Bloodmaiden [BOOK REVIEW]

Title: Bloodmaiden
By: Christine E. Schulze
Published: May 28, 2010
Published By: Old Line Publishing
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Summary: Zale, Gauthier, and Varden are three dynasties that live in harmony with dragons. However the forth dynasty, Tynan, is ruled by dragons. Due to tradition, the Quelda is chose as a sacrifice to the dragon. Crislin and Chalom decided to go against it and seek help from the other three dynasties even though they are rumored to not believe their own kind would inflict damage on the Quelda. Together with new friends, they must travel to the dynasties to gain access to the Shrines which hold the sacred Aria which can help rid Tynan of their evil. But to get help first, they first must find a way through the wall and out of Tynan.

The characters were great in this book although sometimes, they didn’t feel quite as real to me. I absolutely loved Pan’s character though with her ability to change depending on her environment. At first I felt kinda sorry for Brydon because of his past but it’s understandable. Chalom and Crisilin were also really great. I wish that I got to see more of their relationship though because it didn’t feel like it was deep enough in my opinion. But throughout the story, we get to learn more about their past and what they have to go through and what they eventually learn about each other.

I love the plot a lot. It definitely has a lot of adventure in it. There’s also a mix of romance here and there throughout the story. The characters go on this journey in order to expose the evil doings in Tynan, the fourth dynasty. This was probably a story I was not expecting because the plot has its own unique twist to it. It does have magical creatures like dragons and sprites and such. 

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fantasy adventure type read because this books has just that.

Chain Reaction [BOOK REVIEW]

Title: Chain Reaction
By: Simone Elkeles
Published: August 16th, 2011
Published by: Walker Books
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Summary: Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. But that didn't stop him from taking risks - whether he's scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can't stop looking for the next thrill. Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules - boys lie to get their way, don't trust a boy who says "I love you," and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor's daughter she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex's wedding, and suddenly, she's tempted to break all her rules. Getting Nikki to take a chance on a south sider is Luis's biggest challence, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveeals a disturbing secret about Luis's family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he's ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?

I absolutely loved the characters in this book because they felt very real and it seemed like you can find some kind of connection with all of them. Since Luis is the youngest of the Fuentes, he's also no different from Alex and Carlos because he does like to flirt around with other girls and he doesn't take relationships very seriously. I felt really bad for Nikki but sometimes she also pissed me off because it seemed like she couldn't trust anyone sometimes and that is also very understandable. And I hate the Latino Blood and Chuy. He is downright evil.

The plot was kind of a down for me because it's somehow always similar to the first two books. There was probably only a couple of things in there that was new. Other then that, I still did enjoy this book because I like the fact that its from different view points as well because that way it's easier to understand what the two characters are feeling and thinking.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes the first two books in this series. Its kinda like a good girl meets bad boy concepts still. Out of all three of the books, Perfect Chemistry was my favorite.

The Iron King [BOOK REVIEW]

The Iron King
By: Julie Kagawa
Published: Feb. 1st, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Summary: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny - one she could never have imagined . . . Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school . . . or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face . . . and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I absolutely loved this book. I gotta say thought that it took a while for me to get into the story during the first 50 pages or so because it was totally not what I read from the summary. But once the adventure started, there was no way I was able to put it down. The book had so many different adventures with a variety of characters that was both terrifying yet interestiing to read about. There was a mix of faeries and goblins, trolls, and dragons and other worldly creatures like the Redcaps pixies and many more. The world building was terrifying yet beautiful once you read it.

The characters were great. I don't know why but I really like Grimalkin even though he kinda reminded me of the Cheshire cat and that cat absolutely terrified me. But slowly throughout the story, he started to grow on me and I didn't think of him as that evil. Meghan was also a great character because she is kinda different and she also doesn't get on my nerves at all. And Puck was a super funny character because he acted so carefree. Also, I don't really agree with what the summary says about the prince's "icy heart" because of what he decided to do towards the end of the book.

Overall, this book was super awesome, I would list this as my favorite, but I felt as if some characters were not really what I expected. Sort of. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an amazing adventure into the Nevernever with unexpected romance.

Heist Society [BOOK REVEIW]

Heist Society
By: Ally Carter
Published: Feb. 9th, 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Book
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Summary: When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre . . . to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria . . . to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteens, she planned a con of her own - scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected. Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's priceless art collection has been stolen and he wants in returned. Only a master thief could have pulled off this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help. For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and, hopefully, just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history - and with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

The characters in this story, to be truthful, were kinda confusing to understand. I don't know, maybe I'm just not that used to Ally Carter's writing style yet. But for some reason, sometimes I can understand what the characters are trying to convey and other times, I have absolutely no idea what they are trying to say to the reader. When I did understand, the characters were pretty enjoyable. I loved Kat's personality and what she is trying to do save her father and I absolutely love her spy abilities. There's also a lot of the other character like Hale who was cute but sometimes I felt like smacking him in the head for some reason. There was also Nick and others in her family that were awesome. They are definitely not the normal family you would find lounging in the park on a Sunday afternoon.

The overall plot was great. This is probably the first book that I have read that is about heists and a whole family of thieves and that was something totally fresh. It has the concept of traveling to different countries and such but it doesn't put that much emphasis on the specific places and that's understandable since it's about their plans and how they are going through with their heist. However, the plot didn't completely overwhelm me because I think I was expecting a little more from the idea of going through the different countries. It also had quite a few different twists and turns here and there which surprised me especially when new characters were introduced and the quick problems they had to face and endure.

The reason I did not give this a higher rating was because sometimes I just did not understand what the characters were trying to convey. Sometimes the feelings in the book felt too bland. But I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet romance, filled with adventure, thieves and heists.

EON [BOOK REVIEW]

EON
By: Alison Goodman
Published: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Firebird
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Summary: For years, Eon's life has been focussed on magical study and sword-work, with one goal: that he be chosen as a Dragoneye, an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; the penalty is death. When Eona's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a struggle for the Imperial throne. Eona must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic . . . and her life.

The characters were great. I noticed that there was a lot of relationship building and trust between all the characters which could easily be broken by a single lie. I think the trust that Eon had with his friends throughout the story was absolutely amazing because during that time period with the emperors and rulers and such, finding trust and loyalty with others is pretty rare. I also liked a lot of the side characters like Ryoko, Lady Dela, Rilla and Chart, and the Master and the other Dragoneyes that were siding with the Emperor. But I hated Lord Ido. He was absolutely evil and cunning and the ending was absolutely weird but in a good way. There were times were I would get pissed with how Eon thought of himself because even though she had a lot of pride, she always questioned herself especially with the end result of the ceremony. I mean she's got to have some faith in herself at least through the middle of the story.

I absolutely enjoyed this book but I did not fall in love with it because there was points where I kinda got annoyed with the main character but now that I finished the entire book, I understand why the plot was the way it was. This book appeared to have a lot of story building but I did like how the story jumped right into it. I was not bored at all in because most books would usually give like a general background and such and I really liked how this book was different. The plot also had a lot of mystery and twists and with a lot of action which was one of the best parts of the story. I also loved the mix of their traditions with the dragons and the connections that they would have. The plot was absolutely amazing.

I would recommend this book looking for a good book that's similar to some aspects of Mulan but not completely. Someone who enjoys twists of magic, and dragons, and action with adventure, then you should totally read this book. I actually wasn't disappointed that there was no romance in here. With the plot of this book, I think that it was OK that there was no romance. I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel EONA. (:

Stargazer [BOOK REVIEW]

Stargazer [Sequel to Evernight]
By: Claudia Gray
Published: March 24, 2009
Publisher: Harper Teen
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Summary: Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one. But she has fallen in love with Lucas, a vampire hunter who infiltrated Evernight Academy, the exclusive vampire boarding school she attends. Bianca will do anything to be with Lucas, even if it means lying to powerful vampires of Evernight. Her deceit leads her to dig deep into the mysteries of the school, and Bianca discovers that even those she trusts the most have their own dark secrets. when a ghostly force begins attacking Evernight - and targeting Bianca - she learns a shocking truth about her past that will forever change her future.

Ok I seriously enjoyed this book a lot more then the second book. This one's got more action, and love tension and it was a lot more fast paced then the first one. The first one was OK, but it was a little boring. The one thing that I probably did not like about this book was how easily the paperback version could be damaged so easily. Like how the cover could bend really easily.

So the characters in this book had A LOT of character development from the first book and I actually really enjoyed that. we got to see more of Balthazar, and Raquel and how they grew from the first book. But all of this happened only because Lucas was out of the picture. But I actually like Lucas and Bianca together as a couple the most. With them separated in this book, it made them truly appreciate what it means to love and to endure for each other. Not a lot of books do that. even thought they were apart, they still had trust in each other even when they couldn't see each other everyday. Most books is just where one loses touch with the other for the entire story and they don't pop out until either the next book or at the end of the book. Balthazar was enjoyable to read and I learned a lot about Raquel's true life back at home and what happened that made her who she is.

The plot was also great. There was a lot of different twists and turns that I didn't expect especially about what Bianca discovered at the end. I think that Claudia Gray put a lot more thought into the plot of this book because it was great. I loved being able to see the traveling done between some of the characters. The introduction of new characters, new enemies, and new secrets brought this book to a whole new level. I absolutely cannot wait to read the third book, Hourglass. (:

I would recommend this book to people who like vampires  but it's not as cheesy as the Twilight series I think. And there's also a love triangle, and it has some action mixed in. It's not all bad.

She Said Yes [BOOK REVIEW]

She Said Yes The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall
By: Misty Bernall
Published: September 1, 2000
Publisher: Pocket Books Nonfiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Summary: She Said Yes is an "intense and fascinating memoir" of an ordinary teenager growing up in suburban Colorado, and faced - as all teenagers are - with difficult choices and pressures. It is only now, when the world knows Cassie Bernall as on the of Columbine High Students killed by two rampaging schoolmates, that the choices she made offer a profound relevance for us all. Once a rage-filled young woman who walked a path similar to that of her killers, Cassie found a way out of her personal snares and, through her faith and a family's love, chose to embrace life with courage and conviction.

I remember getting this book when I was super young because I heard that it had a great message and a touching story that should be read by everyone. But since I was so little, I could only get so far into the story before I got lost and decided to put it down. Now that I'm a little older, I picked this book up again, and I could finally finish what I started years ago. This story was truly touching. I was not able to put it down once I got into it. It showed the pressures of what teenagers were going through and how the choices they made affect who they became. After reading this story, I thought for a long while about how I was treating my parents and how it affected them considering that I am in my teen years and how my attitude and choices can really affect how they feel. This story was told from the perspective of Cassie's mom along with some of her family and friends thoughts. I think the purpose of this story is to spread the message to teens and parents about connecting with each other and communicating before a wall starts to build between them because once it does, it is hard for two people to truly reconnect again. this was shown throughout the story. But to truly understand the Cassie's story, you are going to have to read it for yourself.