Review: Suburb Beyond the Stars

Title: The Suburb Beyond the Stars ( Normumbegan Quartet 2)
Author: M.T Anderson
Published: June 1st 2010 by Scholastic Press
Pages: 240
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads Summary: Something very strange is happening in Vermont. It's not The Game of Sunken Places - Brian and Gregory have been through that before, and there's not supposed to be another Game until they say there's a Game. But still . . . when they go to visit a relative in the Vermont woods, they find many things are . . . off. Like, people aren't where they're supposed to be. And houses are everywhere. In fact, the houses seem to be taking over.

Review: 
This was definitely pretty dark like some other reviewers thought. I hated the ending, even if the book will have a sequel I just hate it when a book leaves you at a cliff hanger.  The writing was pretty simple which made me get through the book quick, which I like. The book would have probably made more sense to me if I read the first one in the series, which I plan to do in the future. So who knows maybe after I've read the first one I might change my rating/review. But unfortunately I can only give this 3 stars. 

Review: Royal Blood

Title: Royal Blood (Her Royal Spyness 4)
Author: Rhys Bowen
Published: September 7th 2010 by Berkley Hardcover
Pages: 305
Rating: 2/5
Goodreads Summary: Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre- looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it's up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple's vows become: to love and to cherish, till undeath do them part...

Review: I don't even why I had this on my list. I think it was cause the library listed it as a vampire story, which it is not. The first half was kind of boring and dragged and the main protagonist was just annoying. She also didn't really show much in the way of detective capabilities either. The size of the book was somewhat awkward and the print was tiny, which made it hard to read. The only reason that I didn't give it one star was that with some work, it could have been a better book with some work. But ya...I certainly don't plan on reading any more of the books in the series. 

Reading In April

Yes I realize it's not April, but it's pretty damn close. So....

Currently Reading:
The Suburb Beyond the Stars - M.T Anderson
The Iron King - Julie Kagawa
Birth of a Killer - Darren Shan

To Read:
Daughter of Darkness - V.C Andrews
The Force Unleashed II - Sean Williams

Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices 1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: August 31st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 476
Rating: 4/5 stars
Goodreads Summary: When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Review:
I loved this book. I read City of Bones and decided to give this a shot. I loved some of the characters like Will and Jem (hated Tessa) and the time era that it took place in. It was one of those books that I could just read and not realize that I just read 100 pages in half hour. So I finished this pretty quickly, well quickly for me. I will not rate 5 stars though. The reason being that it's not a book I would read over and over again. I feel that if I were to read it over and over again, it would get boring and then suck. So that is why it is not getting 5 stars. That being said this was pretty damn good, and if you have read the Mortal Instruments I think you should take a crack at this series too.

Review: Vampire High Sophomore Year

Title: Vampire High: Sophomore Year (Vampire High 2)
Author: Douglas Rees
Published: July 13th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Rating: 2/5 stars
Goodreads summary: In the satiric and funny sequel to the witty Vampire High, Cody's hopes for a great sophomore year at Vlad Dracul are dashed when his train wreck of a cousin, Turk Stone, moves in and messes with his life.

Turk's a brilliant teen artist and goth with a sky-high ego . Her attitude infuriates the vampire (jenti) students, especially the dark, brooding Gregor. But something changes in Turk when she stumbles on the abandoned nineteenth-century mill in the forgotten district of Crossfield and immediately claims it as her new arts center project.

Though Cody resents his cousin at first, he has his own reasons for helping make Turk's dream come true. But Crossfield has many secrets, and a mysterious vampire army called the Mercians will do anything to make sure they stay hidden. And when he takes on the Mercians, everything Cody has learned about courage and determination his freshman year at Vampire High will be tested.

Review: 
This one certainly wasn't as good as the first one.  Like the first book to me was enough. This one seemed rush and although it had a somewhat interesting idea to it, this book just didn't really do it for me. I will say that is in my mind, one of those books that you have to, absolutely read the first book or it doesn't make sense. Now I don't know if there will be a 3rd book or not, but if there is I most likely won't read it.

Review: Beastly

Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Finn
Published: October 2nd 2007 by Harper Teen
Pages: 304
Rating: 4/5 stars
Goodreads Summary: I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.

Review:
This was a very cute book that didn't take me that long to finish. It was well written and easy to read and totally dealt with today's problems. Yes people mainly judge people by looks today and if they aren't "beautiful" then they are treated like crap. This book made the main character open his eyes and show him that what a person looks like on the outside doesn't matter, it's what's inside that does. So ya, it was well done and I recommend this to anyone.

Another Update For Books I Didn't Finish

Feburary 2012 books that didn't get finished:
Follow Me Down by Marc Strange - Reason: I don't know to me the plot seems like it's done before and I just simply didn't like it. I only had about 100 pages left, but just getting to that point took a lot of pushing and I was just tired of the book so I gave up on it.

*Update* March 2012 books that didn't get finished: 
Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman - Reason: Ya it was just...way to fuckin complicated. I mean it took me two weeks to read 30 pages...that and I just wasn't enjoying it.
The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker - Reason: Just didn't like it. I seem to be pretty picky this month.

Review: Love Bites

Title: Love Bites: Vampyres of Hollywood #2

Author: Adrienne Barbeau

Published: August 31st 2010 by St. Martin's Press

Pages: 320

Rating: 2/5

Goodreads Summary: 

With her customary wit and dead-on satire, Barbeau skewers Hollywood and vamp lit alike, casting the paparazzi as werewolves and certain Hollywood “monsters” as the genuine article

Ovsanna Moore is a Hollywood siren, horror film legend, and cut throat producer. She also happens to be a 450-year-old vampyre. In the follow-up to the much acclaimed Vampyres of Hollywood, Adrienne Barbeau paints a wonderfully sly portrait of cinematic vampyres, as well as the nature of celebrity, and the entertainment industry. Her “Scream Queen” credentials make her the only author who could combine such a fastpaced, edgy plot with tongue-in-cheek references to the inner workings and vanity of Hollywood. A whirlwind of action, Love Bites is a clever take on vampyres readers will never forget.

Review: 

Don't really know what to say about this one, other than I just simply didn't like it that much. There is no overly complex reason as to why. I will admit though, that I wanted to bitch smack Maral every time she came into the picture. 

 

2012 Reading Challenge Update

As of today I have read 10 out of 50 books.

2012 Books That Didn't Get Finished Update

So a new feature thing now. I'll start to list the books that I don't finish in 2012 and it'll be updated whenever.

Feburary 2012 books that didn't get finished:
Follow Me Down by Marc Strange - Reason: I don't know to me the plot seems like it's done before and I just simply didn't like it. I only had about 100 pages left, but just getting to that point took a lot of pushing and I was just tired of the book so I gave up on it.

*Update* March 2012 books that didn't get finished: 
Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman - Reason: Ya it was just...way to fuckin complicated. I mean it took me two weeks to read 30 pages...that and I just wasn't enjoying it.