Starcrossed

Josephine Angelini

Goodreads Reviews

I saved this book for last to post about today because it's the one I was most excited about this week and wanted it to be the first book people see when they look at the blog. Just to start off, I gave this book 5 stars. I loved it. It had a fantastic romance, greek mythology!!!, and a twisted plot. What could be better? I'm not going to say anything about it though. I hope people read it and find out for themselves.

It has some cuss words which really bugged me, but I don't know. Am I becoming callous? I have my limit's, but this one isn't too bad.

I am a little ticked I found out about this books so soon. It was just published 2 weeks ago. And, of course, it's a series. What books isn't these days? So now I have to wait another year to keep the story going. And it's a good story. Dang. I feel impatient!

Goose Chase

By Patrice Kindl

Goodreads Reviews

I recommend this book to young girls 10-15 years old. It is a super cute, yet somewhat lacking in literary substance, book that I think girls would love. I plan on calling my neice about it very soon. It's another princess fairy tale, similar to Shannon Hale's novels. If you liked those, Goose Chase will be good enough to keep you happy. It's definately not as good as say, Princess Academy, but it was fun anyway.

Hush: an Irish Princess Tale

By Donna Jo Napoli

Goodreads Reviews

Princess Melkorka is the daughter of a great king in Ireland, or "Eire Land." This book gives the account of what happens to her after she is kidnapped and taken aboard a slave trader's ship.

I felt like the novel went by a little slowly. It was an easy read, but I was disappointed by it. I hated the story line. It just kept going and going. One thing the book had going for it was that it was definitely not predictable. I imagined what would happen next, and then, the author just didn't fulfill. I can't say too much in case anyone is interested in reading this book, but in all honesty, there are so many books out there, and unless you are running low on books you know you could be reading instead, I say don't waste your time. Sorry Donna Jo, but don't give your books crappy endings (or middles for that matter) and I'll like them better!!

I gave this 3 stars because I just kept turning the pages which says something, but I kept turning the page to another disappointment.

Unwind

By Neal Shusterman

Goodreads Reveiws

In a way, this book reminds me a lot of The Handmaid's Tale (terrible book...don't read it). The author is taking a controversial topic, abortion, and giving us his interpretation of what could happen because of it. But instead of abortions, parents can choose to have their kids "unwound" between the age of 13-18. That way they would know for sure if the child was worth keeping. This is the story of kids that have been condemned to be unwound and their adventures in trying to escape that fate.

It was definately a page turner. I was glued to the book. I gave this book 5 stars. I'm thinking 4.5 would be closer to what I really feel, but because I couldn't put the book down, that says enough to bump it up a titch.

The Way of Kings

By Brandon Sanderson

Be prepared. This book is a whopper. 1001 pages. This is the same author who finished Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. He also did a great series called Mistborn.

I can honestly say, this book was not a page turner. I had no trouble at all putting it down. I got a lot more done than usual because I wasn't side-tracked by a book. That's not to say it wasn't a good book. The idea is AMAZING. It's no wonder that this book has been his baby for years. Everything is so unique and exciting that it pulls you into the world he's created, but just not enough to HAVE to know what's going to happen next. Actually, up until page 950, I was debating whether or not I would even care to read the next book in the series when it is written. The ending was so good, though, that now I am positive I will be reading the next.

The issue I had with this book is that's it's told from so many different characters view points. In one chapter you'll read about one character, and in another, someone completely different and unrelated. So you go through the entire novel hoping that eventually these 10,000 characters (small exaggeration) that you've met will somehow meet and actually form some sort of a plot TOGETHER. My other issue is that I liked reading about some of the characters, and others I could've cared less about. I found myself wanting to peek ahead to see if I could find chapters about the characters I liked. But I refrained. I've ruined books by doing that. NOT RECOMMENDED.

I am excited to read the next book in the series though because I'm hoping all of these characters lives will become much more intertwined. For people who love fantasy, I'm pretty sure this book is going to be HUGE!

I'll give it 4 stars for it's creativity and awesome finish to the book that persuaded me to read the next.

Firelight

By Sophie Jordan

Goodreads Reviews

How refreshing! It was nice to read a book with new "creature" ideas and also not have to be bogged down by any nasty language. I'm thinking a lot of the new YA books aren't so young adult, and since I don't even consider myself a young adult, does that mean I'm an adult so I can read that kind of garbage?? Anyway, I regress :), Firelight was good...but for some reason, and this is weird for me, I don't really feel like I NEED to read the next in the series right away. I'm good with waiting until it comes out. I might even need to be reminded when it does come out.

About the story, I enjoyed the concept of the draki, a descendant of a dragon that can adopt the human form. The book is a fast read, just a few hours, so definitely something for a lazy afternoon. I don't feel like I got into the story as much as I could have. The main character, Jacinda, lacks any real character quirks or something about her that makes her endearing to the reader. I want to feel for her, but honestly, she's kinda boring! Maybe the next books will be more revealing for her character. I recommend this book if you're looking for something fun and light. 3 stars. It could have been so much better if the characters had more umph to them. Something was missing. The writing just didn't pull me in like I wanted it to.

Storm Glass

By Maria V. Snyder

Goodreads Reviews

This series is a continuance of the Poison Study series. I enjoyed it, but because it wasn't a new idea, it wasn't as much fun as when I first started Poison Study. If you enjoy Maria Snyder, then this book won't disappoint, but I recommend taking a break between the two series'. 4 stars.

Knight's Ardor

By Teresa Swift

Goodreads Reviews

Coolest moment ever! I was the first person to rate this book on goodreads. I feel so important. I found this book on the library's "new books" shelf and grabbed it because medieval books are some of my favorite. If anyone knows a good one, feel free to leave a comment. PLEASE!

What I liked about this book: it was medieval....it was a love story.

What I thought could use some work: The plot was so simple it was almost silly. There wasn't really even an antagonist. Weird! I guess if you can count some people creating small amounts of havoc??? The last book I reviewed, I talked about the author creating problems so that she could hit her conflict quota, but this one does't really have any!

I did enjoy the love story though. It somehow gave off Pride and Prejudice vibes...but should not be compared in the least way! Very predictable, but I seriously read the book in 3 hours! I love pre-school/baby-nap-time!

This book is getting 3 stars.

The Eternal Ones

By Kirsten Miller

Goodreads Reviews

I read a blog that compared this book to fallen angel books. Yeah...not so much. It's about reincarnation. How does that relate? Anyway, It was a totally fun read. I felt like her idea for the plot was completely original (at least I haven't read any reincarnation books lately.) Problem: it's one of those books that makes you so ticked off at the main character for making such obvious bad decisions. For that one reason, I didn't like it as much as I could have. I hate it when authors make their characters stupid in order to create conflict. BUGS ME! Definately darker themed though which dragged me down a little. It had some "swears" in it, but not half as bad as the book I was just reading, Glass Houses. I don't think I'll even review that book, but if you're curious, look it up on Goodreads.com.

If you're looking for a good paranormal romance, I don't think it gets much more paranormal. This book is going to get 5 stars for originality, 3 for predictability and using Haven's stupidity and stubbornness to create problems. Averaged out = 4 Star

Dusty Britches

By Marcia Lynn McClure

Goodreads Reviews

Do I even admit that I read this? I feel dumb. But...did I read it in less than one day....yes, I did. I am dumb. Anywayyy, this author pretty much just writes romantic fluff. But, man, she's good at it. It's just a love story on a ranch, but I wanted to see the people get together SOOOOO badly! I can't compare this with other novels. This kind of literature just isn't my thing, but all of my books I'm waiting for are still on hold at the library. I was desperate and remembered a friend from college telling me about this author. Whatever. It was a fun read. If you're looking for a sappy love story without a lot of twists and turns and crazy creativity, this will be just fine.

4 stars. It can't be compared to a 4 star book of another genre, but for the sappy love story kind, 4 stars it is.