Burned-- Pretty Little Liars #12 [Review]

Burned by Sara Shepard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥

The Pretty Little Liars think that escaping away on a cruise ship might be just what they need to escape all of their troubles. At least, for a little while. The salty air under the warm sun may be leading to a relaxing and educational class trip, but there's also another element that the girls didn't have planned.

Yup.

A's on the boat WITH them! And as usual, A will stop at nothing to make sure that the girls' journey isn't so peaceful and perfect.

As usual, the Liars' Series keeps my nose pressed against the pages. The excitement further builds within me with each page turn. Just when you think the girls are getting closer to find out who's behind everything, or if their lives will go back to normal or... not-- you're on edge, wanting to know the questions to answers that you just keep coming up with as you continue to read.

Some interesting things come into effect while on the ship and the girls end up realizing that one of their ship-mates was very close to the girl they met in Jamaica, Tabitha.

Oh.. and someone that they've previously known is REALLY out to get Spencer.

This was a great read. And if you're itching to get questions answered? Well.. keep reading. More revelations are abound.


View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Supernatural: Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting [Review]

Supernatural: Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting by David Reed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

A charming addition to the Supernatural universe with this book. From the wise words of Bobby Singer you're introduced and pretty much schooled in everything that goes bump in the night. You thought you knew Windegos, Vampires, Ghosts, Demons and other stuff of nightmares? Well, you might have to re-wire your grapefruit for this.

Bobby's placed everything you need to know to get your Hunter status kicked off in the right direction. Not only does he prep you for how to go up against some of those nightmares, but he also opens up a little bit into his personal world.

This journal left especially for Sam and Dean Winchester is the perfect icing for any Supernatural fan to have. David Reed has done a great job with capturing every fiber of Bobby's existence into these pages and still leaves you yearning for more as the book (journal) ends.



View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Ruthless-- Pretty little Liars #10 [Review]

Ruthless by Sara Shepard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
♥♥♥

I have to admit.. there was something about this particular read that didn't... grab me as strongly as any of the other books in the series. It felt like.. something was... off.. energy in some ways through the written aspect of each page?

Not sure.

The book still held excitement though! The story kept moving and brings you even closer to finding out everything you're wanting to know!

All for the fact that a lot of my questions with the last book were addressed.

Like-- Why was Emily being so... WEIRD... Weirder than normal in Jamaica?

And-- What REALLY happened in Jamaica? (Because honestly, not knowing in the last book and having to wait til half-way through this one to find out was killing me inside. Hah!)

Oh! And that girl who they THOUGHT was Ali in Jamaica? Wasn't really her.

Wait-- what?! An innocent girl DIED in Jamaica!?

Got to love it when the world of secrets and lies come gushing out at full speed! And that's what Ruthless delivers!

Flashbacks are awesome when they fill in the blanks!

We find out all about Spencer's little drug problem and the events that unfolded. It seems Hanna and Spencer framed Spencer's roommate Kelsey for drugs while Spencer was able to get off virtually scott free!

The girls think that they may have finally pieced together who A really is. And boy do they think that they're close! A girl that Emily happens to dating... is also Spencer's old roommate!

Another gasp!

They start putting their heads together... So maybe Kelsey is the one with REAL motive to behind the notes.

But.. she seems SO so innocent.

Or... is she?

View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Twisted-- Pretty Little Liars #9 [Review]

Twisted by Sara Shepard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

****SPOILERS AHEAD****

The title pretty much describes this entire book: Twisted! And boy.. was it Twisted. Twisted, tantalizing, and FUN.

Yet another book of Sara Shepard's that I just couldn't put down. There were more than a few times where I was gasping from amazement at what was happening to Rosewood's Pretty Little Liars here.

The hits just keep on coming and leave you more and more intrigued with each Chapter you read.

Everything in Rosewood seems to be all well and dandy at first.

I mean, since Ali is... ya know... GONE. Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily seem to be getting back to their normal lives. Well.. sort of.

In the year since the fire that nearly killed them, and Ali too a lot has happened!

The girls head to Jamaica to try and start fresh. Of course, something MAJOR happens to them there. Something so "horrible" that everyone has sworn never to speak of the incident again and the girls all go their separate ways.

Why is it when something major goes wrong the girls always tend to split up instead of staying together? That's a little annoying to me... but whatever! It makes for a great story!

The ring of lies and secrets never seem to end with these girls. And the secrets THIS time around? Are a lot bigger than anyone could have expected.

Everyone's future is at stake with this giant 'thing' that happened in Jamaica.

Oh... and A?

A is still around... tormenting the girls.

"...it's only the tip of the iceberg..." -A

View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Wanted-- Pretty little Liars #8 [Review]

Wanted by Sara Shepard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

****SPOILERS AHEAD****

This was probably my favorite book of the series... There was so much going on, you're eyes drink in each page more greedily than the last, all because you know that everything is coming full circle.

EVERYTHING does.

You learn the entire story. All of those theories you thought you had while reading? Will be wiped clean and taken from a new angle.

I loved this book and the way that Courtney-- *coughs* Well.. ALI, has been written. She starts to unfold like a delicate origami swan. Only.. every time you un-twist the paper it's rough and more jagged with each turn.

The Pretty Little Liars lives really seem to have gotten better. Especially now that a certain long lost friend is back in their lives... sort of.

One by one the Rosewood girls soon learn that Courntey isn't who she says she is. They find out that their dead friend really is back from the grave. And they couldn't be happier. Everything is finally going to go back to the way things were before Ali went missing!

Not.

You also figure out where Ian's been hiding!

An incredible read.

You're not going to want to put this one down.

View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Heartless-- Pretty Little Liars #7 [Review]

Heartless by Sara Shepard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

Through all the secrets and all of the lies, the Pretty Little Liars have a lot encircling them.

It seems that this 'new' A is leading the girls to something.. something big.

Overall this book.. really had me at the edge of my seat. This book was swallowed in two sittings just for the fact that I couldn't put it down. After the way the last book started, I didn't think I would start getting into anything until way later on.

Boy... was I wrong.

I really enjoyed reading through this. The writing was well done, and of course, we learn more of what happens with our

So Ian's not really dead. Spencer's still talking to him.. and boy is he dishing out secrets. But at least she's finally gaining her parents love that she had so badly missed over the weeks. Things couldn't be going better for her... that is, until later.

[If you're not wanting spoilers of the events in this book, I suggest you stop reading here...]

Emily's never-back-down instinct allows her to find herself in another part of the state going 'undercover' to learn some truths to things.

Hanna goes away to a 'mental' institution and figures something out...

Aria tries to talk to ghosts...

Yeah, this book was a fun read..

But the biggest thing is that they realize that.. maybe Ian isn't Ali's killer after all.

It all seems that all may be coming full circle toward the end of the book. In fact-- two HUGE things happen!

Ali... returns! ...well, sort of.

The Pretty Little Liars find out that Ali.... had a twin! Amazing right? Courtney is her name and she bares a striking resemblance to her sister.

Well, duh. She IS a twin after all.

Oh... and that pale faced girl with the dark hair and the naturally red lips? She's dead too. Yup... Jenna dies. And apparently it's by the same person who killed Ali.

Things are going to get heated as I dive into the next book. So many little secrets have come unraveled in this book, but yet... you just KNOW they're twisted and there's so much more...

This book is where the fun's at. :)



View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Killer-- Pretty little Liars #6 [Review]

Killer by Sara Shepard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥

The Pretty Little Rosewood Liars are really knee deep into things. Just when they think A will stop haunting their precious little lives... the chaos just continues to unfold.

So the thought about the once boy-next door, Ian Thomas, dying thing? That may not be so. It seems that what the girls thought was dead... really isn't. And a NEW A is sending each of the Rosewood four special texts.

Of course everyone thinks it's a hoax. That some kid on the opposite end of the country is just messing with their heads.. but that really isn't the case! These new message and threats are for real. And this time? The messages from A are.. a tad bit different. It's almost as if the new A is sending them clues in order to find out who killed Allison all those years ago.

It's looking like Ian Thomas isn't really "Rosewood's Most Wanted" anymore..

This particular book seemed really slow moving in the beginning, but things picked up really quickly for me. We learn that Spencer's adopted! And she's to meet her birth Mom. At least.. that's what she thinks... That part in the book had me curious to see if Spencer would defy A's wishes... and just leave Rosewood without a care of what would happen to her. And apparently, that's exactly what she goes and does. Though it comes at a price.

Each girl is taken though something that ends up backfiring on them in some way. (As it is every book) But I rather enjoyed Spencer's drama this round.

The more I'm reading the more Emily is coming off as annoying too. She sooo sensitive. But I'm sure that's exactly how the author wanted her to come across.

Considering the title, I thought this would be more of an Emily inspired "destruction tale", since "Killer" was a reference in regards to Emily's over protectiveness, like a pitbull, towards Ali. I wasn't disappointed though.

The END is where the fun REALLY begins! Why? Well that's easy:

Ali... lives!

And the story is just going to get more interesting from this point...

View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Unbelievable-- Pretty Little Liars #4 [Review]

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

"Unbelievable" is the best way to describe this book in one word. Proper title for a proper description.

A tantalizing continuation of the story. More drama seems to unfold with each chapter with each of the girls.

The build-up to the last few chapters of this book were exhilarating. It was hard for me to put it down (Surprise, surprise.)

Precious secrets that the Rosewood Liars have struggled to keep hidden slowly start to unravel.

One promise that was cinched together at the beginning has started to come unraveled. And it wasn't A's doing. Okay, maybe A pushed one of the Liar's a bit too far. But that's what was going to happen anyway... One certain little Secret Holder is then pushed to the police and tells them all about their "personal stalker". Now one of Rosewood's finest knows what's going on... to an extent.

Hanna is still trying to regain her memory from the car accident and is having a hard time remembering who A really was. It takes some time, but eventually all the memories of everything that her memory blacked out on starts to come back.

Yes. That's right. Hanna finally remembers and you find out who A really is!

And the girls seem to figure out who really killed Ali.

...only they're pleading innocent.

Which only further pushes more questions... Maybe all of this really isn't over....



View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Pretty Little Liars Book 1 [Review]

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥♥

The girls from Rosewood have an enticing secret and this book is the beginning to a series of an infectious tale.

Best friend Alison is dead... or seems to be and she's apparently got the dirt on her previous group of friends. Though.. if she's dead, how is she able to leave little personal notes in specific detail of what may have happened. Maybe Ali's not dead...?

Of course she is! They found her body buried in the backyard of her house.

And that's what keeps the mystery going.

Random bits of scandal are thrown into the mix along with secret affairs and dirty little secrets... Not to mention that "Jenna Thing" that keeps popping up and you have no idea what happened too. Though.. keep reading, I'm sure that the answer will await you on the next page.

Everyone has a secret.

Kind of makes you think twice about telling your own.

Essentially, I have to admit, I couldn't put this book down. I had a hard time even taking food breaks while reading this one. That's how much the story sucked me in. The way this book was written kept me interested with each page-turn and the words played out in my head like a movie.

The tale may center around a group of high-schoolers... but boy.. do they ever come to life in this book.

Loved it. Ate it up. ♥


View all my reviews at Goodreads!

Dead Blog is Dead

Yeah this poor thing is super dead.. I so didn't mean for that to happen.. I've just been so swamped with... well. Everything. Life, work... and then everything in between.

I'll have to play catch up with everything over the next few weeks...

Umm.. Let's see.. Cliff note's version?

- Had 2 jobs since September... jobless now, almost may have work again... Woo!

- Trip to New York in May which was awesome!

- Cosplay props? Oh yes! Made/making a few of those. I'll have to get some pictures.

- Found a new awesome site! Goodreads.com! Been posting a lot of my book reviews there instead of here. Main reason why this blog went kinda dead. I'll be transferring those reviews here soon..

- Anime Expo is less than a month away! Squee!

- Been volunteering at the library too. Yeeah.

Quick and dirty version, oi? Works just fine for me! Muahahaha! Okay.. On to normalcy around here again... Slowly but surely. :P

The Unofficial End to the Toy Hunt

So the McDonalds Super Samurai toy campaign is in it's last week or so... and I have to say that I've been more successful than most in managing to be able to grab all of the toys released.

However..

I am MISSING #2!!! And considering they just released #7 and #8 I don't think I'll be able to find it in stores....

Might have to snag it off of ebay or something..

I finally was able to get the Gold Ranger! YAAAAY!!! I'm happeh! I do love me some Gold Ranger Power. ;) I was wondering when he would show up in this run. Just like the other Ranger figures, he's able to pose his arms and swing his sword when you twist is torso back. Even though The Blue Ranger is my favorite, I think this guy is my favorite figure of the bunch.

The Black Box Disc launcher is #8!

Umm... Here's a better picture.  [Cropped down from a larger image posted on the McDonald's Happy Meal Website.]

This is one COOL toy. It pretty much resembles the new Samurai morpher.. but on a wee bit smaller scale. It comes with a set of 3 discs when you can stuff into the south end of the morpher.  And then to launch the little things, you press down on the gold symbol and PRESTO!

Pretty slick, I must say.

I'm going to have to make another trip to McDonalds before the campaign ends.. I need a second morpher thingy so I can play with it.

Go go Samurai!

Power Ranger Toy Hunt Chronicles

So yesterday I managed to obtain  #5 and #6 of the Power Rangers Samurai toys from McDonalds... Though, I'm half starting to freak out because I'm missing #2.... So it appears I'm going to have to do some hunting in order to get it. So... only three more toys and I'll have the entire set.

Gettin' closer at least!!

Blue Ranger is lucky number 5 in the set. He pretty much does the same thing as the Red, Gree, and Gold Rangers.  If you push back his torso and position his arms, his sword snaps forward.

I have to admit, I was suuuper happy when the guy working at the McDonalds handed it to me. Probably a little too excited to receive one of these little guys. I kinda smiled sheepishly and told him I was a collector and a fan (obviously). He just kinda grinned and rang me up. I think i'll go back up there and get another Blue Ranger... just because he's my favorite ranger from Samurai and I want him to sit on my desk. (heehee.)

#6 in the series is the notorious Shark Blaster!

Here's a better image. [Cropped down from a larger image posted on the McDonald's Happy Meal Website.]
 

 I have to admit..  THIS one is really awesome. There's three little discs in the side compartment. And once you load it up into the front end of the blaster you can pull back the small trigger on the opposite side of the disc container and fire!! I love the fact that it's got a little keychain thingy on the end of it as well. Which means this can easily clip on a backpack zipper or a belt loop or... your purse! ;) Maybe you can use it to fire at someone annoying in the grocery store line.

[Um.. Not that I'm recommending for you to seriously fire this at random people in line-- but it would be kinda hilarious! Just be prepared to get smacked or something. Hah!]

Wooo! Ranger Toys. Time for an episode of Super Samurai now, I think. ;)

Take a Right at Rainbow to BOOM TIME

Gem and Gemma of Power Rangers RPM.

Because it's TIME.

Time to make things go--

KA-BOOM!!!!!!!

Super Samurai Toy Hunt Continues

I managed to go to a few different McDonalds locations last night around the counties where I live looking for anymore of the Power Ranger Super Samurai toys. Apparently I'm finding the same stuff that's out.

Either this time they had nothing but Red Rangers or nothing but Green Rangers. I got lucky with a place a few counties over, and I got this bad boy.

#4 of the set. No #3 anywhere, of course... This is one of the four little toys I was perosnally excited about. (The other two being the weapons and whatnot, of course) But getting this and tryin' to peer into the bag to figure it out and see the construction, I'm kinda in that "Ooooh.... neat...!! This is awesome!" kinda moods.

Here's a clearer version of what it looks like without the plastic around it. 

[Cropped down from a larger image posted on the McDonald's Happy Meal Website.]


This toy comes in three parts.

 1. The belt buckle base.
 2. A light blue disc.
 3. A darker black-ish disc.

 All of which seems to be well constructed. There's an area on back where a darker disc is held in place. The front area has room to hold the other as well, however when the black hinges are pressed, it sends one of the discs launching. In turn, the blackened disc on the back, can be popped out and placed in the hinged area and displayed, or launched as well.

The discs are INSANELY awesome. I really love the light blue one. Just because the details around the edge of the disc are just all the more awesome.

ALL around the discs, each of the Samurai symbols adorn the edges. [Super Samurai Power!!] Which is a brilliant touch, in my opinion.

And the coolest thing? There's a clip so you can clip the belt buckle onto your pants (or shorts, or skirt, or belt!!)

I love it!

Writing this up has seriously made me start wondering if I should open this one to play with it. o.o

I'm sucha big kid...

Heehee.

Dork Diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO Fabulous Life

Dork Diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO Fabulous Life

Rachel Renee Russell

Age Range: Tween +


Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Nikki Maxwell is your average teenaged girl who has a passion for drawing and diary writing! Now attending a new school, she's got to find herself and try to balance school, homelife, friends, a nemesis, and her crush.


Nikki is soon pitted against a new nemesis that seems to want nothing but to crush Nikki underneath her designer footwear.

Can Nikki handle the pressure?

 Review/Report/Spoilers? Don't read it if you want to keep the surprise of the book. Otherwise? Journey on and click for more!

Power Rangers Super Samurai at McDonalds!

THANK you to m' buddy Zion for tipping me off!

I had NO ideas Power Rangers were makin' a comeback in kids meals. (I should have known better.)

I managed to snag #1 (Red Ranger) and #3 (Green Ranger).

And LOOKIE! They're in Mega Mode!! ^_^

Well Red's in his Shark Mega mode and Green is in Super Mega Mode.

When you move their torsos they snap-swing their swords forward. It seems you can move their arms up and down to position the sword/arms as well. These guys are pretty sweet, I have to admit!

I'm resisting the urge to break them open and play with them *giggles* Maybe I'll get another set for that...

They're so cute! :]

My guess is that some locations might have #2 and #4 out already so I'm going to go hunting and see if I can acquire them over the next day or so...

More to come! ♥

A little bit of Kamen Riiider in m' liiife...

Black RX
Kamen Rider.

Showin' the looove.

♥

Monster High Lunchbox Review

So today I made a trip out to get a couple of books and I stumbled upon this little gem.

 

I'm really surprised at the quality of this lunchbox. It seems the manufacturers really know what they're doing when it comes to lunch carriers these days. I remember the lunchboxes (lunchpails? Lunch carriers? Lunch sacks?) I had when I was a kid. They'd get semi kicked around after lunch time if you didn't run up to your classroom and put them by the door. And the "insulated" ones never did their job, or they ripped and you'd have a glop of melty water in your carrier by the time it was time to go home. 

The vinyl is incredibly durable and the embellished plastic on the front with all the ghouls  is stitched on well. I'm pretty sure this lunch carrier can handle being tossed around. 

The screen print detailing on the sides of the carrier, might wear over time, but if treated right I'm sure it will fair well. :]

I had seen this same lunchbox at Toys R Us a few months ago along with a backpack i wanted but failed to get... I figured they'd be avaliable later when I had a little bit of extra cash to use. But when I went back for the backpack they were all out! Same with the pencil case and this lunchbox. 

The nice thing is with this, at least if work ever stars up I can throw my lunch in here and take it with me... Either that or turn it into travel case for my makeup and other stuff when traveling... since I seem to do that too much anymore. Every few months we're runnin' off to Vegas for a week or so-- So this would be great!

 For now, it will hold electronic goodies, I think.

I'm starting to think that I should do separate articles for all of the Monster High merchandise pieces I have...

Been so lazy...

Mmm.. I need to draw something..

 So I came across this tumblr blog that i really seem to enjoy. The person who runs it is pretty straight-forward and is pretty quippy.

I came across this one post

Rickets

And died laughing.

What originally brought me here was the fact that I was investigating a claim made by someone who said that this gal I know traced some art. I was curious.. and I never make judgment calls before I know everything first.. So..that's what originally lead me here in the first place.

Then i realized what the mission of the lady that runs the place is... and I'm pretty on-board for what stands.. So i figured, I'd see what's what.

I'll do my lurker-thing for now... As always.

I need to like...doodle something, I think... 

Gettin' that... urge... :P

Yup. Urge has been met.

Morphicon Haul!

The past few days I've honestly been trying to take my time to get over this dreaded 'Nerd Flu.' I came home from the convention and my eyes just started watering, my nose was immediately clogged, just feeling all around horrible. 

Aruuugh.

I don't get it. I doubled up on Vitamins before, during and after the con and I still get hit with things?! At least... it didn't stick around for long. 

Anwway I wanted to get a few shots of the goodies that I brought home from Power Morphicon.

First the Freebies!

• A Red Ranger shirt (black) with Might Morphin' Red, Megaforce Red and Super Samurai Shogun Mode Red
• Silver 2012 Convention Coin
• Power Morphicon Pin
• Blke Foster's Blue Crew rubber bracelet
• Power Morphicon Laynyard (came with ze badge. Hehe!)
• Power Rangers Samurai Lego Figure (I got Red Ranger! :D)
• 4 Mini Posters [Lord Zed Poster was signed by Tone Rodriguez!]
• Power Rangers Super Samuari Mini Comic
• Power Morphicon Postcard (I wish I got more of these!!)

My Purchases!!

• Power Rangers Ninja Storm Red Wind Ninja Jacket
• Power Rangers Lost Galaxy Morpher [FINALLY have one!!!!! It works and everything!]
• Vernon Wells as Ransik Autograph print
• Mike Ginn as Gem Autograph print [SEE!??! He loved teh sticker I gave him!! ♥]
• Flashpoint Zoom Comicon Exclusive Figure [Technically not Ranger related but I saw him and couldn't pass up the opportunity to have him. You all know how much of a Flash freak I am. Hah!]

And about that Comicon Zoom figure-- considering I wasn't able to attend.. or pick one up online? Seeing him there... He was the happy impulse by. Gunna have to find a special spot for him somewhere on my wall.

Working on making frames for the two autographed prints of Mike and Vernon as well. They've gotta drrrry first! Maybe tomorrow I can do some room-wall arranging or something.. Heh!

The Lost Galaxy Morpher I got was from an awesome little vendor booth on the left side of the vendor haul.. I bought it from a lady named Sara. I don't know what shop she was representing.. but she and I had an awesome conversation on Saturday while hanging out off to the side of the convention floor while she was on break.

YOU ARE AWESOME LADY! I need to find you!! If you ever happen to read this... I'm sure you'd remember the chick that was dressed up as Marah, right? Anyway... CONTACT ME!! ♥ I'm going to see if I can't track you down. xD

Giftie!!

My very first Dice-O Card of  Ninja Storm Blue! Given to me by Char! ♥ Thank you so much!!

I think I need to get more of these cards.. I saw a bunch while I was up there at the con and kept looking at them. I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN SOME!!  *headdesk* Another time, I suppose. Hehe!