Reviews by tersanay

Maybe this book gets better. Maybe I just didn't give it a good enough chance. But I got 30% in and still found it laughably stupid so it's time to move on. I'm not sure if the author meant it to be like a spoof of the vampire genre but that's how it read to me and I don't do that kind of thing.

“Hours can pass like years when you wait impatiently for something, especially something you crave and dread at the same time.”

Hereafter is like no ghost story I've ever read before. It was sad and hopeful, scary and joyous and both a tragedy and a love story. I spent the whole book not sure of where it was headed and even after finishing I'm still not sure what the eventual resolution will be. What I do know is that going on the journey of self discovery with Amelia was entertaining and heart breaking all at the same time even if it didn't always make sense (haven't they ever heard of google?). It was definately a little cheesy some times, but I kind of prepare myself for that when I start what is obviously a ya romance.

“It is an occupational hazard that anyone who has spent her life learning how to lie eventually becomes bad at telling the truth.”

“But the downside of being con artist is that it very hard to con. Even if the lies you tell are to yourself.”

Let me start off by saying this is sooo not my usual book. It's not a supernatural thriller with monsters and vampires and assassins. Magic doesn't make even the smallest appearance. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. It is a well thought out and beautifully written piece of thief fiction like nothing I've ever read before. I can't speak to how unique it is for it's genre or if the techniques are true, but they seemed believable to me.

Because of the hurried pace of the book, you really felt them working against the clock to accomplish their mission. I've seen other people complain about the lack of description in the various locales, but that didn't bother me at all. Kat is so well traveled that I don't think she would marvel at the beauty of Paris anymore, even if we just wanted her to for our benefit.

The magic of this book for me comes from hint of romance but actual lack of it. I don't really like books where the focus is on who loves who. It was about family and responsibility and doing, literally, things you wouldn't normally do to protect those you love. It's about using a very special skill set to do good in the world instead of evil. I really liked it.

“You are a monster.” Kanin’s deep voice droned in my head again, as I forced myself to move, to walk away. “You will always be a monster, there is no turning back from it. But what type of monster you become is entirely up to you.”

When I first saw Julie was going to write a book about vampires, I was dissappointed. But now I know. The genius of Julie Kagawa is that she can take the most overdone and cliche genre and turn it around.


She's done it again. She's taken a genre that is so overdone and cliche and made it come alive in a totally new way. I was almost dreading this book, sure that by crossing into the vampire world I would lose all respect for Julie but it actually made me respect her amazing abilities so much more. The worst thing I can say about The Immortal Rules is that it's so long and at the same time not nearly long enough, and that Ash can't make an appearance since it's not set in the same world.

Allison Sekemoto is a human girl living on the fringes of New Covington, the vampire city she was raised in. Unregistered and so therefore unfed, she spends her days scavenging for food and her evenings cowering in fear of vampires. But it's better than life outside the walls where rabids kill anything that moves. That is, until one night she and her gang are attacked and she is offered the choice of eternal life as a vampire or death. After chosing eternal life and learning the rules of her new life, sometimes the hard way, Allie is forced outside the walls were she meets up with a band of humans and tries to live amongst them. But there unofficial leader Zeke makes things hard for her.

What can I say about this amazing book. As always, Julie has given us an amazing and strong character who is likeable from the very beginning, unlike that blonde in her other book that had to grow on me. Allie is smart and fierce with a personality that can only be described as wise-ass BAMF in the making. And Zeke, while nowhere near as sexy and mysterious as Ash, is a totally sexy and amazing character in his own right. He is kind and generous in a world where those qualities can get you killed. He is the most "human" of all the characters in the book save the children.

And the world, oh the terrifying complexities of a world ravaged by disease and corruption with Vampires who keep pets and require monthy blood donations for protection. Totally believable and amazing.

I'm so excited to read more from this world and holding my breath for the next genre that Julie takes on. One thing's for sure, I will not doubt her again. Read it people. IT's SOOOOO Good.

With as few spoilers as possible, the book is about a young girl named Evangeline who meets a glamourous woman, Sofie, who takes her under her wing. The two travel to New York to stay with Sofie's friends and the dreams start. Soon, Evangeline can't tell dream from reality and fact from fiction. This is where the story becomes real interesting.

Up until this book, I was starting to believe I would never have a book for my kindle that I liked. This one however was great. It's from the vampire genre which made me not want to read it but the plotline is so unique. I've never read anything even remotely close to this one. Can't wait to start Asylum.

Sometimes a movie is just a familiar tale that we all know and love but with a twist. Mirror Mirror isn't going to change anyone's life. It isn't the next great classic. But it's good clean fun. It's beautiful. The costumes were perfect. The dwarves were funny. Snow White was both gorgeous and intelligent. The Queen was evil. The Prince was charming. There aren't really any surprises here. It doesn't take itself too seriously or try to be anything more than what it is; a fairy tale. But I teared up at the moving part and left with a smile on my face and sometimes that's all you want from a movie.

"A love written in the stars...
A feud started in ancient Greece...
A curse not even the gods can break."

"...even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together - and trying to tear them apart."

I was nervous to even start this book after hearing all the comparisons to Twilight and Percy Jackson. Yes it is about star crossed lovers who are descended from the gods, but I don’t really feel like either comparison is valid.

For one, Helen is much stronger and more independent than Bella. She is semi-annoying at the beginning but gets better as the book goes on and there is a valid explanation for her earlier behavior. And while Lucas is definitely overprotective and controlling of Helen, he doesn’t go so far as to tell her who she can and can’t hang out with and again, he has good reasons for wanting to shelter her.

Also, just because it’s another story about the descendants of Greek gods doesn’t mean it is similar to Percy Jackson. This book is intended for an older and mostly female audience. It’s more about love than saving the world.

I actually found the biggest similarity between the 2 main characters in this book and Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments series. Like Clary, Helen is somewhat kick ass but in need of a little protection until she fully comes into her abilities. Like Jace, Lucas is a witty, sarcastic, gorgeous superman who immediately falls for and needs to protect the untrained Helen. Then there’s the way the story ended. I’m already tired of that plot contrivance.

Overall, I was surprised to find that I liked it. I won’t say it’s a new favorite, but I’ll read the second one when it comes out and hope it is at least as good.

This is one of those books where I really wish half stars were possible cause it was definately better than 3 stars but not quite 4.

Overall, the story was entertaining. Remove all the themes of self-hatred, prejudice and tyranny and it's just a good adventure story. Sometimes the themes of judgement are a little too strong, but overall it raises good questions and proves it's point. My main complaint, and the thing that keeps it from 4 stars is that the ending was way too abrupt.(

"The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything."

This is the first sentence of the book. It's a somewhat strange start to a very strange book. Set in a world where men's thoughts are available for anyone to hear the main character, Todd, is in for a crazy adventure. He is sent away from the only village he's ever known to warn the rest of the planet about something he doesn't even know. He meets the first girl he's ever seen, blows things up, loses people he cares deeply about and learns a little bit about himself.

At first I thought this book was going to be long and boring. It took a while to get going and is written in such a hard dialect that I almost didn't give it the chance it deserved. But by the end I was hooked. Todd and his girl are both compelling characters, the villains are truly terrifying and the world both alien and familiar at the same time.

If you like science fiction, dystopia or coming of age epics then this may be the book for you. I'm not sure but I think it's young adult but I've never let that stop me in the past. I think it will appeal to both boys and girls and highly recommend it.

Gonna start off by saying that I won this book through Goodreads' First Reads giveaway and was very excited when it came in the mail. Unfortunately I didn't love the book. To be honest, I haven't finished it although I made it more than halfway through, and don't really expect to.

The story is a somewhat confusing tale of a boy coming into his family's power who comes to America to escape the danger that his outcast older brother is creating. Once there he meets a girl (who's awesome male best friend is of course in love with her) and the two form an instant connection. And this is where it fell apart for me. One, I didn't feel that Alec's character was consistent. In the chapters where you read from his point of view he comes across like a shy, modest, boy who is not used to being around other people. Afterall, he's never been to public school or interacted with girls who aren't family before he comes to America. But in his interactions with Amerie when in her head, he comes across very pompous and cocky and totally sure of himself. I just didn't buy it. And two, Rand was just so adorably sweet and Amrie was so horrible to him that I couldn't like her. If your best friend reveals he loves you and you're not sure how you feel about him and are torn, don't get excited to meet a boy just because he has an accent (which is pretty shallow in the first place). And then don't lie to him about having feelings for Alec. And then don't be insensitive to how he feels about you. I just didn't like her. She came across really shallow and self-absorbed.

Also, I felt that the mythology of the story was jumbled and hard to follow. I'm still not sure after 238 pages what the mysticriss is or why the Wizardry is so important in the first place. It just didn't reveal enough in the beginning to keep me hooked. I've been told by the author that all the questions I have get answered in the end but I guess I just needed enough to keep me going.

I probably could have overlooked both of these things and kept reading if only the writing style wasn't so difficult for me. I like a conversational style and this was just very proper and stuffy to me. It almost read like something from a victorian story. But that's personal opinion and it might appeal to others.

Overall, I'd say what I finished was okay, but I have over 200 unread books in my house and after giving this one a whole month I just can't give it anymore time.

Edit: I've recently received a personal message from this author thanking my for my iput. I feel kind of bad because I didn't even finish the book and gave it such a harsh critique so I may be going back to finish it at some point.