The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
This one is about Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward and Elizabeth Woodville. She is the wife of Henry VII, and mother of Henry VIII. I didn't know much about her going in because most of the books I've read about the Tudor dynasty just gloss over her like she didn't matter. It's too bad this is fiction because we'll never know if she was as noble a soul as she is in this novel.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Infernal Devices
Infernal Devices book 1: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
I knew when I finished books 1-5 of The Mortal Instruments series that I would read this series as well. It is set in Victorian England, so the characters aren't the same, but we are introduced to some of the ancestors of the characters we love.
This book focuses on Tessa, who is not a Shadowhunter, but is a Downworlder of some kind. She can change into other people, if she has something that belongs to them.
Tessa comes to England to be with her brother, Nate. He is the only family she has left. When she gets to England, she is duped by the Dark Sisters into believing that they will be bringing her to Nate. Instead, they keep her for their own nefarious designs, that were set out by the Magister. One particularly bad day, Will Herondale rescues Tessa. Tessa believes something bad has happened to her brother, and the Shadowhunters vow to help her find him.
Find him they do, and ultimately discover that he is aligned with the magister.
I knew when I finished books 1-5 of The Mortal Instruments series that I would read this series as well. It is set in Victorian England, so the characters aren't the same, but we are introduced to some of the ancestors of the characters we love.
This book focuses on Tessa, who is not a Shadowhunter, but is a Downworlder of some kind. She can change into other people, if she has something that belongs to them.
Tessa comes to England to be with her brother, Nate. He is the only family she has left. When she gets to England, she is duped by the Dark Sisters into believing that they will be bringing her to Nate. Instead, they keep her for their own nefarious designs, that were set out by the Magister. One particularly bad day, Will Herondale rescues Tessa. Tessa believes something bad has happened to her brother, and the Shadowhunters vow to help her find him.
Find him they do, and ultimately discover that he is aligned with the magister.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Not Quite What I Thought it Would Be
Firegirl by Tony Abbott
I bought this and read it because it was another recommendation by James Patterson. I enjoyed the first book he recommended, so I thought I'd take his advice on this one too.
If I were a seventh grader, this would've been a good read. I am not in that age range, so it bored me a bit. Given the title, I expected the book to primarily be about a girl who had been injured in a fire. That was not the case.
This book is about Tom, who goes to a Catholic school, and is friends with a boy named Jeff. Tom is into Cobras, and Jeff tells Tom that his uncle owns one. Jeff is one of those jerky kids you hope your child doesn't befriend.
One day, Jessica joins their class and she is badly burned. No one talks to Jessica, and no one wants to be around her. One day, Tom is asked to take Jessica's homework to her at home, and he learns more about her situation. Tom essentially becomes Jessica's only friend. It doesn't matter though, because she moves away. Tom finds out he is a better person because of his relationship with Jessica.
The one big surprise in the book is that Jeff's uncle really does have a Cobra. I thought that little jerk was lying about it the whole time.
I bought this and read it because it was another recommendation by James Patterson. I enjoyed the first book he recommended, so I thought I'd take his advice on this one too.
If I were a seventh grader, this would've been a good read. I am not in that age range, so it bored me a bit. Given the title, I expected the book to primarily be about a girl who had been injured in a fire. That was not the case.
This book is about Tom, who goes to a Catholic school, and is friends with a boy named Jeff. Tom is into Cobras, and Jeff tells Tom that his uncle owns one. Jeff is one of those jerky kids you hope your child doesn't befriend.
One day, Jessica joins their class and she is badly burned. No one talks to Jessica, and no one wants to be around her. One day, Tom is asked to take Jessica's homework to her at home, and he learns more about her situation. Tom essentially becomes Jessica's only friend. It doesn't matter though, because she moves away. Tom finds out he is a better person because of his relationship with Jessica.
The one big surprise in the book is that Jeff's uncle really does have a Cobra. I thought that little jerk was lying about it the whole time.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Looks Like a Girlie Book....
But it's not.
Matched by Ally Condie looks like a young adult, pre-teen, girlie book. The cover is light spring green, and it has a girl in a ball gown on the cover in a glass ball. I thought it was going to be a love story, and I guess in a way, it was. At it's core though, this book is a dystopian novel.
The society runs everything. They decide what you eat, what your job is, where you live, who you marry, and, for the most part, when you die. Crazy, right?
The book starts out at Cassia's matching ceremony. When young people turn seventeen, they are matched with their future mate. They have a big dinner, and the participants dress up for it. Cassia finds out that she is matched with her childhood friend, Xander. That alone is unusual. When Cassia looks at her microchip about her match, she finds not only Xander, but another childhood friend, Ky.
Ky, it turns out, was a mistaken match. He is an aberration, and they aren't allowed to marry. We never find out why Ky is an aberration, but this doesn't change Cassia's friendship with him. Then Cassia finds she is falling for Ky. This is not supposed to happen. Ky and Cassia share secrets, and test the boundaries of the Society.
I cannot share more without giving away what happens at the end. It was pretty good though. I will have to borrow the rest of the series from the library to see what happens.
Matched by Ally Condie looks like a young adult, pre-teen, girlie book. The cover is light spring green, and it has a girl in a ball gown on the cover in a glass ball. I thought it was going to be a love story, and I guess in a way, it was. At it's core though, this book is a dystopian novel.
The society runs everything. They decide what you eat, what your job is, where you live, who you marry, and, for the most part, when you die. Crazy, right?
The book starts out at Cassia's matching ceremony. When young people turn seventeen, they are matched with their future mate. They have a big dinner, and the participants dress up for it. Cassia finds out that she is matched with her childhood friend, Xander. That alone is unusual. When Cassia looks at her microchip about her match, she finds not only Xander, but another childhood friend, Ky.
Ky, it turns out, was a mistaken match. He is an aberration, and they aren't allowed to marry. We never find out why Ky is an aberration, but this doesn't change Cassia's friendship with him. Then Cassia finds she is falling for Ky. This is not supposed to happen. Ky and Cassia share secrets, and test the boundaries of the Society.
I cannot share more without giving away what happens at the end. It was pretty good though. I will have to borrow the rest of the series from the library to see what happens.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Summer Book #18
Mortal Instruments #5: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Not sure if this is the final installment, but I hope it isn't. This was a couples book in a lot of ways. Clary and Jace, Alec and Magnus, Maia and Jordan, and Izzy and Simon. A couples book, but not all kissy-kissy, lovey-dovey.
As always, there's a crisis. This time, Jace is aligned with Sebastian/Jonathan because at the end of book four, he was an idiot and gave S/J his blood. Sebastian/Jonathan wants to create his own race of shadowhunters, but using demon blood instead of angel blood. Not good. Jace goes with this because he now has no choice. If something injures or kills Sebastian/Jonathan, it will do the same to Jace. Clary, because she loves Jace, goes to 'help' them. In a way, I wish she wouldn't have. She knew that Jace wasn't her Jace, and she let things go too far.
Anyway, Simon, Izzy, Magnus, and Alec have found a way to sever the ties between Jace and Sebastian/Jonathan. Will they get there in time, or will S/J's evil plan come about?
Not sure if this is the final installment, but I hope it isn't. This was a couples book in a lot of ways. Clary and Jace, Alec and Magnus, Maia and Jordan, and Izzy and Simon. A couples book, but not all kissy-kissy, lovey-dovey.
As always, there's a crisis. This time, Jace is aligned with Sebastian/Jonathan because at the end of book four, he was an idiot and gave S/J his blood. Sebastian/Jonathan wants to create his own race of shadowhunters, but using demon blood instead of angel blood. Not good. Jace goes with this because he now has no choice. If something injures or kills Sebastian/Jonathan, it will do the same to Jace. Clary, because she loves Jace, goes to 'help' them. In a way, I wish she wouldn't have. She knew that Jace wasn't her Jace, and she let things go too far.
Anyway, Simon, Izzy, Magnus, and Alec have found a way to sever the ties between Jace and Sebastian/Jonathan. Will they get there in time, or will S/J's evil plan come about?
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Summer Book #17
Mortal Instruments #4: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
For the record, it's hard to write my reviews of these books without giving anything away.
Admittedly, although I liked this book, it was not as good as the previous three. In terms of a plot diagram, it would be the falling action. Yes, exciting things happen, but not near what happened in the predecessors.
This book features Simon far more than the other books did. Simon, at the beginning, is dating both Maia and Isabelle. Oops! Because he is a Daylighter, many people are after him; they want his power.
Clary and Jace, they finally get to be together, but everything is NOT sunshine and roses. Jace is more distant than ever, and Clary doesn't know what that's about. Plus, Clary's mother is finally going to marry Luke, although that didn't happen in this book.
For the record, it's hard to write my reviews of these books without giving anything away.
Admittedly, although I liked this book, it was not as good as the previous three. In terms of a plot diagram, it would be the falling action. Yes, exciting things happen, but not near what happened in the predecessors.
This book features Simon far more than the other books did. Simon, at the beginning, is dating both Maia and Isabelle. Oops! Because he is a Daylighter, many people are after him; they want his power.
Clary and Jace, they finally get to be together, but everything is NOT sunshine and roses. Jace is more distant than ever, and Clary doesn't know what that's about. Plus, Clary's mother is finally going to marry Luke, although that didn't happen in this book.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Summer Book #16
Mortal Instruments Book 3: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
This book finds them all in Idris. Clary needs to go to find the man who can help heal her mother. Jace and the Lightwoods need to go because there is some big meeting and all Shadowhunters are expected to attend. Jace doesn't want Clary to go, so he lies about the time they are leaving, but asks Simon to explain this to Clary. Too bad it doesn't work that way. As Jace and the Lightwoods are leaving through a portal, they are attacked by demons. Simon is hurt, so he is taken through the portal too. Oops. Downworlders are not allowed.
Clary finds out that Jace and the Lightwoods left without her. She uses her 'powers' to create a portal of her own to get to Idris. Luke comes with her. Again, Oops.
The Shadowhunters prepare for war with Valentine. We are introduced to Sebastian, who is not who he seems to be. Jocelyn shows up in Idris. Valentine has all he needs to summon Raziel, and a huge bombshell is dropped. (A bombshell that I figured out in the first 150 pages, I might add.)
As good ad the series has been so far, this is the best one, and the longest. I didn't really notice the length, though, because I couldn't/didn't want to put this one down.
This book finds them all in Idris. Clary needs to go to find the man who can help heal her mother. Jace and the Lightwoods need to go because there is some big meeting and all Shadowhunters are expected to attend. Jace doesn't want Clary to go, so he lies about the time they are leaving, but asks Simon to explain this to Clary. Too bad it doesn't work that way. As Jace and the Lightwoods are leaving through a portal, they are attacked by demons. Simon is hurt, so he is taken through the portal too. Oops. Downworlders are not allowed.
Clary finds out that Jace and the Lightwoods left without her. She uses her 'powers' to create a portal of her own to get to Idris. Luke comes with her. Again, Oops.
The Shadowhunters prepare for war with Valentine. We are introduced to Sebastian, who is not who he seems to be. Jocelyn shows up in Idris. Valentine has all he needs to summon Raziel, and a huge bombshell is dropped. (A bombshell that I figured out in the first 150 pages, I might add.)
As good ad the series has been so far, this is the best one, and the longest. I didn't really notice the length, though, because I couldn't/didn't want to put this one down.
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