Promises, Promises by L.J. Baker --- Book 3

Promises, Promises by L. J. Baker is a lesbian book, so it may not be your cup of tea. It isn't that bad though - I'm not a lesbian and I really rather enjoyed it! There is no sex in the book! (Thank goodness, because many lesbian literature contains this, and I'm not quite sure I'm ready for that yet. I don't even like sex in regular books). It's also a very humor-filled and cutesy book.     

ISBN: 1590213378

Promises, Promises stars a girl named Sandy. Sandy falls in to love with every beautiful girl that she meets. This will be her downfall in the very soon future. 

Sandy and her mom own a store that Sandy keeps up with - although it is not doing very well. Her plain friend, Ruth, and her crazy 'frienemy', Drusilla, come over often to talk to Sandy.

One day, a beautiful girl comes into Sandy's shop. Sandy falls head-over-heels in love with her, and tells the beautiful girl her "fortune/future" (although Sandy made everything up because she can't REALLY tell the future), even though it is against the law. Drusilla tries warning Sandy about this girl, but Sandy ignores her, thinking that she is being her normal crazy self.

Sandy soon comes to find out that the girl she told the future to was the Princess and guards come to arrest her for telling the future of the Princess. Drusilla soon comes to Sandy's rescue, before she is beheaded, and tells the King that these were but 'Promises' Sandy made to the Princess.

Now Sandy must go out on an adventure to make sure all of the promises come true for the Princess by a year or Ruth and Sandy's mother will be killed! 

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan --- Book 2

So, the next book in the summer challenge that I decided to read was The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan, which is the second book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

When I first bought these books, I actually did not know that they were about zombies. After I got into the first one I realized that the Unconsecrated or Mudo, in this book, were just another word for zombies! 

I think that Carrie Ryan did a great job writing these books! I believe that it would be really hard to have a good story line going and still include the whole zombie theme.

ISBN: 0385736855

In the beginning of the book, you come to find out that the main character is not the same from the first book. Instead, this book focuses on her daughter, Gabry. 

Gabry has always been afraid of the Mudo and has never wanted to leave her piece of land that her village lives on. But the other teenagers her age are very adventurous and curious of the world around them.

One day, her friends decided to go visit a old, abandoned theme park. Gabry didn't want to go, but does because the boy that she likes eggs her to go (and I mean come on, if you like someone, you are at least going to PRETEND to be like everyone else if he is around =) ).

The Mudo has never been around their village, so Gabry decides to go, even though if any of them get caught, they would be in big trouble if the rest of the Council caught them. 

Everything was perfect! The guy that she liked hung out with her the whole time, they held hands, and even kissed! This was Gabry's best day ever. Until at Breaker comes towards them.

Breakers are zombies that get separated from the rest of the herd. When this happens, they become faster and more powerful than most Mudo.

This book is great. You will feel a wide range of emotions as Ryan takes you through this post-apocalyptic world. Many things can happen - even things you least expect!

Stranger at Wildings by Madeleine Brent --- Book 1

My first book I'm reading this summer is Stranger at Wildings, by Madeleine Brent. If you have never read any Madeleine Brent books - pick up one now! They are SO amazing! They are out of print and you have to buy them owned. Also, they are hard to find in the US (even though the ones I have were printed here) - the author is a British male under the pen name of Madeleine Brent. His real name is Peter O'Donnell. It may be easier to find them in the UK?? I have no idea.

ISBN: 0385111010

Brent’s books are REALLY inspiring. While all of her/his books follow the same type of story line (romantic suspense – always stars a British girl – always includes a mysterious guy), they each have their own unique fingerprint which makes them all individually great!

Stranger at Wildings is about a girl, Chantel, whose past we know nothing about because she doesn’t want to talk about it. She comes to live and work at the circus as a trapeze artist with the Galletti family. One day she comes upon a guy named Martin who suffers from amnesia and knows nothing about his life before she met him. Suddenly, a tentman is found dead and Chantel’s trapeze bar breaks – which is found to be cut by a saw. Someone wanted her dead on purpose. But who? Martin? She was friends with Martin… Also, two new strangers come up to her and take her away to England! Is this the end of circus life?

That’s all I’m going to say about this book – but it’s a VERY good read and I recommend it to everyone, but it’s probably going to be a better read for the female followers! Thanks!

Here is the book cover of Stranger at Wildings (the one I own): 

But I feel that this version of the cover makes it more fun! (Since it's about a girl in the Circus!):

If anyone knows where the second cover is from tell me!! =)

50 Books - Summer Challenge!

This summer - since I have time on my hands instead of schoolwork - I will be reading 50 random books of my choice (hopefully I will get it all done! I at least expect to do 30). I was planning on doing only banned books, but I want to read many different types of books so they may or may not be banned as well as random.

These are the books I have lined up so far :

1. Stranger at Wildings by Madeleine Brent
2. Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan(2nd book of Forest of Hands and Teeth Series)
3. Promises, Promises by L.J. Baker
4. Minions of the Moon by William Gray Beyer
5. Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood (2nd book of The Cahill Witch Chronicles, To Be Released on June 18th!)

If there are any suggestions, by all means - suggest!

Graceling

So when (a month or so ago) I had a bit of time to myself, I finally got to pick up one of my sister's books that she is letting me borrow called Graceling written by Kristin Cashore.

This book is simply brilliant. The main character, Katsa, is a strong female lead who can take care of herself and doesn't need anyone to help her. She was born with a 'grace'. 

People who are born with a Grace in this book are considered as outsiders that people do not want to be around except for in one part of this world Cashore made up.

A Grace is a power only select people are born with. For instance, Katsa's grace is killing people easily. For that reason, most people find her as a threat and want nothing to do with her. The king, on the other hand, basically owns her and uses her for his own purposes.

This is a tale of a woman who starts off friendless and all alone, but one day encounters another that also has a 'fighting' grace, Po. This is a tale of their journey to save his grandfather and to uncover conspiracies in the kingdoms of this world.

Graceling is not a female only book. While it does have romance in it, it is mostly full of adventure and fighting. Men and women alike fall in love with this world full of Graces.

The next book in the series is called Fire, and takes place before this world had happened. As soon as I finish it, I will do a review on that as well =)

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

I had to read this for a History class and I thought at first... omg... this is going to be so boring. Only because I'm not a big fan of History, but this was a pretty good book! Also, It's very promoted at my school because the writer of this book is one of the Professors here.

This is a book written by Tom Franklin. I have never read any of his other books, but am tempted to after having read this great read.

Here is what is written on the back of the novel :

"In the 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals in a small town in rural Mississippi. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry was the child of lower-middle class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, black single mother. But then Larry took a girl to a drive-in movie and she was never seen or heard from again. He never confessed ... and he was never charged.

More than twenty years have passed . Larry lives a solitary, shunned existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion.  Silas has become the town constable. And now another girl has disappeared  forcing two men who once called each other "friend" to confront a past they've buried for decades."

I thought that was the best way tell you about this novel without giving much away! This novel is full of twists and turns and you never really figure out everything until the last minute, which keeps you intrigued and you just want to keep reading more and more.

I fell in love with both of these characters and their stories and each of them had their hard times with their families and other people.

It's a tale of two people who wanted to just be left alone and be able to be friends no matter what their color, but society still hasn't quite accepted that it's okay to be friends with whoever you want.

This is a more serious book than what I usually read, and I'm glad I got to read this book. It truly is a must read.

This author does not have his own website, but he does have a website within the Harper Collins Publisher website. Click here to view it.

The Shunning

Hi again! I know it has been quite a while since I have been on this website, and why I probably have only one follower! I have been reading so much!! So I have many books to review! And I will do one a day to keep this site up to date =)

This book is, yes, a christian book. So some atheists out there might not like this one.

This is the first book of the Heritage of Lancaster County.

This is a book set in the Amish community, which I find very interesting. I love learning about Amish communities! I think that they have the most creative people. (And their cooking is probably so great! I salivate when they talk about dishes in the book.)

This book is based on a true story about the authors great-great grandmother (I believe, or her great-grandmother), but is set in a more current time frame.

This story is about a young Amish girl who has already promised to stay in the Amish community for the rest of her life. She is engaged to the Bishop of the Amish community, but doesn't really love him. Her beau from her younger years moved away and has died at sea, so she never really connected with any one else since then.

In order to not give away the rest of the book, I will quote what the author has written on the back.

"All her life she has longed for the forbidden things, but will her dreams come at a price too dear to pay? Why would Katie Lapp's mother, a plain and simple Amish-woman who embraces the Old Ways, hide a beautiful satin baby dress in the attic? The staggering answer comes on the eve of Katie's wedding to widower Bishop John, throwing her life - present and future - into confusion."

Okay, so for my review : I don't think this book is for everyone.

a) It won't be for the people who don't believe in God. Unless you can tolerate all of the mentioning of him.

1) Some will be able to tolerate it in the first book, but as it goes on it gets more into it.

b) If you are not big on romances.

1) It's not like this too much in the first book, but it will be as you read further into the rest of the books.

I really found it interesting myself. I learned a lot about the Amish and what they believe in this book. They are not Christian, so it doesn't turn into a Christian book until the end. They believe in God but they are VERY strict and like I said, I really liked it for the learning about the Amish purposes.

Also, it is a book about a girl doing what Amish think is 'forbidden' things. To me, any one doing something 'forbidden' is going to be a good book.

I can't really say much more about this unless I give away the book! Just read it! Its very twisty~

Here is Beverly Lewis' Webpage.

Brother Odd

Hello once again! I hope everyone is having a wonder morning/afternoon/night. (It's night over here; I'm tired Dx)

I decided to write a review on Dean Koontz's book called 'Brother Odd'.

For those of you who don't know, this is part of the 'Odd' series. The first one is Odd Tomas and the second one is called 'Forever Odd'. This is the third in the series. The fourth one is called 'Odd Hours' and he also has a manga that was supposed to be placed before the novel series called 'In Odd We Trust.'

Dean Koontz's website for these books.

If you get really caught up in these books and LOVE them, you should check out the 'webisodes.' He posted them on his site. Its just short films about Odd Tomas. They are pretty interesting.

Anyway, back to the review.

I decided to write a review about the third book because I just finished it. lol. So it's fresh and in my head. I really really liked the first one the best though, so I really recommend that one at least.

You can start with any of these books. Koontz (or Odd) recaps most things that happens in the other books. But I don't really recommend starting in the middle because he might not recap everything, which might leave you confused later on.

In short, Odd is a character that can see ghosts. Okay, I know what you're thinking 'LAME'. But it's really not!!! I'm not into aliens and ghosty stuff, but this book is AWESOME!

In this book, Odd is at a convent because of things that happened in the other books. He wanted to get away from his past for a little while and thought that going to a convent would be a quiet place for him to think. But of course, that's not the case.

Although he did get a while of rest, that was only for a short period of time. At this convent, there was also a place where orphans and kids with disorders and mental problems would stay and the nuns would take care of them. Well, this is were Odd saw 'bodachs.'

What is a bodach? A bodach is a creature that shows up when disaster is supposed to happen. Well, if you read the last books, you KNOW this isn't a good sign.

Anyway, Odd's stories all have plenty of adventure in it, and he is the most witty, sarcastic, sweet character you will ever meet.

I would hate to say much more in fear I would give something away, so I will put up what Koontz himself said about this book.

"Through two New York Times bestselling novels Odd Thomas has established himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictional heroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of a master storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontz follows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make a fresh beginning-but where he will meet an adversary as old and inexorable as time itself.

St. Bartholomew's Abbey sits in majestic solitude amid the wild peaks of California's high Sierra, a haven for children otherwise abandoned, and a sanctuary for those seeking insight. Odd Thomas has come here to learn to live fully again, and among the eccentric monks, their other guests, and the nuns and young students of the attached convent school, he has begun to find his way. The silent spirits of the dead who visited him in his earlier life are mercifully absent, save for the bell-ringing Brother Constantine and Odd's steady companion, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

But trouble has a way of finding Odd Thomas, and it slinks back onto his path in the form of the sinister bodachs he has met previously, the black shades who herald death and disaster, and who come late one December night to hover above the abbey's most precious charges. For Odd is about to face an enemy who eclipses any he has yet encountered, as he embarks on a journey of mystery, wonder, and sheer suspense that surpasses all that has come before. "