Review: Flirting in Italian
Title: Flirting in Italian
Author: Lauren Henderson
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Format: ePub via NetGalley
Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!—Goodreads
First of all, that descriptive copy from Goodreads is not at all representative of what this book is. AT ALL. This book is more like this: Mean Girls meets Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets The Mole meets What a Girl Wants. But in Italy.
So while the descriptive copy I take umbrage with is technically correct in that there are four girls in Italy during the summer, and living in an ancient castle, which is surrounded by ancient castles, and that they sometimes go dancing at night with gorgeous Italian boys, and one of them is trying to figure out an art history mystery, there is a lot more cattiness happening in this book than that would all seem to suggest there is. There’s also a good amount of family drama that comes along with each character.
Got that? Great. *cheerleader clap*
What I found most interesting about Flirting in Italian is that the characters involved in this book are from three different countries—UK, Italy, and United States, and that the author gets each of the speech patterns and cultural slang and points of reference dead on. I mean, I realize that’s her job, and that she did have an editor on this, but juggling that many backgrounds and characters and backstories must have been a little maddening at times. I’m super impressed by how well she balanced it all.
Another thing I really like about this book is that the teenage girls in this book aren’t social outcasts, or goody-goodies, or girls that play with their hair and bite their lips and never speak, but somehow get the male attention they so desperately seek. These girls are (for the most part) confident and outgoing and ready to go out and get rowdy and have a good time. And when it comes to girl fights, they are willing to play both passive aggressively, and not so passive aggressively. It was really refreshing to read girls like that.
Overall, this book is really fun and the mystery storyline is definitely intriguing. HOWEVER. It ends VERY abruptly. Meaning that it basically ends pretty much in the middle of a scene that may or may not have some incestuous undertones, followed by a line prompting you to get the next book when it comes out. I am not so much a fan of that. But, if you’re looking for a new, fun series to get involved with, or if you just want a quick read that will let you do some armchair traveling, definitely check out Flirting in Italian.
What’s Making Me Happy {15}
This week has been exhausting.
And I didn’t even go to BEA. I think I just received the exhaustion through osmosis or something.
But even though it’s been a tiring week, it’s been a really great week. I got to meet lots of book bloggers face to face after talking with them on the Internets for, like, a year, and I finally found a yoga studio I like that’s both affordable and near work, and I did something right at work for once, and I saw ABT’s Onegin (and it was SERIOUSLY GREAT OMG), and today I get to go eat my weight in BBQ and then watch the Tony Awards.
Hell yes, y’all. Hell. Yes.
But there were a few other things making me happy this week too.
1. Even British Royalty Likes a Flyover
Look at how happy Harry is!
2. Trolling Pride & Prejudice
Apparently this happened on YouTube? I have no idea how/why, but it is HILARIOUS. I wholeheartedly endorse this.
3. Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast
I’m a big nerd and really enjoy learning stuff. And lately I’ve started to enjoy learning stuff via podcast.
The other day, Boyfriend was telling me about how he was listening to a podcast from How Stuff Works about family crests (he’s now designing one. He’ll probably tattoo it on his body.) I decided that maybe I should check out the How Stuff Works podcast, and when I searched for it in iTunes, it also brought up the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast.
So I listened and it’s really fun! The topics are incredibly diverse, and the hosts, though a little NPR-sounding, are really good at presenting the information. I’ve been listening to them non-stop since about Tuesday and definitely recommend it if you’re at all interested in, you know, things.
THE CUTE. IT IS INTENSE.
Also, I definitely watched this for EIGHT HOURS on Friday. I am not ashamed.
5. Call Me Maybe with Jimmy Fallon & The Roots
It is exactly as delightful as you think it will be.
http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1405554
6. Books and Book People
Book Expo America was this past week, which means that tons of bloggers and authors and cheerleaders of books were in NYC. You’d think that since I work in publishing I’d be all over BEA, but turns out, not so much.
Which was totally ok, actually. I mean, I wanted to be at BEA to see peoples and snag books and meets authors (*cough Myra McEntire cough*) but, as it happens, book people are awesome. So I ended up hanging out with several peeps outside of the blackhole that is the Javits Center and some of them snagged me the two books I really wanted to snag! Because book people are THE BEST.
And those are the things making me happy! Enjoy your Sunday!
What I’m Writing: On Motivation
The thing about writing a book is that is takes a lot of self-confidence.
That might surprise some of you. You’ll say, “But, it’s just writing. And you’re the one writing it. So why would you need to be self-confident to write? I mean, it is just writing?”
Well, my friends. You are sort of right. But when you write with the goal of someday having what you’ve written published, at least for me, there’s all this self-doubt that creeps in. I’ll think to myself, “Why am I doing this? There are a bazillion other writers out there who are so much better at this than I am, and who are telling much better stories, and there’s no reason to waste all this time that I could be spending watching Battlestar Galatctica on writing this stupid story that no one will ever want to acquire.”
Because that is how my evil brain works.
And because of my evil brain, I’ve taken a BIG BIG OH-SO BIG break in writing my current WIP.
But then this past week I got to meet several bloggers and writers who are in town for BEA. Not surprisingly, when I’m around authors and bloggers I all of a sudden want to go back and finish my WIP. Especially when published authors are all like, “I have a full time job, and three sons under the age of 10, and I’m on the School Board, and also I write books.” Because then I’m all, “Ugh. I’m such a failure thinking my life is so busy when my only responsibilities are going to work and paying my bills on time.” I seriously have no excuse for not being able to find time to write compared to those people.
And then at dinner the other night, I started talking about writing with Farrah Penn and Claire Legrand and Liz Vallish. After listening to Claire and Farrah talk about all of their awesomeness, I started lamenting my lack of motivation and how maybe my story sucks and no one would ever buy it. And they asked me what it was about, so I told them about it and how I envisionied it ending.
And guys. They were so supportive and encouraging, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And even if I finish writing this WIP and I think, “You know. I finished. That’s enough.” and move on and write the next book(s) swimming around in my head, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But! The beautiful part about all of this is that they reminded me that this WIP is still my first draft. It’s okay if it’s really really obscenely shitty. Because that’s the way first drafts are supposed to be! And it’s what the revision process is for! Because no one writes a first draft that is beautiful and shiny and perfect. NO ONE. And if they say they do, they’re a big fat liar. I’ve been putting all this pressure on myself for this to be GREAT and it just isn’t going to be yet. And that is a-okay!
So. I’m glad that I’m motivated again. I just need to find a way to keep the motivation up and not let myself get bogged down by my own evil brain and self-doubt.
Perhaps I’ll make a big glittery poster with motivational words to hang from my inflatable moosehead or something.
TGIF: Cast Your Own Story
Hello! It’s Friday!
*Friday dance*
Alright, so I’m a little obsessed with this week’s question. It’s a really good one.
Cast Your Own Story: If you could use existing characters from some of your favorite books to create a new story, who would be in it?
I went round and round on this, but I think I’ve finally settled on an answer I’m super happy with. And it’s all about the sassy, supernatural ladies.
In this new story I’d want these chicas together in college. Or studying abroad or something. There would definitely need to a happenstance sort of meeting. But because they’re all strong ladies, it might be a bit of a disaster at first, but I think in time they would end up really digging each other. Sort of like the Avengers.
So here’s my cast!
- Emerson Cole from Myra McEntire’s Hourglass series
- Sophie Mercer from Rachel Hawkins’s Hex Hall series
- Amy Goodnight from Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Texas Gothic
- Evie from Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy series
- Aura from Jeri Smith-Ready’s Shade series
- Rory Deveaux from Maureen Johnson’s The Name of the Star
It’s a little nuts, I know. But seriously, I think it could work out after it was a clustercuss for a bit.
And that is my cast your own story dream team!
Happy Friday everyone!
Review: Timepiece
Title: Timepiece
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Pages: 325
Format: NetGalley (Giant thank you goes out to Egmont USA!!!)
A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking…
Kaleb Ballard’s relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb’s powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he’s stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough…—from Goodreads
Around this time last year, I read Hourglass by Myra McEntire, not realizing how much I would love it.
And then I read it. And realized. And a lot of y’all did too.
That last part makes me happy.
But what makes me more happy is that Timepiece, the sequel to Hourglass absolutely holds up to the first book.
Not that I was worried.
With Timepiece our beloved Miss Myra McEntire made the OMG SO BRAVE decision to switch narrators on us. We meet and really get to know and fall in love with the wonderfully sassy Emerson Cole as she narrates Hourglass, but in Timepiece we have a new narrator—Kaleb (KALEB!), the oh-so smokin’ guy we met ’round about halfway through Hourglass, but never really got to know.
I mean, it was easy to tell that he’s smokin’. And an empath. And great. But we weren’t involved in what was happening in his brain.
And though I did miss Emerson as the narrator (I really gelled with her. But it’s not like Em went anywhere. She’s still around, sassin’ peeps and generally doing her thang.), McEntire did a great job with Kaleb. The narrator switch was a brilliant way to connect the audience to a character introduced late in the first book, and to provide a fresh reading (and, I’m sure, writing) experience.
And. AND! One should not forget that Kaleb is an empath. So, having him narrate provides a lot of emotional insight about other characters and about him, which makes the characters richer and more layered. And although Kaleb can read the emotional room, he can’t read the motivations behind the emotions. Which makes things interesting.
But Kaleb isn’t the only Hourglass minor character who made the leap to the majors. You know who else is still around? Lily.
OH LILY, MY LOVE. I am so glad we are better acquainted.
Lily Diaz, Em’s spitfire of a best friend who works at Murphy’s Law, was introdued in Hourglass, but was a peripheral character. But in Timepiece Lily is all kinds of around. And, just as you get to know Kaleb better, you also get to know Lily. And y’all. You’ll be so glad of this.
And though I am very enthusiastically urging you to go BUY THIS BOOK, I do have a word of advice for you. Before you ravenously devour Timepiece, take a little revisit to Hourglass. Reread the whole thing if you have the time. If you don’t, read at least the last two chapters or a very spoilerific review of the book.
Because time traveling and timeslipping can be intensely confusing.
There were a couple times while reading Timepiece where I found myself thinking, WAIT, WHAT?! And I’d run back to my copy of Hourglass and was all, “Oh yes. That. I remember now.” So don’t do like me, and instead PROPERLY PREPARE YOURSELF. You’ll be glad you did. Unless you’re one of those people who just REMEMBERS ALL from every book you read.
I am jealous of you if you can do that.
In sum, if you enjoyed Hourglass, you’ll be very, very, VERY happy with Timepiece. And if you didn’t like Hourglass, then you can leave. (I kid. You may have your own opinion. Just know that it is a stupid one.) But seriously. Timepiece is great and Myra McEntire is great and Egmont USA is great, and you should give them your monies in exchange for this book.
Bethany Larson 