hex hall

Sophie has known she was a witch since she was 12 years old.  Unfortunately, she has no idea how to control her powers.  Despite her human mother’s extensive research Sophie’s control is pretty hit or miss.  After a love spell gone terribly awry at her 19th school she finds herself sentences to Hecate (affectionately referred to as Hex Hall by its occupants), a reform school for witches, fae, shapeshifters and vampires who need more help fitting in with the humans.

Though finally being around people like herself she discovers quickly that having been raised by a human she’s way behind in everything and it doesn’t help that her father, whom she’s never met is someone everyone at Hex Hall has a reason to dislike.  When her only real friend, Jenna, a vampire is accused of assaulting two other powerful witches Sophie will do whatever she can to clear Jenna’s name. 

This was such a fun story!  Sophie is awkward, but funny and smart.  She’s hopelessly clueless about her own family history which makes her the perfect target for the more ‘refined’ students at Hex Hall.  There’s a lot going on throughout the book and despite that it’s not jumbled or confusing.  You’re left constantly wondering what could possibly be around the corner.

I’m quite pleased that the library had Demonglass ready for me to pick up at the library.  I’ll be reading that one tonight!

the gathering

Kelley Armstrong’s new trilogy Darkness Rising begins The Gathering.  We start the story with Maya Delaney living in a tiny medical research community on Vancouver Island.  After witnessing the death of her best friend Maya is plagued with nightmares and questions about what really happened that day on the lake.  When a reporter comes to their small town and begins asking questions about Maya and the details surrounding Serena’s death Maya begins to believe that the St. Cloud medical research group might have something to do with it.

But that’s not all.  Strange things start happening around Maya and the animals that inhabit the forest surrounding her home and a strange encounter with an old woman plants a seed of a crazy idea in Maya’s head about where she really comes from and who she is.

This one was a slow starter.  Good writing and storytelling, but it took so long to set the story up and get to the good parts.  Then, just as the good parts begin the story ends on quite the cliffhanger.  Thinking back to the Darkest Powers trilogy I remember Armstrong has an affinity for leaving readers on the edge.  I noticed mention of Dr. Davidoff who was the mad scientist in the Darkest Powers books and with the way that trilogy ended I wonder if we’ve actually seen the last of Chloe, Tori, Derek & Simon.

The book was good, but she refers to the size of her town so many times in the first several chapters it becomes annoying.  There were no surprises in the book.  You could see what was coming chapters ahead.  The only thing that seems out of place is Serena’s death and the circumstances surrounding it.  I’m not sure where she’s going with that storyline, but hopefully more answers will be revealed in the next book.

Quick read, interesting though not very original.  Then again, what is nowadays?

where she went

At first I was a little disappointed to find that this book was told from Adam’s perspective because I really loved Mia so much, but getting into it I don’t think I would have changed one single thing.

This book as was its predecessor was perfect.  (If you haven’t read If I Stay stop reading this review right now and go get it!  I will now be spoiling If I Stay).  It’s been three years since Mia lost her entire family in a horrific car accident.  Three years since she woke up in the hospital and began her life again.  Three years since she walked away from Adam and everything she knew in Oregon.

Adam’s band Shooting Star is now a worldwide sensation, but Adam finds little pleasure in the fame and even in the music.  Wandering around New York trying to escape his demons and fears he finds himself in front of an auditorium featuring none other than Mia.  Before he realizes it he finds himself in Mia’s company one more time for one day before each sets out for their own separate tours.

While this book didn’t have the same heart stopping intenseness than If I Stay had it had it’s own version of intensity.  The writing is just as haunting and real.  I can’t express how much I loved this book despite thinking I wouldn’t.

The writing is amazing.  The only thing I found out of place were the snippets of lyrics from Shooting Star’s breakthrough CD, written by Adam during his dark time.  They weren’t that spectacular, they didn’t speak to me the way they should have.

**********a couple of quotes, slightly spoiler-ish**********

Just like in If I Stay there were moments that I had to stop and write down so I could remember them.  Here’s two:

“I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me.  And maybe that was the seed of it, but from that one little seed grew this tumor of a flowering plant.  And I’m the one who nurtures it.  I water it.  I care for it.  I nibble from its poison berries.  I let it wrap around my neck, choking the air right out of me.  I’ve done that.  All by myself.  All to myself.”

“It felt like a gift.  From them.  For my first recital ever, they gave me a cello.  And for this one, they gave me you.”

Seriously people, go read these books.

city of fallen angels

First of all let me say that I loved the first three book in The Mortal Instrument series.  I loved each and every character, but I especially loved Simon.  When I heard that there would be another book in what I thought was a trilogy I was super excited.  Mostly because I had also heard that the book would be Simon’s story.

This wasn’t quite what I expected.

Yes, Simon was much of the focus of the story and yes, Cassandra Clare doesn’t really disappoint when in comes to bringing back all the characters I love, but was this book necessary?  No, not really.

Let me tell you what I liked about City of Fallen Angels.

1. It was kind of a kick to see Camille and hear mentioning of Will from the Clockwork Angel book.  I like those kind of tiny little crossover bits.
2. Simon.  He’s just a great character.  A good person, a good vampire and really, a story waiting to be told.  She could do so much with his character, there’s still so much left unresolved (as it was left in City of Glass as well).
3. Isabelle is awesome.

Now, let me tell you what I didn’t like.

1. I really just wanted this to be a new story, but it wasn’t.  It just seems to be a continuation of a story everyone thought was finished.
2. Jace & Clary’s yo-yo relationship.
3. The fact that there will be at least 2 more books.  I have the awful feeling that Clare is just going to drag this shit out.
4. Once, when I was holding the book while watching something on TV I glanced down and noticed “Soon to be a Major Motion Picture from Sony Pictures”.  Ugh.

I still loved this book more than Clockwork Angel.  I think because I already knew and enjoyed these characters.  I felt like Clockwork Angel was just the same characters with different names, like it was a rip-off of the Mortal Instruments.

And you can bet that I’ll be reading the rest, no matter how long she drags it out.

e-book reading challenge

Yes, another reading challenge.  I know, I know … why do I do this to myself?  Well, this one is a challenge I was actually looking for this year when I started my challenges, but didn’t find it.  While perusing some new (to me) book blogs I came across this one hosted by La Coccinelle at The Lady Bug Reads.

Here’s the deets:

1. Anyone can join.  You don’t need a blog to participate (Non-bloggers: Include your information in the comment section of Lady Bug Reads Ebook challenge post here)
2. There are seven levels:
1. Curious – Read 3 eBooks
2. Fascinated – Read 6 eBooks
3. Addicted – Read 12 eBooks
4. Obsessed – Read 20 eBooks
5. Possessed – Read 50 eBooks
6. Fanatical – Read 75 eBooks
7. Monomaniacal – Read 100 eBooks
3. Any genre counts
4. You can list your books in advance or just pot them in a wrap-up post.  If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. Challenge begins January 1, 2011 and lasts until December 31, 2011

So I’m going to do the Possessed level with the option of moving to the Fanatical level.  So here goes!

1. World Without End – Ken Follett
2. Relentless – Dean Koontz
3. The Enemy – Lee Child
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest – Stieg Larsson
5. True Blue – David Baldacci
6. Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson
7. Wish – Alexandra Bullen
8. C.Y.A.: Covert Youth Agency: The Case of Tangled Love – Jason Ancona
9. Debugging Tori Redding - Jason Ancona
10. Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
11. Dance to the Piper – Nora Roberts
12. Darkly Dreaming Dexter – Jeff Lindsay
13. Divine By Mistake – PC Cast
14. Narcissus in Chains – Laurell K. Hamilton
15. Tell No One – Harlan Coben
16. Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
17. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
18. China Lake – Meg Gardiner
19. Indulgence in Death – JD Robb
20. One Shot – Lee Child
21. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – Alan Bradley
22. Delirium – Lauren Oliver
23. Switched – Amanda Hocking
24. If I Stay – Gayle Forman
25. Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins
26. Virals - Kathy Reichs
27. Caught - Harlan Coben
28. Mission Canyon - Meg Gardiner
29. The Scorch Trials - James Dashner
30. Bad Girls Don't Die - Katie Alender
31. Breathless - Dean Koontz
32. Jericho Point - Meg Gardiner
33. Bones of Faerie - Janni Lee Simner
34. The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen
35. Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead
36. Treachery in Death - JD Robb
37. What the Night Knows - Dean Koontz
38. Don't Blink - James Patterson
39. Death's Excellent Vacation - Charlaine Harris
40. Eternity in Death - JD Robb
41. Ritual in Death - JD Robb
42. Hare Moon - Carrie Ryan
43. Missing in Death - JD Robb
44. Faerie Winter - Janni Lee Simner
45. The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting
46. The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
47. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine 
48. Blood Promise - Richelle Mead
49. The Hard Way - Lee Child
50. Eight Days to Live - Iris Johansen
51. Bad Luck & Trouble - Lee Child
52. Nothing to Lose - Lee Child
53. Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead
54. Gone Tomorrow - Lee Child
55. 61 Hours - Lee Child
56. The Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead
57. The Neighbor - Lisa Gardner
58. Worth Dying For - Lee Child
59. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
60. Never Knowing - Chevy Stevens
61. Second Son - Lee Child
62. Before I Go to Sleep SJ Watson

just a bit of amazing

Only 2/3 of the way through the book so far.  Y’all know how I felt about If I Stay and while this one is different it’s still pretty powerful.  I leave you with this bit of the book that I love.  Maybe it won’t make too much sense to you, especially if you haven’t read If I Stay, but it brought a hitch to my breath.

“Can you hear them now?”
She pauses, listens, nods.
“What are they saying?”
“They’re saying it’s so good to see you, Adam.”

project 365, week 16

This week I decided to take all my pictures for the Project365 with my iPhone.  I used Instagram and Hipstamatic.  I love how even crappy pictures look interesting with the iPhone!  Nothing spectacular, but hey, it works!

4.18.11 – I had the worst craving for McDonald’s all day today and my wonderful hubby went out and got some for me!  Craving satisfied!

4.19.11 – Emma got a Monster High doll and for some reason they have interchangeable hands.  So not only does she have to take off the clothes for no good reason she also took the hands off and left them on the couch.  This is how I found them.  Kind of creepy.

4.20.11 – Here’s me waiting patiently for my root canal.  No fun, but at least I have an awesome dentist.

4.21.11 – I can’t remember what Chloe and I were doing but when I held up my phone to take a picture she knew just what I was doing and said ‘cheese!’.

4.22.11 – I took a picture of the candle next to me.  I love how it came out blurry.  

4.23.11 – Best.  Cheese.  Ever.

4.24.11 – Though she looks like Emma the Grump, she was actually not grumpy.  She was just waiting patiently.

4.25.11 – Lemon Ramen from Big Grill BBQ in Morgan Hill.  It’s our favorite Korean BBQ place and my favorite ramen anywhere!