The Dark Planet

The Dark Planet (Atherton #3)

by Patrick Carman

3 stars

350 pages 
Published May 1, 2009 by Little, Brown Young Readers 

This trilogy finished with a happy ending ... yay! A little bit unbelievably, yes, but I was willing to ignore the craziness of the denouement because most, if not all loose ends were tied up. Although, it doesn't come outright and say what happened to Cmdr. Judix. I love tied up loose ends. They make me happy and feel complete.

For a kids' book, this is nicely done. Simple plot, lots of adventure and excitement. And there are dragons AND spaceships involved! What could be better?

I will probably recommend this trilogy to my 11-year-old. I think she'd like it.

Kudos to Carman for not swearing in the book. Kids don't need to read - or hear- that stuff.

Serendipity

Serendipity (Only in Gooding #5)

by Cathy Marie Hake

2 stars

336 pages 

Published Nov. 1, 2010 by Baker Publishing Group

I was in the mood for a romantic novel, but I don't like all the graphic sex scenes, so I opted for a Christian version. I was quite happy with the lack of swearing and sex, but that's basically all the good I can say about this book.

It was booooring. And the ending was abrupt and did not satisfy many loose ends. But what bugged me the most was the mother-in-law. She was a horrible, horrible person. And for a Christian novel, I was surprised that the author did not offer any glimmer of kindness or charity in this character. All she did was berate, insult and degrade the woman her son had married.

I was confused, too, at the development of the love between the two main characters. It was choppy and terribly written.

I will not be reading any more books by this author 

Time to downsize

As I am coming up on my 1-year anniversary of this blog, I have realized a few things.

First, there's a lot of spam that comes with creating and writing a blog. It sucks. I try and ignore it.

Second, not many people read my blog. And that's OK. I do it not for the fame (obviously), but for an outlet for my semi-creative side. I'm not a good writer - I like things short and sweet. But I do love to read and recommend/condemn books. And this is a great forum to do that.

Third, because of the above two things, and because I am going to be VERY busy the next 7-8 months with a move and a new baby, I am going to be downsizing the number of posts I publish. I am thinking one per week will be sufficient to balance my desire to write and my need to take care of family.

I will keep publishing. My blog will stay active and simple. It will still provide my opinions on books. It just won't be as often.

Just think - now you'll have more time to read books!

And after you've read all those extra books, if you would like to submit a review for me to publish on this blog, I'd be happy to oblige. Just send me the text and title and I'll do the rest.

Forbidden

Forbidden

by Syrie James, Ryan M. James

3 stars

410 pages

Published Jan. 24, 2012 by HarperTeen 

 

 

What irked me about this book was that it was a total knock-off of Twilight, complete with the truck that almost squishes the main character, and the forbidden love, and end scene where the girl is saved at the last minute by the hero.

That being said, the book didn't suck. Maybe because I'm one of those people who liked Twilight. I'll probably read the next in the series, just to make more Twilight comparisons and to indulge my closet romantic side.

Kissing Shakespeare

Kissing Shakespeare

by Pamela Mingle

2 stars

352 pages

Published Aug. 14, 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers 

 

Not a fantastic book by any stretch of the imagination - just because you are writing about Shakespeare does not make your writing automatically great.

I was bugged, like others, that the vast majority of the book was focused on how the main character - Olivia/Miranda - needed to "bed" Shakespeare as the only possible way for him to avoid joining the Jesuit brotherhood and thus never writing his plays.

The book reads like there was no way Shakespeare could make up his own mind without the sex. All that work-up and stress was allayed with one sentence towards the end of the book. Nothing had needed to be done by the main character. This really negated the whole purpose of the book - changing Shakespeare's mind, when in one sentence, he did it himself with no help from Olivia.
Lame.

The only reason I give this two stars is because of Olivia's decision regarding whether or not to jump in the sack with Shakespeare.

Independent Study

Independent Study (The Testing #2)

by Joelle Charbonneau

3 stars

 

310 pages

Published Jan. 7, 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers

 

I finished reading this book weeks ago, but couldn't convince myself that it needed a review immediately - there were other books that were more worthy of my words and attention. Not to say this book was BAD, it was just kinda meh. But I liked it mostly.

Confused, yet?

Yeah. I am, too.

This novel built a bit on the first book, but not too much. There were some well-written suspenseful parts - being trapped in an airtight container comes to mind - and some not so well-written parts.
There was no sex and mild-to-no swearing, which bumped it up to a 3 star rating from my original 2.5.

I haven't decided if I'm a-gonna read the last book in the series. I am not super invested in the characters - so if the author wants to "kill off Tris," it wouldn't break my heart.

Rivers of Fire

Rivers of Fire (Atherton #2)

by Patrick Carman

4 stars

320 pages 
Published May 1, 2008 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
 
I picked this up immediately after finishing the first book in this trilogy, The House of Power, because I liked that one so much.
This one didn't disappoint. It was nice and short, too, which was perfect. I don't know if I could take anymore Cleaners mayhem.
It was a great adventure book, with flavors of Jules Verne rippled generously throughout.

There are some gruesome deaths and some themes that might disturb little ones, but I can recommend this book to kids older than 8.

I will likely pick up the third book to complete this trilogy, but honestly this book wraps up the story of Atherton pretty well.

The House of Power

The House of Power (Atherton #1)

by Patrick Carman

4 stars

339 pages 
Published April 3, 2007 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

I've had this book on my to-read list for like 2 years, and I finally got around to it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had just about everything I was looking for: adventure, a touch of sci-fi, some creepy creatures, secrets and revelations, no swearing or sex. Just a great book for older kids and even teens. And there was no love story - which was a huge plus. Those sure get old after you read them a zillion times.
I can recommend to anyone who is in the mood for suspense and adventure. I may read this one to my kids for a bedtime story.

Eve

Eve (Eve #1)

by Anna Carey

4 stars

336 pages

Published Oct. 4, 2011 by HarperCollins

This is a pretty good book. Decent plot and pacing and a love story that doesn't include a love triangle! Yay!!

No swearing or sex, and just a bit of violence - it is a dystopian story. Can't wait to see where the next volume takes Eve and Caleb.

Across the Universe

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)

by Beth Revis

4 stars

398 pages

Published Jan. 11, 2011 by Razorbill

I liked this book despite the "Soylent Green" overtones. I really liked the plot and the pacing. Writing was pretty good, too, and the characters were well-rounded, except for the villains, but those are usually flat anyway, so no biggie.

I will be reading the next in the series. Can't wait to see what happens!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1-4)

by Douglas Adams

2 stars

590 pages

Published 1992 by Pan Books (first published 1986)

I just didn't get it. Got all confused. Maybe I should watch the movie first? So I at least know what's going on?

Why is this so popular?

Turned

Turned (The Vampire Journals #1)

by Morgan Rice

2 stars

 
150 pages

Published Jan. 24, 2011

Not a huge fan of this book, mostly because the "I'm in love with a vampire the moment I meet him" theme is overdone. I was hoping that this would be different. It was not. At least it was short.

A bit of strong language, too, so watch out.

I will not be reading the others in the series.

Falling Fast

by Lucy Kevin

1 star

 

147 pages

Published Jan. 16, 2011

 

 

I should have stopped while I was only a third into the book, because this book was dumb, dumb, dumb. It is a literary (I use that word loosely) version of TV's The Bachelor.

Please, don't waste your time.

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy

A Weekend with Mr. Darcy (Austen Addicts #1)

by Victoria Connelly

3 stars

 

345 pages

Published July 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Landmark (first published Sept. 16, 2010)

 

Another Jane Austen fan fiction. I'm not sure why I keep reading this stuff. They aren't particularly well-written nor do they have very original plots. But there's something about a story with a guaranteed happy ending. 

Me, You and the Kids Too

Me, You and the Kids Too

by Renee Elliott

3 stars

 

176 pages

Published March 2012 by Duncan Baird Publishers 

 

A beautifully photographed, reader-friendly cookbook for families who want to eat more healthy. My favorite part of the book was that most of the recipes had side notes showing you how to make baby food and purees for your baby from the ingredients that you were already using in the regular recipe.

The only gripe I have with the book is that the author consistently uses hard-to-find, much more expensive ingredients in her recipes, many of which I have never heard. It's hard to spend the extra money if you are on a budget.

Of course, I am a neophyte when it comes to quinoa and spelt and all those other "healthy" grains, so maybe the health benefits outweigh the financial factors. And at the risk of sounding blasphemous, I disagreed with the authors disdain for cow's milk.

But if you can overlook the author's high-brow opinions and high-budget ingredients, this is a pretty cool cookbook. I can even see myself using some of the recipes (tweaked a little) with my family.

And thank you NetGalley.com for providing this book for review.

Don't Expect Magic

Don't Expect Magic (Magic #1)

by Kathy McCullough

4 stars

256 pages
Published Nov. 8, 2011 by Delacorte Press
 
After reading waaaay too many dystopian novels, this was a welcome change.

Uplifting, free from swearing, sex and "dark," I enjoyed it thoroughly. And the best thing??? It's a stand-alone novel! Those are hard to come by nowadays.

Enchanted

Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1)

by Alethea Kontis

2 stars

308 pages

Published May 8, 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books

This first half of the book was pretty amazing, and held so much potential! And then ... it just got weird and foundered and sank. I think the author was trying to cram every single fairy tale into one story - it just got too confusing and too lame. If she would have just stuck to one concept - the Frog Prince - things would have turned out much, much better.

Also, all the characters, with their odd names, made it that much more confusing.

I was so sad when this book ended, because so much was left wanting - a fabulous idea destroyed in the execution.

Waterfall

Waterfall (River of Time #1)

by Lisa Tawn Bergren

3 stars

369 pages

Published Feb. 1, 2011 by David C. Cook

There was so much unbelievable stuff in this book, I hesitated to give it 3 stars. Like: Gabi being able to speak medieval Italian or sword fight with no problem. Plus the "romance" was a bit cheesy - I'm so tired of love triangles! But the premise was interesting, and I wanted to see how the author imagined life in the 1300s to be like. Also, the writing was decent, and the author knew how to move the plot along.

I doubt I'll read the next in the series, though. This book just didn't hold that much interest for me.

Big Boned

Big Boned (Heather Wells Mysteries #3)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars

280 pages

Published Nov. 20, 2007 by Avon A

I hope this is the last of the Heather Wells books, because this one finally had the right ending. I honestly read these books - not for the murder mysteries - but to see if Heather ever ended up with the "right" person.

I was happy with who she ended up with.

Size 12 Is Not Fat

Size 12 Is Not Fat (Heather Wells Mysteries #1)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars

345 pages

Published Dec. 27, 2005 by Avon Books

 
Totally predictable, but fun nevertheless. A spattering of swearing, but it's not too bad. This book follows the adventures of has-been pop star Heather Wells in her job as an assistant dorm director. I'll likely read the next in the series. Gotta see if she ends up with "the one." I'm a sucker for a good love story.