Entries Tagged 'M-O' ↓
August 16th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Book Review, M-O, Paranormal, Romance, School Situations
by First Mate Keira
Title: Shadow-Kiss (Vampire Academy Series, Book 3)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 443
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+
Summary: Lately Rose has been seeing her dead friend around St. Vladimir. Mason’s ghost, if that was what she was really seeing was messing with her and screwing up her trials. Nobody else saw him. So her only explanations were crazy or incompetence. Neither she wants to own up to, but given her lack of options there’s only one way to really go. On top of that, Victor Dashkov is being tried for his crimes but without any of the key witnesses there! If only Dimitri or somebody could get them to the royal court to ensure he was sent to Moroi prison. Oh and Moroi around the school were showing up bruised and injured, but to a one, they are all quiet about what happened to get them that way. What on earth is going on?
Why I started this book:
It’s the next in the series and I had read the previous two. Mead does a lot of exposition and telling in the first couple of pages so anybody can hop into the series at any point in time and know without a doubt what was going on both in story arc and world building.
Likes:
- Who wouldn’t love getting to beat up on a teacher? Rose and her fellow dhampirs get to do just that with all their training instructors during their trials. Rose gets matched up with Lissa’s boyfriend, something she’s not happy about and when Mason’s ghost shows up causing her to lose focus and get Christian ‘killed’ it causes big, big trouble for her.
- Adrian. Love him. He gets the quartet (Rose, Christian, Lissa, and Eddie) to the royal court so they can testify against Victor.
- Rose and Dimitri lying at court. Victor smirking knowingly in the background and his parting shot.
- SPOILER… I’m probably the only weirdo who will like this but I was glad when Dimitri was changed into a Strigoi. It sucks. It’s super angsty. It totally means more drama. For those reasons I love it. I also know somehow, probably with spirit, Dimitri will be changed back into Dhampir or at least Moroi. But this is conjecture. I have more books to read before I can know this for sure.
Dislikes:
- The Moroi torture brigade at the school all trying to figure out how to use compulsion. Now if we’re going to talk about crazy that’s crazy and also beyond stupid…in more ways than one since they are the reason the Strigoi can access St. Vladimir’s in the first place. I was surprised that Rose didn’t go kick all of them in the teeth when she learned that.
- I’m not a big fan of the whole head-hopping business. I get that it’s part of Rose’s shadow-kiss abilities, but I’d much rather focus on her and her story than Lissa’s.
Buy: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, Book 3)
Rating: 4 Treasure Chests
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August 14th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Book Review, M-O, Paranormal, Romance
by First Mate Keira
Title: Frosbite (Vampire Academy Series, Book 2)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 327
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+
Summary: Because Rose was out of school for two years, she’s only now able to take her Qualifier. She's going to be tested by one of the best guardians ever to graduate, Arthur Schoenberg, who’s currently guarding a royal Moroi family. When they first arrive at his home, the two find inside Arthur, his Moroi family, and a few extra guardians slaughtered in what appears to be a massive organized Strigoi attack, something that was believed to be impossible. What are they going to do now?
Why I started this book:
I recently finished Vampire Academy and Frostbite is the second in the series. You can read book two without having read book one because the opening of Frostbite gives the full rundown on the world, it’s culture, people, and sums up the last book.
Likes:
- The change of pace and setting. When a second equally lethal attack happens relatively soon after, all winter travel plans are changed for both the school, the families of the students, and the royal court. Safety can only be found in large numbers and so many go to a Moroi exclusive ski resort that runs at night.
- While the grownups try to figure out what to do about the Strigoi, Rose is trying to figure out her love life. Caught between the man she loves, the boy she thinks she should, and a flirtatious bad boy Moroi royal, Rose has a lot on her plate.
- Mia coming over to the light side and not being such a horrible character. Hurray!
- Adrian giving Rose all that perfume and her response. Too cute.
- Adrian's nickname for Rose, "Little Dhampir."
Dislikes:
- Rose’s relationship with her mother, Janine Hathaway. I much prefer happy mom-daughter pairs compared to hostile warring fractions. Neither Rose or Janine understand the other and instead of truly talking they gripe and bungle every conversation.
- Rose’s bond to Lissa seems awfully one-sided and only convenient for Lissa. If only the bond between them worked in reverse! At least about being able to see inside each other’s heads.
- Have I mentioned the Dhampirs are brainwashed to be pro-Moroi all the time? Sheesh. Seriously, why can't the Moroi protect themselves? Good thing the Ozeras are around or the outcome of Frostbite would be way different.
Buy: Frostbite (Vampire Academy, Book 2)
Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests
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August 12th, 2010 — 2.5-3 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Book Review, Friends, M-O, Paranormal, Romance, School Situations
by First Mate Keira
Title: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy Series, Book 1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 332
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+
Summary: After two years on the run, Rose Hathaway and Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir are captured by a group of Guardians and sent back to St. Vladimir’s Academy. Lissa is a Moroi, or a good vampire, and the last of her royal line, making her a princess. Rose is a mix of human and vampire, known as a dhampir. Dhampirs grow up to be Guardians, who are the protectors of Moroi. From the beginning dhampirs are taught “They come first” and that they need Moroi to reproduce. Best friends, Rose and Lissa share a bond, something that they learn more about back at school. There was a reason they left St. Vladimir’s in the first place… and now that they’re back again they have to navigate the social hierarchy, catch up on two years worth of classes, fall in love with two inappropriate boys, and solve the mystery that sent them fleeing in the first place.
Why I started this book:
I kept seeing the book series in stores, around the blogosphere, and in the library. It was recommended to me as a good series for Twilight fans. I finally picked it up when I heard it might be made into a movie sometime in the future.
Likes:
- The friendship between Lissa and Rose. They seem to really care for each other and want what’s best. They get into fights, they keep secrets from one another, but they’re very tight and supportive too. They don’t compete with each other.
- Mead captures the spirit of a teenage girl and infuses it into her heroine, Rose. She becomes a perfect pot of contradiction with heavy sarcasm, flirting, insecurity, and confidence.
- I like that the half-vampires and good vampires are alive and that the blood drinking is limited to Moroi and Strigoi (undead/bad vampires).
- Mead creates a solid story based on real folklore, like the Balklan myth of Dhampirs, and imagination. I really like the integration and world-building. It’s pretty complex.
Dislikes:
- The underage romance between Dimitri and Rose. She’s a year shy of being legally an adult and it might not make much of a difference to some people, but it rubs me the wrong way and sends a bad message.
- All the dead animals being planted on and in Lissa’s things by some weirdo. No wonder Lissa and Rose ran before – wouldn’t you to get away from this sort of creepy stalker displays? Yuck.
- Yet again, all the cool kids and everybody else seems to be drinking and/or smoking or have done it in the past. Doesn’t the word underage count for anything? Where are the teachers on all of this? Sheesh. There needs to be several room raids since lockers aren’t in use.
- There’s a lot of telling instead of showing in the novel, which can make it hard to read and occasionally a little lackluster, but the plotline and characters have me hooked.
Buy: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1)
Rating: 3 Treasure Chests
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July 17th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Book Review, Fantasy, M-O, Romance
by First Mate Keira
Title: Perchance to Dream [Théâtre Illuminata (Act 2)]
Author: Lisa Mantchev
Format: Kindle Ebook
Page Count: 352 (Hardback)
Grade Reading Level: Grade 7+
Summary: Act 1 was in the theater, Act 2 explores the world outside the theater. Don’t be fooled though, the world is a very different place than how you or I would see it. With a Teller of Tales in your pocket, and several sidekicks from Shakespeare’s plays, anything and everything changes. Bertie must rescue Nate from the sea witch’s clutches, a seemingly impossible task and Nate’s time is running short. Her dreams at night and her love for him keeps him alive, but the day belongs to Ariel and Bertie finds herself falling for him too.
Why I started this book:
I loved the first in the trilogy, Eyes Like Stars, and couldn’t wait to read it. I gave up on the library getting it anytime soon and purchased Perchance to Dream
from Amazon for my Kindle. It turned out to be a good decision because Mantchev uses a lot of interesting words that I didn’t know or only sort of knew and looked up using Kindle’s dictionary definition feature while reading. I also used the Text-to-Speech aspect to hear how some words and character names were pronounced.
Likes:
- The fairies: Cobweb, Peaseblossom, Moth and Mustardseed (from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
) are back and just as silly and over the top as before with their demands for pie and cake and pastries!
- Ariel (from Shakespeare’s The Tempest
) is my favorite character. I loved that he was challenged to do things without the power of his winds. It made him a stronger character and revealed a lot about him.
- Beatrice (Bertie) Shakespeare Smith has more trouble with words than any girl I know. After that she has an even bigger conflict: choosing between her two loves: Nate and Ariel. The right boy for her will have to give her a lot of space because she’s very determined to keep a piece of herself for herself.
- New character Waschbär the sneakthief, is a strong addition to the tale. I wonder what it is he seeks and if he too can complete his journey.
- The writing is very vivid and much improved over Eyes Like Stars. The story itself is far more epic and expansive too than it’s predecessor. I have high expectations and hopes for the third and final act.
Dislikes:
- I don’t feel like Ariel gets enough credit in the story. He had so many chances to turn his back on her, to sabotage the rescue efforts, and plentiful reasons to just give up and yet he doesn’t do any of those things. He tries but he can’t. Ariel’s by far my favorite of the two boys. Every time Bertie realized she gave in a little to him she did a 180 and pushed him away. It was exasperating (and for Ariel too no doubt) and I had a hard time believing she felt equally about both boys because of her actions.
- The Mysterious Stranger aka the Scrimshander is a very important character and he’s well drawn, but I just don’t like him. I found him weak and pathetic compared to the strength, determination, and courage of Betrie.
Buy: Perchance to Dream: Theatre Illuminata #2 (Hardback)
, Perchance to Dream: Theatre Illuminata #2 (Kindle)
Rating: 4 Treasure Chests
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July 13th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Book Review, Friends, M-O, Mystery, World History
by First Mate Keira
Title: The Sixty-Eight Rooms
Author: Marianne Malone
Format: Hardback
Page Count: 265
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: Ruthie is drawn to the famous Thorne Rooms at the Chicago’s Art Institute during a class fieldtrip. On the same trip her best friend, Jack, finds a gorgeous key. When Ruthie holds the key she begins to shrink and the two kids put two-and-two together. The key provides a way into the miniature world depicted by the multiple rooms. When Ruthie figures out how to shrink Jack too, the exploring commences in earnest and the pair must figure out how to navigate the world in a new way.
Why I started this book:
I checked the book out from the library after I saw it in a bookstore and thought it looked interesting.
Likes:
- The subplots were crafted fabulously and brought another dimension to the story. Jack’s mother worries about making a living as an artist. A security guard (previously famous photographer) mourns the loss of his best work. A shop owner reconnects to memories of her past. Historical figures find new endings.
- How Jack and Ruthie constructed paths to get them around the museum and to different parts of the exhibit is both entertaining and clever.
- I enjoyed the fight with the water bug/cockroach.
- I liked that the two kids weren’t the first to explore the tiny world. That was very cool and also connected a lot of the subplots. I liked too how Jack and Ruthie saved some of the people they found in the world by remembering enough from history class to provide warnings.
Dislikes:
- The necessary contrivance of tricking the parental units into thinking the kids were places they were not. I dislike clueless parents or parents willing to be hoodwinked. I find it hard to believe, mostly because my own parents would never in a million years ignore the signs of mischief Jack and Ruthie gave off like flashing beacons.
Buy: The Sixty-Eight Rooms
Rating: 4 Stars
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