Krysteena
I can't say that I loved this book as much as Serafina, but I definitely enjoyed it. I think I was expecting much more growth in Serafina's character and I just didn't get that in this sequel. At times, she felt very dense. I don't know...maybe I expected more action and agency on her part. Still was an interesting read! Definitely recommended for all the dragon lovers out there!
Such a good read! I love these characters! My only complaint is the writing for the fight scenes is a bit repetitive. This was definitely a great sequel! Picking up the third book right now!!
This is the kind of book I love. It's a story filled with layers, with charming and relatable characters, with the fantastical and the ordinary...I highly recommend this one!
3.5 out of 5 stars (but I'm rounding up this time bc I can)Mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I thought the individual stories were very interesting and I especially love reading Barbara Gordon's inner thoughts as she fights crime on Gotham streets. However, the overall story arc of this collection felt inconsistent and just all over the place for me. It starts off with a flash back of Babs as a freshman in college and explains how she first started as Batgirl, which I enjoyed more than her previous origins story. It then moves to the present and her struggle with recovering from Joker's attack. Black Canary sends Batgirl on a mission to stop Groteseque, who is just another forgetful villain. The main thing about this guy was that one of his henchmen actually worked for Joker during the attack on Babs, and this leads to an emotional scene that Gail Simone does a brilliant job writing. The next part of her adventures involves the Night of the Owls crossover story arc. I LOVED this part so much! It was exciting and intriguing and the art work here was awesome. But it just left me hanging. And it seemed to just come out of nowhere. Plus, I hate that I have to pick up different titles in order to see what happens next during this night of terror in Gotham. I mean, I have to see what happens now, ya know? *adds [b:Batman: The Night of the Owls 15784159 Batman The Night of the Owls Scott Snyder https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344000972s/15784159.jpg 21501850] to growing book list*The volume ends with Batgirl up against Gotham's newest vigilante, Knightfall. She is truly one of the more terrifying villains that Babs has to face thus far (although Knightfall's lackeys were unremarkable). I love that Batwoman comes in and helps Batgirl. I loved the creepy/crazy psychosis of Knightfall. And I loved that we have James Gordon, slowly and subtly working his way into his sister's life throughout this story (truly frightening shit right there). These last few parts are the reason I rounded up on my rating, which I normally do not do. There are a lot of things to look forward to in volume 3 and I know that Gail Simone is going to do a great job.
omg, HENRY!!! This volume was too much for me, I couldn't help but shed a few tears... Still, despite what happens, this was a very good read...bittersweet, much like Skinner himself.
Second Cycle has now been added to my pull-list!
The art was awesome, the characters were cool, the story was fun. If you are a Star Wars fan, I'm sure you will appreciate and enjoy this as much as I did. I even bought a copy as a birthday present for my nephew. His parents named him Jedi =)
This was a very charming short story that was located at the end of the ebook version of [b:Seraphina 19549841 Seraphina (Seraphina, #1) Rachel Hartman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387577872s/19549841.jpg 17375239]. I loved it! Not only do you get to see how Seraphina landed her job as the assistant music coordinator, but you also get to see these characters in another light. Definitely a must read if you are like me and are anxiously waiting for the next installment of this series =)
I LOVED this so much! My favorite on-going series right now!! They are on a break, so now is the perfect time to catch up with the story. Highly recommended...Plus, if you start keeping up with the comics, then you get to read the awesome letter columns that Brian Vaughan writes!
I haven't really been keeping up with my book reviews, so here I am trying to catch up. First on the list is Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey. 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. This was a pretty solid read. It's actually a collection of 5 short stories/novellas focusing on this post-apocalyptic world. I actually thought the first three stories were stronger than the last two. I wish he would have stuck to keeping each book under one person's POV (although I can see why he had to change it up for book 4 and 5). That being said, I'm still very anxious to pick up the next collection in this series [b:Shift Omnibus Edition (Silo, #2) 17306293 Shift Omnibus Edition (Silo, #2) (Wool, #6-8) Hugh Howey https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361727046s/17306293.jpg 23965619]. Been hearing rumors that this is about to become a move? If so, I definitely recommend this to my pop culture peeps (that means you Richelle), and any science fiction fans out there. Also, check out this really cool (book?) trailer for Wool: http://youtu.be/KmAAextwvkY (Jules is awesome!!)
Touching story with a hint of supernatural elements in it. I really wish that the drawings were in color because Lemire's art is wonderful.
3.5 out of 5 stars. Not as great as the other stories, but still very good and worth the read.
Volume 3 is my favorite arch so far–can't wait to see what happens next.
3 stars out of 5.
Pretty good. Solid writing, and decent art (the panels got kind of repetitive/monotonous the more I read). However, I really liked how baby Clark/Kal-el had his small curl of hair (that was cute), and Louis Lane looks a bit like Dexter Morgan's sister, Deb (not a bad thing, although it did take me a while to get used to her look). My favorite character is definitely the Kryptonian spaceship (and Clark's cat when he was younger lol)!
I didn't care too much about Parasite as a villain. He goes into a strange machine and comes out a mutant that can suck the energy out of people and things. No explanation, no logic, it just happens and the reader just has to go with it. I thought Parasite was scarier and more interesting as a normal human being versus his monstrous identity. Also, I found myself feeling a bit fed up and tired of Superman as he just kept coming back to fight Parasite without coming up with solid plan (other than going in and beat the shit out of this guy).
For me, the writing, the story, and the characters in volume one was stronger than in volume two. Having a modern Clark Kent was refreshing (but man, this guy is so perfect–sports, science, business...he can pretty much do anything he wants, huh?! He's the whole package). However, volume two really let me down and I'm just not invested in the story enough to read about what happens next... On the bright side, I'm very interested to see how they handled Batman's Earth One series and I'm extremely excited for Wonder Woman's story to come out (hopefully by 2014).
Barbara Gordon is my favorite. And in the New 52 she is back as Batgirl. Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I was excited to see her back in the Batgirl costume and regain the ability to walk, but I was ambivalent about the whole deal. I mean, there was nothing wrong with having her as Oracle, but here it is, and I'm not completely upset by it. Gail Simone has not disappointed me. The characterization of Barbara Gordon is great. Babs is still the strong, independent superhero I respect, and I can't wait to see how the story progresses and what else is in store for Babs.
Read this while on vacation. Perfect light read while traveling. The stakes are definitely getting higher for cinder and her gang. And we are getting close to the final show down with queen levana. So far, my favorite in the series was scarlet (book 2), but i can't wait to start winter when i get back home–this lunar princess seems like a very interesting character...
I loved this book! Seraphina is such a refreshing narrator and I was instantly drawn to her character. The world building and character development are top notch here. The dragons are very cool and original–and the plot was interesting. I guess my only complaint with this novel is the pacing. It starts off great, but then begins to drag during the middle. But honestly, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound and I hardly noticed because the characters were so engaging. I'm very excited to read the rest of this series–Book #2: [b:Shadow Scale 16085457 Shadow Scale (Seraphina, #2) Rachel Hartman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405355942s/16085457.jpg 21451371] should be out in March and I'm planning to pre-order it (that's how much I loved this book!). I cannot wait to see how Seraphina matures and learn more about this world (the saints are interesting and the politics are intriguing).5 out of 5 stars!!
Ensign Dahl representin' the Redshirts!
4.5 out of 5
Although I'm not a Trekkie myself, I thought this was a delightful book. I grew up with a casual Star Trek fan–my dad–so I knew what redshirts referred to, and I think Scalzi gave these guys the homage they deserve with this novel. It was fun, light, and just a really fast read. I flew through this in less than a day (mainly because it was a library book and, of course, I waited for the very last minute to pick it up...but also because the material wasn't too dense).
I think my favorite part was the Coda, where the reader basically gets served three different endings from different POVs. I really enjoyed that–it was like a really satisfying meal, you know? ... delicious but still nutritious, and you ate just the right amount, leaving space for some dessert.
I highly recommend this one to science fiction fans (especially Trekkies) who are looking for something fun =)
Even if you don't know anything about Star Trek, I think it's still worth a gander–especially if you're on vacation or something.
This is one of those books I love to hate. It's an average story, containing average characters. Our two main narrators here are a lustful, possessive vampire assassin and his bride a powerless virgin sorceress/demon (man did it irritate me how he seemed to always talk about her like an object, like something he owns)...there were no surprising plot twists or thought provoking revelations here. But let's face it–that's not why I picked the book up. I picked it up for one reason, and that would be the sex. So...Let's talk about sex, baby! The sex in the book was really well written (4 out of 5 stars for those scenes). Definitely made me blush. And if you are in the mood for some really good sexy times, then this is the book for you. Without those scenes though, the book really fell short. I would probably rate it a 2.5 out of 5 for the characters, language, and pretty much everything else that I love about fantasy novels. I didn't like Trehan very much (yes, I'll admit that he is one of the more sexy vampires and he would do almost anything for Bettina...but he was awful).
“Just because someone desires you, does not mean that they value you.
Read it over.
Again.
Let those words resonate in your mind.”
First off, I have to say: I love the cover art for this novel! And the artist behind this beautiful image depicting the anatomy of a Vystrani rock-wyrm is Todd Lockwood. He's worked on a variety of book covers and on art for games like MTG and D&D. You can view some of his other work here: http://www.toddlockwood.com/
Okay, now onto the actual book. I am kind of on the fence about this one. On the one hand, I really loved the main protagonist, Isabella. She was resourceful, logical, and passionate about her work in the natural science field–all traits that I can relate to in one way or another. I especially loved her relationship with Jacob. Jacob was actually one of my favorite characters, and I was extremely sad when he died. I mean, I saw it coming of course, but he was such a great guy!! And a prefect husband for Isabella--rational, caring, and dependable. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a little during his death scene. On the other hand, I wasn't really engaged in the overall plot and story of this book... I am not sure if it was because I was expecting to see more information about dragons, or because the environment and world just didn't seem interesting to me. Whatever the reason, reading this book was not something I felt compelled to do each night. So even though this was a fairly easy read, I took quite a long time to finish it.
The book began very well for me. The introduction letter and the first few chapters really capture my imagination and drew me into the story. Still, the whole Zhagrit Mat plot felt really out of place and, although I appreciated the mystery surrounding the dragon demon, it all fell sort of short for me during the resolution. I think my expectations for this book were a bit too high and so the closer I got to the end, the less I wanted to read because the book was not meeting those expectations.
I am honestly not sure if I am going to pick up the next book in this series. I am a little curious to see how the next volume plays out, and I would love to get to see how Isabella became Lady Trent. However, I wasn't impressed with this installment so...again, mixed feelings about all of this.
Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it me think about death and the scars that we leave behind... In short, I really really liked this book. However, I did not LOVE it and I am not entirely sure why. It was well written and there are so many quotes that I've electronically highlighted...but I'm sitting here, writing this review, reflecting upon the novel and I just can't seem to pin-point exactly why I'm not in love with this novel... Honestly, I thought that this would go directly into my “Favorites” list, but maybe my expectations were too high.
There were definitely times in this novel where I felt that the characters were too flat. But I think that was just John Greene's straightforward writing style (note: this was the first novel I've read by him, so this may not be very accurate opinion; however, I'm a fan of his youtube channel so I'm familiar with some of his work).
A scene that stuck out to me was that conversation between Hazel and her parents towards the end of the novel, where Hazel's mother reveals the fact that she has been working toward a Master's degree all this time. This scene really struck a cord with me (I cried like a crazy person) and not just because Hazel gets the closure she is looking for, but also because, at that moment, I realized that these were not just foil characters--they are her parents.
If you are looking for a short and sad read, then check this book out.
Solid 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of Batman or Superman origin stories because their beginnings have been told WAY too many times (reason for reading this novel: book club book of the month). That being said, this origin story wasn't the worst, and it definitely was not the best.
Mediocre. That's how I would describe this entire novel–both art and story. I think Geoff Johns's attempt to stick out of the crowd by changing a few of the characters around (Alfred in particular) was admirable, but it just didn't work for me. There was no mystery to this, which is where I feel Batman stories thrive, and there was no in-depth character growth, which is what I expect from any origin story.
3 out of five stars.
This was my favorite book in the series so far!! 5 out of 5 stars!
What an adventure! The seven have finally come together in order to stop Gaea from rising–which means, my favorite characters from the series are back! (i.e. Leo and Annabeth–these two are probably my favorite POV characters. Leo, because he's fun and he keeps things light when compared to the much more serious tones we get from the other characters. Annabeth, because she's always been a character that I could relate to).
Some noteworthy things to mention about The Mark of Athena:
The ending! I'll admit, I cried so hard during that last scene in the cavern. Even though the whole time I was thinking about how stupid the seven of them were standing around and talking in a cavern whose freaking floor was about to crumble beneath you and leads to freaking Tartarus! Seriously, if I were Annabeth, first thing I'd do is tell my friends to get us the hell out of there because this shit ain't stable, and my ankle is broken, and, I don't know about you guys, but I want to be as far away from this cursed place as possible. But that had to happen. It had to in order for the seven to have a chance of closing the Doors of Death.
Another surprising thing about this book: Piper. My opinion of her has completely changed since the whole nymphaeum scene. She was resourceful. She understood the situation and trusted herself. I respect that. I honestly didn't think much of her in The Lost Hero. She was pining for Jason too much and she always presented herself as the victim, that I just couldn't find much to relate to in her character–other than being vegetarian. But her true colors were really able to shine in this book (even though at the beginning it was always “Jason this” and “Jason that”...I swear, she didn't do much in the first hundred pages other than watch Jason recover from injuries and worry about the images she would glimpse in Katoptris). Hopefully, Riordan will continue to write her POV chapters this same way. She needs to learn to just be herself and I think she's really starting to be who she wants to be, rather than always thinking about what other people want her to be and look like. The cornucopia is a “weapon” that she is much more comfortable using versus Katoptris, and she knows this. She even states in one of these last chapters that “the next time she got a chance, Piper swore she would melt down Katoptris and sell it for scrap metal.” That's what I like to hear! Get it, girl.
To sum up this review: definitely pick this series up if you are a Percy Jackson fan! Book three was well worth reading the first two books (which were also very good). You won't regret it! =) Also check out some cool demigod art:
Heroes of Olympus by *viria13 on deviantART
Another great read from Rick Riordan! I was impressed by the way he wrote Piper and Hazel's POV chapters. After Mark of Athena, I really wanted to see continued growth in both of these characters, and I was not disappointed in this sequel. Definitely a worthwhile series to pick up! I especially LOVED Leo's journey! He has been one of my favorite characters since this series started and I've always thought he was always getting the short end of the stick. But I'm glad things worked out the way they did.
That being said, I felt a bit let down by Percy and Annabeth's POV's. I mean, their journey though Tartarus was everything you would expect from this exciting series (and more)–suffering, sacrifice, etc... I just didn't really enjoy the character development as much as in his other books (and Annabeth is one of my favorite characters, so I'm probably being extra harsh). Honestly, I was getting tired of hearing how important they are to one another after each injury and obstacle. I really wish those thoughts were left out and instead described and felt–through their actions. I don't know if that makes sense, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all the Percy Jackson fans out there (as well as any new readers who are looking for a contemporary twist on Ancient Greek/Roman mythology).
Beautiful story filled with simple yet elegant prose. Aristotle is wonderful narrator. I recommend this to those who enjoyed [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower 22628 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363910637s/22628.jpg 2236198]4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded up this time).
I love this author! And I seriously cannot get enough of her novels!!Like her Inheritance Trilogy, this Dreamblood series is set in a very non-traditional fantasy world, which is one of the many reasons I love her books. It so refreshing to see multiple cultures, multiple races, multiple religions with in the fantasy genre–you can bet that the setting is not your typical medieval Europe. Her characters are complex and her magic system is unique. This is the fourth book I've read by N.K. Jemisin, and I feel like her writing is just getting stronger with each novel. I am eager to pick up the next book in this series [b:The Shadowed Sun 11774295 The Shadowed Sun (Dreamblood, #2) N.K. Jemisin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331143933s/11774295.jpg 14757897].5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.