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

Monday, March 31, 2014

Eight's Origin

Eight's Origin (Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files Bonus)

ebook, 11 pages
Published August 13th 2012 by Harper
Super short - read it in a few minutes, but it's a good little glimpse into another of the Garde. I do wish, though, that the titles of the books didn't all have "I Am Number Four" in them. Makes things confusing - "Have I read this one or not?"

I do dig the whole legacies idea though. How cool would it be to move things with your mind?

Anyway, the only reason I gave it 3 stars is because I wanted MORE. Sadly, 11 pages is just a tease.

If you want to read it right now, go here.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Mistborn

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)

by

4 stars



541 pages
Published July 25, 2006 by Tor Books

Wow. This book was actually pretty awesome. I enjoyed it immensely. Brandon Sanderson knows how to write an epic fantasy novel. He has created a world with well-thought-out rules and ways of life. And of course, his characters are fully fleshed out and real. I would have been disappointed if they weren't - Sanderson's novel has p.l.e.n.t.y. of pages to develop his characters. Yet if I had one gripe about the novel - it would be that ... the length. I know most fantasy books are long, long, long, but this one seemed like it could be condensed quite a bit. Some of his explanations on how the metals worked seemed redundant and overly verbose.

I am happy that the book had a good ending - enough questions remain to facilitate a sequel, but enough tied ends to make it a stand-alone book if you wanted to end it there. Which I may do, I haven't decided yet.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Jinx

Jinx (Jinx #1)

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This a fabulous little fantasy adventure for those kids in the middle grades. It has magic, apprentices, lessons on love and loyalty, and myriad other life lessons. The writing is spot-on for the intended audience - no cumbersome words that force kids to the dictionary - although sometimes that isn't a bad thing. When I was a kid, my parents gave me a dictionary for my birthday so I'd quite bugging them with the question "What does this word mean?"

If you have a kiddo looking for a new adventure fantasy book, this one will fit the bill nicely. No swearing or bad stuff.

I'll be reading the next in the series.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Pawn

Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion #1)

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Argh! I can't believe it's been 10 days since I've last posted! But happily, it was for a good reason. Some girlfriends and I flew up to Berlin and spent the whole week sightseeing and shopping. It was delightful.

BUT NOW, back to the reviews.

While on the plane I read this whole book - so you know Pawn will be a fast read. It's not thick on character development or fantastic writing, but it does move along quickly and has a decent premise - think Meg Cabot's Airhead trilogy, with a touch of Keira Cass's The Selection and with some rebellion thrown in.

One happy aspect - there is no love triangle. For a while, I thought there might be, but I was thankfully wrong. And there was an evil grandmother - who doesn't like an evil grandmother?? Quite awesome.

I will be reading the next in the series.

Friday, March 14, 2014

As You Wish

As You Wish (Genies #1)

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Published Aug. 25, 2009 by Harper Teen

I liked this fluffy little story well enough. It's definitely not fine literature, but a cute beach read for teens.

It touches on how it's OK to not belong to the "in" group and to be yourself. And how change can be a good thing.

There was one f-bomb, which was weird because there wasn't one other swear word in the whole book. Why did the author put it in?

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Everbound

Everbound (Everneath #2)

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I so wanted to love this book. I used to live near Park City, Utah, which is where the book is set, so I know the places mentioned in the book. That eased visualization a bit. But in the end that "plus" just wasn't enough for me.

The first book in this series, "Everneath," had such great potential. Teenage angst, which is usually annoying to me, was dealt with in a "See what can happen if you act rashly, not rationally!" Yeah, you get sucked underground and your life force is bled from you. Delightful. I loved it.

But this second book ... I felt like half of it was getting to the place where something actually happens. And it was SO dark. Dark and depressing. It was like I was in the Tunnels getting my life force sucked out. I need to watch a light, funny romantic comedy to counteract all the happiness suckage.

My favorite part was the very end. You gotta give Cole props. Nice one, mister.

I'm not sure if I'll read the next in the series. I kinda don't really care what happens next. We'll see.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Everneath

Everneath (Everneath #1)

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4 stars


370 pages
Published Jan. 24, 2012 by Balzer + Bray

I liked this book pretty well, mostly because I've been a lot of the places where the story was set. The writing was good, the plot clicked along at a nice pace and the characters weren't too flat. I will definitely be picking up #2 when it comes out.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either (Heather Wells Mysteries #2)

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I would have given this book an extra star except for the horrible language it contains. I think this was Meg Cabot's chance to cram in as many f-bombs as possible to make up for what she doesn't put in her YA books. It's too bad, though. The language didn't even further the story.

Doubt I'll pick up the next in the series. Life's too short to have your ears burn while reading.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Storm

Storm (Elemental #1)

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353 pages
Published April 24, 2012 by Kensington 
 
 
I am sad.

This book failed my "3 F-bombs" rule. And by like Page 20, too.

I'm so disappointed because I had been waiting to read this book for months. I had really enjoyed the novella "Elemental" and had expected this to be the same.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Roar and Liv

Roar and Liv (Under the Never Sky 0.5)

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3 stars

68 pages
Published October 30th 2012 by HarperCollins 
A very quick little novella that takes place before "Under the Never Sky" that tells us how Liv (Perry's sister) is sold to feed her tribe. Unfortunately, the story was pretty much told in "Under the Never Sky." The only additional information was a deeper understanding of the relationship between Roar and Liv. Entertaining, but completely unnecessary to the development of the full novel.