i don't know what category to put this book in. maybe i need a sci-fi shelf, though i'm pretty clueless . . .
anyway. i was all good until the ending....morei don't know what category to put this book in. maybe i need a sci-fi shelf, though i'm pretty clueless . . .
anyway. i was all good until the ending. i don't know how that's even . . . remotely ethical or whatever. i liked jeb. stupid love triangles though. give it a rest! sadly, i know i am going to read the sequel. i just can't help myself sometimes. (less)
i love orma. i am not sure why, but i do. i possibly did not love seraphina the best, but the other characters made up for it. t...morei LOVE these dragons.
i love orma. i am not sure why, but i do. i possibly did not love seraphina the best, but the other characters made up for it. the woven plot.
more thorough review to come, but for right now, DRAGONS. (less)
i liked it. it was fun and easy and i enjoyed how stupendously weird gandalf was in this. it seemed to fit this strange world better, that even the wi...morei liked it. it was fun and easy and i enjoyed how stupendously weird gandalf was in this. it seemed to fit this strange world better, that even the wizards are not exactly wise. i liked the eagles too. fun, long journey.
but man, i wanted to know more about the ring! THE RING. why wasn't it weighing on bilbo the way it did on sam? and gollum!! i suppose this means i have to read his other books, which is a little worrisome considering everyone has told me the hobbit was the best book . . .
made me happy, anyway, which is always good around the holidays!
i didn't love it. i didn't hate it. i kind of liked it. not sure about alina, to be honest. not sure about the darkling. not even sure about mal.
but...morei didn't love it. i didn't hate it. i kind of liked it. not sure about alina, to be honest. not sure about the darkling. not even sure about mal.
but i liked the idea of the creatures in the fold. i was annoyed by some of the "oh look this is related to russian but isn't!" but i did enjoy the world, and the grisha, and the way it's kind of high school still.
i found alina's surprise at herself believable, and not at all similar to that vampire chick. here she is, nothing, and basically thrown into aristocracy. i didn't buy the whole way she didn't know, but. she is young. she probably hasn't seen herself in mirrors.
anyway. i'll read the second book. i tend to stick with these things. i am a little surprised at how wonderfully this was reviewed, but then again, you never know with me. (less)
i am a horse person, so maybe i should say that up front.
however, i am also a freak for detail. and the detail all made sense. plus, i may have teare...morei am a horse person, so maybe i should say that up front.
however, i am also a freak for detail. and the detail all made sense. plus, i may have teared at the end. of course, that might have also been the fact my dear friend just got married and i was on a plane, and being on a plane always makes me cry.
people are going to complain that this is slow placed. these are the same people that aren't going to read some of my favorite books. there IS PLOT PEOPLE! there are multiple layers of plots going on! there's sean's story, mutt's motives, the tiny island life - which is really true of any small community that is based largely on tourism (not that i have any experience with that either, hah), the horses and their reasons, puck's trajectory, the tensions between tradition and evolution, the haves and the have-nots, the things you decide to have faith in.
but it's like, thinking that equus is just a play about a boy and a horse. or that the grinch who stole christmas is about presents. that a wrinkle in time is about time travel. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
so yeah. i am not going to defend this book to people that think it's boring. because frankly, i think you're wrong and missing the whole point of the book.
and honestly, since when has a title EVER had to be the plot?! the whole story is about GETTING to the races, and the aftermath of the races. that doesn't mean the story isn't about the scorpio races! it's like the kentucky derby. that race lasts 2 minutes. but the coverage and lead up lasts for almost a year and then there's everything after. those two minutes aren't the entire story! (and the race in this book has so much more drama.)
this is clearly maggie's best book, and i secretly hope the water horses come back. it's no secret i didn't love the mercy falls series and thought it was overrated, but damn, this didn't disappoint. it's beautiful, lyrical, smart, and full of heart. (less)
it's just . . . somehow the most real and fantastic story ever. it's haunting. it's mesmeriz...morethis is a very depressing and sad story.
except it's not.
it's just . . . somehow the most real and fantastic story ever. it's haunting. it's mesmerizing. it's elegant and well written and absolutely gorgeous.
magic, hopes, dreams, fate, prophecies, fantastical creatures from unicorns to harpys to the red bull. crazy kings with magicians, babies left on stones, traveling bandits, endless winters, a real hero, a princess that isn't a princess, and the beginning of spring. (less)
my friend from new zealand brought me this, and also Froi of the Exiles because she is the absolute best. so of course i needed to reread finnikin bef...moremy friend from new zealand brought me this, and also Froi of the Exiles because she is the absolute best. so of course i needed to reread finnikin before i tackled froi.
this book just gets better and better. evanjalin (both!) is such a fabulous female characters, finnikin is so flawed and honest and yet makes sense, sir topher and then froi - watching him try to understand - perri the savage, tesadora, seranonna - this book is packed with memorable and fleshed out characters that you LOVE.
there is pain and heartbreak and hope and longing. there is the question of "what is home", the treatment of refugees, the place of exiles, the role of human flesh. corruption and goodness and horrors. this perfect blend of this perfect reflection of our world today, set in a place with magic that isn't magic. (though you'd have to talk to froi about that.)
so. read this. read it, and if you're in australia/new zealand, you can grab froi too - which is what i'll be doing this weekend. for the rest of us in the us/north america, i believe Froi is slated to be released in march. (less)
so i read it. i mean, obviously i was going to read it, but then i heard that there is no date for book 3, and that makes me nervous and usually i wai...moreso i read it. i mean, obviously i was going to read it, but then i heard that there is no date for book 3, and that makes me nervous and usually i wait until i have at least a release date for another book by the author.
not this time! luckily elizabeth c. bunce is amazing and said there is going to be another digger book, but we just don't know when.
i didn't think the cliffhanger was as bad as most people, but i am all about weirolf and the purple hand prints and missing meri and the awesomeness of cwalo! i have a feeling my issues with these cliffhangers are not the same as others . . .
i thought it was strongly written. i liked koya, thought raffin was underused, wondered where the heck barris was, and wanted more of the war! war! war! i want MORE. i love this world, i love kind of all of it. the world, the magic, the layers of everything.
perhaps that's what i love most about bunce's writing - the layers and complex thought that clearly went into every plot point.
whatever. i want more NOW. i really love digger, and i love all the other characters, and rat and lord ragn, and i could go on. but. i won't. this book makes me happy. i hope more people buy it and read it so we can get another book sometime soon!!(less)
so, i'm not really a huge fan of short story collections, as i'm not really a fan of short stories. however, a lot of my favorite YA authors have chos...moreso, i'm not really a huge fan of short story collections, as i'm not really a fan of short stories. however, a lot of my favorite YA authors have chosen this year to be part of anthologies (Diana Peterfreund, Claudia Gray, i'm looking at you!), i have found myself reading more of them.
which makes them a little hard to review - having so many different stories and authors.
however, i think this is the best collection i've read in a long time. first of all, you have zombies, which usually means the end of the world, which of course i love. and then you have killer unicorns, which thanks to ms. peterfreud, are the coolest things ever.
i remain fully on team unicorn, though Scott Westerfeld's zombie story, Carrie Ryan (come on, she like invented zombies) as well as Garth Nix's (truly creepy - wait, that might have been a unicorn story too) were stand-outs on the zombie side.
but when you have a baby unicorn in a cardboard box in a garage who you know is a man-eating monster, another unicorn named (i kid you not) PRINCESS PRETTYPANTS who actually FARTS RAINBOWS, is there really a chance? Meg Cabot, i love you too.
plus it was edited well, though i think justine did a much better job defending zombies than holly did with unicorns. but that's probably just because unicorns haven't always been scary, while zombie have. going against the grain!
conclusion: enough stories that i don't think you should miss to read it. (winners: diana peterfreund, meg cabot, garth nix, scott westerfeld, carrie ryan. major winners.)
oh, there is so much to say, so much to love. like, honestly.
meri and digger/celyn and lyll and. OH, I LOVE YOU A...moreWHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS WAS A SERIES?
oh, there is so much to say, so much to love. like, honestly.
meri and digger/celyn and lyll and. OH, I LOVE YOU ALL.
and maybe i want a crazy love story. (please give it to me in Liar's Moon!)
but the web of families, of war, of lands, of allegiances. the way digger doesn't want to get involved, not really, but then she does - partly because she's a curious girl, and partly because she can't stay out of it. her trade is knowledge, and she wants to know. lord antoch, lord faul, meri and her cousins, meri and phaendre, meri and digger, digger and lady lyll, marlytt and digger - the awesome kind of band of brothers (gender neutral!) at bryn shaer, all the relationships are complex, well thought out, thoroughly touched upon, leaving you with a sense of fulfillment - but still wanting more.
to be honest, it reminded me of Megan Whalen Turner's thief series, which, yes, i completely adore. i never thought anyone could rival my love for eugenides, but, ummm, digger just might. the world building is insanely brilliant and beautiful.
this was first person, which i enjoyed more than i thought i would. i *understood* digger, i was being forced to do things i didn't want right there with her. it completely drew me in. and while i figured some things out, i couldn't figure them all out, and it made me happy when i couldn't. (WERNE) i felt like i was right there with digger. and i LOVE DIGGER. i also love lady lyll. and meri. and that guy - you know which guy. the horses, the castle, the tunnels, the people in the woods . . . oh, i want more now SO BADLY you have no idea.
read this, read this, read this.
there are strong independent women, there's politics and war and intrigue, heists and thefts and humor, a fabulous narrator, snark and sadness, blood and snow, beautiful world-building that didn't require a lot of flipping back and forth between things to remember/understand, evil, goodness, religious wars, commentary on piety and leadership, marriage for match and not for politics, friendship, reality, fantasy, magic, etc.
while i wanted another fairy-tale re-telling/historical romance from Elizabeth C. Bunce, this was very very lovely and i want more now and i am so happy she wrote this.
basically, YOU SHOULD READ THIS. no, really. going to buy a copy and return this one to the library so everyone else can enjoy it. so glad i asked them to order it! ;)(less)
i liked this collection so. much. better than i thought i would. seriously, these stories are smart and tight, and i wanted all of them to be longer!...morei liked this collection so. much. better than i thought i would. seriously, these stories are smart and tight, and i wanted all of them to be longer! the characters were smart, and the quick world-building was awesome.
my least favorite was the kristin cast story, and my favorite is a tie between tanith lee and claudia gray. they were creepy! and awesome.
i found it at the airport, and it's a great travel/plane book. (less)
[1st re-read: october 2011 - loved it even more the second time, and understood so much more. kurue the wise! seih's floating orbs - that he got from...more[1st re-read: october 2011 - loved it even more the second time, and understood so much more. kurue the wise! seih's floating orbs - that he got from his mother. the relationship between intempas and nahadoth. the fear. the race relations. the hierarchies. the world building. yeine annoyed me a little more the second time around, but the other characters more than made up for it. and the scenes near the end, with naha and nahadoth and the voices inside - two souls come together to create a marriage, what about two souls bound not by love, but necessity?)
wow.
i wasn't expecting this. i think this might be my first true straight fantasy story ever. (i don't know though. this felt really different.)
it's not yeine that stole my heart, it was nahadoth. oh, naha, i love you!
so, this is brilliant world building. there are creation myths, and politics, intrigue, gods and mortals. i love it all. i admit it took me a few chapters to get into it, but i think i was just getting used to the writing style and the characters and this genre.
there's a lot to love. there's the writing, which at times reminded me of faulkner (whom i love so much). there are the characters - the gods and t'vril were my favorite, i think.
i expected the ending, but i didn't at all. i loved all the twists. i loved yeine's stubbornness, her sometimes annoying simplistic view of things, and her realization about the nature of mothers. (i did get a little bored with kinneth, but i think that might be because i still don't understand the whole thing.)
this book deserves a reread, and i'm so happy there's another one to come. i want to see what happens with everyone, and balance, and. i love.
plus, like i said, i really enjoyed the style and writing of the story itself.
(for the record, this book stands alone - it doesn't need a sequel, it's just nice that there's going to be more in the world. i mean, you could see this as ending on it's own.)(less)
i don't know what i liked about this that other people didn't, and if i was just in a weird place when i picked it up, but i had a very hard time putt...morei don't know what i liked about this that other people didn't, and if i was just in a weird place when i picked it up, but i had a very hard time putting it down.
yes, it's fat. but about half-way through, i was totally hooked. i liked the "casters" world - where almost every paranormal thing ever is somehow in the mix. i didn't care so much for the others, but.
i loved macon. i loved amma. and they were my favorite. i mean, lena was kind of cool, but she wasn't . . . i don't know. link turned out to be more impressive than i initially planned.
i liked the heaviness of the setting. to be honest, i don't think i've ever read anything that qualifies as "southern gothic" so i don't know how accurate that part was, but i definitely really LIKED the setting.
looking back on it, i can see parts that i would have edited it out, or asked the authors to make tighter. (the song, for example, the initial dreams don't exactly have a conclusion, there's so much about emily - and we don't even know really what happened there.
i didn't realize it was a series until the last page. because this is a first book, i have hope the second installment will have tighter writing - plot at least. i mean, the world building was lovely, and i do want to go back there.
and really, i had a very hard time putting the book down. i also was wishing for a reincarnation type theory, but.
larkin and ridley and reece and ryan and gramma and MACON. oh, macon and boo radley. (less)
i really wanted to like this. way more than i did. i really enjoy the author's writing online, but unfortunately, this story wasn't enough for me.
nic...morei really wanted to like this. way more than i did. i really enjoy the author's writing online, but unfortunately, this story wasn't enough for me.
nick and alan have an interesting relationship, and mae and jamie are a nice addition. but i couldn't really bring myself to care about them. i actually found nick's struggle interesting, but the end to be so bizarre . . . and it came rather quickly. now i realize there is a sequel in the making, but.
i was disappointed. the pace wasn't quick enough, the characters weren't developed enough (until the very very end), and i still kind of have no idea what was up with their mother. i mean, i get it, but i don't know what happened to her. perhaps that's what the sequel is for?
definitely going to wait for the library again on this one. (less)
okay. so they aren't really vampires. it's basically the same. ;)
anyway, i liked the addition of jude in this book. i liked the questioning of what it...moreokay. so they aren't really vampires. it's basically the same. ;)
anyway, i liked the addition of jude in this book. i liked the questioning of what it means to be fated, soul-mated, destiny-ed. do we have control over everything? it is all a choice? and what if we make the wrong choice? what if someone makes the choice for us?
i liked the questioning, but i felt like it was a set-up to another book. i didn't feel like anything was resolved, and i don't like that. and i don't really understand ever's last decision. i just don't. i don't want to spoil anything though.
i missed riley, and ava, though they weren't missing. i suppose i thought there was a little too much ever in this book - i like the secondary characters also. but the secondary characters in this installment of the immortals series it's really kind of like they ARE secondary - and one dimensional. if i didn't know more about damen and the twins and the people at school - or heck, ava - i would have no idea what was going on. i would think this series was a piece of baloney.
it's not badly written.
i think though, that there was a push to get this book out due to the success of evermore and blue moon, to keep it going - when i think shadowland would be better if it had waited, and become part of the fourth book in the series - which isn't coming out until summer 2010. we got the first three books in less than 6 months. anyone else think someone's up with that?
i'm going to say it's probably essential for fans of the series, but you shouldn't read this book out of order in the series. the second book, especially, is essential to understanding this one. and if you haven't started the series yet, i might recommend waiting until next summer, when you'll have another book to help fill this one out. (less)
beautiful, lyrical prose, but i wish there was more. some stories can hold up with just slivers and fragments, but i don't think this one would have i...morebeautiful, lyrical prose, but i wish there was more. some stories can hold up with just slivers and fragments, but i don't think this one would have if it hadn't been a familiar retelling. i could be wrong.
review to come. needless to say, cashore just keeps getting better, and i'm already impatient there's no information on her next book.
i want to pick...morereview to come. needless to say, cashore just keeps getting better, and i'm already impatient there's no information on her next book.
i want to pick it up and read it again, get lost in the world. there was just the right amount of katsa and po (who stay true to themselves) and other characters and new characters and i was so secretly happy that the end was the way it was. plus, everything coming together . . .
oh, i love this book. i love these characters. i love this world. i want to stay there. with the tragedy, and the hope, and the striving.
so gen has to become something he never thought he would.
it was brilliant. they are always brilliant.
and the twists and the turns and the HEART of e...moreso gen has to become something he never thought he would.
it was brilliant. they are always brilliant.
and the twists and the turns and the HEART of everything. oh. oh eddis, oh gen, oh attolia and costis and teleus and the magus and sophos, oh EVERYTHING.
the politics of this is brilliant. and i want to read this again and again and make it mine.
so much love. so many layers, so much there, and. it's just so freaking excellent. (less)
2010 reread: lord, this book is so freaking good. i love gen, i love attolia. and eddis and the magus. oh man, i love these people so much. and the wo...more2010 reread: lord, this book is so freaking good. i love gen, i love attolia. and eddis and the magus. oh man, i love these people so much. and the world they inhabit.
i think one of my favorite scenes is eddis and attolia on horseback. the cleverness, the smart, smart writing . . . i'm telling you, these books should not be left lying around. they should be in people's hands, and loved loved loved.
2009: re-reading! i wish a conspiracy of kings was coming out sooner, but re-reading them is a good thing to do. they are twisted and dark and happy and make me happy.
this is, i think, my favorite in the series. it's brilliant. gen is one of the best characters ever, but eddis and attolia and EVERYONE are so fleshed out and real and heart-breaking.
i am unsure about this book. don't get me wrong, i am already planning on how to get my hands on Linger tomorrow. but i didn't like the se...more62 degrees.
i am unsure about this book. don't get me wrong, i am already planning on how to get my hands on Linger tomorrow. but i didn't like the sections from sam's POV as much as grace's.
in fact, i LOVED grace. i think she's strong and interesting and i love the way the story developed - and how grace developed.
but sam . . . i don't know. i think part of the problem was i started the book, the listened to some of the audiobook, and then went back to the text because i found the guy who read sam really, really annoying. (the girl who read grace was fabulous.) so i couldn't exactly figure out why it wasn't all in grace's POV.
it starts off kind of quietly, but by the end, it's moving so quickly that you can't believe there aren't 300 more pages.
i recommend the book, but possibly not the audiobook.
(since moving to a place that requires me to drive, i am trying to figure out how to read while commuting like i used to. this wasn't the one to win me over.)(less)
YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. it's freaking AWESOME. of course, i am a mythology freak also, but STILL.
KILLER UNICORNS, PEOPLE! KIL...moreyou guys. YOU GUYS.
YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. it's freaking AWESOME. of course, i am a mythology freak also, but STILL.
KILLER UNICORNS, PEOPLE! KILLER UNICORNS!!
and there are layers upon layers to this. women's rights and growing up and accepting responsibility and becoming yourself, not defined by other people.
i love this story so much. i love astrid, and phil, and cory, and bonegrinder.
and i LOVED a certain karkadann. oh, the history and how diana peterfreund works her world around it! i loved the secret society girl series, and i couldn't wait for this - and it was so worth the wait. seriously, i love the story. i love how it makes sense. i love dealing with the issues of virginity and growing up and girls and.
so much freaking love. want more now!
(more thorough review to come.)
(re-read february 2011 to write review for the YA Subscription . . . link to follow.)(less)
it's a lot more grown up than i was expecting - there's kind of a lot of sex in it. but the story, oh!...moreoh, rose. oh, lissa and christian. oh, ADRIAN.
it's a lot more grown up than i was expecting - there's kind of a lot of sex in it. but the story, oh! oh ROSE! oh EVERYONE.
way more thorough review to come - i want to reread again. maybe tomorrow. ;)(less)
so: story #1 by sarah mlynowski - not bad, not great.
story #2 by claudia gray - want to read more more mor...morehard because it's a collection of stories.
so: story #1 by sarah mlynowski - not bad, not great.
story #2 by claudia gray - want to read more more more. fabulous.
story #3 by maureen johnson - gets points for the ending, but really? that's what you came up with maureen? i expected more.
story #4 by cassandra clare - of course there's sibling love. really did not like this one at all - the set up, the ending, the premise, blech. though do like the fact that the main character didn't sacrifice herself in the end.
story #5 by libba bray - kind of hard to get into - i think it would have been better in second person, if that makes any sense. the narrator talks directly to the reader through the concept of filming a youtube video, but it's hard. however, liked the sense of unease, superstitions, etc.
the claudia gray story is worth reading, and bray's story is quality, but i found the whole thing to be a slight waste of time, which was very disappointing. i think i just need to stay away from collections, as short stories aren't my favorite thing to begin with. (less)
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