The Non Reluctant Reader

August 17, 2012

JLA Read-a-thon Goals

The JLA Read-a-Thon is hosted by Stuck in Books

Because of Bout of Books happening right now, and other books I really have to read, I won't be able to read only JLA books this weekend. But anyway, here IS what I hope to read:

Here is what I hope to participate in:

Challenges: I'm actually hosting on the challenges so look out for that!

Twitter Party: I may or may not be there, lol!

Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop: Win a Signed ARC of Betrayal!

Welcome to my stop on the Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Elliott Review

Here is what's up for grabs:

1 *SIGNED* ARC of Betrayal by Gregg Olsen

In this action-packed thriller sequel to Envy, foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party--and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into the aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind?
Betrayal features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins' past…and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.

The Deets:

US/CAN Only. (Sorry international peeps)

Ends 11:59 pm EST, 8/22

Must be 13 or older or have parent's permission to enter.

DO NOT LEAVE PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE COMMENTS!

Enter after the page break! Good luck!

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and the Struggle

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle* by L.J. Smith
Release Date ~ 6/26/07**
Format ~ Paperback
Publisher ~ HarperTeen
Source ~ Bought
Purchase It!

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her.

Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

* This book contains the first two books in The Vampire Diaries series.
** These books were published individually in 1991, but were bundled together for the first time in 2007.

I think if I were to describe The Awakening in two words compared to The Struggle is "Smith's warm-up'. The Awakening didn't really seem to have a climax, even though when the book was first published it was alone without the second book bundled on, so I must think that this one may of turned off many fans to the series, which is a true pity, because The Struggle was truly a good read. I can't say too much about it so not to spoil it, but the climax basically consisted of a argument over a girl between two brothers. No blood-sucking (boo!) and no vampire slaying (boo!). I may just be a bloodthirsty demon, but I need more then that.

Another thing that really bothered me was Elena. Though in The Struggle she did get better, in The Awakening, she was nothing but selfish and stuck-up, and for lack of a better word, a real bitch. She repeatedly called guys "puppies who follow you around" and "accomplishments to show off to your friends". I know this is a girls book, but I have never met a girl that talked about guys that way. Though like I said, this is a girls book, if I was Ms. Smith why would I want to turn off guys from reading my book by making comments like that? To me it just sounds unnecessary. In the TV series CW totally changes Elena's character into a friendly, humble, nice person. Though I hate to see movies/TV changing major things in adaptations, I am very glad they did it in this one because I and I'm sure many others wouldn't watch a series that revolved around one of the meanest protagonists I've ever met.

One of the characters I did really like was Stefan. He was really gentlemen like, and very protective of Elena (though if I was him I would of fed her to Damon the first chance I got, that's how much I disliked her at first). He also, unlike his brother Damon, didn't lose his humanity by killing innocent people (does he sound a little like Edward? See, L.J. Smith came up with it first!).

Elena's two best friends, Bonnie and Merdith were also great characters. Both were willing to do whatever it took to help Elena (including breaking in to someone's house) and they were the kind of friends anyone would be lucky to have.

The Struggle is when the series really starts to pick up. It's also when Elena realizes she's a loser and decides to be nice(ish) though I still wouldn't describe her as a warm and fuzzy person. It's also when Damon becomes bigger, and he's the kind of guy I love to hate. I've heard he gets nicer in the upcoming books so please don't spoil it for me in the comments *covers ears and sings a song loudly*. I don't like the bad boys and am strongly Team Stefan, and if Stefan doesn't end up with Elena in the end BLOOD WILL SHED.

L.J. Smith had a writing style that let you get inside her character's heads. It made you understand why they were doing it and let you appreciate them in a new light. It's probably one of the things that made me warm up to Elena in the end.

In a nutshell, the first two books of The Vampire Diaries are fun vampire reads. Though The Awakening wasn't too enjoyable, read through it because you won't want to miss The Struggle.