Bad Book Blogger

Teehee. I'm here!! Really!! I've just been a very bad blogger this summer. There's a beach right by my house... what can I say? I have no excuse. :-p

But my lack of reviews doesn't mean I haven't been reading! I may not be able to blog very well from the beach, but I certainly can read. I've compiled a list of my recent reads, in order of star ratings. And I talk a little bit about some.


5 star reads (AKA stop what you're doing and go get this book!)

Divergent, by Veronica Roth
 Divergent was super. I have read a lot of dystopians lately, since that's what the publishers are putting out (thanks to The Hunger Games' success) and I've been satisfied, but not entirely blown away by most. Divergent wasn't a THG copy cat, at least I didn't think so. Of course, everyone is going to compare new dystopians to THG, but this one didn't make me feel the need. It was it's own story.

One of my favorite things about Divergent was the exploration of fear. The "fear-scapes". As fascinating as it was to watch the characters in their own fear scape, it was even more interesting for me to try and figure out what my fear scape might show. In fact, this very concept sparked a good conversation with my friend Em. We even sat down and wrote out lists of our fears.

I thoroughly enjoyed Divergent, and I consider it a success not only in the writing, the characters, and the plot, but in the discussability-factor it has. It's a book that will spark discussion and debate and best of all-- thought. ;-)

Magic Slays, by Ilona Andrews. (book 5 in the Kate Daniels series)
 Well of course it was fantastic. Ilona Andrews never has disappointed me. Kate and Curran are back to kick butt, take names, and sic the attack poodle Grendel on all those nasty things in post-apocolyptic Atalanta. Kate also learns a bit more about her past, whether she likes it or not.


4 star reads (Very much enjoyed)

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins.
 Cute. Very cute, very sweet. The setting was possibly my favorite thing about the book. As you may guess, Anna and the French Kiss is set is Paris. Anna is sent to a boarding school in Paris for Americans.

I wasn't nearly as impressed with Anna and the French Kiss as everyone else seemed to be, but it wasn't a bad read. It was what I wanted to read- something light and lovey. The setting definitely made the book for me. I would probably have been bored to tears with the love story if it was set in America. Being in Paris and seeing the sights through Anna's eyes was what kept it fresh and entertaining for me.

The Gathering, by Kelley Armstrong.
 A decent first installment to this series, but not quite up to par. The writing was great, the story was fine. I found it pretty predictable though. In fact, quite predictable. I was getting bored waiting for our dear MC to figure out what I'd known from the get-go. And sadly, she doesn't figure it out until nearly the end.

I do love the fact that it's in the same world as the Darkest Powers series. That right there is what kept me interested.

Anyhow, I did enjoy the book, but the predictability was disappointing. Now that the secret has been discovered though, I think next book in the series will be great!


Stolen, by Kelley Armstrong. (book two in the Women of the Otherworld series)
 I read this one pretty quickly. It was fast paced and exciting and definitely the kind of book I like.


Dime Store Magic, by Kelley Armstrong.
 And here is where the series switches POV's. We get Paige here, which was great. I like her. :) Again, I read this one quickly. Armstrong's books just have to be read, they don't let you put them down for long.

Industrial Magic,  by Kelley Armstrong.
 Paige again. Loved the glimpse into the Cabals and all those sordid affairs.

Haunted, by Kelley Armstrong. (Women of the Otherworld, book 5)
 Finally!! Eve's POV!! I loved getting to see Eve's thoughts and feelings and get an understanding of her. A little creepy, but very good. I had a bit of trouble during the first half, as it was a little slow. But of course, once it picked up it didn't slow down and I loved it.

Unfallen Dead, by Mark Del Franco. (Connor Grey, book 3)
 I had forgotten how much I liked this series. Our poor broken druid, Connor Grey, is back at it again. Fighting the taint that was left from the giant magical mishap in Unquiet Dreams. And of course, fighting other things, but I shan't mention them, or else risk spoiling the book. ;-)

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi.
  What an interesting book. A fantastical fairy tale, with monsters and gadgets and a lost little girl. Eva Nine is all alone in a strange and dangerous new world. Well, not so totally alone. She does manage to make a few friends along the way, and her adventures with them are truly spectacular.

It was a bit like a reverse Alice in Wonder Land- Instead of falling down a hole into a new world, she goes up and out a hole into a new world. Everything is different. Things that seem nice aren't, and things that seem terrifying might not be- or they might be even worse than you thought!

I absolutely plan to read this to my kids one day, and you should too. Although it's MG, it still entertained and creeped out this 20-something gal. A fairy tale through and through.


3 star reads (Meh)

Pretty Bad Things, by C. J. Skuse.
 Uh, what? Very strange premise, very strange book. Paisley and her brother Beau go off on a crazy road-trip to save their dad- in the car they stole from their evil, money-grubbing Aunt. Sounds kind of interesting, right? I guess... but it was weird. Paisley is nuts. She lights her Aunt's house on fire, she is incredibly destructive and rude and I just couldn't understand or relate to her. She claims to love her little brother, and we see some of that, but she treats him like her little slave. Beau lets his older sister push him around and convince him to steal and mooch and do all kinds of things, all in the name of finding their father. Who, might I add, has been in prison for the past however many years. In some ways it's a nice story... but not really. Paisley is irresponsible to the extreme. When they have some money (from stealing) they buy candy and stupid stuff. They rob candy stores and ice cream stores and the whole point of all of it is to get on TV so their dad will see them and know they're looking for him. Kind of far fetched. Not a great plan. Not a great book.



And that pretty much brings you up to speed on my reading. Lots of Kelley Armstrong this summer, thanks mainly to my friend Andrea, since she's been kind enough to lend me the Women of the Otherworld books.

Really Ravishing Review (Enclave)

Review of Enclave, by Anne Aguirre. 

Quickie: I suspect this book (and author) will win many awards because this book is a masterpiece. This, my friends, is why I read.

Full: I'm going to skip the synopsis on this one, because I feel it's best read cold-turkey. No spoilers, no pre-concieved notions. Just a book. A fantastic book by an extraordinarily talented author. I will, however, give my thoughts.

Characters: Loved them all.
-Deuce came off as green and desperate to prove herself in the beginning, almost to the point of irritation for me. That was good though, because it made her personal journey, discovery, and growth all the better. She was a fighter, to be sure, but I was glad to see that she wasn't completely pragmatic and heartless. If she would have been, I doubt I could have identified and "bonded" with her. I loved her though, mistakes and flaws included. Her growth as a character was lovely and fulfilling.
-Fade was pure love. What more could we ask for? A tortured boy (man? I feel like he's more man than boy) who has difficulties connecting to those around him. (For good reason) But once you take the time to get to know him, he's pure gold. Sweet, protective, jealous, understanding, and respectful. He's not intimidated by Deuce's Huntress title, nor does he see her as any less feminine. He respects her for who she is.

World: Oh man. This is a terrifying place to live. And yet, so very rich. With a lot of dystopians lately, I have felt like I've got a grasp on the world they have created, but with Enclave, I could see it. I could feel it. I could smell it. It was clearly researched and dwelled upon to a great extent. I am absolutely astounded at how much I loved the world. I would call it dynamic. And frighteningly realistic. I can't wait to go back!!

Cover: Well, covers and book design do not count towards my ratings, but I wanted to mention this one. Here's why: I left it on. Usually  when I read a hardcover book, I take the dust jacket off and put it up on top of my bookshelf so that I don't ruin it. But I didn't do that with Enclave. Not because I wanted to ruin it (I didn't!!) but because it creeped me out. No, really. Every time I paused to collect my thoughts I'd close the book and be totally creeped out by those hands and I'd open it right back up again because I had to know what happened next. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you... maybe I'm just crazy, but it mattered to me. I enjoy looking at covers while I'm reading books. With hardbacks I usually make the sacrifice and take it off to make sure I don't rip it or anything else. But this one... I couldn't take it off.

Etc.: Read it. Trust me, the hype about Enclave is well deserved. It started out beautifully and only got better as the page numbers went higher.

5 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Delirium)

Review of Delirium, by Lauren Oliver. 

Quickie: Emotional and devastating. Basically, read it.

Full: Lena Haloway is haunted by her mother. She has fond memories of her mother, but she's not entirely sure she's allowed to be thinking of her mother like that- after all, her mother was sick. Very sick. She had the delirium. Those fond memories are chock full of illegal things- singing, dancing, hugs that lasted too long, touching... love. That terrible sickness that kills people. It killed her mother. She was so full of the sickness that she walked right off a cliff and fell into her watery grave.

Lena's adopted her aunt's last name, Tiddle, because it was easier, and it helped to cleanse her family (at least a tiny little bit) from the touch of her mother's illness. An unofficial last name doesn't change the fact that all of Portland already knows the story, and it certainly doesn't help get rid of Lena's nightmares.

All Lena wants is to have the operation. Everybody gets the operation sooner or later, usually on or around their 18th birthday. It's all Lena can think about; being safe from the disease forever. She likes to follow rules and not push people, she likes to keep her nose clean and play it safe. She's seen what happens to people who don't play it safe, and it's no fate she wants.

Things start to change for Lena when her best friend, Hana, convinces her to sneak out and attend an illegal party. There's music the likes of which she could never have imagined. There are people touching without fear. It's all amazing and surreal for Lena. But it's too much. This is wrong.

But if it's so wrong, why did it feel so good? Why did everyone look so happy, so full of life? Why do all the cured people seem so lifeless?

Then there's Alex, a boy who works in the labs where Lena has her evaluation. He's cured, so it's okay to talk to him, and he starts hanging out occasionally (usually out of the public's eye) with Hana and Lena. But Alex has a secret that will change Lena's life forever. In fact, it will change Lena herself forever.

Delirium is one of those books that has a lot of buildup. Not a bad thing, it just means that the world is complex and you have to be familiar with it to truly appreciate the story. My problem wasn't so much with the buildup, but with the slow pace that we saw through most of the book. It took me about a week to read Delirium, which is a pretty long time for me. It wasn't that I was uninterested or that the writing was bad or any of that. But it wasn't hard for me to set down and I wasn't dying to pick it back up.

That said, I really did like it. Now that the world has been established and the story has gotten interesting, I want to read the next installment. If you had asked me if I planned to read Pandemonium when I was half-way through I would have said, "Meh. Maybe." Now though, it's a resounding "Yes."

Lena's personality and viewpoint was understandable and relatable. Her character development was great; I felt like she really grew as a character and she surprised me with her pluck. It was a bit drawn out at times when she was busy figuring things out and analyzing everything, but overall I liked her and I liked seeing things from her point of view.

Alex and Lena's relationship moved at a believable and natural pace, which I appreciated. I liked that she didn't fall head-over-heels in love with him at first sight. I liked that she was a bit insecure and didn't just assume that she deserved his love. She questioned his motives and her own, and I was glad to see it.

In sum, I liked the book and would recommend it to folks who enjoy dystopian novels that make you think.

4 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Matched)

Review of Matched,  by Ally Condie. 

Quickie: A thoughtful, beautifully written new dystopian.

Full: Cassia is beside herself with excitement; her Match Banquet is tonight! She gets to wear a special gown and eat special food and she'll find out who her Match is. The Society has paired her and her peers off with the perfect person for them each, based on data and numbers and statistics. It's an infallible system. Or is it? A fluke on her microcard filled with information about her match causes her to see people -and her world- in an entirely different light.

Cassia is also upset about her grandfather's impending death. He's reached the age limit for the Society; eighty years old. Studies have shown that quality of life declines after your eightieth birthday, so to spare everyone that misery the Society schedules everyone's life to end on that day.

The Society has ultimate say in every aspect of your life. They give you food that is calculated to be exactly what your body needs to live, no more, no less. You cannot share your food, you must eat it when and where they say. You wear the same clothes as everybody else, you partake in activities only with the Society's permission. Literally everything from your birth to your death is planned out to perfection.

Of all the things that saddened and worried me in Matched, the "Hundreds" were the worst. The Society decided a while back that really people only needed a hundred of everything- a hundred songs, a hundred poems, a hundred histories. If something didn't make it into the cut, it was destroyed. Books, music... entire libraries and collections simply incinerated forever. Lost. I just about cried.

Cassia is content with her world. She's safe, she's happy... but that fluke on her microcard still bothers her. Why was it there? It must be a mistake... right? Through the fluke and her grandfather's death, Cassia's eyes are opened and she's no longer sure that her world is what it seems.


I thoroughly enjoyed Matched. There was a lot of build up and hype about it in the blogging world, and I feel that it was justified. It's one of those books that sticks with you and you find yourself reflecting on it at the oddest moments.

I've heard some people say that the felt the story was slow, or they couldn't get into it until the second half. That wasn't the case for me. The writing pulled me in instantly. It was beautiful and fluid and I was happy to be carried along by it. While it's true that the action didn't really pick up until the second half, the world building and emotional aspect of the first half was important and interesting.

Matched is a perfect candidate for a book club or classroom discussion. In my opinion, it's the closest a dystopian YA has come to what our future really might hold for us. No, I don't believe it will actually go that far, but it's fascinating to look at our culture and lives and see how this sort of world could come about. The really scary thing is that I can see the logic behind it all, I can see the allure. But it's absolutely terrifying.

Kudos, Condie. I thought Matched was great.

4 out of 5 stars.

Really Ravishing Review (Mockingjay)

Review of Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins.



Quickie: The perfect ending to the Hunger Games series. Beautiful, beyond anything I could have imagined.

Caution: Spoilers from The Hunger Games and Catching Fire!!

Full: Oh, Mockingjay. Where do I begin? This isn't going to be an easy review to write.

District 12 is gone. Decimated. Blown up. Burned. All the refugees have been relocated to District 13, the elusive District that's completely underground. 13 is the epicenter for the rebels. Katniss and Gale are there, and Katniss is in recovery from The Quarter Quell. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol and nobody knows much else.

Beyond that, I can't say much more, story-wise, without spoiling the book for you. But here are my thoughts.

It was brilliant. It was beautiful. It was a masterpiece. I will confess... I'd been counting down the days for this one, but even so, I couldn't bring myself to read it. It took me a week. I had to read it piece by piece. I just couldn't stomach it all at once.  You know how it is, your expectations are so extremely high that you're afraid the real thing will disappoint you. Plus, people's Tweets were scaring me.

Good:
- Peeta. Everything that happened to him was horrifying and scary, but it made him so interesting and dynamic. I loved him before. And I love him even more now. What an impossible obstacle to overcome. What an intense struggle.
- Gale. It was nice to see him as he deserved to be seen. We didn't get to know him very well in either of the previous books, but Mockingjay gave us that chance. I didn't love every part of him. There were times when I was frustrated with him for pushing Katniss to choose, or for forcing her to dwell on things. But really, she did need to face the issue of Gale vs. Peeta, even though it was hard and I didn't like him forcing her to.
- Katniss. Wow. She made some leaps and bounds in her self-awareness and discovery. I've always admired her for her ability to survive and do what needs done, but when she realizes that she's becoming the cold, calculated survivor, and that both Gale and Peeta know she'll choose whichever one she needs to survive... that was a big moment. I was so hurt by that discussion. I hurt for all of them. But it needed to be said, and Katniss needed that "Aha" moment, even though it was painful. She's matured, and now she can see that she can't do everything alone. Help is not something she's good at requesting or admitting she even needs. But she really grows and learns to humble herself.
- The "Wasteland" period. When Katniss has had so many terrible, painful things happen to her. I was so glad that Collins didn't shy away from the pain. Real people don't just spring back from everything, and neither should fictional characters. When Katniss says, "I am a wasteland.", it hit me hard. I've felt like a wasteland before. The wording was perfect.
- The Epilogue.

Not as Good:
- I miss Panem as it was in THG and CF. True, it was completely corrupt, but it was such a rich world, so fully developed and intriguing.
- It was depressing. Beautiful, and I don't think it honestly could have ended in a more perfect way, but it was still so dire and hopeless at times.
- Annie and Finnick. I'm actually glad that Collins didn't go into any more detail about this at the end. I wouldn't have been able to cope. 

In so many ways, I feel that things couldn't have gone any other way. Each time I think, "Well I didn't like this, I wish it could have turned out differently", I realize that no, this is what had to happen. Like it or not, this is what needed to take place.

As I'm re-reading this, it sounds like I have a negative outlook on the book. I don't. It was gorgeous. It was perfect. I'm still wallowing and digesting it. Mockingjay was beautiful and hopeful even while being ugly and hopeless. If you haven't read it, you are missing out. Big time.

5 out of 5 stars.