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Y'all have probably wondered why I've been focusing on fanfiction in a book review blog--I should be reviewing books, right? Well, there are 3 reasons that I haven't:

1. There are fanfictions worthy of publication & I want them recognized as such
2. It's very hard for me to write a bad review
3. Sometimes I have to backtrack & that's hard (yeah, I know--whiney whiney me, but it is hard to review a story you read a year ago)

I hate cause-y books. Dean Koontz's Relentless has a very interesting plot, but it's hard to remember that because the narrator blathers on so much about hating the modern era & nihilism. Cross Country by James Patterson would be a fine addition to the author's Alex Cross series if not for the "Save Africa" PSA screaming at you from the pages--the same goes for the Protectors part of his Maximum Ride series. I haven't read the latest, Fang, but The Final Warning & Max have both been so, "LIVE GREEN!" that it's been hard to read them. I know writers write their own beliefs into a book, but that's no excuse for Dean Koontz, who was once able to do this with messages of love and hope seamlessly, to interrupt the story to whine about other people's beliefs; saving Africa & living greener lives are both important, but trying to force them on me while I read is distracting and frustrating.
Sometimes though, I just start a series & either hadn't started the blog yet when I started reading them or they're so good that I forget to review them while I'm reading, especially if there's been a few books published before I start reading. Like House of Night: I'm in the process of reviewing it up to the last book I read as a grouped review, then with the next one, I'll start reviewing them individually. Same with the Blue Bloods series--they're totally review-able, but I started them before I started the blog & so I'd have to backtrack,which would either be 1 big review or a few individual reviews. I'm going to review a book by P. C. Cast, Divine by Mistake, as soon as I get it read & my exams are over.

In summary: I'm going to continue to review fanfictions that deserve recognition and, though I haven't as of recently for various reasons, I'm going to start reviewing published fiction again soon.

A Guide to Fanfiction

I read alot of fanfiction. My roommate says I don't have a life & I tell her I do, I just choose to live a large portion of it online. I have friends that I'm separated from by thousands of miles and entire oceans because of the online part of my life. I write fanfiction too--I have a few one-shots & two multi-chapter stories. I'm no expert on fanfiction, but I figured it wouldn't be too condescending to do a little guide to fanfiction (click the image for a better picture if you can't read it or can't see the whole thing):

Many people start out on canonfic, but my first fanfic was Wide Awake. For awhile, I only read AH because I wanted to separate fanfiction from canon. After awhile, though, I wanted read about vampires again & my first AU fic was Just Let Me Die. It was also the first fanfiction I read with non-canon couples. It's taken my awhile to accept Vamp AU because I was a firm believer in keeping an author's mythology intact, but I'm starting to warm up to the idea. I just started Dusk and Her Embrace--it's new with only one chapter, but I can tell it's going to be good.
There are other worthy stories that I don't mention here, but I only had room on the chart for 3 per category. Check out The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster for really good recs, especially if you're wary of ficdiving (scrounging through fanfiction sites for fics without them being rec'd first by a trusted source). Another good place to go is FanFicAholics Anon - Where Obsession Never Sleeps! on Facebook and the C2 that contains all the group members' fics. It's a very friendly group & all fanfiction fans are welcome. Most of the recs & member fics are TwiFic, but there's also fanfictions from other fandoms. Everyone is very welcoming and there's almost always someone lurking in the group to chat and help out with any fic-related questions you have. TLYDF also has done a fandom-hopping article or two where they talk about other fandoms they are a part of and rec some of their favorite fics from them.
I hope this guide helped someone sift through the sometimes-confusing world of fanfiction.

TTFN--ta ta for now! I'll be updating this blog more now that I know someone out there is readin it. :)

Living Dead in Dallas

In Living Dead in Dallas, the second novel in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris, the heroine (as in female hero, not the drug--that's heroin) Sookie Stackhouse is still struggling to be normal and not get super-involved in vampire affairs, but her "disability" (she's telepathic) makes her desireable to powerful vampires and she has promised to help the leader of her region, Eric Northman, as long as the humans involved are sent to the police instead of killed. Eric has "loaned" Sookie to a leader in Dallas, Texas, where a vampire has gone missing and an anti-vampire group that operates under the guise of a religious organization, Fellowship of the Sun, is suspected of the kidnapping. Sookie, along with her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton, go to Dallas to uncover the mystery. Was it the Fellowship of the Sun, another vampire looking for some kind of revenge, Drainers, or some other group or person? You have to read to find out.
This book is like the book version of comfort food. Sookie can be a bit naive and sometimes takes the "I am an independent woman" thing too far, but it's a fun, light read full of action, romance, and a bit of humor. Definitely a good book

Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years

Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire is the second book in the Wicked Years series. The novel follows Liir, the son of Elphaba (this is subtly mentioned a few times in Wicked, but Liir is unaware of his parentage). For much of the book Liir is actually in a coma and we see his journey through his memories: his search for Nor, his life as a soldier, and much else. Glinda makes a few appearances and so does Shell, Elphaba's younger brother. This book is not as good as Wicked, but it is good. This book has love, political corruption, betrayal, and more. Liir meets many interesting and sometimes dangerous people during the approximately ten years this book covers. If you loved Wicked, you must read Son of a Witch.

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark, the first book Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, is a vampire romance book; however do not go into this book thinking it will be like Twilight. There are similarities, but not many. A vampire and a human fall in love, there's some mind-reading (but from the human, not the vampire) and she can't hear her lover's thoughts (she can't hear ANY vampires' thoughts). That's as far as the similarities go, though; not everyone in Twilight's audience should read these books. There is no abstinence message to speak of and there's language some readers might find offensive. Sookie can be a little annoying at times because she is 50% bratty teenager and 50% old-fashioned grandma, so her views of things can seem a tad bizarre.
Here's a little bit of what Dead Until Dark is about: Sookie Stackhouse is a barmaid at Merlotte's in Bon Temps, LA. She's single because of a problematic "disability" she's had since she was young: she can read minds. Ever since they "came out of the coffin", she has wanted to meet a vampire. Enter Bill Compton, vampire. She knows there's something different about Bill from the moment he walks in; for one thing, she can't read his mind. They fall in love after she saves him from nearly being killed permanently. But then a co-worker is killed and several other women after that; could it be Bill? You'll have to read to find out.
These books are more realistic than Twilight in my opinion, but I wouldn't call them better. They're just different--okay, maybe they're a little better. If you don't mind tastefully-written sex (it's not very descriptive of the act itself, mostly how she feels during it) and a little foul language and you like vampire books, you should read these.

Wide Awake

I usually only review actual books, but this fanfiction SHOULD be a book, so it has earned a review. It's called Wide Awake by AngstGoddess003 (link to her LiveJournal page). The chapters to Wide Awake are on the sidebar on her main page--just click "1. Gingerbread Zombies" for the first chapter (the title of this post is also a link to the first chapter). It is an AMAZING story. It's for mature audiences only due to some lemons and limes (fanfiction terms meaning sexually explicit and near-sexual content) and dark themes. The lemons and limes are done in a tasteful manner, it's not SWP (smut--another fanfiction term meaning the same thing as lemons--without plot); even the smuttake (another fanfiction term for smut outtake) is done in a non-vulgar manner. It's a Twilight fanfiction. It's my opinon that AngstGoddes003 should change the names in this story (but keep Edward's first name the same--I like to call him Darkward) and get it published. As I said, this story is very dark. It's categorized OOC (out of character--the personalities aren't the same as they are in Twilight), but I think this is incorrect--I believe the characters in Twilight would act this way if they were in the same situation. It's a AU-All Human (an alternate universe and all the characters are human, even the ones that are vampires in Twilight) fanfiction. I suggest you read this when you have spare time because you will not want to quit once you've begun.