A Reader's Adventure

Sweetly

6:00 pm 14 July 2011

I love retellings! It is really cool to see how different authors interpret the same story and how they make it their own. I have also liked Jackson’s other books so I was really excited for this book!I liked this take on the classic Hansel and Gretel story because of the differences from the classic story. The story starts with Ansel, Gretchen, and her identical twin sister going into the woods, the sister is taken and that one even really shapes the rest of the book, because the different ways that Ansel and Gretchen deal with the grief are prevalent throughout the story and keep the plot going.I really, really liked the characters in this retelling. Especially the character growth in Samuel and Gretchen. All of the characters were very different and were products of their upbringing and lives which is sometimes neglected in today’s stories. There were a lot of twists in this story. I went in thinking one thing, and left with something completely different, I really liked that, books that I can figure out right away annoy me.Only thing I didn’t like about Sweetly was Ansel and Sophie’s relationship, I get that it was vial to the storyline but it really annoyed me it was trivial (IMO) and childish. But it was important in the end so I can appreciate why it was in the story.A really good book especially for fans of Sisters Red and fairytale retellings.And that cover? Beautiful and creepy!

6:00 pm 29 June 2011

This book was kind of confusing. The beginning of the book jumps back and forth with seemingly no purpose, and information that is seemingly unconnected is thrown at the reader. After getting used to that, the story comes alive.I liked Majesty, she was really interesting and has normal reactions to situations she is put in which I really appreciated. I also liked Alec and Derek, they were complex characters in of themselves and I liked what they added to the book. This book will keep you reading, even though at times its hard to understand, because you want to know what is going to happen next and how the story is going to be resolved!

Possession

6:00 pm 20 June 2011

This was a dystopian novel, now I know that many people are saying that they are getting tired of dystopian but I cannot understand how! They are all so different!This book was no different! It was dystopian through the use of technology which I hadn’t experienced before in a book. Basically the population was being brainwashed through transmissions that they are forced to listen to while sleeping. After her father is taken and her sister disappears she stops listening and basically stops following some of the rules so she is considered a rebel and a “threat.”I loved Vi’s personality! She was kick-ass and adventurous, as well as having a soft side. I also liked her drive and her want to help people, not control them. There were also some things that I would have never expected! I like when I can’t see things coming. And these REALLY surprised me. Lastly and most importantly Jag!!!!!! He’s not really the typical bad boy of fiction nowadays which I really, really appreciate. But he does have that edge that draws you in. Sooo sexy. I really liked their banter and story.OMG that ending, are you kidding me Elena Johnson!!!! Really? I am dying for the sequel!Overall an amazing debut and a great addition to the dystopian genre.Also that cover…. Love it!

The Eternal Sea

6:00 pm 19 June 2011

If you read my review of the first book you know that I really enjoyed the characters in that book, this book was no different! I liked delving back into this world and getting to know the characters even better, as well as meeting new ones!The plot of this book was full of action and adventure, I was kept on my toes wondering what was going to happen next and how it was going to end. Even though most of the book takes place on a ship it wasn’t boring or mundane like it could have been. I have two words for you, LOVE TRIANGLE. There was a definite love triangle in this book but I think it was done better than in many other books. Camille’s reasons for being torn were valid and I found myself switching back and forth with who she should be with. (OSCAR) The only problem I had with this book was that I wish the mythology had been gone into more. While it was gone into more than in the first book I found myself craving even a little more. Overall a good book and I hope there is going to be another book because I was not satisfied with that ending!

6:00 pm 13 June 2011

I played sports in high school, I played basketball and softball so I could really relate to Kylie’s feelings about the games as well as understanding some of the lingo, but I still think that you could get into these books even if you’ve never played sports.This is the forth book in the series of companion novels and so even if you haven't read the other books (like me) you can still understand what is going on which I really appreciated.I did not like Kylie as a character, I would not have been friends with her in high school. She was just too mean for me. And while she was trying to get past it, her arrogance was just way too overwhelming to me. But that being said I liked the way she related with the other characters, it was real and believable. Besides Kylie’s personality I really liked this book, it’s a great book for both sports lovers as well as lovers of chick-lit!

The Near Witch

6:00 pm 9 June 2011

Ok, I’m going to warn you, this review might be a little fangirly.Once I read the synopsis I was captivated, but I was also a little wary, because sometimes the synopsis gives away it all and makes the book dull and boring. This was NOT the case! I was drawn in from the first page, each word pulling me further and further into a spellbinding novel. The way the Near Witch was written is different than any I have ever read before. It was descriptive, lyrical, and semi-poetic, each word had a purpose and a mission. Some people don’t like description in novels, but I happen to like it, and the Near Witch is a great example why. The moor and its inhabitants seemed so real and were painted so beautifully that I felt myself feeling for all the people whose kids were taken. I loved the characters in The Near Witch, they were seamless and believable, none of them did things that were out of character. Lexi is one of my new favorite characters, she is reminiscent of other kick-butt heroines such as Katinss from The Hunger Games and Katsa from Graceling. She didn’t let anything anyone said stop her from doing what she thought was right, she is a great example to girls everywhere. Cole… oh Cole. He was filled with so many surprises and twists. Also he wasn’t a “bad boy” that is so prevalent in books today. He was sweet as well as not being a pushover.When I first picked up this book I was going through kind of a reading slump and The Near Witch blew my mind and reminded me why I love to read and why I love to blog. It reminded me why I called my blog A Reader’s Adventure. Because some books take you to places and worlds that you could never have imagined in a million years. The Near Witch was my adventure, and Victoria Schwab was my expert travel guide. Thank you Victoria for the reminder.The Near Witch combined everything that is good about books, beautiful writing, exquisite characters, amazing world building, with just a touch of good old-fashioned scariness. This was the best book I have read this year and possibly in years.

Sharks & Boys

6:00 pm 5 June 2011

3.5If you are looking for a summer read where happiness abounds and everything is great minus a few little scuffles. This is not the book for you. But if you are looking for a book that will make you think about the fragility of life, and make you think back on all the shipwreck victims you hear about on the news. Then this is the book for you.I’m going to warn you while this book has some semi-happy moments they are at the beginning of the book. The rest of the book is filled with pain, death, and sadness. Peppered with a story of survival and courage. I am glad that this book wasn’t all rainbows and kittens because that would have lightened the story and devalued those who have lost their lives while being shipwrecked. All the primary characters in the book are twins which annoyed me until the end where I got it. I liked seeing the differences between the groups of twins and how they related to their twin. The imagery in this book is very good, I felt as if I was shipwrecked, with the sun beating down on me. At times the book was boring cause it mostly consisted on them sitting on a raft waiting to be rescued but it kept my attention for the most part. I have to say the ending was kind of a let down, I wish it was been more extravagant or something, but it was satisfactory.overall a good book!

All These Things I've Done

6:00 pm 5 June 2011

I received this book in a red box with chocolate covered espresso beans which were AMAZING! It was really cute and a great idea for them to promote this book!First of all a world were chocolate and coffee are illegal?!?!? And paper is hard to find???? I don’t think I could live in this world. No chocolate, no books? But I guess I would get use to it eventually maybe… But it was more than that, it was a story about a mafia, family, loyalty, and being willing to be who you are regardless of what people think.I really liked Anya as a character, she was strong, and was willing to step in and take care of her siblings (even if she was overbearing at times) she was resilient and never willing to give up.I kind of wish there had been more of a mystery element to this book, I mean there was such a good set up for it, but regardless I really enjoyed it.Win was real gentleman, he was willing to wait for Anya and respected her choice not to have sex. I really appreciate this because it seems like there are so many characters in books that basically have abusive/unhealthy relationships. I also just like Win in general.There were a few things that I wish had been elaborated upon, but besides that I really liked this book, and thought it was very different than many dystopian fiction. It really has it’s own niche and sets it self apart from a genre that while everywhere I still really enjoy!Love the cover!!!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

6:00 pm 4 June 2011

First of all this book has the cutest pictures scattered throughout the book! While there aren’t many of them they add so much to the story by letting you see/comprehend the mysterious creatures in the book!This is definitely a middle grade book, but I think it can be appreciated and enjoyed by people of all ages. I also think boys will enjoy it because its not an overtly “girl” book. I have to agree with the synopsis, this is a good book for fans of Alice in Wonderland because it has that same charm as well as a strange host of characters that join September along the way.The only small problem I had with this book was I found myself having to remind myself who all the characters were. Maybe because September and Saturday’s names are so similar? I don’t know… but besides that I really, really enjoyed it!A cute book filled with child-like wonder and an adventure that will keep you guessing!

Wildefire

6:00 pm 19 May 2011

I love reading books with elements of mythology and this one was especially good because instead of just using gods and goddesses from Roman and Greek mythology Karsten used other less typical gods and goddesses from various cultures which I loved, it made the story more original and different.I talk a lot on here about Kick-Ass female characters and there are some definite ones in Wildefire!! With the combination of Ash, Eve, and Raja there is a whole new team of Kick-Ass characters! I loved all of the characters in this book, they were all so different and brought their own unique personality to the story. I have to say one of my favorite parts in this book was the flashbacks, it was a way of getting to know the characters in a more sensory way. Being able to be inside other characters heads for those crucial moments in their lives really brought them more to life and made me understand their motivations and personalities even more.I have one more thing to say and that is… SERIOUSLY Karsten?!?!? The ending is very, very cliffhanger full. I am ok with it only because the rest of the book was so good.An amazing book filled with kick ass characters and an interesting plot, don’t miss this awesome debut!

Don't Stop Now

6:00 pm 16 May 2011

Originally posted at A Reader's Adventure http://mariah-readingadventure.blogspot.com/2011/06/dont-stop-now.htmlHonestly, I think I could read road trip books all day long! They really make me want to grab some of my friends and drive across the country on a whim.I liked the writing style, it was funny and light. But every once in a while we would be reminded about Penny through alternating chapters from the past where she is very creepy and scarily insecure, leaving me to wonder throughout the book if she was alive. It was also fast paced which is good for a road trip book.I really enjoyed the dynamic between Lil and Josh, I liked how they interacted and their banter. Which if you are a long time follower of this blog you know I’m a sucker for. Their awkwardness made them more relatable, and made me think about my crushes on guys who only think of me as a friend.Part of this book that I really liked was the descriptions of all the places they traveled to. I was captivated and felt as if I had been there. Such as The House on the Rock, or Wall Drug. I kind of want to go visit now and see if they look like the pictures in my head. That is one of the best part of reading I think, being able to see places that may not exist, or you’ve never gone to, in detail and yearning to visit. This book definitely made me want to visit all these places.One of the small things that I didn’t like was that I felt at times that their search for Penny was secondary, and while that was the case for the story, and I know that Lil and her weren't even really friends. I just wish Lil and Josh had focused on that a little more, instead of just flipping back to that whenever it was convenient to the plot.Besides that I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for more from Julie!

Ripple

6:00 pm 11 May 2011

This is my favorite book that Mandy Hubbard has written. I mean how can you go wrong with sirens?This book was written really well, the characters popped off the page, and had real reactions to things. It drives me nuts when characters react in ways that no one would ever really, and people act like its normal. I appreciated that this book didn’t have any of that!I loved the mythology of the sirens but I wish we could have known a little more about it, sirens are great mythological creatures and it would have been nice to see Hubbard’s spin on it a little more.The ending? I never expected it! and I loved that, books where I can figure out the ending too easily are annoying to me. I mean I had an inkling, but I was shocked by what actually happened.Overall a really good book, a great step up from many paranormal book lately!

Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves Novel)

6:00 pm 11 May 2011

There are so many werewolf books on the market, so before I pick one up I try to figure out what makes this one different than the other ones on the shelf. That is one of the reasons I really like this series, it so different than the other werewolf books I have read.I liked seeing Bryn step into her role as Alpha, while she had her doubts I really liked her drive and how she wasn’t afraid to work through problems and sacrifice herself. Bryn really matured in this book, she faced some really hard decisions and had to learn to step up and step down at times. The new element that was brought into this book I really enjoyed. It made the plot more complex and the story even more thrilling and enjoyable. You definitely need to read the first book to understand this one. Things that happened previously are alluded to and are important to the plot, but I didn’t think this was a bad thing because I made Bryn’s decisions more valid in my mind.The one thing that was the best about this book was the fact that I was never sure if Bryn was going to survive. Especially at the end I really, really had my doubts. This fear kept me on the edge of my chair wanting to know what was going to happen.The flaw with this book was that it was sort of slow sometimes, I had to set it down unless something very important was happening. It wasn’t too bad because the action parts made up for it, but there were times where I wanted the story to move along faster.

6:00 pm 10 May 2011

As you know if you read my blog I love books that have mythology in them. The Goddess Test was no exception.I really liked the prologue at the beginning of the book, I know some people don’t like them because they feel that they give too much away, but in this case I think it really added to the story, my mind would go back to that scene and try to tie it into what was going on. It was a great way to add some mystery and intrigue from the very beginning.Kate was my kind of character, while she wasn’t super heroic or anything, I liked her devotion to her mother, and how she was willing to give up so much for some girl who hated her.I also really liked Henry, but I wish we could have gotten to know him better. There were moments when it seemed like we might be let in, but we only got a glimpse. I guess that added to his mysteriousness. I would have liked to understand his motives and why he was the way he was more though.The idea of the tests I felt was very original but I wish some of them had been more obvious, I mean I know they were supposed to be subtle but I had NO idea what most of them could possibly be until the end when they were spelled out for me and Kate.I had one main problem with this book, it was that for the first part of the book I had NO IDEA what was going on. It was very vague and I wish Aimee Carter had given the readers a little more background or something.But besides that I really enjoyed this book and I am excited to see where the story goes in the next book. Goddess Interrupted (Jan 2012)

Exile

6:00 pm 14 April 2011

I read Aurelia when it came out in 2008 but while I hoped for a sequel I didn’t know if there was going to be one, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Exile was a sequel!While you don’t have to read Aurelia to understand what is going on in Exile I really recommend it, since it had been so long since I had read Aurelia I had a little trouble remembering certain things and I would have enjoyed it more if I had re-read Aurelia first. (Also I really enjoyed Aurelia and so I highly recommend it!) Aurelia is a great heroine even though she is not self sufficient, she doesn’t let the fear of failure or the fear of failing stop her from trying to reach her goals. I also liked how even though she was exiled, she still was trying to do what was best for her kingdom.I really enjoyed seeing the different parts of the kingdom, I also liked the fact that I was seeing it for the first time with Aurelia, as well as with the more seasoned Robert. It added variety and different reactions to things that happened.Exile is full of adventure, twists, and just a bit of romance! A great read. And from that ending I hope there is another one!!!!!

6:00 pm 2 April 2011

The Liar Society - Lisa Roecker, Laura Roecker

I love Lisa and Laura’s blog they have such a hilarious dynamic which helps give this book its hilarity!I adore mysteries and this one was so cool, I never knew what was going to happen next. This story was fast paced and expertly weaved.Kate was such a fun character! She was sarcastic, witty, and hilarious. But you could see how her friend’s death had really effected her. I also liked Liam and Seth, they added a lot to the plot, and really helped the story move along!A great addition to the sparse mystery genre in YA I cannot wait for the next book!