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July 2013

reviews July 21, 2013

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls 1) by Maggie Stiefvater

When a local boy is killed by wolves, Grace’s small town becomes a place of fear and suspicion. But Grace can’t help being fascinated by the pack, and by one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. There’s something about him – something almost human. Then she meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away…

A chilling love story that will have you hooked from the very first page. (Goodreads)

Grace is attacked by wolves when she is 11 and is rescued by a wolf with yellow eyes. She becomes rather obsessed with wolves and particularly with the yellow eyed one.
After a boy is attacked by the wolves, people starts hunting them. When a boy, Sam, with yellow eyes shows on Grace’s porch with gunshot wound she knows it’s her wolf.

I have to say I liked this much more than I thought I would. After all the hype I feared I’d be disappointed but I did enjoy it.

The book is told by Grace’s and Sam’s point of view. I rather liked to see the story from two sides and even the pov switches didn’t annoy me.
I liked how she did the weather thing with wolves. When it’s warm they can can shift and become human and when it’s cold stay as wolves.

Sam was bit too wishy-washy at times, and made really bad lyrics, but I thought he was so sweet. But his yellow eyes made me think Micah from Anita Blake every time. I couldn’t help it!

It was actually hard to put away at times and I’m happy I already have the next book!

4/5
Published: Scholastic (2009)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 437
Source: library

reviews July 21, 2013

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Anecdotes of a Southern Belle by Olivia deBelle Byrd

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Anecdotes of a Southern Belle by Olivia deBelle Byrd

While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said,“Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any.  On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun.  To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing.  With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Oliviade Belle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms.  The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt LottieMae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama.  Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church,where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral.  Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment. (goodreads)

I’ve never laughed so hard while reading! This was absolutely hilarious! The book contains 41 short stories about childhood, motherhood and life in general in the South. I loved the writing style which was very down to earth.

My favorite was Directionally Challenged. I can totally relate! I have no idea which way to held a map and can’t for the life of me to tell which way if North and which South.

I truly recommend this if you want to read something light and funny. Quaranteed to give you good laugh!

4,5/5
Published: Morgan James Publishing (2010)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
Source: from author for review

reviews July 21, 2013

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles 1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen. She struggles to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. Ethan Wate finally meets the girl who haunts his dreams. On her birthday, she must choose good or evil. In a town with no surprises, this secret could change everything. (Goodreads)

Lena moves to Gatlin to live with his uncle and ends up in pretty much middle of nowhere where you’re an outsider if you’ve lived there for 50 years. She meets Ethan who has been having dreams about this girl who’s face he never sees but when Lena shows up, he realises it her. He finds out that Lena is a Caster (witch) and on her 16th birthday something bad is gonna happen.

I was fearing this would be too YA and it kinda was. I liked that it was dark but it went little too overboard. Especially the first half was just I’m soo alone here, no one understands me kind of crap. Only thing that was missing was suicidal thoughts. Of course the cheerleaders were straight from Mean Girls.

It was refreshing that it was from male’s point of viw but unfortunately I just didn’t feel any connection with him, nor with Lena. The people I liked was Lena’s uncle Macon and Ethan’s great-aunts.

After all this bashing I have to say the second half was better. It took too long to actually start but after that there was parts when I was curious what would happen. So I ended giving 3 instead 2.5.

3/5
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2010)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 563
Source: library

reviews July 21, 2013

The White Boar by Marian Palmer

The White Boar by Marian Palmer

Richard III, last of the Plantagenet Kings, could condemn the author of that crude doggerel to a traitor’s death but he could not stem the inevitable tide of history. Richard’s emblem, the white boar, commanded the loyalty of able men like Lords Catesby (the Cat) and Ratliff (the Rat), and Francis Lovell (our Dog). It could not withstand the onslaught of the Tudor rose.

The White Boar is a dramatic historical novel that vividly recreates the life and times of England’s controversial King Richard III. Shakespeare portrayed him as evil incarnate, a hunchback who gained the throne by murdering his two nephews. Conversely, many historians argue that he was an innocent scapegoat and might have been one of history’s great monarchs had his reign not been so tragically short.

In this novel one issue concerning Richard’s life is never in doubt – that he held the unfaltering devotion of two extraordinary men, Phillip and Francis Lovell. And it is through their eyes that the reader of this remarkable book sees the last Plantagenet – the man and the King.

Marian Palmer presents a striking chronicle of England in the last half of the fifteenth century: the pomp and pageantry of the royal court; the treason and the intrigue which were the death of the Plantagenet dynasty; and the bitter struggle between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians that was the War of the Roses.

The author does not offer a solution to the riddle of Richard III; rather she presents him as he might have appeared in his own lifetime to the two men who were, above all else, his friends. The character which emerges is as unforgettable as Shakespeare’s misshapen monster. (Goodreads)

The story is told by the Lovell cousins Philip (pretty sure he’s fictional) and Francis. Francis is given is wardship to Warwick and goes to Middleham. There he meets Philip after long time and for the first time sees Richard, Duke of Gloucester. There’s lot more going on but I don’t even try to tell it. Wikipedia is your friend.

I did enjoy this but it was bit dry on points and some of the phraisings does show the book’s age. But I liked how the characters were described, especially Richard. He was neither too good or too bad. I loved how Anne Neville’s rescue was portrayed.

It was nice to read that Francis and his wife Anna had their happy moments. They are always portrayed hating each other and while this either didn’t end happily there was some good too.

4/5
Published: Hodder & Stoughton (1969)
Format: hardrback
Pages: 374
Source: my own

reviews July 20, 2013

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

Drums of Autumn (Outlander 4) by Diana Gabaldon

It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter, Brianna….

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history…and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past…or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong…. (Goodreads)

Jamie and Claire lives now in America They have some lands in the middle of wilderness and they’re ready to settle to “normal” married life. The local Indians are relatively peaceful and Jamie’s nephew Ian becomes good friend with them.

In the 20th century Brianna is trying to find what happens to his parents. She’s also coming closer to Roger Wakefield, who helped Claire to trace Jamie. When Brianna finds old newspaper article about her parents she decides to go through the stones without telling Roger. When Roger finds out she has left, he’s determined to find her.

Yet another godd book by Gabaldon! I enjoyed it but still thought it to be the weakest book in the serie so far. But that doesn’t mean it was bad! I just found Roger so utterly boring. And there were too many pages from his point of view. He seemed more interesting in the future time.

I liked to see how Brianna and Jamie got to know each other and their relationship grow. AndI liked how well she get along with John Grey. But I didn’t understand how John could be so uninterested about his wife’s death.

The one thing I could have lived without was Brianna getting raped. I just didn’t see the point of it…

4/5
Published: Dell (1997)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 1070
Source: my own