Book Review: Sphinx's Princess

TITLE: Sphinx's Princess
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of 2 so far
AUTHOR: Esther Friesner
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: Nefertiti travels to Thebes and becomes part of the dangerous court life there.
MY REVIEW: I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this as opposed to Friesner's Helen of Troy series (of which I still want another book) because I know next to nothing about Nefertiti. I know she was an Egyptian Queen and was one of their most beautiful rulers. That's about it. Luckily that didn't hinder the enjoyment factor because Friesner manages to draw you into her books so well it doesn't really matter if you don't know much about Egyptian history.
Her writing and characterization are very solid. This time around there was more court intrigue going on then in the Helen of Troy books and it made for interesting reading. The only real complaint I have is that maybe there were parts that dragged a bit and it ended somewhat abruptly but it definitely makes you want to read the next book that's for sure. For those interested, the sequel (Sphinx's Queen) comes out September 28th of this year.
WHO SHOULD READ: Fans of Nobody's Princess, Tamora Pierce fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five cats

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Book Review: Loving Frank

TITLE: Loving Frank
PART IN SERIES: Standalone novel
AUTHOR: Nancy Horan
PUBLISHED: 2007
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: The tale of the affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney
MY REVIEW: As a former design/art student I love Frank Lloyd Wright and therefore was really interested in this book and thrilled when I snagged a copy at the book fair. Unfortunately...it was kind of a let down for me.
I'm not sure what I was expecting but I know I wanted more from it then this. I guess I was hoping for some great insight to Frank Lloyd Wright himself and his character and ideas but instead the book mainly focuses on Mamah and what she goes through. While that's not horrible the problem is that Mamah...is rather boring compared to Wright. Most of it is her babbling on and on about stuff. The weird thing is I actually liked her character more when she was on her own and thinking for herself instead of worrying about her husband or when she was overshadowed by Wright. It got to the point where I really felt she was better off on her own and was then disappointed when they get back together and then of course the untimely fire. Call me crazy but I don't think that's supposed to be the case?
Then there's the fact that it's just...dull. The writing is dull, Mamah is dull, the pacing is dull. I was just sort of bored throughout. I won't say it completely stinks because that may be just me. A lot of other people seem to find something good in this book. But me personally? Didn't care for it.
WHO SHOULD READ: historical fiction fans, those who are interested in Frank Lloyd Wright
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five stained glass windows

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TV Show Review: Pretty Little Liars

TITLE: Pretty Little Liars
BASED ON: Pretty Little Liars books series by Sara Shepard
CHANNEL AND TIME: ABCFamily, Tuesdays at seven
REVIEW: So I just read the first book in the Pretty Little Liars series this past weekend, mostly due to the show starting up. I didn't particularly care about the characters but I did get intrigued by the mystery part of it. So I tuned in (and it was on right before Glee's season finale so that helped, any fellow gleeks out there want to sob with at no more new eps till September?!). I am happy to say they are following the books.
Granted, they are switching stuff around. The ending of the first book happens in this episode but other storylines that happened in the first book are obviously being dragged out and I can't blame them because if they do everything at once then what's the point? I'm pleased to see they are mostly sticking to the mystery part of this as well as keeping the main parts of the drama that were important to the mystery but skipping unneeded filler.
I also am sorry to say this, but am I the only one who feels this actually translates BETTER on screen? Part of my issue with the book was that Shepards writing was terribly amatuerish and I got annoyed with her constant pop culture references/name dropping of brands. We don't get that with the show and on screen it's much more tolerble even if I still feel like the characters bring this all on themselves due to selfish privlidged behavior.
So will I be watching? Yes, but mostly because there's really nothing else on and I want to find out who A is what the Jenna thing was and what it has to do with all of this. Oh, and this really isn't anything constructive but I want Aria's whole wardrobe.
WHO SHOULD WATCH: fans of the books, Gossip Girl fans, you watch ABCFamily regularly (is guilty ;loves Greek;)
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five-guilty pleasure show

Book Review: One for the Money

TITLE: One for the Money
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Stephanie Plum series
AUTHOR: Janet Evanovich
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1994
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: series, mystery, chick-lit
PREMISE: Stephanie Plum is dead broke and in desperate need of a job. So her cousin sets her up with a bounty. Only it turns out this bounty is her old flame Joe Morelli...
MY REVIEW: I've heard about this series for quite awhile and people buy it a lot at work so I finally decided to give it a try when I saw a cheap copy at my book fair. Turned out to be a good buy because I ended up enjoying the heck out of this. I will admit it probably isn't terribly realistic, and the writing could be a bit better, but I still loved it.
Part of the charm are the characters. They are widespread and colorful and frank about life and if you don't like it, oh well. Stephanie was refreshing as well. For once we have a female murder mystery lead who isn't a) in the business so she automatically knows stuff and we have catch up with her, b) unrealistically smart so sometimes the reader feels stupid, and c) constantly bed hops. In fact, there's no sex in this (aside from the creepy rapist but he doesn't count). Yes, Plum is snarky and not a wimp but she's learning this stuff as she goes and thus we the readers learn along with her. I also appreciated that the author didn't wimp out on some of the less then pleasant things that come with being a bounty hunter (see dumpster hopping and naked old guy).
The side characters are also equally as great as Plum. Morelli and Ranger are hysterical (I got the feeling throughout this that Ranger was helping out for the sheer entertainment factor) as were her family dynamics (I personally loved the grandmother even if she got mortifying sometimes). The book was fast paced and interesting and all in all a fun ride. Oh, and will someone PLEASE make this into a murder mystery type tv show? Pretty please? Cannot wait to read the rest of this series.
WHO SHOULD READ: mystery fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five guns

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Book Review: Real Murders

TITLE: Real Murders
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Aurora Teagarden series
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHED: 1990 (rereleased 2007ish)
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: series, mystery
PREMISE: Librarian Aurora Teagarden is part of the Real Murders club and during the meeting she discovers the dead body of one of the club members and arranged to resemble the case the club was just about to discuss...
MY REVIEW: As with Harris's other mystery books (Harper Connelly, Lily Bard) I mostly was intrigued by the mystery part of this. I like Harris's mysteries. She manages to keep them fast-paced, to keep you stumped, and get the atmosphere just right.
The writing is average and I was tired of the love triangle business (not her fault but since this is the current trend going on right now...) but other then those qualms this was a fun quick cozy mystery to read. Will be looking into the rest of this series for sure.
WHO SHOULD READ: Charlaine Harris fans, cozy mystery fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five mystery books

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Book Review: Pretty Little Liars

TITLE: Pretty Little Liars
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Pretty Little Liars series
AUTHOR: Sara Shepard
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: series, drama, mystery, chick lit
PREMISE: four girls at Rosewood all have something in common: secrets. It turns out someone else knows these secrets and is threatening to use it against them.
MY REVIEW: If you think this sounds an awful lot like Gossip Girl, you're pretty much right. At least this is slightly more interesting then Gossip Girl though. However, it's only slightly. The problem is I don't care for any of the characters at all. I don't like any of them. I find all of them to be self-privledged whiny brats who quite frankly got themselves in the situations because they were immature and slightly stupid. So it's a little hard for me to want to continue the series but the thing is, I really want to know who A is so I may or may not pick up the next one in the library, or I'll just watch the TV Show which looks like it'll be less painful.
The writing is amatuerish at best, there's next to no plot, except for the painfully slow revelation of secrets which doesn't really count because nothing is ever solved. I found the heap of sex, drinking, and altogether immoral activity (shop-lifting, cheating) to be slightly ridiculous. I'm not naive, I know teens drink, swear, and think of sex but everyone in the town doing it which is what it seems to be in this book? That's over the top. Plus there was a lot of annoying name-dropping of pop culture references and brands. It got tiresome.
I am aware however, that I'm not the target audience and I do give Shepard credit for not being afraid of having same-sex situations in it even if I didn't care for how she handled it. For those who want something like Gossip Girl though, this series is probably great for you. As for me, I will be watching the premiere of the TV Show on ABCFamily which is on Tuesday to see if I like the show better. But I'll probably skip on the rest of the series.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Gossip Girl, Clique etc.
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five handbags

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Book Review: Beauty

TITLE: Beauty
PART IN SERIES: standalone
AUTHOR: Nancy Butcher
PUBLISHED: 2005
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: fairy tale retelling
PREMISE: Ana has made herself ugly in order to please her jealous mother. But then she goes to school and discovers a dark secret her mother is hiding...
MY REVIEW: This was one of those random books that I found at my local library's book fair. It was only a quarter and sounded vaguely interesting so I figured so what if I've never heard of it. Books you never hear of can go either way. They can be either really bad, or just not noticeable enough for it to gain enough momentum for people to reccomend to others. Beauty is one of those that just aren't noticeable enough to reccomend.
Beauty is essentially a loose retelling of Snow White. I did find some of what the author had to say on beauty interesting but other then that the book was unremarkable in every way. The writing was average. The characters were average and not that memorable. In short, it was just one of those books that you read once for the hell of it and then promptly forget about once you pick up the next one.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who like fairy tale retellings
MY RATING: Three out of Five mirrors

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Book Review: Need

TITLE: Need
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of two books in the Need series so far
AUTHOR: Carrie Jones
PUBLISHED: 2009
GENRE: Young adult, series, faeries, werewolves, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Zara's mother sends her off to freezing cold Maine after the death of her father. While there, she meets friends and discovers things about herself she didn't even know.
MY REVIEW: At first, this book seems like your standard YA fantasy. For the most part it is. But unlike most standard YA, it managed to make me care about its main character. I like Zara. For once we have a teen lead who cares about more then just her own love life! Not only that, she has a backbone! Interests outside of cute boys and who is dating who! She's not totally Mary-Sued out. Thank you, Carrie Jones.
Now that said, the book is not totally perfect. It's in present tense and that may not thrill everyone but I will say it's well written present tense for a change. So many authors nowadays just use present tense because it's trendy or something and they don't write it well so the writing ends up feeling awkward (see Evermore) but Jones writes it well so it's not as big of a deal. The ending was also a tad bit rushed I felt.
But all in all, this was a fun book with refreshing characters and a refreshing romance (and great repartee and banter between the characters;I loved Grandma Betty and Issie and Devyn). I did find the weres vs. faerie thing a little strange but it was still a cool idea and I can't wait to read the next one.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Shiver, fans of Tithe, fans of Twilight (particularly those in the Team Jacob camp)
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five

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Book Review: The Kingdom Keepers

TITLE: The Kingdom Keepers
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 of the Kingdom Keepers series
AUTHOR: Ridley Pearson
PUBLISHED: 2005
GENRE: Childrens, series, adventure
PREMISE: Finn learns that there is a secret in Disney World: at night, the park is not as quiet as everyone thinks.
MY REVIEW: A huge part of me wanted to absolutely love this. I am a major Disney freak and the idea of the characters of Disney becoming alive at night was just so darn cool. The problem is...while the idea is cool, the execution of the idea was rather thin.
The main issue is that the author just jumps right into the story and doesn't offer any plausible explanations for why this is going on and the explanations he does give, fall flat. Also, I am aware that this is a kid's book but would it kill the author to have character developement or for that matter, characters with a personality? Also, as someone who has sadly never been to Disney World (just Disneyland and only for a few hours) I would have liked a little more description of things because the author was writing it as if everyone has been there already. I've got news for the author: not everyone has the money to go.
I won't say this book is completely horrible because for it's target age, the books are decent. Unfortunately, it just left me wanting...more from it. Not a sequel, just...something better then what I got.
WHO SHOULD READ: Disney fans, younger kids
MY RATING: Three out of Five evil disney villians

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Movie Review: Prince of Persia

TITLE: Prince of Persia
RELEASED: May 27th, 2010
PEOPLE INVOLVED: Jerry Bruckheimer produced, Disney involved, Jake Gyllanhal(my main reason for seeing this film ;drools;), Sir Ben Kingsley (a very welcome bonus).
GENRE: video game based, fantasy, action
PREMISE: Prince Dustan helps his brothers sieze a city and then gets accused of murdering his father and becomes involved with the captured princess and her really weird time-changing dagger.
MY REVIEW: Every summer I indulge in at least one mindless silly action flick. Last year that flick was Transformers 2, this year it's Prince of Persia (assuming I don't end up seeing Sorceror's Apprentice or the A Team, that M.Night Shamalan screwed up The Last Airbender (which he better NOT have ;inserts evil fangirl glare of doom;) and that Inception is not as awesome as it looks (doubtful because hello Chris Nolan and Leo and Michael Caine, it's like my dream movie, the only thing that could make it better would be if it also had Morgan Freeman or Samuel L.Jackson)).
Where was I? Oh yes, Prince of Persia is unashamed sillyness and I think that's why it worked for me. They didn't try and make this into a ultimate epic, nor did they make it into utter mindless pointlessness (although it occasionally gets close). It just wavers between cheesyness and kind of awesome action flick so while it's definite escapist fare in the tradition of Star Wars, you don't feel like you've utterly wasted your money while watching it or that you're losing your brain cells.
There are undenialably roll-eye worthy moments (there are several slow motion moments and the romance is slightly cheesy). But there are also awesome action sequences and the characters are just fun. I would have loved more scenes with Dustan and his band of rascals in the early part of the film but that probably would have dragged the movie so there was sadly not much of it. But at least there was snarkyness between the hero and the Princess so I was happy with it, even if I felt like the Princess was mainly there for guys to ogle. At least she did more then just be the romantic lead or was the OMG!Shoes! type (yes, I'm glaring at you Sex and the City 2).
So, yes, there is no denying that Prince of Persia is silly, campy, and cheesy. But it's so much fun that it's hard to really mind it. This will not win Oscars (except for maybe soundtrack and effects), but if you're in the mood for a fun ride that doesn't cost you brain cells, this movie is worth seeing on screen.
WHO SHOULD SEE: Bruckheimer movie fans, action flick fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of five back flipping persian princes