Brisingr November 7, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews, books, rant.7 comments
*SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE INHERITANCE BOOKS THROUGHOUT*
Before I begin, I need to say something. Darn you, Paolini, for not writing a book that wasn’t half as horrendous as I thought it would be.
That being said…
Brisingr wasn’t a bad book. Really, it wasn’t. And this is coming from a girl who utterly loathes the first two books, Eragon and Eldest. Eragon was just annoying. Eldest was annoying and too long with too much stuff that was pointless and boring. (Though, the dialogue is pretty great stuff.) Though my favorite scene of all three books is in Eldest. That scene where the elf chick Arya breaks Eragon’s heart. That was funny. What? Paolini just doesn’t write good romance. That’s all. I tend to laugh at poorly done romance. Like, in To Catch a Pirate. Now there’s a cheesy but clean (at least I’m pretty sure it was clean) romance. Anyway, I’m supposed to be talking about Brisingr. Like I said before, it wasn’t a bad book. It was far from amazing, but it wasn’t horrible.
I’ll start with the good…
Paolini’s writing has definitely improved. (Though I cannot forgive him for using the word “meander” or variations of it, simply because it’s my word.) His dialogue isn’t as laughable as in the last two books. I mean, there were some moments, but not as many as there usually are. Brisingr was a long book. I like some long books, but some books just shouldn’t be long. (Some books just shouldn’t be written.) For the most part, I didn’t mind that Brisingr was long. Yes, there were a few times where I wished Paolini would just hurry up. Yeah, he still does take several pages to explain what could be explained in one, but it didn’t happen so much in the book.
And now the bad. The fun part.
What is with the first 90 pages? Seriously? Can the characters take any longer to rescue someone? My favorite line occurred with the first 90 pages of the book. There was a line comparing the bruises on Eragon’s legs to exotic fruit. Come on. You’ve got to admit that’s pretty funny.
The characters remain pretty much like cardboard cutouts, but I’m used to it so I wasn’t particularly bothered by it. And poor Galbatorix. I tend to admire villains, but not him. His name and the parody Anilee wrote about his name prevent him from being one of my favorite villains. His name truly does sound like a dinosaur. I know it’s not his fault, but he could’ve changed it. I mean, he is this dark and ruling lord. Are you going to try to tell me that he could not have changed his name at some point? He is attempting to take over the world of Alagaesia as the characters know it and he can’t even change his name? It’ll be okay, Galby. You’ll lose in the end anyway. Eragon will destroy your Death Star and your Mount Doom. (Sorry about the snark there, but I really couldn’t resist.)
Only one thing in this massive book surprised me. Katrina’s getting pregnant before she married Roran. Yeah, didn’t see that coming. I mean, I figured she would after she married Roran. So my eyes probably bugged out of my head for a second when I processed that information. I can’t say for sure, as I was alone while I read that particular part. So first Eragon and Roran take way too many pages to rescue Katrina, and then Roran’s all, “She’s preggers!” Threw me for a loop.
Now, I know I’m being snarky. But this book honestly isn’t all bad. There were parts that I actually enjoyed. (I’d like to note that that last sentence was difficult to write.) If you’ve read the first two, go ahead and read this one. If you haven’t read the first two… Well, this book will make no sense to you, and I’m not sure I’d really recommend this series.
Oh, I almost forgot something. From the second that Eragon met Brom in Eragon, I knew that Brom was Eragon’s father. I knew, knew, knew it! Hah. It’s so much fun being right.
And another thing I forgot to add. The title. Brisingr: Or Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular. Um, that title kind of leaves me speechless. Bjartskular? Go on. Try to say it out loud. Yeah, I bet you’re just dying to name your firstborn kid that now, aren’t you?
Snarkily yours,
Leigha
The Host October 20, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews, books.9 comments
Okay, The Host. This is going to be tricky to write since I’m really not sure what to say. My feelings on this book are very mixed, and I’m likely to contradict myself somewhere in the course of writing my thoughts out.
To start with, the plot is brilliant. Seriously, it’s brilliant. But the writing… Well, that wasn’t so brilliant. Stephenie Meyer’s writing just doesn’t appeal to me. It bores me. (I never even read Breaking Dawn through. I skimmed a good part of it.) I kept hearing everybody say that The Host is amazing, that it’s nothing like the Twilight Series. I thought that maybe I could like it. A few months ago, I attempted to read it. I couldn’t get passed the thirtieth page. I was bored. Bored with the story and bored with the writing. I realized not too long ago that I spent a good deal of money on the book, so I really ought to at least finish it. I picked it up again sometime last week. A hundred pages went by and I was bored. Two hundred pages went by and I was still bored. When a book bores you for 200 of its 600 pages, something isn’t right. But I kept going anyway. I was going to finish it.
My biggest problem with this book is that I was never enthralled with it. I never got to the point where I just wanted to read and read until I got to the end. There were times when I did get interested and was enjoying reading it, but then I would get bored again or the characters would irritate me or I would see more in common with the Twilight Series than I liked. I could have liked this book if it had been written by someone else. Maybe I am biased because of my experience with the Twilight Series. That’s probably part of it. But how can I not be biased? She wrote four books that I find to be rather ridiculous. It was also the writing. As I said before, I simply don’t care for her writing style. If I can’t enjoy the writing in a book, I usually can’t enjoy the book. (There are a couple books I like despite the writing style.)
The characters… Oh, the characters. I saw traits in both Jared and Ian that made me think of Edward and Jacob. No, Ian and Jared weren’t exactly like them, but sometimes they would say or do things that would make me go, “Ack! Edward! Jacob! Run away!” Gosh, there was even a guy, Kyle, who reminded me of James. And then Wanderer/Wanda made me think of Bella. That rather hindered my enjoyment because I dislike Bella and Edward and Jacob. So having them pop up at times annoyed me.
Okay, now it’s spoiler time.
So Wanderer is this soul who’s very different from other souls. Just as Bella is supposedly different from other teenage girls. Everybody calls Wanderer this amazing and selfless creature. (I’m remembering Jacob calling Bella selfless in Breaking Dawn. Hah!) By the end of the book, Wanderer was most definitely as selfless as anybody comes. I’ll give her that. But Wanderer’s selfless decision at the end, to have herself taking out of Melanie’s body so Melanie could be with Jared and Jaime, could’ve been one of the coolest endings ever. But it wasn’t. I know Stephenie Meyer loves her happy endings. Come on. Think about it. What if Wanderer was taken out of Melanie’s body, and then she just went off to another planet, always remembering the human people she loved back on earth. It would have been a sad but good ending. But no. Wanderer’s all, “Take me out of Melanie’s body and then kill me and bury me next to the other guys that died.” And what does Wanderer get? She gets out of Melanie’s body and gets a *gasp* new body. She can stay on earth and be with all her friends and her true love. And then her group of humans *gasp* find other humans. Lots of other humans. I’m sorry, it was just too happy.
My last complaint is that there was an absolutely disgusting kissing scene in the book. I hear Stephenie Meyer called a clean author sometimes… Well, she’s not the worst there is, but I wouldn’t call her squeaky clean either.
I felt rather bad for giving this book two stars on GoodReads. Had the writing been more interesting and the end not so happy, I might’ve really liked this. But that didn’t happen. I can see why others love this book, and that’s okay. It’s fun to love a book. And as much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I couldn’t. I’d recommend this book for fans of Stephenie Meyer. I would even recommend it to other people. It’s a good story, just hard to read if you can’t get into the writing style.
Books and my new musical love September 16, 2008
Posted by Jess in Music, book reviews, books.8 comments
I’m going crazy. No, let me rephrase that. I went crazy a long time ago. (I joined LRRH. I was only semi-crazy before I discovered that place.) I’ve been college hunting, reading, writing, babysitting, and the usual. Nothing should be going on until at least Wednesday. No, wait. I have a softball game tonight. Drat. Okay, I’ve only got this afternoon where I’m not busy. Anyway, since I sort of have a day off I decided to drop in and write something. (I wasn’t planning to get anything written until at least Friday or Saturday.)
I’ve been reading a lot. It’s amazing how much reading one can do while cooking, riding in the car, or during the kids’ naptime. So, let’s see here. First up is Dragon Flight. I wanted to enjoy it. I really did, but I didn’t that much. (I was pretty generous in giving it four stars on GoodReads.) The beginning was, frankly, boring. The plot wasn’t too interesting, nor was it terribly hard to guess what was going to happen next. Once I was one hundred pages or so into the book, I was able to read without wanting to put it down every few pages. Then there was the romance. (Or lack thereof.) You’d think with the way that Dragon Slippers ended there would be more. There wasn’t. A few times Creel bemoans the fact that it would never work between her and Luka. Or she mentions how foolish it was to fall in love with a prince. Was I supposed to doubt that it wasn’t going to work out for them or something? I don’t know. They didn’t strike me as being in love. More like friends. Even when Luka kisses her. She doesn’t spend much time on it before she moves on to another train of thought. (If I was in love with some guy and he kissed me, I’d spend quite a bit of time thinking about. But I’m also not in mortal danger which Creel apparently was. Ah, well. She’s still a girl.) But I guess the romance was better like this rather having Creel go, “Ooooh, Luka a love you sooo. Your eyes are so pretty, and even your breath smells wonderful.” Then I would’ve hated this book instead of simply liking it. Oh, and Luka’s proposal at the end was so random. Like, completely random. You’d have to read it to know what I’m talking about. Thing is, he still didn’t sound like he was in love with her. *sighs* I am not a fan of unconvincing romance.
Okay, um, what else did I read? I reread Coraline Neil Gaiman. I really enjoyed this book the first time around. Not so much the second time. It was okay. I probably won’t read it again for a long, long, long time. The writing seemed awkward to me, and the story was odd. I usually like odd, but the whole just didn’t make much sense to me. The cat rocks though.
I’m not a huge fan of the Once Upon a Time series. The books are pretty short, so there’s not a whole lot room for development. I’ve enjoyed some of these books (Golden) and I’ve despised others (Midnight Pearls). I decided to reread the only of these that I own. The Storyteller’s Daughter. It was better than most Once Upon Time stories. But it wasn’t exactly amazing either. The villains were horribly drawn and cliché, but I must admit that the hopeless romantic in me loved the main idea of the plot. I thought the main couple was adorable together. Other than that, I was really just bothered by that fact that at least three of the names sound almost the same.
And I’ve decided to reread the Prydain Chronicles. Ah! They’re such fun.
Lastly, I reread No Shame, No Fear by Ann Turnbull. I read this book when it first came out in 2006 and I read its sequel, Forged in the Fire, when it first came out in 2007. Well, I couldn’t really remember much about them except that they were pretty much romances. Being in the mood for a historical romance, I thought “Why not?” I was in shock part of the time while I was reading No Shame, No Fear. It was a lot more sensual than I remembered. Really it was a lot of kissing and somewhat sexual thoughts occasionally. (Think Twilight only a lot less cheesy.) It wasn’t anything that particularly bothered me other than the fact that I wasn’t entirely sure that a Quaker girl in the seventeenth century would let her sort of Quaker boyfriend slide his hands up her shirt. At least when I get around to rereading Forged in the Fire I’ll be ready. Come to think of it, I think I might remember there being a shocking scene in there too…
Anyway…
My new musical love. Well, he isn’t half so wonderful as Josh Groban, but he is pretty spectacular, and his name is Michael Buble, and these are my two favorite songs of his.
Ever May 11, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews, books.6 comments
by Gail Carson Levine.
Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear.
Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus — the god of wind and loneliness — embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests.
(Summary from Goodreads since I’m too lazy to come up with one on my own.)
Give me a moment to collect my thoughts.
Okay.
That’s better.
Um, I’m really not entirely sure what to say about this. I mean, I really liked it, but I’m at loss for words to describe how I really felt about it. I know there was something that bothered me, but I honestly can’t figure out what it was. Maybe it was how fast the characters fell in love or there not being as much humor as in her other books. Well whatever it was, it certainly didn’t keep me from enjoying the book. I read it very quickly in about two sittings.
All I can really say is that while I liked it a lot, it wasn’t as good as Ella Enchanted. I think Ella Enchanted set the bar really high for her other books. But that’s okay. I love EE for all its brilliancy. I went into reading this thinking that I wouldn’t like it as much as EE. Because of that, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. (Which was really quite nice. 
)
Ella Enchanted April 26, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews, books.9 comments
What can I say about this book except that it’s absolutely brilliant and amazing? I have been rereading this book for years, and somehow it gets better every time. I don’t think this book has ever failed to make me giggle aloud once. The whole epilogue makes me giggle when Ella tells the reader what happened to her stepfamily. There’s one line in particular I love. When she says, “Father and Mum Olga continued to love at a distance.” I don’t know why, but every time that line has made me laugh.
Ella is…is… I can’t think of an adjective that sums her up very well. She’s a hysterical narrator. I love her voice, her clumsiness, her outlook on life, everything about her. The stepsisters, Hattie and Olive, are so much fun to read about despite Hattie’s domineering ways and Olive’s shocking stupidity. But I guess those are the characteristics that makes them fun to read about. (The letters Olive writes also never fail to make me giggle.) And then there’s Char. *swoons* Anyway… So where was I? Ah, right. Char. How to sum Char up in one word? Swoon-worthy? Most definitely. Now, Geric is my true fictional love, but Char comes so close. I mean, his proposal. *swoons* His sweetness at the end scene. His general Char-ness. *swoons again* What? Me? A swooning fangirl? I have no idea where you got that notion.
I knew someone once who hated this book. People can hate this book if they want. I just don’t see how someone can. Ah, well. To each his/her own.
If you haven’t read this book, I highly (very highly) suggest you do so now. (As in right now.) Why are you still reading this? I told you to go read Ella Enchanted. 
A Countess Below Stairs March 26, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews.5 comments
By Eva Ibbotson.
After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as a servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties-not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it is more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there’s the small matter of Rupert’s beautiful and nasty fiancée…
All right, just by reading the above (the description on the back of the book) you know how it’s going to end. It’s obvious who’s going to get who, and who’s going to win out in the end. But that’s okay. The journey to the ending is just so much fun. There’s not a whole lot to be gained from reading this, but if you love historical romances, I can’t suggest this enough. My biggest complaint is Anna. She never does anything wrong. Not the easiest character for me to relate to. But I liked her anyway, and I was happy for her at the end. I wanted to smack Rupert a few times for being an idiot. His fiancée, Muriel, was actually quite interesting to read about. She was evil in the sense that most of the evil women in Eva Ibbotson’s books are. They go after the main character’s man and/or don’t like children.
Four stars because it’s so much fun to read.
Song of the Sparrow or a very short review March 4, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews.9 comments
By Lisa Ann Sandell
Elaine is sixteen years old and hopelessly in love with her childhood friend Lancelot. She is lonely as the only girl living in a military camp. She feels helpless and worried whenever her father, two brothers, and friends ride out to battle with young Arthur. Amid it all, she daydreams about Lancelot returning her feelings.
Then a new addition to the camp arrives. Gwynivere. She is brought to marry Arthur. But it is Lancelot who is instantly smitten with her, and Gwynivere seems to return his feelings. Elaine watches as her friend Lancelot falls in love with another woman. Gwynivere is cruel to Elaine for reasons that she does not understand. But then the girls are taken captive and must work together to escape.
Written in verse, this book was very relaxing to read. It kept me enthralled the whole way through. (I read it in one sitting.) Except for one teensy little issue the end, Song of the Sparrow left me happy and satisfied.
An Earthly Knight February 6, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews.6 comments
By Janet McNaughton.
An Earthly Knight retells the ballad of Tam Lin while combing elements of Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight.
Set in twelfth century Scotland, Jenny is the younger daughter of a Norman nobleman. When her elder sister’s reputation goes under fire, Jenny finds herself filling in her shoes. Jenny is sent to meet William de Warenne. (Who is a rather stereotypical villain.) She tries to win his favor, but he is cold and aloof with seemingly no interest in her whatsoever. But before long, she is betrothed to him.
Walking through the woods one day, Jenny runs into the mysterious Tam Lin who is rumored to have connections with faeries. Between visits to Earl William and home, she spends more and more time with Tam. She soon learns that he has magical gifts and is no “earthly knight.” He has been with faeries since he was young and has only recently escaped. When he tells Jenny that he may have to go back to the realm of faeries forever, she is heartbroken and after receiving more information on the faerie queen, begins to devise a way to save him. But her wedding to Earl William is fast approaching, and it doesn’t help matters when she learns that she is pregnant with Tam’s child.
I found Tam to be a bit too perfect and the faerie queen too vague, but overall this book was an enjoyable way to pass the afternoon.
Spindle’s End January 9, 2008
Posted by Jess in book reviews.3 comments
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley.
A child is finally born to a king and queen who thought they would never have one. The incredibly excited parents have a large celebration for their daughter’s naming. Like in the fairy tale, fairies come to the naming and give the princess various gifts that are befitting to your average fairy tale princess. Then the wicked fairy Pernicia comes. She curses the baby princess to prick her finger on a spindle when she is twenty-one years old and die.
Katriona, also a fairy but not too powerful, travels from her home to see the naming of the princess. She witnesses the fairies bestowing their gifts and sees Pernicia put the curse on the princess. Katriona “kidnaps” the princess and takes her to her home in Foggy Bottom, hoping to keep her protected from Pernicia and the curse.
Rosie, as the princess is now called, grows up tomboyish and unaware of her royal birth. She keeps her beautiful golden hair cut short, wears trousers, and apprentices herself to the blacksmith Narl, who is not quite what he seems.
Rosie reluctantly befriends the sweet Peony, who is very like the sleeping beauty of the fairy tale. Peony plays a large and surprising role in the way things turn out in the end.
This spin on Sleeping Beauty has a few different twists that you most likely won’t see coming. Although, it’s fair to warn, the book starts out rather slow, but don’t let that discourage you. It’s marvelous.
I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter December 31, 2007
Posted by Jess in book reviews, books.10 comments
By Lynn Cullen
I absolutely loved this book. The title is rather self-explanatory. It’s about Rembrandt’s daughter Cornelia. She grows up with her mother Saskia (That is, until her mother died.) and her father the famous painter Rembrant. Although where the book begins, his popularity is waning.
Cornelia wonders why he doesn’t treat her like a daughter at times and more importantly why he never married her mother. After all, he did say that he loved her. The book is spent with her unraveling secrets about her past, the strange golden haired man who gave her a doll when she was little, and why her father never married her mother.
What book would be complete with a love story? Cornelia falls for the handsome, blonde, and rich Carel. But her father’s apprentice, Neel, seems to be developing feelings for her as well. This was a love triangle that I actually enjoyed. (Take that, Eclipse!)
I finished The Sweet Far Thing a few days ago. It was amazing. Beautiful. Stunning. Beyond words. But just because I loved it doesn’t mean I was happy with all of it. I’m still in denial about part of the ending. I think my brain is trying to block it out or something because I’m convinced Libba Bray must’ve written part of it wrong. I laughed, cried, and did some more crying. (Thank goodness for Kleenex.)
***SPOILERS FOR THE SWEET FAR THING***
McCleethy and Fowelson…didn’t see that one coming…
Felicity and Pippa…didn’t see that coming either…
Simon’s Father…wow…
Tom is still annoying…
I’m glad for Ann…
And I’m convinced that Kartik somehow got out of the tree, somehow got to New York, found Gemma, and lived happily ever after. Such is my fangirlness…
