Angelfire

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Book: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Pages: 453, Hardcover, Published by HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Teens

Angelfire is about Ellie, a 17-year-old girl who discovers that she is the Preliator.  It is her duty to hunt and kill the reapers that are out to prey on human souls. 

I love the whole idea of someone being reincarnated over and over for thousands of years to protect all humankind from Fallen Angels. It’s a classic good vs. evil story, with Ellie turning out to be Gabriel, but in human-form. 

The characters fell flat for me, though, and were pretty cliché and stereotypical.  I found Will to be the most interesting, and I wanted to know more about him and his past.  Ellie, on the other hand, was superficial and, at times, really irritating. 

It was an enjoyable book, and one that was a pretty fast read.  It was fun, and the fight scenes made it a lot more interesting.  The forbidden romance was pretty obvious from the moment that Will and Ellie met, and I have the distinct feeling that we’ll be seeing more of this series.  I LOVED the mythology of the book, and was glad that it actually made sense. 

As far as Ellie getting her “powers,” it was pretty standard- she gets introduced to them on her 17th birthday.  What wasn’t standard, though, was the fact that she grows into her powers.  It was pretty gradual, and even at the end of the book, she didn’t have a full grasp on her powers. 

I also want to know what’s going on with her dad.  You learn that he was a pretty good dad, and then one day…he randomly turned into a jerk, and Ellie and her mom don’t know why.  I was left with the feeling that this could be really important, but I suppose we’ll have to wait until the next book to find out what’s going on there. 

It gets a 3 out of 5.  It was enjoyable, but there wasn’t a lot that stood out to me.

Musical Lists

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I managed to come up with 2 lists, plus some honorable mentions.  One’s music-related and the other is podcast related, so enjoy!

My 5 Favorite Songs From 2011:

  1. Lights by Ellie Goulding.  I love this song.  It’s catchy and indie, pop and electronic all at the same time!
  2. Lily’s Theme from the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 Soundtrack.  It’s haunting, yet hopeful.  And the scene at the very beginning of the movie, with Snape looking over the school, with the dementors around the school?  Lily’s Theme fits it so well.  Come to think of it, a lot of the songs have a lot of the same elements…
  3. Heartbeat by The Fray.  I love The Fray!  And for some reason, I love this song.  It makes me feel happy.
  4. Safe And Sound by Taylor Swift, with The Civil Wars.  This song is HAUNTING.  It’s from the Hunger Games soundtrack, and the song fits it so well.
  5. Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.  I always want to sing along to it, and it’s such a good song!

An honorable mention goes to the rest of the HP and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 soundtrack.  Courtyard Apocalypse, Snape’s Demise, Severus and Lily, Harry Surrenders, and Procession are some of my other favorites from that soundtrack.

My 5 Favorite Podcasts:

  1. Greetings From Nowhere.  This was one of the first podcasts I listened to, and it’s fun listening to Christina and Nicole talk about their lives in Nowhere.  It makes me laugh and I keep finding that I jump right into the conversation.
  2. Tudor Talk: This was another podcast that introduced me to the lovely world of podcasting, and I love that it’s about the Tudors.  Tudor England is one of my favorite periods, so I get to hear about different movies, the t.v. show and books that are related to Tudor England.
  3. The History Chicks is another favorite podcast.  Every episode is about a real or fictional woman from history, and the hosts (Susan and Beckett) do the research and condense everything into an hour-long episode.
  4. Game Night Guys.  This is hosted by 2 guys who like board games.  They play a different game each week, explaining the rules and then making up their own.  One of them left, though, but another board-game loving friend joined the show as a co-host.  It’s still fun to listen to.
  5. The Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast is another favorite.  Every week recaps an episode of Gilmore Girls, and it’s fun to watch the episode right before listening.

Honorable mentions for favorite podcasts go to Cocktails and Creampuffs, Accio-Potter Wizard Radio, Hello Nessa, the Joy The Baker podcast and Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap.

A Stack Of Books

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From Top To Bottom: The Joy Luck Club, The Alchemyst, The Help, Angelfire, She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth and The Wives Of Henry VIII

5 Shows I’m Glad I Watch

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Today’s post is about the 5 shows I’m glad I watch.  They are in no particular order.

  • NCIS: I’m so glad I “discovered” this show back in January.  There a lot I like about the show- from the character relationships to the dialogue to the characters in general, it’s on my must-watch list.
  • Once Upon A Time: It’s done by the same people who did lost, and I really like the show.  Plus, there are random things that end up on the show, and it’s interesting to see what they are every week.
  • House: I wasn’t sure about what it would be like with Cuddy gone, but it’s starting to get back to the show I love.  The last season or so, it got a little weird.  But it seems to be getting back on course.
  • Pan Am: It’s fun, and while I don’t usually watch the retro/period piece t.v. shows, this one got my interest.  It’s interesting to say the least, and I do like the fact that one of the girls is a spy.
  • Grey’s Anatomy: It’s another show that got a little weird for me, but at least no one’s having hallucinations about a dead fiancee that they’re having sex with.  The character relationships are interesting, not to mention complicated, and there’s always something crazy happening. 

So, some are new, some are old, and another, while not new, is new to me!  I’ll be glad when everything is back to it’s regularly scheduled programming, because I’m getting tired of re-runs.  Maybe I should start watching the food network again…

The Dovekeepers

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Book: The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Pages: 504, Hardcover

The Dovekeepers is about 4 women in Masada in 70 C.E. (common era, a generic form of A.D.).  Yael is the daughter of an assassin, and she and her father blame her for her mother’s death.  Revka was the wife of a baker, and she and her 2 grandson’s saw her daughter’s brutal murder by Roman soldiers.  Aziza is the daughter of a warrior and is raised as a boy.  She is both a fearless rider and an expert marksman.  And Shirah is steeped in knowledge of ancient magic and medicine, and has amazing insight and power. 

The Dovekeepers is inspired by 900 Jews who held out for months against the Roman army on a mountain in the Judean desert and Hoffman clearly did her research, because the details are so well-done and they bring the story to life.  All four women have their own stories, and it was great to see this story from a woman’s perspective. 

The novel is divided into 5 sections- one for each woman, plus one that’s an epilogue.  It’s also spans 7 years- the lives of the 4 women span three years, while the epilogue takes place 4 years after that, describing what had happened and how 2 women and 5 children were the only survivors out of a group that had committed mass suicide rather than submit to Rome. 

I loved seeing where the women came from and how they got to be who they were, as well as the connections between them and some of the others at the fortress.  And in the context of an actual event, it was rich with details and history.  Men are not portrayed in a wholly positive light, but characters are not what they seem to be.  The Dovekeepers is full of shades of grey and that things are not always easy. 

I loved the writing and Hoffman has a way of making you feel things so deeply.  I don’t know much about the time period, but after reading this book, I definitely want to know more, so I may have to look for some more books to read…It gets a 4 out of 5 for good writing and an interesting story.

Wanted

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Book: Wanted by Sara Shepard

Pages: 111, Hardcover

Wanted is book #8 in the Pretty Little Liars series.  And if I thought that book # 7 was action-packed, there a lot to think about in Wanted. 

Since the girls think that Ali’s real killer is on trial, they all start feeling relaxed.  That doesn’t last long, because Ali has an identical twin named Courtney.  She’s spent her life in institutions because of “health issues” and her existence is kept a secret by her family.  However, once being released from the hospital, she tries to resume her sister’s life, and has tentative relationships with her sister’s old friends. 

Courtney later reveals that she is the real Alison, and has the proof to back it up.  Her twin, Courtney, pretended to be Alison on the night of the murder, and while the girls were skeptical, they begin to trust her.  The girls, however, are surprised to learn that she is both A and the killer. 

It turns out that the Ali that the girls had befriended years earlier was actually Courtney, who managed to trick everyone into believing she was Alison.  The real Alison was sent to the Preserve and was angry at the girls for unknowingly ruining her life.  That’s why she tried to kill them in the woods, why she killed Jenna (who found out years earlier) and is now trying to kill them by setting the Di Laurentis’ Poconos house on fire and trapping them inside. 

They learn Alison killed Ian and kidnapped Spencer’s sister Melissa, but the Liars and Melissa manage to get in time.  Alison, trapped inside the house, is assumed to be dead, but her body is never found.  It’s hinted that she’s still alive, and moved somewhere else, living under an assumed name. 

So, it’s definitely a little convoluted, but still a good read.  Everything seems to be resolved, and it’s supposed to be the last book in the series.  But since there are at least 3 more, it seems like Shepard is going to get as much out of the series as she possibly can.  Don’t get me wrong, the books are good, and I enjoy them, but at some point, I’d just like to see the series be resolved and come to a real conclusion. 

It still gets a 4 out of 5, though.

Darkness Under The Water

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Book: Darkness Under The Water by Beth Kanell

Pages: 320, Hardcover

This book was not good.  It’s about an Abenaki-French-Canadian girl who lives in Vermont in the 1920’s.  Molly realizes that her family, and others like them, are being target by the government to get rid of certain segments of the population. 

As far as a novel about a state-run eugenics program that targets the Abernaki tribe, it utterly failed.  Not only did the author not really talk about either, it’s hard to see this being aimed at young adults.  There was one scene in particular, where Molly’s mom goes into early labor, and it was more detailed than it really needed to be.  There’s also the fact that Molly and her grandma believe that Molly’s mom was sterlized so that she can’t have any more children.  It’s also implied that the nurses who are in town for the eugenics project smothered the baby. 

Another thing that bothered me was the fact that Molly’s dead older sister Gratia talked to her somewhat frequently.  It got annoyed, and it served no purpose whatsoever.  Plus, it was really boring, and the characters didn’t stand out.  I couldn’t relate to them, or to what was happening. 

It gets a 1 out of 5.

From Christmas Music To Year-End Lists

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Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to turn off the Christmas music, and start paying attention to all those lists that seem to pop up this time of year.  You know, the one’s ranking the most popular songs of the year?  I’m going to miss listening to Christmas music, and while I could listen to it all year, it would be be slightly strange listening to Christmas music in the middle of April or something.  There’s always Christmas in July, I suppose, but it’s still weird.  Christmas music is definitely special because it comes around once a year, and I don’t want to (potentially) take the special-ness away by listening to it year-round.

I used to love listening to those year-end top 50 songs of the year countdown lists- back when I used to listen to the radio a lot.  I don’t listen to it as much now, except for Jeff and Jer, because they’re *awesome*!  But I have a bunch of stations I added to Pandora, and while I have no idea if I’ll actually listen to them over the next week, I’m sure I’ll listen to them eventually.

For me, it’s been an interesting year of things to listen to.  I definitely got into podcasts this year, and there are so many that I love.  I’m not trolling for any more podcasts at this point, but I’m pretty sure I’ll find some more to listen to.  I’m definitely glad that I stumbled across the world of podcasting, and there’s no way that I’m going to stop listening to them.

Come to think of it, I may have to come up with some of my own year-end lists, and not just for music but for other things as well…

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to talk about, and even thought about not doing something music or podcast related, but I was in a rambling sort of mood, so I’ll definitely be back tomorrow with something more substantial than random musings.  And next Monday, I’ll have some sort of best of list for music and podcasts.

Heartless

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Book: Heartless by Sara Shepard

Pages: 274, Hardcover

Oh.  My.  God.  By the end of the book, I was speechless, and utterly confused.  Just when you think the girls are going to jail, charges against them are dropped.  They go home to find that Jenna Cavanaugh was killed…just like Ali was years earlier. 

After the fire, no one believes them when they all insist that they saw Ali.  Emily gets sent to Lancaster, where she discovers that Officer Wilden was a part of the Amish community, and that a girl named Leah disappeared around the time of Ali’s death.  She thinks he killed her and that he can’t be trusted. 

Aria goes to a seance, but learns nothing.  She sees another medium, who says that Ali killed Ali.  Hanna gets sent to a clinic by her father because he doesn’t want her eating disorder to appear after everything that’s happened.  She meets Iris, who Hanna comes to think is involved with Ali’s murder.

Spencer, on the other hand, finds out that her dad had an affair with Ali’s mom, and tries to comes to terms with the idea that Jason and Ali might have been her half-siblings.  Her mom finds out about it for the first time, and thinks her mother might have killed Ali because of it. 

They get sent to jail, like I mentioned earlier, and then they get released, because Billy Ford, someone who was working on a gazebo at Ali’s old house, is now a suspect.

So there’s a lot going on, and I was kept interested the whole time.  I didn’t want to put it down, and when I was finished, I was in disbelief.  I didn’t see any of this coming, and if there’s anything Shepard is good at, it’s keeping reader’s guessing. 

I think this is my favorite of the 7, because there’s so much going on and I was kept guessing the whole time.  It gets a 5 out of 5!

Store-Bought Baby

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Book: Store-Bought Baby by Sandra Belton

Pages: 256, Hardcover

This book was not good.  It’s about a girl and her family and how they deal with the suicide of her brother.

First off, is it just me or are there a lot of YA books out there about someone committing suicide and how the main character deals with it? 

Moving on, there didn’t seem to be a lot of plot, other than the female main character (FMC) randomly decided to look for her Luce’s birth parents.  Her older brother was adopted, and she was not.  I get she wants to see his parents, and maybe connect with a part of him, but really?  She wants to go looking for her brother’s birth parents?  Seriously? 

Not only that, but while her name was mentioned, but for the life of me, I could not tell you what it is.  The book overall was very dull and lifeless, with no emotion.  The characters weren’t developed at all, and I couldn’t tell you what they were interested in.  

It just was not good.  At all.  If you want a book that’s about people dealing with someone who committed suicide, this is not the book to read.  I’d give it a 1 out of 5.