Review Brightly Woven

Title: Brightly Woven

Author: Alexandra Bracke

Publication Date: March 23, 2010

Publisher: Egmont

Pages: 357

ISBN: 160684038X

The day the rains came was like any other, blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness....
Just as the rains come after ten long, dry years, a young wizard, Wayland North, appears, to whisk Sydelle Mirabil away from her desert village. North needs an assistant, and Sydelle is eager to see the country - and to join him on his quest to stop the war that surely will destroy her home. But North has secrets - about himself, about why he chose Sydelle, about his real reasons for the journey. What does he want from her? And why does North's sworn enemy seem fascinated by Sydelle himself? Through a journey that spans a country, magic and hard-won romance are woven together with precision and brilliant design by a first-time novelist.

I’ve had this book waiting on my bookshelf for years, and let me tell you something: don’t make the same mistake. If you have it waiting around, pick it up, if you don’t have it and you love Fantasy you need to get it. Loved reading every page, it made me laugh, it made me swoon and it made me wonder.

I’ve been on a reading slump for the past few months and it was easy to get lost in this story. Brightly Woven did not take long to get me interested, it’s unlike any other book related to Magic, witches and wizards, that I’ve come across in all the years I’ve been reading.

It’s been 10 years since it last rained on Sydelle Miribel’s village, her small town of Cliffton is all she’s ever known, that is until a young stranger arrives and her world turns upside down, they need to stop a war before it’s too late. There’s magic and there’s romance without the romance taking the main focus. I enjoyed getting to know Sydelle and her brave disposition and Wayland North with his humor and imperfect personality.

Overall It left me wishing there was a sequel, I want to go back to the amazing imaginary world that Alexandra Bracken was able to portray.

Playing Hooky Review

Title: Playing Hooky

Author: Rita Webb

Publication Date: January 17, 2013

Pages: 100

ISBN: B00B2D6EEA

Valentine’s Day. And Emma's 21st birthday.
Just another college day full of classes and more homework than is humanly possible.
…until Jason, her best-friend-since-kindergarten, shows up to take her out for the day.
Like old times: the two of them on a wacky adventure, playing hooky from real life. With his lopsided grin and tickets to a circus full of misfits and monsters, he introduces her to a whole new world—one full of magic and mystery—and turns her reality upside down.
Except nothing goes as planned, and they end up running through the city to find a missing siren before someone brews a love potion with her blood.
Sirens and love potions, witches and elves, and Valentine kisses. Nothing will be the same for Emma again

Playing Hooky is a short but very entertaining novella, We are introduced to Emma on her 21st birthday, everything starts like an ordinary day, I mean, as ordinary as any of Emma’s birthdays anyway, suddenly her best friend from childhood, Jason, appears in the story and her day is full of unexpected adventures.

When I started reading I was immediately caught in the world that Rita created, a world full of magic, unicorns, sirens and many other interesting characters. The only problem I had with the book was that it was too short. I wanted to know more about Jason. I fell in love with the story; Emma and Jason had an amazing chemistry and made me smile throughout the book.

I don’t want to give much of the book away since is so short but if you like paranormal and fantasy this is a world you don’t want to skip. We are presented with mystery, fun and witty romance with a healthy dose of paranormal.

The author creates a world of magic unlike anything I had found recently. I enjoyed the alternating POV’s between Emma and Jason as much as the banter they had going on. Overall this was a quick and awesome story.

I received this book from Rita Webb. All opinions are honest and my own.

Incarnate Review

Title: Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publication date: January 31, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062060754

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

In this book we are introduced to Ana, who has spent her whole life thinking she is a no soul, lacking confidence and self esteem thanks to her abusive mother, who reminds her that since the day she was born she's worthless. When Ana turns eighteen she packs her bags to go out on her own looking for answers, knowing the only place that possibly have them is the main city, the city of heart.

Her journey is not off to an easy start, but Ana needs to know her purpose in a community of souls that have been reincarnated for centuries. Sam her love interest, doesn't think Ana is a no soul instead he thinks she's a new soul. Sam offers Ana the friendship she never had and desperately needs, the relationship between Ana and Sam was full of chemistry.

As the story unfolds she finds herself tangled in rules and misunderstandings. Those difficulties are the ones that help her become a stronger, more confident character, and that's something I truly appreciate. Incarnate is set in an amazing world that Jodi Meadows created, however, I would have loved if the world building was more balanced with the romance. I liked the premise and enjoyed the book but was not able to love it.

Overall I loved the concept behind this book and I believe it has a lot of potential for the next installment of the trilogy.

Review based on an Advanced Reader's Copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

Glimmerglass Review

     

 Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker Book 1) by Jenna Black

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, Dana decides she’s had it with being her mother’s keeper, so she packs her bags and heads to stay with her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn’t just an ordinary teenage girl—she’s a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, she finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone’s trying to kill her, and everyone wants something from her, even her newfound friends and family. Suddenly, life with her alcoholic mom doesn’t sound half bad, and Dana would do anything to escape Avalon and get back home. Too bad both her friends and her enemies alike are determined not to let her go . . 

I loved the world that Jenna Black created, it was a world in which humans knew about the fae world for centuries, a world of magic. It had so much potential, but I personally found the book a little predictable.

Dana the main character is dealing with an alcoholic mom, and she keeps mentioning all the responsibility she had to take care of since her mom is unable through out the book. She is totally unhappy with her current life in the human world, one day Dana decides she has had enough with her mother and starts a journey that will change her point of view.

When she arrives to Avalon, she's caught off guard, it is not the town she imagined not all is magic and happiness. Once she meets her dad a truth that will change her life is revealed, she's special there, so special that some want her dead some want to kidnap her.

Overall her reactions are easy to guess, this actually bothers me a little. I prefer not knowing what's going to be the next step in the story. Everything else in the book was really interesting and I'll be reading the next book in the series.

Shiver Review:

Shiver (The wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

This book tells the story in a diary style through the two main characters, Sam and Grace, each chapter from alternating points of view. It’s a little difficult to describe what I felt as I read through the pages, I felt love for the characters, sadness of certain situations and happiness in other moments too.

When Grace, being a young child, was attacked by some wolves, she could have never imagined that even now, being a teenager, she will continue to be attached to those yellow eyes that looked right into her soul the very same night she was attacked. Sam, on the other side, is living two lives, one of them watching Grace hidden in the shadows of the winter forest.

The need both characters had for each other was touching, the chemistry between Grace and Sam is awesome, the perfect dose of love.

Maggie Stiefvater has a beautiful way to describe the places and emotions thru the entire book, overall I enjoyed this book and found my self immersed in a magic story. Can’t wait to read the next book.

★★★★

Bleeding Violet Review:

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

This is the story of Hanna Järvinen a girl who suffers from hallucinations and some other mental illnesses, she wears only purple and still have conversations with her dead father. Hanna arrives to the twisted town of Portero in search of her Mother whom, by the way, abandoned her since she was a little baby. Portero’s days are all about weird events and dark enigmas, Hanna will have to prove to everyone that she arrived in order to stay, no matter what the consequences are.

Bleeding Violet also has its romantic side. Hanna’s relationship with Wyatt, a local, gives the book a seductive and steamy side.

Dia Reeves made an excellent job writing and developing the story and its characters, it really keeps you attached to the book until the end, I would recommend this book but not to everyone, on my personal point of view, older teens or adults are the target audience for this book due to its fair amount of sexual dialogue and profanity content. If you are comfortable with that kind of content the book will embark you in an amazing reading endeavor.

★★★★★

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Review:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter, Book #6

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even the Muggles have been affected. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet . . . As with all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Harry receives some extraordinary help in Potions from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. And with Dumbledore's guidance, he seeks out the full, complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thus finds what may be his only vulnerability.

** spoiler alert **

More of a mystery than some of the others, as entertaining as the rest. well, after having to come to face with the fact that Lord Voldemort is alive, the wizard community is in an uproar, and quite frightened. Cornelius Fudge has been sacked as Minister of Magic, and an Auror has been named in that position. Harry, Ron and Hermione get their O.W.Ls (Ordinary Wizardry Levels), and have to decide what courses to take for their N.E.W.Ts (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), something that will define their future careers. Plots abound, and danger is omnipresent throughout the book. But what's the point of telling you all this if you can read the book, and enjoy.

Book read (11/22/06)

★★★★

Hobbit: Or There and Back Again Review:

Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when first published more than sixty years ago. Now recognized as a timeless classic with sales of more than 40 million copies worldwide, this introduction to Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Wizard, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth tells of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.

Ok anyone interested in reading lord of the rings must read The Hobbit first. The Hobbit is a beginning book the protagonists and antagonists throughout the novel help createthe landscape of the book, as well as set the foundation for Middle Earth. Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, displays the ideal character in that he is forced into a world of adventure of magic. As an innocent creature unaware of the outside world, Bilbo matures throughout the book, and is a classic example of a character who, by the end of the book, has developed into a great intellectual character.

Read in August 2008

★★★

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Review:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter, Book #7

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

This is a book that cannot be passed up. It answers more questions in such a special way that only Rowling is capable of.If you wanted to know something about the previous books, the answers are in here.Good book, but the finally epilogue not so sure.

Book read (08/07/07)

★★★★

The Little Prince Review:

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

In The Little Prince, a small boy leaves the tiny planet on which he lives alone, on a trip to Earth, where he is introduced to the vagaries of adult behaviour.

I can't get enough of this book,the book appears to be for younger readers but the message clearly is for adults as well. The story is told from an adult's point of view.I don't know how to begin to describe The Little Prince.

★★★★★