Vampires

The Blurb :A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city - for the undead!Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.My Thoughts :Just looking at the cover for this book made me want to read it. The dragon on top of the Empire State building and that guy with a tail are just some of the little clues to what lies inside the pages of this debut in the Shambling Guides series. If you read the blurb there is no going back because the promise of a monster world in New York is just too good of a thing to pass up on.The world the author builds in this book is just amazing and on many occasions I found myself thinking of Shanna Swendson's Enchanted Inc Series which is also set in New York and has some cool fantasy aspects and creatures. However this book isn't as romantic and doesn't have a chick-lit feel to it. The Shambling Guide has a sophisticated fantasy feel with a 'it could be me' leading lady being swallowed up by a world she knew nothing about. Zöe falls into a "rabbit hole" and finds out that vampires, golems, dragons and much much more exsist among normal human beings. Finding out everything with her is exciting and gripping. I couldn't put the book down.I loved so much about this book! From the interesting characters, strange and wonderful supernaturals and the location, it just had a bit of everything that I like and crave in a book. The well thought out plot kept me reading and the small snippets from the Shambling guide at the end of each chapter sometimes made me giggle (NYC visitors will get the refrences better than others) and often made me go 'Ahhh' because it just all fit together so nicely with the story.While the story developed I found myself getting pulled further into the world. The idea of a monster world hiding among us is plausible and could just be real. The author did a great job of making it realistic by adding details of the city and paying attention to how everything would fit together. Now I will patiently wait for the next installment. The ending promises a next Shambling Guide and I hope there will be one. The author has created a very special place within New York and it would be great to see what she does with other cities. It will also be good to see what Zöe gets up to next and how her relationships with both the coterie and her fellow humans develop.If you haven't been to NYC yet then you certainly will want to pay it a visit after reading the Shambling Guide. However I don't suggest using this guide when you go there, unless you are in fact coterie. The Guide releases later this month and is a fantastic read that I can only highly recommend you give a go! Amazon.com Widgets Amazon.com Widgets

Hey, all!Last month, between The Twisted World : Divine Decadence, my serials Blank and Blue Bloods, and school, I wound up missing the 21st. Mea culpa. Sadly, this month hasn't been much better; I've got all kinds of news, but it's left me no time to report on all of it.To make up for it, this month I've got a whole blog hop full of contests for you guys. It starts tomorrow, on the 22nd, to promote The Ministry Initiative kickstarter. Go here, follow the directions, win some stuff!See you next month!

Description: From the author of the acclaimed Archangel Academy vampire trilogy comes a stunning new series about a girl determined to defy her fate—and reclaim her future…Something strange is going on with Dominy Robineau. All her friends in Weeping Water, Nebraska, have noticed—and it’s way beyond teenage blues. As weeks pass, Dom grows consumed by anger, aggression, and violence, and she seems powerless to stop it. Then she turns sixteen, and things get really dangerous.When her best friend is murdered, Dominy’s father is compelled to reveal the truth behind the darkness that threatens to both overtake and empower her. Her boyfriend, Caleb, swears they’ll find a way to change her destiny. But others are hiding secrets too, and gifts that are far more terrifying than hers. And even as she struggles to control her new abilities, Dom must contend with an enemy who wants her to use the beast within to destroy all those she loves, before she destroys herself… Jenny's review:Dominy has no idea what is going on with her. She feels very strange and has very many angry moments where she imagines killing the people she loves. But when she starts to do strange things like growing hair on her face quickly and attacking her brother, she knows something is definitely not right. That, and her best friend is murdered. Finally, her dad explains to her the truth about what is going on with her. Dominy’s father tells her that he accidentally killed a man when he went hunting. The man’s wife put a curse on his first born child that she would turn into a monster when the moon was full. So Dominy needs to find this woman and make her reverse the curse that is on her. It is much harder than she thinks, especially when her wolf wants out and begins to want to get her other friends. This was a fascinating story about a girl and how she becomes a wolf. I found the story interesting in that while Dominy was the wolf she could still feel herself and just couldn’t get out of her mind, but didn’t understand that she was also the human. I liked how the characters truly cared for each other and that her dad tried to help her get rid of the curse as much as he could. Although, making her responsible for her best friend dying was truly shocking. This would be a great high school read, because the characters defiantly would appeal to that age group. Great story, which continues in Sunblind September of 2013. *This book was sent by the publisher for review purposes.

E! Online caught up with Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies at the CW Upfronts to chat about what the fans can expect on the show.

Celebified caught up with the cast of The Originals at the CW Upfronts to chat about the show.

Head on over to The Vampire Club to see a ton of great pics of Peter Facinelli for Ladygunn Magazine.

Head on over to The Vampire Club to see a bunch more photos of Taylor Lautner at the press conference for Grown Ups 2 in Mexico. He is such a cutie!

Hollywood Life caught up with Claire Holt at the CW Upfronts to talk about The Originals and love!

ET has put together their list of the 10 most promising shows coming this Fall and The Originals is included! Below is what they had to say. See what other new shows made the list here. What: The Vampire Diaries spin-off, focusing on The Original Family — Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah — as they make New Orleans their new home. Why: Unlike all the other entries this year, we’ve already seen an episode of The Originals since The CW tested it out with a backdoor pilot episode of TVD. Not only did the familiar faces dazzle in this new setting, but Charles Michael Davis is a star-in-the-making and a ferocious foe for Klaus to tangle with. When: Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Gotta a couple more interviews here for you with Vampire Diaries executive producer Julie Plec. She talks about the season 4 finale of the show and teases us about season 5. Click the links below to check out the interviews EW: ‘Vampire Diaries’ finale postmortem: EP Julie Plec on the cure, the Silas twist, Bonnie’s future TV Guide: The Vampire Diaries’ Julie Plec Answers Burning Questions and Teases Season 5