Friday, August 29, 2014

Fable (Unfortunate Fairy Tales book 3) by Chanda Hahn

I've read the first 2 books in this series and forgot that I had bought this one on my Kindle a while ago. I finally went through my books and was excited to see it.

What's Happened:
In the first two book Mina finds out she is a descendant of the Grimm brothers. She has powers that enable her to live the fairy tales that the Grimm's wrote all those years ago. She is put into situations that put her life at risk and she is forced to use her Grimoire to save her life and/or the other's life. The Grimoire is a book that changes into what Mina needs at the moment- a sword, a bow and arrow, etc. The one thing that makes this tool even more interesting is that there's a cute boy attached to it- her guardian. Jared. He's her protector and helper. He is there to help her figure out what she's supposed to do and help her successfully complete the tales. There's also the bad guy, Teague- Jared's twin. Jared and Teague are both fae so they have some magic going on.
Mina is in high school so of course there are all those teenager-y things going on as well. She has a best friend and a crush. Who get entangled into one of the tales and Mina must save them.
This is a very vague description- just go read them.

Book 3- Where We Are:
We find Mina trying hard not to give in to any fairy tale quests. She has been ignoring Jared for the whole Summer and he has been doing the same. The book opens up with Mina's apartment bursting into flames and her brother, Charlie, dying (or so you think). After his funeral, Mina goes back to school and she has Jared back. He's a mess that he wasn't there for her and she's a lump of sadness for losing her brother. She blames herself since she was the one home with him and supposed to protect him.
Then appears Temple, a descendant of Rumplestilkstin. He has a bargain for Mina, steal the book from the Prince and give it to him and she can have her brother back! Boom! Charlie's alive. She has to do it, right? To save her brother. Jared tries to tell her not to and that he can't go back to the Fae world but she goes alone. She goes over to the Fae world alone with nothing and no one to protect her. She has a run in with a sea witch or two. She keeps a level head though and she eventually does win her brother back from Temple. Then Teague tells her to help him and she does (for some dumb reason) but before she realizes what's happening, she has joined the Prince with his twin, Jared, making them one again. She finds out that Jared was the good half of Teague that was separated from him for his own good and then they were bound to the books. What has Mina done?

My Feelings
I really like this series! Mina can be a tad whiny at times, but she's in high school and cursed. I would be like that too. She's a fierce girl though. She always ends up on top and helps those in need. Even before herself. She has a good heart and when she needs to she can kick some ass.
I like her and Jared together. I was so disappointed when we was joined back with Teague. I really hoped Mina and Jared would end up together (I love me some romance). Teague is pure evil- which is good since that's his main role in the books.
I'm not a fan of Mina's best friend Nan and the crush Brody. They are so forced- both their relationship in the book and as characters. I could do without them.
I love the background of the story though. Mina being a relative of the Grimm brothers and being cursed. The curse is the reason why she must play out the different fairy tales. It's a very interesting and creative take on the Grimm brothers. I really enjoy it and it's very interesting how Hahn depicts the fairy tales in a modern way for Mina.

I'm ready for the 4th book!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
 

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I finally decided to read The Fault in Our Stars after buying it 3 months ago on my Kindle. I wasn't really into reading, maybe because of the hype of it or because I know I cry like a baby when it's a sad sad story. Either way, I sat down a read it. I'm very glad I did.

I'm sure most of you know the story by now but this is my book blog so I'll tell you the story anyways...

The story centers around Hazel Grace, a 16 yr old girl who has thyroid cancer but also water in her lungs. She's not in remission but her cancer hasn't spread since being put on a new medication. She's terminal. She attends a Cancer Support group once a week and this is where she meets, Augustus (Gus).
In my eyes, they immediately hit it off. Even though Hazel is very calm about a boy staring at her and acts cool she is anything but. Hazel has this uncanny ability to talk- when she talks it's pretty epic what she says. For a 16 yr old, some of the stuff she says..it's just like wow! Gus had cancer, which caused him to have his leg amputated. He's in remission. Hazel Grace and Gus start to hang out right away. I mean the very night they meet, knowing each other for only an hour, they go to his house (his parents are there) to watch a movie. I guess it's not too weird but I was like 'hmm, wow.' After that, they are pretty much inseparable. They spend a lot of time together and help their friend, Isaac, through his eye cancer. The 3 of them hang out a lot together supporting each other.
Hazel Grace and Gus bond even more over Hazel's favorite book. Gus suggests they use his Wish to meet him..Hazel is shocked- why would he want to waste his Wish on her? They go. and are disappointed.
Spoiler alert...Gus dies. He freakin dies. I cried so hard. I knew. but omg. He's there..and then he's not. Heart. break.

I'm mostly being vague so if you choose to read you're surprised a little bit at least. The book was pretty much told to me but I read it so I can say I read it.

Go read it...and bring a box of tissues.. 4 out of 5 stars..that emotional roller coaster made my eyes hurt from all the tears.

Unravel Me Book (Shatter Me series #2) by Tahereh Mafi

I'm a little disappointed that I just found out that there are 1/2 books between the regular series books. Which I hate when authors do that, why do you need book 1, book 1 1/2, book 2 and so on...I never see the point. But anyways, since I didn't know there were 1/2 books between the others I went right ahead and read book 2..

In book 2, the story picks up where Juliette and Adam have escaped to Omega Point, where they are safe from the crazy, power driven Winston.This is when Juliette starts to realize her power. And her love, her crazy obsessive love, for Adam. Adam feels the same. We also learn that Adam has a power. He can 'deactivate' others' powers by touching them- which is why he can touch Juliette. It's not until Juliette stops acting like a self-centered brat (thanks to Kenji) that she really starts to focus on using her gift and seeing what she is capable of. She becomes someone they can depend on. Except when she loses her shit- that girl is like the She Hulk. I swear. Holy balls. Do not make her angry!
We do see Winston again after a meeting between his father and Juliette where Juliette loses her shit (again) and shoots him in both legs (spoiler?) and is about to kill him (which would have been amazing cause he's a bigger shit than Winston). But Kenji (oh Kenji *swoons*) stops Juliette. And they take Winston hostage- which if you pay attention to the relationship between Winston and his dad, not too brilliant of a plan, as his dad could give less than two shits about him.
Omega Point has Winston and they keep him in a nice room and have Juliette talk to him. Which, I was all 'why? he loves her and she's attracted to him..' so it didn't make sense to me. But in the end, it does work. He tells them his father's plans. We also learn, (major spoiler) that Adam's dad and his little brother's dad (who they thought were dead) is in fact the man that Winston calls Dad. That's right...Adam and Winston are half brothers. My mind was blown. Plot twist!
What I really liked is the steamy scene between Winston and Juliette. I mean they are about to have sex when she's all like 'Adam' and Winston is like "WTF". Breaks his heart. And that is the only time I feel sorry for him. We also find out his first name is Aaron.
It's a good story. I didn't ruin too much of it for you...So read it.

4 out of 5 stars.

Marine Corps Marathon

My dad, Jimmy, is a runner. He runs marathons, tri-athlons, half marathons, 5k's, 10k's, and anything else he can enter. He also hikes, backpacks, kayaks, swims, and bikes. He's in tip top shape. And he's almost 60.

Why am I telling you this?
Because he's set to run in the Marine Corps marathon this October and he's trying to raise money for it. So far he's raised $255 of his $500 goal. I would love to help him reach his entire goal.

So if you can, donate. Any amount will help him.

If you can't, no big. Share this and the link around for him.

The link: https://donate.nmcrs.org/page/outreach/view/mcm-2014/Jimmy

Thanks bunches!
M

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I saw this book on Tumblr a few times and decided to get it from the library to read. I started and finished it in 1 day (my husband is always so shocked I do this but really, if it's a great book- it's not hard).

Shatter Me is about a girl, Juliette, who is trapped. Well, she's held in an asylum..cause she's dangerous, not crazy- very, very, dangerous. She's been held in the asylum for years. Her parents wanted her to be locked up. Her parents were scared of her. They hate her. She hasn't been outside in years. She hasn't seen another person or talked to anyone in years. Then, out of the blue she gets a cellmate- a man. Someone she remembers from her life growing up. But does he remember her? She could never forget those eyes. Those blue eyes. At first, she doesn't talk to him. She ignores him. But then, she slowly opens up. She tells him her name. She talks. He talks. They bond.
Then you find out it was all a trap. A crazy setup led by an even crazier guy- Winston. He wants her to help him rule the world...oh wait..why is she dangerous? you're wondering..She can kill people with her bare hands, she can suck your life out of you by simply touching you with her bare hands. And she's SUPER strong. She's a tiny wisp of a thing- who can lift grown men off their feet, blast through walls and lose herself to the power she possesses. She's a force to be reckoned with. Someone you need and want on your side. Winston is no dummy. He's power hungry. He wants her to help him rule the world. But then something happens..Winston, the bad guy, falls in LOVE with her. But even more than that, the 'cellmate' Adam is in love with Juliette also. Adam is really a soldier in Winston's army. Adam isn't supposed to feel anything. But Adam and Juliette love each other. They run away together.
Then you meet Kenji. Honestly, I love Kenji. He's the one I would date in the book. He's the jokester but kickass soldier who can do what no one else can- blend in with backgrounds..that's right- he can make himself invisible. How effin cool is that?!
So, Juliette learns, after she and Adam break out of Winston's crazy house, that there is a safe place for them, for everyone who isn't fooled by the new government. There's a rebellion forming. There's also people like her, who have special gifts too. She's not alone. She's not crazy.
The relationship between Adam and Juliette is sweet. Their relationship oozes off the pages of the book. You can feel the passion they have for each other. It's a great relationship. The author created a relationship most people in real life look for their whole lives. And these teens in this book, get it. They have this overly emotional LOVE for each other like no one else has had. It's a good relationship. But you get the feeling it just can't happen. Why can Adam touch Juliette without dying? No one else can...and that my friends, is why I read the 2nd book right after this one...

5 out of 5 stars! Must read!!
I would also like to mention that this story reminds me of the t.v. show Heroes.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The Sinclair family is a wealthy, sophisticated, and cocky family. They vacation on a private island during the Summer and live the life you dream of the rest of the year. The patriarch of the family has all the money, which is little shit adult daughters are fighting each other for and have their children say dumb shit to him about how great it is to be a Sinclair. The thing is, the parents, suck. Divorced, uptight, and fake- the only one I actually sorta liked was the aunt who brought Gat with her, and even then I only sort of liked her.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, this book is one I started on discs but then had to stop because the 2nd disc and on were all screwed to shit so I couldn't listen anymore. SO I had to wait, for 3 weeks to get it. Finally, I got and it and then started where I left off from the disc version.

Now I'll continue..
Cadence is the narrator. A whiny teenager who has money and gets whatever she wants. You get the feeling in the beginning ( or at least I did) that she will complain about everything..and she does. The story gets interesting about halfway through, once she hits her head on the rocks. That's when, I gasped. Yes, I literally gasped. I was all, OH NO!. (You know it's a good book when you gasp or do anything like that- a book that provokes emotion, is a great book). Once Cady hits her head, it's all about her trying to remember what happened, why she was in the water, why she was alone, and what made her go swimming alone almost drowning. Gat, Mirren, and Johnny and Cadence are the liars, they have always been together, since they were young. Gat and Cady are more than friends. Gat is the nephew of the man one of the aunt's is dating. He's been coming since year 8. They are all close while on Cape Cod but once they go back to their lives they don't really communicate.
After Cady's accident- she can't remember anything. Her parents won't let her go back to the island and so they force her to go to England (you would think she'd be excited like anyone else would be but nope, this spoiled little shit isn't excited at all).  I get it, she has post traumatic stress from her accident, she's sick- migraines, throwing up, blacking out but the fact that she wants to die- well, that's just crazy. Her mom babies her even more. All in all, Cadence annoys the piss out of me. I only kept reading because I needed to know what happened to The Liars. As I kept reading, I got the feeling that she was going crazy. Seeing things. Never once do the adults mention the other kids once Cady is allowed to go back for the Summer. But she sees them. She does remember eventually what happened. And let me tell you, I gasped (again) and was like OMG. I wasn't expecting the Liars to have perished the summer Cady got injured. But they did. Shocking twist. WHICH I LOVE PLOT TWISTS!!!
Spoiler:Gat, Merren and Johnny die in a fire the 4 liars created themselves. Cadence was the only survivor. The 4 of them set their grandfathers house on fire (the one on the island) to rebel against the adults and their stupidity and fighting. While Cadence is setting her section on fire she lights it too quickly trapping the others in the house. She tries to save them burning half her body but can't get to them. Which is how she ends up in the water, trying to put out the flames on her, she hits her head. The adults (aunt's, mom and granddad) find her.

4 out of 5 stars! I just really couldn't get passed Cadence being such a whiny little bitch.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I'm trying really hard to post more and read more. It's hard with a toddler running around and getting into everything but I'm going to do my best.

Cinder was a book that I've seen tumbling around on Tumblr and Goodreads for a while. I decided to read it because I know a couple friends had read it and raved about it so I was like 'it can't hurt'. I LOVED IT!
I think it was a bit predictable in the fact that I just knew somehow this cyborg was going to end up being the missing princess (oops did I just ruin that for you?). Seriously, I didn't..you HAVE HAVE HAVE to read this book. It's sooo good. Cinder is such a strong and mesmerizing character. I also think I have a bit of a crushy crush on Iko- the Prince. I did hate her evil stepmother and one horrible stepsister.
The twist Meyer gives to the story Cinderella is very intriguing. A cyborg girl who's a mechanic and 'fixes' all the stuff around the house that breaks because her step family is too lazy, Brilliant. There's much more to it. It blows my mind how the author created this futuristic world where gas cars are extremely rare and the Moon has a race, Lunar. They have this horrible evil and vile Queen who magics her people and eventually the people on Earth. More importantly there's a horrible disease killing people, which kills the Emperor and Peony- one of Cinder's step sisters. The disease is intriguing because there's different stages of it. From detection to death. And everyone so far has died. Except Cinder. It turns out she's immune and she may be the key to saving everyone. But then it gets SO GOOD.
I really hate spoiling books for people..especially if you're thinking of reading it..so I'll leave you with this..Iko and Cinder may get together...The evil Lunar Queen may get what she wants or she may die..Cinder may die trying to save her planet...
I'm telling you, Cinder is by far one of the best books I've read this year. I am dying to get my hands on the next book in the series. I have it on hold at the library but I may not be able to wait since I'm like #6 for it. Cinder is a great heroine, and an unlikely heroine at that. Which is the kind of heroine I love to read about and see where her story leads. I love when those everyone doubts, rise to the occasion. I know you'll love this book. And if you don't, we can no longer be friends (I jest, but seriously if you don't love this book..fake it for me). 

You NEED to read this book...

5 out of 5 stars! Go get it now!!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This is my second book by Rainbow Rowell that I've read, the first being, Eleanor & Park, which I loved. I, not only, think R.R.'s (sorry, I'm too lazy to type it out again) name is cool but her books are ammmazing! Her characters really pull you in and her plot is just great. The little worlds she creates on paper are splendid and I love getting lost in them. I read this book in a little over 12 hours because I have a toddler and a life. It was great though and if you have a good amount time, just sit and read it!

Fangirl is about Cather (Cath) and her twin sister Wren- Cather + Wren = Catherine..Genius. This was one of my, OMG, That's brilliant!, moments. The book revolves around Cath and her fanfiction writing about Simon Snow. They have been obsessed about Simon since they were kids and with the last book coming out soon Cath dives into her world writing as fast as possible to finish the fanfiction story she's been working on for 2 years. Wren has pulled away from the fandom world and also Cath, which hurts Cath deeply. Wren starts to spiral out of control and eventually gets a wake up call that changes her life. Cath is left to finish her telling of Simon alone, without her sister's help. She's left to figure the college life and friends out, alone.
I really enjoyed how Rowell intertwined a fantasy world (Simon Snow) in with a 'real' world story. The snippets that you get to read from Simon's world are interesting. But I'll be honest, Cather's world for Simon, is awesome and entertaining. At first, Cath seemed to me a lot pathetic and I questioned why she wasn't some hermit at home with her Dad and why she decided to even go to this big university in the first place. Wren is so vibrant and alive and in your face that it made sense for her to shrug off the twin mask and live her own life. But Cath? Nope. Cath doesn't know who she is without her fanfiction. Cath is a bit crazy. A lot asocial. She's not meant for this world. At times, I got the feeling like Cath just went through the motions of life just so she could get back to Simon Snow fanfiction writing. In fact, it's kind of spelled out that way. It's not until her professor for Fiction Writing that you get a sense that maybe Cath will move out of that fantasy world and become a real writer. Cath is hardheaded. She doesn't see that she can be a successful fiction writer and even gives up on the the class. Granted, that ass Nick has some to do with that. I was so glad he got fired and she said NO to him at the end. Gah.
I think my favorite character though was, Reagan. She was this no nonsense, kickass, do what she wants woman- Cath's roommate. She was funny and her sense of humor and personality just made me laugh and want more of her. Honestly, Cath was my second favorite character. I did think she was a bit of a dramatic and weird and clingy but once she grew up, I liked her. I really liked her and her writing and I was rooting for her. Levi was great. He was sweet, kind, charming and what Cath needed (imagine that). He was a great character and one that really helped Cath grow up and learn about herself. I think without Levi, this story would've ended with Cath failing out of college, living with her crazy Dad, and becoming a cat lady.
This is by far one of the greatest books I've read in a long time. A lot of what was written was just great. And it made you think about your life and how you acted in college. I know that I wasn't all crazy weird like Cath but I get her. I get her anxiety with college. I'm very glad that college is over for me.
This is definitely a book I could read over and over again. Even if the ending did aggravate me. I wanted more- I want to know what else happens in their lives. It ended so abruptly.

5 out of 5 stars! You go R.R., you go!