Seven on Saturday - Favourite Series

So I did my favourite books in my first post but I decided to do my favourite series this time. Not all series that will be on this list are completed.

So my seven favourite series are:

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - These will always be my favourite series I think. I just love them so much and the still capture my imagination each time I read them.

2. The Legendsond Series by Isobelle Carmody - This is such an original series. I loved the complexity of the world that Carmody created. I also love the characters. I can't wait for the final book to come out, whenever that will be.

3. The Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody - I read this in high school and was hooked within the first couple of chapters. I have loved the following books, and I am eagerly anticipating the last book of this series.

4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - This is another series that will always be one of my favourites. I love the world that Tolkien created and I still love escaping to it.

 

5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - I was a little late coming into this series but I absolutely loved when I did. I loved the world and characters that Lewis created.

6. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan - I have cheated here and put two series together. I did this because Heroes of Olympus is a follow on from the Percy Jackson series and I thought I could get away with it. I loved this new spin on Greek Mythology and I cannot wait until The House of Hades is released!

7. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins - I read this last year just before the movie came out and I loved it. It was such a thought provoking story and really captured my imagination.

Some honourable mentions include The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan, The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and Inkworld by Cornelia Funke, among others. Let me know what your favourite series are!

Mel.

Up next: Wrap-up/Preview

Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Sophronia Temminnick at 14 is a great trial more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners -- and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Her poor mother, desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady, enrolls the lively tomboy in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. But young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage -- in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

 

I really enjoyed this book. It was light-hearted and fun, and a fairly easy read. I didn’t know that the book was steampunk when I started reading it so I did get a little bit of a surprise when there were mechanical waiters and dogs. I also got a little surprise with the addition of werewolves and vampires.

I really enjoyed the characters in this story. Sophronia was easy to like and not at all whiney. She could think on her feet and didn’t really care about social boundaries. I particularly like Soap and Vieve, because they didn’t belong to the world of the students but Sophronia still made friends with them. I think that the three made a perfect team for snooping and information gathering. I also particularly like Sidheag because she didn’t fit the mould of a Lady, as her title demanded. I also liked Dimity, even if she was annoying at times, because it was interesting to watch her mature and become a braver person. I liked that Monique was so easy to dislike and that it was fun to do so.

I liked the addition of werewolves and vampires, although there wasn’t quite enough of the two main supernaturals for my liking. I thought that it was interesting that werewolves could change any night they wanted to but they became uncontrollable and savage on full moons. I also liked the idea that all werewolves had to serve in the army. I thought that it was amusing that one of the best ways to escape a vampire was to spill tea on his clothing and that garlic mash made them sneeze.

I enjoyed the way that the etiquette training and the espionage training was quite often the same thing. For example, using handkerchiefs properly involved using them as a communication tool or to use it to discombobulate people. Another example, and this was possibly my favourite, is that being in full dress, with two petticoats, can help save you from a werewolf attack.

The only complaint I had with this book is that at times the overlying plot got lost in the midst of lessons. This made the story a little slow at times, particularly in the middle of the book. I also thought that the ending was maybe solved a little too quickly and neatly.

Overall, it was a great story and I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to the release of the second book in November! I give this story 4/5 stars.

This book was read for the Take Control March 2013 reading challenge hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Mel.

Up next: Seven on Saturday – Favourite Novels.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I am reviewing this having only finished it 5 minutes ago and I have to say that this was a really addictive, really good book. There is one part of the ending that I do not like (which I won’t go into detail because it contains a fairly big spoiler).  I found the story to be fairly original, even if some of the themes are used a lot, and it was a story I really enjoyed.

What I liked about this book?

• I could relate to it very easily. Like Ethan I grew up in a small town and could relate to everything about small town life that came up in the book. I could also relate to Lena, in that I was pretty much an outcast for a lot of my schooling life and I know what it is like to face bullies and people who make you feel like an outcast.
• I really liked the characters. I liked the main characters, even if Lena did annoy me occasionally, although she probably did have a reasonable excuse for that. I liked how each character had so much depth to them, even Ridley who you think is a flirt and plain evil and then you find yourself feeling sorry for her. I liked how Sarafine was so delightfully evil, being so terrifying and manipulative. I loved Link and the comedic relief that he often provided. I also loved Macon, Amma and Marian. They were such interesting characters and I liked that they didn’t really fit into the Caster and Mortal moulds.
• I loved the powers that the Caster’s have. I thought that they were fairly original, like Lena controlling the weather and Gramma being able to take on the powers of other people. I liked seeing Lena’s powers develop, as well.
• I loved the fact that there was a Caster Library, although that Library isn’t open anywhere near enough!
• I liked that the main character is a male. As I have said in a previous post, there just isn’t enough books from a male’s perspective.
• I liked that the plot was fairly original, and twist and turned. There were a couple of great twists that I wasn’t expecting at all, and others that I probably wouldn’t have expected if my friend hadn’t given away some spoilers first.
• I also really liked the gothic, voodoo feel that was carried through the book, particularly shown through Amma.

What I didn’t like about the book?

• Not a lot really. I enjoyed most of it and didn’t really notice anything I didn’t like about the writing style. As I said earlier there was a part of the ending that I didn’t like, but that was more because of what happened to something than anything else and it wouldn’t be the same if it was different.

So I give this book 5/5 stars because it was such an addictive and enticing story!

Mel.

Up next: Review - Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

March Releases to look forward to

There are some great books coming out this month. Here are the books that I am most looking forward to!

1. The Watcher by Lisa Voisin - Released 4th March
2. A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz - Released 5th March
3. Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey - Released 5th March
4. Spellcaster by Claudia Gray - Released 5th March
5. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett - Released 5th March
6. Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza - Released 12th March
7. Poison by Bridget Zinn - Released 12th March
8. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - Released 19th March

What books are you looking forward to?

Mel.

Up next: Review - Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia 

Wrap-up/ Preview

This week has been the start of my new posting schedule. It also brought the end of the Short Story Summer reading challenge, which, buy 1 book, I did not complete. On Wednesday I did a review of Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody, which was a book that I had read for the Short Story Summer. On Thursday I was meant to bring you a review of The Merlin Chronicles edited by Mike Ashley but I didn't get the book completed on time. Yesterday I brought another edition of Seven on Saturday, where I looked at seven books I thought I wouldn't like but I ended up liking.

What will happen this week?
Monday - March Releases I am looking forward to
Tuesday - Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Thursday - Review: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
Saturday - Seven on Saturday - Favourite Book Series
Sunday - Wrap-up/Preview

Hope you all had a wonderful week!

Mel.

Up next: March Releases I am looking forward to

Seven on Saturday

Before I start Seven on Saturday, I have a confession to make. I did not succeed in the Short Story Summer Reading Challenge because I didn’t read The Merlin Chronicles by Mike Ashley in time for it to count. This is why you didn’t get the review on Thursday. I still haven’t finished that book, and I probably won’t for a little while now so don’t expect the review anytime soon.

Ok, now on to Seven on Saturday. This week’s prompt is books that I thought I wouldn’t like but I did. I don’t know why on earth I picked this topic because it was awfully hard to come up with one. So here are the books that I thought I wouldn’t like but I did.

1 .Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

This was a book that we had to read for school. I didn’t think I would like it that much because it wasn’t the sort of book that I would normally read but when I did read it I found that I could relate to it. I loved Marchetta’s writing style and I loved the characters.

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling

I was given Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for a Christmas present when I would have been somewhere around 8. At the time I was into horse books and not really any other type so I thought that there was no way that I was going to like it. It probably took me four years to actually pick it up and read it but when I did I fell in love with it and the series straight away.

3. Maximum Ride by James Paterson

This was another Christmas present that was given to me the by the same person who had given me Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, so I probably should have learnt by now. I was probably around 17 when I got this book and I thought that maybe I was a little old for it. I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to read about genetic experiments but I started it the day after I got it because I had nothing else to read. I then asked for the second book for my birthday.

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This was another book that I had to read for school and again I thought I wouldn’t like it because I thought that it would be too confronting for me. I think that is one of the reasons I did like it in the end, although I am not sure that like is quite the right word. I liked the themes and how they made you think about just how good your life is and how bad other people’s are.

5. I’d Tell You I Love You but then I’d have to Kill You by Ally Carter

I picked this book up for $5 at my local supermarket and I didn’t think that I would like it because again I thought it would be too young for me. I was 20 this time and really thought I should be reading more mature books. I picked it up one night when I wanted an easy read and I really enjoyed it.

6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This is another book I thought I wouldn’t like because I didn’t generally read books like it. I don’t particularly like romance books and I had never really read any books like it before. When I read it I was kicking myself that I hadn’t read any Jane Austen books before.

7. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

I don’t normally read books that are “real world”, especially books that have issues that people around me face because I often use reading as a tool to escape. However, I decided to pick up this book because I had heard some good reviews and one of my friends really enjoyed it. I loved the emotions that this book provoked and I will definitely read more John Green books in the future.

Mel.

Up next: Wrap-up/Preview

Review: Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

An engrossing collection of stories from one of Australia's most loved fantasy writers, and creator of the acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles.

A girl is sent across the world to discover her destiny in the dark tunnels of the Metro. Another seeks a lost sister in a park where winter lasts forever. A young man fulfils a dying wish. A mother works magic to summon a true princess for her son. A man seeks an ending to his story. An old man goes in search of his shadow.

This is a world of desire and transformation, the real and the not real, from the queen of modern fantasy

First, I again apologise for another late review. The reason that this review is late is because I had so much trouble trying to finish this book. It was not that I didn’t enjoy the book, I did, it is just that I found the last two stories really long winded, with not much happening in them. I really enjoyed this first four stories. All the stories were unique and interesting. They mostly dealt with otherworldly things such as unicorns, faeries and vampires and they were all definitely eye opening.

Each story was complex in their own different ways, at times maybe a little too complex. With some of the stories I had trouble keeping up with what was happening, particularly in The Girl Who Could See the Wind and The Wolf Prince. In the case of those two stories I think that the problem was the constant flashbacks, without much warning that the time of the story had changed.

The Wolf Prince almost felt like there were two stories occurring in the one, because we would get flashbacks of the Queen’s journey as well as the hunt her son was on. This was one of the reasons that I found it a bit complex. However I still had managed to guess roughly how the story was going to end, so I was a little disappointed about that. It was also one of the reasons why I had trouble finishing that story, because I felt like the Queen’s flashbacks were a little unnecessary.

I really enjoyed The Dove Game and The Stranger. Both stories where about travellers who were both looking for the answer to a question. I enjoyed the mystery that surrounded the story of The Dove Game, and I also really liked the main character in that. I loved mystique of The Stranger, with the feeling that there was something otherworldly involved from the beginning and then the ending was perfect for the story.

I did enjoy most of this book, but at times it was too complicated and a little slow. I give this book 3/5 stars.

I read this book for the Australian Women Writers Challenge and the Short Story Summer reading challenge.

Mel.

Up next: Review – The Merlin Chronicles edited by Mark Ashley. 

Update

So I have a huge apology to make for my lack of posting last week. I had a busy week and I got a little overwhelmed so I have decided to change my posting schedule so I can keep up with everything. I will be posting four times a week. I will be posting a review on Tuesday and Thursdays. This means that I am abandoning Throwback Thursdays. I will keep Seven on Saturday and the Wrap-up/Preview on Sunday. Sorry once again.

What will happen this week?

Tuesday - Review: Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody which I am reading for the Short Story Summer reading challenge and the Australian Women Writers reading challenge.

Thursday - Merlin edited by Mark Ashley

Saturday - Seven on Saturday: Books I thought  wouldn't like but I did

Mel.

Up next: Review- Metro Winds by Isobelle Carmody

Review: Little Fur by Isobelle Carmody

First thing, I need to apologise for not getting up the review for Beautiful Creatures on Monday. I had some issues with my laptop screen and I couldn't see anything on it which meant I either had to plug it into another screen or get a new computer. I got a new laptop and I will be able to get the stuff off my old one which means that I will be posting the Beautiful Creatures review next Tuesday! Today I am going to review Little Fur by Isobelle Carmody. This review is back in the old format because I wrote it before I changed the format. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Little Fur is an elf troll who lives in a secret wilderness at the heart of a great human city. She is a healer. She sings to the ancient trees that protect the small wilderness.
But one day Crow tells of humans who will come to burn the trees. To protect her home and her friends, Little Fur must venture for the first time into the dangerous human world . . .

What I liked about the book?

• It was interesting and I thought that the plot was unique.
• I liked that Little Fur was part troll, part elf. It meant that she was a part of both sides and I liked that.
• I really liked how Carmody portrayed the messages of human nature and showed how we treat the earth and the things around us. 
• I enjoyed how the animals were portrayed. I loved that they talked and I loved how each of the different species had different personality traits. 
• I loved the idea that Little Fur could talk to trees and I loved her connection to the earth magic. I liked that she could join her dreams and thoughts with the trees because of the earth magic. 
• It was an interesting take on animals and how they might view us and our creations. I particularly liked the "Road Monsters".
• It was an interesting study of human life and interactions.

What I didn't like about the book?

• I didn't like the way Carmody had the animals speaking English incorrectly, especially when she used it to dumb down an animal.

You had to read this book remembering that it is a kids book because the writing is fairly simple and the story can be predictable at times. I give this book 4/5 stars. 

I read this book for the Australian Women Writers 2013 reading challenge.

Mel.

Up next: Throwback Thursday - Lord of the Rings