Busy

Hello. Long time no blog... on here anyway.

I've been soooo busy with senior year that I haven't been able to keep up posting on this blog. But let me assure you that I haven't stopped reading.

I've read lots of good books this year, mainly classics for school, but I liked a lot of them. Such as: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Heart of Darkness, Macbeth, Hamlet, and what I've read of Jane Eyre.

But don't worry, I'm going to write a review for a book I recently finished, and I will write one for the book I'm currently reading.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. :)

Heat Wave

Okay, I am a huge fan of the ABC show "Castle." I absolutely L.O.V.E it! So when I found out that the book Castle was writing, actually came out, I really wanted to read it, (infact, I'm watching reruns right now). And when we stumbled across it in Barnes and Noble, I waited for my Aunt to finish reading it so I can. Then, I was too busy and didn't get to buckle down and read it until after I finished my terrible summer assignment on "Tortilla Curtain." I don't want to talk about it.

Anyway, I read Heat Wave, which was a fairly good novel, despite a few grammar informalities and false advertising of many crimes (the inside cover advertised all of these different crimes, and then the book only focuses on one case), it was good. NYPD Detective Nikki Heat is saddled with award-winning journalist Jameson Rook for ride-along research. As the crime intensifies, Rook and Heat fight, kid and... flirt. Of course, I liked just reading it for the sake of reading it. However, the mystery did build suspense for me, as a murder-mystery should! If you are a fan of the show, I definitely recommend reading it!

The Da Vinci Code

So, I finally broke down and read the worldwide sensational book, The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. I cannot believe how much I loved this book. The movie follows the book so closely that I was able to go back to the movie and visualize what was happening in the book while I was reading it. The Da Vinci Code is the story of Harvard professor, Robert Langdon, who is awoken in the middle of the night as a suspect in a famous man's murder. He is soon launched into a full blown search for the Holy Grail. Along with cryptologist Sophie Neveu, they travel all over Europe solving riddles and codes alike, while also running from the police and the Church. This book is the perfect read for those who love danger, conspiracy, and the secret unknowns of religion and faith. I loved this book because of all of the questions it presents about religion and what it means to have faith in a world saturated in lies.

Sea Change

I just finished reading a fairly new realease entitled Sea Change, by Aimee Friedman. A surprising tale about the science based Miranda Merchant whose grandmother's death has brought her to the mysterious Selkie Island. Miranda is not expecting to be caught up in the superstitious legend and lore that surrounds Selkie and its inhabitants. This novel, told from the point of view of Miranda, as she tries to work through the unknowns of her grandmother, Isadora Hawkins, is very well written and is dripping with unexpected twists and turns. I spent about three hours reading it today; I just could not put it down. However, I think that the relationship between Miranda and Leo, a local boy, moves rather quickly and that Friedman could have stretched out the meeting and falling in love stages a little bit. Despite this small down-side in my opinion, this book is a wonderful read that you could curl up with on a stormy night. It made me want to have some family mysteries that need uncovering, or to go somewhere where legends are just waiting to be proven factual.

The De Granville Trilogy

I haven't updated this book list in a while, but I recently read a series of books that were so amazing, I just had to put them on here. The first book in the De Granville Trilogy, titled Blood Red Horse, illustrates the bond that forms between a boy and his horse. Will and his brother, Gavin, and their father, leave their home at Hartslove castle, they leave behind many, no knowing what will happen or if they will return, as they join the crusades alongside King Richard in the name of Christianity. I soon grew to love the De Granvill family and Hosanna, the blood red horse, as they fight for what they believe in.

In the second book, entitled Green Jasper, King Richard is being held for ransom, and his brother and many others are taking advantage of his absence, as our heroes return to Hartslove to try and return to a normal life. But, when Ellie, the center of both Will and Gavin's affections, is kidnapped by someone who we thought was loyal to the De Granvilles, Will and Gavin, and of course, Ellie, are launched into another life-and-death adventure, and Will and Hosanna are tested once again.

In the third and final book in this amazing trilogy, Blaze of Silver, Will and the Hartslove clan are assigned to bring to a large part of the king's ransom money. But an assassin has been ordered to come to kill one of the clan and Will, Ellie, and Hosanna are trapped in an uncertain position, where the outcome of their lives is uncertain. Loyalties are tested and misunderstanding is fueling the story.

The entire trilogy kept me on the edge of my seat; I even had to run out unexpectedly so that I could get Blaze of Silver to finish the series. These books so accurately display the ways of the times of crusades, religion, loyalty, friendship, love, and so much more.

Carpe Diem

So this book, is going up there with Scribbler of Dreams, Twilight, and This Lullaby. I L.O.V.E this book. Carpe Diem is about Vassar Spore, a very bright girl who goes to a private school and plans every single second of every single day. She knows what she wants to do with her life and her parents expect everything and more of her. But when an impromptu, surprise trip to Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia with her crazy grandmother is brought to light, Vassar has no choice but to take every single health precaution, and pack every new device and go take a leap of faith. I wish i could say more, but that would give away the entire story. This book is good light reading, but also has so many things going on you can't help but fantasize what the relics on the temples look like, and daydream about traveling to these places, without the inconvenience Vassar experiences with toilets. The story is amazingly well written and pans out to truly live up to it's title. Reccomended to everyone.
Carpe Diem! :)

The House of Night Series (Marked, Betrayed, Chosen)

Okay, so it's been a while since i have posted to this blog, and i have been reading like crazy. So, after i read the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, i picked up yet another vampire book. Marked was the first book in the House of Night Series, and i'm sorry my pictures are screwed up, but i absolutely fell in love with it. If you have read the Twilight series, i seriously reccomend this series. You will see some similarities, and some of the same concepts just twisted around a little, and it's highly interesting to compare the two series if you ask me. In a world where vampires have always existed, Zoey Redbird leads a normal teenage girl's life. She has a boyfriend, a best friend, and drives a lime green volkswagon bug. But when she is marked by one of the vampires from the House of Night, her world is turned completely upside down, and she is forced to go live at the House of Night, a bording school for vampires "in training". Her she finds a wonderful mentor, real friends, and a goddess who understands her and takes her under her metophorical wing when Zoey is confronted with a problem and an affinity for all 5 elements. (earth, fire, air, water, and spirit). But she also meets Aphrodite, another fledgeling who is bad to the bone, as the saying goes, or so we think.
In Betrayed, we see the first sightings of a mentor gone bad and loveable friend lost. I won't give away too much, but i will just say this, OMG.
As for the third book, Chosen, i have no words. You're just going to have to read it. And i know you will because you will be hooked on mark before the first chapter even ends.

As you may or not already know, the fourth book, Untamed has just come out, but i have not read it yet. So when i do, I will do a seperate review.