Mini Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Deal: Lexi lives in the town of Near. Her life is a bit difficult - her dad is dead, her uncle is disapproving and her mom works too much - but she loves her mom and little sister Wren, and she is happy enough.

But when a stranger arrives to the town of Near, everyone is suspicious. Near and the moors that surround it aren't exactly the type of place people visit, so it's a very closed community. And then, the children of Near start to vanish from their beds, and Cole, the new guy, becomes the prime suspect.

Only that Lexi is sure he isn't to blame, and eventually they go in search of the missing children.

My Thoughts: Let me start by saying that I don't usually read books like The Near Witch, though what drew me to it was that it sounded more like a fairy tale than straight fantasy. 

The writing is absolutely beautiful, so evocative without being overly flowery. And I could feel almost immediately the love Lexi had for her family, particularly for her sister Wren - who made me smile from the start, she's such a well-written, adorable child. 

Now, I did have time sticking to the story for long periods of time. I don't know why but I did, and I really had to push myself for a while. Not that it's in anyway bad, it's just the way I felt.

Still, it was so nicely written and I loved the characters. 

1/2

Welcome to Armchair BEA!

Hello everyone!!!

Today is the kick off of Armchair BEA -and event aimed for those who, for whatever reason, were unable to attend BEA this year. 

So, for those who are just stopping by thanks to Armchair BEA... Welcome, Welcome to another day at A Girl, Books and Other Things; and allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Alex - as in Alejandra Marisol - and I'm a girl who is obsessed with books, movies and TV. I write whenever I can - it seems to me like I'm always writing something - and read pretty much the rest of the time.

I hold a degree in biology (with a focus on water), and I'm certified to teach English to Speakers of Other Languages; but I'm currently unemployed and living with my parents, my sister Boo and our dog, named after The Godfather's, Rocco Lampone.

Few people outside from this blog actually call me Alex, which is weird because it is my given name. Most people call me Mary or Sol, or Baby or Punky (for some unfathomable reason). Elsewhere in the internet universe I'm known as Clavie -and yeah, it can be confusing, but for the time being just call me Alex or Clavie and I'll answer to you.

I'm a blogger outside of the US, hence my not doing actual BEA -what with being unemployed and the costs of air fare... and the fact that I don't really like traveling... 

Anyway, in the blog I review the occasional movie in the At the Movies section, and comment on TV from time to time in As Seen on TV, but mostly I focus on books! I read romance and YA in a variety of sub-genres and I like it that way.

And that's me in one hyper nutshell.

Love,

At the Movies: Chalet Girl

Two years ago, Kim was a champion skateboarder with a brilliant career ahead of her, but it all ground to a halt when her Mom was killed in a car crash after one of her competitions, and she hasn't been able to skate ever since. Instead, she spends her days at a dead-end job at a fast food joint trying to keep herself and her dad above water. 

When she gets offered a well paid job in Austria, the money is too good to pass so she packs her bags and leaves to work as a chalet girl - the person who takes care of the house and attends to the chalet's owners whenever they visit - even though she's worried about leaving her dad. 

There, responsible Kim gets to loosen up a little thanks to her new friend and fellow employee Georgie and other assorted friends. And she also discovers snowboarding, channeling her former skateboarding passion and skill into a new medium, and she even decides to enter a big snowboarding competition with a hefty sum for prize. 

She also meets Jonny, the chalet owner's son, who is on the verge of getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend regardless of his cold feet and the fact that the most he gets to know Kim, the more doubts he has. 

I waited for months to see this movie and I'm so glad I did! Chalet Girl is a sweet romantic comedy that pretends nothing more than making you have a good time. I had never seen Ed Westwick on anything other than Gossip Girl and I was surprised at how likable he was as Jonny, he's a pretty good actor. And I've loved Felicity Jones since her days in The Worst Witch, and I adore her in Northanger Abbey. 

This is a quiet, funny movie in the style of a good, old fashioned rom com and I really liked it, so I give it a B+

Cover Love #22 - Overbite

Look what I saw while checking out my book obsessions!!

Overbite is the sequel to Insatiable by Meg Cabot (which was one of my favorite reads last year), and I can't wait to read it.

Summary (from Amazon):

Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.

Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Anton­escu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love.

Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well.

But Meena isn’t the Palatine’s only hope. Father Henrique—aka Padre Caliente—New York City’s youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.

So why doesn’t Meena—or Alaric—trust him?

As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare . . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist.

This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.

 Can't wait to read more about Alaric, I loved him last time.

Love,

Retro Friday (14): The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

This week I chose The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot.

Current Cover

At First Sight: Gossip columnist Melissa Fuller was late for work again, but this time she had a pretty good reason: she found her next door neighbor -an old lady of about 80 years of age - face down on the carpet and she had to call the police. 


This not only landed her in hot water at work but also left her in charge of a Great Dane called Paco until Mrs. Friedlander's grandson Max can be located. Only that Max is too busy shacking up with a super model to return to NYC to tend to his grandmother, so instead he blackmails his former college roommate John Trent into pretending to be Max and taking care of the dog. 


John isn't happy with this plan, but he does owe Max so he agrees to the charade... only to be enchanted by Mel once the meet... only that she has no clue who he really is!


Second Glance: The Boy Next Door is the first of Meg Cabot's novels told entirely through emails - I think it was one of the first ever to do this - and it's just so much fun. 

Original Cover

Not a lot of people know this, but the book was first posted free at her Author's website (www.MegCabot.com) for a long while (that's where I read it first) before being turned into an actual book. 


The book is funny, full of pop culture and a very quick read. It is also very New York City and very much a book of the 90's - this was the beginning of emails as part of every day culture, you must remember and there are so many cute little details from back then woven into the story.



Bottom Line: A quick romantic comedy of mistaken identities, emails and dogs, The Boy Next Door remains a lovely story to this day.

2/3