Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

 So, I feel I'm a bit old to just be jumping on the Percy Jackson boat, but I haven't read a middle-grade book in years. I'll tell you something though, it was a solid read. I listened to the audiobook and finished it within a day. The story was easy to follow without being too predictable. The characters were solid, but of course, were your stereotypical kids going off on an adventure and getting themselves into a whole mess of trouble. I feel most middle-grade books are like this and I feel this is what makes them super appealing to that age group. 

I have been told by a handful of people the Riordan's books were good, but it was never really enough for me to take the plunge into them. I have also never seen the movie or musical, so I didnt have and preconcieved notions for the book overall. I have always loved greek mythology and so I figured it was time to really jump into this series. I love how the book started out with Percy either telling you to put the book away or continue reading. I love when characters talk the readers, it really sets the mood for the book. 

I definitely think this book was good. As an adult, it is a solid 4 starts for me. Had 10 year old me read the books I think it would have been a solid 5 star read. As we get older young reader books begin to not wow us as much as they did, or they bring a whole new light to our world. This was just a fun adventure and I look forward to reading the next one. 

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

 

Well here we are friends. It is time for my review of Nevernight by the infamous Mister Kristoff. Right now let me be straight forward, I have heard some people clump this into the YA book community for a long time and I will tell you THIS IS NOT A YA book. I see the same with V. E Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic as well. Also not a YA book. This is not a great practice and should note how graphic Nevernight is, that I would go as far to put it up against Brom's The Child Thief. (Which I should add was a fantastic book, and I loved it as much as I loved Nevernight.) I feel Kristoff and Brom have a similar Gothic style when it comes to their writing and I am all for it. Nevernight is gory, sexy, dangerous, suspenseful and just down cold and dark when it comes down to it all. It gets a solid 5 out of 5 stars from me. 

Let me just add this, DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS IN THE CAR AT FULL BLAST! Or you can. If you want to get odd looks that is your prerogative. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do and if you like cruising down the road in rush hour traffic listening to people being killed and murdered and descriptive sex scenes, go for it. Because I don't really mind it that much. haha. 

Noting how well thought out this story is should really be taken into consideration. Though sometimes its hard to remember that the main character is a teenager. Though a lot is considered when you know her well developed back story and what is her driving force in the book. What she has seen and what she has done can age someone beyond their years. But I loved that he still left that teenager part of her intact. She had a love interest. She still did things like a teen, but the way she handled other things showed her maturity in many instances where it ended up earning her exactly what she wanted in the end. She grew through the book and I'm really excited to see where Mia's story goes from here. 

Now the magic in this world is so interesting to me. It feels different from most stories I know, but Mia's abilities remind me of a mash up between Tea in the Bone Witch and Emry from Switch Shadows. Both Characters I really loved. Darkens are super interesting and I'm interested to see where her story goes in the next book. I know Jay is going to tear my heart out and I am so ready for it. BRING IT ON JAY KRISTOFF!!

The Illuminae Files by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

     

Well friends, I finally jumped on the Jay Kristoff band wagon and let me tell you him team up with Kaufman has me sold. I'm not one who normally enjoys sci-fi space style stories, but I really enjoyed this trilogy. I listened to the audio books and I felt like I was listening to a more modern version of the old radio dramas. It was pulled in with the full cast, music and sound effects.

I, honestly, went in not sure if I was going to like these books at all. As I stated before I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi. Like I like star wars, but its just okay and I'm not super invested in the fandom. Definitely more of a high fantasy person. But these books had a thrilling plot and characters that really drove the plot home. " Every story has it's monster" and let me tell you A.I.D.A.N was probably my all time favorite character of the whole trilogy. Crazy psycho computer that has no idea how to comprehend human emotion, learns through its interaction with one human and ultimately gives the ultimate sacrifice. I didn't think i could get invested in an A.I. character, but I was proven wrong on so many levels. A.I.D.A.N did terrible things, but did them with the best intent for Kady to survive.  

The first two books focus on two separate sets of characters and eventually their lives come together in the end of Gemina. Its mind blowing how all these lives come together for the epic end of  OBSIDIO. The planning and careful work of these to authors in this creatively written book, really brought together a story that literally reaches across the galaxy! Be warned though, there is lots of death. Lots of it, but I wont tell you who or what dies. That would ruin the whole story. But it seems to be a trend. Just be prepared for the worse possible scenario and you will fair through this book just fine. 

I do recommend this book to almost anyone now who wants a unique read that will keep your attention from start to finish. The unique format of this book is not for everyone to read physically, but I think everyone can enjoy it in audio form. Presented in the style of case files. This has file video descriptions to chat logs and it really makes these a unique adventure no one will want to miss. I think it puts "In a Galaxy Far,Far away..." to shame, but that could be because I'm not a die hard Star Wars fan as stated before. It honestly, gave me more of a Mass Effect vibe then anything else. Which I did really enjoy those video games.

 5 out of 5 stars for The Illuminae Files.

War and Peace Read-a-Long

Hello all my lovely bookworms! We are gearing up for the great read of the classic novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I will be making a reading schedule and it will tentatively begin on the first of August and may go through till November to make time to read and to discuss what is happening and make sure that, as readers, we have a good understanding of what is happening. This will possibly be met with a weekly ZOOM chat to discuss the section we read.  Stay tuned for the reading schedule and dates of Zoom Chats. 

SCHEDULING UPDATE:

    So some of the sections are short! So I was able to combine more then one part into one week! This takes us right up to halloween! See the schedule below!

Schedule:

AUGUST 1ST - 8TH: PART 1: "Well, Prince, Genoa and Lucca....."
AUGUST 8TH - 15TH: PART 2:  " In the October of 1805..."
AUGUST 15TH - AUGUST 22ND: PART 3: "Prince Vassily use not to think..."
AUGUST 22ND - AUGUST 29TH: PART 4: "At the beginning of the year 1806."
AUGUST 29TH - SEPTEMBER 5TH: PART 5: "After his interview with his wife..."
SEPTEMBER 5TH - SEPTEMBER 12TH: PART 6: "In the year 1808 the..."
SEPTEMBER 12TH -  SEPTEMBER 19TH: PART 7 & 8: "The biblical tradition tells us..."
SEPTEMBER 19TH - SEPTEMBER 26TH: PART 9: "Towards the end of the..."

SEPTEMBER 26TH - OCTOBER 3RD: PART 10: "Napoleon began the war..."
OCTOBER 3RD - OCTOBER 10TH: PART 11: "For the human..."
OCTOBER 10TH - OCTOBER 17TH: PART 12&13: "In the higher circles..."
OCTOBER 17TH - OCTOBER 24TH: PART 14&15: "The battle of Borodino..."
OCTOBER 24TH - 31ST: EPILOUGE: "Seven years had passed..."

Here are a few links to copies of the book. Ebooks to a physical copy:

Barnes & Nobel Classic : War and Peace - 13.95

Penguin Cloth Bound: War and Peace - 20.00

Nook: War and Peace - 3.99

Dover Thrift: War and Peace - 9.99

Kindle: War and Peace - FREE (as of 7.14.20)

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (Trilogy and Sequel)

      

Hello Everyone! I'm trying to get better about posting reviews. So I think I will try to write them on days I work late. I really love being able to do a review on a complete series and just cover it as a whole. I feel I can express my feelings for the series so much better as a whole and give better details for those who may not want to join in for the long hall.

Girl of Fire and Thorns, Crown of Embers and The Bitter Kingdom are the trilogy that tells the story of  Lucero-Elisa De Riqueza, the bearing of a God Stone. This is only given to one person 100 years, so she is special and has been given it to fulfill a task from God, unknown to her. This trilogy follows her journey as she is married off to the King of  Joya d'Arena and her mission to save a country on the verge of Civil War and bring the world together in peace. Along the way she loses loved ones and finds true love, while also stopping two major threats to her kingdom. Also learning how to harness the power of her God Stone and find the Location where all the magic powers in the world come from.

Empire of Dreams follows these three books, and was released much later, follow the story of Elisa's new gained companion, Red Sparklestone, a half breed as she tries to find her new place in the kingdom of Joya  d'Arena. This comes after being saved from a life of slavery and finding the Kindness of Queen Elisa. 

First, Rae Carson has created a heroine who is relatable and is actually not a stick, which makes me so happy. I feel characters like this fail to exist in stories and I hate that people like me are so unrepresented in stories. So i love that she has given us a character to relate to. Someone who just never felt pretty or like she was worth anything and some who we see grow and change through her stories into a strong women who could rely on her looks for it.

Secondly, its always interesting to find a story that stands so close to Christianity and the catholic church in some aspects. Just in the way somethings are worded. The connections are there and it makes for a very interesting read in that aspect as well. For some who aren't super secure in their faith it could be confusing. I really enjoyed being able to draw parallels between my faith and the one in these books. It really added a whole other level of depth for me.

Third, I love me a slow burn romance! Two, almost three books it took of Elisa to finally figure it out! and I'm so glad she did. :) I wont say more. But if you enjoy slow burns, you'll enjoy this.

Fourth, the children in these books are simply lovable and play such and essential part to the plot line. Red, Rosario and I wont give things away, but other children just added a level of love and tenderness to a story that was so full of adventure and turmoil.

This series was really an adventure I would advise to most people. Giving it a solid 5 out of 5 stars. It was fill with love, betrayal adventure and had so many plot twists I wasn't sure where it was going to go next. Elisa's service to God was definitely something I didn't see coming and she learned a valuable lesson through it all. There were so many likable characters and even some I wasn't sure I should like, but did. Storm by far became one of my favorites. His sarcastic way was definitely a factor when I decided he was one of my favorites! We also can't forget Red Sparklestone, who is the main character for Empire of Dreams, the sequel to the trilogy.

I really hope you will take a chance and pick up these lovely books! They are really a joy and a forgotten gem in the YA fantasy world. The characters are great and developed and the world is expansive and deep.

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

Hello, my lovely booklovers. It has been some time since I have written a review and I figured why not write one now. 

Let me just start with this book took me over a month to read and was probably the hardest book to get into. There was a massive info dump at the beginning and the first 500 pages were probably the biggest let down for me.

There are quite a few triggers in this book. So be warned for those. The biggest one I noticed was drug use. The swear was a lot and sex was pretty much watching a porno. I want to be blunt and upfront with my reviews from now on, so here we go with the main review. 

So as stated above, the beginning of the book was a huge info dump that I could have cared less about. While important, I don't feel it was important enough to really constituent 500 pages. There were details in the book that bothered me and were unnecessary. I really didn't care how short Bryce's dress was or if you could see muscles through her clothing. I'm pretty sure everyone who read it understood more people found Bryce attractive and wanted to sleep with her which is fine.  

Now touching on some of the more technical aspects. This book was written in YA style with added adult content which was rather depressing for me. I was really looking for deep characters and a deep, deep plot that normally comes with adult fantasy. Sarah is the queen of smut and we all know this. Sadly, smut and swearing doesn't make an adult novel. So this was a super let down for me and I'm sure the cussing made up at least 1/8 of the word count for this book. So if swearing bothers you please don't bother with this book. 

Now, let's dig into my biggest complaint about this book, if you have read Maas' other works you have pretty much read this one. With some name changes and location and time change, Maas' has somehow managed to take all the same characters shes written and write them into a new exciting plot line and managed to destroy your hopes of the good ones to continue on in the plotline. Let's look back at Sam and Nehemia. Well-loved characters taken from us to soon. There were many points in this book where I felt I was reading The A Court series and Throne of Glass all over again. Bryce was Aelin remade. Which really made me disappointed in the main character as a whole. Though I think I have far more rooted feelings for how I feel than just her being a remade character with a different exterior.  Continuing on into the more story moving similarities. "Like calls to like" was yet again used which is fine, it helps connect the world Maas is making and allows the words to connect like we know that do. (Aelin flying through Velaris and Crescent City in Kingdom of Ash.) 

Now onto the Good, this story after page 500 finally started moving and the pace picked up and did keep me entertained. I was finally okay and didn't want to chuck the entire book across the room. The swearing subsided and finally got to the deeper part of the story. While the climax of the book felt familiar, it did leave me content with the book.

Overall this book was a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It was a 1 or 2 before I reached the 500-page mark solely because the ending redeemed the book. The genre of the book did nothing for me as I'm not a fan of urban fantasy. I think I went into this book expecting deep writing like some of my favorite adult fantasy writers and just didn't get the depth I was hoping for.  So I think that list plays a huge role in my rating and review of this book. I did enjoy the read, but it was not up to par with my expectations for the adult fantasy genre. 

Entwined Paths by M. L. Greye

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR FIRST BOOK*

Hello, again my lovely readers! I am here again with another review and this one is for a friend of mine and I truly love her books! This book is the second book in the swift shadows series and follows the before. In the first book, we got a little bit of background of what happened before  Of Rioters and Royals (ORAR). We got glimpses of Emry and Declan's pasts in the smallest bits, but never truely what led them up to the points we see them in the first book. This second book, Entwined Paths, answers many questions we may have collected from the first and tells a great story of getting us to the place we find Emry and Declan in the first book.

Greye manages to tell a prequel story in a descriptive and captivating way that keeps you hooked from the moment you true the first page. Follow Declan through his past of struggle with himself and the things he's done and he finds solace in the one person who seems familiar to him, Emry. His tormented past leads him on a journey of self-survival.

We also follow Emry as she goes on her journey to be the Queen she wants to see for the kingdom and her journeys through the lands she is to rule and where she will become The Mistress we have come to find her to be in ORAR. See her go through a change to become the person she pushes herself to be and the relationships she builds on this journey. Greye also manages to make us fall in love with new characters that make us question our loyalty to the OTP!

Greye has yet again written a great YA fantasy novel and stays true to her unique magic system and I can not wait to see what she has in store. This store pulls and captivates its readers and truly made me want to be a part of the world she has written. I wanted to walk beside Emry and help Declan through the challenges.