Review : Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) by Richelle Mead

Hey all, I am back, I guess, after 3 months ! Thanks all for still being with me :)
Gosh..I have lost track of all the latest releases around..!! Again, so many books to read and so little time !
Anyway, I recently finished reading Vampire Academy #1 about which I would love to share a few thoughts without any spoilers.

Title :Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)
Author: Richelle Mead

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

About the book:

She must be protected at all times from the fiercest and most dangerous vampires of all-the ones who will never die.

Rose Hathaway is Lissa's best friends and her bodyguard.

Now, after two years of illicit freedom, they've been dragged back inside the iron gates of St. Vladimir's Academy.The girls must survive a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and a terrifying night-time rituals.

But, above all, they must never let their guard down, lest the immortal vampires take Lissa - forever...

My Review:

This is the first book in the series..and I have to say that I am not very impressed with it.I liked it, but I couldn't get totally into it.The book somehow failed to create an ambience for me.No thoughts about the book lingered after I finshed it.But, it wasn't that bad either.I actually enjoyed it.


Ok..a little about the vampires in the fantasy world created by the author-Richelle Mead....

Vampire Academy has three types of vampires, Moroi, Dhampirs and Strigoi.So, a lot of scope to write aye ?Anyway, let me give a short description about these kinds.

Moroi are living vampires who feed on blood and have elemental magic in them. 

Strigoi are undead, or say immortal vampires who also feed on blood and don't have any kind of elemental magic in them.They are formed as a result of killing any human or vampire or if anyhuman/Moroi/Dhapir is bitten by one. They are blood thirsty and yes, I can say they are the ones which match up the description of vampires in our so favorite Dracula ! 

Now, coming to the Dhampirs..they are Guardians.They are half vampires and half human.They dont need blood to survive on. Most of the Dhampirs turn out to be guardians, else, they hide in the human world or become blood whores.The Dhampires or I should rather say Guardians are been sworn to protect the Morois ! And so, here enters our Rose.

Rose is Lissa's(Moroi and a Dragomir Princess) bestfriend and her bodyguard.Or I should say her unofficial Guardian.I just loved her. She is strong, tough, short-tempered, reckless, a rule breaker, aggressive but, also a total kick-ass with an amazing sense of humor..! Rose and Lissa share and unimaginable bond which I simply found very intriguing and superb.

Lissa has great powers of which she is not much aware of.How these powers affect her and Rose is very interesting and forms the rest of the story.Anyway, after Lissa and Rose spend 2 years in human world they have been dragged back inside the iron gates of St. Vladimir's Academy. Why ? Well, read it..!

OK.This book I felt simply gives you a sneak peak into whats gonna happen in the next books in the series.So, there's a lot of explanation given regarding what kind of life Lissa and Rose now live and how it was before they ran away from the academy. The author has explained a lot about Lissa's and Rose's Characters.Also, a lot of explanation is been given about the different vampires and the how the school works.There is definitely a lot of high school drama shown with nasty rumors and mean girls and guys who are always trying to harrass Lissa. But, Rose being her guardian always protects her from any kind of harm. 

So, I can say that Vampire Academy definitely made me buy the second in the series as I liked the plot very much.Lets see how the next one- 'FrostBite' turns out to be.

Random Update: NO BLOGGING for a few more weeks :(

Hey all, I won't be able to blog for a few weeks more...!!! You must not have seen me much these days in blogosphere in the past weeks. reason ?? oh yes !

1. After a long wait I got into a MNC a few days before. All these sites are blocked there. The company in which I was working before was very small.So, access to all these sites were not prohibited.I used to blog in the breaks or whenever I used to get time. And of course Sundays were there !

2. In the current company, I am getting training which completely drains me off.

3. Its even far form my place, so I have to take company transport.And, now, I reach home around 10 p.m !

4. I just can't stand staring at my computer screen after I come home as thats what I do the entire day

5.Hmm..now coming to Sundays.Since my Training is going on, we have weekly assessments.As in Tests !! These tests are very important here.If I clear them, I will stay, else will be kicked out :( 

6. So, on Sundays(No Saturdays off ), I sleep till 1 pm and then, I study as we have tests on Monday !!And, if I Log in here, its really difficult to come back to studying :(

7. I try to read a few pages everyday.But the moment I start reading, my eyes become heavy.

8. Another thing, I received one lovely blog award from Dazzling Mage of pumpkinreads and a Bliss (Happy 101) Award from LCzinha of endlessready a few days before. They are so kind and generous to think of me :) I thank you so much.I totally appreciate it.I would write a special post about it as soon as my Training gets over.

So, my dear friends, I won't be able to read, won't be able to reply back to you, nor would I able to read your wonderful reviews just for a few more weeks.Please bear me until then.


Thank you all for your support :)

Review : The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Title : The Time Travelers Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Rating: I have no idea !


About the book:

Audrey Niffenegger's innovative debut, The Time Traveler's Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other, as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals - steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.


My Review:
 
Clare met Henry the first time when she was 6 and Henry was 36. Henry met Clare the first time when he was 28 and Clare was 20.And yes, they were married when Clare was 23 and Henry 31. Weird and confusing eehh ? Yes, Henry has some genetic disease which forces him to time travel into his past and sometimes in his future.Whenever he time travels, he is never been able to carry anything with him.Not even his clothes! This clearly put him always in a lot of danger whenever he used to time travel.But, one such day Henry:36 meets his wife Clare when she is of age 6. Years pass by, and Clare grows up knowing that one fine day, she and Henry are going to marry ! Faithfully, Clare is always shown waiting for Henry to return;sometimes, from his time travel adventure when she is his wife and sometimes in the hope to meet him again when she was very young. This story basically revolves around Clare and Henry and various hurdles they both have to face together and cope with because of Henry's time travel problem.

OK. 'Time Travelers wife' is a beautiful, intelligent as well as a little boring book! I just finished reading it a few days before, but was simply unable to put my mixed thoughts into words! I know, I have put a contradictory statement above, but yes, unfortunately it's true !

Let me explain..
Since I am in a habit of reading YA's or rather any books which are fast paced, I took a lot of time to get into this one.This book was very very very very slow for me...! Basically, the writing style was very different for ME. Like, if Henry wanted to wear a coat the words would be like : I got up from the bed, looked around, set my foot on the floor, then went to the wardrobe, opened it, found some coats hanging there, and blah blah...!
So, I had to keep a lot of patience for this one.Also, it took me a lot of time to basically understand whats going on since I was too on the roller coaster ride of the time and date mentioned in the book.After reading 40 pages or so, I even thought of quitting this book.

Anyhow, here, I won't say that the writing style was pathetic or bad.Nope...it simply didn't appeal to me because it was terribly slow.That's all. But, in spite of all this, I found the plot of 'Time Travelers Wife' very unique and filled with unconditional love! I guess, that's the thing I loved and which helped me to read the entire book! Very few authors can put pure love with all the sacrifices made and their aftereffects into actual words without explicitly and specifically writing about it. Also, the grieving, longing, happiness, sadness, all these emotions are written excellently by the author..! And mainly, the way Clare is shown so faithful and understanding towards Henry.The love and affection shown in this book is mind blowing !These are the few important reasons why I found this book so beautiful !

Considering all the pros and cons which I found, I find it really difficult to rate this book..! Conclusion: This book is tremendously slow and sometimes boring, because of the writing style. But, also, the plot, the characters, the emotions described in this book are really good....again because of the writing style!

Review : The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Title : The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


About the book:

On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her – but the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret…

On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell O’Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.

A mysterious inheritance…

On Nell’s death, her grand-daughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold – secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.


My Review:

This is a story of three generations jumping between differernt time  periods.The author Kate Morton has written about their stories parellely hopping from one era to another.

It starts with a little girl of age 4 who is left stranded alone on a ship which sails from one continent to another.She has been promised by the lady which she calls 'Authoress' will take care of her.But when the ship sails and reaches to another continent, she finds herself lost and alone on the ship.When a kind man named Hugh sees her all by herself, he and his wife adopts her and names her Nell.This secret is never been told to her.But, 21 years later , her father confesses the truth to her.He also tells her that she was carrying only a little suitcase in which there was a book of Fairy Tales written by Eliza Makepiece along with some other contents in it.After learning the truth that the father and mother she always considered as her own were never hers, she feels completely devastated and lost.And then, off she goes to discover and find her own identity to some other country in some other continent.
Years later,Nells granddaughter Cassandra is been left a cottage somewhere in Europe as her only inheritance by Nell.To know about the mysterious cottage on a cliff, Cassandra too leaves in search of her own lost heritage finally to find out about Nell's past : Rose and Eliza.

I loved this book.The way the author has written the story about three  generations parallelly is commendable ! The story keeps on jumping from one time period to another.I found the writing style very very intelligent.It is very difficult to write about three generations,  unravelling the truth and mysteries behind and finally piecing up everything together.It is surely one of the very few huge books which I  read quickly and wished that it would never end.'The Forgotten Garden'  took me to an entirely different place, and into different eras.

I loved reading about Eliza the most.And mainly, I loved Eliza !!All  the characters of this book are fleshed out wonderfully.The settings and the scenes in this book are very clearly written as well.Kate  Morton is a fantastic story teller.

Now.I would not recommend this book to readers who like only fast paced books.It needs time and patience to start with! I couldn't put the book down once I caught whats happening in it.It became a page turner to me and I wanted to read more and more of it!

Oh..did I tell you that there are fairy tales in it ??!!

Booking Through Thursday(3) : Olympic Reading

BTT:Oympic Reading

You may have noticed–the Winter Olympics are going on. Is that affecting your reading time? Have you read any Olympics-themed books? What do you think about the Olympics in general? Here’s your chance to discuss!

Nope.I don't watch them ! Mainly because I'm not much a sports fan. I get bored very soon ! And another reason is, I really don't have time to watch TV.I get only Sunday free..so why should I waste time in things I don't give much importance ? And no, I haven't read any Olympics-themed book :( But, if any of my friends are discussing about Olympics, I'm all ears !

So, what do you think about it ? Are there any good Olympics-themed books ? 

My First Award !!!

I received this cute blogger buddy award from Jami of YA Addict. She is so sweet and generous. Thank you so much for this award Jami.This is such an encouragement for me in the blogosphere !

OK.I will pass this sweet award to some awesome bloggers who were there with me when I had just stared blogging :)

Cherry

Lea

Ryan

Alyssa Kirk

Thanks all for your support :)

Review : Defenders of the scroll by Shiraz

Title : Defenders of the scroll
Author: Shiraz

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


About the book:

A teenage boy.A dark wizard.A mystic scroll.
And the fate of a world hangs in the balance. . . When Alex “the Axeman” Logan is pulled from his world to help young princess Dara save her kingdom from the Shadow Lord, he thinks there has been a mistake. He’s a teen guitar player close to failing 11th grade, not some defender of the realm. All he has are some school books, his wits, and his love of fantasy movies. Overnight his life is history. Alex must confront the Shadow Lord and his minions when he is thrust into a land that has changed from a magical paradise to a barren, hopeless, helpless realm invaded by a dark army. But Alex is not alone. He has the help of Dara, a magic scroll, and a band of unlikely companions drawn from his own history books: a hardened Roman Legionnaire, a swift Japanese Samurai, a mighty African Warrior, a fiery Amazon Archer, and a spirited Shaolin Monk. Can Alex become more than he believes and lead his small band of Defenders to the Hall of Shadows, the birthplace of the Shadow Lord? The fate of the realm and everyone in it rests on him.



My Review:

When the powerful wizard and King of Mythos-Mornak gets imprisoned by the evil forces, his little 9 year old daughter 'Dara' is left alone to save herself and find a way to get his father out from the prison. All she is left with is a magical scroll given to her by her father.By her own power she accidentally summons a 15 year old boy Alex: a guitar -playing high school student to help and protect her.What comes next is Alex's journey to save Dara with the help of a magical scroll, his own history books and summoning a few others from another world and time : a hardened Roman Legionnaire, a swift Japanese Samurai, a mighty African Warrior, a fiery Amazon Archer, and a spirited Shaolin Monk.

Ahhh, what a unique and an awesome non-stop action packed fantasy book filled with adventures ! I loved it ! When I had picked up this book and checked its size, I really had no idea that I would finish it so early! But, the action started from the first page itself zapping me in the world of 'history, legend and lore' .There is danger lurking at every corner and every step! Even in difficult and dangerous times, there was hope, humor and a positive attitude shown by every character which I appreciated.This book didn't give me time to even think and mourn about the past events and I just couldn't stop reading it! Also, I have never read a book which is filled with so many characters in it.Major thing, all the characters are lovable,unique and are given equal importance! The description of the characters matches exactly to the way its printed on the book cover.I remember myself always turning to the book cover whenever any new character came and was described :)

OK, the hard work.I hate writing negatives about the book but, it has to be told !I loved this book, but, its not a standalone.It has abrupt ending and left me hanging somewhere in the middle! If I had the next book in the series, I would have jumped on it and started reading! I hope the next one releases soon and I get the chance to read it :)

P.S. Check http://www.defendersofthescroll.com/ and also the tailors here:

Oh, did I tell you that this book has a few pictures in it and the pages of this book are in the form of a scroll(I meant a scroll  picture printed on the page and then the words printed on it)?! I just hope that someday this book will be turned into a movie ! I'm sure it will be awesome!

Booking Through Thursday (2): Encouragement

BTT: Encouragement

Suggested by Barbara H:
How can you encourage a non-reading child to read? What about a teen-ager? Would you require books to be read in the hopes that they would enjoy them once they got into them, or offer incentives, or just suggest interesting books? If you do offer incentives and suggestions and that doesn’t work, would you then require a certain amount of reading? At what point do you just accept that your child is a non-reader?
In the book Gifted Hands by brilliant surgeon Ben Carson, one of the things that turned his life around was his mother’s requirement that he and his brother read books and write book reports for her. That approach worked with him, but I have been afraid to try it. My children don’t need to “turn their lives around,” but they would gain so much from reading and I think they would enjoy it so much if they would just stop telling themselves, “I just don’t like to read.”

There are so many great and lovely books for all age people now-a-days, and, I would really love to share them with my close ones.  But, I can't force them to read. I once encouraged my 2-3 friends to read by asking and giving them books that intrigues them the most. But, it needs a lot of patience and concentration to start with.
I don't have kids.So in this case, I really do not know what I'll do with them.But, for little ones, I can always shut down all the other entertainments like TV, Internet, video-games for only an hour, so that they can just start and try reading a few pages.But if it doesn't work, then I think I'll just accept that this child is not a reader.Of course I'll  feel sad, but thats what it is ! You simply can't force them to read !


Another thing is that, there is no perfect age for a person to read..I myself started reading from the age of 21.But now, books and I are inseparable !

What about you ?  what do you think about this ?

Review : Hideaway by Dean Koontz

Title : Hideaway
Author: Dean Koontz

Rating: 3.95 out of 5 stars


About the book:

He was clinically dead after the accident—but was miraculously revived. Now Hatch Harrison and his wife, Lindsey, approach each day with a new appreciation of life...shadowed by his glimpse of death.
Something has come back from the other side. A terrible presence that links Hatch's mind to a dangerous psychotic. A dark force of murderous rage that hides within us all...

My Review:

The back of the book says enough.So, I don't think I need to describe and elaborate a little more about the summary as I fear I will straight away lead to spoilers.

Ok.This is the first ever book that I have read of Dean Koontz.Actually, the reason I purchased this one was that all my guy friends love this author. So, I thought I would gift  it to my papa.And, yes, he loved this book too !
I definitely liked Hideaway a lot..! Had to keep my patience for the initial pages to get used to the writing style as well as to know whats happening. After that, the book turned out to be a page turner ! The entire book till the last few pages is damn good ! I liked the plot, but I really got disappointed with the ending..It was childish..seriously !!

The scenes described in the book are very disturbing.The plot is definitely very strong and I found this one as very creepy and scary !

Recommened to the readers who love reading thrillers/creepy/haunting/suspense adult books !

On My Wishlist #1

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted at Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. Its where we can list the books which we really want to read and want, but haven't bought it yet ! They can be old, new or forthcoming.If you want to know more click here. 

Ahh, My wish list is never ending ! I want to read every book my dear bloggers read and review.Mostly all of them are in wish list as many of them are simply not available in the local library or not released in my country yet.

So, today the books I am totally craving for are :

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman (Taken from fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Synopsis :

16-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science...and not so great with boys. After major drama with her boyfriend and (now ex) best friend, she's happy to spend the summer on small, mysterious Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother's estate.

There, Miranda finds new friends and an island with a mysterious, mystical history, presenting her with facts her logical, scientific mind can't make sense of. She also meets Leo, who challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship...and reality.

Is Leo hiding something? Or is he something that she never could have imagined?

 

Time of the Witches by Anna Myers (Taken from fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Synopsis :

An orphan named Drucilla has finally has a place to call home with the Putnam family in Salem. Although her adopted mother is strange - haunted by a troubled past - Dru feels drawn to her as the mother she never had. When a new reverend and his family move into town with their servant Tituba, life takes a strange turn as young girls begin to fall ill and accusations of witchcraft begin to swirl. Reluctant to turn her back on the Putnams or her peers and overwhelmed by the power of groupthink among the other girls in town, Dru becomes one of the accusers herself. But when her best friend Gabe is accused, she must find a way to end the hysteria, or risk losing him forever.

For today, these 2 are on top priorities ! So, whats on your wish list?