Heir of the Force

:My random thoughts: 

So, my first Star Wars Expanded Universe novel.  I guess it was ok, and I won't lie and say it wasn't interesting. But, I'm not huge for all the 'after Return of the Jedi' stories. I'm perfectly fine leaving everything as it is. The idea of Mara Jade nearly makes me sick. Star Killer is a joke, but I will admit, That Red eyed dude has something going for him....

:Publisher's Description:

While exploring the jungle outside the academy, the twins make a startling discovery—the remains of a TIE fighter that had crashed years ago during the battle against the first Death Star. Mechanical whiz Jaina thinks she can repair it…if they can sneak the right parts from the academy.
Meanwhile, their work is being closely watched—but not by academy eyes. The original pilot, an Imperial trooper, has been living wild in the jungle since his ship went down. Waiting to return to duty. And now his chance has come…

  :info to know:

Author: Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta

My recommended age: 8+

Their recommended age: NA

Publisher: Berkley Press

Number of Pages: 240

• Characters:  Han Solo and Chewbacca were written splendidly. Although Captain Solo is now General Solo, he kept his character while adding a Fatherly twist.  Luke Skywalker disappointed me. He just seemed so lame. Not at all like the Luke I know. And then Jiana, Jacen, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka. I didn't know much about these 4, except Jacen and Jiana are the children of Leia and Han, and they were Jedi. So, I can't say if the book kept to their character.

 Plot:
It was good. Fan fictions have a plot style all their own.

Writing Style:
As in the plot, Fan fictions always have a writing style that is their own. A certian, pardon me, cheesy, feel to it. I guess the reason why is because it doesn't feel original. It feels like a borrowed, worn out pen. Used to much and spread to thin. Also, Heir of the Force had absolutely NO moral to it. There wasn't even the mediocre, 'Friendship' moral. It was just a story. Just fluff to fill your brain. Sherlock Disapproves.

Cover:
Nice to see a picture of Lowbacca...but where is Tenel Ka? I had to google a picture of her.

Ending:
I'll just say, it was really lame. Jiana and Jacen (And Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca got out of that little mess without even a chastening. And then, What about Qorl? You're just gonna let him blast off to space? That was real lame man. 

World Building:
Seeing how they were building on somebody else's Science Fiction world...I'll give them a B+.

Language:

None.

Drugs and Drink:

None.

Romance and sexual content:

None.

Violence:

None.

 

Ratings

 

Ok. It was a clean book, a super fluffy read, and lame, when you wrap it all up, and add some red twine for looks, you get:

I know you were all expecting a 1 or 2 star. But It wasn't a bad book. If was interesting, and a pretty good EU starter. But just empty. I prefer some meat with my words puhleeze.

Spirit Fighters

                                                              
                                                           :My random thoughts:
Ever since I read the Angeleon series a little bit ago, I've been hooked on the idea of angles on earth, especially the Nephili.  This book particulary grabbed me, because of the line, "Percy Jackson, move over! Jonah Stone is here!" I've been interested in the Percy Jackson series, and decided to give this novel a try. What could it hurt? Nothing at all.

:Publisher's Description:

Percy Jackson, move over! Jonah Stone is here!
What if Nephilim—the children of angels and men—still walked the earth? And their very presence put the entire world in danger? In Spirit Fighter, Jonah and Eliza Stone learn that their mother is a Nephilim and that they have special powers as quarter-angels. When their mom is kidnapped by fallen angels, they must use those powers to save her. Along the way, they discover that there is a very real and dangerous war going on between good and evil and that God has a big part for them to play in that war.
Parents today are looking for fiction that makes Christianity and the Bible exciting for their kids. This series is the Christian answer to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, The Secret Series and other middle-grade series packed with adventure, action, and supernatural fights. Son of Angels, Jonah Stone will be the first series in the market to explore this topic from a biblical perspective with content that is appropriate and exciting for middle-grade readers.

:info to know:

Author: Jerel Law

My recommended age: 9+

Their recommended age: 9+

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Number of Pages: 256

• Characters:  They were all quite enjoyable. I found Henry to be a little odd to get used to at first, since he seemed so condradictory, let me explain.  He spoke with such wisdom, but looked like a teen in sneakers. It was much easier to get used to the other angels.   The thing I love most about Nephili and angel novels is the personal aspect they add to something I always took for granted. Angels are just as much real and alive, thinking and breathing as we are.  Not just simple chess peices.

Plot:
It was interesting. I liked it. It wasn't at all slow, or boring. And was entertaining enough to keep a 16 year old happy while still being easy enough for a 9, maybe even 7-8 year old to read.

Writing Style:
It was really fast paced. Sometimes, I felt a little choppy, however.  When Jonah is told he is a quaterling, he just latches on to the idea without giving it any thought. Also the way his parents break the news to him is a little cheesy, but not terribly laughable.

Cover:Can you ask for a more better, action packed, drag you in cover?

Ending:It was well ended, but left plenty of room for a sequel.

World Building:
While the world was already made, the development of the spirit (angelic and demonic) world is very admirable.

Language:

None, however, several Moon Truckers do, quote, "Disrespectful finger signs". I shall let you figure out what that means.

Drugs and Drink:

None.

Romance and sexual content:

Jonah's mom and dad kiss once to their children's disgust.

Violence:

The evil demons are indeed evil, and don't hesitate at harming people, physically or spiritually. Also, their are warrior angels, and a few battles. Nothing gory or unneeded.

Rating:

This book was clean in every aspect, beautifully written, and completely worth its:

*I got this novel free from Booksneeze.com. I was not paid for my review. All thoughts are my own*

H.G Wells

"Everyone seemed eager to talk at once, and the result was Babel"

(From 'The Invisible Man')

This man is a genius. Ok, so maybe I don't admire his politcal and Religous views, nor his Personal Life, but his books are indeed an amazing legecy. Despite his problems, I would indeed love to meet Mr. Herbert George Wells.

I started reading his novel, "The Time Machine", and I found it very enjoyable. Written in 1895, it was the first Time traveling book of its kind.  Mr. Wells stepped out the the ordinary sort of writing, and wrote something amazing indeed.

Along with Jules Verne (Who I also admire) and Hugo Greenback (who I know nothing about) H.G Wells is known to be the Father of Science Fiction. And as a astutue lover of the genre, both in movies and books, I tip my hat to the men who "Made it so".

A friend introduced me to 'The Invisible Man' in a roundabout way.  And it wasn't the book she was showing me, but the 1933 movie.  After hearing some bad things about the movie, I kinda cast the idea aside.  It wasn't until a few months later, when I was browsing Goodread's free e-book selection, when I came upon this beauty.  At first, I didn't know The Time Machine (Called TTM from here on out) and The Invisible man (TIM) shared the same author, but I knew I had to read this old 'horror'. After reading the first chapter, I realized H.G Wells wrote both masterpeices.  I was interested, but at the time, had more popular books that sidetracked me, and it wasn't until last night I repicked up TIM.

Wow.

H.G Wells is now one of my most favorite author.

He helped pioneer Sci-fi, and Did you know, his novel, "When the Sleeper Wakes" was the first ever dystopian novel? He created that genre.

His short story, "The New Accelerator" inspired 2 Star Trek Episodes, (VOY: Blink of an Eye, and OT: Wink of an Eye).

In 1901, He wrote a novel about men on the Moon, "The First Men on the Moon".

And of the two novels I'm reading (TIM and TTM), I'm very, very inpressed.

He wasn't just a writer of novels, He helped write a future path.

"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today."

-H.G Wells

While he might have been an amazing man in his writing craft, Mr. Wells' personal life was less...uplifting.  Not in shambles, but not at all honorable.  He married his cousin, Isabell Mary Wells, in 1891, but they agreed to seperate in 1894 when he fell in love with a student of his named Amy Catherine Robbins (She was known as Jane). Amy and Herbert married, and 2 sons, George and Frank.  However, H.G had...affairs, with several other women (Amy approved, which shows how bird brained she must've been), one of them including Birth Control activist, Margaret Sanger.  And Amber Reeves, who he had a daughter name Anna-Jane with.

He was a socialist (which I boo), and a pacifist. Even though he had big problems with the Nazi party during the WWs. And. in fact, during WW2, he was the President of a club called, International PEN (Poets, Essayist and Novelists), and when the German branch refused to allow non-aryan people to continue their membership or join, he promptly cut them off. The SS didn't like that, and his name was in fact on their immedinat arrest list when they planned on conquering Britian. Which we all knew never happened.

Mr. Wells did like Joseph Stalin, which for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

He leaned towards an all religionist. He thought all the different reliogions in the world were ok, just not for everybody. Now, I REALLY don't agree with that, but thankfully none of his religious veiws have leaked into any of the books I've read so far.

I am so glad to have discovered Mr. Wells. He truly was a great writer who paved the way for Star Trek, Star Wars, and The Hunger Games.

Think how different our world would be without him?  Not just the fictional world, but our everyday world, Cell Phones, Ipads, Computers, all inspired by Science Fiction.

These men deserve an award.

Crater (A Helium-3 Novel)

:My random thoughts: 

I simply love Science Fiction novels, and this one truly grabbed my attention.  I'm very inters ted in Moon colonizing (even if I'm highly skeptical about the logistics of it), and this one seemed full of adventure, daring, and science fiction awesomeness.


It was an utter fail.
I shall leave you to my review...

:Publisher's Description:

A Helium-3 miner named Crater makes a treacherous journey through space to find a mysterious and priceless treasure.
It's the 22nd Century and a tough, pioneering people are mining the moon
to produce energy for a desperate, war torn Earth.  Crater Trueblood, an
orphan, loves his life in Moontown, a frontier mining settlement.  Just turned sixteen, Crater is already a seasoned Helium 3 miner, hoping someday to be a foreman on the scrapes.  But "the Colonel," the man who owns the mine, has a different plan for Crater which includes Maria, the Colonel's daring young granddaughter.  Crater, accompanied by Maria and his gillie--a sentient and sometimes insubordinate clump of slime mold cells--must shepherd a convoy of Helium 3 trucks across a forbidding river of dust while also looking for a mysterious, historical artifact that could mean the difference between life and death for every inhabitant on the moon.

  :info to know:

Author: Homer Hickman

My recommended age: 11+

Their recommended age: NA

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Number of Pages: 320

• Characters:  I shall now heave a huge sigh.  All the characters had the possibility to be greatness. They had everything, the depth, the kwirks, the personalities...but know what they lacked? An author able to blow life into them.  The only character that had any real life, was Gillie. Oh, I loved sassy, smart mouth, mischievous Gillie from the first. He was the best part in the book. And, then, Mr. Hickman had to kill him.  I have therefore no desire to read the next books, unless there is some slim chance Gillie did not die, but was laying, rebooting himself somewhere in the great moon expanse.

 Plot:
It was sketchy, sometimes I couldn't follow what was happening, and I had to back track many times just to understand. There were far to many boring, 'Just the narrator talking' scenes. And the ending nearly killed me.

Writing Style:
The whole time, all I could think was, "Amateur".  The action scenes were to fast paced and roughly written to make much sense with them, the Characters that should've been deep were shallow, and I could make no sense of Maria, her person was always changing it's angle. Crater's friend, or his boss? Fun loving girl, or strict heiress?

Cover:
A splendid cover for a not so splendid novel.

Ending:
Horrid.  1) The Gillie dies. 2) Just a bag of bones? 3) I could care less about Maria, 4) The Action was choppy, and I didn't realize Gillie was dead until nearly half a chapter later and Crater said it bluntly.

World Building:
If he did nothing else, he gave a very interesting view of our Moon. It was an interesting view, especially with all the mutants. We all love mutant.

Language:

None, however, several Moon Truckers do, quote, "Disrespectful finger signs". I shall let you figure out what that means.

Drugs and Drink:

None.

Romance and sexual content:

Crater has a crush on Maria, and I think it is vis versa, but Maria is so confusing, I don't truly know.  They kiss technically once, and once they put their helmets together, and kiss through it, but their lips don't touch.

Violence:

Plenty. Between warrior mutants, Gillie's tricks, dare devil truckers, and a moon more wilder then the Wild West, there is plenty of clean violence. Nothing gut wrenching.

Ratings

This book really, truly, had the possibility to be a wonderful read.  The plot idea, the characters, everything could have been fantastic had it been written better.

But I can't review a novel on the Would'a, Could'a, Should'a.

 

 

Ever been truly disappointed by a Novel?

North of Beautiful

  :My random thoughts:

What is wrong with me? Romances I enjoyed, and Teen chic novels I love/hate? Oh oh bother. 


When I first started this book, I hated it with venom.  Terra, in my opinion, was a selfish, vain person.  All she cared about was her appearance, and she seemed like a shallow person.  I put it aside, and vowed never to pick it back up.  That never works. I have a pride that every book I've borrowed from the library I've finished, and I didn't want to break that flawless record.  I picked it back up one night when Insomnia was being annoying, and I'm afraid, I didn't hate it so much.


Because of Jacob.


The Goth guy really just...Mm..He got me right in a tender spot.  But mostly because he taught Terra that what is on your face doesn't matter! It is what your inner self is like.  Jacob redeemed the novel.

:Publisher's Description:

As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face?

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty

  :info to know:

Author: Justina Chen Headley

My recommended age: 13+ (Girls)

Their recommended age: NA

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 384

• Characters:  As mentioned above, I don't like Tessa. Even though she gets over her face issues, I still never got the attachment to her that I probably should've to fully enjoy the book.  Her Dad, I hated, but it was a good hate. His character was so perfectly written, you can't help but hate him. Despicable man.  Her Mother is truly a sweet dear, even though sometimes I grew exasperated with her.  She was such a wilted flower, and didn't even try to help herself.  I guess thats what can happen to people though, when they are in a verbally abusive relationship.  And Jacob...How do I even start with him? He was wonderful.  If he hadn't been there, and if his character had been any different, I might never have had the love/hate I do for the book, it would be just a hate/hate.

 Plot:
It was enjoyable, and truly makes you yearn for travel.

Writing Style:
It was good.  No huge remark, nothing really struck me.

Cover:
Well, its evident the girl on the cover doesn't have a port wine stain, and it would've been nice if the artist had gotten a model that did.

Ending:
There is some good here.  The whole novel, I expected Terra's mom and dad to get divorced in the end. And I don't think divorce is a good, Christian thing (not that this novel is a christian YA to start out with). So I was cringing a little inside.  But if anything, the whole book showed the adverse, bad affects of Divorce. And in the end, Mr and Mrs. Cooper don't divorce, but rather reach a middle ground.  Does Terra's Dad miraculously change? No. And that was very realistic. You can't expect someone to change their ways (which They've had for years) in one night.  It doesn't happen.  

World Building:
Well, Ms. Headley certainly showed the bright and bad sides to China.  I like my plumbing, thank you.

Language:

The Lord's name is taken in vain by Terra  and Jacob many times through out the book.

Drugs and Drink:

None.

Romance and sexual content:

It happens before the book, but if briefly mentioned twice, Terra and Erik (Why did she have to name him Erik? Why? I love the name Erik, as it reminds me of my beautiful Erik The Opera Ghost) had sex. Not a subject this reviewer likes to see in books she reads.

And there is a scene in the beginning where Erik gropes Terra, again, I didn't much enjoy that.

Jacob and Terra kiss once.

Violence:

None.

Ratings:

This was an experimental novel. I wanted to see what it was today's girls read, and did I close the book pleased and ready to jump into the ring myself? Nope.  The book gave me enough of a taste that I've decided to stick with my action, adventure, sci-fi, thrillers.

(And Historical Romance might be an upcoming favorite of mine...jus'sayin') 

But My rating is:

If you already like Teen girl novels, you'd probably enjoy this one.  But as for Me, Myself and I? I'll take my Artemis Fowl, Classical, and CHAOS society and curl up in a little corner with a Trench coat and Tea.

Do you read any Teen Chic Flicks?

 

A Lot like a Lady

:My random thoughts:

Ok...How do I start this?  If you have been reading my reviews for some time now, you might have noticed I don't read Romance novels. They just aren't my style, I'm not a mushy gushy person. But, I saw A Lot Like a Lady, and just HAD to read it (I shall be honest, it was the Masquerade mask. I have a big 'thing' for those darling masks). So, I did the reviewerly thing, and politely contacted the author. Ms. Kay's agent was all to happy to oblige. In fact, I hope to work with Opal much more frequently.
Anyway, I had the book wired to my kindle in just a matter of hours..(error on my part for it taking so long) and I began to read it.  From the start, the Novel sucked me in. But as I went on, I started bracing myself for a sexual intercourse between Grey and Juliette.  And I didn't much like the looming prospect. Is it possible to have clean romance novels? Anyway, I shall leave the rest to my review.

:Publisher's Description:

Ladies’ maid, Juliet Baines has gotten herself into a pickle by agreeing to go to London and taking the place of her mistress and best friend, Annabella Price, stepsister to the Duke of Wyndham. After all, what does a servant know about being a lady? But Juliet soon finds that pretending to be a lady isn’t nearly as hard as guarding her heart against the folly of wanting a man who’s completely out of reach.

Graeme "Grey" Roland Dominick Markwythe, Sixth Duke of Wyndham, approaches his duties as a nobleman with great dedication and meticulous care. And he’s a man who is not easily fooled...except when he tries to convince himself he's not utterly and madly in love with the beautiful imposter who has turned his life upside down. Will society and his responsibilities to his noble status keep him from opening his heart to the woman he loves?

:info to know:

Author: Kay Springsteen and Kim Bowman

My recommended age: 16+

Their recommended age: NA

Publisher: Astraea Press

Number of Pages: 372

• Characters:  I fell in love with Grey from the start.  There is just something about slightly arrogant posh guys that charms me. Juliette is such a sweet dear, and her conflict tore at my heart almost as much as her own.  Uncle Lucian was very laughable, and the dotting Aunts are all to adorable. 

 Plot:
Romance. We all know it will be a happily ever after, but A Lot Like a Lady keeps you from putting it down. It is just to stinking hard. You read on and on, and before you know it, its over.

Writing Style:
As before stated, the lovely writers just pulled me in so hard, I couldn't release myself.

Cover:
Well...seeing how I got the book because of the cover...I must put my utmost seal of approval on it. Masquerade masks=total win.

Ending:
Again, romance. We all know in the end, the Lady and Hero will live happily Ever After (Maybe thats why Romeo and Juliette is so popular and memorable..it is contrary to all romance stories). And Even though I'm not big into the genre, this ending left me with happy bubbles. Happy pink bubbles. because I like pink, and pink bubbles would be a very happy thing.

World Building:
The studying that went into this novel was wonderful. I NEVER knew that the waltz was a risque dance in those times. I think the authors did VERY well on their home work.

Language:

Outside of annoying girls being called Chits, none.
(Is Chit a bad word anyway? I looked it up in the dictionary...)

Drugs and Drink:

Well, some harmless wine.

Romance and sexual content:

Ok..this is where it gets messy. The book's plot and idea was really super, but did we really need to know those details on that kiss? Isn't there a way we could describe a kiss scene without making people nearly vomit? I swear, I am NEVER kissing anybody. Ever. Ever. There shall be no "You may kiss the bride at my wedding". We can settle for a pleasant handshake instead.

There weren't any bed scenes (Thank God. I was crushingly waiting for them), but there was one questionable scene between Lucian and Harmony.

Needless to say, NO YOUNG READERS.  And, honestly, if I had known there was so much detail....I can't honestly say I'd still read it. Even though I liked the main story, I liked the idea. The romantic details really weren't needed in my mind.

Violence:

None. Oh, wait...Juliette kicks Grey. But thats all.

Ratings:

I liked the book. Don't get me wrong. I REALLY REALLY liked it. But the details in the kissing scenes REALLY weren't needed.  And while the Lucian/Harmony scene was a little vague, I still wouldn't feel comfortable with my brothers or sisters reading it. 


So, I give A Lot like a Lady a

If I did halves, I'd give it a 3 1/2. But I can't in my heart only give it a 3.  Because I did like it. I just wish it hadn't so much detail.


Romance Novels. What are your thoughts on them?