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

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

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

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 

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

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

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.