Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)

by Richelle Mead

Rating: 5/5 

Descrition:

Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . 
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever…

 

 

My Review::

this book, actually almost dropped my jaw. 
this book was more amazing than I expected. you know, because they said this book was like another series of Wicked Lovely or Evermore (which I didn’t like them) but turned out to be like this. well, now I’m a fan of Richelle Mead. 
my sister found this book title ridiculous which is, I thought so. but who cares about the book title anyway? 

first, I didn’t like the mythology in this book, too confusing and Mead didn’t describe them completely, there’s a lot flaws about them. like the ‘sinner’ (I don’t know what the english version name is, I read Indonesian) would become a strigoi. sure, if Moroimurdered someone they would become Strigoi but she didn’t explain why. was it about the magic or what? if they sucked someone until they were death, what’s wrong with that? it was just someone died because they were bleeding so bad. that didn’t mean the Moroi was the killer if you asked me. it’s about perspective. not that I agree about murdering. 

but after all, this book like sucked me without I realized. 
the characters, were all so lively I wouldn’t doubt they come alive. except Dimitri, who was I thought is better he didn’t put in this story. he was too perfect, unreal, ruined the characters. even I didn’t against him too much. 
I loved Vasilisa and Rosemary. 
Rose, was your kind of rebellion girl. she was responsible and yet, like other teenagers, unstable. 
on the other hand, Vasilisa was the stable one. she depressed sometimes but she was stronger than she looked. when she wanted to do something, she would do it right away and succesfull. adore her much. 
the girls were so suit each other. Rose maybe looked the violent, cruel one. but she was the kind of I’m-gonna-smack-your-face. she was good for a guardian. but the cruel one was Lissa. she could stab your back and did it without mercy. she was the girl who could walked on a thin thread and survived. 
the leader and the guardian. so suit each other. 

well, the thing why Rose fell in love with Dimitri? I could understand that. she was like I said, unstable. she need someone older, experienced, and wise to lead her way and she found that in Dimitri. 
but I didn’t think they were good at each other. I didn’t mean about the forbidden love, I’m sure girls love them. but it was just they were not as cute as Christian-Lissa. 
duh, they were such a very cute couple! they were like known each other for one thousand years! if there’s a poll about the greatest couple here, I would totally vote forChristian-Lissa. 
plus, Christian was so my type. the kind of rebellious guy with deep past. who didn’t think he wasn’t sexy? 

the school life? well, that was the real school life. the popular, the unpopular, the I’m-going-stab-your-back, but the I’m-drunk? I don’t know. 
and I loved the Villain she made. Victor, Natalie, Mia. wow, they were so cool I respect them. 

don’t mind if you think this review was confusing. I was like blurting everything in my head!

 

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

 Title: I am Number four

Author Pittacus Lore 

Rating: 4.8/5 Stars 

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

Plot:

From the planet Lorien came nine aliens, though you wouldn’t know they were aliens just by looking at them. They are constantly having to live on the run, have fake aliases, and not trust anyone, because the Mogadorians are after them, seeking to kill them.

I Am Number Four was fast-paced, exciting, and adventurous. It got so suspenseful that I couldn’t even rip my eyes off the page for a single second.

Characters:

I thought the characters were very well developed, and I felt like I knew them like I know my best friends.

I thought Four and Sarah’s little romance was really cute.

I also loved to see who actually stepped up to help fight in the end of the book; it was a pleasant surprise.

Writing:

There’s been a lot of controversy over this book, and who actually wrote it, but whoever did write it did a wonderful job.

I Am Number Four was the perfect mix of suspense, adventure, humor, and romance. I can’t wait to read the sequel, and the rest of the books in the series, just so that I can devour more of this style of writing.

Ending:

The ending was crazy-good. The last one hundred fifty pages were full of action, and it was all very fast-paced to the point where I basically read the last half of the book in one sitting.

Cover:

I love the simplicity of the cover, and how striking it is. The little swirly things are also raised, so it feels cool.

Lovely Line:

Sam runs into his room and comes out with a backpack. He sets it on the kitchen counter and goes to change his clothes. I peer inside of it. There is a crucifix, a few cloves of garlic, a wooden stake, a hammer, a blob of Silly Putty, and a pocketknife.

“You do realize these people aren’t vampires, right?” I say when Sam walks back in.

“Yeah, but you never know. They’re probably crazy, like you said.”

“And even if we were hunting vampires, what the hell is the Silly Putty for?”

He shrugs. “Just want to be prepared.”

(Page 220)

The Final Verdict:

This book is just so amazing. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking, “OhmyGod, I can’t wait to see what they look like on screen. OhmyGod, this is going to make such a great movie. OhmyGod, I LOVE THIS BOOK.”

Can you tell that I can’t wait to go see the movie?

But anyways, this book is a definite must-read, and I think you guys should read it before you watch the movie. It’ll probably be more enjoyable that way.

 

The Host (The Host #1) by Stephanie Meyer

 

Title: The Host

Author: Stephanie Meyer 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars 

Description:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining “wild” humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie’s thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer’s mind with visions of the man Melanie loves – Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

 

My thoughts:

Before I get into details, let me just say this: Stephenie Meyer is an excellent author and i would gladly recommend ANY of her novels. She posses the ability to pull the reader into the story and allow them to feel like they are actually there with the characters, experiencing what they experience and feeling what they feel. She paints a vivid picture of the characters and their lives in the mind of every reader who is fortunate enough to be touched by the worlds that she creates. Reading one of her works is like being in 3-d theater but better, its actually more like being in a 6-D theater, touching all of the human senses and emotion at once. It is hard to find a flaw in the novel by itself, when not being compared to her other works. Now having said that, there are a few criticisms that i have for this novel in comparison to her other works.
The quality of the novel does stand up to the standards set by her preceding works. But, despite the creative story line and captivating emotions shown in The Host, there are some flaws to be found in the depth of the characters. I am a fan of the Twilight series, also by Stephenie Meyer, and could not stop myself from finding many links between this novel and the Twilight series in regards to the characters, their emotions and their interconnected relationships. For example, the character Jared (from The Host) is very similar to Jacob (From Twilight). Both have a tendency to let their emotions get the best of them, both are somewhat selfish creatures in regards to the one that they love, and both are extremely stubborn. The characters Ian (The host) and Edward (Twilight) are the same way, comparatively. Both are overly protective and somewhat irrational when it comes to the people that they love, both have the ability to love unconditionally despite the fact that both men love someone of a different species, and both men’s brothers try to kill their partners. The greatest character similarity, however, exists between Wanderer/Melanie (The Host) and Bella (Twilight).
The complexity of the characters is amazing in both novels. In both there are two different personalities existing in one body, each personality belonging to a different man that the characters love. There are two parts to Bella (Twilight) one in love Jacob (Twilight) and one in love with Edward (Twilight), but one love is stronger than the other. She describes the strain between the two as “tearing her apart.” The same its to be said for Wanderer/Melanie (The Host), but to a more extreme extent. In this case there are actually two separate entities existing in one body “tearing them apart”. One personality , Wanda [Wanderer] (The Host), belonging to Ian (The Host); and the other personality, Melanie (The Host), belonging to Jared (The Host). Wanda (The Host) and Bella (Twilight) are both very self-sacrificing people who would go to the ends of the earth to prevent the ones that they love from hurting and would do anything in their power to make them happy. Both are very non-violent and even show compassion for enemies. Melanie (The Host) and Bella (Twilight) are both tough individuals possessing the ability to reason through stressful situations.
All of the characters do possess unique qualities as well, and display different depths of emotions. I may be just more attuned to the personalities presented in Twilight (due to my love of the series), and couldn’t help but find similarities between it and The Host. But then again, If I am this attuned to the character’s personalities after simply reading the series, imagine how predisposed to the personality traits Stephenie Meyer is. So I suppose that after spending so much time creating and writing about the characters, letting them become apart of you, that it would be impossible to completely separate them from your other works. For is each work not expression of the soul as well, and it is impossible, as an author, to exclude part of yourself from your writings.

Read The Host, I think that you will enjoy it. I know that I did

 

 

Soulstice by Simon Holt

Title: Soulstice

Author: Simon Holt

Rating: 5

 

 

 

Description:

 

“It’s been six months since Reggie first discovered and fought against the Vours, malicious and demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on the eve of the Winter Solstice. The Vours still haunt Reggie, but only in her dreams-until one night, when an unexpected visitor turns her nightmares into reality.”

 

 

Review:

This is the second book in The Devouring series by Simon Holt, and it is even better than the former!

People complain that this book has lost its creepiness compared to the previous book, but I disagree. I think it manages to keep the same level of horror as before, if not a bit more.

 .

The fearscapes in this one were just as creative as Henry’s, and kept me excited for the whole time Reggie was in them. Let’s just hope Holt can keep it up.

Now, the main problem I had with The Devouring is that the character development was a bit lacking. Let’s just say I am completely satisfied with it now. Going through this book, I felt a lot closer to the characters, and even wanted to smack some around (given the circumstance, that is a good thing).

It is really hard reviewing short books. I feel like I am not saying enough, but at the same time, if I say much else (or really, any of the plot at all), I feel I’ll be giving away the whole story. Not. Fun. At. All.

I am hopefully going to get Fearscape this weekend, given they have it in the bookstore. I know it’s been out for a little under a year now, but whenever I go there, they only seem to have Soulstice (it took me over a year just to find The Devouring, and it wasn’t in my local bookstore -_-)

 

The Devouring (The Devouring #1) by Simon Holt

Title: The Devouring 

Author: Simon Holt 

My Rating: 5/5 Stars 

 

 

When dark creeps in and eats the light,

Bury your fears on Sorry Night.

For in the winter’s blackest hours,

Comes the feasting of the Vours, 

No one can see it, the life they stole,

Your body’s here but not your soul . . .

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it’s clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman’s imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?

 

 

Plot:

Reggie loves all things Horror. She came across an old journal, where she reads about these demonic being called “vours.” On Sorry Night, Reggie reads a couple of entries to her younger (and very gullible) brother, thinking that the Vours aren’t real. But after that night, Henry isn’t acting like he usually does.

 

As Reggie tries to figure out what’s wrong with her brother, she discovers that there’s a Vour taking over him. Reggie and her friend Aaron, try to team up to get the sinister Vour out of Henry, and bring Henry back.

 

But it’s not as easy as it seems . . . because the Vours can get inside their heads, and figure out what scares them the most. 

 

And use their worst fears against them.

 

This book was one of my favorite books of 2010 (I’ve read it twice this year). It was creepy, dark, and an even better read the second time around.

 

This book was perfect for when it was pouring rain outside — I’d just curl up, turn on off all the lights (except for a flashlight for reading) and immerse myself in the scary world of the Vours.

 

The Devouring was creepy, suspenseful, and everything that I could ever want in a horror book. It was fast-paced and exciting the entire way through, literally starting on page one.

 

There were a lot of twists and turns that had be gasping in shock.

 

Not to mention, the whole concept behind the story was original and unique. 

 

Characters:

I really liked (loved) the characters in The Devouring. In some horror books, authors skip right over the description of the character and go straight into the action; and in others, the author completely takes you out of their story with their description of the characters. But in The Devouring, Simon Holt is able to incorporate what the characters look like quite smoothly into the story, which I really liked.

 

The characters were easy to relate to, even if I’m not going through what they went through. 

 

Writing:

Simon Holt writes wonderfully! He really knows how to capture an audience. His book could very well be a movie, because there is so much imagery (I felt like I was standing next to the characters, watching black smoke seep out of someone’s eyes, or had furry spiders crawling over me and biting me), and also because The Devouring would make a great horror movie. I’d love to see what the Vours look like on screen and out of my imagination!

 

Ending:

The ending was great! The climax was in the last part of the book, so it stayed exciting up until the very end.

 

Not to mention, there was a little cliffhanger to make you want to read the next book, but not so much of a cliffhanger that you feel let down and you’re yelling at the book. (Yes. I do that.)

 

Cover:

I LOVE THIS COVER!

It totally captures the essence book perfectly!

 

Reasons why I love the cover:

• The girl looks like how Reggie was described (I hate it when the model on the cover doesn’t match the description of the character)
• There is purple smoke. PURPLE!!!!
• The “V” in Devouring
• The smeared makeup under her eyes
• On the back cover all it has is the Vour poem

This is kind of irrelevant, but I loved how the demonic things are called “Vours” and the title of this book is called “The Devouring.”

 

I also love how all of the covers in the series tie in together with the smoke.

 

Lovely Line:

The vour grinned.

“We can always count of people to hate and to fear. To harm one another and to be harmed. To kill and be killed. It is what opens the gate.”

(Page 132)

The Final Verdict:

Honestly, go read this book right now.

If it’s in your TBR stack, move it to the top. If it’s at your library, check it out. If your friend has it, borrow it.

If you have money, buy it. (In hardcover!)

 

Whatever you can do to get your hands on this book, do it!

 .

You won’t regret it

 

Elixir by Hilary Duff

Title: Elixir 

Author: Hillary Duff

Rating: 4/5 Stars 

 

  

 

 Description:

 

A Soulmate For Life . . . Or Death

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world.

But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

Review:

Clea Raymond has famous parents. Her mom’s a politician, and her father is a surgeon. Her father disappeared a year ago, with no notice, and no one has any clue where he went. 

On a trip to Europe with her best friend, Rayna, Clea takes a ton of pictures. But when she gets home, and is inspecting them, she notices a man in the background in a majority of her pictures — even though they were taken over a span of three weeks and on different sides of the country.

Clea then starts having romantic dreams about this man every single time she falls asleep. 

On a trip to Rio, Clea sees the man that’s been in her dreams in person. She finds herself falling for him, whose name is Sage, and they have a strong connection.

They (Ben, her semi-body-guard, Cleo, Sage, and sometimes Rayna) embark on a journey, trying to find her father and solve the mystery surrounding his death, while also finding out about Clea’s past lives (yes, that’s plural) with Sage.

I am actually quite impressed with the book. To be honest, I was bracing myself for a book that would just be blah, and not be that memorable. I was gladly mistaken!

Elixir actually has substance, if that makes sense. It didn’t get dull, and I found myself staying up until two in the morning reading it.

I think the characters could have had a little more depth, but that didn’t take anything away from the story for me.

But Ben, oh my God, I wanted to shoot him. He just got so irritating, especially in the middle of the book! He kept trying to interfere with Sage and Clea, and I wanted to just, like, cut him out of the pages. But I digress.

Elixir is a good blend of romance and suspense, which is hard to do.

Now, the thing that had me hovering between giving the book three or four stars: the ending. I feel like it just kind of dropped off, and none of the loose ends were tied up. I’m really hoping there’s a sequel, because if Hilary just leaves the book where she left it, I will not be a happy camper.

The cover, though. Wow. It’s gorgeous! I feel like I could stare at it for days. I also loved the way each chapter started, with a beautiful Iris flower in the bottom corner of the page.

This book was, overall, pretty good, and I definitely would recommend this to anyone, no matter what genre of books you like, because it has a lot of different elements in it: suspense, romance, and even a little historical fiction.

 

Bloody Valentine (Blue Bloods #5.5) by Melissa de la Cruz

Bloody Valentine (Blue Bloods #5.5)

by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating:5/5

Description:

Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even the strikingly beautiful and outrageously wealthy Blue Bloods, has total control. In Bloody Valentine, bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz offers readers a new story about the love lives of their favorite vamps – the passion and heartache, the hope and devastation, the lust and longing. Combined with all the glitz, glamour, and mystery fans have come to expect, this is sure to be another huge hit in the Blue Bloods series.

Also, witness the bonding of Jack and Schuyler.

Review:

In this Blue Bloods novella, the pains and trials of love are explored in three short stories. In the first, Oliver is aching at Schuyler’s absence due to his status as her familiar. Presented with a not-so-well-accepted solution to his heartache, he seriously contemplates it along with the advice of a friend he meets in a bar. In the second, Allegra Van Alen feels trapped under the pressure of her immortal lives and the watchful eye of her mother Cordelia. While at Endicott Academy in Massachusetts and far away from her mother’s influence, she meets a fellow classmate named Bendix Chase and slowly falls in love. In the final story of the novella, Schuyler and Jack are busy planning their bonding ceremony before she leaves for Alexandria and he returns to New York to meet his fate. When one of their friends is kidnapped on his way to see their bonding, they must cooperate with another friend to get him back and save his life.

Oliver’s tale, “Just Another Night in Suck City,” gives us a peek into Oliver’s head for the first time in the entire series. His heartbreak was written beautifully and felt very real. I’ve always had a soft spot for him because of his dedication to Schuyler both as a Conduit and friend, and this piece only made me like him more. Freya, a character who will make her starring and debut appearance in de la Cruz’s adult title Witches of East End in summer 2011, makes a cameo appearance as a bartender at the bar Oliver and Schuyler frequented with fake IDs in hand. I’m surprised we haven’t heard of their visits to this bar before. It seems like it was made up on the spot. Anyways, I got the kind of vibe from this story that said, “the only way heartbreak can be cured is with magic. Otherwise, you’re stuck with it.” I know how I feel about that message, but others will have varying reactions from agreement to severe disagreement. The conflict of being de-familiarized and use as a source of blood in a bloodhouse was an interesting one for a character like Oliver. My favorite story of the three.

The second short story of the novel, “Always Something There to Remind Me,” follows Schuyler’s mother Allegra Van Alen, otherwise known as Gabrielle the Uncorrupted, when she went to school at Endicott Academy and met Schuyler’s father, whose name has changed more times than my home address. As a sixteen-year-old girl, I appreciated that she felt pressured by her identity as Gabrielle the angel, her brother/it’s complicated Charles’s everlasting love when she thinks she doesn’t deserve it, and her mother’s watchful eye. No teen, despite who they may have been in past lives and what they are, would take that kind of pressure well. Despite that, I still think she should have shown at least a little bit of acceptance of who she was instead of total rejection until the very end. Like I mentioned, she’s the great Gabrielle; she can’t afford to deny it as badly as she does. The insight into how Allegra and Bendix/Stephen/whatever fell in love was wonderful… until I read the last few paragraphs of the story. So she’s back in love with Charles/Michael? What? How does this help the reader see how Schuyler came to be? It only raises more questions! With just a few sentences, fifty pages were pretty much invalidated for me. Least favorite story in the entire Blue Bloods continuity.

Schuyler and Jack’s story, “Ring of Fire,” chronicles the events just after the end of Misguided Angel. Jack proposed and with Schuyler’s agreement, they must hurry to plan the ceremony and bring their friends in for it. The Venators loyal to the Countess, who is in turn still loyal to Lucifer, appear to ruin the fun and the fight scenes with them are grabbing. New limits are established on what both Jack and Schuyler can do and Bliss, who departed at the end of The Van Alen Legacy and has been absent from the books since, makes a cameo. Some will be happy about that and others definitely won’t be. The story moves well, like one of the plots that could have been part of a book instead of a short story, and with its heartwarming bonding ceremony at the end, it takes the honor of being my second-favorite story. If I didn’t love Oliver so much and everything hadn’t felt so convenient, it would have been my favorite.

The serious problems with continuity present in the series surface again and happen flagrantly. From what we have been told before, bonds were made in Heaven and stayed when they fell; now the explanation is that the bonds were made when the angels fell in order to punish them and take away their freedom to love. Christopher Anderson, the Conduit to Schuyler’s grandfather, had his memory of the Blue Bloods wiped and yet is present at Schuyler and Jack’s bonding ceremony; the name of Schuyler’s father sees yet another change as he is referred to as Bendix or Ben when it was formerly thought his name was Stephen (or, if you go with the spelling presented in the family tree of Masquerade, Steven). The bonding happens after Misguided Angel and yet Oliver is said to need to return to New York to solve the mystery of the disappearing Blue Blood teens, a case solved in Misguided Angel. Why does Oliver have to go back to investigate a case that has already been solved? I can go on because there are plenty more violations, but I choose not to.

Another problem with this series just came to my attention: how everything is just so convenient. Jack is unable to transform into Abbadon due to a cursed ring? No problem. He suddenly rediscovers his powers to summon creatures from the Underworld to do his bidding. Oliver is stuck loving and being heartbroken Schuyler forever and ever because he is her familiar? That’s okay too. He just gets de-familiarized, then re-familiarized just in time to save him from being bit by another Blue Blood, then gets a spell cast on him to ease his heartbreak. Oh, and Schuyler suddenly discovers how her mother’s sword can pretty much ruin an entire roof structure without a problem for her either. How many more times will that come in handy? No deus ex machina occurrences are just how many I like. One is tolerable, but the multiple occurrences in this 147 page book are far beyond tolerable.

This last paragraph has nothing to do with the book itself other than the way it was advertised, and that had nothing to do with the rating. When I received the book, I noticed that it said “a Blue Bloods book” on the cover. If I hadn’t already known Bloody Valentine was a novella, I would have been tripped up by that. Very few readers differentiate between a -series name here- novel and a -series name here- book; misguided advertising of a novella as a book leads to angry readers who complain. I remember seeing a version of the cover where it was labeled as “a Blue Bloods novella” and am left wondering what happened to that cover, which would have been more correct.

Honestly, there was no need for this book to be made. Two of the short stories could have been written into Misguided Angel without a problem and the third one, while it offers the reader insight into how Allegra fell in love with Bendix/Stephen/whatever his name is now, is rendered near-useless by the ending. This little piece adds to the confusion that comes with the Blue Bloods series instead of doing anything to lessen it. Despite that, these stories are undeniably interesting and quick reads. This is one better to borrow from a friend than to spend the money on buying it oneself.

 

Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods #5) by Melissa de la Cruz

Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods #5)

by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating:3/5

Description:

After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the five remaining gates that guard the earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silver Bloods. Back in New York, Mimi has been elected Regent of a crumbling coven. Struggling with her heartache over the loss of Kingsley and with her overwhelming desire to destroy Jack, she must focus all of her energy on a perilous new threat. Vampires are being abducted and their captors are planning to burn them alive online…for all the world to see. Help arrives in the form of Deming Chen, a Venator from Shanghai, who must untangle the web of deceptions before the killers strike again. 

As the young vampires struggle for the survival of the coven, they uncover a deadly secret, a truth first discovered by Schuyler’s mother during the Renaissance but kept buried for centuries. And as the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler to a terrible choice that will ultimately map the destiny of her heart.

 

 

Review:

 

Melissa de la Cruz is my literary god. Her books are among my favorites—The Au Pairs; Girl Stays In The Picture; Blue Bloods—I’m never, ever disappointed with her writing. I fell in love with her books four years ago, when I was a sixth-grader! It was Christmas break when I came across BLUE BLOODS, and I was amazed by how I could get so caught up in a book. So, Mel is definitely the one that instilled my passion for YA lit. :] The year-long wait for the latest in the BLUE BLOODS series is one that always kills me. I mean, for real dawg, that’s a whole twelve months. That’s longer than pregnancy! You’re damn right that when October comes, I am ready to devote 12 hours of my night to reading the latest in the series. (Though, for the record, I read MISGUIDED ANGEL in 2.5 hours.) 

MISGUIDED ANGEL opens right where THE VAN ALEN LEGACY leaves off. Schuyler, who inherited the Van Alen Legacy, trying to locate and protect the five gates that guard the world from Lucifer with her totally-forbidden uber-hot lover, Jack. And then there’s Mimi, in New York, trying to rule over a crumbling coven. And then there’s Super-Cool-Super-Mysterious-New-Character, trying to solve one damn intriguing mystery. 

MISGUIDED ANGEL was more of action-y book. Yeah, all of the BLUE BLOODS book are action-filled, but MISGUIDED ANGEL especially. In THE VAN ALEN LEGACY, a lot of questions about Schuyler’s—and the Blue Bloods’—past was revealed, and it was quite a lot of info. to take in. The fact that we get a break from all that with MISGUIDED ANGEL was very nice. We can only handle so much plot-reveal, right? 
One of my favorite things about this one—we’re introduced to a new character! In THE VAN ALEN LEGACY, we said goodbye to Bliss. Bliss was one of my characters, and I’m glad she’s getting her own series (April 2012, by the way). But the BLUE BLOODS series has always told the story of three characters, and it wouldn’t have seem right to only get Mimi’s and Schuyler’s side this go-around. 
Anyway, about this new character. Don’t wanna give too much away, but her name’s Deming Chen, and she’s a venator from Shanghai (I totally killt that spelling). I really, really liked her, and can’t wait to read more about her in the future books. 

Overall, I loved MISGUIDED ANGEL. I mean, duh, right? I’ve never been disappointed with a BLUE BLOODS novel.

 

The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods #4) by Melissa de la Cruz

The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods #4)

by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating:4/5

Description:

With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss’s true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver’s brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged. Young, fanged, and fabulous, Melissa de la Cruz’s vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the Blue Bloods series

 

Review:

 

With the cascade of vampire and paranormal romance novels flooding the teen market, it becomes difficult for any novel to stand out. I started to give up on these teen novels because they started to run together for me – everything was about a forbidden romance between a vampire (or other supernatural creature, usually male) and a human. I quickly became bored of them, began lumping teen vampire novels into this category, and made sure to give them a miss when I went to the bookstore.A friend suggested that I try Melissa De La Cruz’s Blue Bloods series – she described it as a kind of Gossip Girl-style society with vampires, and even though there is romance, it’s different from the flood of vampire romance novels out there since the romance is not the central element of the novel. I finally had the opportunity to pick up The Van Alen Legacy, and was pleasantly surprised.

But reader beware: if you have not read all three previous novels in the Blue Bloods series, then you will be completely lost. Even if you’ve read the other novels and don’t quite remember all of the details, you may be a little lost – the plot of The Van Alen Legacy is fairly dense, tightly knit and assumes that readers are up to speed on all happenings in the Blue Bloods universe. The Van Alen Legacy reads like it’s a continuation of the series rather than much of a stand-alone book, which adds substantially to the overall plot arc and gives the series a strong sense of cohesion.

In The Van Alen Legacy, the reader is immediately thrown into the plot with very little backtracking. Schuyler Van Alen and her conduit Oliver Hazard-Perry are on the run from the New York Coven, after being blamed for the death of Schuyler’s grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen. They end up hiding in Paris to seek protection from the European Coven while trying to discover more about the Van Alen Legacy. Meanwhile, Mimi is back in Rio, trying to find Bliss’ younger sister Jordan while Bliss deals with becoming a Silver Blood and fighting the powerful evil inside herself.

Told through multiple character perspectives, it feels like the Blue Bloods world is beginning to unravel around the characters. Secrets, revelations, unexpected happenings and amazing character development fall into place throughout the novel, leading to a quick-paced read that gets readers involved in the lives of the characters. As the reader continues, it becomes evident that what’s happening in the story is even bigger than he or she could possibly imagine. It’s not just about vampires and romance anymore – it’s about the constant, cut-throat battle between good and evil.

De La Cruz has a magnificent and breezy style that moves quickly and draws readers in. Of all the young adult/teen novels that I have read recently, De La Cruz had the easiest style to get into, so much that it felt like slipping into a comfy bathtub – warm, relaxing, calming yet exciting enough to the keep the reader interested and of course, enjoyable.

This series is perfect for fans of teen paranormal fiction, vampire novels such as Twilight and even fans of Gossip Girl-type novels (following the adventures of beautiful, wealthy teens that live extravagant lives) who wouldn’t mind a supernatural twist.

 

Revelations (Blue Bloods #3) by Melissa de la Cruz

Revelations (Blue Bloods #3)

by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating: 5/5

 

Description:

 

Have you ever wondered what secrets lurk behind the closed doors of New York City’s wealthiest families? They’re powerful, they’re famous… they’re undead.

Schuyler Van Alen’s blood legacy has just been called into question–is the young vampire in fact a Blue Blood, or is it the sinister Silver Blood that runs through her veins? As controversy swirls, Schuyler is left stranded in the Force household, trapped under the same roof as her cunning nemesis, Mimi Force, and her forbidden crush, Jack Force.

When one of the Gates of Hell is breached by Silver Bloods in Rio de Janeiro, however, the Blue Bloods will need Schuyler on their side. The stakes are high; the battle is bloody; and through it all, Carnavale rages on. And in the end, one vampire’s secret identity will be exposed in a revelation that shocks everyone.

Review:

*Warning: possible spoilers ahead.* After finishing up Masquerade, the second book in the Blue Bloods series, I was anxious to get my hands on the next book, Revelations. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long to sink my teeth into it. 

In my opinion, the books have been very progressive, with each one there’s more suspense, more intrigue and even more romance. Who? What? When? Where? Why? Well, you’re just going to have to read the series yourself, because I’m trying to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. 

The intrigue comes along with mythos of the Blue Bloods. I know it’s been said in the previous book reviews, but the background of the Blue Bloods is one of the most inspired and fascinating I have read about when it comes to vampires. With the third book in the series, we get more of the rich history that has transpired between the characters during their past cycles. You see, the Blue Bloods die so that they can live again. Their blood is saved so that they can be brought back to life when they are needed in order to fulfill their destinies and hopefully return to heaven. They come into their memories around the age of sixteen and when they do, they have the ability to recall with crystal clarity what they have lived through and sometimes the experience is absolutely terrifying. By the end of this book we discover more about Bliss, Schuyler’s close friend, the Force twins and who’s who in the conclave, the ruling body of the Blue Bloods. 

This book probably has the most romantic entanglements of the three I’ve read to date. Bliss is still pining after Dylan, who’s been through a trauma that has left him with apparently no memory of their past together. There’s a bonding ceremony in the works, to the delight of one and the disappointment of everyone else. If you’ve read the first two books, you can probably guess who I’m talking about. If you haven’t read the first two books, get on it! Finally, two of the characters I’ve grown to love are engaging in a discreet affair, but it’s not as secret as they may have hoped. Their shared moments have left me swooning (one date in particular left me salivating for the pair). Again, if you haven’t read the series this is just one of the many reasons you shouldn’t hesitate. 

Without revealing too much more about Revelations I can tell you that the end is intense in every meaning of the word. There’s action, there’s passion, there’s loss and there’s gasp-worthy revelations about several of our main players. When I reached the last page, I was in a frantic search for more. 

 

Masquerade (Blue Bloods #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

Masquerade (Blue Bloods #2)

by Melissa de la Cruz

 

Description:  

Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man who can help—her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city’s wealthy, powerful, and unhuman—a true Blue Blood affair. But it’s at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will forever change the course of a young vampire’s destiny. 

Rich with glamour, attitude, and vampire lore, this second installment in the Blue Bloods saga will leave readers thirsting for more.

 

 

Review:

I enjoyed the first Blue Bloods book, and I did like this one, too. But, let’s start with the negatives: Mimi and Jack. Mimi aggrivated me the most of the two of them, although Jack did his fair share. Everyone in this book is beautiful, rich, and has a perfect love story, no? Well, Mimi–of course–has that and more, and the one time she gets what she deserves (Being burned to death) Jack has to go charm Sky into saving his sister. And, of course, even though she tried to kill Sky, she gets out easily. w00t for money. And Mimi and Jack return to their incestive relationship. 

Kingslywhatshisface? Not being Dylan? *Sniff* And Bliss being his other half? What is this? 

Positives! Yay! 

It was definitely a mystery, and it took very large plot twists. Sometimes you would think, “Well, it must be Charles Force…” And the next, “It was Mimi! Mimi did it!” 

Sky’s love triangle-thing. Sometimes you’d be, “Woohoo Jack! Yeah! He rules!” And others you’d be completely team Ollie. I, personally, was always team Ollie, and was dissappointed to hear that she didn’t love him back, but, hey, I always root for the wrong guy. The best friend…not a good choice on my part. :] 

Not much I have to say on this…although I am anxious to read the next one! 

Side note: Do NOT compare this to Twilight or say that this has competition with Twilight. Twilight is a completely different genre–love and mystery. The vampire ways are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and there is a totally different plotline.

 

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1)

by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating: 5/5

Description:

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society. The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapated mansion. Schuyler is a loner…and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead… drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

 

Review:

 

So, Blue Bloods is one of those series that I have been meaning to get to for a while now and just haven’t picked up longer that shelving it. Last night I decided it was time…and, lo and behold, not even 24 hours later and I am done with the first book. Wow, what a ride! Blue Bloods starts out with a bit of information about the landing in Plymouth Rock. The plight of the colonials turns up from time to time throughout the novel, but the bulk of it is set in present day New York City. At the prestigious Duchesne school there are the elitist of elite, a veritable gaggle of pre-ivy leaguers armed against the world with mommy and daddy’s gold cards and posh attitudes. Schuyler Van Alen may have the pedigree but she certainly doesn’t fit in with the glitterati. In the upper echelons of Duschesne society the Force twins, Mimi and Jack, reign supreme. But a sudden death of one of the Duschesne students upsets the delicate balance of things and brings Schuyler to the attention of both twins. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the word go – the alternating narratives, the shorter chapters, the foundation story tying into modern day, the characters…everything works. I loved that de la Cruz used dramatic irony to build up the supernatural element, but in a very subtle way. We, as the readers, understand early what is going on but de la Cruz’s deft writing keeps the attention piqued until the final reveal…which turns out to be nothing that the reader expects at all! It’s a fun a complex vampire tale that allows the reader to be swept away. A touch of the writing about “Society” and New York reminds me of Edith Wharton, though I’m not really sure why. Kudos though to Ms. de la Cruz… that’s high praise in my book. 

 

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #3) by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #3)

by Kelley Armstrong 

My rating: 5/5

 

Description:

The explosive final part of the Darkest Powers trilogy, Kelley Armstrong’s internationally bestselling YA series.

 

My Thoughts:

It’s nearly impossible for me to write a review for books that I love. I’m never able to do them justice, but I’ll give it a whirl. The Reckoning is the final installment to Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers Trilogy. If you haven’t read The Summoning and The Awakening, I would advise you not to read this installment until you have. The Darkest Powers’ world is constantly evolving and Armstrong doesn’t waste her time catching readers up to what they should already know, which I have to admit, is part of what I love about her writing. 

I devoured this book. Read it in one setting even and I was glad to see The Reckoningtook us back to The Summoning eerie roots. To a place meant to be a sanctuary, but is eerily much more similar to a prison, where the do-gooders may pull a Judas, and the menaces make for the best allies. While this series may have a red-herring or two, I was so caught up in these characters and their journey that I didn’t even notice them until I had read the last page. In my mind, that is a testament to good writing, to see a flaw, and not register it or care because the story is just that good. 

Chloe is equally impressive. She has shown tremendous growth and has somehow avoided the Mary Sue pitfall. It seems as though writers pen two types of heroines, the uber sweet, oh so pretty girl, despairing over her shortcomings as a mortal, who somehow rises to the challenge and smites everyone, becoming the bestest superhuman ever and miraculously saves the day or the oh so snide and cynical girl, jaded by everything and everyone, who has a hard edge, but somehow softens and like her counterpart, rises to the occasion and saves the day. Both types are cliché, neither apply to Chloe. Chloe is a necromancer, but as she often admits, isn’t of much use unless there is a corpse nearby. She is petite, but not overly pretty, or exceptionally smart. The word that comes to mind is average. And yet, Chloe doesn’t despair over things she lacks, nor does she turn into Chloe, Necromancer Goddess, though she is an extremely powerful necromancer. Rather, Chloe does what she can, and admits, that sometimes the best she can do is keep out of the way, and let those with more suited gifts run the show. Can we say refreshing? 

I’m also enamored with Derek, who like his leading lady, avoids the stigma attached to leading men. He doesn’t kiss Chloe’s ass, nor is he mocking. He is honest and frank, protective and insecure, yet confident in his abilities. I appreciated the fact that Armstrong allowed him to lay into Chloe when she had made a mistake, and didn’t then force him to grovel as though honesty were a sin. And I’ll admit, I think Armstrong might lace her books with a bit of magic, cause she made me lust after someone, who upon first description, is very physically unattractive. That is simply unprecedented. 

But what ultimately garnered my attention is the stereotype that Armstrong herself manages to bypass with ease. She can write and adult series, filled with some of the best steam I’ve read, and then turn around, write a book about supernatural teens, whose scenes together are so freaking sweet and endearing, that my stomach flips. Kudos. 

All in all, a great non-ending to a series. While there was certainly a conclusion to the trilogy, Armstrong has left Chloe’s story fairly open ended to allow for more adventures with Chloe and Co, and hopefully, we’ll see her again, in Women of the Otherworld. 

 

The Awakening (Darkest Powers Trilogy #2) by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening (Darkest Powers Trilogy #2)

by Kelley Armstrong 

My Rating: 4/5 stars

 

Description: If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying

 

 

My thoughts:

I was so anxious to start this book! This one started off where the last one ended… duh! lolChloe was locked up by her own aunt in a research facility along with her friend Rae. Now, with the help of another ghost, she and another friend from the group home , Tori, escape from that place. Soon they reunite with their friends Simon and Derek in pursuit to find the guys’ father. He is the only one who can keep them safe, a sorcerer, werewolf, necromancer, and witch. All experimental subjects of the Edison Group, gone wrong. They’re powers too powerful, so now the Edison group wants thme back to “fix” things.

But Simon’s and Derek’s dad is nowhere to be found, so instead they go to a family’s friend who eventually helps them and keeps the safe.
Not only is Chloe dealing with this problem, but she is also starting to develop feelings for both Simon and Derek, who happen to be brothers.

Questions are answered, well some of them at least. But the suspense keeps building for the 3rd book.

I really like the supernatural nature of this book, as they all find out about their powers and try to control them. So many twists and turns, that every time they caught me off guard. After running away for so long and now finally being safe, it makes you wonder how long it will last before it starts up again.

 

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1) by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

Rating:4/5

Description:After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

 

My thoughts:So I bought this book last year at a summer book fair, I was not expecting to like it cus me and Kelley weren’t friends after reading Bitten, which I felt was mediocre at best but this book came as a surprise. First I was all like typical teenage stuff, girl complaining about life, afraid to ask boy to the dance typical stuff. Until this girl starts to see things that no one else can and then it became all kinds of interesting.Chloe Saunders is having some weird dreams about basements and ghosts, with no idea where they are coming from she easily forgets it. Until she gets her period and then all hells breaks loose. Yeh I know its sounds crazy right, but its true. With this new walk into womanhood comes ghost, and this one’s face is all burnt up and Chloe is two seconds away from losing it. A run in with a teacher, who claims Chloe became violent, leads her to being incarcerated at some group home like place called Lyle House. That is when all that Chloe knows no longer exists, she is about to enter into a world she never thought possible and find friends in this unlikely place.

Well something is up, the kids in this house don’t seem quite normal especially the huge boy with the acne face who gives Chloe the creeps. Derek is a brooder but he seems to know a lot more than he is letting on; him and his brother. A talk with the house doctor claims Chloe has schizophrenia, and that seems impossible because she still is seeing ghosts. Well going along with their diagnosis seems to be the better thing to do, the quicker she can leave.

Well there is something fishy up with Lyle House and the people who run it, all the kids seem to have some kind of power and some are turning up dead. A quick plan for an escape comes up and thus begins the beginning of their lives. Chloe will come to learn she is a necromancer( can raise the dead) and a powerful one, there is a company hell bent on harvesting supernatural’s and if they seem defective they are terminated. Life aint easy for this 15 year old.

This book was a prime example of pill pushing, your kid seems to be acting out of character, so that means they have a mental illness. How about you try talking, that works where I come from. Plus this book characters are so well developed it just blew my mind, they seem adult yet they manage to still come off as teenagers, very realistic. It’s also creepy, all that raising the dead was well done.

The character of Chloe is likable. Lets talk about Derek, cus I love him. He is described as being ugly and scary but the way he is super sexy. Yeh I know its YA, but he is still sexy, the other characters create a good foundation for a very solid read. As I said I was surprised that it was sooooo good, and I will be continuing the series.

 

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Rating: 3.7/5 Stars

Description:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

 

Review:

Any book that arrives heavily hyped usually has a ton of marketing power behind it. Sure, there are critical reviews to consider, but these days consumers are more aware than ever of the dollars at stake behind book and film negotiations. Which means that there’s a lot of pressure riding on any book to live up to its promise, particularly one that comes from a 23-year-old author who has already landed a 3-book deal and signed away the movie rights. After so many big dollar and wearisome projects such as Halo or Matched, it’s a pleasure to find that every once in awhile, there’s a good reason behind the fanfare. Divergent is the fast-paced, action-packed story of 16-year-old Tris, who comes from one of the five factions in a dystopian Chicago. She must choose one of the factions–Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), or Erudite (intelligence)–to live in and serve for the remainder of her life. Tris makes the decision to leave her old faction, Abenegation, in favor of Dauntless, and the majority of the book focuses on the dangerous trials that the new initiates must endure in order to find out whether they qualify to stay. Failure means living a factionless life–or death. The very concept of the novel, however, asks that readers accept a fairly rigid framework for the story. This idea that human beings would sublimate their natural instincts to live in a society where a single virtue is promoted is pretty farfetched; it reminds me of various Star Trek alien races known for a single prevailing characteristic, but at least they are also usually presented along with certain instincts and behaviors that made sense. The division between the factions here doesn’t really serve much of a purpose, and is simply explained away as people who chose a lifestyle based on differences in philosophy. Even within the factions, the doctrines don’t really hold up under scrutiny–members of Dauntless, for example, are forever indulging in reckless, pointless exercises that are more about posturing than about testing their mettle. But the thing is, the book is really fun to read. Most of the trials are pretty well thought-out, with scene after scene of nerve-wracking physical and mental tests. I liked the interplay between Tris’ fellow initiates, who cautiously bond with each other but also have to look on each other as rivals, and I liked the mysterious and attractive Four, as well as the way her family members’ characters eventually revealed themselves. Tris herself I had a harder time connecting to, as she’s physically very capable but mentally and emotionally it’s more difficult to say whether she belongs on my “butt-kicking heroines” shelf. Some of her actions also ended up being more self-centered than I expected, mostly because I think the author was trying to show the change in Tris’ morphing from Abegnation to Dauntless. But she and Four also make a huge tactical error at a crucial scene late in the book, which negates both Dauntless’ philosophy and their training. I’m also not sure that several of the deaths later in the book had the appropriate emotional impact, though there were several other scenes that made me yelp. Let’s just say that I gave my knife some pretty fishy looks at the dinner table last night. Still, I had a really good time reading this book, and there’s a lot to be said for books that are just plain entertaining. Many of my fellow readers have major issues with the world-building and the plot holes, and I can’t say that I disagree with most of the criticisms I’ve seen. It’s certainly not in the same category as The Hunger Games; it’s closer to light entertainers such as Blood Red Road or Legend, but I think we often do ourselves a disservice when we endlessly make those kinds of comparisons. It’s always important to read with a critical eye–and it’s true that with more attention to detail, this book might have been even better–but I don’t feel that getting hung up on criticism or comparisons should get in the way of enjoying a book when so many of the other elements do work well. For me, the positives of this adventure outweigh the negatives and in the end, Divergent is still loads of fun to read. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes next!

 

 

Night Star (The Immortals #5) by Alyson Noël

Night Star (The Immortals #5)

by Alyson Noël

RATING: 5/5

DESCRIPTION:

After fighting for centuries to be together, Ever and Damen’s future hinges on one final showdown that will leave readers gasping for breath. Don’t miss this explosive new installment of the #1 bestselling series that’s enchanted millions across the world!Haven still blames Ever for the death of her boyfriend Roman, no matter how hard Ever’s tried to convince her it was an accident. Now she’s determined to take Ever down…and destroy Damen and Jude along the way. Her first step is to tear Ever and Damen apart—and she has just the ammunition to do it.

Hidden in one of Ever’s past lives is a terrible secret about Damen—a secret that illuminates new facts about her relationship with Jude, but that’s so dark and brutal it might be enough to drive her and Damen apart once and for all. As Ever faces her greatest fears about the guy she wants to spend eternity with, she’s thrust into a deadly clash with Haven that could destroy them all.

Now it’ll take everything she’s got—and bring out powers she never knew she had—to face down her most formidable enemy. But in order to win, she must first ask herself: is her own survival worth dooming Haven to an eternity of darkness in the Shadowland? And will learning the truth about Damen’s past hold the key to their future?

REVIEW:

First of all, this is the most slow paced book ever. No excitement, no nada. Okay so, Ever discovers that she was a slave in one of her past lives, who lost who family in a fire, and who was her hero? Damen. He rescued her by buying her, by later going back to try and buy her family. Little did he know that Roman snuck in the night a light the place in flames. Jude, who was also part of the salved family, decides to give it a go and try to win her back. Which, like always, he ends up butting in.Damon, the sweetest guy I’ve ever read about, ends up protecting Stacia. Ever’s enemy, thanks to God that she understands why he needs to protect her; she reminds her of herself with the hoodies, and the iPod. While Heaven tries her best to separate Damon from Elena, she blames her for the death of Roman.

Jude, a lost cost. I don’t even know why he is STILL in the picture. Why would you butt in a relationship if you know it will never work? If you had a chance to see the past, and know parts of the future, wouldn’t you want to change it? Yes. But when it’s obvious that you are not meant to be with that person, then why keep butting in? You are only going to hurt yourself over and over again.

Finally, when Ever is going through the death experience all over again and ends up in Shadowland, she sees who she is really meant to be, and that her feelings for Damen were never mistaken. He is the man she loves and desires the most. End of Story.

I just hope the last book (Everlasting) is better than Shadowland, Dark Flame, and obviously Night Star.

 

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Dark Flame (The Immortals #4) by Alyson Noël

Dark Flame (The Immortals #4)

by Alyson Noël

Rating: 4/5

 

Description:

In Alyson Noel’s most darkly seductive Immortals novel yet, Ever fights for control of her body, her soul—and the timeless true love she’s been chasing for centuries.

Ever is trying to help Haven transition into life as an immortal.  But with Haven drunk on her new powers and acting recklessly, she poses the ultimate threat—exposing their secret world to the outside.  As Ever struggles to keep the Immortals hidden, it only propels Haven closer to the enemy—Roman and his evil companions

At the same time, Ever delves deeper into dark magick to free Damen from Roman’s power. But when her spell backfires, it binds her to the one guy who’s hell-bent on her destruction. Now there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, and no matter what she does, she can’t stop thinking about Roman—and longing for his touch.  As she struggles to resist the fiery attraction threatening to consume her, Roman is more than willing to take advantage of her weakened state…and Ever edges closer and closer to surrender.

Frantic to break the spell before its too late, Ever turns to Jude for help, risking everything she knows and loves to save herself—and her future with Damen …

 

Review: 

Who knew recycled lives and undying love could be so fascinating?! Still in search of a cure to allow Damen and Ever to touch again Ever now also has to find a job or be forced into an internship at her guardian’s (and aunt) firm. Desperatly seeking not to spend her summer with lawyers and instead romancing with her boyfriend Ever turns to a local mysticism store and gets hired by the incredibly relaxed yet deeply passionate Jude. Down the street the insanely evil/sexy as all get out Roman has set up shop and Evers determination to get to the bottom of the antidote has gotten severly out of whack. She’s turned to witchcraft, using an ancient tome she found in one of Judes personal drawers, and has attempted a binding spell to Roman that will make him to do her bidding. All she wants is the antidote but the magicks gone wrong. She finds a darkness inside of her that is calling out to Roman, he’s all she can think about all she wants with every inch of her. Damen can’t even hold a candle to the lust rush she feels for Roman and strangely Jude is able to keep her mind somewhat off of this, not enough to stop her from losing her mind, but a comforting presence to say the least. But why? And why does he make her stomach flip and her heart race? Damen’s her true love…right? **Please note that there is SOOOOOOOO much more than these little, poorly written reviews I provide. These books are PACKED with characters, heartache, love and lust as well as self conflict. I haven’t been taken by such storm by a book in years so please, don’t just take my word for it, GO BUY IT!

 

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Our past reads in January………..

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Evermoreby Alyson Noël

Start date: January 4, 2011

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The Hauntedby Jessica VerdayStart date: January 1, 2012

Destinedby P.C. CastStart date: November 23, 2011

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Shadowland (The Immortals #3) by Alyson Noël

Shadowland (The Immortals #3)

by Alyson Noël

Rating: 4.5/5

 

Description:

Enter the realm of the Immortals—the #1 New York Times bestselling series that’s been acclaimed as breathtaking, mesmerizing, flawless and extraordinary.

 

Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives—and fought off the world’s darkest enemies—so they could be together forever.  But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen…one that could destroy everything.  Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death—plunging Damen into the Shadowland.   Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick—and gets help from an unexpected source…a surfer named Jude.

 

Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar.  Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past.  She’s always believed Damen to be her soulmate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true.  But as Damen pulls away to save them, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger—and tests her love for Damen like never before…

 

Review:

In Alyson Noel’s latest installment of ‘The Immortals’ series, Shadowland, Ever and her true love Damen are faced with one huge problem: They can’t touch each other or Damen will die. 

Intriguing, no? 

Oh but wait, Damen pretty much clears up the whole issue at the beginning of the book by putting up some kind of shield so that they can touch, but anything that gets real sexual is out of the question. Wait? Is this book all about sex now? 

Noel brings back the same characters that have been in previous installments – Haven, Miles, Roman, the creepy twins – and we have one new character, Jude. Much like how Damen sought after Ever throughout all of her past lives, she finds out that in each of these lives there is always Jude – or a past life of Jude. The question is: Is Damen’s latest troubles the result of him interfering with what could have been true love between Ever and Jude? Is his lavish lifestyle to blame? Is karma playing a role? 

While Ever tries to understand that issue, she’s also trying to find the antidote to the antidote, which means she has to find a way to get it from Roman who has always been less-than cooperative. Ultimately though, Ever blames herself for what happened, and Damen blames himself for what happened and they both work separately, rather than together, to find the solution. In my opinion, if they were soul mates, wouldn’t they want to work together? 

As in Blue Moon, the twins are also involved with finding the solution. After Ever doesn’t take their advice in Blue Moon, she continues to not take their advice in Shadowland, ultimately leading to her having to choose between Haven’s life and the touch of Damen. One would think that Ever would have learned from her mistakes, but Noel seems to have it mapped out that Ever will make the same mistakes over and over again. The twins warned Ever that something was going to happen and she remained too wrapped up in herself to take note. 

One of the great things about this book is the relationship between Sabine and Mr. Munoz – one of Ever’s teachers. It provides humor and warmth and I was very happy to see Sabine happy. Noel also enforces the idea of friendship and helping the ones you love to no end. Even the twins are starting to form a friendship with Ever and it was nice to see that happen. 

One big problem with Shadowland is that it ends without an explanation about Jude, or Haven’s opinion about her current state. And what’s happening with Honor? The antidote to the antidote is never claimed and the reader is left hanging. Personally, I was getting very annoyed with Damen’s attitude and kind of hoped for a change – specifically for Ever and Jude to hook up. Jude seemed so down to earth and real and Ever had real sparks flying with him. Damen seemed too involved with material things and was just too serious all the time – he definitely lost his charm in this book. It would have been nice for Ever to have a happy ever after with Jude. 

While the issue of “the Shadowland” is brought up – i.e. a place where immortals go when they cease being immortal – it isn’t touched upon at all for the rest of the book. I’m curious why the book was even named Shadowland if it’s just a general concept that was introduced and not a major part of the outcome. Other things that bothered me was the emphasis on the tulips. We get it – tulips mean eternal love, which is what Damen and Ever supposedly have. It seems like every time I turned the page, one of them was sending a red tulip as an apology. Whatever happened to words? Enough with the tulips already! 

Apparently the next installment, Dark Flame will be released in July 2010. Here’s hoping that there Noel provides some explanation about all the issues she left untouched. Personally, I would call it quits on this series, but I really want Jude and Ever to be together. I really think there’s something there. 

 

 

Blue Moon (The Immortals #2) by Alyson Noël

Blue Moon (The Immortals #2)

by Alyson Noël

Rating: 5/5

 

Description:

 

Alyson’s Noël’s bestselling Immortals series has been hailed as “addictive” “beautiful” “haunting” and “mesmerizing.”  In the second installment, Ever can bring her family back from the dead—but only if she’s willing to sacrifice the guy she loves more than life itself.

     Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him.  As Ever’s powers are increasing, Damen’s are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.     Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen’s past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day..

 

Review:

Blue moon is the second book of a series of 6 books. There written by Alyson Noël. In blue moon this is basically the climaxes of the whole series. This is when Roman comes into the series, and let me tell you he’s one of my favorite characters(sometimes). When everything between Ever and Damen are going perfectly fine, But as soon as Roman is in this picture Ever’s whole world is turned upside down, the love of her life is ignoring her, and to top it all off Roman has the whole school under some kind of mind control and everybody is getting along leaving Ever out of the picture. Ever is doing her best trying to figure why Romans doing this to her? What did she do to him? Or what did Damen do to him? I’ll start off by telling you about Ever Bloom she’s 16, she’s been in and out of love with Damen Auguste her whole life’s. By life’s I mean every life she’s lived Damen always finds her and they fall in love but everytime they get to involved Drina(who’s in love with damen) kills Ever. If you’ve read evermore then you obviously know that Ever killed Drina. Damen and Ever think they can live happily ever after, but there wrong. 

Roman is a crafted guy, always driving Ever insane. Ever doesn’t know that Roman is immortal like her and Damen or that Damen was the one who made Roman immortal? Going back to Drina shes madly in love with Damen but Romans in love with her and damen’ss in love with Ever. It’s just a big love triangle. Romans holding a grudge against Damen cause he thinks he killed Drina. So that’s why he’s doing this to Damen if he can’t have his love of his life then neither can Damen. 

Ever is trying her best to help Damen out but Damen thinks she’s just plain crazy,obsessive, and creepy. Damen doesn’t remember anything about her because that spell Roman put on him. Ever goes to the last person ever she would want help from Ava. Ava is a psychic and she has helped Ever before but ever hates her. Ava helps her in the beginning but she betrayed her in the end after Ever makes the biggest mistake in the whole book. 

Blue moon was one of the most intense books I’ve ever read. there’s a couple times in this book where I wanted to bursted in tears. This is a every good book I recommend this book to anybody who loves the Twilight saga. So read it! Its a amazing book and you wont regret I promise. You got to read it to understnad it better.

 

Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noël

Evermore (The Immortals #1)

by Alyson Noël

Rating:5/5

 

Description:

 

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people’s auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone’s entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school-but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste. 
Damen is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He’s the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head-wielding a magic so intense, it’s as though he can peer into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she’s left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea who he really is-or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she’s falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Review:

This is a three-and-a-half star book for me, though it started out higher than that – the second book crystalised all the things that bothered me about this one. 

Ever since the car accident that killed her parents, younger sister Riley, and pet dog Buttercup, and gave her the ugly scar on her brow that she hides behind her hair, sixteen year old Ever has been seeing and hearing things. She sees people’s auras in a rainbow of colours, hears their thoughts, can absorb an entire book simply by touching it – and learn all about a person’s life from touching them. 

With her family dead, her father’s twin sister Sabine, a high-powered lawyer who tries hard but has no idea what to do with a sullen teenager, takes her in and gives her all she could have wanted in her previous life as a popular cheerleader with a boyfriend. The move to California from Oregon isn’t the only change: Ever hides herself in hoodies, plugs her ears with her iPod to try to drown out the psychic noise, and stays quiet and unobtrusive. She’s considered a freak in the new school, where her only friends, Haven and Miles, are also looked down upon. Despite the scar and the hooded sweatshirts, she’s still blonde and beautiful. But she’s far from popular and she likes it that way. 

Her ordered, lonely life – where her only visitor is her dead sister Riley – becomes a big huge mess with the arrival of heart-stoppingly gorgeous Damen Auguste. Well-travelled, knowledgeable, sophisticated, and dreamy, all the girls start fighting over him – but the only one he seems interested in is Ever. Doing magic tricks with red tulips, which he pulls from behind her ear, turning up at her modest Halloween party as the Count Axel match to her Marie Antoinette, getting close to her then drawing away, inexplicably distant: Ever battles to keep a distance herself, to not fall for him, a man she knows almost nothing about. 

But he’s the one person whose thoughts she can’t hear, who has no distracting aura, and who miraculously dampens her psychic senses whenever he touches her or speaks. It’s almost addictive, and as the mystery deepens and Ever tries to understand what’s going on – with her friends, with the gorgeous, haughty Drina who seems very close to Damen – she must face the truth about the terrible accident, her psychic abilities, Damen himself – and decide the course of her life. 

I read this this morning in one sitting; it was itself very addicting. Written in first-person present tense, I didn’t even notice until about half-way through that it wasn’t in past tense, so flawlessly is it written. It’s hard to do present tense well, but it works admirably well here. Ever’s voice is captivating in a subtle way, the prose just right. I found her entirely sympathetic, understandable, mature, and aside from her stubbornness over Ava, never irritating. The pacing, too, is beautifully timed, details revealed at just the right moment, never hidden for the sake of trying to be mysterious.

Another pleasing character was Damen, who was complex, unpredictable, intense enough to please me, and fascinating enough to grip me. It’s hard to picture him as a teenager – I kept seeing him as about 30, 32. Mature. Experienced. Although I find his age – 17 – to be improbable considering what he accomplished at that age, I did find him believable. And desirable! Yeah I have a bit of a crush on Damen. 

Evermore is a lot darker than the others in this sub-genre, but is balanced by Ever’s engaging narrative, sweet Miles (the classic gay sidekick, here handled a great deal better than in, say, the House of Night books), some fun, light-hearted scenes and the warm, sunny Laguna Beach climate. The book drew me in for four hours and completely took over my brain. Just the way I like it. 

I highly recommend this one.

 

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis #2) by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis #2)

by Marjane Satrapi

Rating: 5/5

Description:

In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,” Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.

 

Review:

 

The farther we progress into the early 2000s, the more convinced I am of how in the future, this period of history will be seen as one where Americans finally started more and more understanding the Middle East in the same semi-complex way they currently understand, say, Europe; because make no mistake, international readers, even though the last ten years have mostly been marked by our glee in blowing sh-t up over there, in private there are more and more Americans each day right now eagerly learning just a little more and a little more about what makes up daily life in the areas once defined by the Arabic, Persian, Ottoman and Moghul empires, with the generalities of such terms as “Farsi” and “Shia” (to cite two random examples) becoming more and more known among the general populace for the first time in US history. (And in fact this is ironically a regular occurrence in American history, for wars to be the catalyst behind our population starting to understand a certain region in a more sophisticated way; look for example at how little most Americans knew about far-east Asia until our involvement in such places as Japan, Korea and Vietnam in the second half of the 20th century, how such basics as Chinese food and karaoke are now sincere staples of American life, when just 50 years ago they seemed impossibly exotic to most.) And thus do we arrive at Marjane Satrapi’s thought-provoking and highly entertaining graphic novel Persepolis, which has an interesting history: essentially a memoir of her youth as a loudmouthed, chain-smoking punk-rocker in the midst of Iran’s oppressive Islamic Republic years, the story was originally published in the early 2000s as four underground comics in France (where Satrapi now lives); which then became a cult hit in the UK when first translated into English and gathered into two bound books; which then brought about the opportunity to make a popular experimental animated film out of it; which then became a surprise hit in the US and garnered an Oscar nomination; which has just recently finally prompted a one-volume English trade paperback version here, which has quickly in the last year become the book to mention here in America at hipster intellectual cocktail parties, half a decade since the same was true in the EU.And there’s a reason this has become such a huge cult hit in the US, because Satrapi here in Petropolis breaks the entire complicated sequence of events that have happened in Iran in the last thirty years down into a whole series of easily relatable Western-style stories, allowing us to understand the complex, surprisingly diverse population of that country in a way many of us never have before: from the ongoing controversy there among women themselves over “taking the veil” (think of American women debating the relative merits versus embarrassments of chick-lit), to how their decade-long war with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein allowed religious conservatives to slowly take over all aspects of the government in the first place (think Bush and the Patriot Act), to the ingeniously subtle ways that rebellious youth display their independence in such an environment anyway (by letting a bit of hair slip out from underneath their veil, by wearing brightly colored socks, by participating in highly codified Austenesque nonverbal flirting sessions in public squares and school stairways). And by Satrapi having the courage to add the details of her own unique, sometimes trainwreck of a life — her habit of falling in love with gay men, her stint as a homeless gutter-punk in Vienna in the late ’80s — the book never even threatens to devolve into afterschool-special liberal homilies, but instead stands strongly as a solid piece of personal yet political literature, a great example of how powerful graphic novels can be when they’re at their best, and why your snotty little slacker friends are always encouraging you to read more of them. Given the events that are going on right this moment in Iran (summer 2009, for those reading this in the future), and how similar they now seem to be in so many Americans’ eyes to our own peaceful overthrow of George Bush and his “Christian Taliban” ilk just a year before, now is a better time than ever to tacklePersepolis yourself if you never have; and needless to say, the movie as well is now in my queue over at Netflix, and I will be getting a review of it up here too after I’ve finally gotten a chance to watch it.

 

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood(Persepolis #1) by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood(Persepolis #1)

by Marjane Satrapi

Rating: 5/5

 

Description:

 

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

 

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

Here is the continuation of Marjane Satrapi’s fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.

Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.

As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating

 

Review:

Cultural relativists as far back as Sextus Empiricus or Michel Montaigne, or as recent as William Graham Sumner or Gilbert Harman, often make compelling arguments that there are no objective standards for judging other societies/beliefs. Yet Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis achieves in 153 pages what cultural relativists deny as possible and what most political pundits can never fully articulate: an informed and justifiable criticism of an existing cultural paradigm. Satrapi’s method is deceptively simple: by using her own life stories as the premise, Satrapi builds an argument for criticizing culture. 

Satrapi’s autobiographicalized[1] self and society act both with wisdom and foolishness both before and after the revolution. The Iranian revolution meant to replace an unpopular government with one more responsive to the people’s will. Until reading this book, I was unaware of any particular details of Iran during their revolution – mostly because I am a Westerner and generally not privy to accounts of day-to-day life in the Mid-East. On that basis, the cultural relativists may be right that I have no foundation on which to critically analyze the current state of Iran. Thankfully, however, Satrapi can criticize – using both an insider’s and outsider’s perspective. Satrapi undermines the denial of standards posited by cultural relativists by showing the reader that standards of comparison do indeed exist: standards related to varying degrees of freedom of expression, of decision, and from coercion. Satrapi’s criticism is much more subtle than “old way good, new way bad.” Instead, she draws for the reader situation after situation where real people are swept along with the flash flood of a revolution. Satrapi, having come of age in the midst of such a flood, is able to compare her pre- and post-revolution home and draw for the reader how the people she knew dealt with that change and what they thought of it. 

Satrapi’s art maintains a consistent, iconic style throughout the book. This allows the reader to identify more fully with the story’s characters and makes for a gripping narrative flow. This iconic style is also important in reaching an audience unaccustomed to graphic novels and the myriad ways in which their authors approach narrative (Art Spiegelman’s Maus is a prime example of an iconic style’s appeal). What really makes Persepolis an artistic tour-de-force, however, are the more experimental panels that Satrapi intersperses into the basic narrative frame she establishes. These larger, and more visually stunning, panels interrupt the narrative, slowing (in some instances stopping) the reader in his or her tracks, drawing him or her into the intricacies of the panel. This interspersion is a type of reader manipulation especially featured in comix. There are an abundance of examples of this technique in Persepolis – panels 15.2, 29.4 are but a few. Panels 10.5, 11.1, and 11.2, in particular, defy, yet wholly contain, prosaic description, poetic symbolism, dramatic interaction, and cinematic imagery. 

Satrapi seems to suggest in this work that the way to bring peoples together is to allow an exchange of their cultural ideas. At times, it may appear that the unrestrained steamroller of Western culture threatens anything in its path. But is that really the case? Satrapi seems to hint that a people left free to first experience, then to choose, whether to accept or reject another culture’s offerings are always better off than a people punished for experiencing other cultures. She presents with compassion her life in that earlier Iran and draws it for the reader through the filter of her current life in Western culture. She doesn’t champion one culture while condemning another. She shows, through autobiography, what works and doesn’t work when it comes to governing groups of human beings. 
[1] – This phrase refers to the separation of the author as an entity from the literary self they create for a reader through autobiography

 

Thirst No. 4: The Shadow of Death (Thirst #4) by Christopher Pike

Thirst No. 4: The Shadow of Death (Thirst #4)

by Christopher Pike

 

Alisa is a five-thousand-year-old vampire, stronger and more cunning than her adversaries. But now she’s trapped in the body of a newborn vampire and at the mercy of a terrible thirst. Worst of all, she’s facing enemies whose fierce desire for domination grows ever stronger.

The immortal race the Telar is threatening to release a virus to decimate humanity. But Alisa and her friends can’t take down the Telar on their own, and they must turn to the mysterious organization the IIC for help. But the IIC has secrets of its own and may have ulterior motives.

With two rivals and no one to trust, Alisa must rely on her dark side to defeat them. But it could cost her life, or her soul.

 

REVIEW:

Firstly, I will try to leave out spoilers in this review as I haven’t reviewed the first four but this will probably just be a ran trying to contain my love for the genius that is Mr. Pike. Oh, and I will quite happily read the first four again even if it wasn’t for reviewing purposes

Secondly, the “Thirst” covers are seriously ugly and having two seperate releases, The Last Vampire and Thirst for the same story is ANNOYING. All of my copies of Sita’s story is the Last Vampire edition and now The Shadow of Death is only Thirst? WTF. THIS ANNOYS ME PEOPLE. STICK WITH ONE EDITION! Plus, the chick on The Last Vampire is 100947x hotter than the chick on Thirst. Sweeping statement… THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT FROM START TO FINISH!! I was so so excited to read this book and after finishing this book, I had to calm down. Every book in this series gets me so worked up that by the time I finish I’m practially gasping for air. No word of a lie. Mr. Pike just manages to drag the reader so deep under that reading this series is one of the most wonderful reading experiences ever.To those who haven’t heard of this series, I’ll brief you… Sita is the main character, she is a 5000 year old vampire, has been through a lot, is extremely powerful and has made some awesome buddies along the way, the main awesome buddy being an author named Seymour, in which she has a psychic connection with.

The story begins EXACTLY where the last one left us (which was one of the worst and BEST cliffhangers of all time) and subtley reminds us of everything that happened in the last book. Mr. Pike is amazing at doing this, he reminds us what happened in the last book without giving a full blown info dump at the beginning of the book and without giving us “My name is Sita and I am 5000 years old and I am blonde and stuff” like other books, because quite honestly, WE DON’T WANT ANOTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTERS APPEARANCE. 

There were so many twists and turns in this installment and I found myself so involved in the story that I would dream about it and worry for the characters when I went to bed at night (I’m NOT crazy, just extremely invested in the characters!!). 

This installment, in addition to all the others, had a lot of religious qualities to it. I am an athiest, if somebody is religious, that’s awesome. However, if somebody tries to shove their religion down my throat, tells me I’m going to burn in hell for my sins or even puts an excerpt from the bible in my mailbox (this happened about a week ago), THEN I no longer care what the person has to say about their religion. Christopher Pike talks religion and I have a feeling he is very religious, however he writes about it in a way that is not the above. The religion talk and mention of god – or Krishna, the devil, Lucifer, angels and demons in this series makes me want to learn more, I love it, I love the mythology of god (I say this as an athiest, please don’t take any offence) and what’s even more amazing about Mr. Pike is that he is clearly open to the idea that there is ‘one god’ and that god is the same as other gods in other religions, that all religions have the same basic belief of the divine. As I said, I personally do not believe in god but this series presents religion in a beautiful, personal way to Sita.

In regards to some spoilers, which I’m not mentioning as this is (possibly, I HOPE NOT) the last book in the series, I had a feeling about Shanti as soon as the original book was present again (this will not make sense to those who have not read the book) but I could absolutely not prepare myself for what actually happened!

I really really really hope this isn’t the last installment and I have a feeling it’s not, simply due to the fact that Mr. Pike has been constantly teasing us about John, Paula and the CII video game. I am going to use my own psychic abilities here and predict there will be a next book and it will answer some of my questions about the above.

Overall, I want more Sita, I always want more Sita. She is easily one of my all time favourite characters and I want more of her amazing story. 

Thankyou Christopher Pike for giving us Last Vampire fans yet another brilliant story.

 

The Eternal Dawn (Thirst #3) by Christopher Pike

 

The Eternal Dawn (Thirst #3)

by Christopher Pike

 

Rating: 5/5

 

 

DESCRIPTION:

Alisa has spent the past five thousand years as a vampire, living alone and fighting for survival. In her loneliness, Alisa cannot resist bringing Teri—a descendant of her human family—into her life. But Alisa is surrounded by death and destruction, and just by knowing Alisa, Teri’s life is at risk.

Alisa’s guilt grows when she becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy. A top-secret group knows Alisa’s secret and will stop at nothing to use her powers for their cause. As Alisa desperately tries to protect herself and Teri from the unknown enemy, she discovers a force more powerful and more lethal than anything she has ever seen. Alisa doesn’t know who to trust, who to challenge, or who she will become….

REVIEW:

“The Last Vampire 7: The Eternal Dawn”Even after a decade, I love that Pike was still able to capture the spirit of the series.When I found out that “The Last Vampire”series was being re-released as “Thirst” I just had to reread the series from the start. My big concern was getting through “The Last Vampire 6: Creatures of Forever” again. It had always felt forced to me–like Pike was told he had to conclude the series and move on–or that someone else had written it, except for the epilogue. But then one has to admit that the last book in the series supposedly closed off any continuation of the story in a very final way (even for a vampire story).After over a decade long absence of Sita’s story, I’m relieved that she is still the same character many of us have grown to love over the years. The story picks up 15 years after the conclusion of the last book and this time we are treated to a completely new and engrossing tale following Sita and her friends. To those of you baffled on how there could possibly be a new story, when the last one tied all the loose ends up and ended so well, you will be pleasantly surprised how well Pike is able to continue the series. The characters feel very consistent with the previous books (this is something a lot of authors seem to have problems with when revisiting old characters).

To bring some interest to the story, Pike has to invent even more lethal enemies than the ones in the previous books–and in most authors’ hands the power level would have been ludicrous. However I feel Pike pulls this off without any problems whatsoever, and just like in the previous books Alisa/Sita is both hunter and the hunted.

Pike has fleshed out this character more than I ever thought was possible. I love Sita for her toughness. I love her for her ability to love. I love how she can boast so easily about herself, yet it does not come off as bragging, it is just fact. She may just be the most interesting and amazing character out there. She is not perfect, she makes tons of mistakes and we love that about her.

“Thirst: Volume 3 (The Eternal Dawn)”is not without its flaws but they are far and few in between. Pike is known for his amazing plot twists and surprises and this time around he does not disappoint. It ends with a shocking twist and a cliffhanger that’s left me haunted.

 

Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice (Thirst #1) by Christopher Pike

Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice (Thirst #1)

by Christopher Pike

Deiscription:

As to blood –
ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty….
Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life….review:

“The Last Vampire”

“I am a vampire, and that is the truth. But the modern meaning of the word vampire, the stories that have been told about creatures such as I, are not precisely true. I do not turn to ash in the sun, nor do I cringe when I see a crucifix. I wear a tiny gold cross now around my neck, but only because I like it. As to blood–ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me.” 

I just finished reading “The Last Vampire” again after having read it about 17 years ago. I without a doubt enjoyed it even more this time as I was too young to appreciate it before. What I love most about the book is that Pike tells the story through the eyes of the vampire herself. Throughout the narration, Sita debunks many of the myths and stereotypes associated with vampires and reveals the true nature of this extraordinary being. And because she is as old as history itself, Sita recounts major historical events and points out some inaccuracies in the written tradition.

Yaksha, the very first vampire and the embodiment of all that is evil, changed Sita and hundreds of others into vampires in India 5,000 years ago. But Krishna, who embodies all that is good, outwits Yaksha in combat (almost killing him) and makes Yaksha vow that all the vampires will be destroyed and no more will ever be created. Yaksha hunts down and kills all the other vampires as he vowed to do, and later is killed and burned in the witch trials of the Middle Ages. This leaves Sita as the sole remaining vampire.

Now Sita is living in Mayfair, Oregon, calling herself Alisa Perne, secure in the knowledge that she is the last vampire. Yet, someone is hunting her…and only another vampire would be capable of hunting a creature as powerful, fast, and ruthless as Alisa. But there are no other vampires, so Alisa must find out who or what is after her.

Sita/Alisa is a creature who has managed to witness firsthand 5,000 years of humanity’s history, and has a lot to say about it. We understand what we always have: what it feels like to love, to lose, to fear, to hate. Sita/Alisa is delightfully human, in her capacity for all these things. Her pain is real, and her dilemma is an arduous one. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the best literary examples of the origin of vampires being explained in a fashion both comprehensible and believable.

Pike’s story flows like water–you can easily visualize what is happening–marvelously violent, and quite bloody. Not only does it manage to give you a compelling and gripping story with characters that are both real and complex–it’s actually refreshing.

“The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood”

“Then you should never have been born.”

Sita had thought that she and her companion, Ray, were the last vampires on Earth. However, a murderer who favors dismembering and draining the blood of his victims is stalking Los Angeles, and Sita realizes that her assumption is incorrect. Only she has the power to stop this creature from his evil path but he’s much stronger than she expected, and she finds herself in a life-and-death struggle.

Occasionally the narrative digresses to discuss Sita’s dreams and visions of her original life in India eons ago in an effort to lend spiritual purpose to her actions; this comes across as a somewhat obvious attempt to link the tale to legitimate mythology. I loved it with or without the digressions. The story is seen through not only her eyes, but her thoughts, her dream, and even her imagination.

What I liked most about the sequel is of course Sita’s slyly appealing humor. It never fails, whether she’s dealing with the new characters introduced in this sequel or engaging in playful yet edgy banter with Ray or Simon.

“The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice”

Sita/Alisa and her male partner are vampires; but the FBI is on their trail, seeking their blood in order to study and duplicate it. One is captured, and it’s up to the survivor to keep the FBI from learning their secret and turning the world into vampires.

She attempts to keep her DNA from the hands of someone who would test it and use the results to gain immortality. Indeed she runs into an old “friend” who’s involved in the series is more ways than you can imagine.

Unfortunately, the reader does get the nagging thought that Sita throws away lovers like paper. It was sad how Joel wanted to die in peace but Sita made him into a vampire against his express wishes. She tried to make him take Ray’s place.

Like his other books, Pike goes into great depth, throws in romance, lots of violence, and some blow-’em-up scenes.

 

Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3) by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3)

by E.L. James

Discription::

When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian’s singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed.

Now, together, they have more – love, passion, intimacy, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control, and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present.

Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, misfortune, malice and fate combine to make Ana’s worst nightmares come true. Alone and desperate, she must face down the poisoned legacy of Christian’s past.

Seductive, shocking, sad and funny, Fifty Shades Freed is the compelling final volume in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

 

Thirst No. 2: Phantom, Evil Thirst and Creatures of Forever (Thirst #2) by Christopher Pike

Thirst No. 2: Phantom, Evil Thirst and Creatures of Forever (Thirst #2)

by Christopher Pike

Rating: 4/5

 

DeSCRIPTION::

Tears roll over my face. I touch them with my quivering tongue. They are clear and salty, not dark and bloody. Another sign that I am human.
What Alisa has desired for five thousand years has finally come true: She is once again human. But now she is defenseless, vulnerable, and, for the first time in centuries, emotional. As she attempts to reconcile her actions as a vampire with her new connection to humanity, she begins to understand the weight of lifeand-death decisions. Can Alisa resolve her past and build a new identity, or is she doomed to repeat her fatal mistakes?

 

 

REVIEW:

 

“The Last Vampire 4: Phantom”After five thousand years, Sita/Alisa is finally human again. And pregnant. But will it be an angel or a demon?

With the introduction of Kali/Kalika the reader may make hasty judgements as to her purpose in being born. Indeed, exactly what kind of creature can be conceived from the womb of a vampire? It is interesting to watch Sita’s daughter grow and interact with society–leaving you wondering what she might be or do.

Perhaps it’s the undercurrent of Eastern philosophy, the paradoxical dualism Pike presents in nearly every story but one does conclude that in Pike’s world, the situation often (at least at the outset) seems to be one of good versus bad, just like most children’s stories. But this is soon shattered by the complicated truth that situations and people aren’t usually good “versus” bad. It’s that the good is the bad, and the bad is the good, which cancels them both out and thus we see gray.

“The Last Vampire 5: Evil Thirst”

The agony of fulfilling one’s purpose without outside thought interfering with ones ego, is hard–most especially if it is your own daughter you’re trying to kill in order to save humanity.

The conflict between mother and daughter is completely gripping: you learn to hate Kalika although at the same time you love her. The more you hate her the more you’ll learn to love her. For the reason that she takes almost totally after her mother.

This addition to this series would’ve been quite exceptional where it not for the inclusion of the barely believable introduction of the Sethians from the time of Ancient Egypt. Oh if Pike had only decided to cut that from the storyline and left it with only the predictions of Suzama as the supernatural element!

“The Last Vampire 6: Creatures of Forever”

I started reading “The Last Vampire” series when it first came out, and I remember checking the bookstore every time the next installment was going to be available. Although I’m an adult now (but I was a preteen when the series started), I’ve still re-read most of the installments. It’s truly amazing how Pike manages to flesh out such a complete characterization.

Another amazing thing is how each installment ties in so fluidly with each other and yet they stand alone with their own plot, be it her story with Ray or Joel, or her daughter.

I haven’t re-read this one, “The Last Vampire 6: Creatures of Forever”, in awhile, but I was a bit disappointed at the end. Although it was a very well-written book I wished it wouldn’t have ended the way it did. I don’t want to give it away, but I did get the feeling of “she went through all of this then for what?” I wish the last paragraph was left out, basically. Pike probably ended it the way he did because it was the only way to end the series without being tempted to continue on. Still, it’s great escapism. If you’re a young woman, you will identify with Sita, and it’s incredibly easy to imagine yourself in her situation.

I love the wit and humor Pike uses. He doesn’t pander to the lowest (or youngest) common denominator plus the writing is every bit as good as any “adult” novel I’ve read.

You might be disappointed after reading this, if only because you’ll wish there were more to the series. Although it was terribly sad story, I felt happiness for Sita at the end, for she got what she wanted. I think that its brilliant that in a way the ending is the beginning.

 

Goodreads | Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3) by E.L. James – Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Goodreads | Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3) by E.L. James – Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists.

 

Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2) by E.L. James

 

Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2)

by E.L. James 

Rating 4.5/5

Description:

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. 

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades. 

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life

 

Review:

I loved it. It was a different experience than the first one; the pace is much slower, even though there are a lot of outside forces and complications when there weren’t in the previous one. The chemistry is as sizzling as ever though (whew! *fan please!*), the romance is sweeter, and there is lovely humor. Biggest criticism: Ana got on my nerves as she did not in the previous book. 

The romance. Yes, Fifty can actually be quite romantic, ladies! The relationship between Ana and Christian is as hot and sweet—actually, much sweeter—as ever. We get to see the soft, vulnerable, and romantic side of Christian, which I found absolutely lovely (shocker). The chemistry was very much still there though. *sizzle* There’s one seen in the library on the billiard table … need I say more? (Thanks for reminding me, Anna!) I would play pool with Fifty any day. Oh. My. Lord! *desperately fans self* I would also go with him to the following places … hmm, let’s see: elevator, catamaran, piano, another elevator, desk in the home office, shower, bathtub, apartment entryway, Red Room, family boathouse, childhood bedroom, regular bed (of course)—and would request a repeat of the first elevator, billiard table, piano, and childhood bedroom. *wink* *wink* 

Christian Grey, a.k.a. Fifty Shades, a.k.a. One of the Best “Romance” Heroes Ever. We see much more of Christian’s boyishness and sweet side that we started to see at the end of the last book. He also has this wonderfully adorable new “shy” smile that he starts to show more and more to Ana as he begins to believe in her love for him. We really start to see his needier side, as well as his utter self-abhorrence and profound (if ignored) desire for unconditional love. Never became unsexy though, which I feel like it could easily have become, so James pulled that off well. 

I did start to question his beyond-anything desire for and dependence on Ana. That may have something to do with the fact that she was annoying me in the first half of the book of course (see below). His need, love, and—let’s be honest—downright obsession with her is such that the reader has to love Ana as well in order to accept it as authentic.

We find out the Thing that he was convinced in part 1 would send her running and … I don’t know. Didn’t find it as shocking as Ana did and as I think we were supposed to. We find out why he did what he did / does what he does / needs what he needs and how that has been changed by Ana. I’m not sure how people will feel about the change. Christian still has his rough side; he’s still a dominant personality; he’s still as controlling as unbelievably-ever. 

Some criticisms. A lot of things that some of my GR friends had mentioned annoyed them in the first one and that I hadn’t noticed or hadn’t bothered me now did in this one. Not everything, but the inner goddess is one example. 

The main one was Ana. I really loved Ana in Part 1 and I know some people didn’t, but I did and I’m sticking to it. Here, I had problems with her in the first half or so. Her fan club continued to grow, which doesn’t fit with the type of girl she’s set up to be. More importantly, she was petulant and immature, in some ways just as mercurial and moody as Fifty, but while he’s sexy and mysterious in his personality disorder, she was annoying. Ana shaped up in the second half, being much more consistent and mature, and by the end she was stepping up to the plate and back in my good graces. 

Note on Fifty Shade series and book endings. No spoilers! These cannot andshould not be read on their own. It’s basically one long story broken up into three parts, so start with the first Fifty Shades book, Fifty Shades of Grey. For those who hated the “cliffhanger” ending of part 1, this is part 2, so again not everything is resolved, however we are not left with a cliffhanger regarding Ana and Christian’s relationship, so I think most will find it completely acceptable (i.e. bearable). 

The progression of their relationship and where we’re going next. Part 1 was all about the newness of their connection. That part of the story has all of the excitement of a new crush: it’s fun, dangerous, makes you giddy, and holy shit was the tension unbelievable! Here, Ana and Christian seemed to have found their stride and really started to work on their issues. At the beginning, it seemed a little too convenient for me and I wasn’t sure I fully accepted what Christian was saying and offering. However it wasn’t as much of a 180 as I thought it would be, so by the end I was completely convinced and found the change believable. 

I predict that Part 3 will be more about the settling in of their relationship: the smaller details and the really getting comfortable with one another. I’m looking forward to reading it, because hey: how could I not want to read another book with Fifty Shades in it? There are going to be some evil doers who come back to add some excitement to the mix and I am interested in seeing how it all plays out … 

(More Fifty fandom.) … But yeah, I’ll mostly be back for Fifty. 

Okay, fiiiiine. Truth: I’ll solely be back for Fifty. 

What a naughty, naughty boy he is. Ha! God, what woman could resist?! Honestly, for any romance reader out there who loves alpha heroes who are controlling, domineering, obsessive, possessive, intense, tortured, mysterious, sexy, mercurial with a surprising but oh-so-sigh-worthy funny, playful, ironic, generous, caring, romantic, and sweet side, then look no further (and to those romance readers: we aresoooo twisted)! Fifty Shades is your man. 

Except for he’s not. Because he’s mine. 

If he were real. And yes, I know he’s not. 

… We could be mistaken though. Maybe James writes in one of those books where whatever you write comes true, and there actually is a Christian Grey walking around. 

 

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1)

by E.L. James 

Rating: 5+/5

Description:

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind – until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. 

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her – but on his own terms. 

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny. 

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds? 

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

 

 

REVIEW:

 

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I still feel somewhat under the spell of this book. I’m so … beguiled by it (book allusion). It was honestly an amazing read – and one which I meant to just skim a few sample pages of, but ended up buying and then staying up the entire night to finish. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to write a review, because it seemed too difficult to put into words everything that moved me about this story and to try to do it justice. 

This ended up feeling like one of the best and most authentic romances I have ever read. In some ways, I feel conflicted like Anastasia when I say that: my instinct is to say that can’t be, because of what their relationship revolves around / how it’s constructed … but somehow it can be and it’s true. Anastasia, Christian, and their relationship are all so honestly and openly written and shown to us that there is no other way for me to feel. Even though its counterintuitive, I can’t help but feel that their relationship is one of the most beautiful, complex, and emotional ones I’ve ever read in the romance genre. 

It’s one of those books that makes me want to go back to the last few 4-5 star books I read and knock down their ratings half a star, because when put on the same scale they don’t compare. I had a ridiculously foolish grin on my face throughout the entire thing, both because I was on one of those this-romance-is-unbelievably-fantastic highs and the book had some surprisingly good humor. I had a pleasant feeling of anticipation as I read, but I was also extremely nervous, because real BDSM sub/dom books are not my thing, and so while I was falling increasingly in love with Ana and Christian with every new page I read, I was also terrified that I was going to be jarringly yanked out of it all and the whole experience ruined for me by some kinky and needlessly over-the-top BDSM scene. Thankfully, that never happened, and it remained an amazing read right up until the very end. 

{ Not What I Expected } 
I’m not normally a BDSM book reader, but this was so, so, SO much more than just that. I don’t think that I have read one that is so beautifully and (seemingly) authentic. I write seemingly because I have no personal experience, so no idea, but to me it read that way. It was not done as a space apart in the book where the writer could insert random hot sex scenes. Instead, it’s woven throughout, showing us how it impacts and affects both characters. Ana and Christian remain Ana and Christian in those scenes, in the sense that it doesn’t feel like out-of-character gratuitous sex scenes are at every random turn just to satisfy some quota. I’m not even sure I want to categorize this book as erotica, because that seems so limiting. (There was hot - intense - chemistry, don’t get me wrong, and I definitely had some turn-the-AC-up moments). 

{ Loved our Heroine: Anastasia / Ana (21) } 
Anastasia was one of the best heroines, because she felt so real and her reactions each and every time were so normal! Not over-the-top for effect, but not understated because the author wants to be able to put lots of sex scenes. She’s a virgin, has no experience with men, and didn’t know anything about BDSM, so of course she’s going to be questioning this and unsure of whether it’s “right” or it’s “wrong” or if she even feels comfortable doing it. She also is very attracted – and eventually in love – with Christian and wants to be in a relationship with him. Ana feels a connection to him that she has never felt with any other person and she wants him in her life; he makes her happy. Her attempts to balance these two forces is wonderfully depicted and I could easily imagine myself reacting in those exact same ways, thinking those exact same things, and feeling those exact same conflicts. 

Ana is strong – she’s somewhat shy and quiet, but like all real people, you cannot fit her into only one category: she may seem reserved and quiet, but she can also stand up for herself and really knows her own mind – she is not the ideal sub Christian first thinks she might be. Ana examines her motivations and feelings when she’s confused or unsure – not only about what she should do, but about what she wants to do and what Christian wants from her. The story is told in first-person, which is sometimes iffy for me, but it worked well here; Ana’s tone as narrator is smart, self-aware, and immensely likable. 

{ Adored our Hero: Christian (27) } 
Christian is one of the best heroes. He’s intense and dark and I know some people still see him as mysterious and the dark force in all this, but I actually found him to be so accessible. There are still things we need to know about his history, obviously – I have some guesses, but don’t know anything for sure. Nonetheless, he also felt like the most authentic BDSM dom I could ever read because he’s not just that – he’s a man who has that part of himself incorporated into his life, personality, and mannerisms, so that it’s integral to his character, even when we see him around other characters who don’t know about this part of his life. 

Christian is possessive, a little stalkerish, domineering (no duh), authoritarian, elusive, mercurial – all of those things and more. He is also one of the most tender, tortured, and sensitive heroes I’ve ever read. His despair and his need for Ana is his life are like living, breathing things and they jump off the page. He also has a deep understanding about himself and his desires, though he discovers and faces new things through Ana’s questions and confrontations. He needs to dominate and control his partner, but he also needs Ana, so he is willing to compromise and not only tries to give her that “more,” but ends up wanting it himself as well. 

{ An Unbelievable Connection and Relationship } 
From the first page of their encounter, the chemistry between Anastasia and Christian was off the charts. It was one of the things that convinced me to buy the book after reading the sample – it was so intense. Their connection throughout feels so strong and despite the fact that they’re coming from such different places, you can see the constant back and forth of them trying to fit together, trying to understand what the other wants, what they themselves want, etc. The dialogue, the emails, the EVERYTHING between them is a m a z i n g !!! I had such a ridiculous grin on my face for most the entire book. This goes back to my first point, but I was just so amazed by how realistic their relationship seemed, despite the BDSM sub/dom factor, which to me seems so foreign. It was complex, difficult, lovely, distressing, uplifting, intense, hopeful. 

{ This Book Felt So Honest } 
And I mean this in multiple ways: the main characters, their relationship, and the subject matter. Reading this book feels like an intimate act, because Ana and Christian are truly laid bare for us; yes, there are still things about his past we don’t know, but who they are, their essentials, are revealed to us. Their relationship is so honest, and I mean this in two ways: within the book and how the reader sees it. Within the book, I so, SO loved that they both try to be open with one another about their feelings and their doubts, that we see them trying to work through this relationship and feel each other out, figure out what this is between them. Loved, loved, LOVED it! Also, for the reader how their connection is shown, both in terms of man-woman and sub/dom felt very, very honest. It wasn’t porn-like or gratuitous or kinky for kink’s sake – it was built off of who these two people are and how they connect with and need one another. 

{ Overall Fantastic } 
Well-written. Surprisingly funny and sweet! Fantastic secondary characters. No evil guy or superfluous subplot – the obstacles are within themselves and their relationship and that is more than enough; anything else would have ruined the book and taken away from their story. Subtle but sizzling chemistry and sexual tension. Complex characters. Etc, etc. 

{ Ending of the Book / Series } (no spoilers) 
*Important to know that Ana and Christian’s story does not end here.* 
The ending is jarring, though I had ruined it for myself by having already read the next book’s summary (Fifty Shades Darker, due out September 15). I think the buildup should definitely have been extended, because it did feel pretty out of the blue to me. 

As little a thing as it is, the fact that the end says “End of Part One” and this isn’t viewed as Book 1 and the next as Book 2, really made a difference to me. Gives more of a sense of continuity and makes this feel like an intermission. I love where the book / series titles come from, lol (Christian’s remark to Ana that he’s “fifty shades of f*cked-up”). Note: All together, there will be three books. 

For those interested but unsure, Google has a relatively long sample section you can read to get a sense of whether you’ll like the book or not:
http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=wR7_WV…
 

 

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom: Amazon.ca: L Smith: Books

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom: Amazon.ca: L Smith: Books.

 

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight: Amazon.ca: L Smith: Books

 

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight: Amazon.ca: L Smith: Books.

 

I HAVE IT AT HOME, BUT HAVEN’T GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO READ IT YET

CAN;T WAIT TO READ THIS !

 

Golden Lily. The: Amazon.ca: Richelle Mead: Books

 

Golden Lily. The: Amazon.ca: Richelle Mead: Books.

 

CAN’T WAIT TIL IT COMES OUT…..

 

The Calling: Amazon.ca: Kelley Armstrong: Books

 

The Calling: Amazon.ca: Kelley Armstrong: Books.

I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THIS…..  

 

Setting by Shelley Workinger

Title: Settling

Author: Shelley Workinger

Series: Solid #2

Publisher: Create Space

Published: July 4th 2011

Source: Author for review

 

At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids… Picking up where Solid left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self-discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill.  Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them.

Solid was one of the first review copies I received as a blogger and I’m very happy to say I was correct in saying that the series would improve with each book. How I loved seeing these characters again! While I enjoyed the storyline of Solid, I felt that we didn’t connect enough with the characters. Settlingremedies that, allowing readers to become more involved with their personal stories and see inside of their minds. Exciting as ever, the mystery of genetically-altered teens continues!

This year, the students at a secret Army camp are beginning to go into working fields relating to their ability. Clio discovers that turning invisible may not be her only power, just as she realises her boyfriend, Jack, may not be ability-less after all. This occurs when a killer on campus makes themselves known and, as more people are killed by this unseen attacker, Clio must piece everything together before her own time is up. Means? Motive? Opportunity? Oh how you’ll love the mystery. Prepare for some fast-paced, exciting action! You won’t guess the outcome. *wink*

It was so easy to slip back into the comfortable circle of friends. With Garrett’s charming personality and Miranda’s controlling streak, you’ll feel right at home with these six loveable characters. Jack and Clio continue to be cutely in love but outside forces now threaten to tear them apart. Jack spends most of his time reviewing security footage relating to the murders, while Clio begins working with Lieutenant Rutherford, a twenty-one year old she can’t help but feel a connection to. Add witty bantering to sizzling tension and we have ourselves a love triangle! While I love Jack…there’s just something about Ford that makes me swoon. Call me a traitor, but the heart wants what the heart wants! Join Clio as she journeys through the confusing woes of romance, forced to firstly discover herself in the process.

My reading of this was long overdue. I never had the time to pick this up when it was first released but better late than never! I’m looking forward to the next installment of the series, ready to delve into the complicated relationships and mysterious abilities all over again. A fantastic sequel by Workinger!