I found the first review of ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD!!
From http://www.teenbookreviewer.blogspot.com:
ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD is a wonderful new novel from the rather brilliant author of BLUE BLOODS, FRESH OFF THE BOAT, and more. TAP is a social networking site much like Myspace for kids in Los Angeles, and Taj, Nick, and Johnny Silver, are, of course, members, along with everyone worth knowing. It seems innocent enough at first, but it turns out to be much darker than it seems.
The Angels Practice is not just a website anymore. It has invaded their real lives, and it’s a rather sinister cult. They don’t wear orange robes and solicit people in airports; instead, TAP has parties, rituals, and a mysterious drug that can be mixed with Kool-Aid.
When kids start disappearing, the sinister nature of TAP seems to be getting a little closer to discovery, especially when it’s the famous Johnny Silver who vanishes into thin air. Taj, his girlfriend, takes it upon herself to look into his disappearance, but she doesn’t look too closely–until she meets Nick, whose sister has been sucked in by TAP. And once you’re in? You can’t get out.
The best part of ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD is the characters. The suspenseful story will keep you on the edge of your seat, and Melissa de la Cruz has proven herself to be a wonderful writer, but that extra dimension is added by the realistic, interesting characters involved in the story. Of course, the whole idea of TAP is original and darkly fascinating; it is scarily real, too, showing the far reaches of the power that the internet can have. There’s not a dull moment in the book; plot twists are around every corner, and each new discovery leads to more questions.
It’s an excellent book, and my only gripe with the story is this: nothing is resolved! It ends with more questions than it starts with! Cliffhangers are just evil. Also, books should be complete stories in and of themselves, even if they don’t answer all the questions that readers have. If it’s a good enough book in the first place, a cliffhanger isn’t needed to make the reader buy the next in the series. Still, I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
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YAY!!! Thank you TeenBookReviewer! This is sooo awesome. ANGELS is very very dear to my heart as it’s a book that I’ve been wanting to write (even before Blue Bloods). So I’m so glad she enjoyed it. As for the cliffhanger ending…well, what can I say? It’s hard to resolve things and still keep things going for the next book, and I always TRY to achieve a balance. And yes, some things are left up in the air, but also there’s such a big discovery in this book that I think it’s OK. Anyhoo, I’m glad it didn’t take away from enjoying the book. And um, “rather brilliant”??? *BLUSH*
Have you ordered your copy of ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD yet????
Coming to a bookstore near you around March 6th!
Meanwhile, I’ve finally finished THE AU PAIRS: CRAZY HOT and am now gunning to finish THE ASHLEYS, the first book in my tween series also called THE ASHLEYS. Oh yes, the seventh circle of seventh grade hell… hee hee.
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and my dear husband asked me what I want. CARTIER LOVE BRACELET!!! Oh yeah! 18k gold with diamonds!! But there are so many things we have to buy for the house I think I want a couch instead. I know, how boring. But I really need a couch in my office so I can have my all-important nap in the middle of the day. This nap is the one that recharges my batteries so I can go back to work immediately instead of walking all the way to the bedroom to nap there, then back to my desk. It would save a lot of time, really!
In other shopping news, I have bought tons of stuff from Proenza Schoeler for Target. The ‘showgirl’ purple camisole top, the trapeze top in rose, the white cropped pants, red striped shorts, and the jeans, which I might return since they are too loose. I also sent away for the bra-top dress, the empire waist dress, the cute beige-and-white striped 60s swing coat. Everything is so adorable and preppie and perfect for the Hamptons this summer! And everything is so cheap! The most expensive thing was the coat, and that was $45.
Mike and I also escaped from the baby (like Escape from New York, except it involves dashing out in our Passat while my parents babysit) for a few hours to hit the Barneys Warehouse Sale. I bought three jersey dresses by Zachary’s Smile, a Jovovich Hawk chiffon a-line dress and a Tucker striped silk dress. Everything was 75% off, the Jovovich Hawk dress was $425 but I got it for $129 and two of the Zachary’s Smile dresses were only $39 each.
I’m book-tour wardrobe shopping, since Tom and I will be doing around twenty events for our book GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS (parties in San Fran, LA, New York and East Hampton! and tons of readings in each city!) and I’m going to the ALAN conference in April for Blue Bloods/Masquerade, and we are going to Maui in March yessss we are going on vacay-tion. With the baby and my parents. It seems that ever since we became parents, we must now also bring our parents to everything so they can take care of the tyke.
Then my dear friend Liz is getting married in May and I am pleased to find out that I can wear (fit in) the black silk ruffled Max Mara dress I bought for my dear friend Karen’s wedding (and never wore since I was three months pregnant and my doctor advised me not to fly) and the insane rhinestone and black satin Gucci heels I also bought for Karen’s wedding and never wore. Savings!
I can’t wait to go out and wear all my new clothes and get all dolled up. Isn’t it great to be a girl? I also finally got the Black Satin nailpolish manicure/pedicure, which I’m loving. I didn’t do it while I was pregnant since I felt superstitious about it, so I love it even though I’m late on the game.
Yes, life is a little better these days. I got my eyebrows waxed, my nails done, and I am SLOWLY starting to look like my old self. But alas, the other day I realized all my friends in LA think I am fat. I’ve lost forty pounds already, and I’m thinner than I was before I got pregnant, but still ten pounds off my usual weight and sadly, twenty pounds from what I weighed when Mike and I met (as in the hot-girl weight).
I was kind of depressed for a while, and chubby, but I didn’t think anyone noticed! How wrong I was! And after the miscarraige, I didn’t lose the weight I’d gained from being three months pregnant. But now all that is going to change, and I was horrified when my friends here, most of whom I met just two-three years ago, told me I looked great, and thinner than they’d ever seen me!
I love my new friends. LOVE. But part of me was a little sad, because these people did not know me when I was called THE QUEEN and I was so thin and bitchy! I miss my old bitchy self. Almost as much as I miss my super-thin self. I used to be so thin that people thought I was SICK. SICK THIN, ha. Those were the days… That’s why it’s good to have old friends. Friends who knew you when you were a size two. And can reminisce with you fondly are good friends indeed.
In those days, I never ate french fries or ice cream. I lived on cigarettes and attitude…but oh well, now that even models have to be hefty maybe that’s good news for all of us!
xoxo
Mel