Review: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published August 10th 2010 by Razorbill

Rating:

5 stars

Summary:

Haven Moore can't control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother's house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:


 When ever I'm looking for a new book to read, I don't normally go for the reincarnation themed loved stories -not after my experience with Evermore- but the hype surrounding this book and it's plot sounded really interesting. What I didn't expect was what it actually was: an amazing, original piece of literature. It's a story of mystery, romance, and a hint of fantasy with unexpected surprises around every turn. It's just really, really, really, really awesome and before you know it, it becomes one of those books that you won't be able to put down.


What I Loved About It:

• The first part of the book is set in Haven's tiny home town of Snope City, Tennessee where we're first introduced to the characters. Miller's writing is charming and really draws you in, getting to to care for -or in some cases- hate characters right away.
• I now it might sound weird, but I really liked Haven's uber religious and extremely mean grandmother, Imogen. I hated her with a passion, and because of that, I got really involved with the book.
• I loved Beau, Haven's gay best friend. He was so nice and became an awesome addition to the plot. 
• Now, Iain Morrow. What can I say? Is it weird that I'm completely in love with this fictional character? Dreamy, mysterious, rich, and a seemingly nice person. 
• The plot twists in the novel were unexpected and every chapter you had no idea what to expect.
• The Ouroboros Society was an interesting component. Something that seems really plausible. :)
• The ending. 

What I Didn't Really Like About It:

(As I write this, I can't really find much I don't like about it. But I'm sure I can think of something...)

• A lot of the people in her home town get on your nerves really easily. 
• Some of the characters seem really unbelievable and really shallow.
• I would've liked to read more about Leah and her church. She helped Haven a lot and we don't really learn much about her.
• Some of the dialogue kinda sucked, especially the southern expressions and such. 
• I didn't get to see as much Rebecca and Adam as I would have liked.
• That priest guy, Dr. Tidmore, personality change was weird...

Is it Worth the Read?

If you want an interesting mystery with equally interesting characters and an awesome plot, it's definitely worth the read.

Cover: 3 stars

I didn't actually realise the cover was a snake until I read about what it symbolized. Plus, it's kinda plain...

Review: The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Hardcover

184 pages

Published October 27th 2009 

by Farrar Straus Giroux 

Rating:

3.5 Stars 

Summary:

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?
With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts

It had been one of those weeks were I really couldn't get into a book. Everything I picked up lost my interest instantaneously. Maybe it was school, maybe it was the family, but it really doesn't matter. I came back right after I finished this book. I have to admit, I was kind of hesitant. As much as I loved the cover, I was worried it wouldn't be something I'd like because it's really short.


The story is told from first person POV. Jane, our main character is an "equal opportunity ditcher", spending her time away from her classes working at a coffee shop and studying the relationship that drinks have with people. Before she knows it she's setting people up and becoming the local matchmaker.


What I loved about it:

• The entire concept of the story was too cute to resist. Coffee and Love? As cliche as it may seem you can't resist it.
• Jane seems like someone you can really relate to. She's not perfect and can sometimes be sorta thick headed. But, in the end, she's just like everyone else.
• Throughout the book you get to learn new coffee terms and what she thinks of each person that drinks it. My favorite:

Small Pumpkin Spice Latte

 Lots of fun and a bit sassy. Up-to-date with a the latest trend and has a bit of an exotic flair. Wants to have a good time and not be tied down for long. Cute and playful. Likes a good thing but not too much of a good thing. Not the commitment type. She's the kind of friend who is a lot of fun to hang out with and doesn't make you feel like you owe her anything...

• The various love stories that go about along with the many different characters she gets to meet.

 What I Didn't Like

• Jane and Em got on my nerves sometimes...
• You'd expect that the matchmaker herself would hook up but you don't know whether the one guy she likes is a douche or even likes her at all. Then she gets with someone unexpected and your like: "WHAT?!" 
• You can't believe that some of the characters are that stupid.
• Some what unbelievable -cute- but unbelievable.
• A lot of characters are introduced and you'd expect to get to know them better, but they don't really amount to anything. I guess, this being a short book you'd expect that, but still...

 Should You Read It? 

Yes. It might not be stellar writing, but it's definitely worth a quick read.

Cover: 4 stars 
It's cute and really inviting. Plus the coffee looks yummy! 



more details...

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Hardcover

398 pages

Published January 11th 2011 by Razorbill

Rating

Summary:

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts

This was definitely a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure about it at first. A YA Sci-Fi/Romance? This was new and I had to read it.

The love story between Amy and Elder is kind of the back burner of this epic  story, but the adventure and the mystery driving the plot was amazing. Think The Giver + Space + Unwind  in the awesomest context you can think of.

Elder is going to be the leader of the ship Godspeed but he soon discovers that there are secrets hidden from him when he finds frozen bodies in a part of this ship that's not supposed to exist. Amy, a girl that was woken up years before she is supposed to  teams up with Elder to discover just what exactly is wrong.  This to me is what makes the entire story and I'm glad. For once the romance wasn't fueling this amazing story. 

The mystery was hidden underneath the secrets of the ship and were slowly revealed. At points in the novel you can't help but to just set it down and mull over it and try and grasp what's really happening. I mean, I couldn't believe what was happening and when Eldest finally reveals what's been going on you going into a state of shock. Well... I did at least.

The entire book kept me on edge and literally wouldn't let me put it down before I figured out the ship's secret. It's a MUST READ!!!!

Cover/Read: This is by far my favorite book cover so far this year and possibly ever. It's amazing.

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Paperback

363 pages

Published February 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen

(Amazon)

Rating:

Summary

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts


It's been awhile since I've posted and since then I've read all of the Percy Jackson books and I've ultimately obsessed with it so excuse my somewhat detachment in this post. :3


This was another one of those books that I've been looking for, for a while. Surprise, surprise. I've heard a lot about it and was kinda weary when I began reading it and boy did it live up to my expectations. 


Megan Chase is just your average girl who feels just a little out of place. With Her best friend Robbie, a fairy in disguise, right by her side. What she doesn't know is that her father is actually the fairy king Oberon and to save her missing brother she must visit the Fairy World and find the Iron King. Although things don't go as smoothly as planned. She risks death, loss, and even falling in love.


The entire plot was awesome and the characters were so likable. Not to mention the whole Robbie vs Ash thing going on. That was hilarious. x3 Is there anything better than two hot guys fighting over you?  The world of fairy's was just as awesomely created. Everything was really oddly placed and surreal when you read it that you couldn't help but want to go there. To put it lay man's terms, it was awesome.


Cover/Title: It's really pretty and the colors are really eye catching. It's just one of those things that can carry a series.

My Percy Jackson Binge

I was sitting on my bed the other day, having come home from an awesome sleepover when it suddenly hit me. I haven't read Percy Jackson yet. I don't really know where this thought came from seeing as it's so random, but it was totally true. I mean, I had the first two books, but I've never really bothered to pick them up and read them until now. 


I walked over to my book shelf and grabbed the first one. I was really reluctant to read them because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to connect with these young characters, but it turns out, it made me enjoy it even more.



I dropped everything I was reading and am now determined to finish the series this week. I still have the fourth and fifth book to go and won't be satisfied without them. I'm going to try and get back to my normal novels but until then... PERCY JACKSON ROCKS!!!