Sidekick Showcase [52] - Keeping it in the Family

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

December Themes are Christmas related. Your choice! Something like jolly, giving, Angels, Elves, Grinches, Santa-Like, etc. You can choose anyone you feel that is somehow related to a Christmas theme each week in December. There's a lot of freedom there, but if you have any questions, just let me know.

This week is Keeping it in the Family

My choice is Janine Hathaway
The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

Janine Hathaway picture created by Jaclyn Canada

Janine Hathaway is Rose Hathaway's Mom in the Vampire Academy series. I absolutely LOVE her. The funny part is, Rose doesn't...at least at first when she's introduced. Janine took her dhampir promise "They Come First" to heart, and puts her Guardian duties over her mothering duties (at least in her daughter's eyes). She's absolutely fierce, feared, and other Guardians look to her for direction. After Rose goes through a tough experience, Janine is there for her more and their relationship is built brick by brick.

Quotes:

“Don't blame us," said my mother. "We didn't blow up half of Court, steal a dozen cars, call out a murderer in the middle of a crowd, or get our teenage friend crowned queen."

"Actually," said Abe, "I did blow up half of Court.”

---

“Janine Hathaway offered to be my guardian, " said Lissa suddenly.
"Janine Hathaway?" Tatiana's eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline. "I'm sure she has other commitments. No, we've got much better choices."
A better choice than Janine Hathaway? Not likely. Before Dimitri, my mother had been the gold standard by which I measured all badassedness.”

---

“My mom beat me up," I informed my reflection. It looked back sympathetically.”

---

“Well, well, well," I said. "If it isn't the people responsible for unleashing Rose Hathaway on the world. You've got a lot to answer for.”

---

“Did you follow me from the party?"

"Yes"

"I didn't even know you were there." His dark clothes indicated he must have been on guardian duty at the party. "So you saw the illustrious Janine cause a commotion by dragging me out."

"It wasn't a commotion. Hardly anyone noticed. I saw because I was watching you.”

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Harry Potter Moment of the Week [16]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! She is picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All she asks is to link back to her blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come here.

Favorite Magical Item

I love the Maurader's Map! It brings together so many characters in some interesting ways. When I was introduced to it, Fred and George own it and so graciously hand it over to Harry in his time of need. We later find out that Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs created the map. This makes the map even more special to Harry since his Dad and Father-like figures Sirius and Lupin had a hand in its creation.

The Maurader's Map enables the person using it who says "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" to view every corner, every room, every passage (even hidden ones) and the grounds of Hogwarts. The people there show up as footprints with a name hovering over. It doesn't differentiate between Jr. and Sr. however which does cause problems, and unplottable places like The Room of Requirement and The Chamber of Secrets never show up. To turn the map into a spare bit of parchment again, the user says, "Mischief Managed."

The map plays a fairly large role in the story as far as magical items go. It helped Harry sneak into Hogsmeade. It also very laughingly insults Snape when Harry is caught with it. Harry spotted a few people on the map that shouldn't be there which definitely changed the mode of the story. During Harry's sixth year, he hardly put the map down, constantly tracking Malfoy's movements to see what he was up to. Though it was only figured it out by determining that he kept 'disappearing'. The last book in the series found Harry desperately looking for Ginny's name so he could be close to her in some form.

My second favorite magical item has to be the time-turner. I want one of those for my collection soon. What's your favorite magical item??

I hope everyone that was celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday had a wonderful day!!

Sunday Cover Scramble [44]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:

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Sidekick Showcase [51] - Creepy

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

Next week is Keeping it in the Family - Relative of the Hero(ine)

This week is Creepy

My choice is Gollum
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Gollum picture created by Jaclyn Canada

Is anyone else super excited about Desolation of Smaug, or is it just me? With The Hobbit on the brain, Gollum was the perfect fit for me for this week. Gollum was originally known as Smeagol and was actually a type of hobbit before being damaged by the ring and turning unrecognizable in appearance and personality. With all the other hobbits running around, one with pointed teeth that lives in caves and talks to his other half is exceptionally creepy when compared with oh say Bilbo or Frodo.

Gollum got the name from the cough he is often associated with and he wars with his other half Smeagol. Gollum apparently will kill anyone in the way of him obtaining The One Ring and Smeagol tries to do the right thing and help others from time to time so these warring personalities inside of himself cause him to come across as disturbing. Bilbo pitied Gollum and didn't kill him when he had the chance, and later Frodo pities him as well. Further, Frodo is the only one to show him kindness since he fears that he could in fact become like him. The thing is, all Gollum cares about is the ring...so...he's super creepy.

Quotes:

"We even forgot the sound of trees and the taste of bread."

---

“Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.”

---

“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many - yours not least.”

---

“What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.
"Not fair! not fair!" he hissed. "It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in it's nassty little pocketsess?”

---

“So was I,” said Frodo, “and so I am. We’re going on a bit too fast. You and
I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point ‘Shut the book now, dad; we don’t want to read any more’.”

“Maybe,” said Sam, “but I wouldn’t be one to say that. Things done and
over and made into part of the great tales are different. Why, even Gollum might be good in a tale, better than he is to have by you, anyway. And he used to like tales himself once, by his own account. I wonder if he thinks he’s the hero or the villain?”
“Gollum!” he called. “Would you like to be the hero, now where’s he got to
again?”

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Review: Generation V (American Vampire #1) by M.L. Brennan

Published: May 7, 2013 by Roc
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Source: Sent for Review

Goodreads Summary 

Reality Bites

Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human.

But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.

But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.…

Strength and Firmness of Mind

I love a good vampire book as much as the next person, but authors face the daunting task of giving me what I want and making sure I'm not reading the same story over and over again.

The Good

Generation V is definitely unlike any vampire book I've read before. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be a vampire. Well, let me re-phrase that. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be MOSTLY a vampire. Fortitude is not all vampire yet, and he doesn't hold any of the traits that I know I stereo-typically associate with a vampire. He's not sauve, he's not calculating, he's not callous, and he most certainly does not have money. More than that, he's the underdog. I root for him the whole story to completely cut ties with that cheating girlfriend, to grow a pair and kick out that free-loading roommate, to kiss the girl despite nerves (plus who cares if she's out of your league!), and to get the bad guy despite no real super powers.

The names are a lot of fun in Generation V. Fortitude is such an apt name for our hero. He's strong of mind and firm in resolve, but doesn't have that physical strength or superman body. His brother Chivalry is someone I'd like to know more of. His name is fitting with regards to what I've seen so far in that he's a vampire and doesn't have qualms about human life being lower on the scale to theirs, but he stands up for his brother every chance he can as well as being a gentleman in some odd ways. You'll have to read more to know what I mean on that score. Fort's sister Prudence is all about her own interests and acts in a very practical fashion, so that one is right on as well. I also met Fort's mother, the matriarch of the clan Madeline.

"AH! You better make him pay!!" Fort takes on the task of saving some local girls from a visiting vampire, Luca, that flat-out sickens me. I want Fortitude to succeed so badly while reading that I yell at the book. Thankfully, he has help in the form of a sultry shape-shifter that has to be my favorite in the book, Suzume. I don't want to tell you too much about her because I want her to be a surprise, but just know I don't come across someone like her everyday, I love her fierce attitude and nonchalant hear-me-roar nature, and I ADORE the fact that Brennan gave us this creature to appreciate in Generation V.

The Bad

There were some definite times when I wanted to shake Fort and ask him why on earth he puts up with half the crap in his life that he does. Man, you are a doormat for part of the story!

I want to put this here for some to be fair-warned. There is a pedophile vampire as the bad guy. He's seriously nasty. Messing with kids is not ok! There is mention of what is 'probably' happening to the young girls but nothing graphic is shown or told in the story.

The Romance

There's not a lot of romance in Generation V. Fortitude's girlfriend is not someone that I liked. Suzume was a nice bit of chemistry and mixed things up well but while there was a lot of potential there and some flirting, there's not a romance.

Conclusion

By the end of this book, Fortitude was a nice strong character that I could really stand behind. I cheered for him and wanted him to succeed the whole time. He grew and made better decisions as time progressed and I was happy to see him in a much better place at the end. A true underdog that is on a mission with a wonderful sidekick. There is humor, action, and the extreme desire for the hero to win. Again, messing with kids is not ok so the bad guy had to go down!! Very recommended.

Excerpts

"Oh yeah, this looks like a completely natural death," I said. "As long as you ignore the gunshot, the smashed head and nose, the empty spot where one eye used to be, and oh yeah, the gaping chest wound."

"Yes, Fort's wit is our constant companion," Chivalry said, straight-faced. His second kick was even harder and I shut my mouth on what I would've said next.

"Because you're broke," she said.
"How do you know that?" Given the way that Suzume had treated me as her source of free food since she'd met me, I was pretty surprised that she'd known.
"A few subtle clues were evident." Suzume mimed inhaling on a pipe, then began ticking them off on her fingers. "First, there was your car. It's rusty, old, doesn't like to start in the morning, and the bumper drags enough that I'm sure that one more speed bump is going to rip it right off. Second, there were your clothes. They suck. Third was your unspeakable cheapness in not buying me a beer last night to go with the pizza. I mean, pizza and beer. They just go together. You don't mess with nature. But probably the most striking clue was when I accessed your online bank statement and looked at your balance."

This giveaway is for U.S. only. We're sorry to all of our international friends!!

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Sunday Cover Scramble [43]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:

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Sidekick Showcase [50] - One of a Kind

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

Next week is Creepy

This week is One of a Kind

My choice is Jesse Hauptman
Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

Jesse Hauptman Picture Created by Jaclyn Canada

While Jesse doesn't play a large role in the series, I sure enjoy when she's around. She is much loved by her father Adam Hauptman who is the Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack. In the beginning of the series, she spends time back and forth with her mother and her father. When she's with her mom, she's not featured in the book. Mercy met Jesse when she was 9 years old. They often bake together and discuss the 'Wild Things'. Speaking of, that's definitely something that makes Jesse one of a kind in this series. She's one of the few regular humans that we meet. On top of that, thanks to her not so great mother, she's very mature for her age since she has to be more of the parent in that relationship. She's eccentric, often changing her hair color (sometimes more than once in a book), and she lives in a house that werewolves frequently run in and out of in both forms. I love this bright spot of sunshine added to the series. Even when times are tough, there's not much that can keep Jesse down. Having the teenager added in the mix with all of the adults, sure adds a lot and also brings out Mercy's maternal side.

Quotes:

“Drink it,” I told her. “It’s good for what ails you. Caffeine and sugar. I don’t drink it, so I ran over to your house and stole the expensive stuff in your freezer. It shouldn’t be that bad. Samuel told me to make it strong and pour sugar into it. It should taste sort of like bitter syrup.”

She gave me a smile smile, then a bigger one, and plugged her nose before she drank it down in one gulp. “Next time," she said in a hoarse voice, “I make the coffee.”

---

Jesse was Adam's daughter, fifteen going on forty. She spent most of the year with her mother in Eugene - she must be in town to spend Thanksgiving with Adam. It seemed a little early to me for that, since Thanksgiving wasn't until Thursday, but she went to some private school for brilliant and eccentric kids, so maybe her vacations were longer than the public school's.

---

"Did you dye your hair specially for your father?" I asked, finding a spoon and handing it to her with a healthy glob of dough.
"Of course," she said, taking a bite then continuing to talk as if her mouth wasn't half-full. "It makes him feel all fatherly if he can complain about something. Besides," she said with an air of righteousness, "everyone in Eugene is doing it. It'll wash out in a week or two. When I was tired of the lecture, I just told him he was lucky I didn't use superglue to put spikes in like my friend Jared. Maybe I'll do that next vacation. This is good stuff."

---

"He said, 'Got a hit. Don't fret. He was a hired gun.'" She waved her empty spoon at me. "Now explain it to me."

I suppose I should have respected Adam's need to protect his daughter, but he was the one who sent her to me. "I killed a man tonight. Your father found out who he was."

"Really? And he was a hit man? Cool." She dropped the spoon in the sink next to the first one, then boosted herself up to sit on my counter and conducted a rapid question and answer session all by herself. "Was that what you called him about earlier? He was fit to be tied. How come you called Dad? No wait. The man you killed was a werewolf, too, wasn't he? That's why Dad took off so fast. Who is the wolf he came back with?" She paused. "You killed a werewolf? Did you have a gun?"

Several. But I hadn't brought one with me to the garage.

She had paused, so I answered her last two questions. "Yep and nope."

"It wasn't on purpose," I told her repressively. I might as well have tried holding back a tidal wave with my bare hands, it would have had as  much effect.

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