Match # 1: Clary (Seed #1) vs Kate (Seed #32) Goes to Clary

Winner of Match # 1 is Clary Fray


Welcome to the YA Sisterhood! Thank you in advance for your participation in our Tournament of Heroines! We hope you make some friends (and not too many enemies), discover some fantastic books, and have a lot of fun! 

Some general rules before we begin:

There may be some spoilers in the following post. We've tried to keep it fairly general, but overall, this Tourney will not be spoiler-free. So beware.

Secondly, You are welcome to write your own comments about either character in the comments section, but we will not tolerate rudeness. The minute it crosses over from logical argument into character bashing, your comments will be deleted and your vote canceled.  POLLS WILL BE OPEN FOR 24 HOURS AND WILL CLOSE AT 12:01AM EST ON DECEMBER 2ND.

And now for the match....

Clary Fray/Morgenstern is the heroine from Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Series, which includes City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and coming City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire.

*** Spoil Alert Quotes from 1st four books below ***

Fray's Fabulous Features

By Kara Lija

A petite 5 feet tall
Curly red hair
Green eyes
Freckles 
Survives the worst father ever, Valentine Morgenstern
Received Ithuriel's blood giving her special talents
Shadowhunter
Beautiful

Fiercely loyal & driven to help those she loves

From City of Bones - Clary felt suddenly annoyed. "When the self-congratulatory part of the evening is over, maybe we could get back to saving my best friend from being exsanguinated to death?"  

From City of Bones - "I don't want tea," said Clary, with muffled force. "I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them.

Feisty & independent - she doesn't put up with anyone's um ... you know

From City of Bones - "I was ninety percent sure." "I see," Clary said.
There must have been something in her voice, because he turned to look at her. Her hand cracked across his face, a slap that rocked him back on his heels. He put a hand to his cheek, more in surprise than pain. "What the hell was that for?"
"The other ten percent," she said, and they rode the rest of the way down to the street in silence."

From City of Ashes - "Hey Baby." "Baby? You're kidding me, right?" "I was trying it out. No?" "No."

Funny & great to have around

From City of Bones - "Don't touch any of my weapons without my permission."
"Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on eBay," Clary muttered.
"Selling them on what?" Clary smiled blandly at him. "A mythical place of great magical power." 

From City of Bones - "I figured all your classes were stuff like Slaughter 101 and Beheading for Beginners."Jace flipped a page. "Very funny, Fray." 

Lily Collins

Figures it out when everyone else gives up 

From City of Glass - "No. I wanted to tell you that I was proud of you." Clary slewed around to look at her mother. "You were?" Jocelyn nodded. "Of course I was. The way you stood up in front of the Clave like that. The way you showed them what you could do. You made them look at you and see the person they loved most in the world, didn't you?" "Yeah," Clary said. "How did you know?"
"Because I heard them all calling out different names," Jocelyn said softly. "But I still saw you."
 

Forever drawn to the gorgeous Jace

From City of Glass - All that existed was Jace; all she felt, hoped, breathed, wanted, and saw was Jace. Nothing else mattered.

From City of Fallen Angels - Not to be outdone, Clary slid her hands under the hem of his soaked shirt, and let her fingers explore what was underneath: the tight, hot skin over his ribs, the ridges of his abdomen, the scars on his back. This was uncharted territory for her, but it seemed to be driving him crazy: he was moaning softly against her mouth, kissing her harder and harder, as if it would never be enough, not quite enough —.

Fierce & Fights for what she loves

 From City of Glass - "Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?" "No" Simon said, "If you hurt Clary she's quite capable of killing you herself. Possibly with a variety of weapons." 

From City of Glass Jace - "And then I met you.  You were a mundane.  Weak.  Not a fighter.  Never trained.  And then I saw how much you loved your mother, loved Simon, and how you'd walk into hell to save them.  you did walk into a vampire hotel.  Shadowhunters with a decade of experience wouldn't have tried that.  Love didn't make your weak; it made you stronger than anyone I'd ever met." 

From City of Glass Jace - "You could have had anything else in the world, and you asked for me."  She smiled up at him.  Filthy as he was, covered in blood and dirt, he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.  "But I don't want anything else in the world."

Firm hold on herself

From City of Glass, right after Jace yells at her - "When you told me the first time that Valentine was your father, I didn't believe it," she said.  "Not just because I didn't want it to be true, but because you weren't anything like him.  I've never thought you were anything like him.  But you are.  You are."
   
Flair for making new or stronger runes  

From City of Ashes - "The completed Fearless rune was a matrix of strongly swirling lines: a rune as bold and aerodynamic as an eagle.  She tore the page free and held it up so the others could see it."

From City of Glass - "She squeezed her eyelids shut and, against the darkness behind the them, began to draw with her mine in curving lines of light.  Lines that spoke to her of doorways, of being carried on whirling air, of travel and faraway places.  The lines came together in a rune as grateful as a bird in flight.  She didn't know if it was a rune that had existed before or one she had invented, but it existed now as if it always had."

What makes Clary better than Kate

So I enjoyed Die for Me by Amy Plum but Kate was not the reason why.  Vincent was my favorite character in that book.  Kate was a puzzle to me.  She's withdrawn, even sullen and not pro-active.  It's been seven months since her parents death and while I understand it's hard for her, she is still hiding away not dealing.  Clary would never do that!

Last point - Clary gets Jace's vote! Nough said.

From City of Glass - "There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then."

Vote #TeamClary


Check StuckInBooks.com for additional inspiration to vote #TeamClary 


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Intro (aka: who am I?): Hi, my name is Carli, aka Emberchyld.  I can be found at my regular blog:  Emberchyld's Journal or my Travel blog: Carli's Travels .  To keep up-to-date on all of the #TeamKate happenings, keep an eye on my @Emberchyld Twitter feed and my Livejournal site!  Also, keep checking the amazing Amy Plum's site, because she has some great Kate goodies as incentives (ahem... teaser from Until I Die? You didn't hear it from me...)


Since this is a post to advocate for Kate as a heroine... I thought I'd abdicate my advocate duties to the person who knows her best and let him tell you why you should vote for Kate! (apologies to Amy, from whom I very LIBERALLY borrowed)

Anything else you’d like to add?


1) A quick thanks to my
partners-in-Kate advocacy: Brooke(@Brookeworm33) and JayJay (@TheJay2xA) &
to Amy Plum @iHeartRevenants

2) Thanks also to all of the commenters who helped! Moirae, Holly, InTheSpirit... you ROCK!

3) Vincent was not harmed in the
writing of this letter

4) Thanks to the YA Sisterhood for such
and awesome tourney

YA Crush Tourney: Jace vs Jules (Match #13) Goes to Jace

DUE TO THE POLL SITE CRASHING, WE ARE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MATCH.  THERE WAS A BIG ENOUGH SPREAD THAT WE FEEL SAFE TO SAY THAT JACE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE WINNER REGARDLESS.  THANK ALL OF YOU FOR VOTING! WE OBVIOUSLY HAD SUCH A GREAT TURNOUT THAT WE CRASHED THE POLL SITE.  PLEASE VISIT US AGAIN TOMORROW TO VOTE FOR ANOTHER SET OF MATCHES IN THE YA SUMMER CRUSHIN' TOURNAMENT!


AND THE WINNER IS:

JACE

Before we get started, it's the same rules as usual.  We've tried as much as possible to keep everything spoiler free, but to really show the best qualities of a character sometimes spoilers are necessary, so BEWARE!!!  Also, feel free to write comments in the comments section about either character, but we will not tolerate rudeness.  The moment it crosses over from logical argument to rudeness, your comment will be deleted and your vote cancelled.  Voting will open at 8am and close 40 hours later at midnight on Thursday night.  Because of crashing 2 different poll sites in the 1st round, we have decided for the sake of our sanity and all of your guys sleep, to only allow 1 vote per computer.  So call in all of your reinforcements for the next rounds.  With all that said, let the voting begin!

Jace Wayland (Seed #2)

Jace Wayland is rep'd by me AmyG from YA-Sisterhood.  You can check out my blog here, and follow me on twitter @YASisterhood.  Jace is from the Mortal Instruments series by the talented Cassandra Clare.  You can find out more info about her and her books by clicking on her name on our side bar.

Personality:

I am going to borrow from the fabulous JKR and say, "JACE WAYLAND IS MY KING!!!"

I'd like to at first say that I began reading City of Bones in early 2008, and from that day forward Jace has been my number 1.  Other YA characters have come close, but none have been able to usurp Jace off his thrown!  The thing about Jace is he's that guy that comes across as cool, suave, good-looking, sarcastic and snarkie when in all actuality, on the inside, he's torn to shreds.  He's from as messed up a family as you can get.  He was emotionally abused by the most evil man since Voldemort.  This quote by Cassandra Clare from City of Bones basically sums up his childhood,"The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed."  How cannot every fiber of your being cry out to help him, to give him any amount of love to make up for the life he had endured thus far.  He hides his pain and his insecurity behind a "rapier wit".  He can word duel with the best of them, slaying you with his words one minute while cracking you up the next.  Out of all the amazing guys in this tournament, Jace is the most complex of all the characters.  In his case what you see is not necessarily what you get.  To get to the core of this hero, you must look deep and read between the lines.

"My rapier wit hides my inner pain." -Jace Wayland

Looks:

Close your eyes for a minute, picture a tall golden skinned guy, shirtless of course.  Across his chest and arms are these dark marks.  They look like perhaps symbols or characters from a time long ago.  His waist is lean and his chest and arms look as if they were chiseled perfectly by the gods.  His face is as beautiful as a fallen angel, angular and framed by wavy golden-blond hair.  His eyes are a piercing gold that seem ancient in his young face.  Do you need a fan yet?  Yep, that's Jace!  Pretty irresistible, huh?!?  Seriously, how can anyone turn turn down a tall golden haired bad boy with tats?  I'll take 2 please!!!

Talents:

Without being too spoilery, there are some questions about the actual birth of Jace.  Who is parents are, what happened to him in womb or shortly thereafter.  These questions arise because even Jace's superpowers have superpowers! He can run faster and jump higher than any other nephilim.  He's basically like a Shadowhunter Limited Edition!  He's also one of those guys that every girl swoons over.  He walks into a room and all eyes are on him!  If your wondering why this is under talents, sit back and people watch for awhile!  You will notice that there are very few guys that actually have this talent, and Jace has it in mounds!  Lastly, I will have to mention his snarkiness under this category.  In order to be truly witty, it takes talent.  You must be fast on your feet and prepared for a comeback at any moment.

"What are all these?" Clary asked. 

"Vials of holy water, blessed knives, steel and silver blades," Jace said, piling the weapons on the floor beside him, "electrum wire - not much use at the moment but it's always good to have spares - silver bullets, charms of protection, crucifixes, stars of David-" 

"Jesus," said Clary 

"I doubt he'd fit." 

"Jace." Clary was appalled."  City of Bones 

Special Attributes:

Jace is a shadowhunter or nephilim, part human and part angel.  He's actually descended from the offspring of angels and humans mentioned in Genesis 6.  He has incredible powers, powers enough to police the downworlders: vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks, faeries, and demons.  Shadowhunters also have the ability to mark themselves with ancient runes for protection, healing, or added super-abilities.  Their purpose is to protect the mundanes, normal humans, from the downworlders.  So, they basically spend everyday saving the world!  

Why is Jace better than Jules?

Okay, this is always hard.  When you read a lot of books you get attached to all the characters.  I have read Die for Me, and I dearly love Jules also.  I will say that Jace does have an advantage because there are 4 books about Jace plus he's the main character, and as of right now, there is only one book about Jules who is not the main character.  That being said, I have read both books, more than once each, and I would still say that at this moment Jace is the most crush-worthy.  He's the broken bad boy that every girl is dying to fix!  He's the sexy male that is hard and cold on the outside but just crying out to be loved on the inside!  So, be honest with yourselves girls, you know that's what every girl wants!  Plus, he saves the world from the bad guys!  Superhero + broken, bad boy dying to be fixed= WINNER!!!

Anything else you'd like to add?

Yes, if you have read the first Mortal Instruments you know the monstrous, gargantuan, colossal twist that occurs.  Okay, think about that for a second, and how you felt through the next books!  If you were like me, all of the great, huge, horrible sin of lets just say "I", suddenly didn't seem too bad anymore!!!  I was actually routing for it in my sick mind!  I totally just didn't care!  So, the last think I will say is that if it will make me and everyone else totally okay with "I" then he deserves to win every stinkin' contest that he ever enters or is entered into for the rest of time!!!!

"I know it's wrong - God, it's all kinds of wrong - but I just want to lie down with you and wake up with you, just once, just once ever in my life."  -Jace (City of Glass)

VOTE FOR JACE!  

"LOOKING BETTER IN BLACK THAN THE WIDOWS OF [HIS] ENEMIES SINCE 1234"!!!




Jules (Seed #15)

The HOTtastic Jules from Amy Plum's Die for Me is being rep'd by Brooke from Brooke-Reports.blogspot.com. You can also reach Amy Plum's blog from the button on the side of this page. You can also follow Brooke (and please do) on twitter @BrookeWorm33. Find out more about Die for Me and Jules in our review here.

Personality:

Jules from Amy Plum's debut novel, DIE FOR ME, is funny, flirty AND compassionate! He isn't afraid of a little competition and would be willing to pull out all the stops to win you over! It wouldn't be hard either, with his adorable boyish charm & cocky flirtatious smile he will make you swoon! He's enthusiastic about everything he does & is sure to send you into a fit of girlish giggles with his hilarious one liners & highly animated hand gestures! Don't think he's all wisecracks though, Jules also has a serious side. He's very caring and will always be there to listen to you. When your miserable, he'll be the first one to dish out complements & hugs, you can count on Jules! 

Looks:

Jules oozes charisma & charm, he & his friends are compared to Armani underwear models because they are just THAT gorgeous. Jules has a lean build that he (unfortunately) covers with messy paint smudged clothes. He has unkempt curly brown hair, bristly razor stubble (GAH! HOT!), and large rough hands that can do wonders with a paintbrush (and other stuff *wink, wink*) 

Talents:

Jules is an outrageously talented artist and has a studio filled with paintings from floor to ceiling! (Ladies he does nude portraits too! :P) Make sure you look your best on a date with him because he secretly likes to sketch your portrait on restaurant table mats!

Not only is he a sensitive artist he also has a wicked way with weapons. (and i'm not talking about paintbrushes!) Jules used to be in the army so he has a tough side. During a battle you can find him strapped with a crossbow, arrows, daggers AND swords, if that's not talent i don't know what is!

Did i mention he's also an extreme flirt? He's one of those boys who can pull off a pick up line with out being sleazy about it! (a true talent!) Oh yes, and he is also bilingual so expect to get hit on in both English AND French!! *melts* 

Special Attributes:

Jules is a Revenant or "one who comes back" which means he has to die over & over again, but for good reason! A Revenant's main purpose is to die in the place of someone else, so Jules whole existence is dedicated to dying in order to save someone else's life! *dies* & --- oh WAIT! Jules wouldn't let that happen! (even if i was dying because of how amazing this HE is!)

Jules also has the ability to go "volant" which means while he is "dormant" (or recharging after dying) his mind can leave his body. When he does this he acquires a sort of sixth sense that allows him sense if something bad is going to happen & he's then able to tell another Revenant to save the person in danger. Pretty cool right!?

Why is Jules better than Jace?

Unlike some boys *Cough, cough, Jace, Cough* Jules is confident and knows he’s talented & awesome,where you-know-who is always doubting if he’s “good enough”! Who likes a downer? Not this 
gal!  And, did I mention that Jules is from the City of Romance & is also SINGLE?! All jokes/bashing aside, I don’t think you can vote wrong here! Both boys are sexy as sin & can speak multiple 
languages! What’s not to love!? Jace & Jules are both amazing guys!

VOTE FOR JULES CUZ HE RULES! :P

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

YA Crush Tourney: Jules vs Shane (Match #6) Goes to Jules

And the winner is:

Jules

To begin the same way as before:

There might be some spoiler in the following posts. We've tried to keep it as general as possible, but overall this tourney will not be spoiler free, so BEWARE!!!

First off, you are free to write your own comments about either character in the comments section, but we will not tolerate rudeness. The minute it crosses over between logical argument to character bashing, your comments will be deleted and you vote canceled! You may vote as many times as you like, and we will tweet updates on both days at 8AM and 8PM. Voting will be open for 40 hours starting Monday, July 11 at 8AM and conclude Tuesday at midnight.

Jules (Seed 15)

The HOTtastic Jules from Amy Plum's Die for Me is being rep'd by Brooke from Brooke-Reports.blogspot.com. You can also reach her blog from the button on the side of this page. You can also follow Brooke (and please do) on twitter @BrookeWorm33. You can also find out more about Die for Me and Jules in our review here.

Personality:

Jules from Amy Plum's debut novel, DIE FOR ME, is funny, flirty AND compassionate! He isn't afraid of a little competition and would be willing to pull out all the stops to win you over! It wouldn't be hard either, with his adorable boyish charm & cocky flirtatious smile he will make you swoon! He's enthusiastic about everything he does & is sure to send you into a fit of girlish giggles with his hilarious one liners & highly animated hand gestures! Don't think he's all wisecracks though, Jules also has a serious side. He's very caring and will always be there to listen to you. When your miserable, he'll be the first one to dish out complements & hugs, you can count on Jules!

Looks:

Jules oozes charisma & charm, he & his friends are compared to Armani underwear models because they are just THAT gorgeous. Jules has a lean build that he (unfortunately) covers with messy paint smudged clothes. He has unkempt curly brown hair, bristly razor stubble (GAH! HOT!), and large rough hands that can do wonders with a paintbrush (and other stuff *wink, wink*)

Talents:

Jules is an outrageously talented artist and has a studio filled with paintings from floor to ceiling! (Ladies he does nude portraits too! :P) Make sure you look your best on a date with him because he secretly likes to sketch your portrait on restaurant table mats!

Not only is he a sensitive artist he also has a wicked way with weapons. (and i'm not talking about paintbrushes!) Jules used to be in the army so he has a tough side. During a battle you can find him strapped with a crossbow, arrows, daggers AND swords, if that's not talent i don't know what is!

Did i mention he's also an extreme flirt? He's one of those boys who can pull off a pick up line with out being sleazy about it! (a true talent!) Oh yes, and he is also bilingual so expect to get hit on in both English AND French!! *melts*

Special Attributes:

Jules is a Revenant or "one who comes back" which means he has to die over & over again, but for good reason! A Revenant's main purpose is to die in the place of someone else, so Jules whole existence is dedicated to dying in order to save someone else's life! *dies* <--- oh WAIT! Jules wouldn't let that happen! (even if i was dying because of how amazing this HE is!)

Jules also has the ability to go "volant" which means while he is "dormant" (or recharging after dying) his mind can leave his body. When he does this he acquires a sort of sixth sense that allows him sense if something bad is going to happen & he's then able to tell another Revenant to save the person in danger. Pretty cool right!?

What makes your guy better than his competitor?

Unlike some guys *cough, cough, Shane, cough* Jules is even-tempered and laid back. Instead of punching a wall or someone's face, Jules will try to have a casual conversation to work things out! Both boys might be rich, but you know what they say, "Location, location, location!" and Jules is from THE city of romance, Paris! And you DO know how the French say hello right?! Kissies!! And instead of the usual quick air-kisses, Jules will take his time and tenderly kiss both of your cheeks! *SWOON OVERLOAD!*

Anything else you'd like to add?

Pick Jules cuz he Rules!! :P

Shane (Seed 18)

For our other sexy vamp of the day, coming in at the 18th seed we have Shane Collins from the Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine. He's being represented by Kia. Go check her out on twitter: @kia_nolan & on her blog: http://kiaxo.blogspot.com/. For more info on the Morganville Vampire Series you can go here.

Personality:

Personality is possibly Shane Collins best quality he is fiercely loyal to his friends. He is constantly the underdog and has a truly tragic past but despite this he is loving,sweet and hilarious. he's just a lovely guy that's been though allot.

Looks:

Shane's got the yummy I-don't-care-how-I-look thing he is your classical teenage boy but hotter. he has deep brown eyes and hair to mach. Since he's a fictional character he is different to everyone so i'll leave it at that and let you imagine Shane in all his hotness.

Talents:

Can I count a killer personalty and good looks? Aside from that he can cook amazing Chili and kick zombie butt (all be it on Xbox). He can also hold his own against Vampire's which is a must for a Morganville resident.

Special Attributes:

He's kind, caring, funny, loyal and so much more!

What makes your guy better than his competitor?

Jules is great but with Shane you get great Chili making skills ;)

Anything else you'd like to add?

Don't forget Shane is 18th! He really needs your votes and has really earned them. please vote for the underdog :)

There's #6 folks! Remember to vote often for your guy or guys! Polls close at midnight on Tuesday!

Voting is now closed!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Favorite Book Settings

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish.

10. China- North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: I’ve never really been that interested in vacationing or living in Asia (I’m more of a Western Europe or Mediterranean kind of girl), but after reading North of Beautiful (which is a fantastic book, btw), I was dying to visit China!

9. Nantucket- Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini: The gorgeous (and very very rich) island made a wonderful place to see a modern day Greek tragedy/love story. The story will quite literally take you flying over the beaches, cliffs, and waves. Also… it’s got a cool name. NAN-TUCK-ET! J

8. Deep South- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: As Texas natives, we have a special love for the south, but the Deep South makes for a lush, historical, tragic, and simply to die for setting! There’s been several great books recently that have taken us to the deep south (like Rachel Hawkins’s Hex Hall ), but the darkly gorgeous Beautiful Creatures/Beautiful Darkness takes it in our opinion!

7.  Boston (and the Northeast)- Deception by Lee Nichols: Boston and the rest of the northeast (I’m a Philly-girl, myself) make for beautiful, historic settings no matter the story. But imagining all of the ghosts that would make such historic places their home creates an even more fascinating (and creepy) place for a story to unfold.

6. The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women (Virginia)- Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter. Again, we love the south! So small town Virginia is lots of fun to read about. But do you know what’s more fun? SPIES. Especially, a top secret school for teenage girl spies! It doesn’t get much better than that!

5. Austin, TX – Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith: Like I said, we’re Texas girls, so we couldn’t leave out our capital city. Austin is known for being trendy (and a wee bit weird), but the weird soars to new heights in Tantalize where vampires are real (and have restaurants themed after them). Keep Austin Weird! J

4. Nevernever- The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa: The world of fairy was a given for this list, considering that many humans were so enraptured by it’s beauty that they never left (not that they always had that much of a choice). And several faerie books have beautifully depicted the world of fairie (The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, for example), but the most imaginative goes to Julie Kagawa in our opinion—where Summer, Winter, and Iron meet to form a deadly and beautiful place.

3.  New York City- The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare: Who doesn’t love New York City? But do you know what we love even more than the Big Apple? Downworlder/Shadowhunter NYC! J Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, JACE! New York City is quite the place! (Teehee… that rhymed).

2. Paris (Oh! La! La!) There are a number of recent books that have taken us to the City of Love and left us quite literally enamored! Die for Me by Amy Plum submerges the beautiful city into a war of epic proportions between two supernatural races (awesome!). Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins made me want to go back to school, just so that I could study abroad in Paris. And Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly made me fall in love with Paris’s past and the real Paris that isn’t overrun by tourist. I travelled to Paris a few years ago, but these books have me dying to go back!

1. Hogwarts- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Do we really even need to elaborate? Every speech class I ever had where I got the question, “If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?” Easy. HOGWARTS. I would go there and never co me back.  (The Wizarding World makes a pretty good alternative, but I’m still holding out hope that Hogwarts is real. My letter just got lost in the mail… thirteen years ago). 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Minor Characters!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish.


1. The Weasley Twins- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling-- Fred and George! Or is it Gred and Forge? From U-No-Poo to their epic firework exit-- we love the twins! Two of my most favorite characters ever. (I can hear them scoffing at being labeled minor! :) )


2. Luna Lovegood- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Another Harry Potter favorite! We probably could have done a whole list of our favorite HP minor characters like we did with Mean Girls, but we decided it was time to share the love. Anyway-- Luna is odd, and awesome, and completely hardcore. I want to BE Luna Lovegood. 


3. Rudy Steiner- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Oh Rudy! That Saukerl! How can I express how much I love Rudy Steiner? He painted himself black to be like Jesse Owens! He threw bread to Jews on their march to Dachau! And he loved the Book Thief heart and soul! To quote  from the book, " He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It's his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry." 


4. Finnick O'Dair- Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins: Oh Finnick! He deserves his own cheerleading squad. He's that awesome. He's gorgeous and cocky with a dark history. Plus, he's a wicked good swimmer. A more courageous, more handsome, more fictional Michael Phelps?


5. Nuts and Bolts- Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins: I loved this quirky duo! Nuts being, well, Nuts, and Bolts being made of supergeniusawesomeness made for an entertaining and heart wrenching minor character arc. 


6. Jules- Die for Me by Amy Plum: You might have heard us rave about how much we love this recent release. But in case you haven't-- WE LOVE DIE FOR ME! GO BUY IT NOW! Part of what makes the book so good are the minor characters like our beloved Jules! He's handsome and witty (oh, the wit!) and an artist. What do you know... I think my heartbeat just sped up from only talking about him!


7. Magnus- The Mortal Instruments by Cassie Clare: There are so many things we could say about Magnus. He's odd. And we love our oddballs. He does magic. And boy do we like Magic. He's funny and mysterious and such a fascinating character! Loooooovvve him! :)


8. The Haldis Pack- Nightshade by Andrea Cremer: We might be cheating here by choosing a whole pack, but they are called a pack for a reason! It's a little difficult to distinguish just which character makes them so great! Neville is hysterical with his cheeky limericks. Mason sings. Ansel is the adorable little brother. They all come together to make for a fun, dangerous, heartfelt ride!


9. Tris's Mom- Divergent by Veronica Roth: We just finished reading this new release, and if you haven't read it, you should get your hands on it like yesterday! Perhaps my favorite book in a long, long time(But more to come on that later)! Tris's mom was this hardcore, tough, intelligent woman all hidden underneath a plain, selfless exterior! We love it when characters turn out to be so much more than they first appear!


10. Daneca-- The Curse Worker series by Holly Black: We were so glad to see more of Daneca in Red Glove, and after learning a secret about her in the new book, she's an even more fascinating character!


And now for some much loved Honorable Mentions: 


Mr. Tasey- Paranormalcy by Kiersten White: (Not technically a person, but still awesome)


Gonzo and Balder- Going Bovine by Libba Bray: What's not to love about a hypochondriac dwarf and a talking lawn gnome that might be a Norse god?


James Atherton- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins: Same biting wit as his daughter Sophie, but in  a much older, more demon-y package. 


Neville Longbottom: It made me so sad to leave your off Neville. Know that you are first in my heart!


And last, but certainly not least Archer -Fire by Kristin Cashore: The womanizing bad boy with a knack for protecting Fire. *sigh*

Covers to Die For

Today as I was looking through upcoming releases of books I stumbled across the AMAZING cover of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. So, in honor of this most brilliant cover, I've decided to post some awesome covers of upcoming books! We have a lot to lookforward to in the coming months!

,

All of these covers are amazing!!! I can't wait to add them to my bookshelves! What book covers do you love?

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Die For Me by Amy Plum

HarperTeen

Release date: May 10, 2011
Reviewed by: AmyG (big sis)
Sister's Say: Delicious, Daring, Deadly

Bookblurb from goodreads.com

DIE FOR ME is the first of three books about Kate, a sixteen-year-old American who moves to Paris after the death of her parents. It introduces a new version of the undead with revenants, beings who are fated to sacrifice themselves over and over again to save others’ lives. Kate finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears: he is something else entirely.

DIE FOR ME presents a new supernatural mythology presented in a city where dreams are sometimes the same as reality.

Let me start by just saying one word, AMAZING!!!! I defy anyone to start this book and actually not read it in one sitting. Amy Plum takes all the aspects of what readers love in a YA paranormal romance, but gives us something completely new and refreshing!

What I loved about this novel?

1. Paris

2. Revenants

3. Hunky boys

During the reading of this novel, I cannot tell you how many times I had to physically restrain myself from driving to the nearest airport and hopping a plane to Paris. The food, the architecture, the art, the streets, the cafes (I could go on for hours), I could literally see, smell, hear, and taste them all. Breathtaking descriptions of the City of Love come to life on the pages, and you can actually see and feel Kate and Vincent fall in love under this backdrop. Thank you Amy for sharing a bit of your love of Paris with us!

Revenants!!! How cool of an idea is this! I'm super jealous of not thinking of it first! As I said earlier, something completely new and absolutely refreshing! If I wasn't married, I would definitely take a revenant boyfriend! I'll leave Vincent for Kate, and I'll kindly take Jules, thank you very much!

And lastly, hunky, hunky boys! Did I mention these hunky boys, constantly sacrifice themselves to save other people like children and elderly women! Seriously, how can you resist that?!?!

Die for Me doesn't come out until May, but go right now and reserve it at your bookstore! I promise you won't be disappointed!!!