Tag: 5 stars

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Fire: Kristin Cashore

So I started Fire after reading Graceling (which I loved).
When I read the quick excerpt (have I mentioned how I HATE to read excerpts or reviews of books? I just like to see customer ratings), I saw that it was a contination of Graceling, so I was all like, “woohoo”.

But then the book started and there were these “monsters” and strange flying raptor/dinosaur type creatures and I was all like, “huh?”

Reading about Fire (the lead character), it took me a bit to come to grasp with who she was.

But there is something about Kristin Cashore. Her books tend to develop kind of slowly, but in that slow development something magical happens. You connect with the characters. It happened in Graceling and before I was half way done with Fire, it happened with this book too.

I was confused at how it was a sequal to Graceling, until the very end as things started to come into alignment and I realized how intertwined the two stories were.

REALLY liked this book!

This fantasy, shot through with romance and suspense, is set in the same world as Graceling (Dial, 2008), but on the far side of the mountain barrier in the kingdom of the Dells. Here there are monsters, enhanced and exceptionally beautiful versions of various animal species. Fire is a human monster, so beautiful that she has to hide her hair for fear of attack by both raptor monsters and human men. She is able to enter other people’s minds and exert power over them. It is a tumultuous time in the kingdom, as various lords are preparing to overthrow the king, and Fire is drawn into the fray. With a larger cast and a more complex canvas than Graceling, the story begins slowly and takes its time establishing itself. Fire’s path is not immediately clear, and although full of action, her quest is largely internal. While the plotting is well done, there are a few quibbles about Cashore’s world-building and about the role of a major character from Graceling, Leck. But, this is Fire’s story, and readers will fall in love with her as she struggles with her pivotal role in the war effort as well as her complex relationships with her oldest friend and lover, Archer; with Prince Brigan, whose mind is closed to her and who becomes central to her life; and with her monster father’s fearsome legacy. More adult in tone than Graceling, this marvelous prequel will appeal to older teens, who will not only devour it, but will also love talking about it.

So go out and get Graceling and Fire. You won’t be disappointed. Or at least I wasn’t disappointed.

5 stars, recommend.

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Graceling: Kristin Cashore

I decided upon this book because Amazon told me I would like it. Seriously. How lame is that, yet how much more lame is it that I didn’t have anything else interesting to read so I bought it?!

The beginning of the book started out a bit strange. It’s a fantasy novel based on a 17 year old (you know I love my 17 year olds) who has been graced with a special talent. Her talent just so happens to be killing people.

So begins an interesting coming of age, finding herself story that I found myself completely engrossed in. It started out a bit slow, but that’s because Kristin Cashore is really defining her characters and making you know them and love them. I love it when authors do this, but then I hate it at the same time. Especially if this is a stand alone novel without a sequal or series to follow along with. (although I think she is going to keep going with this, but none are out now)
Here is the Amazon description:

If you had the power to kill with your bare hands, what would you do with it?
Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa’s Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.
Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be.

So it’s an interesting story. An interesting world. Loved it!

5 out of 5 stars and totally recommend it.

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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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Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins

This is book 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy.

I really enjoyed the 1st book, Hunger Games, and couldn’t wait for the 2nd one to come out.

But then life happened and I never bought the second one. Then I got my Kindle and they didn’t have a Kindle version available. But then when my brother-in-law was talking about how much he loved Hunger Games, I was determined to get the 2nd installment. So the other day we were downtown and walked by an English bookstore and I ran in and they had it!

I finished it quickly and wished that it wouldn’t end.

The ending of it is definitely more of a cliff hanger than the 1st. The final installment comes out in August and I can’t wait!

So DEFINITELY recommend this series and give it 5 stars!

Amazon Description:
Every year in Panem, the dystopic nation that exists where the U.S. used to be, the Capitol holds a televised tournament in which two teen “tributes” from each of the surrounding districts fight a gruesome battle to the death. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from impoverished District Twelve, thwarted the Gamemakers, forcing them to let both teens survive. In this rabidly anticipated sequel, Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified. Catching Fire is divided into three parts: Katniss and Peeta’s mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, and a truncated version of the Games themselves. Slower paced than its predecessor, this sequel explores the nation of Panem: its power structure, rumors of a secret district, and a spreading rebellion, ignited by Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory. Katniss also deepens as a character. Though initially bewildered by the attention paid to her, she comes almost to embrace her status as the rebels’ symbolic leader. Though more of the story takes place outside the arena than within, this sequel has enough action to please Hunger Games fans and leaves enough questions tantalizingly unanswered for readers to be desperate for the next installment.

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Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

Every now and then there comes a book that is really unique.

Like the story isn’t one that I had heard of before. Or if it was, it has a different twist that kept me interested.

Well that’s how I felt about The Hunger Games.

The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I thought it was a little short. I wished that it was longer because I didn’t want it to end.

Great book and I totally recommend it and give it 5 stars.

Here is the Amazon description:
the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’ young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins’ characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.