Friday Features... Pride and Prejudice and Zombies & AnnaTheRed's Bento Factory

1) You know when they say "in bed" to make one's fortune cookie better/funnier? Well, I swear anything will be ten times more awesome if we simply add zombies (though not in real life, that'd just be too frightening to imagine).

This has been floating about the book blogs, but feast your eyes on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith! That cover is magnificent - and the addition of zombies is pure genius! I cannot wait to read the additions and see the illustrations!

From Chronicle Books
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.

How's that for a retelling? I've said this at other blogs, but I can envision students "accidentally" picking up this version to read for their English & lit classes!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes out April 15, 2009! Pre-order now at Chronicle Books and get 25% off book price with promo code ZOMBIES!


2) AnnaTheRed brings a whole new life to packing one's lunch with her amazing bentos (Japanese for "lunchbox") for her boyfriend! I believe she started her bento-making late 2008 and continued for the sake of amazing her boyfriend (who took pictures and showed all his friends who were also equally amazed).

The bentos feature mostly video games or anime, though occasionally one might see a farm scene or WALLe. It's pretty inspiring to see what she can do with food - and even more amazing to realize she does this every morning! Although I don't know how much of a fan of seaweed, fish, and quail egg that I am - she uses quite a bit of those in her creations.

Above is one of her creations based on Raving Rabbids, and I just love the twitchy eye and the "action pose" of leaping out of the bento (and into your mouth!).

I'm on a roll of alliterative themes! I hope to keep Friday as a Double Feature deal where I talk about zombies (if possible; if not, then some other undead-y thing) and also blog/site that I find super-cool :) We'll see if I have enough features to last indefinitely!

Thursday Thereabouts - January 29. 2009

Alliteration is hard business, especially when you're trying to go for doable themes. I'm not sure if there are any Thursday memes out there - I've seen various Thursday titles, but I'm not sure if those are weekly memes or what.

Anyhow, I'm choosing this day to just check in.

Currently in the middle of...

• The Stepmother by Carrie Adams (ARC) When I read the blurb about this book, it reminded me of the movie Stepmom. It is about 2 women: Bea the ex-wife and Tessa the stepmother. I have not gotten far, but right now Bea had been on good terms with Jimmy (her ex) lately and she slowly finds herself falling in love with him again. When she is about to reveal her feelings (on the assumption that he could possibly feel the same way), Jimmy reveals that he has met someone and wants to marry her. Talk about OUCH! Now I've reached the chapter where we see through Tessa's eyes and I'm curious to see how it goes. The cover reminds me of Twilight and, so far, I'm not sure the symbolism behind it.

• The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen M. Beckett (HB) What if there was a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Interesting question! I'm glad Beckett chose to answer it! The cover is what first drew me in, and then the jacket summary. At the moment, nothing too major is happening - I have yet to learn who exactly Mrs. Quent is since she has not yet graced the pages. I suppose the magicians have not truly appeared either. The writing is reminescent of Austen though, and that makes me happy.

Finished with...

• Gross Anatomy (1989) I think this is supposed to be a classic, which is why I checked it out from the library. Not what I was expecting, but then I was not expecting much. I can see this as a must-see for any med students - though I would like to think Patch Adams would be a better watch. Gross Anatomy was about a first-year med student who danced through life (as Fiyero in Wicked would say) and did not take anything too seriously except flirting with his female lab partner.

• Sense and Sensibility (1995) I absolutely loved Pride & Prejudice (not the new one, but the BBC version with Colin Firth) and, if you like that time period, also be sure to watch The Importance of Being Earnest. But back to Sense and Sensibility, it was charming and enjoyable. It was a little disconcerting to see Alan Rickman as a love interest, but I got over it since he didn't look as greasy as Professor Snape.

• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón I finished this last week finally. This was my book to read while I waited for my brother's school to let out. It took me at least 4 months to finish it, but then again I pick up my brother maybe twice a week. It was a great feat to not devour the book in one sitting - it was excellent and moving and suspenseful and beautifully translated! Hopefully I will have time to review it later and share in its savory goodness.

How about you? What are you in the middle of this week? What did you finish?

Waiting on... Mortal Coils (Feb 3, 2009)

So I was going to wait until next week before I attempt fun bloggy things, but I just found out about this book on Fantasy Book Critic. His review blew me away! I am glad that timing is on my side, so I don't have to wait too long for its release!

The Book: Mortal Coils (or see this link)
The Author: Eric Nylund
The When: February 3, 2009 (next Tuesday!)
The Genre: SF/Fantasy
The Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates (TOR)
The What About:

From the Publisher
Nothing interesting ever happened to fifteen-year-old orphans Eliot and Fiona while they’ve lived in the strict, oppressive household of their grandmother. A chance visit, however, reveals that there is much more to the twins. They are the offspring of a goddess and Lucifer, Prince of Darkness.

Now, to settle the epic custody battle between these two families, the fallen angels create three diabolical temptations, and the gods fashion three heroic trials to test Eliot and Fiona. More than ever they need to stick together to survive and to learn how to use their budding supernatural abilities . . . for family allegiances are ever-shifting in the ancient, secret world they have entered.

See Fantasy Book Critic for better details since, unlike me, he has read the book. It sounds like an amazing book with a very thought-out story and characters! I would imagine anyone who absolutely adores all things mythology of all cultures will find this enjoyable to see Nylund's interpretations of famous gods, goddesses, angels, demons, etc.

From Fantasy Book Critic
[T]he Infernals (Beelzebub, Lilith, Mephistopheles, Abbadon, etc.) and Immortals (Hermes, Gilgamesh, Ares, the Sisters of Fate, etc.) are certainly attention-grabbing with the former deliciously larger-than-life—they have titles like Master of the Endless Abyssal Seas, Handmaiden of Armageddon, and the King of the Blasted Lands—while the latter are flawed and mysterious...

Ares is not depicted simply as a Greek god, but as an Immortal who draws from different myths like the Red Horseman of the Apocalypse, the Charioteer, Lancelot, and the King of the Sacred Grove. The same can also be said for Lucifer (the Morning Star, the Prince of Darkness), Hermes (Big Bad Wolf, Loki Sly Boots) and any of the other Infernals or Immortals in the book.

Now doesn't that sound fantastic? I can hardly wait to get my hands on this book! My only concern is that Mortal Coils is the first of a five-book series. Will I even live that long? Will my mind stay intact long enough to finish the series? I certainly hope so!

This WoW meme is courtesy of Jill @ Breaking the Spine

Stephanie Pui-Mun Law rocks my socks off!

I have been a major major fan of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's artwork for a very long time. Since a junior in high school, in fact. Her watercolors are amazing, and I am super-psyched that her tarot deck is almost complete - that means it is closer to getting published and orderable!

BkRv: Not a typical fairy tale

Book Review: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Enchantment, you say? It is enchantment to practice dance for hour after hour, day after day, with a man who reeks of fish? To ride, and write, and prattle incessantly about nothing whatsoever? To stitch enough handkerchiefs to dam the Great River itself, and bully one's body into clothes more suitable for martyrs and ladies? Does this smack of magic to you? Because allow me to inform you, my handsome young prince, that this be not enchantment - it be work!
Benevolence, Princess of Montagne

Right from the start, I knew this was not the typical princess story. A princess by the name of Ben? Locked up in a tower by an evil queen? Flying brooms, creating fires by magic? A wonderfully-designed cover? Count me in.

It took me 2 tries to get through the book, and I still was not entirely satisfied with Princess Ben the second time around. Again, I got bogged down with first-person narrative, but unlike Magic Lost, Trouble Found, I did not become completely engrossed with the overall story. I think the main reason being there was not enough dialogue in Princess Ben - we are treated with paragraphs upon paragraphs of her thoughts, observations, etc., but few dialogues to break up the monologues.

The book is divided up into 4 parts. On my first try, I made it partway into the 2nd part before I ended up flipping ahead to see any possibility of the story getting better. Sadly, nothing too promising. However, I considered re-reading it last night to give it another chance before I stamped it out of existence. On my second reading, I managed to plunge through the monologues and found something to sink my teeth into - part 4, that's right, the very last bit of the book.

I found the heroine extremely childish and intolerable in the first 3 parts, but I suspect Murdock deliberately made her that way. However, I do not think Murdock meant her to be so unlikeable that readers would not be able to stomach her. I did not truly like Ben until the last part when she finally grows up and recognizes the purpose behind the "princess" lessons, her responsibilities as the sole heir to the kingdom. When she got over herself, acted less spoiled, and actually got some spunk. Part 4 made up for my early disappointment in Ben.

I guess I have mixed feelings for Princess Ben. On one hand, I did not enjoy it the first time through - okay, I could not even get through it! On the other hand, I enjoyed watching Ben grow up into a wonderful and thoughtful princess once I did make it through. If only she had grown up a lot earlier in the book - I think I might have liked it even better.
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Disclosure 10/7/09:
This was borrowed from the library.

BkRv: Such falderal and fiddle-dee-dee, of course, is impossible

Book Review: Impossible by Nancy Werlin

I would like to say that I played the song while reading this book, but I did not get around to doing so. I thought about it though. Does that count? And now, if you so choose, you can play the song as you read this review.

I was familiar with Simon and Garfunkle's version of Scarborough Fair, but I admit that I never listened too closely past the first verse. Thank goodness that Werlin had and became inspired to write Impossible! Thank goodness that I chanced upon the book and became drawn to the cover - there was a haunting quality to that maiden on a beach.

I found Impossible both refreshing and original. It is most definitely a story about true love, and the main character Lucy is an admirable heroine who speaks her mind and stays rational despite all the fantastic things that happen to her. Instead of setting Impossible in a far-away land, Werlin chose to keep it in modern times where 17-year-old Lucy can still curl up with Harry Potter and Protector of the Small to her heart's content.

The jacket summary prepares us for Lucy's undertaking of the three impossible tasks to free herself and her family from Elfin Knight. However, I was completely shocked when Lucy gets raped and consequently becomes pregnant. It was such an unexpected twist, though Werlin handles the matter delicately and I see how essential it was to the story. Yet it leaves such a bitter taste on my tongue to imagine Lucy, her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother, etc., had been cursed to endure non-consensual sex with strangers under the direction of the Elfin Knight, give birth to daughters by the age of 18, abandon their daughters and fall into insanity thereafter. What a terrible curse!

However, Lucy proves to be different - she has the unwavering support of her foster parents who had known her mother, the strong friendship of the next-door neighbor boy, the sheer will to break the curse and free herself, her baby, and her mother.

I thoroughly enjoyed Impossible. It was unlike anything that I had read in a great long while. I had read modern fairy-tale stories and fairy-tale retellings still set in far-away lands, but I do not think I have encountered such a retelling as this before.
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Disclosure 10/7/09:
This was borrowed from the library.

BkRv: Chasing after the wind

Book Review:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Another one of Felicia Day's must-reads - and I have since discovered that Patrick Rothfuss is on everyone's radar. What exhilaration he must feel to be marked as "the next best thing" in the fantasy world, especially this being his debut! The reviews are just mind-boggling!

This is the first book of The Kingkiller series, and I will warn you that it is quite a hefty book. I had been worried that I'd have no time to read this, but right from the start, I was sucked into Kvothe's story. Before I could say no, I found myself unable to put the book down without great reluctance, but I suppose my mind & body thanked me because I got through work semi-consciously the next few days.

Kvothe is the title character, and we first see him as the owner of Waystone Inn. No one in town knows much about him, but he has stayed long enough to prove harmless. Then something happens - something strange and evil, something that should only exist in legends and nursery rhymes, something that should not be lurking about small towns. And only Kvothe recognizes this something and knows how to get rid of it. Clearly, there is more to Kvothe than he lets on.

A traveler stumbles across Kvothe and the Waystone Inn by chance, though it turns out that he had been looking for Kvothe after hearing rumors. Chronicler had been searching for Kvothe to see if the tales were true, if Kvothe was truly Bloodless, if he was as terrible and great as they say he was.

Hence, we arrive to the start of Kvothe's story. He was born Edema Ruh, people well-versed in all things theater and music, people who lived to travel the roads and perform to their hearts' content. An arcanist joined his traveling troupe family, and Kvothe became his student and learned about magic known as sympathy. Tragedy struck his life unexpectedly and left him an orphan, but Kvothe survived on his wits and stubbornness and a good ounce of luck. He makes way to the University to learn more about his family's murderers and to find the name of the wind.

And I will leave you with that nutshell, though it does not come close to doing Rothfuss any justice - there was so much packed into this book, and this is only 1/3 of the story! Rothfuss is a born storyteller - the way he tells Kvothe's story is breathtaking, mesmerizing, awe-inspiring. He weaves a story with such depth and detail that I swear Kvothe must have been real.

The only thing I am disappointed with (and it isn't really a disappointment) is how little this book revealed after one reads the jacket summary about Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, Kvothe the Kingkiller - enough to entice the reader to pick up this book to find out more, yet The Name of the Wind never comes close to revealing how Kvothe ends up at Waystone Inn. Good thing this is a trilogy! The Wise Man's Fear is scheduled to come out in April 2009, and I can hardly wait!

P.S. Obviously, that nametag is not the book cover. I couldn't help myself. Honestly, I just got seized with a fit of creativity (or insanity, take your pick). You can probably Google to see the various book covers there are. My favorite one is the UK version.
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Disclosure 10/7/09:
This was borrowed from the library.

The Dreamer

Once upon a time, in high school English class, we were required to write a poem - I forget for what reason, but I'd like to say a free-versed one...though I do not know if it had to be about a historical figure. Anyhow, for some reason, I chose Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as my focus.

Several years down the road, I'm still quite proud of this piece. And today I present it to you in honor of Dr. King.

Happy 40th Anniversary to this great man! Let's hope we have changed and continue to change for the better since then!

The Dreamer

Then he stood to speak to them—
To do what he had been born to do.

God had given him
A tongue that moved all who heard—
Formed words to what laid in men’s hearts.
Persuaded all who heard
To fight for equality,
To fight for liberty,
To fight for their rights,
To fight for themselves and for their children.

He began: I have a dream.

He stopped.
The people leaned forward from their seats—
Eager to hear what he would say.

And he started again:
I have a dream that one day
This nation will rise up
And live out
The true meaning of its creed—
We hold these truths
To be self-evident,
That all men are created equal.

He spoke with emotion—
With the strength that God had given him.
The people listened to him
To his powerful voice.

He looked at them—
Filled with pride for their courage.
The fight had not been easy—
It had barely begun—
They still had a long way to go.

He continued:
I have a dream
That my four little children
Will one day live in a nation
Where they will not be judged
By the color of their skin
But by the content
Of their character.

His words wove their spell
And fell like drops of fire—
Burning hope and courage into all

He—Only a simple minister
With a voice that would not be silent,
Asked them to fight
Without violence,
And they honored his request.

He who had fought for them—
With them,
Without any fear,
Without any regret.

He who had fought,
Who had won so much,
Whom God had chosen for this job,
Who would be sorely missed—

Woe, oh woe to that day—
That fateful, terrible day
When his voice—
Which had barely been heard by thousands,
Had spoken what others had been afraid to say,
Had guided his people into victory—

Oh, woe to the day
When his voice was silenced.

Then you can make it better

So this is an old video that has been floating about. I would like to say early 2008, but it might have been before that. All I know is that I still get a kick out of it especially when he screams into the microphone (delightful!), and it just makes me almost want to start popping out Asian babies (because I, as a female, have the capacity to grow babies - I know, amazing, right?) and then train my little Asian minions to conquer the world, one heart at a time...



My Google prowess reveals his name to be Ha Youngwoong a.k.a. Hero, born of Korea in September 2003. Oh, Hero, you rock!

Seriously, people, please take away my library card!

Yes, another trip to the library.

Yes, I think I have outdone myself.

Yes, I am a library addict.

It's like I cannot help but get a almost-toppling armful of books. My fingers can't help themselves. Or perhaps I am the victim here. These books attack me. They just wait for me to turn the corner and then ambush me.

And then they somehow multiply like tribbles.

* Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
* Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
* Nobody's Princess and Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner
* How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
* House of Many Ways by Diane Wynne Jones
* Impossible by Nancy Werlin

I suppose it is a blessing that libraries buy the larger-sized hardcovers so I cannot carry as much, but I have to admit that I do try to push my limits.

Have you met Ms. Jones?

Diane Wynne Jones, that is.

I less than 3 her. A lot. A ridiculous amount. I particularly love, love, love Howl's Moving Castle, and that goes way back to junior high. I can remember how I came across the book in the library (yes, libraries are an excellent place to find books, believe it or not). Hardcover, the cover had this boy and a wicked-looking fiery face (see right), I would imagine that the jacket summary was intriguing enough to make me want to read this rather dark-looking book. Plus, this was the time when the parentals glanced at the books that we wanted to check out. I remember them looking at it with furrowed brows, but for whatever reason, it passed inspection and I was allowed to read it. And I fell in love with it.

When I find an author that I truly like, I will make it my life's mission to find all their other books and devour them whole. I have not read all of her books, but I have read a great many. But this is the book that started my deep admiration to Diane Wynne Jones.

Unexpectedly, sometime in high school I think, I came across the sequel Castle in the Air. Loosely related to the first book, but still as enjoyable. New characters, but the old beloved characters make an appearance in the most unexpected ways.

And the reason for this post? Well, my dearies, I was reading Fantasy Book Critic's series where authors talk about the books they have read in 2008, are looking forward to in 2009, and their current work in progress. David Devereux mentioned that he had read House of Many Ways this past year. That's right, the third book - the tri-quel - more goings-on of new characters and old beloved characters. A most pleasant discover! I will have to hunt it down and devour it with care.

BkRv: Not as tasty as expected

She's a maneater
Make you work more
Make you spend more
Make you want all, of her love
She's a maneater
Make you buy cars
Make you cut cards
Wish you never ever met her at all!
-Nelly Furtado, Man Eater

Book Review: Gigi Levagie Grazer's Maneater

Perhaps it is too early to be reading any sort of chick lit after the Jane Green debacle, but I had checked this out at the same time as The Starter Wife because I can't try just one book of an author. I, for whatever reason, must check out multiple books if they are available in order to give the author a fair chance.

This book is set in Beverly Hills like The Starter Wife, but it focuses on the cat-and-mouse game between men and women - mostly the women's perspectives. Clarissa Albert is getting old and realizes that she is not getting any younger. If she wants to get married and have children (and that big mansion and killer wardrobe), she needs to find herself a super-rich and successful man. She sets her sights on Aaron Mason, the new-boy-in-town who is an up-and-coming movie producer, and makes their wedding plans at the same time she is trying to get him to notice her.

While the same biting remarks in The Starter Wife made its way through Maneater, I thought there were far and few. I did not particularly care for Clarissa, but I will say her superficiality was consistent throughout the book. I was let down on the premise. I had envisioned a longer battle of wits between Clarissa and Aaron, but that was not the case. Aaron seemed already besotted from the first moment Clarissa throws herself at him. Also, the wedding took place halfway through the book. That threw me in for a loop for the remaining half. And I stayed in that bewildered, confused loop as the story got a little stranger and more unbelievable.

If you like light and fluffy, this may be for you. As for me, I will pass on future books by Grazer at this time and happily watch USA's version of The Starter Wife.
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Disclosure 10/7/09:
This was borrowed from the library.

Let the revisions begin!

Forever

2000 / 2000 words. 100% done!

Okay, the story may be only 1,874 words, but this leaves me with room to wiggle around. Plus, adding words has to be a lot easier than cutting my pretties out. Right? I guess we will see. I am a little unsatisfied with the ending. My imagination has not come to grips with how the scene should be playing out. Whisking her off to his kingdom, but somehow also alluding to how this is not such a great idea. Ho, hum. I still have about half a month left to work out the bugs.

In case you're curious, here is the latest draft.

Over the wall!

Forever

1448 / 2000 words. 72% done!

Nearly the finish line - at least, the finish line for the Spectra Pulse contest. But I'm already dreaming up a longer story. The word count? Who knows. I still have to work out characters and story arcs while still keeping it simple.

In other news, Meg Cabot is hosting a Tiara Auction in honor of the releases, Forever Princess and Ransom My Heart. I am seriously lusting after Judy Blume's Princess of the Sea tiara. It's soooooo pretty! I don't know if it was the lighting or what, but it has an iridescent glow that just calls my name!

Forever rewriting

Forever, Take Two

803 / 2000 words. 40% done!

I'm still standing in front of a wall. My head is trying to work around it and figure out how to proceed. You may wonder how I went backwards in progress, and that was accomplished by re-writing the beginning. Essentially the same, but tried to flesh out Diligence and the whole Sleeping Beauty legend a lot more. The main obstacles are 1) what to do after Diligence awakens Forever; and 2) how to do whatever it is and still keep it at 2000 words. At times, I feel like I should forget the contest and just write the bigger story. But it's the principle of the matter - I set out to accomplish this goal, and smote it all, I will do it even if I have to cut off a limb (though that doesn't really do any good for meeting word limits).

BkRv: Sharing Shearin

Book Review: Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares series


1:) Magic Lost, Trouble Found
2:) Armed & Magical

3:) The Trouble with Demons - coming out in April 28, 2009!

So I first heard of Lisa Shearin by checking out Felicia Day's blog. You know, Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible fame and, for all you geeks-at-heart, The Guild glory. And way back when, one of the Potentials in Buffy. Felicia Day, in short, is awesome - and curious person as I am, I want to know what this awesome person reads.

Hence, I hear about her unhealthy obsession with all things Raine Benares. Then, entirely by coincidence, as I am looking at query letters, I come across Kristen Nelson's blog where she discusses what works for her in the form of query letters. One of them belongs to Lisa Shearin pitching Magic Lost, Trouble Found - the query letter that started it all. Of course, I peruse Shearin's blog to check her out and find her entertaining.

And so I tracked down her books to see if it lived up to expectations.

The books center around an elven seeker named Raine Benares. She apparently comes from a notorious family of thieves and criminals - and she is the black sheep who has morals and a conscience. But that doesn't mean she isn't friends with any criminals, but they are mostly good-natured criminals who just happen to take what she has been hired to take back. Trouble starts when she is watching her friend's back as he breaks into a necromancer's house for an amulet. Goblins appear. Chaos begins. Raine finds herself with the amulet, and strangely enough, the amulet stays glued on her, that is, she cannot take it off without forgetting how to live. The amulet is like a magical compass to find the Saghred, an old soul-sucking rock that is known for deadly powers and the tendency to render its user insane. In Magic Lost, Trouble Found, Raine must locate the Saghred before the baddies get it. In Armed & Magical, she must prevent the baddies from getting hold of the Saghred now contained under pretty heavy-duty shields, both physical and magical. All the while, Raine really really wants to be rid of the amulet because it's been more trouble than she wants to deal with.

I will admit that the beginning of Magic Lost, Trouble Found was a little slow. I think it was due to the fact that Shearin writes in first-person via Raine Benares. First-person narratives are tricky business, and I am pretty particular on the writing quality. Perhaps my unimpressed-ness was due to getting used to first-person (it's been awhile since I read any first-person) or the characters. I can say that, somewhere in the middle of all the action, I started to really get into all of it. The action, the goblins, the magic, the humor (oh, lordy, the humor! Endless witty sentences abound!), the everything. My whole soul got sucked into the story as if the book itself was the Saghred.

Oh, and it does help that Shearin gives us a healthy dollop of romance. A love triangle where Raine is sandwiched between two delectable male specimens on the opposite ends of the continuum. One is Mychael Eiliesor, elven, paladin of the Concave Guardians, sworn to goodness and protection of goodness, the altogether good guy. The other is Tam Nathrach, Goblin, ex-dark mage, the bad boy you really shouldn't like but you can't help it because he's just too hot and he's a good guy underneath, really deep underneath. I personally am rooting for Tam - I cannot say if it is because I have a soft spot for bad boys (admit it, what girl doesn't?), he has a more colorful personality than Mychael any day, or he understands and connects with Raine far better.

All I know is that Shearin has my soul and 2009 just started, but is April here yet?
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Disclosure 10/7/09:
This was borrowed from the library.