Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines, Richelle Mead

Release date: 23rd August 2011

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: YA, Paranormal

Pages: 421

Series: Bloodlines (6 books)

1. Bloodlines

2. The Golden Lily (2012)

Author's website

BLOOD DOESN'T LIE . . .

Sydney's blood in special.  That's because she's an alchemist – one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires.  They protect vampire secrets – and human lives.  But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists.  And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway.  But what unfolds is far worse.  Jill Dragomir – the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir – is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding.  To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California.  The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathising with vampires.  And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions and forbidden romance lurk both outside – and within – the school grounds.  Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning. 

 Can I start this review off by freaking out in a very unprofessional manner? Yes? Okay: OMG I AM SO EXCITED AND HAPPY AND FREAKED OUT. AHHH. BLOODLINES.

Done. Anyways, to the review:
In this book, a lot of mysteries are solved (albeit towards the end) and a lot of new ones start. First off: What's up with Keith's eye? Why is Jill acting all weird with Adrian? And can Eddie get any cooler? I've never paid any attention to Eddie, but this book made me realise how much I secretly love how awesome and cool and brave he is. Also, Adrian is a pretty cool guy.

I was looking forward to Rose and Dimitri's cameo! We got Rose but you'll have to wait for Dimitri. Here's a hint: Do not read the last line! I accidentally did and oh my God, it left me wondering for most of the book!

So there is always the notorious bad guy in books, and Keith is the one; Jill is the sweet, innocent one that the protagonist grows to love; Adrian is the potential love interest; Eddie is the loyal and faithful protector and friend; and everyone else is for story progressions. The story centred mostly around Jill, Adrian, Eddie and Sydney. I got to know Sydney in this book and whilst she is sometimes annoying, she is definitely a great character.

What I find an important factor in books is how emotionally invested in them I get: feeling emotional at certain events that happen throughout a book that I am reading makes me enjoy it that much more, and Bloodlines made me choke up a little at times, made me angry and made me smile. What also made me love it more is Eddie. He does something so selfless in Bloodlines and it made me all teary. I think out of all the characters in this book, Eddie is the one who made me look back and smile.

Okay, so this book has a loooot of things going on that mix into one big mess. Sydney is walking a thin line with the Alchemists and Keith is being a nasty bastard; Jill is getting bullied at school; Adrian is bored and moneyless; the students at school are raving about these special tattoos. This is all a big mystery and Sydney accidentally gets mixed up in it.

I thought this would be a romance but it wasn't! There was no room for romance to fit in anywhere, and that was completely fine. I'm sure that there will be some in the sequel, but there were no obvious hints at who the potential star couple would be. We obviously guess it's Adrian and Sydney, and I can see that happening... kind of... but Richelle does have five books to go!

My verdict: I cannot go on about how great this book is. I loved it and am so sad that I finished it so quickly! This is a must-read and will keep you up till the wee hours of the morning. Also, the end? It made me squeal and now I need to read the sequel so badly.

I needed to put my favourite parts in. These are two seperate instances, by the way.

"They're waiting for you. Go on in." Adrian leaned close to Keith's ear and spoke in an ominous voice. "If. You. Dare." He poked Keith's shoulder and gave a "Muahahaha" kind of monster laugh.

---

Keith was just bringing the glass to his lips when Adrian said, "Mmm. O positive, my favourite."

Keith sprayed out the wine he'd drunk and promptly started coughing. I was relieved that none got on me. Jill burst into giggles, and Clarence stared at his glass wonderingly.

"Is it? I thought it was a cabernet sauvignon."

Bloodlines release day

Okay, basically not a very useful post, but I just want to remind you that Bloodlines by Richelle Mead is coming out today! When Richelle first announced it back at the beginning of the year, I was like, "That's ages away!" But now it's only one school day away and then I have it and oh my gosh I am so excited!

So yeah, I am hoping to buy it cheaper from Big W or Kmart or whatever, but if I can't find it there... well, a bookstore it is. I really hate bookstores. They're so freaking expensive, you know?

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy, Kiersten White

Release date: 1st October 2010

Publisher:Harper Collins

Genre:Romance, YA, Paranormal

Pages: 335

Series: Paranormalcy

1. Paranormlacy

2. Supernaturally

3. Endlessly (2012)

VAMPIRES
WEREWOLVES
FAERIES
SHAPESHIFTERS

Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shapeshifter and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She begins to suspect there is a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths, and even worse, that she is at the center of a dark prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

This book has a good memory connected to it, basck when I first read it. It was the end of school and Year Ten was doing a few workshops, and I went to a mosaic one. It was a great day and I was reading the book on the bus and during the breaks at the workshop, and these memories have made me enjoy it a lot more for some reason. Sentimental value and all, I guess. :)

Evie's story caught me in right away and I was stuck. I read this book until 3 in the morning when I was too exhausted to continue. It captivated me and I ltierally couldn't put it down. There have been few books to ever do that.

We're introduced to Evie's ex-boyfriend Ren in a peculiar way, and I was a bit confused when she didn't tell us the reason of their break-up, because at that time, Ren seemed great. I knew their story would come later on, but still, I was quite curious.

As Evie tells us her whole history in a few pages, I breathed a sigh of relief. I hate those books where the heroine has a really bad past and it takes us half the book just to find out half of her bad past. Ther mystery makes you want to continue reading it, but not in a good way.

As we're introduced to Evie's cool sounding life, we find out more about her and the agency she works at, bagging paranormals and putting them to work at the agency. Evie has a thing against faeries and is firm on her opinion about the agency being too stupid to think that they can control them because they know their full names. In this universe, if you know a faerie's full name, they are basicaly under your power if you give them a command. But they're crafty little creatures, able to twist your words around and have it go BANG in your face.

Evie tasers Lend, who no one has any idea what kind of paranormal he is (he can shift shape), and is intrigued by him, and as he is held at the agency, she gets to know him as she hangs out with him. A while later, she develops a crush on him, and their romance is so innocent and fresh, it makes me smile. I read adult books, so a YA romance read is a breath of fresh air. Getting away from the more 'serious' romances (read: no one believes in teenage love) and sex scenes every now and then is refreshing.

As Lend and Evie are sucked into the prophecy and as Evie learns about what kind of paranormal she is, their romance grows as well as keeping us on our toes with the real truth about Evie's agency. Turns out that things are a little different than Evie thought.

I thought of Evie as a bit too immature of someone who does such serious work and has seen more than other teenagers. It may be her way of relaxing and stuff, but her personality didn't really make me like her anymore than I already did. Seriously, she's a very relatable character, but I find most authors either make their teenage leads too serious or immature. 

Review: Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby

Fairy Bad Day, Amanda Ashby

Release date: 27th June 2011

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Genre:Romance, Paranormal, Comedy, YA, Aussie

Pages: 356

MY LIFE SERIOUSLY COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE.
First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right from under my nose by Curtis Green. Sure, he's really cute, but that doesn't give him an excuse.

ON TOP OF THAT, I AM ASSIGNED TO SLAY FAIRIES.  I KNOW what you're thinking - how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won't STOP!

BUT THE THING THAT TOPS MY LIST OF STUFF TO RUIN MY day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it.

There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately ... it's Curtis.

IT'S GOING TO BE A FAIRY BAD DAY.

I read Ms Ashby's book You Had Me at Halo and totally loved it, and when I saw this, I knew I had to buy it because she's Aussie and it sounded like a good book. It was  a funny, light read that I enjoyed immensely.

I love it when I'm emotionally invested in books, and this was one of those books. I understood what Emma was going through completely. I just felt so mad when I realised why Curtis had been designated as a dragon slayer. I felt the unfairness of her situation and I know I would not be able to control my temper like Emma had!

So Emma has to slay fairies. I laughed when I read what she had to use: a miniature crossbow! Oh, and have I mentioned the nail files? I laughed a lot whilst reading this book.

So the one thing that annoyed me was Loni, Emma's best friend. I usually love the heroines' best friends, but on this occasion I was seriously annoyed at Loni. She's into astrology and quoted it frequently, as well as being convinced that Emma was in love with Curtis only after one conversation with him. Emma really needed to slap Loni or something to shut her up. I could not deal with such a friend since I get annoyed easily.

Amanda does a great job with this book and I'm super proud that she's an Aussie. I love reading Aussie books and knowing that the authors can sometimes do an even better job at writing books as the ones from overseas. It does take a lot of talent to getnoticed here in Australia since it's such a small place.

My verdict: Funny and light-hearted, this is an excellent book that will put you in a good mood and will make you forget your worries. Definitely a re-read that you will love!

Review: Goddess of Troy by P.C. Cast

Goddess of Troy, P.C. Cast

Release date: 26th July 2011

Publisher: Piatkus Books

Genre:Romance, Adult, Historical, Paranormal

Pages: 356

Series: Goddess Summoning

1. Goddess of the Seas

2. Goddess of Spring

3. Goddess of Light

4. Goddess of the Rose

5. Goddess of Love

6. Goddess of Troy (published as Warrior Rising  in the US)

7. Goddess of Legend

Goddesses Hera, Athena and Venus have had it up to here with the Trojan War. So much devastation -- all because of male egos. The worst of the bunch is Achilles, the Greek champion whose powers have made him practically invincible. To stop him would be to end the war. But the only way to stop a man like Achilles is to distract him - with something far more pleasurable than combat...

The three goddesses seize their chance when a twenty-first-century beauty named Kat and her best friend perish in a car crash in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In no time, they shift the friends' souls into the bodies of a Trojan princess and her handmaiden, having no doubt that Kat will catch Achilles's attention. But can her independent, fiery spirit match the unquenchable fire of his epic rage?

There is a problem with P.C. Cast's novels: the heroines are close to perfect. They are all smart, witty, funny, courageous and have the perfect careers and friends. There are seriously no flaws. I find this annoying because no woman is perfect and I find it hard to like her heroines because of how flawless they are. This is one factor that affects  my judgment of these books.

So Kat and her 'caramel-skinned' friend Jacky are in a car accident and die, and the goddesses bring them back to when the Trojan War is on. Since their bodies were destroyed in the car accident, Venus and the crew put them in the bodies of two women who had died at the same time. Jacky is in the body of a white woman. I found that really freaky. I mean, if I woke up in a black woman's body I would freak out a lot more than Jacky did.

With romance books, it seems like only a week has passed and then the heroine is in love with the lead male. I don't like that. I find that unrealistic. Oh, and hypnotising the lead and having sex with him whilst he's in the trance and thinks he's dreaming? Ms Cast, that is unethical and creepy.

What I liked was the goddesses. They're funny and smart and I really respect that. I also liked how the people in Troy believed in them and stuff like that. It's fascinating how prevalent religion was back then and how many people believed in the supernatural. (Of course it helped that the goddesses revealed themselves and there WERE supernatural things going on.)

My verdict: I found myself a bit bored halfway through and was kind of creeped out at a few of the things Kat did, but it was an interesting read overall. Plus, the cover is so pretty!

Meeting Maria V. Snyder (plus interview!)

So on Wednesday I went to the city to meet Maria V. Snyder. I was super excited because I had gotten the chance to interview her and now had my books signed. I also ended up meeting some awesome people who are as obsessed about books as I am. None of my friends read and I have no one to talk/obsess over books with; no one to perv on the hot male leads with. You get the idea. So it's really good to get out there and meet others who like the same books and stuff you do. :)

If I could put my day into short sentences sentences it'd go a bit  like this:

Who gets up at this hour? (I was sick and had previously woken up at ten the last four mornings. Waking up at 7? Yeah...)
Hair!!
Pant-pant-pant, damn hill!
Whoops, I'm lost.
Oh wait, never mind.
OMG IT'S MARIA!1!
Lost. Crap. You got me lost, mother!
Calling Dad isn't helping either.
Oh, look, a Novotel! Let's ask for directions.
OMG I'M HERE.
Om nom nom sandwich!
Interviewing Maria...
I got to see some old friends. :)
Shopping at Broadway Kmart. (I'm classy.)
The Scottish guys behind me said 'sexty' dollars. Giggle.
Back to the library.
Oh hi thar... you like Dimitri? BFFLS.
Photo with Maria.
My legs huuuurt and I'm so tiiiiired.

That was my day. Let me expand if you're confused! :)

I got up early and made sure I had everything ready before going and reading a book until it was time to leave. I live on a hill. At the bottom of it, specifically, so you have to climb a hill to get anywhere. I had to walk fast because my mother had called just as I was leaving and refused to hang up until she had made sure I had money, phone, etc.

After my train gets to Town Hall, I realise... I got out at the wrong exit! Stupid me decided to go around the block in hopes of finding some place familiar-- turns out that I should have just walked down the street. Whoops. So I finally found the bookstore (they had moved to the second storey of another bookstore a few places down from them) and then got my books signed by Maria.

After the signing, I went to Ultimo Library. Thank God I had an hour before the interview or I would've been screwed. My mother 'helpfully' told me the directions (I had a map but it wasn't a  very good one) and sent me in the opposite direction. A call to my dad only made me cry because he kept telling me about a street that was supposed to be right in front of me but I couldn't see it. (Turns out that there wasn't a sign with the name of the street.) I finally just went into a hotel and asked the lady at the front desk for a map and directions. She was very helpful and I finally figured out where the heck I was.

You know the ARRC thing I went to in March? WELL, I met three girls that I had talked with there! Two were from Harlequin and another worked at the Ultimo Library. It was such a big coincidence! :) Anyways, the interview went great and I then headed to Broadway to walk around a bit and make the next few hours pass. I ended up in Dymocks and rolled my eyes when I saw the minimum price for a paperback was like $20. I then went to Kmart-- whose books were much more neatly stacked than my local Kmart!-- and got four books for $30. I got Graffiti Moon ($1-- yes, I know!!)), Heist Society (the old cover; $2), Fairy Bad Day ($12) and Goddess of Troy ($15). Behind me were two cute Scottish/Irish guys (I can't tell the difference between Scots and Irish accents very well, but I'm leaning towards Scottish) were talking about money and one of them said "Sexty dollars" in a sexy accent.

I then went to the library so I could just sit down and read my books before Maria's talk, but ended up spending the hour talking with a girl about books. Cos I'm cool. Then Maria talked (I've already forgotten about what, I was so tired!) and then I got a photo with her.

 

Review: Last Letters to Loved Ones by Rose Rouse

Last Letters to Loved Ones, Rose Rouse

Release date: 5th May 2008

Publisher: Metro Books

Genre: Tearjerker

Pages: 240

To lose someone close to you is a terrible tragedy and those who are left behind often wish they could have known more about the thoughts and feelings of the person they lost prior to their death. For those involved in conflicts, who have a terminal illness, or who are contemplating suicide, a letter to their loved one who remains is a way of communicating their emotion and leaves behind a potent, tangible reminder; it is a gift to ease emotional suffering. 

Twenty-two-year-old gunner Lee Thornton was shot on patrol in Basra in 2006. Before he died, he wrote a touching letter to his fiancée, Helen, saying "You have shown me what love is and what it feels like to be loved".

Captain E. F. Lubbock was a pilot in World War I. He wrote his last letter to his mother in November 1915, with strict instructions for it to be sent only in the event of his death. Sadly, it had to be posted. He begs his mother to "try not to let it be too great a blow to you, try and conquer your own sorrow and to live cheerfully".

This deeply moving yet uplifting book is an amazing insight into the complexity of human emotions.

I knew this book would be a tearjerker, yet I still bought it.Tears started flowing after only a few pages. I reckon if you play sad music, you'd be crying after the first page.

This book is full of letters from people to their families and friends before they died, spanning from the early 100s to 2007. There are letters from those who were in Iraq and Afghanistan, WWs I and II, the terminally ill, those who were in prison and some who didn't know they were going to die. I thought that the letters from Iraq and Afghanistan were the saddest and made me cry heaps.

I know-- why would I buy a book that'd just make me cry? Sometimes, you need a good cry. :)

What I didn't like was how before each letter, after a brief summary of who the writer was and what they did, there was a little paragraph that analysed what they'd said and described human emotions, the complexity of them and stuff like that. Please. I do enough analysing in English. I'd rather not read an analysis of a last letter-- which could be totally wrong. The author couldn't exactly ask, huh?

My verdict: It will make you cry, but in a good way. Try going to this blog and not crying at some of the vids, yeah?

Whoops...

Sorry for being absent for a week and a bit! See, there was this unfortunate, err, occurence with my laptop and a cup of tea, which resulted in me being banned from all the computers in the house.

So anyways, I am back and I've realised I need to review some of the books I've read over the past week. That'll get done tomorrow, since I am sick and thus at home for a few days. Oh, and then there's the Maria V. Snyder event on Wednesday. (I AM SO EXCITED.)

Oh, and if anyone wants to see some good movies, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the Batman Beyond, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited are all really good. Anything to do with Batman, the Justice League and Green Lantern rocks. (I really love superheroes.) Oh, and the Wonder Woman movie from 2009. I recommend the movies and TV shows.

Exciting Maria V. Snyder news! :)

So there was this competition held by Harlequin and SpineOut (an e-magazine for Aussie YA readers) for the chance to interview Maria V. Snyder and have it published in the mag, as well as an iPad 2. I guess you're all wondering why I'm telling you this, right? (Not really. I bet you all know why.)

...I WON. So I'm hoping I'm able to bring my camera and film the interview for you guys! It all depends on whether Maria is okay with it, so I hope she is!

The interview will be on 17th August and I plan to attend the signing and event at Ultimo Libnrary that day, so if you see me, say hi! I'll be the short one with (possibly) two braids and wearing a black-and-white striped top.

My questions for the interview:

The tour:

• How are you liking Australia? I know you've tried our Tim Tams.
• What are the sort of reactions you were expecting when you decided to tour Australia?
• Have you had any interesting or weird fan experiences?

The books

• Is Valek secretly a ninja?
• Where did you get the idea for Valek? Is he bits of  people you know or someone you'd like to know?
• When you have characters in your books die, do you feel sad, or is it like a sort of inevitable knowledge and you've accepted it?
• Was the ending arc of the Insider series set since the first book, or was something that evolved as the story progressed? Basically, did you plan the ending or did it just appear inside your head?
• If you had the chance to write another book for the Insider series, would you do it to please your readers or decide not to? The same goes for the Study and Glass series.
• Is world-building for the Study and Glass series hard? Did you research anything about magic before hand?
• Since the Study and Glass world is so large, is it hard to keep track of characters and information?
• Has your editor caught any big mistakes in the manuscript?
• You teach a Writing Popular Fiction course at Seton Hill University. What's the #1 piece of advice you give to your students?  
• The Study series had such a great, unique concept – about food tasters and poison aficionados. What first sparked your interest in this odd profession, and what sort of research did you do into the art of poison? No taste-testing, I hope!
• The Insider series is a sci-fi dystopia, which I know has gotten very popular in this year and the last. What inspired you t o write it?
• You have a new series starting called Healer, with the first book scheduled for January 2012 called A Touch of Power. Can you tell us a bit about this new YA series?
• All of your series have been for the Young Adult readership so far. What’s the appeal of writing for the teen set, and would you ever consider writing an adult novel? 

Thank you guys for all the questions! Especially thanks to Danielle who came up with some in-depth and interesting ones! I still haven't  gotten an answer about filming the interview -- though I am told I will need to record the answers somehow, duh --  but I hope that maria will be okay to film it! :) Only ten days to go now!

Review: Dark Heart Forever by Lee Monroe

Dark Heart Forever, Lee Monroe

Release date: 7th October 2010

Publisher: Hodder Children's

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance  

Pages: 304

Series: Dark Heart Forever

1. Dark Heart Forever

2. Dark Heart Rising

Jane Jonas is nearing her 16th birthday and troubled by unsettling recurring dreams where the same mysterious boy her age comes to her, telling Jane that they are each other's destiny. Her mother is increasingly anxious about Jane's disruptive sleepwalking episodes, but for Jane her dream world and reality are about to collide ...

When she develops a friendship with an enigmatic stranger in town, the blonde, uber-cool Evan, it's exciting, it's new, and Jane wants him more than she's ever wanted anybody - until her mystery dream boy gets in the way.

Now Jane is caught between two worlds: one familiar, but tinged with romance and excitement; the other dark and dangerous, where angels, werewolves, and an irresistible stranger are trying to seduce her... 

You know how you sometimes read a book and wonder why this person got published? This is one of those books. It's kind of like Twilight: a completely uninteresting, unremarkable girl with a 'bad' past (some bullying, boo hoo) suddenly has these two attractive, amazing guys after her. That's it. And the ending was like the end of BD: an absolute let down.

First of all, there was no... what do you call it? Like, no leading up to the story like the blurb hints at. By 'nearing her sixteenth birthday' Ms Monroe really meant 'having it right now. Like, in the first sentence'. The dreams she's having? I think she had probably two in the whole book, and there was no explanation about how long she'd been having them for or anything. She also hints at how she was majorly bullied a few years before and that's why she's home schooled... this really just didn't add anything to the plot.

Jane? Instead of feeling like this book was narrated by a sixteen year old girl, it felt like she was twelve. So when she was kissing one of the boys (whilst being in total denial about the other), I felt grossed out and said, "But she's like twelve! She shouldn't be kissing anyone!" Oh, and Jane has horrible fashion sense and refuses to wear a bra. Is it that hard to own a few pairs of nice jeans and pretty tops? And a bra? D:

The magical world we're told about is rarely shown. Only for a few chapters, really. The mythology/whatever isn't properly explained, and I just felt like Ms Monroe had been lazy and didn't bother to do any proper world-building.

I want to tell you guys what I liked about this book. I do. But... I seriously did not like it at all. There was nothing good here. Not the characters, the plot, the worlds.... This is one of those books that don't get better towards the end. In fact, the end sucked. 'One deadly choice' is misleading. More like, 'The bad guy turns good in the end and walks away'. You'd think someone would die, right?

My verdict: Just no. This book will not get better towards the end. Don't pick it up unless you just want the nice cover to look good on your bookshelf.