SO CLOSE!!

Hello all you wonderful friends and fellow YA junkies!  I opened blogger today and noticed that I'm only 5 followers away from 200. I can't believe how much this place has grown in just the past few months. I want you all to know that I really value the comments that you leave and I hope, in return, I'm providing you with useful and/or fun information.

So to thank you all, here's what I'm going to do: if The Daily Harrell hits the 200 follower mark by THE IDES OF MARCH, I'll hold a contest.  One winner will get a $20 Book Depository gift card and a second place winner will get a $10 iTunes gift card.  All you have to do is help me spread the word about my blog in the next week, and I'll host a contest.  Deal?

Oh, and you can leave me a comment too, if you like.  They make me smile. <3 to you all!

The Vespertine - a Book Birthday Review

I had the pleasure of reading a galley of The Vespertine courtesy of the publisher and netgalley.com.  (My review was in no way influenced by the free copy I received, however.)  In much the same vein of Prophecy of the Sisters, The Vespertine takes a unique paranormal idea and grounds firmly in historical fiction.  The result is a beautiful blend of traditions and intrigue.

I'm exceptionally excited to be posting this review today, since it's also The Vespertine's BOOK BIRTHDAY!  If you're in the mood for a celebration this Monday, you might consider indulging yourself with delightful read.

Here's the summary:

It's the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

And here's what I thought:

Amelia, and her cousin Zora, are wonderful characters.  I love their personalities and their weaknesses.  I love their love interests as well, but Nathaniel is clearly the more intriguing of the two.  While Zora is busy pursuing the doctor's son, Amelia finds herself smitten by a poor artist, who'd never be consider respectable enough to wed.  But love doesn't always follow the rules, and Amelia and Nathaniel are drawn to each other like magnets.  The only down side in their love is "the times," such that you don't see the typical flaming desire we've come to expect from a traditional paranormal romance.  This romance is more about the slow boil, leaving the reader wanting more encounters between the two and more than just a handful of stolen kisses.

The paranormal aspect of this story was fresh.  Amelia's sunset visions gradually come faster and faster.  While the adults indulge her "parlor tricks," all the girls know the truth -- Amelia's visions WILL come true.  But can any good come of seeing the future with such terrible clarity?  You'll just have to read and find out.

There are plenty of plot twists that you'll never see coming.  While I do normally enjoy the adventure and danger of more typical paranormal romance, this book was a welcome diversion.  I thoroughly enjoyed being caught up in another time and hope you will as well.

Bottom Line: This book deserves a 4.5 Greek coins rating -- an OMG!+  You'll have to let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thankful Thursday - This Kid

As many of you saw on Tuesday, my "baby" turned 5 this week.  She has an amazing little spirit, totally independent and fun, and today I'm thankful for her... my "surprise" baby.  The one who decided she'd start making her way toward life when her older sister was a mere 4 months old.  (Yes, my two girls are only 13 months apart.)

This picture is from her sister's princess birthday party.  My baby doesn't like dresses, and she certainly didn't want to be a princess.  While I almost got her to compromise with a Princess Jasmine costume (since it has pants, and all), I knew I was doomed when she found this king costume in a toy catalog.  A few clicks on Amazon later, and my little independent drummer got to masquerade as the only male royalty at the party.

And the other day, we were working on coming up with words that start with the letter Q.  After we'd turned in her project, that night on the car ride home, she told me, "Mommy, you forgot cucumber."  How cute is that?  And he's right, cucumber totally should start with a Q.

It's for these quirks and expressions -- and a million others -- that I love her and am so thankful for her. Who are you most thankful for this week?

Don't forget to stop by Oasis for YA to participate in the weekly meme and share your gratitude.

An early Book Birthday

Ok - I screwed up my first post.  For some inexplicable reason, I thought this book was coming into the world today.  It is not.  You have to wait until next Tuesday the 8th  Sorry!  I'm human.  But in the meantime, you can consider this a Waiting on Wednesday post or some other sort of temptation to make you wish next Tuesday was here already...

I want to be beautiful like you, I thought, as if Mandarin were listening.

I want apricot skin and Pocahontas hair and eyes the color of tea. I want to be confident and detached and effortlessly sensual, and if promiscuity is part of the package, I will gladly follow your lead. All I know is I'm so tired of being inside my body.

I would give anything to be like Mandarin.

It's hard to find beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming. Fourteen-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances and pickup trucks adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild girl Mandarin Ramey: seventeen, shameless and utterly carefree.

Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin.

When the misfits are united for a project, they embark on an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and constantly searching for someplace magic. Grace even plays along when Mandarin suggests they make a pact to run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds that plague their badlands town.

But all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, even the best friendships can't withstand betrayal.

Like Mandarin will be published by Random House/Delacorte in March 2011.

Another Happy Book Birthday

Happy 1st of March.  Today my youngest turns five.  (That's hard for me to believe, even as I write it.)  Happy Birthday, Sami!

And just like last week, a whole slew of debut YA/MG novels are being born today as well.  Of the seven making their official debuts, some you will have undoubtedly heard of and some will have never crossed your radar before.  But wow! What an electric group.  Please, click on the titles (in alphabetical order) to read the Goodreads descriptions.  And then start adding to your TBR pile!
The Bloomswell Diaries by Louis Buitendag
Clarity by Kim Harrington
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker
I am J by Cris Beam (about a transexual, bi-racial teen growing up in NYC)
I Lost My Mobile at the Mall by Wendy Harmer
Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave