Movie Review - Breaking Dawn Part 2

REVIEW: Twilight ~ Breaking Dawn part 2 [contains spoilers] 

Whenever I go to a movie that is based on a book, I have expectations. Before I went to Breaking Dawn part 2 last night I had a mental list of things I wanted to see:
- Bella acting differently as a vampire than she did as a human
- How the movie would portray Bella using her shield to save everyone
- Seeing the romance between Bella and Edward bloom

This being the last movie in the Twilight series I was both excited and sad to see it. This is the end of an era and I know this sounds corny, but I'll miss waiting to see the next Twilight movie.

In a nutshell, the last movie was awesome. It had romance, action and mystery. It was almost entirely true to the book and brought the characters from the book alive. I found a lot of the scenery exactly how I'd pictured it in my head and I LOVED watching Bella and Edward finally able to act on their love without the fear of hurting Bella.

There are a few things I would have changed. I would have loved Bella to be a bit more vicious in the beginning. She turned from human to vampire but seemed a bit tame. I wanted to see her leap up on the table and growl. I wished the movie had made more of a big deal about her being able to resist human blood. It was kind of glossed over with a few comments here and there.

The movie added one scene in, that wasn't in the book, which was the fight scene between the Voltari and Cullens where we saw people we love getting killed. I had been forewarned that this would happen, so I grinned through the whole thing, waiting for the catch, which was Alice just showing Arlo what would happen if he decided to fight the Cullens. The girl next to me was aghast. She had her hand over her mouth and was almost crying... so she obviously had not had a heads up.

I was sad they didn't show the use of Bella's shield much, as that part of the book gripped me so much. I wanted to see her saving everyone and the Voltari getting frustrated and not knowing what was going on. But they did have the final scene in the book where Bella gets to show Edward how much she loves him. Perfect!

I pretty much had a big grin on my face the whole movie. I just loved it, despite the comments I've made above and would still give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

What did you guys think? 

(Post written by Brenda - Yay! I'm back!)

New Release!! The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw by Suzy Turner

I'm very excited to have Suzy visiting YAlicious today to tell us what has inspired her books, including a great little story about how, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw, came about.

Thanks for joining us, Suzy :)

Most authors take their inspiration from just about anything... an overheard conversation in a coffee shop, the image of two people arguing on a train platform, a child throwing a tantrum in the middle of a busy supermarket... real lives can make for some fantastic stories.

 My inspiration so far, however, has come from places, dreams, music and people I've met. For example, The Raven Saga (my first series) was inspired by a trip to Western Canada in 2009. Specifically, it was during a visit to the town of Powell River when we (my husband, best friends and me) chose a beautiful little beach for a picnic. We carried our food down to the shore and sat on these massive pieces of driftwood that were scattered all over the beach. 

It was so breathtaking and there was an air of mystery to it too which led me to imagine all kinds of weird and wonderful possibilities. I could imagine supernatural events happening right there in Powell River. And thus, The Raven Saga was born.

 The Morgan Sisters series was inspired by something quite different. As I mentioned in a previous post in the tour, earlier this year I had the pleasure of working on a movie where I met British actor Mark Killeen (a very proud Londoner). We hit it off immediately and became buddies. Mark has such an amazing joie de vivre and is so positive and fun to be around that, after filming had finished, I decided to base a character on him. And so Declan Alexander was created. Although Declan isn't the main character, his role is a crucial one... looking after the daughters of a close friend when they visit London. Little do they know, that Declan has something in common with the girls, something that is about to change their lives forever...

 The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw

Adopted sisters Lana Beth and Emma Jane are polar opposites, but when the same strange 'tattoo' suddenly appears and winds its way up their bodies within days of each other, they soon realise there's more to their relationship than they could ever have imagined.

Sent off to London for two weeks of 'work experience', the Morgan Sisters soon find themselves being initiated into the ancient Praxos Foundation, one that protects the innocent while fighting evil, both human and supernatural.

At the same time, Lana Beth and Emma Jane must also investigate why the sweet but sometimes pesky ghost of Josiah Grimshaw just won't leave them alone.

If you'd like to find out more about this exciting book, you can check out the book trailer here:

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw Book Trailer

If you'd like to connect with Suzy online, you can follow the links below:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

I'm also lucky enough to be a stop on The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw Virtual Tour. Here are the details of how to enter the giveaway. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Release!! Flutter by Melissa Andrea

Now, I have not read this amazing looking book yet. I intend to soon, but I still wanted to have Melissa visit YAlicious and tell us what inspired her debut novel - Flutter.

Welcome to YAlicious, Melissa :)

How did I come up with Flutter… it’s funny because I practiced answering this over and over in my head while writing Flutter incase I was ever asked this question, incase I actually finished Flutter haha. Now that I’m finally being asked it, I don’t remember the sparkly, polished, wow, answer I use to recite over and over in my head *insert face palm here*

Well the answer is still the same, just no bells and whistles this time! Flutter didn’t come to me in a dream like Twilight did for Stephanie Meyer, nothing cool like that. I actually came up with Flutter on in my car, on the way home from the store. I remember passing my daughter’s school and thinking how I wanted to do something different, something that hasn’t been done before. Like Amanda Hocking did with her Trylle Trilogy. I ran over a bunch of different idea’s, even going as far as Spanish fly, I know gross right! A split second after I thought that and quickly crossed it off the list, I came up with the idea for Flutter –what was that idea you ask?? Well I can’t tell you! It’s the very essence of Flutter and the big SECRET to what Sara is!

SO that’s my big ‘how I came up with Flutter’ story! Nothing fancy, no confetti or fireworks, but I will always remember that car ride home… *insert soft sigh, dreamy look off into space and cheesy smile here*

And now I want to read the book even more!!

Flutter is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also add it to your reading list here: Flutter on Goodreads.

If you'd like to connect with Melissa online, you can follow the links below:
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog

Discussion Time - Paranormal vs. Realistic Fiction

As part of the face lift of this blog, we thought it'd be fun to bring in some discussion times. It's fun to find out what other people think about different aspects of YA and we welcome your thoughts in the comments section.

The argument I've put forward is: Paranormal vs. Realistic Fiction.

Which genre do you prefer reading?

Most of the stories I used to dream up were always contemporary/realistic in nature, but then Twilight came out. This was my first experience of paranormal and I loved it. I devoured the books and so far, have enjoyed every movie.

It was after seeing Twilight that I wanted to give paranormal writing a go. I wrote the Time Spirit Trilogy and had so much fun with it. Since then, I have basically only read paranormal books and I am now working on a fantasy trilogy.

Now - this does not in anyway suggest that I no longer enjoy contemporary/realistic fiction. The honest truth is, I prefer reading realistic stories. I'm all about the relationships in books and there's something about the realism of contemporary novels that I really love.

I have some contemporary stories in my head that I hope to write some day, but for now I'll keep playing with the magical realms of paranormal and fantasy. I definitely think there is room for both in my writing career, but I didn't realise until planning this post how much I do love reading a realistic love story.

Do you like the realism of contemporary or the magic of paranormal?
What makes you prefer one over the other?

A Chat with Book Chatter Cath

Book reviewers are awesome. As a writer, I can't thank them enough for helping to promote my work. I highly value their time and opinions and so I thought it would be great to start having them come to YAlicious for a chat.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome the lovely, Book Chatter Cath, who always gives refreshingly honest reviews. Her enthusiasm for reading is contagious and I'm so excited to have her as my first guest reviewer :)

Welcome along, Cath. It's super cool to have you :)

What were your favourite types of books as a kid?

Twist-a-plots or pick-a-plots I think they were called…after each chapter you could choose what should come next in a story and change the middle and ending. I liked having the ability to pick alternative storylines.

What is your favourite genre now and why do you like it?
I don’t have one distinctive favourite, but I do read a lot of YA. There just wasn’t as great an array of YA books available back in the eighties as there is now, so I’m making up for lost time!

What do you look for in a book description?
Tease me. I like a blurb to tell me just enough to interest me, but not enough that I can guess as to how it ends. A short teaser, rather than a blow-by-blow.

Is there a fatal flaw a writer can make that will stop you from reading a book?
I hate sentences that go on and on and have no punctuation and spell words wrong and use bad grammar and generally read like they were written by a twelve year old like you know like you know!
*snort* seriously though, even if an author is going to self publish, I would highly recommend they get a proof reader or an editor, or even just a family friend to help out. There is nothing worse than reading a story that is full of basic errors.

What do you like most about reviewing books for authors?
Hmm, that’s a hard one because I don’t always like everything about a book and sometimes conveying my feelings can be difficult to do without hurting an author’s feelings. I do love the fact that most authors just want you to get it, whatever it may be.

Is it sometimes hard to write a fair, honest review? What's the most challenging aspect?
Yes, it can be hard to write a fair and unbiased review, especially if I have LOVED previous books in a series and then book 4 or something comes around and I’m like “what were you thinking, that was a complete and utter copout” Sometimes the most challenging thing can be putting your hand up and saying “I did not like this because…” I sometimes feel as nervous as hell hitting that publish button on a low rated review.

Are there any trends in the publishing world that you do or do not like?
I’m so over the love triangle. The girl who is in love with one boy but is unwilling to let go of a second boy storyline is doing my head in!! And if she is kissing them both, and leading them on – oh Lordy, that makes me mad - lol!!

What's the most recent book you've read that you thought would make an awesome movie?

That’s really funny because I just had this conversation with my Mum after I lent her my copies of the Time Spirit trilogy!!!!
I kid you not, we both agree that Gemma and Harrison’s story would be awesome as either a movie or TV show; however, I would hate for some director to come along and loose the essence of the story by making changes.

A REVEIWER'S RECOMMENDATIONS

A traditionally published author you love:
Nalini Singh

And indie author you love:
Mireille Chester is a fantastic indie author, but I’m in embarrassing fangirl love with T.G. Ayer and Melissa Pearl *snort*!!

One of your favourite YA books:
Dead Radiance by T.G. Ayer because it’s one of the few stories based around a myth/legend that I felt did justice to the original inspiration.

One of your favourite Adult books:
Too hard!! Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh blew me away. It was the first book of hers that I read and she hooked me immediately!

A book you've read more than once and the reason why:
Man, really?! The only book that comes to mind is The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis. I read it as a kid, a teenager, and as an adult; I’ve even read it to my girls. It’s a classic. I love the magic of it, and I’d love to meet a real talking lion like Aslan!!

I'm currently reading that book to my son. He's loving it. Great choice :)

If you'd like to connect with Cath online, you can follow the links below:

Blog

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook