Book Review: Infinityglass – Myra McEntire

Infinityglass – MyraMcEntire

From the moment the Hourglass group violated the rules of the space-time continuum to rescue a murdered love one, time has been in flux.  People from other centuries slide into our time, intruding into our space, threatening our world.

Frantically seeking a way to turn back the tide, the Hourglass begins to search for the legendary Infinityglass, tracking it to the city of New Orleans, a place where the past rests easily with the present.

Quiet, reliable Dune, the group’s favorite geek, is selected to travel to the Crescent City and somehow retrieve the renowned object.

But there’s a problem.

Because the Infinitiyglass is not an object, it’s a person.

A beautiful, headstrong dancer named Hallie, a girl so enticing Dune can’t take his eyes off her.

And time is not on her side.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I did not like the voices of Dune or Hallie at first but grew to like them.  I also though that the POV changed too often that sometimes I didn’t even realize it had changed.  But overall a nice conclusion to the series.  Plus we did find out about the other characters and what happens after the concluding events.  I did not like this one as much as the second book and really think the author could have done more and explained some things better.

Book Review: The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life ofBees – Sue Monk Kidd

Set in South Carolina in 1964.  The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.  When Lily’s fierce-hearted black “stand-in mother” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free.  They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that holds the secret to her mother’s past.  Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna.  This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I felt really sorry for Lily, all her life she has felt responsible for her mother’s death, her father T. Ray is not a very good father and he treats her very badly.  I can very much see how she would take Rosaleen away with her and leave T. Ray behind.  In Tiburon she says with three Beekeeping Sisters, August is the oldest and very motherly and takes Lily and Rosaleen in right away.  June is very stubborn and dislikes Lily from the beginning.  May is very troubled and sensitive to other people’s feelings and she becomes friends with Rosaleen.  I really enjoyed this book and all the characters in them.  Throughout this book I saw how Lily grew from a scared girl to a strong woman and how she learned about her mother’s past.  Also how she learned that people are the same no matter what color their skin is.

Book Review: Around the Next Corner – Elizabeth Wrenn

Around the NextCorner – Elizabeth Wrenn

For Deena Munger, the transformation to under-appreciated housewife was subtle and gradual.  She loved her family dearly, but Deena was starting to wonder:  When did I disappear?  And how come I never even noticed?

Then one day she stuns her family by volunteering to raise a puppy for K-9 Eyes for the Blind.  Suddenly the stability of Deena’s life is turned upside down.  And, it turns out; this rambunctious, impulsive ball of fur could actually be the damage control she needs to save her family, her marriage, and her self…

3/5 stars (liked it)

I started off not really liking Deena.  She’s a housewife but really is not happy with her life or her marriage and she does not treat her husband that well.  But then we meet Heloise, the puppy she will be raising for K-9 Eyes for the Blind and I begin to like her a lot more.  Her kids are bratty teenagers and I hope when my kids are that age they treat me with more respect.  But by the end of the book I like Deena, Heloise and all the other characters in the book.  Loved the epilogue and how it wrapped up things.

Book Review: Shadow of the Mark – Leigh Fallon

Shadow of the Mark –Leigh Fallon

Their love could destroy them all.

Through the ages, Marked Ones have harnessed the powers of the four elements:  Water, Fire, Earth, and Air.  Much about the elements is shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain:  A relationship between two Marked Ones has the potential to cause widespread devastation.

Megan and Adam—Air and Water—are determined to defy the risks.

But the power that swirls inside Megan is growing in twisted ways.  And the closer she is to Adam, the closer Megan comes to unleashing a dark force that could spell destruction for the entire Marked line.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I liked this second book better than the first one.  I think that is the case with a lot of series book; the first one has a lot of character development and introducing the reader to the world.  This one stars off where the last one left off.  Adam and Megan are “forbidden” from having a relationship, but they don’t listen to that.  They just hope that something in the scrolls can allow them to be together.  But every time they are physical bad things happen.  This book explains a lot of things about the Order, the Knox and the Marked ones of the past.  I’m curious to see where the next book will lead.  This book also introduced a couple of new characters as well as had more of previous characters.

Book Review: The Shade of the Moon - Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Shade of the Moon– Susan Beth Pfeffer

The riveting conclusion to the Life As We Knew It Series.

It’s been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved.  His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in Sexton, the well-protected enclave he entered with his stepmother, Lisa, and her son, Gabe, using the three safe-town passes they were given.  But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can jeopardize his life and that of his sister, Miranda, who lives outside the walls of Sexton.  When everything he values is at stake, can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?

3/5 stars (liked it)

I loved the first book, liked the second one a little less and the third one I liked.  This one started off very slowly and with Jon as narrator.  I barely remembered Jon from the previous books and I did not like him at all in this one at the beginning of the book.  He was a spoiled brat of a Claver.  But then he met Sarah, who opened up a new way of thinking for him.  Teaching him that Clavers and Grubbers are people and they shouldn’t be treated differently.  This book did show what kinds of things people will do to other people and how even when the world is ending there is still the rich privileged people.  By the end of the book Jon was a more likable person and he redeemed himself.  I did like the ending of the book.

Book Review: The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon

The Bone Season –Samantha Shannon

The year is 2059.  Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underground of Scion London.  Her job:  to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds.  For Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant—and under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes forever.  Attacked, kidnapped, and drugged, Paige is transported to Oxford—a city kept secret for two hundred years, governed by an otherworldly race called the Rephaim who seek to control clairvoyants for their own purposes.  Paige is assigned to the care of Warden, a powerful Rephaite.  He is her captor.  Her trainer.  Her natural enemy.  But if she wants to regain her freedom, she will have to get close to him, to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine, a young woman discovering her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her.  It also introduces an extraordinary young writer with huge ambition and a teeming imagination.  Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

The book started off a little confusing because I had to learn about this new society and all the different types of clairvoyants.  Once I got past that I got really invested in the main character Paige.  She gets captured and brought to Oxford; a city that everyone thought did not exist.  This city is inhabited by a race called the Rephaim and they capture clairvoyants to use for their own purpose.  A Reph named Warden, who is to train her, chooses Paige.  Through the book we learn about Paige’s past and also we learn about Warden and his past as well as how Oxford came about and an uprising that happened before.  This book was very interested and I will definitely continue with the series.