Summary:
Mark Bressler is the former captain of the Seattle Chinooks. Chelsea Ross is an aspiring actress who can't get a part that isn't "town slut" because of her big boobs. Chelsea takes a job as Mark's personal assistant to save up money for a boob reduction. Mark was in a horrific car accident that's left him in constant pain and unable to play hockey anymore. Standard romance plot ensues, including the "something happens to break them up for a while which leads one of them to profess their undying love."
Thoughts:
Kind of predictable. But it was good. Intriguing. I read the whole thing yesterday. It was a quick read. Gibson's storytelling skills are pretty good. I couldn't stop reading, even though I knew I should go to sleep. I think I got into it because of the hockey player, to be honest. I've been getting more into hockey thanks to the hunky honey's newfound interest in it, and this one got inside the head of the player himself. It was kind of neat for me. Call me crazy.
The storyline itself is not bad. The writing is pretty darn good. I might look into getting more of Gibson's work, see if it's all this intriguing. We'll see.
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance, straight up.
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, why not?
23 down, 27 to go! (At this point in the year, I should be at 21, so I'm ahead of the 50 book mark. Yay me!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lois Lane Tells All (Karen Hawkins)
Summary:
Susan is a news reporter with a special love for Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Mark is an accountant trying to get Susan's paper from running into the ground. Opposites attract, standard romance novel storyline ensues, with the added bonus of a little mystery thrown in. (Someone stole $30K from a church bake sale, and someone else is making threats to Susan's life.)
Thoughts:
Standard romance novel. There's not much else to say, except the editor on this one could use going over it one more time. To be fair, the mystery parts were not so predictable, but the romance bits? More obvious than the nose on my face. Once again, I wish we could see a little of the happily ever after bits. Most romances end with the MCs saying "I love you" for the first time ever (and usually actually revealing that there's any feelings there at all) on the very last page. Is it so wrong to want to see a little conflict after they say "I love you"?
Pages: 379
Genre: Romance, mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it was okay. I wouldn't tell someone not to read it...
22 down, 28 to go!
Susan is a news reporter with a special love for Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Mark is an accountant trying to get Susan's paper from running into the ground. Opposites attract, standard romance novel storyline ensues, with the added bonus of a little mystery thrown in. (Someone stole $30K from a church bake sale, and someone else is making threats to Susan's life.)
Thoughts:
Standard romance novel. There's not much else to say, except the editor on this one could use going over it one more time. To be fair, the mystery parts were not so predictable, but the romance bits? More obvious than the nose on my face. Once again, I wish we could see a little of the happily ever after bits. Most romances end with the MCs saying "I love you" for the first time ever (and usually actually revealing that there's any feelings there at all) on the very last page. Is it so wrong to want to see a little conflict after they say "I love you"?
Pages: 379
Genre: Romance, mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it was okay. I wouldn't tell someone not to read it...
22 down, 28 to go!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Pact (Jodi Picoult)
Summary:
Chris and Emily grew up together. Literally. Their parents were best friends, and so were they, all through their childhoods. And at thirteen and fourteen, when it was time for them to explore a relationship with the opposite sex, of course they did it together. But at seventeen, they find themselves at a carousel in the middle of the night, with a revolver, two bullets, and a sadness growing within them. Emily winds up dead, and Chris is left to pick up the pieces.
The book begins with the shot, and follows Chris as he gets arrested for Emily's murder and put on trial.
Thoughts:
This book is wholly depressing. Readers watch as Chris gets locked up and deals with prison life, and his parents deal with the fear that their son is a murderer. We see Emily's parents fight the idea that not only was their daughter possibly suicidal, but also keeping very big secrets from them.
It was well written, yes, and a real page-turner for sure. But it was completely depressing, and if all of Picoult's work is this sad, I don't think I can bring myself to read more. I read to get my mind off the heaviness of the world around me, not to be dragged down further.
Oh, and according to the cover, this is a love story. This was just a sadness story.
Pages: 389
Genre: Mystery, romance?
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Maybe, if you like to read a depressing love story...
21 down, 29 to go!
Chris and Emily grew up together. Literally. Their parents were best friends, and so were they, all through their childhoods. And at thirteen and fourteen, when it was time for them to explore a relationship with the opposite sex, of course they did it together. But at seventeen, they find themselves at a carousel in the middle of the night, with a revolver, two bullets, and a sadness growing within them. Emily winds up dead, and Chris is left to pick up the pieces.
The book begins with the shot, and follows Chris as he gets arrested for Emily's murder and put on trial.
Thoughts:
This book is wholly depressing. Readers watch as Chris gets locked up and deals with prison life, and his parents deal with the fear that their son is a murderer. We see Emily's parents fight the idea that not only was their daughter possibly suicidal, but also keeping very big secrets from them.
It was well written, yes, and a real page-turner for sure. But it was completely depressing, and if all of Picoult's work is this sad, I don't think I can bring myself to read more. I read to get my mind off the heaviness of the world around me, not to be dragged down further.
Oh, and according to the cover, this is a love story. This was just a sadness story.
Pages: 389
Genre: Mystery, romance?
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Maybe, if you like to read a depressing love story...
21 down, 29 to go!
Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Nancy Atherton)
Summary:
Emma is a gardener extraordinaire. She leaves her home in the States to explore gardens in England after her long-term boyfriend not only leaves her, but goes and gets married. Emma stumbles upon friends of Aunt Dimity, and gets sent to see the gardens at a private manor. At the same time, Derek, a widower with two very precocious children, is asked to help at the same manor, fixing a beautiful stained glass window.
The two of them stumble upon a mystery and work together to discover the real truth.
Thoughts:
Just as good as Aunt Dimity's Death. Aunt Dimity only makes a brief appearance in a flashback/memory. It seems like Dimity only shows herself through others' love for her. They are fun and intriguing books. The writing is great as well. I'll be continuing down the line through Dimity's other adventures.
Pages: 290
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
20 down, 30 to go!
Emma is a gardener extraordinaire. She leaves her home in the States to explore gardens in England after her long-term boyfriend not only leaves her, but goes and gets married. Emma stumbles upon friends of Aunt Dimity, and gets sent to see the gardens at a private manor. At the same time, Derek, a widower with two very precocious children, is asked to help at the same manor, fixing a beautiful stained glass window.
The two of them stumble upon a mystery and work together to discover the real truth.
Thoughts:
Just as good as Aunt Dimity's Death. Aunt Dimity only makes a brief appearance in a flashback/memory. It seems like Dimity only shows herself through others' love for her. They are fun and intriguing books. The writing is great as well. I'll be continuing down the line through Dimity's other adventures.
Pages: 290
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
20 down, 30 to go!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Cleo Coyle/Alice Kimberly)
Summary:
Pen McClure is a bookshop owner in "hicksville" Rhode Island. She's a single mom, thanks to her husband committing suicide. She moves her son from NYC to Rhode Island to get away from the crazy city life- and the crazy in-laws. She buys into her aunt's bookstore, and rehabs it so she can help put it on the map. At her first author signing event, the author himself keels over dead. What progresses is that Pen tries to hunt down the murderer. Oh, and by the way, her biggest ally is a private dick from the 1940's who was offed in that same bookstore sixty years ago. She's the only one that can hear Jack Shepherd's voice. And he's an A-number-one flirt, too.
Thoughts:
Written by Cleo Coyle under the name of "Alice Kimberly." Why do writers do this? I don't get it. Anyway... The book.
So much fun. I couldn't out it down. Seriously, I loved this book. I'll be going to get more Cleo Coyle in the future, I think. It sounds, from the way she ended the book, that there's more in this series. So I'll be hunting that down, for sure. I love Jack. I love Penelope. I want more, like, now.
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery, straight up.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. I already have, actually. I'll be handing this off tomorrow afternoon, actually. :)
19 down, 31 to go!
Pen McClure is a bookshop owner in "hicksville" Rhode Island. She's a single mom, thanks to her husband committing suicide. She moves her son from NYC to Rhode Island to get away from the crazy city life- and the crazy in-laws. She buys into her aunt's bookstore, and rehabs it so she can help put it on the map. At her first author signing event, the author himself keels over dead. What progresses is that Pen tries to hunt down the murderer. Oh, and by the way, her biggest ally is a private dick from the 1940's who was offed in that same bookstore sixty years ago. She's the only one that can hear Jack Shepherd's voice. And he's an A-number-one flirt, too.
Thoughts:
Written by Cleo Coyle under the name of "Alice Kimberly." Why do writers do this? I don't get it. Anyway... The book.
So much fun. I couldn't out it down. Seriously, I loved this book. I'll be going to get more Cleo Coyle in the future, I think. It sounds, from the way she ended the book, that there's more in this series. So I'll be hunting that down, for sure. I love Jack. I love Penelope. I want more, like, now.
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery, straight up.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. I already have, actually. I'll be handing this off tomorrow afternoon, actually. :)
19 down, 31 to go!
She Went All the Way (Meg Cabot)
Summary:
Lou Calabrese and Jack Townsend board a helicopter to get to the set of the movie that Lou wrote, and Jack is staring in. They hate each other, but figure they can handle a few minutes stuck in a small moving vehicle. Little do they know there's a plot against Jack's life, and the helicopter pilot has been hired to kill Jack. They fight off the pilot and the chopper crashes. Oh, did I mention that this is in the wilderness of Alaska? For the next few days, they fight to stay warm and alive. Will they ever figure out who's out to get Jack? (Or how to get themselves back to some sort of civilization.)
Thoughts:
Awesome, as always with Ms. Cabot. I have loved Ms. Meg for many years now, since the first Princess Diaries book, (no, I haven't read them all. I got bored with them about four books in) and have loved just about everything I've ever read of hers. I have about six books of hers to cover still. I want to hold off, though, because I don't want to kill all the Cabot joy and never have more from her to read. Ah, but back to this one.
Lou's an awesome character. Jack too. It is, of course, the classic romantic comedy plot line. Girl hates boy. Girl and Boy get stuck in some sort of situation where they have to be in close quarters for an indeterminate length of time. They both start falling for each other, but won't tell the other one. They fall into having sex eventually. They get back to their regular life, having to avoid each other because it's just "too weird." One does something daring to win the other's heart for good. The end. The thing about Cabot is that she makes you actually want to get to those points. She makes you want to see them fall in love. Plus, she's fun about it.
Pages: 354
Genre: Chicklit, Mystery, Romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. Anything Meg's, I'll recommend it, except the Queen of Babble sequels. Those were surprisingly bad.
18 down, 32 to go!
Lou Calabrese and Jack Townsend board a helicopter to get to the set of the movie that Lou wrote, and Jack is staring in. They hate each other, but figure they can handle a few minutes stuck in a small moving vehicle. Little do they know there's a plot against Jack's life, and the helicopter pilot has been hired to kill Jack. They fight off the pilot and the chopper crashes. Oh, did I mention that this is in the wilderness of Alaska? For the next few days, they fight to stay warm and alive. Will they ever figure out who's out to get Jack? (Or how to get themselves back to some sort of civilization.)
Thoughts:
Awesome, as always with Ms. Cabot. I have loved Ms. Meg for many years now, since the first Princess Diaries book, (no, I haven't read them all. I got bored with them about four books in) and have loved just about everything I've ever read of hers. I have about six books of hers to cover still. I want to hold off, though, because I don't want to kill all the Cabot joy and never have more from her to read. Ah, but back to this one.
Lou's an awesome character. Jack too. It is, of course, the classic romantic comedy plot line. Girl hates boy. Girl and Boy get stuck in some sort of situation where they have to be in close quarters for an indeterminate length of time. They both start falling for each other, but won't tell the other one. They fall into having sex eventually. They get back to their regular life, having to avoid each other because it's just "too weird." One does something daring to win the other's heart for good. The end. The thing about Cabot is that she makes you actually want to get to those points. She makes you want to see them fall in love. Plus, she's fun about it.
Pages: 354
Genre: Chicklit, Mystery, Romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. Anything Meg's, I'll recommend it, except the Queen of Babble sequels. Those were surprisingly bad.
18 down, 32 to go!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Jack Wakes Up (Seth Harwood)
Summary:
Jack Palms is a one-hit-wonder actor. He was in one movie (sure, a big blockbuster type movie) whose sequel got canned after Jack's crazy, drugged up, and drunk wife decided to lay allegations against Jack, saying he abused her. It's been years since this happened, and Jack's recovered from his own substance abuse issues. Jack gets a call from an old buddy of his, Ralph, the producer from Jack's movie. Ralph wants Jack to get involved with one little project, one last job for Ralph. Jack agrees, but finds out it involves some coked-up Czechs who want to score some more coke before they go on a road trip around the US.
What follows is Ralph getting killed, and Jack becoming the front man on the deal, which leads him and the Czech guys getting into a mess. There are drug cartels galore in this version of San Francisco, and one of them is trying to take the rest down, by way of shooting up the city worse than any action movie. Oh, and the cop that called the press when he went to arrest Jack for abuse is on the case now, and is forcing Jack to bring him something good. Jack's got to figure out who's at the top of all of it, and serve it up to the cop on a platter.
Thoughts:
What I read was an uncorrected proof, apparently. But as far as I could tell, it was only missing a few bits of punctuation. REALLY good story. I could do without all the drug references, sure, but for the most part, it was really good. I was figuring things out just when Jack was, so for once I wasn't three steps ahead. A few twists came out of no where on me, which is always a good thing. Plus, Jack has a '66 Mustang fastback, K-code, which means he's pretty awesome. Great writing, though. Finally another good one under the belt.
Pages: 293
Genre: Action, mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes, absolutely.
17 down, 33 to go!
Jack Palms is a one-hit-wonder actor. He was in one movie (sure, a big blockbuster type movie) whose sequel got canned after Jack's crazy, drugged up, and drunk wife decided to lay allegations against Jack, saying he abused her. It's been years since this happened, and Jack's recovered from his own substance abuse issues. Jack gets a call from an old buddy of his, Ralph, the producer from Jack's movie. Ralph wants Jack to get involved with one little project, one last job for Ralph. Jack agrees, but finds out it involves some coked-up Czechs who want to score some more coke before they go on a road trip around the US.
What follows is Ralph getting killed, and Jack becoming the front man on the deal, which leads him and the Czech guys getting into a mess. There are drug cartels galore in this version of San Francisco, and one of them is trying to take the rest down, by way of shooting up the city worse than any action movie. Oh, and the cop that called the press when he went to arrest Jack for abuse is on the case now, and is forcing Jack to bring him something good. Jack's got to figure out who's at the top of all of it, and serve it up to the cop on a platter.
Thoughts:
What I read was an uncorrected proof, apparently. But as far as I could tell, it was only missing a few bits of punctuation. REALLY good story. I could do without all the drug references, sure, but for the most part, it was really good. I was figuring things out just when Jack was, so for once I wasn't three steps ahead. A few twists came out of no where on me, which is always a good thing. Plus, Jack has a '66 Mustang fastback, K-code, which means he's pretty awesome. Great writing, though. Finally another good one under the belt.
Pages: 293
Genre: Action, mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes, absolutely.
17 down, 33 to go!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Bermudez Triangle (Maureen Johnson)
Summary:
The book starts out with three best friends saying goodbye as one gets ready to go away for the summer for the first time since they were babies (or something) and the other two are stuck waitressing for the whole summer. Nina goes off to a summer program at Stamford and meets a cute guy that she goes on to have a long-distance relationship with once she gets home. Avery and Mel go on to hook up with each other (and hide it from Nina.) and spend the entire summer together pretty much all the time. Once Nina's back from California, she feels that something is different between the three of them, but couldn't figure out what was up until she catches Mel and Avery in the act. The rest of their senior year followed with the "Triangle" (as they called themselves) trying to find their way back to their friendship.
Thoughts:
Thinking about it now, it's kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only without the pants, and with one less girl, but it's got a very different feel to it than Sisterhood did. But it's nice to see a book written for teenagers that is mostly about friendships being lost and found again, instead of being all love story all the time.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. The writing was great though, exactly like the last book by Johnson that I read. She's got a way with words, that one.
Pages: 384
Genre: teenlit, romance, friendships
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure.
16 down, 34 to go!
The book starts out with three best friends saying goodbye as one gets ready to go away for the summer for the first time since they were babies (or something) and the other two are stuck waitressing for the whole summer. Nina goes off to a summer program at Stamford and meets a cute guy that she goes on to have a long-distance relationship with once she gets home. Avery and Mel go on to hook up with each other (and hide it from Nina.) and spend the entire summer together pretty much all the time. Once Nina's back from California, she feels that something is different between the three of them, but couldn't figure out what was up until she catches Mel and Avery in the act. The rest of their senior year followed with the "Triangle" (as they called themselves) trying to find their way back to their friendship.
Thoughts:
Thinking about it now, it's kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only without the pants, and with one less girl, but it's got a very different feel to it than Sisterhood did. But it's nice to see a book written for teenagers that is mostly about friendships being lost and found again, instead of being all love story all the time.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. The writing was great though, exactly like the last book by Johnson that I read. She's got a way with words, that one.
Pages: 384
Genre: teenlit, romance, friendships
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure.
16 down, 34 to go!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Quite Honestly (John Mortimer)
Summary:
Lucy, who apparently works in advertising, decides one day that she wants to do some good in the world. She becomes a praeceptor, which is someone who acts as a guide of sorts for people coming out of prison. Her first (and only) case is Terry Keegan. Terry has just gotten out after doing four years for burglary. This is all he knows, and it's what he goes back to. They fall in love, and Lucy decides to start stealing things, so she can become closer to Terry and understand him more. Terry thinks this is very wrong, and that a woman shouldn't be stealing things. The story follows Lucy as she not only ignores Terry's requests for her to stop stealing, but she goes on to try to steal a very expensive painting from a friend and gets pinched while doing it. Oh, and they say "quite honestly" a lot.
Thoughts:
Quite honestly, it's crap. It's predictable, and it's boring. It's barely more than 200 pages, and I think I've been reading it for at least three months. I now understand why it was in the bargain bin at B&N. Crap, and more crap. As soon as Lucy started stealing things, I knew she was going to get caught, and she was going to get jail time. The falling-in-love part wasn't even good. The story was told with one chapter from her perspective, then one from his, alternating every other chapter, so Lucy goes on about her afternoon with Terry, and then says "I guess that's when I fell in love." No lead-up, no nothing. Absolute CRAP. Quite honestly.
Pages: 206
Genre: Romance? Crap.
Grade: F
Would I Recommend?: Oh HELL to the naw.
15 down, 35 to go!
Lucy, who apparently works in advertising, decides one day that she wants to do some good in the world. She becomes a praeceptor, which is someone who acts as a guide of sorts for people coming out of prison. Her first (and only) case is Terry Keegan. Terry has just gotten out after doing four years for burglary. This is all he knows, and it's what he goes back to. They fall in love, and Lucy decides to start stealing things, so she can become closer to Terry and understand him more. Terry thinks this is very wrong, and that a woman shouldn't be stealing things. The story follows Lucy as she not only ignores Terry's requests for her to stop stealing, but she goes on to try to steal a very expensive painting from a friend and gets pinched while doing it. Oh, and they say "quite honestly" a lot.
Thoughts:
Quite honestly, it's crap. It's predictable, and it's boring. It's barely more than 200 pages, and I think I've been reading it for at least three months. I now understand why it was in the bargain bin at B&N. Crap, and more crap. As soon as Lucy started stealing things, I knew she was going to get caught, and she was going to get jail time. The falling-in-love part wasn't even good. The story was told with one chapter from her perspective, then one from his, alternating every other chapter, so Lucy goes on about her afternoon with Terry, and then says "I guess that's when I fell in love." No lead-up, no nothing. Absolute CRAP. Quite honestly.
Pages: 206
Genre: Romance? Crap.
Grade: F
Would I Recommend?: Oh HELL to the naw.
15 down, 35 to go!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Art Geeks and Prom Queens (Alyson Noel)
Summary:
Rio is a teenaged girl who moved from New York to sunny California and is trying to deal with the whole new life she has now. She starts off hanging with people that are very much like her: nice, artsy, etc. But when things go even slightly south with them, she drops them, starting to wear the expensive and very trendy clothes her mother's been trying to force on her since they moved out west, and hanging out with the "cool" girls. This leads to drinking, cocaine, and unfounded sex scandals.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it sucked. It was basically the movie Mean Girls, only with more drugs and alcohol. Why is it that none of the books written about "cool kids" ever paint them in a kind light? I'm not saying that I was ever a "cool kid" (far from it!) but they can't all be the worst of the worst. Anyway, the writing was awful. And it was so very transparent what was going to happen, it was ridiculous. And the happily ever after mess came only on the last page. Shock of all shocks.
Why is it that so few books come with a happy ending that ties up loose ends before the very last page? It's like writers enjoy putting their readers through the worst of all angst, with very little happy in their ever afters. Maybe it's because I've been in a happy relationship for years, and I never really had to go through all this angst. But I like seeing people actually get together, and also BE HAPPY together.
Pages: 226
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No, probably not.
14 down, 36 to go!
Almost done Quite Honestly, and I can't wait to be. It's pretty crap too. Three books out of the last four have been stupid. Not awesome.
Rio is a teenaged girl who moved from New York to sunny California and is trying to deal with the whole new life she has now. She starts off hanging with people that are very much like her: nice, artsy, etc. But when things go even slightly south with them, she drops them, starting to wear the expensive and very trendy clothes her mother's been trying to force on her since they moved out west, and hanging out with the "cool" girls. This leads to drinking, cocaine, and unfounded sex scandals.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it sucked. It was basically the movie Mean Girls, only with more drugs and alcohol. Why is it that none of the books written about "cool kids" ever paint them in a kind light? I'm not saying that I was ever a "cool kid" (far from it!) but they can't all be the worst of the worst. Anyway, the writing was awful. And it was so very transparent what was going to happen, it was ridiculous. And the happily ever after mess came only on the last page. Shock of all shocks.
Why is it that so few books come with a happy ending that ties up loose ends before the very last page? It's like writers enjoy putting their readers through the worst of all angst, with very little happy in their ever afters. Maybe it's because I've been in a happy relationship for years, and I never really had to go through all this angst. But I like seeing people actually get together, and also BE HAPPY together.
Pages: 226
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No, probably not.
14 down, 36 to go!
Almost done Quite Honestly, and I can't wait to be. It's pretty crap too. Three books out of the last four have been stupid. Not awesome.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
The first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Good Fairies of New York (Martin Millar)
Summary:
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Smart Boys & Fast Girls (Stephie Davis)
Summary:
Natalie is a sophomore who just made the varsity cross country team. She's a fast runner, and she knows it. What she doesn't know is geometry, and her spot on the team is in jeopardy after she fails the third test in a row. She's forced to get a tutor, who thinks that jocks are snobs, and treats her with disdain at every turn. The trouble is, Natalie doesn't want the world to know that Matt is her tutor. Instead, she tells everyone he's her new boyfriend, which leads to all kinds of high school drama.
Thoughts:
It's not the worst, I suppose. It's your classic "two people meet, hate each other, then realize their true feelings at the most inopportune time" story. Every romantic comedy follows this formula, and of course, this is no exception. The writing is kind of bland, and there's not a whole lot of meat to the story. It's only 178 pages, for God's sake. Usually this kind of story gets filled in a little bit with more substance. The most dramatic part of the whole thing is when she finally calls out her best friends for ditching her for their new boyfriends.
All in all, not the worst crap I've ever read. (That will continue to be Raiders of the Low Forehead until the end of time.) But I could have written this a lot better, and with a lot more substance to it. Oh, and the author's bio at the back of the book is completely lame. Also I literally ingested this whole book within a few hours.
11 books down, 39 to go!
Pages: 178
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Probably not.
Natalie is a sophomore who just made the varsity cross country team. She's a fast runner, and she knows it. What she doesn't know is geometry, and her spot on the team is in jeopardy after she fails the third test in a row. She's forced to get a tutor, who thinks that jocks are snobs, and treats her with disdain at every turn. The trouble is, Natalie doesn't want the world to know that Matt is her tutor. Instead, she tells everyone he's her new boyfriend, which leads to all kinds of high school drama.
Thoughts:
It's not the worst, I suppose. It's your classic "two people meet, hate each other, then realize their true feelings at the most inopportune time" story. Every romantic comedy follows this formula, and of course, this is no exception. The writing is kind of bland, and there's not a whole lot of meat to the story. It's only 178 pages, for God's sake. Usually this kind of story gets filled in a little bit with more substance. The most dramatic part of the whole thing is when she finally calls out her best friends for ditching her for their new boyfriends.
All in all, not the worst crap I've ever read. (That will continue to be Raiders of the Low Forehead until the end of time.) But I could have written this a lot better, and with a lot more substance to it. Oh, and the author's bio at the back of the book is completely lame. Also I literally ingested this whole book within a few hours.
11 books down, 39 to go!
Pages: 178
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Probably not.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Murder by Peacocks (Donna Andrews)
Summary:
Meg Langslow is a blacksmith who has been asked to be the maid of honor in not one, not two, but three weddings. All within about six weeks of each other. And each one of the brides are bonkers. Her best friend, Eileen, wants to attire everyone in velvet, medieval style ensembles. Her future sister-in-law, Samantha, is crazy and, among other things, wants peacocks wandering in the yard for no real discernible reason. Her mother is planning on marrying a bore of a man and ignoring how much Meg's dad still loves her. Oh, and in the midst of this crazy summer of wedding planning, someone gets killed, and Meg's dad tries to deduce whodunnit, causing the killer to go after him too.
Thoughts:
Hilarious. I will be going after every book in the series. The next one is Murder by Puffins, which is the one that I saw first. Andrews' writing is great, and the voice of the book is like an old friend telling the story of her crazy summer of weddings. It's written day by day, too, with each chapter being a different day. And often times, if I'm reading a particularly slow passage, I will pause and check the number of pages, to see how much I have left, or if I'm almost to the end, I'll check. I didn't even think about it during this book, because I was so engrossed in the book. It's just that good. And anyone who's going through or who has gone through planning a wedding will appreciate this immensely. Stacy, I'm looking at you.
Pages: 311
Genre: Mystery, chicklit, humor
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend This?: YES.
10 down, 40 to go!
Meg Langslow is a blacksmith who has been asked to be the maid of honor in not one, not two, but three weddings. All within about six weeks of each other. And each one of the brides are bonkers. Her best friend, Eileen, wants to attire everyone in velvet, medieval style ensembles. Her future sister-in-law, Samantha, is crazy and, among other things, wants peacocks wandering in the yard for no real discernible reason. Her mother is planning on marrying a bore of a man and ignoring how much Meg's dad still loves her. Oh, and in the midst of this crazy summer of wedding planning, someone gets killed, and Meg's dad tries to deduce whodunnit, causing the killer to go after him too.
Thoughts:
Hilarious. I will be going after every book in the series. The next one is Murder by Puffins, which is the one that I saw first. Andrews' writing is great, and the voice of the book is like an old friend telling the story of her crazy summer of weddings. It's written day by day, too, with each chapter being a different day. And often times, if I'm reading a particularly slow passage, I will pause and check the number of pages, to see how much I have left, or if I'm almost to the end, I'll check. I didn't even think about it during this book, because I was so engrossed in the book. It's just that good. And anyone who's going through or who has gone through planning a wedding will appreciate this immensely. Stacy, I'm looking at you.
Pages: 311
Genre: Mystery, chicklit, humor
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend This?: YES.
10 down, 40 to go!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thanks Stacy!
My sweet, and wonderful cousin, Stacy, was sweet enough to give me a couple of Blogger awards. I don't really know many bloggers on here (namely her, my cousin-in-law-to-be, Dave, and Cake Wrecks...) so I can't exactly pass these awards along all that well, but I wanted to say thanks. :D
For the "Beautiful Blogger" award you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
* State 7 things about yourself.
For the "One Lovely Blog Award" you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
And here, my 7 things...
1. I have lived in three states, but only call one home. I will always and forever be a Jersey girl, no matter what people who don't know me all that well might like to believe. I was born here, I lived here for the majority of my life, and I will continue to live here. Jersey's home, and all you haters out there can just shut it.
2. I have a great love for scrapbooking, and when you give me the time, space, and tools, I can create pretty awesome books. I'm not one for squared off photos, and tidy lines, either. I like a little mess, a lot of overlap, and enough on the page to tell the whole story.
3. I am a Disney fanatic. Anyone just finding this blog wouldn't know it, but everyone who's ever met me knows damn well. I work for the Mouse. I've been to Disneyland once, and World five times. I have hit all four parks in one day, plus Downtown Disney, and I don't recommend it. I can name most of the major players in any given Disney animated film (not counting sequels) and the ones from the 80s I can practically recite by heart. Fanatic of the highest degree.
4. I love writing. As I'm sure you can tell. I'm verbose, even when I don't want to be. It's my way. (Hey look, not so verbose on this one!)
5. I hate raw tomatoes. I've gotten over the cooked variety, but a raw tomato will make me gag as soon as it touches my tongue. Blech. Everyone makes fun of me for this.
6. I've never left this continent. And the only landmasses that aren't connected to it that I've been on are Liberty, Ellis, and Long Islands. And I'm DYING to explore elsewhere.
7. I love the spell of bookstores. Especially if they DON'T have coffee shops inside. The smell of new books, books that haven't been cracked into and absorbed, gives me a thrill, because I know that in that store, there are thousands and thousands of new adventures that I haven't explored yet, and the promise of newness and intrigue and crisp, untouched pages, brings me so much joy and comfort. Yum. I love new books.
For the "Beautiful Blogger" award you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
* State 7 things about yourself.
For the "One Lovely Blog Award" you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
And here, my 7 things...
1. I have lived in three states, but only call one home. I will always and forever be a Jersey girl, no matter what people who don't know me all that well might like to believe. I was born here, I lived here for the majority of my life, and I will continue to live here. Jersey's home, and all you haters out there can just shut it.
2. I have a great love for scrapbooking, and when you give me the time, space, and tools, I can create pretty awesome books. I'm not one for squared off photos, and tidy lines, either. I like a little mess, a lot of overlap, and enough on the page to tell the whole story.
3. I am a Disney fanatic. Anyone just finding this blog wouldn't know it, but everyone who's ever met me knows damn well. I work for the Mouse. I've been to Disneyland once, and World five times. I have hit all four parks in one day, plus Downtown Disney, and I don't recommend it. I can name most of the major players in any given Disney animated film (not counting sequels) and the ones from the 80s I can practically recite by heart. Fanatic of the highest degree.
4. I love writing. As I'm sure you can tell. I'm verbose, even when I don't want to be. It's my way. (Hey look, not so verbose on this one!)
5. I hate raw tomatoes. I've gotten over the cooked variety, but a raw tomato will make me gag as soon as it touches my tongue. Blech. Everyone makes fun of me for this.
6. I've never left this continent. And the only landmasses that aren't connected to it that I've been on are Liberty, Ellis, and Long Islands. And I'm DYING to explore elsewhere.
7. I love the spell of bookstores. Especially if they DON'T have coffee shops inside. The smell of new books, books that haven't been cracked into and absorbed, gives me a thrill, because I know that in that store, there are thousands and thousands of new adventures that I haven't explored yet, and the promise of newness and intrigue and crisp, untouched pages, brings me so much joy and comfort. Yum. I love new books.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)