The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

In order: The Amulet of Samarkand ,The Golem's Eye, and Ptolmey's Gate are the three books that make up Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy. The first book in the trilogy was good, I enjoyed it, but I really really liked the second two much better. I have to tell you, however, that Nathaniel is quite difficult to like, but you have to know that he is not really the protagonist . . . Bartimaeus is. It's written in first person when it's Bartimaeus' perspective and in limited third person when telling Nathaniel or Kitty's perspective, making it so you feel closer to Bartimaeus . . . was that confusing enough? Good. Now go read it! ;)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Hi hi hi! It's been awhile. There was a wicked storm a couple weeks back that totally fried our television, xbox, and internet modem so I've been without all the most important things! Except books (thank heavens). So here I am, at the library, completely miffed that my new modem hasn't yet arrived and that I have to leave the comfort of my deliciously cool home in order to so much as check my email. It stinks here too . . . although, maybe it's me? *whiff whiff* Yikes. Poor baby. I know . . . oh well. On with the show.

Red Rising is a new novel by author Pierce Brown. If you enjoyed Hunger Games then you are going to love Red Rising. It's very similar, yet very different. A review said that it was a combination of both Hunger Games and Ender's Game but I hated Ender's Game so refuse to acknowledge any sort of similarity. I think it's actually a combination of H.G. and Count of Monte Cristo. Who doesn't love CofMC? It's awesome.

Anyway, I'm not going to give anything away, except that if you don't read it you will be so very sorry. Also, that this is the first book of what I'm assuming is going to be a series, and that it is quite new so the sequel will be a long time coming. Read it now though so you don't forget about it and miss an opportunity to read a really awesome book!

Ps, Pierce Brown is a cutie.

Speak of the Devil by Allison Leotta

Speak of the Devil: A Novel was my first Goodreads Giveaway, and I loved it! This is the third book Leotta has written featuring the charming prosecutor, Anna Curtis, with the first two being Law of Attraction (#1) and Discretion (#2).

Leotta's personal experience with prosecuting sex crimes adds a note of authenticity to her writing. I had the pleasure of actually corresponding with Ms. Leotta, and found out that certain aspects of the terrifying story she presents in Speak of the Devil were taken directly from her personal experience working in D.C. against the MS-13 gang. 

Leotta's writing is spectacular, and certainly a joy to read. Her characters are very three dimensional, and complex. Her description of the legal processes and work that prosecutors and detectives undergo to make the system work is precise and easy to understand. If you're looking for a realistic crime novel Allison Leotta is the author for you. Enjoy!

Children of the Promise by Dean Hughes

If you know me you know I am no longer a member of the LDS church; however, I can't stop loving this series despite the heavy religious content. Children of the Promise is my all time favorite series, and I can't believe I haven't put it on my blog yet. I read Rumors of War for the first time when I was in middle school, something like 11-12 years ago (that can't be right!! When did I get so old?!).

I've seriously lost count of how many times I've re-read the series, and yet I cry every time. Every time. Children of the Promise is a series of 5 books set in the 1940's, focusing on two family's struggles through WWII. The Thomas family is the main focus, but the series also follow the Stoltz family as they make the dangerous escape from Nazi Germany.

The main characters of the book: Alex, Bobbie, Wally, Gene, LaRue (the name I want to name my first girl), Anna, and Peter are all so real. You can't help but love every one of them; they take hold of your heart and refuse to let go. You'll find yourself feeling as though you are a part of their experiences, their lives. Dean Hughes did an amazing job with this series and I guarantee you will love it.

Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull

I love this series. It's so fun. I've even read it twice - which only happens when I really like a book. The series is about a brother and sister who discover a whole new world literally in their grandparents backyard. Mull's writing is captivating, fluid, and entertaining. The protagonists are very human - meaning they have faults that drive you crazy, but you still find yourself loving them. Originally, I had put this series on par with Harry Potter, but I'm afraid, Harry Potter is on its own plane and it's very difficult to find a series as good. Still, it's great. Enjoy!

The Partials Series by Dan Wells

Partials by Dan Wells is an excellent end of the world series. The human race is on the verge of extinction after a war with the genetically enhanced super soldiers called Partials. The Partials are believed to have released a disease called RM that wipes out 99.996% of all the humans on earth leaving a small number to try to rebuild society. Unfortunately, while the remaining humans are immune to RM, babies that have been born in the 11 years after the end of the world, are not immune and none have survived. The youngest human on earth is now just 14.

Kira is a medical intern whose main goal is to discover the cure to RM and save humanity. Despite internal strife among the surviving humans and the threat of the Partials returning to finish them all off once and for all, Kira won't back down. Fighting against all odds, she is determined to find the cure.

I really did enjoy this book, although I have to admit there were some glaring editorial errors that initially made me doubt the quality, but if you ignore them, you may find this book to be excellent.  

Legend by Marie Lu

I absolutely love this book. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading until 6 am! Legend is the first in a dystopian trilogy. Unfortunately the third doesn't come out till November of this year :S ugh. Anywho, Legend is followed by Prodigy which is followed by Champion (available November 5th). 

Marie Lu is the kind of girl I envy. She's not only beautiful, but she's extremely talented too. It's kind of unfair that so much awesomeness belongs to one person. But she is awesome and she's a great writer to boot.

Legend introduces us to America after the world pretty much goes to Hell. What was formerly the US is now split between the Republic and the Colonies who are constantly at war. The story follows Day: a young rebellious boy who has grown up on the streets, and June: the smart, brave warrior of the Republic. Day and June's lives become irreversibly linked when June's brother is murdered and Day becomes suspect #1. What follows is frustrating, agonizing, and brilliant. I believe this is what makes Lu's writing amazing. She sucks you in. I love when a book gets me so involved that I almost forget it's not real.

Despite the wait for the third book to come out, I think you should get this book right now as in today. It's great, and I know you'll enjoy it.

Raven's Gate (Book One of the Gatekeepers Series) by Anthony Horowitz

Hey everybody! It's been awhile. I actually haven't read anything until today. What?! But, thanks to Auralea (the best sister in the world) I was able to buy new books. Woohoo! I just finished (or am 30 pages away from) finishing a new book. And guess what? The series is finished; you can read it the whole way through. Just for you Shannon :)

Raven's Gate started out decent enough but I felt Horowitz was just stealing ideas from Harry Potter. The main character, Matt, loses his parents in a car crash (OK Harry's didn't really die in a car crash but that's what he always believed) and he then has to move in with his aunt who hates having him around. He also seems to have magic powers. Oh boy, I thought, this is going to be awful. But guess what? It's really good. That's about as far as the similarities between RG and HP go. For example: Horowitz presents a much darker story than Harry Potter. 

The first four books of this series are all rather short; Raven's Gate for example is only 154 pages. The last book, the fifth book, is much longer. I think you will really enjoy this series!

Author Spotlight: Brandon Sanderson

If you're into fantasy, you may recognize Brandon Sanderson as the author who finished the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away, if not, then you're in for a treat. I absolutely love Sanderson's writing. 

I suggest, if you're just getting into Sanderson's books, that you start with Elantris. I actually just gave this book to my brother for his birthday and I hope he reads it! 

It's about a prince who wakes up dead. Yeah. Dead. Whoa, trippy, right? But awesome. Seriously, the premise of this book is wildly imaginative and spectacularly written.

Next, I would suggest Warbreaker. This book came out after his Mistborn trilogy, but I personally like it better. It's about two sisters. The oldest, whose been preparing her whole life to marry the prince or whatever and the youngest, whose not. But guess who marries the prince? 

And finally, there's the Mistborn trilogy (Sanderson has other books out there but I'm not even going to get into The Way of Kings cause it's beyond complicated). This trilogy is about a young woman who discovers that her weird abilities to control and manipulate the elements around her are more than unique; they make her exceptionally important and exceptionally dangerous. 

Seriously, if you're interested in a good scifi/fantasy novel, check out Brandon Sanderson. For those who scoff at the scifi/fantasy genre, those YA novels you read? Yeah, the majority of them are science fiction and/or fantasy. So, suck it up buttercup and go over to that section in Barnes and Noble where all the nerds hang out. You know the one. Where the graphic novels are. And get yourself one of Sanderson's books. You won't regret it!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth's Divergent is the first in its trilogy. It is also Roth's first novel; a glimpse at the great things to come from this young writer. If you like survival stories such as Hunger Games then you'll really like Divergent.

Beatrice's world is separated into factions: Amity, those who value peace; Candor, those who value honesty; Erudite, those who value intellect; Abnegation, those who value selflessness; and Dauntless, those who value courage.

Born in Abnegation, Beatrice has spent the first sixteen years of her life learning to be selfless, but at the age of 16 each person gets to choose which faction they wish to live the rest of their lives with. Beatrice never really felt she belonged with Abnegation and therefore chooses to become Dauntless.

The Dauntless are a group of thrill seekers whose idea of courage usually coincides with stupidity, and Beatrice must prove herself by letting go of her rigid upbringing.

What I love about this book is that the heroine is tough, genuinely tough. She is smart, quick, and willing to do what needs to be done. Roth does not play around, the world Beatrice chooses to live in is gritty, and unforgiving. The decisions Beatrice must make, and her experiences develop her into a thoroughly fascinating character.

Now, I'm off to buy the sequel, Insurgent, with my birthday Barnes and Noble gift card from my older sister, Auralea. Thanks sissy!

Enjoy!

Books to Avoid

I was thinking and I realized that you are going to want to seek out your own books on occasion. So, instead of giving you ideas on good books, I'm going to name a couple that you should avoid if you're on a solo hunt. These three books are ones I purchased and have regretted; hopefully, I can save you the time and money by telling you about them.


Death Watch by Ari Berk

The premise of this story should have made this book interesting if the author hadn't give into hyperbole and metaphor so much. It's like reading an 8th grader's attempt at fiction, only instead of using the thesaurus to come up with "cool" yet unnecessary words, he uses excessive (and I mean excessive) metaphor. I almost made it through the first book but couldn't take it anymore. It was almost painful. It was also dreadfully boring. The characters are poorly developed, the story falls flat, and you find yourself - after reading 524 pages - wondering if anything of interest happened or if you were asleep the whole time.

 The Hollow by Jessica Verday

While this is a YA novel, and therefore catered to a younger, more adolescent audience, I couldn't get over how immature this book was. It was like reading a 13-year-old girl's journal. If I was 13 maybe I would have better appreciated it - although I'd like to think otherwise - I just couldn't make it past the first chapter without wanting to gag.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I probably didn't give this book enough of a chance. There are several more in the series, which leads me to think it wasn't as bad as I remember; however, it was so so boring it was almost impossible to get through a chapter without falling asleep. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Looking back on these novels I foolishly spent money on, I am reminded why I read at least one paragraph, if not a whole page, of a book before I purchase it any more. You can usually tell if you like the author's writing by then, or if the story is worth your time. Hopefully, I have helped you in your quest to finding good books. 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is an excellent writer, and I love her novels. The Infernal Devices series of which Clockwork Angel is the first, is kind of a prequel to her first series The Mortal Instruments. While The Mortal Instruments is set in modern America, The Infernal Devices is set in Victorian London. Both series deals with a group of angelic warriors known as the Nephilim who police the unseen world of demons, faeries, vampires and the like.

What I love about Clockwork Angel is the heroine is like-able. At first she is naive and innocent, completely human, but as the novel progresses she becomes stronger and impressive. A non-static protagonist is a welcome relief from novels such as Twilight (although I have read and enjoyed that series) where the main character is a slightly obnoxious, prattling self-centered beast. 

The love story involved (as all good Young Adult (YA) novels have) is well written and keeps you interested. It also gives you that lovely feeling of falling in love yourself, which is my personal reason for reading such novels. 

I have just finished the first book in this series and am looking forward to reading the others. The other novels in the series are Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess.  

I also mentioned The Mortal Instruments series, which is also an excellent read. However, without spoiling anything for you, there is an element of the series that will most certainly make you want to stop reading. Many of the people I've recommended this series to have expressed their discomfort. It may disturb you and turn you off off, but I promise it is worth finishing. If you do start reading this and find yourself with this dilemma, keep reading!  I promise you won't regret it.

Author Spotlight: Mary Higgins Clark

If you're just looking for a good book that will entertain you and won't take too much of your time you should consider one of Mary Higgins Clark's mystery novels. 

The first time I ever read one of Clark's books was when I was living in Magna; I was only in grade-school, so didn't really understand all that I was reading. The book was large and tantalizing to my 4th grade eyes. I remember climbing, flashlight in hand, into the pink cupboard in my room, looking for privacy to read All Around the Town.

Unfortunately, this is one of Clark's darker novels and so was especially difficult for me to get into. As a nine-year-old I wasn't too familiar with psychology, and found the novel bizarre and unfamiliar. I just remembered the part where the young woman as a child was kidnapped and forced to endure terrible things, such as having her baby chick killed right before her eyes, with the warning that the same thing would happen to her if she ever told anyone about the man and woman who had taken her. 

I still have that same book today, sitting on my bookshelf, only the second time I read it it made lots more sense. 

The first time I read one of Clark's novels and actually understood what was going on was three years later, in the 7th grade. I was a bit of a bookworm even back then and would spend lunches in the library. I loved my middle school library. It was there that I picked up Loves Music, Loves to Dance and fell in love with Mary Higgins Clark. For the next two years, she was practically all I read during my lunchtime library sessions. 

Everyone has heard the name Mary Higgins Clark, everyone knows her as the mystery queen, but if you haven't read one of her books, or haven't read one recently, I suggest that you do! 

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Lauren Kate's Fallen series is about a girl who falls in love with a boy who seems to despise her. What could possibly be so attractive about a boy who flips you off the first time he sets eyes on you? The series is well written and the story is rather beautiful. 

Although, I found Fallen to be a tad cheesy toward the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the series and I think you will too. Fallen is followed by Torment, Passion, and Rapture.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation: Volume 1: the Pox Party by M.T. Anderson

M.T. Anderson's the Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation is one of the most brilliant pieces of literature centered on slavery in Revolution-era America that I have ever read. Anderson presents the hypocrisy of the Revolutionary War in the desire of the American white men to be free from tyranny and oppression so they can freely keep their slaves in bondage. Anderson's approach to the issue of slavery at this time in American history is phenomenal in his description and method of writing.

Anderson's writing is almost poetic; fluid and beautiful, while describing the most horrific and terrible scenes, which serves to amplify the disharmony of the book. Anderson's poetic writing does not seem to fit the scenes he describes just as fighting for freedom of person and property (i.e. slaves) is hypocritical.

Also of interest, the pox party Anderson describes is both disturbing and fascinating. He describes a scene in which scientific minded men gather together friends and family to inoculate them with small pox as a vaccination method; an old-school flu shot. However, instead of a shot, they cut open a person's arm and placed a hair covered in the pus of the small pox pustules from a previously deceased victim of the disease into that cut and bandaged it up. Ew. I am not sure if that is how it really happened or if it is a product of Anderson's imagination but it is disturbing.

This is an excellent book that I believe everyone should read.

Need by Carrie Jones

Need is a delicious story about a young girl who learns that she is not as ordinary as she has always believed; in fact, she's very much a part of a fantastic and magical world she never even knew existed. This is a series followed by Captivate, Endure, and Entice. Enjoy!

 

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron in not Catherine Fisher's first series, but it is one of her best. Unfortunately, like all good books, this one is apparently being turned into a movie. :( For all those who like books-turned-movies, this will be good news to you, but for me, it is rather depressing. Oh well, c'est la vie. 

Incarceron is preceded by Sapphique and The Obsidian Mirror. Enjoy!

Variant by Robinson Wells

Variant is a unique story with a huge twist. Robinson Wells presents a fascinating world wherein boarding school students are left to fend for themselves; there are no teachers, no adults whatsoever, and these kids have to create their own societal groups in order to survive. But the absence of adults is not the weirdest thing about this school. 

Feedback is the sequel to Variant that takes things to a whole 'nother level. If you thought what happened in  Variant was a surprise, you won't believe what comes next.

Starters by Lissa Price

Lissa Price's debut novel Starters is fantastic. Unfortunately, the sequel is not available until 2014; the good news is this book stands on its own, so you won't feel gipped knowing you have to wait.