Fangirl Friday: Ryan Mendez

Today is Fangirl Friday! And today, we're fangirling over the amazing Ryan Mendez from the Dead Is series by Marlene Perez!

(Douglas Booth as Ryan Mendez)

Isn't he just dreamy?

The first (five-ish books) of the Dead Is series revolves around Daisy Giordano, the youngest daughter of the Giordano clan- a family of psychics. However, she isn't psychic (or is she...?). Daisy learns how to stand out from her family using her super sleuthing skills to solve crimes in her sleepy beach town of Nightshade, California alongside her long time best-friend Ryan Mendez. Together, they uncover the shocking secret her little town is hiding and uncover the truth about what really happened to Daisy's missing father.

The series is currently on it's third spin-off series book (Dead Is Just A Dream), which revolves around Ryan's best friend's (Sean Walsh, whom is featured in the first half of the series) little sister, Jessica. He doesn't play much of a big role with Jess's story, but you do get glimpses of him!

I love Ryan! He is just...PERFECT! (Although he gets a little hairy later during the second book). Personality and feature wise!

•He is 16 in the beginning of the series

•He has lived in Nightshade all his life

•He is best friends with Daisy Giordano and Sean Walsh

•His dad is the Nightshade chief of police and his mother lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend. He also has some cousins living in San Carlos, California.

•He is a football player

•He once had a crush on Samantha Devereaux, Daisy's former ex-best friend

•He has curly dark hair, tan skin, and green eyes

•He is highly intelligent and a loyal friend

•He and his dad have a connection to some of the shady things going on in Nightshade...

So what makes Ryan Mendez worthy of today's Fangirl Friday? Well, as you can see, he is the definition of a small-town boy, from the close relationship he has with his dad to being well known in the community as the police chief's son, the all-star athlete and just being...Ryan.

He is very involved in the series, and helps Daisy out when she is solving mysteries in their town. He is supportive, he is loyal, he is protective, and he is willing to break into a morgue if you ask him to!

What I love the most is that he is Daisy's rock throughout the series (yes, even when he turns into a werewolf). He has been there for her since they were kids, he was there with her when her dad 'disappeared', he was there when she had no one and felt like an outsider, and he was there for her even when he wasn't supposed to be.

Ryan is that type of guy that can do something bad, but you'll forgive him for it, because he will do everything in power to right his wrongs. He's that guy that's worth fighting for, which is why he is this weeks Fangirl Friday!

Favourite Quote: "Ryan you scared the heck out of me!" I said. 

"Who else would be grabbing you? He said. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Of course not," I said. "I just wasn't expecting it." (Dead Is A State of Mind)

Favourite Scene: When Daisy calls Ryan in Dead Is The New Black and asks him to meet her, Ryan gets a little taken aback, then she tells him they're going to the morgue. But he doesn't say no.

Favourite Quality: His protectiveness over Daisy! GAHH! It's to die for! Especially in Dead Is Just A Rumour when Ms. Trey was about to kill Daisy, but Ryan saved the day!

Oh! And did you guys know that the awesome Lisa M. Forester is going to be featured on tomorrow's Saturday Spotlight?

Have a great Friday night guys!

Waiting on Wednesday: Unbreathable (#6)

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

One hundred and fifty years ago, Earth was destroyed, and the remaining humans fled to the dusty red planet of Jutaire, where the only oxygen is manufactured, food is scarce, and death strikes often.

When Lissa's father discovers Earth still exists, she accidentally inhales the toxic air of Jutaire, and in one breath, discovers she isn't quite human.

Her father hangs for his discovery, and Lissa knows the Chancellors will come for her, for she saw the Earth that night too. With nothing to lose, she sets out to expose the truth. It isn't long before she meets Julian, a beautiful boy who can breathe the toxic air like she can - and shows her that the Jute, the original inhabitants of the planet, are more tangled in their lives than she knows.

But the Chancellors are only pawns in a greater game - one where the Jute control everything. Worse, the Jute plan to leave Jutaire for Earth, but to get there, they need her. And they'll stop at nothing until Lissa is in their clutches, even if they kill every human in the process.

The race for Earth has begun

Unbreathable by Hafsah Laziaf comes out later this month on October 29th!

What really caught my attention for this book was the title and it's pretty font. And after reading the synopsis, I just had to put it on my to-read list!

The interesting thing about this book is that unlike most sci-fi/dystopian books, the characters don't live on Earth; they live in a different planet. According to the synopsis, Lissa is a girl who can breath the unmanufactured air of Jutaire, and that the Jute (the original inhabitants of the planet) need her to get to Earth. I don't know, may be this means that she's half-Jute, half-Earth-ling? Or maybe she's an experiment! Oh my gosh, are the Jutes humaniods or are they aliens?

So many questions and theories; I really wished the released date was today!

#JoinTheAgenda: Lie to Me lyrics

Hey guys! It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada (which means I have 4 days off, yay!). I was going to do my review of Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare and post it today, but I spent the whole afternoon shopping with my family that came from Alberta. I got a lot of new clothes! :D Unfortunately, I was banned from buying any books so...yeah. No book haul this week :(

But, I decided that instead of spending my evening writing my review and ignoring my homework and my 10 other books I have to read (yeah, I'm totally behind), I would post the lyrics to Lie to Me.

Lie to Me is a song I wrote inspired by Gennifer Albin's Crewel. I was planning to record the song as well, but unfortunately, I haven't gotten around that yet :( I've been super busy... and my dad is very wary letting me near his nice recording stuff. He thinks I'll break it (I probably will though. I broke his guitar once :/).

So hear it is, Lie to Me by yours truly :) Hope you like it, and hopefully I'll be able to record this thing! (Eventually).

Lie to me

Lie to me

Tell me it'll be okay

Promise I'll be safe

That we'll live to see another day

Stay with me

Pull me a little close

Keep me forever

And promise to never let go

This is all a dream

Nothing is what it seems

You might speak useless things but it means the world to me

I've seen the truth

I've been fed lies

But it's your useless things 

That help me sleep at night

So lie to me

Your so against the world

Please come back to me

Love may be cruel

But reality is crueler you see, that

I have no power

Without out you

Give me your strength

And fight with me, stay with me, please lie...

This is all a dream

Nothing is what it seems

You might speak useless things but it means the world to me

I've seen the truth

I've been fed lies

But it's your useless things 

That help me sleep at night

So lie to me (X3)

(Lie to me) Tell me this'll stop

(Lie to me) Tell me you believe in me

(Lie to me) Tell me your still my friend

(Lie to me) Tell me that this world won't end...

Lie to me

Tell me it'll be okay

Promise I'll be safe

That we'll live to see another day

Lie to me

Give me words of comfort and strength

I don't care if it's for a little while

Just lie, lie, to me

Saturday Spotlight: Paula Stokes

It's Saturday Spotlight! And, if you follow me on twitter, you would probably know that I'm VERY excited about my Saturday Spotlight guest! If you don't, please follow me (@missyallydums97).

So without any further delay, let me introduced to you the awesome, the amazing, and one of my favourite people in the world, Paula Stokes! 

Paula Stokes is a YA author at HarperTeen and RN, and also a total outdoors-y person! She's travelled the world, works constantly, but she took the time out of her busy schedule to talk to me about being Paula, having an alter-ego, and of course, her new book, the Art of Lainey! 
 

See? Isn't the cover so pretty? It's pretty hard for me to imagine that this girl is going to go all Zhou Dynasty on a guy!
 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is used to getting what she wants, and when her boyfriend Jason breaks up with her for no reason, what she wants is to win him back before the start of their senior year. Lainey and her friend Bianca check the interwebz for tips and tricks, but the online dating advice is all pretty lame.

Then the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. Didn't someone once say that love is a battlefield? Jason isn't going to stand a chance once Lainey and Bee go all Zhou Dynasty on him...

Old school strategy and subterfuge meet modern-day dramarama in the story of a girl who sets out to win at all costs and ends up discovering what's really worth fighting for

1) Will you tell everyone a little about yourself? Fun facts, pet peeves? Maybe a favourite cat or two?

Let's see. I'm an author and a registered nurse, though I had to quit nursing when I was trying to manage deadlines and grad school. I really miss working with leukemia/lymphoma patients because they always helped me keep my priorities in check. I'm a big traveler and  can say "thank you" in twelve languages. I have a thing for Cadbury creme eggs and firefighters, not necessarily in that order. (Who are we kidding? Totally in that order). And I have two favourite cats--Taz and Mufasa.

2) You are already a published author of two (soon to be three) amazing YA historical books under a different name. What made you want to branch out and do a contemporary novel?

There wasn't really any branching out. I wrote LAINEY concurrently with VENOM. VENOM just sold on proposal so it came out a lot earlier. I like a lot of different genres. This can be problematic when it comes to author-branding, but one thing I've learned so far is that writing can be a lot of work for little pay. In order for that to be worth it, it helps to write books that you love. That's my #1 piece of advice to writers--write what you love. The research is more fun, the writing is more fun, and when you have fun at your job, it shows in the quality of the end product.

3) Was it hard transitioning from historical to contemporary? Which genre was the most challenging to write?
 

Again, no transition. My very first drawer novel is contemporary so I've always had a feel for that genre. Historical was ten thousand times harder for me to write. I bet I spent two to three times as long researching and checking word derivations than I did actually writing (and still made mistakes). And I had to write like 1000 pages without using the word 'dude'. Or even 'guy!' :-) I don't know how I did it. I suspect amazing editing played a part.

4) What inspired you to write the Art of Lainey? And did you ever go all Zhou Dynasty on a guy before?

The story was inspired by this guy I was seeing that I was 100% crazy about who just kind of vanished out of my life at a time when everything else was going good. Heh, he's thanked in all of the Venom acknowledgments and I talked to him not too long ago and was like "I guess I gotta thank you in this one too since you bailing on me in spectacular fashion is what inspired it." He was like "I'm sorry, P. I'm an ass." He's not, though. Some people just aren't meant for relationships. I can definitely say I have used sneaky and manipulative tactics to win back a guy before. That story did not end well.

 
5) Are Lainey Mitchell, Jayson and Bianca based on anyone in your life? 

A lot of Lainey is based on me--things I've said, things I've wanted to say but never got a chance to. Hilariously, the first round of editors who read the manuscript all hated her and thought she should go die in a fire, so I guess maybe I'm not a very nice person ;-) No worries, though. Lainey has softened up a bunch in revisions. I find her totally complex and endearing. Jason (he lost his Y in revision) is based a little bit on guys I've known. Bianca is based a little bit on a friend of mine, but mostly a fabrication.

6) What do you think readers will like about this novel? And how do you think fans of your alter-ego books will react to this story?

Dude. I have so much love for this book. This story is a romantic comedy so no, it doesn't have a body count or several shocking twists. What it does have is hope and love (but not insta-love!) and amazing human interactions. A lot of the characters are flawed, but they still have these positive relationships with siblings or parents or friends. Add to that some quirky settings, funny dates, and plenty of swoons and that's pretty much LAINEY. I feel like people who like VENOM for the romance will love this book and people who want more of a mystery will love my next book, LIARS, INC. What can I say? I'm a girl who likes to cover all the bases.

7) Will you write any more books under 'Fiona Paul' and revisit the historical world? If not, what can we expect from you as Paula Stokes?

Paper Lantern Lit owns the Fiona Paul name so I have no idea if there will be more books written under that name. I personally have no desire to write more historical books. It was a fun challenge, but my heart gravitates more toward contemporary or futuristic settings. So far everything I've written as Paula has been a bit different from everything else, but you can expect some standalones, male and female MCs, first-person present narration, snappy dialogue, and stories that end on a hopeful note. Maybe not straight happily-ever-afters, but those books where the girl doesn't get the boy and the dog gets run over and the house burns down and the whole world is crushed by a meteor at the end? Yeah, I don't want to write (or read) those books :-)

Another fun thing: I am started a manuscript critiquing service with my friends Tara Kelly, Jessica Spotswood, and Elizabeth Richards. Our website goes live on October 1st and we'll have some giveaways for those of you looking for feedback on your query letters and manuscripts.

So that's it for me & Paula! If you wanna know more about her and the Art of Lainey, checkout the links bellow! And did YOU know that her second book, LIARS, INC is coming out February 2015? HOW cool is that? I'm amazed that she can write so fast O_O I can barely write my English essay.

Paula Stokes, YA Author at HarperTeen

THE ART OF LAINEY (June 2014)

LIARS, INC. (Feb. 2015) 

www.paulastokesbooks.com               

Twitter: @pstokesbooks
Goodreads: Paula Stokes
 

P.S You can win a $25 Gift Card to Powells.com and, oh yeah, the COOL (totally awesome, once in a life time chance, take it while you can moment...sorry, I ramble on when I'm excited) chance to win A ROLE in the ART OF LAINEY at Ensconced in YA's blog! Enter NOW! YOU HAVE 3 DAYS! Contest here :)

Fangirl Friday: Luca da Peraga

It's Fangirl Friday! And, in honor of Paula Stokes being featured in tomorrow's Saturday Spotlight, I decided to feature another one of her beautiful boys from her YA Historical series, Secrets of the Eternal Rose (note: she writes the series under the name Fiona Paul). Last time, I featured the gorgeous Michael Fjordbak as His Royal Hotness, the King of Mysterious Goodlooks, Falco da Padova! (here):

 

So from badboy hottie to the bookish nerd, let me introduce you to the beautiful, intelligent, and the definition of a Renaissance gentlemen, Luca da Peraga!

No...not that Luca.

 

Love you too, but BYE Luca. I have to introduce the other Luca! *waves away*

Matt Kane as Luca da Peraga

 



CIAO, SIGNOR PERAGA!

 So Luca da Peraga is one of the love interests of Cass Caravello in the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trilogy! (In fact, he is her fiance!).

 

The series revolves around a 15 year old noblewoman named Cass, who craves adventure. She (unexpectedly) finds it when she stumbles upon a dead body of a mutilated woman in her best friend's grave. Cass teams up with residential badboy, Falco da Padova, to find the murderer and her best friend's body. While Cass is out at night, dressing up to infiltrate parties and break into houses, and oh, getting to know the body the mysterious boy with the bright blue eyes, her mind can't help but wander back to her beloved Luca studying law in France to give her a good life.

 

Sure, she's having fun. Sure, she's had more life experience in the days after her friend's funeral than she did since her parents died five years before. But Luca has always been there for her, and without him, Cass knows that all final pieces of a normal and safe life will disappear.

 

Right now, the series is on it's second book, Belladonna, and it has left Luca and Cass's relationship on much stable ground than Falco and Cass at the moment. But Luca has his own secrets and plans too. So the question is, will Cass chose comfort over being free?

 

Anyways, enough with the dark and gloomy stuff! Let's get to know more of Mr. Proper himself!

• He is 19 years old (making him four years older than Cass and three years older than Falco. it was the 1500s guys, it wasn't uncommon for women in their late teens to marry men in their mid to late forties- or something like that).
• He's tall, he has brown eyes and blond hair
• He studies law in France (fancy, huh?)
• His father and his younger sister, Diana, are both dead
• He has known Cass since childhood
• He's related to some pretty crazy people

So what makes Luca worthy of this week's Fangirl Friday?

 

Well, I love him as a character because he brings out the girly side of Cass- she's nervous around him, is worried about her looks etc. With Falco, she taps into her feminine side as well, but both have walls and a lot of very strong opinions that either work or clash. She is perfect with Falco, but she is perfect with Luca.

 

But what I love the MOST about Luca is that, well... Luca isn't all that he seems to be!

 

Other than him being reliable and patient, kind and intelligent, Luca isn't all fun and games. If he's really mad, he won't care to unleash his temper on you. He has family members that can be classifed as insane. And, OH! And if you dare try to harm his fiancee, Cass, it is war.

In other words? Luca, along with being good-looking and smart, he is also very badass!

 

Falco has that fierce, protective side too, but I like seeing it on Luca more because 99.999999999999% of the time he is described by Cass as gentlemen of the year; even Marco (Cass's best friend's husband) speaks of Luca like he is the image of goodness and properness while discussing his sentence with Signor Rambaldo in Belladonna! It's weird seeing him lose his temper and fighting off crazy people to save Cass, but at the same time, its just..works!

 

Favourite Quote:

Luca's smile wavered for a moment. He stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. "No matter. I'm here now. Just in time to protect you." (Venom)

 

Favourite Scene:

When Luca saves Cass from Cristian in Venom!

 

Favourite Quality:

His kindness and thoughtfulness with his engagment with Cass. She is his top priority, and even asks her if she is ready to get married- he doesn't push her!

 

So that's it for me for Fangirl Friday! Come back tomorrow to see my interview with the real Fiona Paul, Ms. Paula Stokes!

AND if you want to know more about Luca, Cass and Falco, check out this Venn Diagram/ character sketch I found at the Paper Lantern Lit blog here!

 

 

Blogger Life: Caught Red-handed

Like I said, I just have soooooo much going on that I didn't have time to make a Throwback Thursday post for this week! I just really wanted to finish all my homework and assignments before the break, but unfortunately for me, my teachers assigned MORE stuff for me to do during this Thanksgiving holiday! Yay!



But other than getting assignments and homework, my day was pretty okay. Till, you know, I got caught eating. TWICE!

I DO eat breakfast in the morning, let's get that straight first! I eat usually some toast with jam and butter, waffles (I LOVE waffles!), or something Filipino that my mom whips up when she has the time. I don't usually get hungry after lunch, but at school, I just feel so hungry by second period! The problem? We're not allowed to eat in class because it's against Sabrina's Law.

So, I chew gum to keep my mind of food or I eat a mint. A LOT of mints. But today, I just got so hungry :( So I started eating my apple slices. For anyone that wants to eat in class, DO NOT do what I did: eat when the teacher is looking straight at you and having a conversation with you. Seriously, don't.

In my defense, she wasn't originally talking to me in the first place- she just happened to look at me and ask me a question in the end. THAT'S how I got caught. So never, ever, eveeeeerrrrrr eat in class when the teacher is not focused on work.

When I got to Economics class, I was getting my books out and was reaching to pull out an apple, but my teacher suddenly walked in. So I was caught red-handed right off the bat and didn't even to eat a slice 3A!

You think I would've learned to be more covert when eating an apple in class, but apparently, I'm not really covert. I guess this is a sign to never eat again in class since it is against the rules. I should really just stick to mints, at least I don't get in trouble as much!

Happy Thursday!

Blogger Life: The Benefits of a Bookworm/Book Haul (#3)

As I write this, it's Wednesday night, nearly 10:45 pm. I am exhausted and just DID NOT have the time to do a Throwback Thursday post! I feel so bad because I said I would be more consistent with blogging, but I have my reasons:

1) I tutor 3 kids in science, all of which have a test Thursday

2) I helped my classmate with their essay

3) I had to do math homework *shivers*

4) I had to give the kids I tutoring some extra help when I got home plus some motivating words (it's very important!)

5) I have a French test Thursday...which I probably failed

6) I have an essay due next Wednesday or Thursday

7) My school board is giving us Friday off for Thanksgiving (YAY!)

8) EVERYONE has Monday off for Thanksgiving 

9) I don't go back to school Tuesday 

10) 4 day weekends = all your teachers schedule tests, quizzes and assignments the week before or after the break to get marks in before parent teacher interviews (WHICH IS REALLY SOON)

And 11) My family from Alberta is coming over, so my house is going to be crowded and loud for a week!

So you see, I have a lot on my plate right now. Also, as editor of the school paper, I'm responsible for setting up training days, the email, FB & Twitter page, and the next meeting, and reminding when others when deadlines are. 

And I'm also going to get my licence either during the break or next week. The problem? The driving book is my friend's, I have 397491839288392828 other things on my mind and I have 7 other books from the library to read and review. And I'm blogging.

I'm literally stressed to the max!

But, on the bright side, I went to the library today to talk to my favourite librarians! And guess what? I got some pretty cool books:

I got the Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald, and We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.

They're currently 7-9 on my reading pile, but I'm seriously excited. I'm reading Eyes Like Stars first since it's a library book, and I'm saving the other two for last since they're the librarian's. Another reason why in saving the last two books for last is because my librarian told me I'll cry. I told him not to give me any books that will give me feels/ put me in mourning period, but no, he still gives them to me.

Bright side? I have a lot of books to keep me busy for at least 2 1/2 weeks. The benefits of a bookworm, huh?

What I want to know is, what's keeping you awake? Homework? Assignments? Coffee? Comment bellow or say hi to me on my twitter @missyallydums97!

Have a good morning/ night guys! Off to study for French :)