City of Bones ()

So I've finished another book. The first novel in the Mortal Instruments series: City of Bones. It's your typical teen fantasy novel. It was a fast read and easy to read, so I flew through it. There were some inconsistencies, and the characters were a bit wishy-washy. I can't say it's a terrible book though. And I still want to read the rest of the series.

This book follows a youth named Clary who finds out her mother is a Shadowhunter, and has disappeared. She then meets up with 3 other young shadowhunters who would help her find her mother. Clary learned a lot about the downworlders, the shadow world and all that comes with it. It ends with a man name Valentine returning and Clary finding out that he is her father, and that her friend Jace is also her brother (Valentine is also his father). Basically, now the good shadowhunters will be joining forces to help beat Valentine so that he doesn't destroy the shadow world and human world.

This is a typical teen fantasy. Great way to escape reality for a bit, and a fast page turner. Not a whole lot else to be said about it. I am continuing to read the series, so until next time, Happy Reading!

Insurgent (~)

I've finished the 2nd book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Unfortunately, most of the time I was reading it, it was right before bed, so I was exhausted, so a lot of the tiny details in the storyline have been lost, but I still have the basic gist. I enjoyed the book, and it was fast paced, but I still didn't feel much of a climax. I really only finished it because I wanted to see how it turned out, not really because it was a real page turner. I would still recommend it because it's part of a series however.

So this story is still following Tris and Tobias as they travel from faction to faction to seek refuge. However, in every faction they find that the Erudite have taken over. In one of the factions, Tris is taken hostage and experimented on to see if they could control her Divergency. She was able to break free. By the end, they decided to team up with the factionless to fight the Erudite. Tris of course decides to do her own thing, and starts on a journey with Tobias' abusive father to uncover the secret information the Erudite are trying to keep from the rest of the city population. In the end, they find out the information, and find out the person giving the information is a one of Tris' family members. It ends there leaving a good opening for a 3rd book.

So overall, not a bad book, and a definite yes to the series. I have to make a decision now as to what I want to read next. I downloaded a lot of ebooks recently, and it's making my decision even harder! Also a co-worker lent me the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, so I might start that one. Either way, happy reading!

Divergent (↑)

I've finished Divergent by Veronica Roth. I have to say, that although I thought the book was great, I was a little disappointed with it. It seemed to drag on, and didn't have much action. The last 150 pages or so were really good and action packed though. I just thought it would be similar to The Hunger Games trilogy which had a pretty good plot with each book, and a great climax. This book didn't seem to have a climax. Although this all sounds negative, I really did like the book!  It still kept my interest even though it wasn't action packed. Although it wasn't superbly written, it was easy to follow, and I still felt completely immersed in the story.

The book is placed in the dystopian future where there are 5 factions of people which is based on personality traits.  At the age of 16, children in the factions have a 'Choosing Ceremony' where they go through an aptitude test to determine which faction they should be placed into. The main character Beatrice was determined to be Divergent which means that she doesn't fit into any of the 5 faction categories. She was told that this is incredibly dangerous and to not tell anyone. As it so happens, Beatrice chooses Dauntless, and proceeds to go through with the initiation. On the night of her initiation ceremony (meaning she passed all the tests), the Dauntless are put under a simulation that makes them mindless, and they attack another faction killing off everyone. As divergent, Beatrice is not under a simulation (she can't be controlled) and then helps save people, and end the killing. But I guess the story doesn't stop there, as it continues in the second book Insurgent.

Overall I liked this book, and would recommend it to others. I am reading the second book in the series now, and will let you know how that goes when I'm finished. Until then Happy Reading!

Lone Wolf (↑)

I could expect anything less than amazing and moving from Jodi Picoult. I just finished Lone Wolf (and I mean JUST finished. As in not even 5 minutes ago!), and I'm still in awe. I'm not one to cry when reading books, but I actually got a lump in my throat when I was at the end. I loved that I was able to learn so much about the pack mentality of wolves, and yet also be able to relate it back to what was happening within the human family. I mean I didn't spend an immense amount of time on it (only because my brain was lazy haha), but you know that the symbolism was there if you just thought about it long enough. Although Jodi Picoult's has a certain style and flow to her stories, this one did have a slight tweak. Although there was a twist, it actually didn't influence the outcome as much as I had thought it would. All in all I LOVED this book, and I can't wait to read the next one by her (The Storyteller I think it's called.)

This book starts off with a car accident where a teenage girl is severely injured, and her father has a traumatic brain injury. The son who was estrange is called and returns to the US to help make decisions as to his father's life. The son is charged with murder for unplugging his father's ventilator. The charges were dropped, but unfortunately another court case comes about to determine who should be the permanent guardian of the father. The sister wants the father to continue to live on machines as she feels guilty about the last thing she said to her father, while the son believes he should honour is father's wishes and terminate his life. In the end the son 'wins' (would one really consider it winning in this case?) the position, and the plug is pulled, and the father dies and his organs are then donated.

Amazing story, with a great premise. Jodi Picoult always knows how to choose the touchiest subjects, and make a great story behind it.  I will always continue to read her novels. Unfortunately I don't have her most recent book, but I think I will start the Divergent series. Until next time, Happy Reading!

The Secret Keeper (~)

I've FINALLY finished another book. This one is The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. In usual Kate Morton style, it starts off incredibly slow, and builds up, has a twist and then ends. Unfortunately I did find it kind of anti-climatic. The build up was there, but it certainly wasn't a 'I can't stop reading this' kind of build up. It's more of a 'Oh my god, will this ever end?' Although I enjoyed the book, I can't say it's exactly my favourite.

This story is about a woman named Laurel who is dealing with her mother's end-stage dementia. When Laurel was a child, a man came and her mother stabbed him, killing him on the spot. This incident stuck with her all her life, and it wasn't until now that she decided to start digging deeper into her mother's past. She learnt a lot about what she was like as a young woman during the Blitz, spending time with her sweetheart Jimmy. Basically what ends up happening is that Laurel's mother Dorothy ends up befriending a woman named Vivien. One day Vivien slights her, and Dorothy decided to get revenge by sending a letter and photo anonymously to Vivien's husband (who is a jealous, abusive jerk). Vivien finds out that her husband actually had some sketchy characters come and beat the living crap out of the man in the picture (who ended up being Jimmy) leaving him for dead. Vivien was afraid for Dorothy's life, and went to visit her to tell her to run away so that she wouldn't be hunted down and killed too. Unfortunately what happens is that a bomb happens to drop on Dorothy's boarding house, killing Dorothy. But how is it possible that Laurel is alive then? Well, to save herself and get out of her abusive marriage Vivien takes Dorothy's identity and ends up living her life. Anyway Laurel ends up finding all this out, and when she tells her mother, her mother is then relieved and was able to pass away peacefully.

Hopefully my synopsis won't confuse you, but that's the basic gist. It's a well written novel, but honestly the twist wasn't all that great (still unexpected though), and I did find it anti-climatic. Anyway I'm off to read a new Jodi Picoult book! Until next time, Happy Reading!

The Time Keeper (↑)

Finished another book! This one is a lot different than the books I usually read. Although it could be taken as philosophical, I actually found it easy to read and follow (way easier than The Alchemist!) This one is Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper. Although I've never ready anything by him before, I've always heard good things about his writing, how it's personal, thought provoking and emotional. I have to say though that I didn't find this book anymore emotional than any other book I've read recently. I did however find it quite thought provoking. It's basically talking about the concept of time, and how it would change when you were given the 'gift' of not aging. I guess it would make one more appreciative of aging and the ending of a life. Although it's always sad when someone passes away, it's a part of life, and it's what makes us human. It allows us to rethink what's going on, and makes it become more appreciative of the time we have. If we don't age, we won't realize the time we spend on earth is a precious commodity, and we wouldn't take the lessons we learn to heart. Anyway, enough of that blabbering of what I got out of that book. Time for a synopsis.

This book has 3 storylines. The first is based in pre-historic times and follows the creator of time. He is shunned from their village, and as his wife dies, he runs back to the village, and up the Tower of Babel to speak with the gods. Instead of the gods listening to him, he was sent to a cave for thousands of years listening to all the humans asking for more time, or less time, etc. After a couple thousand years, he was sent back to earth to help 2 humans. The 2nd storyline is about an elderly man who is dying of cancer who wants to take part in a cryonics experiment in order to extend his life. The 3rd storyline is about a young girl who wants to end her life because she learns that a boy she likes (to whom she made advances) posted all over social media sites that she is pathetic. Father Time then helps these two individuals by stopping time and showing them the future and what they would be missing out on, or returning to. It almost seemed A Christmas Carol-ish. Anyway, it changed their views, and they ended up returning to the present time and changing their views and living their lives (or for the old man, dying naturally and not taking part in cryonics).

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book, as it really does make you think about life and the concept of time. Anyway, until next time, Happy Reading!

What the Night Knows (↑)

I've finished another one! This one was by Dean Koontz. What the Night Knows. I don't usually get freaked out by books, but there were multiple times while I was reading this that I had to put it down and walk away because I kept getting the creepy-crawlies. I've read books by Dean Koontz before, so I know he's a suspense/thriller writer, so I shouldn't have been surprised by reading this, but honestly I was. Although it's very long (about 400 pages I think), it was definitely worth it, and kept me engrossed in the story throughout the whole thing.

Onward to the actual plot. This book is about a man who as a boy had his whole family viciously murdered before he killed the serial killer. Twenty years later, the serial killer's spirit comes back and possesses people who then continue his dirty work (killing families). The spirit targets the man's family, haunting/tormenting them for a few months before it all comes down to the 20 year anniversary of his family's death. A supernatural battle ensues where (hopefully) the man sends the spirit back into the pits of hell. They never really say if he does end up back there, but one can only hope/assume.

Anyway, I would recommend this to anyone who wants a nice creepy thriller, and doesn't get too creeped out by things that go bump in the night! Until next time, Happy Reading!