New Book Releases: June 2010

Since it's the end of the month (and happy Memorial Day to all you Veterans by the way) here's a look at some books I'm interested in or think the readers of this blog may be interested that are coming out this month. Books that have this by it: (!) mean I'm super eager about it and you can probably expect me to review it in the future.
The Short Second Life of Bree Turner by Stephanie Meyer. Hardcover, out June 5th (note, I don't like Twilight, but some of you readers probably don't feel the same so this book is listed)
Geektastic: Stories From the Nerd Herd by multiple authors including Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. Paperback version, out June 7th (!)
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. Hardcover, out June 7th
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Hardcover, out June 8th
Insatiable by Meg Cabot (note this is adult). Hardcover out June 8th (!).
The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry. Hardcover, out June 8th. (!)
Haunting Emma novel 1: Deception by Lee Nichols. Hardcover, out June 8th (!).
Sea by Heidi R. Kling. Hardcover, out June 10th.
The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams. Hardcover, out June 16th (!)
Immortals series: Dark Flame by Alyson Noel. Hardcover, out June 22nd
Gallagher Girls series: Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Blue Bloods series: Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz. Hardcover, out June 29th.

Lots of manga as well, including new volumes of Naruto, Bleach, Vampire Knight, One Piece (can you believe it's up to volume 50, already?).

Book Review: Shiver

TITLE: Shiver
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, romance, werewolves
PREMISE: Grace has always been enthralled by the wolves that live near her. Then she discovers their secret...
MY REVIEW: I will not lie: there are definite similarities to Twilight in this. But like all the other Twilight wannabes, it is much better then the book it's trying to emulate. This is a romance that doesn't get on my nerves, that has characters I like and root for, and a few bad prose aside is actually written well. Also, unlike Twilight, I do see the need for a sequel and thus can't wait for Linger (out in July for those that don't know).
I will say, I felt the romance was a tad bit cliche but I found it believable and sweet without being sacherine. The book is not completely predictable (the romance part is, but there are other interesting things to make up for it) and I found the characters interesting. The idea behind the werewolves in this was also kind of interesting.
All in all, the good far outwieghs the bad and it's worth getting it if like me, you were drawn to it strictly because of its beautiful binding (seriously, how GORGEOUS is the packaging on this book? I love it). While I didn't like it as much as I liked Maggie's other series, I still think it's a solid book and she's fast becoming one of my favorite writers.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, werewolf fans, romance fans
MY RATING: Four out of five wolves

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Book Review: Rampant

TITLE: Rampant
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of the Killer Unicorns series
AUTHOR: Diane Peterfreund
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, fantasy
PREMISE: Astrid has always scoffed at her mother's tales of killer unicorns. But then she and her boyfriend get attacked and discovers that they are in fact very real and she is a descendant of a long line of unicorn hunters.
MY REVIEW: I will be honest: I utterly adored this book so there is probably going to be heavy bias in this review. I will say, it's not perfect. Sometimes I was a bit confused about things. But the awesomeness far outwieghs the few flaws. For one: a unique idea! A author who wasn't afraid to take much loved childhood figures such as unicorns and turn them into scary monsters. That takes guts and I love it when authors aren't afraid to do an idea that may turn off readers.
Then there's the fact that she has strong heroines in this. Phil is my favorite for those wondering. Also, bravo to Peterfreund for having a guy in there who said no to sex. Yes, girls there are respectable guys out there like this. These are the ones you want to hang on to. But she also didn't try and make Giovanni perfect either because he has flaws. Plus, the romance was not the only thing driving the book! Finally, a current YA novel where the girl isn't torn between two guys and her main issue is who to choose! Yay!
So, in other words, I highly reccomend this, particularly to my fellow Tamora Pierce fans. You will love it, gaurenteed. Another favorite of 2009.
WHO SHOULD READ: Tamora Pierce fans, fans of Graceling, fantasy fans, you like strong willed heroines
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five unicorn horns

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Book Review: Shakespeare's Landlord

TITLE: Shakespeare's Landlord
PART IN SERIES: First in the Lily Bard series
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHED: 1996
GENRE: Adult, series, mystery
PREMISE: Lily Bard's peaceful life is disrupted when her landlord is murdered.
MY REVIEW: Sometimes you just need a fun mystery series that you don't have to concentrate on and this is the perfect series for that without fear of losing your brain cells. I will say I don't like this series as much as Sookie Stackhouse, but I did enjoy it (much more then I enjoyed Harper Connelly) and will be picking up the other books in the series if I see them in the library.
Lily is an interesting character. She's not Sookie, she's much colder then Sookie I thought, but she's not as jaded as I found Harper to be. There also wasn't that annoying unrealistic sense of "everyone versus Lily" that I got from the Harper series as well. I liked the feel of the town and the sense of the characters we got and I look forward to seeing more.
So, while this maybe isn't the best thing ever written, if you're in the mood for a mystery series to get hooked on (which I was), it's great. Oh, am I don't know if there's teams in this series, but I'm currently Team Claude.
WHO SHOULD READ: cozy mystery book fans, Charlaine Harris fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five broomsticks

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Book Review: Going Bovine

TITLE: Going Bovine
PART IN SERIES: Standalone novel
AUTHOR: Libba Bray
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, drama
PREMISE: Cameron discovers he has mad-cow disease. See how he copes.
MY REVIEW: For those of us who read and loved the Gemma Doyle trilogy (me!) this book was probably not expected. I kind of respect Bray for doing a novel completely different from Gemma Doyle even though that was a hit for her. She could have easily had done a similar fantasy love story thing instead...she does a crazy story about a boy finding out he has mad-cow disease and is dying and it's about the complete opposite of Gemma Doyle. So, Bray gets my respect for that.
So now you know the story please don't be turned off by it. This is a wonderful book, if a tad bit odd at times (there's a talking knome...no, really) and may not be to everyone's taste. The ending is also sad. But it comes with Bray's usual great writing, Cameron's interesting sense of humor (despite the premise, there is some hilarious stuff in here), and some thought provoking ideas. I see why it was up for awards (it won a Newberry! Or...something like a Newberry...it won an award I know that).
So if you don't mind a touchy thing like people dying, I definitely reccomend this book. I can't wait to see what Bray writes next. She has definitely become one of my favorite authors.
WHO SHOULD READ: anyone inclined to pick it up
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five knomes

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Book Review: The Sorceress

TITLE: The Sorceress
PART IN SERIES: Book 3 in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
AUTHOR: Michael Scott
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young Adult, series, fantasy, adventure
PREMISE: Josh and Sophie and Flamel are now in London, hoping that Gilgimesh will teach them water magic all while trying to stay alive.
MY REVIEW: I'll be quite honest: this series is a little nuts. You have fantasy characters running around with historic characters, crazy chases, and uses of magic that will probably make you go huh? But honest? I enjoy it. If you don't mind your history being messed with, this series is just fun.
I also like that the author makes his characters complicated. Flamel is not all together decent, neither are the twins, and there is no gaurentee that the side the twins are on is even the right one. It's not black and white. Now, Scott's writing is maybe not the greatest. I think he does a little too much telling and not enough showing where characters are concerned but his descriptions are good. Also again, there's a lot going on. These books don't slow down very much.
But all in all, this is a fun fantasy series to enjoy and has become one of those that I look forward to each year. There are apparently six books planned in this series so I'm halfway through it now. The Fourth book, The Necromancer, has just come out I believe.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who read and liked the first two books in the series
MY RATING: Four out of Five magic swords

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Movie Review: Avatar

TITLE: Avatar
PART IN SERIES: standalone (but evidently Cameron is talking sequels ;sigh;)
ACTORS/ACTRESSES: Zoe Seldana, Sam Worthington, Sojurney Weaver
RELEASED: December, 2009 DVD RELEASE: April 2010
RATING: PG-13
PREMISE: A ex-marine is sent to a distant planet and put into a avatar to make friends with the local people.
MY REVIEW: Well, I am probably the last person in the world to finally see this (other then my parents but they still haven't seen stuff like the first Iron Man so I don't really think they can count, as much as I love them). So, I admit, I liked it a lot better then I thought I would. But I still stand by what I've been saying (and what will probably get me flamed by fanboys and fangirls, oh well): this was in NO WAY worth the absurd amount of hype it got. It certainly in no way deserved best movie of the year Oscar which it got nominated for. Special effects? Most certainly. Art direction? Hell yes (this movie was GORGEOUS). I'll even go with soundtrack. But best movie of the year? No. Julie and Julia was way better (even if it made me crave french food after...).
Now, that ranting aside I wish to take a moment to bow to the artists on this movie. Bravo guys, just bravo. Even without the 3D (which I didn't use once again because of my beef about it being a gimmick) this movie is beautiful (though I still prefer Alice in Wonderland). I loved seeing the world of Pandora and I liked the general messages of the movie (even if it was maybe a tad bit overdone). The acting...take it or leave it, though I think Zoe Seldana and Weaver were great. I even do think Cameron is a good director. My problem is the writing/story.
I really don't think Cameron is a strong writer. I kind of wish he'd stick with directing. But that's his thing I guess so what are you going to do? I won't say Avatar's story completely sucks because hello, Pandora and there were interesting messages and I did find the romance sweet. Unfortunately it's hampered down with predictability, a obvious Dances With Wolves rip-off feeling, cliches up the wazoo, and many questions that were left unanswered (How did they get the avatars made? How was Pandora discovered? What freaking YEAR is this? So on and so forth), and things that I'm pretty sure aren't physically possible (by all rights the Colonel should have died when the plane crashed originally, not some how managing to live in order to have a huge dramatic fight with Jake).
So, worth the absurd hype? No. But I will say it was good and is worth a rental but I wouldn't buy it unless you're a HUGE fan because seriously, there aren't even any special features on any of the dvds. What is up with that? Seriously, Cameron? It's a good thing I did the dollar rental or I'd be mildly ticked.
WHO SHOULD SEE: ...assuming you still haven't seen it? Sci-Fi fans, Cameron fans, those who want to see what the hype was about.
MY RATING: Four out of Five flying...whatever those things were that they rode in the movie.

Book Review: Eyes Like Stars

TITLE: Eyes Like Stars
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Theatre Illuminata series
AUTHOR: Lisa Mantchev
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, fantasy, romance
PREMISE: Bertie's place in the Theatre is threatened and she must find a way to prove she belongs there.
MY REVIEW: This is quite possibly my favorite book of 2009 but I haven't read all of the 2009 releases so I can't totally say that. But I can say I loved this book. First off, it's a UNIQUE idea. In a time when YA is all vampires, werewolves, and fantasy books that resemble other past books it's refreshing to see a author who has come up with something NOT like other books (well, okay there were some echoes of Inkheart in it but not enough to make a difference). Plus, it was just hilarious. I'm pretty sure I had a goofy smile on my face throughout it due to the fairies who are hands down my favorite thing in the book. Bertie is also a great heroine that you can't help but root for and as a theatre buff I loved the theatre atmosphere and all the uninvitable quips and references that came with it.
Now, it's not completely flawless. I do wish Mantchev had spent more time describing things because in the beginning I was a tad bit confused about what was going on and was having trouble picturing things but eventually it came together so it's not that big of a deal. I also am a little tired of the love triangle sthick. Really, can't young adult authors write a romance that DOESN'T have a love triangle? It's not that hard. But I'm not thoroughly convinced this is a love triangle yet (she hasn't kissed Nate and I'm not sure if she even has actual feelings for Ariel and vice versa) so again, it's not that big of a deal as the love triangle isn't the sole thing driving the book.
So those minor issues aside, this is a great book. Highly reccomend to all fantasy fans, especially if you are into theatre.
WHO SHOULD READ: Theatre buffs, fantasy buffs, anyone inclined to pick it up
MY RATING: Four and a half out of five wise-cracking fairies

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It's Monday! What are you Reading?

This is a weekly meme hosted by Shiela at One Person's Journey through a World of Books.

Last week I read and reviewed the following:
The Vampire Diaries Volume I: The Awakening by L.J.Smith
The Immortals series Book 1: Evermore by Alyson Noel
Evernight series Book 2: Stargazer by Claudia Gray
Bite Me by Parker Blue
Discworld: A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Movie review: Iron Man 2

Currently I'm reading:
Theatre Illumina Act I: Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T.Anderson

Will be reading the following next:
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Lily Bard series Book 1: Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
The Blue Roan Child by Jamieson Findlay
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel Book 3: The Sorceress by Michael Scott
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Book Review: A Hat Full of Sky

TITLE: A Hat Full of Skay
PART IN SERIES: sequel to The Wee Free Men which is part of the Discworld series
AUTHOR: Terry Pratchett
PUBLISHED: 2004
GENRE: Young adult, series, humor, satire, fantasy
PREMISE: Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men are back having misadventures and generally causing or dealing with havoc.
MY REVIEW: If you want a book series with structured plotlines and clear points, Discworld and Pratchett are probably not for you. I do like Pratchett but sometimes when you read his stuff you're like "huh?". But for Discworld it seems to work. Besides which, there's so much humor and some brilliant inserted social commentary that you kind of grow not to care.
Pratchett's brilliance lies in his dialogue and characters. These are loveable characters that make you laugh and after reading angsty romances and books it's very refreshing reading something that isn't angst and romance or love triangles. Now, I will say in order to get this book you need to read The Wee Free Men to get most of it. It also probably helps to read the rest of the Discworld series but I haven't gotten to that yet (it's on the to read list) and it's not neccessary in order to get these books I think. But I'm sure it helps to be more familiar with it then I am.
WHO SHOULD READ: Discworld fans, Terry Pratchett fans, fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five witch hats

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Book Review: Bite Me

TITLE: Bite Me
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of 2 so far (a third is evidently on the way)
AUTHOR: Parker Blue
PUBLISHED: 2008
GENRE: Young adult, series, vampires, paranormal, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Val is a part demon who keeps her inner demon at bay by taking down vamps. When she's kicked out of her house she joins a task force and gains a new partner.
MY REVIEW: If the first thing you think of when you read this books summary is that it's a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rip-off...you're not that far off the mark. Hell, if it weren't for the slayer quips and slight differences in vampires I would have thought this was one of Whedon's side-tales in the Buffy-verse, it's THAT similar.
Luckily, it's a good rip-off so I don't particularly mind. Also, considering it's a freebie on Kindle it's not half bad. But I kind of feel like the drama was a little over the top. As in Lifetime Movie-ish over the top. But it was effective because I wanted to smack Val's whole family something fierce. Especially her mother. Fang however, is what made this book for me. I adored him but it felt sometimes as though he was basically the only one carrying the book.
So it's not horrible and I may be looking into the second book. There are flaws but if you overlook the Buffy rip-off aspect of it, it's a fun read.
WHO SHOULD READ: Buffy fans, vampire fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five swords

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
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Book Review: Stargazer

TITLE: Stargazer
PART IN SERIES: Book 2 in the Evernight series
AUTHOR: Claudia Gray
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, vampires, romance
PREMISE: Bianca is back at Evernight, now in a secret relationship with Lucas; discovering secrets about the school, and dodging...ghosts.
MY REVIEW: I was worried that once the twist was over with in the first book, this series would get boring and melodramatic. I'm happy to say Gray proved me wrong. There are just as much twists (if not more so) in this book as the first and it was just as fun to read, and Gray wasn't afraid to add complications such as: just because Lucas and Bianca are together, doesn't mean they don't have problems or issues with each other.
Gray also has added more to the characters of Lucas and Bianca and I now find the two more believeable. But I'm more focused on the ending because man I did not see that coming. I hope Raquel doesn't become a full blooded enemy of Bianca's later on because I like her! I also hope Vic shows up more because I adored him in this book. I really like where Gray is taking this so far. Can't wait to continue.
WHO SHOULD READ: if you've read the first book, vampire fans, Twilight fans, House of Night fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five fangs

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Book Review: Evermore

TITLE: Evermore
PART IN SERIES: First in the Immortals series
AUTHOR: Alyson Noel
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, romance, fantasy
PREMISE: Ever can see auras. When Damen arrives she notices she can't see his...
MY REVIEW: While this book wasn't godawful bad...it wasn't great either, nor can I really call it GOOD. Part of the problem is that it's in present tense and I can't stand present tense because I don't see the need to even write novels in present tense and it just feels and looks awkward to me. Now I try not to hold that against books because that's my personal preference, I can overlook if the author uses it well and effectively. Noel doesn't do that.
Then there's the fact that this book jumps around a LOT. Seriously, plot ideas come completely out of left field and disappear just as fast as they came. Oh look, she's a drunk now! Oh look...she's not. Plus it was frustrating because it seemed like every time something started to happen and build up, it would then cut off and suddenly we were on the next day. Then there's little things like the ridiculousness of the names (Ever? Damen? Stacia? Haven? See what I mean?), slight Mary Sue tendencies, young adult cliches, and stereotyping.
So not a horrible book...just not a great one either. Pretty forgetable too. I have no real interest in continuing it. But Twilight crowd may be interested in it so who knows?
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, romance fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five roses

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Movie Review: Iron Man 2

TITLE: Iron Man 2
PART IN SERIES: sequel to Iron Man and one in many Marvel movies
SOME OF ACTORS/ACTRESSES: Robert Downy Jr., Gyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johanson to name a few
GENRE: PG-13, Superhero, action/adventure
RELEASE DATE: May 7th, 2010
PREMISE: Tony Stark returns in the sequel to Iron Man and this time goes up against Whiplash, tries to keep the government away from his suit, and is dealing with the fact that he is dying.
MY REVIEW: For those wondering, this is still a book blog but now movie reviews are being added because I am a big movie fan and from the looks of things will be spending much time in the movie theatre this summer (Prince of Persia! The Last Airbender! So on and so forth). So Iron Man 2 is the first of many summer movies this year and I know it recieved a lot of mixed reviews and some boos from fans but I for one loved it. I actually kind of loved it more then the first one. See, I don't think the first one was as mind blowing as everyone made it out to be. Don't get me wrong, it was good. But I felt the first half of it jumped around a lot and it didn't actually start getting really good till the middle.
Iron Man 2 didn't need to waste so much time going into background and jumped right into the fray assuming everyone is intelligent enough to remember the last one and keep up. One of the complaints I've heard was that there were too many villians. Um...what? I counted one main villian: Whiplash, excellently played by Mickey Roark (even if he was kind of gross on screen but that was the role). The only other minor villian (and I do mean minor as in I don't really count him as one as he was really just backing the main villian) is Hammer (also excellently played but I don't know the guys name). That's it. Two villians, or one and a half villian really. How is that too many?
Another complaint I've heard was too many superheroes. I do kind of give on this but they are trying to introduce the Avengers storyline into this and it makes since to do that in Iron Man because Iron Man is a big part of the Avengers. At least they didn't do the whole team, they just did Nick Fury and Black Widow and I thought they were fun additions. Nick Fury was awesome (he is played by Jackson so that kind of goes without saying) and while I was annoyed Black Widow was relegated to sexy eye candy for the boys, at least she was sexy eye candy who kicked butt and had a brain. It made up for Pepper being in damsel in distress mode throughout.
The last one I've heard is that Tony Stark was a jerk in this. Um...yeah? Have you all read the comics? Tony Stark has always been a jerk, he just does it with smiles and jokes so you're not sure if he's being a jerk or not. Plus, in this one he was facing his possible death and mortality and all that. So, really, it's understandable. Plus, it made his character more complicated because while he is undoubtedly a jerk, he can be sweet sometimes so you're not sure which he is: classy, or a jerk. That's called an interesting character.
So sorry naysayers, I loved this movie. While it may not have completely lived up to the original, I still enjoyed it and I cannot wait to see the next one and the Avengers movie. Oh, and am I just seeing references everywhere or was that Captain America's shield Tony used to level his machine? If it was: brilliant job guys. Really.
WHO SHOULD SEE: Iron Man fans, Marvel fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five superheros

Book Review: The Awakening

TITLE: The Awakening
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in The Vampire Diaries
AUTHOR: L.J.Smith
PUBLISHED: 1991 (I was in elementary school still...;feels old;)
GENRE: Young adult, series, vampires, romance
PREMISE: Elena finds herself drawn to the mysterious new guy in school...
MY REVIEW: The one word that came to mind when starting to read this book and that didn't go away was SHALLOW. I'm sorry, there is no way around it, this book is shallow. Elena is shallow (it doesn't help that she's a major Mary Sue), her friends are shallow, the vampire brothers are shallow (why were they so hung up on Katherine anyway? This was never explained), even the idea of the series is shallow (girl torn between two hot guys! Who will she choose?!). There's nothing wrong with shallow, I myself indulge in it every so often and I freely admit that had my teen self found these books during her vampire book obsessed phase, I would have devoured it happily though I would have been mildly ashamed that I was reading it.
But my teen self didn't find them at the time she would have been the right target audience so therein lies the problem. Because I notice not only the shallowness, but the lack of character in the books (Elena has no personality traits that I can see, other then being shallow and arrogant and the other characters are the same way, aside from Stefan who isn't arrogant so much as super angsty), lack of plot, and no real reason for why Elena and Stefan belong together other then they're both super hot. Plus, the book was a tad bit boring and just when it was actually starting to get interesting, it cuts off and we're forced to read the next book and thus I feel book one was actually a first half of a book instead of one book which is maybe why now they are releasing one and two together. Either way, it was annoying and I don't find myself super compelled to read the rest of it.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the tv show, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Two out of Five fangs

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Book Review: Ink Exchange

TITLE: Ink Exchange
PART IN SERIES: Book 2 of the Wicked Lovely Series
AUTHOR: Melissa Marr
PUBLISHED: 2008
GENRE: Young adult, series, faeries, fantasy
PREMISE: Leslie gets a tattoo on her back and finds herself drawn into a world of dark faeries.
MY REVIEW: I admit, it took me a little more time to get into this then it did Wicked Lovely. Mostly because I was getting used to Leslie instead of Aislinn. Once I got used to her though, I ended up loving this just as much as Wicked Lovely, if not a tad bit more because I found Leslie more enjoyable then Aislinn (who occasionally got on my nerves).
Marr's writing is still solid and she manages to weave a complicated tale without going overboard or subpar. It is also not just simply a different version of Aislinn with different guys. Leslie manages to be her own character and her story turns out much differently then in Wicked Lovely. Romantics may not appreciate the ending, but I loved it because Marr wasn't afraid to go a different route. I also appreciate that she doesn't sugarcoat faeries: these are dark creatures and their court is vastly complicated and not always pretty.
So, if you loved Wicked Lovely, chances are you'll love this just as much. I can't wait to read the next two. The fourth one just came out in April for those who don't know and there is apparently plans for a fifth book, called Darkest Mercy. No word yet on when this will be out.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of faerie books, if you liked the first one, fans of Tithe
MY RATING: Four and a half out of five faerie wings

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
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Finish that Series

Book Review: The Book of Lost Things

TITLE: The Book of Lost Things
PART IN SERIES: Stand alone novel
AUTHOR: John Connolly
PUBLISHED: 2006
GENRE: Adult, fairy tale, fantasy
PREMISE: A grieving boy gets swept up into a world of fantasy and in order to make it home he must use The Book of Lost Things...
MY REVIEW: This book started off really good then kind of flittered around the middle till it got good again near the end. I know that sounds wierd, but it's what happened. I still adored it though. It reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland but with fairytales added in instead of nonsense characters. It also had more of a plot then Alice and Wonderland (I love Alice but lets face it, plot in that book was crazy and random).
This is not a fairytale for kids. There is some downright scary stuff going on in here. It was creepy but not over-the-top. Connelly's writing is also rather good. It was easy to get through and had the proper tone for fairy tale telling. The problem was the middle part was kind of...jumbled up to me. I don't know...it just seemed off. But then it got good again so I didn't mind so much. All in all, this was an excellent book, if you don't mind grisly stuff here and there.
WHO SHOULD READ: Fairy-tale fans, John Connolly fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of five fairy-tale books

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Sorry, I've been lax this week with the updating. I will be making up for it with many other reviews in the coming days. I've just been really busy and to tired to update (plus I discovered Merlin on SyFy and have been playing catch up on that show, ah King Arthur!Crack...so much love, even if it totally screws up King Arthur and gets historical facts dreadfully wrong).

May Book Releases

Here's a list of some interesting looking books that either I am eager for, think readers should take note of, or just look interesting. Titles that have this (!) mean I'm eager for it and you can expect me to review it at some point.

The Wide Awake Princess by E.D.Baker. Hardcover, Out May 11th.
The Fire Opal by Regina McBride. Hardcover, May 11th.
The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (yes, THAT Louis Sachar of Holes and Wayside School fame which means it's going to be awesome). Hardcover, out May 11th (!)
Rangers Apprentice Book 6: The Siege of Mackindaw by John Flanagan. Paperback version, out May 18th
Vampire Academy Book 5: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead. Hardcover, out May 18th (!).
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson. Hardcover, out May 18th
Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl. Paperback version, out May 24rth
Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George. Hardcover, out May 25th (!)
Legend of Beka Cooper Book 2: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce. Paperback version, Out May 25th (I've already bought and read this one and highly reccomend the series).

Also out this month: The tenth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (!), The Kane Chronicles: Book 1 by Rick Riordan (!), a whole slew of mangas including the next volume of Black Butler, Gintama, D.Gray Man, Hikaru no Go etc.

Book Review: The Faerie Path

TITLE: The Faerie Path
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Faerie Path series
AUTHOR: Frewin Jones
PUBLISHED: 2007
GENRE: Young adult, series, faeries, romance, fantasy
PREMISE: Anita learns that she's not who she thinks she is. She's actually a faerie princess.
MY REVIEW: The main problem I have with this book is that I find it rather childish for a young adult book. Seriously, this book would have been fine as a childrens book. Not only that, it's childishly written, as in everything is spelled out for the reader and we aren't allowed to jump to our own conclusions and this makes for rather boring reading in my opinion. I do love the setting and I love the covers on these books, but that was about all I liked.
The characters are all one-dimensional, I didn't get a real sense of personality from any of them, that especially includes the narrator who is quite frankly a huge Mary Sue. The author gives good description, it's just that the plot/story itself was so...blah. This could easily have been a Disney Channel movie it's that predictable. You don't even get to see how the main character and her love interest fall for each other! They're together when the book starts and I see no real evidence of them being a good pair because they barely interact.
So...young readers may or may not get a kick out of this series. Considering it's about four books in, it must connect with some people. I just couldn't get into it.
WHO SHOULD READ: younger YA faerie fans I guess...
MY RATING: Two out of Five faerie wings

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