About the Vixen
My name is Brianna and I’m the Vixen behind the blog.
5 Random Fun Facts:
- I'm an only child and suffer terribly from "only child syndrome" (I swear, it's really a condition!).
- I am a chocoholic. It’s the cure-all people!
- The only soda I drink is root beer (A&W or Mugs only please).
- I only eat the black jelly beans.
- I love frogs. So much so, I use frogs to rate books on this site.
About My Reading
At the moment, I enjoy reading contemporary romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense (my current favorite genre), Urban Fantasy, and YA (coming of age, romance, dystopian). Here’s a little history on my reading:
I didn't always like to read
*gasp* I know. I am unlike most book bloggers/reviewers out there; I didn't always like to read. My mom, being a bookworm herself, tried her hardest to get me to read, to no avail. I remember reading James and the Giant Peach when I was about 10 or 11 years old. Though, I'm not sure if I really enjoyed reading at that time or if I was only using it as an escape from my father's college algebra text book (he wanted me to be a brainiac kid but that never happened O_o).
It all started with a boy named Harry Potter
My reading for enjoyment began with Harry Potter. The year was 2002 and I was 22 years old. A customer of mine, a lady in her 40s, was holding one of the books. I had to ask what was with this book and everyone's need to read it. She simply said, "Just read it. You'll see." And so I did. I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and I was completely blown away. I read through all 7 books and thus began my love for reading.
Add in a little bit of mystery and suspense
After the Harry Potter phenomenon, I decided to branch out. I was at Target when I saw The Husband by Dean Koontz. The cover was simple yet the wedding ring, the ransom demand and the title all lured me in. I read the blurb and it immediately piqued my interest. That book began my Dean Koontz phase and interest in mystery and suspense.
The next Dean Koontz book I picked up was Sole Survivor. The premise of one person surviving a plane crash and the eeriness surrounding it definitely caught my attention! But I found myself not enjoying this book as much as The Husband due to the sci-fi aspect of it. I was still trying to figure out what I liked and didn't like.
Romance won me over
In 2004, I saw the movie The Notebook. I was in love! I loved the story, I loved the characters and I loved the actors. The saying goes the book is usually better than the movie; so when I found out the movie was based on a novel, I immediately went out and got the book. And that is how I feel in love with Nicholas Sparks.
I picked up every single book of his. (To date, the only books of his that I have not read yet are The Wedding, Three Weeks with My Brother, and Safe Haven, all of which are sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me.) He's one of the authors on my auto-buy list. Granted, most of his books do not have a HEA (happily ever after) but his writing, those emotions, the love stories – they always capture my heart. Sure, I cry every time I read one of his books but I will always come back for more.
Here come the vampires
I stayed committed to Nicholas Sparks, and the like, until last year (2009). Everyone and their mama was trying to convince me to read the Twilight series – my husband's niece, my sister-in-law, my co-workers - EVERYONE. My husband's niece, now 18 years old, and I read Harry Potter together. So she figured that since she liked Twilight that I would like Twilight too. I asked her what it was about and as soon as she said "vampire" I said "no thanks". Then she said, "No, it's not like that. It's a love story." but I still passed. Everywhere I went, Twilight paraphernalia was everywhere. The book covers look so simple yet scream "pick me up!".
I finally gave in.
I got Twilight from the library (ain't no way I was investing my greenbacks in a silly vampire love story *cough*) and immediately got hooked. On a Friday night, after finishing Twilight, I went to Target to pick up New Moon. The waiting list for New Moon, and the rest of the books, at the library was a zillion long. I also had Eclipse in my hands but put it back thinking I wouldn't need it right away. Little did I know that I would finish New Moon in one day only to go back to Target to find out they were out of stock of Eclipse. I panicked. I called my coworker and she said I could borrow Eclipse and Breaking Dawn from her. Monday could not come soon enough. That Sunday was the longest day ever!
I am now in the possession of a box set of the Twilight Saga, thanks to my mom.
Queue in the Alpha males
After I was finished reading the Twilight saga (yes, I did read Midnight Sun), I was in a slump. All I could think about was Edward and Bella. Fiction Vixen got me out of my funk with Sookie Stackhouse series. Then she really brought me out of my funk by taking me out of kiddy-land and into the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (haaa-ay!).
So there's a little bit about me. Is there anything you want to know? Ask away in the comments.
