Monday, October 4, 2010

Me on Recent Books I've Read Part 3

or as i've been calling it in my head, "Quick & Dirty Book Reviews that Mostly Say How Much I Liked the Book." ;)

i went to the library on Saturday & walked away with 9 books. score. :) but i've only finished 4 books since then. boo. :(

my reviews are spoilery, but what review isn't, basically?? that's why i've avoided all Crescendo, Nightshade, Beautiful Darkness, Matched, The Lost Saint and Anna and the French Kiss reviews. no spoilers.

Take Me There by Carolee Dean: i'll admit, i saw the cover & went, ooo, happy ending, yay. and i read the summary & thought, ooo, bad boy & nice girl, yay. i was wrong. sorta. kinda. when i realized what it was about, how it was all the dark side of life (-ish) & juvie & prison & gangs & violence, but i still liked it. i think this made ReadingTeen very happy. the book was brutal & gritty, it was surprisingly (to me) realistic, & maybe practical. there isn't always a happy ending in life, especially if you get dragged into the kind of situation Dylan & Jess get dragged into. i'll admit, if i knew what really happened, i might not have read it, but i think i needed to. just to be reminded that life isn't always perfect, no matter how much you try, but it's not supposed to be. besides, it's really hard to make your life perfect.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien: i kept thinking of the Hunger Games books mixed with a genetics lesson when i was reading this. it was interesting, it was okay, but i wasn't totally sold on the idea. it seemed kind of long to me, but maybe it just needs to grow on me. the situation with Gaia's mom seemed a bit cliched to me, and Gaia herself seemed really wimpy until close to the end when she had to take charge or she and her (SPOILER) newborn sister were going to die. i'll read the next one, it's an interesting concept. as someone who's pale and freckled (i blame the faint Irish genes), i liked the whole birthmark/freckle idea of Gaia's mother. it was cute. :)

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh: wow, a grown-up book. ;) in high school, i read a lot of romance, both contemporary & paranormal, then in university i added YA to that list so now i read both. this would be more urban fantasy, more action & less romance. i think that's what put me off. not quite enough romance for me, & even then Elena spent most of the book pissed off at Raphael for one reason or another. i'll admit, the angel/vampire thing was different, and it was a little interesting. i'm not sure if i'll read the next book in the series, this was just an interim read while i wait for the 1 copy of book 1 in Singh's Psy/Changling series (i know, i'm behind on it, i just wasn't sure if i would like them).

Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev: gorgeous and magical, just like Eyes Like Stars. if you haven't read the first book yet, then avoid this very spoilery review. :) i loved it. Bertie is determined & smart, & very creative. Ariel was... Ariel, of course. sometimes a jerk, sometimes caring, almost always smouldering. ;) Nate was missed, i really like his pirate accent (accents are so hot ;)). and the little faeries were funny as always. i love Peaseblossom & her little marzipan boyfriend. :D i didn't see that coming with Bertie's father (she sure did meet him quickly, but i didn't have a problem with that), and Mantchev clearly knows of my love of pie (& @mstohl, if you've ever seen the #ITSALRIGHTTOPIE hashtag on Twitter) because i loved the pie car on the train. the triangle with Bertie, Nate, & Ariel is the best evenly matched love triangle i've seen. she clearly loves them both, even with the little detail about Ariel sometimes being a jerk. now i'm on pins and needles waiting for book 3, So Silver Bright.

i've got 8 books to read, plus i have to go up to the library again before Thursday cause another book is waiting for me. :)

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