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.

The Dark Artifices

Synopsis (Book One): Los Angeles, 2012. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to the eradication of demons and being the best, fastest and deadliest Shadowhunter since Jace Lightwood. Raised in the Los Angeles Institute, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian. As Emma hunts those who caused the death of her parents, the trail they’re following leads back to those they’ve always been taught to trust. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with Julian — her closest friend and, because he is her parabatai, the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

GUESS WHAT?

If you haven't heard already, Cassandra Clare is writing a new series that will be published after The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. The expected release date for book one is in 2015.

My reaction to Cassandra Clare's new series...

Oh yes, I was a pretty happy girl. 

New Excerpt From City Of Lost Souls

Here is a new excerpt from City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare



They stared at her, astounded. "Are you out of your mind? How the hell are we supposed to kill Simon? No dice," Clary retorted furiously. "You know what happened to Lilith. We have no chance, and I'd never murder my best friend."
The Queen regarded her coolly, amusement glittering in the depths of her leaf-green eyes as she watched them trapped by her deal, their butterfly wings flapping feebly while she mercilessly drove a stick into their bodies. "Is that your final answer, then? Once you decline my offer, it will never come again."
Isabelle opened her mouth, defiance against the Seelie Queen evident in the set of her jaw. But Jace beat her to it. "No. We need some time to confer before making a decision."
The two female Shadowhunters stared at him in rage and disbelief. "You're joking," Clary intoned bleakly. "You'd kill a living person to trace a glamour that would only lead us on a wild goose chase? You'd do this for a dead person?"
Softly, Isabelle spoke with absolute conviction, "Jace… I know Simon doesn't mean nearly as much to you as Alec did, but I doubt Alec would want you to kill some innocent person for him."
With the light extinguished in his eyes, Isabelle thought Jace had come to his senses, and would draw the line at homicide, but she was disappointed. "He's not a person."
The words seemed to bury themselves into Isabelle's chest, before groping for her heart and tearing it out, dropping it on the floor and grinding it beneath a heel of a boot. Distantly, she remembered the words she had said to Simon once: My mom didn't tell me who she was. She just told me you couldn't really trust men.

---

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand- Review

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Clara Gardner is an angel-blood with a purpose. She must find out what her purpose is and filful it.
On her way to finding out what her purpose means, she faces decisions and incidents with Tucker and Christian.
Whilst Clara is trying to figure out all her new problems and challenges, she also learns that she will lose someone. Someone she loves.

Captivating. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand leaves you wanting more. Exciting and deeply romantic, I'm so joyful to have finished the book but also sad knowing it will be a LONG wait for the next... ;(




Clara has a purpose, a purpose that at one point she thinks she knows and the next finds out the detial is something completly different. Cynthia Hand writes in a very good structure, always making you want to find out more.





The quizzical love connections between Clara, Christian and Tucker result to finishing a beautiful novel.

I was all "She has to be with Tucker, he's so sweet and caring" after i finished Unearthly. But now after finishing Hallowed and learning alot more about Christian, my balance between the two are leaning over to Christian more. Don't get me wrong, I still love Tucker, I'm just saying that Christian really showed what he's worth and how caring he is thrughout the book, whereas Tucker seemed more defensive and not as much there.

To conclude this though, this book is not just about Clara and her infinate Christian and Tucker problems. Hallowed also puts Clara in more complicated decisions resulting from her purpose, which she still is learning about every second. Clara also learns she will loss someone she loves, someone she may have took for granted.

I loved this book, definately one of my favourites. It's just a book you have to read, after Unearthly ofcourse. :D

Clockwork Princess Spoiler

For those of you who have just finished Clockwork Prince and whom I bet are just bawling your eye out (which what I am, at the moment), I hope a Clockwork Princess teaser makes you feel better (or not. I know how some of you feel about teasers...). So here you are. Enjoy!


****

Jem drew the bow back and let the arrow fly; it struck the creature in the side. The massive demon worm writhed in agony, undulating as it swept its great, blind head from side to side, uprooting shrubbery with its thrashings. Leaves filled the air and the boys choked on dust, Gideon backing up with his seraph blade in his hand, trying to see by its light.

“It’s coming toward us,” he said in a low voice.

And indeed it was, the arrow still protruding from its wet, grayish skin, humping its body along with incredible speed. A flick of its tail caught the edge of a statue, sending it flying into the dry ornamental pool, where it shattered into dust.

“By the Angel, it just crushed Sophocles,” noted Will. “Has no one respect for the classics these days?”

The Scorpio Races- Review

On the island of Thisby, the Scorpio Races occur on the beginning of every November where riders struggle to keep their waterhorses, or rather, capaill uisce, to the finish line.

Puck Connolly's parents have died from a capaill uisce attack. Now, her and her brothers live alone. Money is scarce, and with the eldest off to the mainland, they are in desperate need of money more than ever. She enters the race in attempt to win cash- and to keep her family together.

Sean Kendrick has won the races four times, and is predicted to win the next. Through the races, a romance blossoms between Puck and Sean, and he seems willing enough to help her win the money. The only thing is, Sean needs to win the races in order to save the thing he loves most in the world.


__________________________________


When I first heard that Maggie Stiefvater was going to write another book, I was like, "Yesh!!! Another book!!!". Then when I heard that the book was to contain water horses, I was basically like:



And then , I heard that The Scorpio Races had a romance in it, and I was like:



I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK!!!!

So after I issued this book out of the library, merrily skipped all the way home and channeled all quietness out of the room (which meant a whole lot of bribing to my sister) to experience the predicted awesomeness of The Scorpio Races , I sat down on the comfy Lazy-Boy and finally began to read.

As I read, I waited, and expected, and waited some more. But... nothing.

After a number of pages (and, some flicking to the back pages- one of my annoying traits, blossomed by my impatience), I realised that the whole book was just a build- up to the end, the actual Scorpio Races. And then I got annoyed. And sad. And disappointed.



And bored.

But this is the part where I want to applaud Maggie Stiefvater. Because without the way she has written Thisby and all the people that came with it, and, not to mention, the capaill uisce I wouldn’t have read on, and I wouldn’t have read the amazingness that is The Scorpio Races.

The way Stiefvater writes her characters, with so much soul and so much personality, it makes her characters seem so real. Every character, whether major or minor, seem like she's invested so much time in creating them, that they're effortlessly believable.

I have to say I liked Puck the best though. I liked her from the moment I read the part where she told Brian Carroll that she'd spit on his grave if he died. Enough said.

And Sean Kendrick.



Ah. His devotion to the horses and his love for Corr.... Lordy. Who does not want a guy like that?

The entertaining cast of characters would make every single reader welcome to Thisby, despite the warning of killer water horses. I could actually go on about the characters for forever, but I won't and instead I shall move on to the world building.

Sweet and short, the world building was perfect. Thisby is... comfy to me, and living there would make me very certain about what I'd do every single day. I'd go to mass in St Columba's with Father Mooneyham then go have lunch at Palsson's then look around at Fathom and Sons. Which is to say, while reading The Scorpio Races , I felt like I lived there.

In conclusion- ooh. I sound like I'm writing an essay for English-, the charming characters and the spot on world building over-powered the- what would otherwise be a boring- build up to the Scorpio Races. So, according to the Goodreads rating system, I "really liked it".

I'd also like to say that I am quite upset that there is no sequel to this book. Would very much like to know what happens to Puck and Sean and Finn and George Holly. Please, Maggie! I want a sequel!!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor- Review

Karou lives two lives. She is a normal art student in Prague who is known from her detailed sketches of  chimaera. Most people think these drawing come just from her imagination, but little do they know that they are the ones who have raised her as a child, the closest thing she has to a family. Because Karou also lives her life as an errand girl in 'Elswhere'  for a chimaera that collects teeth, known as Brimstone.

Then black handprints appear on the doors of many everywhere in the world and Karou is suddenly cut off from 'Elswhere'. As Karou tries to return to her only family, she also finds many answers she'd asked from her past.
_______________________________________


Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

That was some pretty intense stuff I just read.

This was basically what was going on in my head while I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone :

The excitement


Then...

The confusion


Then...

The frustration


And Then...

There were tears


Over and over again, especially towards the end. Oh, the bitter and tragic end!!! Brimstone!!! Are you dead? Is Issa dead?? Yasri? Twiga? Are they really dead or just stuck in 'Elsewhere'? The confusion! The frustration! The tears!

And the cycle goes on again....

Breath, Ela. Calm down. You need to write something productive.

Okay. Let's try this again.

...

Now that my brain has recovered from its brief moment of delirium, I want to warn people that this book contains Instalove.

What?!? you say. Is it... deadly?

Well, no, actually, it wasn't deadly. In fact, I didn't bother me at all.

Whaaat?!?!

Okay, I lied. Yes, fine, it did bother me, but only in the beginning. Naturally, when Akiva and Karou first laid eyes on each other and confessed their unexplanatory love, it practically stabbed me in the heart, with me being an Instalove hater and all. I mean, up until that point, I thought the book had a fantabulous story. I would've stopped reading, I think, because it just got so unrealistic and rushed. But I wanted to know what had happened to  Brimstone (and Zuzanna helped too; she remained as funny as ever during these parts).

I just realise now that I've been blackmailed. I kept reading because of Brimstone, and I never actually find out what happened to him, just a "They're dead" from Akiva. I don't believe the guy though. I want to hope for the best.

Sneaky Laini Taylor....

Anyways, the Instalove matter was resolved in the end and there was actually a fairly legit reason why it had to take place (unlike the other Instalove cases out there where their reasons are just rubbish).

Which brings me to my next point:

When things get too boring, or too rushed or too.... Instalovey, do not stop. Keep reading and you shall be rewarded.

Yes, this is true. You have no idea how confused I was during the middle of the book, especially during the change from Karou to Madrigal. I was actually pondering the three star rating I was going to give this book, not once, but several times. But I read on, again in pursuit of the knowledge for Brimstone. When I finally got to the end, the story felt whole. I wasn't left with any questions (except for the Brimstone one I keep asking :D) and the story felt concluded.

So that is a lesson my dear readers, read on. Let the patience wash over you....

Moving on....

I loved all the characters. They were all unique and original and all relevant to the story. Karou was kick- ass. I loved that chick. I also liked Zuzanna especially. In the times when I got bored, or when things got to intense, Zuze always lightened up the mood with her humor and made me want to read on. I also loved the chimaera family. I love the way Brimstone loves and protects Karou. I found him annoying in the beginning, and it was only until the end, when I found out his deal with Madrigal and Karou that I understood him.

The world building was magnificent. In a space of only 400 or so pages, Taylor fit in not one, but two worlds, both Prague and Eretz (and 'Elsewhere' if you'd want to include that :D). And both of them were described very vividly and detailed, that I am very much impressed.

In the conclusion, I advise you fellow impatient readers to keep reading on although it my get confusing at times. You will not regret it. Promise :)

NEW TEASER- City Of Lost Souls

Here is a new intense teaser for Cassandra Clare's next book in The Mortal Instruments series. City Of Lost Souls.


“Kill me, little sister. Kill me and you kill Jace, too.”

Bonus Scene from Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel

This scene takes place before the events of Clockwork Angel. Enjoy!

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/SIMON/ClockworkPrinceAmazonexcluisive.pdf

November Teaser for City of Lost Souls

Teaser for City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. Enjoy!


***
“Why did you?” Clary asked.
“Why did I what?”
“Help me back there.”
“You’re my sister.”
She swallowed. In the morning light, Sebastian’s face had some color in it. There were faint burns along his neck where demon ichor had splashed him. “You never cared that I was your sister before.”
“Didn’t I?” His black eyes flicked up and down her. “Our father’s dead,” he said. “There are no other relatives. You and I, we are the last. The last of the Morgensterns. You are the only one left whose blood runs in my veins, too. You are my last chance.”

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand- Review

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Okay, so I'm upset that I've finished Unearthly. Really, about 3/4's into the book, somewhere when Clara was out fishing with Tucker, I was filled with some ridiculous glee that I didn't want to finish the book. I did of course. And loved it.

After being stuck in the limbo of No-Good-Book-To-Read syndrome for nearly a month, reading Unearthly was like being in the sight of glory (see the pun there?). Unearthly had everything a good book should have, an original plot, a loveable cast of friends and family, a believeable main character and swoon- worthy love interests (I have to say, though, Tucker was my absolute favourite).

Cynthia Hand's writing flowed naturally and described vividly without being over the top. It was easy to get into and after the first five hours of continuous reading (with me under the covers of my duvet, flashlight on, 1:00am) I was surprised to find myself already halfway through the book.

The romance. *sighs* It was perfect. It wasn't in that cliche love triangle way where the boys go, "No, you can't have her! She's mine!" and result in some sort of fight. Both boys, Christian and Tucker, were accepting and mature in the end; Christian, with his acceptance of Clara's love for Tucker and Tucker, with his acceptance of Clara's purpose with Christian (I don't know for sure though, for either of them; we'll have to see in the future books). I loved how both romances grew in their own time, neither of them rushed or hurried.
In the end, Tucker won me over with the romantic tension between him and Clara, and not to mention that it's FORBIDDEN! Ah, don't you just enjoy a good forbidden romance...

Unearthly was filled with tension, romance, mystery and had me craving for the sequel.

Oh, it's going to be a long wait cause I miss Tucker already...