Category: Book Review

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Percy Jackson- The Sea of Monsters: Rick Riordan

This is book 2 in the Percy Jackson series and it is a great read.
You definitely need to read book one

From Amazon:
In this second adventure in Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Percy is anticipating the end of seventh grade and a summer at Camp Half-Blood with kids who are the offspring of Greek gods and mortals. He dreams that his pal Grover, a satyr, is in danger. After monsters attack in his school gym class, Percy and Tyson, a homeless kid, are picked up by Annabeth, a half-blood friend, and rushed to the camp, which is under attack. The tree that guards the camp is dying, and Chiron, the activity director, has been dismissed. Another dream reveals that Grover, whose peril is increasing, is on the same island as the legendary Golden Fleece, which may be the cure for the troubled camp. With the help of Hermes, Percy and his pals set off to the Sea of Monsters, where they encounter legendary dangers. Riordan’s clever mix of classical mythology, contemporary teen characters, and an action-packed adventure will bring new readers to the series.

I recommend it (as a series) 4 out of 5 stars

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Percy Jackson- The Lightening Theif: Rick Riordan

So I watched this movie and although I was extremely underwhelmed by the movie, I thought that the underlying story was interesting enough that the book might be a good read.

I remember always seeing these books and thinking I should read them, well when I won an Amazon giftcard in a Mommypotamus giveaway, I decided oh what the heck. I’ll buy the first one.

and…. I liked it!

Think Harry Potter meets Greek Mythology.

The basic premise is a young kid – ADHD, Dyslexic, always getting into trouble – is almost eaten by his Math teacher who happens to be a demon from the Underworld. He soon discovers that his dad is actual Poisden (you know those gods just love to hook up with mortal women) and goes on an adventure unlike any other.

Here is the official Amazon excerpt:
Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. 

This is the first of 5 books in a series.
I totally recommend them!

4 out of 5 stars

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Book Recommendation: Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers

Francine Rivers really changed my life.

That sounds trite, I understand, but she did.

Before I read her, I loved to read and to write, but I never understood the power of words. However, when I read Redeeming Love I realized the power of the written word. How a book can sneak down to your core and heal parts of you that you never knew were broken.

After reading Redeeming Love, I ravaged the rest of the books that she had written and loved every single one of them. But then I was sad because for 7 years, she has not written a full length novel. SEVEN YEARS!

But the wait is over with this incredible story about a mother and daughter’s love spanned through time and generations.
It’s one of those stories that as you see it unfolding, as you understand the hurt and the reasons behind actions you want to cry for Marta, but you know Hildie does not understand. Yet the hurt continues and lays deeper layers of hurt. Ahh! You just want to hug both of them and send them to counseling and let them lay it all out there so that they can both have the relationship they are craving.

As I got towards the end of the book, I realized that there is no way that this story was going to be able to end. And sure enough, when I “virtually” flipped the last page (on my Kindle), I saw that the second part to this Duet will be released later this year.

I’m not going to spoil this story, but it’s a great book. An even greater book to use as a book club piece as it already has the questions in the back.
Go get it right now and read it.

5 out of 5 stars, recommend.

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Watchers by Dean Koontz

As much as I would like to say that this was a ridiculous book, I just plain liked it.
But YES the premise is ridiculous, even to my standards.
There is a dog- that is has been genetically altered to be as smart as humans.
There is another animal type thing that was genetically altered to kill and just so happens to be basically as smart as a human.
Said thing wants to destroy cute cuddly golden retreiver.
Golden Retreiver helps bring together two lost souls.
Good versus evil at its finest.

But with all it’s silly premise, the actual story was pretty good. I liked it. I originally bought it because it was just $4 on Kindle and I liked Dean Koontz and also I saw all the reader reviews were pretty positive. Although the whole time I was reading it I was like, seriously? I would describe the book to people and just stop because I know how dumb I sounded.

Okay, so with ALL of that, I give it 4 out of 5 and recommend it.

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Dear John- Nicholas Sparks

I heard about the movie and knew it would be a must see for a girl’s night out, but also knew that I needed to read the book first.
For some reason when I go see movies based on books first, I never want to read the book because I have all these preconceived ideas about the book.

So I read the book and it is very classic Nicholas Sparks, but don’t take that as a slant. I’ve found Sparks’ books to be very romantic and heart felt. Although I did see this and it made me laugh really hard.

Anyways, I will say this. I liked how the movie turned out a lot better than how the book turned out. That said, I still totally recommend the book.
Classic Sparks’, nothing new there, but it’s a good read and I enjoyed it.

4 out of 5 stars.