The Heroes Who Saved Our World.......Twice!

This post is about how I feel about the Percy Jackson and The Olympian Series and The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan. The Blood of Olympus just came out and I was so anxious and afraid, at the same time, to read it and that was when I realized something. I preferred waiting for the sequel for an extremely long year over not waiting at all.

I will admit that I did not start reading these books when the first one came out in 2005. I started later on, thinking that it would be an enjoyable series. I did not know then that I would become hooked. I wanted to go on dangerous quests even after hearing prophecies beforehand that were scary enough to make a person run far away. I wanted to play Capture the Flag and after a tiring day, sit by the big bornfire and sing random songs off tune. I wanted sword fighting lessons from Chiron. I wanted Mr D to call me by some other name. I wanted to study with the Athena kids, fight with the Ares kids, Have fun with Hermes' brigade and flirt with the Aphrodite kids. I wanted to listen to Apollo's haikus. Well , on second thoughts, NO. I want to go to the 600th floor of The Empire State Building. I wanted to ride on Festus. I wanted to Coach Hedge to chaperone me. I wanted to fly as well as sail on the Argo II. I was even okay with falling into Tartarus as long as I had Percy and Annabeth with me. I wanted to shadow travel. I wanted to fight the giants along with some pretty useless gods. And I wanted a bead for my necklace for every book that I finished.

Just read all the 13 books. And the best part : Percy Jackson and the Greek Heroes will release soon. I guess I will just hang on to anything now that makes me interact with any of these heroes even for a little while.

Rick Riordan has done an amazing job with fusing mythology with modernity, good with evil, humor with morals and adventures with dangers. The world that he created is so clear and believable (despite the mist!). The characters that he created are so dam lovable. Ever paragraph was a laugh riot. Even the scariest of the monsters was potrayed in such I way that I did not know what to do. Slash them with Riptide (It's a pen!) or give them fashion advice. And the story :') MASTERPIECE.

Perseus 'Percy' Jackson (Son of Poseidon)

He is my hero and will definitely be my FAVORITE BOOK GUY EVER. He is the kind of person who will always be loyal to his friends and family, will always have good intentions, will be soooooo clumsy and kind of a dumbo and a funny man. Wherever he will go, he will find trouble and get thrown out of school (s) but he will surprise everyone, including himself with his strength, humor, positive attitude, perseverance, cluelessness and love. I have seen him grow in every book and not just age wise. He is the most kick ass demigod ever with sea weed in his brain :")

 Sadly, he did not get a POV in BOO. (WHY???????????????) but like Nico said and i quote "He is the bravest demigod I ave ever known, no offence to you guys'.  His relationship with Annabeth and bromance with Leo and Jason (in BOO) is heartwarming.

Annabeth Chase (Daughter of Athena)

 



Precisely. She is smart, very smart, Wise Girl as Percy would say and she is my FAVORITE BOOK GIRL EVER. She is the one who always has a plan and is typically the leader of the quest whom everyone looks up to. She is older for her age and very brave, except when it comes to spiders. 

Naah! Not even then.

 She is a fighter who lacks a tiny bit in the emotional department but hello? That's exactly why we like Annabeth.

 But don't worry. She normally does not judo flip people;) but she might just tell you to say hi to a poodle:p

 

Leo Valdez (Son of Hermes)

 



Yes he is a repair boy, if repair boys these days can make a dragon (mechanical) out of well, read the book. He has magic in his fingers. He can make anything, all he needs are machinery parts, nuts and bolts. And he is immune to fire! He can probably make changes in Iron Man's suit and Jarvis to make it even more cooler and better. He is hot stuff, bad boy supreme, Mc Shizzle man and everything he calls himself and much more. But most importantly, he is a true hero who hid his pain in his humour and truly fixed things and I am not talking about machines here. When Rick Riordan came out with the Heroes of Olympus series and introduced new characters, Leo was hands down my favourite one. Team Leo!! 

 

Jason Grace (Son of Jupiter)

 

 He was the lost hero. He started and ended the Heroes of Olympus series and I really liked him in the first and the last book. In the middle, well, he was just knocked out most of the times (exaggeration!). But the first and the last book really made up for everything. The battles he had to go through made me feel for him. So respect!

He is that guy who will work up his way to success even though his father is like the King of the World. His strength will never shake and he always keep a strong demeanour even though his life is tough. Everyone looks up to him even tough he tried to eat a stapler once. Ouch.  He also won't open up to everyone but you know he is the dependable and sincere one.

 

Piper McLean (Daughter of Aphrodite)

 

She is a very pretty and she can charmspeak. Charmspeak meaning she will flutter her lashes and in a very melodious voice tell you to gamble all your education money and you will do that singing "Who let the dogs out?" (Hangover :")) Yet she was the underdog of the group. True story! She is one character who truly grows throughout the books and proves her worth many times. She is beautiful inside out and you will love her for sure.

 

Hazel Levesque (Daughter of Pluto)

 

 This girl will make every person value life, I feel. Pluto/ Hades kids get really creepy yet awesome powers and Hazel is no exception. She is a magician not witch who plays with reality and delusions. And she can force all precious jewels to come on Earth's surface!! I will always remember her for shouting this at Nike (the Victory Goddess) and I quote " Ahhhhh! Popcorn, our fatal weakness."

 

Frank Zhang (Son of Mars)

He teaches you how to value life too !! No wonder he and Hazel are a couple. He overcomes his fear of under confidence in the course of the adventure and becomes a true leader. And he is an anima-ish shape shifter. He became a dragon, a weasel, a gold fish, a crazy dolphin, basically the entire zoo. He is a cutie pie/ shy guy who will value the greater good over his own self.

 

Apart from this I love Nico for getting the happy ending and high five that he deserved. I hope Reyna finds love. That woman is what legends are made up off. And I haven't forgotten Luke, Grover, Rachel, Thalia, Tyson, Calypso, even Octavian and all the other half bloods for giving me and I am sure millions of others a good time, a good world and dam good memories :P

 

Yours in demigodishness and all that. Peace out. <3

Runaway (Airhead #3)

by Meg Cabot

 

 

Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself.

With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can't explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year's Eve to look forward to, Em's reached the end of her rope... what's the point of even going on?

But when she discovers the truth about Nikki's secret, she knows there's only one person she can turn to.

Will Christopher be able to put aside his personal feelings and help her expose her employer to the world? Is it even fair to get Christopher involved—since if he agrees, there's every chance that Stark Enterprises will try to have them both killed—this time, permanently?

Maybe it would be better for Em to just keep on running.

REVIEW:

 Runaway is the third and the final installment in the Airhead series by Meg Cabot and it shines bright like a diamond (bra!).
Last books in a series are scary because there is so much that needs to wrapped up and the readers need a sense of closure and satisfaction and Runaway does 85- 90% well in that department. Scores do get settled.
I liked Being Nikki the most and this book comes after that. Like a typical (good) Cabot book, this book has humor, romance, action, confessions and sarcasm :').

Em was hands down my favorite character in this book. A no brainer, that one! I guess I understood her independent streak unlike Christopher who just could not stop sulking about that. Both of them are right in their own place though. They did have issues but the fact that they tried to work on it was commendable. Nikki finally used her head this time (!) and Steven and Lulu were just too cute. I really like Gabriel too. I mean that guy helped all these people with loads of issues without even knowing them. And what did he get in return? 

But the most surprising thing in this series was its social commentary, hidden between the lines. This book warns all these profit making companies to keep the interest of its stakeholders in mind otherwise you WILL go down. HARD. This is a glamorous series with a moral and might just turn out to be a guilty pleasure for you. 

RATING (for the entire series, combined):  3.5/ 5 stars

Being Nikki (Airhead #2)

by Meg Cabot

Things aren't pretty for Emerson Watts.

Em was sure there couldn't be anything worse than being a brainiac in the body of a teenaged supermodel.

But it turned out she was wrong. Because that supermodel could turn out to have a mother who's gone mysteriously missing, a brother who's shown up on her doorstep demanding answers, a former best friend who's intent on destroying Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his lost love, and a British heartthrob who's written a song about her that's topping the charts.

How can Em balance all that with school, runway shows, and weekend jaunts to St. Johns — especially when she's got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op; a sister who is headed to the high school cheer leading championships; a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side...

Not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren't really airheads after all...especially one model in particular.

But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

REVIEW:

I think that blurb was enough to tell you what all is there in the book :p

This book was so much more enjoyable than the first one with loads of suspense and discoveries and a horrible cliffhanger. Meg Cabot has done an amazing job of delivering a mix and match of a story along with humor. I am saying story because some of her other books completely lacked it. 

Em's fun. I feel that she as done a good job of 'Being both Nikki and Em' and she is so funny.I enjoy reading the pov of sarcastic protagonists who have a stand and Em definitely falls into that category. I also liked the way her relationship with people from Nikki's past progressed, especially Lulu. Lulu has got to be the most adorable character in the series. Nikki's brother Steven, another new entry in the series, is amazing too. The stereotype that there is just something about men in uniform must be true. Other characters too, like Gabriel, Frida, Felix have a personality of their own which makes them attractive, novel and quirky. 

Now i'll come to Christopher. That scene when Em finds her old photo in his room was so emotional and the conviction with which he waned to avenge Em's death was so romantic. Too bad Em had to die for revelation of his other side. His character has really grown and changed. He either is good at guessing or was born very smart. Yeah Chris, take Stark down! They deserve it...
RATING:     3.5/ 5 stars

Day of the Predator (TimeRiders #2)

by Alex Scarrow

  

Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no-one knows exists. Its purpose—to prevent time travel from destroying history . . .

When Maddy mistakenly opens a time window where and when she shouldn’t have, Liam is marooned sixty-five million years ago in the hunting ground of a deadly—and until now—undiscovered species of predator.

Can Liam make contact with Maddy and Sal before he’s torn to pieces by dinosaurs—and without endangering history so much that the world is overtaken by a terrifying new reality?

REVIEW: 

I was sooooo excited to read this book because I really liked the first one. It was a very different kind of reading experience for me. And this book did not disappoint at all. In fact it makes me crave the third book. After reading the LAST line, i was like:        


Not kidding!
Gimme the third book now! This series is awesome!

In the first book we saw Liam, Maddy and Sal get recruited as time riders whose job was to preserve the world and its timeline. In this book, with Foster gone ( :"( ), Maddy has become the strategic leader and the team's next assignment is to prevent the assassination of the discoverer of the concept of time travel. Another time traveler group wants to kill him but that would mean changing history's course yet again. So, Liam and the support unit (Its a girl this time aaaand she like Liam aaand the feeling is mutual I feel) go to the year 2015 to prevent that but there, accidentally, Maddy opens another time window and these two along with some other students get transported to the Golden Age of Dinosaurs! Read the book to find out how they come back to the present or do they even???

My favorite character in the book is Liam. He is just too cute and yes, I pity him but his strength and smartness need to be praised. Maddy is showing growth. She has got a lot of responsibility and you do see her bending under its weight but she will manage. For some reason, I feel there will be a love triangle between Maddy, Liam and the support unit Beck in the sequels. Sal was more like a side~y character this time and I want that to change. Becks is such an adorable lifesaver and she went through so much. I was scared for her towards the end.

The plot was action packed in both 2001 and millions of years ago. The time zones have been described brilliantly and accurately. The only thing that I had a love- hate relation was the lack of actual dinosaurs. The villains ie. our ancestors (?) were such ruthless, horrifying, blood crazy creatures who killed without mercy. I should have been a duck instead of a human.

This book is about survival, intelligence, team work, gruesome deaths, mystery, friendship, hidden truths, adventure, explorations, different present scenarios and fossils. Read this series! 
RATING: 4/ 5 stars

Airhead (Airead #1)

by Meg Cabot

EM WATTS IS GONE.

Emerson Watts didn’t even want to go to the new SoHo Stark Megastore grand opening. But someone needed to look out for her sister, Frida, whose crush, British heartthrob Gabriel Luna, would be singing and signing autographs there—along with the newly appointed Face of Stark, teen supermodel sensation Nikki Howard.

How was Em to know that disaster would strike, changing her—and life as she’d known it—forever? One bizarre accident later, and Em Watts, always the tomboy, never the party princess, is no longer herself. Literally.

REVIEW:

Meg Cabot books are absolutely perfect for lazy days. Re- reading one at the age of nineteen is like going through an old photo album. I remember the thirteen- fourteen year old me always liked her standalone novels more and then came this trilogy. Most of the Cabot books are a good mix of fun, feminism, awesome guys, teenage problems, family problems and happy endings. This one is no exception. In fact, additionally, it has glamor, make up, runways, a brigade of hotties, a pinch of mystery and brain transplants!!
Yeah.
Cool right? 
Em is a tom- boy cum geek which obviously doesn't put her on the list of 'Most Desirable People in School'. But she doesn't care and that's why I like her. She would rather give all the Walking Dead (the 'in' people) a piece of her mind (looooooooool)  and play Journeyquest, the best video game on Earth with her best friend Christopher. But her life changes when, because of an unfortunate accident, her brain gets transplanted into the body of the hottest model in the country Nikki Howard and she is made to honor ALL her modelling contracts including being the Face of a Company that she detests.
So it is goodbye "nail biting and baggy hoodies and fatty food" and hello! "runway, media,a hot singing sensation,a hot heir to to a corporation worth billions, an adorable room mate and duh a poodle".






I like the fact that in spite of being a very funny novel, it had its serious moments, especially the hurt Em felt when she started realizing that her old self and her old life is really dead and she has no option but to adjust to her new life with new people and Nikki's old past about which she had no idea.
The sarcasm :')
There were parts in the book where I kept humming the song Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana, not the chorus (lol) but the line "It's really you but no one ever discovers (Christopher !!!)".
 This is Em's book throughout and since I have already read the entire series, I can assure you that the sequels take turns that you just don't expect. Consider this book to be a prologue as things do stretch in parts but it's a cute series.
RATING:     3/ 5 Stars

KILLING ASHISH KARVE

-Salil Desai

As the name suggests, this book is a murder mystery. Not being an ardent reader of crime thrillers, I was quite excited to read my first murder mystery novel. And I wasn't disappointed. 

What I had not expected was that the novel would straight-away start with a mysterious murder and will progress solving the same through the pages. Who was killed, isn't a suspense at all; the title gives away that part. The interesting part is how, layer by layer, the corpse gets a shape and character in the pages that follow. 

I am a serious Sherlock fan, and sure, suspense excites everyone, but when you are reading something like this which only talks about the murder every now and then, the mystery gets to your nerves. You sure don't want read such a spine-chilling disturbing tale at night when you are alone in your room with no one to disturb. I did exactly what I am hereby advising you all to beware of. The experience was frightening and I almost dropped the idea of getting to the end that very night and started off from where I had left the next bright morning.
It was like I was solving the case myself. The narration was simple and the clues were laid at exactly the right place giving the reader a fair chance to unmask the culprit. The culprit was not difficult to guess but the motive was quite a surprise.

All in all it was a nice murder mystery to start from, simple yet involving. 

I would recommend you all to read this one if you haven't tried the genre yet!

p.s. It's a different experience altogether when you are reading a signed copy...the first one for our blog <3 <3...

RATING

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

by Tahereh Mafi

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

REVIEW: 

I borrowed this book from my best friend. I am stupid. I made a mistake.

 That is exactly the way the thoughts of the girl has been written.Different? Yes. Works? No.

This is the story of a human cum venus fly trap Juliette who has been imprisoned as her touch is lethal and how her life changes when she gets a cell mate Adam (the only good character in the book!) with whom she shares a history. It was insta- love for them which was completely UNBELIEVABLE. Insta- crush/like/admire: yes but saying "I love you" to each other in the first 100 pages itself, seriously? Now, the Reestablishment wants to use Juliette as a weapon against their enemies so they take her to some facility and the story takes on from there.

In the beginning, I felt the story had potential. I kinda liked the Adam and Juliette scenes in their cell. They should have stayed there. But after that, the story lost track to be unique. The plot was very convenient, something you must have read before if you are a young adult fan like me. It was only in the last few pages that you are like "Where did that those people come from?" I really don't like authors who write okay-ish books but then give a cliffhanger at the end. 

The writing reminded me of Terribly Tiny Tales. It was poetic, metaphorical and at times beautiful too but it seemed inconsistent with what the characters spoke/ thought of later on.

"He leans back against the couch. Runs a free hand over his face. Seasons change. Stars explode. Someone is walking on the moon."

 Am I the only one who thought of Neil Armstrong here? Lame, i know, but true story!

“It's been me and you against the world forever," he says. "It's always been that way.”

What world????  I refuse to believe this is a dystopian novel. It was more like a love story with a weird villain and a heroine with a power on and off button.
RATING:     2/5 stars

Contact Us

Email Id : mykindofperfectreviews@gmail.com

Time Riders (Book #1)

by Alex Scarrow

 

Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, ‘Take my hand ...’

But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren’t rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose—to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past. That’s why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world..

REVIEW: 

I bought this book from the New Delhi Book Fair 2014 at a discount. After reading this book, I realised I wouldn't have mind paying more for it either!

This is a young adult novel, the first of 9 (!) books, perfect for sci-fi fans. It is the story of how three different people saved from death, from three different time zones come together to make a team that polices time! Liam O'Connor, from 1912 was saved from the TITANIC. Madeline "Maddy" Carter, from 2010 was saved from a plane that was about to be bombed by terrorists and Saleena "Sal" Vikram, from 2026 was saved from burning to death in a fire. And these three find each other in the year 2001 in New York. What happened in New York in 2001 in the month of september? Aaaaand that is not it. We also go to the year 2066, 1963 (John F. Kennedy's assasination), pre and post World War II era (Hitler) and the end of the world !!!!!
So many time frames!
Phew.
 


And here I thought this book will be about to save a certain girlfriend/ wife/ husband from dying in an accident.

The author wasn't kidding when he said that if you mess with time, the world you know will become a world you don't.

There are people from the future who are messing with time travel and changing everything you can find in your history text books. For example, what would have happened if John F. Kennedy would have lived longer? The job of these three is to see that no one alters a major event because "what goes around comes around".
   
I was hooked to this book. It was so thrilling and so so clever with many twists and turns enough to keep you open mouthed. The author made the characters go through a lot and a certain death scene at the end was disgusting and painful. 

My favorite character from the book was Superman Ironman Fantasticman God Bob. I felt he was the (non living) character/ android who which developed the most in the course of the book. His super strength, super intelligence and super "straight face" one liners save the day. I am feeling really bad for Liam though. Maddy should tell him the truth asap. 

You just don't see what is coming up next in this book. Rather series because I've been told the second book has dinosaurs in it! See open- mouth, right?   
RATING:             3.5 /5 stars

Kidnapped

Robert Louis Stevenson

"Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: How he was Kidnapped and Cast away; his Sufferings in a Desert Isle; his Journey in the Wild Highlands; his acquaintance with Alan Breck Stewart and other notorious Highland Jacobites; with all that he Suffered at the hands of his Uncle, Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws, falsely so-called: Written by Himself and now set forth by Robert Louis Stevenson."

                                                       

The plot, though predictable by the name itself,still had me expecting some deep mystery and thrill in the course of my reading but what I found out was that the story was meant to be quite simple with no dark secrets to be given away when you reach its end. None the less it was an adventurous tale revolving around the selfless friendship of two young, brave men. It had elements such as shipwreck, murder, escape...which are described in such a way as if they are happening there and then, in front of your eyes.

The book is a first person narration by the protagonist David Balfour, a young lad in his late teens.It is easy to identify with him and appreciate his self-righteousness because he shines out as man of principles throughout.
The strong emotion of friendship between Alan and David is portrayed so well that you as a reader want them to never quarrel or part from each other.  

The best part about the book is the historical element it has to it, connected with the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

As is my habit of doing some research before putting up any review, I found out that some of the events in the book are real and were controversial at the time. I also discovered that some of the characters described are not fictional but existed in reality.
Thus I am more than convinced that the book is not a mere simple tale of adventure but also has a hint of reality attached to it, the history of which makes it all the more interesting than what pages of the book allow.

Rating



                                              

Origin (Lux #4)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

 

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?

REVIEW: 

Dear Jennifer,

You ma'am were one of my favourite paranomal authors. But now, after reading Origin, you are a part of my list of My All Time Favourite Authors, genre no bar. You are so talented with words, dialogues, plots, twists, villians, characters and cliffhangers (Opal :'( )

Dear Katy,

#Respect 

Dear Daemon,

Marry me ! ummmm....

Origin is the best book in this series (till now!) and hands down one of the best books i have read this year (till now!). It has loads of action and loads of romance and loads of fun in it. I devoured this book in one go. Something or the other will happen on every page that will completely blow your mind away. Its like the author erased any wrong thing that had happened in the previous books, added so much to the good parts and wrote a plot that was  different and complex and out of this world awesome.

Katy is with the DOD and Daemon is doing EVERYTHING to protect her even if it means --------------.

The war between the Luxens and the Shadows and the Humans gets a new twist and I am sure a major war is going to happen in the finale! Can't wait! Also dual POVs <3. I could have differentiated between Daemon and Katy's POVs even if the author did not mention it at the top! Its so them, their personalities and their quirks.

Katy is so much stronger than what i expected her to be. She is a fighter and a survivor. Daemon melted my heart in this book. Their scenes are what fantasies are made up of. 
We say goodbye to some old characters in this book and that was so out of the blue. :'( We also have some new entrants in the series and i just can't wait to know more about them, especially Archer. I am also glad Dawson and Dee became more of their original selves in this book. There is NOTHING wrong with this book. Read the entire series for this. 

PS- You won't believe what Origin actually means !!! 

RATING:    

4.5/ 5 stars

Opal (Lux #3)

 
 

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

 

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

REVIEW:

I think I was expecting explosions from this book because after reading Onyx, i refused to settle for anything less. I got explosions, that is true and I got them from Daemon and Katy but not from the story (except the last 50 pages- more on that later!)
I just felt the plot was stalling in the beginning and the middle part of the book, with no major action happening and the failed attempts (ouch!) 

 But don't get me wrong. The book is still great.

Daemon and Katy are finally together and trying to do things the right way *wink*. But that gets tough as many problems crop up.Daemon shows more of his hot side than the cold one in this book (How can I ever date a human guy now?). Katy is amazing and stronger than ever. One awesome book heroine.  Dawson is back but he is not our Shadow's Dawson anymore. He is grim and hell bent on saving Bethany from DOD (problem #1). Dee, my heart breaks for her. Adam's death changed our alien version of Tinker Bell and she kinda blames Katy for it, so, its not friendship day for these two in this book. DOD is laying a trap (problem #2) and some douches make a comeback (problem #3)

Read this book for:

1) Jennifer L. Armentrout's very youth oriented writing.

 “His dinner included three hamburgers and two orders of fries. I had no idea where those calories went. To his ego, maybe?”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Opal
 
2) Daemon and Katy's scenes. These two are the pillars of this series.

3) To find out whether Daemon's says those three words. 

4) The ending- which was plain evil. Those last 50 pages *sobbing* made me clutch the book so tightly! 

Was that even necessary? And now I can't wait to read Origin (Lux #4) because I feel a happy ending is overdue for all of them. 
Rating:      

3/5 stars

The Thorn Birds

“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain… Or so says the legend.”
― Colleen McCullough

Meghann (Meggie) Cleary, a four-year-old girl living in New Zealand in the early twentieth century, the only daughter (in a large family of sons) of Paddy, an Irish farm labourer, and Fee (a woman who is mystery herself) is the main protagonist. The story is about her struggles and choices.

Meggie's life changes when her poor dad is invited to live and work in the estate of his wealthy sister, Mary Carson in Australia. There is no looking back after that. The whole family happily travels west to Australia. Here Meggie meets Ralph de Bricassart, a young ambitious priest who had befriended old Mary to escalate his position in the church. Mary who had fallen for the young priest detests Meggie at first sight seeing how her innocent beauty as already encaptured Ralph's attention.

Time passes by as Meggie grows up into a beautiful young woman of seventeen. Till this point Meggie had already witnessed a lot of family drama, especially between her favorite brother Frank and Paddy. She is ignorant and vulnerable. The tragedies of her life and Ralph's support throughout compels her to trust him more than any one else.

The turning point is Mary Carson's death and the whole aftermath of Ralph discovering the details of Mary's will, which she had artfully conspired in a desperate attempt to keep Ralph and Meggie away.
Now it is Ralph, who has choose between Meggie and his ambitions...

His decision has solely shaped the course, the story then takes.

The book is a thrilling breath-taking experience. It makes you laugh, cry and sulk at the same time. You end up hating the character you loved and loving the character who had hated so far. You almost feel justified about so many unjustified and unreasonable acts when you finally put the book down. Even if somethings remain unjustified, accept them as they were meant to be so.

And be sure when you're through it, you are set to encounter a void in your mind which will be difficult to fill in the coming days without thinking about this book.

Yes. This books gives you a very serious hangover...

Caution: Thinking too much is not advisable as it can seriously get you tagged as a MAD person by the people around you...

RATING

Onyx (Lux #2)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Review:

This is one of those books which turns out to be better than their prequels. And that is saying a lot since we all know how awesome Daemon Obsidian was!

The story takes off where Obsidian left it. The healing thing that Daemon did towards the end of the book is somehow changing Katy. She is more of a ninja now! Daemon is hotter than ever (somehow that is possible) and together these two are combusting !!! And their scenes together are more intense, more lovable and at times more aww-ish.

The plot is jaw dropping. The way things turn out with the DOD and The Arum and the missing and the dead made me cross my fingers hoping that nothing bad would happen to all of them (except Ash maybe).

Also we have a newcomer Bill Flake Bob Bilbo Blake and no guesses there, we a love triangle is formed. I loved how Daemon was marking his territory by constantly humiliating Blake. Like he could compete with His Holy Alien-ness! Blake is ummm normal. HA

“Jesus.” Blake rubbed his throat. “You have anger management problems. Its like a disease.”
“There’s a cure and it’s called kicking your ass.” 

In this book, I did not like Katy as much as before. It had something to do with the fact that she just refused to accept her feelings towards Daemon when EVERYONE could see that. Its like I love him but it is not real .I should hang out with Blake instead. What ? 

 Thank God for Daemon!

The ending: Dude shit! Give me Opal NOW is all I can say.

 

Ya! Just like that !

Rating:

4/ 5 stars

Shadows (Lux 0.5)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.

Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in.

Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

Review:

This novella is a prequel to the hugely successful book Obsidian. But my suggestion would be that you read it after Obsidian (like I did! You will connect with it more). This book, to a large extent explains Daemon's attitude and Dee's loneliness in the sequels. And even though I knew what was going to happen at the end, I was still heartbroken.

This is Dawson's story, Dee and Daemon's brother and it happens before Katy moved next door to them. He is a sweetheart. Insta-love! Unlike his brother, he is more social, fun and in many ways brave in love. Beth is the new girl in school, very pretty, kinda shy, creative and uber cute. For these two, it was love at first sight *sigh* but what should have been a simple, sweet and adorable love story turns out to be Romeo and Juliet.

What happens with these two resembles what happens to Daemon and Katy but it is in this plot that you actually realize how different these couples are. Not that I am comparing them!

Another amazing thing about this book is the relationship between the three siblings :') Only a sadist *cough cough* would want to see this family separated. Dee is such a cutie pie.

Dee's awesomeness:

“What?" he demanded.
"Did you just...clean a dish?" Dee backed away slowly, blinking. She glanced at Daemon. "The world is going to end. And I’m still a vir—"

"No!" both the brothers yelled in unison.

Daemon looked like he was actually going to vomit. "Jesus, don’t ever finish that statement. Actually, don’t ever change that. Thank you."

Her mouth dropped open."You expect me to never have—"

"This isn’t a conversation I want to start my morning with." Dawson grabbed his book bag off the kitchen table.

Rating: 
                   

3.5/ 5 stars

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

She, who had never expected anything from the world around her, let alone love. A childhood which had not offered any solace or comfort, let alone memories to be cherished.

“No sight so sad as that of a naughty child," he began, "especially a naughty little girl. Do you know where the wicked go after death?"

"They go to hell," was my ready and orthodox answer.

"And what is hell? Can you tell me that?"

"A pit full of fire."

"And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?"

"No, sir."

"What must you do to avoid it?"

I deliberated a moment: my answer, when it did come was objectionable: "I must keep in good health and not die.”

At the age of ten she is sent to Lowood (a school for poor or orphaned girls) by her maternal aunt, the hardships of her already difficult childhood increasing many-fold. After suffering much she finally emerges as a winner, leaving school at the age of eighteen as a confident young woman.

She soon delves into her new found job and starts exploring the possibilities of finally being free to make a new life with whatever was on offer.

The tale takes off from this point. And you will have to read to find out whether she finds love or not. And even if she finds it, how difficult is it a path to tread along. The book is an experience of lifetime, with mysteries unimmaginable and twists that shock you.

Jane as a character is subtle. She is a proper heroine who displays courage and an unflinching belief in what is right. She makes choices which are impossible to make, especially when you have longed for something your entire length of life, and which is now against your own principles. She is practical and does not let her emotions overpower her reasoning. She is a defintion of what true internal beauty is like.

The book has many characters, each one alive and livid in its pages. The emotions captured are so real that you drift to a world, the author had created years ago. It touches your conscience and inspires you to ask questions at moments which you think will decide the path the story will eventually take. 

The liveliest example is the fortune-teller scene...but of course you will have to read this book to know what I mean.

 RATING

TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES

'She looked absolutely pure. Nature, in her fantastic trickery, had set such a seal of maidenhood upon Tess's countenance that he gazed at her with a stupefied air :”Tess- say it is not true! No, it is not true!”'

Tess Durbeyfield wakes up to her father's new found but long lost ancestry and the poor peasant family has a hope now that their turmoils may indeed end with this revelation. The girl who was in her teens sets on a journey to find kinship in the rich d'Urbervilles, she being one of the descendants of the decayed aristocratic family.
In lieu she finds betrayal, her maidenhood is violated before she has had a chance to learn about the dangers a woman faces from the other sex. 

"Doubtless some of Tess d'Urberville's mailed ancestors rollicking home from fray had dealt the same measure even more ruthlessly towards peasant girls of their time. but though to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children may be a morality good enough for divinities, it is scorned by average human nature; and it therefore does not mend the matter."

Before she could come to terms with what had happened, she loses her heart to another man with the hope of finally rejoicing in her new life and leaving her past behind.

The chain of events that follow will surely shock you and may even leave some of you numb. The one-sided definition of morality which is only applicable to the fairer sex is questioned every now and then. Tess lived through all these advertisities, but never wished for revenge. 

But, the step she finally took was not only drastic but is still unacceptable in the society we live in.

Amidst the emotional dilemma, the tale is of a woman who displays a strong moral character. She is meant to be a representation of 'A Pure Woman'.

One of Hardy's best works, it is must read for serious as well as non-serious readers. It' ll help you come to terms with what was the conditions of women a century ago and how it is still the same today...they are not even human beings for some.
 

RATING

5/5

Once you are through you will surely agree that this book deserves no less.