Sunday Post - 12/22/24
1 hour ago
Currently Reading
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Bought
The Drowning City (The Necromancer Chronicles #1) by Amanda Downum
The Bone Palace (The Necromancer Chronicles #2) by Amanda Downum
Memoirs of Cleopatra by George Margaret
Chime by Franny Billingsby
Wildefire by Karsten Knight
Shadows Son (Shadow Saga #1) by Jon Sprunk
Shadows Lure (Shadow Saga #2) by Jon Sprunk
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Author - Cassandra Clare
Genre - YA/Paranormal
Pages - 485
ISBN - 1416914285
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....
I had put off reading this book for so long, now I wish I had read it sooner!
City of bones on the surface looks like your typical teen fluff story, but it actually has some nice twists, angst, a bit of love and action.
Clary our main character, happens upon a group of people attacking a boy at a club, however she is supposed to see none of this since she is a mundie (a human with no powers) This is what leads her into the world of demons and shadow hunters (those who hunt demons)
There is alot of info to take in, sometimes it felt overwhelming to me, as soon as i grasped the concept of one thing, another concept came up and confused it all again for me, however it didnt make me want to stop reading the book (warning, it is a long book and there is a bit of swearing and innuendos) The author also uses a bit too much analogies, some pages you had 5 or 6 'likes' or 'as ifs' and it took away from the story.
Lets talk characters. Clary: Can i smack her? she is whiney, petulant, self-depreciating and she never really grew during the book. She is constantly comparing herself to Isabelle, to the point where I was comparing myself to her and feeling bad. No love for Clary! She never redeems herself in my eyes. The others though, I had love for. Jace is strong and determined, Alec was funny and charming, Isabelle was initially mean and cruel but she grew on me and she became like a big sister to Clary. clarys friend Simon was a special kid too, even after he gets dissed by Jace and Alec and Clary treats him poorly because he was hanging with Isabelle he still came and helped her (his love for her notwithstanding) he was truely a great friend.
There are many twists in the plot line and I truely never saw the big one coming, it never crossed my mind. There are also some nice sweet moments and some good magical moments, The bad guy is bad and the good guys.. well, youll have to see! There is even I think (hope) a little homage to Holly Blacks Valiant in there for a few sentances, and yes, i squeed when I read it. Pick up this book, borrow it from the library or a friend, just make sure you read it!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Rules
1. Pick up your current read
2. Flip to a random page
3. Share (2) sentances with everyone (title and author too.)
4. No Spoilers!
Lines
"Keep a civil tongue Tala." Mother scolded. "My mother was a dragonelle who had her choice, yet she chose my gray father. There is more to a dragon than the shine of his scales."
Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Bought
The Highwayman (Saga of the first king #1) by R. A. Salvatore
The Ancient (Saga of the first king #2) by R. A. Salvatore
The Dame (Saga of the first king #3) by R. A. Salvatore
The Bear (Saga of the first king #4) by R. A. Salvatore
The Hidden Goddess (Native Star #2) by M. K. Hobson
The Warded Man (Demon Cycle #1) by Peter V. Brett
The Desert Spear (Demon Cycle #2) by Peter V. Brett
Bad Taste in Boys (Kate Grable #1) by Carrie Harris
Viper Moon (Earth Witches #1) by Lee Roland
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Cameo The Assassin
Author - Dawn McCullough White
Genre - Fantasy
Pages - 200
The Kingdom of Sieunes is rife with taverns, dirty streets, and clay pipe smoking citizens all toiling to feed their families and keep themselves in something little better than rags. With a foiled revolution just ten years prior still burning in the hearts of many, the royals enlist the aid of assassins to keep things in order. The townsfolk entertain themselves by dreaming of better times to come and regaling in stories of the undead said to walk the graveyards at night... and of Cameo the killer with corpse-like eyes...
Scarred and jaded Cameo is one of the most effective assassins in the employ of the Association, moving from one mission to the next as long as the alcohol keeps flowing. Her acceptance of the murder-for-hire lifestyle is thrown into doubt when she meets a local highwayman with a penchant for fine clothes and women, and then she begins to think about breaking with the company but no one ever breaks with the Association under good terms.
Scarred and jaded Cameo is one of the most effective assassins in the employ of the Association, moving from one mission to the next as long as the alcohol keeps flowing. Her acceptance of the murder-for-hire lifestyle is thrown into doubt when she meets a local highwayman with a penchant for fine clothes and women, and then she begins to think about breaking with the company but no one ever breaks with the Association under good terms.
What do you get when you mix a sort of undead assassin with a flamboyant highwayman and a 15 year old acolyte prospect? A great story!
Cameo the Assassin was a very entertaining read, the characters where light, funny (but they also had serious sides, especialy Cameo) and made the book a gem. Cameo and her unique crew are on the run from Cameos old employer after she killed another member of the guild. This takes the band on many adventures and dangerous turns.
Cameo was a great character, she is hard and her reputation precedes her as she has even turned into a sort of childs warning story. However, she does have moments of sweetness and my heart melted for her. Our highwayman, Black Opal and Bellamy were a great pair, very funny and charming. Bellamy was the more serious one who thought rationaly. Opal though was outlandish, sarcastic and rash. I loved him. He added the needed comic relief and the occasional fluffy/touching moment. He is also the man who gets Cameo out of her shell and starting to think shes not a monster.
There is little swearing in this book and no sexual content, there are moments where romance becomes a maby, but this is more about action than love, however at the end there may the start of something more.. Cameo and the Assassin has a sequel, Cameo and the highwayman which I hope questions are answered and Cameo begins to like herself and othersmore.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Question - Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?
Oh! thats a hard one, but definatly one would have to be R. A. Salvatore, his books about Drizzt Do'Urden were the first books i really got into 13 years ago, if it were not for him i do not think i would be such an avid reader now. The other two? Margaret Weiss because her writing is so wonderful and she can capture me in a way few authors can and finally, Julie Kagawa, she just seems fun =)
Urban Paranormal Romance. Now i do like Urban Fantasy/Paranormal but i hate it if it has an ounce of romance. I am not a romance person, i like action and thrilling books. Magic, creatures and mayhem i dont like some sappy love story screwing up a hard-ass heroin or hero and making them do dumb things that have me flinging my kindle (sorry again sweetie) across the room.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Gifted
The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto
Bought
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn + David Levithan
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Dead Iron by Devon Monk
Dragon's Oath by P.C Cast + Kristin Cast
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Author - Jasmin Denton and Genna Denton
Genre - YA/Fiction
Pages - 100
ISBN13 - 9781937085230
When eight emotionally traumatized teens are reluctantly thrown into group therapy together, nobody wants to spill the inner most secrets that brought them there. Their counselor pairs them up in a buddy system, causing them turn from dangerous vices to lean on each other, and they discover strength in their shared pain.
Kelly Foster's always been reserved and shy, so when she's sent to group therapy and is assigned to be Gage Miller's 'backup buddy', she thinks she's gotten a raw deal. As she digs deeper beneath his tough surface, she realizes there's much more to him than meets the eye—and she just might like what she sees…
Blatantly sarcastic and rough around the edges, Gage is only in group therapy so he doesn't go to jail. But he isn't your average bad boy—he's a single father desperately trying to shed his sordid past to forge a better future for his daughter. And he's definitely not thrilled to be paired up with Kelly, the preppy snob. Surprisingly, she finds a place in his cold heart, even though he'd never admit it. When he finally learns the heartbreaking secret that landed her in group therapy, will it bring them together or drive them apart?
Kelly Foster's always been reserved and shy, so when she's sent to group therapy and is assigned to be Gage Miller's 'backup buddy', she thinks she's gotten a raw deal. As she digs deeper beneath his tough surface, she realizes there's much more to him than meets the eye—and she just might like what she sees…
Blatantly sarcastic and rough around the edges, Gage is only in group therapy so he doesn't go to jail. But he isn't your average bad boy—he's a single father desperately trying to shed his sordid past to forge a better future for his daughter. And he's definitely not thrilled to be paired up with Kelly, the preppy snob. Surprisingly, she finds a place in his cold heart, even though he'd never admit it. When he finally learns the heartbreaking secret that landed her in group therapy, will it bring them together or drive them apart?
When I read the premise I was figured the book was going to be all about Kelly and Gage, but in fact it shows sides of more people than just those two.
The book revolves around a group of teens in therapy for various reasons, I found these reasons both realistic and interesting. I wont give anything away but some of the reasons are: A shooting in a school, an abusive father, an abortion and others.
The characters mesh well, even the consular has her own reasons for helping the kids. Every personality is different and adds too the book. I liked them all and I felt for everyone of them. I just wish we got to know even more of the characters lives. Hopefully this will be remedied in the next book. Speaking of the next book, wow! The ending to Opposites Attract was a real cliffhanger, not a bad one but one that makes you want to read the sequel and I defiantly will.
For a real fiction teen book, there is not a whole bunch of grittiness to it, yes there are teen issues (some that make you want to applaud the person some that you want to smack them for) but its not extremely raw or hard-edged. However, it is a good read and I look forward to continuing the characters story.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Shrouded Path
Author - Aron White
Genre - YA/Fantasy
Pages - 188
ISBN - 1451588097
Juan Quan dreamed of learning kung fu, but never thought abandonment would be the price he'd pay. Years later, he winds up on the streets of Kunming, one of the most corrupt cities in 16th century China, and finds himself not only protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty, but also searching for clues to his father's disappearance and
its link to the mysterious Red Doorway
its link to the mysterious Red Doorway
Shrouded Path is a short book, less than 200 pages long so it is difficult to really evaluate it. However, i will try.
Set in China, Shrouded Path follows the tale of Jun, an orphan (in his mind) left behind by his dad at a young age, to a temple that trained him for 9 years in the martial arts. When he turns 16, he goes on a journey to find his father, and the mysterious Red Doorway. Meeting new faces along the way, some good and some bad, Jun makes friends and enemys, finds a bit of happiness and a bit of sadness and even obtains a bit of infamy.
Being that the book is so short, I did not connect with the characters as much asi would have if i had spent more time with them. Jun is a capable young man and most of the time i had forgotten he was only 16, he acted much older and more calm then any 16 yr old i know! His sence of justice and wanting to help makes him endearing and he keeps his emotions in check well, i enjoyed him for what little time i had with him. The other characters are fine, Da Long is cute and energetic, his father Yuan Li was hospitable and a good father, Shozoamon was interesting as well, we just dont learn much about the backgrounds of these other characters.
The action in the book is simple, but effective. The descriptions were quick and they never really took off, but they were not humdrum. Even the fight with our named evil guy (Xiong Ba) was short, and not very climatic. I just wish the book were a bit longer, perhaps some of the questions i was asking myself while reading Shrouded path will be answered in the next book, The Red Doorway.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Rules
1. open up your current read to a random page
2. choose (2) sentances to share
3. share the name of the book and the author
4. try not to have any spoilers!
Lines
As clouds drifted over the mountaintop I felt faint, I flailed, reaching for the windowsill and my fingernails dug into the wooden trim. My vision distorted until I saw hundreds of men fighting in the street below. Thier swords slashed and clanged as blood poured forth into the gutters. The screams of the women cowering in the alleys caused ice dread to race through my veins. I turned away from the window and threw up.
Oubliette by Meg Jensen
Sunday, July 10, 2011
This is a culmination of the month I was out of a laptop and moving.
Gift/Won
Oubliette by Megg Jensen - I actually won a contest for naming one of her characters (Zelor) so she autographed the book for me and im in the acknowledgements (so cool!)
Bought
Hand of Isis by Jo Grahmn
Hexed by Kevin Hearne
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Fins are Forever by Tera lynn Childs
The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittridge
Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi
Wolf Captured by Jane Lindskold
Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold
The Dragon of Despair by Jane Lindskold
Wolf's Head Wolf's Heart by Jane Lindskold
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
Spectyr by Philippa Ballintine
Saturday, July 9, 2011
When I first decided to blog about books and review them I used the 'read first, then write the review from memory' option. Thus, I forgot most of what I read and since I had a Kindle it was terribly hard to go back and read sections over.
Then I discovered my Kindles note-taking abilities, thrilled I used that when I was away from the house, however I also found this a bit lacking as I sometimes got too lazy to want to use the Kindles keyboard and I would revert back to option #1.
I found my answer in a little notebook that fits in my messenger bag and next to my laptop or my book/kindle anywhere in the house.
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| Nightmare Before Christmas WIN! |
So now I take notes whenever I can and I find it very useful. If only i could take somewhat organized notes, usually I scribble and doodle or write so messily I can't read it afterwards!
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| This is neat, other pages... not so much. |
So do you take notes? What are your methods? Or are you a good memorizer, able to recall notes off the top of your head? I am curious! Of all the things I noticed in my time as a blogger, effective note taking and organization (of which im terrible at) are a huge help in keeping me up to date and on top of things.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Author - Kelly Keaton
Genre - YA Paranormal
Pages - 273
ISBN - 144240924X
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Ari has always been diffrent, with her silver hair and violet eyes she stands out, and not for the good. Certain events lead her into New 2, what New orleans is now called after massive hurricanes wiped it out, there she finds friends and secrets are revealed to her, but can she handle them? Even with a vengeful goddess and soldiers that dissapear into mist trying to get a hold of her?
This was a good book, i really enjoyed the apocolyptic/dystopian feel to it, and the fact the people in New 2 were 'paranormal' or 'unusual' the whole word had not changed, just one city, it added realness to it. What i really did not like was the overuse of swear words, I can accept a few, maby a bit more but there was just an overabundance to where it got quite uncomftorble and i really could have done without them. It never made me want to stop reading though, the book is just way to interesting for that.
Ari is a good character, though she does suffer from some flaws, shes a bit whiney and she accepts her curse (she will go insane at the age of 21, like her mother started to and her grandma)she dosn't give it a second thought, which seems unreal. The other characters were really good though, Crank, her brother sebastian, Henri, dub and Violet added flavor. Violet was really cool in my opinion, she was a tough little girl. The romance was nice, in the fact there really wasn't too much, this is more of an actionish/secret discovery book, not teen fluff.
The idea of Athena being some voodoo-like (at least to me) goddess of destruction was interesting, and even more so since she seems to fear Ari, what could possibly scare a goddess? You find out about 70% of the way through. And its extremely interesting!
If you into gods and mortals fighting, apocolyptic/dystopian fiction and a few good twists you will enjoy Darkness Becomes Her, i eagerly await the next book in the series.
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