Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2)

Aimee Carter
3 stars

 Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

I am very sad to say that I was very disappointed with the sequel  and I am most disappointed in Kate herself. She has spent all Summer playing in Greece with James comes back and expects everything to be fine and dandy. I mean come on girl Henry has been without you for months now give him a break, but oh no she goes all crazy about how he doesn't love her. Really!?! She has been there all of a couple of hours before she is doubting his love and how much he is still in love with Persephone. I mean come on Kate I loved you in the first book because you were such a strong person and now you're falling to pieces because Henry, who has never been able to show his emotions very well, doesn't kiss you right away after he has been battling Cronus for weeks now? UGH she is so frustrating!!! I mean everyone continues to reassure her that Henry loves her! And then in the middle of her coronation Henry is kidnapped and Kate goes to pieces. Eventually she pulls herself together and goes searching for Persephone who she thinks is her biggest threat to her future. Really?? I mean I can understand her reasons for being jealous of Persephone it was Henry's first wife first love, but her mother has never shown or said to her that she loves Persephone more. Her insecurities are not warranted in my opinion. She battles Calliope to get Henry and the others released being reckless again as usual. She is saved by Henry and I mean if that doesn't mean he loves you what does? And then to prove that she is not useless she goes on a mission to find Rhea so that Cronus will not win. UGH Kate you were really annoying in the book. But the ending will defiantly keep me reading for the Goddess Inheritance. The ending was just gut wrenching twist in the plot I didn't see it coming. So thats why the book gets a higher rating. 

The Goddess Legacy (Goddess Test # 2.5)

 4.5 stars
Aimee Carter

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

• Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness...
• Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal...
• Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another...
• James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before...
• Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope..

  Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages.

I was so excited when I discovered this book was available through my library and checked it out right away. I decided that I would read just one of the stories before going to bed, boy was I wrong I couldn't stop myself from reading and stayed up all night. The Goddess Test series has been amazing and though it has answered many questions they are only ones Kate is given answers to, in this novella however we are given the answers behind the Gods and Goddess behaviors and actions. Why Hera was such a jealous wife, Why Aphrodite is allowed so many affairs as a married women, What was really behind Persephone's decision to leave Hades, What really lies behind Hermes joking personality, and Hades first encounter with Kate! All great stories that add so much depth to the characters.

Calliope/Hera just wants to be loved and she wants to rule as Queen as a daughter of a Titan, she doesn't want to be a man's possession. She marries Zeus knowing she is in love with another and expects Zeus to change his cheating ways, all she gets in return is a broken heart full of bitterness. I have to say that after reading this I did feel a bit tad sorry for her(but not enough since she tried to kill Kate). Hera wants to be a equal with her husband and since he never accepts nor respects her she is doomed to spend eternity anger, jealous, and bitter at those around her that will have happiness she will never have.

Ava/Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and therefore follows in the footsteps of holding many lovers as well, but when she is forced into a marriage that she does not she runaways with the man she loves. Slow she discovers that passion and burning may not always last and that perhaps a love that was not first valued is the love that she needs the most and will be the most constant. This love is lasting and does not hold her flaws against her, which is what she needs in her life.

Persephone was forced to marry Hades and she held nothing but hatred and anger against him which she could never explain since she liked him as a friend (which I have my suspicions who did that to her which made me even more angry with that person). We discover what happen during her time with Henry which makes me feel even more sorry for poor Henry. She not only cheated on Henry, but gave her life eventually for love.

We have always seen James/Hermes as the joker and yet in this story we discover that he has so much more to him a depth that I thought he didn't have. He has experienced great loss and isn't as carefree as he would lead everyone to believe.

Henry/Hades's story was my favorite!! It explained so much about him!! Why he is the way he is, how he lived after Persephone, and how the bringing in of the girls to be tested began. I felt so sorry for Henry knowing how much he had to endure before he meet Kate. How much pain and sorrow he went through ugh it just makes me root for him so much harder. And the scene where he first meets Kate is just PERFECT!! I mean this story is needed so much to add so much enrichment to the Kate and Henry story. You will be missing out if you don't read this story!

Over all Aimee Carter has worked her magic again bringing to life myths of long ago. She has added so much depth to all the characters by writing these stories and letting us see what lead these Gods and Goddess to who they are and show us why they do what they do. I recommend this book and this entire to series to everyone! It is a must read and favorite on my list.

The Goddess Hunt (Goddess Test #1.5)

4.5 Stars
Aimee Carter

A vacation in Greece sounds like the perfect way for Kate Winters to spend her first sabbatical away from the Underworld...until she gets caught up in an immortal feud going back millennia. Castor and Pollux have been on the run from Zeus and Hades' wrath for centuries, hiding from the gods who hunt them. The last person they trust is Kate, the new Queen of the Underworld. Nevertheless, she is determined to help their cause. But when it comes to dealing with immortals, Kate still has a lot to learn....

I am just in love with this series! I mean Aimee Carter is just an amazing author. I loved the Goddess Test she just gives a whole new spin to Greek mythology. So when I was finally able to get a hold of this book in its kindle format I couldn't put it down!! It was just amazing! I give it 4.5 stars! Kate and James are back in this book showing what they are doing on the six months Kate is off on her sabbatical from the Underworld and her new husband Henry. All she wants is a vacation, but leave it James to get them into a heap of trouble on their first day in Greece. Enter Castor and Pollux running from the council who Kate has just become a part of and the troubles  start from there, after this is major spoiler alerts so I'll stop now. Kate is as strong willed as ever and her ideas of moral just don't line up with the councils, she stands strong by her convictions though and doesn't let anyone bully her. I loved being able to read the story from Henry's point of view he adds so much flavor to this story. We have always had Kate's POV and since she is so modern I completely understand where she is coming from, but Henry is older than mortals and seeing his spin on things really gets me thinking in another way. And how he is so hesitant to approach Kate while she has her six months off just breaks my heart! I mean he is like ten feet away from her and he doesn't appear to her! They are meant to be together!! And yet he is determined to give her space and not make the same mistakes and Persephone. I loved this novella and can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!

Divergent

4.5 stars
Veronica Roth

 In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

 Can I just say WOW! I could not put this book down, I just had to keep reading! Veronica Roth is one talented author. This book was a total page turner and every page kept me guessing what would happen next. I was prepared for another dystopian society that doesn't work, which is what greeted me in the first few pages. But within a few pages I saw that it wasn't the same old boring story rehashed again. Beatrice was a girl that doesn't fit in and isn't like everyone else in her faction, so when the time comes for her to be tested she discovers a secret about herself that just might get her killed. She must chosen between factions, one which she has lived in all her life and one that she will to be crazy to survive. I really liked this book because the main story line was about Tris and the moral decision between RIGHT and WRONG. She had to constantly reevaluate what she thought about herself, others, and her society. Tris is one strong girl which I think is what made me love her, because I could relate so much to her. She does not let those hurting her know how much they are getting to her, she shows only her strength, she doesn't ask for help and she hides her vulnerability so well (two of my own character flaws). She doesn't need no man to fight her battles for her she has got it handled. But of course no book would be complete without a love interest, so enter "four" who is mysterious (what heartthrob isn't), withdrawn, and just over all confusing. It is a slow descendent for Tris into to her love for four and in the end true loves saves him (this was the only part of the book that I felt was predictable, I mean come on true love always wins it kinda gets a little annoying at times). But over all Tris has to face unimaginable hardships that lead her to be the person she was always meant to be. I give kudos to Veronica Roth for writing such an amazing book and look forward to reading Insurgent which I hope isn't a huge let down like sequels sometimes are.

The Snow Child

3.5 Stars
Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

I started reading this book because it was the December book for my book club. The pace in the beginning is rather slow in my opinion, I felt like it really dragged. At first neither Jack nor Mabel really made an impression or seemed to be interesting. When the first snow fell was really the beginning of the story for me. From there it really became interesting, when Faina came into the story she brought with her the life of the story well at least in my opinion. I was sad for Mabel and Jack for them not being able to have children and not being able to bridge that gap between them since the death of their baby. So when Faina came into their lives I thought it very fitting. Now I had never heard of the fairy tale the Snow Maiden before this book, so the author adding that Faina could possibly be the snow child seemed rather plausible to me (anything in the Alaskan wilderness seemed possible). The scenery had to be my favorite part of the book such vivid scenes of the Alaskan frontier I felt as though I could imagine being there. Anyways I felt the author did such a great job in building Faina into their lives and then letting her continue to grow and slowly become like their daughter. I also liked how Garret was "forced" to come work and then slowly also became like their own son. I don't want to give too much away so I'll stop while I'm ahead but it doesn't have fairy tale ending which is probably why I didn't give the book as high a rating (that and the fact it dragged in the beginning). This is a book that really seems to repeat the saying "If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours" I feel that this was the theme of the whole book circling Faina. What Faina did in the end to me was horrible and inexcusable I just can't believe she did it, but back to the theme "If you love something set it free..."

Rory Gilmore's Reading Challenge

So I have never watched Gilmore Girls, but I saw this post on It's Time to Read and thought that I would try my hand at this list of books. I'm going to highlight those books which I have already read (many of which I didn't write reviews for) and I will slowly conquer this long list of books hopefully.
So here is the list:

1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen – read
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – started and not finished
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy\
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – on my book pile
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (Lpr)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – read
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsro by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult 
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby 
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR)
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen – read
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray – read
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Out of 250 books I have only read 58 I have quite a few to go, but I can't say I don't have anything to read now.

Julie Kagawa October Contest: Calling all Fey

Julie Kagawa is holding another contest and it had to do with dressing up and being a faery, so of course I had to participate! Here is all the info about the contest in case you want to enter. She is giving away so much amazing stuff I just hope I win this time. So onto my entry.

My name is D’Arcy and I am a Sidhe from the Winter court. I love to spend my time exploring the Wyldwood and hunting on the snow covered grounds of Tir Na Nog. I don't like spending time at court, but I can navigate court politics with the best of them (though Mab I avoid at all cost, she can be a bit testy at times and I don't wanna end up a frozen statue). For that reason I'm more of a solitary fey and prefer the company of my fey steed Eachna who keeps me company in all my adventures through the Nevernever. My weapon of choice is a bow, though I'm pretty handy with a sword. Here is a picture of me in the wyldwood tracking some redcaps with my trusty steed, a bow, and a quiver of arrows.

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1)

5 stars
Julie Kagawa 

ARC from Netgalley 

Don't look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for. Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten

I LOVED this book, I was so excited when I found out that Julie was writing another book pertaining to faery and to top that a book about lovable little Ethan (who isn't the same little boy we meet in the first Iron Fey series). He's all grown up and wanted nothing to do with the world that took his sister Meghan from him. He does everything possible to ignore the Fae who just seem to torment his life. When he starts a new school in hopes of laying low the exact opposite happens. He has a girl take an interest in his bad boy persona and he has trouble on the faery front as well. He doesn't want to get involved, but he finds himself sucked into someone elses problems. He unwilling has to accept the help of a Fae as he is chased from our world to the realm of faery dragging poor Kenzie with him. I can't even go on because it would spoil the book for you (and it is an amazing book), but I'll mention just a few more tidbits. He finds help in faery from a surprise family member, angers more than one faery Queen, helps to right what is going wrong in faery along the way, and meets many the familiar faces on his journey(swooning just thinking about the meetings). He also seems to find love with a girl he wanted to nothing to with. And just when I thought everything would be resolved Julie drops a whopper on poor Ethan (not to mention his sidekick who is very swoon worthy). I do have to say that I was lost prior to reading Iron's Prophecy and afterwards I could see why such great measures were taken to keep a certain two characters (which didn't work anyways) apart. I can not wait for the next book in the series  to come out but considering I just finished read the ARC for The Lost Prince I think it may be awhile, but I know it will be so worth the wait. Keep up the good work Julie you are super-mega-awesome!

Iron's Prophecy (The Iron Fey #4.5)

5 stars
Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way. But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.” Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child… 
A novella from the bestselling Iron Fey series

Let me start off by saying that The Iron Fey Series is one of my favorite series of all times I have all four books in print as well as kindle editions (which rarely every happens, I usually just borrow from the library). I was ecstatic with the outcome for Meghan and Ash in The Iron Knight, so I wasn't expecting anything else from the series so when Julie said she was writing this novella I nearly died of happiness. I finally got to see what life was like for Meghan and Ash in the Iron Realm. It was AMAZING! Julie has done it again I couldn't put it down. It was released at midnight and I simply sat there at my kindle reading until 3 in the morning, I just had to know what was going to happen to their son. I was afraid at first because when authors keep writing stories about some character the characters get boring and all used up, but not Ash, Meghan, Puck, or Grim. (yes Puck and Grim are in here too). It started off with a mysterious dream which just led to more intrigue. Then a hunky scene with Ash and then to a other piece in the plot. The gathering at Elysium of course had a surprise guest, which set the whole book rest of the book into motion. We are then joined by old friends and led on a journey through the wyldwood. Meghan kidnapped by an old acquaintance and forced to fight for her life, when just in time her faery protectors help save her. And just at the last minute when I thought everything was going to workout the key information they needed was snapped from their grasp. I couldn't believe it I was left speechless staring at the book my heart racing and I was crying for them It wasn't fair!! Their unborn son set to destroy the world they had worked so hard to save No this can't be!! Keirran please be good!! Don't destroy anything. You're just too hot like your daddy!(fangirl swooning here) They are left to make their own future and keep the terrible stuff they were shown from happening. Thank You so much Julie for taking the time to write this novella and allowing us another look into faery. I missed this characters and I am glad they came back even if just for a short visit.

My entry for Julie Kagawa Iron Fey boxed set

Here is my entry for the contest  Julie Kagawa is holding on her blog. She is giving away a signed boxed set of The Iron Fey if you take a picture reading the newest release The Iron Legends. I love the series so I couldn't resist entering a contest to get a signed anything from my favorite author.

On the Island

 4 Stars
Tracey Garvis-Graves

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends. Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

  I didn't think I was going to like the book, but once I started reading I couldn't stop. I picked it up in the morning and finished around 2 in the morning. I was thinking that his was going to be just another romance novel were the heroine falls in love with some hunky guy, but Tracey did a fantastic job in building the story. After the plane crash I thought things were going to be all hot, but Anna was a wonderful character that had morals and wanted to do nothing wrong. T.J. was also very mature being a teenager I thought he would have jumped Anna after they crashed her being beautiful, but he built a relationship and I loved that about them. I was cheering for them not to have to deal with so much hardship it truly broke my heart every time something happened to one of them I was so scared they weren't gonna make it out a live. I was yelling at the book at one point because I couldn't believe the last twist Tracey threw in the story (though I guess I should have seen it coming if I had thought about the dates). I loved the how it ended and to know that their love slowly grew and they over came everything that was thrown their way and able to have a happy ending.

Lucretia and the Kroons

1.5 Stars
Victor LaValle
I received this ebook from Netgalley and I started reading it because the description of the book seemed to be interesting. When the book started it just seemed to drag and then as the story went on it picked up speed but it like threw me for a tailspin. I was so confused when Lucretia ended up in the apartment was that real or not real I understand that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but as far as I know bipolar disorder has no such delusions like schizophrenia. I know I may be taking the book a little too serious, but I was really confused as to what the bipolar had to do with the adventure that took place in 6D. I did like how Lucretia was able to say goodbye to Sunny and she was able to let her go and not make her suffer anymore by letting her be taken. I think the point of the book was horror come for children too, but it really wasn't my cup of tea.

The Enchanted Truth

3 Stars
Kym Petrie
In this humorous and insightful tale, a modern day princess finds herself single and asking for magical intervention to change her sorry love life. Rather than casting a spell to bring Prince Charming to her rescue, a savvy fairy godmother gives the tenderhearted damsel an unexpected gift. By entrusting her true thoughts and desires to an unlikely confidant, the young royal soon discovers that the person who could make her life everything she dreamed it would be has been with her all along.As author Kym Petrie herself realized, every woman needs a froggy friend and a secret journal—and enough adventures with the girls to keep her heart pounding and her mind racing. Life is meant to be about happy beginnings . . . you can never have enough of them.

Though it was a short story I did enjoy it very much. It shows that you can't always wait for prince charming to come find you, you shouldn't have to have someone to complete you, you should complete yourself. You should be happy just the way you are and then your prince will find you. You need to love yourself before anyone else will love you. This story actually inspired me to write a list of what I want in my prince charming. I took some tips from the princess and added them to my list and though I am still looking for my white knight I will follow the princesses example and have fun while waiting for him. I loved how the princess grew as the story progressed and by the end she wasn't a damsel in distress waiting she was out their having fun. She learned she must love herself and respect herself enough to be able to find someone to share her life with. The fairy godmother was also another character I found entertaining she was able to help the princess by guiding her not by giving her everything she wanted. "When will they learn that happiness isn't a gift that comes to rescue you on horseback...it's a light you have to reach for inside." Fairy Godmother said it just perfect. The mother was kinda funny she represents the old belief that you must wait for your man which isn't true anymore.

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Retelling of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

4 stars
In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

 I was given this ARC from Netgalley, so it doesn't have all the stories that will be in the final edition. I was really excited to read this book a dark twist on Mother Gooses nursery rhymes. I loved how it was put in the foreword "The tales now contain the other side of reality, the darker side of fear. Wishes are not always fulfilled, and the security and permanence of our parents' love is no longer a sure thing." As we grow up the rhymes seem to lose their innocence not because they are any different, but because we learn to deal with the darkness we were once protected from in our youth. Each story I read I found interesting in one way or another but I have to say the ones that I liked the best were usually the ones I knew the rhymes to before hand. I give this anthology 4 stars because over all I really enjoyed the book and I had to give it bonus points for being the only book I have ever read about retelling of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.
 
As Blue as the Sky and as Old
Nina Berry
2 stars
A story about Taffy the Welshman This was one of the nursery rhymes I hadn't heard before, so I really didn't understand the story. I was confused why the story was first being told from a completely random person that didn't seem to pertain to the story. There were facts given in the beginning of the story that didn't seem to make sense to til the end. Basically I felt confused about the story.
 
Sing a Song of Six-Pence
Sarwat Chadda
3 stars
Based off blackbirds baked in a pie. Of course I have heard this rhyme before, but it had an edge in this story I had never contemplated that blackbird was a person though I couldn't tell if he was a demon or a fallen angel or what. He description was confusing, I don't understand what he did to get punished by the king but I liked how the story progressed and though it ended with a sad ending I thought was a fitting ending and bought closure.
 
Clockwork
Leah Cypress
4 Stars
A retelling of Hickory Dickory Dock. A story based on a mouse not really being a mouse at all but an enchantment placed upon a girl. The clock being based in magic by the chimes it rings at the top of the hour. Murder and mystery, confusion and magic all coming to together to make this one of my favorite short stories in the book.
 
Blue
Sayantani DasGupta
2 Stars
Loosely based of the rhyme little boy blue. I was confused who the girl was in the story why exactly she was spinning stories or tattooing people or something like that. Didn't really like the story though I have always like the rhyme.
 
Pieces of Eight
Shannon Delany with Max Scialdone
2 Stars
This is again another rhyme I haven't heard before I was intrigued by the lost prince stolen away by his mother to protect to save the kingdom in the end. But the whole in between and the battle scene of the tree didn't really like.
 
Wee Willie Winkie
Leigh Fallon
4 Stars
From the rhyme Wee Willie Winkie, by far one of my favorite stories in the book. It was short but it packed a punch. It took me a while to figure out were in the world I was and then when the story line was told I found I was somewhere in Ireland which makes the plot of this story so much more understandable. Gives a whole new meaning to bedtime and that a price to pay to stay alive may end up being too steep.
 
Boys and Girls come out to play
Angie Frazier
3 Stars
I haven't heard this before but I was able to figure out what was going on in the story and rather liked it. A story based on picking only one and making the children come out to play. Another story of how tricky and cruel witches can be.
 
I come bearing souls
Jessie Harrell
2.5 Stars
This story was based on Hey Diddle Diddle. I didn't see how this had anything to do with the rhyme except the cow god and the fiddle being played in the first scene. Had mythology which was a plus in my book, I think it would make a great stand alone book I would love to find out more about Heather and her family and what Egyptian gods were doing in modern day America. It was too short for my taste.
 
The Lion and the Unicorn: Part the First
Nancy Holder
3 Stars
I love history and though I haven't heard this rhyme before I enjoyed the story that accompanied it. Rumors have always surrounded the monarchs of old and they expands on the notions already out there.
 
Life in a Shoe
Heidi R. Kling
3.5 Stars
Based on Old Woman who lived in a shoe.The story gave depth into why she had so many children, that it wasn't a choice it was forced. It also brought to life her children and I liked how it was told from the daughter's point of view and she wasn't willing to follow her mother. Another favorite of mine.

Candlelight
Suzanne Lazear
3 Stars
I hadn't heard this rhyme either but it was a story that could stand alone from the rhyme. It dealt with what all children want freedom from their parents, though all wishes come at a price something the narrator didn't find out until it was too late. It had just the right amount of resistence to make it seem more real and I think it should have explored how they had to learn how to live on their own how much they missed their mother and how their parent actually did a lot for them. And maybe just a little longer.

One for Sorrow
Karen Mahoney
3 Stars
I had never heard this rhyme but I still thought it was a pretty good story. Basic transformation story with love being the key but in the end the twist where she wants to be a beast with him was what I really liked about the story. Gave her and him a happy ending.

Those who Whisper
 Lisa Mantchev
2.5 Stars
Again a rhyme I have never heard of but I did like the story. It kinda seemed like snow white just a little bit. I would have liked to know why she was able to talk to the birds, but I loved how strong she was despite her horrid beginning.


Little Miss Muffet
 Georgia McBride
1.5 Stars
I didn't like the story was confused about what was going on in the beginning even though I knew the rhyme. Couldn't understand why they were spiders and the ending was a little creepy.

Sea of Dew
C. Lee Mckenzie
3 Stars
I like the story kinda a story about how one choice really does change everything. I hadn't heard the rhyme and I was kinda confused in the beginning but then I figured out what was happening. It did drag a bit in the middle though.

Tick Tock
Gretchen McNeil
1 Star
This was a creepy story and I don't feel like it had anything to do with what the rhyme was about. Like how was murder "what was right". 

A Pocket Full of Posy
Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg
1 Star
I had always heard that this was based on the black plague and I had thought that it would be dealing with that aspect of the story. The whole vampire thing was kinda weird like what did that have to do with the rhyme except the ashes. Yes the author gave everything in the rhyme a link to the story the girl Rosie, the flowers he was going to give her, and the vampire ashes in the ended. But then it just ended didn't even give closure like did the boyfriend get convicted of murder or what?

The Well
K.M. Walton
3.5 Stars
Based off the rhyme Jack and Jill.I don't know if this makes me kinda dark but I had just lately been thinking  about this nursery rhyme and how maybe Jack falling down wasn't really an accident I started thinking that Jill had pushed him down. I didn't have the whole plague involved or that they were twins that really hated each other and where the only two people left in the world. But I did like what the author did with the story.

The Wish
 Suzanne Young
3.5 Stars
I enjoyed this story based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It is a story about to be careful what you wish for I was kinda hoping that the ending wouldn't happen that death would have taken her away to live with him, but like I've said before wishes have a price to pay so be careful what you wish for.

A Ribbon of Blue
Michelle Zink
4 Stars
I had never heard the rhyme before but this was one of my favorites. The story was well written and though it had a sad ending I didn't find anything dark in the story. Ruby was finally at peace and beautiful and happy everything she deserved.

Thank you to Month9Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to review these Titles.

Why I Love Ariella Tularyn From the Iron Fey Series

So author Julie Kagawa is having a contest for a signed copy of her new book coming out The Iron Legends and since I love the Iron Fey series I couldn't help but enter. So here is my post of my favorite character in the Iron Fey series.

Why I Love Ariella Tularyn from the Iron Fey Series

I love Ariella because she is so selfless. She is perfectly happy living her life in the Winter court with her lover Ash and sneaking away to have adventures with the infamous Robin Goodfellow. She has a great life everything was going swimmingly when one afternoon she was killed.  It was very sudden and she had no way to prepare for it a life taken so young even for a faery and yet she was never resentful for it. She was killed she had accepted it and then the powers that be resurrected her and she was installed as the Seer. When she was reborn she could have returned to Ash and lived with him again and yet she resided herself to be just the Seer. She took up the mantle and sat back and let the future play itself out. She watched her winter prince suffer for years and then she watched him fall in love with a mortal girl that had to be so hard for her. She set the pieces in motion for the future to be what it needed to be, so that though she may not be happy but faery would be saved and everything would work out. And then to top that off she even helped Ash obtain a mortal soul so that he could be with Meghan. She sacrificed herself for Ash and Meghan to be together and yes she was a little jealous of Meghan when they were in the dream, but I mean everything she loved was taken from her I would be furious. I mean she truly loves Ash because she wants him to be happy even if that means if its not with her, that is what true love is. She deserves so much credit for what she did throughout the series even if we don't see her until the last book. She is selfless, courageous, and just an all over amazing person and that's why I love her.

Pandemonium

 Lauren Oliver
4 Stars
I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare
pushing aside thoughts of Alex
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do. 
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
 behind a wall of smoke and flame. 

I have been waiting since February for my library to get anything other then an audio edition of Pandemonium and it has been grueling waiting for it. I am was so excited to finally start reading it and I can say that it was totally worth the wait. Lauren Oliver picks up were she left off in Delirium, at the fence with Lena running for her life and her heart breaking for the love she had to leave behind. Lena keeps running and running until pure exhaustion over takes her. She is found and nursed back to health and her life in the wilds begins. Now I don't wanna spoil anything so I won't say anymore specific plot details, because I don't wanna ruin it but I loved this book! Lena is reborn in the wild force to make due with whats she has, deal with issues she never faced in Portland and she must learn to get over Alex the one who she gave it all up for. She faces hardship and is forced examine the person she has become, along the way she deals with feeling she never thought she'd have again much less for her enemy. She also finds answers to questions she has long that solved and learns that if you harden yourself too much you become just like the enemy, she finds out that things are not always as they seem. Lena grows to become a strong heroine that I can really relate with Lauren Oliver did such a great job with the characters in this book I felt as though I have know people just like them. I have to say that the ending threw me for a loop, I literally was left staring at the last page in complete shock. This was amazing book and really well written for a second book in a series, I can't wait for the next book.

NetGalley Approved

I just got approved to review Julie Kagawa newest book The Lost Prince!! I am so super excited, I'm so glad my blogging and reviewing books is finally paying off! Now all I have to do is finish reading the four other books in front of it. Sigh the reading never ends (not that I would want it to) Later book lovers

Rapture

Lauren Kate
3 Stars
 Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.In the fight for Luce, who will win?

The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer
I was so happy that this was going to be the final book in the series. I wanted Luce and Daniel to be together finally for everything to work out and I am very happy with the way things turned out. I was eager to start this book and then I got to the like fourth chapter and I felt that the book started to drag so I put it aside hoping that I would back to it in a different state of mind. I finally picked it up again about a week later and though it was still dragging through the middle of the book I really wanted to see how the series ended, so I stuck it out. About half way through I started to remember why I started this series in the first place and I feverishly read to the end. I started guessing wildly about three quarters of the way through the book about how it was going to end, I kept putting clues together that Lauren Kate was subtly hinting at through out the chapter and it turned out my hunches were correct in the end. I'm so glad that Luce was able to grow so much as a person, she wasn't the same heroine we started out with from the first book. She grew stronger and though she still needed Daniel she developed a strength all her own, though Daniel helped her by believing in her the whole time. She uses this strength to explore her past and allow her to be able to forge a future she deserved. I have to say that I enjoyed the development of the characters, how they grew and changed through out the series and finally became the best of themselves. Let me tell you this book turned out so much different then I thought in the beginning. It took some bizarre twist and turns that left me yelling at the book at some points completely dumbfounded. In the end it worked out all for the best and I really enjoyed how Ms. Kate was able to bring closure and an ending to a really amazing series.

House Rules

Jodi Picoult
4 Stars
 When your son can't look you in the eye...does that mean he's guilty?
Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject - forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.
But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob's mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.
And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

I was so glad that this book turned out to be so much better than I thought it was going to be. I typically don't like books told from everyone's point of view it just annoys me, but this story was made by incorporating everyone's point of view. I was reluctant to read this book because it didn't really grab my attention, but I started the book I couldn't put it down. I loved Jacob's POV it provided an inside look on Aspergers how he dealt with things and how he felt to the outside world making him seem so much more human to me. Being able to hear his perspective on things helped explain why he did the things he did. To him everything is simply black and white there is no gray area and he follows the rules to the letter, so when the rules need to be followed he does just that causing him to get into more trouble then he ever thought possible. He had to be my favorite character he said so many things that if you really think about make a lot of sense like "Normal is a just a setting on a dryer". Emma's POV was that of a loving devoted mother who has had so much to deal with for so long and yet she loves her son with no reservations. She deals with the hand dealt to her and keeps the family going strong. Theo is just a teenager trying to get by in the world that doesn't accept different very well and so being the brother of a weird boy doesn't help him. He tries to fit in at school and at home but there just doesn't seem to be a place for him. He's had to look out for his older brother for so long and he is just tired of it, but when his adventures get a little outta hand everything spirals outta control. Rich is just a detective who has to solve the crime and he his just doing his job following the clues and trying to get justice for a devastated family. Oliver the newly graduated lawyer is thrown into the whirlwind of a story just when the plot thickens and he adds a touch of naiveness that is perfect for a already chaotic scene. Together they bring to together this story of a poor girls alleged murder where everything turns out to be less than it really seems to be. I love Jodi Picoult story House Rules and all the characters that made this book so amazing!!

The Enchantress

 Michael Scott
4 Stars
The two that are one must become the one that is all. One to save the world, one to destroy it. 
San Francisco:
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race? 
Danu Talis:
Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.But will the twins of legend stand together?Or will they stand apart—one to save the world and one to destroy it?

This was an awesome ending to an amazing series. I picked up this book because it had the name Nicholas Flamel and I had heard that name from the Harry Potter series and wanted to know more about him. I am so glad that I did, this series has been a great series to read. I remember picking this book up and reading the first three in the series and then looking up when the other ones in the series would come out and thinking to myself that 2012 was never going to get here fast enough. Well it is now 2012 and The Enchantress has been released and quickly devoured by me. I have to give a hand to Michael Scott who gave such depth and life to these amazing characters who kept me guessing and completely dumbfounded me with the ending of the twins. I didn't not expect the series to end this way. The book kept me guessing all the way up to the last couple of pages, I was confused about the prophecy "One to save the world, One to destroy the world" but he neatly tied up those loose ends. It gave a wonderful ending to the Flamels and made me come to actually like Dr. Dee. He gave a conscience to those who had been working for the dark elders and for that I am very glad, he showed that though you have done bad things in the past that does not always make you a bad person you can change who you are at anytime. The time line of a week had have been the longest week I have ever experienced seven days spread across five years was crazy and the deaths in the book left me crying because I had grown so attached to the characters. The ending has left me speechless, so I tip my hat to Michael Scott for writing such an amazing series and sharing it with all of us.

Destined

P.C and Kristen Cast
 2 Stars
 Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet - which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together - if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow...
But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia's handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there's the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more - or possibly less - than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there's something strangely familiar about him...
Will Neferet's true nature be revealed before she succeeds in silencing them all? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox's humanity in time to protect him - and everyone - from his own fate? Find out what's destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

This is the 9th book so I can tell you that I am an avid reader of the series, but I feel like it is being dragged on for too long. As the 9th book I felt that it was very slow moving and just continued to reiterate points that have already been made in books before. I know that Nefert is evil blah, blah, blah...can we beat her already or get beat by her it is getting a tad annoying. The only I can say I liked about this book was Rephiam, Kalona, and Shanuee. The huge development is Kalona's character was totally unexpected and a great addition to the story. I was so happy when Nyx granted Rephiam humanity because he had formed such a bond with Stevie Rae and was able to turn away from the darkness, I thought his humanity was a truly deserved gift. And Shanuee finally becoming her own person was a twist as well. Don't get me wrong I love the "twins", but when Shanuee started thinking for herself I loved her all the more. Zoe and Stark just keep getting on my nerves I want them to have a happy ending, but I don't understand why Zoe can't protect Stark too. I will continue to finish reading the series and I hope the last 3 books will move more quickly and be more interesting.

Immortal Rules

Julie Kagawa
4 Stars
"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

I started out this book with low expectations, I really didn't think anything good would come out of another book about Vampires I am glad I was wrong. I picked up the book because it was written by Julie Kagawa and I LOVE her Iron Fey series, so I figured I would at least give her second a series a chance. I thought it started out a bit slow in the beginning, but it slowly started to grow on me and then of course I couldn't put it down. In a society were Vampires rule over humans I was intrigued by the idea that you wouldn't always turn into a Vampire you could become a rabid and it wasn't all rainbows and immortality of the Vampires it is a life of suffering and torment living to control the demon inside and being forced to survive on human blood. When Allison was offered the choice of die or become the very thing she hated, she chose to become a vampire and Kanin was there to help her along her journey. I have to say that I thought Kanin and Allison's relationship was a nice touch, a mentor in a world where everyone is in it for themselves. When Allison was turned I couldn't see where Julie was going to have a love interest come in for her, but Zeke was perfect for her the calm to her torment. A story about self preservation, self discovery, and challenging everything you've been taught to believe, it was entertaining (though for some reason I had a sense of deja vu for the end scene). I do have one bad note though on the book I kinda felt like it was the opposite of the Iron Fey series so instead of the heroine (Meghan) being naive and believing one her love interest (Zeke)was and instead of the love interest (Ash) being detached and tormented the heroine (Allison) was, that was the only part I was a little bit annoyed with. Over all the book was awesome and I really liked it I can't wait for the second book in the series to come out and I recommend it for anyone looking for a new twist on Vampire stories.

The Goddess Test

Aimee Carter
4 Stars

 EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.
NOW IT'S KATE'S TURN.
 It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

I really didn't think that this book would turn out to be much after reading the first like two chapters, but boy was I wrong! This book was AWESOME!! I really loved it haven't had a book like this in a while. I love Greek mythology and this puts a whole new twist on traditional mythology. Giving the Gods and Goddesses a different twist to their personalities was a new concept, though it didn't follow all the myths of ancient Greece it was written wonderfully. It gave new insight to myths that I would never have considered. Like them caring for mortals and actually for once getting along. Though it may have seemed a little far fetched, I mean hey they are Gods and Goddesses who knows what goes on in their minds they constantly change their minds on their whims at the time. I definitely recommend this book to anyone likes mythology. The twist and turns in this book will keep you asking, what could possibly come next? And will keep you cheering for the happy ending that they deserve after it all. I can't wait for the sequel to come out I hope that it is just as good as the original.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Gregory  Maguire
3 Stars
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

I was excited to read this book, because I had read Confessions of an ugly stepsister and rather liked the story that Gregory Maguire had made up about Cinderella's stepsister. I was also excited to read it because I had heard so much hype about the musical and since I couldn't see the musical I was hoping that I might be able to understand what everyone loved about it. I was utterly mistaken, though the story gave more insight into the land of Oz and the back story of the Wicked Witch of the East (which I found interesting)I felt that the story moved rather slowly and had too much not need information. For instance, I don't understand what the Philosophy Club was about other than a wild sex club, I mean what did that have to do with the story. I also didn't get what the dragon clock was about either was it just a crazy puppet traveling or what?  I liked that it showed the events leading up to Elphaba becoming the Wicked Witch. I would have liked more back story on how or why she was green, not just who her father was and the green bottle that was drunk before her birth. I was able to see the Wicked Witch in a more humane light and was able to understand that she wasn't born wicked or even raised wicked it was a series of events,as well as others opinion of her that ultimately led to her persona as the Wicked Witch. I would have liked more insight into Yackle and what exactly was Elphaba's destiny, but I was never able to jump in and really engross myself in the story. I felt like it dragged too much and was very verbose in the writing, which I believe was unnecessary to the story itself it made it unenjoyable for me. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't feel like investing much time to try to understand and unwrap the mystery of this book.

Anastasia's Secret

Susanne Dunlap
3 Stars
 For Anastasia Romanov, life as the privileged daughter of Russia's last tsar is about to be torn apart by the bloodshed of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control of the government, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia. But even while the rebels debate the family's future with agonizing slowness and the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blooms between Anastasia and Sasha, a sympathetic young guard she has known since childhood. But will the strength of their love be enough to save Anastasia from a violent death?

Inspired by the mysteries that have long surrounded the last days of the Romanov family, Susanne Dunlap's new novel is a haunting vision of the life-and love story-of Russia's last princess.(
I thought that this book gave a new spin on an old conspiracy. I have always been fascinated by the Princess Anastasia and I loved how the author brought so much life to her story. Though nearly nothing in known about the Romanov family, the author uses this to her advantage by spinning tales of love and mystery along the few pieces of truth we know about what happen to the royal family. Though she lives with much sorrow, Anastasia is able to have a full life in the short span of 17 years she experiences love, heartache, and betrayal through out the book. She may be doomed from the start of but I still root for her and beg for her to escape when she has the chance, but no such luck she is a girl of great integrity and is loyal to her family. I love how she was given a chance to have a different story told and a little part of me hopes that she at least got to achieve half of the things that were written about her.