Book Review- The Indigo Spell

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

ADRIAN IVASHKOV FANS, REJOICE! He's back. And how! Richelle Mead delivers, as always, a fast-paced, unputdownable wonderful gift to us. From the very beginning, the storyline pulls you in, because from the very first chapter a major plot is introduced to keep you hooked to your seats. The novel is structured just right, with enough human emotions in an arrary of dhampirs and Moroi and of course Alchemists to keep it real and at the same time with enough supernatural stuff to make it surreal.

The Adrian Ivashkov-Sydney Sage, more aptly called Sydrian angle of the book is positively on fire! Their heat is undeniable as always, and I am sure readers won't be disappointed this time around with the lack of romance. One thing I love about Richelle Mead is that she never dives head first into a romance. She writes realistic stories (even if it is about vampires), where people don't fall in love or have 'romantic tension' from the very beginning, and how they actually get to know each other before realizing they feel something for the other person. On the downside however, we are left pining and whining for our favorite characters to 'hook up already' and dear readers, your dreams are on the verge of coming true, all you have to do is pick up the novel and find out for yourself! 

There's considerable character development of the other leads, namely Jill, Eddie and Angeline. Also, the enigmatic Marcus Finch doesn't dissapoint.

Another wonderful thing about the book was that I got no time to relax, and not for a single second was I comfortable with keeping the book down to read the next day. The plot is forever moving, one thing happens after the other, and there are two major plotlines which makes it all the more intriguing.

One more awesome thing about the novel is that you get a glimpse of familiar characters from the Vampire Academy series!

I can't say more or else I'll be spilling secrets out before you or I know it. 

I give it four stars. Everyone looking for an addictive book with characters that suck you in, it is the book.

Stuff about College. And TV.

So I've spent the last two hours on the Internet, researching one university after the other, checking out how to write good college essays, what's a good SAT score, how to chose the type of financial aid you want, when to apply etc etc.

It's productive right?

Not when you've been doing it for the past month.

That's right, all I've done this past month with any free time I find is visit colleges websites (since sadly, I cannot visit the colleges in person) and read useless articles on the web on how to get into Ivy Leagues. Now, I have already made an account on the Common Application and I have pretty much narrowed down my choices, so what I COULD have been doing is actually sitting down to write down my college essays (and they are a lot, trust you me.) Or, I could have solves the seventeen SAT practice papers I have at my disposal even as I write this. But I am stuck in a rut. 

I have come to the conclusion that the thrill of imagining my future college life has gotten to me, so bad that I am doing no actual work! All I do is daydream and get confused by one college after the other, which I can prove with the fact that until just yesterday I kept thinking Princeton is THE college for me, my dream college, the only place I can find total satisfaction but today I am not so sure. I think I like Dartmouth more. Not to mention there's still Brown! And CORNELL! It's no joke to be confused about these colleges because the application fee doesn't make you laugh. 5000 bucks per application is NOT cheap. And that's even more expensive when your parents are already against your decision of applying abroad. But oh well, I guess I am gonna have to fight all these obstacles. Maybe this can be my answer to the obstacle questions on the applications! I sure as hell am not gonna ask my mother, cause I am too scared she may pull a Claire Dunphy on me (remember when Haley is freaking out about what to write on her application and blames Claire for giving her too comfortable a childhood? The awesome mother that Claire is, she drives Haley to a stranded foresty-place and leaves her there, to find her way back, without a cell phone!!!!!!!!!)

Also, with every passing day, the SAT keeps getting closer and closer, and I can't help but feel wrapped in fear. Now I know the SAT isn't difficult at all. In fact, it's easier than any test I've had to give in my junior year. But it counts a lot, lot more. So there's pressure, and I hate dealing with that. I keep freaking out that what if I can't complete the sections in time, spend too much time on a particular hard question, blank out on the last minute? It's just a matter of time before these vivid negative thoughts transform into unwanted horrific nightmares. Not to mention there's still the SAT Subject Math 1 to prepare for. I hate Math with every existing fiber of my being, yet I have no other option (Physics? Biology? Chemistry? NO CAN DO. US History? Haven't studied it ever. World History? Interesting, I could have given this paper if I didn't already have an ever-mounting workload in senior year. Since I am already studying Math (though the senior year Math is sadly a lot more advanced than SAT subject Math 1), it's a viable option. Oh and just so you know, the other Subject test I am giving is Literature! My eternal love, my knight in shining armour, my silver lining in the dark clouds, LITERATURE!)

Wow, writing it all down makes me realize how stupid my fears really are, BUT I am not gonna let this realization plant an illusion in my mind that the since they are so unfounded they are gonna go away. In fact I know there's gonna be back, blazingly and brazenly on test day. God knows what I'll do that. Maybe knowing that my brother is around will help? I sure hope so.

On the bright side of it, I AM GOING TO DELHI SOON!!!!!!! One month to be exact. I cannot wait. I love Delhi so so much. The brilliant food, the intimidating yet welcoming crowd, the vibrant feel, the street fairs, and the intoxicating vibe of the place. I love Delhi almost as much as I love Anuppur which is saying something because I die to go to Anuppur all the time. It's this small town in the state of Madhya Pradesh which is heaven on earth according to me. Anuppur I mean, not MP. There's greenery everywhere, no blatant urbanization yet all facilities you could ask for.

I can't wait to shop till I drop! Summers are here, which means I need to stock up on shorts and dresses! I am already so excited! Plus, my sister-in-law has promised to take me to this amazing bakery where she is sure I will find eternal peace and discover the meaning of life. Never one to exaggerate as you can obviously make out, I am dying to go!

Another thing I am dying to do right now? Watch the New Girl season finale! Even the fact that Taylor Swift is probably gonna make a bitchy appearance can't abridge my excitement. Will CeCe really get married? Will Jess and Nick make it as a couple to Season 3? And where's Winston's life headed? At one point he had it all together. He had his perfect beautiful girlfriend and a fabulous job. I still don't understand why he broke up with her. That story was definitely a weak point of the show. They were so in love, and then suddenly they weren't having sex, and the next thing you know they're breaking up in Halloween costumes? WHY, I ask. I really liked that girl. But Brenda Song definitely makes up for her. I've loved her since her London days (Tipton, not the city, as every die hard Disney fan would know) and she looks so fresh and really NEW on the show (appropriately named New Girl) Oh well, I'd love her to make a lot more appearances. Poor Winston though. Nick and Jess are regulars, so are Schmidt and CeCe, but his love interests always show up just once in a while. When's he getting a stable partner?! New Girl producers, hear me out! 

Also, I think I may be heading towards an unhealthy Modern Family obsession. I mean it. I am positively addicted to this hell of a series. I almost think of these weirdos as my family now! Thankfully I am still on Season 3, though I am halfway through, so I can watch as many episodes as I like in one go and stop when I've had enough. But I shudder to think what will happen when I finally make it to the current episodes. I'll have to wait for a week (several weeks during hiatuses) for a fresh episode. Oh my god I WILL DIE WITHOUT MY DAILY DOSE OF TY BURRELL'S AWESOMENESS! Wow, I am so dead. First New Girl, now Modern Family. What next? I think I should only watch shows that have already ended. NO NO NO NO NO NO ! That would mean after-show feelings like Friends! The utter sadness and crashing hopelessness when I realized I would never, EVER watch another new episode of the genius that Friends was, oh my god that was unbearable. 

I think I should just swear off of TV series, forever. Just after I am done with Modern Famly. And The Vampire Dairies. And Pretty Little Lairs. And New Girl. And Homeland. And The Big Bang Theory. And The Mindy Project. Annnnnd the list goes on..... ;)

A bittersweet day

Today was (and continues to be) a monumental day in many (okay, two) ways. To start with, today was the last day I went to the women's shelter, for a while at the least. I hadn't really anticipated how hard it would be to leave those girls, but that just intensified the sense of sadness I felt when I left through the iron gates. All the girls I talked to and/or taught were assembled near the garden and waving away and I felt really BAD that I wouldn't be coming back the next day!
Well, everything happens for a reason, every cloud has a silver lining and all that jazz, because today those girls actually studied! They knew my friends and I weren't coming back, so they put in more effort, asked so many questions, and actually learned and grasped whatever we explained to them fairly quickly. (On a side note, for anyone who wants to teach English at any given point, spellings are hard. Pronunciation is even harder. I was as annoyed as I could be, trying to teach them how to pronounce 'sh' as 'sh' and not 's'. I finally found a way by first asking them to make snakelike hissing noises, and then saying 'shhhh', like when you want someone to stop talking. That worked amazingly!) By the end of it we were all hugging and exchanging numbers. Well, you can't really call it exchanging cause it was just one sided. My friends and I gave them our numbers, so they can freely contact us whenever they want! We are gonna try really hard to take out some time for them before the summers though, cause it seems too far away.
Which brings me to the second reason for the day being monumental. The reason we have to stop going to the shelter is because SENIOR YEAR STARTS TOMORROW! Oh my god I am absolutely freaking out. I am going to enter the final year of my school life tomorrow, and if last year has been any sort of indication, it's gonna swiftly pass me by before I even know it! And pretty soon I am gonna be sitting for my SATs, and then IELTS, then Subject tests, then I'll be filling out a gazillion forms and writing even more essays! And then if I am not selected anywhere in the US/UK (always the optimist), I am gonna have to start the application process for Indian colleges and oh, how can I forget? I WILL BE GIVING BOARD EXAMINATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

*Tries to calm down but fails miserably* How can I be calm when one year from now, I am gonna be thinking about colleges and no longer have the option to go to school, EVER. (Sure, I can go for visits and reunions..uh, you know what I mean right?) It's so ironic that when I was little, my cousins and thought the best way to spend time was to make a movie and enact super awesome characters (who am I kidding? It IS the best way to spend time, seriously.) and I ALWAYS played Katie, who could walk through walls in Justice League, and I used to beg them to let my character be in 12th grade, because somehow I thought the coolest place to be for a person was senior year of high school. I squealed 'I'll be a senior! I'll be eighteen years old' and now that I am seventeen going on eighteen, I wanna go back to kindergarten! Thinking about colleges, what you wanna do with yourself, the idea of not being one yelling room away from your mother (MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. I love you.), it's all super surreal. That's not even the weird part though. The weird part is that I am also super duper excited to be in this place! I feel really cool inside that I am gonna be senior from tomorrow. The only thing that's holding me back from fully enjoying the vibe of being a senior is the fact that my math tutor told me that almost half the math this year will be trigonometry. ALMOST HALF! How freaking unfair. I can promptly kiss all Ivy League colleges goodbye, because I can't think of a reason Princeton will select an applicant who failed Math.

Nor can I think of a reason why Delhi University, St. Xaviers, Loyola or any other college will accept me. So basically my life is screwed. 

Like I said, always the optimist. 

So I guess what I am saying is that I am experiencing conflicting emotions! On one side I am insanely excited at the thought of being in senior year, having college admission tests to prepare for, and just dreaming of a wonderful world out there, but on the other hand I am also VERY uncomfortable kissing my familiar world goodbye. I guess I am getting extreme, I still have an year to go before I really have to leave my hometown, but still I feel weird that tomorrow will be the beginning of the end of my school life. That's gotta have a place in the list of things that can make a person freak out, right? RIGHT?

Song I am addicted to right now- Mera Mann Kehne Laga -Falak Shabir, Nautanki Saala (Ayushmaan. Nuff said.)

Movie worth watching- The Dictator. All I can say is this- ABSOFUCKINLUTELY HILARIOUS AND DISGUSTING!

Laters, baby (That's about the ONLY thing you got right, E.L. James and since you copied an entire book and destroyed it even more with porn *who would have thought someone could make Twilight worse? I say that at the risk of sounding like an absolute hypocrite because I was going through my earlier blog posts and I came across one where I swooned over Edward Cullen and gushed how Twilight HAD to be read by everyone. Yeah, you can totally shoot me guys*, I am justified in using a phrase from your book, as many times as I want right? Yeah, that's what I thought.)

So Random

I feel I am still not over my blogger block, because I am having such a hard time coming up with titles. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I have nothing concrete to write about right now. The most exciting thing that happened to me today was that I discovered this brilliant online shopping site called ASOS. It has great brands, great designs, great outfits and ships worldwide free of cost! The best thing is that there's this bar at the extreme left of the screen which lets you decide the color, sleeve-length, knee-length, design, price range and what not. Now I know that many online outlets have that, but it's a bit more detailed, and has greater stock so the bar actually has a point. (I remember once I selected three-quarter sleeve-length and color black, and all the website came up with was two tops, and none of them were even good. Honestly, is that what your database should be like? What I am saying is, ASOS is awesome. Another good feature is that they have a section called ASOS curve, which has a wide and wonderful selection of clothes for girls who aren't petite (cheer up petite girls! There's a petite section too. And just in case you're wondering, nay, I am not fat, I am curvy. I do know that's what most fat girls say..) Without further ado, here's a link for the lazy bums who can't put in the effort of Googling ASOS.
Discovering ASOS also led me to commit a despicable deed i.e. cancelling on a friend who came back to town today! I know I know, I am a horrible person. We were supposed to meet in the afternoon, so I innocuously decided to surf a little (not the waves, obviously) and since I have a party to attend the next week, I thought I'd look for some good dresses, and that landed me in the magical world of ASOS. After that, I kinda (read totally) forgot about the plan, and since the said friend didn't call me up to ask where the heck I was, my afternoon was spent checking out clothes. Yes, my entire afternoon. Anyway, just when I decided I'd had enough, my father called me to watch some news segment on the Mahashivratri (Happy Mahashivratri, you awesome readers!). Now, this entire time there was this teeny tiny voice inside my head saying 'call your friend, call your friend, call your friend' but like the supreme sloth that I am, I ignored it, and thus subjected myself to the wrath of my friend (I don't exaggerate much, just so you know.) We've decided to meet after dinner now, since we live in the same apartment. Let's just hope nothing comes in the way, because contrary to my procrastinating actions, I really do wanna meet her!

In case readers of earlier posts are wondering, my friends have come around! Even better, three of my friends and I have started going to this shelter for women, called Nari Niketan, where women find themselves when they have no place else to go, or when the underage ones elope (which they aptly described to us as 'love case' very proudly, I must add.) It has been a great experience so far! I have a grand time with them! When we went there for the first time, it was very awkward initially, as all we did was say 'Namaste' in greeting to everyone and they smiled, waved, and the bold ones shook hands in return. We had decided to go with the intention of teaching them some elementary English, but how do you say 'Dude, I am here to teach you, come to the classroom' to someone who's mighty older in age and experience, and has suffered so much? We couldn't, so we ended up just talking to them. Like it happens in most cases, both parties became less awkward and more friendly, and we ended up having a blast! For me it has been such an eye-opener cause even in the few days that I've been there, all my problems have started seeming very petty. The other day I had a pimple (if you know me, you know that I freak out when I get pimples because I suffered from a bad case of acne a few years ago) and just when I should have freaked out, I realized that it's just a stupid pimple that will go away. Stupid analogy, I know, but effective nevertheless. I have to admit that my intentions hadn't been hundred percent philanthropic when I decided to render my services here, but I have to agree that whatever the reasons, I am glad to be doing this. The stories I have to hear are such that I couldn't hear anywhere else. Also, aren't you who you are because of your experiences? This is a whole new experience. The only drawback is having to get up in the morning, OH MY GOD I HATE THAT! Only the mental picture of their beautiful faces that light up on seeing us is the thing that forces me to get my ass off of my beautiful bed. Everyone who has nothing to do? Give one hour to the needy everyday, you'll feel awesome. If not for them, do it for yourself. Take it from the laziest person in the world, it's worth it. 

I spend two hours in the morning there everyday, so what else do I do, you're wondering? Modern Family of course! I've reached Season 2 and the show keeps getting better! All the other shows I was planning to watch are still on hold because MF is just that awesome. Also, I am still reading A Passage to India which has become kinda boring. 
YEAH! SUE ME! I know it's supposed to be a wonderful book, it's has a place in the Top 100 is some Modern Literature list, but it just doesn't do it for me! Sure, I loved it when I started reading it. It's just towards the end of Part 2- Caves that it has become a tad bit boring. Maybe it's just become too depressing or something? I don't know, I just hate the books that don't have happy endings. I do know that it's those exact books that become famous, though. I will have to drag myself through Part 3, and fast, because I got my delivery of The Indigo Spell today and I CANNOT EFFING WAIT TO READ IT! I am a die-hard Vampire Academy fan, and the chemistry between Adrian and Sydney? Epic. Marcus Flinch curiosity? AT IT'S PEAK. Adrian's hotness level? Ever-soaring. If not for my (annoying) need of never leaving a book half-way, I would have finished The Indigo Spell already. Oh well, wait a few more hours, you precious little wondrous book. 
I will take your leave now, Blogger, and finish a class and start a YA! 

Laters, baby.
(I admit, embarrassingly enough, I have read Fifty Shades of Grey. Yes, my faith in humanity has suffered a blow. A HUGE blow. Why people of the planet, why in the bloody hell?)

What I do when finals are over and my friends are being a pain in the butt

I've been having a pretty non-epic time since my finals ended because

• All of my friends have gone MIA. Do you wonder how weird it is that during exams, everyone is like 'Wait till exams are over. We'll do so-and so, this-and-that, blah blah' but once you're done with exams for reals, all everyone can think about is sleeping and watching TV.
• I now realize that bullets aren't really appropriate here because the aforementioned reason is the only reason I am not out having a party right now

So because I've been left to my own devices, thanks to my sweet sweet friends (okay FINE, I am giving them a really hard time. It's not entirely their faults if their moms have suddenly gone crazy, or their family planned spontaneous trips. But dyyyyyuuuude, why am I the only one stuck at home?) 

So being stuck at home CAN have a few advantages, as I've learned so far and I am sharing just a few:

1. They make some pretty awesome TV shows. Exhibit A- New Girl- An elementary school teacher has to move in with three guys after her dick of a boyfriend cheats on her. (Not apologizing for the language, the guy is a huge dick.) But everything happens for a reason because they form a pretty awesome dysfunctional family along with her best friend, CeCe. I AM SO ADDICTED TO THIS SHOW RIGHT NOW. Believe me, I've watched two seasons in a week (I started watching in the last week of my finals) I kept adjusting my study schedule as I kept getting more and more addicted with each passing episode. (What? I've done that chapter three times already. It will probably take like twenty minutes of revision. I can watch one more episode....you know the drill.) Exhibit B- Modern Family. The show has it all. High school drama, elementary school drama and a gay couple with a hella cute Chinese baby (Vietnamese, if you please)! What more does a TV series need? I'll tell you. Ty Burrell. Lo and behold! They have him too. The humorous spin on daily life incidents is to die for, and I suggest everyone should watch Modern Family, it has bits for everyone! Of course, weekly dosages of Pretty Little Liars, How I Met Your Mother and The Vampire Diaries manage to keep me pretty occupied too. 
2. READ! Do not say you don't read because dude, that's just another way of saying you're stupid. I am reading A Passage to India by E.M. Forster right now. It's set in the period of British Raj and manages to showcase all the conflicts and prejudices existing between the natives and the colonizers with the help of That Marabar Case. I am still not through it, so I will save all my major opinions till the end, but one thing I have to admit is that I do not like Miss Quested. Girl, trying too hard? She's pretty annoying, more annoying that Lavender Brown in Harry Potter, which is saying something (Seriously, how blind do you have to be to not see those sparks between Hermoine and Ron? Wait, that's beside the point..) I also have a Books-to-read-in-the-break, obviously. The list goes- 

• Looking for Alaska- John Green
• The Queen's Fool- Phillipa Gregory
• Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher
• Are you there God? It's me, Margaret- Judy Blume
• The Indigo Spell- Richelle Mead
• To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee (I know I know, I am embarrassed that I still haven't read it)
• Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs- Chuck Klosterman

Okay I've tried pretty hard to manage both of these bullets (the dots and the numericals) but it refuses to work! I guess Blogger is trying to take revenge on my for my prolonged absence. Well played, but you can also take the high road, you know that right?

Right?

I guess you don't. 

So more random stuff to do can be going to websites like HollywoodLife and Sugarscape. These are websites where people have devoted their entire lives to stalking celebrities and publishing news a certain screaming section of teenagers is sadly really interested in. Now, when I hate it so much, why do I suggest it? Because it's hilarious! The 'BREAKING NEWS' and the comments are so damn funny. How personally people take these things, it's entertaining. Yeah, I've stooped that low in my bubble of boredom. Also, in the process you get to stalk Niall Horan, and really who can say no to that? He's the cutest guy alive on the planet, with that hair and those eyes and that smile and that VOICE!

You can also make a blogger profile and record your worthless interests people aren't remotely interested in, because that can be strangely satisfying! (You see what I did there? That just ruined the whole doing it.)

I do realize..

..that it has been ages since I was last here. Ages is in fact tantamount to more than a year. Yeah, that's really embarrassing. My last post was in November of 2011, and today is 4th March 2013.

What's even more embarrassing, you ask?
It's the fact that boredom brought me here. My last final of 11th grade was the day before yesterday, and like most days immediately after exams, I have nothing to do. I guess my mind takes a little time to adjust to the fact that there's no more mugging to do, no more deadlines to meet, no more late-night notes, no more stealthy Facebook logins. It is free to do whatever it likes, and it bloody loves it and so it embraces the fact hesitantly, just in case hopes don't come crashing down.
Also, my friends have totally let me down and have forced me to stay at home, so that's a big contributing factor of the I-have-nothing-to-do phase.

I have to admit this I have to start anew (and I have to.)
The last year wasn't really crazy busy. I entered 11th grade, the second last year of high school, and of course it was a little more demanding than 10th grade ever was, but did that not give me one minute to blog a little? The answer to that is sadly not what I'd like it to be. 
I spent many days lazing around, doing absolutely nothing. I remember one day vividly when I got up, ate, slept again and woke up the next day. I wasn't even that tired. Looking back, I don't even know why I remember this day! So the point I am trying to make is that I haven't written anything really, in more than a year (no posts, no short stories, no journals, no nothing. Of course if you count filthy long e-mails, that's another story.)
Only now I am realizing how much I've missed blogging.
I am very aware of the fact that my last post was very much like this one, where I cribbed about how much I'd missed blogging and how busy I'd been and how I was gonna start again and I guess we all know how that turned out.
So this is just a short post of apology and hopes to start again. :)