Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Wales has had a growing tourist industry for a number of years.

Wales has had a growing tourist industry for a number of years. Record figures reached 8,078,900 visitors in 2002. This figure includes foreign and domestic visitors. Most foreigners have been coming from the USA, Germany and Ireland. What attracts people here?



Perhaps the biggest attraction is the Museum of Welsh Life, tempting around 600,000 tourists per year. The small country is also blessed with hills, cliffs, castles and national parks. Indeed, the varied landscape is particularly attractive in the Wales’s three national parks in Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and on the Pembrokeshire coast. The natural beauty of Wales and various activities such as hill walking, canoeing, kayaking and climbing is a lure for many potential visitors.



Wales has also become known as the Extreme Sports’ capital of Western Europe. Indeed, it hosted the famous downhill cycling event, the “Dragon Downhill Series”. The World Rally Championship, the first indoor event at the millennium stadium was staged in Wales in 2005.

Similar events involving surfing and mountain biking attract tourists from everywhere.



With such a wide range of attractions and interests, it is no wonder that the welsh tourist board is enjoying such success.

Balmain: Rococo Rockstar Fashion

So many people have claimed to be, or have been given the mantle of being, the new Versace that it's an almost redundant phrase. But if any brand is where the house of Versace ought to be today then it is Balmain.

Not only because both Gianni Versace and Balmain's designer, Olivier Rousteing, rely on the same key elements to create their bravura collections - emotion and slick technique, married to a genuine love of women and their ability to truly dazzle.

Rousteing's latest runway display, a spring 2013 collection shown in Paris on Thursday, Sept. 27, was a bravura performance, where he blended elements of New Wave, haute glam and Latin rococo grandeur.

Medieval lady knights marched up and down the catwalk, clad in spun gold armor; two-tone gentile rockstars simmered in black and white redingotes; femme fatales emoted in micro check harlequin jumpsuits.

The sheer technical audacity was pretty awesome - from finely spun jacquard guipure tunics that looked like malleable stucco to a divine screen goddess Prussian blue mini cocktail exploding with crystals. Balmain's designer is also a great cutter - his hyper wide shouldered, square gorged jackets and forgiving, nipped at the ankle pants were flawless.

Another thing Rousteing and the late, great Versace share in common: models love to wear their clothes. The catwalk's latest new comer star, pouty-lipped blond Danish beauty Nadia Bender, all done up in crystals and shiny shoulders, jumped up and down for joy backstage as she "posed" with Rousteing for photos.

"Cuban Latin power, Sade and '90s inspiration. Steven Meisel and Peter Lindberg's shoots, the power years of the '90s, when Linda Evangelista was fighting with her husband in the street in shoots. Powerful women," said Rousteing, referring to the very glory years of Versace.

Rousteing within just two seasons is already in a league of his own and has taken over Christophe Decarnin's successful ground work to make this a must-see show in Paris. If only the Grand Hotel space would feel a bit more glamourous. Next time make it the Ritz Pool.

Won't Back Down (2012)

Won't Back Down (previously titled Still I Rise, Learning To Fly and Steel Town) is a drama film directed by Daniel Barnz starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Holly Hunter. It was released on September 28, 2012.

Synopsis: Two determined mothers, a bartender (Gyllenhaal) and a teacher (Davis), look to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy and corruption from the teacher's union president (Hunter) and the school's principal (Rhames), they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.

Background: The film is loosely based on the events surrounding the use of the parent trigger law in Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles, California in 2010, where several groups of parents attempted to take over several failing public schools. The Parent Trigger law, which was passed in California and other states in 2010, allowed parents to enforce administrative overhaul and overrule administrators in under-performing public schools if petitioned. If successful, petitions allow parents to direct changes such as dismissal of staff and potential conversion of a school to a charter school.

Justin Bieber's Mom Shares Singer's Reaction To Death Of Avalanna Routh aka Mrs. Bieber

Justin Bieber was devastated this week when 6-year-old super fan Avalanna Routh (affectionately known as "Mrs. Bieber") passed away after a long battle with brain cancer.

The pop star's mom, Pattie Mallette, stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Friday, where she discussed Justin's reaction to the tragic situation.

PLAY IT NOW: How Did Justin Bieber React To His Mother’s Turbulent Past Revealed In Her New Book?

"It's so sad. He was so fond of [Avalanna]," Pattie said of how Justin is handling the loss. "Every time he went to New York he was like, 'I have to go visit her - I love her so much, Mom.'"

Pattie said Avalanna's death has been tough for her son to wrap his head around, especially since he had an enormous soft spot for the little girl.

"He would tear up thinking about her and show me videos and things like that," she shared.

Justin's desire to help Avalanna is just one example of the singer's strong character, according to Pattie.

"Of course I'm proud of his success and stuff, but as a mom, I'm most proud of his character and the kind of young man he's grown to be," Pattie said, adding that Justin has "always loved little kids [and] babies."

Pattie -- who chronicles her struggles as a young single parent in her new book, "Nowhere but Up" - also shared how faith saved her life after a childhood rife with molestation, substance abuse and a failed suicide attempt.

"I was in the hospital from trying to commit suicide... and I just cried out," she said. "I said, 'God, if you are real, you have to come and live this life for me. If you have a plan and a purpose, let's see it. Let's see what you can do with my life, because I'm certainly not doing so well.'

"I [felt] this amazing presence that I can't explain - I was just weeping and saying, 'Oh my God... you're real!'" she continued. "And from that moment [it] just switched everything of how I perceived everything and the possibilities were endless [and] the hope for me."

Pattie's newfound Christian faith led her to abstain from sex until marriage after Justin was born, though she admitted she'd like to settle down and have more children.

"I'm dating, but there's nobody serious right now," she said, adding that Justin is "really protective" when it comes to who is allowed to date his beloved mom. "He definitely wants to have a say and approve."

(Source: OMG Yahoo)