Colleen Hoover: Slammed

Slammed
Colleen Hoover
Published January 1, 2012 (eBook)
ISBN: 2940014187602
314 Pages

Synopsis
Layken was named in a compromise between her very loving parents. Her mom wanted to name her Layla, her dad wanted Kennedy, so they took the first three letters of each and mashed them together. He mom calls her Lake. Lake is 18 and a senior in high school when her father dies in a car accident. She, her mother, and her 9 year old brother Kel are forced to move from their big ranch home in Texas to a small rental house in Michigan. She is quickly losing spirit when her new, attractive 21-year old neighbor enters the picture. There is an instant connection, but life quickly rears it's head, and there are some major obstacles keeping them apart. 

Musings
One night I woke up about 2am and I could not go back to sleep. I wanted to read something new, and found this in the Amazon top 100 romance (at #9 this week). It sounded good, but I was a little apprehensive because it's YA fiction. I asked myself, how good a romance could it be without falling into the cheesy category?  Then I read a handful of reviews and found out some tid-bits.  Call me interested.  This is Colleen Hoover's first work, and she wrote the bulk of it in a month (my guess, NaNoWrMo, considering her slam poem in book 2). Reviewers were gossiping that some of her feedback was faked, and her 5 star rating wasn't legit.  I decided this was the book to read that restless night, just to see who was right. I started in around 2:15am and finished it that same morning, setting it down only once to go pee.

First: the high rating, the quick climb, the hype - all deserved. It gets some leeway for being Young Adult Fiction, but even then, it's well written. The first person PoV takes some getting used to, and could be a little stronger, but once you sink in, you can easily get past it. The characters are awesome too. I want Lake's mom's insight, Will's patience, Eddie's confidence, and Caulder & Kel's imagination. These people are so rich, you very quickly become attached.

The story is what makes this exemplary. It didn't feel like a repeat. So often (especially right now) the new hot books are re-writes of previous success. I was starting to get the feeling I was reading the same books over and over again.  Not with this story. It has a couple of unique twists that almost catch you off-guard.  And yes - it totally made me cry. It was happy, sad, romantic, inspiring, all the default things you want a good book to be. But it was also different. The poetry aspect bothered me at first, but this isn't stuffy old Keats.  This poetry is modern day, powerful, and highly emotional - not to mention easy to understand and relate to.

This is definitely one of my must-reads. All ages, all walks of life, everyone can get something out of this series.  Highly recommended 4.5 Stars.

-Rita

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Marissa Meyer: Cinder

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Marissa Meyer
Published January 3rd, 2012 by Feiwel & Friends         
ISBN: 0312641893
387 Pages


Synopsis
This is a Cinderella story with a twist. It is set in the far future of Earth, where humans have long colonized the moon, and moon people have evolved into an entirely different species. Earth humans have become so technologically advanced that robots, androids, and cyborgs abound. However, Cyborgs are thought of as less than human, basically second class citizens, with very few rights and even less respect.

Cinder is a girl stuck in a household with two step-sisters and a cruel and unforgiving stepmother.  Her adoptive father died long ago, and her stepmother blames and resents Cinder. Cinder, a cyborg, makes a living for the family working as a mechanic. The plague hits her shopping market and people are getting sick all around her.  Cinder finds out much about herself and her past, falling for the handsome Emperor along the way. This is a complicated story of with humor and plot twists. The book goes beyond a simple Cinderella story and dives much deeper becoming an emotional and intriguing ride.


Musings
I thought this was a great twist on the stagnate and often overdone Cinderella story. I think the author favors the movie Ever After, because I saw a lot of similarities, however the added content, unique setting, and awesome storytelling kept it fresh and moving fast. I finished in one sitting, which I rarely have the opportunity to do anymore - but it was so good, I made time.

I would recommend it to most, especially those looking for a fresh twist on an old classic. 4 stars!

-Rita

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Diana Gabaldon: Outlander

Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: July 26, 2005
Pages:  850

Goodreads Synopsis:
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.


This book was recommended to me by my cousin. She warned me of it's pitfalls, but still sung it's praises. Outlander does start off slow. Takes you a while to get into it, but it is a fantastic, gritty, historical, thoughtful tale.

The book is about a woman living in 1945, who gets whisked back to 1743 via a circle of stones in Scotland.  She theorizes it is a fairy hill, but there are no faeries in this story. Other than the time slip, and the differences of a woman from the 40s living in the 1700s, this book is historical fiction. We find our how clans in the Highlands lived. There are politics, intrigue, romance, battle, and human interaction. The characters are well built, and motivations are realistic.

Our heroine experiences both inner emotional conflict, and must fight her way out of many situations. She was a nurse in 1945, having seen her share of gruesome scenes from working in a hospital ward during WWII.  Her husband in 1945 was a historian, providing her with some knowledge of the place she ends up. This is all she has to prepare her for the adventure she steps into.

If you are looking for a fun, but intelligent read - I would recommend it.

Neil Gaiman: Good Omens

This book is fabulous. It is witty, sarcastic, fun, and full of twists and jumps that keep you on your toes, and giggling the entire time you are perched there. Gaiman wrote the book with fellow author Terry Pratchett (Author of the Disc World books).  With that pair at the helm, this was a sure thing.

The novel is a lose play on the film "The Omen"  Where the end of the world is at hand, the Antichrist has been born, and events are set in motion to bring about the Apocalypse.  However our main characters, an angel and demon, have become comfortable with Earth(and with each other), and don't want to give it up. They work together to stop the greater beings (Satan & God) from bringing about the end of times.

There are too many humorous pieces to give you a good sample, but the opening of the book is the two beings discussing what God's plan really was for the garden of Eden & the apple tree. 

“You’ve got to admit it’s a bit of a pantomime, though,” said Crawly. “I mean, pointing out the Tree and saying ‘Don’t Touch’ in big letters. Not very subtle, is it? I mean, why not put it on top of a high mountain or a long way off? Makes you wonder what He’s really planning.”

Another subplot involves the gathering of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War, Famine, Death,and Pollution (Pestilence having retired in 1936 following the discovery of penicillin.)

A couple more great quotes:

"Well, Hell was worse, of course, by definition. But Crowley remembered what Heaven was like, and it had quite a few things in common with Hell. You couldn’t get a decent drink in either of them, for a start. And the boredom you got in Heaven was almost as bad as the excitement you got in Hell. "

"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players,* to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.

*i.e., everybody."

 

Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

" 'Tis a truth universially acknowledged, that a lonely girl in possesion of a vivid imagination, must be in want of a good romance. Hence, they will absolutly love Pride and Prejudice."
- me >:)

Jane Austen is a young woman's god.

Sigh - Typical right? But I vow my loyalty and adoration to this particular novel. The first time a read it was in Junior High, and I have read it at least once every year since then. I think I was in college before it felt like I knew most of the nuances. With most great books they change depending on your mood, and each time you re-read them, you pick up different pieces.

I read a novel recently where the characters made fun of the girly masses for fawning over Jane Austen's novels. Calling it predictable, and lame - but hey! I resent that. It is a classic. It is universally loved. You can't fault it for what it just...is. Hmmm. I could retort that that particular author might just be jealous ;)

Pride and Prejudice is about a man and a woman, who's pride, vanity, stubbornness, and yes - prejudice, get in the way of what they feel. It is a classic romance. Snooty guy wants girl who is below his station. Well raised girl dislikes snooty guy for being well... snooty. Mishaps, misunderstanding, and a mother play in.

If you haven't read it - SMACK!

True Blood - The HBO Series

yeah, yeah, yeah - so my bookshelf (like so many others nowadays) has a few movies on it in addition to books. I promise to limit it to companion movies, and only if I have read the book(s).

TrueBlood...

I watched the series before I read the novels. I think it worked out better for me that way, because once I read the books - the show couldn't hold a candle to them. Is there a team Eric? Cause man am I on his side. In the HBO series, Bill is a lover - in the books, he's a manipulator. Eric is the sweeetie - but in a totally bad-boy way ;)

I got the first two disks of the first season through Netflix. Watched them in one night. Nearly died on the way to work the next morning from sleep deprivation. Couldn't wait the three days it would take to get the next discs, so that evening I went to the store and bought the first season. I watched the entire thing in 2 days.



By the end of it, I was cringing a little, and as I have watched season 2, cringed a lot. It is a far cry from the plot line of the book, but most film adaptations are. It is good as a stand alone. For anyone interested in wither the series or the books, I would say pick one and stick with it. The other will only disappoint you.

Twilight (Book 1)

I absolutely HATE that this is the first book that I am choosing to post about, but I figure honesty is good for me. It is also what I am currently reading, since New Moon hits theaters this weekend. (I always re-read before a new book or movie release).

I had never heard of Twilight before the first movie came out. In fact, before I saw the movie, I was making fun of all the tweeners who just went ga-ga over the whole thing. Curiosity won out, and a few weeks after it opened, I drug some friends to go see it with me. It was actually pretty bad. Can you scream teeny bopper sexual tension? BUT it had a good story. The basic idea was intriguing, if not narcotic. I decided to read the books.

I read Twilight, the first book in the series, in one day. The writing is not that strong, so it makes for a very easy read, and the ability to lose yourself in the story. You can tell Stephenie Meyers, the author, loves classic romances from the ilk of Jane Austen (by the way Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book - ever). The themes of undying and ill-fated love bleed through her story and touch the heart of a reader already so familiar with them.

So - definitely a girly book.

The story is about a girl, wise for her years, who moves to the rainiest town in the continental US (if not the whole world). She falls for the beautiful vampire, (not knowing what he is at the time) and he falls for her (knowing exactly how yummy she is), despite his raging desire to kill her. He goes back and forth deciding which is better, to be with the object of his affection, putting her at risk - or leaving her alone, guaranteeing her life. She suffers from insecurities ranging from do I stink, to does he really love me...

As usual, hormones win out.

But his fears come true when another vampire begins hunting her, set on killing her slowly and painfully. The story culminates with the handsome, thirsty vampire hero having to suck her blood to save her life. And they live happily ever after... at least for this book.

Let me follow my snarky synopsis with the fact that I absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind, and a perchance for endearing love stories (especially vampire love stories). The cast of characters is fun and creative, and there is always someone you can identify with or love to hate. This book made me smile as I read it, and I absolutely craved certain happenings. Believe me when I say, the movie does not do it justice.

I did have some bones to pick though. Since when do vampires sparkle in sunlight? I was always of the mind that vampires were supposedto turn into crispy crtters when exposed to UV rays. And if his saliva was venomous, how exactly did the kissing work, in any way that was satisfying? I do applaud the ideas of special, enhanced powers - sensing and influencing emotions, mind reading, and seeing future events. But sometimes the thread of these 'powers' was a little blurred.

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Did you know this whole series started from a dream? I think that holds some of the draw for me, because my best stories were bread from dreams. Chapter 13 "Confessions" was the dream Meyers had one random night, and the rest of the book grew out of it. A few short years later, she is rich and famous, and her characters are household names.

As a bonus to those who do decide to read it (or have already read it) - check out Stephenie Meyers' website. She posts the first half of her rough draft to the companion novel - Midnight Sun.