Sassy Sunday Quotes #3

"If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell."

Barnes and Zoos

So I've finally managed to obtain a copy of City of Lost Souls, even though all of my friends ruined the best parts. Don't you just love those guys?

While I was at Barnes and Noble getting my handy dandy reading material (I also picked up Incarceron by Catherine Fisher), I met the most amazing guy at the cash register. Never has there been a moment where  On second thought, no. I'd probably end up with some horrible disease or him dying in war. . . I'll take Sherrilyn Kenyon. Anyway, he was tall and thin, with brown hair and eyes and the cutest Irish accent I've ever heard. I just so happen to like all of those things.

The best part was that he wasn't hot. I'm not saying hot is a bad thing, but it gets old. You can find ten hot people easily. The cute ones are rare.

He was perhaps the most awkward guy I've ever met, and cute. Let's not forget he was cute. Like, "Holy fuck, did you just escape from a petting zoo?" cute.

And now he's giving me all sorts of plot bunnies that I don't need right now. . .

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1)

Leigh Bardugo

Pages: 358

Published Date: June 5th, 2012

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. . .

A Russian-inspired fantasy featuring orphan soldiers, strong female protagonists, Grisha, handsome amplifiers, and ravenous monsters? You had me at "Russian-inspired fantasy."

Let me stop fangirling for a moment and calm myself down. This book met and exceeded my expectations one hundred times over. I'll admit, I mostly chose it because the cover was fangasmic, but the story, the plot, and the writing backed it up.

Alina Starkov is skinny and awkward young woman working for the First Army as a mapmaker. Her handsome and talented childhood friend, Mal, is one of the best trackers, and not to shabby with the ladies either. He even managed to snag the snarky MC's attention. Too bad he's never looked twice.

But when her regiment takes a dangerous trip into the Shadow Fold, a permanent strip of darkness plagued with flesh-eating monsters called volcra that separates Ravka from its only coastline, everything goes horribly wrong. Mal is injured and without knowing it, Alina saves him by unleashing an astonishing new power that has potential to save all of Ravka. It's a good thing the handsome Darkling *fangirl scream* knows just what to do with her.

Swept into a world of riches and luxury, Alina must struggle to fit in, all the while mastering her new power and avoiding a sinister plot that plans to ruin the world.

Looking at the summary, quite a few cliches automatically pop out. Average girl in love with her best friend? Probably the oldest in the book, but despite this I loved the story.

Alina is a strong female protagonist. She doesn't curl up into a meek little ball and wait for her prince to rescue her, nor does she go all ball-busting and become a "chick with a dick." There was definitely character development from her, and by the end of the book, I felt as if I was reading about a woman instead of the little girl at the beginning of the story.

And the Darkling. *screams* What can I say? He's the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome wrapped up in mystery and danger. I was basically in love with him through out the entire book, even when the plot twist was revealed and I was like:

But boy can Leigh write men and kissing. *fans*

Now that I'm officially in love with this book, I have to wait an entire year until the next one comes out.


Anyway, do I really need to tell you to read this book? The animated gifs above sum up my feelings nicely.

Rating:

Don't be a tartmuffin. . .

First off, I have no idea what a tartmuffin is, so don't ask.

Second, I thought I'd share this quote from Band Leader Training:

"All hype and no substance makes you a fluffhead." -BLT Speaker

Now you're probably asking what a fluffhead is and it's the same as a tartmuffin.

Anyway, while this quote can be applied to student leadership and such, it can also apply to your characters. No one wants to read about an optimistic MC with dreams of changing the world, and then never see that happen or an MC who talks smack, but has nothing to back them up. Give your MC some meat and grits! Same thing goes for your antagonist. Wimpy villains are for the lame. Make sure their actions have a purpose instead of, "I'm an evil guy. RAWR!" And for the love of God, do not make them monologue their evil plans.

Now stop being a tartmuffin and give your characters a backbone.

Ciao,
Anah

Sassy Sunday Quote #2

My friend: "The third form of love is Acts of Service."                                                          Me: "Does that include paid services?"

Sassy Sunday Quotes

Every Sunday I'll post a quote meant to inspire writers. Most of them will be just for laughs, but maybe a few will spark an idea.

"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story!" - Barney Stinson

Hola!

This is the part where I introduce myself, right? Hello, I'm a senior in high school who writes to cope with being raised on the east coast by an overbearing mother and several obscene relatives. I escaped to country life in Colorado where I now spend most of my time dreaming of novels unwritten.


After years of gobbling up books I decided to try my hand at writing and I've loved it ever since. There's just something about crafting your own world that's highly addictive. But this isn't a writing blog. I don't know enough about the mechanics of writing to offer tips to anyone. I'll probably use this blog to dump my mental vomit. I can't promise I'll post daily or that it'll be exciting, but I promise to post a semi-exciting topic once a week. 
Paix et Amour,
Anah