Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

published by Scholastic
Genre: Midgrade

$7.99 (paperback)

FTC: I borrowed this book from my sister who did not receive it from the publisher. I will not be compensated for reviewing this book.

What it's about (from the back of the book):

For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite...

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. however, when the rules get broken--Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good--powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

My thoughts:

Okay, I loved it. I will admit it. My sister swore up and down that these books were amazing and I had to read them. So far, the first one is pretty awesome.

This book grabbed my attention and I wanted to know all the magical mysteries of the book. What was up with the keys? What in the world was up with the butterflies and the mirror? Why did the grandpa put a chicken in the bedroom? I HAD to know.

Seth's character irritated me sooo much! He was such an 11 year old boy, always doing things he was told not to do. I thought he was never going to learn from his mistakes. But of course, to even out his character, there is Kendra. She's over cautious about everything.

I only have one complaint about the book. He doesn't go into enough descriptions about the magical creatures. Like the brownies. What in the world do they look like? Cause I do not know what they are. To me, they just sound like a stoners favorite made up creature.

While I thought the end cleaned up nicely, I do not see what the next four books are going to be about, but I look forward to figuring it out.

My rating: 9/10

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor

Illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo

Published by Arthur A. Levine Books
Genre: YA

$17.99 (hardcover)

FTC: I bought this book and did not receive it from a publisher

What it's about according to the book sleeve:

A girl who's always been in the shadows finds erself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging -- literally belonging -- to another world entirely, full of dreaded creatures who can transform into animals, and whose queen keeps little girls as personal pets until they grow to cihldbearing age. From a writer of unparalleled imagination and emotional insight, three stories about the deliciousness of wanting and waiting for that moment when lips touch.

My thoughts:

Everyone had been ranting and raving about how amazing this book was so I started reading it with high expectations. It did not fully meet those expectations. The first of the three stories caught my attention pretty fast but it just...ended. It was going along smoothly and BAM! It was over. Major cliffhanger that caught me off guard. The whole maybe, maybe not answer at the end bugged me.

The second story I very much enjoyed and have nothing bad to say about it. I was really caught up in that story and even found myself holding my breath in anticipation. Will she, won't she talk? I didn't know. Great little story there.

The third story bothered me more than it should have. I found myself skimming parts of it and completely avoiding the parts about feeding kittens to the beasts. The story kinda reminded me of a darker version of The Host by Stephenie Meyer but not as entertaining. If it would have stayed about Esme and Mab I would have enjoyed it more.

What was wonderful about the book is the illustrations before each story. Jim Di Bartolo did a fantastic job creating an outline of the stories using pictures. They were wonderful. I honestly think I enjoyed those more than the stories themselves.

Overall, I think I will give the story a 7/10

5 author book panel

Tonight I went to a 5 author book panel up in Beaverton. Lisa Schroeder, Christine Fletcher, L. K. Madigan, April Henry, and Laini taylor were all there talking about their books. They explained their writing processes, how they handle their editors criticisms, and much more. It's always so fun to listen to authors talk about how their characters have a mind of their own and do things that even they (the authors) weren't aware they were gonna do.

Above picture starting from the left: Christine Fletcher, April Henry, Laini Taylor, Lisa Schroeder, and Lisa Madigan.

After they were done talking, there was a Q&A and signings!

Lisa Madigan and myself

April Henry and me

Me and Laini Taylor (love the pink hair!)

The always lovely Lisa Schroeder and myself.

Christine Fletcher and me

It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy hearing authors talk about their process and how they create such wonderful characters. I can't wait to start reading these books!

My Sould to Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Published by harlequin
Genre: YA

$9.99 (paperback)

FTC: I bought this book and will not be receiving compensation for reviewing this book

Product Discription:

She doesn't see dead people, but... she senses when someone near her is about to die. And when it happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder, literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start to dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

My Thoughts:

This book was...strange. It was a unique idea and I have never read a book that dealt with the same things that this book did. I did enjoy having a different mythical creatures being the main focus rather than vampires, witches, or immortals. What started to bother me about the book was all the screaming in it. This is the main reason that I never want to see this book turned into a movie. I was starting to get pretty annoyed at Kaylee for freaking out so much and not believing when people were telling her she is not dying of a brain tumor. The only character that did not make me angry at one point is nash. Even though I was frustrated for the first half of the book, the second half made up for it. I had trouble putting it down and couldn't wait to find out who was behind the killings. I couldn't help but compare this book to Kim Harrison's Once Dead, Twice Shy. There were a few similarities in the theme of the books. My Sould to Take for the most part was very original and I plan on continuing on with the series.

My rating: 7/10

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors

Published by Walker publishing company
Genre: YA

$16.99 (hardcover)

FTC: I bought this book and will not be receiving compensation for this review

What it's about from the book sleeve:

When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother's funky old-world coffeehouse, she leaves him a cup of hot coffee and some snacks to tide him over. This simple act of kindness quickly turns her life upside down when the vagrant, Malcolm, claims to be an angel on break between missions and won't leave until he rewards her selflessness. Katrina is convinced that while Malcolm might be pretty adorable, he's also a little bit crazy. but whether she believes him or no, Malcolm is determined to fulfill her deepest wish for true happiness. So what happens when you lie to an angel about what you most desire?

My thoughts:

This was a can't-put-down, I'm-gonna-stay-up-all-night-reading-even-though-my-eyes-hurt type of book. Everyone who has been to high school can relate to the characters. Whether it's with Katrina about feeling the pressure of figuring out your future or with Malcolm, who doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. The writing is unique and actually sounds like a 16 year old girl rather than an adult trying to sound like a 16 year old. There was parts that I could not stop laughing at. Malcolm is absolutely hilarious. Coffeehouse Angel has everything in it; laughter, frustration, sadness, and teen crushing. I will definitely be reading this book again sometime in the future.

My rating: 10/10!

Other book review blogs

I have been spending lots of time on blogspot lately, going through other peoples blogs. I have found some pretty cool book review blogs. One in particular is Book Bound. Right now she's doing a big book giveaway contest that I have signed up for. here is the link for the contest http://b00kbound.blogspot.com/2010/01/mega-giveaway-best-ya-of-2009.html

Enjoy!

bought more books

Today I did exactly what I told myself I was not going to do. Yes, I went to Borders and got more books! I limited myself to two books. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain and The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton. It was $5 for a hardback and I couldn't resist. But now I see it has received horrible reviews, so we shall see how that one goes.

Still on my To Buy list:
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
Ruined by Paula Morris
Torched by April Henry
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Now it is time to read Decameron and Much Ado About Nothing for my homework assignments.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Published by Random House
Genre: YA

$17.99 (hardcover)

FTC: I bought this book and will not be receiving anything from reviewing it

Description from the book sleeve:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school in Savannah. He's the one bright spot in a a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are screwups, and security cameras watch every move.

Except Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

My review:

Fallen was entertaining enough. it reminds me of the t.v. show, Lost. It grabs your attention, asks lots of questions and answers some of the smaller questions. But in the end, it leaves you going "WHAT?!?!?!" The story ended before all my biggest questions were answered but answered enough to leave me some-what satisfied with the ending.

The characters were likable, I especially liked Penn. She's cute, quirky, and a good friend. The main character, Luce, is one of those girl characters that can be very frustrating because, well, she's stupid. She makes lots of very dumb choices and never seems to really understand what is going on around her.

Over all, it's a 8.5/10

Shiver Audiobook

Shiver (audiobook) by Maggie Stievfater

10 hours, 43 minutes

9 discs

$39.95

Read by Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux

What Shiver is about:

The cold. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf-her wolf-watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

The heat. Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

The shiver. For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spokken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human--and Grace must fight to keep him-- even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

My review:

I love Shiver the book. Once I was done reading it, I imediately wanted to reread it. This is why I had my local library order the audiobook for me.

Some people who read audiobooks do not change the voices for each of the characters. Both Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux do a good job of changing the voices for the characters. Ledoux is especially good at reading and adding the emotions into it. You really connect to the character Sam while he is reading it.

I have listened to audiobooks before and the person reading it was so awful it made the book suck. This is not the case with this audiobook. I still love the book just as much as I did the first time I read it.

The only problem with this audiobook is how each disc ends. It just stops in mid sentence sometimes. It needs better ending spots. Other than that, it was a perfect reading.

My rating: 10/10 of course!

Book Survey

here's a book survey I found on google that I thought would be fun to fill out.

01: What author do you own the most books by?
Kim Harrison

02: What book do you own the most copies of?
Twilight because I own two copies

03: Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Honestly, I didn't even notice.

04: What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
There's no secret to the characters that I love. Right now I'm going to go with Dimitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series

05: What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Twilight or Harry Potter

06: What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
10? Harry Potter or the Baily School Kids books

07: What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
WUTHERING HEIGHTS!!!! I can't get over how awful that book was.

08: What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
I have read too many good books to say there was a best book.

09: If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Harry Potter series. Those are a must read for everyone.

10: Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
Hmm... I can not answer this.

11: What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. Kim's work is amazing and would make very entertaining movies.


12: What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
I don't want most of the books I read turned into movies.

13: Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I had a dream once that I was Edward Cullen once. I could hear what everyone was thinking around me.

14″ What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
Wuthering Heights. God awful book.

15: What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Either Scarlet letter or The Grapes of Wrath. Both those books were so boring that I had a hard time getting through them. If they were not required for school, I never would have finished them.

16: What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
Where to start? I would say the 1970's version of Romeo and Juliet that was done a few years ago at a local place.

17: Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Russians.

18: Roth or Updike?
I don’t recognize either of these authors, so I have no idea.

19: David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Who?

20: Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
I love Shakespeare, never read anything by Milton, and Chaucer is boring me to tears. So Shakespeare wins!

21: Austen or Eliot?
I can not answer this question because I haven't read anything by either of them.

22: What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I once didn't read anything for myself in a year. That was horrible.

23: What is your favorite novel?
Who in the world could have a favorite book?

24: Play?
Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare.

25: Poem?
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear

26; Essay?
No idea.

27: Short story?
Kim Harrison did a short story about Rachel and Pierce from her Hollows series that I loved.

28: Work of nonfiction?
Marley and Me by John Grogan.

29: Who is your favorite writer?
J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Richelle Mead, Jeaniene Frost, Lisa Schroeder, Devon Monk, Claudia Gray, Rick Riordan, Maggie Stievfater, and so on.

30: Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephen King

31: What is your desert island book?
I have no idea

32: And… what are you reading right now?
Lips Touch Three Times by Lanie Taylor and Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare.

100 book challenge

I have decided to join the 100 books challenge. Yup, that's right. I'm going to read 100 books/plays/audiobooks/graphic novels/novellas and so on in the year 2010! I don't see this being a huge problem really. Here is the link to it: http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-2010-reading-challenge-100-reading.html

So far I have read...
1)Need by Carrie Jones
2)Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
3)Fallen by Lauren Kate
4)A Midsummer Night's Eve by William Shakespeare
5)Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead

I'm currently in the middle of...
*Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
*Lips Touch: Three Times by Lanie Taylor
*Shiver (audiobook) by Maggie Stievfater

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Published by the Penguin Group
Genre: YA

$16.99 (hardcover)

FTC: I bought this book and did not receive it from the publisher

Description from the book sleeve:
Guardian Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same. The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck; a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count.

But only one victim matters...Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa--her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princessppor, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep th epromise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

now, with everything at stake--and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend--can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

OMG! I absolutely love this series! What I love best is Rose. This is one of the only series I read that the main character is not stupid. Rose is stronge, smart, and loyal. She uses her head but yet she follows her heart as well. All the characters are fantastic really. Lissa who tries hard to make herself better and try to make life btter for everyone around her, Adrian who does the same, and of course Dimitri Belikov... what is there not to love about this guy?
This book is the 4th in the series. I cried a lot while reading it. by the time I got to page 150, I had already bawled my eyes out many times. This book is very emotional and captivating and will have you aching for Rose and Dimitri. This was a hard book to put down and has me eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, Spirit Bound.
My rating: 10/10!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Published by Simon & Schuster

$17.99 (Hardcover)
Genre: YA

FTC: I bought this book


Description from book:

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen--and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

My Thoughts:
I really liked this book. While most YA books now have the hott, misunderstood, boy next door as the love interest, not this book. Patch is definitely the ultimate bad boy. It was refreshing to have a different type of love story.
I read a couple reviews for this book before I actually started to read it and a common complaint in those reviews was the best friend, Vee. I don't agree with this. While Vee's character is crazy, loud, and out there, she was a good contrast from Nora. I enjoyed Vee's crazy boldness.
Most of the time I can guess who the bad guys are and pretty much the whole story plot almost by the beginning of the book. This one had me guessing the whole book and I had to keep reading until I found out all the answers. It was a can't put down type of book.
Overall, I want to give it a ...10/10!

Need by Carrie Jones

Need by Carrie Jones

Published by Bloomsbury

$9.99 (paperback)
Genre: YA

FTC: I bought this book and did not receive it from the publisher


Description from the book sleeve:
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane... but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. in fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right--not human-- in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

My Thoughts:

This was actually a pretty good book. All the characters were very likeable, even the bad guy really. I liked how Zara would name all the different phobias names and those became the chapter names. The writing was very simplistic, but it made Zara seem more like a real teenage girl. The story plot was good but moved at a slow pace. there was some points that I just wanted to scream at Zara though. She spends a good deal of this book being depressed and every time she heard a word like "death" or "still" she would have a flashback to her father's death. This became very annoying very fast. What bothered me is how fast all the characters started believing in **spoiler alert (sort of. Everyone pretty much knows the book is about pixies)** pixies and how fast everyone started trusting each other. If someone I met a few days ago told me a pixie is stalking me, I wouldn't believe them.

While I did post more cons than pros for Need, I actually did enjoy the book and already purchased the next book in the series, Captivate.

So I give it 8/10