Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The final book in the Hunger Games trilogy was certainly the best. The plot was gripping, the characters had plenty of drama to deal with, and of course it was the final book. Everything with Peeta and Gale manages to get resolved along with President Snow and District Thirteen. I still didn't connect well with Katniss and think she could have been a little more angsty. Despite my lack of love for the characters, with the exception of Finnick, the series is quite good; although, I do think it should have been published as adult fiction since most children and young adults do not analyze the novels they read thus missing all of the social commentary.
September 4, 2012
Bared To You
Bared To You by Sylvia Day
This novel is similar to Fifty Shades of Grey in that a newly graduated college student working as an assistant gets involved with a dominant and emotionally stunted multi-billionaire. Instead of having a BDSM relationship the characters are emotionally scarred from abuse they suffered as children. Unlike Fifty Shades of Grey the characters are more dynamic and generally more believable; except for the fact that the female character still tries to "fix" the incredibly troubled male character, just like the Fifty Shade trilogy and the Twilight quartet.
This novel is similar to Fifty Shades of Grey in that a newly graduated college student working as an assistant gets involved with a dominant and emotionally stunted multi-billionaire. Instead of having a BDSM relationship the characters are emotionally scarred from abuse they suffered as children. Unlike Fifty Shades of Grey the characters are more dynamic and generally more believable; except for the fact that the female character still tries to "fix" the incredibly troubled male character, just like the Fifty Shade trilogy and the Twilight quartet.
August 9, 2012
Master and Commander
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
I finished reading this classic nautical novel a while ago and simply haven't gotten around to writing up a review for it. As the first novel in a long series the reader is introduced to Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin as well as the extensive inner-workings of a Royal British Navy ship during the Napoleonic War and some amazing ship to ship combat. Having never read nautical fiction I enjoyed the fairly long explanations of what things on a working ship do, although it certainly can get confusing with all the jargon. I enjoyed learning about some of the technical aspects of sailing and would recommend the novel to anyone interested in nautical history.
I finished reading this classic nautical novel a while ago and simply haven't gotten around to writing up a review for it. As the first novel in a long series the reader is introduced to Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin as well as the extensive inner-workings of a Royal British Navy ship during the Napoleonic War and some amazing ship to ship combat. Having never read nautical fiction I enjoyed the fairly long explanations of what things on a working ship do, although it certainly can get confusing with all the jargon. I enjoyed learning about some of the technical aspects of sailing and would recommend the novel to anyone interested in nautical history.
July 11, 2012
Catching Fire and brief movie review
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
After rereading Hunger Games and confirming my initial impression that Katniss was an emotionally stunted character who I wasn't able to connect with or her motives. The second book has Katniss as a much more developed character, with deeper emotions and is appropriately confused by her feelings for Gale and Peeta. Catching Fire also has a much more going on plot wise, although it loses none of the rapid and gripping pace from the first book. Despite the improvements in Katniss' behavior she still isn't my favorite character and I still have a hard time connecting with her and what drives her.
Anyone who reads the first book knows that her sister Prim is her priority but little else. In the second book her priorities change to keeping Peeta, Gale and his family, and her family alive as well as surviving her second round in the Hunger Games Arena. Katniss' emotional state changes little from romantic indifference towards Peeta and Gale to hesitantly and cautiously in love with Gale and Peeta.
So far the series is worth reading because it is so different from other Young Adult novels but isn't my favorite. Speaking of Young Adult novels I think the books should have been published as Science Fiction/Fantasy instead of YA since it is so blood thirsty, gruesome, and has some adult themes and social commentary which younger readers won't necessarily grasp (but that's my personal opinion).
Side Note:
I finally watched the movie for Hunger Games and by it's self it's a good movie and I like that the author was one of the screenwriters, that we saw the events from more points of view, and you could connect better with Katniss, but the book has a lot of plot details I wanted added (the muttations' eyes, how Katniss got the Mockingjay pin, and Katniss spilling to Peeta that the romance of the Games was an act, to name a few).
After rereading Hunger Games and confirming my initial impression that Katniss was an emotionally stunted character who I wasn't able to connect with or her motives. The second book has Katniss as a much more developed character, with deeper emotions and is appropriately confused by her feelings for Gale and Peeta. Catching Fire also has a much more going on plot wise, although it loses none of the rapid and gripping pace from the first book. Despite the improvements in Katniss' behavior she still isn't my favorite character and I still have a hard time connecting with her and what drives her.
Anyone who reads the first book knows that her sister Prim is her priority but little else. In the second book her priorities change to keeping Peeta, Gale and his family, and her family alive as well as surviving her second round in the Hunger Games Arena. Katniss' emotional state changes little from romantic indifference towards Peeta and Gale to hesitantly and cautiously in love with Gale and Peeta.
So far the series is worth reading because it is so different from other Young Adult novels but isn't my favorite. Speaking of Young Adult novels I think the books should have been published as Science Fiction/Fantasy instead of YA since it is so blood thirsty, gruesome, and has some adult themes and social commentary which younger readers won't necessarily grasp (but that's my personal opinion).
Side Note:
I finally watched the movie for Hunger Games and by it's self it's a good movie and I like that the author was one of the screenwriters, that we saw the events from more points of view, and you could connect better with Katniss, but the book has a lot of plot details I wanted added (the muttations' eyes, how Katniss got the Mockingjay pin, and Katniss spilling to Peeta that the romance of the Games was an act, to name a few).
May 12, 2012
Fifty Shades Darker and Fifity Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
The second and third books in the Fifty Shades series were better than the first, mostly because the Twilight references died out and the characters continued to grow and develop. The plot was still very character driven although the author did bring in some suspense and mystery. Although there were some British English quirks nothing was ever taken away from the novel because of the language. The characters also delved deeper into the BDSM lifestyle, which has gotten the books banned in Florida for sexual content (by the same thinking probably 90% of books would be banned including some classics). Personally, BDSM, gay, straight, or any other sexual preference or lifestyle chosen to be enjoyed by two consenting adults isn't a problem for society it's simply diversity and requires understanding acceptance like everything else.
The second and third books in the Fifty Shades series were better than the first, mostly because the Twilight references died out and the characters continued to grow and develop. The plot was still very character driven although the author did bring in some suspense and mystery. Although there were some British English quirks nothing was ever taken away from the novel because of the language. The characters also delved deeper into the BDSM lifestyle, which has gotten the books banned in Florida for sexual content (by the same thinking probably 90% of books would be banned including some classics). Personally, BDSM, gay, straight, or any other sexual preference or lifestyle chosen to be enjoyed by two consenting adults isn't a problem for society it's simply diversity and requires understanding acceptance like everything else.
April 30, 2012
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Mini rant first and then the review: as much hype and press as this book has gotten I found the widely acclaimed erotic bits disappointing and not terribly interesting; the author uses British syntax when her characters are American which can be a little awkward to read; the author willingly admitted to starting the books as fan fiction after reading Twilight which is upsetting because I passionately hate Twilight. As much as I hate the Twilight series (they are horrible examples for tweens, poorly written, and the characters are simply annoying) Fifty Shades of Grey despite being inspired by the novels completely surpasses them in writing and character depth. This book is everything Twilight could have been.
Fifty Shades of Grey is set in Portland and Seattle where an innocent college student, Anastasia Steele, fatefully interviews the wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey who offers her the chance to be his Submissive in a BDSM relationship. Ana surprisingly agrees, but manages to convince Christian to enter into a more traditional romance along with trying out the BDSM lifestyle. Unfortunately Ana's attempt to understand Christian's darkness backfires epically.
As unlikely as it is for a person to be offered the position of Submissive to a multi-billionaire Adonis, the overall message is universally applicable; relationships take work on both sides and some times they don't work no matter how good the sex. Although the sex scenes were fairly tame (in my opinion) and a little unconventional, the relationship and character dynamics make this a very good read.
Mini rant first and then the review: as much hype and press as this book has gotten I found the widely acclaimed erotic bits disappointing and not terribly interesting; the author uses British syntax when her characters are American which can be a little awkward to read; the author willingly admitted to starting the books as fan fiction after reading Twilight which is upsetting because I passionately hate Twilight. As much as I hate the Twilight series (they are horrible examples for tweens, poorly written, and the characters are simply annoying) Fifty Shades of Grey despite being inspired by the novels completely surpasses them in writing and character depth. This book is everything Twilight could have been.
Fifty Shades of Grey is set in Portland and Seattle where an innocent college student, Anastasia Steele, fatefully interviews the wealthy entrepreneur Christian Grey who offers her the chance to be his Submissive in a BDSM relationship. Ana surprisingly agrees, but manages to convince Christian to enter into a more traditional romance along with trying out the BDSM lifestyle. Unfortunately Ana's attempt to understand Christian's darkness backfires epically.
As unlikely as it is for a person to be offered the position of Submissive to a multi-billionaire Adonis, the overall message is universally applicable; relationships take work on both sides and some times they don't work no matter how good the sex. Although the sex scenes were fairly tame (in my opinion) and a little unconventional, the relationship and character dynamics make this a very good read.
April 24, 2012
The Rae Wilder Novels: Demon Girl
The Rae Wilder Novels: Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher
Demon Girl is set in the a future when paranormal creatures have taken over the world and humans are nearly extinct. To keep safe from the fairies, vampires, witches, and were-animals the remaining humans have barricaded themselves in walled communities where Clerics and The Temple are the dominating forces. Rae is a teenager studying to become a Cleric when she sneaks out into the forest surrounding The Temple and stumbles upon Clerics torturing a young fairy, meets the fairy's older brother and becomes Breandan's mate, finds out she is a fairy- with wings and everything, meets a vampire named Tomas who she falls for also, and then gets embroiled in a fairy war. And this is only the first book. I certainly liked this book at least as much as The Hunger Games if not more so since the storyline lends itself to a sequel and the main character doesn't seem quite as clueless/heartless as Katniss seemed in The Hunger Games. I was also impressed at how few spelling and punctuation errors there were, especially since many of the ebooks I've read have had gross typos.
Demon Girl is set in the a future when paranormal creatures have taken over the world and humans are nearly extinct. To keep safe from the fairies, vampires, witches, and were-animals the remaining humans have barricaded themselves in walled communities where Clerics and The Temple are the dominating forces. Rae is a teenager studying to become a Cleric when she sneaks out into the forest surrounding The Temple and stumbles upon Clerics torturing a young fairy, meets the fairy's older brother and becomes Breandan's mate, finds out she is a fairy- with wings and everything, meets a vampire named Tomas who she falls for also, and then gets embroiled in a fairy war. And this is only the first book. I certainly liked this book at least as much as The Hunger Games if not more so since the storyline lends itself to a sequel and the main character doesn't seem quite as clueless/heartless as Katniss seemed in The Hunger Games. I was also impressed at how few spelling and punctuation errors there were, especially since many of the ebooks I've read have had gross typos.
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