Friday, December 27, 2013

Book: Fangirl

As some of you may remember I read the book Eleanor & Park and feel head over heels in love with it! So when I found out that Rainbow Rowell had another book out, I did everything in my power to get my hands on it right away. First off this book is very different from Eleanor & Park.  THis book over all is a much happier kinda of love story. And having read ( and even thought about writing ) fanfiction I loved what a big part that played in this story. Though I would like to make it clear that I was not big in the fanfic world I just kinda pasted through it when I found a link on tumblr.  Reading this book shone some new light on it for me. I have always been on the fence about fanfic. Part of me thinking that it's fun to dream and share all the things you would have done differently - because that is how I got into writing in the first place. While the part of me is always thinking how I'm not sure if I would like someone to fanfic about my own stories. That I would not want them touching my characters. My characters who to me are family. But reading this book I saw a whole different side to fanfic. And I'm really grateful for that. 
Now the whole book was not about fanfic that was just a part of it. The book was about so many other things. Like growing up. Like family and what that truly means and the time old battle of knowing when to forgive someone, and knowing when you have been hurt to many times. 
It also dealt with the hard battle of going forward. Facing the future and all of the changes it holds. Of letting go not just of bad of the past but also letting go of good. Knowing when you those memories as joyful as they are, are holding you back. 
 THis book also has a super sweet love story that I felt I could totally relate too. 
Which brings me to Cather. I really feel in love with her because I felt that in so many ways she was like me. Something I'm sure all the readers of fangirl will feel at some point or another. 
I think that the most powerful I could say about this book was that I did not want it to end. I turned the last page and kept looking for the next one.  I did not want it to end. 
  Though very different from Eleanor & Park this book yet again shows us all how truly wonderful Rainbow Rowell is as a storyteller. I can't wait to read whatever she is cooking up next for us. 

( YA - 14 and up) 
Stars:  * * * * 4.0       LEVEL: PLEASE DON'T END



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Book: Kingdom Of Little Wounds

 I'm sure that you can see why I could not wait to read this book. This cover is by far one of my favorites of 2013.
This book started off a little rough for me. I was not sure of what was going on or the writing style. Though beautiful my reviewers copy had many errors with front and format. Something that I hope they have since fixed.   The writing of the book is at times beautiful. I was very happy with that. The story matched the writing. And the characters add a very colorful layer to the book. Making it a very strong read.  The historical side to the book was cream of the crop. I was very happy with it and even felt like I learned many things from the book, such as basic facts about the time and also a great understanding of what living in that time might have been like. It was not one of those historical books were I sat around thinking " oh that's not right. Or oh that is no way true". So rather or not the book was truly right on the mark historically it felt that way to me.
 The one area I was rather let down in was the fact that I felt the book was really YA. I felt that it might have been better off under new Adult or just adult. Sure YA readers might like it better than some adult readers do but truly the topic and many of the events of the book are very mature.  And for me that was something that really had me let down. While this does not take away from the story,writing or over all plot of the book it did take a lot out of the enjoyment for me.  When I see YA on a book as both reader and blogger I plan on getting a YA book. Getting something that is very clearly not YA bothers me greatly. I found that while 16 years could read this it was really a book that 17 and up might enjoy better.  I feel that on the book it should say 18 and up because really that's what it felt like to me the read the book was written for.
Now as a blogger this bothered me greatly because I felt that is was just another case of saying the book was YA so as to sell more copies of the book. Because publishers see that there is a lot of money to be made in YA. There is only money to be made in YA if the book is truly YA.
Over all I did like the book many of its points.

( New Adult/ Adult - 18 and up)
Stars:   * * *  3.6           LEVEL: NOT YA!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Book: North of Nowhere

I was a little hesitant about reading this book. When I was a kid I tried reading some of Liz Kessler's other books but I never could get into them.  Over all I have to say that I was pretty impressed.
I found that the writing and the story much better than I thought.
The pace was very quick. Some times to fast. But I think it will be great for younger readers who have a hard reading will like this book and will have a hard time putting it down. The story with it's little twists and tricks will be sure to be a hit.
 Also add to it interesting and well layered characters. The characters all of them were surprisingly life like. Over all I think that this is a book that many young writers will like and find worth to be worth the time.  Great way to keep the kids busy this winter without using video games and TV.


( 10 and up)
Stars: * * *  3.3                
LEVEL: TIME TRAVEL+BOAT= Good reading 

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Book: Percy Jackson and the Olympian: the Titans curse ( #3)

First off this book has the same pros as the first two; fast paced almost from the beginning, has good humor, good character development and is another fun but short look at what Greek mythology would look like in the modern world. though some things are different it is set in the winter not summer, and is darker than the first two, but keeps it's good sense of humor. This book does what the second did take away a main character and put in a new one or in this case three. The new characters are good some more the others. At first I was upset about this but it adds good variety to the book. Though I will say Grover does not get as much character development as Annabeth got in the last book and he seems only there to be comic relief. Also the ending to this book is far better then the last two overall. This is definitely the best in a series that keeps getting better and better.
(9+)



Stars:*** 3.8          Level: listening to Percy's dam jokes FOR ETERNITY


The B team

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Book:The Elite

I loved and adored The Selection. It was one of the most enjoyable  YA books I have read over all.
THis book was not like that. I was so let down with this book on the whole.
I felt like nothing really happened.  Two much of the book was spent on things that didn't matter. What would have been much better is if more of the  book had been on the been spent on the politics of the book. I would have liked to have learned more about the world. Or more about the the other girls. That would have been awesome. I would have liked it much more than america trying to find out who she loved and how she felt about things.
But stil there was something too the book that I liked. I did like how we learned more about some of the characters and how points in the plot got deeper. I did like the things that we learned about some of the characters. The added details about them really helped bring the world alive.
 But still I would loved so much more from the author. After being blown away by The Selection I was let down with this book.
Over all it could not live up to the selection but still was a good read and left me very excited for The One.

( YA - 13 and UP)
Stars: * * * 3.4                                   LEVEL: Reality TV

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Book: Eleanor And Park

There are some books that everyone you know is reading and in love with. Eleanor and Park is one of those books.  You can't go on Tumblr without seeing a quote or fan art from/do to with this book.
This was one book I had no choice but to read.
And after reading it I see now why everyone is so in love with it. It is the kind of book that steals our hearts and makes us stop.
In this book I found so many much needed lessons. and saw things in life more clearly.
Trying to find a place to start when talking about how good this book is...is almost impossible.
 Eleanor. Lets start off with her. I think the best way for me to put it was that she was thing that made this book. The reason I say that is without her none of the wonderful things would have come into play.
Now I will not go in to to much detail in because it might spoil the book. But I feel like Eleanor's story had so many things to teach us. The first being never judge a book by its cover. Or in this case a person by their clothes.
The next it told us was that everyone is fighting their own battle so don't be so fast to jump on them. You never truly know what is going on.  And it reminded us just how many teens boys and girls have hard family lives.  It's something that we hear about all the time but very few of us ever do anything about.
The last thing I love about Eleanor is that she is not a girl who thinks she isn't beautiful but really she is. She is beautiful in the natural everyday way. She is beautiful with her imperfections. And I love that.  When the rest of the world is telling girls to be little sticks here is a girl who falls madly in love and is beautiful just not in the way that girls online or in adds are.

Alright that went on a little long but there is so much to still I want to say on Eleanor.
Anyway on to Park. I love him because compared to Eleanor he lives life pretty normal but there are still some small things in his life that pop up.
What I love most about Park was here was a guy in YA that was real. He felt human. He thought at many points like a teenage guy does. And I loved it!
Another thing I loved about this book was the love story. How it was not a right away thing. How it was slow and awkward and natural. How it was open and fragile at times.
This is a book that I feel everyone should read because it is breathe taking and beautiful. Please take the time to read it.

( YA- 15 and up - Swearing and some fighting and abuse.)

Stars: * * *  * 4.9               LEVEl: As Sad As It Is Hopeful
Park photo park_zps05bb4acf.gif 
I had to share this beautiful art.

Monday, November 04, 2013

Book: Sapphire Blue

I was so happy to get my hands on this book! I loved the first one so much! If you have not read this first book stop reading this review and get it! Ruby Red is the first book that have truly loved since harry potter and The Narnia series. It was everything a book should be.
With this book I was very hopeful that it would be as good as the first. But I was also very worried that this book would be a huge let down. As I said this is the first book I have really felt that MAGIC spark.
 And I am proud to say that this book was just as good. Some how it is just the right mix of everything. Something that I love in this book is how that is not all about the love story. The love story is just kinda there. Which was nice because I have a guy friend ( who also blogs here from time to time) also read this book and liked that about it. It is so nice to read a book about that is about the story and not just the love story. Is it to much to ask of YA to be about the story and to have a good hero at the same time? Most of the time yes it is to much. But this book gives me just what I am missing. And believe me it is such a nice feeling. I like the love stories and all. But there is nothing quite so good as a book with a good story and flow to it. And that is something that this book has. I feel like anyone would read these books and like them. There is a reason that these are international best sellers.
Reading the book I have to say I really like Gwen. There is a very fine line to walk in YA when it comes to the main character. And though Gwen might not be the most original I still really liked her. She has a very normal way of looking at things. And she is very funny too.
And I love how with this book I never see what is going to happen next. The flow to it was so different from the other books I read.
There is just something so magical about the book.  If you have not read this series it is the only series that I think all my readers should good a chance.

( YA-  13 and up )

Stars: * * * *  4. 4                                                   LEVEL: Almost - not quite Harry Potter magic

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Book: Sideshow of Merit

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  The Story sounded really interesting.
But sadly this was not something that I can say I really liked or enjoyed reading.
 For me the book had it's good points when you looked hard enough. It was not terrible and I'm sure that  author did put a lot of time into it. The best way to start off the review was is by saying that had i not been reviewing this I would have stopped reading it all together.  However that being said I could not read a book that I did not like the main characters, and that had so much choppy writing. First off though the book is said to be YA I disagree with this. In many ways. I think this is more new adult myself. But I will hold it up to other YA while writing the review.
 I do had a very hard time with the gay love story in this book because it felt so... out of place. Like the writer was not sure about the love story. Which lead to me being unsure about it.
Now let me stated I gay love straight love to me it's love. I enjoy reading "gay" YA books and when i find a good one I love it.  But in this book it felt like it was done as a trick.  A cop out.
That bothered me. THis is not some trend in YA books. And just because you have a gay love story in it does mean that it will sell. And I think that the lack of going over many of the problems that they would have faced at that time in history being gay and such topics as abuse and etc.
I feel that if you are trying to have that as a key part in your story you have to write about. I would much rather have a write stated their thoughts on these matters than not say anything at all.  Because why are we reading about if not to learn something. Even if we don't agree with it.
So than add to this the fact that the book was slow moving and had choppy writing.
After reading up on Nicole I really do hope that her next book is better. And I would be more than willing to give her a second chance.  I also hope that next time her book is put in the right age group.

( YA NEW adult - 17 and up)

Stars: * 1.8                                 LEVEL: Better Luck Next Time



I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Update:2009 to 2013 - 5 years of blogging !

In november of 2009 a 12 year old girl sat down at her father's 10 year old mac that was out dated and took forever to load. She sat down and thought to herself " i'm going to start the blog". She went on google and entered the word  Blog. She waited  her toes freezing in the cold novmeber night. Snow was falling swiftly and softly outside. Adding to the cold.
Her family could not pay to heat this part of the house in the winter. Still something was telling her that starting a blog was the right thing to do.  She felt she share with other young readers the wonders she had found in books. And to help them find the diamonds in the rough, that she had been so lucky to find. 
When google finally loaded the first thing that came up was bloodspot.com. She clicked, and from that day on she has been known as DaydreamerN. 



That is the true story of how this blog was started.  5 years of blogging this month! THough I have not always done my best. And there are many times when I almost stopped all together. I didn'tand that is because of my wonderful readers! Books have always been a huge part of my life and have been my first love. But it is you guys that kept me going. And pushed me to do even better.
 And in honor of how far it has come since that day, I have opened a new wordpress blog under the same name. THis does not mean any changes for the blog spot followers. This is me and the bloggers at Daydreamern"s reviews adding to our userfriendly ways. Adding the new wordpress blog our way of giving our wordpress followers an easier way to follow us. We will still work hard on making this blog the best we can.
There will be some changes for our bloodspot readers. I will be doing some hardware up dates on the MOVIES and BOOKS pages on the blog.  We are doing our best to make sure that it goes smoothly and that the finished pages are more user-friendly.  We will be sharing the new pages with all of you the 13 of november so be sure to come and take a look.
Thank you all for being the readers we could have asked for! Your comments keep us going and fill our days with joy!

Everyone at daydreamerN

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Book: Timepiece

So for those of you who read the  Hourglass review know how much I loved that book. And while this book was good it did not have the same spark to it that Hourglass did. 
One high light of this book was that it was not from Em's point of view but from Kaleb's. Now while I did not like Kaleb all the time and I found that his character  flawed.  I liked how he was broken and because of that he spent a lot of time feeling for other people. I know it was part of his power but he spend much of his time thinking about other people. When things were hard for him he focused on the people around him rather than himself.  Did he lack something that makes him stand out from the other boys in YA.But what I liked was seeing Em from someone else's point of view and getting to know Lily better.  And I also really like to read books from the male point of view.
I liked how Kaleb's and Lily's story. Though it felt that things were a little weird with how Lily did not pick up on Kaleb having a crush on Em.  Being a girl and knowing what good friends Lily is with Em, I'm pretty sure that Em would have told Lily, that Kaleb was crushing on her. 
I had very mixed feelings on the rest of book over all. I liked the story of this book but found the pacing  to slow and to fast at the same time. It moved to slow for 3/4 of the book. Then at the very end right when I was getting in to it everything moved way to fast giving me way to little of what I really cared about. Without giving anything way I found the end twist, and then the finale scene/part with Kaleb's family moved way to fast. There are so  many things that I cared about and wanted to know from Kaleb's point of view! But the author did not give them to me! 
Over all the book was a bit of a let down but I'm still keeping my hopes up for the book.
( YA- 13 and up ) 
Stars: * * * 3.4                          Level: TIME RIP. 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Book: Divergent

I have heard so many wonderful things about this and read so many great reviews about it. But I never felt like it was my kind of book. I thought that like the hunger games I would find it to violent to like it or enjoy it. But when I saw the the movie trailer I knew that I had to read the book.
Reading the book I found myself torn right down the middle. As a reader thought I found it violent and hard to read I still fell in love with the book. As a reviewer I had a hard time looking past how violent the story was. I know that I should not be both reader and reviewer but I feel as a reviewer I can not look past the way that the book seems to justify violence. As a reviewer I always think about how I like the book and how others will like the book. And in doing that I always find myself thinking about how it will affect other people and their lives. A great book should make you want to do good and make you think about something you never have before. 
Where as a reader I'm not thinking about anyone else but myself.  I might think of a friend who would love the book but that's it. I never stop to think if it will change someone for the worsted. 
But as both reader and reviewer I really loved the setting and the world building of the story. I was able to get lost in it fully without every questioning things that the author did ( I only questioned the normal things is what I'm trying to say here).
Tris.I found that I really liked Tris. She was strong but not because she could fight but she was strong because she was willing to give to others. And when she would break she always got right back up again. For me that is what a strong character does. Tris is in many ways the ideal YA main character - female or otherwise. As for the other characters they were all good and added to the story nicely.  But the one character  I did not care for was Jeanine.  There was nothing that made her stand out and I felt like we were never told anything about her. It made a lot of scenes about her and with her fall flat.  
Again as both reader and reviewer I also would have liked the love story to either be cut out or had the timing on it be better. The one of the most important part of the book is happening and all Tris can think about is how hot this one character is! I was like are you joking? If I or anyone I knows was there we would be way to busy thinking about anything but how hot that guy is. It drove me crazy. 
Another think that bothered me as a person was the almost rape/murder scene. Without going in to detail about it pissed me off.  What really got to me was how little was said about it. It was like it was no big deal. No matter if they were only going to kill her. It felt like there was going to happen to her first. This is a really big problem in YA for me. Everyone wants to do a rap scene but they never want to really deal with the problem. People just get over the rap or almost rap the next day like nothing happened.Whatever it is that writer is trying to do is not helping the reader understand what a terrible thing rap really is.   Sorry for the rant there but I feel like this is something that needs to be addressed. 
Over all I really did like the book. It was hard to put down. I got lost in easily, and fell in love with many points to it. I felt like the flaws with this book are never talked about. I know that this review seems like I did not but I wanted to point out the flaws in the book. Because I did feel that those things stopped me from giving it a higher review and from wanting to tell some of friends to read it. 

( YA - 14 and up - for violence) 

Book: * * * 3.8           Level: Read With A Thoughtful Mind

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Book: Contaminated

I try my best to write honest reviews that are fair. I do my best to try to find the book in a book and not to go hating on it because a lot of work was put into it. Doing that with this book is going to be very hard but I will try to do my best.
First off the book was made up of mostly back story. About 3/4 of the book was back story. Backstory is okay a lot of writers could use more of it. But having backstory over power your whole book to the point where I can no longer see the plot is a major problem.
The next problem was Velvet. While I did like how strong she was, there was just so much to her that was missing. And I found the love story in the book to be just like everything else. Nothing new was brought to the table. And with a book like the this you need strong, well crafted characters to bring it up, and make it readable.
At times the way that the book did not follow the norm of most zombie books there were many points while reading it that I wish it did. A zombie book needs acton and horror. This book had none of it. It just kept going endlessly. I found that I had to talk myself in to picking up the book to read it. I really don't want to be a rude and nasty reviewer but had I not been reading this book to review it, I would not have finished it.
One thing that was good was the author's writing. I have a feeling that is why the book got published because the story and the characters fell very flat. I hope that in the future the writer of the book can keep up the points  of her writing and fix the problems with the characters, story, plot, and setting.
Over all I can not recommend this book when there are so many other great ones out there to be read.

( YA 13 and up)

Stars: * 1.3                      Level: Rather Be ZOMBIE 


I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Book: Rock And A Hard Place

Clearly I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. Like I did not know that the name of the book would have more meaning to the story than just of that of an everyday metaphor.
At many times through out reading this book I really did come to love Libby (even if she was a little freaky at points). She had been through a lot of a lot and is going through a lot in the book.  But at times I did find that her story was so much like the other sad young adult romance books.  But at the time when that was not bothering me. And yes, how crazy and silly she was at times did force me to take breaks from reading the book. But on the whole I liked Lily and her story.
As for Peter he was pretty good. Did it sometimes get on my nerves? Yes, but when taking this book for what it is there are many things about it that are good. First of all it's fun. And after your done reading it you feel good about life. You feel hopeful. Which is something that I don't feel a lot of times with poplar young adult books.
Over all not a lot to be said about this book other than I think fans of this book will like and happily ignore it's flaws.

( YA 14 and up)
Stars: * * *  3.0                                          Level: Sweet Summer Love



I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Book: Find Me

This book had a wonderful start giving me much hope that it would be something wonderful and memorable.  The writing drew me in right away. I have never read anything else by  Ms Bernard but her writing was very strong. In moments of action she really pulled you in and knew the timing and pacing of it very well.  It was her story telling that needed work. There is so much to the story that was just... off. Nothing about the story seemed to be coming from the heart.  The forced love story drove me mad! Most people think that you have to have a love story to get YA readers or else your story will be totally unsellable. But in the case of this book I feel that if the love story was cut out all together you would have a much better chance at getting readers.
Also if the book had know felt like a rip off of all the other poplar YA books out there I would have liked it.  If you are going to rip off other poplar books that pretty much everyone has read then you need to at the very least do it with a good character leading the story. I did like somethings about Wicked but the fact that she did not go and get help at some points in this book drove me crazy. And the fact that she stayed pretty much the same person from start to finish. Also though I did love the hacking part of the story it felt pretty weak at times. and I found it hard to believe that Wicked was this great hacker. A lot of what she did seemed to be on the more basic side of hacking.
But what I did like about Wicked was how she was a nice mix of being that strong- kick-butt main character and the softer sweeter main character. In that sense she felt real. And since so many YA authors seem to miss that when writing a main character it was really nice to see that Ms. Bernard got that right.
 But there are many things I did like in the book. Like some of the twist even if I did kinda see them coming. Or Lily. I really liked her.  And the mystery part of the story was great.  The way the diary was worked into the story was awesome.
Over all I think fans of Mysteries or readers who need a break from the fluffy reads ( but who don't want to jump in to really hard heavy stuff ) will like this. Is this book flawed yes - but the flaws do not take away from the points of the book.

( YA - 14 and Up)


Stars: * * *  3.0                            Level: Read At Your Own Risk

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Book: The Boy On The Bridge

This book got my interest because of the cold war russia setting. And I'm happy to say that as far as the setting went it was a very good book. I have never been to russia and was not around during the cold war but I felt that the book gave me a very realistic and truthful point of view on the time.  I was shocked at how though the book was in third person it felt like it was in first person which was really nice.  Laura I felt could have been more interesting she was a lacking that something that makes her stand out from the other characters in the book and in YA over all. At times the things she did were very.... for lack of a better word stupid. I felt like she could have been a little smarter at times. And it bothered me that when she was weighing why she loved Alyosha the only things that she could think of was how he looked. That really bothered me and made it hard for me to like Laura or the love story.
As for the love story of the book I had a love/hate thing going with it. It did but it didn't work for me. At some points it felt a little weird and it didn't make sense always.
 But I did love reading about the differences about between the americans and the russians. But most of all seeing were there were little to  no differences. But I did like the ending and how things were left.
Over all it was really good. I think  it is one that many of my readers will like more than me. Natalie Standiford's makes the ups and downs of the book feel so heartfelt and real that at times I had to to put the book down and breath for a moment.  Despite the fact that there are many pros and cons to the book.

( YA - 14 and up )
Stars: * * * 3.2

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Monday, September 30, 2013

Book: Under The Never Sky

I have heard many really good things about this book. Things like finally a girl in YA who can hold her own. A love story that did not over power the story.
These to things I am happy to say are very true. Aria was a strong main character that also had a soft side. She was a very well thought out character with many layers.  Her character development was very well done and one of the best that I have seen from a YA author in a long time.
I also  liked how it was not love at first sight. The love story and friendships took a lot of time.  They came from two different worlds and they did not like one other at first. But they slowly had to learn to be open to the other one and their different ways  of life.  And the love story for one had a more natural feel to it. Things went a little fast at the end, but worked with story I felt.
So as far as the characters go the book was really really well done.
As for the story I was much more mixed and let down over all.  The idea and the setting were good. As for the way things played out and how much gore there was I was not happy. Yes, I did say gore. I got every tired of the killing and fighting.  The savage ways that many of  the characters had or gain through out the course of the book. I would have liked it toned down or not as harsh. At times many of the savage actions over powered the characters and at times even seemed a little out of character.
Over all I felt that the book is strong read as far as characters go. As for some of the actions or  choices the characters make, I did't like them. But I feel that fans of Graceling and Breathe will love this Dystopian novel.
Also I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

( YA 14 and up )
Stars: * * * 3.4

Monday, September 23, 2013

Book:Percy Jackson and the olympians book two: the sea of monsters

This book is a fine sequel to The Lighting Thief and does little wrong. It follows the same pattern ( which for me is a plus).Percy gets a quest and has to travel, but this time to the sea of monsters to save grover  which is located in the bermuda triangle. Which of course Rick gave is own spin on.
Also like the first book every encounter an or with a monster(s) is not to long or too short so the book keeps a nice brisk pace once it gets going it keeps moving along. I have to say that the pace of the book is one of its best feature, and great for keeping some of the younger readers interested. The book also brings in a new character tyson who at first i did not like but grew on me. another thing like the first book is the modern version of the gods and monsters this time stand out  being Hermes the chacter development is good as well. This book is a great seaquel on par with the first one. I think that fans of the first book will be far from let down with this.

(  9+ )
Stars:  * * * 3.7
By The B Team



Thursday, September 19, 2013

Book: The Dark Unwinding

This book is yet again one of the those books that I just had to pick up because of the cover. I feel in love with the clockwork,Downton Abbey like house and beautiful blue dress.
Though the book had it's bumps and little problems over all I think that it had lots of good points and was worth reading.  Some of the bumps was the way things at times that I felt should have been made more clear were not. And thing about them being made clear was it felt like either Katie was not smart or that we had to read between the lines on everything. And I myself found that to tiresome very fast. At other points the passing of the book was a little off. To fast then to slow. And up until the end those were the only problems - I will go over the end of the book in minute - that I had. 
The characters were over all pretty realistic for the time. I really liked Katie and found that for the most part she kept a good blance in the book of being smart without pushing it. And there were little things here and there about her that were different from so many of the girls in YA. She was more level headed and pulled together. In someways it made me think of Nancy Drew - in the way that she was so pulled together and thought things through. 
Also one of the biggest pluses of the book ( which I sadly did not know until the end) was how much of it was based/inspired by a real life duke! Which just adds to the coolness of it all. 
The thing that has me still a little mixed on the book really is the end. It's hard for me because some parts of it I liked and others I would really have liked to seen done differently.  But over all I think that the book was pretty good and that fans of The Sweetest Dark and Downton Abbey as well if that makes any sense.

( YA 13 and up)
Stars: * * *  3.4

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Book: Chaos Of The Stars

This book was very different from what I'm used to reading. But I was bad and had to read it just for that beautiful cover. I just can't stop looking at the cover even now. And I really enjoyed Paranormalcy.
At first I was a little confused and could not get any grasp on the timeline of the book. The reason why I kept getting so confused was  mostly because the writer used modern slang in the historical parts of the book.  It really drove me up the wall. Because first off it was poor on the writers part and because it really took a lot away from the story. and I felt that the main character was on the weaker side. I would have liked to see a lot more from her over all through out the book. Though she did have these moments when I really did like her they were too short and over shadowed by her feeling/hatred of her mother. I felt like the character never really moved past her thoughts and feeling on her mother enough for me to get to know her.
I also found that the ending of the book was kinda a let down. I really was looking forward to a lot more from the mother. I was hoping for something bigger and more moving. Not so short and kinda all over the place. The whole book was building up to that point and then it was just... nothing special.  And I think that much of that comes from the fact that I was hoping that end would really tie the whole book together and get rid of the bad taste that some parts had left in my mouth. I wanted the ending were I finally got to know the main character away from her mother. What I would have liked is another chapter at the end of the book that lets me get to see how things with her mother are after that let down ending.
Though I love the mythology side of the book I felt like it could have been done a lot better and made a little more sense.
But other than those problems ,I did find the rest of the book to be good over all. There were fun parts and as a quick read it was good.  Over all though the cover is very misleading.


( YA 14 and up )
Stars: * * * 3.3


I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Monday, September 16, 2013

Book: Mini Review: Hope

I had read the first one in the series and though they are a little younger than what I normally read I thought I would give it a try.
This book is one that fans of the Wish will like this. Its a fun read and the art is wonderful. But I found the story lacking in this one myself. The story of this was very easy to call. And though I think that many readers will love the books and they are great for getting young girls to read on their own they might not be best books out there for kids. Over all the book is pretty clean but there is quite a bit of talking about killing and evil doings. But its to the point that I tell parents to look through the book before you let your child read it. And make sure you talk to them about it. Its up to every parent on their own what they do and do not let their children read but I would advise you to please take a look in to this and made the call yourself.
Over all I think it is a really good even if it is on the darker side and that the art is of course breathtaking and wonderful. Fans of the first book will not be let down with this.

( Kids 8 and up )
Stars: * * 2.9

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book.  Thank You to the publisher for giving me this book for an honest review.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Book:The Time-Traveling Fashionista: At The Palace Of Marie Antoinette

 I first feel in love with  The Time-Traveling Fashionista ( on board the Titanic). It was once of the best Young Teen books I have ever read. And this book was much the same I'm happy to say. It was full of so many things that Young Teen books are missing these days. One of those things is how Louise is caught between being a tween on her way to being a teenager and still feeling like a little kid. Though I'm 16 I still remember really clearly how hard that was for me. And I loved how in this books Louise still wants to play with dolls but is afraid of being made fun of. That was really hard for me when I was Louise's age. Lucky for me I had a few friends and my mom who still would play with me and never made fun of me. I wish that I would have had these books around when I was going through it. They would have not only been one of my favorite books but they would have been a big help in getting me through that time.
Beautiful art from the book

As many of you know I loved
And as far as the history goes it might not have been 100% right but it made me want to learn more about Marie Antoinette.
Over all a really fun read. It's worth getting the book from the library just to look at the art to tell the truth.  If you know a tween or young teen girl that has even a little bit of interest in fashion or history it's a must read.

( 11 and up - though it's marketed to 9 and up I disagree with this)

Stars: * * * * 4.0

Monday, September 09, 2013

Book: Forevermore


will start off by saying that the storyline of the book seemed right up my alley from the get-go. A girl in scotland with a ghost. Sounds like my kinda read.
And as I started to read the book my first thoughts on it proved to be even more true than I thought they would be.  I took this book for what it is. And that it a fun ghost love story for the younger YA readers and taking it as that it's a very good book. I like Ivy and felt that though she was a lot like the other main characters I see in YA it worked. And the same thing goes for the other characters in the book. They are not that different. But they made the story fun and gave it a light feel. I really liked how Ivy did not make a big deal about her stepdad or the family. She just took it as it is and tried to think about more useful things.IT did seem a little odd how she was never really scared of anything . Maybe it was the writer trying not to creep the reader out I don't know. But I think it would have been more realistic if she had been just a little more scared and freaked out by the whole thing.
Also I would have liked to feel a little more of her passion for music. But after reading Revolution ( a must read)  it will always be hard for me to find a book that has music in it that I feel is truly has passion.
What was different about this book and really made it worth the read for me was the setting. The creep castle and it being in Scotland was the biggest seller for me. I would have liked the book a little better to tell the truth if I got to read more about the castle and scotland. It was nice to see Ivy learning about it and trying to fit in.
The only real down side to the book was that the ending. I would have liked that to have been rewritten to seem a little more realistic.But over all I found this to be pretty good. I would say that this is a read that some of the younger YA fans.

( YA -12 and up)
Stars: * * * 3.4

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Book:Percy Jackson and the Olympians book one: The Lightning Thief

by now you have already heard of these books or the movie based upon them. This book is the idea of what would happen if the Greek gods,goddesses, and mythology were real and lived in modern north America. and one of the highlights of the book is seeing what the author thinks these gods and  monsters  would look like in the modern world and all of them fit though its up for interpretation . also the book is a very fun, easy and enjoyable to read. it is written how a kid thinks not like an adult trying to write how a kid thinks and making it come off looking dumb. The characters are very good and the book flows nicely with a slow start but  once it gets started it rarely gets  dull throughout  book. Though it can be predicable and a bit cliché at times. But it captures a magic rare to find in kids books and can be easily compared to harry potter and comes the closest to topping potter  that i have seen but it is a lot fluffier and in some ways more enjoyable in the sense that there is no lasting  bully character  and that's nice as keeps Percy focused on the his enemies who are as fun to see in the modern world as the gods. the monsters in this book are pretty standard far with the likes of  the Furies. Also the action is very good not dull and does not get annoying.the humor in this book is very good not to much and pretty true to kids in real life. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun short and enjoyable book which will teach a few things without forcing it upon you.

9+
stars *** 3.7

 Reviewed by  The B "team"

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Update from bloggers!

Hi everyone!!
Normally I try my best not to post anything that is not a review but there are some big changes and news here that I felt I needed to share with you all.
First of all we have a new reviewer here that will be going by his own name - by that I mean the name he picked to review as. He will be now know as The B-team. Some of you might have seen some of his reviews in the past because he has been such a big help the blog over the years I couldn't be more than happy to have him join us and be taking an even bigger part in the blog.
Next thing is we have fallen behind on some of the reviews. One of the reasons being that there are more books than hours or reviewers.  So while we are still behind through hours of hard work as a babysitter got enough money to buy an Ipad Mini ( which I love so far) and now can use that to review books. It's much easier than trying to read in bed with my laptop. And unlike my laptop I can take it anywhere with me.
Also we have some big changes come to the blog. We are going to start doing more movie reviews and branching out as far that goes. We are also going to be posting more reviews of older books in hope that this blog will be a place were you the readers can look up any book you see or hear good things about and there is a review of it all ready for you.  If I ( DaydreamerN) and The B-team  read the same book but have different thoughts and feelings on it we will post two reviews.
It's a lot work on our side but our goal has been and always will be to give you good honest reviews. And to let you know in our eyes if the book might be right for you. Because there is nothing better than finding the prefect book.
Thank you to our readers and loyal followers without you we wouldn't be not be doing any of this!

Monday, September 02, 2013

Book: Moon And More

Sarah Dessen does it again. Will she ever right write a bad book? I'm going to go with no.
She yet again took a simple summer story one that many authors would have failed to make in to anything worth reading, and yet Sarah Dessen does. She made Emaline a sweet and interesting and as always a little head strong. And watching her slowly change in the book and find out who she is was wonderful. She did not change in leaps and bonds, but she only had three months. I really liked the family story in this book. Their story  was sweet and heartfelt and felt very real. And I have to say I liked how things ended in the book as far as Emaline's father went. It was nicely done on Sarah Dessen's part.
The only down side of the book was Theo. He drove me up the wall, and made me want to pull my hair out! He was really the weakest character I think that Sarah Dessen has ever written. For him to put up with Ivy because she is famous is total BS. I would have liked to hear some better reasons for why he wanted to be a filmmaker what he was doing. Something to give him some depth would have been really nice.I was really hoping that Sarah Dessen would do for movies for she did for music in Just Listen. But that did not happen. Not that I minded to much because it would have made the story seem over crowded. But I would have liked something a little more from Theo or Ivy about movies so they did not just seem like money grabbers.
Over all though I think that this might just be my fave Sarah Dessen novel. I would say its worth reading even if Theo is a pain.

( YA- 14 and up)
Stars* * * 3.8

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Book: A Wounded Name

Since falling in love with the book Falling For Hamlet I have wanted to read more books like it. So when I saw this I thought it was worth the try. I mean the cover is just to die for. How could you not be interested with that?
First off this book is very different from Falling For Hamlet. From page one this book had a much darker tone.  And the writing was beautiful and pulled me right in.  I did have a hard time with how dark the book was and though it says modern times I did feel that there was a really old fashion feel to the writing and story. Not that I minded but I could not help but feel like the characters were older and from a different time just living here in our world. I know that is what the writer was going for and it worked but at times the book just lost the modern feel. And I really wanted to keep that there because I feel that setting and time are one of the most interesting parts of any story.
At times this story was very slow going. It worked because the writing I felt made up for it over all. But this is not a book that people who do not love to read will get through. It's not going to pull them in and hold them the way a story with more action or thrill will. Plus this book is very sad and has a real broken feel to it.  The book does at times feel like it is dragging on a bit.
This book did draw me in because I found reading about hamlets unraveling mind so interesting. I think that is one of the things that has made the story of Hamlet so special and why people can't get enough of it.That and the love story. This book does a great job with those two points.
Over all this book was much darker take on Hamlet than Falling For Hamlet was. Though this was very good and had lots of great points I felt Falling for hamlet was the better read and that more people will like it. It reaches a wider group of readers.

( YA - 14 and up)
Stars: * * * 3. 4




I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Monday, August 26, 2013

Movie: Oz The Great And Powerful

 Let me start off by saying that I did not see this movie in the theater ( so no big 3D effect for me) because I had a feeling it was going to be a really bad movie.This movie was yet again another case of Disney throwing money out the window. It seems to me that all they can do is deliver their best worst movie.
The first problem with this film was that it tried to be a rip off Baz Luhrmann and the Wizard of Oz. Baz Luhrmann is a very talented but very hit or miss filmmaker. I was really shocked that they tried to make the film in a style so much like his.Also I felt that there was Tim Burton undertone that really threw off the story and the actors.
The one thing that made the movie okay to sit through was the CGI. But even  CGI could not cover up the bad storytelling and poor acting.There were so many mistakes in the film and scenes that should have been cut out. OR lines. So many lines that should have been rewritten. Really the film was weak all the way around. It had so much of it that was just pointless or poorly done.
There really were only a few good points in the film. The open credit roll was very good and I liked how they did that. That's something I would like to see more of in movies today.
Really the worst thing about the film was how long it was. I think that it could have been cut down to about an hour and forty-five minutes. That would have by far made it a much better movie. The fat would have been cut out and I would not have felt like I wanted to jump out of my skin watching it.
Over all I have to say that I was pretty let down with film even though I had the bar and my hopes set really low. I can not say that I would tell anyone to see this movie unless they were a fan of Wicked.

( PG-13)
Stars: * * 2.8

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Book: Magic Under Stone

I could not wait to read this book! Finally there came a small break in my reviews for me to read this. 
At first I could not wait to jump right back in to the story and I had some pretty high hopes set up for this. 
This book started off really well and went on they way for a while. I found myself yet again lost in the magic of the world. But then as I was reading somewhere in the middle the story just seemed to have hit a wall.  It stopped moving along and the whole feel of the story changed. It lost its wonderful fairy tale epic feel and just became a little old fairy tale. And I found myself over all let down with the book. 
It seemed that everything I had loved about the first was not here. The ending to the book was the biggest let down of all. I read both books leading up to something that was rapped up all nice and pretty in 15 pages.It was rushed and half put together. Trying so hard to be a happy -ever- after that it was just a flop of an ending. And  I was very hurt with that. I wanted more.  I had been very in to the book and it just ended! Leaving me with nothing really to think about or hold on to. It had me feeling pretty glum about the book.
So all the characters from the first book were wonderful and really stayed true to who they were while still growing and changing in believable ways. As for the new characters that were added ? I did not care for them much at all. They felt half made. Like something was missing.  I could honestly not have cared what had happened to them. Violet I felt should have been rewritten or pretty much cut from the book. Her character was just a pill to read about and I did not care what happened to her at all.
Over all only read this if you want to see how the story ends.  What could have been done to make this book better? Epilogue! I would have added another 15 -30 pages to clean up the end give us some action and show us how all the characters had changed from when we had started the book. 

( YA - 13 and up ) 
Stars: * * 2.9

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Book: Forever

As many of you know I have read and hated these books. A lot really. So why did  I read this? Because the book still had a lot of hope. There are many little and very small good points about this book that stand out and that I kept hoping to see more of. Sadly all I got was more of the bad. The setting and the town of Mercy Falls is wonderful but in none of the book was it every showcased at nicely as it should have been. And the love story was always so sad and never seemed to go anywhere. Even in this last book I found myself wondering where the hell it was all going - if it was going anywhere.  All of these books seem to be made up of nothing ever going right and everything wrong. To a point you have to give the reader a little hope. Its not that much to ask for. Harry Potter and a tons of other great books have done it all along its part of writing a good book is to have something that makes it worth reading.
Did I find this book worth reading? Yes, because I like to read a really bad book every once in a while just to remind me that they are out there and can be very poplar. And I also wanted to try to be fair.  I know I said that with Linger and i'm saying it again I want to be a fair blogger whenever I can help it.
 Pretty much standing with this book is the same as the other two in the series. Good setting. Sad love story. Everything goes wrong. And its also a very long book. I still like all the different characters and their side of the story.
On the bright side the story finally seemed to go somewhere. Even if I was not to happy with that somewhere.
Over all after reading all three of books I can safely say that my thoughts have not changed and I think that most readers will have better luck with other YA books. I do still have some hope for Ms.Stiefvater  as a writer and will at some point give her other books a try.

( YA - 14 and Up)
Stars: * 1.5 

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Book: The Deepest Night

After reading the first book I was very happy that I had such a short wait for the next book.  The first book might not be the best book out there but there was something so natural about the first book that I could not wait to see were it is going next.
This book really won my heart but in a soft creeping up behind me. 
Something about about Lora and her story that I love. She is the right kind of YA hero. She might not be a deep character riddled with troubles but she is very funny and she moves the story along. I like how there is no time wasted in the book. Everything leads somewhere. And every character is there for a reason. I also like how things did not take an unrealistic turn as far as Chloe goes. I like how things stayed pretty simple as far as that went. At other times I wanted more from the book. Maybe a little longer telling me more about the people or going deeper in to the story. At times it made me think of Gemma Doyle Lite. I'm not saying  that I did not like it and that it is was bad I'm just saying that I liked it and would have liked more from it. I would have liked the chance to  really get lost in the story.
Over all this book was very good. And I think that anyone would like and find these book a good read. 
(YA - 13 and up)
Stars: * * * 3.4

Goodreads ( trying out a link to goodreads let me know if I should keep it)

I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Book:Breathe

I had heard many good things about this book and had seen a lot of buzz going around for the next book in the series. When I saw it at my local library I thought I should get it and give it a try.
When I read the blurb on goodreads it sounded just like that new CBS show under the dome. So I was pretty doubtful that this book would be really good.
But I really liked it. First off the three characters totally won me over. They all moved the story along and showed us many different points of what is going on. and they were all so different.
There was also lots of character growth and that I really liked.  And I also liked the green message that was worked in to the book. I'm a big sucker for that and this book did a really great job with that.
The only thing that got to me was I felt that there were a few small plot holes when it came to the world building. I wish that there would have been a little more set up about how things work in the pod. I just felt at time like it did not make sense how they would still have movies but then they only read  shakespeare. And then how they had people who worked inside breathe but they never talked about them again? I'm pretty sure once the end of the book came Quinn might have gone to some of them for help as well. Just little things like that did not add up and I found it hard to get lost in the book because of that.  I know that the author could have easily added just a few more details that would have fixed that problem. A little more careful thinking would have gone a long way. Over all I really really like the book. It was almost everything I'm looking for in a good Sci-FI book and a good YA book over all.  I would have to say its really a must read.
And I can not wait for the next book!

( YA - 14 and up )

Stars: * * * * 4.0

Saturday, August 03, 2013

Book:Indelible

This book took me by surprise. I thought it looked good but I was not really sure that it would be any good. And boy was I wrong. This  book was so  much better than I had though. I was taken it back by the book. I thought that it was going to be much worse. Now that does not mean that the book was great just that it was better than I had thought it would be.
The character of Joy was noting very special. She seemed a lot like the other girls in YA. Not a bad thing because I did like her and I liked her father. But I did not see a lot of change or growth in her. She said almost the same. I would have liked to have seen a little more change in her.
And same thing with Ink.  He did not change a lot and he was a lot like all the guys in YA. The two characters that stood out for me in this book was the Father and Inq. Because they were different and added layers to the book. and we did see how things changed with them as we read the book.I was not a big fan of the love story. I felt that it was a little off in the timing fast. it seemed a little rushed at first. But I did however like the rest of story and I did not really see what was coming. Which that was a big plus for me. Its very hard to find books that throw me curve balls. and this one had a few!
I also found the idea of the book to be pretty interesting. It was different and stayed with. It was really the thing that keep me wanting to read more.
What this book reminded me of in a weird way was City of Bones.  Now they two books are very different but I could not help feeling that they were a lot a like. And I think that many fans of City of Bones will like this book a lot.
The only real down side of this book for me was that it was way to violent for my liking. I'm just not a big fan of lots of it in books. And at many points in this it was not needed I felt. It did not better the story really or add anything to it.
Over all I did like the book and I would say its worth looking in two because it is a fun read with lots of book points. I think that fans of City of Bones will like it and should give it a try. And I do fully plan on reading the next book in the series.

(YA-14 and up)
Stars: * * * 3.4



I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book.  Thank You to the publisher for giving me this book for an honest review.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Movie: Mini review: The Decoy Bride

I saw this on netflix and on a whim thought I would watch it. How bad could it be? well truth be told not  bad at all! Its one of the best chick-flicks I have seen in a long time. The story is fun and goes places I did not think it would( while still staying true to the chick-flick). I really loved the cast. They made the film I have to say. For those of you who do not know who Kelly Macdonald is that she is the voice of  Princess Merida in Brave. So listening to her talk is a joy ( until you try to talk like her).  And add to it she is very very funny. Really the whole movie is funny. I laughed and laughed. and when it was over I wanted to watch it again. Which never happens with me and chick-flicks.  To like this movie you have to take it for what it is. No this movie will not change your life or make you rethink the worlds problems. But it is a funny sweet movie that will be great for any movie night or sleep over. Plus the jokes that you will be quoting are never ending. So the next time you see this on netflix or that the dvd store its total worth the buy.

( PG-13)
Stars: * * * 3.5 

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