Blog Hopping

Good morning blog junkies~

So this post is about blog hopping, and today is my first blog hopping experience, so I am in no way an expert on the topic. What I can tell yuou is that blog hopping is a way to connect with fellow bloggers to make new "friends" and find some new and interesting blogs to follow. I am going to participating in two today; one hosted by Crazy For Books and the other hosted by Parajunkee's View, and you should join in the fun too.

Crazy for Books reviews mostly adult novels and lists contemporary fiction as her favorite genre. Parajunkie showcases mostly young adult novels with a vampire, shifter, paranormal flair--she is also hositng a "For adults only" page where, while keeping true to her paranormal flair, these books have an erotic element to them. Please check out both of these blogs, sign up for Blog Hopping, and find new and interesting bloggers and books!!

Crazy for Books asks the following question of this weeks hoppers: "What book are you most looking forward to seeing published in 2011? Why are you anticipating that book?" The book I am most anticipating in 2011 is Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. It is the third book of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series ; and I read the first two in less than 48 hours. Now, I have to be patient and wait for the third of the series to be released on July 12th, and I'm not big on patience. You can read my review of the series here on my blog.

If I do this correctly, you should be able to click the buttons on the right under the title of blog hopping and get directly to posts that will allow you to sign up. Happy Hopping!!

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

What if the only friend you could trust turned out to be dangerous? -- Amazon


Cara Lange hasn't had a true friend since her parents transported her to a new town in the fifth grade; since they took her away from her best, and only, friend Zoe. She has been an outcast since her arrival, having never really "fit in", and things only get worse in high school. Cara is constantly tormented by two popular girls, Sydney and Alexis, who seem to have made it their goal to make Cara's life at school miserable.

One day, out of the clear blue, Zoe arrives at Cara's house needing a place to escape from her abusive step-father. Fearing that someone may come looking for Zoe, the girls decide its best not to let anyone, especially Cara's parents, know that Zoe is holing up in Cara's bedroom. Cara's life takes a 180-degree turn for the better with Zoe's arrival, but when strange things begin happening around town shortly after Zoe's arrival Cara begins to suspect her best friend is somehow connected.

Cara is torn between the love she has for her best friend and a sickening feeling she just can't shake; she knows Zoe has something to do with it. When Cara decides she has to tell her parents, tell someone, what's going on, the story takes a wild turn that smacks you straight in the face just when you've decided that you know how its gonna end. If you want to know what the deal is with Cara's creepy best friend, you'll have to read to find out--no spoiling here.


Debut author Elizabeth Woods' delivers a clever, well written, breakout novel loaded with suspense in her breakout novel. This is definitely one of those, "I didn't see that coming," books--which for me are some of the best kinds. For the past week I've been obsessing over this book--I'm usually always reading more than one book at a time, especially now that I'm participating in two book challenges-- and have been driving myself crazy, and my telling my book-whore friends that I was dying waiting for the story to break. I almost couldn't take any more anticipation waiting for the climax ... waiting ... waiting ... then, smack, there it was. Now that I've finished, I have to say, the craziness was so, so worth it.

The book is very short, 177 pages, and the most genius thing about Woods' writing, is that at every step the story was totally exciting, but predictable. If it weren't so pent up with anticipation I probably would've stopped reading it because I felt like I knew what was gonna happen next, and I did. I was driven to continue reading because it was psychologically thrilling, because I loved the darkness of Zoe's character and was fascinated watching her develop, and because I was so sure I knew what would happen next, I had to stick around to ensure my predictions were in line with the story the author was telling.

All of my predictions about the story were right, with very little exception, until they weren't anymore. I got to the end and Elizabeth Woods shook my entire theory about how the book would end and it fell apart; she turned my theory on its head. This was a fabulous moment, I'm talking, the ending blew-my-mind moment, and only a great writer can elicit this in a novel. I was astonished; it makes me wish I were starting the book all over again without knowledge of how it would turn out; I want that what the fuck happened feeling again. the more fun to have read.

So, what's Tha Motha's final recommendation on Choker; read and keep reading!! If you find yourself disappointed, which I'm quite confident you won't, then you can blame me :*)

The Black Power Mixtape

Alright; as many of you may know, February is Black History Month, so, in preparation I thought I'd post a link here where actor and activist Danny Glover talks about a new and important documentary film. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival last week and was co-produced and is narrated by Glover. I obviously can't write a review about a film I haven't yet had the privilege to see, but I did write a paper on the Black Power Movement in college, and this is a huge point of interest in American History for me. Being a new doc, I've only seen random clips and I can't seem to find out how to buy it, but you can bet your ass I will!!

Please watch this, even if it's the one homage to Black History Month; I'm posting it a week before February, so you've got a month!! Get on it ...

The Black Power Mixtape

~Tha Motha

Another Challenge, Dare I do Two at Once

So, one of my very oldest and very best friends, Flaca to me, Cristina DosSantos to the rest of you in the blogosphere, whose fabulous short stories you can read at Once Upon A Time, which, by the way, has an awesome new look thanks to her super talented and flat out amazing husband Dan DosSantos, turned me on to this reading challenge thing and I'm beginning to think she's trying to turn me into a monster. (Is that a run-on sentence?)

Anyway, she recommended that I visit Parajunkee's View and, low and behold, there's another challenge--this one a shapeshifter challenge. I told you in my review of the Wolves of Mercy Falls Series that I'm completely fascinated by all things shapeshifter, vampire (Parajunkee has a vampire challenge also), mythical creature, and so on and so forth. Well you know I have to do the challenge, duh--how could I possibly resist? I love a challenge and one concerning shifters, I'm all over it ...

So here's the deal:



This is a year long challenge just like the Debut Author Challenge being hosted by the Story Siren, only the challenge is to read a minimum of 20 novels that have a shifter as the main character and post reviews.

Sweet thing is that I'm not even behind being that I just discovered and finished the first book in Rachel Vincent's Shifter's series about werecats and already downloaded the 2nd!! I will leave it at that and follow up with that review soon. In the meanwhile, I want the blog world to know that I'm super excited about the Shifter Challenge, and if you have a love for shifters, you should join in!!

The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series by Maggie Stiefvater

I'll begin with a disclaimer and say that this is the very first book review I've ever written; so, that said, be easy on me. I can't decide how much is too much and how much is not enough, so here it goes ...

Seventeen year-old Grace was bitten, and nearly killed by wolves in the woods behind her home at the age of six, but instead of being afraid of them, she developes an affinity for them; especially the gray-haired wolf with the sparkling yellow eyes who led the others away from her--her wolf. She is deeply connected to this wolf in a way that she cannot comprehend, until, after years anxiously awaiting the winters when the wolves watching the wolves behind her ho

Sam spends many long years watching Grace from a distance, and wants nothing more than to be with the girl that he has longed for more than anything in his life; something tells him that she longs for him too, but there is something holding them back; something drawing them to near to but far apart from one another. That something is the premise The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series; two young lovers whose meeting was just as complicated as their future, if they have one.

There is much more to the story, but I do not want to give too much away. All you need to know is that while Maggie Stiefvater may not be a Suzanne Collins, the woman can write. The story is gripping; I read both books in less than two days because I just couldn't tear myself away. I also admit that I have an insane fascination with anything shapeshifter, vampire, mythical creature, and have always hoped to be abducted by aliens : )

What I enjoy most about the story is that it is told through the perspective of all of the characters of the novel; there is no one narrative voice, and the characters are all given their own chapters thoroughout the novels. I believe that this gives the reader an opportunity to know each of the actors in the novels from a more clear, first person, perspective.

Admittedly, the story is a bit cheesy at times, but I suppose, though I was high on The Hunger Games, and incredibly impressed with writing that was supposedly for a YA audeience, I almost expected at least a little cheese from the next YA series I would read.

This series is two books thusfar and a third is coming in July of this year: and I can't wait!!

Anyway, I highly recommend these two books, and anxiously await the third!

~Tha Motha