Wednesday 29 September 2010

Book Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flinn
Release Date (England): 12th December 2008
Publisher (English): Harper Teen
Price (UK pounds): £6.99
Genre: YA
Series: None
No. Pages: 336

I am a beast.
A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.

Beastly is based of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast a tale we have all grown up with and loved, especially me. I love Beauty and the Beast and its my all time favourite Disney film, so this made me very cautious over buying Beastly.
I first heard about Beastly once I found out it was being made into a film and only recently got round to buying it and Im glad i did. I was first worried that it wouldnt be good and could of possible ruined Beauty and the Beast for me, but luckily it didnt.

Alex Flinn brought this classic story into the modern era perfectly, basing the characters on what I could only describe as the perfect roles for the character. The Beast called Kyle is that popular boy who we all loathe because of his good looks, popularity and money, but we all hate because of his arrogant and jerk ways, the Beauty: Lindy, is a quiet 'geeky' loner girl who is basically not known at all by anyone in her school. Throughout the book we witness the almost complete change of Kyle from this selfish egoistic guy, to someone caring and the complete oppisite to who he is at the beginning of the book.

My favorite thing about the story is the use of the roses. If you dont know the main object in Beauty and the Beast is a rose, used as a time keeper, which it also is in Beastly, but it also has a more significant role within the story. Its what brings Lindy and Kyle together.

MY second favourite thing about the book is before every part of the book theres a chat room, for supernatural creatures who walk the earth. We are partially shown there world and story and I reallly hope Alex Flinn would use this in her other book (i dont know if she has or not as ive only read  this) and maybe create a whole modern day fairy tale series based on the characters in the chat room.

This book is great and quick read, perfect for summer/spring time. If you love your fairy tales and classics im almost certain you wil be obsessed with this wonder book.
I give this book a...


Tuesday 28 September 2010

Book Review: Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice

Title: Interview With A Vampire

Author: Anne Rice
Release Date (England): 8th December 1994
Publisher (English): Sphere
Price (UK pounds): £7.99
Genre: Adult- Horror
Series: 1st book in the Vampire Chonicles
No. Pages: 352

Synopsis from Waterstones

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. As the Washington Post said on its first publication, it is a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination ...sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'.


I can say that I am currently 100 pages excatly from the end of this book, and felt as though I couldn't carry on reading it without doing this review. I know I really shouldnt do this as I've not finished experencing the book but it just seems right to do this now.

I have currently been reading this 352 page book for a few months now, constantly on and off, and I hate to say this as it is one of the top vampire books, but i dont like it. Anne Rice's writing is great and the idea of the book sounds fantastic but i expected better, for me theres just soemthing about it that i dont like, and i cant figure out what it is.
Maybe its because i have read the book in one but keep stopping and starting or maybe its something else but i feel like i cant carry on reading this book.

Im not saying this is a rubbish book, because its not and i know people who have enjoyed it greatly, but i just didnt like it

I give this book...

Teaser Tuesday (2)

Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice






'God did not live in this church; these statues gave an image to nothingness. I was the supernatureal in this cathedral'
-158-159

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
 



'Again,  Galen slipped up the stairs before the princesses without making a sound. When rose checked to see if he was sleeping, he was snoring peacefully, inhaling the scent of her perfume as she leaned over the back of the sofa.'

Sunday 5 September 2010

Book Review: MockingJay by Suzanne Collins

Title: MockingJay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Release Date (England): 25th August 2010
Publisher (English): Scholastic
Price (UK pounds): £6.99
Genre: YA- Adventure
Series: 3rd book in the Hunger Games Trilogy
No. Pages: 448

MockingJay is the final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.
I thought that it would be difficult for Suzanne Collins, to create another book which lives up to the excellence of which Hunger Games and Catching Fire are, but once again she created a mind-blowing book to end the trilogy.

Whilst I sat here trying to write this review I tried and I tried to write about what happens in this book without spoiling anything. This is something I have found impossible, and all I can say is go and get the book right NOW!
It is absolutely amazing, beyond what words can describe, this could possibly of beaten all other books and somehow managed to force its way onto my top 5 favourite books.

Once again Suzanne Collin’s has been able to carry on creating amazing places, items and clothing which all help make this book incredible and unique.
It deserves a whole book genre of its own.

Suzanne Collins hasn’t just made a book, she has infact made a phenomenal land, creating her version of the future, what this world could be in ? years time, leaving the whole of the series to linger in your mind for days, months even years ahead.
I will never forget this series.
I will never forget the message it creates.
I will never stop thinking about it.

I give this book a...


Saturday 4 September 2010

In My Mailbox (4)

In my Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Some of these books are from weeks before but i have not yet shown, so some ive read.

Fanged and Fabulous by Michelle Rowen
Book 2 in the Immortalilty Bites
If you ask Sarah Dearly, there are perks to being a vampire. Namely the ability to stay thin forever and her handsome, 600-year-old boyfriend, Thierry de Bennicoeur. But lately Thierry's been reverting to his moody normal self. And there's that little matter of Sarah's being made enemy no. 1 of the Vampire Hunters. Turns out, when she killed several hunters to save herself and her new brethren (who are harmless, really!) she became the target of every two-bit vampire hunter in the world. And Sarah's not good at things like hand-to-hand combat. Enter Quinn, the vampire hunter-turned hunted, who has declared his love for her on more than one occasion. Soon Sarah finds herself the focal point of a love triangle once again. But it's hard to choose between your brooding, handsome lover and the man whose training sessions get your blood, uh, boiling. That is if Sarah can stay alive long enough to make a decision.


Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Book 2 in the Hunger Games Trilogy

After winning the brutal Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen returns to her district, hoping for a peaceful future. But Katniss starts to hear rumours of a deadly rebellion against the Capitol. A rebellion that she and Peeta have helped to create. As Katniss and Peeta are forced to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. Unless Katniss and Peeta can convince the world that they are still lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Check out my review here!
 
 
 
 
 
MockingJay by Suzanne Collins
Book 3 in the Hunger Games Trilogy
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge...This thrilling final instalment of this ground-breaking trilogy promises to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty. Parents and children alike are best friends - so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. They've been soul mates since they were born. When the midnight calls come in from the hospital, no one is prepared for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head as part of an apparent suicide pact. The gun holds a single unspent bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself, but a local detective has doubts. And the Hartes and Golds, in a single terrifying moment, must face every parent's worst fear: do we ever really know our children at all?


By Midnight by Mia James
Book 1 in the Ravenwood Mysteries

April Dunne is not impressed. She's had to move from Edinburgh to Highgate, London, with her parents. She's left her friends - and her entire life - behind. She has to start at a new school and, worst of all, now she's stuck in a creepy old dump of a house which doesn't even have proper mobile phone reception. Ravenwood, her new school, is a prestigious academy for gifted (financially or academically) students - and the only place her parents could find her a place, in the middle of term, in the middle of London, on incredibly short notice. So she's stuck with the super-rich, and the super-smart ...and trying to fit in is when the rest of the students seem to be more glamorous, smarter, or more talented than she is, is more than tough. It's intimidating and isolating, even when she finds a friend in the conspiracy-theorist Caro Jackson - and perhaps finds something more than friendship in the gorgeous, mysterious Gabriel Swift. But there's more going on at Ravenwood than meets the eye. Practical jokes on new students are normal, but when Gabriel saves her from ...something ...in the Highgate Cemetery, and then she discovers that a murder took place, just yards away from where she had been standing, April has to wonder if something more sinister is going on. ..and whether or not she's going to live through it .


Princess at the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn.

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all - true love - to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.


Beastly by Alex Flinn

I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.


I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
Girl meets boy.
Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...
...sort of.
Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.
Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.





Inheritance Cycle Boxset by Christopher Paolini
The Complete Series:

Eragon
Eldest
Brisingr

Thursday 2 September 2010

Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Release Date (England): 7th September 2009
Publisher (English): Scholastic
Price (UK pounds): £6.99
Genre: YA- Adventure
Series: 2nd book in the Hunger Games Trilogy
No. Pages: 480

Catching Fire is the sequel to Suzanne Collin’s bestseller Hunger Games, which completely mesmerized teenage book lovers, beyond belief, with its incredible writing and unique story line.

After her victory at the Hunger Games, Katniss returns home to live in the Victor’s Village, but she misses her old life, where she could live in her old home and hunt with Gabe, her best friend who is know forced to work in the mine’s 6 days a week.


But just before the Victors Tour, Katniss receives a visit from the President of Panem, after he believes Katniss has caused the Districts to start a rebellion. Now Katniss needs to convince the president that she did not mean to start a rebel, keep up her love with Peeta, and take part in the annual 75th Hunger Games tournament which this year includes constants who were once victors.

When reading hunger games I couldn’t find myself able to put it down, I literally had to force myself, with its addicting storyline, there was never a good place to take a break. Its almost as gripping as Hunger Games, with its unexpected twists, I could never of guessed what was going to happen next.

Part way through the book I began to wonder how Suzanne Collins can up with these individual and unique ideas, things which I have NEVER came across before in a book. If its amazing story was not enough, the garment designs, which Katniss’s designer creates for her, are so much of a fantasy on its own.

I give praise to Suzanne Collins, for making such a book, which kept teenagers gripped, without the use of complete supernatural creatures.

I am really looking forward to the next instalment Mocking Jay which recently was released just days ago. But could it really live up to the difficult task of being on the same level of success and amazement as Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

TEAM GALE!!!!!

I give this book

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Book Review: Marley and Me by John Grogan

Title: Marley and Me
Author: John Grogan
Release Date (England): 26th July 2007
Publisher (English): Hodder and Stoughton
Price (UK pounds): £7.99
Genre: Adult- Animal/pets
Series: None
No. Pages: 384

Marley and me is the story of the narrator John Grogan and his troublesome Labrador Marley.
This book follows Marley from birth to death through all his mischief and adventures, along with his companion and owner John. It was also made into a film in 2008 staring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston.

Marley and Me has been described as a definite tearjerker but will also make us all laugh.

This is a wonderful and great book, also a very simple book, with no complications, nothing to get your head around. Also for me it was nice to change from all these vampires and other supernatural creatures, to reading about the love of a man and his dog, a normal book for once.

The book really shows that a mans best friend really is his dog, and how much man and dog really do care for each other, a dog is just like another member of the family, which brought John, his wife, and children all closer together through the happiness of laughter created by Marley.
Also I think the fact that the book if true adds to the effect. The love and friendship wasn’t just something, someone randomly though of one day, this was real, an experience the author had lived himself.

Throughout the whole of this book I was nearly in tears from laughter, as was my mum when she read it. It’s a definite read for everyone, especially the whole family. But Marley and me is not just a novel, Marley also stars in four cartoon books for children, which John Grogan made himself.

I give this book



Due to the fact it is a good book, but not the best ive ever read.