What...more books

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley‏

2012-02-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Description:

"Like all of the other doors I had met in the castle, this one opened at my approach. The room it revealed was a large, warm, and gracious one. On one wall to my left a first was burning in a fireplace; two armchairs were drawn up before it. One chair was empty. In the other a massive shadow sat. I caught a gleam of dark-green velvet on what might have been a knee in the shadowed armchair.

"'Good evening, Beauty,' said a great harsh voice."

A young woman, well educated and honorable, accepts responsibility for her father's act and leaves her family to enter the enchanted world of castle and Beast. The Beast she finds is not the one she imagined, but can she stay with him?

A gifted storyteller embellishes the classic tale, developing a new and very real world of her own in a love story that has all the wonder and magic of the fairy tale (Goodreads).

　
My Thoughts:

I’ve always wanted to read something by Robin McKinley, I’ve seen her books around in the book stores and libraries but I never read any of them. It one of those things where you say to yourself I will pick up her book next time I am here. This time I was at the library and I saw this book on a display and I thought why not I will read this book today and not wait for the next time.

Beauty and the Beast has been one of my favorite stories, and I do not think that I have read any books that retell this story. At least I do not think that I have; but then again I read so many books it is hard to remember what I read sometimes. I really enjoyed this story, it was very well done, excellent pacing, and excellently written. I really like the pace of the story, it was not too slow but rather just right. I sometimes get frustrated with books that are either too slow and the author never gets to a point or they move too fast for my liking. But it pacing of the story line depends on the type of books you are reading as well. Pacing of the story is different in Action/Thriller then is different from Romance or Fiction for example, but still they all have that commonality.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, especially the Beast, Beauty second. I actually wished that the story was from the Beast’s POV but that the story is about Beauty and the Beast and not The Beast and Beauty. I was bit frustrated with Beauty and her low self-esteem about her looks. I never understood why she thinks she is not beautiful (ugly is too strong of a word) and also insists on dressing up to make herself look even less attractive. Wouldn’t you do the opposite in fact. I mean I am not Cindy Crawford by any means but that does not mean that I wear unattractive clothing. I wear what looks good on me rather than hide behind the clothing and make myself less attractive than I am. Anyway I think I’m getting of the topic now. I really liked Beauties family, they were such a nice family and I felt bad for them when Beauty had to leave. One thing that bothered me about this story is the romance between Beauty and the Beast. For the first part Beauty fears the Beast and that is understandable. Then that fear turns into sort of a friendship. But there was no transition from friendship to love. Rather love just happens, all of sudden Beauty is in love with the Beast. I really did not feel that transition happen. It felt that the author run out of time and just wrote the next chapter and voila she is in love with him. This is hard a hard part for me to overcome even though I know how the story would end. Secretly I was hoping for a twist at the end but it did not happen.

Overall this was good read and enjoyed it very much. It was easy and a fast read and I will be definitely checking some other books by this author. It was very well written there were no awkward sentences that make you pause and contemplate what does author mean by this. If you enjoy retelling of fairy tales with a modern twist to them then this might appeal to you. I give this book 3/5 STARS.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

2012-02-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Description:

An epic story of family, love, and unavoidable tragedy from the two-time Man Booker Prize finalist

Sebastian Barry 's novels have been hugely admired by readers and critics, and in 2005 his novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In The Secret Scripture, Barry revisits County Sligo, Ireland, the setting for his previous three books, to tell the unforgettable story of Roseanne McNulty. Once one of the most beguiling women in Sligo, she is now a resident of Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital and nearing her hundredth year. Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an engrossing tale of one woman's life, and a vivid reminder of the stranglehold that the Catholic church had on individuals throughout much of the twentieth century (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I got this book from work, someone left it for taking. I read the back of the book and it sounded very interesting. I stated to read this book right away but at much slower pace than I usually do when I read books. Not because I did not enjoy it or anything like that, for some reason I just did not want to rush through this book.

This was such a sad story, it makes you heart hurt just thinking about Roseanne McNulty and all the things she went thought in her life. You want to rage at how life can be unfair and cruel to some individuals. Roseanne is such an interesting character, she suck you in, into her life and you can not stop wondering what will happen. You read about Roseanne's life and all the men in her life. Her father of whom she was very found of and really did not have a clear picture of who he was and what he did. Her husband, who I believed to be a weak man personally, mommas boy. Priest (I can not remember his name right now) whom I despised from the start of the book.

Story was narrated by Roseanne herself, she secretly writes down the account of her life and hoping that one day after she dies someone will find the writing. On the other hand story is also narrated by Dr. Grene, psychiatrist. This book was so beautifully written, the sentences that the author has put together are amazing. It is very lyrical and poetic. Here we have this lyrical voice that is narrating the story set in twentieth century Ireland, the landscape that is beautiful and comforting at the same time. But on the other hand very dangerous and dreary.

I was bit surprised by the ending and Dr. Grene's discovery. Actually not too surprised because half way thought the book I kind asked myself would it not be funny if Dr. Grene turned out to be.... Still it was beautiful ending that brought tears to my eyes.
I have to say that Mr. Barry has done a beautiful job with this book, it was beautifully written. I will definitely checking out some of his other books. I give this book 5/5 STARS. This story has everything, brilliantly constructed characters, character growth and development are constant, and plot line was well though out. Happy Reading everyone.

The Secret History by Donna Tart

2012-02-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Description:

Truly deserving of the accolade a modern classic, Donna Tartt’s novel is a remarkable achievement—both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I saw this book on one of the blogs (don't ask me which one). When I saw that my local library had this book I put it on hold and when it came in I started to read it right away. I have to say that this book was not what I expected. When I was done reading I had mixed feelings about it, on one hand I liked the book but on other I did not.

Six friends, misfits, who study Classics with a eccentric professor at an elite New England college. Donna Tart knows how to write, I have to say that it was not the actual plot that drew me in but rather it was her writing. There was just something about it that urged me to keep reading the book. She has a way with sentences and characters. Even though the plot line was not the best (in my opinion), but it was not bad either.

I do not want to talk much about storyline because I do not want to give much away. But there was a lot of character buildup and all the characters were very complex. Not everything was black and white, there where a lot of shades of gray. Some of the events really disturbed me and made it hard to look at the characters the same way again. Richard, story narrator, even his description of the events is almost lukewarm. I did not feel a lot of regret on their part but rather worry that they will be caught. Six Friends who are completely isolated from the rest of the college by their own doing. They are also eccentric and spoiled in many ways; live in their own world. Even after they do wrong against their friend I did not feel that they were very much remorseful for what they did.

I do have to say that I was surprised about the ending and Harry, it was not what I expected. Harry was never one of my favourite characters, actually none of them were my favourite characters. In one way I almost felt sorry for them because they are so messed up and in a way removed from rest of the world. But on the other hand I did not feel sorry for them because of what they did, they were all equally guilty. But than again I do not think author intended for us as readers to be the judge and jury. They make their own world and rules pretty much. In a way I wished that the story was told from multiple points of view, that way we, as readers, would have a chance to get to know rest of the characters. Rather than just seeing them through narrators eyes.

Overall this was a good book and it was extremely well written. I was more impressed with authors writing abilities than with the story line. If you have not read this book but planning to, do not get discouraged because the book does start out slowly, but it does get better. I believe that this book deserves 4/5 SRARS just for the writing. Plot was alright, but not the greatest.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Author), Siobhan Dowd, Jim Kay (Illustrator)

2012-02-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

Description:

This is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss. The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming. . . .
This monster, though, is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final story idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I have to say WOW – I love this book. Day after I finished reading this book I went to the books story and bought this book. I want to have it on my bookshelf and be able to reread it whenever I want to. I think that I fell in love with this book from the first page. It was extremely well written and very engaging, so much so that I was not able to put the book down. I finished it in one sitting.

Conor, a young teenage boy who is living with his mother and trying to come to terms with his mothers illness and loss. A monster shows up at his window just after midnight every night and they go through series of events. Also story is also accompanied by beautiful illustrations which very well done. Loved the black and white illustrations I thought it fit the story line so well. This story has the raw emotion beneath the words that the author wrote, they suck you in and you feel all the emotions that Conor is feeling. You understand and feel his anger and you are angry on his behalf too. Story was entertaining, but sad in a lot of ways. There were several times that I cried – tears streaming down my face. Not a lot of books make me cry but this one did.

Relationship between Conor and his mother was well written and thought out. Conor is your everyday teen struggling with school (bulling) but in this case he welcomes being bullied. Conor wants to feel the pain that the bully causes him whether that is emotional or physical pain, he welcomes both. It is an escape for him.

Monster yew tree was my favourite part of the book. Personally I think that the monster was a metaphor for Conor’s mom’s illness. There were passages that the monster mentions in the book and I thought I should share with you.

“Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?”

“You do not write your life with words, the monster said. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.”

Overall this was a excellent books and I'm having a hard time writing a review because I am afraid that I will not do it any justice. So if you have not read this book do far, you should, you will not regret it. I give this book 5/5 STARS - Happy Reading.

Matched (Matched, #1) by Ally Condie‏

2012-02-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Description:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

One of the reasons t hat I’ve wanted to read this book was because I heard so many good things about it. I got this book from the library and read in few days and I have to say that I did enjoy reading this book but I did not find to be any different from any other dystopian YA books that are currently out there. Well at least ones that I have read. I liked the premises of the society that Cassia lives in, but the more I read the more I thought this book is not about dystopian society but rather this is just another YA romance, nothing more nothing less. Dystopian society, that our characters live in, just a background story that was not well developed at all. It does have a lot of potential.

Dystopian world that Cassie lives in is very constrictive, people cannot make their own decisions, everything is scheduled and very controlling. As I was reading I thought to myself why do authors pretty much always write about dystopian society as controlling, ridged. Why not write a dystopian novel where this is not the case. Anyways, when Cassie was matched to Xander, I thought to myself this makes dating life much easier – but then where is the fun, right.

Here we have another love triangle… Xander and Cassia or Ky and Cassia. Why another love triangle I asked myself as I was reading the book description? It seem that you cannot pick up a YA books (or adult book – its bit better with adult books) that does not have love triangle. Anyways, romance between Ky and Cassia was not working for me, it was poorly done and there was no chemistry between the two. I actually likes Xander much better, I hope we see more of him in future books. Interaction between Ky and Cassia seemed very forced and the part about poems was just almost juvenile – it just did not fit the story line. Yes I get the fact that your society is very censored as to what you read, actually literally controls what you read. But the way author uses the poems to show that is bit ridiculous. There were much better ways to do this part – but hey I am not the one who wrote this.

Book was OK written but there were lot questions statements. Cassie spends the whole books questioning thing. Why this is happening? How can it happen like this? The whole book was like this – it felt that she was constantly going in a circle with her questions. Also all the characters felt very monotonous and two dimensional; there was not a lot of character development or growth. I felt that Cassia has not changed from page one to the very last page in the book, but rather stayed the same. I hope that the next book in the series, Crossed, is an improvement.

However there were good things about this book two that I really liked. I liked the idea of the dystopian society Ally Condie mapped out for us, but I do wish that dystopian worlds was the main storyline rather than the romance. One thing that I found really intriguing the concept of the pills that the people were caring around, especially red pill.

Overall this was an OK read for me – like I already there was nothing that made it stand out among the other dystopian books that are currently out there (the ones that I have read of course). If you like to read dystopian book that is an easy read this might be books for you. I am not going to say do not read it because it's not a bad book – I just feel that this was more like second draft that needs a lot more work done to it. Not a bad start. I give this book 3/5 STARS - Happy Reading.

Matched Series:

1. Matched

2. Crossed

3. Untitled - Coming Soon November 13th, 2012

Paper Towns by John Green

2012-02-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

Description:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

This is my first book by John Green; I seen Looking for Alaska on the bookshelves around the library and bookstores but I never really thought about picking it up and reading it. Not sure why. On this trip to the library I saw this book on the table, it was just sitting there and I liked the title so I picked it up and checked it out.

Paper Towns is an interesting book, it is not the best book that I’ve read so far but it is a good book. Quentin Jacobsen, out main protagonist was very interesting character and I liked him a lot. It was different reading this book, because I find that a lot of books that I read are from the POV of a woman or teenage girl. That is not to say that I never read a book from POV of male character. It took me four of five hours in total to read this book across span of two days.

First part of t he book was, in my opinion, bit dry and slow. But towards the end of the book it gets more interesting and humorous. The scene in the car, where one of the characters has to pie all the time. That was funny and disgusting at the same time – you have to read the book to know why it is disgusting. All I could think of while that scene was going on was of Dumb and Dumber movie. Margo’s character did not sit well with me because I really did not understand her. I found that her running away tendencies were more so attention seeking than anything else. Maybe if I got a chance to read the book from Margo’s POV than I might have understood her better and why she does things that she does. However I was very happy with the ending because I was dredging the opposite and I did not want that for Quentin.

Overall this was good read, it was entertaining, humorous, and fun. I think that I will give Looking for Alaska a try to see if I like that even better. With Paper Towns I liked it but I did not think it was wow worthy. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading everyone. Let me know what you thought of this book.

The Day of the Djinn Warriors (Children of the Lamp #4) y P. B. Kerr‏

2012-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Description:
From the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author P. B. Kerr, comes the fourth volume in this exceptional, imaginative adventure series about a brother and sister who discover they are djinns.

Djinn twins John and Philippa are off on another whirlwind adventure that takes them around the globe and into unknown worlds. And it's a race against time as they attempt to rescue their mother from her fate as the Blue Djinn of Babylon. An aging curse has been placed on their father and if the twins are gone too long, he'll rapidly become an old man.

Meanwhile, museums all over the world are reporting robberies of valuable jade from their collections, as well as bizarre haunting.(Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

This is book four in the Children of the Lamps series and I have to say that this series is just getting better and better. This time John and Philippa are taken to Italy and China on their adventures.

I felt bad for the twins about their mother and really hoped that they could help her. In this book most of the characters from the previous books make appearance, Nimrod, Groanin, Mr. Rakshasas, Iblis, and of course twins mother and father. Also Buck makes an appearance in this book. I was very sad for Buck in this book and what happened to him. I hope that we see more of Buck and his problem.

This was interesting twist to the story line, it was fast paced, entertaining and very humorous. I love Nimrod and Groanin, they are very funny characters. I also enjoy the relationship that the twins have with Nimrod, Gronin and Mr. Rakshasas; they are great together. They have a lot of chemistry and I just love reading about them. I do not want to talk much about the plot because I do not want to give much away – but it kept me entertaining from page one to the end of the book.

Twins have grown a lot as characters thought the books, they are more mature but they are still children and do things children do. They are brave, smart, kind, funny and considerate ( I might have already said this about the twins in the previous reviews of this series). I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series, I have already put them on hold at the library – now just waiting till they arrive.

Overall this was an excellent read and I do not give five stars easily. This is five stars – it has everything entertainment factor, originality, humor, friendship, adventure, villains and much more. It you like Harry Potter than you will probably like this series as well – it is similar but it very original. So you do not have to worry about this book trying to become like HP. I give this book 5/5 STARS – Happy Reading.

Children of the Lamp series:

1. The Akhenaten Adventure

2. The Blue Djinn of Babylon

3. The Cobra King of Kathmandu

4. The Day of the Djinn Warriors

5. The Eye Of The Forest

6. The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

7. The Grave Robbers Of Genghis Khan

Shade (Shade, #1) by Jeri Smith-Ready

2012-02-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Description:

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I started to read this book before Christmas, read more than half of it and than stopped. Not sure why I stopped, it just sat there on my bedside table for two weeks before I picked it up again. Actually it was due back to be returned to the library and I wanted to finish it before I returned and I only had hundred pages left.

I liked this book, but I did not love it. I would not be opposed to reading book two, Shift and book three Shine (once book three comes out that is). Book was very well written and there was a lot of character development; I do wish that the pre-shift and post-shift world was little bit better described. Probably we will find more of this information in the future books. However, I find that there was not enough information about the world in this book. Actually I finds this with a lot of YA (and other genera) authors, its like they are withholding this information back so that they can series. I liked that the book touches on the topic of sex, and actually thinking of having sex. A lot of YA books (at least once that I read) do not do that. I mean lets face it, a lot of teenagers think about sex and are sexually active already.

I liked Aura, she was very well thought out female character, she is strong, smart, pretty, and very mature for her age. I liked Logan too, but I thought he was not as mature as Aura, he was more fearless and careless I suppose. One thing that I did not like as much about this book it is the love triangle. Yes another one - please please stop with love triangles. They are driving me crazy, but I still read these books. Sigh.

Overall this was a good read and I did enjoy it, and I will check to see if my library has book two, Shift. I give this book 4/5 STARS - Happy Reading.

Shift Series:

1. Shade
2. Shift
3. Shine - Coming MAy 1st, 2012

Die for Me (Revenants #1) )by Amy Plum‏

2012-01-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Description:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love? (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I’ve been wanting to read this book for such long time, since it came out. But I never got around it and also the fact that I am trying to abstain from buying books which I’m finding very hard. When I realise that my local library had the book in their collection I was so excited. I put the book on hold right away and as soon as I got my hands on it I started to read it.

I have to say that this book started of very interesting and I was engrossed into the story. Come page fifty and on my excitement for the story started to disappear. I do not know what it was but as soon as Kate and Vincent meet and start to spend time together I started to lose interest in the book. It not that I did not want romance between the two characters, it was just not working. It might be the fact that I really did not like Kate that much by the end of the book. It’s almost like she is trying to hard. I felt bad for Kate and her sister Georgia about losing their parents; Kate and how she dealt with grief of loosing loved once. There was not a lot of emotions that this book evoked from me, even when I read about Kate’s parents. The author tells me, as a reader, what the character is feeling, but the description of those feelings is not being translated into emotions when I read it. I have to say it, because it makes me sound cold, but I felt indifferent. I could not relate because the book does not provoke any emotional response.

Character development is OK, there was more room for growth but that can be done in the book two in the series. Of course this is yet another series!!! Kate as a character started of very interesting, but then I just became annoyed with her. I think I wanted to scream at her every time she said “Are you spying on me.” This was said at least ten times throughout the books and it became annoying. Vincent was an OK character, actually I liked him more than Kate. I wish that there was more about Revenants and what they are? I wish that there was little bit backstory to their history. You do not have to tell us everything, but you have to throw me a bones to keep me interested. You cannot just give me the minimum and say you have to wait till next book to find out more.

Relationship between Vincent and Kate was boring, because it does not differ from any other relationship in YA book. Boy falls madly in love with the girl he just met. She resists but she can not help but spend more time with him and inevitable happens, love. One thing that I did like about this book is Kate's and Goergia's relationship, its nice to read about sisters who are close and get along together.

Overall this was an OK read for me, nothing to gush about. We'll see if I'll be reading book two in the series, Until I Die. I'll read if my library gets a copy once the book is published. I give this book 3/5 STARS. Happy reading and i hope you enjoy this book more than I have.

Revenants Series:

1. Die for Me
2. Until I Die - Coming May 8th, 2012
3. Untitled - Coming 2013

In My Mailbox #8

2012-01-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

Weekly meme created by The Story Siren, inspired by Pop Culture Junkie.

Bought:

Nocturne by Syrie James
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
The Fault in our Stars by JonhGreen
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

NetGalley:

Goddess Interupted (The Goddess Test Series: Book II) by Aimee Carter
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Library:

Matched (Matched, #1 by Ally Condie
Paper Towns by John Green

Hourglass (Hourglass #1) by Myra McEntire

2012-01-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

Description:

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I heard a lots of good things about this book, so when I saw it on my cousin's bookshelf I borrowed the book from her to read. I really liked the premises of the story and it sounded very interesting. But I have been disappointed with a lot of YA books lately that I was sceptical about this book. I started to read it but I did not have a lot of expectations, that way I will be less disappointed when I am done reading it.

So what did I think of this book? It was alright, nothing to get too excited about. It was better than done some books that I have read of late, but I'm not going to mention here.

Emerson Cole, since before death of her parents she started seeing ghosts. However they are not ghosts but rips, they are either from past of present. Not wanting to give much of the plot line away but here is a brief summary. Emerson parents die in a horrific accident and she has a nervous break down. Why is more often than not that YA books always tell a story about a girl or a boy who lost their parents in some kind of tragic accident. Maybe its just me but it seems that if a girl or a boy have some kind of supernatural powers they in turn have no parents. They either do not know who they are or they are dead as a result of some kind of accident or someone killed them. Emerson meat Michael Weaver and he is suppose to help her with her problem. From here a mutual attraction happens between the two characters.

I found that for more than seventy-five percent of the book nothing happens, no action or real sense of directions as to where the story line is going. Only in the last quarter of the book we have some action but that is short lived as well, and it was anti-climactic. However there is a lot of focus on Emerson and Michael and the mutual attraction that they feel for each other. But for the whole book Michael keeps Emerson at arms length. I have to give it to author, there was one surprise at the end that I did not expect and it's not Jack. Jack I suspected from the very beginning, but not the other surprise.

Overall this was alright read, I think that there should have been more character development but since this is series there is more oportunities for that. Book was well written, but nothing to gush over. If you have not read this book and want to read give it a go. It not bad read, but its not the best read either; but I will be looking to read the book two, Timepiece in this series. I think that I need to give this series another chance; I hope that it gets better. I give this book 3/5 STARS - Happy Reading.

Hourglass Series:

1. Hourglass
2. Timepiece - to be released June 12th, 2012

The Cobra King of Kathmandu (Children of the Lamp #3) by P. B. Kerr‏

2012-01-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

Description:

In the third book of the bestselling Children of the Lamp series, djinn twins, John and Philippa Gaunt, are on the trail of another magical mystery. As they travel from New York to London to Nepal and India on a whirlwind adventure, the twins try to help their friend and fellow djinn, Buck, find out who murdered his friend using the venomous snakebite of the king cobra. All too soon, John and Philippa find themselves caught up in the lethal world of the Cult of the Nine Cobras, only to discover that they themselves are a target of the creepy cobra cult (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

This is book three in The Children of the Lamp series. I have to say I am very much so loving this series, to the point that I want to have in my book collection. Book three take us with Philippa and John on another adventure across the world, this time to India. One thing that I really love about this series is that each story takes place on a different continent, or just different country.

In this book children set of to India to help their friend, also djinn, Buck to find out who killed his best friend and his father. As they set off to their adventure they encounter few new characters and we learn more about djinn and their powers. This was a very interesting book, even though main story was told from John and Philippa’s point of view, few of the chapters were from Nimrods POV. I love Nimrod, he is probably one of my favourite characters. He is very funny, I especially like his dislike for babies, which I find quite amusing.

On their adventure Jonh, Philippa and Buck are trying to track down the an evil cult that it appears is after Buck and something that he has (not wanting to give up too much here). Even though in this story Nimrod and Mr. Rhakasas are not big part of the story, this time around the twins are more independent in their adventure. This book, like previous two books, was very well written and the story line was very concise. It has a lot of laugh out loud funny moments, I especially liked Nimrods description of babies – too funny. The one arm butler – also funny. This books had few open plot lines that were not explained, actually it was a very obvious setup for the next book in the series. I wish that that was little bit less obvious though.

Overall this was an excellent read, and I have already requested book four, The Way of the Djinn Warriors, from my local library. I actually think that these books are up there with Harry Potter, and love love love HP. I think that if you are fan of HP that this series will probably appeal to you as well. Back to this book though – it was well written, has adventure(s), magic, friendship, family, lots of humour, and bad guys. I give this book 5/5 STARS – happy reading. I hope you love this book, or I should says series, as much as I do.

Children of the Lamp Series:

1. The Akhenaten Adventure

2. The Blue Djinn of Babylon

3. The Cobra King of Kathmandu

4. The Way of the Djinn Warriors

5. The Eye of the Forest

6. The Five Fakirs of Faizbad

7. The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan

Blood Magic (Blood Journals, #1) by Tessa Gratton‏

2012-01-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Description:

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...

Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

So I finished reading this book last week and I am not sure what to think of it. Book was alright but there was a lot of things that I felt were not well explained. My first problem with this book is the magic, or blood magic. I simply did not understand how it worker and why it worked that way. The author does not do any background build-up on the magic system. Oh the author does tell us that Silla’s father practiced magic and same for Josephine, but nowhere in the book was the magic system explained. All I know that Silla, Nick and Silla’s brother cut themselves and drip their blood onto earth or smear it across their forehead and whisper few wards and that’s it, magic happens. I found it hard to wrap my head around it, and I thought that it was kind of ridiculous just because the author does not take time to tell us how it support to work. Even Silla herself just does magic and that is it no effort is required on her part rather than her blood.

Another problem I have with this book and its characters – it’s the cutting. If you want to hide from people around you that you are doing magic why do you cut your hand where it is most visible. Why not cut somewhere where it can be concealed. Here you are trying to stay inconspicuous but you cut your hands, now that is a dumb move.

Book was ok written, nothing to get too excited over. It is very simplistic and very monotonous. Characters were alright but there was not character growth and development. I find that a lot of YA authors forget all about character build up and development or world build-up for that matter. It just seems like everything is thrown in together and jumbled up and voila I have a book. I think that this book had a lot of potential, but it should have been worked on more, this feels like second draft. I do not mean to sound harsh in my opinions of this book, but that is how I fell. There is probably a lot of readers out there who just loved this book and that is fine. Actually I’m glad for them.

Overall this was an OK read, as I already said it could be much better. It lacked world build-up, character build-up, and magical system build-up. Of course this yet another new YA series which I am not surprised. Lately it seems that every YA book is part of series, which I find very annoying but yet I keep reading them. Thank god for a decent library that I have here where I live, all I have to do is get the books from there. But still I buy a lot of books. I am not going to say do not read this book or read this book, you make your own mind about it. But it is best not to start this book (or any book) with too high of expectations because a lot of times you will be let down. I give this book 3/5 STARS and I actually think that I am being to generous with that one star . But I am giving it for the potential that the book had (if that makes any sense), and I hope that the story gets better in the book two, The Blood Keeper.

The Blood Journals series:

1. Blood Magic

2. The Blood Keeper - Comming 2012

The Prince of Mist (Niebla #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Lucia Graves (Translator)

2012-01-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

Description:

A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . .

It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.

With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I been wanting to read this book for quite some time; my local library had it but everytime I wanted to check it out it was already checked out. So this time around I put the book on hold. I read this book in one setting, once I started to read it I could not stop.

Story line is set during WWII I believe; Carver family moves to a small town next to the coast. Unbeknown to them the house that they moved into has some history and some strange things begin to occur. This book was translated from Spanish and translator did a very good job. Book was very well written, enjoyable storyline and there were nice twists to the story that I did not anticipate. Character were likeable and well developed,, they were multidimensional . Max, the main protagonist in the story was my favourite. He is smart, resourceful, kind and not your typical teenage boy. I really enjoyed reading about Max and His relationship with his sister, it was sweet and very well done. I also enjoyed the storyline between Jacob and Alicia. This story did really creep me out few times. Even though this is not the horror story but it has that creep factor to the story that makes you want to check your closet to make sure that there is nothing in there. It was tastefully done, no gore just enough creepiness.

Overall this was a very entertaining read and I was not disappointed. I loved every minute of this book. It was well written, enjoyable characters, and some creepy moments. If you like books with some supernatural element to the story than you might like this book. I noticed that here is a book two in Niebla series, titles The Midnight Palace, I will have read book two. I give this book 5/5 STARS – Happy Reading.

Guarding a Notorious Lady (Devine & Friends #3) by Olivia Parker‏

2012-01-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Description:

Exquisite trouble . . .

A woman of pristine breeding, Lady Rosalind Devine is also an unrepentant meddler and snoop— which is why her brother refuses to leave her to her own devices while on his wedding trip. But Rosalind will not make things easy for any unseen, unwanted “nursemaid”—and vows to use her considerable wiles to expose her mystery guardian.

Nicholas Kincaid, the Marquess of Winterbourne, agreed to secretly guard his friend’s spoiled, stubborn sister, though her infuriating penchant for mischief is causing him to question his decision. Though bound by the rules of society—and friendship— Rosalind’s spirit and sensuality have sparked a fierce desire in Nicholas to play a very different role in her life, one that entails passion, ecstasy . . . and unavoidable scandal.

My Thoughts:

I bought this book in the used book store some time ago; I started to read it and for some reason I stopped. Not sure why. It wasn’t because I wasn’t enjoying it. Anyways just after the New Year I picked up this book and finished reading it. As you can tell from the cover this is a historical romance novel; this is my first book by this author. I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was funny and entertaining. It has good female protagonist character, Rosalind. I liked Rosalind, she is very funny, independent, smart, and kind. Nickolas, her anonymous guardian, was also very likable character. The two had a lot of chemistry and I really liked them together. I liked the fact that this story did not have a lot of drama. It was a straight forward romance story.

Overall this was a great read and I will check out other books by this author. I hope she has more books out there, because I really liked this book. Writing was good, well as far as the historical romance novel goes. It was not the best or the worst writing, but rather mediocre. If you like historical romance novels that have easy going pace, not a lot of drama, but still is fun than you might like this book.

I usually cannot read to many historical romances in a row, I get bored with them too fast. So I usually pick up one once in a while and read it.

I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading

The Lady Most Likely... By Julia Quinn, Eloisa James & Connie Brockway‏

2011-12-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

Description:

Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly, needs a wife—so his sister hands him a list of the very best young ladies on the market. And then, because he refuses to tear himself away from the stables where he trains Arabian racehorses, she invites all those ladies to a house party, along with some other bachelors, of course. So who will Hugh choose? The Botticelli-esque, enchanting Gwendolyn? The outspoken, delightful Katherine? If he doesn't work fast, he'll lose those ladies to his closest friends, and then where will he look for a wife? Perhaps, just perhaps, toward a lady who's not on a market at all, and would require a great deal of persuading... (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I read this book while I was at work on call over Christmas holidays. It very slow but it was turn this year to be on call. I found this book in the work kitchen, someone left it there for taking. I was in a mood for historical (or hysterical romances as my friends mom calls them) romance.

This book is three stories in one, all three stories are written by different authors but in the same setting. In a way you do not even realise that the story is written by three different authors.

All three stories were sweet and fun reads. I have to say that second story about Captain Neill Oaks and Miss Katherine Peyton was my favourite. Other two stories were good as well; they were all fun to read.

Overall this was a fast, entertaining and fun read. Nothing too serious, but rather very flirtatious. The three authors that contributed to this book were Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway. I have read other books by two out of three if these authors. I never read anything by Connie Brockway, I'll have to check her books out.

If you enjoy reading historical romance, that are fun and entertaining than you might like this fast read. I give this book 4/5 STARS.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

2011-12-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Description:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited? (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I've seen this book around other people's blogs but I was not really that in a hurry to read this book. I new that I wanted to read it but I was sure if I wanted to go out and buy it. I was kind of lucky that my local library had this book; once I got the book from the library I basically started to read it right away and finished the book in one setting.

Anna is an all American girl who ends up in Paris boarding school, American boarding school located in Paris. I would give anything to go to school abroad. At the beginning I was not sure if I was going to like Anna that much. She was very focused on the boy that she likes to the point that she does not want to go to Paris. We are not talking about moving to a next town or city, we are talking about Paris here. I thought oh great another teen book where all the girl can think about is boys. But once I got past the few chapters I begun to like the book, especially when Anna meets the new boy in Paris boarding school. What I really liked about that was the fact that the two did not fall in love right away, I mean there was attraction between the two. This was not a simple straight forward romance, it was complex. Here we have characters who struggle with what they want, or what they think they want. Characters who are scared of being alone and in order to avoid being alone they do stupid things.

Anna and the French Kiss was very well written and it was easy and fast to read. There was a lot of character development and plot moved along smoothly. I also liked the supporting characters, who were very well written and portrayed. Overall this was a very god read and i looking forward reading more books by this author. I give this book 5/5 STARS and I would recommend this book to all the readers out there that like YA romance. Happy Reading.

Other books by Stephanie Perkins that would like to read:
* Lola and the Boy Next Boor
* Isla and the Happily Ever After (Coming 2012)

Marry Christmas Everyone

2011-12-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish Merry Christmas to all followers and readers out there. I hope you are having wonderful time with family and friends over Christmas holidays. Also I hope that Santa found you this year.

Tortured Rake by Sarah Morgan‏

2011-12-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

Description:

Nathaniel... Icon. Celebrity. Heartthrob.

Underneath the movie star's good looks is a man battling with the demons of his past. No one knows the real Nathaniel, they only see the pin-up, the man he pretends to be. Until one night he is forced to rely on Katie Field, an ordinary young woman from a very different world to Nathaniel's. She may be starstuck but she isn't blinded by the bright lights of fame. Can Nathaniel trust her enough to reveal the man behind the mask? Let the seduction begin...(Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I requested this book from NetGalley, it is Harlequin and I was in mood for something very cheesy and let’s face it you cannot get cheesier than Harlequin books.

Our male protagonist, Nathaniel Wolfe is a Hollywood movie star, and of course out female protagonist is Katie a little miss nobody. The two meet on the set of a play that Nathaniel is suppose to star in, but things happen and Katie ends up helping him escape from the theatre to avoid paparazzi. The two end up spending time together, Nathaniel is a tortured hero who is acting even when not on stage. Katie is there to make him face his fears. Writing was not too bad, there were a lot of funny moments. Even though I thought that some story parts were ridiculous and overblown but oh well, that’s what it makes it an interesting read.

Overall this was a alright read, it is predictable and but still I enjoyed reading it. Every once in a while I like to pick up a harlequin romance and read it. no matter how ridiculous I think they are, I still read them. I even have a collection of few favourites on my bookshelf. I give this book 3/5 STARS. Happy Reading.

My Lunatic Life (The Lunatic Life series, #10 by Sharon Sala‏

2011-12-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

Description:

She plays for Team Spirit.High school senior Tara Luna's got all the usual teen problems: a new school, her attraction to a hunky guy, feuds with the Mean Girls, being regarded as an oddball outsider-PLUS she has psychic powers, a duo of protective, meddlesome ghosts AND an angry, threatening teen girl ghost who wants Tara to solve her murder-or else. Now you know why she calls this "my lunatic life."Sharon Sala's books repeatedly make the big lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly lists, and she's been nominated for a RITA seven times, which is the romance writer's equivalent of having an Oscar or an Emmy nomination. MY LUNATIC LIFE is the first book in her Lunatic Life series for teen readers (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I got this book from NetGalley for a review; it sounded neat and interesting so I thought what the hell the worst thing they can say no access denied to this book. It did take me a while to read this even though it not that long of a book. It was taking me a long time because I just could not get into this book.

The story line was alright, predictable and not much was going on. Teenage girl , with psychic powers, two ghosts for company and no friends. Oh not to forget that she is an outcast in her new school and there is a boy that she is attracted to her. I felt that the story was very disjointed and rushed and not very believable. Also I had some issues with writing, for example OMG, BFF. When author overuses these I feel like they are trying very hard to get the teen feel to the book. It is kind of funny saying that it was not believable when here I was reading a story about ghosts and psychics. Tara’s characters is hard to describe, she is smart caring, competent, but she is controlled by the ghosts that she sees. Why is it that authors always have ghosts controlling people’s lives rather than people controlling ghosts.

Overall this was a alright read, nothing to get excited about because there is nothing new in this book that I have not read elsewhere. Its predictable, cliché and very disjointed. Would I recommend this books to anyone? No and the reason for this is that this book feels like a first draft and not complete work. So my advice would be edit, edit, edit, because the story has a lot of potential but it needs lot more work and character development. I give this book 1/5 STARS.

Angelfire (Angelfire, #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

2011-12-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

Description:

First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember

My Thoughts:

I had my on this book for some time but to tell you the truth I always forget about it when I am at the bookstore. This time around I remembered to check my local library and they had a copy of this book. This made me very happy. It took me several days to read this...unfortunately I have to work and see my friend and family. Can't keep my nose buried in books all the time... as much as would love to do that.

On to the review of this book...I have to say that this was alright read and that's just it. Alright nothing more, nothing less. I believe that this is the first published work by this author and for the first novel she did a good job. I just hope that she improves her story telling skills with future books.

The story line is not original, there are already too many angel books out there. That is bit disappointing, because I was looking for something different. Characters were alright, there is some growth and development, but still there is something missing, very one dimensional characters. I found that there was no chemistry between Will and Ellie...there was no tension between the two. I kept waiting for the tension build up but it never happened...so the romance part was anticlimactic. Writing was alright, however I found that the author try to write too teenagery. I hope that makes sense. It like the author is trying to make the teenagers in the book too teenagery, cliché. This author is not the only one that tries to emulate this in YA genre.

Overall this was an alright read, even with all it's shortcoming i still enjoyed it. I am a sucker for YA book. I will probably end up reading the second book in the series which is titled Wings of the Wicked.
Even though this book resembles all the other angel books out there it was still a good and entertaining read. I give this book 3/5 STARS - Happy Reading people.

Angelfire Trilogy:

1. Angelfire
2. Wings of the Wicked Coming February , 2012)
3. Angelfire, #3 (Coming 2013)

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore‏

2011-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

Description:

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face

My Thoughts:

Texas Gothic is the second book that I’ve read by this author; I’ve read Splendor Falls. I have to say that as much as I have enjoyed reading Texas Gothic, it was not my favourite. I liked it and it was good read but I still think that Splendor Falls was the better book. Texas Gothic was not what I expected; I thought it was going to be more gothic as the title states Texas Gothic. Also the story touches on subject of ghosts and I have to say that ghost part of the story does nothing to this book. To me it seemed more like a space filler than anything else. Ghost part of was not well developed or utilised.

Mystery was alright but not the greatest, I think that if the ghost part of the story was dropped and more details were dedicated to the mystery part of the story this would’ve been a great story.

Characters were good and I really enjoyed reading about them. Amy is an interesting character even though I thought she spends way too much time trying to be normal. But still I liked her, she is spunky, smart, funny and brave. But I have to say that Phin was my favourite character, she was funny and very interesting character; personally I think that Phin would have made much better protagonist of this story. Ben on other hand as a love interest was alright, however I really did not think that there was that much chemistry between Ben and Amy, the story could have been fine without romance. But on other hand I liked the fact that not the whole story revolved around romance between Ben and Amy, but rather it was more like an afterthought.

Overall this was a good read, nothing to rave about but still cute and worth reading. It you loved Splendor Falls like I did you might find this bit of let-down. But like I already said this is still worth reading. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading

Other book by Rosemary Clement-Moore that I reviewed so far:

Splendor Falls

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia, #1) by Cindy Pon

2011-12-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

Description:

No one wanted Ai Ling. And deep down she is relieved—despite the dishonor she has brought upon her family—to be unbetrothed and free, not some stranger's subservient bride banished to the inner quarters.

But now, something is after her. Something terrifying—a force she cannot comprehend. And as pieces of the puzzle start to fit together, Ai Ling begins to understand that her journey to the Palace of Fragrant Dreams isn't only a quest to find her beloved father but a venture with stakes larger than she could have imagined.

Bravery, intelligence, the will to fight and fight hard . . . she will need all of these things. Just as she will need the new and mysterious power growing within her. She will also need help.

It is Chen Yong who finds her partly submerged and barely breathing at the edge of a deep lake. There is something of unspeakable evil trying to drag her under. On a quest of his own, Chen Yong offers that help . . . and perhaps more (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I borrowed this book from a friend, actually I didn't even realise that she had until few weeks ago I went to her house and saw it on her bookshelf. It took me more than a week to read this book, I kind of got distracted by another book that I was reading at the same time. However once got back into this book i finished it in two days. Book was good very good.

The story line was very interesting and entertaining. Main protagonist, Ai Ling was brave, kind, smart, good person who wants to help others. AI Ling set on a adventure, searching for her father who has gone to the Emperor's palace and he has not returned. She set off onto this adventure and she meets some friends and possible love interest along the way. She faces many dangers, but also experiences adventure and what it means to be free. The society that Ai Ling lives in were male oriented, pretty much like any society in out history. Woman are to stay at home, do what they are told, never speak unless they are spoken to and give birth to children. Ai Ling is different, she does not want to follow the traditional female role but she wants to be free and think for herself.

I really enjoyed this book, it was funny, entertaining and fast read. I am looking forward to reading the second book, Fury of the Phoenix, in the Kingdom of Xia series. The plot line was well though out and it evolves, there were character growth and development. Overall this was a very good read and if you have not read this book you should read it. Also this book has a beautiful cover. It is kind of nice to see that out main character is Asian. But I was disappointed to see that cover for book two, half of her face is covered to hide the fact that the character is Asian, which is shame. I read somewhere that the book might not appeal to readers out there because the main character is not a white Caucasian female. Which is very sad fact. Racial discrimination aside, you should pick up this book and read it. I give this book 5/5 STARS. Happy reading everyone.

Kingdom of Xia Series:

1. Silver Phoenix
2. Fury of the Phoenix

Between by Jessica Warman

2011-12-09T13:17:00.001-08:00

Description:

Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I have to say I was really impressed with this book. I started reading it without knowing what it was about and I haven’t read any reviews on it. However I did see this book around in the bookstores on the displays and so on. Actually I got this book from my local library; I was checking out some book when the libraries told me that there just got a new book ready to be taken upstairs and out on the shelves.

I started to read and at first I really was not sure if I was going to like it. The main protagonist did not appeal me but I kept reading. Elizabeth Valchar (Liz) was a rich spoiled girl, mean, uptight, insecure, irresponsible and just plain a bitch. She is type of a person you hate because she thinks that she is better and more beautiful than anyone else. But underneath all this Liz is insecure and she is fighting anorexia even though she does not realise that but everyone around her can see her wasting away. Anorexia is not the main part of the story, the main part is that Liz wakes up dead after her eighteenth birthday party on her families boat. She drowned. The story is told from Liz’s point of view, she is now ghost who doesn’t remember anything of her life, how she died, what kind of person she was and so on. It seems all the bad things that happened to her or bad things she’s done she cannot remember. Liz is not alone though she meets Alex, guy who used to go to her school but he was killed over a year ago, it was hit and run. Story mainly revolves around Liz and her trying to discover what happened to her, it was very sad. As I was reading the book I thought to myself Liz was a bitch in life but bitch in afterlife as well., but she does get better towards the end. Even though she starts to be remorseful as to what she done and for the first time she realises what kind of person she was or going to be. I mean it takes death for her to realise this. Author made Liz very realistic character, so realistic that I believe that if Liz lived she would have never changed or became a nice person if she was alive.

Liz family was also dysfunctional, no matter how normal they seems on surface. I mean when are parents going to learn that you never give your kids everything that they want. You have to set limits. Or what parent allows their kids to drink and let them do that on a boat without a parental or adult supervision. I am not against drinking or anything like that, but that’s like giving your kid a car keys while they are drunk and letting them drive. I do not know – maybe I am being too critical. It is easy to judge other people after something bad happens. Liz’s mother was a sick person and that affected Liz on every level and she did not even realise this. Some of the scenes between Liz as a child and her mother were very disturbing. Who the hell weights an apple. An apple. So I am not surprised that Liz was the person she was, she was walking disaster. Her father is not blameless either, it appears he was never around, working long hours and when he was around his answer to parenting was money. Give my child everything and anything she asks for. Because that way I do not have to be a responsible parent. But I did feel sorry for him at the end, because no matter how bad at parenting he was – he stilled loved his daughter. I guess one of the lessons is just because you are bad parent does not mean that you love your child any less.

Overall this was very good book, and I think it is among my favourite reads this year. It had a lot drama, some romance, look into how people live. Not all of us perfect, secrets that people hold and hiding bad thing that they have done. If you like YA books you need to read this book it is very good, heck its excellent. I actually will go out buy it for my book collection. But i think I will wait till it’s released in trade paperback. I give this book 5/5 STARS. Happy reading.

Robopocalypse by Daiel H. Wilson

2011-12-08T16:33:00.001-08:00

Description:

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us…and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

This is another one of my library finds; I was just wondering through the stacks hoping to finds something interesting to read. Usually I am not much into sci-fi books but this one didn't seem to bad regardless what the story line was. I started to read this book right away and I have to say that it was good and entertaining read. However I do have to say that I really liked the first half of the book, it was better than the last half of the book. I read the first half of the book in one sitting and than it started to drag. With the first half of the book it kept my attention and interest. However towards the end of the book my attention started to winder and I had to force myself to finish reading it.

Book was well written. Storyline was good but there was something lacking especially towards the end. I think that the ending was not very well done, it was too easy and there was not enough action. As a reader you really do not see much of what is happening to people across the whole world, even though you know what is happening. If that any sense. Story is told from multiple points of view, different people, differetn backgrounds and so on. But the story centers mainly in US.

Overall this was an entertaining read, it was easy to read and makes you thing about the life without technology or technology turning on you. I really liked the story line, even the ending was somewhat anticlimactic, I expected more. I give this 3/5 STARS and Happy reading.