Blogger Spotlight: Kariny V.

 

Kariny is the host of Teen Boox Frenzy, a blog that reviews and promotes new and upcoming YA books. A full time student, she lives on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. (Jealous!) She recently reviewed Onyx Moon on her gorgeous blog. Click to read the review here.

Tell us about your blog, Kariny's Teen Boox Frenzy.

Kariny's Boox Frenzy is dedicated to YA book reviews along with the occasional NA. I love helping new as well as old authors promote their books as much as possible to my readers!

 How did you get started as a book reviewer?

Well i started out posting reviews on Goodreads and i guess i just really wanted to create my own blog. The more i though about it, the less reason i saw not to do it! The process of creating your own little book haven is absolutely awesome! It wasn't long before i started getting subscribers and Netgalley approvals! The YA blogging world is really great and i've made so many new friends that share my passion for reading!

Where do you get most of the books you review?

The majority comes from authors contacting me for reviews and the rest from book tours and my own shopping spree!

Tell us about your hometown.

Well i live in a tropical island in the indian ocean-Mauritius. It's a wonderful place and a beautiful paradise! And the advantage is that the island is quite small so you can go and enjoy the beach every week and so on. It get really hot in summer and quite cold in winter. We often get cyclones so no school! I think personally, the only thing lacking in Mauritius is a WAY wider selection of YA books. 

If you had to pick one specific genre (basic genre/sub genre, example: urban fantasy, paranormal romance) to read for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

 

 Wow this is a really tough one! I might go with paranormal YA romance!

 

What do you do if you feel you have to give a bad review?

If the book is from an author then i let them know that i did not enjoy the book. I will not post my review if they don't want me to because that defies the point of a promotion. But i will review it and send my review to them only and not post it on my blog, so they can get healthy criticism-if they want. My reviews are always honest but i never bash the author. I also never not recommend a book because everyone has different taste and what i don't like might be someone's else's favorite! I do feel guilty at times if i have to write a bad review on a book i purchased but i will never lie on a review! I really feel bad when a book with a gorgeous cover has a less than stellar review :(

What makes a book deserve 5 stars?

I am quite picky about books deserving five stars. So basically they have to have substance, an interesting plot and a well-developed background. I love unexpected twists! I personally think that a book deserving five stars is any book that makes you feel. Whether it's irritation at the protagonist, anger, or excitement-except for boredom of course! Because as soon as a book can bring emotions out of you, you know that you're engrossed in it. If you didn't like it then you wouldn't really care about anything. The writing style is also pretty important. I love books with a melodious flow and not short brusque sentences devoid of emotion. Oh and every five star book of mine NEEDS a drool worthy YA book boyfriend!

What 3 things would you take with you to a deserted island?

MY KINDLE!!! A laptop and a never ending stock of fried rice! I drool over chinese food!

What do you do when you're not reading Are you planning on doing any writing in the future?

I have written a novel already with witches and Greek Mythology but I'm waiting till i get to university to get it published. There aren't many opportunities in Mauritius so another two years to go and hopefully I'll be an author! I'm also working on something with demons and faeries! Other than that i love to sketch and watch The Originals, TVD and Reign. The rest of the time it's spent revising and doing homework.

Thanks Kariny!

Check out her blog Kariny's Teen Boox Frenzy and follow her on Facebook for giveaways and all the latest on upcoming YA fiction.