Review : Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title : Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

About the book:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

My Review:

When I had picked this book, I thought it must be a fantasy filled with romance. But, the story is much of a mystery thriller which I didn’t mind at all. I really don’t know what I think about the book. I really liked it very much, but on the other hand, I found certain things very annoying! I would not allow any of my cousins below 17 to read this book. It would unnecessarily give stupid ideas to them.

Nora, a sixteen year old has lost her father a year ago, and lives with her mother outside the city in a farmhouse which is always, somehow  surrounded by thick fog, which gives the old house a creepy and a haunting look. Nora’s mother works for an auction company that requires a lot of traveling because of which she has to leave Nora home alone with a nanny who also leaves the house in the night. Nora is very sincere in her studies, and none of the guys in her school has captured her attention yet. I liked the fact that Nora is not shown dumb. She has a mind of her own. Also, conveniently intelligent I must say.

Patch, is the new guy in her school, recently transferred and has been paired with Nora in a Biology assignment. Nora’s instincts tell her that something is not right with Patch, but still she is very curious about him. Her curiosity leads Nora and best friend Vee investigating about him and his past.

The most entertaining of all is Vee. She is Nora’s best friend. And the dialogues which are being shared between them are entertaining.

Patch is very attractive and sexy but he is also very, very dangerous and creepy most of the times. He has a dark history and has different intentions for Nora. He is always lurking around her like a complete psycho stalker! Initially, Nora is shown intelligent enough to keep distance between herself and Patch. But, why oh why does she get into so much of trouble to find about him and his past??!! I simply didn’t understand.

Also, I personally would not like any guy to trap me in a corner and scare me to death!! No way please!!! I am such a chicken in these matters that I would never go and start investigating about a guy who makes me feel uncomfortable..! I mean really, does only attraction and curiosity to know someone kill your intelligence too?

************ SPOILER ***************************************************

Nora doesn’t trust him completely till the start of the main action scene in the end. Suddenly and abruptly, she is ready to give up her life for him??!! Who would give up their life for a guy whom you don’t trust? One moment she is unsure about him and the other moment, all her emotions are welled up and is ready to sacrifice her life for him so that he lives a normal human life??!! WTF!

***************End******************************************************

I didn’t find much romance or rather true love in this book. Attraction, curiosity, lust? Oh yes! Its all there. I have heard that ‘Twilight’ and ‘Hush, Hush’ are same in many terms, especially Edward from ‘Twilight’ and Patch from ‘Hush, Hush’. But no, I really don’t think so. Edward didn’t scare me like Patch did. He didn’t give me single reason to fall in love with him. Patch is creepy, dangerous, talking nonsense many a times in class.

The book is no doubt written excellently. I found this book very entertaining as I have ignored a few things which I already mentioned. The second half of the book is amazing and very frightening! The authors writing style is simply too good and commendable. The story is different, especially the mythical part and also the twists and turns which are given to the story. It definitely kept me at the edge of my seat. I am totally ready to read a sequel of this book if it is released.

P.S.  I want to tell young girls to not fall in love with any person whose character resembles Patch. The book is a fantasy and is not real. In the end of this book, there is a happy ending, but in reality, this might not be the case and you would simply end up in trouble.

Review : The Hollow Kingdom(book 1) by Clare B. Dunkle

           

Title:The Hollow Kingdom

Author: Clare B. Dunkle

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Usually I don’t settle up buying any series book. But, one fine day, I went to the book shop where there was this crazy sale going on. I picked ‘The Hollow Kingdom’ (the first in a trilogy) instantly as the cover attracted my attention. No..no, I really don’t deny that a book cover Influences me a lot when I ‘m browsing the books that I haven’t ever heard of ! Anyway, when I read the back of the book, I loved it more! And so, I bought it! And now, I really want the next in the series, but can’t find it in the shop :( See, that’s the reason I don’t settle down with any series book!!


Ok, enough of my nonsense talks. Let me tell you what I felt about ‘The Hollow Kingdom’!

About the book:

Hallow Hill has a strange and tragic history. For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from the estate, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have come to live at Hallow Hill. Brought up in a civilized age, they have no idea of the land’s dreadful heritage – until, that is, Marak decides to tell them himself.

Intelligent, pleasant, and completely pitiless, Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be a goblin king – and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom.


My Review:

Kate and Emily are recently orphaned and have come to live in hallow hill with their aunts and a very cunning legal guardian named Hugh Roberts.  The two sisters were coming home to land and relatives they had never seen before. A mysterious place with a dreadful past! On Their first expedition to the forests, Kate and Emily are lost while coming home and stumble upon a band of gypsies. Emily is a sweet little girl and finds it very interesting. But, Kate’s instincts tell her that something is not quite right. Unfortunately, Kate catches the attention of Marak, a goblin king. He has different intentions for Kate and Emily, and as soon as Kate finds it out, she does everything possible from her side to stop the dreadful things happening. I must say, at times, I was scared for Kate and Emily. But their adventures are full of surprises, turns and twists which eventually lead them to their fate.


I liked the fact that Kate Winslow is not shown dumb and stupid. She is smart, intelligent, independent, clever, very brave, believing and following her own instincts, and can do anything and everything possible to save her dear sister Emily from any trouble. The characters of this book are written very cleverly and the scenes are properly fleshed out.

This is not an exactly a love at first sight romance story, but, the way it built up, it touched my heart. (Did I tell you that there’s no kissing scene in it..!!??)
The book also tells you that “True beauty lies within the heart and soul! “.


In spite of the fact that, this book is the first in the series, it is a standalone. I really liked this book a lot. The entire 19th century setups, a remote place called hallow hill, the woods, the lake and the story kept me on the edge.
It’s a wonderfully written book that will take you completely to the classic supernatural world. A place where there are millions of stories and secrets buried deep in the Hollow kingdom.

Review : Witch & Wizard by James Patterson with Gabrielle Charbonnet

           
Title : Witch & Wizard
Author: James Patterson with Gabrielle Charbonnet
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Won From Cherrymischievous :)


About the book:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?


My Review:

A little something about the book….
‘Witch & Wizard’ by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet is about siblings Whit and Wisty Allgood. It starts with the ‘New order’ taking control over the government, and barging in the middle of the night at The Allgood’s residence with the full pack of armed soldiers. There’s chaos everywhere. The siblings do not understand the reason of this invasion..! And then, a total shock comes. Wisty Allgood and Whit Allgood are been taken under trial and are accused of being a witch and a wizard..!! Now, here the Story begins. Whit and Wisty are taken away and separated by their family by the ‘New order’ and thrown away in a prison. Once there, they get to know that they are not the only ones held for trial and execution. There are thousands of Kids in the prison arrested for different crimes like chewing a gum on streets, listening to music and blah blah.
The book says “The New Order is a bright new future. It is a future that replaces the corrupting and illusory freedoms of so-called democracies and replaces them with a higher discipline. It has taken many, many years of planning, strategic political postings, scientific polling, demographic research, precise messaging and carefully monitored elections “

Wisty and Whit are not aware of their magical skills or the fact, that they are actually the Witch and the Wizard. And here in the prison, their power starts growing. They don’t have any control over it. They have to discover their hidden powers and abilities in time, stand against the ‘New Order’ and fight back to save themselves, their parents and maybe the world?

The ‘Witch & Wizard’ is about both, the witch and the wizard, and not of only one sibling. I felt that a little less power to one of the siblings was given, where as the book is about both of them!! I understand that there is going to be sequel to this one, but, I felt that the story was less, but was creatively covered by the writing style. This book would have been very small otherwise. Sometimes, I even felt that it’s a mix up of many fantasy books. One more thing, the perspective of the book changes randomly and conveniently! Its like, once adjusted to one’s viewpoint, it changes, suddenly!!

I hate to say that I am not very impressed by this book. There was no punch in it!! You know, like, after finishing a particular book, the characters of the book always linger with you. But, here, that was totally not the case. After I was done reading this book, I didn’t feel the effect of it. This book, I should say is meant for the kids of the age 9 – 12. It’s actually very childish, and does not fit into a YA category. Now, considering that the book is for preteens, I would say that I liked this book. For me, it was an OKAY book because I read the whole book and wanted to know what happens next. Never did I think about putting the book down while I was reading. I would definitely say that ‘Witch & Wizard’ is a very easy,entertaining and a straight forward read. I would recommend this one to the preteens. I think they would love it!

Win CHRISTMAS HAMPER(Books)& Poison Study at Cherry Mischievous

1.  Poison Study Giveaway !

Cherry Mischievous is giving away a new copy of Poison Study.

Contest is open to international readers and ends on January 15, 2010.

Contest Link: Click here to go to the contest.

2. Win Christmas Hamper !!! 

Cherry Mischievous is going to have a Christmas give away..End Date : Dec 31. 

Here, Let me copy the details of the same post here for you all...

announced previously, this December, we are going to have a Christmas give away and spread the good cheer of Christmas!!

To start off with, tell me what books you like to be included in the giveaways so that the books in our Christmas Hamper would be something everybody likes :)

But let me start the Christmas Hamper with:

• Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
• The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan
• Storm Front by Jim Butcher (18s only)
• Lover Eternal by JR Ward (18s only)

So this is the thing: the above list is only a preliminary hamper contents list. It might grow as we go along, it might not. So there will be many winners. The first winner gets the first pick, the second winner gets to pick second of whatever is still in the hamper, and so on... So number of winners will depend on how big a hamper we have at the end of the contest. It could also be that the first winner will get to pick four books, the second winner gets to pick three and so on. Again depending on how big a hamper we have. So, the final prizes and winners really, will be announced at the end of this Christmas Hamper contest. I'm keeping things flexible here. To enter the contest is easy, all you have to do is register! That's it!

To enter the contest you have to register here.

However you can also gain extra chances of winning by spreading the word, i.e., blog about it, post about this Christmas Hamper thingy in a website, la di bla di bla. As long as you have access and rights to do so. Do not post this contest on someone else's fansite where you come across as "advertising without consent", for example. That is sooo not good! For questions, clarifications, suggestions, or you just want to rant, email us. Please write: CHRISTMAS HAMPER in the subject line and hopefully your email will get through to me and not in the spam folder. If not, write something in the comments section for me to look into the matter.

Contest Rules:

• You have to be a Cherry Mischievous blog follower via Google Connect to enter the contest.
• Contest is open to international readers.
• Contest ends on Dec 31. Prizes to go out after the new year holidays when the post office re-opens. Winners will be announced after Dec 31.
• For books which is for 18s only, you must be 18 or older to accept them. If you are under 18, you are to declare so and choose another book.
• If this contest is not in concordance to your local legislations, it is up to you to follow your local rules.
• You must have a valid snail mail address and email address to enter this contest. We need the snail mail address to send the book to. We need the email addy to get in touch with you.
• Questions? Ask! Shoot us an email. Please write CHRISTMAS HAMPER in the subject line.
• Merry Christmas!!!

UPDATE: 03/Dec/2009:
Adding to the hamper:

• An Enchanted Season Anthology by Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, Jean Johnson

So, What are you waiting for ?? Go enter the Contest !!!

Review : Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Title : Heart Shaped Box
Author: Joe Hill
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

About the book:

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman's noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet.


I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder. . . .
For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more?


But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing.


And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door . . . seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang . . . standing outside his window . . . staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting—with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand. . . .


A multiple-award winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel, a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.


My Review:

Okk..Time for my review after a long time!
I didn't love this book. I am a little disappointed as I did not find it frightening at all. I couldn't feel any ghost lurking around my bed while I was reading this book .Nor did I tuck myself in loads of blankets :( !!  And I am totally disappointed :(


The story starts with a heavy-metal star Jude/Judas Coyne buying an old man’s haunted suit over the internet with an intention of adding an artifact in his collection! And yes, the suit comes in a heart shaped box..!
The author has built the characters nicely with his writing style. Judas Coyne is an ex-rock star, has his own record company, collector of strange and macabre items, lives with two dogs, has an office in his house where his assistant Danny works and also has a Goth girlfriend named Georgia/Marybeth who is 30 years younger to him! The description of the book says a lot.


I really waited for myself to be scared, but no, I wasn’t. It’s more of a thriller that a ghost book. I was even bored sometimes while I was reading this book. I won’t say that I hated it, but I didn’t like it much either! The end of the book is a complete attempt of not winding it off, but you can make it out! Sometimes I even thought that the vengeful ghost is actually very funny!! Seriously! I mean, whenever he is there, he starts hypnotizing..!! But can’t blame, that’s the only way he can harm Jude Coyne! I won’t say who the ghost is and why does he haunt Jude Coyne. You will have to read it yourself; else you will loose the interest in the story.


Hmm…I can’t say that the book is scary or haunting. But yes, it’s definitely disturbing to know about mostly all character’s dark past! The balance between imagination and reality described in the book is good and not confusing at all. The entry and the description of the ghost are good. The description, and the way it scared Jude was also…..good. But later when the ghost starts hypnotizing them, is really funny! I mean it!
I would give 2.5 stars to ‘Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill’ firstly because I wanted to know what happened with all of them by the end of the book. Next, for the writing style. And mainly as the main characters in the book did not quit..! They fought till their last breath!


I would surely suggest you to definitely read it once. It’s not that bad. It’s me, who hasn’t liked this book much, maybe because I expected a lot as I had read great reviews about it. Also, I am not easily scared by any horror movies or books. That’s why this book did have any haunting effect on me.

Let it Happen !

I am so sorry, I really don't have time these days to blog.But mainly, I am not able to hear about new books and to read what my dear bloggers write.But I can't help it as I am and will be busy in my sister's wedding preparations for a few days.Its so much of work...I am totally excited !!! Soon my sister is getting married.Will definitely post about it when I get ample of time the next time I blog.But for now, I have managed to get my computer for sometime and I am totally going to make use of it.

Heres something which I had written when I was 14.I don't even remember what My inspiration was, but I am damn sure, I must have read some of the ''Mira Magazines' which I used to get when I was in school ! As I don't have anything to post now, I will post the essay which I had written long back :) Here it goes.....

We human beings sometimes tend to do things the hard way! There have been times in my life and I am sure there have been in yours, when I tried and tried to work something out. Concerned because I could not see the answer, I became tense and impatient. Then there came a time when I said to myself “Worrying does not help. Whatever happens happens!”

And, almost miraculously, incredibly, things started falling in place and working out in a smooth and harmonious way. What happened is that, I applied the principle of “let it Happen.”

We feel that we are supposed to make things happen, so we flail away at each of the separate circumstances and conditions that come up in our life. But there is an easy way to meet each problem, circumstance, or experience. The way is to let it Happen.

In many books, articles, and lessons we read the phrase “Let go and let god.” There is another way of saying,”let it happen.”

Think of all people who are actually making themselves sick and unhappy, because they are trying to force a solution to a problem by pushing , worrying , crying , getting upset. There are parents worried over their children; there are men and women unhappy and lonely because they feel their happiness depends on a certain women or a man. There are people concerned about the symptoms of ill-health, about getting old, about money, about business, about the state of the world, about men from mars or whatever….you name the most  fantastic thing you can think about, and I’ll bet there is someone who is making himself unhappy and miserable worrying about it !

By letting it happen or letting it flow, I do not mean that you do nothing. Sometimes it may seem the most difficult thing you have to do is to relax, to let go, to get yourself out of the way, but until you do, you are not able to act as effectively as you should. So when u let it happen, you find that all kinds of ideas come to you to act upon. And not only ideas but also the strength and wisdom to carry them out.

Now how do you relate all this to whatever it is that you are worrying and upset about? Whether you are worrying about the child, a love affair, a business deal, a sickness Symptom, selling a house, or whatever, just make up your mind that you are going to get yourself out of the way !! You will definitely find that all the things are going smoothly, beautifully, with satisfaction beyond your expectations.

So remember, relax. The words relax and release have a common root meaning. To

relax is to release negative emotions , attitudes.

You were not created to live by the sweat of your brow. You were created in likeness, with responsibilities, yes, but also with the power and resources to handle all things easily, effortlessly, and successfully.

Let it happen! Let go and let god.