Friday, May 28, 2010

The Becoming & The Final Ecplise - Lynne Ewing

0 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 10:57 AM

Rating : 3.5/5
Number of Pages : 273
Series : #12 Daughters of the Moon
Format : Teenage Fiction Novel
Reason for Reading : 10 10 10 Challenge, to continue the series

Tianna is the focus of this installment in the Daughters of the Moon series as the story is near to it's conclusion. She has always felt different from the other Daughters as she was not born one, she was given the honour as a teenager by Maggie. She has the power of telekinesis and had to run from the Atrox's followers as a young child. Her family was murdered when she was young and she lives in foster care with two other children. She has never really settled and is beginning to feel the need to move on despite her friends and boyfriend who she really cares about.

The other girls in the school are jealous of her immense beauty and her boyfriend is starting to get jealous when rumours begin about her being with other guys. The two Followers who have been chasing her for years, Justin and Mason, return but this time they want to warn Tianna and help her. Apparently she is Becoming and it is up to her to figure out what this means and if there is a way to stop it. Every Daughter has a dark side and Tianna feels herself changing. Is her dark side trying to take over her?

So close to finishing the series, this wraps up Tianna's story nicely. The one complaint I did feel was that it seemed that it made assumptions about Jimena that I don't remember from previous books. Tianna was never one of my favourite characters just because she wasn't one of the original daughters and we didn't get to spend as much time with her. I did enjoy it overall though.

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 265
Series : #13 Daughters of the Moon
Format : Teenage Fiction Novel
Reason for Reading : 10 10 10 Challenge, to continue the series

The final chapter in the Daughters of the Moon series. Vanessa and Serena are prisoners of the Atrox in Nefandus. The goal of the Atrox seems to be to allow their dark side to come out and overwhelm them. Vanessa is about to reach her seventeenth birthday where she must make her choice. To loose her memories of being a Goddess or to move on to something higher and leave the earth possibly forever.

Vanessa manages to escape, but Serena is left behind. Jimena warns her not to try and rescue her, but the Goddess Selene appears to her with the opposite advice. Catty is presumed dead, but the reality is much worse and Vanessa wonders if she can really trust her and Stanton in the final bid to destroy the Atrox. Catty is definitely keeping something from her, but Vanessa has no idea what it is and doesn't find out in time to stop Catty when she makes a final choice. Selene must also choose whether to continue her relationship with Stanton or return with Vanessa.

Again I felt there were some inconsistencies in the plot with some major points being missed out. Overall though it wrapped up the series very well, tying up all the loose ends. It was a fun ride with the Daughters and I liked that not everything turned out well in the typical sugar coated way.

 

Labels: , ,

Thursday, May 13, 2010

3 Sookie Stackhouse Reviews - Charlaine Harris

4 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 9:25 AM

Rating : 3.5/5
Number of Pages : 323
Series : #7 Sookie Stackhouse
Format : Urban Fantasy, Vampire novel
Reason for Reading : Sookie Stackhouse Challenge, to continue the series

It's time for the vampire summit so off Sookie goes to Rhodes USA in the company of Eric, the Queen of Louisiana (Sophie-Anne), Bill (or he who has been adjured) plus new beau Quinn a weretiger. Sookie also gets a chance to meet up with Barry Bellboy from one of the earlier novels who is the only other telepath she has met. There Sookie finds out more about her boyfriend's past and gets herself in a compromising situation with Eric (as ususal!), but this time it will change her possibly forever.

Sophie-Anne is to stand trail for the murder of her late husband and Sookie was the only witness so she needs to be there. The main protagonist pushing for the trail is found murdered at the hotel and there is obviosuly suspicion that Sophie-Anne is behind it. There is an uncovered threat to all of the vampires and their entourage and it is up to Sookie to see if she can uncover it.

This was my least favourite so far in the series. I did still enjoy it, but I missed the human and Bon Temps elements. There is no Sam and everyone in the story is a supe or related to one which made me miss the human mix which makes it all seem to realistic somehow. The last section as always is very intense with Sookie making some new discoveries and making some difficult choices.

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 303
Series : #8 Sookie Stackhouse
Format : Urban Fantasy, Vampire novel
Reason for Reading : Sookie Stackhouse Challenge, to continue the series

Back in Bon Temps Sookie is still picking up the pieces from All Together Dead. She has housemate Amelia she is still getting used to along with the her mentor who is escaping the devestation of hurrican Katrina. There are problems with the weres as the women close to Alcide are being murdered and a hit is made on Sookie. Is Patrick Furnam, the pack leader, making an attempt to crush Alcide.

A distant relative of Sookie's makes his first appearence. Sookie thought all she had left was her brother Jason and his new wife, werepanther Crystal. Seems her family tree is a little more tangled than she thought and there is also a young child in the picture. If that was not all there is a hostile tackover planned for the vampire state and Sophie-Anne is still not in a position to defend her sherrifs which includes Eric. Looks like it is all change again in Sookie's world.

Sookie is back on form and it was good to have some of the secondary characters back in the story. I was sad to lose some, but there are still lots more possibilities for the books in the series to come.

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 312
Series : #9 Sookie Stackhouse
Format : Urban Fantasy, Vampire novel
Reason for Reading : Sookie Stackhouse Challenge, to continue the series

The weres have finally followed in the footsteps of the vampires and have gone public. The reaction initially seems to be positive, but soon after Sam has family problems when his mother is shot and then a were creature is found murdered and crucified outside the bar. The question is was it a hate crime against weres as they were partially changed, or a hate crime against the indiviaul who had their enemies.

The fey are causing problems and because of Sookie's relationships she has become a target for them as well. The fey are split between liking those who are part human and who think it is a terrible mistake with their fertility being so low. The fey are not on the list of supes who will come out in public, they are too secretive and spend a lot of time not in this world. They are deadly though as Sookie will learn.

I really enjoyed this and am very interested to see where the story takes us next. I will miss some of the characters who did not make it to the end (it seems more frequent in the latest books that many of the secondary characters are being killed off) and there is still speculation one of the vamps will survivie. Sookie again has her heart torn between two men and is back in the beginnings of a love triangle.

 

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

The Prophecy - Lynne Ewing

2 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 12:51 PM

Rating : 3.5/5
Number of Pages : 273
Series : #11 Daughters of the Moon
Format : Teenage Fiction Novel
Reason for Reading : 10 10 10 Challenge, to continue with the series


The Daughters of the Moon are back, this time without Maggie to help and guide them. The Scroll is back and has been discovered by a museum. The curse means anyone who has contact with it for any length of time will become ill and die. Two guards have died already and the media is in a frenzy. Catty is the only one who is immune to it's curse being the true heir and must find a way to steal it back.

Her father also wants the scroll and it is time for Catty to finally meet him. He is evil and is in the inner circle of the Atrox living in Nefandus. She meets Kyle who has the reputation of being a bad boy, but she is drawn to him nonetheless. He has his own secrets and is somehow linked to Nefandus. Jimena is also still in the story despite the choice she made in a previous novel. She still gets visions of the future and has strange memories trying to resurface.

A fun story with some unexpected twists and turns. I'm glad Jimena is still around as she is my favourite character. There were some hints that Tianna is not all she seems so it will be interesting to see what happens in the final two books in the series.

 

Labels: , ,

How to Make a Journal of Your LIfe - D Price

1 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 12:46 PM

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 116
Format : Non Fiction, Craft Novel
Reason for Reading : 10 10 10 Challenge. learning about journal making


A quirky introduction to journal making. Lots of creative ideas with a section on photography, how to make your own journal from scratch and encouraging you to look closer at the world around you. This can be the mundane like the cars around you to the street lamps through to nature and the small bugs crawling through the leaves. He encourages you to get out into the world, stop watching it go by you and stop and participate in it instead.

Small but invaluable tool. Aimed at beginners rather than those who have been making and creating journals for years.

 

Labels: , ,

Monday, May 03, 2010

A Fool and His Honey - Charlaine Harris

1 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 12:39 PM

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 257
Series : #6 Aurora Teagarden
Format : Cozy Mystery Novel
Reason for Reading : Cozy Mystery Challenge 2010


Roe returns for another mystery. This time it concerns a family member. Out of the blue her husband Martin's niece turns up with a baby she says is hers but without her new husband. When Roe and Martin return from their friends house they find Craig (the husband) murdered on the steps with a hatchet in his head, Regina gone and the baby hidden under the bed.

Roe cannot have her own children so looking after Regina's baby is only a painful experience for her. In the house they find Craig's friend Rory and discover that the two boys have always been in and out of trouble with the police. There are lots of inconsistencies in his story so Roe, Martin and the baby travel to Rory's hometown to find the truth. Is Regina really the babies mother? Where has she gone? Did she murder Craig or is something else entirely going on...

This was a really fun edition to the series. The ending was so sad though and I can't wait to read the next in the series to see how Roe deals with the fallout. One thing I am enjoying about this series is the character development. The secondary characters are always well developed and recur often at unexpected moments.

 

Labels: , ,

The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood

1 comments Posted by Rhinoa at 12:26 PM

Rating : 4.0/5
Number of Pages : 281
Format : Fiction Novel
Reason for Reading : 10 10 10 Challenge


Written in the 1960s, Marian works for a market research company. She went to university and had big dreams, but somehow got stuck writing survey questions for new products. She is dating Peter who wishes to always remain a bachelor. His last single friend has just gotten married and he begins to look at his life and really think about remaining unmarried. Marian seems to have never really thought about whether she wants to marry or stay single, she just goes along with the flow. When Peter does propose she accepts, but her unconscious seems to rebel. She runs from him and begins a friendship with student Duncan who is unattainable.

Marian's housemate Ainsley decides that to fulfil herself as a woman she wants to have a baby. She is unconventional and refuses the idea of marriage. She sets out to find a suitable father for her baby and trap him into having sex with her without him thinking she is trying to marry him. Marian is in the position of not enjoying her career but not wanting to run into marriage to escape it.

The book looks at gender stereotypes and although was written before feminism became popular, it definitely has a feminist feel to it. It's interesting spending time with the different characters, especially Ainsley. Clara is always pregnant and has forgotten her studies and of course there are the "office virgins" who are out to snag a husband. A book that really set Atwood on the map.

 

Labels: , ,

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)