Cruel Beauty By Rosamund Hodge

"Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known that her fate was to marry him, kill him, and free her people from his tyranny. But on her seventeenth birthday when she moves into his castle high on the kingdom's mountaintop, nothing is what she expected—particularly her charming and beguiling new husband. Nyx knows she must save her homeland at all costs, yet she can't resist the pull of her sworn enemy—who's gotten in her way by stealing her heart."

I had not planned on reading this book, I am in a middle of finishing another book, but had forgot it at home and all I had was my Tablet with me so I started reading on my Kindle App. And I must say and I am so glad that I did. Now I must say that I am always a little partial to books that are based on fairy tales, especially when it is my favorite, (Beauty and the Beast! <3) With saying that though I am also more apt to be more critical on how the author stayed to the original story while making it their own. 
I must say that Hodge did an exceptional job at it. This was the same story that I know and love, but also something knew that I have not seen before. Hodge was able to successfully blend an age old french fairy tale with Greek mythology as if they where always meant to be blended! I honestly have not complaints about the book other than I had two sleepless nights because I couldn't but it down! 
Great if you are looking for adventure, sacrifices, unwanted love, curses, and much more.
I am giving it a five out of five stars! 

Ironhand's Daughter by David Gemmell

"The armies of the Outlanders crushed the highlanders at the battle of Colden Moor–killing their finest warriors and breaking their freeborn spirit. The highlanders are now a conquered people, ruled by the brutal Baron Gottasson.

Prophecies speak of the coming of a new leader, a descendent of Ironhand, mightiest of the highland kings. A leader who will throw off the Outlander yoke. But only one highlander carries the blood of Ironhand: Sigarni, a wild and willful teenage girl who cares for nothing save her own concerns. Until a fateful encounter thrusts her onto a path of rebellion. Now, hunted by the baron’s soldiers and stalked by an evil sorcerer, Sigarni will be forced to fulfill her destiny . . . or perihs."

I picked this book up at a yard sale, forcing the "don't judge a book by its cover" moto. I just have a personal thing about books that look like they are quick published, and the author has like tons of books printed because they are not taking time in their story and just want to get something on the shelves. I know it really doesn't make sense but that it how I feel. But this book was actually really good. 

The characters were very interesting and I liked that the heroine really didn't care what anyone else thought. She went through many emotional changes throughout the book, and it made her into a better leader by the end. The only thing I didn't like was that there were to many characters that you had to remember, and they all had unique and obscure names. So at times I did not remember which character was which. 

But if you like adventure, battles, magic, Scotland, historical fiction, and strong female leads than pick up this book! I am giving it a four out of five stars!

Summer Time!

Wow! So far my summer has been super busy, barely had any time to sit and read. :( Hoping now I will have some time to catch up on the last few weeks and to cram some a lot of books in over the next month and a half. So sorry for the lull in reviews and more will be coming very soon!

The Keys to the Kingdom: Mister Monday by Garth Nix

"Arthur Penhaligon's school year is not off to a good start. On his first day, he suffers an asthma attack while running cross country and dreams that a mysterious figure hands him a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock. However, when he wakes up, he still has the key. That's when strange things begin to happen. Mister Monday dispatches terrifying, dog-faced Fetchers to retrieve it, a bizarre sleeping illness sweeps the city, and only Arthur can see the weird new house that appears in his neighborhood. The seventh grader knows it all has something to do with the key, one of seven elusive fragments of the Will to which he has become heir apparent, and a mysterious atlas. When he ventures inside the house, he meets more strange characters than he could have imagined, none of whom are what they seem. And, of course, he must battle Monday, who will do anything to get the key back. With the help of the key, Arthur must fight his way out."

I am finding it harder to decide what book I should read next, so I have asked my sister to start helping me with my decision making. (AKA just randomly choosing a book for me) This is the first one she chose, and I was impressed. I have been wanting to read this book ever since my friends bought it back when I was close to the age range the book was made for. Now I am wishing I did not put if off for so long.

I liked the premise of the book, and the story line did have potential, but I did not like Nix's writing style. More than once I was wanted more from him descriptively and in dialogue. He also introduced us to characters that would have seemed to play a bigger part in the story than they actually did. One minute they looked as if to become partners in crime than they next they are no where to be seen.

It took be much longer to finish this book than I wanted, and almost gave up on it a couple of times. But I did finish it! This could be a good middle grade book, and hope that if you did like this book, that the series got better as the books went on.
I give this book a one out of five stars.

 P.S. Please remember that these are just my opinions of these books as I am sure that there are others out there that have enjoyed them.

Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Road Trip by Linda Oatman High

"Laura Crapper, a seventeen-year-old combat-boot-wearing poet with spiked red hair, renames herself Sister Slam and hits the road with her best friend, Twig. On the way to a slam poetry contest in New Jersey, they hit a pig, get pulled over by the cops, fight with one of the judges, lose the contest, get into two more fender benders, fight with each other, and finally land on the front page of a New York City newspaper for their amazing impromptu performance at the famous Tavern on the Green. The girls and their fresh style of poetry take the city by storm, but when Laura's father back in Pennsylvania has a heart attack, she must face her fears about home and the still-raw loss of her mother. This inspiring romp of a coming-of-age story, written entirely in Laura's in-your-face slam poetry style, proves you don't have to give up your home to live your dream."

So this week I went on a little binge of really quick reads. This book was only written in the form of slam poetry, and I really enjoyed it. I am always impressed when an author can write a complete story using have the amount of words others would and have them rhyme at the same time. So I give props to Linda High for that!

The story was cute, two friends going on a road trip to follow their dreams and almost making it. But I find myself always wanting more. With this book being poetry, I know that is hard to do, so I cannot critic it all that much for that. 

Another good quick read with a little sass, attitude, love, and teens. I gave this book three stars. 

                           

Find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582349487?ie=UTF8&isInIframe=1&n=283155&redirect=true&ref_=dp_proddesc_0&s=books&showDetailProductDesc=1#iframe-wrapper

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

"Left on her own when her family dies in a terrible disaster, fifteen-year-old Green is haunted by loss and by the past. Struggling to survive physically and emotionally in a place where nothing seems to grow and ashes are everywhere, Green retreats into the ruined realm of her garden. But in destroying her feelings, she also begins to destroy herself, erasing the girl she'd once been as she inks darkness into her skin. It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green can relearn the lessons of love and begin to heal enough to tell her story."

For being such a short book, the author was able to pack it full of emotion. I felt that it was more of a short story rather than a novel though. I was able to complete this book in one day, and if I had the time most likely could have done it in one sitting. With saying this I did enjoy it. 

When I was looking up the book on Amazon, I did find out that there are two more books that go along with this one. While I would not pay the full price for them, I will defiantly pick them up to see what else happens to Green along her journey of recovery. 

The only criticism that I have for the book, would be that I would want to know more about what happen that caused the "terrible disaster". It is mentioned briefly, but I felt like I was still in the dark about what happened and why it happened. 

It was a nice quick read, some mystery, and a little bit of magic. I gave the book a three out of five stars. 

                 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

"Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. In the hands of first-time novelist Haddon, Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy: not closed off, as the stereotype would have it, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations, bereft of the filters through which normal people screen their surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns ("4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"). His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice. "

I was told about his book years ago, and came across it at a local thrift store and picked it up. And it has been sitting on my bookshelf ever since then. It wasn't until some of my students had to read it in their English class that I decided to also read it. I am so glad that I did. 
Going into the book I knew that the author had written it from a stand point of a boy who had autism.

 I am familiar with autism, so I was prepared for the some times odd handling of the writing. Being that I went to school for teaching and had many classes on students with special needs I was very impressed at how the author was able to portray what it is like to be someone with autism.

The story was also enjoyable and was a quick read for me. If you are looking for a book that has mystery that needs to be solved, told in an interesting point of view, and get a great view of what it is like to be someone with autism, pick this up! I think that everyone should read this book at some point. I give this a five out of five!