Stephanie's books

Clockwork Angel
Eragon
City of Bones
Twilight
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Golden Compass
Night World, No. 2
Thirst No. 2: Phantom, Evil Thirst, and Creatures of Forever
Thirst No. 3: The Eternal Dawn
The Iron Daughter
The Iron King
Nightshade
Divergent
A Discovery of Witches
A Great and Terrible Beauty
The Hunger Games
The Host
City of Glass
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo


Stephanie's favorite books »

Thursday 28 August 2014

Review- The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)





Title: The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave book 1
Rating: 4/5





Summary
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My Review
I am struggling a lot with this review, because although I gave the book 4 stars I still don't know if I liked it enough for 4 stars. I had the book recommended to me by a few people and when I looked it up I noticed many people raving about it or very excited to read it and that always worries me I have been fooled by hype before and I may have been fooled again with this one but I am still unsure, so I'm going to try to give this book a review that makes more sense than my feelings about it.
The way in which the "others" attack  and the reveal of the 5th wave were very unsettling but in a good way I guess, I did enjoy how clever that was and to pray on the trust of humans was smart and down right dirty. Call me crazy but I wanted a slimy alien or scaly or something because an invisible enemy is so much more scary and unsettling.
I liked Cassie she was determined and smart and she followed her instincts well until Evan came along and that whole thing was okay but I think it was a little part of the reason I did not fall in love with this book, but most of all I loved how she was ready to die to keep her promise to her brother.
I thought the book was well written but there were a few parts that felt like they dragged on for too long and I put the book down on several occasions when I got bored and I even finished two books before I finished this one.
I really don't have more to say about this book except don't always believe what you hear read something because you want to and hope that it turns out well. Overall this was pretty good and I may read the next ones.....only time will tell :)

Review- Ruby Red (The Ruby Red Trilogy #1)





Title: Ruby Red
Author: Kerstin Gier
Series: Ruby Red Trilogy book 1
Rating: 4/5





Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century . . . .

My Review
I have read only a few time travel books because I love the idea but so many of them are confusing and not well thought out, I believe time-travel is a tricky subject and when not done well it is a sin. The time traveling Gene was a unique way to go about it and I found it neat that everyone was aware of this power and in Gwen's family it was even a thing of pride that her cousin Charlotte was a carrier, but of course this book was not about her it is about Gwen, so of course Gwen turns out to be the time traveler and chaos ensues, she gets a lot of grief from her cousin and aunt since they think she stole it from them, but that is just so dumb, how can you steal something you never wanted.
I sort of feel like this book, the first in a trilogy, was just a book of questions, so may secrets and so many half truths that I am more confused than when I started but I guess since this is book one it's not so bad, but I would have liked more answers than just the one that I had already guessed.

This book was filled with a bunch of crewed characters, most of her family were jerks and stuck up and I guess when you are part of a secret society you tend to be stuffy but since I have not been a part of a secret society I would not know, but to me they all seemed jerky and rude even Evan, although like many male leads he starts that way but kindness leaks out over time and I see myself enjoying him in the next books, I am excited to more on as I am very frustrated at being left hanging.

Review- Glow (Sky Chasers 1)

Title: Glow
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Series: Sky Chasers book 1
Rating: 3/5

Synopsis
What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.


My Review
I was really excited about reading this book and I liked the beginning and how the action started right away, but once the battle was over I felt parts dragged out for a bit to long and there were a few times that things were foreshadowed for way to long so when things did happen I didn't really care cause I had been expecting it for a long time already. It took me much longer than I had expected to get through this book and I can't really explain why, I mean the central theme was very disturbing and different but the rest of the book left me bored and actually skimming a lot of it, I did not hate this book but it did not live up to the standards that I had set it. I found the writing off too I am all for description but that's not what this was, it was a bunch of words piled together to make it seem descriptive but it was not. The characters were not ones that I found myself particularly drawn or attached too, especially Keiran I did not care for him at all and by the end I sort of wished for him to fail, Seth was a little more likable but I want to know more about him and if I decide to read book 2 I hope to get more of his story (well since I bought book 2 cheap I will read it lol.)
Waverly was not my favorite at first but she did grow on me as the terror she experienced unfolded and she was also very strong willed and smart and I wait with bated breath to see how she handles what's next.
I wish I loved this book as much as so many others but I did not so I will close this review by saying this book was a like but not a love.

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Review- The Infernal Devices: Manga (Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince)

Author: Cassandra Clare and Art by Hyekyung Baek
Rating: Book 1- 4/5
           Book 2- 4/5

Clockwork Angel 

(The Infernal Devices:Manga#1)

Clockwork Prince 

(The Infernal Devices: Manga #2)

A manga-adaption to the prequel of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices is the story of Tessa Gray, a sixteen-year-old American girl traveling alone to Victorian London who runs afoul of the city's sordid supernatural underworld. Rescued by the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, Tessa quickly finds herself caught up in an intrigue that may very well destroy her new friends - including the two enigmatic young men, Jem and Will, who have taken her under their wing...

My Review

I wanted to review these books together because I really don't have that much to say about them of course I have read the series and was in love and so when I saw these in the  store I picked them up right away eager to get a look at the artists take on these beloved characters. Well I was so pleased with this I think both books had a little missing but who could blame them they are long books and these were long enough in my opinon so all is forgiven there. these were my first graphic novels and I am soo glad I started here and once I get the third I may move on to other graphic novels now that I had a taste of the good stuff. I think I would like to read more graphic novels  based on books I have already read I liked having the knowledge and just enjoying the art more.


Review- Juliet Immortal



Title: Juliet Immortal
Author: Stacey Jay
Rating: 5/5


Synopsis
The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare


My Review
Romeo and Juliet has always been a Shakespeare play I was fond of since my first reading (Yes I have read it more than once!) and to be honest I was a little nervous as to how it could be retold and done justice, well I should not have been nervous because this was a great book full of fabulous ties to the original but it was also a great work of fiction all it's own. The story of the Ambassadors and Mirsenaries and how each side recruited one person each, from the pair of lovers, turning them against each other for all eternity was so tragic and maybe a little hard for me to wrap my head around at first since the image of Romeo and Juliet has always been of love and devotion, but after I was introduced to this version of Romeo was so gross and evil that my mind was changed. Juliet was a very enjoyable character, the complexity of all she had been through made her very interesting, I found myself flying through this book eager for her story to continue and true love to prevail. Since Juliet inhabits another persons body I thought things may get a little confusing but it was very well done, it was always clear who the focus was and I was never confused. 
I am so glad I finally made time to read this book I enjoyed so much of it...mostly the ending!!! and I know there is a companion novel but I feel like I got all I wanted out of this story and I could not ask for more so I will not spoil it with one I may not care for.