A synopsis of my book: Love, Drugs, Knives and Lives... tell me what you think

Most teenage girls worry about who will ask them to prom, others worrying about which top to wear.
But Caitlin isn't like other girls, she's left worrying about where will her next meal come from, how she's going to afford the rent and who will leave her next.

Everyone she once knew, everyone she once loved left or betrayed her.
A once normal, happy girl, Broken! Ruined!

Follow the story of how one girl lost her...
 Family
   Friends
     Freedom and
       Mentality.... because of him, her brother and him, her once best friend.


Check out my writing blog: Once Upon An Aspiring Writer

Musing Monday (1)

Musing Monday is hosted by Should Be Reading. For more information on this meme check out her page.

This week’s musing asks…

What’s at the top of your must-buy list, right now? (or, if you don’t wait — if you’re more impulsive — what books have you recently purchased?)

I don't have a lot of money, nor do I have many oppurtunities to buy or recieve books like my fellow blogger's do. I save up money over a month or two and buy like 10ish books at once, which tend to last me. I will ocassionally buy a book if I see something I know I will like, especially because my local Supermarket gets new books every month and there on a buy-one-get-one free offer.

Here is my to buy list:

• Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa 
• Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles
• Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder 
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver 
• Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles 

So What I Did This Week.... (11-17 April 2011)

Monday
Finished reading Iron King by Julie Kagawa (review here)

Tuesday
Reviewed Angel by Katie Price (review here)
Started reading Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Thursday
Book Discussion: Books to Films (here)

Saturday
Finished Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz (review here)

Sunday
Started and Finished Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (review here)

Book Review: Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Title: Once A Witch
Series: #1 Witch
Author:Carolyn MacCullough
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: September 2009
Pages: 292 
Special Features: Extract of sequel, Always a Witch 
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.81

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now
seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in anhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

I've never came across many witch books before so I was full of excitement to read this book, but didn't know what to expect, therefor I was pleasantly surprised.

The book gave me an all round warm feeling within me, it was one of those book which just a few pages in I knew I would love. I was completely hooked from page 1, and sat in blistering sun for 200 pages, definitely worth it. The book is flawlessly paced and well written, but as the book got towards the end I was slowly losing interest.
Parts of the story were very predictable but other were completely unexpected.

What I loved most about the book was learning the large amount of history within the Greene family, which shows author Carolyn's obvious love and dedication to her book. Also I enjoyed learning about the individuality of these witches compared to one's from other books, and also the talents each witch has.

All of the characters are absolutely amazing and completely right for the roles they play within the story, and each create a great effect to how I saw the book.
Tamsin is the main girl in the story and who the story is in the perspective of. She is an outcast of her family and tries to escape the torture of being a failure by going to boarding school in New York. Also Tamsin is faced with sibling rivalry with her sister, Rowena, due to her lack of magical ability, and her sister's power within the family. Tamsin and Rowena remind me slightly of my sister and myself, which helped me love the story much more.
Gabriel, is Tamsin's childhood best friend, who moved away, but then returns with his mother. Gabriel is typical sweet, good looking and adorable male protagonist, who constantly pulls my heart closer and closer towards him.

Once A Witch was a great and addicting read, especially something I would recommend to anyone. I'm now moments away from going and preordering the sequel Always A Witch.

I give this book...

Book Review: Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Blue Bloods
Series: #1 Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Publisher: Atom
Publication Date: May 2006
Pages: 302
Special Features: First chapter of sequel Masquerade
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.77

'They're Young, Fabulous and Fanged... And they rule Manhattan from the trendy uptown clubs to downtown boutiques. fifteen year old Schuyler Van Alen has never quite fit in at her exclusive prep school- she's more of a vintage than a Versace girl- but all that's about to change...
Because Schuyler has just found out she's a Blue Blood. The Blue Bloods are the city's glamorous and secret vampire elite. They're young, beautiful and powerful. But now they're being murdered. And Schuyler must find out who- or what- is behind it, before she's next.

A year ago I bought 'Blue Bloods'. A year later I read Blue Bloods.
For a while now as you may of gathered Blue Bloods has been sitting on my shelf for a while calling out to me, but every time I picked up the book I always found a petty excuse not to read it, and man do I regret it.

Melissa creates a whole new kind of vampire books, which are aimed at girls but not completely evolved around romance. It's a cross between Gossip Girl and Twilight, both of which I and numerous YA reader's love.

The vampire's in the book are Melissa own unique version, vampires who are rich, fabulous and completely secretive. They are not just a type of creature, but a community of some of the most prestigious people in society, who have came from generations of Blue bloods.

As the story progresses we, the readers are given numerous subtle hints to the concluding on the book and smaller plots, but some of the outcomes were pretty obvious, these are all things which added intrigue and suspense to the book, aswell as an air of curiosity to seeing if my suspicions were in fact correct.

The book is set in glamorous Manhattan, NY and follows the story of three girls as they are introduce into their new lives of Blue Bloods. Each of the characters throughout the book leave their own impression and mark, giving somethign unique to the book and the plot line. All of the characters are 100% believeable and for most reader's they are relatable. But a downside some of the characters also had cliche aspects about them, which I guess to be honest didn't bother me, because it works on creating more realisitic characters.
The main protagonist in the book is social outcast Schuyler, who goes against everything in Manhattan and is an individual instead of a follow along.
Mimi Force, one half of the Force twins, is another protagonist within the book. She is the queen-bee of the school and the teenage generation of Manhattan, she is used to getting her own way and is a complete spoilt brat, something which Melissa de la Cruz creates so wonderfully throughout the book.
The third of final protagonist is Bliss, who starts out as Mimi's follower, but as the story goes on and the girls are introduced more into their futures, she becomes a whole new character, gaining a personality and opinion of her own.

I thought the book was an amazing and enjoyable read, definitely a series  I will carry on reading, and would recommend to anyone who has any interest in female aimed books or vampire books.

I give this book...

Extract of my story

Please, my lovely followers, and blog stalkers, read this extract from my book I am writing, this is the first draft... what do you think?? Comment below
If you wish to know more please email me at onceuponabooknerd@hotmail.co.uk

My leg jerked from the not so sudden blow to my stomach, another to my leg. The pain was excruciating.
Using my arms I tried to protect both my face and stomach from anymore hits. My head frantically moved from side to side to find any sort of clue to what was happening, my vision was blurred by the tears filling my eyes and all I could see  was coloured blobs dancing from side to side, what I assumed to be my attackers. My heart was beating so fast I was scared that it was about to force its way out of my chest.
Was the thought of death crossing my mind? Yes. I screamed and screamed as loud as I could until I couldn’t physically scream anymore, it made the pain from the rest of my body go away slightly and gave me a little bit of hope that this, what could only be referred to as torture would soon stop, I could hear the laughing and teasing surrounding me, taunting my helplessness. The laughter grew as a foot suddenly slammed into my ribs causing a cracking sound to fill the air. My hands automatically flew to my injured ribs, forcing pressure onto it, subsiding the pain slightly.
People say moments like this seem to feel like forever. I never believed them people, until now.

Novel help please

I am just wondering if anyone would help me with this book that I am writing?
I want to know if the storyline is too complex or not.
If you want to help email at onceuponabooknerd@hotmail.co.uk