The Eclectic Blogger Award!

Back in July, my blogging friend The Shameful Narcissist wrote a blog entry in which she described the process of creating her own blogging award! Check out the entry here! That’s a really cool thing for her to do… and she made my day by nominating me for her new award!

It’s called The Eclectic Blogger Award, and she describes it as this…

The Eclectic Blogger Award is presented to those blogs that are both eclectic and engaging, where conversation flows freely, where new and different ideas are always welcome.  It’s to recognize blogs that always have interesting content to match the amazing, creative, and hard-working creators that make them possible.  These are the blogs that inspire you to read, watch, play, and/or create content to further enhance not only the blogosphere but also the general zeitgeist, because they themselves enrich it with their existence.

Here’s what she said about me in her post:

• Defy the Majority – I can’t look at Kirby now without thinking about this awesome blogger who’s made me want to play Animal Crossing as well as the big, puffball’s games!  I can’t help but appreciate someone who diligently goes through my ramblings from quite long ago, reading through and commenting on them.  She understands the struggle of not only keeping up with the backlog, but keeping up with talking about the backlog.  I know it helps keep me honest and work on it, but it takes time away from, you know, working on the backlog :p

These are the rules for the award:

• Nominate whomever and however many bloggers you want for the award.
• Share links from your blog for some of your favorite (or most eclectic!) posts.

Well, you know how I do… I nominate anyone and everyone! 🙂

And as far as my favorite posts from my own blog… *clicks on random posts*…

I disappoint myself lol. I can’t really pick one! I do like my Gaming Month in Review posts, though I’m very inconsistent with those because they take up a lot of time and I’m always tired! I also like doing tag posts now and then, because those are a fun way to share more about myself!

So there you have it! Thanks for the fabulous new award, I really appreciate it! 🙂

Book Review: Siren Falling by Ashley McCleo!

Hope all of my U.S. friends had a Happy Thanksgiving! Though I am goth all year round, I do love the holiday season 😉 My husband and I have been decorating our house for Christmas, and it just puts me in a cheery, happy mood! I do have a little goth tree in my bedroom, though! Anyway, on to the review!

I’ve already posted my review for the first two books in the Starseed Trilogy by Ashley McCleo, an author who so graciously shares her books with me and allows me to read and review them! Before I post the review for the final book in the trilogy, I’m going to post a review for a novella written about one of the side characters in the book, Selma. Here is the blurb:

Our stories aren’t always ones we’re proud of, but they’re still our stories.

Selma de Avila, a gorgeous siren cursed with a quick temper is finally realizing a life-long dream. Despite her mama’s beliefs that sirens are particularly susceptible to the vices of city life, Selma is determined to leave her sleepy Spanish island for New York City–the city she believes holds her destiny.

Once in The Big Apple, Selma quickly ingrains herself into high society, all the while trying to find love, conceive of a career, and live the life she’s always dreamed of.
But everything goes awry, including her tight control over her magic, when Selma runs into billionaire Andrew Van de Berg at the Faerie Fall Ball and sparks fly.

The problem? He’s married.

Despite knowing Andrew is off limits, Selma can’t seem to avoid him. Every encounter with the playboy billionaire riles up her powerful magic and manipulates her body and mind. Within days of meeting Andrew, she’s siphoning magic all around New York, enchanting total strangers, and altering the courses of lives, to appear steady and in control of her own life.

Will Selma be able to put an end to Andrew’s persistent attentions and regain mastery of her magic? Will she ever discover what truly called her to New York? Or will her magic take over, toppling Selma into siren madness and pulling the men of NYC behind her?

And the cover (pretty, but I don’t like it as much as the other ones! I think Selma would be much more beautiful without all the henna and the headdress that is covering half of her face):

Here’s what I wrote for my review on Goodreads:

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! 🙂

Siren Falling provides us with a little backstory for Selma, who in the Starseed Trilogy is a warm, vivacious character that you just want to hug and be friends with. This version of Selma? Not so much. This is who Selma was before the triplets knew her, and she’s not exactly a pleasant character to read about. I knew she was going to be trouble from the first line in the book: “Selma gazed upon the pristine beach, imagining skyscrapers and thousands of people striding down wide sidewalks in place of turquoise waters and palm trees.” Seriously?! You want to give up easy, coastal living for a crowded city?

Well yes, yes she does, because poor little Selma is bored and wants to be off on her own. From the get go, she manipulates people to get what she wants and tries to justify her actions. THEN she gets busy seducing all the men around because, you know, she’s a Siren, and she needs to do that!

I realize that she put many men under her spell, but I rolled my eyes every time a man called her/ gifted her with something lavish/ left their wives for her. How could Selma not see that she has a problem here?!

Even when shit goes down with her friends (I won’t go into details so there are no spoilers) I literally do not feel sorry for her. I feel like she’s getting exactly what she deserves. Eventually, Selma calms down and realizes she is totally out of control, and she leaves city life behind her in exchange for a more quiet life with a commune of women. No men allowed!

Even though I found Selma quite reprehensible for a lot of the book, I have to applaud Ashley McLeo’s writing skills! I was totally invested in the story and wanted to keep reading. I would absolutely be interested in more novellas featuring different characters, because the Starseed universe is full of quite the cast of characters!

I gave Siren Falling 4/5 stars on Goodreads!

End Game Thoughts: Harvest Moon: Animal Parade!

Game Title: Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Hours Played: too many Approximately 35-40

About the Game

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade was released for the Nintendo Wii in North America in 2009. It’s a farming simulation much like other games in the series. In this game, the main point of the story revolves around the fact that the Goddess Tree is dying. To save the tree, you have to find five little Harvest Sprites and ring their respective bells. Once you do that, you have to finagle some other shit to get all the bells to ring at the same time, which calls upon the douchey Harvest King, who then saves the Goddess Tree. In between all that madness, you farm, you fish, you talk to people, etc. I considered the game beaten when I restored the Goddess Tree, though there were plenty of in-game days left.

What I Liked

So many animals to pet and befriend!

First of all, this game is ADORABLE! The human characters are so cute and the animals are totally huggable! I love the fact that you can befriend wild animals. I also love the way the landscapes look as the seasons change. It’s especially beautiful in fall and winter. I also appreciate how many different things there are to do in this game- you can fish, spend all day in the mines, grow many different types of crops, interact with all the townspeople in various ways, go to a tropical island… not to mention all the various sidequests, which include helping some dude get his circus animals back.

So cute!

I also want to make a point that when your character is falling in love with someone, it’s actually really cute. I don’t usually care about this type of stuff in games, but it’s so sweet! Conversations seem to happen on a more random basis and makes the relationship feel more fluid somehow.

What I Didn’t Like

Whatever asshole…

At first, there were so many different things to do in the game, my days were very busy. After a little while, though, the pacing. Was. HORRENDOUS! There were times the game dragged so much I almost fell asleep playing it. I found myself really struggling to finish up the main game… I WANTED to see it through, I just didn’t feel like playing. You may recall from this blog entry I posted in July that I had a hell of a time trying to get my Farmer ranking high enough to trigger the end sequence. The game gives you no indication of how close you are to the goal each month, so it’s pretty much a crap shoot.

Also, being in the mines really pissed me off sometimes. There were way too many different types of gas that could do all sorts of annoying shit to you (like reverse your controls, make you sick, etc.) and it took some of the fun out of mining.

Closing Thoughts

Fuck no, I’m not coming back!

I started off really liking this game a lot. Once the pacing became unbearable, it took me forever to finish the game, because I quickly got bored while playing. It’s a shame, because originally I wanted to continue playing after I beat the main game and have kids, continue to expand my farm, etc. I don’t really see myself going back to the game any time soon, though, because I have way too many other games to play!

Book Review: Phoenix Call by Margo Ryerkerk!

As I’ve done previously, I’m sharing this book review as a courtesy for Margo Ryerkerk, a really great author who so graciously gives me copies of her books in exchange for an honest review! I reviewed this book back in July on Goodreads, so sorry I’m just getting around to posting this now!

Phoenix Call is the fourth book in the Ardere series. Here’s the blurb for it:

A dark artifact.
A run against time.
A deadly demonic power.

Sierra has decimated her uncle’s generals but not his will. Her uncle will go to any lengths to gain power, even if it means the annihilation of the planet.

The Phoenix emblem broke into two pieces three hundred years ago when the dark lord was defeated.

Now, one half of the emblem has surfaced, and Sierra must find a way to destroy it before her uncle steals it.

If she fails and the two emblem parts are united, a great evil will be unleashed and everything she holds dear will be obliterated.

And the cover, which is beautiful as always:

This was another wonderful, exciting book by the very talented Margo Ryerkerk! I have loved the Ardere series so far and couldn’t wait to read the latest installment. Here are a few of my thoughts on this book- minor spoilers may follow if you are new to the series!

Right off the bat, I thought it was pretty cool that Sierra and Gavin have become so proficient at using the lapis pendant to communicate. It came in handy several times throughout this book, too, as it seems that Sierra has way too many near- death experiences to count. That girl is a beacon for trouble, though I don’t really fault her- she can’t help that she a Fluidus and her insane uncle is out to get her!

Can we talk about how the Elite Ardere just need to go away already? The snobbiness of these people is totally unreal- but not unrealistic, as I assume there are probably people in high society who act this way. Nevertheless, several betrayals occur throughout the book, and it makes me wonder whose side everyone is really on.

Throughout Phoenix Call, Sierra and her friends are trying to find the other half of the Phoenix pendant before her uncle Cormac does. They seem to be just a step behind him the entire time, which is frustrating! Of course, Cormac does manage to get the pieces together, resulting in dire consequences. I cannot even imagine how this series is going to wrap up with the next book. Dark days are ahead for the world, that is for sure!

I give Phoenix Call 5/5 stars, and am anxiously awaiting the final book in the series!

My Animal Crossing Memories!

One of the first friends I ever made here on the wonderful WordPress community, Yvonne, has been doing a series on her blog called Animal Crossing Memories. In the series, a blogger writes about the various memories they have with Animal Crossing, and the entries are quite charming to read! Recently, Yvonne contacted me and asked if I wanted to write my own post about it and be featured on her site, and I thought that was very sweet of her to consider me! You can find my entry on her blog here, or just keep reading! 🙂

(Of course, the first paragraph is just a little into about me for Yvonne’s readers who don’t know me, so feel free to skip past that if you want!)

Hey everyone! My name is Brandi. I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember, and I enjoy many different types of games. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Nintendo games, but I have love for all platforms! A couple years ago, I decided to combine my love of gaming with my love of writing, and I started a blog. That’s how I met Yvonne!

Recently, Yvonne contacted me and asked if I wanted to be featured on her wonderful site, writing about some of my Animal Crossing memories! I thought that was very sweet of her to consider me, so here I am! 🙂

My obsession with Animal Crossing started when I saw it featured in Nintendo Power as an upcoming title for the GameCube. I was instantly intrigued, because the idea of living in a little village populated with only animals and no pesky humans sounded like a great escape to me!

I got the game the day it was released in North America. I remember that day, too- I was 16 years old, and my mom and I had taken my dog to get surgery done on her leg. While we were waiting, we popped over to Target and bought a few things, Animal Crossing being one of them! The second I booted the game up and K.K. Slider began playing his guitar for me, I knew I was in for something unique.

I put SO MANY hours into the GameCube version of Animal Crossing over the years! Every day was something different. I loved how the villagers acted, I loved how it was all played in real time, I loved the music that played every hour… never before had a game captured my heart in the way this game did. I thought it was such an amazing concept. Also, the holidays were so much fun to play!

I also really appreciated the fact that the seasons changed. Considering I live in a state in the USA where we don’t exactly have four defined seasons, it was nice to experience something different- especially the snow! 🙂

As the years went by, I continued to purchase and play every subsequent version of Animal Crossing that came out. Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf, Happy Home Designer, Welcome amiibo, Wild World (Wii U Virtual Console), New Leaf: Welcome amiibo… I have them all! I also obtained a version of Doubutsu no Mori for the Nintendo 64 a couple years back, and I love playing that as well (even if my Japanese isn’t very good). I have Doubutsu no Mori + and Doubutsu no Mori e+ for the GameCube as well- I just need to convert my spare GameCube into a Japanese GameCube so I can play! I also play Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for the iPhone (though I refuse to partake in microtransactions- I just enjoy the game casually!).

When it comes down to it, I guess you can say I’m probably a little obsessed with Animal Crossing. I don’t mind one bit! I do wish I had more time to check in on all my villagers in my various towns, though- but such is life. I know whenever I get the chance to, they’ll be there waiting for me, happy as ever to see me!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Animal Crossing memories!