Afterwards, I decided to read the books curious as to whether the series was anything close to them. I quickly discovered they are not. In fact, they are completely different. At least that’s what I found after the first book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar.

As in the books, Serena returns and Blair is upset about it. She is upset that Serena will overshadow her again and she orders Nate to stay away from her. And this is before Blair learns that Nate and Serena lost their virginity to one another. Dan is obsessed with Serena and Jenny is determined to meet the popular girls so she can ‘become someone’.

However, unlike the television series, Nate is a weak minded stoner with no clue about his future. Rufus is a disgusting slob whom Lily would never be involved with. Mainly because she is still married to Serena’s dad as Chuck also has both his parents. While Chuck is still an ass, in the first book, Chuck is a very minor character although he is still an ass. He and Nate are not even close to being the best of friends as depicted in the series. Plus, Vanessa is there from the beginning rather than returning from school and her look is quite different…she is a student at Constance and the only girl with a shaved head and wears all black with combat boots. Not exactly how she is depicted in the series!

Considering I have only read the first book, I have not yet decided which I prefer…the books or the television series. I will have to read on and let you know when I find out myself…

At first I was unsure what to think of her main character because of her background, but soon she grew on me in a humorous fashion. Her lack of grace and adequate ads style to her personality in an environment full of peers who were born into a world filled with proper language and expectations.

Johnson creates a world of suspense in London’s east-end where Jack the Ripper ignited terror amongst its inhabitants. I found myself captivated and unable to put the book down. I look forward to reading more of Johnson’s work in the future.

So to my loving wife on her birthday , what else can i say , I love you
as always and what better 3 words can I say…Here we are !!!!

Reluctantly, I did. I had to force myself through each agonizing page bored out of my mind. Finally, I neared the end and only then, did it prove to worth the read. Wow…that was tough. I think I deserve a metal for making it through! Hopefully the next book is better.

The character’s personalities really come to life in Masquerade and the reader becomes engulfed in their world. The Queen Bitch really sets her claws trying to keep what she rightfully believes is hers. The shy vulnerable Goth girl becomes stronger and surer of herself while the supporting cast moves beautiful throughout.

I truly enjoyed this sequel and am looking forward to discovering what happens next in Revelations.

As with all series, the first book creates the foundation upon which all the rest of the story is built. Introductions are made, settings established and plotline created. We discover the snotty wealthy girl(s), the unnaturally handsome young men, the loner group and the cast of ever-powerful career oriented parents. Then we find ourselves thrust into a world of plausible history, vampires and their nemesis’, which most of the time is each other. There is always the queen bitch set out to destroy the loner Goth girl who realizes that this shy girl clad in black is an actual threat to her relationship with the popular gorgeous leading man. Of course, the only one the Goth girl has to rely on is her equally misfit although stunningly handsome under the frumpy hair, male friend who finally confesses his love for her as well even though it was not necessary because we all knew it all along anyway. And as usual, this loner misfit is discarded by the Goth girl for the handsome jock and who then finds comfort eventually after a long suffering of a broken heart. Yada yada yada…. Been there, read that… or rather been there, saw that…Gossip Girl anyone??!!

But still, a MUCH better story than Twilight!!!

Before I say anything further, I must say that I love Mead’s Vampire Academy series as well as her first two Bloodline novels. Mead is incredibly imaginative and gifted storyteller and her third installment does not disappoint. I devoured the book in two days, anxiously waiting for what would happen next.

The story continues on where The Golden Lily left off and expands Sydney’s magical knowledge and forces her to confront her feelings toward the alluring and forbidden Adrian. She also begins to question the belief system she was raised in and leans more about a group of rogue Alchemists from her close-knit society.

While the ending did frustrate me, overall it was a great read and one of the few series I truly enjoy. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance, adventure with a splash of supernatural. That being said, I must get back to work. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,
~A.L.

Enlightened Synopsis
The barrier between Jocelyn Timmons conscious minds continues to decline steadily and she begins to understand the best and worst of both her existences. She tries to comprehend the enormity of her newly discovered inherited gift of EVE (Essence Voyager Era) which allows her to fall asleep on one plane of existence and awaken on another as her soul travels nightly.
Jocelyn discovers the vast wonderment of the Victorian era and soon learns that life during that period was not as grand for women as the ones she had read about in classic novels. Still, she takes comfort in being surrounded by the love and support of family and friends in comparison with her overly hectic career oriented family in the twenty-first century.
Jocelyn’s love for Jackson Chandler grows stronger across time. He becomes the strength, comfort and the light she so desperately needs as the world she has always known no longer makes sense to her. Yet, the closer she is drawn to Jackson by their mutual ability the more strain develops amongst Jocelyn, her family and her friends. Her parents believe that Jackson is jeopardizing everything they have instilled within their daughter, her upcoming college education and all of Jocelyn’s hard-earned academic achievements. As their relationship flourishes the disapproval and tension mounts with her family.
Although Jocelyn struggles with her feelings of abandonment towards her Uncle Monte whom she believes is her only genetic link to this bizarre gift, her anger towards him for leaving her to cope with living dual lives for his own selfish happiness is lessened slightly when she uncovers his aging journals in a trunk left to her father when her Uncle left his life in the twenty-first century. His firsthand account of his own struggles with EVE, his experiences as a Union soldier during the Civil War and his abiding love for his fiancé and his family captures her heart in a way that leaves her breathless.
Buried amongst the lost treasures left behind, Jocelyn accidently discovers ancestral photos that give her the empirical proof of a life, family and world she is only beginning to perceive. Laid out before her lies the fading black and white images of the family she has only seen in flashes across her memory and a life she has yet to live, in a world that remains elusive to her.
On the other side of Jocelyn’s consciousness in 1878 she remains unaware of her gift of EVE. Her life is crumbling around her, yet she finds herself anxiously awaiting the imagines that invade her dreams nightly. She longs to be the woman she portrays in that world. She recalls glimpses of this other life and the jealousy she feels is unbearable. This woman she perceives lives in a world where she can express herself freely, receives the education she desires and has the choice to choose who she wants to become. Nevertheless, despite the passion she feels for this world, she has convinced herself it is imaginary for the sake of her own sanity.
Her loved ones grow increasingly concerned as she is abruptly awakened each night in screaming hysterics. But she cannot explain to them that she is not waking in terror of what she is witnessing, she is screaming in horror of the fact that she is returning to her life in 1878 where she feels trapped by the societal rules that dictate who she has to be.
Miscommunication, betrayal and hidden agendas make trusting those around her impossible for Jocelyn. The clearer the visions become the more she starts to question the motives of those closest to her and foregoes revealing the imagines crossing between her two conscious. As her life unravels, her two worlds begin to collide and the pieces start to fall into place. However, those and what she thought she knew could not have been further from the truth.
When confronted, Jackson is left bemused and stumbles to cover what he does not realize she already knows. Disheartened by his lack of faith in her, Jocelyn pushes him away and realizes she must make the most difficult decision of her young life that will not only alter her destiny but also the future of everyone she loves in the twenty-first century.