Review of Firestarter By Stephen King

 

In Stephen King’s novel about a young girl who can create rampaging fires with her mind, second grader, Charlie, and her father, Andy, are on the run from a government set up called The Shop. Years ago, Andy and his wife were injected with Lot Six, a hallucinogenic that later gave them amazing abilities. But Charlie, who was born years later, doesn’t have an amazing ability. She has a frightening ability, and The Shop will do anything to get their hands on her. 

I was amazing by this book. I have slowly come to love Stephen King’s writing style with every book of his I read. His novels are masterfully written, and this was no exception. It was amazing to follow Charlie on her quest within herself to find what was truly right. She slowly changed throughout the story, and that change did not go unnoticed. Like most books, Firestarter was a bit confusing at first. It switched between different settings frequently in the first 100 or so pages in a successful attempt to build up the story and fill in the past of the two main characters. John Rainbird was a very interesting character, and his slow decent into insanity was fun to read through.

Review of Books of Fairie #2: Ballad By Maggie Stiefvater

 

In the second Books of Fairie novel, written by the great Maggie Stiefvater, James and Dee are finally starting their school year at Thornking-Ash, a school for talented young musicians. But Dee is becoming distant. James does his best to fit in at this new place, but he is soon discovered by a fey, bent on making a deal with him. Things don’t go as expected as the relationship advances.

I enjoyed Ballad a bit more than Lament. We got to see more of James, less of Luke and Dee, and meet several new characters. I was never that fond of Luke, so I was happy to not have to deal with him in this book. Dee kind of felt like a side character and didn’t have much to do with the storyline until the very end. James showed a lot of character development, and we were introduced to Nuala, a half fey girl with a craving for music. This book moved along a lot quicker than Lament had, and it had that classic Maggie Stiefvater feel at the end. I love forward to the release of the third book, and I’m interested to see how it plays out.

Review of Warriors Dawn of the Clans #2: Thunder Rising By Erin Hunter

 

In the second book in the fifth series of New York Times best selling world of Warriors, tension is rising between the two groups of the forest. Gray Wing is starting to doubt his decision to come to the mountains. As his group tries to push him on as their leader, he wonders if he will be able to settle down and live the peaceful life he’s always wanted while looking out for the injured Jagged Peak and the young Thunder on top of leading a group of cats. Meanwhile, Thunder is torn between the need to learn more about his secretive father, but what price will this knowledge cost him?

Like any other Warriors book in the world, this book was quick. It was amazing. It was well thought out. Like an other Warriors book, some cats died, and some cats were born. It was everything I expected coming from a Warriors book. It also had something else every Warriors book had, something different. Each Warriors book has something different that sets it apart from the rest. I was happy to finally have River introduced to us, and it was great to see more of Thunder.

Review of Numbers #1: Numbers By Rachel Ward

 

In Rachel Ward’s debut novel, Numbers, 15 year old Jem can see the future in a person’s eyes in the form of a number. That number is the day they will die. She has lived with this curse for years, staying away from potential relationships. It is not until she watches more and more die, that she begins to fall in love with one close to death. Can she find a way to stop the numbers, to change them?

I was highly intrigued by the idea of this book. I was a bit disappointed with how it panned out though. I found the overall book boring. The only thing that saved it was the suspense. Spider kept coming close to death, even though his number wasn’t up yet. Both Jem and Spider are amazing characters, yet my thoughts always shifted back to Val, Spider’s nan. She was an elderly character that felt like she had more emotion than Jem and Spider combined. I was sad she was only in part of the book. I was happy with the way they set it up for the next book. I’ll probably check out The Chaos, I’m just not sure when.

Review of Legend #3: Champion By Marie Lu

 

In the final book in the Legend series by Marie Lu, June is struggling to fit in as a Princeps-Elect, and the doctors are struggling for Day’s life. As a sudden threat is made to the Republic, everything changes and their soon to be calm lives are swept up into a dangerous storm.

I didn’t know what to expect out of the final book. Final books are always sad. There’s always this big thing throughout the story, that finally ends in some tragic loss. Champion was no exception. I enjoyed this story, just like another book in the series. Day and June continued to be the strong main characters that every story needs. I loved the focus on Eden for once. He was a large part of this story and we got to see part of his character.

Review of Finishing School #1: Etiquette and Espionage By Gail Carriger

 

In Gail Carriger’s series for young adult readers, Sophronia s sent to finishing school after a terribly bad day at home. Reluctant to fit in, Sophronia soon finds that this finishing school is not what it seems. Not only will she learn the art of becoming a lady, she will learn the art of killing, and she will become very skilled at it.

I was a bit reluctant to read this book. I had heard good things about it, and many of my goodreads friends have read it, but I just didn’t believe it to be my cup of coffee. Towards the beginning, I believed I was right. I didn’t have much interest in the story, and somethings were very unclear to me. By the end of the book, I was in love with the characters, and the plot had amazed me. What was unclear to me was later explained, and I found myself able to enjoy the story.

Review of Watersong #2: Lullaby By Amanda Hocking

 

In the second book in the Watersong series, Gemma is still fighting the transition from human to siren, but she’s quickly running out of time. Someday she will need to swim. Someday she will need to feed. Meanwhile, Harper, Alex, and Daniel can’t forget what they saw the night Gemma left them, no matter how hard they try. The only thing they can do it try to find Gemma before she is lost to them forever.

I loved the first book, btu I think this one was even better. I loved Gemma’s stubbornness the entire book. Harper really developed in this book as well. She didn’t have much of a part in the first book, but she really stood out in this book. Danial also grew on me a bit. The plot seemed a lot more focused in this book, and the mood was a bit more serious.

Review of Jasper Dent #1: I Hunt Killers By Barry Lyga

In Barry Lyga’s novel, I Hunt Killers, Jasper Dent is the son of one of the most famous serial killers of all time. Four years ago, Billy Dent was landed in prison after a careless kill and a lucky cop. Now, the killings are starting again, though Billy is still in prison. Jasper must find the killer, face is own inner demons, and clear his name before those close to him are the next victims.

I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile, but it was never in at the library. The plot interested me, and it wasn’t something I had read before. I was right, though it took me a bit to get into it. The first 100 or so pages of this are somewhat slow, but it really picks up after that. The characters are strong and sharp, and the ending is something I never would have expected. The ending also led into the second book nicely and set up a nice plot for it.

 

Review of Divergent #3: Allegiant By Veronica Roth

 

In the final Divergent book, Tris and Four have decided it’s time to cross the fence. With the city at a stage of chaos being rules by Four’s own mother, and a horrible secret having been released, there really isn’t a place for them where they are. Expecting to find chaos and devastation on the other side of the fence, the group is surprised with what they do find.

I know my viewpoint on the ending of this book is a lot different from others’, but I felt this book deserved a good review among all the hate. I can’t say I loved the ending, but I can say that I felt it was right. Veronica Roth ended Allegiant with a bang, a bang that angered many, brought tears to our eyes, and made us want to throw our books across the room, but with all those feelings stirring inside, many of us missed the meaning and elegance that was presented to us through the final chapters. Veronica Roth started Divergent with strong main characters, and that’s how she ended it. While I’m not happy with the decision she made, I can see why she made it. Sacrifices must be made in any world and it’s simply unrealistic to think any different. I struggled to give this book five stars, and I almost didn’t, but it ended such a wild ride that was loved by many. I look forward to the release of the Divergent movie so I can reenter the wrecked Chicago with a new perspective.

Review of Zom-B #5: Zom-B Baby By Darren Shan

 

In the 5th Zom-B book written by horror master, Darren Shan, Zom-B embraces her decision to leave the Angels, not attracted to their mission. As she journeys through a ravaged London, B comes across an old friend and a horrible discovery.

The short release span of these books makes it hard to forget details, which is good for a reader juggling so many books. That’s a reason why I didn’t have to struggle to remember a character brought back from two books before. The ending to this book was a bit confusing as I’m not sure where they’re going to go. I liked the reintroduction of Timothy, and I really like that no two books have a bunch or repetition.