Friday, August 19, 2016

looking for alaska by John Green


Page Numbers: 221
Genre: Romance
Release Date: March 3, 2015



before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's  whole existence has been one big nonevent, and he obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (Francis Rebelias, poet) even more.  He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. 


  
After. Nothing will ever be the same.  




This is a John Green book so naturally you will need some tissues beside you. A friend of mine told me she cried her eyes out when she read this. I will tell you this story is very sad, but I did not cry. I didn't cry for two reasons. The first reason is because I was on a bus full of people when I was reading this, and I didn't want to cry in front of everyone. The second reason is because I was in denial. I thought maybe at the end everything will be fine. Boy was I wrong.

It has been a while since I've read this so I don't remember all the details. However I will try my best. While attending boarding school Miles meets Alaska, the girl he finds an immediate connection to, and a guy that goes by the name of the Colonel. He soon gets stuck with the nickname Pudge as a joke because he is so skinny. At first Miles finds them a little odd, but soon they become best friends. This book is about their crazy journey as they try to live life to the fullest. Everything seems fine when all of a sudden Alaska starts acting strange. One night Alaska, The Colonel and Miles get together and have a few too many drinks. This will be the night that Miles will never forget. When he wakes up the next morning he is given some news that will forever change him.

It is a very good book. I highly recommend it. It may take a while to get used to it, because one of those weird books that you know is super weird that you keep reading it because it's so good, but will never be able to explain why it's so good.

I have only read three of John Greens books, but I can tell a good  author when I see one.  I've read The Fault In Our Stars (Obviously), Paper Towns, and looking for alaska. They are all really good. Now that I think about it all of those books are a little weird, but I love them all. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, and I hope that I introduced you to some new books. Sorry I didn't go into deep details. I guess if you want to know what happens you'll have to read it.

As always if there are any books you would like me to review, you can leave me a comment or email them to me and I will try my best to read them and review them. If you have read this book and like it let me know I want to hear what you have to say, If you didn't like it tell me why. Remember if I made any errors I'm only human. Leave comments I like to read. Until  we meet again.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Series: Book 1 of the Peter Grant Series
Page Numbers: 432
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: September 1, 2011


My name is Peter Grant and until January 1 I was just a probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people at the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit-we do paper work so real coppers don't have to- and find a way of climbing into the panties of the outrageously perky  WPC Lesley May. 

Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard of England. Now I'm a detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covenant Garden...and there's something festering at the heart of  the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. the spirit of riot and rebellion has awaken in the city, and its falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying. 



Okay so if you are like me when I read this then the description probably sounds really creepy and you are thinking that you might no want to read it, but the book is not as bad as it sounds promise. It is a really good book and I really enjoyed it. It is set in London so it's automatically cool, and if it helps the main character like Doctor Who. I mean come on it doesn't get any better than that. So the description makes this book sound really dark and creepy, but the book really isn't. In fact there isn't even a lot of wizardry stuff going on, and it's mostly a mystery. When I first started reading it I was a little cautious because I thought it was going to be creepy, but it's really not.

My teacher recommended this to me and I'm so glad she did. She knows how much I love mysteries and British themed things. It is so good and the ending is so unexpected. The author really knows how to play it out, and he uses big words that I had to look up, but I like a book that will widen my vocabulary.

There is also an audio book for it. I am currently reading the second book and listening to it on audible. It's by a man named Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. He is British as well, and now I can't read the books without  hearing his voice. It's so cool I love it.

I would elaborate more on it, but I don't know how to describe it without spoiling it. Just read it and you'll see how good it is. I like it and I think you will too. Leave a comment. Tell me if you've read it or any of his books. I would love to hear your feedback, and remember I'm human so any mistakes I've made feel free to tell me. Until next time.



  

Friday, March 4, 2016

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

Book: Sequel to True Believer 
Page Numbers: 288
Genre: Romance
Release Date: June 25, 2013
WARNING: If you plan on reading the first one first, there may be spoilers on this post, so don't say I didn't warn you


There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never leave new York; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage; and most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Brook Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, and unsettling a mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple's marriage. 



Dramatic, heartbreaking, and surprising is about the love between a man and a woman and between a parent and a child. More than that, it is a story that beautifully portrays how the same emotion that can break your heart is also one that will ultimately heal it.

While the novel picks up the tale of Lexie Darnell and James Marsh that started in True Believer and will delight fans of that novel, it stands on its own as one of  Nicholas Sparks's most deeply moving love stories.

Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite romance authors. When I go to a library or book store, he is one of the authors I look for, because I know no matter what the book is it will be good if he wrote it. He always sets his books in North Carolina, and me being form there I feel like I connect with his stories, and I can see all the vivid details from experience.

This is the second book to the first one True Believer. I haven't read the first one yet. When my cousin gave it to me for Christmas one year, and I say it was the second book I was so bummed, because I would have to wait until I got the first book, but she told me I would understand what was going on even though it was a continuation. When reading it, it's almost like Nicholas was planning on people to not have read his first book, because he make's sure the reader knows what's going on by flash backing to events in the previous story.

   This was the very first book I read by Nicholas Sparks, but also the first book that has ever made me cry. I will never forget it. I was sitting in my grandparents living room crying. The ending was so  sad, but the rest of the story is so beautiful.

It is about a young couple, Jeremy and Lexie, and they are preparing for their wedding. Jeremy never expected this because the doctor told him he wouldn't have children, which is the reason why his first marriage failed, but now not only is he getting married to the beautiful Lexie that stole his heart, but they also have a baby on the way. It is a story of how they overcome little challenges as their relationship progresses and becomes stronger.

I have read this book over and over again because it is one of my Nicholas Sparks' books. I hope to one day read the first book, and love it just as much as this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

As always leave a comment letting me know if you have read this one, or the first one, or even both of them. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, or if you just want to chat. Also mistakes. Let me know if I made any. Thanks.






Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper

Series: Evil Trilogy
Page number: 392
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: June 25, 2002

Someone is stalking the little town of Silence. Three victims have fallen to a killer's savage vengeance. Each of the dead men was a successful and respected member of the community-yet each also harbored a dark secret discovered only after his murder. Were their deaths the ultimate punishment for those secrets? Or something even more sinister. 



Nell Gallagher has come home to Silence more than a decade after leaving one dark night with her own painful secrets. Forced now by family duty to return, she ha also come home to settle with the past. But past and present tangle in a murderer's vicious attacks, and to find the answers she needs, Nell must call on the psychic skills the drove her away years before. She must risk her own life and sanity, and regain the trust of the man she left behind so long ago. For the killer she seeks is seeking her, watching her every move, preying upon her vulnerability-and already so close she'll never see death coming. 


Kay Hooper is another author that I am familiar with. I have read a few of her books, and she is quickly becoming another one of my favorite authors. I love her books, because their is never a dull moment. She knows how to add twists and turns that will have your head spinning. She really knows how to grab the reader's attention and keep it. I'm not even sure if I actually put this book down.

This book, book 2, is part of a series, but if you read them out of order, it's fine because they aren't a continuation of the previous book. I have only read this one. I know you were probably thinking "Oh man now I have to get all of them." I know I was thinking the same thing, until I finally read this book.

Let me just tell you that if you love mysteries and you like trying to figure out who the murder is, it will be the struggle in this book. There are so many plot twists in this book, it will have you wondering what could possibly come next. It's like a roller coaster with all the twists, and those gut feelings you get while on them. Shock was the basic emotion I felt while reading this book. Kay Hooper also found a way to slide some romance into the story as well, and that kind of balances out the plot so that their won't be too many surprises thrown at you.

So Nell Gallagher returns to her home town of Silence with her dark and mysterious secrets. I know very cliched right? Well not quite. She meets the man she loved and left a long time ago. Again I know total cliche. Just wait. When she arrives, she hears word about a killer who has no killed three locals. Wow a killer in a town called Silence. How Ironic. Now not only does she have to worry about falling for the man she left, but she also has to worry about the killer terrorizing her home town. But there's more. To top it off she has to worry about keeping her physic abilities from kicking into over drive, which could not only be harmful but deadly, and she has to keep her true identity concealed. Nell is faced with many challenges, and with every challenge come a new piece to the puzzle, that won't seem to fit.

What I love about this story, is that Kay Hooper adds the killer's point of view without giving away his identity which I think shows true skills. It also adds a bit of creepiness that  sends shiver down your spine once you realize how crazy and dangerous the killer is. You realize how close he/she is to Nell without her even realizing it, and when the killer is revealed wow just wow. I had never suspected it. One reason I didn't expect it is because of the secrets. Kay slowly reveals them, and leaves you wanting more.

I recommend you read her books, because they are so good, and they leave you puzzled. I have read only three of them, and they were equally shocking. Right now I don't have the first book, but I have the third one that I plan to review as soon as I read it. It might be awhile, so I won't just be review mysteries, you might get tired of them after while.

Please comment and let me know how you enjoyed this review, or if you read it and want to start a discussion about it, or if you have any books by her or any other book you would like me to read and review let me know. Also if I made any mistakes, because we all make them, let me know and I will correct them. Thanks.



Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Play Dead by Harlan Coben

Page Numbers: 539
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: Originally June 1990

Theirs was a marriage made in tabloid heaven,but no sooner had supermodel  Laura Ayars and Celtics star David Baskin said ""I do" than tragedy struck. While honeymooning on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, David went of for a swim and never returned .
  Now widowed and grieving, Laura has a thousand questions and no answers. Her search for the truth will draw her into a web of lies and deception that stretches back thirty years, while on the court at the Boston Garden, a  rookie phenom makes his spectacular debut...



Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors. What I love about his stories is that he always shocks you in the end, and when you think there is possibly nothing else that can happen, he slides in another shocker. Well in this book he doesn't fail to shock the reader. There are so many twists and turns, and the secrets that are revealed are unbelievable. I was on my the edge of my seat the whole time i was reading it, and I couldn't put it down. Laura and David are a celebrity couple and their relationship is always public, When they are on their honeymoon and David never returns from his swim, Laura is suspicious. She knows there was something bugging David, now she's trying to figure out what it was. To make things even more weird, all of a sudden a rookie basketball player shows out of nowhere. He has the same skills as David, and the way he plays reminds all his fans of David.  Laura feels something familiar whenever she is around him, but she can't quite put her finger on it.

Many readers who read this will think that the book title gives the ending away. Some may even think that it's obvious whats happening. I thought the same thing when I was reading it. I thought I was so smart that I had figured the whole book out. Boy was I fooled. Although it may seem obvious, you have to be psychic, or a crime solving genius to guess the ending. It was such a huge shock to me I had to stop and take a moment to let it sink in. My cousin who is just as big of a book lover as I am had already read it, and we talked about all the twists. She couldn't believe the ending either. Harlan Coben, as always, left me speechless and right after finishing this book, I was reaching for another one of his books because I just couldn't get enough.

If you love mysteries like I do I highly recommend his books. So far every book I have read by him I have loved, and each one I read gets better and better. Just talking his books makes me want to read another one. I really really really love his work, but I'm pretty sure you can tell that by now. Oh well,I think I've said enough. I don't want to talk you to death. I hope I you check out his books. If there is a book by him that you would like me to read please let me know by leaving a comment. Until next time!