Jennifer Morrill
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My brand new shiny copy arrived today in the mail!!! I won a copy off of the publisher's facebook page. So EXCITED! ]]>
I really enjoyed this book! I would highly recommend this book, which is something I usually refrain from doing. I will say I liked a book, but this one I thought was fantastic and I think everyone should give it a shot! I thought it was a refreshing change from what I have been reading.
It starts out with a young Danish girl of 15 named Maren finding out the is pregnant. She swears to her sister that she has never had a lover and it will be a virgin birth.
We are then skipped forward to the year 2003 where we learn more about Maren’s daughter, Aslaug. Aslaug’s upbringing is more than unusual and she is very unaware of the world around her despite her broad knowledge of ancient languages and books. She is very bright, but clueless due to being brought up in complete isolation.
We then skip forward to the year 2007 in the next chaper and find out that Aslaug is on trial for murder.
The book continues this way, one chapter explaining something about the past, on about the trial until finally the two merge together.
I was really drawn in by the characters and Aslaug’s innocence to the modern world. I loved the way we slowly find out about her, and her not-so-normal family. I think Aslaug’s own confusion about her past and desire to know more pulls you in. You want to know more too.
Again, I thought this was amazing!
~Jenn ]]>
In the beginning, this book seemed like it could have taken a tone that I wasn’t going to enjoy. I recently read The House of Night books one and two and it was very…young. I was afraid this book was going to go there as well. Don’t get me wrong, I like young sometimes. But I wasn’t sure I could take three series about young female vampires going to vampire school. In addition to Vampire Academy, I recently read Vamps by Nancy A. Collins and the above mentioned House of Night books. All about young vampire girls going to high school.
The main character, Rose, is what made Vampire Academy stand apart from the other two. Rose is a rebel, but she is a likeable character. Rose is a dhampir, and in her world, that means she is born to protect the Moroi, the vampire royalty. It is because of this upbringing that she is strong-willed and a bit obstinate.
The other winning thing this novel has, is the creative imagination of the author. The vampire world and society she created is not your normal living dead, blood-sucking story. Or, in many recent books, the ‘good’ vampire that doesn’t feed on humans. There is blood-sucking, and everyone is okay with it. Heck, they are vampires right?! In Richelle Mead’s creation, there are three main types of vampires. The Moroi, who are the vampire royalty, descend from eastern european families. The dhampirs, the sometimes illegitimate children of a Moroi parent and a dhampir parent. The dhampirs are stronger and faster than the Moroi, and as such, they serve as their guardians, keeping them safe from the Strogoi. The Strogoi are the true undead. They are the baddies of the story. They are made, not born.
I nearly put this book down due to a spelling error on pg 142. Ugh. “They lit up his face. Gorgeous no longer describrd him.” ugh…simple spell-check could have caught that! I don’t mind slight grammatical errors. Heck, I make them constantly. Spelling errors just really bother me in books I have paid for. It’s obviously a typo, not an intentional mistake, but it still really bothers me. That is what editors and proof-readers are for. I may have had a mini temper-tantrum regarding the confusion of ‘r’ and ‘e’. Maybe.
I am glad I kept going after the near unforgivable offense. The book turned out to be really good. The book didn’t turn out anything like I thought it would, and thats a good thing. Predictable is NOT good.
One thing that I think readers should be aware of is some of the language and suggestive scenes. It doesn’t bother me, but I feel it might offend some people, especially since it is a YA book.
Overall, a very enjoyable read. I will be picking up the next book in the series, Frostbite as soon as I can. I am very excited to read the next in the series.
Please note, this book very nearly got a 3 from me due to the spelling error. I sat and thought about it and I just couldn’t let that effect what I thought of everything else. Not that a 3 is bad from me. I finally settled on the 4 stars you see above.
~Jenn
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I don’t really know why I was so reluctant to read this book. I’ve seen the movie, but I liked the movie. It was apparent within the first few chapters though, that the novel was going to be SO much better than the movie version. As is the case with most book to movie conversions. I wasn’t prepared to like this book as much as I did! This seems to be one of those books you either love or hate. I usually try not to read reviews of books while I am writing them, however, this was one I wanted to get a good feel for what others thought before I reviewed it. I wanted to make sure I covered points other reviewers brought up. While some reviewers have very good points on both the love and hate sides, many of the negative reviews are from people who haven’t even read the book, who just object to the slant taken on the religious aspects of the book. That frustrates me.
This book was full of action and adventure, secret societies, murder, mystery, and codes and clues. It was one of those books that kept me on my toes thinking about what people said and did. The whole thing, in my opinion was very well thought out and meshed well together. Some of the plot twists and turns, I never saw coming. Even though I’ve seen the movie!!
The takes on religions and secret societies didn’t bug me. I was raised Catholic, but I would consider myself an average Christian now. Keeping in mind that this is work of fiction is imperative. It isn’t real people! And for you conspiracy theorists, if you want to belive it is…more power to you. If it makes you happy, just do that. I can see why it would offend some people, but that is the same reason it is a bestseller. Interesting and controversial subjects sell books!
One point that a few reviewers brought up was Brown’s writing style. They criticized the way he tells you instead of showing you. For example, we know the main character, Robert Langdon, is a brilliant Harvard symbologist. Why? Because Dan Brown says he is brilliant instead of showing with descriptions. I can see how this could bother some people. In my opinion, it was a minimal problem and one that was easily overshadowed by the greater scheme of the novel. Was it the most brilliant novel I have ever read? No, not by a longshot. Did I still enjoy it? Yes.
Overall, really enjoyed this book. I hardly ever read mystery/thriller books and this was a nice intro. I’m glad I borrowed this from a friend!
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Jennifer Morrill
read and liked
mary's
review of The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2):
"it's an action movie! it's a book! it's an action movie!
it surprises me that the movie version was so dull, having such a simple adapted screenplay to write. this book reads like a blockbuster looks. and i will admit that i totally loved ...more "
"it's an action movie! it's a book! it's an action movie!
it surprises me that the movie version was so dull, having such a simple adapted screenplay to write. this book reads like a blockbuster looks. and i will admit that i totally loved ...more "
bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: to-read
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