Book Review: Timepiece - Myra McEntire

Timepiece - Myra McEntire

 

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard was never supposed to be able to see ripples - cracks in time. Are his powers expanding, or is something very wrong? Before he can find out, Jonathan landers, the man who tried to murder is father, reappears. Why is he back, and what, or whom, does he want?

In the wake of Landers' return, the Hourglass organization is given an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the people who might carry the time gene, or time will be altered - with devastating results for the people Kaleb loves most.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Landers. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I really enjoyed Hourglass and it was written in Emerson's point of view.  I was a little surprised when I began reading Timepiece and it was not Emerson's voice I heard but Kaleb's voice.  Seems like a lot of young adult novels I've read are written from the female's point of view.  Once I got used to it I actually loved it.  Kaleb grew so much in the course of this book.  Also seeing Emersen from someone else's point of view changed my mind about her.  The ending of this book really left me craving for the third one and bummed that it is not yet available.  I liked this one better than the first book.

Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. the world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. of sex, drugs, and the rocky horror picture show. of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I received this book through a giveaway on AnnaReads Blog.  The book is about Charlie who is just starting out in high school.  The book is written through letters that Charlie writes to a "friend".  Though we don't know who this friend is.  At first I did not like the writing style but the more I read, the more I realized that it felt like a kid was writing it.  Although I would have to say that Charlie is a bit odd in the fact that he cries quite a bit and in public.  He is certainly a unique individual.  I really felt bad for him all of the bad things that have happened in his life at such a young age.  The book ends as he is about to enter his Sophomore year.  I really liked the Epilogue to see where his life would be heading.

Book Review: The Goddess Legacy - Aimee Carter

The Goddess Legacy - Aimee Carter

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows. 

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness….

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal….

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another….

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others#151;but never knew true loss before….

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope….

4/5 stars (really liked it)

The first story was about Hera/Calliope and how she came to be married to Zeus and her feelings for Hades.  You understand her a little more and know why she is the way she is.  I love hearing a story from her point of view.

The second story was about Aphrodite/Ava and follows right after Hera's story.  It is about how she is torn between two brothers, Ares and Hephaestus and also how Zeus is making them all marry.  So Aphrodite has not choice in who she can marry even if she does not love him.

The third story was about Persephone and it begins with her marriage to Hades.  Poor Hades, it really does make you understand why he has such a wall around himself after the way Persephone treated him.  You also feel bad for her because she was forced to marry him and move to the Underworld.  You find out how she ends up with Adonis.

The fourth story was about Hermes/James.  He is sent on a mission for Zeus and in the process meets some mortals.  It seems mortals have kind of forgotten about the Greek Gods.  He must find a way for all the Greek Gods to survive and not Fade.

The Last story is about Hades/Henry.  It shows us how lonely he was and how all the girls before Kate came about.  Also we see how he felt about Kate when he met her.

I loved seeing a different side to all these Gods/Goddesses.  Also how the stories follow one another chronologically.  I would love to learn more about Hades and the time spent with Kate while she was taking the tests. 

Book Review: An Apple for the Creature - Charlaine Harris et al

An Apple for the Creature - Charlaine Harris et al

What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests."

For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation.

And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!

Includes stories by: Ilona Andrews, Amber Benson, Rhys Bowen, Mike Carey, Charlaine Harris, Donald Harstad, Steve Hockensmith, Nancy Holder, Faith Hunter, Toni L.P. Kelner, Marjorie Liu, Jonathan Maberry, Thomas Sniegoski

3/5 stars (liked it)

I mainly got this book for the Sookie Stackhouse story.  Which is a short story really having nothing to do with the other books but we get to see more of Hunter.  Although sometimes it is good to read other short stories by other authors to see if there are other books out there that I would enjoy to read.  I enjoyed most of the stories and have not read any books by any of them other than Charlaine Harris.  The only stories I did not care for were Spellcaster 2.0, Sympathy for the Bones, An intro to Jewish Myth and Mysticism, The Bad Hour.  The last story Pirate Dave & The Captain's Ghost I really enjoyed and has read the previous story to it in another compilation.  Overall I liked it and would like to look into some of the authors of the stories I liked.

Book Review: If I Stay - Gayle Forman

 If I Stay - Gayle Forman

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book consists of many small stories about the main character Mia.  It is basically her life flashing before her eyes and through that we get to know her, her family, her best friend Kim and her boyfriend.  All of these things factor into her final decision on whether to stay or go.  If she stays she will be an orphan and probably endure a tough life.  If she goes she might be re-united with her family.  Such a tough decision that I'm sure anyone would have a hard time deciding.  In this in-between state she is in she can watch the people she knows waiting for her to decide.  The ending was great and somewhat unexpected.

 

Book Club - September

The Painted Drum - Louise Erdrich

 

While appraising the estate of a New Hampshire family descended from a North Dakota Indian agent, Faye Travers is startled to discover a rare moose skin and cedar drum fashioned long ago by an Ojibwe artisan. And so begins an illuminating journey both backward and forward in time, following the strange passage of a powerful yet delicate instrument, and revealing the extraordinary lives it has touched and defined.

Compelling and unforgettable, Louise Erdrich's "Painted Drum" explores the often fraught relationship between mothers and daughters, the strength of family, and the intricate rhythms of grief with all the grace, wit, and startling beauty that characterizes this acclaimed author's finest work.

 This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but I read it for my book club.  I actually ended up liking it.  The book was not really about the drum itself but about the people.  First about about Faye and her relationships and her past.  Then about the maker of the drum and how he got to the point of where he was.  Then about the descendant of the maker and how his life changes after the drum returns.  It jumped around a little bit and I wish the ending would have wrapped up a little more.  Overall though I liked the book.

The Book for September is The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell