The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

****

         A tale of high adventure with princesses, giants, murderers, mysterious killers, and everything in between.  'Nuff said.

         Seriously, though, this was a really good book.  The characters are well-developed and sort of comical.  The Princess Bride reminded me of the books I read when I was nine and refused to read any story that took place in the real world, and it would probably appeal to people of all ages.  I'm also told the movie is awesome, but haven't got around to watching it.  Now that school is out for the summer (!) I'll hopefully have time.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 23, 2013

Prodigy (Marie Lu)

****

Sequel to Legend - watch out for spoilers . . .

         June and Day have finally made it to Vegas, where they hope they can get the Patriots to give Day the medical attention he needs.  Shortly after their arrival, something completely shocking happens: Primo Elector dies and is replaced by his son.  Nobody seems to know what to think of their new leader, except for the Patriots.  When June and Day ask for help, a trade is proposed.  If the pair will join the Patriots, Day will be taken care of.  They agree without thinking about it, but once the Patriots unveil their plan for the new recruits, June starts to regret her decision.  She doesn't believe in the mission she's been tasked with, and can't help but question where her loyalty lies.  With Day?  The Patriots?  The government that destroyed her family?  Or something else entirely?

         It's been a while since I read this book, and I'm struggling to remember what I thought of it.  I do know that I liked the continuation of the plot line.  I also think Lu handled the characters very well.  It doesn't seem like it, but Legend covers a pretty short time span.  By the end of that book, it feels like the characters have completely changed.  When you think about it, though, it's not realistic for such thorough changes to happen so quickly.  I thought it made sense that June would question her loyalties and that Day would feel the class differences between himself and June in Prodigy.  This was a suspenseful sequel with a cliff hanger ending, and there will definitely be a third book on its way soon.  I'm looking forward to finding out what will happen next and having some of my questions answered.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: March 14, 2013

The Theban Plays (Sophocles)

****

         I read two of the three plays for my English class: Oedipus Rex and Antigone.  The former is the tragedy of Oedipus, a Greek prince who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother.  Oedipus Rex takes place years after this has occurred, when Oedipus must discover the truth about his identity in order to save the people of Thebes.  Antigone is the story of his daughter, a defiant young woman who has grown up as the daughter of a disgraced king.  

         I didn't expect to like these plays, probably because books on the school curriculum are hated by the general population.  You end up hearing a lot of bad things about school books whether they're bad or not.  However, I actually thought both plays were really interesting.  The language isn't too difficult all things considered, and there's a lot of action and drama.  Neither Oedipus Rex nor Antigone is very long, so if you were interested in reading a Greek play, this might be the way to go.  (I know that sounds like a long shot, but I think there may actually be some people out there who really are interested in reading Greek plays.  Just a few, but still.)

Rating: 4/5

Completed: March 14, 2013

Perfect Scoundrels (Ally Carter)

****

Book 3 of the Heist Society series

         As a con artist, Kat Bishop knows a trick when she sees one.  When her boyfriend, W.W. Hale the fifth, suddenly and very unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's company, she can't help but suspect foul play.  Kat needs to find out the truth about Hale's inheritance, and fast - something is off and she wants know what before Hale gets hurt.  The biggest problem?  She can't tell Hale what she's doing.  Kat will have to enlist the help of her expansive web of criminals to prevent Hale from losing the company to somebody he'd never suspect.

         This was another great book by Ally Carter!  The plot was exciting and the characters were awesome as usual.  I appreciate the blend of serious, emotional scenes and hilarious banter between characters.  I also love all the names of the different cons that Kat and her family pull off.  It's been a while since I read the last Heist Society book, but Ally did a nice job of making it so that I still sort of remembered what was going on.  If you've read the other books in this series and liked them, you'll definitely like this one as well.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: February 23, 2013

Vortex (Julie Cross)

****

Sequel to Tempest.  

         Now that Jackson Meyer (sort of) understands the dangers of time travel, he is ready to do whatever it takes to protect the world - and his ex-girlfriend, Holly - from getting caught in the crossfire.  He joins Tempest, an offshoot of the CIA that fights a mysterious group of evil time travelers.  The trouble is that the other Tempest agents don't know that Jackson is a time traveler himself.  Meanwhile, Tempest is being attacked by Eyewall, an opposing branch of the CIA with possible connections to the other time travelers.  After a run-in with Holly on a Tempest mission, Jackson realizes that Holly is being sucked back into his life all over again.

         I enjoyed this book quite a lot, but it wasn't as easy of a read as Tempest was.  When I read Tempest, I had a pretty good grip on Jackson's jumps.  The time traveling gets seriously confusing in Vortex.  It definitely doesn't help that none of the characters understand it, either.  On the other hand, it was a really cool action story.  Jackson makes a pretty good agent, and I enjoyed his interactions with the other agents in his team.  Jenni Stewart returns from Tempest, although of course she doesn't know Jackson in this time zone.  She and Jackson get along really badly at first, but by the end they've reached an understanding and have become friends.  I also loved Lily Kendrick, Jackson's new partner at work.  She seems to be softer than most of the agents at first, but once Jackson gets to know her, it turns out she can be pretty feisty and tough.  Despite the fact that Vortex was pretty confusing, the plot and characters were good enough that I'll be on the lookout for the next book in this series.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: January 21, 2013

Days of Blood and Starlight (Laini Taylor)

****

Sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone (!).  Serious spoilers, so watch out . . . 

         Karou is not just art student and tooth snatcher Karou anymore.  She's also Madrigal, a chimaera who was executed for loving the enemy.  A chimaera who has been betrayed by the very same angel she died for.  Karou has left Akiva and left this world entirely.  Most of her people are dead, but she has gone back to her homeland in search of those who are left.  Karou is determined to avenge the dead, and she will do anything necessary to make it happen.  Even if it means allying herself with the very monster who sentenced her to death.

         I loved this book!  It wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it seems as though very few second books are.  I found it pretty frustrating that Karou gave up on herself after realizing that most of the chimaera - including Brimstone - had been killed because of her.  She lost a lot of her identity and personality for a while.  It took a lot of time for her to realize that she wasn't the complete villain the chimaera were making her out to be.  I was so happy that Zuzana and Mik had a bigger role in the book.  Those guys are the best!  With their help, Karou made a good comeback in the end.  On the whole, I'd say this was another success for Laini Taylor, and I can't wait to read the next book.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: November 21, 2012

Merry (day after) Christmas, if you celebrate it!  It's hard to believe there are only five days left in this year . . . it's not looking too good for the book goal, huh?  I guess I'll just have to post the rest of my reviews this week and start fresh next year!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Laini Taylor)

*****

         To her classmates, blue-haired art student Karou seems very strange.  She disappears mysteriously without warning and returns days or weeks later as though everything is normal.  Her sketchbook is full of elaborate drawings of monsters who collect teeth, and she claims the creatures are real.  Though nobody quite believes Karou, it's true.  But Karou's world is full of mysteries, and not even she understands who or what she is.  When a strange young man with eyes like fire arrives in Prague, Karou may have her chance to discover who she is - if she can stand to know the truth.

         This was an awesome book!  I couldn't put it down.  It's fast-paced and the concept is really cool.  When an author creates a fantasy world, it's really important that there are enough details that it feels real and the reader believes it.  Laini Taylor did a great job of this; I was sucked into Karou's world.  I loved the characters, as well: Karou's mysterious exterior and childish interior, Zuzana's spunkiness and loyalty, and Akiva's pensive nature.  Though this book has the feel of other books (like Cassandra Clare's Immortal Instruments), its content is unique.  I thought about giving it four stars, but that didn't seem like enough, and I decided that sometimes sheer awesomeness counts for an extra star.  If you like fantasy (and maybe even if you don't) you should read Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

Rating: 5/5
Completed: November 2, 2012

Happy day after Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it!  I found these ecards from fictional characters yesterday on figment.com.  Best holiday cards ever, in my opinion.

City of Lost Souls (Cassandra Clare)

****

Disclaimer: this summary will almost definitely be confusing unless you have read the other books in the Mortal Instruments series.  Which I recommend that you do.

         Less than half an hour after the demon Lilith was banished, Jace disappears.  Also missing is the corpse of Sebastian, Clary Fray's hated brother.  The Clave has searched for both boys, but they have given up to focus their energy on other problems.  Clary is sick with worry for Jace, but soon he shows up at her house - with Sebastian, who is alive - and asks her to come and live with them.  Jace reveals that he and Sebastian were bound together both physically and mentally by Lilith.  Despite the fact that he is in on Sebastian's twisted new plan, Clary can't bear to abandon Jace.  Clary risks everything to go with Jace and try to save him from Sebastian and from himself.  Meanwhile, Jace's closest friends are trying to find a way to sever the bond and separate him from Sebastian.  The Clave will stop at nothing to kill Sebastian, even if it means hurting one of their own.  If Clary, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus don't succeed, the Clave will take Sebastian out - despite the fact that Jace will die in the process.

         I always enjoy reading Cassandra Clare's books, and City of Lost Souls was no exception.  Though the concept behind the Mortal Instruments series seemed strange to me at first, it's really easy to get sucked into the New York City that is crawling with warlocks, Shadowhunters, vampires and demons.  All of the books in this series (and its companion series, the Infernal Devices) are full of evil plots by power-hungry psychopaths and epic plans to stop them from taking over.  Cassandra Clare usually achieves the perfect balance between romance and bone-chilling encounters with creepy demon things.  I definitely recommend this series - start with the first book, City of Bones.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: June 15, 2012