Sorry I haven’t been around in a long time. I have been reading, but since I post all my updates and reviews on Goodreads, I tend to forget about my blog. I do hope to get back into blogging about the books that I am reading. I do have another blog for my crafting, and have been trying to get my business up and running, but I do hope to return to this one. 😀
Tuesday Talks: What movie adaptation do you prefer over the book?
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
478 pages, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010
Goodreads Synopsis: Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. Discover the riveting first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
My Thoughts: I thought it was a good book. It flowed beautifully. The action scenes were written in such a way that it felt like I was there watching. I thought the characters were great as well as the world building. Some of the characters I didn’t like too much, but it was written that way. Magnus Bane is my favorite character from Cassandra Clare, and while you get introduced to him in this book, he is not as involved as in the Mortal Instruments series, which I hope will change with the next book in this series.
I absolutely love that this is set in the 1800’s as this is one of my favorite time periods to read about when reading historical fiction. The whole steampunk aspect is wonderful with the automatons and the cogs and wheels. Really enjoyed this book.
My Rating: 
Tuesday Talks: What is your opinion of Ghost Writers?
P.S. I Really Like You by Nancy Krulik
112 pages, Scholastic, Inc., 2008
Goodreads Synopsis: Bestselling author Nancy Krulik takes an inside look at what it takes to survive middle school.
Jenny has been getting gifts, cards, and notes from a secret admirer. Who could the mystery boy be? While Jenny is dealing with her admirer, Rachel and Felicia stop speaking following a basketball game in which Rachel refused to pass the ball to Felicia, and then missed the winning basket. Felicia called Rachel a ball hog in front of everyone. Now the girls are both trying to get their friends to choose sides! Will Jenny figure out who her secret admirer is? And more importantly, will her friends ever speak to one another again?
My Thoughts: Poor Jenny has a secret admirer and she isn’t really into boys as boyfriends yet. Continuing with this series, Jenny gets caught up in having to sell Jelly Beans to people to raise funds for an environmental project her class is doing without being consulted by her ex-best friend Addie, who is her Vice-President. The Jelly Beans are to be sold at at the championship basketball game, in which two of Jenny’s best friends are playing in.
Fights ensue between everyone, and the Pops are loving in. Everyone is taking different sides. Amidst all this, Jenny finds herself with an unwanted secret admirer.
I read this one very quickly, but found it a bit flat. I enjoy the writing, and the characters, but the story, I just found a bit lacking. I’m not sure why. Since Jenny doesn’t like conflict and avoids fights, I find that she just comes off as someone who lets things just go with the flow, without standing up for yourself or others because of not wanting to draw attention to yourself. I get that, these being sixth grade kids, but I think that maybe with a little more positivity and self esteem, the story could become much more for the young readers who read these books looking for help.
My Rating:
November 2015 Book Haul
The Billionaire’s Bedside Manner by Robyn Grady
192 pages, Harlequin, 2011
Goodreads Synopsis: An unexpected visitor was not something billionaire Mateo Celeca wanted to deal with on his vacation. Especially one as beautiful and mysterious as Bailey Ross. She claimed his grandmother had sent her, so he offered her a place to stay. But there was no way he was leaving his “guest” alone at his mansion. If Bailey needed a refuge, she’d come with himÂ…to Paris.
Being with Mateo soon made Bailey forget all the reasons she’d vowed to avoid romantic entanglements. But falling into bed with him could lead her dangerously close to revealing all her secretsÂ…and falling in love.
My Thoughts: I thought it was a good book. I would have liked more of a backstory to the characters, but it was good. It was fairly fast paced as most of these books are so I ended up reading it pretty much in one evening.
I loved that the male character, Mateo, is a philanthropist and gives back to the organization that helped him when he was little. It shows that not everyone who works hard for their money just wants to keep it all. I especially liked the ending, which was a little obvious, but still good.
My Rating:
One False Note by Gordon Korman
174 pages, Scholastic Inc., 2008
Goodreads Synopsis: The race is on to find 39 Clues that safeguard a great power, and fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, are shocked to find themselves in the lead. The search seems to be taking them to Vienna, and they hold a coded piece of Mozart’s sheet music that’s key to finding the next Clue. But tailed by a pack of power-hungry relatives, Amy and Dan can’t see if they are sailing toward victory – or straight into a deadly trap.
My Thoughts: I am reading this to my son and he likes them so far. This one takes the brother and sister team, along with their au pair and disgruntled cat, to Austria and Venice to search for the next clue which is based on one of Mozart’s arrangements.
I find that the history is fascinating how the author is somehow making it all fit together in a realistic way. The scenery that is described is wonderful and as I am reading it, I am showing my son pictures along with it to help him with the imagery.
There are not too many characters, so it is fairly easy to keep track of everyone.
I think the writing and some of the history is a little too old for middle grade.
My Rating:
The Duff by Kody Keplinger
280 pages, Poppy, 2011
Goodreads Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff–the designated ugly fat friend–of her crew.
But things aren’t so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book. It brought back a few memories from my days is high school. I think that it showed how some people judge others for no real reason other than to make yourself feel better. There is a lot of foul language in this book, but kids do talk like that now. There is some sex, but again, it is not unrealistic. Kids do this now.
I thought the writing was very fast paced and kept me engaged through the whole book. It shows how some people deal with problems differently, as well as crushes and reality.
The only problem I had with this book was that the main character, Bianca, was so very bitter throughout the entire book. She had a previous relationship for 3 months and it ended badly, but she should not have been that bitter. She totally has a bad outlook over everything, so that the reader pretty much just wants to slap her upside the head and say “Get over it already!”.
Without giving spoilers, I just have to say that I love what Wesley does for Bianca near the end without worrying about possible repercussions.
Awesome book!!
My Rating: 
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
419 pages, Little, Brown Books, 2013
Goodreads Synopsis: Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.
My Thoughts: I like the premise of this story. The idea of having a separate area for vampires and the world knowing that vampires exist really intrigued me. There are livefeeds on the internet coming from these Coldtowns that are trying to romanticize and entice more people to come and join them. However, nothing is really as it seems.
Humans and vampires exist together, but sometimes, not all happily. The characters were alright, but I think there could have been a little more written about them. I thought there would be a lot more action, but there wasn’t a lot until the end.
Each chapter starts off with a quote from someone famous about Death and Dying which I really liked.
The writing was a little bit draggy and slow in places, and I couldn’t really immerse myself wholly in this book. I thought it was good, but not fabulous. The ending kind of left off open ended as it could have a sequel at a later time. If there is a sequel, I will definitely pick it up to read.
My Rating:
kizziereads 