Book Babblings

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

The Nitty Gritty: Winter Santiaga is the undisputed Princess of the Ghetto. The oldest daughter to drug kingpin Ricky Santiaga, Winter is used to having the best and being the best.

Things have never been better, until her mother is shot in the face and things quickly crumbled in Palace de Santiaga. Winter's mother is no longer the beautiful queen of the hood, her father is thrown into jail with no release in sight, her sisters are swept up into the system, and worse Winter is left without the money to maintain her Princess tiara.

Left without her king and her baubles, Winter only has her street savvy and her money maker to get herself back on top of things, and she will stop at nothing, spare no one to get her tiara back.

Opening Line: "I never liked Sister Soulja, straight up."

The Good: Love her or hate her Winter is one of the strongest female characters in literary history. Her voice is crystal clear and it rings with all the Brooklyn authority that Jay-Z would be proud to find. When faced with the annihilation of her entire family much like a cat Winter landed on all fours.


The Coldest Winter Ever is to urban fiction what gangster rap was to hip hop. It was a pioneering book that blazed a trail into Barnes and Nobel for other African American urban authors. it have even been the very book that helped to usher in the new book genre.

That is about all the credit I am willing to give Souljah with this book. And her book was groundbreaking just as gangster rap gave a musical voice to the disenfranchised black men of the inner city Winter gave voice to the black females of the inner city.


The Bad: Where do I start? Maybe the beginning would be best. I take issue with the fact that Soujah placed herself in the book. Not as a caricature of herself or as comic relief. She put herself into the story as Winter's foil. She was the sole voice of reason in this twisted tale.

I find that highly arrogant of Souljah. Here is a woman with no formal training and no dog in the fight save her desire to influence. For me that is not enough. I fail to see her love for the very people she is claiming she is trying to help. There is one scene in the book where Winter sits in on one of Souljah's "therapy" sessions. One of the women who happened to be a lady of the night, supporting her family as a stripper is reprimanded by Souljah. She acts the woman how much money she makes. I  believe the answer was about $500 a night. And Souljah asks, "does it take $500 a night to support your family?"

Here is a woman who is living rent free in a large town home owned by a doctor. Who pays all the bills, keeps the fridge stocked with food, and living in New York there isn't a need to own a car. So she is sitting up in her palace without a care in the world trying to verbal spank another woman because she tries to provide for her family the only way she knows how.

But perhaps by biggest bone of contention is the fact that Souljah looks down her nose at this people, points out their flaws and misdeeds without offering an avenue of change. I am certain that woman knew what she was doing was not only dangerous and harmful to herself, but also her family on top of being embarrassing. What she was looking for was a way out of her situation not a reminder of what situation she was in.

I find Souljah self righteous with no reason to be.

Moving on to her Midnight. Now I understand that someone women find this man sexy, charming, alluring and possibly the best man in the book. Sad to say that he is probably the best man in the book. Insofar as being compared someone like Bullet. However no one mentions the fact that Midnight is a coldblooded drug dealing killer. I don't care how pretty the package he is still a murderer and a drug pusher. Just because he can string together a semi-intelligent sentence we are suppose to forgive the sons he has killed. The fathers he laid to rest? The mothers he sold crack to? The orphans he made of families?

For all his posturing about how he loves and cherishes woman he left a sixteen year old girl to the mercies of the streets. Sure the said girl was Winter Santiaga, but she was still a minor female without direction. He had the means to take her away from her environment and if nothing else give her a chance at normalcy and change. Instead her abandoned her saying it was her ghettoish ways that pushed him out the door.

I call BS on that. Midnight is worse the the other men in this book. He is a wold in sheep clothing. The other man know who they are and they embrace it. They didn't try to hide it. Midnight hid his nature under a cute smile and the Quran.

My Final Say: I do think this is a book worth reading. However much I may dislike it. I did read her other books with caution and again with disappointment. Simply for its pioneering nature i give it

A to Z of Avatar: The Last Airbender

A is for Azula 

Azula is by far one of the best fictional characters in history. Azula is the princess of the Fire Nation and a fire bending prodigy. We don't get to meet Azule till book two but what a splash she made. Azula was sent out by her father the Fire Lord to capture Aang and her wayward brother and traitorous uncle. While on this journey Azula manages to capture Ba Sing Se a city the Fire Nation ha been trying to colonize for 100 years.

Azula can not only produce lightening she is the only firebender capable of controlling fire with only two fingers. She can produce jets of blue flame, blue daggers and blue fire. She is a ruthless perfectionist with demonstrated sadist tendencies.

Other than The Fire Lord Azula was the most dangerous enemy for Team Avatar. She put together an all girl hit squad that brought the Earth Kingdom to its knees. Azula is girl power after a IV full of Redbull. 

Book Babblings

Soulless by Gail Carriger 

The Nitty Gritty: As if being a spinster was not enough. Alexia Tarabotti is also soulless. A condition heaped upon her by her father. who was Italian of all the horrid things for an Englishwoman to be.

In this steampunk tale we get a glimpse into Victorian London as it becomes embroiled in a sundowner scandal for the ages. Queen Victoria, ever the progressive, is continuing the trend set by her husband. Allowing sundowners a chance at an accepted life. Vampires and werewolves alike have equal rights under the law. They can even serve in Her Majesty's army.

However accepted they are ;one wolves and rove vampires are going missing and one rove has tried to kill Ms. Tarabotti. At a ball of all places. With her trusty parasol and her habit of neutralizing supernatural abilities with a simple touch she is able to dispatch the scoundrel without mussing her ball gown.

Having killed the rove Alexia is pulled into the drama when she is caught in the act by the Director of BUR, the Woosley Pack Alpha Lord Maccon.

Opening Line: "Ms. Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening." 

The Good: I must say I really hate when I miss being on the ground floor of a new and exciting series like this. Alexia is a woman after my own heart. She doesn't care one whit what anyone has to say about her. Well because in the eyes of society she is a spinster and so she gets used to the teases and the taunts from her sister of all people.

I do love a woman that is all woman. She is bad ass to be sure, but she can do it in a full skirt and corset. Sometimes I think authors take female characters to hot and cold extremes. Alexia Tarabotti manges to run hot wile keeping her cool. She can stand her own when the time calls for it. However when times get tough she has enough sense to let the professionals handle it.

I adore her love affair with Lord Maccon. It so real life that I found myself putting my face onto Alexia's body. There is this dance between the two of them that all of us can see leading up to a relationship but nevertheless it puts us on the edge of our seat for the entire ride. I find that so many authors rush into the love affair with the title characters that I was to gag myself with a spoon. And I am happy as a pig in mud that there wasn't even a hint of a love triangle between Alexia and two totally unsuitable characters. Conall and Alexia engage in a relationship of verbal barbs that leave both of them breathless and panting for more.

I am in heaven that the leading man is actually a man that I would dane to date myself. He isn't a stalker. Though being an Alpha he is used his orders being followed without question, but Alexia has the backbone to stand up to him and put him in his place when the situation calls for it.

That is possible the best thing about this book. Alexia herself. She is strong, self assured, smart, witty, sarcastic and fully capable for whatever life brings. That is refreshing in this sea of Bella Swans and Clarrissa Freys.

The Bad: Her family is absolutely horrible to her. I mean even on my worst day of my sister tripping my very last nerve she wouldn't have said half of the things to me that Alexia's sisters and mother say to her. Its like they don't even love her. Which I suspect is the case all because her mother made the choice to marry an Italian and have a child. So really its not a bad part of the book they are just horrid people in my humble opinion.

Final Thoughts: I have jumped into this series with both hands and feet. Ms. Tarabotti might even make me rethink my ban on teatime....

Book Babblings

Fyre by Angie Sage

The Nitty Gritty: Our intrepid heros are nor 14 an thus ready to take their proper place in the Magykal world and in the Palace.

After the battle over the Darke the Castle inhabitants are still trying to shake off the Darke precense. With the ancient Alchemie Fyre lit they are ready to be rid of the Two Faced Ring forever.

In this heart stopping final book its up to Septimus and Jenna to finally erase the stench of DomDaniel and the Two Face Ring from the world.

Opening Line: "A flame burns at Midnight."

The Good: Once again Sage gives us nothing but twists and turns on every page. Even through the actionless parts Sage has a way of writing that just pulls us along by the nose like the Pied Piper.

Like its predecessors Fyre captivated from from page 1 to the very last page. And I always love Sage's little Endings at the end of her books. I always wonder what happens after the heros rides off into the sunset and Sage never disappoints. I love her teaser at the very end of the book *winkwink*

Sage gave us a proper send off to all the characters that we grew to love. It wasn't a final send off like we would never see them again, but it was a wrap up of six books that will leave fans satisfied.

The Bad: I long grew tired of Jenna. I have to say it was around Flyte that she really got on my nerves and it only got worse as the books progressed. I guess it was just that Jenna thought she could be bossy simply because she was a princess. Not because she actually had anything to contribute for half of the series. To be honest it wasn't until this book that she hand anything substancial and concrete to add to the pot. And I am so glad we didn't have to suffer through much of her mother. Who would have been just as bad if not worse than Jenna herself.

My Final Thoughts: Its hard to say goodbye to a series, and this time is no different. With a heavy heart I wave goodbye to the Dragon Boat and the Castle. Never feat I will go back and reread the tales of Septimus Heap for years to come

July Camp NaNo Fiction Idea

So I've been wrestling with this plot for an entire month. I first thought of it maybe back in early May and I wrote it down thinking I wasn't going to work on it but then the July Camp NaNoWriMo rolled around and I dusted it off to get ready for the ball.

Title: Grimm Hollows

Genre: fantasy

Protagonists: Dillon Grimm is a girl getting her butt kicked by life. She has a job that is going nowhere she is looking to go. She is a barista at Java the Hut. The job is easy enough and the people are ok for the most part, but she wanted more out of her life. As the daughter of Willow Grimm, the actress who made her mark on the world at age eight a lot was expected of her.

Other Main characters: Lennox, a dragon lord. He is going to be Diggy's best friend and love interest in this tale. The Pixie Queen is also going to play a big role. There are some other roles that I have yet to cast so to speak.

Antagonist: Thalia, the Goblin Queen and her son the goblin prince Devin. Thalia is power hunger and not content on just ruling the goblins under her charge. She is never one to get her hands dirty however and you will never trace anything directly back to her. She rules not through fear as her predecessors did. She rules passive aggressively so you are never sure if it was your idea to kill yourself or hers. Thalia is the first ever goblin queen and

Setting: Majority of the story will take place on the Hollows but some of the story will take place in the fictional town of Wysteria, NC.

Plot: Diggy Grimm is a girl with a plan. By the time she is 18 she wanted to be an international recording artist with a big contract and legions of fans.

Well she is 25 and working at a book store. Don't even get started on her love life. Her last date had more pimples than common sense. Life just seems to be passing her by until she gets a call that her grandfather has died. She hasn't seen him in years but she owes it to him to go to his funeral.

His final act left her with Grimm Hollows. The creepy old plantation house that used to scare as a child. Between her dead end job and stale love life Diggy decides to step out on faith and move into her childhood nightmare.

Strang things are afoot as Dillon tries to settle into her new life. The house magically cleans itself. Dillon swears a bumblebee serenades her at night. Its driving her crazy.

Grimm Hollows is not just a dusty old house. Its a Ever After settlement that protects fairy tale creatures as they live their lives in the mundane world. And Dillon is the new Godmother and protector. A role that she doesn't understand but is willing to give it the old college try.

The Goblin Queen has other plans for Grimm Hollows. She isn't content to just rule Goblin Square she wants all of the Hollows and its inhabitants under her thumb.

And the only thing standing in her way is Dillon.

Point of View: Is going to split between first person for Dillon and third person limited for everyone else.

Story Notes: I think I've cemented this plot. Might have to make a few changes to the plot but I feel its going to be smooth sailing. 

Book Babblings

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Nitty Gritty: So its the Bachelor meets the Hunger Games, but without all the blood and running.

America Singer, a five, has been selected to compete for the hand of the young prince. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity and while every other girl in the country wants to go America doesn't.

She's already in love, with a boy from a lower caste. Forced into the competition by the love of her life who dumps her before the big day America walks into the palace intending to head back home as soon as possible, but unknowingly America is pulled into the life of a Selected, and she finds herself warming up to the palace brat each day. 

Opening Line: "When we got the letter in the post, my mother was ecstatic." 

What's the 411: I will freely admit that I've never seen one episode of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette. I get stuck watching all the silly Lifetime chick flicks that my mom likes so I figure that is enough girly torture for me. So I am not sure how those shows work and I've never been inclined to watch them and this book has cemented that.

This book is hailed as a dystopia and I ain't buying it sister. Not saying that there is only one way to write a dystopia, but let's call a spade a spade. Yes there was a political upheaval, but there will always be war. The country was able to pull itself up by the boot straps and rebuild. The government doesn't rule by fear or threat, there hasn't been a drastic decline of society. Despite the claims by the narrator society seems to be the same as it is now. There are the super rich and the very poor and a nice spread in between. Yeah so I'm not buying what she's selling on that front. 

The Good: Hmm well it was a quick read and that was good. I like the idea of the Selection. It allows in girl int he country be she poor, rich, smart, talented, short, tall to become a princess. Its every little girls dream and it takes the real world competition of getting a husband and turns it into a fun little game for the world to see. But I would have liked to have seen Cass' critique on that system.

The Bad: Hmm well I do like a good character name and America Singer is just...not a great character name. Especially since as a 5 in the caste system America is part of a musical family and she is in fact a singer. I just think it was a little too on the nose for me and I'm just not a fan of the name America, though one of my favorite shows in the whole world starred America Ferrera. 

This book is a bit thin on the action side to say the least. There isn't a whole that actually happens in the book. Since its told from the first person POV of course we are limited to the amount of action we see, but the main character likes to hide up in her room for much of the book which makes for a slow and torturous read for us.

It likenens itself to a book about a vicious competition worthy of Death Race 3000. Yes I know I am showing my age on that one forgive me. However what we get is a school yard brawl over the last piece of bubble gum. I mean the only scuffle that happens is Celeste telling America to take off her dress and give it to her. I mean serious I don't know anyone that bold and even if she was it could have been a better confrotation that what it was. I've seen toddlers thrown down better than that. And after the performance Katniss Everdeen put in we were expecting something more from Cass than what we got.

The world building just doesn't make any sort of sense. I understand China invading the United States if we defaulted on our loans. But I do not believe for a moment that the rest of the world would sit back and let China take over the world. Not that I am arrogant enough to think that people would run to our rescue for our sakes, but that is what would happen. Countries have allies for a reason. So that when they are invaded they have backup. Kuwait was invaded by Iraq and they had an ally in the United States. We went to their rescue. That's the way it works. She just glossed over that fact like it wasn't important. Well if there hadn't been that little history lesson smack in the middle of the book it wouldn't have even come up, but Cass put it out there and didn't deliver.

And how in the hell did we go from a democracy to a monarchy? There's just no explanation for it. I mean I understand that the United States had been living as the American Chinese State, but I highly doubt that American fighting spirit was crushed and that they just rolled over and died so that we could go from a democracy to communism to a monarchy. I call BS on that one. Either make your explanations make sense or just avoid them. I mean the book would have been fine if she didn't go into any explanations about how the world got the way it did. All she had to say was WW 3 and we could have drawn up our own conclusions.  You can't just throw mad lib politics lines on the wall like a ink blot and whatever sticks is what goes into the book.

What the hell does the caste system have to do with anything. I mean for a country that was trying to throw off the shackles of China why would they create a stupid caste system? A system that isn't built on anything and to which nothing makes sense. After all this is a war torn country trying to rebuild itself is there a reason we are devoting entire groups of people to singing and dancing? I am all for the creative arts so don't get me wrong but it seems like there could have been a better use of time and talent in that instance.

It seems when China invaded the United States we got struck stupid or something. It just doesn't make sense. I believe Cass should have left the political science to the professionals.

And since when are countries named after people? I mean maybe its just me but I really hate that.

America's attitude I think was the biggest flaw in this book. On the one hand she was upset that her brother broke off from the family to live his life in peace without the burden of trying to carry his family when both of his parents are perfectly capable of providing for their family and then on the other hand she didn't want to got into the Selection which would have helped her family monetarily.

You can't have it both ways honey. It was like Cass wanted her character to be the underdog, but she didn't want her to be the underdog. I want her to be poor, but not starving. Though America did act like her family was starving when in fact they weren't.

I really hate that she brought Aspen back into the picture. I just really hate these love triangles that female authors put their characters into. I just hate it and both men are always exact opposites as well.

Final Thoughts: There is nothing about this book what prompts me to keep reading this series. I just don't care what happens to America, nor Maxon, and especially not Aspen.

Writing Matters