false 7 82 50 true 5861406 read 1 true 5596587 currently-reading 31 true 5596586 to-read <![CDATA[New GiveawayRequest update]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'Run for Your Life']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78555432 Run for Your Life (Michael Bennett) by James Patterson
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'The Duty of Love']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77957360 to: The Duty of Love (Paperback) by Ronald Neal Green
I got this book from the Kelley and Hall book company for review. I was told this book was Stephen King meets J.R.R Tolkein and it was magical. I haven’t read either of these authors, but the book was magical.

There are two stories in this book. One is of Charles and his sister Tanya. Tanya is sick and one of the things to make her feel better is story telling. Every night her father tells them the story of Prince Cha Cha and Princess Ta Ta. This is the second story.

The Prince and Princess are in a bit of a bind. Evil has twisted its way into their kingdom in the form of a traitor. After the Princess is left in the woods, she has to find her way to the greatest wizard in the land. She doesn’t quite find him, but does find herself in an adventure. All the while, the Prince has changed. He’s not bratty and demanding as he used to be, but no one is really sure why. The two have to come together somehow and put their kingdom back in order.

Between story times, Charles and Tanya learn a lot about each other and Tanya’s sickness. Their relationship grows as Charles takes it upon himself to save his sister.

I do like wizard stories, so I was very optimistic when starting this. I thought it was written very well and I really liked how it went back and forth between the two stories. It wasn’t confusing at all, like some stories are when they go between fantasy and reality. You always knew where you were.

I also liked the characters in this story too. There were some that I didn’t like when the story started, but grew to love once I really got to know them. And vice versa of course.

There were many twists in this story that I didn’t expect. Some of them I guessed, but most caught me by surprise.

I didn’t have many complaints about this story, other than the bed time story part may have been a little adult for the kids. The story itself was kid friendly, but there were parts when I had to read and re-read and consult my dictionary. I guess this may actually be genius because it’s on a kid level and adult level at the same time. Kind of like Finding Nemo. If you’re a kid, you love it because it’s fun. If you’re an adult, you get the humor, it’s a win-win.

This is a little darker than I normally read, but I enjoyed it. I give the book 4 bookmarks and will look forward to Ronald Neal Green books in the future.
]]> <![CDATA[Kari is on page 165 of The Duty of Love ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77957360 Kari is on page 165 of 280 of The Duty of Love ]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'Dirty Little Angels']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77726783 to: Dirty Little Angels (Paperback) by Chris Tusa
This book is completely different from most I read. I normally read about the filthy rich and all the drama that money can buy. But this takes you to the other end.

Dirty Little Angels is set in the slums of New Orleans. It is told by Hailey, a teenager living in a very dysfunctional family. Her father has been out of a job for 6 months and spends all of his time at the pool hall. Her mother used to be a nurse, but after her miscarriage, she can’t get back into the swing of things. Her brother, Cyrus, is 19 and kind of a trouble maker. He steals, he beats … maybe kind of isn’t the right word. The book follows Hailey as she tries to find out if she really believes in God. To help her with the God part is Moses, a career criminal who takes playing God into his own hands.

I got this book in PDF form from the author, Chris Tusa. Since I sit at a computer for 8 hours a day at work, I printed it out and put it in a binder. I really felt like I was reading some homework for school. It kind of made it fun, took me back a couple of years.

I enjoyed this book. I liked that it was told from Hailey’s perspective. This is the second book in a row I’ve read that was told from the kid’s point of view. I feel like I get to learn so much more about the characters when you learn about it from a kid/teen. This book was VERY descriptive. Every person you met and every scene you were in, you knew everything about. I really liked this, because I always try to put myself in the scene and this book made it easy.

The guys in this book kind of reminded me of the Boondock Saints, trying to make those who sinned pay.

The book was a pretty quick read. It is only 170 pages (in PDF). I started it Friday night before bed and finished it Sunday night before bed. I don’t think it should’ve been any longer. I liked that it got to the point, and there weren’t wasted chapters. I have read a lot of books in the past year that were 300+ pages and I would have cut it down to 150.

I liked seeing how drama is dealt with in a life that I don’t know about. This family takes problems in their own hands, and doesn’t really worry about the consequences.

I am going to give Tusa’s debut book 4 bookmarks. Although it was heavier than I am used to, I thought it was written well and kept me interested.
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'Truly, Madly: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77838482 Truly, Madly: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback) by Heather Webber
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'Duma Key: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77838125 Duma Key: A Novel (Hardcover) by Stephen King
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'The Dark Matter Directive']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77162101 to: The Dark Matter Directive (Hardcover) by D. Charles Wilson
I must say I am a bit partial to this book because it was the first one I received for review. But, I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading it.

All I knew about this book before I dove in was the it was kind of like Goosebumps on steroids and it dealt with a little bit of demons.

Here’s a summary in my words: Strange things start happening in Brockton Falls. And it’s all very unexplainable. It’s things that make you cringe a little while you’re reading. Examples: bugs, snakes, demons … Oh my! Then it all becomes very clear (if you understand science and demons). Eric and Kevin, the two main characters, aren’t your average teenage boys. There’s a darnkness about them that could mean the difference between life and death. Once they finally figure out why such strange things are happening, they take a trip to save themselves and their family, and they don’t have long to do it.

There are many things I like about this book. I really liked the layout. There is a countdown of 8 days. You’ll find out eventually what that countdown means, when it started and what happens when the time runs out, but not from me

I thought this book was a great read. It kept me flipping the pages, and itching while thinking about all of the grossness! There are many twists and turns and quite a bit of action.

I like that this book makes you think. Personally, I like for books to come easy for me. By the time I pick up my book, my brain is close to fried and I like to relax with something fun. I had to re-read some parts of this book and think about it. For the age group it’s aimed at (12 and older), I am glad it’s not simple. I am glad there is more to it than crushes and clothes and school. No, it’s not going to happen to you tomorrow, but you will get a little entertainment out of it, as well as a science lesson.

Now to the science! While I am glad it was educational, the science part of the book really wasn’t my cup of tea. I was never great at science and when Dark Matter was being explained, I was lost. Luckily, that just comes and goes, but when it was there, I had a hard time not zoning out.

But really, that’s my only complaint. I thought it was well written, had enough drama and suspense to keep me turning the pages and I would definitely suggest it if you like science fiction with a bit of horror mixed in. I give The Dark Matter Directive 4 bookmarks.
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'The Luxe']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70561354 to: The Luxe (Luxe, #1) by Anna Godbersen
I am not going to lie, the first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. It’s beautiful! And I have a tendency to love books about the filthy rich. It’s a life I’ll never know, but at least in these books, I can get a feel for it.

This book is about a group of teenage girls in 1899. They live fabulously in New York. The main character is Elizabeth Holland. She’s perfect, in every way… well almost. There’s a bit of a secret, which ends up being the death of her. The other key players in this book are her sister Diana, her best frenemy Penelope, two of her family’s help, Lina and Will and the ever popular bachelor, Henry.

I wasn’t sure how much I would like this book because although I knew it was about wealthy, spoiled young ladies, I didn’t know about the writing. I was worried it was going to be written like it was in 1899 and I would be confused about the language. Yes, I know English was the language spoken, but a lot has changed since then. I was pleasantly surprised that the story is set in 1899, but it’s written as we would tell it today. And I loved that!

This book is very much like Gossip Girl of the late 19th century. There are love triangles, filthy rich and all kinds of drama.

I did figure out the end, actually pretty early on, but the book still kept me turning pages, because there was a little twist in the plot every few pages.

One thing I really loved about the book was that at the beginning of each chapter, there was a little blurb. It was either a blurb from the society pages, a “What is expected of young ladies” column, or a letter. Each one gave you a little hint of what to expect in the upcoming chapter. I thought this was really cute. I love that the US Weekly’s of today were the Society Page blurbs of 1899.m

I am very excited that this is a series. I have a few books lined up and probably won’t get to the rest until after Christmas, but they are on the top of my Christmas list and I can’t wait to see how the others pan out. Hopefully, they’ll continue to please.

I give The Luxe, 5 bookmarks!
]]> <![CDATA[Kari added 'Interview With the Vampire']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75724660 to: Interview With the Vampire (Mass Market Paperback) by Anne Rice
This book had a lot riding on it before I even started. It was recommended by a co-worker, it finished off my A-Z challenge and it was my Halloween read. At times, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but now that I’m done, I was pretty impressed.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for centuries, this book tells the story of Louis the Vampire. He sits down in an interview with a young man and tells him everything from the day he became a vampire to the people who played roles in his life to what he’s doing today.

As mentioned earlier, my feelings for this book came and went. I loved how the book started, hated Lestat, loved Claudia, hated the French, loved Armand. I really liked all of the action though. I was very surprised at how many times I caught myself leaving a few minutes late for work because I wanted to see what was going to happen.

One of the biggest things that I thought about during the book was the life of the vampire. I’ve read a lot of other books about vampires, and most of them are similar, but sometimes there are discrepancies about how a vampire could die. In this book, it was the same as Twilight, but in Twilight, they could go in the light. That’s the only one I’ve read though that you can go in the light. I also am still trying to get used to the “feeding” as is also mentioned in the Sookie Stackhouse books. I just keep getting confused. Every book there are differences.

I enjoyed the writing in this book. I liked how when you were with Louis, you felt the masculinity, but when Claudia was in the picture, you felt like a little princess in silks and dresses and all those girly things. When Armand came into the picture though, there were some words that I didn’t know what they meant. Maybe I was just intimidated because I knew he was 400 years old and obviously smart.

If I read this book again, I will wait a few years. I did like a lot of things about it, but it’s not one I can give 5 bookmarks too. Because I love Claudia, it gets 4 bookmarks.

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