Molly read and liked Sparker Parker's review of Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) (partial draft):

"OH. MY. DEAR. SWEET. . .I don't even know, honestly. After reading Twilight I could kinda see how Edward the sparklepire could be appealing to teenage girls in his prissy diamond way, but after I read this? This pretty much reads as the Future Abusiv...more OH. MY. DEAR. SWEET. . .I don't even know, honestly. After reading Twilight I could kinda see how Edward the sparklepire could be appealing to teenage girls in his prissy diamond way, but after I read this? This pretty much reads as the Future Abusive Boyfriends of America Handbook.

Oil her window so you can sneak into her room at night without her permission! Force her to spend time with only you, isolating her from friends and family! YOU ARE NOT DONE WITH HER YET!!!

I was so creeped out. I may have had to boil myself before being able to continue on in life and not feel dirty. (less) "

Molly read and liked Amber's review of Hunted (House of Night, #5):

"Good Grief, how many boyfriends does one girl need? It's starting to get a little ludicrous. "

Molly read and liked BizarreLibrary's review of Untamed (House of Night, #4):

"Zoey Redbird just got dropped like a hot potato by her friends in the fourth installment of The House of Night. They feel betrayed and lied to and are not that fond of Zoey. She had guys coming out of the wood work to be with her. That’s not the...more Zoey Redbird just got dropped like a hot potato by her friends in the fourth installment of The House of Night. They feel betrayed and lied to and are not that fond of Zoey. She had guys coming out of the wood work to be with her. That’s not the case anymore. Zoey is feeling very lonely and her only two friends are nasty Aphrodite and “suppose to be dead” Stevie Rae. As she is dealing with this, the beloved high priestess of the school, Neferet, is trying to start a war with the humans. Zoey knows this is wrong, but doesn’t know who to turn to or what to do about it. Zoey will need to figure out how to patch things up with her friends and gain confidence in order to beat the devious Neferet.

I would have to say that this is the worst book in the series and the characters would have to be the worst thing about it. Specially, Erin and Shaunee with their constant name calling of “Twin”. Real twins don’t call each other twin, so why would two people who were so connected need to put it in people’s faces and call each other twin? If they were so connect that the dire need of referring themselves as “Twin” would not be necessary. The word count for “Twin” is astounding. Also, why do we need to continuously be reminded that Damien is gay? When Zoey first speaks to her group of friends she looks to Damien knowing that her “gay friend” is the weakest link. Can he not simply just be Damien? If he were asian would it be her “asian friend”? Later in the book she describes Damien’s boyfriend, Jack, entering a room as a “gay tornado”. What is a “gay tornado” and how does one become one? The authors have also introduced new side characters that have no personalities, which I’m hoping will grow in the next book. I still haven’t gotten use to Jack “the gay tornado” since introduced in the last book.

Zoey has also become weaker, more stupid, and a little self-centered. It has only been two days after the big fallout. She gets tired of her friends “holier than thou crap”, and their attitude is getting on her nerves. She later tries to confront Erik, her ex-boyfriend, and again places the fault of the break-up on him.

It’s a little hard to like Zoey after all these incidents. In the beginning of this series she was such a strong character. She had been able to confront her parents, burn up creepy looking fledglings, and start a conflict with the adored high priestess, Neferet. Yet, when she comes across flappy birds she freezes up.

For some strange reason the authors had to have the dreaded cliff hanger, which is in most cases an automatic grade drop. I feel if you are a talented writer you shouldn’t need this to have readers read your next book. Readers have a hard time remembering what had happen in the last book and feel lost when the book finally comes out. This book has a major cliff hanger and it’s on a major plot line.

Now, there are some saving things about Untamed. There is a lot going on, may be too much, but enough to keep the pages flying. The Cast’s know how to write drama and, though predictable, the reader must know what happens in the end. The authors don’t paint Christianity as such an ugly religion in this book as they have in the past or shove a Wicca type religion down our throats.

Aphrodite has become my favorite character. The girl has got spunk and has become a very redeeming character. She has got more personality than the rest of The House of Night characters, including the main one, Zoey.

I hope the Cast’s get better. This series has got great potential and I’m not sure why they felt then needed to write so much in such a small book; about 380 pages in my advance copy. If only they could stick to the main plot, which is what it seems like will happen in the next novel. I hope they write the characters more likeable. I can only read “gay” and “twin” so many times on a page.

(less) "

Molly read and liked James's review of Andersonville (Plume):

"A powerful fictionalized depiction of the horrors of the Confederate POW camp at Andersonville during the Civil War. The soldiers there suffered a nightmare existence, a large percentage dying of disease, starvation, or exposure - not because of mal...more A powerful fictionalized depiction of the horrors of the Confederate POW camp at Andersonville during the Civil War. The soldiers there suffered a nightmare existence, a large percentage dying of disease, starvation, or exposure - not because of malice on the part of the Southern authorities for the most part, but simply because of incompetence and indifference. After the war the commanding officer of the camp was tried for what would now be termed crimes against humanity and hanged, but in the name of justice several people above him in the chain of command probably should also have been prosecuted, because he had made some efforts to improve things - though not enough effort - but had not gotten much support from those to whom he reported. This is a haunting story and shows yet another side of warfare that is usually neglected by Hollywood.(less) "