Sandy

I learned about so many things I didn't know like did you know if you breast feed your baby's saliva sends information to the mother's body and that can cause the breast milk to adapt to suit your baby's needs? Wild. This book covers topics about breast milk, the pelvic floor, miscarriage, the importance of care for birthing persons and support, postpartum depression, anxiety and psychosis and many other aspects of being pregnant, labor and the body after birth. And not only what the body goes through but the mind. I listened to the audiobook which took a while to like cause the narrator wasn't very engaging but the stuff I was learning about was so interesting I got used to her tone. I'd recommend reading this book just to learn all the cool bits of information. There are some incorrect medic terms used but overall it was a good read.

I am a somewhat new comer to the Vampire Academy fandom; I picked up the first book in January this year and quickly finished the series in July. I loved the first book, I found it fun, enjoyed the action and Rose's sassy, “take no prisoners” attitude and thought Richelle Mead's world of moroi, dhampir and strigoi to be an interesting addition to the vampire genre. That being said although my love for the series went up or down depending on which book I was reading as a long fan of graphic novels I was looking forward to reading this adaptation and seeing how all the characters looked as well as the action scenes.

It was disappointing to say the least; in short the adaption from novel to graphic novel was not a smooth one. As a fan I don't know how obvious the issues I spotted are to someone who hasn't read the book but to me I found the plot to be rushed and the transitions choppy. There was little to no character and plot development and therefore this book had the unfortunate impression of an elephant trying to fit into a Fiat. The only good things was that the art looks a lot better in person than it does on screen and I liked most of the artist's interpretation of the characters. The action scenes however could have fared better with more use of panels because at times it felt as if I was skipping over point “B” when moving from “A” to “C”.

In conclusion, despite my lack of enthusiasm for this book I will be giving the instalment for Frost Bite a read because considering how cute Christian turned out I want to see Adrian and Frost Bite was one of my favourite books in the series. Hopefully we'll actually get some character development so I can stat caring for the characters again.

This manga is described as horror and that fits because it is much darker than Yuu Watase's other series. There is a lot of violence and this is displayed clearly from the vivid illustrations to the story itself it is rated correctly for older teens. But it is also a very good story there is folklore, fantasy, scifi and definitely romance because this is after all a shojo manga. Give it a read, I thought it was a a very good story that had me laughing and cringing and crying.

In the very near future (in an alternate universe) the world has gone to hell or more precisely went to hell a long time ago. The economy has collapsed, schools are held in grocery stores at night, reincarnated corpses are being used as mindless slaves, and demons from the common pee spraying, potty-mouth pest in the library to the weather controlling levitating threat on the deserted street are a very common fact of everyday life, and with demons come Demon Trappers.

Riley Blackthorne is an apprentice demon trapper trying to prove herself in a male dominated profession. Everyone seems to be against her just because she's a girl and any mistake Riley makes she's given a harder time on the account of her gender. She's not one to let that stop her from doing what she feels is her calling though and she'll do whatever it takes to prove that she's meant to be a Trapper. Its unfortunate for Riley though that what was supposed to be a very simple job goes horribly wrong and ends up involving emergency personnel, local news and her being brought in front of the Trapper Guild for trial. Lucky for her not everyone is actually against her.

Forsaken was one of those books that I had high hopes for but unfortunately left me feeling disappointed. I still enjoyed it quite a bit of course but I was hoping to love it since the world of Forsaken sounded so different from the usual paranormal YA I've read so far. The story, unfortunately, fell flat for me in both world building and characterization.

The issues I had with the world building were the inconsistencies between what I was being told and what was being shown and therefore had me asking a lot of unanswered questions. For example if cigarettes are a hundred dollars per pack how can people still afford to drive cars? If metal is so valuable that a necklace made of it is thought to be expensive why are there abandoned cars sitting collecting dust still in tact? And if a leader of your organization is pretty much hated by everyone in the organization because he's a chauvinistic, abusive alcoholic who mistreats his apprentices why does everyone still follow him?

And one big issue I had was (and this is basing off the assumption that the world of Forsaken is just like our world plus the demons and economic crisis) is why in a world where women can be soldiers, firefighters and police officers is it so hard for a girl to become apart of an organization that has been around for centuries? I understand it takes that one first person to challenge the system but why would it take so long for this to happen?

Sorry for bogging you guys down with questions but these were what had my attention after I read the book and not the plot itself which shouldn't have happened especially when it leaves you with a cliffhanger.

The characters although very different from each other and adding a nice contrast to our heroine felt like they needed something more or something less for me to really care about them. Riley was the strong independent type who dished back whatever was thrown at her most of the time but she was also judgmental, ungrateful and acted like she was better than another character who I actually liked so that annoyed me. Simon who is another trapper is your standard good Christian boy was thoughtful and kind but also quiet and well that's it. We never saw much more of Simon other than his being nice to Riley which was kind of boring. I don't need him to be a bad boy but a little more personality would help him a lot. Beck was the most interesting of the lot to me. A veteran of war and laid back jokester most of the time Beck did his best to add levity to a dangerous situation. Unfortunately for Beck though his dialogue grated on my nerves and may have been a part of his act to come across as an idiot and be underestimated but reading his lines grew tiring after a while.

I know it sounds like I didn't like this book but I really did and I am getting the sequel. Jana Oliver is a very good writer which I learned from reading Sojourn. She did a great job there in mixing scifi with historical fiction and she did a great job here in applying the demon trappers world to ours. And that aspect of the book was probably my favourite part I loved reading the details and seeing how the paranormal fit in with the normal.

So if you were interested in this book before reading my review then give it a read because what I didn't like might not bother you at all.

When I first saw the cover for Wither I had high hopes that the story would be just as captivating, that it would be hard for me to pull my eyes away, and it was. This story was a beautifully written dystopian novel that really showed the inner struggles of a girl who seemed to have everything a young girl should want - a grand lavish mansion, beautiful dresses, a personal attendant, and the devotion of a man who loves her but without true freedom. Like the cover depicts, Rhine is a bird trapped in a beautiful cage, an illusion.

Yet, despite what has happened to her I have to admit Rhine's life before being captured by the Gatherers was awful. She's an orphan and was living with her twin brother in the basement of her family home because it was the safest place to hide from beggars, thieves, and men who steal young girls off the streets and from their homes. Both her and her twin had to work to keep from starving and they each had to take turns at night keeping watch for intruders. Given the circumstances of Rhine's life I could easily have pictured this story going a completely different route if Rhine's situation was just a little different and if her character was just a little different.

I, like Rhine, had to constantly work at not forgetting how she had gotten to the lavish lifestyle that she is living, to not forget that she was stolen away, her freedom taken, and her brother left alone miles away in a factory strewn Manhattan because it is very easy to forget when her old life is completely hidden away. She doesn't forget though, no matter how many times people tell her to not run away, that it's dangerous, that the life she is living isn't so bad, and that if she just behaves she can have “anything” she wants. Rhine doesn't give in no matter how tempting the words are because she knows that this world she is in cannot give her her brother, and her freedom.

Wither is a story that shows the beauty and darkness of the human heart, it was really a story about the characters, not just Rhine herself but her sister wives, her husband Linden, her ambitious father-in-law, and many other characters that weren't just there to fill the space or carry the story along but who truly added to the tale. Unlike a few other dystopians Wither isn't about the action and the external forces but about the will and strength of the people.

Arisa on the surface may look like your typical light, clichéd-filled, shoujo manga with its slightly spastic heroine with her over blown expressions but after the first chapter it is clearly obvious that this is not the case.

Tsubasa and her twin sister Arisa were separated when they were quite young after their parents divorced and although the girls never see each other they have written each other frequently telling the other all about her own life, or at least this is what Tsubasa thought until her sister tries to kill herself. In her letters Arisa always sounded like she had the perfect life, class president, popular, cute boyfriend, and great grades, but Arisa has secrets she never wrote in her letters and all of the kids at her school have secrets of their own that Tsubasa is determined to find out.

After slightly changing her appearance and donning Arisa's school uniform Tsubasa attends her sister's school with minimal knowledge about Arisa's real life to find out whom or what could have driven her sister to attempt suicide. At first nothing seems out of the ordinary, Arisa's life appears to be as perfect as she stated in her letters until a free period hits and Tsubasa and Arisa's classmates are left unattended. What takes place during this free period is “King Time” where everyone in an almost zombie like fashion log on to a website and make a wish, and whomsoever wish is picked by “The King” comes true. Tsubasa brushes off the event as childish and unrelated to her sister's situation until she realizes the wishes Arisa's classmates make aren't childish at all and their blind worship of a person they have never met leads them to do unspeakable acts towards whoever questions this faceless entity.

This series feels like it's going to be a little bit of Nancy Drew meets The Lying Game but painted in a familiar shoujo canvas which sounds pretty perfect if you're in the mood for something fun, mysterious, and slightly twisted. It's not perfect though and I'll tell you why volume one does not get a full five out five from me. I appreciate Tsubasa doing whatever it takes to protect her sister but I find it almost unbelievable that her father would let her take her sister's place and allow her to skip her own school to find out what is going on. She does have her own life, so I'd would like to see some consequences for the actions she are taking and hopefully volume two will reveal a few of them.

This book was read as part of BA Reading Challenge's 2011 Dystopian Challenge and although not on my list initially it quickly became a part of it after the constant praise being given to it from fellow bloggers. Completed in a few days Divergent wasn't the spectacular Oh My Gosh! read I thought it was going to be but it was still a really enjoyable story about a strong, and truly brave heroine, that I completed easily in a matter of days.

Living in an unfamiliar Chicago that has been divided into five factions Beatrice Prior has to decide if she will remain in Abnegation, the selfless, or if she will choose the faction that fits her best and leave her family behind. It's a difficult decision if you view the choices like Beatrice does: (a) family, who she has known and been with all her life or (b) an uncertain future where she leaves them all behind to hopefully find her true self. If I was in Beatrice's position however I wouldn't find the choice to leave her old life behind so difficult. I love my family but I couldn't live my entire life in abnegation, not after I find out that a completely selfless life is a life where you have to suppress every self-indulgent impulse and every individualistic form of expression. Where even worrying about yourself is chastised because you shouldn't be thinking about yourself in the first place.

To the reader it's obvious that Beatrice does not belong in her current faction, but when she takes an aptitude test to help her decide which faction would fit her best the results offer Beatrice little help because her result isn't a faction at all, it's Divergent. What is Divergent? Beatrice and the reader do not find out until much later but it is something that could get Beatrice killed and should be kept secret from everyone.

The writing style in Divergent was straight forward and simple; the present tense had the story, for the most part, moving at a constant steady pace and although there was an underlying plot of “Government” conspiracy occurring, the main focus of the story was Beatrice/Tris and what kind of person she was and wanted to be. Divergent also focused on other characters as well, what made them tick, how they treated other people, what they believed in, their motives, and most importantly it focused on everyone's fears and how they overcome them.

While reading Divergent I was constantly reminded of the Harry Potter series because like Harry, Tris and the other teens of Divergent are divided into groups that suit them except unlike HP the characters of Divergent don't get “sorted” until they are sixteen and they get to choose where they want to go. And what really made me think of HP was how each faction like each house had specific qualities they consider most important. Amity, prefers peace over conflict, Erudite knowledge over ignorance, Dauntless abhorred cowardice, while people from Candor choose to be honest despite how it makes others feel, and Abnegtion sacrifice individualism to be selfless. All of the qualities these factions choose to follow seem quite worthy on the surface but when you realize how they interpret their beliefs and how they choose to follow them you realize the dangers or dark side of each.

Was this book worth the read? It definitely was and I can't wait to read Insurgent but I don't think it was worth the hype that surrounded it. It was a page-turner certainly and it was certainly a world that I could easily immerse myself into but Divergent didn't really come across as the stand-out, refreshing novel I was expecting it to be.

I loved the world building and was interested in the many characters in story and look forward to learning more about the mythology and the stories of the other gods in this world.
I didn't LOVE it, I like my fantasy stories to have more action and intense moments, but since I am so used to reading fantasies based on European folklore/mythology this was a refreshing change of pace. I hope in the next two books in the trilogy we see more of the one hundred thousand kingdoms.

It is Harry Potter's birthday and instead of having a party, presents or even a card from his friends Harry has to endure the same treatment he always gets from his horrible aunt, uncle and stupid cousin Dudley. Actually, no it's worse. Harry actually ends up being punished for playing a harmless joke on his cousin and spends most of the day cleaning the house and maintaining the lawn, after nearly getting his head bashed in with a frying pan by his aunt. Worst birthday ever (which is the title of the chapter, sort of) and it's not just because of the things listed above. Harry received a visit from a house elf that led to a ruined important meeting for Harry's Uncle Vernon and Harry being literally locked in his bedroom and only allowed out for bathroom breaks.

Now I have read this series a few times and I remember not liking Harry's aunt and uncle, heck I probably hated them because they really are just awful guardians, heck they are awful parents. Not only do they treat Harry with malice but they spoil their son Dudley rotten, overstuff him with food to the point of obesity and just raise him to be an awful person. But back in my younger days when I read this series I obviously didn't realize just how terribly Harry's aunt and uncle treated him. It's child abuse really. After Dobby the house elf gets Harry (purposely) in trouble, Harry is locked in his room, bars are placed on his window, a cat flap installed on his door for food to go through, and he actually starts to starve because most of the food his aunt gives him to eat is watery vegetable soup. Soup that he shares with his pet owl Hedwig because the poor thing has been locked into her own cage and isn't allowed to hunt. Maybe all of this was done to show how wonderful the Weasley family is in comparison or that all the events that take place in the following school year, no matter how terrifying, really is much better than living with the Dursleys.

In the Chamber of Secrets the story is a lot more intense and darker than the Philosopher's Stone. Students are being attacked, Harry is hearing voices no one else can here, and it's hard to know who to trust, Harry even ends up suspecting a close friend. This second installment in the series had mystery and twists and I loved every minute of it but my favourite parts on this re-read had to be the development of the world and the characters. Early on in the book we get to see The Burrow (Ron's home) and meet his awesome family, see firsthand Arthur Weasley's and Lucius Malfoy's hatred for one another. Take a visit down Knockturn Alley, learn about the four founders of the school particularly Salazar Slytherin and find out about not only Lord Voldemort's school days but Hagrid's as well.

There were also a few delicious moments of foreshadowing that had me grinning, two things I know that will come back in book six and one that we will see in Prisoner of Azkaban. J.K Rowling really did plan this whole series out from the beginning and that, readers, is why she is called brilliant. Her writing style also improved greatly in this sequel which is part of the reason these books just get better and better.

When I really love a book or am seriously pulled into it then it takes me a maximum of two days to read it (with school and other stuff) but if I am not loving it that much then it takes me a bit longer. It took me a bit longer to read Stray, now I like the book; it was very good it just didn't hold my interest as much as other books did. The beginning began with a good action filled fight scene but then the pace slows down, we learn about our protagonist, a bit about her background, her life etc and we find out that she likes to complain. Faythe Sander's is a young college student in her mid twenties with plenty of rebellion under her belt. She wants to be treated like an independent woman and not a uterus with legs and we as the reader hear about it a lot along with a couple other things she isn't too happy about. Thankfully the story isn't only about that.

The fight scene was there for a reason, tabbies (female shifters) are being taken and it's the mystery behind the taking that keeps the pace moving. With each new reveal of information or new crime the story moves along more quickly until I am finally gripped and stay with the story until the end.

Stray is a well written book filled with drama and dotted with action. The protagonist was young and therefore annoyingly immature but in the later half of the book I grew to admire her for what a strong woman she was and for finally doing some growing.

Usually when my husband comes to bed I'm already asleep but the last couple of nights when he turns in for the night I was still up reading this book and he would say “you must really like that book”. I don't know if I would say I like it, its not an enjoyable book. It was hard to read but I couldn't put it down and last night when my husband was ready to sleep I only had a few pages left so I continued to the end wanting to see what note the author chose to leave the book on and she ended it thankfully on a bit of hope. After reading the horrors the characters went through (horrors based on true stories) I was grateful the little bit of hope she gave in the end. This was such an important story to tell and one I had not known about until I picked it up. I highly recommend it to everyone.

When I read Ash by Malinda Lo that felt like a fairytale and when I read Reckless it also felt like a fairytale. It wasn't a retelling like Ash but the world Jacob Reckless escapes to looks to be the world where all the fairytales exist and not the happy Disney versions I enjoyed growing up but dark tales of child eaters, deadly unicorns, and unrequited love. Reckless is a dark tale but a dark magical tale and I loved it. Read more.

What I loved about Hush, Hush was that the romance wasn't the main focus of the book. Yes, the romance is a major aspect of the story but there is also the mystery of who is after Nora. The mystery, the suspense, the constant mind games Nora was being thrown was what made me enjoy the book. I found the characters to be entertaining and fun to read and Nora didn't annoy me as many female characters seem to do in paranormal YA. When I finished Hush, Hush I couldn't wait to read Crescendo.

Its unfortunate that I did not enjoy Crescendo nearly as much as I did its predecessor. read more

Anthologies and I don't have a great track record but I have to say after reading Kiss Me Deadly my faith has been restored. The trick people is to get an anthology with more than one faovurite author's story in it...hehe.

Now I am not going to talk about every story in the book because I did love a majority of the ones I read. There were eight in fact that I liked a lot but the one's that stood out to me the most were The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Steifvater, The Spy Who Never Grew Up by Sarah Reese Brennan and Many Happy Returns by Daniel Marks. All three of these stories were unique, filled with great characters and were developed perfectly.

The Hounds of Ulster was a faery story that hadn't read like any other faery story I had come across and written from the point of view of a character that wasn't enraptured by the paranormal aspect of the story but appropriately regarded it with suspicion. A story with heart and about the bond of two friends who could have been great. Each line in The Hounds of Ulster was chosen very carefully and used to create a very solid tale. I thought it was much better than Maggie's full length faery novel Lament in fact so if you liked that one than you'll love this one.

The Spy Who Never Grew Up is about a very familiar boy name Peter who learns that Wendy's great, great, great (not sure how many greats) granddaughter does not appreciate being pulled out of her bed in the middle night. This was such a fun read and my first time reading anything by Sarah Reese Brennan even though The Demon Lexicon had been on my TBR list already. The story was not only witty but a smart, wonderful twist on an old classic.

And then there was Many Happy Returns, the last story in the anthology that had me giving a deep sigh after I had finished reading it because it was such a sad yet hopeful story. Many Happy Returns is set in the Generation Dead world, a series of novels by Daniel Marks that I have yet to read but will now do so even if the covers do not fit the writing. Told from multiple POVs Many Happy Returns really pulled me into the story and had me connecting with the characters despite only getting to know them in a few pages. And although there were times I felt confused because I wasn't familiar with the world of Generation Dead the writing completely made up for it.

Kiss Me Deadly was a great collection of YA paranormal that had, in my opinion, something for everyone. There were light funny stories, somber heart aching stories, creepy don't-read-before-going-to-bed stories and the suspenseful action stories where the protagonist or antagonist could die any minute. A good amount of stories were set in already established worlds from author's other books while others were new stand-alones but whether new or old they were for the most part great reads.

I wish goodreads allowed half ratings. I keep trying to decide if I should give this book a 3 star or a 4 star when I really want to settle for in between them, but I can't. I liked this book, it was a lovely read one I would recommend but not one I would re-read. Once was enough but I am happy I read it.