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Friday, August 30, 2013

Update on The One by Kiera Cass + The Guard novella

I KNOW THERE ARE THE SELECTION FANS OUT THERE! FORREAL THO. THE SELECTION IS TOO FAB FOR WORDS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ IT YET.


The Selection (The Selection, #1)The Elite (The Selection, #2)

These are the first two book to the series. Fab Fab Fab cover right? Well, the plot and story gets even better. The romance? Well, a little messy. Cuz there's that love-triangle. I'm rooting for Maxon ALL THE WAY. 

The third and final to the trilogy! THE ONE! Nice title. There's no cover yet. :/ But......:D There's a release date! Yippee!! But.....that release date is very far away. :( So far that my freshman year would almost be over by then. :( It's alright though! At least it's not coming out in 2015. 

May 6th, 2014!!!

Yep. That big day it's gonna come out!! :D 

Ya'll know about The Prince right? 
The Prince (The Selection, #0.5)

Yeah. That one right there! The Selection #0.5 novella? The one in Maxon POV? Yeah? Well, anyways Kiera Cass is making another of those novellas. But this time, it's called The Guard!! :D

I think you know what that means~ *wiggles eyebrows. Time for Aspen. Despite at first, I really didn't like Aspen, in the second book, I didn't despise him as much. Doesn't mean I like him though. Doesn't mean I prefer him over Maxon. 

And sadly, though, the author ships Asperica alot. :'( I hope she makes her end up with Maxon though. If she ended up with Aspen, I'm going to officially hate this series. Unless, of course, if Kiera finds a reason for me to like Aspen. Like he's actually the secret prince. Omg. Or if Maxon died. Or else.....

The Guard: 
The Guard is going to be a The Selection #2.5 novella and it's going to come out on Feburary 4th, 2014! :D Or of course, you can wait for The Selection Stories: The Prince and The Guard, which is probably coming out around then also.

There's no cover for The Guard yet. So...:( no cover to share. From Kiera's blog, we learned that The Guard would be about Aspen POV duhhh and it's gonna take place during parts of The Elite. :D :D Okay. I hope we'll get to learn more about Aspen. And I hope I'll like Aspen better. Better. Just better. Not more than Maxon. :) Just better. I really don't want to hate Maxon. LOL. 

I think that's it to my news. Stay tuned ya'll. Oh yeah, and here's Kiera Cass's website, so you can check out even more stuff! :D www.kieracass.com But then, she's not updating as often. :( So don't be disappointed.

**credits to Kiera's Blog for the info.

Happy Reading~ 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Book Review: The Devil's Triangle by Toni de Palma

The Devil's Triangle (The Devil's Triangle, #1)The Devil's Triangle (The Devil's Triangle #1)
by Toni de Palma
Release Date: February 15th, 2013
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
ebook, 172 pages
Source: Author's Agent
Attain a Copy:
      B&N | Amazon


Goodreads Summary: When 17 year old Cooper dies in an attempt to burn down his school, he finds himself in the afterlife. Lucy, the Devil's sister who has crossed party lines, decides to give Cooper another shot at heaven. The deal? Cooper returns to Earth and has to find a girl named Grace. The rest is up to him.

While Cooper figures out his mission, he's thrown into the life he's always wanted. Great parents, a spot on the Varsity football team and a real future are all within reach. But what he really wants is Grace, a feisty girl with an abusive boyfriend who can pound Cooper into pulp if he doesn't watch out.

While Lucy plays demonic-puppeteer, clues to an unknown past between Cooper and Grace start to unravel. Cooper discovers that what's keeping him and Grace apart is far more sinister than anything this bad boy could have ever imagined.


Cindy's Review:

**I received this book for my honest and actual opinion of the book. **

At First Glance/The Cover:
Before this book was actually offered to me, I was actually eyeing it. Because the plot sounded good. The characters sounded interesting. It might be something that I like. That was for me. 

The Characters/The Opinions:
Before I actually move on to the characters, I might as well tell ya'll the good and bad. I'm brimming with details. :D


I should have expected it to have angels, heaven, hell, and a devil in the book. I mean, even the summary and teaser said so. The title also. Everything points to devil, horrible devil, mean devil, evil devil. But really, I was expecting more romance from this. Because it seems like the romance is the story. I was expected more of a chemistry romance. A warm, fuzzy romance. But it was far from that. It's the scared, tittering kind. Kind of a forbidden romance. Even a forbidden romance is better.  At least in a forbidden romance, the characters try to get together and secretly meet or something. But no. In this book, they just stand there. For a long while before taking any action. 

I mean, I know Cooper's trying, but his actions didn't really affect the plot, the story much, because nothing much change. Except that we got to learn even more about the devil. The devil. And the character themselves. Yes, we learned a bit, but it all revolved around the devil. I want to know a bit more about their love, their romance. Why it was so deep. What caused the devil to stop them, interrupt them? Not just a one sentence explanation, but a full, heart-felted one. 

Although, the romance was as good as what I was expecting, the rest was a good book. Cooper was enjoyable...I expected Cooper to be more cool and jocky. But what can you get from someone whose pretending to be one. LOL.  I don't really mind reading about the devil. But we don't really get much impression of the devil. No looks, only the atmosphere around him. And reading all this also leads me to ask: What is the devil? Who is he? Ruler of Hell? But? What does he do.

Of course, writing can be very very hard. I mean, it's very hard just to satisfy your needs, much less others. I tried. I, well, stopped. I'm not really telling the author to rewrite the whole book, cuz that would just be plain mean. But when she writes her next book, maybe she'll take some of my feedback and make it even better. At more details. More chemistry to the romance. Maybe. 

Cooper - Needless to say, Cooper is the main character. He's the guy in the middle on the cover. Somehow, he just kind of reminds me of Leo from Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. The whole 'burned down school' and fire thing. And the going back to modern life thing. Cooper? He's not funny, but he's not boring either. He's not a stoner or loner, but he's not exactly popular. So I guess you can say he's near the middle. His attitude. Well, he has a bit, not big enough to count it as an attitude problem.

What shows out the most though. His persistence. His will. To get Grace. To save her. If it was me, I'd probably not make a very good protagonist and chicken out. 

Grace - I have no problems with her, but then sometimes she gets on my nerves. I was mad. And annoyed. Like the reason the plot didn't move on was her. I mean, I get it that the devil is going to kill them. I get that it's bad. I get that it's going against everything. But what makes a good book when the characters are following all the rules? And they're gonna have to go against the rules sometime, why not make it sooner? 

Grace just kept saying no, no, and no. And that's the only tad bit that got me annoyed. Otherwise, I can't say much. If I went to their school, she'd probably be invisible. She doesn't have any bad thing that points out that she doesn't have friends or is not someone very unpopular. But I definitely won't see her in the popular crowd either. And also not being in a group of friends. 

Overall Thoughts: 
Wow! I said like super much in this review. And not all of them are kind compliments. I'm sorry for that. But saying all that out feels nice. It feels like a rant. Just ranting compliments doesn't let your whole heart out. And thanks so much to Christine for allowing me to read this book. As much as there is to be fixed, I do not hate this book at all. 

And I think the wonderful, quirky idea of this story was awesome. :) 

The Rating:(1-10): 7.5


About the Author: 
Toni De PalmaToni de Palma was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child she spent many summers in Ischia, the Italian island where her father was brought up. Her first middle grade novel, Under the Banyan Tree, was published in 2007 and selected as a Kirkus New Voices Pick and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Her second middle grade, novel, Jeremy Owl, was published in 2010. Toni holds her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and she is a recipient of a New Jersey Arts Fellowship. She currently resides in New Jersey. 


Links: 
Facebook

Happy Reading~ 

Monday, August 26, 2013

House of Hades by Rick Riordan: Tour Dates + Excerpt! :D

CALLING ALL PERCY JACKSON, RICK RIORDAN FANS! I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF YOU OUT THERE! :) 

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4)

YA'LL KNOW RICK RIORDAN'S HOUSE OF HADES IS COMING OUT ON OCTOBER 8TH, 2013 RIGHT? I MEAN, HOW CAN'T YOU? AND A NEW RELEASE MEANS ANOTHER CHANCE TO 'MEET' RICK RIORDAN! :D 

I HAVE TOUR DATES HERE! THE LUCKY 8 PLACES HE'LL VISIT THIS YEAR OF 2013.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 - Burlington, MA 

Burlington Barnes and Nobles #2699
98 Middlesex Parkway
Blurlington, MA 01803

What can I say? Ya'll lucky!! Release Day Event! For those who live nearby, and got to go, share it! LOL. Tell us how it went. I'm so jealous. :'/ And Middlesex Parkway is just too hilarious omg. okay.


Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 - New York, NY

Symphony Space
2537 Broadway at 95th Street
New York, NY 10025


Massachusetts isn't that far from New York. So East Coast, he's coming to ya'll first!! :D 


Thursday, October 10th, 2013 - Fairless Hills - PA

The Court @ Oxford Valley
210 Commerce Blvd.
Fairless Hills, PA 19030



Friday, October 11th, 2013 - Washington, DC

Wilson High School Auditorium
3950 Chesapeake St NW
Washington, DC 20016


Saturday, October 12th, 2013 - St. Louis, MO

St. Louis County Library
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131



Sunday, October 13th, 2013 - Nashville, TN

 Parnassus Books
3900 Hillsboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37215



Monday, October 14th, 2013 - Houston, TX

Morton Ranch High School Performing Arts Center
21000 Franz Rd.
Katy, TX 77449



Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 - St. Paul, MN

Micawber's Books
2238 Carter Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108


THAT'S IT! HE DIDN'T GO TO THE WEST COAST AT ALL. :( CALIFORNIA NEEDS A VISIT! 
BUT THEN WE CAN'T EVEN MEET HIM FACE TO FACE WHEN HE DOES COME. I CAN'T HAVE HIM SIGN THE TWELVE BOOKS I OWN (SOON TO BE 13). ;( 

Of course, these tour information are all from Rick Riordan's blog. I only provided the date and roughly the address of the place. It may be wrong. All the tickets, websites, numbers, and other information or requirements are shown on Rick Riordan's website. 


And the excerpt you might be waiting for? Also at Rick Riordan's website! LOL.
Here you go:


Happy Reading~

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Book Review: The Reluctant Goddess by A.F. Firebird

The Reluctant GoddessThe Reluctant Goddess
by A.F. Firebird
Release Date: March 31st, 2012
Publisher: POSE
Genre: Fiction 
ebook, 311 pages
Get a Copy:
      Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Ellena Ripley is a bookshop owner from a rural town in the south of England – or so she thinks. But lately, she has a growing sense that life is not as it seems. At night, she dreams of a serene man who appears to be trying to tell her something; In the day, she can't shake a feeling of expectation. But of what? 


Meanwhile Hector, servant of LIFE and the man from Ellena's dreams, has a dilemma. How do you tell someone they are a goddess? His previous attempts have met with disaster so he must be cautious, particularly when his new trainee, Boudica, formerly Queen of the Iceni tries to help. The question is can they succeed before it is too late?

If you like your metaphysics spiced with humor and drama this book could be for you.



Cindy's Review:
At a Glance/The Cover:
I don't know what I really expected from this book. The teaser was amazing. And the idea of that plot. To me, it was fabulous. I like gods and goddesses. At least stories of them. Although, I'm not sure this is the best written of a story about a goddess. At first, I was a bit reluctant to read it, because the beginning wasn't as exciting, but later on, the book proved to be a bit more interesting. Having its plot taking flight, and finally we begin to see what it's about.

The Characters/Plot:
The Reluctant Goddess is mainly about Ellena. It's basically her story. Everything is about her finally realizing who she was. But the narrator seems to be Hector. Even now, I'm still confused of who he is. I mean, I got really confused. 

Hector - At first, I thought Hector was an angel. Then, I thought he was LIFE. Then, I finally found out he was the servant of LIFE. We don't really get to learn much about Hector except when he pops in between the stories about Ellena. Hector actually use a lot of effort to get Ellena to finally know herself again.

Ellena - Ellena owns a bookstore at a local place. In the beginning of the book, she has no idea that she is goddess. But she was getting impressions that she is different form other people. Ellena is actually a re-incarnation of Quan Yin, Goddess of Compassion. Hector, Boudica, and Michael are trying hard for Ellena to learn who she really is, or try to get some memory back of who she is and what she is in this world for.

Overall Thoughts:
I mean, this book was alright, but it isn't one I would recommend to someone. The plot was definitely intriguing. That's a great plot there, but it's the contents that bore me. This novel didn't really have surprising twists and turns of excitement that you do want to get from a book when you read. 

Maybe if the author added another twist in the book, I think it will make The Reluctant Goddess a much more enjoyable book.

The Rating: (1-10): 6.5~

Happy Reading~ 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

United We Spy by Ally Carter Excerpt!

Ally Carter fans out there? Spy fans? YA? Either way, for me, I'm a super duper spy fan. Like everything related to it. Especially books. :D And those imaginative characters that seem so real. 

Either way, enough of the small talk. :) So Ally Carter fans know we're all waiting for the final conclusion of The Gallagher Girls! :D Cuz I just lurve that series so mucho~ 

United We Spy (Gallagher Girls, #6)United We Spy (The Gallagher Girls #6)
by Ally Carter
Release Date: September 17th,, 2013.

Goodreads Summary: Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

Thoughts: I'm so excited for the final book of this series! Can't wait to see how Ally Carter will make this ending. And how Cammie and Zach will end up. :) Okay. Less talk. Onto that excerpt! :)

So it's Chapter 1 of United We Spy, found on the Ally Carter website: www.allycarter.com/books/united-we-spy/excerpt/

Yep yep. Excited! :D It'll come out in a month! 

Happy Reading~ 


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Anticipating August Releases~

There's like, oh so much anticipating August releases from sequels I've been just waiting for to authors that I'm just a die-hard fan of. So yipee~ Glad to share it all!

*These are the ones I know about, so tell me, tell me more, if there are other books also coming out in August~  And god, I'm so late. It's in the middle of August already. LOL.

Origin (Lux, #4) Origin (Lux #4)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: August 27th, 2013.

Thoughts: Have ya'll heard of Jennifer L. Armentrout? If you haven't....I just have no comment. Well, except GO READ HER BOOKS. She's an awesome author with a really great writing style. The first book, Obsidian, was definitely an entertaining novel.


Origin is book four in the Lux series. And well, I didn't even read book 2 or 3 yet, but it's nice to know that when I do read book 2 and 3, book 4 would be waiting for me, especially if book 3 turns out to be a cliffhanger. :D 


Tagline: Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
Ooh. Okay. Hot and fierce. I see you, Daemon. Haha.


Sometimes It Lasts (Sea Breeze, #5)Sometimes It Lasts (Sea Breeze #5)
by Abbi Glines
Release Date: August 27th, 2013.

Thoughts: Okay. I'm not even suppose to have these covers on my blog. Like as a supposedly innocent, little teenager, I don't read these. I don't even want to admit it, but then these have like the best damn romances. Too bad the movies would be Rated R. But again, as a teenager, we're probably one of the most dirty thinking bunches. LOL.  
I only read like book 1 in this series. Breathe. That one was actually like young adult. No one took their clothes off as far as I can tell. And god, Abbi writes like the best romance novels ever. LIKE EVER. If you're not afraid of some new adult, just go read her books. Omg. 

Tagline: Cage York has to choose between a love of the game and a love of the girl in this sultry Sea Breeze novel....

by April Genevieve Tucholke
Release Date: August 15th, 2013.

Thoughts: Well, just did this book's review right before this post. I don't have the link to it,since this is a scheduled post, but the review should be right under this post. So if you want to find out more, it's there. 

I think the cover portrays this book in the most perfect way possible. You see that fog? You won't be able to see clearly to that ending while reading the book. You see the couple, standing eerily at the cliff? The plot definitely gets mysterious. The romance. The setting. It's not scary though, but it'll definitely have you hunting for more. :)

Tagline: You stop fearing the devil when you're holding his hand...



The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, #3)The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3)
by Rae Carson
Release Date: August 27th, 2013.

Thoughts: The first book was highly recommended to me. The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Mysterious title. Great plot. Although personally, I think it sounds better as The Girl of Thorns and Fire. 

The second book ended in bit of a cliffhanger. A bit. Although I feel like I can kind of predict what might happen, you never know. Hmmm...let's see how The Bitter Kingdom does go though. 

I don't really like the covers, but ohs wells...

Tagline: The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy.

Well, not that exciting, but at least we know it's the final book. :D 

The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5)The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles Part #5)
by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson
Release Date: August 20th, 2013.

Thoughts: Cassie Clare fans~ Here she comes! :D Okay. You get the idea that it's about Magnus Bane. I didn't even know about the Bane Chronicles, like until now, so gotta catch up on my reading. And speaking about reading Cassie Clare books, I really need to read The Infernal Devices, which I heard was even better than The Mortal Instruments, so... hehe anticipating~ 

Magnus Bane is a wizard. That's all I remember. He sounds like he's from Harry Potter though. I don't really remember much about Magnus Bane but my friend just gushes that he's hot. Okay.

Tagline: In 1920s Manhattan, Magnus Bane hobnobs with the elite at a glamorous Jazz Age hotspot.   

The Enchantress Returns (The Land of Stories, #2)The Enchantress Returns (The Land of Stories #2)
By Chris Colfer
Release Date: August 6th, 2013.

Thoughts: Okay. So I read the first book. AND LOVED IT. Like Chris Colfer's writing was just super duper fun to read. It's middle grade and a whole bunch of adventure. I really enjoyed that plot. It seems so mythical, but not so fake that it gets too dramatic. I really enjoyed The Wishing Spell. Like so much. So for those who don't mind some adventure, go ahead and read it! :D

Hmmm. Sounds like it would be one load of an adventure in the sequel~ 

Tagline: After decades of hiding, the evil Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty is back with a vengeance. 

by James Dashner
Release Date: August 13th, 2013.

Thoughts: Any The Maze Runner fans out there? Or if you read The Maze Runner. In my case, I read the whole series and liked it. So when I found The Maze Runner Files, yeah. I'll definitely go check it out. :D Reminds me just like The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan. I just went crazy about that. LOL. Kk. Cuz ya'll know, Percy Jackson. And well, I guess I'm excited to learn more about Thomas and Teresa and this complicated, yet very creative process and plot of the maze.

Overall, this series is a really cool book. Sci-fi, romance. Yep. YA. For those who enjoys these genres. 

Tagline: Lost emails between WICKED employees, memos meant to be destroyed after reading, and.....

To Be Perfectly Honest: A Novel Based on an Untrue StoryTo Be Perfectly Honest 
by Sonya Sones
Release Date: August 27th, 2013.

Thoughts: So I also read this book. :D My friend let me borrow her ARC copy. And omg. She has like ways to get all these ARCS. I just dunno how. Either way, this whole book is kind of written in a poem format. So it's a pretty fast read. It was fun though. And the whole novel is a novel and it did make sense. 

It's like those poem novels. Epic poems? If they are long and novel like, but written in more of poem form, it's called an epic poem, isn't it? It just needs a hero and I guess when can say the main character is one. Even though she's not. LOL.

I haven't reviewed the book yet, so review will come out. LATER. 


by Rick Riordan, Shaun Tan, Ray Bradbury, Neal Shusterman, Tom Angleberger, Rebecca Stead, Shannon Hale, D.J. MacHale, Eric S. Nylund , and Kenneth Opal 
Release  Date: August 29th, 2013.

Thoughts: OMFG!! Like more Percy Jackson? Ooh yeah! What got me was Rick Riordan there. But then I also saw Neal Shusterman and Shannon Hale and that was triple the attention! OMG. Like I gotta read this one. Really. 

Taglines: Ten incredible trips into the unknown await you...

• Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo an all-new and exclusive tale from Rick Riordan

Okay. Forreal tho. Gotta read that. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

So that's it for now! :D Real excited for these books to come out and can't wait to get my hands on them to READ. Woot! 

There are way more other books coming out, but then these were like the ones that appealed to me the most. :D OF COURSE, TELL ME if you guys find some other spectacular August reads. :D 

Happy Reading~ 

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Book Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke



Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between, #1)
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand.


Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

by April Genevieve Tucholke 
Release Date: August 15th, 2013
Publisher: Dial
Paperback ARC, 368 pages 
Source: Gift from Liana :) 
Attain a Copy:
      B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.


Cindy's Review: 
At First Glance:
Well, it did seem dark, but it definitely seemed good. :D And when my friend gave me the ARC, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and start reading. I just didn't really anticipate how good it actually was. 

Some quotes. These quotes may not be exactly the same from the final version. 
"This was fear. This was biting, scratching, howling, screeching, burning hot fear."
Nice choice of words there. I would love to write like that. And Violet, you should have felt that fear. Way earlier. When you met him. 

The Characters/Summaries:
Violet - Well, what can I say? Violet is a decent girl. She might be a bit gullible though. Just a bit. At least she knows how to take action. And well, suspect people. At first, I was mad at her for letting the obvious devil there, West, go even if he did something wrong. And then, well, the unexpected happened. She was right and I was wrong. That surprise ending there, I really didn't suspect. At all.

"But for all my praying, the devil still found me."
Or did he? He certainly has, ma'am, but just not what you think he is. 

River West - Okay. Him. He sounded cool to me. At first. Like a joke-ster. Prankster. Quirky. Arrogant. Then, the shadow of him arrived. And his unique abilities. It was scary at first, but River doesn''t seem to go too far. He went from back and forth using glow, not using his glow. I got confused. Really confused. Throughout the book, I kept on asking myself if he's the devil or not. It got really confusing.

Of course, we did end up meeting that devil towards  the end of the book. 


The book got darker and darker as I got closer and closer to the ending. But I did read on. It was intriguing. It was quite a story to tell. It sucked in readers and never let them go until they finished reading and closed the final cover. So,  oh yes. It was good. It was better than good. 


"What the hell are you, River? What the hell are you?"
That's right. I'm asking the same thing. What the hell are you?

Final Thoughts:
If you'd like a fast, foggy, dark read, have fun reading this book~ 

Throughout the book, it certainly got me confused. But in a good way. In a way that my head was whirling around thinking, trying to hit that exact spot. To find that ending. To get to know what really did happen and what really is happening. And who all these mysterious people are. And Violet's family history. There's something there also. *wiggles eyebrow. Ya'll know everything will make sense in the end. :D 

Personally, I  think if the book ended like this and not continue on in a series, I think it would make a better ending to the story. It was leave a gasping, needing for air ending. Instead of whatever ending that ends a series. And knowing from experience of reading, not writing it's hard to make a good series ending. Most of them turns out to be ghost endings. 


The Rating: (1-10): 8.5~ 

Happy Reading~ 

Friday, August 16, 2013

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters: Book V.S. Movie

It turns out that I would go see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters much faster than I anticipated! :D I watched it the date it came out~ August 7th. Woot! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED OF THE BOOK OR MOVIE~ Okay that didn't make sense. 

     
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)


Differences:
Let's start with the differences, shall we? There were a lot.

- The Last Olympian plots were added into this movie
- For example, Luke died.
- Kronos did end up rising.....(don't jump to conclusions)
- How Percy took the fleece from Luke was different
- Clarisse is nicer, a whole lot prettier.

- Then there were some The Lightning Thief plots into it.
- Chiron finally found out Percy was Son of Poseidon.
- Apparently, Dionysus cannot change water to wine (I thought he did)


- There was a competition of climbing to the top to get this red thing
(I don't remember that)
- Percy rode a wave
- Annabeth and Percy did not meet Circe, enchantress
- That means Percy did not get turn into a guinea pig
- And they did not save any other human turned guinea pigs
- The Circeland island is an amusement park
(Maybe it was supposed to be, I kinda forgot)
- Hermes is an UPS guy

And there's probably more.


Similarities:
Well, the rest of the movie is similar. :)

- They received present from Hermes, the four wind thing
(but not the money or the other stuff)
- Tyson does has one eye
- There was a gray cab, the sister cab thing
- Weelll, it's more fun stating differences than similarities, so moving on.....



What I Liked:
- Some parts were funny~

Ex:
Percy: standing on a deck of the boat, escaping from Luke
Luke: Why are you standing on my roof?

LOLs. Okay. 
And there were more funny parts.
I forgot.

- LOGAN LERMAN'S FACE. 
Mhmm. Definitely. He was so freakin cute.
Fangurling throughout movie~ 


- And well, it was interesting. Nothing was boring
(Cuz Logan Lerman was like there the whole time)

- Well, the differences and similarities. 
It would be kind of boring to predict every word the characters are going to say and what is going to happen. 



Notable Scenes:
- Percy riding that wave. Oh hot~ Mhhmmm. 
- Thalia looks emo. Yep. The ending is the same as the book.
- Percy being in the middle of the cab when it split.
- Well, don't want to tell you all the good scenes.


SO PERCY JACKSON FANS BETTER GO WATCH IT! ;D

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Book Review: Dance the Moon Down by R.L. Bartram

Dance the Moon DownDance the Moon Down
by Robert Bartram
Release Date: November 4th, 2011
Publisher: Authors Online
ebook, 300 pages
Source: Author
Attain a Copy:
       B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father's decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriendes the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteeres but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria's initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and later tempted to adultery. Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will some day return that sustaines her through the dark days of hardship and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.

Cindy's Review:
At First Glance:
At first, there wasn't much positiveness in what I thought of the book. The cover, for instance. I definitely wouldn't read it if I just saw the cover. The red just reminds me of the devil. And the teaser. I don't read things that happen in the early 1900's Books were so boring back then. At least the books I have read. And plus, I don't do Victorian styles. The 1800's.....nyah. I can take. I do more medieval stuff. And future. Or modern. 

But hold on guys, it's just at a glance.

The Characters/Summaries:
Let's just say I really didn't expect the romance to be that good. The beginning was a bit slow. With the no marriage thing. And the whole eloping. Or secretly getting married. Hmmm. Pretty interesting. But then came the war. The recruiting. The having to go to war. Loosing her husband. And maybe he'll never come back. The romance. The adventures. ALL that pulled me in. I read till the end. 

Really. I really didn't expect that.

Victoria - Victoria proved to be a strong-willed, brave girl. And independent. And she can live well on her own. And as we all know from history, there isn't much independence woman can have back then. Reading this book had also taught me some history and it was actually, in fact, really fun to read. Even after loosing her husband, she tried to find work. She cried, but continued to stay strong and to live. I appreciate her for that. And really, there are many other ways she could have taken. Even though she did try for another escape, I'm glad that she found people in life she can look up to and trust. And for that, she can continue to live.

Historical fiction books are exactly what they are. Despite their made up story, they always teach some lesson in life. Unlike the dystopian and science fiction ones. Those are pure imaginations. Even though it's really fun and exciting to read about the future and romance, it's always good once in a while to get a lesson.

One huge lesson that always stands true. "Expect the unexpected" You think the world is ending? Think again. There are so many mysteries in this world that one cannot solve. What makes you think you can tell the future. The future maybe grim, but there's always sunlight. The sky maybe cloudy, or in day or another, sunlight will always beam through it. This lesson was definitely shown in this book, and I must say Victoria must be super happy she didn't choose the route that entitled to death.

Final Thoughts:
I'm sorry I made this short, but I felt like I talked a lot. LOL. And that totally felt like a book report I'm writing for school. Although I didn't mention that much about the book, I must say, go read it. It might teach a significant lesson that you never thought you have to learn. Maybe you'll see the book in a different way than me. Who knows.

This book kind of reminds me of Esperanza Rising. The lesson. The pain. And the results. Even though I read Esperanza like 3 times just for school. It never gets old. Because every time, we discover lessons we missed last time. Maybe it shall be the same for Dance the Moon Down. And also the setting. The farm. It turns out a farm can definitely give lots and lots and lots of lessons. Good ones.

And a little unlike Esperanza Rising, Dance the Moon Down is more focused on the romance. And it was a much shorter read. A desperation for the end and happy ending. Esperanza Rising has loops and twists that makes your feelings go on a roller coaster ride. 

So if you'd like a quick, short, historical read, why don't you try Dance the Moon Down?

The Rating:(1-10): 8~ 

Happy Reading~