Book Review: Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch, which was why she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shapeshifters, and fairies).  But that was before she discovered she was a demon, and her hot crush, Archer Cross, was an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping her kind off the face of the earth.

3/5 stars (liked it)

Sophie decides she wants to get the removal done but her father convinces her to spend the summer in London before she truly decides.  She brings along her vampire friend Jenna.  There she meets two other demons.  She grows closer to Calahan, the groundskeeper at Hex Hall.  She also grows closer and understands her father a lot more.  Her feelings for Archer have not changed.  Overall in this book Sophie learns a lot about her herself and the past of her family.

Book Review: Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch, which was why she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shapeshifters, and fairies).  But that was before she discovered she was a demon, and her hot crush, Archer Cross, was an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping her kind off the face of the earth.

3/5 stars (liked it)

Sophie decides she wants to get the removal done but her father convinces her to spend the summer in London before she truly decides.  She brings along her vampire friend Jenna.  There she meets two other demons.  She grows closer to Calahan, the groundskeeper at Hex Hall.  She also grows closer and understands her father a lot more.  Her feelings for Archer have not changed.  Overall in this book Sophie learns a lot about her herself and the past of her family.

Book Review: Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Demonglass - Rachel Hawkins

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch, which was why she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shapeshifters, and fairies).  But that was before she discovered she was a demon, and her hot crush, Archer Cross, was an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping her kind off the face of the earth.

3/5 stars (liked it)

Sophie decides she wants to get the removal done but her father convinces her to spend the summer in London before she truly decides.  She brings along her vampire friend Jenna.  There she meets two other demons.  She grows closer to Calahan, the groundskeeper at Hex Hall.  She also grows closer and understands her father a lot more.  Her feelings for Archer have not changed.  Overall in this book Sophie learns a lot about her herself and the past of her family.

Book Review: The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find if he is capable of true love.  Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date.  He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance.  So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a "wonderful" husband, his first reaction is shock.  Yet he mist concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project.  In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner.  She will be punctual and logical--most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things.  She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent--and on a quest of her own.  She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with.  Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie--and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper,

"The Rosie Project" is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges,

3/5 stars (liked it)

I liked this book right away and some of the things that happened in this book made me smile and laugh.  I did predict the ending, both on who the father really was and what would happen between Rosie and Don.  I like how Rosie pushed Don to the edge and made him do things he never would have done.  I never really liked Don's friend Gene or his wife Claudia.  And thought the relationship between Don and Gene's oldest child was odd but I wasn't sure if that was clouded by Don's interpretation of people or not.  Overall a cute story.

Book Review: Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins

On her twelfth birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch.  Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shape-shifters.

By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then, when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface.  Soon Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

3/5 stars (liked it)
This book reminded very much of the ShadowFalls Series.  In this book Sophie is a witch, she came into her powers at 12 like all other Prodigium.  Her dad is a Warlock and her mother is a mortal.  She has been performing magic but went a little too far and got sent to Hecate Hall school, which is like a school for trouble maker Prodigium.  There she meets three witches that insist she be in their coven, but Sophie refuses.  Her new roommate is a vampire, Jenna and the only one at Hex Hall.  The previous year her roommate mysteriously died.  Also there is a ghost in a green dress that keeps appearing to her.  Of course there is the super cute Warlock, Archer whom Sophie finds incredibly attractive but very annoying.  The secret society is the Eye (aka L'Occhio di Dio), which is a society that kills Prodigium.  I kind of figured out the ending of this book, but still a good read.

Book Review: The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the go Apollo is cast down from Olympus.  Weak and disorientated he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy.  Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favor.

But Apollo has many enemies--gods, monsters, and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed.  Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go...an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

3/5 stars (liked it)
I love the idea of seeing a god punished by being turned into a mortal.  I felt though that this book moved a little slow as most of it was Apollo getting used to being human and it isn't until the end when a battle happens, we find out who the bad guy is and what the quest will be.  I missed old characters like Percy and Grover, although we saw a little Percy in it.  I will for sure read the next book though.

Book Review: Kalona's Fall - P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Kalona's Fall - P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

In Kalona's Fall, the shadows in Kalona's past will finally come to light.  We will learn about the winged immortals' secret history and discover how he went from being the Goddess's Warrior and Guardian to her enemy and betrayer.  Did Darkness taint Kalona as it did Neferet, or has the powerful immortal always preferred power over honor, and control over faith?  This novella will be crucial to fans' understanding of Kalona, before his role in the explosive final installment of the House of Night, Redeemed.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I got this as an audio book because I have so many books I want to read and no time and thought since I spend about an hour in the car each day this might be a way to catch up on books.  I had never had an audio book before and I found myself actually enjoying it.  The reader was quite good and even had a different voice for each character.  I enjoyed learning about not just Kalona but Erebus and Nyx as well.  Also how the vampires came into being.  I can't wait to see what happens in the final House of Night novel and how Kalona's role will ends things for the other characters.

Book Review: Calamity - Brandon Sanderson

Calamity - Brandon Sanderson

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born.  David's fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night.  Steelheart killed his father.  Firefight stole his heart.  And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof's secret, and kept it even when the Reckoners' leader struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers.  But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much.  Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny.  He's disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there's no turning back...

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics--Megan proved it.  They're not lost.  Not completely.  And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back.  Or die trying.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I really like Brandon Sanderson as an author and was looking forward to a great conclusion to a great series.  I felt like the end just wrapped up a little too nicely and just ended without much closure.  This whole book is leading up to them getting Professor back and then when they get to that point they are unprepared and things don't go as planned.  I do like the journey that David made throughout the book and his acceptance of himself and other Epics.  I feel like the ending left it open to possibly have a follow-up book.

Book Review: A Torch Against The Night - Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against The Night - Sabaa Tahir

Elias and Laia are running for their lives.  After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf--the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison--to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars' survival.  And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias.  The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene--Elias's former friend and the Empire's newest Blood Shrike. 

Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own--one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I didn't think I would like this book as much as the first one, but I was wrong.  I love the developing story and love between Elias and Laia.  I was not too crazy about Helene in the last book and in this one I really grew to understand her and love her.  Keenan and Izzy both come back in this book and I love the things we find out about them.  The bad guys, Marcus, Commandant and Warden are all really, really bad guys.  I cannot wait to see what happens to all the characters in the next book.