Book Review: Feast of Fools

TITLE: Feast of Fools
Book 4 in the Morganville Vampires series
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: 2008
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: vampires, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Claire and co. are back dealing with the usual drama and vampires of Morganville.
MY REVIEW: I know in the last book's review for this series I said I was going to try and give it till book six. Well...I'm taking that back because after this book there's no way I'm going to make it till book six. Look, I stand by what I said: I understand why these are popular. They have a lot going on in them, Caine is very clever in leaving every book at a cliff hanger, and they are very nice quick time-wasting reads that don't take a lot of concentration. Plus, there are some genuine funny moments.
However, they are REPETITIVE. Like unbelievably repetitive. You thought House of Night was bad with the going no where plot? This series has started to follow the same idea but with less annoying characters. However, rather decent characters don't really help it because Caine is so focused on getting the plot from point A to point Z that she kind of leaves character developement by the wayside. As a result, these characters remain the same and that's kind of not good because there needs to be developement. Particularly in the main foursome. Plus, there are a LOT of gaping plot holes the biggest one being: why don't these humans just move out of Morganville? It would literally solve all their problems. Also, why don't the college kids warn incoming students about it? I mean, they literally don't mention it during visits? Or do their best to persuade people not to come in? I mean the whole set up makes very little sense to me because my mind keeps coming up with ways to get around the obstacles that Caine half-hazardly puts up in these books and that's...not very good.
So again, not a horrible series. I understand the popularity but I've literally just lost all interest in this series. Mostly because I've figured out the formula Caine follows for each book: intro of all the characters with roommate scenes galore, maybe some scenes with Claire getting picked on by Monica (who I still think is over the top and want someone to smack her, what happened to her in Book 2 was not enough), some sort of meeting with Amelie or some other similar vampire big bad, angsty scene with Michael (and for bonus points, Eve), some scenes in between with Claire and Shane to fill the romance quota, some sort of big event involving vamps, usually ends badly and with Claire making stupid decisions (for a smart girl, she sure is dumb sometimes) and then cue cliffhanger. I've just literally have gotten to the point where I don't care anymore. So sorry, Morganville, I'm breaking up with you. Maybe her adult books are better. I'll try looking into those.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who have read and liked the first 3 books, vampire fans, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five stakes

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

Book Review: Love Bites

TITLE: Love Bites
Book 7 in the Vampire Kisses series
AUTHOR: Ellen Schreiber
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: vampires, romance, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Alexander's best friend comes to Dullsville and starts crushing on Raven's best friend Becky...
MY REVIEW: Okay, it's official. I'm breaking up with this series. Look, I still think it's cute and great for younger readers and is a fun sort of parody for older readers but it's just not going anywhere. Plus this is practically the same plot she used in the last book with Alexander's parents. It's getting very repetitive and that's kind of annoying because I know this series has a lot of potential.
Raven is still hilarious (though as of late she's kind of become...annoying? Is that just me?) and her relationship with Alexander is still cute and whatnot. These books are always nice and fast quick reads and again, perfect for younger readers. But also again: nothing changes.
So while I do still like this series...I just don't know if I'll bother reading the rest of them because they've sort of become dull and repetitive. Now maybe I'm wrong and Schreiber will turn the series around but I'm betting not. I'm also not even sure if there's going to be a next book as it seems Schreiber has started a new series that is coming out in December about werewolves. I'm definitely taking a look at that one whenever I can. As for Vampire Kisses...still like it, I just want...more from it.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who read and liked the first six books, vampire fans, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five bottles of black nail polish

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in November
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Finish That Series (now complete! Makes...three done)
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: The Thirteenth Princess

TITLE: The Thirteenth Princess
AUTHOR: Diane Zahler
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: childrens
GENRE: retelling, fantasy
PREMISE: See the tale of the Dancing Princess from a character who was forgotten in the legend: their thirteenth sister.
MY REVIEW: I have rather mixed feelings about this book but overall it was good. It was a unique take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale. I definitely haven't seen the idea before and Zahler makes it work. Zita was a fun heroine, even if I didn't get much from her personality, I enjoyed taking the journey with her. Even the romance aspects were cute.
My issues with it were that the writing was rather flat. It wasn't engaging in anyway and had the annoying tendency to tell and not show. The ending while surprising was also somewhat chaotic. Plus again, rather flat two-dimensional characters.
Overall though, the book was decent. I believe this is Zahler's first book and she apparently has one coming out next year which is also a princess tale. Younger girls will definitely get a kick out of this one, particularly if they're into princesses.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five princess dancing shoes
WHO SHOULD READ: younger girls in the princess stage, you like retellings, fans of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

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

TV Weekly Recap

Since I didn't get a chance to do a recap last week there will also be chatter about the week before this one as well...

Dancing With the Stars: Okay America, WHAT THE HELL? How is Bristol still here, yet people who got higher marks and are actually GOOD going home? Look, I will give Bristol her due, she's trying and yes I know she's not a performer by trade but you know what? She's STILL not good. Plus, I'm getting a little tired of her whining about how hard the dances are. Suck it up. You signed up for this gig so how about putting in more effort? Look at Kyle. He's getting reemed (unfairly in my opinion) yet he doesn't go around whining. He works hard and has a sense of humor to it. Same with the others. Please don't tell me this girl will actually get into the finals...there's just...no way.

Castle: Fun as this weeks' ep was (I love when they do ones dealing with strippers don't you? So many jokes that they're not afraid to crack. Love it) I really want to talk about last week's ep with the serial killer. Looks like we're going to get a returning villian on the show! Awesomeness. Makes up for how little we've been getting on Kate's mother's murder.

Glee: Okay, Rocky Horror Picture Ep from last week. First off, kudos to the director for getting Sam, Finn, and Mr. S shirtless. Really, thank you guys. Made up for what a jerk Mr. S has become. I admit to liking his character somewhat in the beginning but now I'm finding him ridiculously selfish. I suppose the arguement could be made that he's enjoying his freedom from his harpy ex-wife but still. Favorite moment: Santana and Britney spying shamelessly on their teachers. These two have become my favorite characters next to Kurt and to a lesser extent Mercedes. Favorite song: Tie between John Staimos singing the hell out of Whatever Happened to Saturday Night (it made me wonder why they didn't have him sing more on Full House) and Sweet Transvestite. Can't wait for new episodes. Looks like Kurt IS getting a guy!

Project Runway: I'm going to say what everyone has said or has been thinking since the finale: MONDO WAS ROBBED. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with Nina and Michael? Yes, Gretchen was on trend, but that was LUCK. That is seriously her only style. She can't design anything outside of that trend. Mondo has more creativity in one little finger then that woman does (and more humility and good character). Trust me, in a year or so people will be all "Gretchen who?" while Mondo will be making a name for himself and be big. Ugh, if I wasn't so hooked on Project Runway, I'd seriously consider not watching anymore because these past few seasons have been wonky judging wise. I really wish they would have Tim Gunn be part of the judging panel or at least ask for his input. The man has impeccable taste and he has more of an idea of what goes on in the creative process then the judges do. Did anyone else notice he looked shocked when he came out to congratulate Gretchen? Even he was going "what the hell?"

Things on TV I'm looking forward to this week (new feature on here):
all my regular shows (note: I've pretty much given up on Whole Truth and Undercovers, so BORING).
Avalon High and Wizards of Waverly Place premiere on Disney Channel. Yes, I like Disney Channel, okay? It's cheesy and silly and helps me relax after stressful day at work, plus multiple repeat eps make for good background noise while I read. Currently I mostly just watch Wizards because a) it's fun, and b)there actually seems to be an ongoing storyline and interesting developements. Plus Alex is kind of awesome. Look forward to seeing wizard court ;) Plus it brings back the crazy headmaster who is so obviously a parody of Dumbledore. Love him (Dumbledore and guy doing the parody).
Now Avalon High...I have two minds about it. On one hand giddyness because it's one of my favorite Cabot books. On the other hand, it looks like they once again didn't read the book. I mean for crying out loud, they changed the main characters name (and her appearance and from the looks her entire personality). Plus, Myles is a teenager? Reincarnation of Merlin guys! Hello! I also don't see Ellie's track friend anywhere in the previews, who wants to bet she got cut to be replaced by Myles? Will I be tuning in? Yes. Will I like it? Hard to say.

In My Mailbox (20)

This is a weekly meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we received over the week. All the links in this post go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info.

Downloaded from Net Galley (which I finally just joined this week!):
Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell-Doesn't come out till January 3rd. Futuristic sci-fi sort of thing from the author of The Farsala Trilogy, Goblin Wood, Knight and Rogue series etc. (all very good books btw). Can't wait to read!
Ghost Handlers Book 1: Haint Misbehavin by Maureen Hardgree-It had read now on it and looked interesting.

From the Library:
Morganville Vampires Book 4: Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
Gallagher Girls Book 2: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy Ally Carter-ended up loving the heck out of the first book so I grabbed book 2.
Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George-sequel to the awesome Princess of the Midnight Ball.
The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees-a sort of continuation of Twelth Night by Shakespeare which I haven't read in AGES but this sounded cool.
Vampire Kisses Book 7: Love Bites by Ellen Schreiber

Bought Books (thank you Borders!):
The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy Book 3: ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor
Sweep series bindup Volume I, Book 1-3 by Cate Tiernan-As embarressing as this is, I totally somehow missed the Sweep series during my high school years. I'd never even HEARD of it till this big volume caught my eye a month or so ago. Then I asked around online and apparently these are very popular books and people thought I was crazy for never hearing about them. My only possible explanation is that I didn't get regular access to the internet till college (these were different times for you young ins who are shocked by this ;)).

Book Review: Hush Hush

TITLE: Hush Hush
Book 1 in the Hush Hush Trilogy
AUTHOR: Becca Fitzpatrick
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: angels, urban fantasy, romance
PREMISE: Nora meets Patch during biology and is confused about him. Then people start turning up dead. Is Patch responsible?
MY REVIEW: Okay, I've been avoiding this book for two reasons: mixed reviews and I don't get this whole angel trend that's been going on. A lot of people have been comparing this one to Twilight and calling it a rip-off of it and for that reason I've stayed away because as I've said before: I can't stand Twilight. Having read it now, I definitely see the Twilight comparisons but this is SO much better. Not utterly fantastic because there are still issues in it, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Issues in it are that the relationship between Nora and Patch is kind of creepy and I'm not sure I'm one hundred percent for it. But it's a complicated relationship and I do see Nora's attraction and it helps that Nora doesn't go around saying "oh Patch and I are soulmates! We're going to be together forever!" from the moment they meet. Actually she never says the s word. Other issues is that the writing felt off in some places. I think the problem is that Fitzpatrick tried too hard to emulate Twilight in order to appeal to Twihards. Because a lot of the time it was good. But then there'd be these random flowery descriptions or scenes that felt very familiar and that took away some of the enjoyment. Plus it got repetitive in the middle a bit.
However, there is definite potential here. While the Nora/Patch vibe is creepy, it is also an interesting relationship (something Twilight sorely lacked) and I'm going to be curious about where she takes it because judging from the summary of the next book, she's not going to do a Breaking Dawn-everything-happily-ever-after thing. The mystery part of it was fun (and again in the second one it looks like there's more mystery), plus Vee who was hilarious. So yes, some flaws to this but overall a very decent first book and I look forward to reading the next one which is out now.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, Fallen fans, angel fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five feathers

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

Book Review: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

TITLE: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
AUTHOR: John Grisham
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Childrens
GENRE: mystery
PREMISE: Theodore loves law. He knows all the local lawyers, cops, and judges. He sneaks into trials, and even helps out the kids in his school with law advice. Then a big murder trial takes place and Theo ends up right in the thick of it...
MY REVIEW: I really wanted to like this. I mean it's Grisham. This man got me started on the mystery/thriller genre so I'll always have a soft spot for him (and Patterson). I admit I was a bit dubious about him writing a kids book, but hey it worked out well for Patterson with Maximum Ride so why not?
Unfortunately I think Grisham is one of those who can't write kids books well. Some author's aren't meant for childrens, or YA, or adult, and Grisham is not right for kids fiction. Mostly because I don't think he remembers what being a kid was like. At least that's my only explanation for Theo. The kid is thirteen yet he's not a raging ball of hormones (and neither are his classmates who apparently live in the sixties when we still had gender seperated classes). Plus I'm sorry but in my day Theo would been picked on relentlessly for his interest. Yet he's not only not bullied once but seems to be respected by his classmates (who are all also very eager to learn law apparently; any middle-school teacher would scoff at this) and even at one point gets asked out by a popular girl. Just...no way. Other things also don't really jive with this book (a kid loving trials? Really?) but the inaccuracy of the school life/how it is to be a teenager really kept bugging me.
Then there's the fact that it's just boring. Literally we already know who did it. There's no surprise twists, no turns. It actually turns into a preachy book about lawyer ethics. Some lawyers may find interest in that but most kids would fall asleep to this. I honestly find it hard to believe that Grisham wrote this because I don't remember him being this bad. I can't help but wonder if he gave this idea to someone and just let them ghostwrite it in his name or something.
Some good thins are that Theo is likeable (but not very relateable). It does a good job of explaining law in a way that kids will understand (I admit I even learned a thing or two I didn't know). But if Grisham plans on turning this into a series he needs to work on character and making Theo and pretty much all of this more believable.
WHO SHOULD READ: Grisham fans if you want, kids interested in how trials work
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five Judge gravels

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

Book Review: The Red Pyramid

TITLE: The Red Pyramid
Book 1 in the Kane Chronicles
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Childrens
GENRE: adventure, fantasy
PREMISE: Siblings Carter and Sadie have always been seperated ever since they were six. Carter travels with his dad, Sadie lives with her grandparents. Then their dad does something crazy during one of his visits with Sadie and all hell breaks loose...
MY REVIEW: If you've read Percy Jackson you pretty much know the deal with Riordan's books: great humor, lots of action/adventure, fast paced, simple. It's a formula that worked well for Percy Jackson and the audience Riordan is aiming this at (reluctant readers, middle-schoolers) and it works just as well here.
Does it sometimes feel like Percy Jackson redone with Egyptian Gods? Yes. In fact this series apparently takes place in the same universe as Percy Jackson so it doesn't really stray much. So if you wanted something new and different and unique with this, you were probably disappointed. Me, I was okay with it. Uber spectacular? No. But like the Percy series it works because of who the books are aimed for and what Riordan is trying to accomplish. He's not trying to be Harry Potter (though lots of people try to accuse him of this), he's not trying to be utterly brilliant either. He's trying to get reluctant readers/boys in middle-school to pick up books and enjoy reading. For that, I applaud him.
I personally enjoyed it. As much as I enjoyed Percy? Maybe not. But it's still a fun series and I look forward to future installments of it. Fans of Percy will probably enjoy it as well. I am personally curious if this means Riordan plans on exploring other gods as well because with this it kind of makes me wonder if there gods in other cultures. For instance Native American Gods, or Japanese Gods, or Nordic Gods and so on. Possibilities are endless and I look forward to whatever Riordan brings us.
WHO SHOULD READ: Percy Jackson fans, Egyptian god fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five hierglyphs

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
One Hundred Plus Books
First in a Series

Book Review: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

TITLE: I'd Tell You I'd Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Book 1 in the Gallegher Girls series
AUTHOR: Ally Carter
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: mystery, adventure
PREMISE: Cammie goes to a school for undercover spies. She knows kick-butt moves, how to survey and blend in with her surroundings, and is on her way to becoming a top-notch spy. But all of that doesn't really prepare her for her biggest challenge: teenage boys and being a regular girl.
MY REVIEW: Okay, it's official. I'm a fan of Ally Carter now. I read Heist Society a week or so ago and my library finally managed to get this back in so I grabbed it even though I've avoided it for the past few years because it seemed like a Gossip Girl thing from the covers. Yes, yes, I know that's stupid. I'm ashamed of myself right now, okay? Just goes to show that silly covers don't always mean bad books (and likewise beautiful covers don't always equal awesome books).
Now I will say that like Heist Society this premise seems campy and silly and it frankly is. But Carter makes you want it to be real so bad that you don't care. I mean, I would love a school of teen spies for girls to be real. Who wouldn't? The idea is awesome. Carter also manages to make it work well so that you buy it. I also think it helps that she doesn't try to make these books feel serious because if she had gone that route then me (and all the other readers) probably wouldn't get behind this as much.
Plus the writing is hilarious. I loved all the characters (Bex is my favorite! Followed closely by Liz), it was great seeing a girl not afraid or ashamed to be strong and it was just fun. You can't help but laugh at all these spy girls knowing how to diffuse bombs but not know what a guy means when he says "so we'll meet up later, right?" and need clarification of intent. It's funny (and a little sad). I'm definitely picking up the next few books in the future. For those wondering there's going to be a fifth Gallagher Girl book out in 2011 along with the sequel to Heist Society (squee!) in the Summer. Can't wait.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Heist Society, spy novel fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five plaid skirts

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
First in a Series
Support Your Local Library

November Releases

Ah, November. New month means new releases and books to look forward too. Here's some that I think readers of this blog may be interested in, or that I'm interested in, or that just look interesting period. Combination of adult, YA, and Childrens. All the links go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info on them. When the book has this: (!) that means I'm eager to read it and you can expect a review on here sometime in the future.
Eternal: More Love Stories with Bite by P.C.Cast and various authors. Paperback, released Nov. 2nd.
Claim to Fame by Margeret Peterson Haddix.Paperback, released Nov. 2nd.
Pegasus by Robin McKinley. Hardcover, released Nov. 2nd.(!!!) New McKinley book. Nuff said.
Hero by Mike Lupica. Hardcover, released Nov. 2nd.
Haruhi novelizations: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzimiya by Nagaru Tanigawa.Paperback, released Nov. 2nd(!)-Love the Haruhi books. Read them if you haven't yet. They're hilariously absurd. It's great.
House of the Star by Caitlin Brennan. Hardcover, released Nov. 9th.
Selling Hope by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. Hardcover, released Nov. 9th.
Foundlings Tale series Book 3: Factotum by D.M.Cornish. Hardcover, released Nov. 11th.
The Painted Boy by Charles de Lint. Hardcover, released Nov. 11th.
Sweep series Bind up Volume II by Cate Tiernan. Paperback, released Nov. 11th.(!)-Okay, confession time. I've never heard of the Sweep series until these bind ups started. Then people started reccing them right and left. I plan on checking out the first volume sometime soon this year.
Hacking Timbuktu by Stephan Davies. Hardcover, released Nov. 15th.
Tyger Tyger: A Goblin Wars Book by Kerstan Hamiltan. Hardcover, released Nov. 15th.
The Last Full Measure by Ann Rinaldi. Hardcover, released Nov. 15th.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel bindup Volume III by various authors. Paperback, released Nov. 16th.
Immortals Book 5: Night Star by Alyson Noel. Hardcover, released Nov. 16th.
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. Hardcover, released Nov. 23rd.
The Dark Devine Book 1 by Bree Despain. Paperback version, released Nov. 23rd.
Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner. Hardcover, released Nov. 24th. (!)-Loved Nobody's Princess and the author's other works. I'm sure this will be just as good.
Women of the Otherworld: Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong (adult). Hardcover, released Nov. 30th. (!)
Matched by Ally Condie.Hardcover, released Nov. 30th (!).

Also released this month: more box sets of stuff like The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, The Millanium Trilogy, and the Eragon series. A bunch of tie-in books for Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. Also naturally several graphic novels and manga including a new Good Neighbors by Holly Black, more Hatter M graphic novels from the Looking Glass Wars, and even the start of a Starfleet Academy series based on the recent Star Trek movie (note Abrhams: GET ON THAT SEQUEL!). Looks like another excellent month for books.