Category Archives: Books

Book Talk: The Giver Totally Surprised Me, But In A Good Way

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Book Talk

Book Talk is a new feature here at Reading Books With Coffee, where I talk about bookish topics that aren’t book reviews!

Today…I am talking about The Giver as a movie!  Before I get started on what I thought of the movie, I thought I’d explain a little about my thoughts on movie adaptations of books.

I’m definitely in the minority, because I’m big on movie first, book second.  I hate going in with every last detail hanging over my head, and the last thing I want to do is go into expectations of how the movie should be.  I’m pretty relaxed about changes made, because it’s something I have no control over, so why spend the movie talking about how this is different and that thing is all wrong, and why on earth would they do THAT?!?!?!  (However, that’s my preference, and everybody should go into a movie adaptation however they want).

And now, there are going to be spoilers for both book and movie (but mostly the movie), so if you don’t want spoilers, this will be where you’ll want to stop reading.

When I first heard The Giver was being made into a movie, I was surprised, curious, happy and nervous.  I loved the book as a kid, and it held up pretty well when I re-read it as an adult a couple of years ago (see my review here).

There are definitely changes- the two biggest being the characters are several years older in the movie than they are in the book, and Fiona and Asher, who are BFF’s with Jonas, have different jobs.

Let’s start with the characters being a few years older- this really worked for me, because it made the story much more believable.  Being the one person who has ALL the memories is not an easy job, and it’s one that has to take its toll.  After re-reading the book this week- after seeing the movie, of course- it’s actually hard to believe that an 11-year-old would be able to handle the things that Jonas has to deal with.  And it’s no wonder that the previous Receiver-In-Training asked to be released. I felt like everything explored in the book was explored differently (in a good way) because the characters were older.  Like Jonas and Fiona- there are hints of romance there (which I did see in the book) but feelings of romantic love were better suited with 16-year-olds.  And I felt like everything Jonas learns about his community and his reaction towards what they did, and what things used to be like were there but much more subtle than they were in the book.

It’s not as jarring as it was in the book, and a lot of that has to do with Jonas being older.  Older, movie Jonas experiences things very differently than younger, book Jonas, and I found that the story works really well no matter how old the character is.

As for Fiona and Asher having different jobs- it works, given how everything unfolds, especially in Asher’s case.  Speaking of Asher and Fiona, I liked that Fiona had a bigger in the movie than she did in the book, and that you do see how her relationship with Jonas changes over the course of the book.  She did seem open to what he had to say, and that she was willing to help him, even if it meant she would get into massive trouble. We’re talking Release to Elsewhere trouble.  Asher, on the other hand…I just didn’t love movie Asher at all. It was like he had some issues with Jonas, and I couldn’t help but wonder what his deal was.  However, Jonas does change, because he knows of things like love and war.  I wonder if Asher didn’t like the changes he saw in Jonas, and was acting differently because he felt like he was losing Jonas.

I LOVED that part of the movie is in black-and-white, and that you get random splashes of color throughout the beginning part of the movie…and that it’s black-and-white until Jonas starts receiving memories from Giver.  Going from black-and-white to color really added to what was going on, and it highlights what this society is missing out on when they erased memories.  It adds to the feeling that this society is not as perfect as it seems.

I actually loved seeing Jonas react to the different memories he received, and what he experiences really changes his relationships with people- particularly his friends and family.  I loved the scene where he showed Fiona what sledding was like, and I love that we get those moments.

His parents were colder than I remembered, and I wished that we had that one scene in the book, where it’s dinner and his sister and parents are sharing their feelings, and Jonas knows that they aren’t experiencing true emotion.  That scene in particular stands out as one that highlights how isolated Jonas is becoming as the Receiver, and how isolating of a job it is. We sort of get that throughout the movie, particularly with the Giver living so far apart from the community.  And I think Jonas’ changing relationship with Asher shows that as well.  It did seem to be very subtle, and shows up in other ways, but part of me still wishes that we had more of that.

The only other thing I didn’t like was that Rosemary wasn’t a big part of the movie.  You get the basics of her story, but our real introduction to her came at a weird time, and I felt like her story really influenced the selection of future Receivers.  It’s a shame that you don’t really see how much has changed in the last 10 years as far as what it means to be a Receiver, and why certain rules were in place.  Especially since Taylor Swift seemed like an AWESOME Rosemary.

Actually, I thought the movie was cast really well!  Jeff Bridges really stood out as the Giver, and I can’t imagine anyone else in that role- and I can honestly say that about ALL of the actors cast.  Meryl Streep was awesome, and Odeya Rush, who plays Fiona, and Brenton Thwaites, who plays Jonas were also great choices. There was something so sweet about Odeya as Fiona, and I felt like Brenton brought a sense of joy and wonder to receiving the memories.

Oh, the memories!  One of my favorite scenes of the entire movie was when you saw the memories come back to this community.  You don’t get it in the book, where I had never thought about what happened to them when they had to deal with the memories.  But I LOVE that they included it in the movie.

And one other interesting thing is this scene between Giver and the Chief Elder, where Giver is telling the Chief Elder that he knows she feel’s Rosemary’s loss.  Which I thought hinted that there was something between Giver and Chief Elder.  It didn’t go any further than that, but it was interesting because it added something to their backstory.

Overall, I thought it was a great adaptation, especially given that I only had a couple of issues with the movie.  It has everything awesome about the book, and it felt like it was made with a lot of care to the original story.  It really is The Giver brought to life, and that was the one thing I kept thinking during the movie.

I’ve only seen one review of the movie, which I like (and agree with very much).

And, of course, the two official trailers, below.  Enjoy!

Trailer #1 (All in color):

Trailer #2 (With the black-and-white scenes):

Audio Book Review: Beholding Bee

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Beholding Bee CoverBook: Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco, narrated by Ariadne Meyers

Published February 2013 by Listening Library|Run Time: 8 hours, 5 minutes

Where I Got It: Audible.com

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

You can find Beholding Bee on goodreads & Kimberly Newton Fusco on Twitter & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Bee is an orphan who lives with a carnival and sleeps in the back of a tractor trailer. Every day she endures taunts for the birthmark on her face—though her beloved Pauline, the only person who has ever cared for her, tells her it is a precious diamond. When Pauline is sent to work for another carnival, Bee is lost.

Then a scruffy dog shows up, as unwanted as she, and Bee realizes that she must find a home for them both. She runs off to a house with gingerbread trim that reminds her of frosting. There two mysterious women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, take her in. They clothe her, though their clothes are strangely out of date. They feed her, though there is nothing in their house to eat. They help her go to school, though they won’t enter the building themselves. And, strangely, only Bee seems able to see them.

Whoever these women are, they matter. They matter to Bee. And they are helping Bee realize that she, too, matters to the world–if only she will let herself be a part of it.

This tender novel beautifully captures the pain of isolation, the healing power of community, and the strength of the human spirit.

What I Thought:

I have mixed feelings about Beholding Bee.  Liked, really mixed feelings.

So, I liked that Bee found people who care about her after leaving the carnival she worked at, and how much she learned about herself over the course of the book.  One interesting thing is that the book takes place in the U.S. during World War 2, and when she starts going to school for the first time in her life, she’s placed in a class that would be considered special ed today.  That was actually really interesting because you see how cruel kids are to them because they’re different, and that they have several teachers who are there just to be there, and don’t seem to care about them.  Until they get the one teacher who believes they should be able to be around the other students (at least during recess) because it’s not fair to keep them separated from the other kids.  This doesn’t go over well with the principal, who’s basically doing it so they won’t get bullied.

I found that part so interesting because for some reason, I wasn’t expecting kids back then to be so cruel, but at was actually really important to see why they shouldn’t be separated from the rest of the school- at least in terms of recess.  And I liked Bee learned how to stand up for herself, even if I didn’t like she did it.  It made sense and I get why Bee acted the way she did, but I couldn’t help but think less of Bee after that.  (Not a lot, but just enough that I was a little put off by it).

One of the biggest reasons why I didn’t like Beholding Bee was the mysterious women who take her in.  I felt like it really took away from the rest of the book, because I wasn’t expecting 2 women that only Bee can see. I just found it to be annoying, and I think I would have appreciated/liked their role in things if they weren’t so…ghostly.  It really did take me out of the story, and I wish their own history, especially in relation to Bee, were explored more.

I also expected Bee to be a little bit older.  It’s hard to believe an 11-year-old could take care of herself , with the help of her two “aunts,” and slightly more unbelievable that a young woman in her earlier twenties would be willing to take care of Bee, even if she had been doing since she was in her teens when she took Bee in. Then again, I have no clue how these things worked in the 1940’s, so it could be related to that.

Let’s Rate It:

I did like how Bee learned to stand up for herself, and to not hide herself away because of her birthmark.  And I liked how she realized that people will care about her if she let them.  However, I felt like Bee seemed a little too young at times (understandable, given how she grew up) and her aunts really took me out of the story. Beholding Bee gets 2 stars.

Book Review: Conversion

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Conversion CoverBook: Conversion by Katherine Howe

Published July 2014 by Putnam Juvenile|402 pages

Where I Got It/Format: a print copy from Barnes & Noble

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary Thriller with a splash of historical fiction

You can find Conversion on goodreads & Katherine Howe on Twitter, Facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prepmeets The Crucible. 

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago…

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

What I Thought:

I really liked Conversion!  What’s really interesting about Conversion is that it’s inspired by a real-life event- one that seems vaguely familiar.

I really liked the progression of what caused the Mystery Illness- from a reaction to the HPV vaccine, to weird symptoms that pop up after having strep throat to possibly Tourette’s to environmental concerns before the actually diagnosed conversion disorder.  I liked how everything came together, but there were times I got really frustrated at the characters and some of the events!

I’m actually really curious as to how the school nurse became the spokesperson for St. Joan’s.  That’s really how it came across, and while I understand her role in things, given she’s a nurse and there’s this mysterious illness, it also got to the point where it seemed really odd.  Weren’t there other school officials who could make statements?  Then again…she also seemed to be approached to write a book about what was going on, and as the book went on, someone would come out as the one writing a tell-all book about the odd goings on at this school.

The characters and some of the events are definitely are predictable- from the school nurse to the concerned parent making appearances on local news stations threatening to take action if the school doesn’t figure it out to the parent to the upper school dean getting fired.  Actually, the dean getting fired made me angry!  I get someone had to get fired in the wake of things taking months to get figured out, and someone had to be blamed, but it’s horrible that someone had to get fired.

There was one point in the book (where the environmental factors were brought up), where I seriously stopped reading, looked at the book, and wondered this: “Seriously?  Where are we, Night Vale?”  Some of the parents reported a glow coming from the athletic fields…and I know it’s ripped from the headlines and all, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the glow cloud has a distant relative in Danvers.

I’m not trying to make light of what these students went through, and I get how concerned the parents are.  I know it’s frustrating that they didn’t get the answers they wanted in the way they wanted.  It just brings up so many questions and thoughts for me.  At what point do we stop blaming the school, and at what point do we start going to the Department of Public Health for help on figuring this out?  Why is the school nurse the one who’s appearing on t.v., and why didn’t the school seem to be the ones bringing in experts?

More importantly: what about the pressure we put on ourselves, to the point that we exhibit physical symptoms?  It makes me sad that these girls are under so much pressure and stress themselves out to the point that they lose their hair and have verbal tics and can’t walk and swallow pins but can’t remember swallowing them in the first place.

As far as the Salem Village interludes, I wasn’t sure about it at first.  It’s one of those things that become really clear by the end of the book, and I liked the parallel because two events- one several hundred years in the past, and one that happened recently. It’s strange how looking back, it seems crazy and that in the 1690’s, it really was seen as witchcraft/the devil’s work.  And how several hundred years later, mystery symptoms start appearing, and parents are sure that something is physically wrong with their daughters.  To a certain extent, it was, but in the book, the physical symptoms were a manifestation of stress.  I thought she did great at showing how time and technology can change things.

Let’s Rate It:

I have so many more thoughts about Conversion, but this review is a lot longer than I ever expected it to be! My thoughts are still sort of scattered and all over the place, but I really liked Conversion.  There were times when I expected more connections between Salem and Danvers, and there were a couple things that I wish were explored more that felt a little glossed over, but overall, it’s a really interesting read.  Conversion gets 4 stars.

Book Review: What I Thought Was True

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What I Thought Was True CoverBook: What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Published April 2014 by Dial Books|410 pages

Where I Got It: It’s the hardcover from Barnes And Noble!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find What I Thought Was True on goodreads & Huntley Fitzpatrick on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle’s Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He’s a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island’s summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she’ll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen’s dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

What I Thought:

After loving My Life Next Door, I was really looking foward to What I Thought Was True.  I was expecting to love it, but sadly, I’m wavering being it being okay, and liking it.

Fitzpatrick does sleepy, coastal beach town really well.  She also does the class divides really well.  She does a great job at writing a novel set during the summer, by the beach.  My Life Next Door had these things, and What I Thought Was True (WITWT) had these elements.  I think it might be her thing, and she does it well.

But I thought the story was slightly confusing.  Everything between Cass and Gwen still makes no sense to me.  You know something happened between them, and she keeps thinking about the summer when they were 8.  All you get is snippets scattered throughout the book, but I honestly couldn’t tell you what on earth happened between them for her to initially have a lot of issues with him spending the summer in Seashell.  I honestly felt like I was missing something, because she kept referring to past mistakes that you saw in bits and pieces.  And so I felt really disconnected from the story, because I had no idea what she was referring to most of the time.

You do get little flashbacks, but they felt really random and out of the blue, because there was no way to differentiate the flashbacks from what was presently going on.

To further add to the confusion, I could never figure out what was going on with her family.  It seemed like her parents were married, but living in different houses.  She lives with her grandpa, her cousin, her younger brother and her mom, but I could never figure out what was going on with her parents- her dad has a house, and it’s clear they have financial issues, and have to pool their resources for when it’s not tourist season.  But it’s never clearly explained what’s going on with her parents.  And as for her cousin Nico, it’s quite a few chapters in before you learn that Nico is living with them because his parents suck.

Overall, the story felt really disjointed because things are hinted at but never explained outright.  Instead, you get things in snippets and flashbacks, and I kept waiting for a big revelation that never came.

I didn’t really get the romance.  It was not really there, and Cass and Gwen just didn’t work for me as a potential couple.  I’m not sure how I feel about Gwen as a character- she was funny at times, but she didn’t seem to learn from her mistakes.  Then again, she’s young, and maybe it’s just not clicking for her.

Let’s Rate It:

I’m really torn on my feelings about What I Thought Was True.  On the one hand, it was really disjointed and I spent a lot of the book confused about what was going on.  At the same time, I liked that class divides and sleepy, coastal touristy beach town during the summer really shone.  What I Thought Was True gets 3 stars– I did bump it a star, even if I’m hesitant to do so because Fitzpatrick does the sleepy East Coast beach town so well.

Books I Couldn’t Finish: The Princess Bride

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Books I Couldn’t Finish is a very sporadic feature where I talk about the books I couldn’t finish.

Today’s book is The Princess Bride, which I was going to include in my last Books I Couldn’t Finish post.  I decided not to (well, clearly, because it is its own post) because 1- that post was getting a bit lengthy, and 2- I actually have some things to say about why I couldn’t finish it, so it definitely warranted its own post.

The Princess Bride CoverWhat’s It About?

The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a “good parts version” of “S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure.” Morgenstern’s original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern’s mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the “Classic Tale” nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.”

Why I Couldn’t Finish It:

First, I have to start off why I read it.  It was basically a required reading that some friends “assigned” to me back in May, and since I’ll read pretty much anything someone recommends, I figured I’d at least try it.

And promptly failed.  I did give it a good effort, and actually kept going a bit longer than I really wanted to.  I really wanted to like it, especially since it’s a favorite of one friend.  And actually, I’ve seen it on a bunch of Top Ten Tuesdays, so that was another reason why I wanted to read it.

The biggest problem is that I’ve seen the movie.  I actually didn’t know there was a book.  I don’t remember how I found out there was a book, but somehow I did.

Seeing the movie isn’t a problem.  Well, normally, it’s not a problem.  I try to see the movie first and then read the book whenever possible.  That did not work with The Princess Bride.  I haven’t seen the movie in forever, but I found that a lot of the book made it into the movie.  I kept picturing the movie whenever I was reading the book.  I just found myself skimming…and skimming…and skimming to get to the parts that I didn’t remember from the movie.  I dreaded picking up, and pretty much had to force myself into reading it.  I was bored…and I had my moments where I was wondering why I was reading the book when I had seen the movie- to me, that’s how closely they matched.  The two did seem identical, but please take that with a grain of salt, as I haven’t seen the movie in a while.  But that really is how it seemed to me.

And…the book really seemed like it came after the movie, so I was quite surprised to learn that the movie was based on the book.  To me, it read like a cute tie-in.  Like, with the t.v. show Castle.  Now, I don’t watch Castle, but I remember something about an actual book written by the fictional character.  Or even Meg Cabot writing a romance novel as Mia Thermopolis. That’s kind of the feel I got from the book- let’s write the book the grandpa was reading in the movie.  And it’s not a bad thing at all, that’s just my impression of what I read.

I will say that I like the idea of the book- a guy hunting down his favorite childhood book and re-writing it so that only the good parts are in the book.  It’s an interesting way to tell a story, but I could have done without the side-notes.  And, I kind of hate to say this (but not really) but The Princess Bride worked so much better as a movie than a book.

To Sum Up:

The Princess Bride didn’t work as a book for me, and I think the structure of it worked better in the movie than in the book. Even though I couldn’t get into, I’m still glad I gave it a try.

Book Review: Tarnish

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Tarnish CoverBook: Tarnish by Katherine Longshore

Published June 2913 by Penguin|334 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: None, but it’s set in the same world as Gilt and Brazen

Genre: YA Historical Fiction- Tudor England

You can find Tarnish on goodreads and Katherine Longshore on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court–and to convince the whole court they’re lovers–she accepts. Before long, Anne’s popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice–but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart’s desire and the chance to make history.

What I Thought:

After reading Gilt a couple years ago and really liking it, I knew that I would really like Tarnish.  Which I did!

Tarnish focuses on Anne Boleyn, well before she gets involved with Henry VIII.  Which was actually really refreshing, since so much out there seems to focus on her time with him.  I really liked seeing Anne as a teen, and her time at court, especially since she’s newly arrived at the English court after coming over from France. Knowing how everything ends for Anne made Tarnish so much more interesting, because I feel like it starts at such a good place for Anne, and how she became the woman she was.

I thought Longshore did such a great job at showing how Anne really was a product of her time, and how marriage really was her only choice…and that her marriage prospects grew dimmer, because of some decisions she made.  I did like how her relationship with Thomas Wyatt progressed, and that it went much deeper than anyone else seemed to realize.  I think it allowed Anne to figure out what she really wanted, and how much more confident she was by the end of the book.

The family dynamics of the Boleyn family were really interesting in Tarnish.  I don’t typically think of her family, and how her relationship with them shaped her, but through her relationships with her sister, brother and father, you that some of what Anne has done has been influenced by them.  Her sister being the mistress to the king likely had a big impact on Anne’s relationship with Henry, and you have to wonder if that’s why she held out for so long with him.  I’m still not sure how her brother or father influenced Anne as a person, but by the end of the book, you start to see hints of how manipulative Anne could be.

I loved how Henry’s court was portrayed, and how much innocent flirtation there was.  One thing that I noticed in Gilt- which also really came through in Tarnish- was that Longshore took some liberties with history while creating this world and story that seemed really accurate.  She has a way of writing about people we all know and showing how complicated they really are, while making them easy to relate to.  I felt like I was transported back to Tudor England and dropped right in the center of Anne’s world.  I also really liked the author’s note at the end of the book, explaining where she got her inspiration and why she wrote the story the way she did.

Let’s Rate It:

I didn’t fall in love with Tarnish, but I really liked that Tarnish focused on a teenage Anne Boleyn who was insecure.  I also liked that it was at the very beginnings of what would be her relationship with Henry VIII. Tarnish gets 4 stars.

Books I Couldn’t Finish: The Random Edition

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Books I Couldn’t Finish is a very sporadic feature where I talk about the books I start to read and then have to abandon for a multitude of reasons.

And today is one of those days, because I actually have a few books I want to talk about.  So let’s get started.

Book One: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Uninvited coverWhat’s It About?  The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she’s destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton’s tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn’t feel any different, but genes don’t lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he’s not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

Why I Couldn’t Finish It: Here’s the thing about Uninvited.  I LOVE the idea of the book, because it’s such an interesting idea.  But in the part I read, I felt a little confused about what was going on, and HTS didn’t seem to be explained well, and I have no idea why it was such a big problem, or how they figured out that there is a kill gene.  It’s entirely possible that I didn’t actually get to that part of the book, given I didn’t actually finish it, but I was bored and uninterested.  Which is a shame, because it could have been really interesting.  On a random note, there are snippets of articles and interviews and statistics, which is really cool, and it gave you a sense of what was going on.  Just in the part I read, I could see the connection to The Scarlet Letter, and it’s kind of a modern-day version of it…but with a kill gene instead of adultery.  I’m not sure about the connection to Minority Report, since the only thing I actually know about is that it’s a movie.  Still, I did like the connection to The Scarlet Letter, and it would have been interesting to see if that continued throughout the book. Overall, I wanted to like Uninvited, since I did like the overall idea, and random snippets about HTS, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Book Two: After The End by Amy Plum

After The End CoverWhat’s It About? She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They’ve survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she’s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Why I Couldn’t Finish It: It’s another book with an interesting idea.  Escaping to Alaska because of World War III, and a group of people who apparently have supernatural powers.  It wasn’t until I read the summary that I realized that Juneau’s clan vanished, which led her to go find them…so I don’t know if it wasn’t explained well, or I just wasn’t paying attention (although I suspect it’s the latter).  And she finds out that everything she was told growing up was a lie.  I don’t know how I feel about that, because I was expecting something more post-apocalyptic…and didn’t get it.  Which is my own fault for not reading the summary.  Part of me was intrigued by the idea of survivors in Alaska, since you don’t normally read about people escaping there.  At the same time, I kind of like that it was a lie, because you’re left wondering what happened.

Personally, I didn’t care enough to keep going, and After The End also seemed slightly confusing.  There are hints that something’s going on, and that Juneau is the key to something, but you don’t know what.   It just felt like the things I wanted to know weren’t going to be revealed anytime soon, if at all.  Also: Juneau narrates part of the book, while Miles narrates the other half of the novel, and I found that I didn’t care about either narrator, who seemed very much the same to me.  I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about Miles, since his chapters were only a page or two.  And the only thing I remember about Juneau is that she seems to have a supernatural ability.  Interesting idea, but not for me.

Another Little Piece CoverBook Three: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

What’s It About? The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn’s haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor…and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese’s fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Why I Couldn’t Finish It: I felt like the story was really confusing.  I get she remembers nothing from that night, but the way she refered to herself and to her family just didn’t work for me.  I didn’t really get a Stephen King or Pretty Little Liars vibe from the book, so I’m not really sure where those comparisons are coming from.  Unless they just happen to show up after I stopped reading…

It’s been a while since I attempted to read it back in June, so my memory of this book is really fuzzy, and I have to desire to go back and try to read it again.  Another Little Piece seems like one of those books where you have to stick with it to the end for everything to come together and make sense, and I just wasn’t willing to stick it out to the end.  I think it had the potential to be an interesting horror/mystery, but it just didn’t work for me.  Still, other people might find it interesting, so if it seems like your thing, don’t hesitate to give it a try.

To Wrap Up:

The general theme for today seems to be a general confusion about the different worlds and a general disinterest in the three books mentioned.  Clearly, they’re not for me, but I will say that if they seem like something you’d want to try, go for it!

Book Review: City Of Fallen Angels

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City Of Fallen Angels CoverBook: City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Published April 2011 by Margaret K. Elderberry Books|347 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: The Mortal Instruments #4

Genre: YA Paranormal/Angels

You can find City Of Fallen Angels on goodreads & Cassandra Clare on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Sunmary: 

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series.

What I Thought:

After City Of Glass (CoG), I wasn’t sure what to expect with City Of Fallen Angels.  But I did like City Of Fallen Angels!

I really liked some of the world-building we get in terms of Lilith and why Jace pulls away from Clary, and that there are some very serious repurcussions to events that happened in City Of Glass.  City Of Glass seemed to wrap up everything really well, and I was worried that City Of Fallen Angels would feel like an afterthought.

So I was glad that City Of Fallen Angels (CoFA) didn’t turn out that way.  (Well, mostly).  With everything that happened in CoG, I wasn’t sure where things would go, or how Clare would keep things going, because I was expecting the Valentine stuff to go for the entire 6 book series, and it mostly didn’t.  I am curious about how the Sebastian stuff will go, and if he’ll continue Valentine’s work, or try to do something even more horrendous.

I really liked a new character we meet in the series.  Jordan (who previously mentioned by Maia) finally makes his appearance, and I liked what he added to the story.  Mostly because we learn a bit more about werewolves in this one, but I think he’ll be an interesting person to have around.

CoFA was predictable, and I should have seen the ending coming.  (Yet, I didn’t see it coming at all).  Oddly enough, though, I don’t mind because it is a fun series to read.  It’s really starting to become clear that this world is a very vivid one, and I wish we got a little bit more of the details of this world.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked City Of Fallen Angels, and in terms of the Shadowhunter world, it’s my favorite because of what we learn.  I have a love-hate relationship  with the fast pace of the books.  There’s also something going on, which makes the books go fast, but it makes me feel like some of the little details aren’t there.  Still, it’s been a fun series to read.  City Of Fallen Angels gets 3 stars.

Book Review With Spoilers: Ruin And Rising

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Ruin And Rising CoverBook: Ruin And Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Published June 2014 by Henry Holt And Co|267 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Grisha #3

Genre: YA Fantasy

You can find Ruin And Rising on goodreads & Leigh Bardugo on her blog, on Twitter and on Facebook

Goodreads Summary: 

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

What I Thought:

I really liked Ruin And Rising!  More than I expected, but also not as much as I was hoping.  Still, I think it’s my favorite book in the series.  Which is weird, because I LOVED Siege And Storm, and only really liked Ruin And Rising, and yet, this one is still my favorite.

I think it’s because everything really comes together in this book.  There are definitely some big revelations, with the third amplifier being the main source of these revelations.  So much comes from it, and I feel like I can’t talk about the book without giving things away.

This is where things get very spoiler-ey, so if you haven’t yet finished Ruin And Rising and care about spoilers, you might want to skip ahead to the big note signalling the end of the really spoiler-y part of the review.  (Or even to the rating, which will be the very bottom of the review).

So: we learn about Morozova, and his connection to both Baghra and the Darkling…his daughter, and his grandson, respectively.  I wasn’t expecting that at all, so it was quite the surprise.  It worked, and yet I didn’t completely love it, because it felt a little too forced and random.

And as it turns out, Mal is the third amplifier!  Somehow, Mal ended up being the third amplifier, and I don’t remember why!  I don’t know if I just wasn’t paying attention during that part of the book, or if it wasn’t completely explained or what, but his ability to track things is all related to being the third amplifier.  I did wonder if there was more to his ability when I read Smoke And Bone, and I had given up all hope that it would be explained.  That explanation did come through, and I don’t know how I feel about it.

I mean, it did work, and I liked how everything came full circle, and that everything really is connected.  And this really is the best place for everything we learn about the Darkling and Morozova, because I think it being revealed in either of the previous books would really have given it away.  I think that’s why it felt a little out of the blue and a bit forced.  Or maybe I’m just really oblivious, and should have figured it out earlier.  But overall, I thought it worked and that this was the best place for it all.

And I’m not surprised that Mal and Alina ended up together, since he seems to really ground her.  But I’ve never really liked them as a couple, because they felt too much like friends to me.  It did seem like there was the possibility of Alina and the Darkling (before we realized how insane he was) and Alina and Nikolai (before he became king, which meant Alina would be his queen if they got together), and, of course, Mal.  Alina really is just an ordinary girl who was able to get rid the Unsea and take down the Darkling, and because of that, it was always going to be Mal.  I just wish I could have believed them as a couple, like I could have with both the Darkling and Nikolai.

Then, again, this series never was about the romance.  At least, I didn’t particularly care about it in this series, and I think it’s because of everything else going on.  Like how balance is really important.  And friends and not wanting all the power for yourself, and what happens when you seek too much power.

Now that the super-spoiler-y bits are done…we can get on to the really short and non-spoilerific part of the review.  

One thing I’ve really loved about this series is the overall world.  We learn things along the way, and what strikes me about this entire series is that it’s a fantasy series set in a world that reminded me of Russia!  So many fantasy books have a pseudo-Medieval Europe setting (particularly Medieval UK) that a pseudo-Russian world is really different and makes it stand out because of how unique it is.

I pictured everything so well, and I have to say that I would LOVE to see this series as movies, because the costumes and make-up and sets would be so amazing.

Also: there are some characters that I’ve really come to love, and they really have come a long way from when we first met them in Shadow And Bone.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Ruin & Rising!  I felt like things came full-circle, and I was definitely surprised by a lot of things. Overall, it’s my favorite book in the series because of everything we learn, even if I didn’t love it the way I loved Siege And Storm.  Ruin And Rising gets 4 stars.  

Book Review: Wallbanger

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Wallbanger CoverBook: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Published February 2013 by Gallery Books|304 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Cocktail #1

Genre: Adult Romance/Chick Lit

You can find Wallbanger on goodreads & Alice Clayton on Twitter, Facebook, and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O. Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Each moan, spank, and—was that a meow?—punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O. Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick… In her third novel, Alice Clayton returns to dish her trademark mix of silly and steamy. Banter, barbs, and strutting pussycats, plus the sexiest apple pie ever made, are dunked in a hot tub and set against the gorgeous San Francisco skyline in this hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight.

What I Thought:

Oh.  My.  God.  Wallbanger is easily the most entertainingly hilarious book I’ve read in a long time!  I think Beauty Queens was the last time I laughed this much when reading a book.

So, there’s actually a story behind why I read Wallbanger- I’m a big fan of Book Riot, and after reading their Euphemisms For Body Parts in romance novels post…and then reading the comments…one of which had a quote from Wallbanger, and I knew I had to at least check out the book.  Which lead to me buying it pretty much immediately after reading the summary.  (Really, the comments are just as entertaining as the actual post, so take a few minutes to read through them).

Wallbanger is indeed a contemporary romance, which isn’t what I normally go for in terms of romance…at least as far as adult romance goes.  I’m much more of a paranormal romance/historical romance kind of girl, but Wallbanger was so much fun to read.

The nice thing about it is that it’s not serious at all.  I mean, how could you be serious with this quote…

“My shirt bunched up around my waist, and the feeling of his hi-there against my hoohah was indescribable.”

Which, by the way, was the quote that got me to pick up Wallbanger.  Yes, I’m 12.  What’s your point?

Anyway, I loved the banter between Caroline and Simon, and it really was hysterical!  I really needed a good laugh, and Wallbanger definitely provided a much needed laugh.

How can you not laugh at this:

“Zucchini me, woman.”

Or this:

“No way, buddy.  I’m not macchuuing your pichu now…”

Or this conversation:

“Perfect, that will give me time to frost my buns.

“Pardon me?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?  I also made cinamon rolls.”

I really couldn’t stop laughing, and I knew it was quote-worthy when I found myself actually highlighting different parts of the book.  I never do that for fiction, so if I’m taking the time to do it…let’s just say there is a lot to quote!

Back to Simon and Caroline.  Together, they are absolutely hilarious, and I actually liked that it took them so long to get together.  I don’t know why, but it really worked for them.

Let’s Rate It:

Wallbanger was such a hilarious read and I had a lot of fun reading it!  It’s fun and cute and a good summer read. Wallbanger gets 4 stars.