Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Today's review is on:

The back reads:
Ever since their mother's death, siblings Carter and Sadie have been near-strangers. While Sadie's lived with their grandparents in London, Carter has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane.
Then one night they are reunited when their father takes them to the British Museum, hoping at last to set things right. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.
Soon, Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them - Set - is after the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings must embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and its link to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs...

If you like the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, you need to pick this one up! It has all the witty humor of Rick Riordan along with Egyptian gods and goddesses and it's respectable monsters. Just like Percy Jackson, these siblings have powers that they never could've dreamed of, and an amazing amount of royalty in their blood to boot. Along with the siblings, you discover their abilities, their strengths, their weaknesses. All wrapped up in one hell of a story line.
What I liked most about this book is that it was dictation from a taping that the author found (or so we're told). That just makes it even easier to believe that what is happening really happened. It skips between Carter and Sadie telling their story so far, which really makes it a fun book to read. Carter speaks in an American accent, and Sadie in an English accent, so you can pretty easily tell by the spelling of certain words who is talking into the mic. (Mum, for example, is used by Sadie and Mom by Carter.)

My favorite part:
"You're forgetting something, Horus told me.
A little busy here! I thought back.
You might think it's easy steering a magic boat through the sky. You'd be wrong. I didn't have Amos's animated coat, so I stood in the back trying to shift the tiller myself, which was like stirring cement. I couldn't see where I was going. We kept tilting back and forth while Sadie did her best to keep an unconscious Zia from flopping over the side.
It's my birthday, Horus insisted. Wish me happy birthday!
"Happy birthday!" I yelled. "Now, shut up!" "

Well, that's all for now, folks!
See you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!

Currently reading:
 
More Egyptian stuff:


Learn more about the Kane Chronicles!:

Friday, August 16, 2013

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Today's review is on:

The back reads:
When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons - and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

I got introduced to this series when I went to the movie theatre to watch a movie (duh, jeez I can be so obvious!) and the City of Bones trailer played across the screen. So I'm like: "Hey, that looks pretty cool, I'm gonna need to read that." Went to the book store, picked it up, and I woke up a week later when I had finished the last page. Yeah, that's right, it's that good.
I seriously thought that Clary was going crazy for a couple pages. Seriously, you should check it out.

Whale, I was going to explain a lot of things about the love triangle in this book but...
Soooo... Let's just say there is one and get on with it...

The battles were pretty epic, all full of action and stuff. Clary really grows as a character while her mom is missing. She turns from a normal mundane into a fighting sort-of Shadowhunter, and in a way, you (as the reader) do too.
In conclusion, this book was really great and I would definitely recommend it.

My favorite part:
" 'No way are we bringing her to the Institute,' said Isabelle. 'She's a mundie'
'Or is she?' said Jace softly. His quiet tone was worse than Isabelle's snapping or Alec's anger. 'Have you had dealings with demons, little girl? Walked with warlocks, talked with the Night Children? Have you-'
'My name is not little girl,' Clary interrupted. 'And I have no idea what you're talking about.' Don't you? said a voice in the back of her head. You saw that boy vanish into thin air. Jace isn't crazy - you just wish he was. 'I don't believe in - in demons, or whatever you-'
'Clary?' It was Sam's voice. She whirled around. He was standing by the storage room door. One of the burly bouncers who'd been stamping hands at the front door was next to him. 'Are you okay?' He peered at her through the gloom. 'Why are you in here by yourself? What happened to the guys - you know, the ones with knives?'
Clary stared at him, then looked behind her, where Jace, Isabelle, and Alec stood, Jace still in his bloody shirt with the knife in his hand. He grinned at her and dropped a half-apologetic, half-mocking shrug. Clearly he wasn't surprised that neither Simon nor the bouncer could see them."

Well, that's all for this book! I'll see you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!
Other Mortal Instruments things:
WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER!:

A song from the soundtrack (It's pretty much the book in song form):

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Today's review is on:

The back reads:
R is having a no-life crisis - he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he'd rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 (plane) he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.
And then he meets a girl.
First as his captive, then as his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R's gray landscape, and then something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn't want to eat this girl - although she looks delicious - he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can't imagine, and their hopeless world won't change without a fight.


I really loved this book! Stepping into R's world was fun yet scary, romantic yet bloody! It had enough fighting to keep the tomboy in me content, yet enough romance to bring out that fangirl squeal.
I was relieved to figure out that R wasn't anything like Edward from the Twilight series, other than the fact that he was dead and fell in love with a human girl. The humor in this book was very good, it had me giggling all the way to the movie theatre!
After reading around 75% of the book, I went to go see the movie and loved seeing Isaac Marion's world come to life! No, it wasn't exactly like the book (they left most of the cursing out - yay!) but it had the same story of zombie meets girl and turns into something the world has never seen. Plus, the guy who played R was a total hottie!
Another thing I liked about this book was that every chapter was highlighted with not a chapter number, but a drawing of the insides of the human body. It really gave the book a new type of charm. :)


NOTE: If you don't like a lot of cursing and potty mouths, this might not be a good match for you. Although this book is a good read, I would recommend that only those in High School read this one. It's very teenage mature! That was the only thing that really bothered me about this book.

My favorite part:
"I am dead, but it's not so bad. I've learned to live with it. I'm sorry I can't properly introduce myself, but I don't have a name anymore. Hardly any of us do. We lose them like car keys, forget them like anniversaries. Mine might have started with an "R", but that's all I have now. It's funny because back when I was alive, I was always forgetting other people's names. My friend "M" says the irony of being a zombie is that everything is funny, but you can't smile, because your lips have rotted off."

Well, that's all for this book! I'll see you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!

Other Zombie things:

Turn your bf into a sexy zombie!:

Watch this seriously funny parody by the Hillywood Show!:


I've gotten a little behind! O.o

Hello fellow bookworms!
Because of school and the craziness of life, I haven't posted anything since a LONG while ago! So far, I've read 7 books (that weren't sequels) so I'm going to try and post them here ASAP! Sorry for the wait! :)

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Today's review is on:

The back reads:
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive of his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I tried reading The Hobbit during 8th grade and hated it! I think I got up to the part where Bilbo finds the ring, and then I put it down, vowing to never pick it up again. That being said...
I loved it the second time around!
I don't know if it was because I've gotten older, or if I'd seen the movie and wanted to see how it ended (who can wait three years for the ending?!), but I was really drawn into the story, and actually cheering for the heroes! (Well, at least in my head...)\

The only part that I absolutely hated was when Bilbo and the dwarves (Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Nori, Dori, Oin, Gloin, and Thorin Oakenshield) were captured by some HUGE spiders!
Explanation: I'm arachnaphobic!

(^Even this creeps me out!)

Reccomendation:
Read this book after you watch the movie! It is so cool to be able to see the characters as they were in the movie as you're reading epic battles against Trolls, spiders, and the mighty Smaug!

In conclusion, this is one of the books that you need to read before you die, at least once. It's the sort of book you put on your New Year's resolutions for reading, something you put down on your bucketlist. IT IS A MUST-READ!

My favorite part:
" "Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?" "

Well, that's all for this book! I'll see you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!

Other Hobbit things:


 

Books currently reading:
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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson

Today's review is on:

The back reads:
You couldn't kill your parents...
could you?
Tandy Angel is a whip-smart prodigy and a magnificently wealthy heiress.
She's got secrets - some even she doesn't understand.
She's damaged, the product of her parents' impossible demands.
But she couldn't have killed them...
could she?

This book is about Tandy and her brothers' (Matthew, Harry, and Hugo) fight to try to figure out who had killed their parents, even if it was one of them. Gotta say, the ending took me completely by surprise. I was still trying to figure it out when they revealed who had killed Malcolm and Maud Angel. It blew my mind!
(^Can't stop watching this lol)

The other thing I loved about this book is that it really showed how many secrets we can keep from family over time (A LOT!). The web of lies never stopped! Even after the book was done, there still was things that weren't completely explained! That makes for a good series, readers.

I also liked how they didn't make it sound like this was just a book that an author thought about one day in the shower, but made it into a sort of journal with confessions in between mind-gripping chapters.

My favorite part? (page 8):
"... I quickly tamped down the screaming voice inside my head and collected my wits, along with a few available facts.
One: My parents had died in some unspeakable way.
Two: Someone had known about their deaths and called the police.
Three: Our doors were locked, and there had been no obvious break-in. Aside from me, my brothers Harry and Hugo and my mother's personal assistant, Samantha, were the only ones home."
OOH. Chills!

In the end, this book was a page-turner mystery that held on to you even after you finished reading. The only bad part about this book was that the sequel hasn't come out yet!

Well, that's all for today! Catch you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!

Currently Reading:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
and
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Thursday, January 17, 2013

An introduction and Earthsea: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Hello, readers! :)
My name is Sea-Solo (a pen name, obviously), and I hope to review books that I've read on this blog, and also do book-related things.

Today's book review is on:

The back reads:
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea. But he was once called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

This book is about a wizard of Earthsea named Sparrowhawk. I'm sure those of you who have seen the movie created by studio Ghibli will be squealing, I expect, because the movie is so good, but you didn't really get that much into Sparrowhawk's story of how he became a wizard, how he got his legendary scars, and how he got to be who he was in Tales From Earthsea (which just so happens to be the 5th book in this series).
What I find funny is when you read the afterword in the back, you will see that Ursula K. Le Guin didn't want to write a teenage book when the publisher asked her to. She says that it was the idea of writing with a specific audience in mind that scared her. The only well-known fantasy books that were out when she started to write the Earthsea series was J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. A Wizard of Earthsea was the first of its kind.
I would reccomend this book to high school readers and adults, because even though it is short, it is as well worded as The Hobbit or any other adult fantasy novel.

Well, that's all for today! Catch you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo out!

Currently reading:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
and
Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson