Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Last Olympian


Title: The Last Olympian
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Book 5)
Genre: Juvenile Fiction



The fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was one I couldn't put down. Almost the entire book was the final battle to save Olympus and Manhattan.

When we last left Percy, Camp Half-Blood and all of his friends, they knew the Titan lord Kronos had risen and taken over the body of their "friend" Luke. The big battle was coming, they knew it and were preparing themselves for the battle.

Kronos sends a humongous monster, Typhon to distract the Gods. They all leave Olympus (well, not Posiedan and Hades, they stay in their own kingdoms, they have some grudges). Of course this is what Kronos was hoping on and he starts his advance on Manhattan/Olympus (found on the 600th floor of Empire State Building).

Percy figures out what he is going to do before he does it, in part by a few visions. He cannot convince the Gods to come back and defend Olympus, but he does gather all the half-bloods from camp. It is up to them to hold back the army and save Olympus. We also have the chance to see Percy's Prophecy come true.

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury & Dark Reunion


Title: The Fury & Dark Reunion
Author: L. J. Smith
Series: The Vampire Diaries (Books 3 & 4)
Genre: Young Adult



Finally, my time waiting for the book from the library is over!

As the first book was, this novel consists of the stories; The Fury and Dark Reunion.

I highly enjoyed The Fury - Elena comes back as a Vampire (hope that wasn't a spoiler) and *gasp* is in love with Damon instead of Stefan. That was the predictable part I mentioned at the end of the first one.

The is a great evil that is creating havoc around their small town once again and the crew of 3 vampires and the rest of the high school friends has to figure it out. This was a good story and it should have been a trilogy instead of a four part series.

Dark Reunion bothered me, it was told from Bonnie's point of view, and there wasn't really any adorable vamp romance happening. Not to mention my biggest issue with the end of Book 3 (which should have meant the end) and the next book. I won't mention it, it's definitely a spoiler.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Pendragon Before the War: Book 3 of the Travelers


Title: Pendragon Before the War
Author: D. J. MacHale
Series: Pendragon Mini Series (Book 3)
Genre: Young Adult



Finished the last before the war book the day before the 10th and final book comes out. Hurray! This book went the fastest of the three. It contains the stories of Siry, Loor and Patrick.

Loor, the traveler from Zadaa, is a warrior entrusted with the task of returning a sacred ax that has been stolen. She has to trek over a desert for days and is challenged both physically and mentally. Of course it is all to prepare her for something bigger...

Siry, the traveler from Rayne, thinks that there is something more out in the world then what the adults are telling him. He is very curious and when a Flighter is captured and held captive in his village, he wants to learn from her and teach her in return. Unfortuately she has other ideas.

Patrick, the traveler from third earth, is a librarian and teacher. He is entrusted with the information that a book has been stolen. In Patrick's time all books are hidden away in the depths of the underground library and are kept at perfect levels so they don't disinigrate. All books have had digital copies made of them, so no one really needs to look at the physical book. Because someone has stolen a few, and presumably burned them, Patrick sets out on a mission to find the culprit.

Something that I did enjoy is that we saw more of Saint Dane in the stories. Sometimes I didn't notice it was him until later. They would mention his blue eyes, and I wouldn't think much of it until later in the story. I am now good and excited for the book coming out tomorrow :)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The China Garden


Title: The China Garden
Author: Liz Berry
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult



I do a lot of book looking on Amazon. I look at books I like, find the lists people made with them on it, look at other books they like, take amazon recommendations, ect. This is one way I decide what to read. I love when I stumble upon a book with 5 stars that has had a lot of reviews. Liz Berry's The China Garden was one of these 5 star books. I got it, and sometime within the past month I read it. Boy was I disappointed.

If I had to give this book a rating, I would have gone with a 1. I found it boring, uninteresting and uninspiring. I'm don't even want to waste my time by typing up what it is about.

From Publisher's Weekly via Amazon, "Early on, events unfold at a leisurely pace at Ravensmere, an old English country estate where 17-year-old Clare intends to unwind for a few weeks before entering university. But questions and curiosities begin to accumulate, drawing the reader inexorably into a whirling mix of disparate, even outlandish elements-this is at once a ghost story, a romance and a coming-of-age drama, with psychic phenomena as well as historical and even ecological themes. In Berry's (Easy Connections) skilled hands, however, these motifs fall satisfyingly into place, piece by piece. The villagers seem to have anticipated Clare's arrival, and there is repeated, cryptic mention of the "Guardians" of the "Benison," an ancient treasure whose nature-the novel's deepest, most compelling secret-is not revealed until the final chapters. Only then does Clare learn the startling truth about her connection to Ravensmere and her strange, supernatural role in preserving its future."

A disappointment is all I have to say. I think the reviewer read a different book.