Currently Reading

I could have sworn I had already updated this blog a thousand times. I must be working in my dreams.

Anyway, I’m currently reading The Hidden by Jessica Verday, which is crazy good so far. I’m also working on the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which I picked up at my local Borders on my last visit. It is really interesting. I think it started out a little slowly, but it’s getting better and better as I read.

Stay tuned for a review and an interview I was certain I’d posted months ago…

Happy Reading Everyone!

I love books!

Last night I started Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen, which she generously sent me to review. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and I’ll be reviewing it tomorrow.

I also began Cryer’s Cross last night, which has just completely captured me. I can’t wait to read more!

Today, the Hidden by Jessica Verday arrived! I won a copy from Jessica, and I started the first few pages already!

I can’t remember whether or not I’ve posted about it, but I’ve also been reading Steel by Carrie Vaughn. It’s also incredibly good, and I can’t wait to read more of it and share my opinions with you all!

Well, off to wear my eyes out! Happy reading, everyone!

Decatur Book Festival 2011

This past weekend was the Decatur Book Festival! This year, I went to see Lisa McMann and Libba Bray on Saturday! After hearing Lisa speak, I couldn’t resist grabbing a copy of Cryer’s Cross, which I am now currently reading. Both she and Libba were really great, and I loved meeting them. I can’t wait to see who’ll be there next year!

^^Lisa McMann and I. I took my copies of WAKE and FADE for her to sign, along with my newly bought copy of Cryer’s Cross.

 

^^ Libba Bray and I. I took my set of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy to get signed.

Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters

 

Summary from Goodreads.com - Alex and Susan Wendt are the perfect couple in search of the perfect brownstone-and they find their dream house in the heart of Brooklyn Heights. Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric, and the handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the previous tenants. But the rent is so low, it's too good to pass up!
Big mistake: Susan soon discovers that the brownstone is crawling with bedbugs . . . Or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. Exterminators search the property and turn up nothing. Neighbors insist the building is clean. Susan fears that she's going mad-but as the mysteries deepen, a more sinister explanation presents itself: She may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from hell.

Rhia’s Review - *Shudder* This was a really great book.

Susan, our protagonist, was not a character; she was a person. She was so real, and I related to her very easily, despite the fact that she's a married woman with a child, and I'm a 19 year old girl without a current boyfriend. All her feelings are still very real, and felt by everyone at some point or another. Because I knew Susan so well, her slow descent into madness as she struggles with her insect tormenters really affected me emotionally. I was rooting with her all the way, fighting with her. You don't always get such a relatable character - I mean person - in books these days. How much I related to Susan struck me for some reason, so I had to express that here.

The storyline itself moves a little slowly in the beginning, but there is a slight sense of foreboding, because we all know *something* is going to happen, but getting there is half the fun. There are plenty of creepy and mysterious moments in the book as we meet all the characters, but in the climax of the story, Winters goes full on horror movie. It was perfect; just disturbing enough that I'll remember it, but not so disturbing as to downgrade my opinion of it.

Bedbugs managed to surprise me; I didn't have it all worked out by the end of the first half of the book. Of course, where I usually pause to think about it and guess, Bedbugs was so interesting, I was too busy reading to make any predictions.

This is one of those books that, as you are reading it, it actually plays out like a horror movie in your head. When all is said and done you think 'this would make a great movie,' but then you realized that just watched it in your head, and instead you hope Hollywood never ruins it. It was so well written, that no studio could ever do it justice.

The Recommendation -  I’d recommend this book to any fan of suspense and horror stories. It's just a fantastic book!

the Other Books -  Ben H. Winters is also the co-author of Quirk Classics Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which I am currently reading, and Android Karenina, which I have reviewed previously on my blog. (link) Ben's purse talent really shined through in this novel, and I'm definitely looking forward to his future offerings.

The Vitals – Bedbugs is available in paperback for $14.95 starting today, and I highly suggest you all go get a copy.

New Arrivals and what I’m currently reading.

Sorry for not keeping you all up to date! I'm not really sure what happened there, but you can probably blame the knitting.

Anyway, I'm currently reading Steel by Carrie Vaughn. It's really good so far, and I've noted that the pacing so far has been pretty much perfect. Nothing has happened without a reason, and there hasn't been too much happening at once.

Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen arrived in the mail the other day, and I’ll be starting it soon. I'll probably switch back and forth between Beyond the Grave and Steel until I finish them both. That's a lot of fun to do. :)

So I'm off to catch up a little on my reading. Happy reading, everyone!!

Quick Review: Deltora Quest, Volume 1, by Emily Rodda.

Rhia’s Review - Deltora Quest has always been pretty much my favorite series ever. It was my replacement series between Harry Potter books. It was one of my first obsessions. It is still one of those series that I can call a foundation of my life, helping to shape me into the person I am today. I still think about it often, especially during the summer (I have fond summer memories of the series) and in fact was just thinking about the other day. So, when I was at Borders and saw it sitting on a shelf where it didn't belong, practically appearing right in front of me, there wasn't a single moment of hesitation in me before I snatched it. Literally.

I read it in two nights. I hate to say it, but I'm not impressed.

Volume one covers what I would call about the first half of the Forests of Silence. The art is not visually spectacular, which is important if the story has already been told, because it's the only new thing you have to offer. While I don't think the art is *bad* per se, it's just nothing special. Also, if I didn't know better, I would have sworn that Endon was a female. He looked like a girl when he was young, and a woman when he was grown. Including pearl earrings. It just wasn't right.

I know it has been a while since I first read the series, but something about the adaptation for the mange didn't seem right. I think all the major plot points were covered pretty well, but it wasn't told the way the story deserved to be told. I think it's because it is geared for younger readers, and it felt as though the story was told to simply.

The only thing I really got out of it was an urge to re-read the original series, and yet somehow I still don't regret buying it.

Recommendation- This manga version is probably great for young or reluctant readers, and may spark an interest in reading the original books, which would be a step up. And hardcore fans of the series and/or its anime adaptation may find a need to include this in their collection. (I did.)

the Other Books- At $10.99 each, I don't think I’m really interested in buying the rest of the series. Even with the going out of business sale at Borders, the price is still a little too high. If I could get them a little cheaper, then I might consider getting them to complete my collection. Otherwise, I think it’ll stick to the real thing.

The Vitals – You can pick up the first volume of the manage in paperback for $10.99.

One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

Summary from goodreads.com – It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

 

Rhia’s Review – One of the things I think I loved most about this book was how well I was able to relate to charlotte this time around. Seeing her in a more stable state of mind about her family and school lives, I feel like I met the real Charlotte this time.

The storyline of One Hundred Candles was a bit more mature that Past Midnight and I got sucked in a lot quicker. It was little darker, a little more intense, and events had a greater impact on Charlotte than I think they did in Past Midnight. However, this book would not be anywhere near as enjoyable if Past Midnight hadn't set everything up first, and I think the transition from the first book to this one is perfect. It feels like the story is growing, just like Charlotte.

I felt as though new character Dr. Zelden was going play a bigger part in the story, and while he was very important, I kept expecting for him have to, shall we say, screen time. I do think, though, that he will probably appear in the later books.

With this book, Mara Purnhagen has turned me into a loyal fan, and joined the ranks of my most favorite authors. I'm now officially hoping she'll make it to the Decatur Book Festival someday so I can meet her.

I can't wait to see what's in store for Charlotte next. In fact, one of the best things about these books so far is that you can't easily tell where the story is going to go next. In most series, the next step in the epic quest is pretty much laid out for in the book you're reading, but the books in the Past Midnight series are mostly self contained. So while we know some of the personal things that Charlotte will be dealing with come the next book, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what supernatural force she will encounter next.

 

The Recommendation – I think anyone who is a fan of a good ghost story will really enjoy this series. Also, if you read the first book and wanted to know what happened next, but hadn't made up your mind about reading it yet, it is definitely worth your time. You won't be disappointed.

 

The Other Books – The events that took place in One Hundred Candles have left me burning to see what will happen in Beyond the Grave, book 3, which is out in September. It's definitely on my list!

 

The Vitals* – One hundred Candles is available from Harlequin Teen in paperback for $9.99.

 

The Links – Mara Purnhagen's Website

 

*=All prices are from the cover of the book itself and are subject to change without notice, and without this page reflecting those changes.