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Friday, December 27, 2013

Leviathan~The Review!!~


This is another book that I had heard wonderful things about, but had no idea what it was about. I knew the words, "steampunk" and "WWI" and that's all. So, when I found it on Amazon.com for 1 cent, I thought, "...Meh! Why the heck not?!"

Synopsis: Aleksandar Ferdinand, Prince of Austro-Hungary's, parents were just murdered and he in on the run from his people, who have turned against him. Deryn Sharp is a British girl who is pretending to be Dylan (a male) so that she can fulfill her dreams of flying in the British Air Service. In this world, The Germans and the Austro-Hungarians are known as Clankers, and everything is mechanical and fully gunned. The British are Darwinists who have fabricated animals who they use as weapons. When the Leviathan (A flying fabricated British whale-ship) with Deryn on board meets Alek's Stormwalker, they begin a crazy adventure that will combine the forces of two waring nations.

I had a REALLY hard time getting into this book. I didn't really care too much about the characters, I already kind of know what's going to happen, as it is based on an actual event, and it was kind of slow going. Towards the end, I started to get into it. I think once Deryn and Alek meet, it gets better. Because of it's steam punk-ness, some of the battle scenes are hard to imagine and some of the creatures are hard to imagine as well. But there are some AMAZING drawings in this book (Thanks to Keith Thompson)! I loved getting to compare what I had pictured in my head, and what the artist/author had pictured in their heads. I felt very inspired by the art and the things mentioned in this book.

Because there are a lot of made up things, I found myself getting excited to see what new creatures we were going to meet next. Flying whale airships with entire eco-systems in them, Stormwalkers, messenger lizzards Huxleys and hydrogen sniffers. Each creature introduced, I found totally fascinating. I really hope we get to meet more in the other books!

I really didn't want to end up liking this book...It started off rocky and it was kind of slow going and I just wasn't 100% sold on it....but I did end up giving it 4/5 stars on Goodreads and I am VERY curious as to what will happen next. Even though it's based on WWI, it is different enough for me to continue reading. I will be picking up Goliath and Behemoth with my Christmas money (thanks Gramps!!!!) and I will let you know what I think about them when I get them read and such.

My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah
Friend me ifin' ya wanna!~ If you are a blog reader, let me know!! \>w</

Goodbye for now my Tootsie pops!

Legend--A Review!


So, this month, I thought I'd try out this book. I had heard a lot about Legend by Marie Lu, but I didn't really know what it was about. I find that if I know too much about a book, I'm less likely to read it because I feel like I already know the story. So I went in totally blind, and I must say, it paid off.

Synopsis: The story takes place in the former United States, now known as the Republic. June is a military prodigy from a rich family. Day was born in the poor, plague ridden sector. He is a wanted criminal for causing disturbances in the Republic. When June's brother was killed, with Day as the suspect, their paths cross as June hunts him down to get revenge for her brother's death. But when she starts to uncover truths about the Republic, June has to make some decisions about what side she's on.

This book was fantastic. I loved it so much. At first I didn't know how I felt about the characters. I thought June was an uptight, rich, army brat, and I thought Day was a soft and clumsy delinquent. But the world kept me interested. I thought that it was kind of cool that it had the plague in it as well. It wasn't just about the struggle between rich and poor. There was also this side problem of the plague. It did give me a Dishonored feeling (it's a video game for those who don't know) with the plague and the rich plague-less people and Day gave me a Corvo vibe (in the sense that he doesn't do anything lethal....I guess that's kinda lame. XP). But anyways...I had a hard time connecting with the characters at first, and to be perfectly honest, I still don't feel 100% attached to them. I mean, I felt bad for their situations and I hoped the best for them..but meh. Hopefully I will feel more attached to them in the books to come (Prodigy and Champion). I also thought that a lot of the choices the characters made were very predictable. The plot was not as predictable, but the choices were. Like whether June was going to change her mind about Day. I mean...duh....-___-'

I really did like the plot twists (they weren't big, but they kept me interested) and I really liked the world building. Lu's writing is very straight forward. There isn't a lot of fluff added to it, which I actually appreciated. It was a heavily military book, so adding fluffy describing words would have been weird, I think. I just really enjoyed this book and I am very excited to see what happens in the other books! I will be picking up Prodigy and hopefully Champion with the money I got for Christmas (thanks Grandpa!!! <3). Esthetically, I really liked the fact that on Day's chapters, the writing is done in gold ink. I just think that is the coolest thing ever. It's little touches like that, that I love. I think it's cool. Good job Marie Lu. Good job.

Well, that's really all I have to say about Legend! I really enjoyed this book and I want the next two books in the series! <3 <3

I gave it 5/5 on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Until next time my sweet little flowers!~

December Wrap-up and Currently Reading

December was a really good reading month for me. I am pretty proud of myself!~






Firstly, I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I loved this book so much! I did a review on it a couple of posts ago, so if you want to know my thoughts, check that out!~




Because I was on a WWII kick, I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It's a middle-grade book that I had read when I was in middle school, and I remember loving it. So I decided to read it again. I also have a review of this book, so go ahead and check that out as well if you are interested.


I also slowly chugged my way though Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. I will be doing a review on this shortly as I had some very mixed feelings about this book.


Legend by Marie Lu.  I LOVED THIS BOOK! Oh em gee!!!! I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up. I knew it was supposed to be really good, but I didn't listen to what it was about. I like to go into books blind sometimes, especially if they are popular. I find that if I keep hearing about popular books, I feel like I already have read them..so I went in totally blind, and I loved it! I will also be doing a review on this book as well.


So that's what I read for December. For January, I plan on doing something totally different. I have a bunch of books that I want to read, but I really don't know what I want to read...So, I started a TBR jar. Threw in all the books that I wanted to read and I'm going to pull out titles as I finish books. So you guys (and I guess I'm included in that) won't know what I'm reading until my wrap-up post.


This so far is the first book I have chosen. It has 500+ pages and very small writing, so I know I will probably not be finishing it this month. If I do, I will let ya'll know. ^^ It's REALLY good so far, so maybe, just maybe, I might (question mark) finish it this month, but I don't think so. XP If you like fantasy and mythology, especially Celtic mythology, maybe check this book out.


Well that's all I have going on so far!~ I love this whole mysterious TBR thing~ I could have just picked out four books from the jar, but knowing me, I wouldn't read them...So, best to be surprised!~ <3 Until next time my little peach trees!~ Heart shapes!~

My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Monday, December 16, 2013

Number The Stars~ A Review


 I had read this book a long LONG time ago when I was in 7th grade. I had been looking for it in thrift stores for years and years, but never found it. Until my last trip! I was so excited!!! After reading a heavy book like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I still wanted to read a WWII book, but something that was lighter. My memory of this book was WAY off...it was like I was reading it for the first time.

Synopsis: This story takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Denmark has surrendered to the Nazis because they knew they wouldn't be able to fight the Germans. Slowly the Nazis start rounding up the Jews and Annemarie Johansen's best friend, Ellen Rosen and her family are in trouble. Annemarie's family takes in Ellen and hides her from the Nazis by pretending she's their daughter and smuggle her out of the city, hopefully to safety.

This book was totally different from The Book Thief. It's a lot lighter (it IS for younger people), and it focuses on a different aspect of WWII.  First off, it takes place in Denmark. Which I think is really cool. Also, they talk a lot about the resistance, which I think is a nice something new. Also, because it is a children's book, it has a happy, non-depressing ending. Which actually suited me just fine. I think it's a great introduction to WWII for younger people.

Because it's nothing really spectacular, but still pretty good, I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
My Goodreads account: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Peace out snickerdoodles!~ <3

The Book Thief!~ A Review!~


I bought this book from my university bookstore on a whim. I had seen it many times on Youtube and it's one of Littlebookowl's favorite books. I thought that I'd give it a shot because I do enjoy Holocaust books...even though they are horribly depressing.

Synopsis: In 1939, Death is being kept busy by Nazi Germany. Death meets Liesel Meminger at her brother's grave and witnesses her steal a book, "The Grave Digger's Handbook." She ends up living with a foster family, where her foster father teaches her how to read. This starts her fascination with books and words. There are also many hardships during this time. Her family takes in a Jew, there is money shortages and bomb threats.

This book plays with all of your feelings...It really does. You fall in love with the characters right away. Mama and her cussing, Papa and his kindness, Liesel, Rudy (my favorite), and Max. Zusak's writing style makes you feel like you are there in Molching, on Himmel street, feeling the joys of childhood and the hardness of war. His style of writing is so interesting and colorful.  It was just really interesting and I really felt connected to everyone. And he is soooooo good with making you happy and content and then making you remember this is a WWII Holocaust book....Oh the tears. So sad. I REALLY want to see the movie...I bet it's amazing. If you don't mind the feels, or if you like books that give you the feels, READ THIS BOOK!!!! I really want to try some of Zusak's other books. I know one of them is I Am the Messenger. It looks really interesting.

I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads
My goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah
Cat's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBookOwl
Feel free to friend me!~

See ya next time my sweet little space butterflies~

Antigoddess!!!!~ The Review!~



 This book....Oh em gee....this book. This is Antigoddess by Kendare Blake. I got this a while back from Goodwill and it was one of the first books I read in October. I had just finished The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, and I needed some more gods in my life. If you know me in real life, you would know that I love mythology. Especially Greek mythology. I knew this book was supposed to be violent and bloody, so I thought it would be perfect for October.

Synopsis: Gods are supposed to live forever, so you can imagine their shock when they all start getting sick and dying. Athena's body is slowly being filled up with feathers and her brother Hermes is slowly wasting away. Athena and Hermes are desperate to find out why the gods are suddenly dying off, but when a dying Demeter sends them off to find a reincarnated prophetess named Cassandra, they find out they aren't the only ones searching her out. Cassandra has no idea that the gods exist, nor does she realize she used to be involved with them in her past. She then finds herself tangled up with the gods and fighting for her life and trying to save the gods as well.

I loved this book so much. It was violent and gory and dark....sooooooooooooo dark! I loved it!! I want the second one sooooooo badly!!! Ahhhhh!!!! I really have no bad things to say about it. I laughed, cried, butt clenched!! So many feels! I loved all the characters, the good ones, the bad ones, and learning about how each god was dying. Fascinating!!! I just love this book so much!! This is probably the worst book review ever....If you love Greek mythology, you love violence and action, just read this dang book!! >___<

Needless to say, I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah (add me!!)

Until next time, my heart stings!~ <3 Tootles!!!

Uglies -- A review



A while ago in a Goodwill haul, I got this ratty hardcover of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (they even spelled his name wrong on the spine XD). I ate this book up. I read this in about 3 days. It was a pretty fast read, but it was also really good.

Synopsis: In this world, at the age of 16, everyone turns pretty. They get a surgery, a whole new wardrobe and party it up in New Pretty Town. After losing her best friend to the pretties, Tally Youngblood, befriends Shay, who seems to be reluctant about turning pretty. Shay decides to leave the city and head out into the wilderness and live like people did in the old days. After Tally turns 16, a few days after Shay leaves, she gets taken in by the Specials and told she has to find Shay, or else stay ugly forever. But on her adventure to find Shay, Tally learns some things about becoming pretty that rocks her world. (Taken from Goodreads.com)

At first I was unsure about the characters....I couldn't relate to Tally or why she would want to become pretty. I related more to Shay. I thought Tally was childish and immature and I just didn't like her. After she leaves to go find Shay and she starts to experience the outside world, my feelings for her change a bit. There was some suspense and some unexpected things that happened in this story, but I thought it was pretty predictable. That was my other problem with this book. But I thought it was pretty good otherwise. I really enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's writing style. He has some very interesting ways of describing things. My favorite line is one of the first lines of this book, "The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit. Of course, Tally thought, you'd have to feed your cat only salmon-flavored cat food for a while, to get the pinks right." Totally gross, but I appreciated the oddness of it and it totally grabbed my attention. It's off color things like that that I really appreciate about Westerfeld's writing. ^^

Really, there isn't too much else to say about this book. It wasn't my favorite book I've ever read, but I did enjoy it. I am very curious to see how the series progresses. I currently have Pretties sitting on my TBR shelf and I will probably read it very soon. If you are interested in reading it, I would say pick it up! Give it a shot!~

Until next time!~ *waves*

4/5 Stars on Goodreads
My Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Friday, December 13, 2013

Blue Bloods! A review!!


 This series, guys, this series......I love it soooooooooooo much!!!! Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. It really doesn't get talked about a whole lot though...Which is very unfortunate. This is my second time reading this book, and it's even better the second time. I missed soooooooooooooooo many things!!! >___< I just got the 7th book not too long ago, but I couldn't really remember what happened, so I thought I'd reread the series.

Synopsis: Now...this book can be a bit hard to explain, so I'm going to quote the back of the book.

"Schulyer Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes to the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates. But when she turns fifteen, Schulyer's life changes dramatically. The death of a popular schoolmate haunts her in unexpected ways. And strangest of all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.

Once an outcast, Schuyler is thrust into Manhattan's most exclusive social circle. Its members are the powerful, the wealthy, and-as Schuyler soon discovers-the unhuman. They are Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires, and for centuries they've been invincible. Now something is preying on this elite group, and Schuyler wants to find out the truth. But is she the most vulnerable of them all?"

There is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much going on in this book. There is Schuyler trying to survive at her private school, the death of a classmate, finding out she's a vampire, figuring out what's happening to her new vampire family and just so many things. There is action, mystery, and catty teenagers with supernatural powers. I'm not a huge fan of catty teenage high school problems...Honestly, things like that annoy the crap out of me. But the characters are so...interesting and fabulous...And Melissa de la Cruz just makes them all so wonderful!~ She is such a wonderful author. She makes you love to hate Mimi Force and her clones and her fabulous life and the conflicts within the story frustrate and make you curious as to how it's going to be resolved.

Also I LOVE that it's a totally new take on vampires. I don't really know if I want to spoil how they become vampires, but let's just say, I love it. It's very interesting, and it just makes the conflicts/battles that happen all the more interesting. I just...I don't even know what else to say about this book....it's just.....READ IT!!!!!

I gave it 5/5 on Goodreads. Love, love, love it!
 
My Goodreads account: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Until next time my precious little dandelions!~

Monday, December 9, 2013

December Haul #1

I'm sure there will be another haul later this month (this one is pretty small), but I really just wanted to get this one up right away so I can put them away. I have a hard time putting books away before I share them because I'm too lazy to find them and pull them off the shelf later. Haha!



The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  This book is MASSIVE!!! OoO!! I had been wanting it since I heard Little Book Owl on Youtube rave about this series. I am very super picky about my fantasy books, but because it's winter, I've really been craving a good, thick, dark, fantasy book. I had some money from selling back my textbooks, so I went straight to the campus bookstore and grabbed this! Though I did have a hard decision between this one and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell...I will try and get it at a later date. ^-^

Number The Stars by Lois Lowry.  I am currently reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I've been on a very big Holocaust book kick. I was looking for The Giver by Lois Lowry and I had a feeling that it was going to be there...Well it wasn't, but this one was! Good enough for me! I loved this book when I was younger. It was required reading in....7th grade? and I just devoured it. When I found it in the Children's books, I was VERY excited. After I finish Book Thief, I think I'll read this one right away. Plus it will help me get closer to my book goal on Goodreads. There is only 132 pages, and very big font....I remembered it to be much bigger when I was younger...Funny how that is.

So, now that I'm no longer in school until next fall, I should be on here more often with things other than hauls. Sorry if that's not your thing....I PROMISE I'm working on other things for this blog!!!! Until next time my sweet daffodils!~

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah

Monday, December 2, 2013

November Book Haul Part Deux

Here's the second part of my November book haul. I bought all of these books off of Amazon.com for super duper cheap. Let's just get into it!


Legend by Marie Lu. This one was $3.99..which was a bit more than I wanted to pay...but I REALLY wanted to read this book. I had heard very little about this series, but when someone mentioned colored ink...I was sold. I'm a sucker for silly things like that. Like I said, I haven't really heard much about this series, but what I have heard was pretty good. I hope to read this soon. I didn't realize this book was so small....Haha!


The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.  This book was a bit of a splurge.  $6. All things considered, that's a steal. It's got a little bit of damage, but nothing too major and it's just a beautiful book. I read the first chapter after taking this picture and I am STOKED! It sounds like it's going to be a good book. I'm trying hard not to listen too much to the hype surrounding this book. I don't want to get my hopes up too much. But I have a feeling I won't be disappointed. <3


Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.  Lastly I got this book for 1 cent. I had been wanting to read this series for a while, but again, I didn't want to spend a lot on it. I ended up with a beat to hell, old Texas library book. It's literally hanging on by a piece of tape and a prayer. BUT it's all broken in for me and.............yeah.......It's got character! XD Yes...I would love to have all nice new pristine books that look immaculate on my shelf...but I think it's fun to have some beat up books with history. The artist in my loves it. The OCD part of me hates it...but it can shut up. I didn't ask for its opinion.

Whelp, that's all of them!!!  I will see you all in my next post~

My Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-moriah