Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Release Date -May 2010
Publisher - Chicken House
Pages - 299
My Rating- 10/10

This is going to be my first "attempt" at a book review. I hesitate to call it a review as it will just be my thoughts and feelings instead of an analytical break down of the novel.

I wanted to do this because this book made me want to talk about it. I wanted to tell everyone I know to read this book. It impacted me that much. I am just sad it's my first review as I really want to do this novel justice.

Here is the synopsis of the novel from GoodReads

Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty - rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar - pays for Gemma's drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback. 
Stolen is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare - or die trying to fight it.

You saw me before I saw you.... The beautiful, haunting opening sentence. This novel grabs you right from the beginning and doesn't let go.

I really enjoyed the way the author manages to bring to life the dry, hot, red desert in Australia. I could almost feel the heat pushing down on me when Gemma was describing it. I could easily picture her surroundings and could feel how she must have felt.

I think the novel's strength comes from the characterization of Ty. I, like Gemma, felt myself torn. Part of me wanted to hate him and part of me just couldn't. Maybe it was his story, maybe it was the fact that I kept picturing the delicious Ryan Kwanten (who should play Ty in the movie of this book when/if it gets made), or maybe I had a little bit of Stockholm syndrome myself. This is the most brilliant thing the author was able to accomplish, and she does it so subtly. You don't really realize it until you're reading the last few pages and it hits you hard in the stomach. Lucy Christopher was able to shape, and direct the reader's emotions so that we were able to feel what Stockholm syndrome might be like.

The ending for me was the only ending that could have come out of this (even if it is the ending only half of you is rooting for). I am also so glad that the letter was not signed Love, Gemma at the end. It would have just felt "wrong" somehow if she had signed it that way.

The highest praise I can give this book is the fact that I immediately didn't pick up another one. I had to take some time and digest before I could pick up another one. Stolen is a beautiful, well written, engrossing novel that will stay with you long after you've finished it.

Wednesday...

So, I totally meant to post a review of Stolen by Lucy Christopher before doing another one of these but I just haven't had time to sit down and write the review yet.

It's a little late, but here is another book I am waiting on...

This is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine

Today pick is Wither by Lauren DeStefano
 

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males
only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak
landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to
keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant
Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the
limted time she has left.

It is set to be released March 22, 2011. The cover is striking and the synopsis sounds AMAZING. I am excited to finally get my hands on it!

Waiting on Wednesday.....

I have been awful about updating this blog. I am going to make an honest effort to update it way more often. I have decided that I want to talk more about books, movies, etc (basically all the stuff I love) so I am going to be doing reviews, and posts on things that make me excited. I am going to start with little thing that other book bloggers do. It's called Waiting on Wednesday and it seems that it was started by the blogger at Breaking The Spine. These are books that the blogger can't wait to get their hands on. My "waiting on Wednesday" pick Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake. The publication date is - Sept 2011.

Here is the Goodreads.com official synopsis –

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . . Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay. When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. And she, for whatever reason, spares his life

The cover is striking and immediately caught my attention. It's a beautiful cover. The synopsis sounds like a unique twist on this type of tale. I am looking forward to Sept so I can read it for myself.

Books Starring....You!

I was recently getting some Christmas gifts ordered (yes..I know...it's early) and came across this pretty fantastic gift idea.

Book By You is a website that specializes in romance (and mystery) books that you can customize. You not only get to select who the star of the book will be, but also various physical attributes. They have really fun samples you can try. I had a great time playing around with the site.

I have actually gotten some of these as presents for people this year! It's unique, and seems like a fun, silly(if not a little chessy) gift that people will enjoy. They will definitely remember it anyways.

 The website is http://www.bookbyyou.com/

*photo image from www.bookbyyou.com website

Turning 30....and single

When I first decided to start this blog I spent some time looking at other blogs to figure out what I wanted to do and what I wanted my blog to be. This lead to reading some comments and message boards as well.

I stumbled upon a topic in which someone asked why a female celebrity was still single at the age of 30. The exact phrasing was "what is wrong with her that she is still single at her age?". The replies varied from shocked women who didn't think her age was an issue, to people agreeing that there "must be something wrong" for her not to have a man at this stage of her life.

It caused me to reflect on my own situation. I will be turning 30 on April 3, 2011. I am single and definitely won't be married before I turn 30. I started to think about all the various reactions I had read and how I felt about the topic.

I have noticed that ever since I turned 25 people started to comment on the fact I was single. They would ask if I had a boyfriend and when I replied "No" it was usually followed with "why not?". This has gotten worse as I have gotten older. I have even had people ask if I was secretly a lesbian and if that was why I didn't have a boyfriend. The point is people obviously think that if you are single woman after a certain age there has to be a reason.

I find it interesting that older single men are often referred to as "bachelors" or something similar. Women tend to get stuck with much less flattering terms (old maid, anyone?!).

I do think that things are slowly changing though. It is evident by the some of the comments I read. Women are focusing on other things (like careers) before settling down with that special someone. I don't feel that you need to be with someone to be happy. I have great friends, a wonderful family and other things that make me happy on a daily basis. I am not going to say I don't want a man in my life, I think everyone wants love. I just know that I personally don't want to date someone just have to someone there. I would rather not waste another person's time (or my own). This quote from Blake Lively sums it up nicely -

"I don't want to date someone just to date someone. I want to be
with a guy that is going to better my quality of life, better me"

I am sure that people are going to say that I that I am only saying this because I am single. That I am "defensive" and must be upset about it. My whole point with this is that people should be able to do whatever feels right for them....without being judged as a result.

With that said, I end this blog with a question - What do you think? Is 30 the cut off age? Should you start to worry if you're not happily coupled up with someone? I am curious to see what everyone has to say.

Welcome To My Blog

This is my first blog post so I thought I would start by introducing myself and tell you what to expect from my blog. I am a 29 year old travel agent living, working and playing in Ottawa, ON. I don't really have one topic or genre that I will be blogging about. I will write about anything that I end up being passionate about. This could included (but is not limited to) current events, scandalous entertainment stuff, book/movie reviews, or just general musings.I want everyone to feel free to comment. I enjoy hearing people's opinions and love getting to know new people. I will post whenever inspiration hits....usually while drinking a glass of wine. I hope you enjoy what you read!