The Secret Keeper

I just recently finished 'The Secret Keeper' by Kate Morton and it was so amazingly good. When Laurel is 16 years old and playing hide and seek with her siblings, she witnesses her mother kill a man who has come to their little farm in England, from her hiding spot. She has no idea what this man could have said or done to bring her mother to such drastic anger and afterwards the whole thing is kind of hushed up and rarely spoken of again. However, years later, when her mother is getting closer and closer to her death bed, Laurel is determined to discover the truth about both her mother's and the man she killed's past. She is determined that the memory of her mother not be tainted by that terrible day. This novel is about the journey Laurel goes on to unravel her mother's history that she never knew she had.

The reason I liked this novel so much is that it is highly unpredictable. It literally kept me guessing until the very end, and the resolution took me completely by surprise. A definite page turner that keeps you on your toes and dying to know the secret as much as Laurel does. A very good mystery indeed!

The Power of Books

Harry Potter as a Teen Comedy.

Grave Mercy

This book is another recommendation from a fellow librarian, and it was pretty dang good. 'Grave Mercy' is about a girl who starts out in life being mistreated by those around her. Her father is abusive and arranges her marriage to a man more than double her age. On her wedding night her new husband discovers her secret and runs away from her in terror. Her secret is that she is marked as a daughter of the god of death, Mortain.   That night she is miraculously plucked from her old life and delivered to a convent that serves Mortain. There she will be trained to carry out the god of death's biddings, or in other words, she becomes a trained assassin. The nuns at the convent have high expectations for her, ones that she is eager to fulfill and prove herself worthy to be called a daughter of Mortain. This is the story of Ismae trying to not only prove herself to the god that she follows, but to also find her place in the world. Unfortunately, those two desires may collide and she just may have to choose between her new life at the convent, or following her heart.

This is a captivating novel that is full of mystery, suspense, action, and romance. I could hardly put the book down. There is another book going to be written, but it will be about another character in the book, so 'Grave Mercy' has a resolution and doesn't leave you on a cliffhanger. I personally can't wait for the next book. Robin LaFevers is an amazing author and I can't wait to see what other masterpieces she produces.

Hawksmaid

Last night I finished reading 'Hawksmaid' by Kathryn Lasky. It is the story of Maid Marian and Robin Hood,  but it begins BEFORE they were Maid Marian and Robin Hood, and were just a couple of kids that happened to be best friends. The story is definitely fantasy, but is based on true historical events. The characters are seeing the awful things that Prince John is doing to his subject while his  brother King Richard is fighting in a war in France. Many people are suffering from his tyranny so this band of kids decides to do something about it. They start out small, but eventually are doing greater things and are constantly having people join their band of 'Merry Men'. This was a very entertaining story to read, but there were some parts that kind of caught me off guard with how fantastical they were, not gonna lie. However, I would read it again which means it was worth reading.

Cinder and Ella

Last night I finished reading the book 'Cinder and Ella' by Melissa Lemon. I am not going to pretend like it is amazing writing or that I overly enjoyed this book. However, it is a good story with loveable characters and a fun read. I didn't really get "in" to it like I do on other books. You know, like when you literally can not put a book down so you read while you pee. But it definitely was entertaining, and while it is not a book that is a must have on my shelf, I would probably read this again. And if you are a huge Cinderella fan, than you will definitely like this book.

'Cinder and Ella' is about two sisters who also have an older sister who is a spoiled, and a younger sister who is a brat, and their sepparate (and sometimes together) journeys of finding their own happiness after so much darkness has entered their lives after their father goes missing.

Oh, and on a sidenote, the author lives in Kaysville, Ut where I grew up! Neat huh?

Firelight Series

This last week I just finished the 'Firelight' series by Sophie Jordan. There are three books in the series: 'Firelight', 'Vanish', and 'Hidden'. The series is about a girl who is a descendant of dragons and is forced to leave her colony of draki (that is what descendants of dragons are called) after she is spotted by some hunters,  to try to live a "normal" life among humans. Not gonna lie, the first book has some similarities to 'Twilight', but I promise you that Jordan is a much better writer than Meyer and is definitely not as cheesy. I pretty much gobbled up this series reading all three books in a total of two days. These books are filled with adventure, mystery, romance, and loyalty. I would highly reccommend this series.

Disappointments

As many of you know, I am the biggest Harry Potter nerd ever. So when I found out that J.K. Rowling was writing a new book I almost fell over dead with excitement. Last night I started reading it and I only made it through 20 pages before I deemed it as a lost cause. Within those 20 pages not only had I read the F word a dozen times, read about some very crude things, but I was soooo bored! Something that has never happend to me while reading J.K. Rowling. I was beyond disappointed. So my advice is don't wast your time. This book has only received three stars on Amazon and most of the reviews are bad. I had such high expectations, but I feel like the girl off of '27 Dresses' when she says, "I feel like I just found out that my favorite love song was written about a sandwhich."

My next disappointment, though much less of a disappointment than Rowling, was the second book of "Leven Thumps". I had read the first book, and although sometimes reading it felt like a chore, for the most part I enjoyed it. However, I started the second book in the series and didn't get very far. There was no build to the climax, the action just kind of hits you in the face from the very beginning, and I felt a little whiplashed. I also gave that up as a lost cause. However, I am not condeming it like I am Rowling's book. Some readers may enjoy this style of writing very much, it just was not my cup of tea.

The Princess Academy

In case you don't know this about me, I am a HUGE fan of Shannon Hale! I absolutely love her style of writing. I have always been a big fan of "The Princess Academy", so when I came to work one day and saw that there was a second book I was beyond ecstatic! I hurried and re-read "The Princess Academy" so  that I would be ready for when I was next on the hold list for "Princess Academy: Palace of Stone".  When I finally got it I took it home and the next day I  read before work, during my lunch break, and stayed up until three in the morning to finish it. I was not planning on reading it in one day, but there was a point in the book where I was seriously wondering how this could ever have a happy ending. I just had to find out what happened. I love books like that. The one's that are absolutely not predictable, but keep you guessing until the very end. Shannon Hale definitely did not disapoint on this sequel. I enjoyed every single minute of reading this, so much in fact, I am pretty sure I need to get onto Amazon and buy myself my own copy.

I Cannot Live Without Books