Good Reads

Perfect for Winter

Shiver

So I just finished my 6th novel for the fall! This is HUGE! I can't remember the last time since high school where I just read and read and read. My most resent find and read was, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I was immediately drawn to the book cover, which I just love! And after reading the back cover, found the synopsis interesting enough to buy it. I just loved it, it's about a girl named Grace who takes care of her self since her parents are to caught up in their own lives to care. Grace and her friends from school are occupied by watching the wolves that live in the woods behind Graces house. If that last sentence didn't give away what the book is based of off, it's werewolf. Yes, werewolfs! I liked it because it was a fun adventure mystery romance read all in one. It did remind me of the Twilight saga, but it was different enough that I didn't feel I was reading another "girl loves mystical creature" story. Any-who, the book is about Grace meeting up with a guy named Sam and solving the mystery to what's haunting the town.

Shiver has a companion book that just came out called Linger which is on my purchase waiting list. All-in-all, shiver was a great quick read.  

-enjoy!

A Good Book with a Tasty Treat!

One of my favorite things is when I find a great book to read that I otherwise would have never picked up. My friend gave me the great tip and it has been quite the adventure! You know your book is good when you find yourself dreaming about the characters and going on your own adventures. I just finished it the other day while eating a nice tasty treat, I was craving something sweet and crunchy and a homemade rice krispy treat did just the trick. 

Gracling is by Kristin Cashore who also has written a companion to it called Fire (next on my to read list). The story takes place in the seven kingdoms, each kingdom ruled by a different king. Katsa is a young girl who is Graced. To be a graceling means that you have a special ability in something. This talent can be in swimming, running, predicting the weather, or in Katsa's case, killing. Now while this may give you the impression the book is morbid, it's not. While I was a little taken back by her grace, it all turned out unexpectedly pleasant. Katsa teams up with another graceling, Po, as they go in search for  the motives behind his grandfathers kidnapping. This book had me turning pages to find out what would happen next.

Fire

 

The lovely Kristin Cashore has come out with a new great story about a far off mystical place called the Dells. It wasn't until I got tired of staring at my unread book on my shelf that I decided to pick it up and take a peep inside. Well that little peeped turned into a real page turner. I actually think I prefer the plot line of Fire better than the one in Graceling. Don't get me wrong, Graceling was amazing, but I think this one picks up a lot quicker. 

Fire was written as a companion book to Graceling. You can read which ever one first without missing anything. It's nice because each book can stand alone, so you don't have to worry about chronological order. However, I think if I could redo my experience with the two books, I would start with Fire just because I think it would be a nice pre-curser to Graceling. Fire is broken up into four different parts and shares one important character found in Graceling, but you don't really meet this character until mid book-ish. 

As a quick run-through of Fire, Fire is the main female character. She is special because she is a human monster. Now "monsters" in this book are regular known animals (horses, dogs, cats ...) with the exception that they are astonishing in their size and appearance due to bright unnatural coloring.  Fire is unusual because she has drop dead gorgeous hair in  brilliant shades of red, orange and pink. In addition to her exceptional hair color, she is very beautiful (this beauty trait is shared among all the monsters). This beauty that monsters share is what they use to ensnare and capture their prey, oh and their mind control helps with that as well! 

In Fire's case, she is the last living "human monster" and people are either overcome with rapture by her mere appearance or they're the exact opposite and would rather have her dead. Thanks to her once monster father and King Nax of the Dells, the kingdom is on the brink of ruins and other power hungry lords are seeking to take the crown. It is then up to Fire and the remaining royal family to save the kingdom they so dearly loved. 

Being straight forward, Fire is a total chick-novel and has quite a bit more sensuality in it than Graceling. I would rate it PG-13/ for mature audiences because it is strewn through the book and not in just parts here or their. If you've already read Graceling, you can just expect a lot more occurrences of sensuality/ love making. I'm not trying to make it sound pornographic, it's not, it's just suggestive as two what two characters are, will or have done. 

All-in-all, it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.