IBBMP Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Title: Bleeding Violet

Author: Dia Reeves

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This is a great YA read for adults and young adults as well. I would recommend it for ages 13+, and I think as long as you don't mind a bit of paranormal, you will love this book! If you love paranormal, you will ADORE this book!

What I Have to Say:
Bleeding Violet is an amazing, unique work of YA fiction. Maybe it's just that I haven't read a lot of YA about crazy people, but it seems to me there was something strangely special about this book. And I absolutely do NOT use the word strange with a grain of salt. This book was excitingly fresh and totally, creatively out there. And it's all because of Hanna, the protagonist. She is the reason this book lived up to every expectation that I had of it. She is funny, outgoing, witty, sarcastic, slightly annoying, and best of all, completely crazy.

Reeve's gracefully flawless way of presenting things from Hanna's point of view allowed the reader to really feel what it was like to be in the head of a crazy person put into an even crazier situation. Without Hanna's calm yet absurd responses to her new town and the events that take place there, the town and said events would have probably felt too cheesy. But seeing them from Hanna's point of view, while reading, everything just flowed and felt almost normal. She felt normal, and her reactions seemed reasonable. It wasn't until after, in retrospect, that I realized just how crazy everything was.

The most amazing thing was Reeve's ability to hide, through Hanna's thoughts, the sheer ridiculousness of it all from me. That takes talent, and it seems to me that is exactly what Dia Reeves has. Talent. It's not normal to ONLY where frilly, homemade purple dresses. And to talk to fake swans and a dead dad. It's not normal to not know if the monsters you are seeing are real or just a part of your crazy, overactive imagination.

And yet, in Dia Reeve's world, it is. In Hanna's world, it is just par for the course. Because of this, I actually didn't know how the book was going to end, and that is a very rare occurrence for me. I tend to predict even the most non-predictable of books, much to my dismay. This book's lack of stability did not allow that for me.

Overall, I though Bleeding Violet was an utterly imaginative, well-written work of fiction, and there's a little something in it for all YA fans. I think those that will get the most out of it, though, and that will enjoy it as it is to be enjoyed, are those that can, in some way, relate to the craziness of Hanna. Everyone's a little bit crazy, and if you're open to an acknowledge that part of yourself, then you'll see a little bit of yourself in Hanna, and you'll love this book. I greatly look forward to what Dia Reeves will come up with next, once she has more refined her writing skills.

Summary:Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Cover Story: I think this cover is extraordinarily sexy! It's got just the right amount of suspense and paranormal and purple, and it's wonderful!

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by review from Lenore as part of her International Book Bloggers Mentoring Program.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge

I originally wasn't sure if I was going to participate in this, as I wasn't sure quite how much reading time I would have. I've been home for two days now, though, and I've just started my third book. I NEVER read this quickly. So I thought, "Hey, great idea! I'll participate in the Holiday Break Reading Challenge." Now, here I am! :-)



I'm going to set a reading goal of 10 books. It's probable I'll read less, but 'm certainly going to try for 10! And, oh so very unlike me, I'm going to list ahead of time what I'll be reading. This list is also subject to change!

1)Deep Kiss of Winter - Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter
2)A Christmas Carol Special Edition - Charles Dickens
3)A Blue and Gray Christmas - Joan Medlicott
4)Decoding the Lost Symbol - Simon Cox
5)Hush, Hush - Becka Fitzpatrick
6)the Cupcake Queen - Heather Hepler
7)Define Normal - Julie Anne Peters
8)Dead is the New Black - Marlene Perez
9)Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
10)Need - Carrie Jones

2010 Debut Author Challenge

This is my last 2010 Challenge. Really, I promise. I don't think that I can commit to anything else.



And the last challenge I am signing up for is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren. Click the picture to go over and see what it's all about. There are fun prize packs being given away for participating, and there's a nice, long list of guidelines.
It lasts for the entire year of 2010, and you have to read at least 12 books from authors that are making their YA debut.

Oddly enough, I think this is going to be the most difficult challenge for me to finish. I have so much trouble knowing about debut authors. I'll do my best, though! I'll definitely be using The Story Siren's GoodReads Debut Authors List to help me out! So many of the books there are already on my wishlist!

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2010 E-Book Challenge

I'll potentially be living in Japan where I won't want to buy books, I thought this challenge was totally for me.



The E-Book Reading Challenge is another one of the Challenges over at Royal Reviews. Check out their challenge post for more details.

I'm going to go with:

-- Addicted – Read 12 E-Books

Just because I know I can do that. It's possible I'll even read 20 and be considered obsessed! I've got a ton of e-books just waiting to be read, but since I can't decide which ones I'll read first, I'll list them as I decide. The challenge lasts through all of 2010.

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Sci-Fi Challenge

The Sci Fi Challenge is hosted by Misha from Stage and Canvas. It started in August and ends in August, but I love me some sci-fi, so I think I can finish in the little over 8 months I have left.

These are the rules:
1. Read 3.14 or 8 books (or audio books) of the science-fiction genre. Suggestions are below.
2. The challenge runs from August 28, 2009 to August 8, 2010. You may join at any time.
3. Sign up using Mr. Linky below (please link directly to your post). If you don’t have a blog, just enter your name and leave the URL blank.
4. Each time you read a book, please link to your reviews. If you don’t do reviews, no biggie.
5. Making a list of chosen books is optional and it can change at any time. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

I'm going to go with 8 books, which will be listed as time goes by. There's a great list of options over on the site for the sign up. Check it out!

1)To Live Forever - Jack Vance
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Rainbow Connection Challenge

I thought the button for this challenge was just so beautiful that I had to participate. I wish my hair looked like that. Anyhow, the Rainbow Connection Challenge is being hosted over at Books, Books, the magical Fruit. You can go with a Single Rainbow or a Double Rainbow, and the challenge lasts from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010. I'll be going with a Single Rainbow.

Single Rainbow (reading 7 books) by either Author (first or last name) or Title for every color Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet books. I'll be adding books as I think of them.

Red -
Orange -
Yellow -
Green -
Blue -
Indigo -
Violet - Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

If you can think of any awesome books for the other colors, please let me know!

Fantasy Reading Challenge

I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with challenges for 2010, as so far I've only attempted one challenge, and I failed. It's also looking like my reading time is soon to be severely reduced. But how can I pass up a fantasy reading challenge, when I haven't been reading a lot of fantasy lately, and fantasy is, WITHOUT A DOUBT, my favorite genre to read!



It's hosted by Royal Reviews, so head on over there for more details.
There are four levels to choose from, and I'm going to go with
FASCINATED - Read 6 Fantasy Fiction Novels

I may up the ante to ADDICTED along the way and read 12. We'll just have to see what seems possible. :-) It would be nice, though, to read at least one fantasy novel every month.

I'll pick the books along the way as well.

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The Night World Challenge

The Night World Challenge over at Larissa's Life. Basically, I just have to read all 8 of the Night World Books in 2010. I think I can do it!
And what's even cooler - if you read all 9 of the books, you'll be put in the running to win the 10th book in the Nightworld series, which is coming out July 6, 2010. Awesomeness!

Books to be read:
1)NightWorld 1: Secret Vampire
2)NightWorld 2: Daughters of Darkness
3)NightWorld 3: Spellbinder
4)NightWorld 4: Dark Angel
5)NightWorld 5: The Chosen
6)NightWorld 6: Soulmate
7)NightWorld 7: Huntress
8)NightWorld 8: Black Dawn
9)NightWorld 9: Witch Light

I'm totally all over this!

NaNoWriMo and Failed Challenge Wrap-Up

So I wrote a little while ago about how I won NaNoWriMo, but for some reason I didn't post my winner's banner thing. I don't know why. So I thought I would do that today. YAY! I won NaNoWriMo!!!!
Unfortunately, while I did manage to write well over 50,000 words, I did NOT manage to finish my book, which somewhere along the way annoyingly turned into an autobiography. Blah! And I am not really INSPIRED to finish it now. I took a nice little week long break, and now I am ready to return to writing, but the characters from the novel I was working on BEFORE NaNo keep calling my name, dying to be heard. And since this one is NOT an autobiography, I think I'm going to listen. It needs to be finished.
And maybe eventually I will get back to my NaNo work. We'll see.

Now, about challenges. I have decided to participate in a few 2010 challenges, and I'll be starting up posts for them shortly. I'm hoping that they'll go better than my November Challenge.



In October and November, I participated in the Clear off Your Shelf Challenge at S. Krishna Books. If I'm not mistaken, I was going to try to make 80% of the books I read be my own. I'm pretty sure I failed miserably, but let's check it out, shall we.

Books read in October:
1)TokyoLand by Benjamin Reiss - my own
2)Elric: Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorecock - my own
3)Wonderland by Gabriel Common - my own
4)Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman - my own
5)The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stiegg Larsson - my own
6)Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa - review
7)Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - my own
8)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - my own
9)Japan took the J.A.P Out of Me by - review

7/9 books for the challenge

Books Read in November:
1)Evermore by Alyson Noel - my own
2)Over the Holidays by Sandra Harper - review
3)Deer & Other Stories by Susan Tepper - review
4)Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk - my own
5)The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate - review
6)The Evolution Conspiracy by Lisa A. Shiel - review
7)Flesh and Fire by Laura Ann Gilman - review
8)The Christmas Bus by Melody Carson - my own

3/8 for the challenge

Which means that I failed at my attempted goal, as I only read approximately 59% of my own books. I should have aimed lower. Oh well! Maybe next time! :-)

Clear off Your Shelves Challenge

So, in general, I tend to be very bad at challenges. I start by keeping track of the books I read, and then I get to a book that I don't love so much, and it takes me forever to read and then I forget that I was reading it for a challenge and then the keeping track of books thing just stops.
I had decided to challenge myself, though, to be better. And, since I do desperately need to read all of the older books that are taking over my shelves, I have decided to participate in S. Krishna'sClearing off Your Shelves Challenge.
Go check out her post to see what this challenge is all about.
The challenge is for the months of October and November, and we have to decide which percentage of books we read will be old instead of new. Since I'm participating in NaNoWriMo in November, I'm guessing I won't be reading a LOT. So I'm going to go all out and say at least 80%.
Especially since I am new to blogging, and I therefore do not have any ARCs. And I don't really even know how to go about getting them.

And there we go. I'm going to try to make a list later.