On the Wings of Books

Goddess Interrupted Review

2012-03-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Goddess Interrupted

Aimée Carter

March 27, 2012

Synopsis by Goodreads

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

" I couldn't completely forget the nagging part of my brain that reminded me again and again that I was Persephone's replacement, second-best, nothing more than a spare part."
(p 198, eARC)

Goddess Interrupted started off slow but got more interesting by the middle of the book. Just like with The Goddess Test I enjoyed the plot and action more than I did the characters. It's not that I disliked the characters, they are just very one dimensional. They are the original Greek gods (they changed their names after the fall of Greece) and their personalities are exactly what you'd expect them to be (based on what god they are). Except maybe Calliope (who is a bit delusional).

I liked Kate better in this book. She took a stand on what she wanted, standing up for herself and not just fading into the background. However I liked Henry less. There were quite a few times that I wanted to smack him upside the head.

There was a fair amount of action in the second half of the book that kept me interested. The ending was quite the plot twist. had a lot of mixed feelings about this book while I was reading, debating on whether or not I wanted to read the next book. The ending sealed the deal for me. Even though this book is just ok, I will be reading the next one. Talk about a cliff hanger!

My Rating

I received this book free from net galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

TGIF (6) & FF (2)

2012-03-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

TGIF is a weekly meme to re-cap the week’s posts & to propose a question for our followers. It is run by Ginger at GReads

Book Moments: What has been your favorite moment (scene) in a book that you've read so far in 2012? Please be kind & not include spoilers.

There have been so many great moments in the books I've read it's hard to choose (especially hard when you have to avoid spoilers). I think I'm going to go have to go with the first time Cas goes to the house and meets Anna in Anna Dressed in Blood. I loved the way he talked to her, coaxing her into coming out. He saw the real her among the ghost and it was really sweet. At least until the problems started anyway.

Feature & Follow is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Every week they feature a new blogger and ask a question. Learn more about Feature & Follow.

Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters?

I'm gonna go with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin and Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is so mysterious that I think it would appeal to a fairly large audience and Can You Keep a Secret is funny as hell!

Side note: I think One for the Money would have made a good TV series. There is no way people are going to stay interested enough for 18 movies.

It's a Giveaway!

2012-02-29T19:24:00.000-05:00

It's time for my first giveaway contest! The contest will run until March 21 (closing at 11:59 pm EST). What will I be giving away?

A $20 Amazon Gift Certificate
US Residents only*

One lucky winner will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate (I have amazon prime, so if you prefer, I can order $20 in books with free 2 day shipping). Winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond.

Please check out my contest policy.

There are several ways to earn entries.

1 pt - name and email address

4 pts - follow my blog

1 pt - follow me on twitter
1 pt - tweet about the contest
2 pts - comment on a blog post
1 pt - answer a question
1 pt - total your entries

You have a possibility of earning 11 entries.

Good Luck!

*Amazon gift certificate can only be used at amazon.com and cannot be used at other Amazon's (i.e. amazon.co.uk, etc) so it's only open to US residents. Sorry! Please check out the details here before entering. All Amazon rules apply.

Thanks for entering my contest!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Review

2012-02-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Stieg Larsson

2008

Synopsis from Goodreads

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

The synopsis makes me laugh a little, "Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back." I turned back twice, and would have a third time if not for my mom. You have to muddle through 224 pages before it starts to get good. But, it is so worth it!

It's been awhile since I read a real good crime thriller. There are few different things going on in the book The mystery of Harriet's dissapearance was fascinating and was not what I expected. There were some parts of the book that were hard to take but the book wasn't as dark as I heard it was. I'm not really sure what that says about me.

I loved Lisbeth. Her character is very different but you can't help but like her. She's kind of an awkward character, but that's what I liked about her. Blomkvist was ok. I didn't like him as much as Lisbeth but I didn't hate him either.

There's not really much else to say without giving away the good parts. If you are like me and put it down because it was boring I urge you to push through the boringness because in the end it's worth it.

My Rating

I've Been Tagged

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love Top Ten Tuesday. It's the perfect meme for me. It invoves books (which I love) and lists (which I also love). Sadly today's Top Ten List is something I can't do (see explanation below). I can't even make ONE connection between a song and a book. I was tagged a couple days ago, so in lieu of Top Ten Tuesday I will do this instead.

So the blogosphere has been buzzing with this tagging meme...

Rules
1 You must post the rules.
2 Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3 Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
4 Let them know you’ve tagged them!

I've been tagged by Kate . She's the reason why I started this blog (and also the reason why I have more TBR books then I've ever had before).

Here are the questions:

1. What song would you pick for the soundtrack of the book you're currently reading?
I can't do this one. This is the reason why there is no Top Ten Tuesday today. I took a test once that tells you if you're left brained, right brained or whole brained. The scale is from -40 to 40. Most people (like 80%) fall between -7 and 7. I was a -38. This means I am seriously uncreative and I just can't make that kind of connection.

2. What drink do you order most at Starbucks?
Mocha Frappuccino no whip. (Ever wonder why Starbucks can't use small, medium, large like regular places?)

3. What literary character would you kiss, which one would you marry and which one would you push off a cliff?
I love Luke Brandon from the Shopaholic series, I would kiss and marry him. I really liked Four from Divergent, but I'm a little old for him. I'd push a lot of people off a cliff. But, excluding bad guys cause that's a given, I'd push Angela off a cliff from Unearthly and Hallowed. I just didn't like her.

4. Forget Zombies vs. Unicorns. Are you Team Robots or Team Mermaid?
I don't know, I don't think I've read about either, but if I'm forced to chose it'd be Team Robots. I have a soft spot for Transformers.

5. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?
One for the Money

6. If they were to make a movie out of your life, who would you want play your love interest?

~~Paul Walker.~~ ~~Ryan Gosling.~~ Paul Walker.

7. If you could kidnap an author, which one would it be and what book would you have them write and/or re-write?

This one is easy! JK Rowling. I want books about James Potter & his friends, or about Harry's kids or Dumbledore's story or more about Tom Riddle or Luna or... I could go on forever but I'll stop here. (I am so excited that she is writing another book, even though it's not a HP book.)

8. How many books are in your TBR pile?
I never had a TBR pile until I started blogging. I was always very good about buying, then reading what I bought. I'm sure that my TBR number will be much lower than most people, but it's a lot for me. Books: 13 eBooks: 29 Library Books: 4 Total: 46 The eBook number freaks me out a little. I wish I hadn't counted.

9. What's the worst job you've ever had?
Walgreens. 3 Weeks. It was awful. And this is coming from someone who has worked for McDonald's since she was 14.

10. I want to paint an accent wall in my bedroom Peacock Blue, what color would you recommend for the other 3 walls? :)
Off white/cream color or a very pale blue.

11. What is your favorite board game?

Definitely Monopoly. Old school Monopoly. None of that credit card crap. But we've been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan lately because Monopoly is a ruiner. We take it pretty seriously and it can get pretty vicious.

Bonus Question: Are you planning on attending BEA this year? If yes, are you in need of a hotel room? Because my friend Kim and I are looking for two other bloggers to share. :)

I'm going to BEA and I'm already sharing the room :)

We're looking for 2 more bloggers to share the room. The hotel room is only a couple blocks from the convention center, and we are booked sun - sat. And it's gonna be so much fun.

Here are my questions

1. What's your favorite book to movie?
2. Star Wars old school (Episodes 4-6) or Star Wars new school (Episodes 1-3)
3. Have you ever liked/loved a book but disliked the main character?
4. Who taught you how to read?
5. Truth or Dare?
6. If you could pick one author to write your life story who would it be?
7. Do you read/write fan fiction?
8. What's your favorite dessert?
9. Amusement Park or Beach?
10. When was the last time you were in a reading rut?
11. Lately it seems like most movies are coming from books or remakes of old movies. Name one or two movies that should never, ever be remade.

I'm not going to tag anyone. Feel free to answer them and leave a link and I'll come check them out!

Article 5 Review

2012-02-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Article 5

Kristen Simmons

2012

Synopsis by Goodreads

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

"Rumor was, next year, girls weren't even going to be able to take math anymore, so we suffered through in silent rebellion."
(p 8)

I wanted to really like this book. I have a new love for dystopian books and I want to like every dystopian book I read. Unfortunately this one just wasn't good enough for me. A lot of people really like this book (3.99 rating on goodreads) and right after I finished the book I liked it too, but as I sat here writing my review I realized I didn't like it as much as I thought I did. The afterglow wore off quickly.

I liked Ember and Chase, especially Chase (Ember could be a little whiny) and Sean. I liked the dystopian society, the articles, and the MM. I also liked that there was no love triangle.

There were quite a few things that bothered me about this book. Whenever Ember got knocked into a wall or something it was always about her organs. "All of my organs reverberated inside of me, and I gasped, seeing stars" (p 181). It's in the book like this at least 3 or 4 times and it's just weird.

I wanted more people in the book. There are a lot of secondary characters but, other than Sean, they seem more like extras to me instead of characters. They are just there for a line or two.

Also I felt like I was reading the same kind of world that was in The Book of Eli (movie). The desolation, the crazy people, the traveling that they did was all kind of similar. Even some of the things Ember and Chase went through were similar to The Book of Eli.

The book was ok, it was fast paced, there was a good amount of action dispersed throughout the book and good descriptions. But I just can't shake the similarities to The Book of Eli. If it wasn't for that I would have given it 3 stars. I'm not even sure right now if I'm intrigued enough to read the second book when it comes out.

My Rating

TGIF (5) School Books

2012-02-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

TGIF is a weekly meme to re-cap the week’s posts & to propose a question for our followers. It is run by Ginger at GReads

Required Reading: Which book from your school days do you remember reading & enjoying? Is there a book published now that you'd like to see in today's curriculum for kids?

There were quite a few required reading books that enjoyed. The Great Gatsby is my most favorite but I also liked Romeo and Juliet, Alive, The Scarlet Letter, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm sure there are more but I just can't think of them.

There are so many books that I think should be in today's curriculum. Here are just a few: The Help, The Book Thief, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Most of the banned books would probably make my list.

Hallowed Review

2012-02-22T21:24:00.000-05:00

Hallowed

Cynthia Hand

2012

Synopsis by Goodreads

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

I liked this book better than Unearthly. Which is not typical because usually the second book is the least favorite of mine in a trilogy. I'm also pleased that I was a little more observant in this book and wasn't completely surprised by things that happened. There still wasn't a lot of action, but I liked the storyline better. The ending was a bit anti climatic but I think that's pretty typical in the middle books.

You learn a lot more about the angel world in this book, and something that I had an inkling of in Unearthly turned out to be true, which makes me feel better about being completely surprised by the twist in that book.

I still don't like Angela, though I don't really have a bad feeling about her anymore. She's just so jealous that it's really irritating. She's not a very good best friend. Sadly Wendy was hardly in this book and I missed her. Clara's decisions regarding Tucker and Christian were annoying at times but no more than any other YA love triangle.

Everything about Clara's brother, Jeffrey, was just... wow. Even if I hated this book that alone would get me to read the final book.

My Rating

Top Ten Tuesday (6) Books I'd Quickly Save if My House was Going to be Abducted by Aliens

2012-02-21T01:30:00.000-05:00

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and Bookish.

This weeks topic: Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens (or any other natural disaster...you get the drift).

I can be fairly selfish so all the books on my list are books I want to save for me. I'm not really feeling inclined at the moment to save books that are important for mankind... that can be someone else's responsibility.

1. My eReader. I know what you're thinking. That's cheating! But if it looks like a book (I can justify this to myself because it opens like a book) and acts like a book, it's a book.

2. My yearbooks. Lame, I know. But it's my history, and they're not replaceable.

3. The Mysterious Code (Trixie Belden #7) by Kathryn Kenny. I'd really like to have the whole series but if I had to pick just one this one is my favorite. My grandma gave them to my mom (these were the books that got her into reading) and she passed them on to me. Books #1-10 are first edition (published 1948 - 1962) with the cellophane covers. Which I peeled off. And I still regret not taking care of these books.

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by JK Rowling. Again, I'd like the whole series, but if I could only grab one it would be this one. It's hard to pick a favorite in this series but 1-3 are short, 6 is my least favorite, 7 made me cry to much. It's a toss up between 4 and 5. (I'm now contacting 6 other reliable people so that we can each have an assigned book to grab if the end of the world is coming. I can't believe I didn't think of this before.)

5. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. If I'm being abducted by aliens or the world is going to end. I'm gonna need something to laugh at.

6. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is seriously awesome and even though it's part of a trilogy the ending is satisfying enough as a stand alone.

7. Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews. I need this book to make me feel better about my situation. It's sick and twisted and whatever I'm going through can't possibly be as bad as this.

8. Four Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Ok, the only play I've read in this book is Romeo and Juliet but it's my favorite love story ever. This book is also special because it's the only book I remember my grandma giving me and

9. Diverget by Veronica Roth. One of my new favorites. I could read this book over and over.

10. The Client by John Grisham. One of my old favorites. This book never gets old for me.

So, what are the books that you are going to save?

Unearthly Review

2012-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Unearthly

Cynthia Hand

2011

Synopsis by Goodreads

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

First of all, I totally didn't see the twist coming until right before it happened. So either Cynthia Hand did an excellent job foreshadowing or I'm just really slow.

Clara's character was developed pretty well, but there times when she did or said something that felt out of character to me. I didn't like her friend Angela at all. I just have a bad feeling about her. I was surprised that she didn't end up doing something bad or wrong by the end of the book. But who knows, maybe that's coming in the next book? I loved her other friend Wendy. Loved her! She was funny, but a good enough friend to tell Clara like it is. Plus she gave Clara the best birthday present ever!

At times the story moved slowly, I wished there was a little more action. I also wish her mom was a little more forthcoming with information. It almost felt like she wanted Clara to fail.

I liked the book, but it didn't blow me away. It's hard sometimes when you know that a book is part of a trilogy because you are always left with so many questions. And this book definitely leaves you with questions.

My Rating