Review: Wait for You by J. Lynn

Wait for You by J. Lynn
Series: Wait for You, #1 (that's going to be awkward with the second book)
Published: February 26, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 332

Some things are worth waiting for...Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago--an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe--please God--make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn't need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she's building for herself.Some things are worth experiencing...Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that's just so... so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.Some things should never be kept quiet...But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she's has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?And some things are worth fighting for...

That's right, zero stars! I have never given a book zero stars before, so trust me when I say, STAY AWAY.

Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Series: None
Published: 1818
Publisher: Almost Any Now-A-Days
Number of Pages: 210

'I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion.' A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a runaway imagination -- fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life -- conspired to produce for Mary Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, "Frankenstein." Written in 1816 when she was only 19, Mary Shelley's novel of 'The Modern Prometheus' chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, "Frankenstein" remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind.

What I’ve learned from Reading Frankenstein:

1) The big green monster isn’t Frankenstein
2) The doctor is, and it’s his last name (first name Victor)
3) The big green monster isn’t actually green...
4) Doctor Frankenstein doesn’t have an sexy assistant (or any assistant at all)
5) Monster can actually talk (at least, he learns)
6) Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller aren’t real characters in the story

Review: Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Series: Song of Ice and Fire, #2

Published:  May 28, 2002

Publisher: Bantam Books

Number of Pages: 926

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel... and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

WARNING: I felt obliged to tell the story of how my reading process with this book went. Long story short, it took my 6 months. If you want the long story, feel free to read. Otherwise, review is below.

Review: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Series: None

Published: 1932

Publisher: London: Chatto & Windus

Pages: 306

"One of the few science fiction novels of the 1930s that was considered a major work by the critics, this is a bitterly dystopian novel of 632 A.F. (After Ford). Funnier than the totally grim 1984, it stresses cloning, test tube babies, and genetic, hypnopedic, and drug control of the population, by a benevolent ruling class...Deeply thought-provoking and exceptionally well written, this is a seminal novel for modern SF." (Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 104)

This is a very interesting and thought provoking book. Kudos to Huxley for asking the tough questions. It is also a fast book. I finished this back in January, and I had no trouble getting through it. Some might complain of the heavy science that Huxley built his world on, but understanding of it beyond a surface understanding, is not necessary to understand the story. There is no need to get caught up in the fact that you might have no idea what he is going on about at some points. 

That said, the fact that Huxley can be heavy science, but one needn't pay attention to it...does take away from the text. It becomes unnecessary, detrimental in its construction.

As for the story itself: there are not many redeeming qualities. At first, one thinks there might be, in the form on John. All the people of the day and age are powerless simpletons. They live a very easy life, a choice free life, and they love it. The government is so regulated and these people so conditioned that they question nothing. It's a very interesting concept. If people have to chose between choosing and not choosing, will they chose to not chose because it is easier? This line of questioning is what kept me engaged for most of the novel, despite the fact that nearly everyone seemed content with not choosing. Bernard was the worse of them all because he did not question the government, but questioned how the government effected him.

Then along comes a character who had never been conditioned to except his surroundings without question, who was used to "rebelling." He's thrust into this strange society, and it's truly interesting to see what happens. It's what ultimately ends up happening to him, though, that threw me from the story. I'm not going to say what, and whether it was good, bad, or mediocre. But it differed from what I would expect with life. Hint, I'm a dreamer. I very much agree with the sentiment of making art to better reality. And perhaps the ending of this book does in its own way. But not the way I would have preferred. 

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Series: None

Published: January 10, 2012

Publisher: Dutton Books

Pages: 318

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Beautiful, Bold, Irreverent, and Raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

I don’t like spoilers. I hate them. Part of reading a book is finding out what happens, and how it happens, and why it happens, but if someone tells you that…well, then part of the reading experience was completely spoiled! I’m told the author has similar feelings on this subject.

Long Live the King

Beware: *spoilers* 

Things I have learned in conclusion to reading Hamlet: It’s nothing like The Lion King; The Lion King is not sexist, and it only has two villains, Scar and the hyenas. 2) I have been quoting it all my life without realizing it. And 3)

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments

Published: March 27, 2007

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Pages: 442

When fifteen-year-old 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 strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. 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 ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

So, unless you want to be spoiled, I suggest not reading the highlighted parts above. This is why I try to avoid summaries as much as possible - because while establishing the premise of the world for this book, that summary also gives away the big twist of the first chapters. -_-

I thought about giving this 5 stars, simply because it doesn’t compare to my love for TID - but I’ve also accepted that my love for that series is somewhat uncanny. But I do love this series too, it’s just a different kind of love.

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection, #1
Published: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 327

I am going to write my own silly summary here because the summary on the book is so horrifically spoil-filled that I can't bear to subject you lot to it.
So the Selection is set in a unrealistic future where rational State actors made very irrational decisions that resulted in a dystopian society. But no matter! Because every n number of years, there is a super special ball that satisfies the people's need for fulfillment. 
And I can't say anything else about it without giving away blindingly obvious spoilers.

That right there is Makayla sass. But really.

The Selection is a lottery. A lottery of girls, sent of to the palace to contend for the hand of the Prince, Maxon. It may not be Hunger Games brutal, but never underestimate the power of hormonal girls in large groups.

Review: Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns, #2
Published: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 410

The second book in Rae Carson's award-winning The Girl of Fire and Thorns fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and Kristin Cashore. Tamora Pierce called the first book, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, "A unique and engrossing read!" A seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.In The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa won the war. She saved her kingdom. But no one prepared her for how hard it is to recover from a battle, or to rule a people who still don't trust her. She's still fighting—against assassination attempts and more—and her enemies lie both outside her court and within it. So Elisa will cross the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. With her go a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume to Rae Carson's ambitious trilogy.

*Beware spoilers for Girl of Fire and Thorns!*
I must say, this series is quickly becoming a high fantasy favorite for me. I adored the first book. I felt as if Carson had so much courage for tackling a book with A) A heroine who is not only plain, but obese. B) Writing a high fantasy book with God (not ‘a’ God, not ‘Gods,’ but God. and C) sacrificing characters for the development (not shock factor) of a story.

Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Series: The Lynburn Legacy, #1

Published: September 11, 2012

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 373

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

I’m sitting attempting to formulate a plan for reviewing this book.  I’ve been sitting for weeks attempting to think of how to review this book. My task is made more difficult by the fact that I’ve met Sarah,

PROOF (Yes, I be holding SIGNED copies of the Demon Lexicon’s Trilogy)

and I’ve first hand seen the brilliance (and crazy) that she emits. This lady has a wonderful mind, everyone, and dissecting the book that it has produced will be hard, but by golly, I’m going to do it!