Mainstream Monday: The Hunger Games!

“& May the odds be ever in your favor”

Hey, hey mainstream Monday readers! 
As we all know and have been anticipating, The Hunger Games comes out Friday and I thought I would be fun to do a movie post for today.  People are saying this is going to be the next Twilight.  I for one think that it’s going to blow Twilight out of the water because its about more than a stupid love triangle.  (Which I am soooo over.)  But less about the book, more about the movie.  For those of you who haven’t read the book check out today’s review on the first book and stay tuned this week for the reviews on all three.
 
Characters
Fellow Kentuckian Jennifer Lawrance will  be playing our badass heroine, Katniss Everdean aka the girl on fire who steps up as the District 12 female tribute after her sister is drawn oringinally.  Jen’s career took off last year after she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Winter’s Bone.  She also played Mystique in Xmen: First Class. Josh Hutcherson, another fellow Kentuckian, it’s to have people out there showing that yes we do wear shoes when need be, will be playing Peeta, the male tribute from District 12.  He’s been around for a while and you may recognize him for his role in Journey and Journey 2 with Shawn Johnson, better known as The Rock.  The hunky Aussie, Liam Hemsworth, younger brother of Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and dating Miley Cyrus, who was also in The Last Song, will be playing Gale, Kitniss’s best friend and hunting partner (and if we’re picking teams, I’m team Gale).  Woody Harelson, who I am very pumped about, Cheers fan anyone?, will be playing Haymitch, the drunken district 12 champion and Katniss and Peeta’s only hope in winning the games.  Lenny Kravitz will be playing my favorite character from the book, and personally I don’t think they could have picked anyone better, Cinna, Katniss’s stylist and, eventually, friend.  Lenny is mostly known for his booming music career in the 90s, along with his fabulous dreads, and his daughter Zoey, who he had with fellow 90s hippie, Lisa Bonet.   Elizabeth Banks will be playing the beloved Effie, who is also in charge of Katniss and Peeta.   Lastly,  Amandla Stenberg will be playing Rue, who Katniss teams up with in the games because she reminds her of her little sister, Prim.  Amandla also played the younger version of the main character in Columbiana.

In the book, Katniss can run for miles, sneak in and out of her district, shoot a bow and arrow perfectly, throw a knife fairly well, and is the provider for her family.  So what kind of training does it take to be Katniss?   Besides constant running, which apparently, is what the casted tributes did for the whole part of filming in the games, but yoga and being trained by an Olympian in archery, which sounds pretty exciting if I do say so myself.

Speaking of Hunger Games training, there is now a work out based off the movie called “Train Like a Tribute”, which will be opening to the public, or those that live in New York and can Afford it, Friday.  The workout consists of sprints, fake bow and arrows, “grappling of supplies”, climbing TRX bands, and a bit of friendly competition.  You have to keep other “tributes” out of the spot you have claimed in the gym.  The workout consists of high intensity cardio and weight training.
And speaking of games there is also an interactive Facebook game of “The Hunger Games” that if is not available now, I imagine will be before long.  Any Facebook gamers hear about this and have more information?  Let us know!  

When they first casted the roles for the movie, not only was I little skeptical about Jennifer as Katniss (I totally saw Camilla Belle as her, anyone else?) and Josh as Peeta, although since, my thoughts have changed, I also wondered how everyone would get along because there seemed to be a great age difference in a lot of the cast.  But I seemed to have forgotten about all of the other tributes and prim, but apparently everyone on the set got along great.  Obviously, Laim, Jen, and Josh are pretty close now since they are the main roles.  But the girls had girl nights and they all played pranks and checked out Trader Joe’s vegan cookies (yup :]).   So far, no creepy cat fights about so and so is getting more money and attention than me like you hear about all the time in these big book goes movie projects.

The movie was filmed in Ashland, North Carolina, which, according to the cast was a really nice to shoot at because it was a quiet hippie town where people were really nice to them.  I would imagine it was very different from filming in a big city where people have constant access to the set although I doubt it will be as quiet when they film the second movie.    

Are you guys going to see the movie this Friday?   Or Thursday at midnight?  I know I’m going!  How many of you have read the books? What do you all think of the casting?  Let us know and get pumped for March 23!!
 

Review: Bound to Remember by Lola James

"Vampires and Witches and Myths, oh my!

Toni is a young doctor with a past she can't remember and a deadly reason for forgetting it.
Ben is a nurse who has his own tragic past and transfers hospitals after an act of heroism forces his secluded life public.
Ben can’t believe his eyes when he meets Toni, she has an uncanny resemblance to an old friend of his, and Toni can’t help but find Ben irresistible.
Enter Kevin, Toni’s sexy but arrogant Ex. Kevin’s jealousy of Ben blinds him from his main objective, Toni.
A dangerous secret is revealed and a magic spell seems to be a quick remedy, but the witch that helps has a little more than magic up her sleeve…"

If you follow Lola James on Facebook or her blog you know of the sweet, hilarious character she herself is. Her book is no different. Seeming more like a short story than a novel, this was a very fast paced read, with an adorable cover. 

Toni, the main character has more to her than meets the eye. And unexpectingly, there might just be more to the people around her as well. So when Ben comes in, a sexy new doctor with a mysterious nature, things begin to unravel and Toni finds herself on a path she never saw coming.

My rating for this book:

To be honest, I fought with myself on a rating (tottering back and forth from 3 to 4) most of the way through the book. There a was a chunk of this book that made me feel like I was watching Being Human's Aiden or any vampire book that we've read many times before. But there was that breakthrough about halfway through that had me hooked, with a riveting ending that left me not only craving, but needing more.

To see my guest post with Lola James, click here.

Review: Cycle by Lois Brown

“She remembers things that never happened.
She's a stranger in her own home. 
She always knew she was different.
She just didn't know why.
Until now. 
Renee Beaumont is about to die . . . again.”

How would you explain having memories of things that never happened to you? What would you do if you felt like an outsider among your own family members? After a fall from a horse nearly kills her, Renee has to answer these questions, and many more, about herself. And all of those answers end up fitting together like pieces to the puzzle of just who she is. Renee finds out that she is the result of a rare phenomenon – a Cycler. Born in the middle of an eclipse during the Saros Cycle, Renee is forced to be reborn after a certain point in her current life, something she’s done before that has left her with memories from her past lives. Renee is special, but that isn’t always a good thing. In this case, there are people who want to study her in order to make a profit from her condition. Now she has to do whatever it takes to keep them from using her as a lab rat. Cycles is a mystery that, while interesting, reads at a rather slow pace.

I rate this book:

I thought Cycles had a really interesting plot behind it. However, it was incredibly hard for me to get into the story. I felt like the story jumped around too much for me to really follow what was going on. The answer to the mystery behind the entire plot didn’t surface until towards the end of the book. Cycles is a book that combines science and mystery in a new and interesting way, but it requires a lot more effort on the reader’s part to stay focused on the story itself than most books do.

Lois Brown received her bachelor's degree in journalism and worked as a news correspondent in Washington, D.C. She later completed a Master's degree in communications and started her own freelance business. She has written nearly fifty articles and books, many of which are about nutrition and the use of natural food supplements. She worked as the chief editor to former New York Times best-selling author Dr. Neil Solomon, and she co-wrote a book on time management with former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes. Two years ago she turned her interests to writing fiction for all ages.

Book Review: Torn by Amanda Hocking

“When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself—that she’s a changeling switched at birth—she knows her life will never be the same. Now she’s about to learn that there’s more to the story…

She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined—and they’ll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers—and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who’s strictly off limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she’s ever wanted…in both worlds.”

This second installment of the Trylle trilogy, Torn, picks up immediately where the last book left off. After being attacked by the Vittra on the night that she is to be presented to Trylle society, Wendy is more than overwhelmed with the duties she’s expected to carry out as a princess. She uses her newfound abilities to persuade Rhys, the human boy with whom she was switched at birth, to take her home to her host family. However, she soon finds out that she isn’t as safe among her human family as she originally thought she’d be. Her decision to leave Förening leads to her, Rhys, and her host brother, Matt, getting captured by the Vittra.
In the Vittra capital of Ondarike, Wendy meets the king of the Vittra and learns some interesting things about herself. Secrets are revealed and lies are exposed before Wendy is able to escape back to Förening to sort through what she’s been told. One of the biggest things that she has to deal with is the fact that Oren, the Vittra king, is her father, which makes her not only the princess of the Trylle, but the Vittra princess as well. Now, Wendy will have to choose which kingdom to rule. Should she stay with her mother, who is cold and critical of her every move? Or should she join her father, a man who she knows nothing about – except that he is cruel and ruthless – as a way to bring peace to the Trylle and Vittra?

I rate this book:

This book was absolutely amazing. There were so many things that happened in it that I couldn’t fit it all into this review without giving away the entire story. The story went a lot faster than it did in the first book and there was so much action in the book that I really could not put it down. There were more than a few plot twists in this book that definitely contributed to keeping my interest while I was reading. I couldn’t get over how much Wendy’s character seems to come into her own throughout the course of the story. She is definitely the most interesting character that I’ve seen in a while and I really enjoyed reading through everything she had to face in this book. Also, as with the first book in this series, the new, republished edition of Torn contains its own never-before-published bonus story called, “One Day: Three Ways.” You won’t want to miss out on Torn, especially if you’ve read the first book in the trilogy. Torn is a very satisfying read and will definitely leave you wanting to know what happens next in the Trylle trilogy.

Amanda Hocking is the USA Today bestselling author of the Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels. After selling more than a million copies of her books, primarily in eBook format, she is widely considered the exemplar of self-publishing success in the digital age. She lives in Minnesota, where she’s at work on her next book. Visit her at www.amandahocking.blogspot.com or www.trylleseries.com.

Mainstream Monday: The Hobbit

“You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you get back”

“Can you promise that I will come back?”

“No, and if you do, you will not be the same”

Happy Mainstream Monday all!  I, like many of you I presume, was a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I remember staying up all night watching all three of them in a role when I was in middle school; something that I’ll need to do again soon because this December The Hobbit by JRR Tolken is hitting theaters just in time for the holidays.  Today, I’m going to tell you some things you need to know about what is bound to be a box office hit.
For starters, from what I can tell from the internet it’s going to be in two parts, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, which is set to come out in December 2013 although that will probably change.
We will also be seeing some familiar faces from the Lord of the Rings.  Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, will make an appearance although this time, its not his story.  Ian McKellen will be taking his position as Gandalf again.  He was also in the first three Xmen movies.  NO HE IS NOT DUMBLEDORE!  Although, yes, they do look a lot alike with the beard and robes.  Orlando Bloom will be returning as Legolas.  Andy Serkis will be back as the creepy little Gollum (ugh hate that thing).  Ian Holm will be resuming his spot as the Old Bilbo Baggins.  Cate Blanchlett will be returning as Galadriel.  Some other big names that will be in this movie are Evangline Lilly from Lost and Luke Evans from Clash of the Titians, Immortals, and Robbin Hood.
The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggin’s journey to Lonely Mountain accompanied by dwarfs to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.  Along the way they have the adventure of a life time.  
The Hobbit began filming the New Zealand, where the three Lord of the Rings movies were filmed, in October 2010 and has moved between there and England.  While it says that both films are in production on IMDB, they will both be wrapping up sometime within the month of March.

Are you guys pumped to see this movie or what!!!???  I know I am.  I will definitely have to read all of the books this summer to get prepared.  I’m think Lord of the Rings movie marathon party to celebrate, what do you guys think?  Let us know how you feel about this movie, I’d love to chat about it with you.
 

Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

“When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.  She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her.  Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit.  But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth:  Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.   

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening.  And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…”

What would you do if you found out that the people you’ve spent your entire life with aren’t your real family? What if you were actually switched at birth by your real mother in order to ensure that you’d have a comfortable life? You’d be pretty shocked, right? That’s exactly what Wendy Everly feels when she finds out that her brother and aunt aren’t really her family members. But it’s a bit more complicated for Wendy. It turns out that, not only is she a changeling who was switched at birth, she’s also royalty.

Wendy is a Trylle princess, heir to the kingdom of Förening. Within days of learning this, she is forced to leave her home with the only family she’s ever known, and travels to a new world to meet her birth mother, the queen. Switched is a story that immediately captures your interest with its fast-paced plot and endearing characters.

I Rate This Book:

I really enjoyed the concept behind the story of Switched. The story of a girl who has been switched at birth is one that is incredibly engaging. Add in the underlying element of magic that is present in the mystical world of Förening and you have a book that is particularly difficult to stop reading. Another really neat thing about this book is that, while it was first published solely as an eBook, Amanda Hocking has republished it so that it is available in hard copy as well. Included in this new publication is a gift for readers – a never-before-published bonus story entitled, “The Vittra Attacks.” If you’re looking for a new series to read (and you want to find out what that bonus story is about), then you should definitely pick up Switched, the first book of the Trylle trilogy. You won’t regret the decision.

Amanda Hocking is the USA Today bestselling author of the Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels. After selling more than a million copies of her books, primarily in eBook format, she is widely considered the exemplar of self-publishing success in the digital age. She lives in Minnesota, where she’s at work on her next book. Visit her at www.amandahocking.blogspot.com or www.trylleseries.com.

Book Review: The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters

The past is never far. . . .

Elena Gilbert and her friends saved Fell’s Church from evil spirits bent on destroying it, but the town’s freedom came at a price: Damon Salvatore’s life.

Damon’s death changes everything. He and his vampire brother, Stefan, had been locked in a vicious battle for Elena’s heart. Now that he’s gone, Elena and Stefan can finally be together. So why can’t Elena stop dreaming of Damon? As Elena’s feelings for Damon grow, a new darkness is brewing in Fell’s Church. Elena has been to hell and back, but this demon is like nothing she’s ever seen. Its only goal is to kill Elena and everyone she loves.

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters; Phantom picks up right where the last book left off.  Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Meredith all made it back to Fell’s Church and the actions of the kitsune’s has been erased.  It’s as if Elena never died.  She’s been stripped of her wings and is having a hard time adjusting to be normal.  But things aren’t normal.  Damon didn’t make it back to Fell’s Church and he’s dead.  It took him dying for Elena to know how she felt about him which makes it all the worst.  

 When the gang all heads out to the train station to meet up with Alaric, Meredith’s boyfriend, and his research partner Cecily Bonnie’s hand is cut by a mysterious rose and the name Cecily forms with her blood.  But what does this mean?  That she’s supposed to die which is what almost happens when she almost is drug by her scarf when it gets closed in the door of the train.  Luckily Stefan saves her but her scarf forms another name, Meredith’s.  It seems that Fell’s Church can’t catch a break and it’s up to Elena and her friends to save it yet again.  But without Damon is it even possible?  And what are the meanings behind the mysterious death roll?  On top of it all Elena’s five year old sister Margret seems to know that Elena had been gone.  The Vampire Diaries latest installment is full of love, heart break, action, and a super natural presence that is often missing from even the greatest fantasy books.

I Rate This Book

One of the things I love about these books is that I’m invested.  I have read all of them, from the original series to the newest, The Hunter’s therefore I truly care about these characters and what happens to them.  I love that Elena is so strong no matter what she’s been dealt, that Bonnie seems like the weakest link but in reality she’s the strongest because of the love for her friends, Matt is the wholesome all American guy, Stefan is a deep Italian Renaissance vampire who’s too moral to feed on humans, and Meredith is cool, calm, and collect always except when she’s practicing her bounty hunter kills.

*Spoiler Alert* I love that that the book goes back and forth between point of views.  I especially love that you, the reader, knows that Damon is in fact alive, and fighting to stay that way all the while everyone is mourning him.  My favorite thing about any book that does this is that you get a bigger insight on the story than even the characters have.

L.J. Smith is the author of the best selling books The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, and The Nightworld.  The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle have been made into hit tv shows.  She lives in Northern California.  To learn more visit ljanesmith.net