Book Review: Divergent Series

The Divergent Series

By: Veronica Roth

Divergent

Insurgent

Allegiant

About the Author:

Roth is best known for her trilogy of novels: Divergent; its sequel, Insurgent; and Allegiant, the latter was released on October 22, 2013.

She is the recipient of the Goodreads 2011 Choice Award and the Best of 2012 in the category Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction and also Best Goodreads Author in 2012. Roth wrote her first book, Divergent, while on winter break in her senior year at Northwestern University. Her career took off rapidly with the success of her first novel, with the movie rights sold before she graduated college.

Roth has sold the film rights to the Divergent series to Summit Entertainment. Filming of Divergent, an adaptation of the first book in the series, was started in April 2013.

Review

This book series was one that I became interested in reading when I noticed its popularity on Goodreads.com. It is a well written story about a girl named "Tris" Prior, who leaves her family, faction and all of its value's behind, to join a new faction (a sort of independent colony) that she believes will suit her personality better. It is there that she meets the first set of real friends she has ever known, as well as a young man named "Four". 

Throughout the three books, I followed Tris along her journey of political uprising, crippling grief and the endless flight and fall of new love. I was so enthralled by this series, that I was barely able to put the book down, and when I had to step away, it was all I could think about. 

I have discovered that there are five accompanying Novellas, two of which have already been released: The Transfer, and Free Four. The other three will be released in July of 2014.

I definitely recommend this book. It is not a feel good love story, and you will find that it has a gritty, violent aspect to it, but it is so well written that it draws you in and keeps you there. It leaves you thinking about the characters and when its over, it leaves you wishing it wasn't.

I give this series as a whole 5 Stars, because it has left me wishing for more!

Book Review: The Lost Prince

Book Review

The Lost Prince

Written By: Julie Kagawa

About the Author:

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times Bestselling author of The Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series, was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn't getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.
To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Review

This is a book I had been waiting on. I had read the sister series to this novel "The Iron Fey". It is one of my favorites! The imagination and research that had to go into those novels was beyond my comprehension. So when I heard that The Lost Prince was going to be released, I was ecstatic! 

This book is written from Ethan Chase's Perspective (Ethan is the younger brother of Meghan Chase, the Iron Queen). He is a human who was cursed with the ability to see the Fey. As pranksters and "monsters" go, that is a skill that the "average" human does not want to have. This book goes into detail of the struggles that Ethan experiences  and how his "abilities" make even the most normal and naturally difficult experiences of young adulthood an everyday nightmare.

This book is again, one of Julie Kagawa's beautifully written novels. She has yet to disappoint me with her descriptive writing and the flow in which her characters grace the pages of her books. I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The story was fun and inviting, and easy to follow along. It drew you in and kept your attention throughout the entire story.

I recommend this book to any young adult who loves paranormal, fantasy or the Irish Fey! It is fun, mystical and a joy t read! I can not wait until the next book!!!!!


If anyone else has read this book, and has any additional comments good or bad, let me know. If you enjoyed the book, or disliked the book, let me know. I want t hear from you!

Book Review: 10th of December

Book Review

10th of December

Written By: George Saunders

About the Author:

George Saunders was born December 2, 1958 and raised on the south side of Chicago. In 1981 he received a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He worked at Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, NY as a technical writer and geophysical engineer from 1989 to 1996. He has also worked in Sumatra on an oil exploration geophysics crew, as a doorman in Beverly Hills, a roofer in Chicago, a convenience store clerk, a guitarist in a Texas country-and-western band, and a knuckle-puller in a West Texas slaughterhouse. 

After reading in People magazine about the Master's program at Syracuse University, he applied. Mr. Saunders received an MA with an emphasis in creative writing in 1988. His thesis advisor was Doug Unger.

He has been an Assistant Professor, Syracuse University Creative Writing Program since 1997. He has also been a Visiting Writer at Vermont Studio Center, University of Georgia MayMester Program, University of Denver, University of Texas at Austin, St. Petersburg Literary Seminar (St. Petersburg, Russia, Summer 2000), Brown University, Dickinson College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

Review

Do you ever find yourself looking for something quick to read? I know I do. Once I finish a long book, I usually like to follow it up with a short story. Something quick that can help my mind easily transition from one plot to another. I discovered The 10th of December on the Barnes & Nobel website, where I frequent to see what New Releases are available, or what other people are talking about.

This book is a collection of various short stories. Each one features a different character from various backgrounds. I found the collection interesting. Although the way the stories flip-flopped from the internal dialog of the characters, to the "reality" in which the characters actually lived was sometimes confusing.

I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I felt that the story lines, however brief, where too difficult to follow, and at times, ended before they should have. I felt that these stories were more an excerpt than an actual short story.

Overall this was a decent book. I would recommend it for someone looking for something quick to read without much expectation.

If anyone else has read this book, and has any additional comments good or bad, let me know. If you enjoyed the book, let me know. Perhaps your take on the book could change my opinion. 

Book Review: Soul Guardians Series

Book Review

Soul Guardians Series

Written By: Kim Richardson

About the Author:

Kim Richardson is the author of the SOUL GUARDIANS series. Since childhood, Kim developed a wild imagination and surrounded herself with fantasy novels and movies like, The Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. She later studied in the field of 3D Animation, and became an Animation Supervisor for a VFX company. For many years she worked on big Hollywood films and stayed in the field of animation for 14 years. Since then, she has retired from the VFX world and settled in the country where she writes fulltime.

Marked: (Book # 1) 

Review

Have you ever wondered where in Heaven Guardian Angels come from? In Kim Richardson's novel "Marked" the first book in the Soul Guardian Series, you will find just that and more. This is not your typical "Angel" story....

When sixteen year old Kara Nightingales's mortal life ends, you enter a wold of magic, mystery and a sense of humor unknown to most when thinking of Heaven and Angels.

I found this book to be intriguing. The fantastical concepts kept me wanting more. The relationships that developed between characters seemed logical and realistic and evolved in equal correlation to the plot. When the story ended, I wanted to find out more and continue the series.

I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I felt that it lacked that "Special Something" that allows you to connect on a personal level with the characters and I felt that at over 400 pages, the story was a little drawn out. It could have been shortened in order to keep the story moving at a better pace.

Overall this was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to someone in their teens and perhaps early 20's, who enjoys reading Fantasy/Supernatural Fiction.

Elemental: (Book # 2)

Review

Heaven isn't just sunshine, rainbows and butterflies!? In Kim Richardson's second book in the Soul Guardian Series, "Elemental", you get a a taste of the nitty-gritty side to Heaven...

Kara Nightingale is back, and she learns that no matter how special you might be...there are rules to follow. Even in heaven. But what happens when those rules are broken? In her quest to save her mother's soul, Kara finds out just what happens to Angels who break the laws, and comes face to face with true evil. She learns to face her own "Demons" so to speak.

I thought the concepts were very interesting. The imagination that was used to create Horizon, the Netherworld, and Tarturs was amazing. I did feel that this book could have been written as two separate books however. There were 2 distinct plots at play through out the entire book.

I would give this book a 3 out of 5 star rating. Once again, Kim Richardson wrote another 400 page novel. This book moved at a slightly slower pace than the previous book int he series, but had enough "bits" thrown at you here and there through out the book to keep you reading. This book took me over a week to read, something that is unusual. I had a hard time staying focused, but was left with enough curiosity to keep coming back.

As sequels go, this one was pretty decent. I would recommend it to someone in their teens and perhaps early 20's, who enjoys reading Fantasy/Supernatural Fiction.

Horizon: (Book # 3) 

Review

Can demons destroy Heaven in a hostile take over? Is there anything can can destroy the Demon Lord and restore peace in Horizon and on Earth?

Kara's skills are needed once again in this 3rd novel in the Soul Guardian Series. The Demon Lord is back, and all of Horizon is in trouble. Kara is faced with the ultimate consequence of destroying the Demon Lord, or Loosing the ones she loves. 

I was a bit disappointed with this book. The pace of this book was very slow, and once again stretched out to over 400 pages. The action in this book should have been gripping, with a quick pace and that page turner quality of a well written suspenseful plot. Instead, I struggled through this book, with only the drive to find out what happened at the end to keep me going. I also began to doubt the main character. I felt as though more of her victories were accidental mishaps, her being in the right place at the right time, rather than skill and intelligence. I would give this book 2 stars. It was slow and hard to follow because the plot was so drawn out.

I would not necessarily recommend this book, unless you have already read the 1st two books and are looking to complete the series. I prefer books with a quicker reading pace.

Netherworld: (Book # 4)

Review

Surprise! Kara is back in the 4th book in the Soul Guardians Series. In this book, she travels to the Netherworld, home to the Demons. 

Though she is an Angel, Kara is able to travel to the Netherworld, when one of her friends is kidnapped. While she is there, Kara discovers something that makes her question herself, and puts her determination to the test.

This book was more disappointing to me than the last. I felt as though Kara was stumbling her way through the story rather than actually doing anything about her circumstances. She did have a few moments, but her lack of confidence and ditsy way of going through the motions lost my interest before I was half way through the book. This was once again over 400 pages which was way to long to enjoy. I give this book 1 star. If I hadn't been so close to finishing the series, I would have never finished reading it.

I would not recommend this book. The plot would have been great, but once again the story was poorly written and too drawn out to enjoy. The characters were loosing their hold in the story. This series should have ended at book #3.

Seirs: (Book # 5)

Kara discovers that not all humans are grateful for the work that Guardian Angels do for humanity. Seirs, the humans who can see the supernatural beings, but team up with the side of evil are at war with the Angels in this Novel, the 5th and final book in the Soul Guardians Series.

This series has been drawn out and juiced to its maximum limit. I didn't know how, after the last novel, Kim Richardson was going to pull out enough of this over stretched story to make another 400 page book. In this book, Kara breaks the most absolute angel law and is in a race against the clock to complete her last mission.

The way this story ended the series was so ridiculously pointless. I saw absolutely no reason to have drug the series out into 5 different books. This book was horrible. I am going to actually give it 0 out of 5 stars. Because of this book and the way this drawn out series ended, I was so upset that I spent 4 weeks reading this series and wasting my time.

I do not recommend this series to anyone. After reading all 5 books, I would not even recommend starting it with book #1 "Marked", which was the best and should have been the last in the series.


If anyone else has read this series, and has any additional comments good or bad, let me know. If you enjoyed the series, let me know. Perhaps your take on the series could change my opinion.