5. Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn

Last year I made a deal with my husband.

He felt I read too much (is that even possible?!?!?) and I felt his opinion was a little on the crazy side.

To help him feel better about the amount of books I read, I promised him that this year I would read his entire collection of Star Wars books (those and military books are the only ones he'll read, so I figured that would appease him).

He agreed to this deal and so here we are today.

Outbound Flight is about you guessed it, a flight that goes out of bounds - the bound of the Republic, that is.

Here's what Goodreads has to say about it:

The Clone Wars have yet to erupt when Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth petitions the Senate for support of a singularly ambitious undertaking. Six Jedi Masters, twelve Jedi Knights, and fifty thousand men, women, and children will embark–aboard a gargantuan vessel, equipped for years of travel–on a mission to contact intelligent life and colonize undiscovered worlds beyond the known galaxy. The government bureaucracy threatens to scuttle the expedition before it can even start–until Master C’baoth foils a murderous conspiracy plot, winning him the political capital he needs to set in motion the dream of Outbound Flight.

Or so it would seem. For unknown to the famed Jedi Master, the successful launch of the mission is secretly being orchestrated by an unlikely ally: the evil Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, who has his own reasons for wanting Outbound Flight to move forward . . . and, ultimately, to fail.

Yet Darth Sidious is not the mission’s most dangerous challenge. Once underway, the starship crosses paths at the edge of Unknown Space with the forces of the alien Chiss Ascendancy and the brilliant mastermind best known as “Thrawn.” Even Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, aboard Outbound Flight with his young Padawan student, Anakin Skywalker, cannot help avert disaster. Thus what begins as a peaceful Jedi mission is violently transformed into an all-out war for survival against staggering odds–and the most diabolical of adversaries.

Timothy Zahn’s unique mix of espionage, political gamesmanship, and deadly interstellar combat breathes electrifying life into a Star Wars legend.

My husband is a HUGE Star Wars fan and in the 13 plus years we have been married, he has turned me into quite the fan, as well.

It was an interesting read.  The Star Wars world is huge, and there are so many facets to the Jedi and the Force that it has spawned numerous book series.  According to my husband, Thrawn is quite a notorious character in the Star Wars world, and after reading this I am a little disappointed and at the same time intrigued by his character.

The ending was not at all what I was expecting and I found myself actually interested in reading the Thrawn Triliogy to find out what happens to the Chiss mastermind.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Fun Kids Books

This past year I have really made an effort to find some fun, new books to read to my boys.

They were getting tired of the same old books I've had since my daughters were little, and of course their tastes are different.

These are some of my favorites that we've discovered over the past year.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

This book was a hoot!  It's a really cute story about dragons that love tacos (obviously) and what can happen when you give them the wrong kind of salsa on their tacos.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

This book is my boys' absolute favorite!  It's a fun tale about a boy named Duncan's school crayons, and the specific requests they have for him concerning their use.  Our special favorite is peach crayon's letter!

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

This is the sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit.  This story revolves around the crayons in Duncan's home.  It's similar to the first book, but has some fun little "twists" in it. ;)

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

This book is pretty self-explanatory.  There are zero pictures in this book.  However, there are a bunch of funny words that the reader (aka parent) has to say.  This book had my little boys laughing big belly laughs!

Lorien Legacies

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot say that enough!

 

I just finished re-reading the first five books (book six comes out September 1) and have decided I like the fifth book more than I did the first time I read it.

 

I seriously SERIOUSLY urge all of you who have not read this series to grab these books and read them!  NOW!

Bad Reviewer

The last month I have definitely slipped on my book reviews.  Shame, shame, shame.

I am hoping that in the future I will do better, but for now, I am still playing catch-up. :(



27. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand


What an incredible story!

This book brought out so many different emotions.  I love books that can move me like this one did.

Rating: 5/5 stars


 - a book based on a true story



28. Killing Floor by Lee Child

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this!

Mysteries and thrillers aren't really my type of genre, but this story pulled me in from the very beginning.  I cannot wait to read more Jack Reacher novels.

Rating: 4/5 stars

- a mystery/thriller




29. Golden Son by Piece Brown

That ending - GAH!

Such a fast paced and exciting read! Never a dull moment in this book.

Rating: 5/5 stars


- a book with a color in the title            



30. Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder

It makes me sad to give this a low rating, because I LOVE Valek (and Yelena by extension), but this story was very different than the first three Study books.

It was told from three different POVs (Yelena, Valek and Janco), and while I could have overlooked it being just Yelena and Valek, I really did not understand why Janco was included. In my opinion, it didn't further the story any and seemed to drag it out more than was needed.

Also, while I enjoyed learning more about Valek's past, I did feel as though it was included just to make the story longer... again, it didn't really do anything to further the story. A few paragraphs, maybe a chapter would have been enough, but almost every Valek chapter had a flashback in it.

Like I said, it really hurt my heart to give this anything lower than a 3, but for me, this book was just okay. I will read the next book in the series, though, because I am too invested in Valek and Yelena to give up on them now.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars



31. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

It took FOREVER for me to get into this book. The first three quarters of the book seemed rather dull. I spent the entire time prepared to give it 2 stars, but then the last few chapters picked up and I found myself drawn into the story.  Rating: 3/5 stars 32. I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer I really don't know what I was expecting, but it was definitely something different than this. I really wanted to like this book, because I love most of the movies in which Judy Greer is a co-star, but it seemed very disjointed and all over the place. Add to that the part where her "funny" stories weren't really funny. I guess I was hoping to read more about her actual life, you know, being a co-star to the "famous" in Hollywood - maybe more on how her career actually started, what she does to stay pertinent in the acting community, heck, maybe even something about all the people she has worked with - but this was just a bunch of short stories about random subjects from shopping at CVS to having a pink car and it didn't really entertain me. Nothing against Judy Greer, she seems like a fun person, but this book wasn't for me. Or maybe I just have something against memoirs... I don't know. Rating: 1.5/5 stars - a funny book 33. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout Wow. What an amazing story of survival. It is so hard to read about the darkness and terror that can be found in this world. I am so impressed by Amanda's perseverance and will to survive in the face of such horrors and I wish nothing but the best for her continued recovery. Rating: 4/5 stars  - a nonfiction book

Catch up (books #18-21)

18. Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

It takes guts to deliberately mutilate your hand while operating a blister-pack sealing machine, but all I had going for me was guts.

Sol Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller in an America rigidly divided between people who wake, live, and work during the hours of darkness and those known as Rays who live and work during daylight. Impulsive, passionate, and brave, Sol deliberately injures herself in order to gain admission to a hospital, where she plans to kidnap her newborn niece—a Ray—in order to bring the baby to visit her dying grandfather. By violating the day-night curfew, Sol is committing a serious crime, and when the kidnap attempt goes awry it starts a chain of events that will put Sol in mortal danger, uncover a government conspiracy to manipulate the Smudge population, and throw her together with D'Arcy Benoît, the Ray medical apprentice who first treats her, then helps her outrun the authorities—and with whom she is fated to fall impossibly and irrevocably in love.

Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights—and a compelling, rapid-fire romantic adventure story.

 

This was an unique take on a dystopian society.  I really wanted to read more about what brought this type of society about and how people were okay with it, but there wasn't very much of that.  I also felt there was a lot of information missing from this book that would have made it better, not just a more thorough history of their society but other parts of the story that were lacking and could have used more description.  Some parts seemed quite unbelievable, but I guess that is what makes is dystopian, right? ;)

 

Overall an interesting read.  Another great thing it had going for it... it is a stand alone novel (I think and HOPE).  Not many of those anymore.

 

Rating: 3.75/5

 

- a book based entirely on it's cover

19. Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman

In her New York Times bestselling and Morris Award-winning debut, Rachel Hartman introduces mathematical dragons in an alternative-medieval world to fantasy and science-fiction readers of all ages. Eragon-author Christopher Paolini calls them, "Some of the most interesting dragons I've read in fantasy."

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.  

 

 

I originally read this book in December 2013 and loved it!  Such a fascinating take on dragons!  I felt Seraphina was a character you could really connect with and Lucian Kiggs was another great candidate for a literary crush.

 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

 

- a book with a one-word title

 

 

 

20. Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) by Rachel Hartman

 

Seraphina took the literary world by storm with 8 starred reviews and numerous “Best of” lists. At last, her eagerly awaited sequel has arrived—and with it comes an epic battle between humans and dragons.

The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways.

As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

 

 

I have been eagerly awaiting this book!!!!  It was a long wait between my reading Seraphina and Shadow Scale coming out and as the date for it's release got closer I got more excited.  Maybe that is why I was rather disappointed with this one...

 

Here's what I wrote on Goodreads:

This is a hard one to rate. I thought for sure going into it that I was going to love it. The world Rachel Hartman created is so fascinating and unique, and in the beginning of this book we learn more of Seraphina's history and in particular her history with Jannoula. But at times the story seemed drawn out (for example when she was in Porphyry) and really slow. Despite that, I wanted to continue reading because I was desperate to know what happened to the characters I have grown to love. I was really enjoying the book until the last one hundred or so pages. It seemed as though Seraphina became a completely different person. Up until then I would have given it four stars. Unfortunately the ending was irritating and really put me off, which is sad because I wanted to love this story.

Rating: 3/5 stars

 

- a book with more than 500 pages

 

 

 

 

21. How to Betray a Dragon's Hero (HTTYD #11) by Cressida Cowell

 

High up in the Treacherous mists of the Murderous Mountains, Hiccup and the Company of the Dragonmark are in hiding. The witch's Vampire Spydragons are guarding the shores of Tomorrow -- but Hiccup is determined to become King of the Wilderwest. Can Hiccup dodge the dragons and steal back the King's Things from Alvin before the Doomsday of Yule? And is there a traitor in Hiccup's camp who, in the end, will betray them all?

 

 

This has been a really enjoyable series.  I read the first ten books with my eldest daughter and we have loved them.  This is the first one I read by myself (she also read it by herself before I did), which was a little bittersweet.

 

Hiccup and Toothless and all the rest of the characters in these books are so well written you can't help loving them.  This is the second to last book in the series so things are drawing closer to an end in this installment.  I will be sad to say goodbye to Hiccup and his gang.

 

Rating: 4/5 stars

 

- a book with non-human characters



The Study series by Maria V. Snyder

I absolutely love this series!

 

Seriously, some of my favorite characters come from this series and one of my best literary crushes.  Yelena is such a strong, fascinating female character.  I really love that about Snyder - she is great about writing great female leads.  And Valek... oh, Valek... Of course Yelena could not resist you.  How can anybody resist you?

 

I had a lot of fun re-reading this series in preparation for Snyder's new novel, Shadow Study.  Supposedly it is a continuation in Yelena and Valek's storyline so I was definitely looking forward to reading it.

 

I am so glad I took the time to read these.  Apparently I have only read the last two books in the series once and that was over four years ago!  It was a great refresher!

 

So a few days ago I eagerly opened my copy of Shadow Study... and within the first few pages I realized I was missing part of the story.  Apparently if you want ALL the details in Yelena and Valek's story you need to read the Glass series by Snyder, as well.  I'm sure you could probably read Shadow Study without reading those books and get most of the story, but I am such a fan of these characters that I feel I would be doing them an injustice by going ahead and reading Shadow Study without reading the Glass series.

 

Sadly, I put the book back on my shelf and quickly requested the Glass series from the library... now to wait. :(

 

I really hope the Glass books are worth it!

10. Fairest by Marissa Meyer

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death.

 

 

So... that doesn't really tell us much about this book, does it?  Fairest is the tale of Levana, the Queen of Luna.  It begins when Levana is 15 years old and quickly covers the next ten or so years of her life.

It was shorter than I expected.  I would have loved for more details about Levana,  but it did give a little bit of insight into how Levana came to be the way she is and also how she became Queen of Luna.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the Lunar Chronicles series.  Just make sure you read it after the first three books.

Rating: 3/5

- a book you can finish in one day

9. Ever After High: Once Upon A Time: A Story Collection by Shannon Hale

WHEW!  That title was a mouthful! ;)

 

I guess Shannon Hale thought it deserved that many words in the title since there are that many short stories in the book.  (That's not an actual fact, but I'm sure it's close).

 

Once Upon A Time features short, introductory stories of a few favorite Ever After High characters from Hale's first three books in the series, as well as some newer characters that we haven't had much interaction with before.  We are given a glimpse into their lives as they prepare to head back to Ever After High for the new school year, which happens to be their Legacy Year.

 

I am not a fan of short stories AT ALL.  I have a hard time reading just a little bit of information about a character and feeling okay with that.  I want more, darn it, MORE!  It's not that the story isn't interesting... it's that I want to know what happened after the few hours of saying goodbye to family and home and heading off to school.

 

Really, that is the only reason I gave this book three stars.  The writing was good and the stories were cute, but it wasn't enough story!

 

Rating: 3/5

 

- a book of short stories

8. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a tender story of hope and joy; of sacrifice and forgiveness -- a moving reminder that love is possible at any age, at any time, and often comes when we least expect it. At forty-five, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne's perfect getaway will be ruined -- until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort -- and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.

 

I haven't read many Nicholas Sparks' books, but the ones I have read were really good.  Tear jerkers all of them.  So I knew this one would follow suit.

 

I imagine it would be very hard to have your marriage end after 20 years together.  I felt so bad for Adrienne and was completely drawn in to her story.  Her strength and resilience through all the she went through was incredible.  A great read, definitely one that requires Kleenexes nearby. ;)

 

Rating: 4/5

 

- a book that makes you cry

7. Across the Universe - Beth Revis

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

 

 

My sister gave me this book a few years ago.  It sat there on my shelf, sad and neglected.  Then my sister-in-law recently read it and I realized - hey, I have that book and I should probably read it.

 

So I started reading about the journey of Amy and Elder.

 

It started out interesting.  I think the idea of being frozen for space travel to settle on a distant planet in the distant future is so fascinating.  Crazy, but fascinating.  I don't blame Amy for being afraid to do it - leaving everything you know for some unknown world far into the future is definitely a daunting thought!  Naturally I was pulled into her story and wanting to know what would happen.

 

Then I was introduced to Elder and the Godspeed (the spaceship Amy and her family are traveling on while frozen).  Things seemed really weird on the ship, so there was a part of me that wanted to know what was really going on and what was behind all the weird rules, but then part of me was just not interested.  I didn't really like the character of Elder.  I couldn't stand how easily he fell in love with Amy (if we can even call it that) and how he was willing to betray everything he knew for her (which wasn't a bad thing, but highly unusual for someone his age).

 

Overall, the "surprise" did surprise me, and it makes me interested in reading the next book in the series to see what happens, but I don't know if I can stomach anymore of Elder and Amy and their "relationship".

 

Rating: 3/5

 

- a book you own but have never read

6. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.


As the fifth and final book in the series, author Rick Riordan did a great job tying everything up.  I was very disappointed that it had to come to an end.  The Heroes of Olympus series was a great follow-up of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and I loved reading more about my favorite Greek demigods, as well as meeting some new ones and some demigods of their Roman counterparts.  I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology so these books are right up my alley.  I have even started reading the Percy Jackson series with my oldest daughter and she is loving them, too!

Rating: 4/5

- a book from an author you love that you haven't read yet

5. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This is the third book in the Robert Langdon installment (previous books are Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code).  I really enjoyed the previous two book in this series, but this book was never quite able to pull me in.

I had a hard time putting down the other two books.  Everything about them was simply fascinating to me.  The Lost Symbol lacked that.  Langdon didn't seem as likeable in this one, and the supporting characters were also devoid of interest.

From reviews I noticed a lot of people didn't like this book due to the content that Dan Brown portrayed as fact in this novel.  To them I say - people, this is a book.  It is a work of FICTION so although in the story Professor Langdon may say something taken as a fact, that does not mean it's true.  Don't take it so seriously.

I found myself finding excuses not to read this book, which is never a good sign.  I guess that may be why I have started it at least twice before and never finished it.  For me, this chapter of Robert Langdon's life was just okay.

Rating: 2/5

-a book you started but never finished

4. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

I don't know how I made it to the ripe old age of 30 without having read this book.  I LOVE Pride and Prejudice and pretty much anything to do with that time period.

 

So, I have seen this movie a few times and I have to say I really enjoy the movie.  Reading the book, I would have to say they followed it pretty closely.  There were some difference, but of course there will be difference.

 

I love how different Elinor and Marianne are - it's fascinating how two sisters, raised by the same parents in the same household, can be so entirely different.  Elinor is very mature and reserved and knows what is expected of her in society.  Marianne is immature and overly emotional and could care less what society thinks of her.

 

Both deal with love and the loss of that love in completely different ways.  Thankfully by the end of the book Marianne does some growing up and I am pleased with  how it all turned out.

 

It took me a while to read because the language is so different.  They spoke so much more elegantly and beautifully two hundred years ago.  However, I will never get over how "proper ladies and gentlemen" honestly did NOTHING their entire lives.

 

 

Rating: 4/5

 

- a classic romance

Books 1 - 3 of 2015

1. Dreamspinner by Lynn Kurland

- a book by a female author

Pretty self-explanatory.  Since this was a re-read it didn't really fit into any exciting category.

Rating: 4/5



2. River of Dreams by Lynn Kurland

- a book with magic

Again, since this was a re-read it didn't meet any of the unique categories, but it is based in an imaginary land with magic where the main characters are magic wielders.

Rating: 3/5


3. Dreamer's Daughter by Lynn Kurland

- a book published this year

This is the newest book in the Nine Kingdom series, just came out last week.

Rating: 2.5/5



Like the last instillation of the Nine Kingdom series, Runach's story started out really well and with so much potential!  I was drawn into the story and was eagerly awaiting how it would all end.  Runach seemed like such a different character than her usual magic-wielding male leads and I really enjoyed that about him.

But then... surprise (not really)!  The main characters actually do have magic!  .........

I get that the series is based in a world full of the stuff, but is it so wrong to write a strong character that doesn't have magic?  And the constant "long lost magical persons found" storyline is SO overdone.

I love the Nine Kingdoms, I especially love Miach and Morgan, but I am glad to be done with the rest of the series.  I will most likely only ever read the original three books ever again.

Lorien Legacies

I just finished re-reading the first four books in the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore (aka James Frey and Jobie Hughes) in anticipation of the fifth book coming out on the 26th.

Every time I read these books I get sucked into their world.  I am rooting for Lorien and the Garde and I feel like I am there with them.

I am so excited for the next book to get here!  I have to know what happens next!

P.S. I really, really, really, really wish some of my sisters would read this series so I could share all my "feelings" with them! ;)

Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

Can I just say... I love me some Robin Hood!

I really enjoy this series by A.C. Gaughen!  I am completely caught up in the world of Robin Hood, Scarlet, Little John and Much!  Something about the way these stories are written just pulls me in.

While this story wasn't as great as the first one (and really, which sequel is ever as good as the original?), I still really enjoyed it.  The reader gets a glimpse into another aspect of Scarlet.  We are also introduced to Prince John and other nobles as royalty pours into Nottingham to find a replacement for sheriff.

I loved the scenes with Rob and Scarlet and there is another twist in this book that I did not see coming!

Rating: 4/5

12. Coexist by Julia Crane

Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends--she's an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans. In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen. Against tradition, Keegan's brother Thaddeus told her Rourk's name because his visions warned him she'd need Rourk's protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves.

Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan's side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known. An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan's family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle...without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

 

 

Doesn't this sound interesting?  When I first read about this book, I thought, wow - something different that sounds really cool.  Not the usual vampire, werewolf fluff - elves fighting elves.  Awesome!

 

I really, really wanted to love this book.  But every time I read Keegan's part of the story (which is about 3/4 of the book), I wanted to barf.  Her character was so annoying.  Seriously.  Spoiled, so beautiful, so smart, so perfect... it was annoying.  I just could not like her.

 

The story seemed very disjointed.  It was like the author was quite scatterbrained while writing this... it just didn't flow well at all.  And the writing style really drove me nuts.  One sentence in a paragraph would be about Keegan, then all of a sudden the next sentence was Rourk thinking... very confusing.

 

Through out the whole story I waited for this epic battle between the light elves and the dark elves.  I kept thinking, wow, they're going to show all these crazy magical powers fighting each other... it's going to be so awesome.  But there was hardly any descriptions about the battle (that lasted about five pages)... other than, "They fought all day, some elves died, it was sad."  Huh?  That's all you got for me?  I wanted some action!  Very disappointing...

 

Then the ending of the battle - AS IF!  Thousands of years of hatred between the light and dark elves, and it ends that quickly and easily?  Really unbelievable.  Thankfully there was a little something at the end of the story that makes me want to even attempt the second book in the series.  We'll see how it all plays out - hopefully better than this one.

 

 

Rating: 2/5

 

BTW - I really hate the name Keegan.

7. The Rise Of Nine by Pittacus Lore

Until the day I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive.

Together, we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others. . . .

I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others--including John.

But so are they.

They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They caught me in New York--but I escaped. I am Number Six. They want to finish what they started.

But they'll have to fight us first.

 

 

 

This is the third book in the Lorien Legacies series, books about the survivors of the planet Lorien and their ongoing battle against another alien race out to destroy them, the Mogadorians.

 

The remaining 6 Garde (members of the Lorien race gifted with special powers), with the addition of Number Ten that they didn't know existed, are starting to gather together to prepare for a final battle against the leader of the Mogadorians, Setrakus Ra.

 

I don't want to give too much away, but this is an exciting continuation of the struggles of the Garde to survive and find each other.  After all, they are only their strongest when they are all together.

 

I am so ready for the next book to come out.  I find their story so fascinating.

 

 

Rating: 4.5/5

5. How To Steal A Dragon's Sword by Cressida Cowell

The How to Train Your Dragon series chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Viking underdog Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and his dragon, Toothless. In Book 9, a dragon rebellion is coming--filled with the meanest, nastiest dragons in the Archipelago. Razor-wings, Tonguetwisters, and Vampire Ghouldeaths are attacking Vikings and seem to be seeking one soul in particular: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third! Only a King can save them...and only a champion with all of the King's Lost Things can be King. In his adventures, Hiccup has collected quite a few "things" himself. But can a scrawny Viking save the entire Archipelago from certain doom? To find out, Hiccup will have to outwit a witch, fight his arch-enemy, and beat back an army of bloodthirsty dragons with just one sword.

 

These books really are so cute.  They are easy to read, fun stories and my oldest daughter Lindsay just loves them.  I enjoy reading them out loud to hear and hearing her giggle or laugh out loud during the story.  Even my five year-old started listening to this one and giggled along with it.  Hiccup really is an edearing character and it's been fun following his "misadventures".

 

If you have young children, I really encourage you to read these books with them.  It is so much fun!

 

 

Rating: 4/5

3. Dreamspinner by Lynn Kurland

 Aisling of Bruadair has lived a provincial life, heedless of the evil creeping over her land. That ordinary existence changes forever, though, when she is sent to the opposite end of the world to find a master swordsman. If she fails, her life--and her country's safety--will be forfeit. She just never expected that swordsman to be a wounded elven prince masquerading as a simple soldier. Powerless and scarred from a long-ago conflict, Rùnach of Ceangail has spent years in obscurity, ignoring battles he can no longer fight. And although he has been drawn back into the world, he fully intends to live an unremarkable life far away from events he knows he cannot change... Until Rùnach meets Aisling and realizes that she is far more than what she seems, that their alliance has attracted unwelcome notice, and that some battles must be fought.

 

 

When I first heard that Lynn Kurland was writing another novel about the Nine Kingdoms, I have to say, I was very hesitant to read it.  The last book in her previous continuation of the series, Gift of Magic, was pretty terrible.  A complete disappointment.  Need I go on?

 

But, I really, really, really enjoyed Morgan and Miach's story, and the beginning of Ruith and Sarah's story, so I figured I would give it a chance.

 

I am SO GLAD I did!  This book felt so much to me like the first three books in her Nine Kingdoms stories, it was refreshing.  I also loved the cameos that some of her previous characters played.  A very fun read!

 

I was worried when I heard it was about Runach... that somehow he would magically be all "awesome and powerful" again and that the story would be completely ridiculous.  But Kurland did a great job of keeping her characters true to themselves.  I loved reading about Runach and Aisling's exploits (and that this story seemed less gag-worthy than Ruith's) and trying to figure out Aisling's secrets.

 

I really look forward to the next installment in this series!

 

Rating: 4/5