Just the best

Companion books usually go unnoticed by me but when one of my favorite series has a huge ass companion book about the Greek gods, I just have to read it.

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan
A companion novel to the Percy Jackson series about the 12 gods/goddess of Greek
5 STAR RATING
A NEW FAVORITE NOVEL

This was just the best. I loved reading this over sized mammoth of a book. It's a perfect read for children, teens, and adults. Percy Jackson has an amazing voice to tell a story. He's really funny and not at all annoying. I'd read anything if it were from Percy Jackson's POV. I'm really excited about the Greek heroes book that will be coming out this year. I'm sure it will be even better than this one.

Just fine

The cover caught my attention. It seemed like a cute graphic novel for younger kids. It's a bit more than that, gearing more towards young adults than younger children.

Cardboard by Doug TenNapel
A graphic novel about magic cardboard that comes to life
3 STAR RATING

The best part about this book is the art. I mean, damn. I was forgetting to pay attention to the actual story because the drawings were much more entertaining than the words. That is not to say that the writing was bad. The story was great with real tender and heartbreaking moments between the characters. Cam's father is without a job and can't afford to buy his son a birthday present. A weird street merchant sells him some "magic" cardboard that comes to life when you create something out of it. Of course there has to be conflict and that comes in the form of the neighborhood bully named Marcus. This kid was a bit too psycho for my tastes but he was fun to read. I wasn't that big of a fan of the happy ending but I'm glad the world didn't get overrun by giant cardboard monsters. 

Confusion

This book came highly recommended from a good friend who has the same taste in novels as I do. But this one? I don't know if we read different books but I was not feeling this one. It sucks to start a book thinking you're going to completely love it and have it disappoint you.

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
A young adult novel about government cover-ups 
2 STAR RATING

I don't even know what to really say about this novel. It wasn't awful but I couldn't guess what it was trying to portray or how it wanted me to feel. The only reason it's getting 2 stars is because of Coffee. He was just all kinds of awesome. I loved every scene he was in and wished the story was told from his POV. Bird was too annoying to enjoy reading from her vantage point. All the other characters had me more interested in them than she did. She was bland, the story was boring, and Coffee was hot. Is that it? 

Yep, that's all I got.

Pretty cover though

Pleasantly surprised

Book clubs books are great. It's a chance to read something that you would have never picked up otherwise. It's even better when you actually like the book you're reading and it opens you up to a new author and desire to read different books. Hopefully this is just the beginning for me and Mr. Mosley.

Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore by Walter Mosley

The story of a porn star trying to quit the adult industry

3 STAR RATING

This is the first book I've ever read by Mosley and I'm glad it was. It's a straight forward character study that pulls you into Debbie's world. It's a nice change to read a novel that isn't fantasy based. I enjoyed this book a lot and I know I'll be reading more of Mosley's books, both fiction and fantasy, in the future. Debbie is a very relatable character, despite what she does. She's just a woman who feels lost and wants to find her way. I loved all the side characters except Rash. His connection with Debbie led to the lackluster ending. I didn't appreciate it at all. It felt forced and abrupt. Other than that, this is a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new interesting protagonist.  

Shadow Kiss: The Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead

The third book in the graphic novel adaptation of the Vampire Academy series

2 STAR RATING

This was just boring as hell. I rushed through it, only stopping to look at any pictures of Christian. He was the highlight of this story. These graphic novels fail to capture to feeling I had while reading the VA novels. It's a water downed version and the drawing isn't very good either. I totally understand why there's a hold to complete the fourth novel. With the story only getting better and more intense with each book, I'd hate to read these comics and feel underwhelmed yet again.  

Happy New Year

It's finally 2015 and I'm ready to leave the past behind me. It was a good year for reading, I'll tell you that. Too bad I started off this brand new year with one of the worst books I've ever read. It sucks to start off on the wrong foot.

Son by Lois Lowry
The final book in The Giver quartet series
1 STAR RATING

I am so disappointed that this is how the series ended. The first book was amazing, the second was boring, the third surpassed the first, and this screwed the pooch. There was no fire tot he story. It's broken up into three parts and each one is more boring then the next. Just from the title, I knew how this was going to tie into The Giver. However, I was surprised with how little the author did with expanding from the original story. It felt too choppy and disorienting. It sucks that this is the last book of the series but I'll be blocking this mess out of my mind by remembering how great The Giver and Messenger were.

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
The first book of an adult romance series
3 STAR RATING

Here's to a good romance novel! I love it when it's not a complete shit storm from the very first page. Most romances don't know to engage the audience anymore. They just throw two people together that have no chemistry whatsoever and add some hot sex scenes and think that makes a story. I like my love interest to have their own lives and relatable drama and this book had both. Granted, the story started getting a little "soap opera" towards the end but the beginning saved it from being a total disaster. I'm planning on reading more from this series and I hope it only goes up from here.