Graceling by Kristi Cashore Review

Summary from Goodreads:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.     When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. 

Review:

I LOVED this book. Did I mention I loved this book? Everything about this book was so much fun. I loved seeing the transformation of Katsa, seeing her realize her true self. And I think Po may be my new literary boyfriend. Funny, smart, charming....


I'm so glad book 2 is out and book 3 out very soon!! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Kids Book Corner #1

Every Saturday my 5-year-old son and I go to the library and he can bring home quite an impressive haul on some days. He mostly lets me pick out the books while he plays computer games but at least he's out of the house and surrounded by books. He does like me reading to him and thinks I pick out the best ones.

I've decided to start a weekly post of what we have read for the week and give my thoughts, and his on the books we got.

"Can You See What I See? Once Upon A Time" By Walter Wick


My son always enjoys these. He complains sometimes that they're too hard and will move on quickly. I think he's just lazy but in any case he always wants more and it does keep him busy for awhile. I love this one for all the fairy tale pictures. Very well done.

"Dinosaurs Before Dark" by Mary Pope Osbourne

This is #1 to The Magic Treehouse series. My son has started getting into chapter books and a friend of his at preschool brought one of these for show and tell so he decided he wanted to start reading these. He doesn't pay much attention and can't remember from chapter to  chapter but he enjoyed it and we have #2 for next week.

"The Bat in the Boot" by Annie Cannon

I liked this one. My son wasn't to impressed but I thought it was cute. Not alot of action for a boy. He had been talking about bats so I thought he'd like it, but not so much. Oh well.

"Bread and Jam for Frances" by Russell Hoban

I remembered this one from when I was little an wanted to share it with him. Not for my boy but I still liked it.

"Snowbots" by Aaron Reynolds

My son loved this one. He's into robots so its perfect for him. Has cute pictures and a very cute story.

"What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs?" by Carol Carrick

A very cute, funny story. My son loved it and laughed with it too. Always a plus!! Definate boys thumbs up on this one!

Legend by Marie Lu Review

Summary from Goodreads:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Review:

I loved this book! It was a quick read packed with action. I think Day would be my new literary boyfriend if I were 15. At my age now it would be kind of pervy :)  He has a great heart and courage. June, the heroine, is smart and brave. I love their blooming romance. Unlike some other books, its not an all consuming romance which I like. They are more kindred spirits I think. Together they will conquer the world!

I can't wait to see where book 2 takes us!

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Summary from Goodreads:

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Review:


I know I'm a little late into reviewing this series being that it is #5 in the series so this will be more about the whole series in general. 


I love this series!!! The writing is great, the characters are real. Full of adventure and fun. I must say though, I do have issue with the obsessiveness between Jace and Clary. Its an issue I had with the "Twilight" books too. Just feels wrong to me to be so insanely into someone like that, you lose parts of yourself and the other person is your whole world. Annoys me. Jealous? Maybe. That being said, I do feel for Jace and Clary and their obsessive unrequited love. Can anything else happen to keep them from each other?


I also applaud Cassandra Clare for being such an amazing YA writer! Being way past the age of the YA reader, I find these and so many other YA novels so appealing. I have always been a reader but I do not remember these kind of books when I was teenager. Maybe I was too focused at the time on fantasy novels, Ann Rice, and others, that I never noticed or came across any. Whatever it is, I am proud to be reading these books even in the last year of my 30's!

The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker

Summary from Susanne Winnacker's blog  http://susannewritesfiction.blogspot.de/2012/05/pub-date-giveaway.html
 
3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

The Telegraph recommended THE OTHER LIFE for teens who loved The Hunger Games! Here's part of what they said:  
And Susanne Winnacker’s The Other Life, set in LA at a future time in which the Weepers, mutated by a strain of rabies, have begun to hunt humans, is especially memorable. The best parts, though, are the domestic early sections, reminiscent of Emma Donoghue’s adult novel Room, which show up the tensions of a family stuck in a bunker for 1,141 days and on the brink of starvation. 



I Have not read this book but it is so right up my alley!! I am looking forward to it and crossing my fingers I can win a copy!!!

Library Day

Today is Saturday. The day my 5-year-old son and I go to the library almost every week. I'm trying to instill in him a love of reading. He enjoys the computer games.... sigh. I ask him what kinds of books he wants and he always says "surprise me". He thinks I pick out the best books and does enjoy reading them together every night before bed. Its a start anyway.

As for me, today on the hold shelf I am picking up:

"City of Lost Souls" by Cassandra Clare
"Legend" by Marie Lu
"Graceling" by Kristin Cashore

Looking forward to all of these. Now to find the time to read them! And to not despair by the pile of books I have put off.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth Review

Summary taken from Goodreads

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Review

I must admit it take me a few pages to get into it. I'm not sure if it was my mood, or because I couldn't remember what happened before... Whatever it was I got over it and loved the rest of the book. I'm excited to see where it is heading into the third book. I hope Tris can battle her demons and come out stronger and better in the end. Sometimes, I'm not sure if I trust Four. Maybe its because we don't see the story from his point of view but he definately hiding something!

In one eye and out the other

On Saturday, I picked up my hold copy of "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth. I was so excited to be the first person on the hold list and couldn't wait to get it. I started reading it but had a bit of a busy weekend so haven't gotten too far.

But as I was reading, I realized I don't remember what happened before and keep getting it mixed up with everything else I have been reading lately!! Sigh....

I could never figure out how someone who loves to read as much as I do has the WORST reading comprehension! It was always my lowest score on school testing.

Now I think I can just blame it on mommy brain. It is a real thing you know! Or maybe I just live in the moment when I read and move on when I'm done. I don't know.

So I decided I would share what I have been reading and loving lately:

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth
"Blood Red Road" by Moira Young
"Matched" by Allie Condie
"The Passage" by Justin Cronin
"Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

(See a pattern yet?)

"City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare
"The Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare
"The Demon King" by Cinda Williams Chima
"Tiger's Curse" by Colleen Houck
"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
"A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

Hmmmm.... trying to think of anything else. That's actually alot of reading over the past year or so with two boys under 5! Also, these are all series which I am anxiously awaiting sequels so I can read them and forget what they were about! In one eye and out the other....

Review "Prize of My Heart"

Summary courtesy of Bethany House Publishers

Massachusetts, 1815.
Will His Love Endure Once He Learns Her Secret?

Three years ago, Captain Brogan Talvis's late wife abandoned their son, leaving no clue as to the boy's whereabouts. After searching relentlessly, Brogan discovers his son was adopted by a New England shipbuilder. And the man's daughter, Lorena Huntley, acts as loving guardian to the child.
Lorena, who hides a dark truth, finds herself falling for the handsome captain and ex-privateer who's come to secure ownership of one of her father's ships. She's unaware of Brogan's own secret when another's deceit has her sailing toward Europe against her will.
Haunted by thoughts of Lorena in peril, Brogan is compelled to choose between the boy he longs for and the woman who has captured his heart.

Review:

I have to say I was very surprised with this book. I figured it would be a typical sweet, historical romance which I like, however with a twist at the end that really surprised me! I thought I had it all figured out but nope! I love the characters, very well-written. I have to say I like the villain. I could really feel the craziness coming off of him!

If you what a quick, uplifting read, a little escape from life, then this is a good book to check out!

I received a free copy from Bethany House Publishers for review. If you are interested in reviewing books for them email www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers