achieve in the last month. A while ago now we set longish-term goals (and they were meant to be big goals, so we could feel bold and daring!) and each month we're tracking our progress towards achieving those goals. Check out the Do You Have Goals? blog for a list of participants, and feel free to join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

This month's updates on my own creative goals:

• EDITS IN GENERAL - No editing is being done this month, due to NaNo. Of course, they are always lurking there in the back of my mind, and I have not forgotten what awaits me after November is done! I got my last critiques back from my CP for Sundown but I am too scared to look at those yet. I'm saving it for later. ;)
• NaNoWriMo '17- I was very relieved to get my last assignment done for my studies early in November, but I was doing surprisingly well with NaNo even before that. This is one of those years where the words are flowing easily. For the most part I've been writing THE FULL CIRCLE, but at one point I started jumping around to different scenes I wanted to write, so I am now working on filling various gaps. It's still flowing well and I'm at just over 70k for that novel. I've also written about 2,600 on my other project, HOTEL LOBBY, but that one isn't my main focus.
• Music - This one is really hanging over my head and putting me under pressure all the time. I want to get it done but never seem to have the motivation on weekends, etc. I need to be in the right frame of mind to do music. That said, I hope to get recordings for two final songs done this weekend...

That's a wrap for November. How are you doing with your goals/projects/etc?

[OCT UPDATE] Cephalopod Book Club & Goals

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : Oct Edition ~

It's been another month of quite a few reads, and it's another difficult choice between two top books this month. The honourable mention goes to The Mortal Instruments #6, because oh my gosh, I looooooved this. What a perfect ending. But shock of all horrors, this month another book wins the day, and that book is Second Helpings (Jessica Darling, #2). Yep, I know - I'm way late to this party! I'd never heard of these books until one of my critique partners put me onto them this month.

You can always tell when I adore a book because I will read it in a day or less. And in this case it was even more impressive because I was also doing homework during that time span, and watching stuff on Netflix. This is definitely a "lie on the couch and read" kind of book.

So, book #2 in the Jessica Darling series follows on from book #1's big cliffhanger, and the tension continues to build to near-unbearable levels this time around. The book's ending was so very worth the wait ... although of course the very ending leaves things open for the next book in the series (which I've heard mixed reviews about).

So what did I love about this book? Well, Jessica is hilarious - she makes me snort with laughter. The teenaged voice was so well done, but it was extra good because this is an intelligent teenager. I love the supporting cast too, with their various quirks. Each of Jessica's Clueless Crew have their own unique features that made reading all the dialogue between them a real treat. Then, of course, there's Marcus ...

He was great in book #1, but I much preferred him in book #2 where he was just too adorable - and of course, super sexy. Let's sum it up like this: *SWOOOOOOOOOOOOON* Okay, done. :) Sometimes I felt so sorry for him what with all those hoops he had to jump through. But it wasn't only Jessica's fault, since it takes two to tango (or not tango, as the case may be). And one of my very favourite aspects of this was book was "Tuttie Flutie"'s interaction with Gladdie. Gladdie, man, what a legend. The scenes at the nursing home were so wonderful.

To summarise, I'm so glad to have had this book recommended!

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can’t seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica’s parents won’t get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany’s pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.

With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of today’s fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess’s life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie. But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years."

Currently Reading: Lola and the Boy Next Door,

Book #2 in the Anna and the French Kiss series

~ Do You Have Goals? : October Edition ~

For those who don't know, there is now a blog for this blog hop, rather than us going straight to Misha's blog. Check out the new Do You Have Goals? blog, and join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

Now, some updates on my own creative goals:

• EDITS IN GENERAL - I've been doing edits here and there, including just adding notes to things for editing later. Homework has got a bit in the way of me doing much of anything for the last week or so.
• Critique Group! & NaNoWriMo '17- We are all gearing up to do NaNo this year, and all have some pretty solid plans in place. We are all pretty excited about our projects, and we're ready to cheer each other on! I just have to get my last bits of homework out of the way before I can really settle into a NaNo rhythm once November kicks off.
• Music - I have no updates. I still have not finished the last song because I forgot to do certain necessary harmonies for it, and until I do those it isn't finished. I also have to send Billy some other music files that he wants to work on, but I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and focus on getting that stuff done. Hopefully this weekend I'm going to have some spare time!

That's a wrap for October. How are you doing with your goals/projects/etc?

[SEPT UPDATE] Cephalopod Book Club & Goals

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : September Edition ~

Okay, I have read a few books this month and the one I have to choose is City of Lost Souls, Book #5 in The Mortal Instruments. My GoodReads review is one big gushy ramble of mostly "Clace"-related blabbering, but I did edit the review later to talk about "the rest of those characters" who are in fact quite significant. So I'll try to make this review some semblance of useful for anyone unfamiliar with and curious about the book and/or series.

** If you don't want to know ANY LITTLE HINT OF A THING about Book #5, maybe skip the review. Okay **

This entire series has been a combination of "eewwww", "OMG" and "aaaaahhhh must read on ASAP" for me. I struggled with Books #2 & #3, and if any of you have read the series you may be able to relate. After Book #3 was done, I foolishly thought there might be some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of character happiness. What was I thinking, huh? These books are definitely full of teen angst and drama, but I think the kids have good reason to be angsty, quite frankly, so I don't hold it against them.

Something to note about this book is that my respect for Clary grew so much. Sure, she frustrated me at times, but I thought she was so brave most of the way through, and the epitome of her bravery was in that epic scene near the end when she made the hardest decision she'd ever had to make before - you know the one, right?! I was really, seriously impressed with her at that point.

On a sort of related note, I actually do feel sorry for "the bad guy" of the story, because despite the fact that he is truly a heinous bad guy, Clary was right when she said he's incredibly lonely. Yeah, he's a creep, there's no denying that, but still, it's not his fault he was born the way he was, is it? He had no control over how he turned out, and a great wrong was done to him very early in his life.

This book was quite a slow and torturous read (even though it was good at the same time, and sort of psychologically harrowing), and I was very tempted to skip ahead just so I knew that something good would happen in the end, but I hung in there and kept reading the pages in the proper order, as is usual for me. It felt like it took forever to read this book, but in fact it only took me a few days.

Regarding other characters, Alec continued to annoy me, and I was totally on Magnus's side with that whole thing. I'm a fan of Maia and "Kyle". As for "Sizzy", I'm torn, but mostly because I don't really find vampires hot in general, because they're actually dead people and I don't think dead people are hot. Like, why would anyone want to be with a corpse? That said, I do love my Buffy and Angel hotties. Sigh. Anyway, yeah, I'm torn on this one. Isabelle is so full of life and warm and all that, and I just don't know if she's suited to dating a dead guy. But I'll reserve judgment till I conclude the series I guess. Also, I was happy to see Maryse Lightwood kicking arse, as well as Jocelyn. But when Jocelyn was telling Clary to get off Jace, I was like, "Step off, woman! Get ye gone! Leave your daughter be!"

All in all, I loved this book, and I'm now reading Book #6 and hoping the light will be VERY bright at the end of this long, hard-slog tunnel. 

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series."

Currently Reading: City of Heavenly Fire,

Book #6 in The Mortal Instruments series

~ Do You Have Goals? : September Edition ~

Just a repeat of last month's news! There is a new blog for this blog hop, rather than us going straight to Misha's blog. Check out the new Do You Have Goals? blog, and join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

Now, some updates on my own creative goals:

• DAPHNE - I'm a little stalled on this one, but I've had a break from it so maybe it's time to return and try to tackle that third chapter again. I was happy with it until I realised the second half of it had a lot of dialogue. I want to rework the lead-in to that dialogue and think about what parts of the long chat I really want to keep.
• Critique Partner Group! - Last time I mentioned I had found a new critique partner. Well, we have sucked another lady from AbsoluteWrite into our circle and now we are a little critique trio, and have our own PBWorks site to share our stories in and put feedback comments up, etc. It's really motivating and we are talking about NaNo plans and so on. So all is good there!
• ON THE OUTSIDE - Last time I mentioned I had been revising Chapter #1 of this novel, and I finished that and shared it on my critique group. I got some good feedback and overall I feel like the revised chapter is better than what I had before, but it still needs some work. I think I'm going to leave it where it is for now, though, as I'm a little burned out on OtO at present.
• NaNoWriMo 2017 - So yeah, speaking of NaNo 2017, I do have a sort of rough plan for what to write this time, but I only have plans for the beginning, and a hint of the end, and a very vague middle. I feel like I should at least have a skeleton plot worked out before November starts, despite my notorious pantsing ways. ;)

That's a wrap for September. How are you doing with your goals/projects/etc?

[AUGUST UPDATE] Cephalopod Book Club & Goals

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : August Edition ~

This month it was difficult to choose between the two novels I read. In the end I've gone with Katie McGarry's Dare You To, Book #2 in the Pushing the Limits series and actually my favourite to date. The honourable mention was Nyrae Dawn's Façade (Games, #2). Click HERE for my full GoodReads review of Dare You To, which contains spoilers.

I wasn't really sure what I would think of this book, since I'd recently re-read Book #1 and remembered why I loved it...and why I didn't. I can't remember Book #3 very well, but I think I'm safe in saying Dare You To is my favourite.

A problem I had with Book #1 was the patheticness of the heroine, Echo. Beth is a totally different kettle of fish; she's no shrinking violet, and doesn't faint against walls or black out. Wow, what a meanie I am! Poor Echo. ;) But seriously, I like that Beth didn't need to be constantly caught (literally, caught before she fell over) by the sexy hero. Ryan also gets major stars for not calling Beth "baby". He didn't, right?! I only remember Noah doing that with Echo... Disclaimer: I love Noah.

Dare You To cracked me up on many occasions - Beth's language is just as foul as mine (well, okay, I'm worse), and she was so fiery. Her early exchanges with Ryan were hilarious - she was a real force for him to reckon with. I also found it refreshing that Ryan was the 'innocent' one in this story, as opposed to the usual 'good' girl / bad boy dynamic in this series. Ryan was still sexy, so there was no letdown there. But Beth taught him a thing or two about life. That said, of course I adore bad boy characters - as long as they're not total assholes.

I remember reading Pushing the Limits and always wishing that Echo would become more of a rock for Noah. The school counsellor did that instead, while Noah was always having to be Echo's rock. Not that he was complaining. I was the one complaining. And I'm not really sure that Beth went much further in this regard than Echo did, but she had her moments. It was such a relief when she finally realised Ryan was right about her fear of having a new life...and possible happiness.

One downside to this read was seeing Isaiah so forlorn, but since I knew this gets addressed in Book #3, it wasn't really a problem.

I gave this book five stars!

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs-until the day her uncle swoops in, and Beth finds herself starting over at a school where no one understands her. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does. 

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him. 

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image is risking everything for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...."

Currently Reading: City of Glass,

Book #3 in The Mortal Insruments series

(a re-read so I can finally read the last three books).

~ Do You Have Goals? : August Edition ~

First up, some news! There is a new blog for this blog hop, rather than us going straight to Misha's blog. Check out the new Do You Have Goals? blog, and join our hop if you want to have some extra motivation for achieving your goals. :)

Now, some updates on my own creative goals:

• Music - Somehow I believed I had recorded a song for our new album that I had never even downloaded the instrumental track for. Apparently I hallucinated an entire thing where this song was totally done already. So I still have one more song to do... Thankfully, Billy is happy with the other two, so no more work required on those!
• DAPHNE - I'm continuing to post stuff at Absolute Write. I've had a lot of help from people with my opening few scenes for DAPHNE. It's been a hard slog (and isn't over yet), but I feel like I'm finally getting to the right place with the opening scenes.
• Critique Partner! - In other exciting news, I appear to have found myself a new critique partner, one of the ladies who's been helping me on AW. So that's great! I'm excited at the chance to start getting some more in-depth and focused help on my work again, and to give said help in return.
• ON THE OUTSIDE - I've been revising the first chapter of OTO, which has been driving me nuts. As usual with my stories, there's a lot of bloating that needs culling, and the first scene possibly needs to be merged with a bit of the next scene. I've whittled it a lot so far, but have a way to go. I wanted to post it on AW for critique, but my perfectionist self won't allow that till I've got it into better shape.

So, that's about it for August. How are you all going with your various creative / other goals? And yes, I have some catching up to do with your blogs too.

[JULY UPDATE] Cephalopod Book Club & Goals

Oops! I missed the deadline, but oh well, I'm still here to post for this month's book club & goals blog hops.

~ The Cephalopod Coffeehouse Book Club : July Edition ~

I've read three novels / novellas this month, and have chosen Eleanor & Park as my novel of the month to share a review for. This is the non-spoilery version of the GoodReads (spoilery) version.

I vaguely remember back when I first heard about this book, reading some reviews of it that were mixed - I remember not everyone loving the book for whatever reason. I admit I was a bit influenced by that memory when I started reading - I was in the first chapter and wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the read. Well, now that I've finished reading, I can say without hesitation that I loved Eleanor & Park! It was tragic, romantic, and funny. I love the emphasis on music, too.

The book ends on an interesting note that has seemingly divided readers - some are dying to know more, while others (like me) think that what we are left with is enough. It's not a neatly tied up ending, but there is a sense of hope that makes me happy.

Richie was such a creepy character - yech! I felt sorry for Eleanor's mum, but also angry with her, for much of the book. But I loved Park and his family - his parents were great characters.

This is the GoodReads blurb:

"Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try."

Currently Reading: my own novels...for editing.

But hopefully soon, book #2 in Lydia Kang's duology.

~ Do You Have Goals? : July Edition ~

I'm continuing to work on my revisions for DAPHNE II, but now that studies are starting up as of Monday, I'm not sure how much progress I'll be making for the time being. I also did another thing - I logged back into Absolute Write (the Water Cooler forums) after approximately 6 years of absence, and started posting again.

I've shared the beginning of DIE BEACHSIDE and the first chapter of SUNDOWN III. The former has attracted feedback that surprised me - I need to cut out perhaps the first 1k of words. And I thought that little novella was pretty lean. Gosh, critique feedback is good. It wakes you up from your slumber. As for the SUNDOWN III chapter, that also needs some condensing, but the feedback was overall more favourable. I got some great feedback that I can work with for that one.

Oh, oh, something REALLY EXCITING? I finally got those last two songs done and sent them off to Billy. WOO! I just hope he doesn't ask me to do heaps more work on them. But if he does, so be it, I will do what I can. I'm hoping we can get down to the business of getting our second Woody's A Girl album out in the next few months.

I hope you are all doing well!