Book Blog: Eona by Alison Goodman

Oh. My. God. I think I'm going to cry. This book was so fantastic.

Over 18 hours later...

Alright, everyone. I can now write a truthful review. I've learned from past experiences not to write a review immediately after finishing a book with an over-the-top ending. What will happen is that I will find all of these flaws only to forget them by the time I finish the book.

As usual, lets start with the cover. It's beautiful, true, but is that suppose to be Eona? She rarely wears her hair down (based on the structure of society in this book), so I don't think that the drawing is particularly accurate.

The content reminded me a lot of Beautiful Darkness. In Beautiful Darkness, Lena was all crazy because she didn't know what the heck she was. And here's Eona who doesn't know what her power is... Let me be frank. She was a mess. I was very, VERY unhappy with the book. But then the ending came along. And then I was the one who was a mess.

Here's the thing; I lie foretelling events in stories. And I was pretty sure I already knew how it was all going to end.  But Goodman just HAD to throw the reader a curve ball.  I loved the ending. Very much. So much, that I decided to give the book five stars instead of three.

But, one thing.

FOR YOUR CONVINENCE

Please highlight the below text (which is in white) to view my rant ^_^

I'm mad that Ido turned out to be the rotten person everyone thought he was in Eon. It just seems like a lousy way to get rid of Eona's other love interest.

But the ending was great. If anything, read it for that.

Rating: Five Stars

Book Blog: Alanna: The First Adventure

Yup! I finally got to reading this book. For those of you who don't know, it's by the same author of Beka Cooper. I thought that I'd read the book that started it all. It's funny cause I kept thinking "Hey, that's  like Beka Cooper's story!" Only to realize that it would actually be the other way around. But that's what I get for reading the books out of order.

The cover first, of course. Kinda creepy in my opinion. I don't like her eyes. She's staring at me. Always. Gives me shivers at night.

The book itself is pretty good. I'm keeping this review short since the book is short (lame excuse, I know). But there were only a few things that I DIDN'T like, and I'm a hater. There's barely anything for me to hate one!

One, the evil ghost stuff. They kept mentioning that and I'm all like "AHHHHHHHHHH!" I'm a stickler for that stuff. Gave me shivers. And the demons at the end. They're suppose to be some big and mighty opponent, but they seemed so wimpy! I would have liked the big enemy at the end to have been something more...scary.

This read seemed to be...easier than the Beka Cooper books. Not that I'm complaining or anything; I got through the book faster than Terrier or Bloodhound. But that might have been because it looked less intimidating.

The book's too short. I could have read it in a day. But a good book.

Rating: 4 Stars

Book Blog: Beka Cooper: Terrier

REPOST FROM GOODREADS

The book is very...unique. When I started reading, I was immediately turned off, for a lack of better words. The diary entries weren't exactly the easiest to read, so right away, I was bracing myself for a long, torturous 500 pages. 

It wasn't as bad as I thought. The story itself was pretty good, though hard to units and at times. It's been a while since I've read this style of writing. The main character was one of my favorites; she wasn't outgoing or have an attitude. She was shy, but she didn't let that get in her way of becoming a heroine. 

What made me give this book four star instead of five was the writing style. It just wasnt to my liking. I know that Pierce was just writing like that character(s) should be (and I praise her for that), but it really bored me at times. And the intentional (though I think there was a typo in there somewhere) writing mistakes were driving me nuts!

Book Blog: Beka Cooper: Bloodhound

This book review is not going to be as long as I hoped it would. You will read below that I read the book in two parts due to personal reasons. The first part was written on April 5(?) and will be n the first 250 pages or so. The second part is written today (April 16, 2013) and is on the book as a whole, though there probably will be more on the last half than anything else. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm repeating myself!

April 5

So I kinda sped read through the last part of the book (for personal reasons, I couldn't read that particular copy of the book this past weekend). The beginning was much, much better than the first book, but I really don't know what happened at the end. I'll be rereading it after I finish rereading Grave Mercy.

April 16

As I said earlier, this book was much better than the first. What I didn't like, however, was the wide variety of characters. I couldn't remember them all! But thank goodness for the character list in the back; even though it was a pain to keep flipping back and forth, at least it was there. And the...canoodling was a bit of a surprise too. I didn't think it would be that type of book. 

The ending wasn't exactly the super-fantastic fan-grilling ending I was hoping for either. It's one of those endings where the author wants to make sure you know what happens to each single little character. I mean, I don't mind it THAT much, it's just that it got kinda boring near the end. Just saying. And then there was the fight scenes. This isn't just this book; it's any book with a detail scene that has a truckload of details. I get confused really easily with stuff like that, and that's what happened with this book too.

If you've read the first Beka Cooper book, and you thought it was decent enough, then read this one. I'm promise, if you're anything like me, it's a good read.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Book Blog: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

I'm not exactly sure how I want to start this review. Usually, I start with the cover, but I was hoping that I could start with something else, something more interesting. But no ideas come to mind, so I guess I will be starting with my thoughts on the cover, as usual.

At first glance, I didn't notice that there was a girl in the background, so you must imagine how I reacted when I was closely examining the blues and purples of the book to realize that a big, human eye staring straight at me. What's up with Cashore and her eyes? In the Graceling, there was an eye on the sword (but thankful there wasn't one on Fire's cover) and now this!

Second of all, why would the background be blue and purple (other than the fact that there is the word "blue" in Bitterblue's name)? The keys don't really match and, to me at least, make the cover really, really ugly.

The title's creativity annoy's me too. I didn't mention it at all in my Fire review because when I began the book, I was unaware that the main character was named Fire. But this is just getting ridiculous! I can't believe that Cashore couldn't think up a more creative name for her third book other than her protagonist's name. It's very disappointing.

Now onto the content.

When I finished the book, I didn't feel that fan-girl bubbliness that I felt with Graceling and Fire. To be frank, the ending was bland. But I almost fell in love with the story and I'll tell you why. Bitterblue's story has similarities to one of my favorite books; Cinda William Chima's Seven Realms series. Bitterblue sneaks around with a guy that's pretty much opposite to her in status, behavior, etc which is almost EXACTLY like what Raisa was doing! If I didn't love this forbidden love situation so much, I could be ranting on and on about the similarities between the two books. But I'm not going to waste your time with that if it's not exactly bugging me that the stories are so alike.

I don't think I actually like Bitterblue very much as a character. Sure, it's a relief that she's normal; she doesn't have a supernatural power, a grace, or considered a normal. But she's such a baby! She's suppose to be 18 and yet she's constantly crying! I'm glad she's not my Queen!

I think that Cashore should have put more about Fire and her story in the book. But what I'm glad about is that Fire actually got married. THANK GOODNESS!!! While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think that Cashore had something against men (The bad guys in Graceling were Kasta's uncle and Leck, in Fire it was Leck and Fire's father, and in Bitterblue it was Leck's past advisors and Leck's memory). I'm glad that at least one couple that Cashore created settled down.

What I really wanted to see from Cashore was a book from a male point of view. She wrote all three books from a female point of view, but I think it would have been better if she did at least one (maybe Fire?) with a male protagonist.

The book was alright. If you've read Graceling and Fire, but don't really know if you want to read Bitterblue, then don't. It wasn't that great. Read something else, like The Demon King! If you read that, it's pretty much the same story as Bitterblue except better and stretched out into five books.

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This doesn't have anything to do with the book, but when I was reading several gay/lesbian references, it got me thinking. It's funny how in our world, everyone is considered straight unless their not. ...I mean, it's assumed that you are straight, like everyone else, until you come to the realization that your gay (unless your not, of course). Isn't that peculiar? I'm sure that once the world gets used to people liking the same gender as themselves, it won't be like that. Parents will talk to their children and say that they wonder if he/she will end up liking a female or a male. This whole thought blew my mind, and I thought that I should share it with you all.

Book Blog: Eon

Rating:4 Stars I decided to try writing this review in portions again (but published all at once). So I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing; it's the only thing I can think of doing to get all of my thoughts about this book in one review.

3/25/13

The cover is probably one of the more interesting covers I have seen. The Chinese(?) characters, the talons, it's all pretty cool. But the eye in the "O" is kinda creepy. I'm not exactly sue of what to make of it. Like, I don't really know what it's showing.

Pages 1-60

I'm a little confused about the whole Dragoneye thing, but I hope I will understand as I read on. The large amount of content that needs to be explained is a little concerning; I'm not sure if the author is going to be able to get to it all. But I'll just have to wait and see.

Pages 61-130

"'Mirror Dragoneye?' I repeated? 'But I'm just a candidate.' 'Yes, there was some resistance in the Dragoneye Council due to your youth and inexperience, but after much debate they have recognized your position.' She paused, her wide mouth quirking up for a second. 'You are now Coascendant Dragoneye with Lord Ido.' I stared at her. 'Coascendant Dragoneye? But I'm just a candidate...'

Okay, we get it. Eon (I'm just going to refer to Eon/a as Eon, since switching in between names is confusing) is just a candidate. No need to tell me twice. This has been the first thing in this book that has bugged me. You'd think that the author, the editor, SOMEONE, would have caught that!

3/26/13

Pages 131-200

I don't know why, but Eon's conversation with Lady Jila about friendship made me really annoyed. I think it's because, in a way, she used Lady Jila to compliment her own character.

Pages 200-300

Why is it that Eon starts crying when he can't read the book? It's almost like accepting defeat when there is still (OBVIOUSLY) hope. He gives up too easily.

How many times am I going to have to say this? DO NOT DRINK THE MYSTERIOUS LIQUID!!! You'd think that with so many enemies, Eon and Brannon would be more on guard about what they eat and drink. Especially since they are getting it from a servant. It doesn't matter if they say it comes from a friend, if you have determined enemies they will find a way to get to that drink and to you.

3/27/13

Pages 301-End

Now with the book finished, I have mixed feelings. I found that the journey from the Rat Dragon Hall back to the castle was very confusing. Half of the time, there was so much fighting (or whatever was going on), I couldn't understand what they were doing, where they were doing it, and why. But after all of that confusion, the events that unfolded were mind-blowing. And to find out that the Mirror Dragon was a female! But the very end was a little disappointing. The cliffhanger fell a little flat for me. I think it could have been executed better. It didn't leave me screaming "I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS OR ELSe!!!!" But, oh well.

What I really felt was missing from this book was background development. I don't know if it's because I was lazy reading, but Eon's past is still confusing. And there are similarities with Mulan! The Chinese basis in both, the "boy is actually a girl" situation, it all shows similarities to Disney's Mulan. I know that it's hard to be original these days, but I fel the urge to point it out since it was so obvious. I defiantly think that this book was interesting enough, holding my attention. I recommend it!

Book Blog: The Graceling

Rating:5 Stars
So, you guys might have already seen my post on Fire, but not on the first book, The Graceling! I realized that I only posted the review for it on Goodreads, so I thought it'd only be fair if I posted it here too.

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Wow. Wow. Wow. That was so amazingly better than I expected it to be. Lately, I've been reading a bunch of books that I thought were pretty good, but, after reading this book, it would be like comparing a rock to a diamond. The diamond, of course, would be this book. Evertime I picked up this book, I found myself gasping in surprise because the author would throw in something that I was absolutely not expecting. And, besides the fact that the book is obviously fiction, the book's characters and their relationship with each other seemed VERY realistic. One of my favorite....things about this book is that Katsa didn't end up marrying Prince Po in the end. Now, I'm sure that some of you are going to find this odd. I confess that I was practically screaming at this book (in my head, I don't want people to know that I'm crazy) because I really, really, really wanted them to get married. But they didn't. And, shortly after finishing the book, I realized that it was better that way. I felt that its not in Katsa's nature to marry someone; she said herself that she would not plan on it. And the fact that Cashore made her character stick to that is very admirable. Whenever I write reviews, I always try my best to make it as negative as possible. Because, lets face it, it's easier to love something (in most cases) than to hate something. There are plenty of people who would be willing to give only praise to the book. And that's not going to help the author. But Cashire made it very hard for me to find something bad to say about the book. The one little complaint that I can think of off the top of my head is Prince Po's name. I know that Prince Po is named after some tree that turns silver and gold blah blah blah. But I hear Po and I think that he's some soft gentle guy. Or that he looks like a panda (I went to a zoo and there was a panda named Po). Po just doesn't seem manly enough though! For anyone of you people who have not picked up this book and at least attempted to read it, DO IT NOW! Or I will personally come to your house and force you to read it (don't ask me how, I have my ways. [insert evil laugh])!

Book Blog: The Book Thief

Rating:5 Stars

Oh dear. What a scary cover.

That's what my friend thought, at least. And I think I'm going to have to agree with her. The letters in the title ARE pretty weird. And small. Why must the title be so small?!

I hate historical fiction, or even anything historical in fact. I find it very bland and by the time I found out this was placed in World War 2, it was too late.

The beginning was a little hard for me to understand at first (and very discouraging). I had to look up the narrator because I thought that he was the colors (I misread the first page), but then realized it was death. Lame, I know, but I get it now!

But, holy crap. This has to be the best historical fiction I have ever read. It read well and had plenty of wit and even humor in it (which is surprising because all of the World War 2 books I've read in my life were very depressing. I guess it's because this book was about the Germans and not so much about the Jewish). Another part of the book that I liked was the bits of German that was slipped into the story. I learned some German without even knowing it! And the little illustrations that showed up every once in a while we're cute too. Don't worry for those of you who haven't read the book yet; it's not like the "little kids" books. It's part of the story.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Now, prior to reading, I had read a different review that said that the book didn't have a happy ending. And it didn't. But I was kind of expecting an ending that made me cry puddles on the floor, which I guess I would have if it was for one thing.

The author spoiled the ending.

Or perhaps it's death that spoiled it? Either way, the creator of the story spoils the ending of the book through the story to supposedly lessen the pain/shock when you read about the bombing and the deaths of Papa, Mamma, and Rudy (not to mention the numerous other characters). That's great and all, but I would have liked it a lot more if those parts were taken out. It's been a long time since I've cried over a book and I was really hoping for a real tear-jerker from this one.

But the epilogue...wasn't all that great. I usually consider the epilogue to be the true ending of the book because its (usually) the last thing the reader reads before the book is tossed aside for another to take its place. I'm glad for the bit explaining about what happens to Max and everyone else, but the last sentence was weak. Looking back on it, I wish that the author just left the whole epilogue out to leave the read wondering. Sometimes those are the best kind of books. Like in The Fault in Our Stars's Imperial Affliction and its incomplete ending. It left the characters hanging which led to the whole trip to.....I can't even remember which country they traveled to. But it's not important. What's important is that books like THAT are great because of the love/hate relationship the reader feels with the book. If a book can make you feel that way, then it must be a fantastic book.

But I guess we can't have it all, can we?

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I'd read it again. AND EVERYONE SHOULD READ IT AT LEAST ONCE!!!

Book Blog: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 5 Stars

My life is over. I can't go on. 

FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE COVER OF THIS GIFT FROM THE HEAVENS!!!

LIke most beginnings, this book had a bit of a rough start, but by the time I finished it...

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN TO ME??!?!?!?!?!

I thought I was going to hate this book. It seemed too similar to Cashore's Graceling, and I couldn't stop ranting about it to every person that I saw. But I didn't pay attention to detail and kept getting slapped in the face with each surpise in the plot. And at first I really didn't like Brigan because his thoughts towards Fire changed too quickly, but the chemistry between the two of them felt so REAL....I forgive the author. Fire is perfection (because she's so beautiful), but is still like a real person. She isn't invincible (because she lost two of her fingers from frost bite and she still can get scars from being attacked) which makes me love her even more. I completely forgot my disappointment of Fire not being a boy.

Just read the frickin' book. Or I'll force you to.

Edit: 3/30/13

Alright, I've calmed down. Now I'll actually tell you the true review EXCLUSIVELY ON THIS BLOG! The book wasnt that great, especially in the beginning. Cashore pretty much wrote The Graceling with different characters in a different setting. And, truthfully, I hated the book in the beginning. I hate it when authors try to pass off a sequel when it's actually a bunch of crap. And she's pretty persistent with the same author's message as her first book.

But Cashore must have a Grace herself, perhaps one like Leck's. By the time I reached the end, no of the crappy stuff seemed to matter anymore because I THOUGHT THE ENDING WAS REALLY GOOD!!! But I've woken up from the daze her words had me in to tell you that the book should actually have been rated with 3 1/2 stars instead of 5. I'm not saying this to discourage you from reading the book because I still honestly think that the ending was pretty good, but the book wasn't as fantastic as I described it.