Review: The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang

Title: The Pharaoh's Cat
Author: Maria Luisa Lang
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult
Publication date: May 6th 20153
Pages: 184 (paperback)
Source: own-it

The Pharaoh’s Cat, a tragicomic fantasy narrated in the present tense by the cat himself, tells of a free-spirited, wise-cracking stray in ancient Egypt who suddenly acquires human powers and immediately captivates the young Pharaoh, making him laugh for the first time since his parents’ death.

The cat becomes the Pharaoh’s constant companion and, at the royal palace and on a tour of Egypt, participates in the festivities, developing an insatiable appetite for good food, wine, and gossip. Gradually, he renews the Pharaoh’s ability to enjoy life and inspires him to become a stronger leader. The bond of selfless love they share will change Egypt’s destiny.

The cat has a good friend in the High Priest of the god Amun-Ra and seeks his help in solving the mystery of his human powers and the supernatural manifestations that plague him. He has a mortal enemy in the Vizier—the second most powerful man in Egypt--who hates him for his close relationship with the Pharaoh. The Vizier’s persecution of the cat ultimately results in his fleeing with the High Priest to present-day New York City, where they find an ally in an Egyptologist’s daughter.

Goodreads

Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me in many ways, the way that the pharaoh’s ruled, how they build pyramids, the gods they worshipped… their whole culture is just so intriguing. So when Maria Luisa Lang approached me with the question to read her book I immediately said yes. And I am glad that I did because I got so much more than I expected!

The Pharaoh’s cat tells the adventures of a cat in ancient Egypt through the eyes of a cat. It might sound a bit odd but it was really great story and refreshing as well. It is not every day that you read a book through the eyes of a cat. From the very start I fell in love with Wrappa-Hamen, he really behaves like most cats I know. He’s lazy and basically only thinks about his next meal, but somehow his little adventures always turn into a big mess which was often quite hilarious. What I really loved that Wrappa-Hamen’s thoughts were exactly what I always imagined my cat to think. I do not know how the author managed to get the cats character so spot on but I imagine that she must have studied her own cat for a long while.

I really loved the way how the author decided to tell the story of some big events in Egypt. She managed to weave in the ancient Egyptian culture in her book in a way that it made it light and easy to understand.  I cannot tell how accurate all the events where in this book but I am sure that some of them are based on reality. And it wonderful that the author also gave descriptions of how the temples and the houses looked like. I definitely picked up some new things by reading this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and fun read, it was perfect to fill up a nice Sunday afternoon. I really loved the uniqueness of the point of view of this book, it was interesting and refreshing. I cannot wait to read more of Wrappa-Hamen’s adventures. 

Elien

Review: All the Forever Things by Jolene Perry

Title: All the Forever Things
Author: Jolene Perry
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Publication date: April 1st
Pages: 288 (hardback)
Source: Netgalley







From growing up in the funeral home her family runs, Gabriella knows that death is a part of life and nothing is forever. Yet Bree, her best friend, has been a constant; it's always been the two of them together against the world. But when Bree starts dating a guy the worst guy from the ultra-popular world, suddenly she doesn't have time for Gabe anymore. Now the only one at school who wants to spend time with "Graveyard Gabe" is Hartman, the new guy, but Gabe, not wanting to lose her mind over a boyfriend the way Bree has, holds back. It takes a very strange prom night (with the family hearse instead of a limo) for Gabe to truly fall for Hartman. But when she leaves the after-prom party with him, she's not there for Bree or for the deadly accident that happens that night. Bree survives, but will she and Gabe ever be able to rebuild their friendship?"

Goodreads

So far I have read a couple of books by Jolene Perry and they have always either been a hit or miss for me. I am glad to say that All the Forever Things was a hit. I truly enjoyed reading this book from the first until the very last page.

One of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book that it explored the meaning of death. It is something that people do not talk about often mainly because it is a hard topic. But sadly enough it is also a part of life so I believe that it should be addressed more. And I think she did a pretty good job of addressing it. Gabe grew up in a funeral home, so she is around dead all the time. For her it is part of everyday life so she does not get why people get so upset over it since everyone knows that it will happen eventually. The least you could say is that she had a complex relationship with death. In some ways she got really detached from her emotions because she needed to do that to survive or at least she thought she had to do that.

I really enjoyed Gabe as a character, she might come across to some people as selfish but I did not see her like that at all. What I saw was a girl that did not have a lot of friends and tried to keep the one friend she really had close to her. And yes when that friend was slipping away from her she made some wrong decisions but overall I think she did her best to please everyone. Bree on the other hand I found to be selfish, they had been best friends for years but then a boy enters the picture and she basically tosses her friend to the side. I really hate it when people do that because in the end they always come crawling back. Another character that I did enjoy was Hartman, he really complemented Gabe well. He made her see again that it is okay to feel things and that she should really live her life. And for that alone I already liked him.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It might have been a book mainly focused on romance but it also dealt with so many other topics and that is what made this book so good. I am glad that I decided to pick up this book by Jolene Perry because she has proved again to me that she can address a heavy topic in a way that does not make it too depressing and sad. 

Elien

Review: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Rebel of the Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Series: Rebel of the Sands
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Viking
Publication date: March 8th 2016
Pages: 314 (hardcover)
Source: Netgalley






Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic. For humans, it's can unforgiving place, especially if you're poor, orphaned, or female. 

Amani Al'Hiza is all three. She's a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can't shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she's destined to wind up wed or dead. 

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she's spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse - or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes - in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power.

Goodreads

I had my eyes on this book ever since it got release. Did you look at the cover, it is so stunning, and the story line sounded so great as well.

Rebel of the Sands is set in a fantasy world with a lot of Middle Eastern influences. And it is one of the things that I liked the most about this book. When it comes to Middle Eastern influenced books I really cannot resist. And if you add some fantasy elements into it like spirits, djinni’s and ghouls well then I am completely sold.

Amani is a pretty great character to read about. I did get annoyed with her at some points, mostly because she was really selfish at some points. Actually she is probably one of the most selfish characters that I have ever read about. She always thought of what she wanted in life and she did not really care about how she got there even if it did put people in harm’s way. But at the same time I also liked her, yes she was selfish but by the end of the book she redeemed herself. And I liked that she was so sassy all the time. Jin is something different all together. I liked him from the start but I also knew that something had to be wrong with him since it was all too good to be true.  And he did have his secrets but I guess he had his reasons for.

There were other things that I loved about this book as well. Like I mentioned before the setting of this book is just great. Fantasy books are always a bit hard, a lot of the time the author gives too many details of this new world or they give to little information instead which leaves you confused. But Rebel of the Sands seems to have found the perfect combination.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those books that was pretty hard to put down. There was so much action it in, which kept me on the edge of my seat. The world building was great and in general the characters were fun to read about too. I really cannot wait to read the next book in this series. 

Elien

Review: Long Way Home (Thunder Road #3) by Katie McGarry

   

The highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series is being released on January 31^st! LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Pre-order your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don’t miss Violet and Chevy’s story! Check out all of the stops on this awesome tour and be sure to pre-order your copy for the amazing bonus scenes!

Title: Long Way Home
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Thunder Road
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequing Teen
Publication date: January 31st 2017
Pages: 448 (hardcover)
Source: Netgalley
Buy links: Amazon | Kobo | BAM | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound
Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series:  Nowhere But Here Walk the Edge

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all. 

"An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page."

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

Goodreads

I have no idea how Katie McGarry keeps doing it. She writes such beautiful books with strong storylines that I just cannot get enough of. She seriously has an amazing talent and that is one of the many reasons why I just have to read every book that she publishes.

Long Way Home follows the lives of Violet and Chevy. It was so easy to immerse myself again into this motorcycle world that Katie has created and it was so easy to connect with the character. Katie has a knack for creating strong and likeable characters and Violet and Chevy were no different. At first I was not too sure about Violet, she always seemed a bit standoffish in the previous book and I did not always like her behavior and actions towards the other characters. But know I finally got to know her better and I could understand her better. What she was going through was not easy and it was easy to see why she acted the way she did. By the end of a Long Way Home I could only respect her. She is a young, strong, passionate and independent girl. When she has set her mind to something she will do whatever it takes to get there and that is one of the biggest thing that I loved about her. Chevy was the other main character of this book. And seriously Katie has to stop to make her mail characters so swoon worthy. Chevy was a very loyal guy, but at the same time he also respected the feelings of the people around him. He had a though life walking on a thin line between his school life and the terror since he did not know what kind of life he wanted. And afraid to hurt anyone he keeps walking that thin line even if it exhausts him.  It was impossible not to like him and he is definitely one of my favorite characters so far in the Thunder Road series.

I really liked the romance in this book. It was different from her other books since the two characters had already a history with each other. But the romance was well paced and had so many swoon worthy moments. Sometimes I wanted to yell at them to make up already and to be happy again with each other. But then again I am glad that Katie did not rush anything because it made the book so much better in the end. Both Chevy and Violet had so many issues that they had to work out, both together and apart. So it was good that they took their time and Katie did a great job resolving all these issues.

The plotline of this book was so interesting as well. There were so many unexpected twists that it made it even harder to put this book own. I just constantly had to know what was going to happen next. And then one of the revelations that were made near the end. I cannot express how excited I am to see how this will develop further in Katie’s next books.

Overall I really enjoyed Long Way Home it is another brilliant book by Katie McGarry. And it was filled with action, drama and romance, so basically everything that I could have wished for. If you are looking for a new YA contemporary romance series to read than I would definitely recommend this one.  

Excerpt 

CHEVY
     “Chevy,” Cyrus calls near the entrance, “We need to talk.”
     Damned knot in the tug-of-war-rope and I’m starting to feel frayed. Mom doesn’t blink as she waits for me to say something. To tell Cyrus he can wait. To tell her what she wants to hear. But as much as I love her, I’m also drawn to the club. She’s right, I do want both.
     “I’ll be back to pick you up later,” I say.
     Mom throws the towel she had expertly throttled into the sink behind her, walks to the other side of the bar and the strobe light casts a red haze around her. If I didn’t know her better, I’d buy the flirty smile and the way she giggles in happiness as she leans on the bar to take a drink order. But that’s not her real smile and that’s not her real laugh. It’s part of her job, part of her act, because that’s what working her requires—performing.
     With a kick to a barstool, I head for the exit. Cyrus walks out into the night and I follow. Once outside, Cyrus turns to me and his warm breath creates a cloud in the cool night. “We’ve had some trouble tonight with the Riot.”
     The Riot would be a motorcycle club north of us in Louisville. They’re pissed at the Terror for myriad reasons, the main one being we’re a legit club and they deal in illegal. They’re also angry at one of our main members, Eli. They feel he stole their daughter and granddaughter from them. Eli didn’t steal a thing. Can’t call someone’s free will in walking away from crazy a crime.
     Life sucks for the Riot and I’m fine with that. “Everything okay?”
     “Yeah. Everyone’s safe, but we’ve had word that they’ve ridden past the boundary lines we set with them a few months back. It’s all rumor and no one on our side has confirmed it. Could be someone’s overactive imagination, but I’ll feel better knowing you’re off the road.”
     I’m under eighteen, still a kid to him. Cyrus used to act this way with my two best friends, Oz and Razor, but both are eighteen and full members of the club now. The babysitting twists my gut, but then again, I’m not ready for the decision eighteen will bring. “How about Violet?”
     “I’m on my way now to look for her. She’s also not answering her cell.”
     Yeah. A lot of that going around. “If she took Stone to the game, she would have headed straight home. I’ll check on her on my way to Mom’s if you want.”
     This gives me the excuse I need to see Violet. Because I won’t be able to sleep without knowing she’s okay. So I can thank her for what she did for me with the note. To gauge whether or not Violet is waving the white flag.
     Cyrus lays a hand on my shoulder. “I’d appreciate that. I need to head back to the clubhouse to take care of some business. I’m serious about what I said though. Me and a lot of guys would love to hear about the game.”
     I know they would and I’d enjoy being with them, but Mom’s already sore that I walked out on her to talk to Cyrus. “I’m beat. After I check on Violet, I’m crashing.”
     Cyrus gives me a fast pat and a hug. We both mount our bikes and start our engines with a growl. My grandfather takes the lead and I follow him as long as I can before taking the path that leads away from him and toward where Violet lives.

Giveaway

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     About the author

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, NOWHERE BUT HERE and WALK THE EDGE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.  

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Pre-order LONG WAY HOME by Katie McGarry, and fill out THIS FORM, to receive three previously unreleased bonus scenes featuring important “firsts” in the lives of your favorite characters from the world of Katie McGarry! Complete the form to register your pre-order at https://wyng.com/campaign/820152. Offer Ends 1/31/17 at 11:59pm EST.

Elien

Review: Four: A Divergent Story Collection (Divergent #0.1-0.4) by Veronica Roth

Title: Four: A Divergent Story Collection
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: July 8th 2014
Pages: 208 (paperback)
Source: own it

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling DIVERGENT series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—THE TRANSFER, THE INITIATE, THE SON, and THE TRAITOR—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the DIVERGENT trilogy. 

Goodreads

It had been a couple of years since I had read the Divergent trilogy and I really loved the series, especially the first two books in the trilogy. Up until now I had never read any of the novellas but this year my mom gifted Four to me for Christmas. And immediately I got excited to read and emerge myself again into the Divergent world.

This compilation of short stories don’t really deliver any new information, most of it you already found out by reading the Divergent trilogy. It is more like an extra; you got to experience some of the things from Four’s point of view. But it wasn’t the same thing repeated just from a different point of view. It showed how he experienced some of the events, for example how he made the decision to join Dauntless and how he found out about the attack on abnegation. I also loved that we got to see more of his personality, of his friendship with Zeke and Shauna.

I always used to love Four while reading Divergent; he’s such an interesting and complicated character. And this collection of scenes proved again why it is that I liked him so much.

Four is a fun collection of scenes and if you like the Divergent world than I would definitely recommend it that you read it.

Elien

Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Publication date: February 9th 2017
Pages: 464 (paperback)
Source: Netgalley






Long before she was the terror of Wonderland - the infamous Queen of Hearts - she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. 

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland - the infamous Queen of Hearts - she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her own terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Goodreads

Alice in Wonderland is such an amazing story and one of the most complex characters is probably the Queen of Hearts.  So of course I wanted to find out what exactly made her become her so twisted. So when Heartless got released I knew that I had to read it, especially since Melissa Meyer is such an amazing author.  And Heartless did deliver, it had the right combination of everything, romance, action, drama and of course a lot of weirdness how else can it be set in Wonderland.

You do not need to know Alice in Wonderland to read this book; it stands completely on its own. It is not a retelling of the story, it has an own unique and amazing plot with a great set of characters. Heartless follows Catherine, daughter of the Marquess of Turtle Rock. The King of Hearts took a liking to her and every girl in Hearts would want to be in her shoes but not Catherine. Becoming the Queen of Hearts would mean giving up her long life dream of opening her own bakery. That is all she has ever wanted to do but when you are the daughter of the Marquess you cannot make decisions of your own and you have to follow the rules of society. All Catherine can do is feel frustrated and angry and hope that the King will shift his attention to someone else.

At first I could not see how Catherine could ever turn into the Queen of Hearts that we know. She is good hearted and cares about the people in her life. But bit by bit you can see the changes in her and to be fair I cannot blame her entirely. So many things happen to her. She falls in love with the court joker, and I was rooting for Jest. He is such a great guy and couldn’t help but love him. But at the same time that I was rooting for them I knew that their story would not be one with a happy ending.  But what happened to them still makes me sad and that is why I cannot blame Catherine for turning in the person she is as at the Queen of Hearts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I completely get what the buzz is all about now. The book throws you back to your childhood with all the feeling of a fairytale but at the same time it keeps you on edge since you know what will happen but you just do not know how exactly it will happen.  It was really hard for me to put this book down and I cannot wait to read more of Marissa Meyer’s books.

Elien

Review: The Secrets We Kept by Lily Velez

Title: The Secrets We Kept
Author: Lily Velez
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Blue Typewriter Press
Publication date: November 8th 2015
Pages: 366 (paperback)
Source: Netgalley






One year. That's how long it's been since childhood sweethearts Sully Graham and Cadence Gilbertson broke up, since one adoption and one out-of-state move turned their worlds upside down. 

Suddenly, Cadence is back in New York City, but something's different about her. The light in her eyes, the music in her laughter, the warmth in her smile - all of those things have entirely vanished. In their place stand the makings of a girl Sully can't even begin to recognize, much less understand.

Still, despite the collective history of heartbreak between them, he's convinced he can win her trust again, and he's committed to proving the invincibility of their love no matter what it takes.

But Cadence is quietly harboring secrets of her own. Dark secrets. Ugly secrets. Secrets that could break a person. An though broken herself and unbearably alone, she's determined to protect Sully from her terrible, biting truths. Even if it means locking him out of her life forever.

The only problem is it seems her heart hasn't quite received the memo. One glimpse of him is all it takes for her to trip into familiar (and, she'll admit, addictive) feelings that threaten to all but consume her. No her biggest fear is that her secrets will begin to slowly unravel one by one.... long before Sully's resolve ever does.

The Secrets We Kept is a moving story about first love, friendship, and forgiveness, and the enduring bonds that forever connect us and give us our strength.

Goodreads

When I first requested The Secrets We Kept I did not know what to expect of it. At first it was just the cover that attracted me to the book. It is a really simple cover but at the same time really beautiful as well. After reading the synopsis I knew that I had to read this book. The foster system is something that should be paid more attention to. So I was glad that The Secrets We Kept portrayed two teens that had grown up in the foster care system.

The Secrets We Kept revolves around Sully and Cadence. They both were in the foster system and that’s how they initially met. But then Cadence’s parents decide to move to the other side of the country which is the start of a lot of problems that will arise and eventually it leads to a breakup between the two. After a year Cadence moves back and Sully thinks that they can amend things and pick up their lives where they left off. But things are different, Cadence is different and she will not let anyone in to help her. Cadence has closed her off from everyone she loves because she does not want to hurt them more than she has to. She has hiding something big that is slowly killing her. They both have to decide if the other is worth fighting for.

It was amazing how well-developed all the characters in this book were and I loved each and every one of them. They all had their unique characteristics but what bound them all together was the foster system. I really felt for Cadence, she never had an easy childhood and when finally thinks start to look better her whole world gets turned upside down again. She was really stubborn and withdrawn a lot of the time. But I couldn’t blame her for that; she was carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders all by herself. She felt like she had to deal with everything alone because it was her fault. I could not imagine living like she did and while her decisions might not have been always the wisest I did respect her because of it. And in general I really liked her as a character. Sully was another great character. I liked how determined he was about being with Cadence and to figure out what was going on with her. A lot of people might have given up already by how closed off she was. He was really loyal towards her but like her he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. The only thing that bugged me after a while was that he did always put Cadence on the first place. While at times he should have thought about himself first for a change or about his younger brother. He also needed him to be there in his life.

It was really hard to put The Secrets We Kept down; I just wanted to keep reading it. Especially since I wanted to find out what had happened during the time that Cadence was away and what changed her. And when her secrets were finally unraveled I wanted to know how everyone around her would deal with it. This was a really good book that kept me interested until the very last page.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were lovely and the plot was really interesting. I would really recommend this book if you are looking for a YA book that deals with some heavier issues. 

Elien

Review: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Titan's Curse 
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians 
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Middle Grade
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication date: May 5th 2007
Pages: 320 (paperback)
Source: own it






It's not everyday you find yourself in combat with a half-lion, half-human. 

But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster. 

Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive...

Goodreads

The more books that I read in the series the more I do not understand why it took me so long to read them in the first place. This series is so entertaining and so much fun to read! 

I loved this book even more so that the first two books in this series. In some ways it is a bit repetitive as well. They go on a quest, things go not as they originally planned and they get themselves into lots of trouble. But eventually the find a way out of a tricky situation. As far as I can see that is the major outline of all the books in this series, of at least so far it is. But this one also had a different storyline in it, and I have been waiting for this storyline for ages. You could see it coming in the first two books, Chronos who was possibly making his rise to power again. But in The Titan’s Curse his plan finally became so much clearer. And that is probably what I liked so much about this book. It was a lot of the same but at the same time it was also different.

Rick Riordan keeps weaving Greek mythology in his books in a great way. I really love getting to know more about it in this way. I mean it is all told in a really entertaining way so it is impossible to get bored with it. What I especially liked about the Titan’s Curse was that we got to know more about the mythological people that lived when Chronos had all the power, such as Atlas. I have never known much about them so it is really interesting to read about them.

Riordan also has the habit of introducing new characters in every book and I loved that. The Huntresses were pretty cool. I mean who doesn’t want immortality and then just have the chance to hunt the rest of your life? Sounds like a pretty good deal for a girl no? But I got this feeling that some of these new characters might cause quite a bit of trouble in the next books. Guess I will have to find out soon.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. This series is so much fun to read and since it is a middle grade series they also read really quickly. I cannot wait to read the last two books in this series. 

Elien

Review: The Sea of Monster (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Genre: Adventure, Paranormal, Middle Grade
Publisher: Puffin Books
Publication date: April 30th 2017
Pages: 265 (paperback)
Source: own it






The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Rioran's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Rioran's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment. In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.

Goodreads

Earlier this week I posted my review of the first Percy Jackson book and like I told you in there this series really got me hooked. So here is my review for the second book in the series The Sea of Monsters.

The Percy Jackson isn’t the best that I have ever read but it certainly is not bad and I am sure that it is even more appealing to a 12-year-old which is the target audience. But like the first book The Sea of Monsters was such a fun read. There is just so much adventure and so much is happening that it does not bore you for a minute. In every chapter something new and exciting happens and I guess that is one of the main reasons why this book was so hard to put down and why I read it in just one day, something I have not done in ages.

My only issue with this book is that this book is a bit repetitive, every single time it seems like that the heroes come across a big issue. They are able to solve it, most of the time with somebodies help, but that gets them into some more problems later on.  But I guess the characters make up a lot for that. I just cannot withstand their charms. Annabeth who is too intelligent for her age and always has a plan for everything, Percy who is the reckless one and never thinks about what his actions might do and Grover who always gets himself accidently into some trouble, bad luck just seems to follow him. And then of course there was Tyson, the cyclops, that got introduced in this book. I really liked him as a character and I am hoping we will get to see more of him in the next books.

A lot of other characters from the Greek mythology made an appearance in this book. I really liked reading about all of them and getting to know their little back stories. I know that those have to be taken with a pinch of salt since it’s aimed at middle graders so it has some alternations but it was still so great to read about it.

I have a feeling that the back story will come more and more to the forefront now in the next books, Kronos his rise to power. And I am really excited for that, that together with the major event at the end of the book makes that I cannot wait to start reading the next book in the series.

Overall I really enjoyed The Sea of Monster, it was a quick and fun read. The Percy Jackson world is definitely a really interesting one. And I cannot wait to continue reading this series. 

Elien

Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

Title: The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan 
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians 
Genre: Adventure, Paranormal, Middle Grade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Publication date: March 1st 2006
Pages: 377 (paperback)
Source: Own it






Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he got to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends - one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Goodreads

After all those years of hearing how amazing the Percy Jackson series I finally gave in and I started to read the series. And now I finally understand why people love those books so much! I should have read those years ago. I have always liked Greek mythology; those Greek gods always seemed a bit of a weird bunch thrown together and to be hones reading Percy Jackson is a great way to get to know more about them.

By now I think most people know what these books are about but I’ll tell you again anyway. Percy Jackson is a bit of a troubled teen, the fact that he has ADHD and dyslexia does not really help his case. Because of that he has been thrown out of several boarding schools, so he’s constantly on the move. Then in sixth grade things get weirder than they have ever been and he finally finds out why he never belonged anywhere else before.

I picked The Lightning Thief up thinking that it would be a fun and fast read and it certainly was. But what I did not expect was how hooked I would get on this series from the very beginning. The book might be oriented towards Middle Graders but it was so much fun to read and I really got addicted to it. I had seen the movie before so I know more or less what was going to happen but the movie really didn’t do any justice to the book. The book gives you so much more than the story of a young guy that goes on an adventure with his friends. It also provided a great insight into Greek mythology and you get to see it all in a new way and that was pretty nice.

I do get why people often compare it to Harry Potter, yes there are some big similarities but to be honest that didn’t bother me so much. This book still had enough unique things to make it something special. And I’m hoping that the similarities will disappear more to the background in the following books. Also I really liked Percy as the main character; he has such a strong loyalty to his friends that it’s pretty remarkable. When he first comes to camp Half-Blood he’s a bit of an outcast because of his heritage so he really has to gain all their trust and he does it pretty well I have to say.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read all the other books in this series. And probably all of Rick Riordan’s other books. If you haven’t read this books yet then I would certainly recommend that you do so soon!

Elien

Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Series: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication date: February 24th 2015
Pages: 336 (paperback)
Source: Own it






A startling, seductive, deliciously dark debut that will shatter your definition of YA fantasy. 

Sixteen-year-old Twylla lives in the caste. But although she's engaged to the prince, no one speaks to her. No one even looks at her. Because Twylla isn't a member of the court. She's the executioner. As the goddess-embodied, Twylla kills with a single touch. So each week, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love her. Who could care for a girl with murder in her veins? Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to her touch, avoids her. But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose playful smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the goddess. Yet a treasonous romance is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies - a plan that requires an unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love? 

Goodreads

The Sin Eater’s Daughter had been on my TBR list since it basically came out. I mean look at the cover of this book, it’s so gorgeous! For the cover alone I already wanted to read this book. But I never had the opportunity to read it before. But the other day I came across it in a discount book store so I picked it up immediately.  

The first half of the book was a bit slow, you get some information about the characters and the kingdom but that is about it. And when you continue reading the book then you realize that the first half could have easily been skipped or at least reduced since it was just a really long introduction to the real story line. But in general I still enjoyed the book because there were enough interesting characters and events going on.

First of all the Queen, boy she is something evil. She treats everyone as her puppets and if anybody 

dares to cross her, well it does not end well end for them. One of her puppets is Twylla, she is told that she is Duanen Embodied, a reincarnation of the daughter of the gods. Her task is to follow the orders of the gods, which is according to the queen executing prisoners who have committed treason against the kingdom. Her skin is poisonous, so anyone who dares to touch her dies immediately with exception of the Queen, the King and the Prince. So she is destined to marry the prince one day. But then she gets a new bodyguard, Lief, and everything that she knows starts to change.

Twylla was nice enough, a bit naïve at times but it’s also understandable since she never got the chance to think for herself or do what she wanted since the Queen had been controlling her for years. But I loved that by the end of the book she was finally standing up for what she thought was good and for what she wanted. I grew even fond of her and I can see that she will turn into a great character. Then there is her bodyguard Lief, I don’t know what to think of him. At first I liked him; he was the only one even willing to talk to Twylla but then what he did at the end of the book. I don’t know if he can ever redeem himself in my eyes. And then of course there is Merek, the prince, he is another character that I have some mixed feelings about. I wasn’t the biggest fan of him; he’s a bit cold and standoffish and to be fair also a bit unstable probably due to his heritage. But at the same time I could also see some good in him. And I am hoping that I will see more of that side of him in the next book.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. But like I said before the real story line didn’t start until the second half of the book and it sounded really interesting. So I am sure that I will enjoy the second book a lot more than I did this one.  And I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

Elien