Booking Through Thursday (11)

Do signed copies excite you? Tempt you? Delight you? Or does it not matter to you?

Briana: I love getting signed copies! It's an autograph from the person that just created a story good enough to get published. It's definitely exciting because the person that just created an amazing story didn't just have a printed copy given to you by the publishing company. They took the time to sign it and I feel it's so much more personal, even though they probably sign 100 books a day lol.

Burned (House of Night Series #7)

P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

Published 2010

323 Pages

Rating: B+

(The summary contains spoilers of books 1-6)

When friends stop trusting each other, Darkness is there to fan the flames….

Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned.

(END of spoilers)

I'm so happy to say that even though Tempted didn't impress me, Burned did. I definitely felt an improvement, not only with the story itself but also with the slang. There wasn't as much of "I heart you" and "bullpoopie" kinds of phrases. There was still a lot of planning instead of doing in this book, if you know what I mean. The whole book was basically just talking about plans and right at the last 50 pages or so, something finally happened.

The connection between Stevie Rae and Rephaim is what really kept me reading. I can't wait to see it progress more and more through out the series. I'm definitely feeling a little beauty and the beast story going on here.

Something that I noticed that kind of bugs me is there are a lot of similarities between True Blood and House of Night. I'm wondering if the Cast's consciously got the ideas from the show or if they got them without even realizing they might be accidentally ripping the show off. The white bull, the horns, visiting the queen for help, and some other things I can't really remember right now.

Did any of you guys notice the similarities too? I'd love to know what you thought.

-Briana

P.S. It's my birthday! :)

Paper Towns

John Green

Published 2008

305 Pages

Rating: B-

Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew…

(from back of book)

There were parts of this book that I absolutely loved, but there were also parts of the book were I wish John Green either didn’t put in or wrote differently. Paper Towns is funny, compelling, thought provoking, and adventurous.

Paper Towns is divided into three parts: The Strings, The Grass, and The Vessel. Each section has its own quirkiness and excitement that keeps you on the edge of your seat. In the first section, the Strings, you meet Quentin Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman. They are both in high school but aren’t necessarily friends with one another. They have been neighbors since they were young and Quentin (Q) has had a crush on Margo ever since he could remember. But one night, Margo surprises Q at his bedroom window and takes him on an adventure/revenge trip of a lifetime. He believes this is a starting point for their friendship to blossom but the next day at school makes him rethink that thought.

The second section, The Grass, is kind of the mystery part of the book. Q and his friends plus a few of Margo’s friends try to uncover the secrets of Margo and what made her do what she did. This is the part of the book that is extremely thought provoking, as you read you try and figure out the clues along with Q and the gang. I was determined to uncover Margo’s secrets before Q, but that didn’t work out so well. Q definitely has a knack for discovering things that other people cannot.

The third section, The Vessel, is probably the funniest part of the book. Q and the gang are on a mission to get to Margo before she does anything she might later regret. This part of the book is divided up by hours and it describes the roadtrip to Margo. There are definitely some hilarious parts in this section, but also in the sections before.

The really big problem I have with this book is the ending. It was a decent ending, but I guess I expected something a lot more intense. But this ending is good with the fact that the reader can kind of guess what happens with Q and Margo.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. It had many great qualities and John Green wrote another winner. I believe most young adults would enjoy this book, especially if they are looking for something just a little bit different than what they are used to reading.

-Arielle

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Hi all!

Long time since I have been on the blog, and for awhile now I have been thinking about leaving the blog altogether, but I have yet to decide completely on what I will do. But on another note, this post is focused on The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

The reason I decided to write a post veered towards these books is because my younger sister is currently reading them after I have been telling her for months and months to read them. At first, she resisted and said she didnt think they would be very good books; but, now that she has finished the first one she is very much in love with them - as am I (and I am sure many of you are as well).

These books are first and foremost excellent young adult books. They are full of excitement, pain, love, friendship, shock-and-awe scenarios, and much much more. They have readers captured from the first page, and will leave them wanting more every page they turn.

This post in dedicated to the wonderful work of Suzanne Collins. But her work isnt over yet. After the first two installments of The Hunger Games, there is still a third Hunger Games book yet to be released.

The third, and final book, of the Hunger Games Trilogy is called Mockingjay which comes out on August 24, 2010 (a little over two months away!!). The synopsis from BN.com is as follows: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Not only am I excited to read this book, but I am also sad that it will be the final book. I feel like these books can be read by young adults but also by adults. Everyone will find something in these books that they like.

I am also pleased to say that they will be creating a Hunger Games movie that is supposed to come out in 2011, but I really dont know how well that isnt going. But I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will in fact have a movie, because I think it could be a really great one if they work hard at it! Here is a post by Marisa about the Hunger Games movie.

For those of you that have no idea what The Hunger Games or Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins are, I recommend reading these books as soon as you can! And if you need further proof that these books are awesome you can read reviews by Briana (here for Catching Fire), and by me (here for a dual review of The Hunger Games) & (here for Catching Fire).

I know this has been a long post, but I really just wanted to reiterate the fact that YOU need to read these books! They are truly amazing and will leave you craving more of Katniss and Peeta!

-Arielle

P.S. Hopefully I will be able to do some more stuff with the blog now that it is finally summer, and I do have some time to read if I am not working!

Booking Through Thursday (10)

It's been a while since I've done one of these but here it goes!

Which do you prefer? Short stories? Or full-length novels?

Briana: Definitely full-length novels! I hate only spending a few pages with a character compared to hundreds, especially if I love the character.

(Marisa and Arielle may post later.)

Tempted (House of Night Series #6)

P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast


Published 2009


319 Pages


Rating: B-


(May contain spoilers for anyone that hasn't read Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, and Hunted.)



So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul?

I definitely did not enjoy this book as much as the others. It's been a while since I've read the other books in the series, so I can't quite remember what happened in what book, but the other books, from what I remember, were so much more entertaining and exciting than Tempted.

I did like this book so don't get me wrong. The characters were funny and attractive, but definitely annoying. I don't know how much longer I can take the whole "I heart you" instead of "I love you" crap. I know they're probably aiming for a younger audience than 19 (I'm actually still 18, but I'll be 19 in exactly a week!) but I read a lot of YA books and I never seem to have a problem with the tween lingo.

Through the majority of the book, I kept wondering when the climax would come and what it would be. It finally came right at the very end, but I feel like that and maybe two other things were the only exciting events that happened in the book. The whole book seemed like it was just revolving on plans to destroy Kalona.

I am excited to read Burned, the next book in the series so I can see if anything else exciting happens, but I really hope I'm not disapointed. I feel like a B- is being very generous, but I've been reading this series for a while now so I guess I'm being a little biased.

-Briana

In My Mailbox (33)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.





Briana: So... I did not get any books this week :( I'm really trying to cut back on the buying until I read through a good chunk of them. But, I did get something I've been looking forward to!

My birthday is in a few weeks and this was an early gift because of a great sale. I'll be taking pictures of the books "in my mailbox" rather than just posting pictures of the actual books though :)! What did you guys get in your mailbox? Leave me a link to yours so I can check it out!

(Marisa and Arielle may post later)

Revelations

Melissa de la Cruz

Published 2008

300 pages

Rating: A-

Synopsis (may contain spoilers for those who haven't read the first two books in the Blue Bloods series)

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.

My review

Well I thought Masquerade was good but Revelations just brought things to a whole new level. I regret saying that I never really expected much of the Blue Bloods series but it did impress me and I simply cannot wait for the other books following The Van Alen Legacy to come out! The series is added to my favorites now for sure after this book. The book follows the characters on their ever lasting battle with the Silver Bloods or more particularly, Leviathan and Lucifer. Instead of Italy, the characters travel to Rio de Janeiro where history was made in the Blue Bloods society.

As for the characters, Schuyler, Jack and Oliver become even more tangled together than before and Bliss.. well don't get me started on her ;) I feel like Revelations was a huge turning point in the series. Their were so many secrets that were revealed about the characters, I couldn't believe it!

To finish, the book definitely exceeded my expectations. The twists and turns were never ending and the entire book had my heart racing. I seriously finished it so quickly because it was just that engrossing. My only problem with it would be the short lenght of the novel. Melissa packed everything together that it just all happened too fast for me all at once, especially near the end. Speaking of the end, I was mind boggled by what was discovered about a certain character. I never would of expected that. For those who read the series, I'm sure you know who and what I'm speaking of. Read it! The title of the book says it all.

-Marisa