Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop is the second in the Others series, and a delightful read.  I'll be honest, It definitely wasn't as good as Written in Red, but it was very exciting to read. Maybe I was just too hyped up from waiting for it to come in at the library: I couldn't just buy it because I bought Written in Red in the trade paperback, and Murder of Crows is only out in hardcover, sigh. So I waited for probably four days for it to come in at the library--which is super fast! But my eagerness for the book and anticipation grew to a level that would have been super hard to measure up to.  This book sees the return of all the main characters from Written in Red, and the relationships between all of them really develop in this one. I loved the growth between Simon and Meg. It was so genuine and delightful. I want to see more of Monty and Lizzy in the next book. And I could never get too much of Henry, Vlad, Tess and Sam.  I just love the premise of th...

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun  might be the best book I've read this year, and I've read some damn good books in the last ten months. Within the first ten pages, I knew I was going to love this book. Noah is an incredible character (as is Jude, but the first chapter is from Noah's POV). Alternating POVs can be tricky, but Nelson excels at distinguishing the two characters in this book. The story alternates between the views of twins Noah at age 13 (going on to 14) and Jude at 16. The twins used to be super close but during Noah's time they're beginning to fall apart. By Jude's time, they barely even talk to each other. I'll Give You the Sun  is about trust and love and betrayal and knowing exactly what you want to do with your life and not being able to do it. But ohmygosh is it about love. It's about love in every expression: sibling love and parental love and love when you don't want it ...

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was recommended to me by a family member. Unfortunately this was one of those recommendations that made me question if the family member had even met me. The only reason I would have recommended this to me is that there's a pull quote on that back that says "As memorable and meaningful as Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince"--what a crock of bull. Sure, The Alchemist had quite a few so-called "deep and meaningful" lines if you're new to the repackaged dogma scene. If this is the first time you've ever come across the concept of following your heart or "your Personal Legend" as Coelho deems it, than this book might come across as ground-breaking. But to me, it was common sense pared down to a simplistic level. Of course, I believe you should follow your heart. And I know it isn't always easy. But frankly, I don't need a tidy little book to tell me that God has a path for me, and if I follow my he...

Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #004) by Rick Riordan is a pretty solid continuation of the Percy Jackson series.  I'm going to be honest (and I might have mentioned this in my review of The Titan's Curse), but I just feel like I'm missing something with this series. Like the story lines are fine--they have a pretty good adventure, and they're basically plots you can map out from the get-go, but that's not always a bad thing. The characters are alright: I tend to be a little underwhelmed by them. I find Percy kind of annoying, but I really rather enjoyed Nico over this book and what little part he had in Titan's Curse. The writing isn't bad, but it doesn't give me shivers. I have yet to mark a page number down to say "this quote!! omg this is soooo goood." I just feel steady about this series, I guess. Battle of the Labyrinth was no exception. The story starts with Percy's high school Freshman orientatio...

Wow. Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick is one of those books which isn't pleasant to read, but after you finish, you want to immediately have everyone read it. It's a somewhat novelized memoir of Arn Chorn-Pond's experience surviving the Cambodian Genocide of 1974-1979. McCormick's Author's Note at the end explains why the book is marketed as historical fiction instead of a biography. Part of the reason includes the fact that McCormick writes the book from Chorn-Pond's point of view. It's written in a style of broken English which gives readers a very distinct view of the narrator. English is clearly not the narrator's first language, but they speak it fluently enough to give description that can tear your heart in two. Sometimes I would feel myself choking back tears after reading a single sentence. I honestly didn't know much about the Cambodian Genocide--it was before my time, and it was never something I heard about in school. I could...

Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker was a delightful, quick read. I enjoyed Tucker's character development and writing style quite a bit. The main character Kacey is relateable and not perpetually annoying, although sometimes Tucker overfocuses on what Kacey's thinking. It can seem a little obviously first person if that makes sense. The love interest, Trent, could use a little bit more development, I think, although he does stand independently. The relationship had a pretty decent build-up, but the end wrapped up a bit too quickly for my tastes. Overall, it's a great addition to the New Adult genre.

Cress by Marissa Meyer is the fantastic third installment in The Lunar Chronicles. Here's a gif of how I felt reading the last 100 pages or so... UGHHHH. WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG FOR WINTER????  As Meyer demonstrated in the last Lunar Chronicle book (Scarlet), she's fantastic as incorporating new characters into this story line without losing track of the others. I love Cress and I think Cress reacts to situations very in character aka like someone who's spent the last seven years of her life on a satellite.  And I love how Meyer used the foundations of the original Rapunzel tale but morphed them to fit into the universe she's been building. I can't wait for Winter to come out. In 2015. Sigh. I know there are people who don't enjoy this series, but I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't. I've been recommending it to everyone.  Prequel / Sequel Challenge Points: 52 points + 2 = 54 points!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer is the equally excellent sequel to Cinder. Now, you might know that I generally don't like second books in series that much, but Scarlet was fantastic. Maybe it's because Meyer introduces a new set of characters while simultaneously following the story line that she introduced in the first novel. Maybe it's just because Meyer is a fantastic writer. But no matter which way I spin it, I just know that I devoured Scarlet almost as quickly as Cinder and enjoyed it almost as much (if not--eep!-- more). Scarlet follows Cinder's escape attempt from prison. In France, we meet Scarlet (the titular character) who is searching for her missing grandmother while trying to keep their farm business afloat. She meets a stranger in town who goes by the name of Wolf and might have some clues as to where Scarlet's grandmother is at. I was just as enthralled by the universe in this novel. Meyer fleshes out that space travel more, and she allows us more ...

The One by Kiera Cass is a wonderful ending to The Selection trilogy. I thought Cass did an excellent job of winding up all the loose ends of the series. She made the relationship outcomes believable, and the situations were realistic in the set-up of the universe. I mean, I don't think it was a perfect book. The more I thought about The Elite the more disgruntled I became with the King's sudden personality change. I also think that this book wrapped up a little too neatly. All the strings were tied up in one event that really didn't take that long. I just expect resolutions to occur in stages when there are multiple issues presented. Overall, I think The One gives a satisfying conclusion to The Selection. Favorite Quote: "Bravery hides in amazing places." Prequel / Sequel Challenge Points: 36 + 2 = 38 + 10 for series completion = 48!

Ahhh!!! I just finished The Elite by Kiera Cass and I am so excited. I posted about 50 pages in that I thought this was going to be a long book because of what I presumed would be the obvious back and forth in America's mind between Maxon and Aspen. I was so wrong!  First of all, I was genuinely nervous that this book was going to be all about the love triangle, but I was so wrong! Cass manages to include more on the Rebel attacks occurring, more on the gradually failing state of Illea, and more character development than in the first one. To be sure it's a little bit easier to provide character development when your cast of main or semi-main characters goes from around 50 down to around 20.  Sure, I did still get a little annoyed with America's back and forth, but usually her reasoning behind it made sense. She knows what she wants in a relationship; unfortunately, America has the same problem which most people have of idealizing something that can never ...