Top Ten Tuesday #1

I am going to start participating in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This weeks theme is...

Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens

1) Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

    I love everything about this book from the characters to the cover and the beautiful world that Juliet creates. There's no way I could leave this behind.

2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    This is my favorite classic. I really admire Jane and Im in love with Mr. Rochester, and I think they have the best chemistry together.

3) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

    The first time I read this book I was in 5th grade and I've loved it ever since. It's probably my favorite book from my childhood.

4) The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

    This book really helped me to think more about my life and my own personal quest for perfection. It kinda put things into perspective...plus I love the way Sarah Dessen does romance.

5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

    I mean really, how could you leave this behind. It's the one that started it all.

6) The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
    It's one big book with all of her novels. Not only was this a present but it's also has the most classic love stories.


7) Graceling by Kristin Cashore
    I love Katsa. I love Po. And I love the world that Cashore has created. Plus I figure Katsa's grace would help me survive the idea of my house being abducted...or atleast give me some emotional support.


8) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein
    I could read about Bilbo's adventures while I undergo some alien infested ones of my own.


9) Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
    Sorcha is an inspiring character and I would not want to go without her...plus I adore Red!


10) The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle
      I have really fond memories with my dad reading this book to my brother and me and I wouldn't want to leave it behind. This book is so hilarious (for adults and children)!

Evie-Bookish

Evie-Bookish is an awesome blogger that hosts the To-Be-Read Challenge. I have just started following her blog but I always appreciate her reviews whether or not I agree with them. Plus she does a lot of awesome give aways and blog tours.


She's currently doing a giveaway for the book Embrace which I've been looking forward to reading (especially once I read her review).


You should all definitely check out Evie-Bookish and all the awesome things she has to offer.

The Story Siren's Giveaway.

The Story Siren is doing a give away of A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton and Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr (whom I love!) and I'd really like to win!


Here is a link to The Story Siren's blog.
The Story Siren is an awesome book reviewer and my go to blogger when I want to know about any YA book.


And here is the link to the blog about the contest.
The give away post!


I really hope I win :)

Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) Book Review

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Genre: Adult High Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Rating: 5/5 Stars




(My copy is the version that was released in England so the cover is different and the number of pages may differ as well)


Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT A YOUNG ADULT BOOK! I must caution all readers that this novel contains graphic descriptions of sex and violence. Yes it is still an excellent novel but it is not in any way shape or form meant for younger readers. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the game of thrones, you win or you die.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must...and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, a vengence-mad boy has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities beyond the sea. Heir of the mad Dragon King deposed by Robert, he claims the Iron Throne.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Onto the review! 

        This is a fantastic and complicated novel full of complex characters and treacherous villains. For those of you who have watched the TV series you should really read the novel because you get so much more depth and understanding for each of the characters. This novel immerses you in a world that so rich and full of history and life you can't possibly believe it is made up.

Plot:  The plot of this novel is EXTREMELY intricate and full of twists and turns. Its basically about three houses, the Starks (Good), the Lannisters (Bad), and the Baratheons (in the middle), fighting over the Throne...but there is a lot more to it then that. There are a thousand twists and turns that you would never expect and an ending to blow your mind and leave you begging to know what will happen next.

Pacing: The pacing is kind of slow, but for a good reason. There is a lot going on that George R. R. Martin wants to show you and he needs all 806 (that's right there are 806 pages) pages to help you understand. But don't worry all 806 pages are chock full of intrigue and adventure and suspense.

Characters: As expected from a high fantasy novel there are A LOT of characters. However, each and everyone of them is distinct in such a way that you are able to envision them as individual people. The main character, Eddard Stark or Ned, is the most honorable character I have ever met within the pages of a book. He knows the life-changing differences between right and wrong and he tries to pursue what  is honorable and just. You can't help but respect and adore Eddard as he tries to fight his way through the treacherous and conniving city of Kings' Landing. The other (main) characters are his wife Catelyn, his sons Bran and Robb, his daughters Arya and Sansa, and his bastard Jon Snow. Then there is Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Stormborn. There are a dozen other crucial characters but if I tried to mention them all this review would take up the entire page.

Writing: The writing is excellent. Martin makes it easy to get lost in this foreign world with his expert use of description and story telling. Also, the book is sectioned off into the point of view of each of the characters mentioned above (except for Robb). This makes it easier to understand the way each character thinks and how their view of the Seven Kingdoms is unique to that character. This use of 3rd person limited narrative is a key part in your ability to understand the characters and the rich world they live in.

Overall: This book is fantastic. It is dark, complex, heart-wrenching, adrenaline pumping, and an all together exhilarating read. George R. R. Martin creates some characters you love to hate and others you will be utterly loyal to till the bitter end. His world is harsh and cold with just enough hope to keep you moving forward. 

In this novel George R. R. Martin sets you up for an exhilarating and terrifying series that is bound to grab you and never let you go. 

The next book in the series of A Song of Ice and Fire is A Clash of Kings

Tahereh Mafi's giveaway!

Hi Tahereh Mafi! I absolutely adore your book and cannot wait for more.


For your contest I would REALLY like package number #3 please :D


For anyone who wants to check out Tehereh Mafi's blog here is the link
 http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/


and for her contest
http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/2012/02/contest-and-winning-and-free-books.html

Book Review #5 - Shatter Me

                        

                   

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Released: November 15, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  "You can't touch me," I whisper.
    I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
    He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
    Please touch me, is what I want to tell him.
    But things happen when people touch me.
    Strange things.
    Bad things.
    DEAD THINGS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
    But Juliette has plans of her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time -- and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever. **


Now for my review!


       Honestly, I loved this book! It has everything you look for in a Young Adult novel and so much more. From the plot to the writing to the character development it was all just fantastic.


Plot: I like that this is a relatively new idea. Yes, it's another dystopian novel BUT it has an awesome twist. It isn't like all those other dystopian novels where the main character is going along unnoticed by her corrupt government then slowly discovers the true horrors of whats going on. INSTEAD, Juliette already knows whats wrong with The Reestablishment and that they are bad (I mean really bad). Also, The Reestablishment wants her because of her ability and Juliette has to fight against them from a whole other level.
Overall, the plot is very unique and has many twists and turns that you don't expect. This book really keeps you on your toes.


Pacing: This book is very fast paced...but it works. It's exciting and you can't help but read it quickly. There's something happening on everypage! That's probably the only (very slight) problem I had with this book. Everything happens very quickly. For the most part its fine and it works that way but the author speeds through some time lapses that I would've liked for her to dwell on a little longer so I could better see the world that Juliette was experiencing,  if not just so I could take a breather.


Characters: I loved all characters in this, good and bad. Juliette was a great character because she grew in every page. She went from the weak (and slightly insane) girl trapped in a cell to this woman that was strong and confident and finally knew who she was. Adam was the perfect, tough, gorgeous protector with some light jokester moments mixed in. And Warner was fantastic at being so horribly corrupt. He was three-dimensional in such a way that I hated him and pitied him at the same time. I really can't wait to see more of him in the future.
All the characters were very real and three dimensional and so well thought out. The chemistry between Juliette and Adam is perfect in it's intensity and the intensity between Warner and Juliette is splendid as well.


Writing: The writing was PHENOMENAL. Tahereh Mafi did an excellent job of capturing Juliette's thoughts and feelings. At the beginning the writing is very poetic and beautiful. You see how fractured Juliette's mind has become and understand the pain she's felt her whole life. Because of Mafi's amazing writing I connected with Juliette immediately, and even as the book continued and Juliette was slowly able to compose herself I still felt very in tune with her (I almost cried at one point while Juliette was crying, which is very rare for me).


Overall: Fan-flippin-tastic book! It's exciting, romantic, thought-provoking, and utterly impossible. I reccomend this book to anyone who loves great writing, kick-ass characters, intense passion, and a plot thats filled with twists and turns.
              I can't wait to see what else Tahereh Mafi has in store for us in the future!


The sequel, Unravel Me, comes out February of next year. (I know I can't believe I have to wait a whole year either!)

Book Review #4 - Faithful

Faithful by Janet Fox


Released: May 13th, 2010
Publisher: Speak
Age Group: Young Adult
***2010 Debut Author Challenge
Overall Rating: 3 stars


~~~16 year old Maggie Bennet's life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some made excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she's ever known, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father's betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture her heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she wants to be ~~~




Time for the Review
**Plot: Im a big fan of time period dramas in both books and movie so when I found out this was set in 1904 I was really excited. But when I started to read it I was disappointed. The plot was really kind of all over the place. The character kept changing her mind about what she wanted to do and I was kinda bored at some points.
**Pacing: The pacing was actually very good. The character growth was steady and realistic and the realization of what happened to her mother was realistic as well. Although her attraction to Tom and sudden change of heart from Edward was really sudden and I didn't really like that.
**Characters: I really did not like the main character but I think that was the point. She was a snob and really selfish and shallow but over time she slowly (very slowly) got better. Also, she switched back and forth rather dramatically between wanting to marry for love, wanting to marry a rich man, and wanting to find her mom. Tom was kind of annoying because he bounced back and forth really quickly between being nice and being a jerk and just being weird. He also had some selfish tendencies. The other characters were realistic and constant which i was happy about. The "bad guy" or the closest character to it was really nasty and i could visualize him well so there was a very realistic "bad guy".
**Writing: Description wise the writing was very good. She had some brilliant ways of describing the geysers and the landscape. Although, there were a couple things here and there that confused me. In the beginning Maggie was going back and forth between flashbacks and what was happening in the present and (for me at least) it was difficult to distinguish which was which until she stated a specific aspect about what was going on.
***Overall the reason why I didn't like this book was I couldn't relate to the character. She really bugged me in how selfish she was and sometimes I thought she was really stupid in what she would say. Also, there really wasn't much romance between Tom and her in my opinion. Plus she was really inconsistent and unrealistic in what she wanted and in the way she treated and thought of her mother. Even though I love time period dramas (i'm a big fan of Jane Austen) I was really disappointed in this book. The ending got better and more things began to happen and Maggie became a better character but up till then I had a really hard time getting through the book.




~~~~~Sorry it took me so long to put up this review. My internet has been down for the past week. But now that it's back I'll make up for it with a lot of reviews. :) ~~~~~~~~~~