The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Book Review

The Awakening by L.J. Smith

From Goodreads: A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...Elena
Searching for the ultimate thrill, she vowed to have Stefan.

Stefan
Haunted by his tragic past, he struggled to resist her passion.

Damon
Driven by revenge, he hunted the brother who betrayed him.

The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

My thoughts:

I LOVE the TV series The Vampire Diaries.  I didn't think I would like it, but it has very good writers who are never predictable.  Plus, the characters are funny and relatable...and it has hot men.  But, I digress... 

 Because I liked the show so much, I thought I would give the book a try.  Well, the book was awful.  It was published originally in 1991, and so I imagine it was written in the late 80s.  It felt to me like what stereotypical Young Adult genre book would have been like back then. Elena is a spoiled-rich blonde and the queen of the school.  Literally, she calls herself the queen of the school to others, and only wants Stefan because he is the only boy to ever not look at her when he passes her in the hall.  This sparks her interest in Stefan.  It was very immature and petty.  Caroline has been reduced to a petty rival who wants to be queen, and thus tries to date Stefan first to embarrass Elena and assert her dominance. There was no sympathy for Elena, and no connection on my part.  To be truthful, I don't even know if you could take my review to heart because I skipped over large chunks of the book because I didn't like the characters, and I don't really like Stefan (in the TV series).  Sorry *blushing*, but I'm a Delena fan all the way. Maybe I'm just biased, but I did enjoy one scene between Damon and Elena because Elena actually stood her ground with Damon, and you can just tell they have chemistry.  But seriously, all shipping aside, the book felt like it could have had potential, but fell flat due to the unrelatable characters.  

The Twelve Clues of Christmas Review

The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen

From Goodreads: On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me—well, actually, my true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending a feliz navidad tramping around South America. Meanwhile, Mummy is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with that droll Noel Coward! And I’m snowed in at Castle Rannoch with my bumbling brother, Binky, and sourpuss sister-in-law, Fig. 

So it’s a miracle when I contrive to land a position as hostess to a posh holiday party in Tiddleton. The village is like something out of A Christmas Carol! But no sooner have I arrived than a neighborhood nuisance, a fellow named Freddie falls out of a tree, dead…. Dickensian, indeed.

Freddie’s merely a stocking stuffer. On my second day in town, another so-called accident turns up another mincemeat pie—and yet another on my third. The village is buzzing that a recent prison break could have something to do with it… that, or a long-standing witch’s curse. I’m not so sure. But after Darcy shows up beneath the mistletoe, anything could be possible in this wicked wonderland.

My Thoughts:

First, I have to say that I started reading Rhys Bowen about a year ago, and I really enjoy her writing. I will recommend this series to people who like light-hearted, comical mysteries.  I have not read any other works from this author but I do know she has other series. This is the sixth book of Her Royal Spyness Mysteries.  The main character, Georgiana, is a woman who is in line for the English throne but far removed (35th in line as of this book). I think it's the fact that she does have royal English blood makes her fascinating, but also being that she is so far removed from the throne makes Georgiana relatable to everyday people.  This series takes place in the 1930s, so it has a nice historical flare to it.  I, personally, enjoy a good historical novel now and then and it's interesting to learn about different times than our own. The reason I love this series so much is because there is a little bit of everything: mystery, romance, and humor.  Georgie, as she is sometimes called, is a quirky girl with some flare.  She doesn't seem to take herself too seriously, always living on the edge of poverty, despite being royal. Her family expects her to marry a royal prince by now, and so they have cut off her funds.  This leads Georgie to make all sorts of interesting decisions that sometimes get her into trouble, and always involves a murder mystery. 

In this installment, Georgiana takes a position as a hostess in order to get away from her awful sister-in-law and her family in Scotland over the Christmas season.  At the very best, she hopes that her Christmas will be bearable, but gets a whole lot more than she bargains for! Overall, I enjoyed this book and as always the author's prose makes me laugh out loud at some points.  The mystery was actually hard to figure out, and I enjoyed that.  At some parts the book dragged, but I do know that every year I look forward to a new release in this series.  Read this book if you want to laugh :) 

Finally I'm Back

After a brief six month hiatus of running this book blog, I can finally say that my finals and classes are done for good!! All I have left to do is my externship and graduation in May.  Sigh* Such a relief. I barely had time to breathe, let alone any hobbies I might have once enjoyed. Now that my classes are done, and it's Christmas break, I can finally start reading all the "to be read" books on my Goodreads list. First trip to the Library today since forever and these are what I'm intending on picking up:

A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1) by Rachel Caine


Wooo I'm off !!

Review: Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

Oh, what to say about this. Well, this story takes place in future dystopian America where scientists have found a cure for love, which is called deliria in the book.  Everyone gets the procedure done and is then paired with their match for marriage.  If you disobey these rules and show signs of the deliria, or worse, sympathize with others, then there are very severe and harsh punishments. The main character, Lena, falls in love shortly before her procedure is done, and this book is her story.

There were lots that I liked about this book, but also, lots I didn't like.





First the good:

I liked the world Oliver built.
I liked Gracie.
I liked Hana, sometimes.
I liked the love story between her and Alex.
I liked the climax at the end....certainly did not expect that.


Now, onto the bad:

WARNING...SEMI-SPOILERS AHEAD
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The world that Oliver built was great, but it was lacking and I felt that the book fell flat. I can't even put my finger on the exact flatness.  Maybe it was the lack of action; Perhaps there was too much monologue in the character's head; Could have been the fact that Lena barely interacts with others which doesn't show us the world very much. It juts didn't have that believable quality to it...that realness that makes you feel as if you are the character going through this. There were a lot of unanswered questions to me.  For example, Lena's mother. I felt that that plot line could have been expanded, as could have little Gracie, and the parties. Whatever happened to all those people?  Does Hana still go to them? Does Alex? You would think Lena would want to take care of Gracie, or something since she understands her so well.  But no. I get it that Lena is in love, but she felt more emotions for a dying dog rather than little Gracie. That isn't even a joke! I wish it was.

I really wanted to LOVE this book, like other people, but I couldn't.  I loved it, but wasn't in love with it, if that makes sense. It was alright. Will I read the next book in the series? Probably. Hey, I want to know what happens!  But I won't be expecting any groundbreaking writing in the future.

What's in My Book Pile?

So I went to the library, and crossed off some of the books that I had in my "to be read" pile.  I definitely don't think I'll get all of these done before I leave for school this weekend, but at least I have them checked out for a couple of weeks.





My sister read Delirium by Lauren Oliver and could not stop talking about it for a week.  She was so excited she even recommended it for me in my Goodreads.  Now, I finally have time to read it. It seems like another one of those YA dystopian novels, but hopefully this one is enthralling and exciting.  From what I've been hearing, it is. Basically, in a nutshell, scientists are able to eradicate love, and the procedure is quite common.  But before undergoing the procedure, Lena Holoway, the main character, falls in love.

The next book up on my list is Heist Society by Ally Carter.  From what I gather, Katarina Bishop, the main character, is an accomplished spy. It seems to be a family past time.  Her friend comes to tell her that her father has stolen a famous mobster's art collection and is in trouble.  Now, Katarina is the only one that can help her father and steal the paintings back. It seems like an exciting read.  To confess something, I always wanted to be a spy when I was a little girl, so this is kinda like me living out my dreams, right? When Harriet the Spy came out, I put on my little raincoat and took my journal and walked around the neighborhood, just like Harriet, and--well, you get the picture.

One I am particularly excited to read is The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.  It is the second book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series.  Yes, it is a children's book.  Yes, the movie kinda sucked. But rest assured, the book did not.  It took me a while to get into the first one, but after so many pages I was hooked.  I expect no less from this second installment of the series.
Percy Jackson is a demigod, a son of one of the Greek gods. They have a special camp for these children and it is in jeopardy. It is up to Percy to save the camp, but to first do that, Percy needs the help of his friend Grover who is stuck in the Bermuda Triangle.  Can Percy rescue Grover and stop the destruction of Camp Half-Blood?
                                            

    This isn't one I was particularly longing for or anything, but I saw it on the library shelf, and it looks like another fun, easy read.  It does look like another chick lit for me, but so what? They're funny and I'm hoping this one is, too. I felt like I could really relate to this one because the opening line of the summary is "Recent Yale graduate Megan Smith comes to Manhattan with big plans for a career in journalism and even bigger student loan debt: $75,000." 
I can relate perfectly! Hello student loans--I'll be seeing you next year when I graduate. Anyway, so Megan has a bunch of student loans and when her first job fails, she takes a back-up job: tutoring two rich heiresses so that they can pick up their SAT scores enough to get into Duke. And this is a promising line "Megan quickly discovers that if she's going to get her money, she'll have to learn her Pucci from her Prada." This sounds like my kinda read! Bring on the Prada.

Does anyone else think the bikini on the cover is kinda cute? Metallic is in right now...





I'm off to start putting a dent into these books.  Have a good Thursday!                          

Book Funk

So, I've been in a book funk this past week.  As soon as I finished the Shopaholic series, I was looking for the next best read.  I decided to start reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire, but I was having a really hard time getting into it.  I'm about 20 pages in, and I've completely lost interest.  I know that the play is very popular, that's one of the reasons I wanted to read the book, but I don't know whether to push on and keep reading, or just throw in the towel.  I wish I had blog followers to respond to me! lol

Anyway, I had planned to read The Summer I turned Pretty by Jenny Han, then  I was breezing through my Goodreads, and realized I already read this book and I didn't think it was good.  I mean, obviously it was unimpressive if I forgot I had even read it.  I know it has 4 stars on Goodreads, so other people liked it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.  So that was a bummer, too.

I'm going to do some research on Goodreads and see what I come up with. I can't spend this week not reading, it's my last week before my semester starts!! Library, here I come :)

Chick Lit Summer

So, normally I don't read that much chick lit.  Usually I stick to my one or two favorite authors of chick lit (Meg Cabot).  However, I define chick lit as short, easy reads that are funny; you don't have to think too hard to read them, and they make you happy.  Usually these reads involve a hot guy or two, a woman's point of view, and funny instances occurring with the main characters. I don't know if it was because I had such a heavy summer course load, but these books helped to keep me sane this summer, when I would have most likely spontaneously combust from all the school work.


I have basically been devouring any and all books by Sophie Kinsella.  I don't know how I haven't heard about her before, but she is SO funny and I love her writing style.  I noticed in most of her books she writes in present tense, which seems like it would be difficult to do.

1. Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic Series
I LOVED this series, and it was hilarious.  It made me laugh so much.  Yes, the first book has a main character who is extremely shallow and creates her own problems, but the other books are not quite so materialistic and from one girl who loves shopping to another, who hasn't wanted the newest boots from gucci!? (I mean...at least Becky Bloomwood can afford them unlike some who are poor grad school students. *ahem) This series takes you on all the wacky adventures Becky gets herself into, and I promise, you will be laughing.


Her other books she's written are just as hilarious (The Undomestic Goddess, Can You Keep a Secret) There are more but those are the ones I've read.

2. Mary Janice Davidson's Mermaid Series.  At first, I was hesitant to read these, because I thought I would never get into a book about a mermaid.  BUT, Fred reminds me a lot of early Betsy books (from her Undead series) and I love Betsy!  She manages to make the undersea world seem not so far-fetched and even though the plot was lacking in some areas, it was entertaining, and that's what I wanted to read most this summer.

Currently, I'm trying to find the 3rd book in this series; my library system doesn't have it and I'm debating if spending the money would be worth it on half.com.


Other books I've read this summer include: Advanced Review of Speech-Language Pathology, Complete Guide to Audiology, Language Disorders in Children....but for some reason, I didn't think anyone would want to hear a review about those ;)

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare: Review

The official synopsis from the book can be found here at Goodreads, but I'm going to give you my own synopsis because the official one is rather long.

Basically what happens, if you've been reading the series you already know that Jace has gone missing (and if this is your first time reading a book in this series I strongly suggest you start from the beginning; not that you can't read this as a standalone, but trust me you will not want to miss the story of these characters from the beginning).  Anyway, Jace has gone missing and so has Sebastian, Clary's half demon brother. The Clave chooses not to focus on finding Jace, so it is up to the original crew to solve this: Clary, Izzy, Alec, Magnus, and Simon.  Clary branches out on her own to help Jace, going into a rather dangerous place to find out information for the others.  That leaves the rest of the crew to figure out how to put a stop to Sebastian's evil plan, and how to separate Jace from the bond Sebastian created with him. There are also little side stories going on in this such as the relationships of Alec, Magnus, Simon, Izzy, and others.

My thoughts on this book were that it was G-R-E-A-T. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads and I'm giving it 5 stars here, too.  Although it did take me a while to get into it because I didn't do a reread of the last book, I could not put it down.  I mean, first, Cassandra Clare's writing is phenomenal.  It's not easy to write such a great story, with characters so alive that you can feel their emotions, and include twists and turns in there as well. It's not. So, thank you Ms. Clare for writing this masterpiece.  I didn't mind staying up until 3 am to finish it, honest :)

I thought that this book was very balanced between all the characters and their stories.  There was not really a point when I was thinking: "Hurry up already, I want to get back to whatever".  Not to mention the character growth of Clary.  She is really coming into her own as a Shadowhunter, and I am glad to see her on equal ground with Jace rather then needing him to protect her so much. Actually, come to think of it a lot of the characters were showing growth in this book: Alec with his relationship needs, Simon's acceptance of himself, Izzy's desire to open up with her feelings, Maia with her true desires, etc.

There were also a couple of "OMG" moments.  These are a few spoilers, so please, stop now if you do not want to be spoiled.  I mean it.


Do not read on!!!......




Okay, read on if you want to be spoiled, but you were warned.
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Spoilers

Holy cow, Sebastian's confession.  I had to set my book down and mutter to myself "omg, omg, what the heck" because it was such a twist I certainly did not see coming.  I have noticed throughout the whole series that there is some sort of bizarre incest vibe going on here.

Um, Simon's mark!? Yeah, how many times did we hear foreshadowing about what they would do to him if the Mark of Cain was removed.  Yep, he's dead meat...well, more dead then before. (just kidding about him dying; I really hope it is not the end for him).

The ending itself...talk about creepy.  A dead angel laying on the floor as a message?  Pretty creepy.

Finally, I just wanna throw in a quote that I liked, from the end of the book.

Pg 522
Jace: "You came here to apologize to me?"
She was taken aback. "Of course I did."
"Clary," he said.  "You saved my life."
"I stabbed you.  With a massive sword.  You caught on fire."
His lips twitched, almost imperceptibly.  "Okay," he said.  "So maybe our problems aren't like other couples'."

On that note, good day everyone :)

First Post

This is, in fact, my first blog post ever.  I'm testing out the waters here. I cannot figure out how to move my layout around in a way that is pleasing to myself. Bahhh help!