Paranormalcy

Is it possible to hate the main character and still enjoy the story?  For me that was the case with Paranormalcy.

Evie works for an agency that captures and contains paranormal beings to help protect humanity (including, but not limited to, vampires, werewolves, faeries, and hags).  Her best friend is a mermaid and her ex is a faerie.  When a new species in the form of a boy named Lend shows up at the center where Evie lives and works, things start to go crazy.  Something out in the world is attacking and killing paranormals and he seems to think the killings have something to do with Evie.  Turns out the world doesn't work the way Evie thought it did and things go more than a little haywire. 

I really enjoyed this story (which has elements of Stardust plot line for sure), but Evie got on my last nerve.  I swear she is the most annoying character I've ever read.  In the midst of crisis all she does is act like the most stereotypical form of teenage girl (including zebra print dresses and hot pink boots).  For the love of all that is good an holy she has a pink Tazer that is bedazzled.  I find her so obnoxious and more than a little selfish and air-headed.  However, I like the story enough to be on hold for the next installment.  Make of that what you will.

Crown Duel

Originally, apparently, this book was published as two separate books Crown Duel and Court Duel and are now published together.

I like fantasy, but.  Yes, there is a but.  I prefer fantasy with a link to my world.  Maybe it's because I feel it's more believable or that I could actually participate in this world if I tried hard enough or found the right entryway, but I prefer it.  Think of Harry Potter and Narnia and the way that another world coexists just alongside ours.  I like that.  All of that being said, this book isn't so fantasy-ish.  Magic exists in the world, but the book has a more medieval battle novel feeling than a fantasy.  Mel is a countess of a small county after her father dies.  Her brother and people unite all together to fight the evil king and re-establish fairness and peace.  The band of misfits does well until Mel is captured and taken to the king.  All sorts of drama and escapes follow as well as a very Pride and Prejudice-esque love story and an ending that I didn't see coming.  I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it.  It took me awhile to get into the story and I never really became overly-intrigued, but it's worth a try if you like this kind of thing.  

Outside In

Apparently a lot of the books I'm reading right now are sequels or follow-ups in some way.  Back in May I read Inside Out.  Finally the sequel Outside In came in at the library and I got a chance to read it.

It's hard for me to review this book without giving away what happened in the previous book and that would make me a jerk.  Just know that this time instead of the Insiders trying to find a way out of their home it seems that someone else is trying to get in.  I can't really give more details than that.  The book was good because it jumped into the action more quickly than the previous one (I'm guessing because readers are already familiar with the world), but gave enough details for me to remember the things I'd forgotten.  I quite enjoyed the book, but I hope it's the last one.  Book series sometimes exhaust me because once I've started I feel like I'm supposed to finish and then I spend so much time waiting for books to come out and it's frustrating.  Maybe I'll become one of those people that doesn't read series until all the books are out.  Anyway, give this series a try.  It's a good one. 

Tweak

I apologize in advance for the fact that I haven't blogged my books lately (I went through many rather quickly while I was home) so I'm trying to catch up all in one day.

Before I tell you my thoughts on Tweak let me just warn you.  This book is not for kids and maybe not even for teenagers.  It's real life in all it's grittiness and problems and that's not what I particularly want kids exposed to (at least not this kind of real life).

Awhile ago I read Beautiful Boy by David Sheff about his son's addiction to meth.  This is the son, Nic's, story from his own point of view.  It was certainly interesting to get the different views on the same basic events.  I really enjoyed the way Nic writes.  He seems to just tell his story the way he might tell it to you in person and uses memories as he thinks of them to fill in the back story.  I enjoyed this book, but I'm extremely frustrated at the same time.  Without giving away everything I'll just say that Nic's story doesn't have the easiest happy ending of all.  It's hard to "watch" someone you've become connected with through their story follow addictive behaviors and mess up their life.  This book has some sex and explicit details of drug use so truly be careful with the audience, including yourself if you're sensitive to these things.  Also following along with the tone of a young guy telling his own story the language is not exactly the cleanest.  

The Dead and the Gone

Hey all, remember when I read this book? Well, I decided to read the next one too, and thus you're getting this post about The Dead and the Gone.

Once again, this book is about what happens in the aftermath of the moon getting pushed dramatically closer to the earth.  This time it follows Alex Morales and his two sisters in New York trying to survive.  The circumstances and preparation of the family is much different from Miranda's family in the previous book, but they face many of the same problems.  The book was pretty good and kept me reading, but I have an issue that also comes from the previous installment.  The teenager main characters are so...unstable or something.  Their tempers flair at the most unhelpful of times.  I'm not exactly the most well-hinged person all the time, but even I can keep it together in an emergency situation.

I don't want to give you too many details because that takes the fun out of you reading it, but I did enjoy this book and read it rather quickly.  I've added the third book to my to read stack and will, of course, let you know my thoughts once I get there.

Midnighters: The Secret Hour

Most of you out there have probably read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield.  Midnighters is another series that I grabbed to read.  I have extremely mixed feelings about this book.  When I started it I didn't want to like it (because I had a strange, slightly negative experience with the Uglies series), but then the story grabbed me and I got interested.  It's an interesting fantasy tale of what happens during a secret, hidden, twenty fifth hour of the day.  Only a select few people "midnighters" are awake and aware during this time while the rest of the world is frozen.

The book is mysterious and kind of intriguing.  The story has the potential to be awesome, but I really can't decide if I'm going to read the other books or if I'll just read the summaries on Wikipedia.  I love books, but I just struggle with Westerfield's second and third books in a trilogy.  Long story.  

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I'll admit it, I caved.  I've heard so much about Percy Jackson (and been outraged when it was compared to Harry Potter) and I finally picked one up to read.  Steph loaned me the book and I used it as a nighttime read-aloud with my seven year old niece Destiny while she visited with me.  

So, The Lightning Thief, I liked it.  But, HELLO WORLD STOP COMPARING THIS TO HARRY POTTER.  This is not Harry Potter, it doesn't even have anything to do with a wizard kid.  Percy is a kid in middle school who suddenly starts facing monsters in the most unexpected of places.  When he discovers his best friend is a satyr and he himself is a demi-god (the son of Poseidon in fact) his life changes.  He attends a summer camp for other "half-bloods" (the slang term for demi-gods used in the book) and is given a quest to recover a stolen item.  He faces real gods and even visits the underworld.  I love the unique modern twist put on Greek mythology (one of my favorite subjects even as a kid) and the unexpected visits from monsters.  It was an overall good book and I'll probably read the others, but I'm not near as attached as I was to Harry (am to Harry).