I hate spending time reading about the plot of a book on review sites - just tell me, Did you like it or not?

Monday, December 30, 2013

The Bride Wore Size 12

The Bride Wore Size 12 (Heather Wells Mysteries #5)

392 pages
Published Sept. 24, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks 
 
Another light, fluffy, formulaic murder mystery by Meg Cabot. Not the best book Cabot has written, but entertaining enough. Heather Wells is an endearing character, with cleverness and wittiness in spades.
There is some swearing and some glossed-over sex. I probably wouldn't let my mom read it.

P.S. Just FYI, we just had an magnitude 5.2 earthquake over here in Italy - and we sure felt it! It was my first earthquake - but we all are OK and nothing collapsed. Yay!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)

by


Published June 4, 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.


After reading the first in this trilogy, Shadow and Bone, I couldn't wait to read this one.

I actually tried to read another book before reading this one (a light Meg Cabot book) - but I got too antsy. I had to know what was going to happen next in the lives of Alina and Mal! When that happens, I know that what I'm reading is good - the words are reaching out and grabbing me by the wrist and forcing me to sit down and read.

And luckily, No. 2 in the Grisha trilogy delivers. It's such a relief when you read a sequel and it's just as good (if not better) than the first.

We continue to see growth in all the characters. We follow the struggles to free Alina's world from evil. And just to make things more interesting - the love story hits some snags.

Little to no swearing and no sex.

Can't wait til the last book comes out. It's already on my To Read list.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)

by

4 stars

358 pages
Published June 5, 2012 by Henry Holt and Co.

Happy, happy day! This fantasy is right up my alley. Part coming-of-age story, part love story and part magical power story.

This is a story about a girl who discovers her inborn powers and her struggle to learn to use them - and not be used by others. She also loses her innocence and naivete by trusting the wrong people.

I was intrigued by the premise and held captive by the plot. I read this book quickly - much to the dismay and neglect of my family.

Pick this up. It's fantastic. No swearing and no sex. Yay!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Steelheart

Steelheart (Reckoners #1)

4.5 stars

386 pages
Published Sept. 24, 2013 by Delacorte Press 
 

I admit, I love superhero movies - but not books about superheroes. They're just so cheesy. I've tried.

BUT ...

I loved, loved this superhero book! It's a totally new take on superheroes ... they're EVIL! And regular people have to figure out their weaknesses and take them down so protect all the other regular people.

The first part of the book is pretty disturbing and violent. Actually the whole book is filled with fighting and violence and death, so I won't be letting my 10-year-old read it for a couple years. But as an adult - and maybe I'm desensitized - I could overlook it a bit and focus on the plot and the struggle for freedom from tyranny and fear.

The writing was fantastic and in places, quite witty. There was little to no swearing and no sex. Just a thrill ride from start to finish.

Based on this book, I'm going to find other books by Brandon Sanderson. And I will definitely be reading the next in line in this series.

Well done, Brandon!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Deep Blue Secret


by

4 stars
 
370 pages
Published July 29, 2011 
 
This is another teen love story, with elements of the paranormal sprinkled within. It has a good plot, good character development and a decent “obstacle to love” – every good love story has one. This one is the ol’ “boy protector shouldn’t fall in love with protectee,” but of course it happens, and he feels all sorts of guilt and angst about it. Girl needs boy and is annoyed at his sense of duty and reluctance to just let go.
Sounds cheesy, but it somehow works.

Christie Anderson knows how to write a angsty love story and get the reader to really root for the relationship.

I have to admit that the girl is a bit whiny – and the boy a bit too righteous, but like I said before, it works.

I also enjoyed the icky bad guy. I wish there were more of him – though I think that he will be in the next book quite a bit.

Can’t wait to find out, because I will be reading the second book!

Thank you to Mark My Words Publicity for providing this book for review.

Monday, December 16, 2013

A World Without Heroes

A World Without Heroes (Beyonders #1)

Published Mar. 15, 2011 by Aladdin (first published Mar. 1, 2011)
For a juvenile fiction book, this one is fantastic. My 10-year-old was recommended this book by her friend, and she LOVED it! It's got action, adventure, a quest, puzzles, some gross stuff - all things that my kid loves. I also enjoyed it.

She's now well into the second one.

Let me just tell you, it warms my heart to see my kid reading a nice, fat book.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Actor and the Housewife

The Actor and the Housewife

by



Published June 9, 2009 by Bloomsbury USA (first published Jan. 1, 2009)

Sometimes YA authors should stick to their genre. (Kathy Reichs, I'm not talking about you! I adore your YA books!)

Here, Shannon Hale, author of the popular Princess Academy books and Books of Bayern series dives into adult fiction. It's not a happy dip.

I've read 8 out of Hale's 10 published books, and there is an obvious trend - her YA books outshine her adult fiction books. So be warned.

The book starts out as every housewife's dream: meeting and having dinner with their movie star "crush." But from there, it just kind of got unbelievable - the two becoming best friends and all. That NEVER happens.

But what really bugged me is that Hale uses cancer to force some emotion into the book. Not cool.

Plus, her dialogue and repartee seemed just a bit too clever for its own good. Who talks like that? Who can come up with one-liners like that on the spot? It got old after a while.

Another thing, if you're not Mormon who has spent any time in Utah, you will not get half of the jokes.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Champion

I've been out of town for a week - hence the lag in posting. But I'm back!

Champion (Legend #3)

by

4.5 stars

369 pages
Published Nov. 5, 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

I was sad when this series ended, because overall it was a well-written, exciting dive into a post-apocalyptic, dystopian society. I was happy though, that most, if not all the loose ends were tied up nicely - if a bit too abruptly. But I can't complain too loudly when an author doesn't neglect her duty to satisfy readers' needs for closure.

The ending was happy, with a touch of sadness - lots of room for hope and healing. I enjoyed that very much.

No swearing, but one slightly glossed over sex scene.

I'd love to see a spin-off of this series set in the world of Antarctica. That place was intriguing.

Good job, Marie Lu, I like your style!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1)

by

316 pages
Tor Teen First Edition
Published September 2011 by Tom Doherty

I can't recommend this book based on a couple of things.

First the language is horrible. Really, really bad. I felt like I was with a bunch of Marines, not a couple of teenagers. The F-bomb is liberally slathered throughout the book - and for NO REASON! I found myself skipping whole passages in order to cut down on the number of curse words I had to read.

Second, there is quite a lot of guts and gore. People dying right and left. Police didn't do much, which was not believable, especially with WHO the victims were. They asked maybe 3 or 4 questions and decided that was fine. The gore was all very slasher movie-esque.

The ending was OK, but I'm not sure I understood exactly what happened. There was an epilogue, but it only gave information about what happens in the near future. I wanted to know what happens much later on.

I will not be reading any other books by this writer if the cursing continues to taint the stories.