Monday 23 July 2012

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan- Review

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

  Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. (blurb taken from Goodreads)

****

I don't really know if people count the Percy Jackson books as YA, but I do, so here you go: 

I'm slightly ashamed to say that I watched the movie before I read the book. But I'm even more ashamed that I watched the movie only to experience the hotness that is Logan Lerman.
 



 But, come on! Someone tell me that this , is not hot:
 


Really. What did I tell you? (I do imagine that you probably won't read the rest of the review anf just stare at this gif instead, but that's no reason not to like my review! :D) But, I really have to thank Logan. I really do. Because without his unfreakingbelieveable hotness, I wouldn't have watched the movie, and I would've never read the awesomeness of The Lightning Thief. Yes, I loved the book. I've always taken an interest in Greek Mythology and I thought Rick Riordan's take on it was very unique, and unlike anything I've read before. I absolutely loved Camp- Halfblood. Well, it sure seemed better than the budget summer camps I've been to. RR seriously out did himself with writing the camp. I could imagine everything vividly and I like to think that I know the camp from back to front. The cabins would have to be my favourite feature of the camp, though. If only they were like that in the camps I've been to.
 
 

 Percy. What can I say? The guy has amazing underwater powers, is kick- ass and is a demigod. He's super loyal to his friends and family, is brave and has the looks (this is the part when you look at the gif of Logan Lerman again ;D). And he can make me laugh. Come on. You have to give a guy who make you laugh some credit. In short, the guy's the full package. Another thing I loved were the other characters. Especially Annabeth, who looks like Cinderella in Percy's words (am I right? I don't have the book on me, sorry. Stupid library fines). And I'm expecting something to develop between her and Percy, if you know what I mean...

 

So, yeah. I loved the book, it was exciting, fast- paced and humorous. Just one thing though, I'm kind of pissed that they didn't have cabins in the movie. Or Clarisse. Or the Oracle. Though it's hardly RR's fault. I just had to get it out there.

Sunday 15 July 2012

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson- Review

The Sky Is Everywhere

Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transfer from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding. This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.


Rating: 5 out of 5


I love this novel! My FAVOURITE non-series book! So interesting and romantic.I couldn't put it down.

This book is truly loveable.

The tension between Lennie and Toby and Lennie and Joe make this book heart-throbbing.

Lennie. At first I was actually annoyed with Lennie, and how she couldn't help herself with Toby. Like he was your sister's boyfriend, what are you thinking?

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But then I thought what would this book be without their little problem. With Lennie not being able to control herself and Toby... Which brings me to my next keypoint.

Toby. When Toby practically jumped straight to Lennie after his girlfriends death I was like what the fuck is wrong with you?

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But then I started to understand him more and what he was dealing with. He adored how close Bailey and Lennie were and when Bailey died Lennie was the only one left...(I don't want to spoil it anymore for people who haven't read this book yet.)

Joe. "Joe is any parents and girls dream." 

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He is the one who makes you feel like you don't need to be anything more than you already are.

He is one of those people who always knows how to cheer you up, the one that knows your every feeling and the one who always has a smile. He is charming and i found it so sad when he found out the girl he was falling for was in between falling for him and her sisters boyfriend...

The word building and how there are random but pleasing and meaningful poems added at the start of chapters are very interesting and I give props to Jandy Nelson.

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This book is full of obsticles and you just have to be there at the finish line waiting for the results.

Thursday 5 July 2012

Pledged Book Tour and Launch!

Great news guys! We've been included to participate in a book tour and launch on Pledged by Gwyneth White!

Here's the cover (which looks ah-mazing):



And the synopsis:


Everyone has a soul mate. But what do you do when your soul mate would rather give his soul to the demons than be with you?

Seventeen-year-old Erin has a problem. Seth has been hers forever, but now an ancient promise is tearing him away. And Reuel, the demon to whom the promise was made, will stop at nothing to force Seth to forsake Erin and to worship him.

How can Erin win against a pledge so binding that it has damned countless others to the same fate she and Seth will face if Reuel wins – an eternity alone?

The answer lies in the past. To find it, Erin and Seth must risk all, travelling back in time to a dangerous world where love is forbidden, and life – and death – hang on a promise.

Follow Erin and Seth as they travel to ancient Shenaya to break the pledge that has plagued their families for millennia. Caught in a war between the Angelic Guardians and the Gefallen, the disembodied dead, they must fight to keep their souls in tact and their love untainted.

And a little bit about the author:

I have spent my entire life living in a parallel universe of make-believe characters, only coming back to reality for long enough to check that no one burnt the house down in my absence. A few years ago I decided to commit some of those ‘friends’ and their stories to paper. The Soul Wars Saga is the result of those efforts. Before that I co-authored two non-fiction travel books – The Complete Guide to 4x4 Trails and The Ultimate 4x4 Guide. Both books became instant best-sellers in South Africa where I live. And before that even, I studied a degree in African History and Politics at the University of Stellenbosch. When I’m not writing, I am a wife to Andrew and a mom to Stephanie, Erin, and Kate, our teenage daughters. My family and I live in a small town outside Cape Town with two dogs, a cat, a horse, and some neglected fish. Now that you know a little about me, I would love to get to know you. Please befriend me at:
Twitter: @GwynnethWhite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gwynneth-White/172095512890074
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7360328-gwynneth-white

***

We don't know about you but we're excited! Over the following months we'll be posting more about the release on this book including excerpts, trailers, interviews and the review before we host a giveaway for Pledged (and we know how much you love giveaways.

But, for the time being, we shall happy dance.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Insurgent by Veronica Roth- Review



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself-while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
(blurb from Goodreads)

****

I think this book should come with a sticker at the front saying: WARNING: this book contains intense surprises and mind- blowing suspense and may cause extreme cases of tears, laughter and severe heart-beat rates. Because for me it SO did.



Which is to say that I loved this book. Maybe more than Divergent, actually. It totally exceeded all expectations I had and ended that reputation of the second book in trilogies being the worst.

One of the things I would like to applaud Veronica Roth for was how she wrote Tris and Tobias's relationship. After that absolutely gorgeous way the two of them got together, I was worried about how Roth would continue their relationship. The obvious easy thing to do would just pop pointless make-out sessions in there that would suggest that they were still going strong, but, like in the first book, I was glad that their relationship remained real. In this book, the Tris and Tobias's trust and loyalty of each other are tested. Secrets are kept, lies are told, and yet, the two still somehow keeps it together with their faith and belief of one another. I love the way Tobias believes so much of Tris that it pains me that he is only a fictional character. It really does.



Roth's characters remain as one of my favourites. They were fantastic, and full of personality and definitely believable. The only thing I disliked about the characters was the fact that, yes, Roth introduced many great characters, but she killed them off in half a second when I would've liked to get to know them more. You know when you are successful at character writing when your readers mourn your characters deaths.



I know that in the first book, most of us had problems of believing the world that Roth created; how would a world with only five virtues work? Well, most of the questions were answered for me in this book. Obviously not all of them. If that were the case there would be no need for a third book. :) In Insurgent we get to visit all of the factions (which was great; I was always curious about how the Amity headquarters looked like) and more and more was revealed about how, exactly, Tris's world became the way it is. Which means that there was a whole lot of action, suspense and drama, and I know how much you all love this sort of stuff. :)

So. The things I liked: Tris and Tobias's romance, the other characters (and their relationships with each other *shh, Uriah and Marlene*), more information about this world, the action, the drama, the suspense and the surprises. The things I didn't like: the sudden deaths of my (beloved) characters and the fact that I did not buy this book.

But the latter can be easily fixed. Off to the bookshop I go...