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.

I Feel So Historical.

Hey world! Another tea time, another blog post. I'm not a very reliable person when it comes to blogging, apparently. But I do like to read. And since we've had this incredibly one-sided conversation a lot of times before, I'm just going to go ahead and continue with this post.

So, there was a time in recent history when I read this book called The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It's a play rather than a novel, but it's still published in book form, which makes the audible very very interesting. Like the last book that I read, it's read with more than one voice, and there's sound effects! So awesome. I like audibles like these. You can listen yourself at this Amazon link.

Summaryish: This is a play about the Salem witch hunts from the 17th century. Everyone accusing everyone else of witchcraft - to settle old disputes or honestly, no one will ever know. But this specific play centers around Abigail, and the people she accused. It's not really about anything else, so this is a short summary.

Review: Wowzers. This book is so...intense. It's amazing! It starts off like the first seconds of a race and doesn't slow down until the very last page. I love the way it unfolds! You discover little things at a time and you're never quite certain about the outcome, even after the final sentence. This story resonates like a cello. It's masterfully written. I can't imagine it ever going out of style. Simply, it's a classic must-read!

Words to the Characters:

Abby: Darling, I think that was just going too far.

Hm. I only talked to one person today. Weird. Bye!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

This Is a Really Short Post.

Hey world! You may have noticed, you may have not, but I did not post yesterday which was my scheduled day to post. There's a reason for that - I did not take tea yesterday. I actually got new tea recently, it's Bengal Tea from Celestial Seasonings. It's cooling now, so I don't know what it tastes like yet, but I have M&Ms on standby in case it's yucky. It smells good though. Kind of like chai but...vanilla-y. So while we wait for my tea to cool, because having something to do while my tea cools is obviously the only reason I blog (not), I'll talk about the book that's up.

So, as we come closer and closer to the present it's getting less and less tragic for me to say how long ago I read these books, but we're not that close yet, so I'm not telling, but the book is Outlaw by Ted Dekker. It is part of the Outlaw Chronicles, which I am reading out of order, so I'm assuming you can too, if you want to. I took my first sip! It's a stiff sort of spicy but also smooth and - this might sound weird - it makes me want to purr a little bit. Needs sugar though. Forth sip - this time with honey (we're out of sugar)- Mm. Even better. Ah, tea, almost as great as Amazon links.

Summaryish: A lady and her young child go out boating and their ship capsized. Nice start, no? They are separated and the lady - her name is Julian - is picked up by a tribe and turned into a slave. She then makes a series of decisions that lead to major happenings in the little sequestered tribal valley. Hm. Short summary.

Review: I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but after reading Hacker, it's pretty hard not to make comparisons between my two reading experiences. I had really high expectations, and this book didn't exactly meet all of them. It was still page-turningly awesome, but I was still hoping for something a little more. Don't misunderstand, I really really liked reading this book, but it's not something I'm going to remember forever, like I probably will with Hacker. So officially: it's a good book, but I'd trade it for a cookie if someone forced me to eat spinach for the rest of my life.

I can't think of anything for the last paragraph, and I'm out of tea now anyway, so bye.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

One Step Closer to Advanced Reader.

Hey world! I have decided that if I start today, I'll have just enough books to review every other day to get me through the big one I'm starting later. So that's what I'm doing! I'm also drinking tea, because, you know, it's tea time, and I'm so sophisticated. Or I like to think I am. Hey, I read and drink tea, maybe I am sophisticated. But I also eat Nutella out of the jar with my finger. And now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, let's get started with the reason you're actually here, the book!

So, we're not going to talk about how long ago it was that I read The Return of the King by J.R.R Tolkien, but I will mention that it is book three in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I started this series BB, but I I middled in here, and now I'm finishing here too. Ahh, nostalgia. This is probably the coolest audible I've ever sampled, but it's like...wow, kind of distracting. It's read with several different people...and sound effects! It sounds almost like a production rather than an audible. Neat. I'm starting to wonder if  this is the right Amazon link! Oh my gosh, there's even music! This is so weird. But cool. Where's the narration, though? Oh, there it is.

Summaryish: There's really not much I can say about this without giving away the other two books, and I'm against spoilers...so I'm just going to say that there are orcs, rings, hobbits, a little bit of Ents, and some Gandalf. Yeah. Bad summary, but that's why the ish is there.

Review: Okay, I will admit that I didn't really pay much attention the whole first half of the book. Does that make me a terrible person? No. Does that make this a terrible book? Absolutely not. I was simply worried about Sam and Frodo and I was like, "Blah blah blah, Pippin, blah blah blah, wait did Merry just die? Blah blah blah, FRODO!" But, even though some of the time I wasn't paying attention, I still enjoyed the whole experience of reading it - the entire book. Plus, it's like classic fantasy. Nowadays, genres cross and mingle, which is actually quite enjoyable, but sometimes it's just nice to have straightforward fantasy, almost like a relief. Plus, I really wasn't an accomplished reader before I read these stories. I'm still not, but I can dream.

My Favorite Sam Quotes:

"Is everything sad going to come untrue?" Rock it Sam, that was just an awesome sentence. I think Jason Gray wrote a song about it.

"If I hear not allowed much oftener, I'm going to get mad." Oh, hobbit grammar and Sam-humor.

Okay, see you Sunday. Unless I die, or you die. That was a sad thought.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer. 

I Have Too Many Tabs Up.

Hey world! I would understand if you hate me now. What has it been? Two weeks? I've never hidden the fact that I'm a terrible blogger, but I've just been doing other things recently. But now I have somewhere around five books to review, which actually isn't bad, but still calls for a marathon! Well, maybe not, because I have a 1130 pager coming up...I'll think about that. But you can rest assured that I'm blogging today at least.

So, longer ago than I'd like to admit I finished this book called Dark Halo by Shannon Dittemore. And, fabulous news, I've now read everything she has written! Of course, she's only written this one trilogy so far. Oh yeah, this is book three in the Angel Eyes trilogy. The audible isn't that great - far too breathy and quick for the way I imagine it. And the sample ended quite abruptly! But you can still have the Amazon link. 

Summaryish: The Terrestrial Veil over Stratus is ripping and soon everyone will be able to see the Celestial as Brielle sees is. But that's not the only things going on - Jake is missing. Was kidnapped by the Dark Prince and Brielle simply must go after him. Once she finds him, she is offered a dark halo. One that can erase her Celestial sight. Her gift - gone, just by replacing one halo for another. She doesn't want to see fear leaking down people's faces anymore...she might just choose blindness. That was a terrible summary. I tried to make it dramatic, but I don't think I succeeded. 

Review: Wowzers! This book was great. Everything from the previous two novels just built and built until it all just exploded in this amazing page turner! Sooo much suspense, sooo much action. Oh, I could just melt! And the characters were so life like it's like they were practically breathing! The story just flew by in a whirlwind, with the perfect balance of action and suspense. I didn't want it to end! But like all good things, it did. And that made me sad. But I'll always have my memories, and you will too, don't worry.

Words to the Characters:

Brielle: Oh, Gabby....

Olivia: I'm wondering about the Daddy now. Is it who I think it is?

Okay, see you tomorrow, or maybe not. Bye!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

Starting....Now.

Hey world! Me again. But who else would be posting on my blog? Maybe my alter ego Xxxxxx .X Xxxxxx (my name backwards). It's been a while since my last post (again) but not too much of a while to be bad. It's not like I have any more books to review, yet (I'm reading a toughy, but it just got good). But I have to make this quick, because I have to do something that takes 30 minutes before four o'clock and it's 2:17 now, and blogging usually takes a while because I always seem to end up watching book trailers. 

So, today I'm reviewing a book called Starters by Lissa Price. It has a sequel, and four short stories! And the trailer is also pretty awesome. AND - yes, there's another and - the book is published in sooo many different languages! I didn't count, but it's a lot. Here's the Amazon link. It's not the absolute best audible, but it's still pretty good. I imagined her voice higher and wispier. 

Summaryish: After the Spore Wars, which killed everyone between the ages of 20 and 60, Callie's only hope to feed her younger brother is to rent out her body to Enders who wish to relieve their youthful years. But when her chip malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, she begins to discover that Prime Destinations - the company that rents her body - is even more shady than she at first assumed. And while her new life living in a mansion seems like a fairy tale, she must save her little brother, stop a murder, and...other things I can't tell you about.

Review: At first, I didn't like this book. But that was just the first 20 pages, which is only 5% of the book. The rest of the book was a thought-consuming wild ride that was absolutely awesome from start to finish. Well, page twenty to finish. I was actually surprised at how much I loved this book, and now I can't wait to get the next one! It was excellently written and plotted out, with just enough foreshadowing that I could guess at the end but never be quite certain. It's layers and layers of mystery and action, perfectly paced! This book is a winner, through and through. No wonder it's published in so many countries.

About the Cover:

I only picked this book up because the cover looked interesting. Well, the side that faced me in the aisle, anyway. The front of the cover is actually kind of creepy, and it made me second-guess my choice to pick it up. But I put it in my bag, forgot about it, and was creeped out again when I was checking out. I like the Portuguese and Italian covers much better. Usually, I judge books by their covers, and this is no exception. I was kind of creeped out while reading, but in the best way possible.

Okay, bye, see you next time!

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.

"Requiem for a Dream" Only Has Choral Chanting.

Hey world! Last time I posted, I promised I would come back with tea. Well, it's been so hot out recently that tea was completely illogical. But I'm having tea and Nutella now, so here I am to blog! Snap, I just choked on the tea! And it's spicy, so it burned!!! But I'm better now, so I'm going to continue.

So, a while ago, because I'm a terrible blogger and waited like a week, I read this book called Requiem by Lauren Oliver. It is book there of the Delirium trilogy, so, naturally, it is the final one. There are, however, a few short stories somewhere in the world. The Amazon link is right around here. There's an audible, and it's actually quite excellent. Nice range of voices and inflections.

Summaryish: Rules are happening now - no reading this if you haven't read the first two books. After escaping into the Wilds with Julian, and finding someone she thought was long dead, Lena is faced with the most difficult decision she's had to make since deciding to leave the cities. Not to mention the fact that she has helped spark a rebellion that's ravishing the cities, hopefully for the good. Meanwhile, her best friend Hana lives a safe, love free life that turning sour. My tea is cold now.

Review: This book was pretty good! It had a very intriguing story line that can only be described as spine-vibrating, if that makes sense. Not tingling, mind you, vibrating. There's a huge difference. There were some places that could have used a bit more...something. Oomph, I guess. And all-in-all, it feels almost like things were just dragged out too long. I did, however, enjoy the fact that each book was just a little bit different from the last - quotes in one, now and then in two, and Hana/Lena in three - very well done. Most series books just keep similar formatting and the like, but this was a refreshing change. To my recollection, I never felt any desperate longing for whatever came next, but it was still a great book worthy of your reading.

Words to the Characters:

Lena: I don't think you made the right choice. I mean, sure, he was you-know-what, but he was you-know-how!!

Julian: Hmmm.

Okay, done here, I only have two books more to review, not quite worthy of a marathon, so see you when I see you!

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Anonymous Book Reviwer.