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.