Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Hello Lovelies! I'm going to a two-books-one-post today. I had to read both of these for a class, and I wasn't impressed with either of them, so I thought I'd just stick them together here, okay, alright? A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn Published: April 28th, 2009 Publisher: HarperTeen Received: Borrowed from the library "Can pity be turned into love?" Apparently, yes, according to Alex Flinn. First of all, this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling. And let's be honest, Sleeping Beauty isn't really the best fairy tale to start with (cause of its creepy rapetastic plot line), and then Flinn's characters are just awful--not to mention the frankly, amateur writing.  Talia is a spoiled brat of a princess in the early 18th century. She hasn't been allowed to leave the castle because of the looming spindle in her future. Of course, she was destined to prick her finger on one, so one finds her. Three hundred years later, we meet up with Ja...

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...

Touted as, "Harry Potter for grown-ups," The Magicians by Lev Grossman seemed to be right up my alley. Boy was I wrong.  Right now, I'm trying to think of a book about magic which I have hated more than The Magicians, and absolutely nothing is coming to mind. So what was wrong with "the best urban fantasy in years"? EVERYTHING. First of all, while the characters can be relateable, they're all horrible people. And even the good people are horrible. Like I spent most of the book wanting to place all the main characters in a circle and just running around the middle of a circle with a chair in my hands, smacking every single one of them across the head with it. And the writing might not be bad, but Grossman has the tendency to just skip huge chunks of time. By my estimate, the book covers about seven years? And you would think that most of those years would need a lot of explaining, but Grossman would disagree. He also has the tendency to focus on the m...