It's Monday! What are You Reading?

This is a weekly meme hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books. Here's what I'm reading this week:

Last Week I finished and reviewed the following:
The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
Sookie Stackhouse Book 6: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner
Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies

I am currently reading:
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Monster Blood Tattoo Book 1: Foundling by D.M.Cornish
Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon

I will be reading the following next:
Darkest Powers Trilogy 2: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Sookie Stackhouse Book 7: All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Percy Jackson 3: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Book Review: Fire Bringer

TITLE: Fire Bringer
AUTHOR: David Clement-Davies
PUBLISHED: 1999
GENRE: Young adult, adventure, quest story, fantasy
PREMISE: There are troubled times among the deer and a prophecy tells of someone who will bring peace.
MY REVIEW: My problem with this book isn't that it's badly written. I do actually think the author has talent in that he does great great world building and I have no problem picturing what is going on. My problem is however the storyline and characters. More specifically, it lacked these things.
The storyline is pretty much like every hero's journey story you've ever read: there's a prophecy, destined to bring peace, evil guy to overthrow yadda yadda. To be blunt, there's nothing new in this other then the fact that it's deer instead of humans. As for the characters...they didn't have much personality and being deer it was hard to relate to them and thus it was also kind of hard for me to really care about them in the long run.
But that's just me, I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience for this book. Honest though, I'm not entirely sure WHO the target audience for this book is and am not sure who to rec it to except for maybe fans of Watership Down. So it's not a totally horrible book...it just lacks something that makes me say it's a must read.
WHO SHOULD READ: Not really sure...maybe if you liked Watership Down
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five deer

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Nobody's Princess

TITLE: Nobody's Princess
PART IN SERIES: First of two books so far
AUTHOR: Esther Friesner
PUBLISHED: 2007
GENRE: Young adult, historical fiction, greek mythology tie-in/rewrite
PREMISE: Most of what people know about Helen of Troy comes from the Illiad but what about before? This is Helen's story in her own words.
MY REVIEW: Helen of Troy was always kind of an interesting character for me. I often felt she was overlooked quite a bit by greek writers and I'm thrilled someone else has felt so too. Friesner has taken Helen of Troy and given her a history, character, and nerve.
Is the premise in here unlikely? Yeah, probably. But I don't care. I love the thought of a Helen of Troy who wanted to do more then just sit back and be pretty or search for love. I do sort of find it hard now to imagine this Helen of Troy as the same one from the Illiad but I'm betting Friesner comes up with a brilliant way to explain things.
On top of the awesome Helen of Troy story there are also references to other greek myths/tales such as the tale of Atalanta (another heroine who is virtually ignored by greek writers, and also teachers because mine certainly never covered her), Theseus and many others. I love the dip into greek history and I can't wait to read what happens next.
WHO SHOULD READ: Greek mythology buffs, historical fiction fans, you like strong female leads
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five greek heroes

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
YA Challenge
One Hundred Plus Books
Support Your Local Library

I also apologize for lack of updates this week, for some reason my computer was hating Blogspot these past few days and either not loading it or not letting me sign in. Technology ;insert grumble here;

Booking Through Thursday-March 25th

Do you take breaks while reading a book? Or read it straight through? (And, by breaks, I don’t mean sleeping, eating and going to work; I mean putting it aside for a time while you read something else.)

I switch it up yes, but usually only for a day or too. If I didn't, it would take me far longer to get through books as I usually have about two to three books going at once. The length of time in the breaks also says something about whether or not I like the book. In other words, the longer the break, the less I enjoyed it.

Book Review: Sookie Stackhouse 6

TITLE: Definitely Dead
PART IN SERIES: Book 6 in Sookie Stackhouse series
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
GENRE: Adult, chick-lit, vampires, fantasy, romance
PREMISE: Sookie is back and her life hasn't gotten any less boring. Not only is she now dealing with the Pelt family and Eric who won't leave her alone, she has a new hot were guy (Quinn) who she's trying to start a relationship with, is dealing with leftover drama from her cousin Hadley's death, and even meets up with the Queen of Louisiana.
MY REVIEW: Opinion of this series hasn't really changed: addictive average chick-lit that is fun to read. End of story. Like all the other books this one has a bunch of random things and developments going on but there are two major revelations that really surprised me. I won't give it away but lets just say one explains quite a bit about Sookie and Jason and their string of relationships with the other sex and the other...really makes you want to strangle Bill. Will not be giving it away for the sake of those that haven't gotten this far in the books, but DAMN.
Other then that, it's the same old southern soap opera with a dash of supernatural that makes this series addicting. I did however notice quite a few typos but I'm not sure if that is the book or just my Kindle version so I'm willing to let that go and again, I still enjoyed the book. Though I have to say as hot as I found Quinn their relationship kind of came out of no where. I mean he shows up in the first chapter and goes "lets start something" and Sookie's practically like "okay sure, I'm single anyway" and it just seemed very random. While it did make for interesting reading, it was again, out of no where. Plus, I'm sorry, I want Eric and Sookie to happen. I find the dynamic between those two fun and interesting(plus with Eric we get more Pam and I find Pam kind of hysterical).
WHO SHOULD READ: those still into the series, True Blood fans, vampire fans, Twilight fans, paranormal/fantasy romance type fans
MY RATING: still three and a half out of five vampires

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
Finish That Series
One Hundred Plus Books
12 by 12 in March

Waiting on Wednesday: Insatiable

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that features book releases we're all eager for. Here's one of the many I'm eagerly anticipating:

Insatiable by Meg Cabot.
Normally, I don't go in for vampire kind of books like this. Sookie Stackhouse is about it for me on that front. But I adore Meg Cabot's chick lit and am kind of excited about what her take on the trend will be because I just know she'll have fun with it. The summary also sounds awesome. From Meg Cabot's website:

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.
But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them.
Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die (not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does).
But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets — then makes the mistake of falling in love with — Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side...a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.
The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own.
And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.
Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future...
If she even has one.

Insatiable will be out June 8th, 2010

Book Review: Faerie Wars

TITLE: Faerie Wars
PART IN SERIES: First in Faerie Wars Chronicles
AUTHOR: Herbie Brennan
GENRE: Young adult, fantasy
PREMISE: Henry catches a fairy in a jar and end up being caught up in a war between the faerie realms.
MY REVIEW: This is one of those books that you don't really hear about often. These books can be either really bad, just be for a certain audience and therefore never gain popularity or have no publicity and therefore no one hears about it beyond word of mouth. I think Faerie Wars fall into just for a certain audience category and it also is (sorry Mr. Brennan) kind of bad.
Not to say it totally sucks. There are some good things about it. The faerie world is very imaginative. Unfortunately the book jumps around too much, there's next to no character developement (or even character personality), and I ended up scratching my head a lot through it and wondering what the point of it all was. But I think perhaps I was not the target audience. I believe this was meant for younger male readers who were fans of Artemis Fowl (which I was not overly thrilled with either, sorry AF fans). Other then those things though, everything else in this book is just average with a dash of Mary Sue (Holly Blue) and just nothing that captured my interest and made me want to read the next book in the series.
WHO SHOULD READ: younger male readers
MY RATING: Three out of Five faeries in a jar
FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
Support Your Local Library
YA Challenge
One Hundred Plus Books
12 by 12 in March

Book Review: The Last Knight

TITLE: The Last Knight
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of 2 so far in Knight and Rogue series
AUTHOR: Hilari Bell
GENRE: Young adult, fantasy, adventure
PREMISE: Poor Fisk has been made squire (much against his will thank you) to a crazy noble trying to be a knight. Never mind that there haven't been knights in about two hundred years.
MY REVIEW: Hilari Bell is one of those young adult authors that you don't hear about often and I think it's a sad shame because she writes very well. Her books have complicated characters, interesting fantasy world ideas, and depth. But they don't have the romance which is probably why most teens don't bother to pick her books up. Well, I say if you can only try one of her books pick this one.
Last Knight is a humorous sort of buddy fantasy book. Think Miami Vice or all the other buddy cop shows but if they were set in a fantasy world. Intrigued now? Seriously, pick it up. From the first chapter on with Fisk bemoaning the fact that he is stuck with a crazy person for a partner to the last scene where the two finally admit they maybe sort of like each other this novel is a great ride.
Humor, plus an interesting world, and a complicated mystery/adventure make for a great read but it may not appeal to everyone. I look forward to the next book in the series and hope Bell writes more of these two.
WHO SHOULD READ: You like fun quest stories, you don't mind books with no romance in it
MY RATING: Four out of Five crazy knights

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

In My Mailbox-March 21rst

This is a meme hosted by The Story Siren. Here's some new books to expect reviews for:

Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon: Purchase. No the New Moon dvd release had nothing whatsoever to do with me finally breaking down and buying this, why do you ask?

Percy Jackson 3: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan: Also a purchase. I've become mildly obsessed with this series. No, it's not as good as Harry Potter but it's still kind of awesome and it's hysterical as well. That plus greek mythology references equals me in complete love.

That's it for this week.

Book Review: The Thief Lord

TITLE: The Thief Lord
PART OF SERIES: Standalone
AUTHOR: Cornelia Funke
GENRE: Childrens, adventure
PREMISE: Prosper and Bo have run away to Venice in order to escape their relatives. They end up working with a group of children including one who calls himself the Thief Lord.
MY REVIEW: I will be totally honest: fifty percent of the reason I adored this book was the setting: Venice, Italy aka: coolest city in the world (sorry New York, it's Venice all the way for me). The other fifthy percent just has to do with the fact that the story is great. Funke actually managed to make me like this more then Inkheart (and I loved Inkheart quite a bit).
The setting is the perfect backdrop for what's going on: young pickpockets dodging a detective, getting into shady deals with a conte, and many other things that I can't give away without spoiling it all. Along with the excitement, the characters are wonderful. Funke made all the kids have personalities and you grew to like each one (but I admit, I was majorly partial to Bo and Prosper). The detective is also very likable (and how adorable was it that he had pet torteouses?) and there were many other awesome characters.
So all in all, great setting+fun and memorable characters+exciting things going on=awesome book. If you or your kids liked Inkheart, I gaurantee you'll love this too.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone inclined to pick it up
MY RATING: Five out of Five street thieves (wow, two five out fives this week...that's pretty good)

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

TITLE: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
PART OF SERIES: One of Two so far (two will be released later this year I believe)
AUTHOR: Carrie Ryan
GENRE: Young adult, horror
PREMISE: Mary lives in a village run by the Sisterhood and overrun by creatures known as the unconsecreted. Events force her to leave her home and discover what is beyond the village walls.
MY REVIEW: Wow. Is all I have to say about this book. I normally don't care for present tense written books, mostly because authors don't use it correctly and it ends up not flowing well. Luckily Ryan is one of the authors out there who does present tense WELL and this is such an intense story that I really wasn't paying attention to it in the first place.
I will warn you guys though: this is not a happy, sappy romance story that happens to have danger element to it. If you want romance books, there are plenty out there. This book is dark and a scary vision of the future and many powerful emotions going on and romantic feelings just happen to be thrown in there. But don't expect a happy sappy ending. Also, there is questioning of God (and abuse of power in God's name), so the super religious may not care for it either.
But if you don't mind that, then this book is an intense one from beginning to end. It also one of those rare young adult novels that actually will make you think as well as keep you riveted. It was a nice change from all the fluff that pretty much dominates the young adult shelves nowadays. Not that there's anything wrong with fluff, I'm just saying it's nice to find a book that challenges teens to think beyond omg!who's going to end up with who! for a change. Spectacular book, I am now going to have to check out Ryan's other works and will definitely be reading the next one when it comes out. On a completely unrelated note...I have my hands on the Twilight Parody known as Nightlight ;rubs hands in glee;. Sad how I'm more eager to read this then finish up New Moon.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone who is inclined to take a look
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five zombies

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge

What Are You Reading Mondays...

This is a weekly meme hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

Last Week I read and reviewed the following:
Gilda Joyce Book 2: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
Percy Jackson Book 2: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
House of Night Book 1: Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Currently I am reading:
Emma by Jane Austen (yes, still. I'm hoping to wrap it up this week, I didn't get any reading of it accomplished last week due to the above books)
Sookie Stackhouse Book 6: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (my excuse for this one is the same as Emma, I didn't pick it up at all; blame Percy Jackson)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I will definitely be wrapping these up this week as they are library books:
The Last Knight by Hilari Bell
The Faerie Wars, Book 1 by Herbie Brennan
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Book Review: House of Night-Marked

TITLE: Marked
PART IN SERIES: First in the House of Night series
AUTHOR: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
PUBLISHED 2007
GENRE: Young adult, vampires, series, drama
PREMISE: Zoey's life changes forever when she is chosen as a vampire fledgling and sent to the notorious school: House of Night.
MY REVIEW: I was intrigued by these books for the longest time (those covers are cool) but like Wicked Lovely I was put off by the comparisons to Twilight. But since Wicked Lovely was a success I've decided to give all the suposed Twilight wannabes a try. Having finished it, I think this both is and isn't a Twilight wannabe. But I enjoyed this way more then I did Twilight...however, I didn't enjoy it enough to classify it as a good book.
The good stuff: the concept is very cool. Come on, a vampire high school? Who wouldn't want to read about that? The banter between Zoey's friends is also highly entertaining and just made the book for me. I adore Damien and the Twins. The gothic setting and feel of the book is great and some of the magic intriguing (am I right in thinking this is a heavy Wiccan based book? I'm not Wiccan so I don't know for sure...). It was also nice that for a change romance wasn't the whole focus of the story.
Sadly, all that is washed away by the fact that the writers seem stuck in what I like to call Special Person Syndrome (SPS for short). Special Person Syndrome is what I call those books where the main character is special already, then discovers she/he has gifts that make them more special, wherean they go to land/area whatever full of special people, where of course they are also special THERE, and it all leads to them becoming SUPER special. You've all read books like this and while there's not neccessarily anything wrong with it, it makes for a very predictable plot. I called the ending to this book when she got invited to that Dark Sisters thing by Aphrodite.
This is the main problem with the book. That and Zoey...was a frusterating character, mostly because she didn't seem to HAVE a character. Her thoughts never really seemed to have rhyme or reason to them and the only thing about her personality that I got was she liked history and even that didn't really make sense. There are also stereotypes up the wazoo and Zoey's snarky comments about every little thing got annoying very fast.
So while the book was severely lacking, it wasn't completely horrible. Like I said, there were moments I enjoyed. The ending is also kind of intriguing because there seems to be something building (I hope there is something building anyway, otherwise these books are pretty pointless) and so I will be picking up the rest of it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, vampire fans, you want a new guilty pleasure series to read
MY RATING: Three out of Five vampires

Book Review: Percy Jackson Book 2

TITLE: The Sea of Monsters
PART IN SERIES: Book 2 in Percy Jackson and the Olympians
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan
PUBLISHED: 2006
GENRE: Childrens, series, action/adventure, fantasy
PREMISE: Percy Jackson returns in his second book and this time he has to find the golden fleece (yes, that golden fleece) in order to save Camp Half Blood.
MY REVIEW: My opinion hasn't changed much from the first book. I still love this series. It also helps that Riordan hasn't stopped the flow of the series either. The second book is just as strong as the first (a few minor typos aside). There is a lot more action this time around, new characters are introduced (how adorable was Tyson?) and there's an ending that has you scrambling to get the next book.
WHO SHOULD READ: reluctant readers in middle school, you loved the first one like I did, greek mythology buffs
MY RATING: Four out of five demi-gods

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
Finish that Series
One Hundred Plus Books

Book Review: Pants on Fire

TITLE: Pants on Fire (or Tommy Sulliven is a Freak in some countries)
AUTHOR: Meg Cabot
PART OF SERIES: stand alone novel
PUBLISHED: 2007
GENRE: Young adult, romance, chick-lit
PREMISE: Katie has it all right now: she's popular, has the hottest guy in school (even though he's boring and she somehow ends up making out with another guy instead) and is in the running for the local pageant. The last thing she needs is her former friend Tommy coming back out of the blue. Especially considering the way he left...
MY REVIEW: I admit, I adore Meg Cabot's books. Yes, they are cheesy, predictable chick-lit but they're GOOD cheesy, predictable chick-lit. Cabot's characters are always fun and she does try to add twists here and there to her books. Plus, she's hilarious. Even if the story is lacking somewhat, I still enjoy it and she makes these books very relateable.
That said, Pants on Fire...maybe not her best work. But it is still a fun quick read. The couple is also really interesting this time around. I loved the banter between Tommy and Katie (especially when he first comes back and she's trying to figure out what he wants). I also like that she tries not to make people stereotypes. Sidney could have easily been cast as resident mean girl a la Gossip Girl in this book but instead, Cabot gives her some character and shows she's not a stereotype, she's just human. There are also some messages about special treatment and peer pressure and whatnot but it's subtle and not preachy like some Young adult message books can be.
So all in all, Cabot's usual fun ride but not quite her best (which is still Princess Diaries and The Mediator series in my opinion). In case anyone wants to find out just how hilarious she is, check out her blog on her website: www.megcabot.com.
WHO SHOULD READ: Meg Cabot fans, teens looking for a decent romance or quick fun read
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five cameras (it makes sense when you read the book)

Book Review: Gilda Joyce series Book 2

TITLE: The Ladies of the Lake
AUTHOR: Jennifer Allison
PART IN SERIES: Book 2 in the Gilda Joyce series
PUBLISHED: 2006
GENRE: Childrens, series, mystery, paranormal (to an extent)
PREMISE: Sassy girl detective Gilda Joyce returns and this time she's stuck going to a snobby private school. But things aren't so bad because there may or may not be a ghost there.
MY REVIEW: This book series isn't that well known and it's a shame because it's real fun. To best describe it, think if Nancy Drew was combined with Harriet the Spy and Haruhi Suzimiya from the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya (and book of the same name which the anime is based on, read the novels they're hysterical). Yeah, I know, scary thought but it WORKS (and Gilda, while zany is not nearly as crazy as Haruhi...but then very few people are). Gilda is the main reason to read this series. She is hysterical. Even when there are slightly boring parts, her commentary will crack you up. She even writes a letter to the pope that is priceless. To give you a hint, the subject is on women priests.
While the book is hysterical, I do give that the writing is average and sometimes the outcome is pretty obvious. The ghosts are also a secondary thing. But that's fine because of Gilda's fun character. You also get her family drama and how she interacts with others. It's especially fun seeing adult's reactions to her.
So long story short, no the series isn't super amazing. But it is a fun mystery series for kids and will have you laughing.
WHO SHOULD READ: Nancy Drew fans, Harriet the Spy fans, kids/young adults looking for a fun light mystery read
MY RATING: Four out of Five mystery notebooks

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
Finish that Series

Book to Movie Review

TITLE: Alice in Wonderland
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
SOME ACTORS/ACTRESSES: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bartem Carter to name a few
PREMISE: When she was young, Alice had the infamous adventure in Wonderland. Now she's older and thinks it was a dream. Her life is not going the way she wants, and just as it all gets to be too much she falls down a familiar rabbit hole...
MY REVIEW: This is so far my favorite movie of the year. I know there are a lot of naysayers out there who hate what Burton has done to Alice (my newspaper's reviewer complained about him making it into "just another fantasy film" but he hates fantasy films in general so yeah...) and perhaps they have a point or two (I do admit as much as I love Burton, I wish he would work with different people sometimes). But I don't care. I loved it. Best movie in the world? No, not really. But fun take on Alice in Wonderland? Most definitely.
Visually it's spectacular. I will note that I did not see the 3D version, mostly because I feel 3D is a gimmick nowadays for films and I don't care for it. Especially since this film is so beautiful it doesn't NEED 3D popping out at you distracting from the awesome CGI backgrounds. Costumes were awesome (I want those blue stripe rosette gloves Alice had so bad) and as always the characters were great. I loved Johnny Depps version of the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat was the perfect blend of cute and creepy (crupy if you will...okay that's kind of lame).
Anyway, it's a great movie if you're an Alice in Wonderland lover who doesn't mind that Alice has been slightly tweaked a little. Kids will love it, I'm sure. In fact I'm positive, because the kids who were watching the movie in the audience with me were TOTALLY QUIET. No, I'm serious! They were! I feel like congratulating Burton just for that alone.
WHO SHOULD SEE: Alice in Wonderland fans (who don't mind changes), fantasy freaks, Tim Burton fans, Johnny Depp fans, you want to see a visual effects movie but don't want to see Avatar because like me you're sick of hearing about it
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five Cheshire Cats

Library Loot...March 8th through March 22nd

I know there's a meme like this around somewhere already but oh well. I went to the library yesterday and managed to snag these:

The Last Knight by Hilari Bell
Faerie Wars series Book 1: Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
House of Night Book 1: Marked by P.C.Cast and Kristin Cast
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

This meme is hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

Well Last Week I finished and reviewed the following:
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Sookie Stackhouse Book 5: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

Just recently (as in today) I finished:
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Currently I am reading:
Gilda Joyce series Book 2: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison
Sookie Stackhouse Book 6: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Emma by Jane Austen

I will definitely be reading this next:
Percy Jackson 2: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riorden
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Whatever I get when I go to the library today.

Book Review: The Mists of Avalon

TITLE: The Mists of Avalon
AUTHOR: Marion Zimmer Bradley
PUBLISHED: 1982
GENRE: Adult, fantasy, fiction retelling
PREMISE: The women give their take on the tale of Arthur and Camelot.
MY REVIEW: This was a ambitious idea. I do give that it was beautifully written and some of the historical stuff mixed in with the tale of Arthur that we know was interesting and it does make you think. Unfortunately, I didn't care for how the book was executed.
It was a bit annoying how the point of view jumped from woman to woman. I kind of wish the author had just done either one woman or dedicated each book to a woman. I also think that the book was way too long and could have done with cutting parts because a lot of it was not needed for the central idea of the story. Plus, I'm still trying to figure out why people kept telling me this was a feminist book because I didn't really see anything feminist about it except for the fact that it's written in the point of view of the women (and many of those women were whiny and self-righteous and didn't actually neccessarily do anything). But that could be just me. I also found the religious talk rather annoying at times (but again that's me).
So while it is an interesting tale, it was just sort of dull for me. I do reccomend trying it out at least once if you're into epic fantasy though.
WHO SHOULD READ: King Arthur fans, epic fantasy buffs
MY RATING: Three out of Five swords

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
Support Your Local Library
One Hundred Plus Books

On My Wishlist...

The amount I want this book out now is sad. Anyone who has read the last book in the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane knows how she left it and are probably just as eager to read it as I am (assuming they still remember the series, there was a bit of a lull between book eight and this one). I can't wait for Duane to get back to this series. Info on Wizard of Mars is here on Amazon. If you have not read the Young Wizards series and are curious the first book in it is So You Want to be a Wizard

On my wishlist is a meme hosted by Book Chick City.

Book Review: The Bar Code Tattoo

TITLE: The Bar Code Tattoo
PART OF A SERIES: Book 1 of 2
AUTHOR: Suzanne Weyn
GENRE: Young adult, science fiction, thriller
PREMISE: In the near future, everyone gets a bar code tattoo. Mostly because they have no choice. Kayla is suspicious of it and soon learns that it's probably a good thing she was so suspicious of it.
MY REVIEW: It's not long into this book when you realize it's one of THOSE science fiction books. You know the kind: the ones that warn against stuff going on today, question everything, etc. The problem with these kinds of science fiction books is they can go one of two ways: have interesting ideas but your bored to tears so you can't really enjoy it or reccomend it, or have interesting ideas cleverly woven into a decent story. Luckily, this is the latter kind.
Weyn keeps an excellent pace in this book. It's not difficult to get into and along the excitement it also makes you think about things and the way our society is going. The scary thing about this book is that a lot of the stuff in here is not that far off the mark of what could happen. I don't particularly believe we'll be gaining super powers (that was a little off the mark for me), but the thing about a corporation gaining enough power to do what Global-1 does in this book? I have no problem believing that. Especially with that law that Congress/whoever made not to long ago concerning corporations (if you follow politics you know the one I'm talking about).
But anyway, the future Weyn painted is grim and sadly not totally unrealistic. It makes for interesting reading. My only complaint is that characters weren't totally fleshed out and there were some obvious plot points going on. Other then that, this is a really interesting Science Fiction thriller.
WHO SHOULD READ: if you like science fiction/future type stories.
MY RATING: four out of five tattoos

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
YA Challenge on J-Kayes blog
12 by 12 in March
One Hundred Plus Books
Support Your Local Library

Booking Through Thursday-March 4rth

In honor of National Grammar Day … it IS “March Fourth” after all … do you have any grammar books? Punctuation? Writing guidelines? Style books?

More importantly, have you read them?

How do you feel about grammar in general? Important? Vital? Unnecessary? Fussy?

I have one grammer/writing book from college that I've kept: Quick Access: A Reference for Writers, 3rd Edition by Lynn Quitman Troyka. It's a great source for grammer that has helped me a lot. Yes, I've read it; college has this crazy thing where they like you to read your books, plus I actually had to buy this one so I wasn't wasting my money.
Grammer is important to me. Probably my grandmother's fault (retired English teacher) so I've always had this thing where improper use of puncuation irritates me. I'm not total control-freak over it (because a lot of the time, I myself am not sure of the rules since there are so many of them) but blatant mistakes drive me nuts and can sometimes keep me from enjoying a book (Book example: Twilight and it's abuse of the dash and theosaurus). If the improper usage is deliberate (such as the novel Push by Saphire because it was in the girls point of view and she was illiterate) then I do not mind so much. But I think if you're going to have a novel published, then please have the decency to have limited to no mistakes otherwise, how do you expect people to take you seriously as an author? On that note, please forgive any grammer mistakes possibly made in this post.

WWW Wednesday-March 3rd and shoutouts

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
This Meme is hosted by MizB at Should be Reading

What are you currently reading?
Emma by Jane Austen
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (yes, still, it's not my fault have you seen the size of that book? It's like four books in one)
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

What did you recently finish reading?
Sookie Stackhouse 5: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Book 1: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci
The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy Book 2: Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor
All these reviews are on this blog.

What do you think you'll read next?
Sookie Stackhouse 6: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Gilda Joyce series Book 2: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison
Percy Jackson series Book 2: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riorden
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

This also has nothing to do with the meme but I have to give a few shoutouts this week:

First a shoutout to Becky at Page Turners for featuring my blog on her blog spotlight. Yes, it was a contest win but I still appreciate that she does it in the first place so thank you Becky. She is also now starting another contest like the one I won so if you want to be featured on her blog and get a little publicity go check it out!

Second, a shoutout to s.meadows at The Unread Reader for giving me my first blog award, One Lovely Blog. Many thanks and I will be working on passing it on this week. I just have to figure out which ones I want to award it too...this may take awhile...

Lastly a shoutout to the ladies at Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates for my new blog look. It was free but at least now my blog no longer looks boring. Go check out their site for freebies and great tutorials on html if like me you are a little clueless about all these codes. I'm also pretty sure they do comissions.

March New Releases

Ah, a new month, meaning new releases (and paperback versions of ones we couldn't get earlier). Here's a few you all may be interested in to know (or ones that I'm just plain excited about and think people should take a look at):
Sisters Grimm 7: The Everafter War by Michael Buckley. Paperback version, out today!
Hex Hall: Book 1 by Rachel Hawkins. Hardcover, out March 2nd.
Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn by Fuyumi Ono. Hardcover, out March 2nd.
The Agency 1: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee. Harcover, out March 9th
Fourth Book of Pellinor: The Singing by Alison Croggan. Paperback version, out March 9th.
Evernight novel: Hourglass by Claudia Gray. Hardcover, out March 9th.
Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson. Harcover, out March 15th.
Allie Finkle: Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out by Meg Cabot. Hardcover, out March 16th.
Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt. Hardcover, out March 16th.
House of Night Novel: Hunted by P.C.Cast and Kristin Cast. Paperback version, out March 16th.
Shadow Mirror by Richie Tankersley. Paperback, out March 18th.
Darkest Powers Trilogy 2:The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong. Paperback version. Out March 23rd.
Savvy by Ingrid Law. Paperback version, out March 23rd.
Fablehaven Book 5: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull. Hardcover, out March 23rd.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Jane Austen and Steven Hockensmith. Paperback, out March 24rth.
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien. Hardcover, out March 31rst.

Book Review: Sookie Stackhouse Number 5

TITLE: Dead as a Doornail
PART OF A SERIES: Book 5 in the Sookie Stackhouse Series/Southern Vampires series
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
GENRE: adult, mystery, romance, urban fantasy, vampires
PREMISE: In the fifth Sookie Stackhouse book, snipers are taking out shifters in the small town of Bon Temps; the were pack is in the midst of choosing a leader; Eric is trying to work out what happened to him in the last book and many other things.
MY REVIEW: Still addicted to this series and I have given up trying to figure out why. Like the other books there are many things going on in this and Sookie has to deal with it. Some events she handles well, others not so much. I have a definite feeling that there will be consequences coming from this book. Especially with the outcome of who becomes leader of the were-pack (not saying!).
Harris still keeps a great pace in this series and still keeps it interesting. She also slowly shows how things are in these fantasy worlds without giving it all away at once which I appreciate. I also found Andy Bellefleur's more active involvement really interesting and can't wait to see what becomes of that. I also can't wait to see what Eric does with his new found knowledge. All in all, if you are fan of this series, you will not be disappointed.
WHO SHOULD READ: vampire fans, Twilight fans, True Blood fans, if you liked the first few books
MY RATING: Three and a half out of five hot vampires

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
Finish that Series
One Hundred Plus Books
12 by 12 Challenge for March