Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Catching up (Mom)
Kudos to Steph for all of the books she has read this summer. We haven't had alot of posts this year, so we need to get more posts. I didn't realize that Amber wasn't aware that we had this blog, so we need to get the word out.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Book Review: "Fallen" Series
Books in this series by Lauren Kate: Fallen, Torment, Passion, and Rapture
3½ out of 5 thumbs up.
Lucinda Price is a seventeen-year-old girl who is sent to a school for troubled teens called Sword & Cross. I’m not sure why she was sent there for sure, but I think it may have to do with some fire that she couldn’t explain that killed a classmate. While at this school, she is drawn to a boy named Daniel, who avoids her at first, but then they fall in love.
Luce finds out that Daniel is a fallen angel and that she is the reincarnated version of many of her former selves. She and Daniel have had an “on-again-off-again” relationship for centuries. She learns that in every lifetime, she meets Daniel, falls in love and then dies unexpectedly. Seventeen years later, the whole process starts all over again. Luce begins to discover more about herself and her past lives, and she and the fallen angels she has befriended band together to save all of history.
I thought that this series was alright. There are a few dramatic parts that are a little surprising and the story was good enough for me to want to read all four books to know what happens. There is also a book of short love stories of some of the characters in these books called Fallen in Love that I read which was okay as well. The story drags on at times, and only because the reader is dragged off into Luce’s redundant realizations of her love for Daniel (eye roll). Also, she goes on, and on, AND ON about the beauty of Daniel’s wings (double eye roll) to the point where it starts to get a little irritating. (If you though Bella carrying on over Edward’s sparkly skin in Twilight was bad…) Also, the end of the story seemed a teeny tiny bit anti-climactic. Overall, an okay read.
3½ out of 5 thumbs up.
Lucinda Price is a seventeen-year-old girl who is sent to a school for troubled teens called Sword & Cross. I’m not sure why she was sent there for sure, but I think it may have to do with some fire that she couldn’t explain that killed a classmate. While at this school, she is drawn to a boy named Daniel, who avoids her at first, but then they fall in love.
Luce finds out that Daniel is a fallen angel and that she is the reincarnated version of many of her former selves. She and Daniel have had an “on-again-off-again” relationship for centuries. She learns that in every lifetime, she meets Daniel, falls in love and then dies unexpectedly. Seventeen years later, the whole process starts all over again. Luce begins to discover more about herself and her past lives, and she and the fallen angels she has befriended band together to save all of history.
I thought that this series was alright. There are a few dramatic parts that are a little surprising and the story was good enough for me to want to read all four books to know what happens. There is also a book of short love stories of some of the characters in these books called Fallen in Love that I read which was okay as well. The story drags on at times, and only because the reader is dragged off into Luce’s redundant realizations of her love for Daniel (eye roll). Also, she goes on, and on, AND ON about the beauty of Daniel’s wings (double eye roll) to the point where it starts to get a little irritating. (If you though Bella carrying on over Edward’s sparkly skin in Twilight was bad…) Also, the end of the story seemed a teeny tiny bit anti-climactic. Overall, an okay read.
Book Review: The Infernal Devices Series (Steph)
Because I enjoyed the “Mortal Instruments” series so much, I decided to read another series by the same author. “The Infernal Devices” series by Cassandra Clare is made up of Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and the not yet released Clockwork Princess due to be released March 2013.
4 ½ out of 5 thumbs up
This book is also about Shadowhunters, but is based in the 1800s London. The main female character, Tessa, is kidnapped (what’s with the kidnapping?) and forced to develop her shape-shifting ability (which she didn’t know she had) by her captors for reasons unknown. She is then rescued by Shadowhunters and taken to stay with them at their academy. As the Shadowhunters attempt to unravel the reason behind Tessa’s imprisonment (and her unique abilities), they are pursued by strange mechanical humanoids, and Tessa falls into the middle of an incredibly tangled love triangle.
I really liked these books (more than the “Mortal Instrument” books even) and I’m anxious know how everything works out in the end. Since it’s also written by Cassandra Clare, there are things that I like in it as with her other series like the writing style and pace. I really like the characters in this series more than “Mortal Instruments,” though I can’t really explain why. These books also have a little bit of a “steampunk” tone about them as well with all the clockwork-type contraptions, which I like.
4 ½ out of 5 thumbs up
This book is also about Shadowhunters, but is based in the 1800s London. The main female character, Tessa, is kidnapped (what’s with the kidnapping?) and forced to develop her shape-shifting ability (which she didn’t know she had) by her captors for reasons unknown. She is then rescued by Shadowhunters and taken to stay with them at their academy. As the Shadowhunters attempt to unravel the reason behind Tessa’s imprisonment (and her unique abilities), they are pursued by strange mechanical humanoids, and Tessa falls into the middle of an incredibly tangled love triangle.
I really liked these books (more than the “Mortal Instrument” books even) and I’m anxious know how everything works out in the end. Since it’s also written by Cassandra Clare, there are things that I like in it as with her other series like the writing style and pace. I really like the characters in this series more than “Mortal Instruments,” though I can’t really explain why. These books also have a little bit of a “steampunk” tone about them as well with all the clockwork-type contraptions, which I like.
Book Review: Mortal Instrument Series (Steph)
The books in this series written by Cassandra Clare are City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and City of Lost Souls. There is also a 6th book, City of Heavenly Fire that is announced to be released March 2014.
4 out of 5 thumbs up.
This series revolves around a young girl named Clary Fray who lives in New York and seemingly has an ordinary life. It is only after her mother is kidnapped that Clary begins to discover that her life in not as normal as she originally thought. She learns that she is Nephilium (half human, half angel) whose job is to hunt and kill demons who find their way into the human world. They are also known as Shadowhunters.
She meets a group of Shadowhunters and as she searches for her mother, she learns more about the world of demons and other underworlders (warlocks, werewolves, fairies, etc.). Clary and the group of other Shadowhunters embark on a quest to locate “the mortal instruments” (artifacts that, when combined, can summon a powerful angel) before another Shadowhunter-turned-evil (a.k.a. the bad guy) can find them, summon the angel, and “cleanse” the Nephilium race.
All in all, I actually really liked these books, and was so frustrated to learn that the last one still won’t be released for another 2 years (what the heck is that about?!). These books have a very “Buffy”/”Angel”/”Charmed” feel to them at first, but the story is really quite entertaining and the characters are likeable enough that you don’t want to strangle them. The writing is descriptive, without being too wordy and the story is well-paced. I read online that this series was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but the author decided to write three more books. Because of this, the “mortal instrument quest” wraps up in the first three books, and the next three are a different adventure entirely.
4 out of 5 thumbs up.
This series revolves around a young girl named Clary Fray who lives in New York and seemingly has an ordinary life. It is only after her mother is kidnapped that Clary begins to discover that her life in not as normal as she originally thought. She learns that she is Nephilium (half human, half angel) whose job is to hunt and kill demons who find their way into the human world. They are also known as Shadowhunters.
She meets a group of Shadowhunters and as she searches for her mother, she learns more about the world of demons and other underworlders (warlocks, werewolves, fairies, etc.). Clary and the group of other Shadowhunters embark on a quest to locate “the mortal instruments” (artifacts that, when combined, can summon a powerful angel) before another Shadowhunter-turned-evil (a.k.a. the bad guy) can find them, summon the angel, and “cleanse” the Nephilium race.
All in all, I actually really liked these books, and was so frustrated to learn that the last one still won’t be released for another 2 years (what the heck is that about?!). These books have a very “Buffy”/”Angel”/”Charmed” feel to them at first, but the story is really quite entertaining and the characters are likeable enough that you don’t want to strangle them. The writing is descriptive, without being too wordy and the story is well-paced. I read online that this series was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but the author decided to write three more books. Because of this, the “mortal instrument quest” wraps up in the first three books, and the next three are a different adventure entirely.
Book Review: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (Steph)
One of the few young adult novel series I read this summer was a trilogy of books based in the late 1800s and is narrated by the main character, Gemma Doyle. The books in this series are A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing all written by Libba Bray.
3 ½ out of 5 thumbs up
Gemma is a young English teen who is living with her family in India. After her mother is killed by a mysterious being, the family moves back to England, and Gemma is enrolled into Spence Academy, a finishing school for young girls. Here she is meant to learn how to become a proper lady, but instead unlocks a passageway into a secret realm where magic rules. As Gemma learns more about the realms, the magic, and the impending battle for control of the realm’s magic, she uncovers secrets about her school, her family and herself.
While I did like the storyline enough to read all three books, the story seemed to drag on a little bit at times, especially when Gemma and her friends are goofing around inside the realms. These girls have all this powerful magic at their fingertips, and all they decide to do with it is silly things like turn rocks into butterflies, or make their dresses prettier, or change the color of the trees. I guess I can see doing those things at the beginning when they’re experimenting with the magic, but they do it pretty much every time they go in there. I also found the ending a little bit disappointing, but I guess you’ll have to read it and see what you think.
3 ½ out of 5 thumbs up
Gemma is a young English teen who is living with her family in India. After her mother is killed by a mysterious being, the family moves back to England, and Gemma is enrolled into Spence Academy, a finishing school for young girls. Here she is meant to learn how to become a proper lady, but instead unlocks a passageway into a secret realm where magic rules. As Gemma learns more about the realms, the magic, and the impending battle for control of the realm’s magic, she uncovers secrets about her school, her family and herself.
While I did like the storyline enough to read all three books, the story seemed to drag on a little bit at times, especially when Gemma and her friends are goofing around inside the realms. These girls have all this powerful magic at their fingertips, and all they decide to do with it is silly things like turn rocks into butterflies, or make their dresses prettier, or change the color of the trees. I guess I can see doing those things at the beginning when they’re experimenting with the magic, but they do it pretty much every time they go in there. I also found the ending a little bit disappointing, but I guess you’ll have to read it and see what you think.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Book Review: Blood Red Road (Steph)
Blood Red Road by
Moira Young
4 out of 5 thumbs up
Blood Red Road
takes place in the future where we meet Saba, a teenage girl who lives with her
father, twin brother, and younger sister in a barren, dusty place near a dried-up
lake. One day, some strange men arrive and, without warning, kill her father and kidnap her brother. Saba leaves her home in the waste to look for
her brother and has quite the adventure along the way.
Overall, I liked this book.
It’s quick-paced and engaging.
The book is written in first person, and the main character, Saba, is
narrator. It is also written in the same
language Saba uses, so it’s like she’s actually talking to you. Here’s an excerpt from the book.
We
ain’t had a drop of rain fer near six months now. Even the spring that feed the lake’s startin
to run dry. You gotta walk some ways out
now to fill a bucket. Pretty soon, there won’t be no point in callin it by its
name.
Silverlake.
It was a little distracting at first for me, but once I
realized and accepted the fact that the whole book is written this way, I was
able to immerse myself more in the story rather than focus on Saba’s bad
grammar. It even started to grow on me
after a while.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Book Review: The Night Circus (Steph)
Time to review another one of the handful of books I've read this summer.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5 out of 5 thumbs up (Is it okay to give a review full marks? Doesn't that go against some kind of "critic's code?" Who cares.)
The story of this book is set around a circus that moves from city to city without warning and is only open at night (hence, the title). It also follows the lives of two young illusionists. These illusionists, Celia and Marco, have been trained from a young age in the "art" of magic. They are unknowingly destined to be pitted against each other in a duel to the death, bound by magic with the Night Circus as their arena. Things (of course) get complicated when they develop feelings for each other.
I loved this book. I liked the story, the characters, the imagery (I want to go to this circus), and the format. It's not until the very end of the book does the whole story come together and the mystery of the circus unravels.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5 out of 5 thumbs up (Is it okay to give a review full marks? Doesn't that go against some kind of "critic's code?" Who cares.)
The story of this book is set around a circus that moves from city to city without warning and is only open at night (hence, the title). It also follows the lives of two young illusionists. These illusionists, Celia and Marco, have been trained from a young age in the "art" of magic. They are unknowingly destined to be pitted against each other in a duel to the death, bound by magic with the Night Circus as their arena. Things (of course) get complicated when they develop feelings for each other.
I loved this book. I liked the story, the characters, the imagery (I want to go to this circus), and the format. It's not until the very end of the book does the whole story come together and the mystery of the circus unravels.
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