Synopsis: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. Review: Even though it was way under my level of reading I still liked it! It wasn’t a book where I read straight through to the end, not being able to put it down, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Riordan did an amazing job incorporating true aspects of Greek mythology into the story thus teaching me more about them - which I find really interesting. He also did a great job putting a modern twist on the gods in “today's modern world”. I think it really worked. His writing style is directed towards middleschoolers so it is easy to follow and fun to read, even when the action isn’t happening (which is rare). The characters in the book too were really likeable and had their distinct personalities. The story itself was really interesting and not at all predictable (which is nice for a book directed towards a younger audience). It truely does not all come together until the very end, where it is left with a new problem to be solved in the next book. There really isn’t too much to say about a book as popular as this except, good read! Though, I'm not quite at the point of jumping on the Percy Jackson bandwagon... Rating: 4/5 Stars
0 Comments
Synopsis: Two Wars, One Destiny. Seventeen-year-old Edyn Vella always knew that her strange dreams of the future made her unique, but she never knew what they meant. However, when she fails to stop her aunt’s murder by an ominous vampiric creature, Edyn learns that her prophetic visions aren’t the only superhuman ability she possesses. Following her late aunt’s clues, Edyn finds herself in New York City attempting to save her last surviving relative, the powerful and reclusive billionaire, Ethan Roux. Edyn not only discovers Ethan isn’t exactly human, but that she is at the center of an ancient prophecy and could determine the outcome of an impending war. As Ethan’s Omega, his only human descendant, she’s thrust into an enigmatic world full of new supernatural creatures where both good and evil vampires and warlocks have waged a centuries-long battle for the fate of humanity. Just as her relationship with the mysterious and handsome Brendan begins to blossom, Edyn’s complicated new life quickly spirals out of control when ancient evil becomes determined on making her one of them. Edyn must discover her inner strength while making the choice between a long life without love and a potentially short life full of it. The Bellum Prophecy is a dark, suspenseful new novel that explores the loss of innocence while coming of age in the midst of a battle between good and evil. Combining the best elements of vampire legend, the supernatural, and even magic, L. Marie Horton uses exciting action and a cutting-edge story to craft a refreshing new take on young adult fiction. Review: I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to vampire novels - there’s just so many out there that they all seem to blend together as glamorized chick-flick style action stories. This book gives me hope for vampire novels once again! Horton’s style of writing reminded me exactly of Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series, so if you’re a fan of those I would highly, highly recommend you check this out. Similar to The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, this is about a normal teenage girl who is thrown into the dark world or magic and monsters. Yes, it is an overused plot where a normal girl is the “chosen one” who has unimaginable power and must fight to stay out of the hands of the enemy. But all the details and twists made it much different than other books and plus there are NO LOVE TRIANGLES in this YA fantasy book - FINALLY! Love triangles tend to annoy me. There is some romance, crime, mystery and lots of fantasy and action packed into the 327 pages that make up The Bellum Prophecy. I have to admit that at times the story was a little unrealistic. Such as having a 17 year old work for a detective, conducting important interviews to find missing people. But I could totally can look past it since this is, after all, a YA fantasy novel. Highly recommended to fans of YA fantasy books. And if you too are skeptical of vampire books - please give this a try, you won’t be disappointed!!! I promise :) Rating: 5/5 Stars Synopsis: When Rek finds Kailee and Audric’s bodies missing from their coffins, he must figure out where they are before it is too late. Rek along with Astrid, and their mortal friend Gabe, must cross realms in order to find the last remaining Oracle. She is the only one who can help lead them to Kailee and Audric. Will Rek find Kailee and Audric before it is too late? Will the secrets about the “key” prophecy finally be revealed? Find out in this exciting second installment of The Arcadian Series. Review: As excited as I was for this book, I feel like it just didn’t completely deliver. To me it was just a bridge book, bringing together the first book and the third (which is not yet released). The story continues exactly where it left off in book one, but gets cut off at the end. There is a fine line between a cliffhanger and cutting a story off right in the middle, and I think that this was not the time to end the story. The book almost did a complete 360 as it started out with people being kidnapped and ended the exact same way, so in the end I didn't feel like too much progress was made. I still like the writing style of T. L. Coulter and I love the storyline and the characters - I just think the book should have been longer. Unlike book one, this one takes place more in the wizard realm. It gave me more of an idea about the setting these characters are in. We are introduced to new characters that I found easy to love (and hate). I also loved how it took a vision that Kailee had in book one, and made it come true in this book - I completely forgot about that! I would say that since this is an easy read that has a pretty simple storyline, this would be an ideal read for an audience of middle schoolers or young teens. Overall I think this book could have used a bit more work but it is successful in making me want to read the next one. Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Synopsis: Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance. Not even close. For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before. And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn. It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn… Review: I just finished this book and my heart is racing and I honestly can’t even wait until my head clears to write a proper review (just a heads up in case this review is all over the place). Fire with Fire starts off with the fallout of the homecoming disaster. Reeve is more repulsive than ever, Rennie turns into a tyrant queen bee, and Lillia, Kat, and Mary have no choice but to lay low - easier said than done! The drama surrounding these girls intensifies. All three girls quickly realize that they have to go all in if they want successful revenge. Lillia is the agent who fully commits to her part in the revenge. Unexpected relationships are made and broken, but things don’t go as expected - at all. Lillia’s social life is completely turned upside down but she won’t go out without a fight. The claws come out. Mary isn’t normal. We know that much; but we learn so much more about her. Stranger things begin to happen. Supernatural things. With a crazy aunt who gets more and more unstable with each passing day, and Reeve being more vicious than ever, Mary is an emotional wreck. She doesn’t know what to believe about herself and her powers. She doesn’t understand her own family situation. To put the cherry on the cake, Reeve hurts her even worse. But the more Mary understands, the more she wishes she didn’t. The truth about her is absolutely startling and will leave you (and her) with so many new questions. Not too much happens around Kat in this book that was insane per say. But Kat sure is ringleader of the three girls this time. After unlikely befriending Mary, Kat helps to keep her safe and in a stable state of mind. She also is the one to push Alex towards a life of pursuing his dreams. She alsooooo organizes Mary’s revenge scheme, ordering Lillia around the field and towards their goal. This book just continues to intensify, chapter by chapter. The last 58 pages of the book are just mad. Mary’s family life, social life, emotional life, and just “life” gets completely burned. Lillia goes off the deep end and starts to listen to her gut instead of her head and throws any old plans out the window (at least for that night), completely burning a big relationship. Not everyone comes out alive. When I finished this book a couple of minutes ago, I was left with my mouth hanging open and my heart racing. Burns hurt, but fire kills. Rating: 5/5 Stars Synopsis: Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn't surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them? The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn't the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end. Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it. Review: Of course - here is the much awaited happily ever after. If I'm being completely honest, I expected a lot more from the final book in this trilogy. But everything ended exactly as one would think. There was really no plot twist or anything that really surprised me which was a little disappointing. If you're a fan of cliche YA, paranormal novels then this is the perfect series for you. There's love at first sight, love triangles, and an unusual/awkward teenage heroine who is ultimately the all powerful "creature" fated to save her race/the world. Amanda Hocking continued on right where Torn left off and of course took time throughout the whole book reminding the reader of what happened in the previous books to help explain or justify events in this book which was also a little annoying. As predictable as this book was, I still loved it. The characters are all really charming and loveable, and they all end up the way living happily ever after. It really is a fairy tale ending - and not a Grimm's Fairy Tale kind. ***SPOILERS*** This book was a lot more anticlimactic than I would have liked. When Wendy and her rather small army went to kill the Vittra, it just happened so fast. Within a couple hours they killed King Oren while keeping all the main characters alive - which is a little boring. I was expecting Duncan to at least die since he seemed rather expendable, but nope! They kept him alive, they even brought Loki back from the dead. I just wished everything would have turned out a little less perfect. Also, did anyone else think that the main characters were much to young to all be married and have kids? I mean, the heroine of the story is 19 years old, a queen, married for the second time, and has a one year old son. Isn't that a little much? Same goes for Finn and Mia. They've known each other for a little over a year and a half, have only been dating for maybe a year, and they're also married now and Mia is pregnant again with her second child. I just wish they could have taken it slower and not have rushed the happy ending in the story. Buttttt, I still love reading tacky, cliche, YA paranormal novels. It's a good light read and pretty straight forward, but a nice break from reading more daunting novels like "A Feast for Crows". Overall, I found that I enjoyed the series - simple, quick to read, and with lovable characters. Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Synopsis: Sam Shao has found out too much about the haan, by accident. All humans have to get along with them—we owe them our lives—and Sam even counts a haan among her best friends. But the more she learns, the less she trusts them It doesn't help that the building of new haan colonies seems to be coinciding with a rash of missing persons cases. Sam and her hacker friends are determined to reveal the truth about the haan, before it’s too late. The aliens are still promising salvation, and they seem set to deliver, but with things already spinning out of control Sam is confronted with a possibility no one wants to admit—that what salvation means to humankind and what it means to the haan may be two horribly different things. Review: This book was definitely better than the first one! In the first book, I struggled a bit to understand the world the story took place in, but with this prior knowledge now, I felt like I could focus more on the storyline. Just like the first book, this is incredibly fast-paced and full of nonstop action - which I love. What I love about Decker, is that he really knows how to twist up the plot and take the story in unexpected directions. It's the type of story where you honestly can never guess what will happen next. I like that this book had more of a focus on Sam's relationships with Alexi, Dragan, Nix, and VAMP. I'm in love with Vamp. Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Synopsis: Nyx is Queen of Hell and ruler of the Angels who were banished there – the Descended. And when the rest of the Angels are called home, Nyx finds herself stuck on the Earth with the Son of God. To her surprise, she learns that he is no happier than she. God’s son thought he was sent down to judge humanity. Instead, he becomes a sacrifice for a cause he does not believe in – their redemption. After his mortal body dies, the Son of God makes Nyx an offer: a new paradise on Earth if she will help him destroy humanity. With two of her fellow Angels by her side, Nyx launches a thousand-year campaign of violence, sex, betrayal and intrigue to bring down God’s people and have them worship her instead. From the back streets of Jerusalem to the palaces of Rome, from the temples of Egypt to the Pope’s bedchamber, Nyx and her companions work to destroy the worshippers of God. But not all is as it seems. And the Son of God has bigger plans than any of them imagine… Review: If you thought George R.R. Martin was cruel, you should give this book a whirl. I was warned that it was going to be really dark and twisted but I was not prepared for this. It was amazing!! John Patrick Kennedy (JPK) brought Nix, Persephone, and Ishtar to life in a way that was terrifying and believeable. Nix is the Queen of Hell and Persephone and Ishtar are her closest friends and followers which right away twisted this book for me. I would go back and forth, loving the characters and sympathizing with them, then remembering that she is a horrible angel - but she’s made out to be the protagonist. It was just really well executed. JPK’s has a writing style that I love. He has the perfect balance of dialogue, description, and facts. He totally pulled off writing about Nix’s life over a period of over 1000 years without it being boring for even a second. Going into the book, I was a little nervous that it would be super religious. I was sooo happy to find out that although it technically was religious, it was more historical fiction with lots of action and gore and twists. I knew something wasn’t right with Tribunal right from the beginning but I couldn’t figure out what exactly. In the ending we get a taste of who he really is and it’s grim. I definitely need to read book 2 to find out the true extent of his wrath. The only reason I didn’t give this a solid 5 stars is because I didn’t fully connect 100% to the characters and completely become a part of them. I would say I sympathized 85% with them - maybe because they are so dark? I’m not really sure. Anyway I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is prepared for a DARK and PROVOCATIVE book. Even though JFK is a fairly new author, I’m still surprised that this book isn’t more popular. It deserves Rating: 4.5/5 Stars |
WelcomeHey everyone, my name is Amy and this is my reading and writing blog. Look out for book reviews, hauls, recommendations and original writing! xo Archives
October 2016
Categories |