Musing Mondays (May 30)

Musing Mondays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. This weeks Musing Mondays asks: Describe the last time you were stumped for something to read, and you took measures to remedy that — either by going to the bookstore, the library, or shopping elsewhere. What book did you choose? Did it get you out of your slump?

Ah, reading slumps. My main nemises. I go through one at least once every year, and their usually my darkest times since I thrive off of the written world, much like food and water. To get me out of a slump I usually need a specific kind of book, sometimes even one I would never think I would like. For instance I just got out of one recently, about a month ago thanks to Catcher in the Rye. I was at my Aunt's house over the weekend, and she believes all books should at least have one vampire or werewolf in them. I wasn't in the mood for fantasy though. I did see she had several classics though, one being Catcher in the Rye, a book highly praised by a dear friend of mine. I picked it up on a whim, and was so fascinated by Holden's bipolar thought process I went through half of it. Of course I still haven't finished it, it kinda depressed me a little you know, even though it did refuel my desire to read. :P

Book Blog Hop and Follow Friday (May 27)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Head on over and join the fun~! This weeks question is: "What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked? Which have you disliked?"

Wow I have so many, where do I start? I love the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, it had a fab cast and an equally fab script that practically follows the book to the letter. I also love the 2008 BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, and my favorite Harry Potter movie is the Prisoner of Azkaban. One of my favorite books to movies is Ella Enchanted, it's nothing like the book but I love it anyway. I tend to like most adaptations of books to movies even if they're not accurate as long as they are good in and of themselves. But there have been many I didn't like, I really hated the Percy Jackson movie, which was horrible...one day they should remake it the way it's supposed to be made.

Follow Friday is hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. This weeks question is:

How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

Well it all depends on what mood I'm in. On a good week I can read two books. On a bad...none. AH~! I try not to think about that. It's very hard for me to read online, so I don't take too many e-books. I'm hoping to get a kindle maybe some day. I never listen to books because it's hard for me to concentrate on them and I don't really like listening to books anyway.

So how many books do you read? Do you like listening to books? What are your favorite Books to movies? Leave your answers in the comment section.

WWW Wednesday (May 25)

WWW Wednesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? I'm currently reading Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins and still PPAZ by Seth Grahame-Smith but I'm almost finished.
• What did you recently finish reading? Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (see review in previous post)
• What do you think you will read next? I once again went crazy at the library, but I think next on my list is to finish Catcher and the Rye and start on My Unfair Godmother, the sequel to My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison.

Crescendo: A Book Review

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Reading Level: Ages 13 and up

Summary: Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

My Review:

"Holy Deja vu Batman!"

Only a couple pages into this book, and already they've pulled a New Moon. Yes, that's right, Nora and her ever loving guardian Angel Patch break up, over many silly, and half baked thrown together plot points. I love the fact Archangels have no problem with fallen angels having their way with humans and never interfere but an angel finding true pure love will result in a one way ticket to hell. Right there is some awesome logic. Cue the angst fest. Cue two side characters that the main ones use to make each other jealous. The only good thing about this is Nora's not yelling about a hole in her chest. The bad news? She starts doing stuff to put herself in danger so she can see her guardian angel. She starts rambling senselessly about her love/hate for Patch. oh someone please kill her now...anyone...anyone...Victoria?

"Jacob? Where are you?"

Oh there you are! What? Your name is Scott now? Okay if you say so. You've got a secret? I wonder what it could be?

"I see dead people."

Nora is haunted by ghostly images of her father, unfortunately this ghostly image seems to be trying to kill her. This seems to be the main plot of the story, along with who the mysterious "BLACK HAND" is, but Becca just sprinkled bits and pieces of it through the story between Nora's whining so I couldn't be sure. Really, I forgot what the plot was after a while. Then it would show up again and I'd be confused from the absence. The action bits were nicely written but they were so few and far that between it hampered my enjoyment of them.

"Nancy Drew would weep"

at Nora's horrible detective skills. She always gets caught snooping. Also, she #1. Jumps to conclusion after conclusion and automatically sees them as fact #2. Runs off to find someone without even knowing what they look like and #3. uses google to find a secret organizations. If it's really secret, odds are it won't pop up on google. You can only use that search engine for so many things. Nora, why must you be so hard headed?

"Put 'em together and what have you got?"

Every character in this book was just one big contradiction after another. They can't make their minds up about anything. To kill or not to kill? To break up or not to break up? To tell the secret or not to tell? Poor Vee, Nora's supposed best friend became a victim of insults, and even cruel emotional abuse that they probably won't even address as she conveniently disappears near the end of the book. Even Patch who was one of the highlight of the last book because he was completely and unabashedly jerky was so darn wimpy and annoying in this book. To make up for that Becca adds a new character named Scott that's supposed to be "enigmatic", a word here meaning "another major jerk". We're not supposed to know his secret, but we so do. As for the twist and turns and ending? Lackluster. I giggled. In fact truthfully the whole book was practically a rehash of the last one but with a different villain. We also don't get to find out anything new about the world of angels/fallen angels/nephilim.There were many things that didn't make sense, but I can't put them here because they'd spoil things for the brave few that still want to go through this series. All I'm saying is prepare for disappointment, confusion, and typo's. Even though it's called Crescendo, this one is definitely more Hush, Hush.

Content: language, name calling, violence, and sensuality.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Recommend: if you desperately need to know what happens to Nora and Patch. Otherwise, flee~! Flee for the sake of precious time spent reading better books.

Blog Hopping and Friday Following

Yay~! It's time for another exciting book blogger hop and follow friday, that wonderful time of the week when we all link up together and discover new and interesting blogs and meet new and interesting bloggers. The hop is hosted by Crazy-For-Books and you can find the origins of Follow Friday over at Parajunkee's View.

This weeks hop question:

"If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"

Hmm...that's a tough one. I can think of worlds I wouldn't want to be in, but currently not any I'd want to. I know my ideal world would be a slightly fantasy but mostly science fiction dieselpunk or steampunk world. I've never actually read a book like this (recommendations would be appreciated because I want to) but I love the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and I love steampunk movies and novels (which I have read) so that would be my ideal fictional world to jump into.

This weeks Follow Friday Question is:

Q. It's circle time. Time for us to open up and share. Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them...

1. I'm OCD about locks, this was brought on after watching too many murder mysteries late at night.
2. I get into things about a couple decades after everybody else. Currently I love The Monkees, (60's) I'm catching up on classic teen movies I didn't watch when I wasn't a teenager (80's) and I'll always love the movies of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (30's).
3. I love to ask questions such as "what's your favorite movie/book/tv show etc". When I first meet you I will probably put you through one heck of an interrogation. Unless you tell me you don't like that sort of thing. I wouldn't want to be annoying...for the most part at least. :P
4. I have to run in order to think through a story I'm writing.
5. I will often say things my characters say aloud, particularly when I'm thinking or writing out a scene. This is okay in the comfort of my living room, but not so much outside when I'm walking the dog and didn't realize there was someone watching me.

So what are you 5 things you can tell me about yourself? What fictional world would you love to be in? Let me know in the comments section.

Booking Through Thursday: Age-innapropriate

Booking through Thursday is a weekly meme about books and reading. This weeks question is: What do you think of censoring books BECAUSE of their intended age? Say, books too “old” for your kids to read?

I am currently unmarried, so I don't have any children, but when I was younger my mother was very careful about what she let me read. She always made sure to go through books that weren't in our particular age group first, and if there was something she found objectionable she would just tell us not to read that part. My mother was very good in the "censoring" area. Sometime parents can be a bit overprotective in these areas for whatever reason, but my mother never did it in a way that made us feel she was trying to control us. She just had a lot of faith in us to respect her wishes to keep us away from things that she felt we didn't need to subject ourselves to yet. When we were older she would let us choose our own books, trusting that from all she had taught us, we would then "censor" the material ourselves, and discuss whatever sort of "content" we came across in the book. I hope to emulate this quality when I have my own children, because I feel it really helped me a lot. I am still very careful about what I read. It is another reason why I have a content rating, for parents, or young adult/adults like me who are also careful.

Clockwork Angel: A Book Review

Genre: Fantasy and I think it tries to pass itself off as Steampunk

Reading Level: 12 and up

Summary: Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My Review: I really can't believe I'm going to say this...but I think I've found a series I think is more ridiculous and poorly written then the Twilight saga. I know I'm totally going against the grain when I say this, and I'm perfectly okay if every Clare fan hates me for it. Maybe I exaggerate, it really is on the same level as Twilight. :P Ah Where to begin, where to begin...well I guess I'll begin with what I liked about the book: the clockwork creatures. They were nicely introduced, and the dark way in which they were created was quite chilling. So I enjoyed that aspect of the book. There, I'm done with praising it.

In the beginning we meet Tessa Gray (Tessa is short for Theresa) who's going off to London, not to visit the Queen, but her brother Nate. Upon arrival in this overcast city she is instantly kidnapped by the ridiculously named Mrs. Dark, and Mrs. Black. There they force her into using a power she never knew she had: turning into any person as long as she has an object that once belonged to them. Just as she's about to meet an ominous person ominously named "The Magister", who should serendipitously burst into her room but a beautiful, wise cracking boy who she instantly falls in lust with. Personally I'm positive there's no such person as Will Herondale and Jace just time traveled back in time, dyed his hair, wore contacts, and put on a British accent because that's how much these two characters are alike. Apparently bad attitudes are hereditary in the Herondale family as well because Jace and Will both win the "The jerky book character of the year" award. Will isn't the only carbon copy character from Clare's "Mortal Instrument" series. Tessa is Clary through and through, but more hypocritical, stuck up, and whiny. There's also a Victorian era Isabelle, and what book would be complete without the nice boy who will never get the girl because girls don't like nice boys. I feel bad for Jem, and quite liked him, as well as Victorian era Isabelle, they we're far more interesting than the two mains. Sadly, interesting doesn't take you far in these books.

Plot wise, it was fairly good, but there wasn't enough pizazz to keep me going. I was never really scared for the characters, they seemed to be able to protect themselves quite nicely with umbrella's and a plethora of magic runes. It was also far too long, I feel a lot of things could have been wrapped up much faster if Clare hadn't been busy describing every different kind of blue in Will's eyes. I also never thought it was possible to use so many similes. Every time someone did something it was compared to something else, just so we had a deep understanding of how each character looked at things and talked. I guess that should've warned me to stop reading. Well actually I did, I couldn't finish the book. I looked the ending up on wikipedia.

Content: Violence and disturbing violent descriptions, mild language.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Recommend: If you like this sort of thing.

WWW Wednesday (May 18)

WWW Wednesday's is hosted by MizB at Should be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? I am currently reading Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith, and The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger

• What did you recently finish reading? Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg and Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt...I finished anything since...that makes me depressed.

• What do you think you’ll read next? Well I went to the library and got really excited and started pulling a bunch of books of the shelf. I've never been good at practicing restraint, but out of all the books I got out, to read next on my list would have to be, Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (the sequel to Hex Hall)and Leviathan (which I own) and Behemoth (which I got from the library) by Scott Westerfeld.

So what books are you reading/just finished/plan to read next? Leave you answers in the comment section. :D

Prom and Prejudice: A Book Review

Genre: Comedy of manners

Reading Level: Age 13 and up

Summary: After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.

Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Will Lizzie’s pride and Will’s prejudice keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making? Whatever the result, Elizabeth Eulberg, author of The Lonely Hearts Club, has concocted a very funny, completely stylish delight for any season — prom or otherwise.

My Review: After paying tribute to her favorite band in her debut novel The Lonely Hearts Club, miss Eulberg sets out to pay tribute once again, this time to her favorite author Miss Jane Austen. Unfortunately where her first novel succeeded her second one does not. I guess I was turned off by the fact that all the characters had the same exact names as the original, I would have liked them to have different names but yet still keep the significant characteristics. Something a little more a la Clueless.

The second thing was the writing. It was almost as if Eulberg was going far and beyond to make her writing as simplistic as possible. It was almost painful. We didn't get into the head of anybody, not even the main character. Emotions where told instead of shown, and the "teens" talked very old fashioned using words like "smitten" and "momentous" both fabulous words but seriously I've never heard a teenager use them unless I'm counting myself. :P

The characters we're sloppy skeletons of the original counterparts, lacking heart, and soul. Lizzie in this modern tale was far too whiny, she played out as a victim to all the cruelty she got from her classmates instead of standing up for herself. I'm not even sure what was going on with Darcy's character, he acted more like an old man than a high schooler. The rest of the characters were no different, and Mr. Wickhams character got saddled with the horrible nickname "Wick".

I'm not sure why the book is called Prom and Prejudice since the main character doesn't even want to go to the prom. Seriously though, I think teens can skip this one and get far more enjoyment out of the original since it isn't dumbed down like this one. I think it's sweet Eulberg wanted to pay tribute to her favorite authoress, but so many people have already done it it's become trite and cliche. Her talents are better spent on original works.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Content: A female characters reputation almost becomes besmirched.

Recommend: no.

Musing Mondays (May 2)

Musing Mondays are hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks…

Do you care if the book’s storyline is unrealistic? Will you keep reading, or will you set the book aside?

So like what sort of unrealistic are you talking about? Like random spy guys popping out of a characters closet unrealistic, or Twilight unrealistic? :P Personally I'm a fan of randomness, some of my favorite tv shows and movies make no sense, so it never bothered me in books. Well actually if it's supposed to be a "serious" book then if the plot, particularly in mysteries, does not have a plausible solution at the end and uses my old nemesis the Dues Ex Machina than I get really mad and usually throw the book. If it's a movie I throw something at the screen. :P