Lady Thief

Lady Thief by A. C. Gaughen

I previously reviewed the first book in the series, Scarlet, HERE.

I read the first book and REALLY disliked it. I finished it with a mission to hopefully see the female heroine get better.

I was atrociously wrong.

But then it had been some time since I read the first book and I heard one of my awesome book mentors talk about how she loved the first book, and I was ready to give the second book a lenient chance.

Sigh.

An amazon summary, "Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

...I can't.

I reached page 70 and quit.

Here's why.

In those 70 pages, Robin has been traumatized so badly by the previous books events that he nearly kills Scarlet TWICE while he sleepwalks/rage/hulks out. TWICE.

Try to kill an unsuspecting Scarlet once, alright. Plausible.

Try to kill a knowledgeable Scarlet that insists on being around Robin while he slumbers, I'M OUT. NO.

I don't want to read a book of a soured love where Robin is so tormented he cannot bear to talk about it, I don't want to read a book about a girl who is married to a man she doesn't love, refuses to sleep with the one she loves because it's a sin, yet loathes her husband to an excessive amount.

NO.

It is not my cup of tea, I couldn't stand Scarlet, I couldn't stand Robin being way too manly to talk about the obvious hell he's going through.

No.

Nopenopenope.jpg

On to the next book, I waste no more time on this plot.

Happy reading!

Odin's Ravens

Odin's Ravens by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

This is the second book in a series, if you do not want the first book spoiled, do not read this review.

I reviewed the first book in the series, Loki's Wolves, HERE.

Disclaimer: I read the advanced reader's copy of this book, there might be minor differences between the version I read and the published version. This book will be published on May 13, 2014.

Without further ado, an amazon summary, "Seven kids, Thor's hammer, and a whole lot of Valkyries are the only things standing against the end of the world. 

When thirteen-year-old Matt Thorsen, a modern day descendant of the Norse god Thor, was chosen to represent Thor in an epic battle to prevent the apocalypse he thought he knew how things would play out. Gather the descendants standing in for gods like Loki and Odin, defeat a giant serpent, and save the world. No problem, right?

But the descendants' journey grinds to a halt when their friend and descendant Baldwin is poisoned and killed and Matt, Fen, and Laurie must travel to the Underworld in the hopes of saving him. But that's only their first stop on their journey to reunite the challengers, find Thor's hammer, and stop the apocalypse--a journey filled with enough tooth-and-nail battles and larger-than-life monsters to make Matt a legend in his own right.

Authors K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr return to Blackwell in the epic sequel to Loki's Wolves with more explosive action, adventure and larger-than-life Norse legends." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

So....when I read the first book, I was not in the best reading mind to tackle it. With that in mind, I saw the second book and reeled from it for a bit. I had to mull it over before I decided, alright, let's do this.

I read the second book.

The amazon summary does a good job at describing the premise and what not, so I'm going to let that be a sufficient summary.

Some aspects about the last book I didn't like carried over; they still focus a lot on who they're a descendant of, what powers they're developing, and blah blah blah. The characters in some way, symbolic or real, becoming more like the gods they're supposed to be like.

Fine, that's cool, I get that. It's kind of the premise of the story. Aight. Whatevs. I can deal with that.

I didn't care for how the world was portrayed.

I didn't really care about the characters still.

I still didn't care about the sibling relationship.

....I just kind of read it, finished it, and had a huge shrug at it.

It wasn't atrocious, but it wasn't awesome either.

It feel in a weird limbo land of 'okay'.

....I probably won't be picking up the third one.

With the way the second book veered off into an ending that didn't make sense, I can't imagine how the third book is going to continue to develop the series, nor do I really want to spend the brain power to do so.

...however, I can easily see myself falling into the trap of, "Well, the first two weren't HORRIBLE, but....maybe I should try the third book" and stay in a vicious cycle of 'okay' reading.

...yup.

So.

Happy reading!

Crab Salad

I got a new phone! The photos look
only slightly less like I took them
with a potato. Crab Salad is featured
in a container instead of a bowl! YAY!

Crab Salad

I love seafood.

I don't mean fish; I mean crab, shrimp, clam, calamari, etc. The occasional tuna is alright as well.

With that in mind, I love to make things with seafood (in case you couldn't tell) and I recently tried out a recipe and flavored to be awesome to me.

So.

Without further ado, Crab Salad.

ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces small sea shell pasta
• 1/2 cup of purple onion
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• 1 cup of miracle whip (or mayonnaise I suppose)
• 1 teaspoon of ground mustard
• 4 teaspoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of sour cream
• 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 40 ounces of imitation crab

Directions:

1. Cook small sea shell pasta per packaging instructions.
2. Mince the onion, hard boiled eggs, and the crab.
3. In a LARGE bowl (I hilariously/inconveniently always misjudge appropriate bowl sizes which results in disastrous stirring adventures) mix together miracle whip, parsley, ground mustard, sugar, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, and paprika together.
4. Add onion, eggs, and crab to bowl. Mix.
5. Add pasta to bowl. Mix well.
6. Let cool for 25-30 minutes (for optimal chilled flavor; you can eat it right when you're done stirring as well but it'll be warm from the pasta most likely).
7. EAT. Enjoy the leftovers, unless you made this for a large party, then yay for trusting my dish creating abilities!

I've made this just once but I love it and had to share.

Happy cooking!

The Boundless

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

Disclaimer: I read the Advance Reader's Copy of this book and the published version will probably have minor differences than the version I read. This book will be published on April 22, 2014.

As a teen, I loved Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and managed to follow the series through my life into college; which was very rare because college left very little time for pleasure reading for me. I was thrilled to come across The Boundless.

There has been something about Oppel's style of writing that has swept me thoroughly into the story where it's hard to put it down and do anything else. The characters are all vivid, the world building not only captures the physical aspects of the world but also the different tones of society within that world.

I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Let's get to the amazon summary, "All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy.

The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life!

When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past.


In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Honestly, I've never quite understood that more romantic and nostalgic culture that seem to surround trains. I've ridden on a train, it was pretty fun, but it's not my first choice for mode of transportation if it's an option. Or second, or third, or well ever. Riding on a train, to me, is chosen more for the journey of riding on a train rather than the destination that I'll reach.

With that in mind, I loved this book even though about 99% of the story took place on a train.

Will Everett is a shy artist; he carries around a sketchbook that he fills with whatever captures his eye. His father works in the railroad business and rose through the ranks under the powerful Mr. Van Horne who builds the Boundless; the greatest locomotive of the time. His father is chief engineer of the Boundless and Will is invited along for her maiden voyage.

There is a circus on board that is full of colorful cast of characters; most notably Mr. Dorian as the ringmaster and Maren who Will met three years prior and who also has his Sasquatch tooth.

...Sasquatch tooth? In this world, there are several creatures from myth who are very real and involved with the story. You'll have to read the book to learn more about them though.

So, on the first night that Will is on the Boundless with his father in their cabin, Will learns of the key that unlocks Mr. Van Horne's funeral car. Will knows his father has one and the guard of the car has the other.

The next day, the Boundless makes a stop in a city and Will wanders from the train to explore the city and to also see if he can find the girl who has his sasquatch tooth. He happens to wander too far and witnesses the murder of the guard, and finds the key before running for his life back to the boundless. He barely manages to catch the last car on the train and needs to journey through the long train to reach his father to let him know of the tragedy, and that some unsavory men are on board.

I'll stop there so I don't spoil anything about the book.

I really enjoyed Will's character development and seeing all the different people that the Boundless hosted on its journey. The action and suspense were very well timed and I was thrilled that there wasn't anything I could predict entirely in regards to the plot.

The book is truly a delightful adventure and I hope it continues to become a series.

Happy reading!

LE WHOOPS

So.

Last week I reported that I would be posting every Friday about Tamora Pierce in honor of March being reading month and that I would be joined by Brittany.

Well, Brittany is AFK to some extreme measures right now (she's okay, she's just away from keyboard for a bit), and I am about to go away for the weekend to visit some old friends for their birthdays.

SO.

A Tamora Pierce post will not be happening today.

BUT IT WILL BE SOON.

It will probably appear early next week.

....


HAPPY READING MONTH!!!

Some inspirational reading images from around the internet:

Pretty sure this is from a pinterest somewhere.

someecards.com I suppose

Pinterest or reddit. Unsure.
BUT IT STILL APPLIES.

Palace of Spies

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

...I want to take a moment and declare that you should not be dissuaded from reading any book based on the cover...but this cover makes it really hard to get past it and onto the proper book. Ooof. They could have done better.

Anyways.

I've read one or two books by Sarah Zettel, but it was forever ago so I don't find it very relevant. Essentially, this work was kind of fresh to me in terms of the author's writing.

Again, anyways.

An amazon summary to get onto the proper book aspect, "A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don't.

Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she's impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love . . .

History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The amazon summary did a pretty good job, bravo.

I think I've gotten a bit more fond of espionage books and all the delicate societal rules that are sometimes needed to work within polite society.

That being said, I think this book had a lot to work with, yet didn't use all of it's potential. I understand it is the first one in a series (especially with the way the ending kind of leaves off) so there should hopefully be more character growth and plot development to come. 

I really hope this author is nurtured; based on a quick poke around amazon and the quantity of books she has published, I think she's well on her way.

ANYWAYS.

I did like the main character, Peggy throughout the book as she was just enough of a feminist for me to root for, yet still a bit dopey when it comes to love that there was still room to grow.

Plus the arsenal of side characters surrounding her were enough to create intrigue but not enough to distract from the plot.

I do think there was too much mulling over of clues in her head and that she was not quite suspicious enough of the people at court to be a good spy, but I think she could become a good spy. I also wished she understood more about her employers before she went to court; it would have saved her many a headache in the long run.

The book was enjoyable if a bit tedious at times, but I did want to see more of Matthew as he seemed to be a more solid character than many at court. Also the princess was superb.

All in all, a good read. I'm curious to see what will come about in the second book.

Happy reading!

*If the formatting is a little weird, I had many problems with saving/publishing this post. Sorry! Hopefully the content still comes across!

Sick

Sick by Tom Leveen

Disclaimer: I usually don't read straight up suspense/horror/designed to scare you type of books. ...yet somehow I landed on this one. However, I did see it through to the end, and it was worth the read.

An amazon summary, "Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They’re the misfits and the troublemakers—the ones who jump their high school’s fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they’re the only ones with a chance of surviving.

The virus turns Brian’s classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers who don’t die easily. The whole school goes on lockdown, but Brian and his best friend, Chad, are safe (and stuck) in the theater department—far from Brian’s sister, Kenzie, and his ex-girlfriend with a panic attack problem, Laura. Brian and Chad, along with some of the theater kids Brian had never given the time of day before, decide to find the girls and bring them to the safety of the theater. But it won’t be easy, and it will test everything they thought they knew about themselves and their classmates." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The thing that struck me about the book is that it wasn't divided into the usual chapters, it was broken up by the time of day. Everything that happens is in one day.

A lot of cray cray stuff went down.

A LOT OF STUFF.

Brian and his friends ditch school one day because it's a beautiful day outside and who wants to sit through fourth period? Pssh. So they make a daring escape from school, head over to Chad's house (Brian's best friend), and chill out for a bit before planning on returning for last period.

Their friend Hollis stops by (who looks like GARBAGE in the sick way) and the guys get a little unnerved because they also heard gun shots in the distance, but don't think too much of it.

They return to school and have to hop the fence (so they park their car across the street), and ditch the assembly that is also taking place during last period. So they go to their last period which is stagecraft (essentially moving all the heavy stuff involved in theater) before they hear an alert that the school is on lock down.

Then all hell breaks loose.

Yes, this is a 'zombie' book, although they're not zombies in the traditional sense (which was very refreshing even for not reading much of the genre anymore).

I loved the tone and world building of the book and how many times I had pseudo shivers from the creepy/graphic descriptions.

However, as this is not my usual fair of book, I'm not entirely sure if I was suckered in by the mayhem, social break down, and intense violent sequences.

...make of it what you will.

I did enjoy it and cannot say much more without venturing into spoiler land.

Happy reading!

Dangerous

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

....I'm almost positive that I've never read another book by Shannon Hale, and after this read, I'm pretty certain that I do not want to take on such an endeavor.

Disclaimer: I did read the advanced reader's copy of this book. This book will be released on March 4, 2014...tomorrow as I write this review. There will undoubtedly be minor changes between the advanced readers copy and the published version such as cleaning up spelling errors, grammar, etc.

An amazon summary, "How far would you go to save the world?

When Maisie Danger Brown nabbed a spot at a NASA-like summer boot camp, she never expected to uncover a conspiracy that would change her life forever.

And she definitely didn't plan to fall in love.

But now there's no going back—Maisie's the only thing standing between the Earth and annihilation. She must become the hero the world needs. The only problem is: how does a regular girl from Salt Lake City do that, exactly? It's not as though there's a handbook for this sort of thing. It's up to Maisie to come up with a plan—and find the courage to carry it out—before she loses her heart . . . and her life.

Equal parts romance and action-adventure, this explosive story is sure to leave both longtime Shannon Hale fans and avid science fiction readers completely breathless." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

First, the character of Maisie Danger Brown was well set up until the point where she suddenly found a 'real boy' (Wilder) and got very gooey eyed over him.

I'm getting a bit annoyed with how many strong female characters become weak and docile when suddenly corrupted by uncontrollable love (crushes/infatuation, etc).

It's making me terse with all the love triangles that bound everywhere. The premise of the book is all LOOK, YOU NEED TO SAVE THE WORLD.

Female main character is like I TOTALLY GOT THIS .....oooo a boy.....JK I NEED TO PONDER MY EMOTIONS FOR THIS ONE BOY, MAYBE TWO BEFORE ANY WORLD SAVING CAN HAPPEN. LOLOLOLOL

.... -_- I am not amused.

ANYWAYS.

One aspect of Maisie I really liked was that she is missing her hand. It's how she was born and it's something that is made to seem normal in the book. That was pretty damn cool.

So, Maisie wins a trip to a NASA-like summer camp off a cereal box that she had to fill out an extensive survey for. She wins, goes to camp, gets paired up with a few other kids and starts to learn more about being an astronaut while going through different training simulations.

At the end of their training, the crazy doctor Howell takes them up to space on her space needle to an asteroid trapped in Earth's orbit that is being harvested for resources. While there, the kids are introduced to these weird ooze things that turn out to be tokens.

Tokens full of nanites that give them dramatic abilities.

The book runs towards an interesting, but not very well executed plot. I felt a lot of the writing was just pushing through the actions, like acknowledging a few scenes needed to happen to get the book to somewhere, but it didn't go forth very well. Like a baby trying to figure out how to crawl.

I did enjoy a few characters of the book, but I think if it had tried to less, it would have been much more effective.

I didn't care for the ending either.

However, I do recall enjoying the reading of the book until I sat back and realized that the big questions were answered by one sentence replies (it seemed like) and nothing really came full circle; it just took a leap of logic in the hopes it'd hit a plot point.

The premise was exciting, the characters were pretty cool until their emotions got in the way, but the execution of how it all came together was severely lacking for me.

...

If the love aspect had been taken out, I think it would have been a far better read because there were so many other relationships to drive the book. So many.

...

Happy reading!