Book Review: The House of Hades – Rick Riordan

The House of Hades – Rick Riordan

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld.  The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death.  If they can fight their way through Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea.  But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice.  If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die.  They have no time.  In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood.  The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

This book starts out right where the last one left off.  Percy and Annabeth have just fallen into Tartarus and must survive and make it to the Doors of Death.  Leo, Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper and Nico are on the Argo II with the statue of Athena and must also make it to the Doors of Death.  It seems that in this book a lot of the characters overcame an obstacle or faced a fear.  Nico faced one of his biggest fears and had an unexpected person witness it.  Frank also faced a big obstacle.  I like how the book was told in several points of view so you really got an idea of what was going on all around.  We even find out some surprising things about Coach Hedge.  I did miss the lack of Grover and Tyson in this book and hope they are in the next book more.  Seems like a lot of the major battles will be fought in the next book.

Book Review: The Fall of Five – Pittacus Lore

The Fall of Five –Pittacus Lore

I thought things would change when I found the others.  We would stop running.  We would fight the Mogadorians.  And we would win.

But I was wrong.  Even though we have come together, we barely escaped from the Mogadorians with our lives.  And now we’re in hiding, trying to figure out our next move.

The six of us are powerful—but we’re not yet strong enough to take on their entire army.  We haven’t discovered the full extent of our Legacies.  We haven’t learned to work together.  And there’s still so much that we don’t know about the Elders or their plan for us.  Time is running out, and there’s only one thing we know for certain:  We need to find Number Five before they do.

The caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

I am Number Four.  I was supposed to be next.

But I’m still alive.

This battle is far from over.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

The book is told from three different point of views; John Smith (aka Number Four), Marina (Number Seven, the one that was in Spain) & Sam Goode (the human from Paradise).  I actually really liked all three points of views as they were not all always together so it was a good way to find out what was going on with everyone.  I had read The Lost Files #4-6 and I’m glad I had read it ahead of time.  In that book we met Adam, a Mogadorian working for the Garde and he ended up freeing Malcolm and Sam Goode.  Although he is mostly absent in the book I was hoping he would meet up with the Garde and work with them.  Nine is as cocky as ever but I love that guy.  Sarah has stepped it up and is training so she can be some help.  Ella is having nightmares/visions of a horrible future.  I think this is by far my favorite book in the series.

Book Review: The Dream Thieves – Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves – Maggie Stiefvater

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take?

Ronan Lynch has secrets.  Some he keeps from others.  Some he keeps from himself.

One secret:  Ronan can bring things out of his dreams.

And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things.

Ronan is one of the raven boys –a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy.  The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town.  But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface – changing everything in its wake.

Of The Raven Boys, Enterntainment Weekly wrote, “Maggie Stiefvater’s can’t-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two.”  Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.

3/5 stars (liked it)

This story picks up right where The Raven Boys left off.  Even though this book is full of many characters I felt like I got to know them all.  From all the boys from Aglionby Academy, a new mysterious man Mr. Gray, the women at 300 Fox Way and of course Blue, I really felt like I got to know them and they were all interesting.  We learn more about Ronan, his brothers and his family and why his father was killed.  We also learn more about Adam and what exactly happened to him in the last book.  And of course Blue, who is afraid to kiss any boy for fear she will kill him.  There’s also Noah, who is very mysterious but very likeable.  I can’t wait to see where the next book will go.

Book Club: The Year of Pleasures – Elizabeth Berg

The Year of Pleasures – Elizabeth Berg

Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew.  Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simple daily routines.  Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love.

In this rich and deeply satisfying novel, a resilient woman embarks upon an unforgettable journey of adventure, self-discovery, and renewal and comes to appreciate the solace found in ordinary pleasures.

3/5 stars (liked it)

This book is about how Betta deals with the death of her husband John.  She ends up selling her beloved home in Boston and just driving and finds a home in a small town in Illinois.  Something that John and she had always talked about doing.  While in this town she meets some interesting people such as the realtor that sells her her home, a young man who is trying to find love and rent a room, a 10 year old boy that helps her with household chores and she gets in touch with her old college roommates.  Through all these people Betta learns to do the things she loves and find her place in the world.  I liked the book, it was short and I felt like it left off in a good place.

Our Next Book:  The Leftovers - Tom Perrotta

Book Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling)

The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling)

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator.  Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling.  He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story:  His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier.  The police ruled it as a suicide, but John refuses to believe that.  The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you’ve never met one quite like Strike.  You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you’ve never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

3/5 stars (liked it)

The book starts out with Cormoran Strike just breaking up with his girlfriend Charlotte.  His private investigator business is not doing well; he owes money and has no place to live.  Also introduced is a woman named Robin, recently engaged and looking for a job.  She becomes Cormoran’s assistant.  He being a private person who doesn’t want anyone to know who that he is the son of a famous Rock legend or the fact that he lost his leg and Robin who respects his privacy but at the same time knows how to find information.  The case that Strike gets involves a model named Lulu Landry.  Her brother John Bristow cannot accept that police believe it was a suicide and wants Cormoran to find out the truth.  Through his investigative skills as well as Robin’s help he finds out whether or not it was a suicide and what was happening in Lulu’s life those last few days.  This book kept me guessing until the very end.  I will definitely be reading another book involving Cormoran.