Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Kelley Winslow is an actress, performing the part of Titania in the upcoming presentation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Sonny Flannery is a changeling, a mortal taken by Faeries to live in Otherworld, the land of the Fae.  Central Park is a portal from Kelley's world to Sonny's.  When they meet, the after effects cause Kelley's world to turn on it's side and her eyes to open to who she really is.  She realizes her destiny all because of a Kelpie and a changeling on the first night of the Nine.

This book is pretty good, not great, but good.  I've always been a fan of fairies, although I've never really read any books about them, so this was a change.  I liked it and finished the book pretty quickly, but it wasn't one of the best books I've ever read.  One of the biggest flaws for me was the way the relationship forms.  Here's my take on it (from Kelley's point-of-view)-

God, that dude's annoying, but kinda cute.

God, that dude is still kinda annoying, but I think I like him.
*five seconds later*

(to Sonny) I love thee. (Direct quote)

Another odd thing I found was that changelings are fairy children left in the place of a mortal child, not a mortal child taken to live with fairies.  At least, that's what I always thought, maybe I'm wrong.  If so, please leave a comment. Anyway, for all it's mistakes, this book was actually okay.  I think I'll buy and review it's sequel when I get back to the States.

Taryn

P.S. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

Live long and prosper.

Firespell by Chloe Neill

Firespell by Chloe Neill tells the story of Lily Parker.  Lily's parents are going on a research trip to Germany, and Lily is left in St. Sophia's, an all girls' boarding school.  She thinks the worst she has to deal with are the mega rich brat-packers of St. Sophia's, but when she follows her friend Scout into the labyrinth under the school, she realizes snobby blonds are the least of her problems.

This book was good, not great nor awesome, just good.  I liked the book and found it quite interesting, but it wasn't literary excellence. (Even though most of the books I review aren't literary awesomeness, this one seems to be even more afflicted with non-literary excellence syndrome.)  The characters were nice, but seemed little more than sarcastic blobs thrust upon the pages of this book.  However, even for all its faults, this book was a fun read, and I think others should read it too.

Taryn.

P.S. There are so many sequels coming out to books I've reviewed (Beautiful Darkness to Beautiful Creatures, Linger to Shiver, Mr. Monster, to I Am Not A Serial Killer, and now Hexbound to this book, Firespell).  I'm thinking of saving them all up and a having a month where I review all of the books, the Beautiful books, the "      "er books, the Killer books, and the "Single-Word-Even-Though-They-Shouldn't-Be" books.  What do you guys think?

P.P.S. Seriously, are there any readers of my blog?  Please, if there are, post a comment and say something like "Hi, my name is so-and-so, I read your blog."  I want you guys to do this because on some days (like today) I don't feel like there's any use in my blog.  I like saying "blog".  It's fun.

How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Zeigler

Sugar Magnolia Dempsey, A.K.A. Maggie, is the daughter of some of the biggest hippies you can find.  Not only are they kind of embarrassing, but they move her around all the time.  When Maggie was younger she found her life adventurous, now that she's older, she finds is cumbersome, to the extreme.  When she moved from Portland to Austin, she left behind her group of friends and her boyfriend.  She knows better this time, she will NOT make friends, she will not get attached, so when she moves again, it won't hurt, and she goes to extremes to achieve this.  However, things go worse than she could have ever imagined.

This book was completely and totally, without a doubt in this world,  awesome.  I downed this book in two sittings.  It was laugh out loud funny, I read the first 2/3rds at one in the morning, and I'm pretty sure I woke someone up (I'm sure some of it can be chocked up to my shriek like laughter, but my laugh has to be induced, does it not?).  It was all very real and believable (I have yet to enter high school, and have been out of a normal school for three years, so I wouldn't know how true the social hierarchy is, but if it's really an exaggerated version of the kind of torture I received in third grade, then my God, she got it completely right.).  Everything worked out as I would imagine it would if the events in the book were to unfold in real life.  I love this book and it really helped take me out of my pre-move depression.

Taryn

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arther Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is the fictional story of Chiyo Sakamoto/Sayuri Nitta and is set in the 1920 to after World War II.  Chiyo's mother is dying and as a last resort, her father sells Chiyo and her sister Satsu to different places in Gion, Chiyo to an okiya, where geisha in training live, and Satsu to whore-house.  Chiyo makes a new friend in the other geisha in training in the okiya, Pumpkin, as she is so fondly nicknamed, but also makes a new enemy in Hatsumomo, the resident geisha of the okiya.  Hatsumomo makes life terrible for Chiyo in hopes of keeping her down with so much debt and making her make so many mistakes that she will have to remain a maid for the rest of her life.  However, one day Chiyo breaks down on the bridge and a nice man who goes by Chairman, as he is the chairman of Iwamura Electric, and the Chairman helps Chiyo by giving her reassurance and a coin to by a snow cone.  That day Chiyo makes a promise to herself that she will one day become a geisha in hopes of getting closer to the Chairman (she even prays to the gods).  During the aftermath of the death of one of Chiyo's okiya's owners, Granny, one of the most prominent geisha of the day, Mameha, comes and sees Chiyo, then asks the other owner of the okiya to put Chiyo back in the geisha school, and offers to become her "big sister", as the mentors of the soon to be geisha are called.  Mameha devises a devious plan to get rid of Hatsumomo and help Chiyo become a geisha.  Chiyo succeeds in becoming a geisha, and her name is changed to Sayuri Sakamoto.  The devious plan succeeds and Sayuri gets adopted by Mother, and her name is changed once more to Sayuri Nita.  Hatsumomo looses it and is banished by Mother from Gion.  Sayuri rises to become a very prominent geisha and wins the heart of the Chairman.

I love this book.  Period.  No questions asked.  It's awesome and the writing is wonderful.  The use of similes and metaphors is masterful.  Sometimes, the use of similes and metaphors can be overpowering and it becomes superfluous, but in this case, it adds to the magic of the book.  There is one major con of this book- the slow pace of the novel.  The book is read as if it really were a memoir, and as with most biographies, that type of writing causes the novel to slow down in pace.  This book won't make you tear through the pages, but you will love it, treasure it, and hold it close to your heart.

Slight warning and some big news (not a review)

Hello readers of my blog (if there are any),
I thought I should just let you guys know in advance some changes that are happening right now.  I'm currently in the process of relocating to Colorado Springs, and I had to send 98% of my books today (95 books total, although I hoped it would be 100 or more).  That may not seem like such a big deal, but it will take eight weeks to get to the States (they have to go by sea freight), I have only seven books I haven't reviewed yet with me, and I'm leaving on a jet plane (song reference) in about a month, and knowing me, seven books shouldn't last a month (considering there all pretty short, also assuming they would be captivating and I can remain on my stay-up-'til-four-AM routine).  Therefore, I'm sorry if I should have to re-read and re-review some previous books.  However, a month from now, when I am happily living in the barren, yet beautiful, snowy wasteland that is Colorado, I will be within 45 minutes from a bookstore, so, books galore any time I want.  (Laughs delightedly, jumps up and down, and does a lame happy dance!)

Again, sorry if should, God forbid (but not really), have to re-read a book or two for this blog, please exercise mercy and spareth my life, for I am but a humble blogger, who wishes nothing more than to please readers with my words, practically nonexistent wit, and out-of-date Shakespearean speaking.

Farewell, wherever you fare, and may your eyries receive you at your journey's end, and
May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks
(book reference)


P.S. Sorry for my excessive use of parentheses.

Reread of the month- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Ok, I decided I would write a brand new review instead of reposting the old one.  I decided to do this because I wrote the first review for the series during my "Mid-Blog Crisis", therefore, it was kind of sucky.  So here's a new one, hopefully better than the last.  (I would like to stress that this will be much shorter and less detailed than the old review, by that I mean I going to give you a background story, ect., ect., trials and tribulations, *mystery*, so if you want more details, even if the writing is sucky, read the old one, but I would like it if you read this one too.)

Harry Potter is a wizard, though he doesn't know it, at least, not until his elevinth birthday.  Harry's parents died at the hands of the most feared wizard of the time (possibly of all time), although his aunt and uncle (who Harry has been living with ever since the night his parents were murdered) always said it was a car crash.  But when Harry turns elevin, the web of lies Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have built falls down with a loud crash disporportionite to its size and weight.  Throughout the entire series we follow Harry's journey that he takes with all the people who love him.  Througout the series he goes through heartache and trials as we follow along peering into the world J.K. Rowling has created.

There's not much to say about this book other than AWESOME.  Rowling's writing is great.  It can be funny sad, sweet, and heartbreakingly wonderful all at the same time.  You really get sucked into her world (and love it too).  This is a wonderful tale for the ages.


Taryn.


P.S. I found a new vice (not that I had one before, but...), Harry Potter fan fiction.  You should really go over to Mugglenets fan fiction site (here- http://fanfiction.mugglenet.com/).  Many of the stories are awesome, though some aren't.  WARNING- don't go to the Hermione/Snape section of the the romance fics category (unless you're one to go for that), because you will have the image of Snape kissing Hermione burned into your mind for an entire day (and that day will be full of gagging and wincing and serious meditation trying to get that image out of your head), and then, whenever you think about that moment, you gag, for up to a week.  So, don't go there (again, unless you're one for that).  Also, I will give no reasons as to why I was in the romance fics category.

Reread of the month

This month's reread of the month is Harry Potter.  When I'm done with all of the books, I will repost the review I did this month.

Taryn

Runemarks By Joanne Harris

Maddy Smith, the village witch, is left to deal with the goblins-in-the-cellar-problem five hundred years after the end of the world. Maddy Smith was born with a ‘ruinmark’, as the villagers call it, but when Maddy is seven and meets the mysterious traveler One-Eye, he tells her it’s a runemark. One-Eye teaches Maddy everything about runes, their meanings, how to cast them, and their fingerings. And, when she is fourteen, One-Eye tells her that they need to open Red Horse Hill to get to an item called the Whisperer inside. Maddy enters and sets off an amazing chain of events circling around the ancient Norse myths.


I completely and totally love this book. Harris’ writing is incredible, the pages are filled with suspense and wit, and the story is extremely well thought out. I love each and every one of the characters, even the ones I’m not really supposed to like. Some of the characters you see from the Norse myths are Odin (of course), Loki, Thor, Freyja, and Skadi. I would also like to point out that even though Harris gets much of the important information right, this book is based on the Norse myths and there have been changes made. (I think it’s important to note here, that I love the Norse myths, and I normally don’t tolerate fact changing, Harris’ story is so darn good, I just don’t care.) I didn’t give very much information here because to list every important event would have made this a very long post, it’s five hundred and thirty something pages!

Taryn



P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about runes and runecasting, I created this document. All of the information is either paraphrased or copied from this site- http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/- it is very informative and even has some Norse myths on it. Harris also used different names for the runes than the ones on this site, just a heads up.  Also, because the rune meanings got messed up in the document, here is the link to the rune meanings section of the site, which has graphics of the runes- http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html

P.P.S. Here is a link from Harris’ website on the actual rune fingerings used in the book- http://joanne-harris.co.uk/v3site/books/runemarks/fingerings.html

P.P.P.S. (there are a lot of post-scripts in this post) Here are two books I recommend to read about the original Norse myths. The first is a large one, kind of like a children’s book, but the writing is not for little kids, but it’s a good Norse Mythology 101 book. The second is much more detailed and adult-like (it also looks like a regular non-kids’ book).

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths- http://www.amazon.com/DAulaires-Norse-Myths-Ingri-DAulaire/dp/159017125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275076619&sr=1-1

The Norse Myths- http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275076672&sr=1-1

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher

Hannah Baker committed suicide; Clay received a box of cassette tapes on his front porch after the death. Hannah Baker was Clay’s crush, so it is immensely shocking to hear her voice coming out of the speaker when he plays the tapes. Hannah tells the listeners that she made these tapes to tell each of them that they are one of the thirteen reasons for her death, so Clay had a hand in her suicide. Hannah explains everything from her freshman year to now, and Clay gets crushed with each word. He goes to all the places Hannah tells him to go, trying to find out why she did this to herself. In the end he finds out that it was only a matter of recognizing the signs and helping her.


I found this book to be very heartbreaking. When Clay’s thoughts interrupt Hannah’s narrative, every word is filled with misery, and I felt it. Asher’s writing is incredible. The story line was well thought out and detailed. But alas, the cryptic ending hath taken its hold on this book and its final pages are filled with questions and moments of “huh?” I really did like this book, although it’s not one of my favorites. I would recommend though (but not to anyone really emotional).



Taryn



P.S. I will be reviewing Runemarks by Joanne Harris next. I have read it before, however, but have developed a craving for it, so I will be reviewing it.

P.P.S. Have you noticed I made this review considerably shorter in comparison to my recent reviews. I had a mid-blog crisis where I thought, “no one’s reading this, so why should I care,” but then I thought, if I don’t care no one will ever read it, so, mid-blog crisis solved.

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells is the story of John Wayne Cleaver. John is a sociopath and is terrified he’s going to end up being a serial killer. He has always been fascinated by the dead bodies that enter his mom’s mortuary, fire, and serial killers. A year ago he wrote a chilling report for school about Jeffery Dahmer, a notorious American serial killer, cannibal, and necrophiliac, which gave him a therapist. The therapist diagnosed him with APD or ASPD, Antisocial Personality Disorder, which means that he is a psychopath, and therefore incapable of feeling emotion. I would like to make it clear however that even though is incapable of empathy, he understands right and wrong, and even goes so far as to have written rules for himself that help him not kill anybody. When a serial killer moves into town, first killing a local auto mechanic, gutting him, and leaving the guts in a pile for people to find, John gets very excited to study the serial killer’s methods, motives, and to do a psych profile. He realizes that doing any of these things will bring him dangerously close to breaking his rules, but when he finds someone who he thinks is the killer, he can’t help it and he follows him. The drifter, who he suspects is the killer, gets one of John’s neighbors to take him ice fishing, and when the drifter tries to kill John’s neighbor, the neighbor turns on the drifter and kills him. The neighbor turns out to be a demon. John tails his neighbor, and he continues to kill, until one night John makes an anonymous tip to the police and they dispatch two policemen to try and arrest the killer. When this goes horribly wrong, John decides that the only way to stop the demon is to kill him, and to kill a serial killer, you need to think like a serial killer, so who better to kill a serial killer, than a serial killer, or in this case a not!serial killer. John knows that he’s going to have to break all his rules to do this, but he does it anyway. He gets very close to murdering and/or stalking some people besides demon-neighbor, but eventually succeeds in killing the demon.


When I was describing this book to my mom, I used the words, which I decided I’d use here, this book is so creepy it’s awesome, and so awesome it’s creepy. I totally and completely love it. It gives a very interesting look into the mind of a sociopath (although I’m not sure if it really is an accurate description, as I’m not a sociopath, although I do have an intense love of fire, but I’m not a pyromaniac, one of the traits of the Macdonald triad, three traits 95 percent of serial killers have). It was full of dark humor, that wouldn’t really be all that funny in real life, but sound pretty funny (at least to me) on paper, case in point, this passage-

“How’s Brooke?” Mom asked, muting the TV. I kept my eyes focused on the screen.

She’s great, I thought. She has a birthday coming up, and I found the complete guest list for her slumber party crumpled up in her family’s garbage can. She likes horses, manga, and eighties music, and she’s always just late enough for the bust that she has to run to catch up. I know her class schedule, her GPA, her social-security number, and the password to her Gmail account.

“I don’t know,” I said. “She’s fine I guess. I don’t see her all that often.”

Well’s writing style is wonderful. I kept thinking all throughout the book how certain scenes would look awesome, and great, and scary, and awesome, and did I mention awesome, in a movie. Anyway, you can tell I’m in love with this book. Thank you for reading.

Taryn.

P.S. I will be reviewing the New York Times bestseller, “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher next.

P.P.S. I heard somewhere that this book (I Am Not a Serial Killer) would be turned into a trio, (squee!), if this information is true; I will review those books as close as possible to the release date.