I Have A Rock Collection, And My Obsidian Is Kind of Bladey.

Hey world! Happy tea time. I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I haven't been taking tea recently for reasons even I don't know. But today I have my Bengal Spice with a touch too much sugar and a book to review. You know, Celestial Seasonings really should be paying me for mentioning their teas so often. Teatulia should too. But I'm not in this for the money, I'm in it for the fame. Kidding, I'm a blogger because I love to read.

So, a little while ago I read this book called The Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman. NOT Teh Obsidian Blade as I tried to to type it. It is book one of the Klaatu Diskos trilogy. Ooo, ooww, burnt my tongue on my tea. Not fun. Oh, it burns. But Amazon links are always cool. The audible is only average, though.

Summaryish: When Tucker's dad disappears and reappears with a strange yellow-haired girl, and then his mother goes crazy, and then both of his parents disappear, his life is understandably changed forever. Even more so when he stumbles upon an odd little disk that transports him through time and space. And other drama.

Review: Okay, I'm an honest person, so I'm going to tell you the truth: I didn't like this book very much. I don't like not liking books, but this one was just all tell and no show and where's the fun in that? Plus, in most places it was just boring. It didn't even get remotely interesting to me until over the half way mark. And even then, I was just tuning to watch the explosions of which there were not a satisfactory amount. Keep in mind that these are just my opinions, I'm sure there's someone out there who might like this book. We just won't get along.

About the Title:

Okay, first of all, the obsidian blade part was relevant, like, once. But I will admit that I do love a series that has a separate title for the series, and Klaatu Diskos certainly qualifies. If only I liked it, then I could love it.

Okay, bye bye until next time!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

Maybe One Day I Will Be Too.

Hey world! This is probably the most fail-y marathon I have ever attempted. Oh well. Things happen that cause me to forget other things. Maybe this is why most of my views come from robots in Poland. Unless you're a real person, Poland-viewer. Yeesh, comment or something. Give me someone to right for Polish-readers. Or any readers. I had a comment just the other day. It made me feel special. 

So, a little while ago I read this book called Legend by Marie Lu. I think this was her first book, but now she has four. This is book one of a trilogy, and I am thankful that all of them are out. I can devour them like Oreos. I wonder if bacon could improve Oreos. Anyways, there's an okay audible at the other end of this Amazon link.

Summaryish: Day is an unknown and dangerous criminal, June is the military's best prodigy. Add in a dead brother and deadly plague, and you have a volatile combination of desperation and revenge. Throw in a couple lies and, a conspiracy and a good disguise and you have a hidden volcano about to explode. I'm feeling dramatic today, which leads to not much of a summary, but still a pretty good paragraph.

Review: I was so pleasantly surprised! This was an unplanned browse-book, and I usually don't expect much from those because I know nothing about them at all and I'm always a little suspicious but still excited in a low-expectation kind of way. But this book was amazing! Absolutely amazing! Marie Lu really knows how to write well! She puts absolutely everything in it at just the right times in just the right ways to make you want to keep on coming back. She has gotten herself a new fan in me!

About the Font:

It was a great font, but my absolute favorite part about it was that on the Day chapters, it was YELLOW!! It's a duo-chromatic book! Who would have  thunk it? I'm guessing that the next one will have blue chapters for June? Right? I sure hope so...

Okay, this doesn't qualify as a marathon any more. Bye!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

I Feel Like I'm Saying it Backwards, But I Think That Was The Point.

Hey world! Me again. I haven't forgotten yet, yay! I've got my tea, but it's fogging my glasses. And my glasses are lopsided because of my headphones. Which means I'm blogging from behind lopsided fog. I hope the ensuing typos entertain you. So this is Day...Six. I always lose track at around this time.

So, a few days ago I  read this book called Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Despite the lack of matching last names, I think they're married.I'm not sure if this is a series or not. It could be...But it also could not be. I guess we'll know when and if the next one comes out! It has a fabulous audible, I really do love this one. Check it out by following this Amazon link! Now I can ex out of all those tabs I don't need anymore. They really slow me down. 

Summaryish: After almost dying Evening Spiker is sent to her mother's lab to recover where she meets Solo, a young guy who hates E.V's mother but is, sadly, her ward. While there, Eve is charged with creating the perfect boy on a new computer program her mother has come up with. But what happens if she discovers something she wishes she never had? What if perfect is too, well, perfect? Bad summary. I blame the foggy glasses.

Review:  I expected to love this book. I mean, Michael Grant, who doesn't love him? And I was so right! I did love this book! Everything was paced marvelously, with just enough clues to figure things out on your own, but not enough that you don't second guess yourself once in a while. The perfect amount of twists were present, and turns were balanced wonderfully with those. It made me want to read nonstop. It made me want to tell you to get it now. So get it now. 

About the Cover:

We won't spend  too much time here, because I know you're about to leave and get the book but hang around a little longer just for this. The  cover was beautiful. I loved the apple-puzzle piece thing, so symbolic! Like that episode of Star Trek, the one where Spock plays his little Vulcan instrument with those people looking for Eden, and the guy named Adam...Well I won't give it away, but it was just like that.

Okay, see you tomorrow! Bye!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

I Want One, It Sounds Like Fun.

Hey world! I'm posting a bit early today, without my tea, because I don't have anything to do. But that doesn't make Day Five of this marathon any less special. I still have, after this book, three books to review, and by then I'll probably have another...This marathon could go on indefinitely. But that's unlikely, I'll forget before long or run out of books. Let's get started!

So, recently, because yeah, we're up to recently now, I read this book called Showdown by Ted Dekker. It's book one in the Paradise series, but I read books 2 and 3 first. Yeah, it's one of those series that you can read in any order you want, and each one will reveal something about the others. Pretty neat. The audible is okay...I think I'm picky about my audibles. Judge for yourself by following this Amazon link.

Summaryish: In a small town called Paradise, Colorado - population 450 (pretty small if you ask me), trouble is definitely brewing when a stranger with inexplicable supernatural abilities shows up and messes with people's minds. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or in this case secret underground cavern - Billy and Co. make a similar kind of trouble in their monastery home. 

Review: This book was pretty great, however I did find myself losing interest a lot. It was a very good story, I think it just progressed a bit slowly for my personal taste. It was suspenseful almost to the point of annoyance, but I still enjoyed figuring it all out. I loved those moments when it all came together and I was like "Ohh! So that's why blah." I'm very satisfied with this book. But not really much more than that.

Words to the Characters:

Billy: Oh, Billy. Billy, Billy, Billy. I knew this was coming, but it still came as a shock.

Johnny: I'm still failing to see how this led to that.

Okay, that was Day Five. See you tomorrow!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer. 

The Internet Went Out Last Night. It's Kind of Like This.

Hey world! Lovely Day (4) we're having here, isn't it? Thursdays are excellent days to be alive.One day after Wednesday, one day before Friday, is there really any better place to be on a Thursday then snuggled in between those two? The only thing that would make this better is if it were tea time. But today I feel like reading during tea time, so I have to finish this in 12 minutes. Excuse the impending typos. 

So, were slowly getting closer to recently, and in Disruption by Jessica Shirvington was read just two and half books ago, so we're really close to recently now. Anyways, this is book one in the Disruption series (I like it better when series have their own titles, but oh well.) I won this book in a contest (it's signed and everything! With best wishes!) and I don't think it's available in the US yet, if the single tick quotation marks were anything to go by. But there is an Amazon link! Is Amazon American? Or, United States of American, which is more accurate. There are so many countries in the Americas.

Summaryish: Maggie's daddy was taken away from her when she was 16 because he inexplicably went neg. She's been searching for him ever since. And now, as she prepares her most daring plan right before she gets fitted with the tech that reads her pheromone ratings with other people, everything seems to be going right...until it all goes wrong. Time crunch people, I'm not even going to apologize for that one. (I'm sorry.)

Review: This book was great! I loved the story, and unlike Ms. Shirvington's other books that I've read, this one had a lot less girl-drama and much more action and suspense, which I love-love-loved. But, like in her other novels, some of the action just seemed to be thrown in there to fill in some sort of gap. It didn't lead anywhere, it was just...punches in the face. I much prefer my fight-scenes to be meaningful, or else all these characters are getting all sweaty and tired for what? Nothing.

I'd write something here, but my tea box is right next to me, and the smell is just too tempting. See you tomorrow.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

Will I Get Arrested For That?

Hey world! This marathon really seems to be going terribly. So here's the deal: I'll post twice today and we'll pretend one of them was yesterday. Maybe we've all been collectively shuffled through a time gap. (Hold up a watch in front of your face, please.) It is yesterday. It is yesterday. Yesterday is today. Wednesday. Wednesday. It is yesterday...

So, I recently read a book that took me twelve whole days. Why? Because it's 1130 pages. And who is one of two authors who write four digit books that I read? Leo Tolstoy. But the other one is Neal Stephenson, and that's who wrote Cryptonomicon. This book is so popular that it has it's own wiki. I wish I had a wiki. This book also has an Amazon link. I'm fine without one of those, I wouldn't want to be purchased by some person or perhaps a penguin. I hear penguins are into online shopping.

Summaryish: This story is really two stories. Story #1: Lawrence Waterhouse is a genius code-breaker/organist participating mostly as such in the war effort of the 1940s as part of super secret Detachment 2702. He, along with Bobby Shaftoe and some minor characters whose names I forget, have the all-important job of keeping the fact that they have broken German codes a secret. Story #2: Randy, a descendant of Lawrence, is a crypto-hacker who is creating a data haven. What connects these  two stories? Gold, that's what.

Review: This is a really long book - I can see how that could intimidate some - but it is so worth it! I spent almost two weeks with just one story, and it kept me interested the whole time. And I'm a shameless story addict - I need more than one hit in two weeks to keep withdrawal away. Another thing. I had no idea what this book was about when I listed it, I simply unconditionally trust Mr. Stephenson to write a good story. There were a few R-rated moments in there to skip, and some bad language, but the story...Oh, it's so good.

About the Title:

Cryptonomicon. There's not really much else to say here.

Okay, that was Day Three! Happy Wednesday (wink wink).

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

I'm Always Happy When Spock Is Mentioned.

Hey world! I didn't forget about you! And I have ice cream and tea again today because yesterday I discovered that tea after ice cream is the most amazing sensation in the world. It's so delightful! Sadly, this is the last of the vanilla ice cream. Not the last of my tea, though, I keep a good stock of that. Mmm. It's so good I can hardly talk about the book. But I'm going to anyway.

So, there was a time long ago when I read this book by Brian Yansky called Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences. Later, as in last month, I was in the library and I saw a book called Homicidal Aliens and Other Disappointments and I was like, "Huh." So it turns out that book has a sequel. It has been confirmed, however, that it is only a duology. But Amazon links can be as long as you want. Man, this tea is good.

Summaryish: A continuation of the story of the polite telepathic aliens taking over the world in 10 seconds. I'm sorry for that bad summary, but the goodness of my tea is distracting.

Review: Okay: I really like this book because it's funny and had at least one Star Trek reference, plus a great story combined with lots of action and suspense. But I have to say, and I don't know why this is, but after I was a few dozen pages in, I was ready for it to be over so that I could start the next book on my pile. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because I was really excited about the next book on my pile, which I was, I think there was just something inherently tiring about it. But it was still great.

About the Cover:

I will admit that I spent several minutes exploring the optical illusion that was the title, at first viewing it as disappearing into the background, and later viewing it as increasingly getting smaller from right to left/left to right. That's all I wanted to say.

Okay, see you tomorrow. Except we're out of ice cream so maybe not. But probably.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

I Think It Rained Yesterday.

Hey world! So, that was quite possibly the shortest marathon ever! Sorry about that! Maybe I should keep my blogger tab open at all times to remind me about this! Ah! I dropped my ice cream! I caught it, thank goodness. At least it wasn't my tea. That could have been very bad. I'm really starting to love this Bengal Spice tea, I highly recommend it. I think it's Celestial Seasonings. But this isn't a tea reviewing blog, it's a book reviewing blog. So I'm going to do that now.

So, a while back I read this book called Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs. Book two of the Tempest Maguire trilogy. Maguire ALWAYS makes me think of Lizzie. It's not a very good audible. It's so...informative rather than emotional. The lady sounds like she's reading an essay! At least I have my ice cream...And you have this Amazon link.

Summaryish: After choosing to live in the ocean after battling against her nature, Tempest is dealing with a whole new set of problems - learning Mer culture and how to hone her abilities. But she has a great support group in Kona, her selkie boyfriend. But Tiamat is preparing for another strike, one bigger than ever before! And when one of her family members on land is injured...well, you get the picture. Not a lot is going well for little Tempest. 

Review: This book gets an "eh" from me. While it was written well, I was bored throughout the story because it was just the same themes repeated over and over and over again. It would be okay if they were themes original to this book...But now. The repeated themes were from the last book. I'm starting to get the feeling that this trilogy would have been better written as a single stand alone book. Not only that, but Tempest...I just don't like her much. She's annoying and judgmental and rude and self-absorbed. Mleh. I'll finish the series, but I won't be sitting on the edge of my seat for the next one. In fact, I'll probably only pick it up if I happen to see it in the library, I won't even actively search for it. 

About the Title:

So, I was reading this book in my bed when one of the people I live with came over and said, "Tempest Unleashed? What is that, a bodice-ripper?" I thought about it, and realized, oh my gosh, the title sounds like it's a romance! Especially for one who didn't know the character's name is Tempest! Kind of inaptly named. Besides, there wasn't really much unleashing going on. When was she ever leashed? Never. Maybe it should be called "Tempest Painfully Indecisive" or something.

Okay, that was Day One.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer. 

Now I Don't Want To Be a Purebred.

Hey world! It's been a while hasn't it! I apologize for my negligence; I was moving. I'm actually in a different time zone now, so tea time blog posts will be at a little bit of a different time than normal. Oh, and if you're wondering - Bengal Spice is in fact much better with sugar. And pie. Don't forget the pie. Good news: Despite it being a really long time since I've posted, there's only, like, five books to review. Which, my friends, is cause for a marathon! So welcome to Day 1!

So, we're not going to talk about how long it's been, but we can talk about the fact that I have read Halflings by Heather Burch. And while her website isn't the best I've ever seen, this Amazon link is still awesome. There's no audible version, which is kind of depressing, because we've had a recent trend of audibles with different voices and sound effects that is now broken. Sad.

Summaryish; For some strange reason, Nikki has been targeted by evil forces intent on destroying her. Which is where the Halflings come in. Half angel, half human, Mace, Raven and Vine have been sent to protect her, but things get complicated when loooove enters the picture. And in the middle of all of this, Nikki is faced with choices that affect not only herself, but maybe the entire world and the future of all humans. That was actually a pretty good summary. Surprise, surprise.

Review: Okay, so I went into the book with low expectations. I don't know why, I just did. But I came out stunned at how wrong I was. This book was surprisingly amazing! A lot of books recently have been mostly romance, with some sort of actiony subplot thing going on in the background, and I don't like that. I like to get right into the story rather than having to peel away layers of love-triangles and emotional heroines. This book, on the other hand, has the story in the spotlight! I have to say - I much prefer being caught in the suspense of what happens next than rolling my eyes at another reiteration of how distraught the main character is over his/her love life. I'm really really looking forward to the next book!

About the Cover:

I really like the cover scheme, which matches the themes of the book in some strange way. But - the girl on the cover, while I'm pleased that she actually looks like the main character, seems far too dreamy for Nikki, who's much more kick-butt than the cover leads you to believe. Hey, maybe THAT'S why I had low expectations! I thought she was a doe-eyed day-dreaming damsel in distress!

Okay, Day one - done. That is my poem of the day. Bye!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.