Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

title: Liesl & Po
written by: Lauren Oliver
genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
page count: 307
publication date: October 4th, 2011
rating: 5/5 stars!

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice,until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.


That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.


Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

Liesl & Po is one of the cutest books I have read in a while! Lauren Oliver is one of my favorite authors, and I absolutely love all of her books. Delirium is great, Before I fall is one of my favorites of all time, and Liesl & Po can be added to that list of all-time favorites. 

The story starts when Liesl meets Po, a ghost that just appears in her 'bedroom' together with its cat/dog. Po has forgotten about his/her former life. Even if it was a boy or girl! Po's stuck between life and death, unable to move on. Then we get to know about Liesl's life. She lives alone in a tower, imprisoned by her stephmother (this reminded me of 'the cupboard under the stairs') and is never allowed to go outside. Her father died and Liesl wasn't even allowed to see him when he was dying. After meeting the 2 title characters you meet Will, the alchemist's apprentice. He is a cute, brave boy who is always looking at the mysterious girl in the tower.


When the story really started I found myself mesmerized by it. It was so cute, all characters were extremely funny and very likeable, and the writing style was amazing. As the reader you already knew what happened before the characters found out. It was kind of special, as usually you find out what happens when the character finds out what's happening. 


As the story proceeded I started to like it even more. I could really relate to Liesl, and Po was such a cute ghost. It contained lots of things my inner younger me thoroughly enjoyed. It felt like the first time I was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone! 


Altogether I would recommend this book to everyone! This book fits every age group! The story is uncomplicated, hilarious and touching. The characters are all relateable and cute and all of it was amazing. I give this book 5 stars and I added it to my list of all-time favorites!


Love,
Mar

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

title: Birth of a Killer

written by: Darren Shan

series: The saga of Larten Crepsley #1

genre: young adult, historical, fantasy
page count: 261

publication date: October 5th, 2010

my rating: 3/5 stars

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze...
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy.
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children.
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story. 

Before reading this book, I read the entire 'saga of Darren Shan'. This series is a prequel to that series. I liked the saga of Darren Shan, but it wasn't one of my favorite series of all time. Still, I read all 12 (!) books, and I enjoyed them. Then I found out about this prequel series, that spotlighted Larten Crepsley, a character that has always fascinated me, and I just had to read it. So I did. And I liked it :)

As the story begins, Larten is just a normal poor factory worker in the 18th century (not sure about the exact time). He doesn't know anything about vampires, or his own future, while I, as a reader, did. That's what I enjoy most about prequel series, I sort of know what's going to happen. I like to 'predict the future' in books.

What I also liked about this series was that I already knew a lot about the main character before I opened the book. This way it was easier for me to 'jump into' the story, as I did not have to get to know all new characters. I also really liked to see back some of the characters that always fascinated me in the saga of Darran Shan. Some background information is always welcome :)

The plot of this book wasn't very surprising. My brains weren't overprocessing information, neither were they doing nothing. It was historical fiction, which I usually enjoy, although I tend to prefer contemporary fiction or dystopia. As the story proceeded, it was easy to predict exactely what was going to happen, which of course also was because the book was a prequel. Altogether this book wasn't the best of Darren Shan's works, but it definitely wasn't the best of them!

Shan's writing style is very easy and uncomplicated. I can read it 100 pages/hour in English, which is very quick for me. And since I read this book in Dutch, I finished it in under 2 hours. (Dutch is easier to read for me). But I am not sure if I like books to be such quick reads. Fat books sometimes scare me, so I tend to read thinner books, but not this thin... Anyways, this is a novel that hovers in between middle grade and young adult, in my opinion. Just like the first 3 Harry Potter books. It didn't bother me though.

I would recommend this books to people who have already read the saga of Darren Shan, or to anyone who is doubting whether or not to start reading it. Also, I would recommend this book to children aged 8-12 who are looking for a quick read full of action. I give this book 3 stars!

Love,

Mar

Giveaway + review Waterspell by Deborah J. Lightfoot

Tour stop time :) Today I'm here with you to revier the book Waterspell, by Deborah J. Lightfoot. And make sure to continue reading, as there also is a giveaway!


title: Waterspell
written by: Deborah J. Lightfoot
series: Waterspell #1
genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
page count: 375
publication date: January 1st, 2012
publisher: Seven rivers publishing


LINKS TO BUY
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Drawn into the schemes of an angry wizard, Carin glimpses the place she once called home. It lies upon a shore that seems unreachable. To learn where she belongs and how to get there, the teenage traveler must decipher the words of an alien book, follow the clues in a bewitched poem, conjure a dragon from a pool of magic -- and tread carefully around a seductive but volatile, emotionally scarred sorcerer who can't seem to decide whether to love her or kill her.

I always like doing tour stops, and Waterspell sounded very intriguing, so I signed up for this tour immediately. I was not disappointed by it, but it was not what I expected it to be at all! I will give this book a thumbs up, because high fantasy books are epic. always!

The main character, Carin, was captured by an angry wizard, and that was the best thing about this books' plot. Angry evil wizards are amazing! Also, I loved the enormous influence Alice in Wonderlands had on this novel. Lots of references to the book, that played a major role in this book, and some of them about one of my favorite Alice in Wonderland character, which I shouldn't talk about because that would be a spoil.

The book was not 100% easy to read for me, mainly because of the range of vocab used in it. I had to look up some words because I thought they were imporatant, and had never seen them before. (e.g. volatile in the blurb.) Not that it is super special when I haven't heard of a word, since I'm not English/American, but it kind of bothers me... Still, I think it fit wit this book because it was set in another time.

The plot of this book was special, but it didn't grab me. It just didn't have the wow-factor for me. Might be my issue with high fantasy. I always need a long time to get into those novels. Also, I couldn't really relate to the main character. Luckily, while reading I got a little more interested in the whole story and characters.

My main problem with this book was the lack of Romance. I ain't a romance junkee, but a little romance or something like it always is a pro for me. Unless it's incredibly cheesy...


Altogether I would recommend this books to teens who have no problems with getting into high fantasy and don't mind it if a book contains no romance.


I rate this book 3/5


Now enter the giveaway :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Author bio: 
Castles in the cornfield provided the setting for Deborah J. Lightfoot’s earliest flights of fancy.On her father’s farm in West Texas, she grew up reading extraordinary tales of adventure and reenacting them behind tall ramparts of sun-drenched corn. She left the farm to earn a bachelor of science degree in journalism and write award-winning books of history and biography, including The LH7 Ranch (University of North Texas Press) and Trail Fever (William Morrow, New York). High on her Bucket List was the desire to try her hand at the genre she most admired. The result is WATERSPELL, a complex, intricately detailed fantasy that begins with Book 1: The Warlock and Book 2: The Wysard, and concludes (for the present) with Book 3: The Wisewoman. But a legal pad filled with notes and tucked away in a desk drawer suggests a possible Book 4 before the saga may fairly be said to be finished. 

Deborah is a professional member of The Authors Guild. She and her husband live in the country south of Fort Worth, Texas. Find her online at www.waterspell.net.

WEBSITE
FACEBOOK

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

white cat by Holly Black

book: White Cat

written by: Holly Black

series: Curse Workers #1

genre: young adult, fantasy, Mystery

pages: 310

publication date: January 1st, 2010

publisher: McElderry

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, all by the slightest touch of their hands. Since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got the magic touch, so he’s an outsider—the straight kid in a crooked family—as long as you ignore one small detail: He killed his best friend, Lila. Now he is sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat. He also notices that his brothers are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of one huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen.

So, I have finished my first Holly Black book. After watching the movie 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' I wanted to read that book(s) but I just couldn't find them anywhere. Some libraries suck, especially the small Dutch ones... Anyways, I did have high expectations of this book -yeah, I know, dangerous- and was not amazed by it. Still, I liked it :)

Holly Black is a master of writing fantasy, since her fantasy becomes realistic. I hardly ever come across a great fantasy book that is also realistic, so a 1+ for that. Also, the writing style of this book was marvellous, I could read it very easily, and I just felt very comfy reading it. -call me crazy, but some writing styles can seriously make me feel uncomfortably-

Blacks characters were great, but hard to relate to. Cassel, the male main character, was special from the inside, but didn't impress me, neither did most of the other characters. Only the cat, I absolutely loved it. Cats are walking around this planet to kill people that are allergic to adorableness... 

anyways, I wasn't impressed at all with the plot. I had expected way more of it. Not that it was bad, but after seeing the movie of the Spiderwick Chronicles -and after hearing that the book was better- I was sure White Cat was going to be freaking amazing. And it was just average amazing, so I was disappointed. Probably my own fault... Whatevs. 

I rushed through this book, and finished it in about 3 hours (that's over 100 pages per hour... is that even legal?) and that's one of this indicators that I didn't find this book extremely interesting. Usually, when I truly like a book, it takes a long time to read it, because I feel like I have to read every word that's written, but with this book I didn't have that feeling.

White Cat is a great fantasy for teens, but don't expect too much from it! I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea...

I give this book 3 stars

Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

title: Erebos
written by: Ursula Poznanski
series: none
pages: 434
genres: Young Adult, mystery, Fantasy
publication date: January 19th 2012
publisher: Annick Press

An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.
When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.
Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game.
Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur.

Erebos was a book with a very intriguing plot, and I really wanted to read and love it. I saw my library had just gotten a new copy of it -in Dutch that is- and I borrowed it. It lay on my shelves for about 2 months, and then I started reading it. -Books usually lie on my shelves for a really long time-

Once I started reading it I got hypnotised by the story. I couldn't put it down and read it as quick as I could. The story is easy to read and understand. You already kind of know what's going to happen, and that Nick will recieve the game. But what will happen when he does get it. What is Erebos?


I for one think the blurb contains too much information about the book. If I'm really interested about a book I try avoiding to read the blurb, since it might give me too much information about a books' plot. This blurb definitely did. It tells you about the first 2/3 of the book or something. And that's not OK. But yeah, I kinda understand why they did it.


The story focuses on the video game world of Erebos. I am no gamer, and I have not been addicted to gaming ever. And I have been addicted to a lot of things. *books, internet, coffee, ...* I think this book gave a pretty good description of how it is to get addicted to gaming, and how frustrating it can be not to be able to play. Then there is the fact that most of Nicks -main character- friends also play Erebos, but he can't talk about it or ask what Nicknames they have. That must be aweful. I wouldn't be able to play Erebos, because of the rule of secrecy. I can keep a secret, but I am too curious so I'd definitely talk about it with my friends.


Nick, the main character, was not my favourite character of the past month. Or week. I  couldn't relate to him at all and that was a very bad thing. Still, I think teenage boys, the main target group of this book, might be able to relate to him.


Erebos is an exiting book for every teenager, although I would recommend it specifically to boys. This book taught me that books about gaming aren't lame at all! And how a game can spread like a virus.


I give this book 3 stars 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
written by: Laini Taylor
series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
pagecount: 417
genre: young adult, urban fantasy
publication date: September 27th, 2011
publisher: Little Brown

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.


Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. And it did not end well.

The extremely promising first sentence of this book was absolutely worth the book. Never before had I seen a book that got so much positive attention on blogs before. I just started reading blogs, and the whole blogosphere was buzzing about this book. Everyone read it, everyone loved it. And now I have read it too. And -not so very astonishing - I fell in love with it.


The story, set in the mysterious city of Prague and in 'Elsewhere' hypnotised me. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. I didn't eat, drink or sleep for a couple of hours, and if breathing wasn't mandate I wouldn't have. It was interesting, beautifully written, a wonderful female protagonist and a very mysterious romance. Also, there were angels and demons, need I say more?


Karou, the main characters, belongs in my list of favorite female protagonists of all time. She has a very annoying ex-boyfriend who is 'stalking' her, but she doesn't care. Ex-boyfriend Kaz 'Jackass' will do anything to win back Karou's love. But he just might go a little bit -or way- too far. Still, Kaz was not a stereotype stalker ex-boyfriend. He was acting very humorous all the time, and was acting like a friend and jackass at the same time. All the time. And that's what makes him crazy Kaz, someone I would love to meet someday, no matter if in real life or a dream. And then there was Akiva, the wonderful angel. -Akiva, will you please marry me?- I absolutely fell in love with him and his way of thinking and acting. Still, I had a hard time figuring out him. Is he the good one or the bad one? To me, he was neither black nor white. He was gray, something in between.


Karou herself is a very complicated character. She is a helper of Brimstone, a demon who collects teeth. She collects the teeth for Brimstone, but has no idea why. For the teeth, Karou gets rewarded with wishes she can use for herself. There are small, not valuable, wishes, but there also are bigger ones, that can give you a long and healthy life, or something else. Once, she had wished for blue hair, and she got it. Never has she dyed it agian. Blue hair is one of the things that totally belongs with Karou's character. Karou is a strong, independent girl, but who is she actually? Karou is about to find out the reality about herself and the world.
The plot of this book is very complicated at the beginning. But then everything starts to unravel, and you figure it all out, sentence by sentence. The closer you come to the ending of the book, the more you understand it. I didn't have a clue about the ending of this book when I was halfway, and that's amazing. I don't like it when a book is very predictable. The setting was perfect for this book, as were the character names. They fit all of them so well!


If you haven't read this book already you totally should read it sometime -very- soon!!


I give this book 5 stars!
xo Mar

Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs

book: Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children
written by: Ransom Riggs
series: nope
genres: historical, fantasy, young adult
pages: 352
own / library /  borrowed
publication date: June 7th, 2011
publisher: Quirk books


first thoughts:
Ohmygosh finally! I had been waiting for months to read this book, and then a friend of mine walked around with this book in her bag. Seriously, I almost robbed her *no, just kidding, I'd never do that (A)* She let me borrow it if I finished it over the weekend, and so I did. Actually, I finished the first 80% on friday :D This book is looks so good and it didn't disappoint me at all. And the cover is so beautiful!

the book: 
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.


It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

my review:

Oh my gosh. That's what I repeated a zillion times after I had finished this book. Still repeating it now, as you might have noticed in my blog post :s

I could think of dozens of words to describe this book, but I think peculiar is the best. Because this book was nothing like anything I have ever read. It was filled with vintage pictures, that went pretty well with the story, and they made the story more realistic. And that's an amazing thing, to make a fantasy novel seem realistic!

The children in this book terrified me in the beginning. 80-year-olds trapped in children's bodies? That must be horrible for them. But then I started looking at their behaviour, and I figured that their appearance matched the way they behaved, and only the things they knew didn't match their bodies. Wouldn't their brains have outgrown their bodies? :)

The story in this book was sometimes hard to follow, becaurse there was so much happening. If this book was twice as thick, I think there still would be happening a lot. Even when you didn't read 1 or 2 lines, the story would make no sense at all. I had to re-read an entire chapter after I put the book down, just to remember everything important that had happened. The author really put lots of information in a relatively short story.

There was a lot of character development, which is great. I don't like a book when the characters don't develop at all. The developing of a character makes the character seem human, and not just a few drops of ink.

The story told in this book intrigued me a lot. I held my breath reading it and finished it as soon as I could. I wanted to know how it ended so badly! Luckily, I didn't make the mistake I made while reading the last Harry Potter book *MASSIVE SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ HP7* . I *accidentely* read the final 2 words: "Harry said." And well, that spoiled the entire book... 

There was a little romance in this book, but not much, just enough.

A very original book for both teens and adult that freaked me out, made me swoon and every other emotion in between. Definitely a must for all fantasy-lovers!

rating: 

4.5 stars

xo Mar

Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

book: Chosen
written by: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
series? House of night #3
genres: young adult, romance, fantasy
pages: 307
own / library / borrowed
publication date: March 1st, 2008
publisher: St. Martins press


note: This review will include spoilers for part 1 and 2 in the series. I did not review them. I did not hate, them, but did not love them, either. Just neutral, I guess :)

the book: 
Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

review:

Okay, to be honest, I am getting a little tired with all the vampire stuff. *wow, did I really just type that? :o* Luckily, House of Night is not the usual vampire stuff. *okay, actually it is*

I stopped reading this series after part 2, but I picked up book 3 because one of my friends who doesn't like to read at all recommended it to me. And when someone doesn't like to read but still likes a book, it must be very good, right?

So the storie of Zoey, the super-annoying whiny girl / slut continues. She has got everything you can want as a vampire fledgling. She's got friends, she's healty and she's very powerful. Those 3 things make her very popular. Still, I think a real girl like her won't get any friends. She's so ho-ish. I mean, she's got 3 boyfriends :o *no, that's not a typo, I actually meant 3* And the funny thing is, they're all different species. One is human, one is fledgling and one is vampyre. She's so lucky *ahem* I mean, 3 boyfriends, and neither of them cares, even tough most of them know about each other. And then Zoey is there, and she knows she has to break up with at least 2 of them, and she just is so weak that she cant. I mean, she is the most powerful fledgling there is, but she cant just break up with 2 of her boyfriends? I mean, she won't lose her real boyfriend or something.. If everyone on that school were like her, there wouldn't be enough boys on the world to be their boyfriends. And that would be horrible, wouldn't it? :)

Okay but enough about Zoey. The actual story told in this book wasn't that bad c: Zoey's life gets more miserable, and I don't care, since I don't like her anyway. But it's her own problem. Who the Hell gets 3 boyfriends?! *sorry, it just freaked me out. A LOT*

There were the 3 boyfriends, Erik, Heath and Loren. Zoey should have gotten rid of Heath long before, but they are bound with their souls or something. Erik is the hot fledgling boy, and the one she should be with. He is the one that "knows her as she is, understands where she has been, accepts what she has become, and still allows her to grow" (Shakespeare ^^) And then there is Loren. He's the super hot TEACHER *goddamn Zoey* crushing on your teacher is not okay. Kissing your teacher is worse.

Back to the main story, that is mainly about the 3 boyfriends and the dead Stevie Rae, IMO. Okay, so Stevie Rae is not-quite-dead after all. *intersting twist in the plot*

Well, life at the house of night continues, and so does this series full of Drama. A quick read with lots of interesting twists in the plot and a great ending!

rating: 3 stars!

have you read the house of night series?

Love, Mar

Tour stop: The forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

Hey guys, here's a tour stop. Make sure to continue reading, because the book's definitely worth it! I loved this book!!

The forever girl by Rebecca Hamilton

fantasy, romance, young adult

350 pages

Published on the 26th of January, 2012 by Immortal Ink publishing

Part one in the The Forever Girl series

I recieved an ARC for the review. Thank you Rebecca Hamilton!

The book:

Sophia Parsons’ family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves...

Solving the mystery of an ancestor’s hanging might silence the clashing whispers in Sophia's mind, but the cult in her town and the supernaturals who secretly reside there are determined to silence her first.

As Sophia unknowingly crosses the line into an elemental world full of vampire-like creatures, shapeshifters, and supernatural grim reapers, she meets Charles, a man who becomes both lover and ally.

But can she trust him?

It’s not until someone nearly kills Sophia that she realizes the only way to unveil the source of her family's curse: abandon her faith or abandon her humanity. If she wants to survive, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.

you can see the book trailer below!

my review:

WOW. I was astonished by the fact that this was a debut novel. It seemed as if Rebecca Hamilton has been writing wonderful novels for years, getting better and better. But this was her first novel, and it is so good!

First of all, the plot was amazing. It seems impossible to put vampires, shapeshifters and witches in a good book, but Rebecca nailed it! There were lots of twists that kept the story very interesting. I couldn't put down the book and went on reading until 1AM, actually... The story was interesting from the first word till the very last!

The pace of this book was terrific! You just seemed to flow through the book, with lots of things happening all the time. No way you can call this book slow or boring! The abundance of events that were included in this book did not make the book difficult or confusing to read, and that is the best part of it, I think. I don't like it when there are so many things happening that you have to browse back all the time.

The characters in this book were great. They felt like real people, or at least as far as you could call them people :) My favourite character was Ivory. I can't really talk about her without spoiling, so I won't, but she really intrigued me! And of course I loved Red, the little bird :D

A vampire. A shapeshifter. A witch. Could it be more awesome? Anyone who loves to read YA fantasy / paranormal romance will love this book! Quite simply said one of the best debut novels I have ever read!

I can't wait to read The Forever Girl #2!

rating:  5 stars!!

about the author:

Rebecca Hamilton writes Paranormal Fantasy, Horror, and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and three kids, along with multiple writing personalities that range from morbid to literary. She enjoys dancing with her kids to television show theme songs and would love the beach if it weren't for the sand. Having a child diagnosed with autism has inspired her to illuminate the world through the eyes of characters who see things differently.

To learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder, please visit the website below.
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org 

Follow on twitter @InkMuse

Do you want to read more about the Forever Girl? Head over to Elizabeth Barone's blog on March 19th or look HERE for the complete schedual

xo Mar

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

book: the Night Circus

written by: Erin Morgenstern

genre: romance, fantasy, historical, young adult

pages: 387

own / library / borrowed

release date: September 13th, 2011

series? no :c

publisher: Doubleday press

note: I can't believe that this book has been lying on my TBR pile for so long. Once I started reading it I couldn't  put it away. This is awesomesauce!

the book:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. (summary from GoodReads)

my review:

This book is perfect. First of all, look at the cover, it's awesome. The only colours used are black, white and red. Those three colours play a big role in this book. All rêveurs wear these colours, and only these colours. But enough about the cover, since I could ramble about the cover only for hours and hours. 

The characters intrigued me. Celia Bowen, who you could call the main character, even tough you don't read from her POV, is not like any other girl, and not only because she is a magician. She is a great character, sometimes you get to see a little of her feelings and emotions, always you see that she is sarcastic. Most of the characters in this book are different from normal humans, but still they act normal, they make friends and enemies, they fight like normal people do, and it all was so realistic that somewhere in the book I was wondering what was and what wasn't reality. 

The circus is a place I want to visit once in my life. It is a place that sounds super exiting, and it is described as if it is the best circus ever. The author says it has lots of tents, and I want to know what is inside all of them, but you will not find that out, which is too bad. A few times in this book one of the acts of the performers is told about, and it is told as if you're walking inside the tent yourself. With a little bit of imagination you could be walking through the tent, seeing the performance of your dreams. 

Then there is the 'game' that is going on. You don't know what they are doing, or when it will end. And when you find out you wish they never were playing this game, because it's horrible.
The main characters are the players of the game, Celia and Marco, and they are great characters, but the other characters were even better, in my opinion. There were various characters that were all very different but they had one thing in common, which was the circus. All of them were illusionists or rêveurs, which are the followers of the circus.

The end of this book made me happy. And that is strange, because I usually don't like endings like this. Sorry, you probably don't know what I'm talking about but I don't want to spoil it for you. Let's just say that you should read this book, because everyone should read it, no matter if you like or hate historical fantasy. I am not a real fan of the historical, but with this book I just did not care, I was not even fully aware of it, actually :$ 

Then you also have the romance in this book, and it is great! I want to have a romance like that :) Only slightly different, but I can't go on rambling about it because I will spoil the book... *sigh* 

So this is the end of my review, I am too scared that I will spoil it to you, and this book shouldn't be spoiled!!

This is an epic historical fantasy book everyone, no matter which age, will love. You will find out that it is unputdownable, and you will not know what is and what isn't reality. You will want to visit the circus, and who knows, it might just appear somewhere near :)

rating:

Would it be a big surprise if I said that I will give this book 5 stars??? :p

xo Mar
ps: onigod longest review ever... sorry but I just can't stop talking about it *sigh*

Fallen in love by Lauren Kate

book: Fallen in Love
written by: Lauren Kate
genres: romance, fantasy, young adult
pages: 201
own / library / borrowed
release date: 24th of January, 2012
series? yup, Fallen #3.5
publisher: Random House


note: I do not like the fallen series, and I do not like short 'in between' stories, so it is not very surprising that I did not like this book. This review will be honest, but I'll tell you one thing, if you like the Fallen series you might not like this review...

the book:
The book contains 4 short stories:

1. The story of Miles and Shelby
2. The story of Roland
3. The story of Arianne
4. The story of Luce and Daniel

The stories are all about the same Valentine's day, which they all spend with different people. Also, this book contained an excerpt from Rapture, the final installment in the Fallen series.

my review:

when I read about this book, I was like: 'NOOOO now I have to read this book, too. Why can't she just give me Rapture now so that I'll be done with this series, and can leave it all behind?! Lauren Kate decided to torture is with some 'romantic' stories about the Fallen characters. I still have problems with most of the characters. My main problem lies with Luce. I mean, she annoys me more than Bella Swan, which is almost impossible. She falls in love with a guy that pretends to hate her, then she finds out that she may combust when she kisses him, and she is not scared at all (?) and then she runs away because she wants to know about their past. 

This book added nothing special to the series, it was just another book that had nothing to do with the story, but was just written for the 'fun' of the readers. Well, I like to read something in an 'in between' story that gives me more information about the next book, not something that just makes everything more complicated.

The first story *Shelby and Miles* was not very romantic at all. Basically, I have already forgotten what it was about *sigh* The second story *roland* was better. It showed me that angels and humans can't be lovers, and it'd be a great thing if Luce and Daniel finally figure that out.

In the third story I had a WTF-moment. *MAJOR SPOILER* Arianne is Lesbian *end of the spoiler* sorry just had to tell you... So that was my WTF moment in this story. I think it was the best story, tough it was strange... She was being 'I am good, or I am evil and my lover loves me' which shows us that the lover does not love her at all, otherwise she wouldn't have to choose -.- How come these stories do make people cry?!

And finally, the Luce-Daniel Story. The only Valentine's day they have ever spend together. How heartbreaking *cough* *ahem* Seriously, this piece of the book made me want to step into the book, walk towards Luce and slap her into the face. Or even worse. I just can't stand her... 

And then I read the excerpt from Rapture, and I found out that I would not like this book, but that I had to read it, so that I could have finished the series and continue with my life.

This book made me see that being alone is not always bad, because being together can be awful. I did not like Valentine's day before, and now I hate it... Maybe this is just not my kind of book...

rating:

1 star... Sorry...

what did you think of this book? Share your review/your thoughts in the comments, please!

xo Mar

The Fiend and the Forge by Henry H. Neff

book: The Fiend and the Forge
written by:  Henry H. Neff
genres: fantasy, adventure, young
pages: 560 (!)
own / library / borrowed
release date: November 23th, 2010
series?: The Tapestry, #3
publisher: Random House for young readers


note:  I read the first two books, and forgot all about the series. But then I walked into the library, and I saw this book. And I found myself curious about this book, so I thought; why not...? And I started reading. I had forgotten all the names, and the first 100 pages were a drama for me...


the book: The demon Astaroth has taken over the whole world. Humans are not important anymore, they are used as food, mostly. The only safe place is Rowan academy, the academy for young 'wizards'. Max McDaniels, the wolfhound of Rowan, wants to free the world of demons. Then his father gets killed, and he has to kill the demon which killed his father, as revenge. But it is an almost impossible task to fullfill. Also there is his roommate and best friend, David Menlo, who is acting strange. What on earth is he doing?


my review: 
As far as I remember I liked the first two parts. But I did not love them... There were lots of names that I did not remember, which made reading this book pretty hard in the beginning. But slowly my memory came back, and finally I remembered most of it. The characters still are pretty good. There is this boy, Max, who is the #1 fighter of the world or something, and he has special physical powes. And that makes him awesome. But when you start thinking of it he is just like Harry Potter, only a worse-developed version of him. Then there is David, the genius and mysterious one. I wished I knew him, because he seems this person I would love to have as my best friend. He is way more interesting than Max, and I think this book would have been a way better if it were (partly) written from David's point of view. You also have all the sorts of evil demons I would love to meet, but I never will, because they were all fantasy. This book was not realistic at all.
Still, the storyline was great, and there happened a lot. And that's why I did like it, I think. 
Also, I think that I was just a little bit too old for this book, but I did not really care C:


I would recommend this book to:
Boys aged 8-13, and other people that love action and fantasy. 


total:
I give this book 3 stars 


xo Mar

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

book: Artemis Fowl

written by: Eoin Colfer

genres: humor, young, fantasy, crime

pages: 398

own / library / borrowed

release date: April 26th, 2001

series?: yes, Artemis Fowl #1

publisher: Miramax

note: I think I would have loved this book... If I were a boy 9-11 years old... I did definitely feel too old and too girly for this book. So if you loved this you might not like this review. Sorry, but I have to stay honest

the book: 

Artemis Fowl is a genius. He is a 12-year-old boy who is smarter than most men. Then he decides that he wants to have the money of the fairies. He kidnaps one of the elfBI, captain Holly Short, and tries to get the fairy gold. But fairies do live long, so they are very smart. Artemis Fowl has never been tricked. Who is smarter and wins this battle? Are it the fairies or is it a 12-year-old genius?

my review:

This was not what I espected it to be! I love the idea of a genius kid who is one of the biggest criminals in the world. I just don't like this book, I guess. It's just not my thing. Here are some reasons for that:

1) the pieces about the fairies: I have always liked fairies, but in this book they seem very dull, and I just cannot make myself like them. They have all those rules they are not allowed to break and they have to charge their powers. Like they are batteries. How stupid is that. Fairies are the ones that should fly around while cheering and throwing fairy dust, not the ones fighting trolls!

2) the way this book was written: this was 400 pages full of nothing. Because after reading, what did happen?  Nothing!! In the first page they say the boy is selfish, and it ends with him being selfish. So that's how I come to point 3

3) the romance in the book: HELL, I just cannot review this because there is none O.o It had been so long since my last book without romance... Maybe that's why I think this book was not written for girls but boys. I guess I am right. Maybe that's why only boys recommanded this book to me...

4) the cover: Not inviting people to read it at all, because it is just ugly!!

of course there were good things about this book. I think the story in general was OK, but the author could have improved the book a lot by having more interesting characters and a little bit of romance (or at least friendship) so that readers can relate a little more to it.

total:

I give this book 2.3/5 stars

xo Mar