Lament, by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Lament

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: Paperback - 356

Chapters: 22

Genre: Romance / fantasy

Person: First

Tense: Past

Rating: 10/10

Blurb (quoted):

“Sixteen-year-old Dee is a cloverhand – someone who can see faeries. When she finds herself irresistibly drawn to beautiful, mysterious Luke, Dee senses that he wants something more dangerous than a summer romance.

But Dee doesn’t realize that Luke is an assassin from the faerie world.

And she is his next target.”

Opinion:

Okay, so perhaps this is a common sort of storyline – killer and victim fall in love, etcetera, but this is a whole new spin on ‘romance’. Having always been a dreamer, this book has certainly spoken to that inner child of mine that says ‘maybe they do exist…’

This novel was another page-turner, and is yet another of my favourites. This author – my god can she write romance! If you loved her novel Shiver, you’re going to adore this.

Maggie weaves magic into her writing so well, and her descriptions are oh-so-believable. This is a story you won’t want to take your nose out of – I was so disappointed at finishing it!

Highly recommended, especially for faerie-heads.

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Title: Guilty Pleasures

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton

Reading Level: Adult

Pages: Paperback - 265

Chapters: 47

Genre: thriller / fantasy

Series: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter:

1-Guilty Pleasures, 2-The Laughing Corpse, 3-Circus of the Damned

Person: First

Tense: Past

Rating: 9/10

Blurb (quoted):

“’I don’t date vampires. I kill them.’

My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me the Executioner. What I call them isn’t repeatable.

Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I’ve seen their victims. I carry the scars…

But now a serial killer is murdering vampires – and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer…”

Opinion:

To be honest, I was quite worried picking this book up. I haven’t had much success finding adult books on vampires that aren’t all sex, and I am aware that this particular author has another book series that isn’t exactly suitable for a younger audience, so typically I didn’t have high hopes for this one.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! There is the barest of hints at such content, but it’s certainly suitable for a mature audience – 13+? (Though I can’t vouch for sequels just yet). There is a touch of romance but it doesn't run wild through the story.

I was almost immediately drawn into the book. It has my favourite kind of vampires – the dark, dangerous and sexy kind – with some Shapeshifters and zombies thrown in. Best of all would have to be the snarky, sarcastic protagonist.

Definitely a favourite book and I recommend to anyone who is mature and looking for a bit more than the sappy teen romances hogging the shelves of teen-fic.

City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: Paperback - 541

Chapters: 21

Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Series: The Mortal Instruments:

1-City of Ashes, 2-City of Bones, 3-City of Glass, 4-Cit of Fallen Angels

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Rating: 10/10

Blurb (quoted): “Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?”

Opinion:

I was propelled through this book by anticipation; I could hardly put it down. There were so many pages that had me so involved I lost track of time.

This book is an amazing read, the characters have amazing personalities, there’s humour, despair, romance – everything.

There are so many twists and turns to the story line, you’re constantly asking ‘what next’. It builds so well on the two previous books from the series, the plot is solid.

It has me antsy for the next one.

City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Ashes

Author: Cassandra Clare

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: Paperback - 411

Chapters: 21

Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Series: The Mortal Instruments:

1-City of Ashes, 2-City of Bones, 3-City of Glass, 4-Cit of Fallen Angels

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Rating: 8/10

Blurb (quoted):

“With her mother in a coma and her father hellbent on destroying the world, Clary Fray is dragged deeper into New York City’s terrifying underworld of werewolves, demons and the mysterious Shadowhunters. Discovering the truth about her past was only the beginning. Now the fate of the word rests on Clary’s shoulders, but can she master her new-found powers and control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?”

Judgement:

It’s hard to review this book.

I absolutely loved reading it, and it was amazingly detailed and descriptive, it drew me in, it made me laugh, it made me hold my breath.

But it also annoyed the hell out of me. First, near the beginning, I noticed that the way it was written or the writing style… was cheesy and it got on my nerves. Secondly, this is the second book in the series that has ended in a way that frustrates me, though this time it’s just because of the very last page that make me need the next book – which of course is probably what the author wants, but I hate it.

There is definitely a mystery aspect to the story, which makes it a page-turner, but my favourite parts are the ones that made me hold my breath or laugh. The story line pulls on all your stings, it has every emotion.

This book would have a 10/10 if a few things were different, but even as is, I’d recommend the series to anyone.

City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 442

Chapters: 24

Genre: Fantasy / Mystery / Romance

Series: 1-City of Bones, 2-City of Ashes, 3-City of Glass, 4-City of Fallen Angels

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Rating: 8.5/10

Blurb (quoted):

“It’s after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the nightclub just stabbed a boy to death – but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiralling into darkness, Clary realizes that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunters – a war in which she has a fateful role to play.”

Judgement:

First and foremost, I must say I absolutely loved this book, and the only reason it didn’t get a higher rating is because I was incredibly frustrated with the ending, which I can’t go into more detail about without spoilers.

The story line is exactly my cup of tea; it’s got an amazing fantasy aspect fused into the world as we know it, and the storyline is captivating (though I wasn’t sure what genre to class it as…). The plot is well constructed, consistent, and mysterious, though I have to say the drastic twist near the end was upsetting and I am now eager to read the second and pray something is not as it seems…

Descriptions aren’t lacking in this book and it became a movie screen in my mind – definitely a page-turner.

I loved this book, I’m keep for the next, and I definitely recommend it.

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Hobbit

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Target Audience: Young Adult / Adult

Pages: 280

Chapters: 19 (XIX)

Rating: 8/10

Genre: Fantasy / Adventure

Person: Omnipresent (?)

Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):

“Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance…

Whisked away from his comfortable hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…”

Judgement:

The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is a very famous story. Known to be the prelude to The Lord of the Rings, and due to be fully available in film by late next year, it’s the buzz of talk.

I can honestly see why too. The adventure draws you in and drags you right along with it, whether you like it or not – in fact, I found myself wanting to march out my own front door and embark on such journeys!

To be honest, it’s rather like an overview, as it skips over very many days and weeks, though had those bits been included it would have been much too long and gotten rather boring. However, as a result, some parts felt like they dragged on and I couldn’t wait for the story to move on, because it was like a glimpse at something but was never explored and kept you on the surface, which was at times incredibly dull and irritating. As well, it doesn’t dwell too much on description, but still manages to cast a landscape in your mind.

I think it takes a lot of talent to write a book like this, as the main characters total to 14! Yet, I still didn’t find myself wondering who was who; each character had a distinguishable or memorable feature that was mentioned, and either that kept it straight in your mind or at the time it didn’t matter! Because of the sheer amount of characters, there wasn’t much room for character-building, but despite this every single one of them was recognizable and individual.

As for character development, there is a lot of change in opinions and actions among many of the character, but the main character, Bilbo, definitely develops and changes by the end of the book, but still maintains a strong sense of who he was at the beginning, which is done very well.

The plot was well crafted and followed from start to finish in a typical structure, and had an original story line that does more than satisfy.

The style the book is written in keeps in contact with the reader, as it’s literally a story being told and often pauses to speak to the reader very briefly. Normally the downside to this is that it throws the reader out of the world that has been cleverly build in their mind, but Tolkien has avoided this and keeps the reader engaged.

The only other thing I have to mention about this book, is that I found myself reluctant to pick it up – I’m not entirely sure why, but I have the feeling it’s related to my disinterest in putting it down again for many hours. I enjoyed reading this book and think it’s definitely one to read.

Abhorsen, by Garth Nix

Title: Abhorsen

Author: Garth Nix

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 426

Chapters: 31

Rating: 10/10

Genre: Fantasy

Number: third in the series

Series: 1-Sabriel, 2-Lirael, 3-Abhorsen

Person: third

Tense: past

Blurb (quoted):

“Beneath the earth, a malignant force lies waiting, greedy for freedom from its ancient prison. As the Old Kingdom falls into darkness and terror, people look desperately to the Abhorsen, scourge of the Dead, to save them. Yet Abhorsen Sabriel is lost, missing in Ancelstierre.

Only Lirael can confront the Destroyer. With her companions, Sameth, Mogget and the Disreputable Dog, she races across the Old Kingdom, battling Shadow Hands and dark necromancers, to reach Ancelstierre before it is too late. But what hope can one young woman have against an evil with the power to destroy life itself?”

Judgement:

I love this series – Sabriel, the first in the trilogy, was my first book rated 10/10 and now this one is added to the list. It draws you in, entrancing you in its alternate world; the descriptions are amazing, it creates a movie-reel in your mind and I found myself angsting to pick it back up every time I set it down.

The design and representation of the fictional world is consistent and enthralling; well-structured and put together.  I loved it. The creatures are probably my favourite part – this series is almost based on zombies I guess, but in a way most don’t think of, as they are portrayed somewhat different…

I loved the characters; even the sarcastic and brooding Mogget made me smile. Garth Nix has successfully created a connection and emotion between the reader and the characters within its pages.

As for the storyline, the first two or three chapters were average, but after that it set off running and within days I found myself in the final quarter of the book; the ending however was somewhat more difficult for me to read, not for lack of action or anything, but more because it’s all very stand-still for a large chunk, where you aren’t really moving forward or backward or going anywhere and you’re really just waiting – which is supposed to be tension-building, but I just saw it to be slush I had to push through before it picked up again in the last one or two chapters.

The writing is easy to follow, I found it easy to remember, despite how many different angles it is written from. The book actually jumps around from person to person, so it’s almost like three different books compiled into one, but in a way that works and weaves together to ultimately create a compelling, highly enjoyable read.

I really love this book, it’s a great contribution to the trilogy, and I highly recommend it to all fantasy lovers.

Write Your Own Fantasy Story, by Tish Farrell

Title: Write Your Own Fantasy Story

Author: Tish Farrell

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 61

Chapters: 10

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 4/10

Blurb (quoted):

“Want to be a writer: This is the perfect place to start. The Writ Your Own series will teach you how to craft believable characters and intense plots, along with satisfying beginnings, middles, and endings. Examples from numerous books appear throughout the text, along with tips from published authors to help you along.

Fantasy is one of the most popular types of fiction. Fantasy stories – from The Wizard of Oz to Harry Potter – feature characters, places, and events that are beyond what is possible in our world. These stories make amazing, surprising and fantastic things seem completely real, and these takes hold readers in their grip from beginning to end.”

Judgement:

This book is supposed to be a guide to fiction writing. Although it has suitable content, it taught me nothing new, about fantasy or writing. This fact brings me to say that it is suitable for a beginner, who is just starting on their way to novel writing.

The cover is professional and attractive, eye-drawing, and gives the sense of many pages of text (just as a novel is), however when I opened it I found instead a picture book, which took it down to a younger level and somewhat disappointed me.

I would only suggest this book to younger people looking to begin novel writing for the first time.

After the Snow, by S.D. Crockett

Title: After the Snow

Author: S.D. Crockett

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 308

Rating: 5/10

Genre: Adventure / Sci-fi fantasy

Person: First

Tense: Present

Blurb (quoted):

“Fifteen-year-old Willo was out hunting when the trucks came and took his family away. Left alone in the snow, Willo becomes determined to find and rescue his family, and he knows just who to talk with to learn where they are. He plans to head across the mountains and make Farmer Geraint tell him where his family has gone.

But on the way across the mountain, he finds Mary, a refugee from the city, whose father is lost and who is starving to death. The smart thing to do would be to leave her alone -- he doesn't have enough supplies for two or the time to take care of a girl -- but Willo just can't do it. However, with the world trapped in an ice age, the odds of them surviving on their own are not good. And even if he does manage to keep Mary safe, what about finding his family?”

Judgement:

I’ve got to be honest, although it was readable (if your tried hard enough), I felt like I was going to drop a few levels in English just reading this. It wasn’t bad writing, in fact it’s actually structured well… But the writing style, which I assume was due to the theme/setting of the actual book, was (what first comes to mind) caveman-style; it was illiterate and improper. At first it made me think of a Texas accent (I’m not dissing on them at all, by they tend to skip the beginning or end of words and such) but it’s just beyond that, and it really got on my nerves, though it fits the storyline perfectly because Willo (main character) has been raised in the wild, without school, and it just makes sense – but it’s irritating.

Other than that, the storyline is easy as pie to follow, and it’s good in that it has multiple settings, and you aren’t stuck in the same place throughout the whole story. It takes you on a journey.

I’d suggest this book to guys – I don’t mean to be sexist or anything, but it is certainly not the type of thing I usually read though I’m sure my brother would enjoy it (if he wasn’t so stubborn he refuses to read anything I suggest).

I found the setting, a sort of post ice-age / apocalypse world, interesting to say the least. It’s quite original in my opinion and written well enough to allow the reader to turn it into a movie in their mind (if that is how they read, like me). And I can’t honestly say there was a dull moment – there really wasn’t.

The characters are definitely individuals, there aren’t a bunch of clones filling these pages, and each have distinctive personalities and skills which help propel the story through the different settings.

Personally, not my piece of cake, but overall an acceptable read.

Eon: Dragneye Reborn, by Alison Goodman

Title: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Author: Alison Goodman

Genre: Fantasy

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 529

Person: First

Tense: Past

Rating: 6.5/10

Blurb (Quoted):

“Swordplay, dragon magic – and a hero with a desperate secret.

Twelve-year-old Eon has been in training for years. His intensive study of Dragon Magic, based on East Asian astrology, involves two kinds of skills: sword-work and magical aptitude. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye – an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a boy for the chance to become a Dragoneye. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon’s secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic… and her life.”

Judgement:

This book is so detailed – that’s the first thing I have to say about it. The descriptions allow for instant mental images, and I think that is the main part of what drew me into this book. I read it in only a few days (faster than I expected), and though I enjoyed it, it didn’t “wow” me.

One thing about the characters is that the main character, Eon (or Eona), was somewhat an empty shell – she has heart and morals and emotion, yes, but she has no favourites or preferences. Also, the emotions are quite empty in my opinion; someone dies and it’s almost like “yeah, whatever – next!” but at the same time it’s not… The author addresses the emotion, but the reader can’t feel/experience it.

A huge theme in this book is a mix of Japanese and Chinese culture. The whole story is based on their customs and beliefs, though set in a fictional place.

I don’t have much else to say about this book. It was fun to read, and the sequel (Eona) is on my reading list, but it doesn’t make the favourites-cut.

Bleeding Violet, by Dia Reeves

Title: Bleeding Violet

Author: Dia Reeves

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 454

Chapters: 36

Rating: 5/10

Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Person: First

Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):

“Love… can be a dangerous thing.

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast; the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tried to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

My Summary:

Hanna is nowhere near what you would term normal. Hallucinations, pills – and purple, everywhere. When she gets sick of her aunt checking her into the mental wards every few weeks, she escapes and makes her way to Portero, Texas, to find her birth mother.

But things aren’t much better here. Her mother doesn’t seem to want her and she’s an outcast in a school of secretive students all in black.

But with a romance brewing as Hanna discovers the town has secrets crazier than her, Hanna may just find she fits in better than she thinks.

Judgement:

Without thinking about it, I would say I enjoyed reading this book – but with a second thought? I really don’t know.

It’s incredibly disturbing in a sense and…. Well, somewhat psychotic – which I suppose is the point of a crazy main character, but it has such a… careless attitude towards murder which doesn’t sit well with society.

Also, it’s quite confusing – towards the end (now I have to try not to give anything away here), it hints that Hanna isn’t crazy at all because one of her hallucinations becomes tangible and affects other people for real…

I’ve read a few other responses to the book and discovered a mass of people gave up before the end out of confusion or irritation. I can totally understand this, but the book still keeps you page-turning.

It was “sort of fun” to read, and kept you page-turning, wondering what was going on or what would come next – but then it also is a scramble of events and ideas. It’s just a mess of scenes and half of them don’t even make sense… I would say there isn’t any structure to this book – maybe that’s the best way to put it.

And then I can’t help but want to say that it was a good read, which just confuses me. I can’t make up my mind about this book to be honest.

In conclusion, if you are a “surface reader” (only interested in words and storyline) you’ll probably enjoy this book, but if your analyse sequence, sense, messages, etc. and really look into it then you might want to steer clear.

I’d say read it yourself and make your own opinion.

A Hunger like No Other, by Kresley Cole

Title: A Hunger like No Other

Author: Kresley Cole

Target Audience: Adult

Pages: 356

Rating: 7/10

Genre: Romance

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):

“A mythic warrior who’ll stop at nothing to possess her…

Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he’s waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is small, ethereal half Valkyrie / half Vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.

A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy…

Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents – until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae – and their notorious dark desires – ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all-consuming desire…

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?”

Summary:

Emmaline Troy, half Valkyrie, half Vampire, has only just left the nest to search for information on her ever-missing parents when she is suddenly taken hostage by a savage man that terrifies her. When forced to help him return home, Emma doesn’t realise that going with him means changing her life forever – and along the way discovering new things, not only about herself, but about the parents she never knew.

Lachlain MacRieve has been trapped and tortured for longer than he can track, doomed to burn alive repeatedly thanks to his immortality. But when he senses the presence of his mate, the soul he’s been waiting for all his life, it gives him the strength to escape – only to find, to his horror, that she is a vampire, the same species that had tortured him.

But with both of them keeping secrets and a dangerous opponent hunting for Emma, can they possibly survive the trip to the safety of Lachlain’s home? More troubling, can they survive each other and the roiling turmoil inside them both?

Judgement:

First of all, I have to say I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book – I’d never heard of the author before or anything, and I was in a rush, so after the library computer search turned out this books name, I swiped it up and left… Only to discover later the amount of detail in the sex. With nothing to compare it too, I’m not really sure if this one counts as erotica, but honestly I’m seeing a trend – anything in the adult section that involves vampires always seems to have a bunch of sex involved… So I warn you now, this is for a MATURE audience.

Now, other than that surprise, this was a highly enjoyable novel – I liked the storyline, it was very original so far as I’ve read, and the characters have specific personalities that develop and change as the story progresses – though, I think perhaps a few of them change too much, especially the main character who could well be a new character entirely by the end; I’m not sure if I like that about it or not. And honestly, I think the rhetorical question in the blurb is cheesy, typical, and easily guessed, which almost made me not bother reading it, but once I started the novel was compelling enough to keep me reading.

I thought, once so many names started popping up, that I’d get at least a few of them muddled, but the way it was written made it so easy to keep them all straight in your head and always had a way to hint who’s who.

Admittedly, I have a couple of complaints. Firstly, I kept forgetting that Lachlain had a Scottish accent until I read him saying “no’” instead of “not” and then my mind’s voice would automatically jump into the accent again, only to die off when he stopped speaking – though I’m not sure this can be blamed on the author. Also, the names got a little confusing – not to remember, but to pronounce and I had to guess at a lot of them; for example, I had to decide to pronounce “Lachlain” as “Lack-lan”, even though I kept trying to think “Lock-lin” or “Latchlin” simply because the first one sounds normal and the second one is how it appears to be said…

It’s an entertaining read for sure – definitely has it’s highly laughable moments, it’s tension, and it’s romance plus adventure.

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 390

Chapters: 67

Judgement: 10/10

Genre: Romance / Fantasy

Person: first

Tense: past

Blurb (quoted):

“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 spoken, 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.”

Summary:

Grace’s friends aren’t only humans. The forest behind her house is home to a pack of wolves – home to a yellow-eyed wolf that watches back. Grace loves that wolf in particular – a wolf she feels she knows.

There’s more to Sam than meets the eye. He’s living a double life: in the summers, he is human; but in the winter he is forced to shift into a yellow-eyed wolf. He lives in among the trees during the cold, spending his time watching a girl who watches him.

But when the hunt is on a supposedly dangerous wolf pack, and Sam is able to become human again – and also able to speak to Grace. It’s the one and only time they’ve been together… and if they aren’t careful, it could be the last.

The fight has begun for love to survive in drastic circumstances.

Judgement:

Well… Only two complaint’s, so let’s get those out of the way first:

The blurb irritates me – I’m glad I didn’t base my choice on the blurb, because if I had I wouldn’t have read this book, thankfully it had been highly recommended. The blurb just… It doesn’t do the book justice at all. (Though admittedly, I don’t think my summary is much better).

The second complain is the ending! It’s not really a complaint of sorts I guess, but the way it end is infuriating – there just has to be more. It doesn’t feel like an ending at all. Which leaves me praying that there is a sequel.

Now that I have that out of the way:

I loved this book! It’s a going on my recommended list. It’s descriptive, it’s intimate, it’s everything I love in a novel. It’s not one of those ones that take half the book to get into, it’s just in the moment and it draws you in.

I didn’t sit there for hours on end, unable to put it down, I admit. But I think that has a lot to do with being busy and unproductive. There were definitely times when I couldn’t stop reading  but it wasn’t like that the whole way through – which I think makes the reading more enjoyable in a way, because it’s not the constant desperate for more and enables you to enjoy it in the moment.

Other than that, I don’t have much critique to give.

The story line is pretty original as far as I know; definitely not your average novel!

EDIT: It looks like there's a sequel! Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater.

Sucker Punch

Title: Sucker Punch

Genre: action / adventure / fantasy

Rating: PG 13

Opinion: 4/10

Running Time:

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Starring: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, and Abbie Cornish

Blurb (quoted): “A young girl (Baby Doll) is locked away in a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather where she will undergo a lobotomy in five days' time. Faced with unimaginable odds, she retreats to a fantastical world in her imagination where she and four other female inmates at the asylum, plot to escape the facility. The lines between reality and fantasy blur as Baby Doll and her four companions, as well as a mysterious guide, fight to retrieve the five items they need that will allow them to break free from their captors before it's too late...”

My Summary:

‘Baby Doll’ is admitted to a mental institute by her stepfather, but the institute doubles as a sort of Burlesque house (secretly). But there’s more to it than that: when the music starts playing, the dancer retreats into their own mind to a world they envision. Throughout the course of the movie, ‘Baby Doll’ and some of the other prisoners develop a plan to escape.

Review:

I hadn’t heard anything very good about this movie, but no one said it was particularly bad. Mostly people just told me it was confusing. So, I had to watch it for myself.

Sucker Punch is… well, as everyone has said, a little confusing. It’s like a movie within a movie of another movie (if that even makes sense!).

I didn’t exactly enjoy it, but it was watchable… The rest of my family got bored and left though. I personally believe it was created for guys: a bunch of girls wearing skimpy clothes with guns and weapons? Explosions, war, and hot chicks – a guy’s dream, right? Yet not even my brother liked it.

To be honest, I was highly disappointed by this movie; I’d been looking forward to seeing it, and then it just… yeah, you get the idea.

Plus, VAGUE SPOILER, I didn’t understand why some of the characters died. Like, the first one to die was just… sort of pointless. You may or may not know this, but in a movie everything is supposed to mean something but I don’t understand the reason for this death – it’s like the director just though he needed and introduction to start killing the characters or something.

Lastly, I can’t help but feel that at the end it was just a whole heap of scenes/actions and words that were supposed to make it meaningful. Admittedly, the voice over used at the end was kind of important and was thought provoking, but it just dragged on too long and basically said the same thing in several different ways.

However, I will through in that I didn’t entirely get sick of it – it’s a very watchable movie, and I liked how different characters tied in together in different ways (probably would make more sense if you’ve seen it). And I do rather like how it ended: a very unexpected twist that I never saw coming.

I recommend this as a movie to watch when you’re bored with nothing else to do, but it’s not in any way a favourite.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 454

Chapters: 27

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Series: 1-The Hunger Games, 2-THG: Catching Fire, 3-THG: Mockingjay (THG = The Hunger Games)

Person: First

Tense: Present

Opinion: 9½/10

Website: http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/

Blurb (quoted):

“Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Quotes from the cover:

“Constant suspense… I couldn’t stop reading” – Stephen King

“Bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind” – The Times

“The Hunger Games is amazing” – Stephanie Meyer

Summary:

Katniss has a tough life, caring for her mother and sister with little to no money. But when her sister is chosen to participate in a ‘game’ where you either kill or die, Katniss feels she has no choice but to take her place, though she sees it as nothing more than a death sentence.

Until, that is, she finds out she and Peeta (the other boy from her home chosen) had a great stylist and her mentor is going to sober up to help, and then hope begins to flicker.

But winning (which means living) seems impossible when some of the strongest competitors have it out for her. Katniss is forced to rely on her practiced hunting skills, knowledge of plants, and cunning wit to surive.

Of course, when she finds herself in love with Peeta halfway through, things start to look bad, but the final show down isn’t until after the Hunger Games have ended.

Is there a chance Katniss will make it back to her family?

Judgement:

This book stole my heart, my breath, my attention. Admittedly, it took a few chapters to hook me, but once it had hold, it had ownership over me. I literally didn’t put the book down until the last page – which left me wanting to pick up the second one.

It’s a compelling story, with action, romance, thrill, adventure and everything in between.

There was a little confusion in parts, with a few too many details, but it all worked itself out quickly enough. The only reason it doesn’t have a 10/10 is because if it hadn’t been highly recommended to me, I wouldn’t have read past the first three chapters – not because it wasn’t good, but because it was a little slow going.

What really made me fall in love was the realism; I could literally see the words playing out in film before my eyes as though it were a movie. It was very believable, highly descriptive and left you unable to tear your eyes away with the almost constant drama and panic.

It’s made my list of recommendation and will just about stop your heart.



Coming soon in movie form!

Let Me In

Title: Let Me In

Genre: Thriller

Rating: R16

Opinion: 7/10

Running Time: 116 minutes

Directed by: Matt Reeves

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Richard Jenkins

Blurb (quoted): “From the director of Cloverfield comes Let Me In, a darkly haunting and provocative thriller. Abbey (Chloe Moretz – Kick Ass) is a mysterious 12 year old who moves next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Road), a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school. In his loneliness, Owen forms a profound bond with his new neighbour but he can’t help noticing that Abbey is like no one he has met before. As a string of grisly murders grips his wintry New Mexico town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl is hiding a dark secret.”

Quotes: “The best American horror film in the last 20 years” – Stephen King. “A macabre love story… sinks its teeth into you and doesn’t let go” – Nick Dent

My Summary: Owen, a bullied 12 year old boy, has no friends – that is, until Abbey, a similarly lonely and oddly mysterious girl of the same age, moves in next door. Soon after her arrival in town, bodies begin to turn up.

Despite Abbey’s warning that they can’t be friends, Owen pursues a friendship with Abbey and ends up falling in love with her. But once the police start knocking on her door, Abbey knows she must leave town; that she must leave Owen.

But the story doesn’t end there. In a final plan of revenge, Owen is half drowned by four bullies, but thanks to a visit from a certain friend, Owen ends up with a new plan for his future.

Opinion: A great late night movie for those who are looking for a thrill but not a scream.

Review: Having previously read the book ‘Let the Right One In’, I was interested in this movie from the moment I realised it was based on the book, and it sure didn’t disappoint.

Unlike most movie versions of a novel, Let Me In was delightfully similar to the book, not skipping chunks of the novel that are some of the best parts. I could relate just about everything back to the book, and that might just be my favourite thing about the movie.

To be honest, despite the unrealistically fake blood, the special effects in this movie were really awesome and the movie was well-cast, and definitely well planned out.

Thankfully, the movie follows the line of traditional vampires, with nothing appealing or sexy about them – if that’s how you like your vamps, nice and gory and original then this is a movie for you!

The romance thread was quite interesting as well, considering all the events in the movie. If I’m being totally honest, I think the main character, Owen, is… messed up in the head to say the least. It’s actually a slightly twisted story, but definitely enjoyable.