Spotlight on... Rick Riordan

Recently, I've been reading books that I just love or reading about books I need to read. I might not write a review of them but I'd still like to mention them. Authors, series, books I've read or books I want to read may be spotlighted. There will always be a theme though. This will be a feature posted whenever I have the time.

Spotlight on Rick Riordan. 

Author info: 

Rick Riordan is an American author from Texas famous for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian). He attended The University of Texas at Austin in 1986, where he double-majored in English and History He also wrote The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles) and, most recently, The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus). He also wrote the Tres Navarre series for adults and helped to edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series. He also wrote book one of the 39 Clues (The Maze of Bones), published by Scholastic Corporation, and wrote the first book in the series, The Maze of Bones.

Visit his website: http://www.rickriordan.com

Books Written:

The Tres Navarre series:

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series:

The Kane Chronicles series:

 *

*The Throne of Fire hasn't been released yet.

The Maze of Bones:

The Heroes of Olympus series:

 Next book in this series is  The Son of Neptune. 

I've read the Percy Jackson series and The Lost Hero series which are both MG books, (as is the Maze of Bones). I haven't read the Tres Navarre series though since it's an adult level series. The Heroes of Olympus is a kind of spinoff from the Percy Jackson series and it's very good. It has all new characters and the such, but I'll explain more about it in my review (which is soon coming). 

Rick Riordan always writes with humour. He's brilliant at writing easy to read, action packed stories that everyone, kids, teens and adults can enjoy. He uses various mythologies and incorporates them in his work easily and fluidly. The Percy Jackson series is and will forever remain a classic in my view and I'm super excited to read more about Percy's world in the Heroes of Olympus series. 

If you haven't read anything by Rick Riordan, I strongly suggest you should.

Waiting on Wednesday x3

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I've been a fail doing WoW so I decided to pick three books this week.

. 

Author: Beth Fantaskey

Other books in the series: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Release Date: January 9 2012

Synopsis: When Jessica Packwood found out she was a Romanian vampire princess, she had the shock of her teenage life. Turns out that was the easy part. Now, married to Prince Lucius Vladescu, she has to claim her throne and convince a vampire nation she’s fit to be their queen. But Jess can’t even order a decent meal from her castle’s Romanian staff, let alone deal with devious undead subjects who would love to see her fail. 

And when Lucius is accused of murdering a vampire Elder and imprisoned without the blood he needs, Jessica finds herself alone, fighting for both their survivals. 

Desperate to clear her husband’s name and win his release, Jess enlists the help of her best friend Mindy Stankowicz and Lucius’s mysterious Italian cousin, Raniero Lovatu. But both of them are keeping some dark secrets. Can Jess figure out who to trust – and how to rise to power – before she loses everything, including the vampire she loves? 

Full of romance, mystery, and danger, the highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side shows that sometimes a princess has to earn her “happily ever after” – with a \

sharpened stake in hand.

Doesn't that sound amazing? Jessica's guide was laugh-out-loud funny and Lucius is so sexy so I'm super excited to read this. But I can't believe we have to wait till 2012 to get it!

 


Author: C.C. Hunter

Release Date: March 29 2011

Synopsis: Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Wow, what a gorgeous cover! I've been hearing many good things about this book in the blogosphere so I'm 

super excited to read it. Plus, with a half-fae, a werewolf, camp, it's got to be good. 

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Release Date: April 30 2011
Other books in the series :Halo 

Whoa, another fabulous cover! Halo was sweet, fun and addicting so I expect nothing less from Hades. Except a darker ride, since there is more black on the cover with fire like hell and Hades rules hell... anyway, I can't wait. 

Those are just a few of my picks. What are you waiting for?

Review: Wishful Thinking

Author: Alexandra Bullen
Pages: 336
Publisher: Point
Other Books in the Series: Wish (This is a companion novel to wish. You don't need to read Wish to understand this story.)
Source: Library
Synopsis (from Amazon):
If you could wish for a different life, would you? What if that life changed everything you thought was real?


Adopted as a baby, Hazel Snow has always been alone. She's never belonged anywhere--and has always yearned to know the truth about where she comes from. So when she receives three stunning, enchanted dresses--each with the power to grant one wish--Hazel wishes to know her mother. 
Transported to a time and place she couldn't have imagined, Hazel finds herself living an alternate life--a life with the mother she never knew.




Over the course of one amazing, miraculous summer, Hazel finds her home, falls in love, and forms an unexpected friendship. But will her search to uncover her past forever alter her future?



In the heart-pounding, luminous sequel to WISH, Alexandra Bullen asks the question: If you could wish for a new life....would you?


Wishful Thinking is all about a girl named Hazel who had a terrible childhood without a family so when she gets the opportunity to meet her birth mother, she's ecstatic. Sadly for Hazel, the reunion turns out completely different from what she expected. With three dresses and wishes, Hazel can change her past and future. The question is what will she wish for?

Hazel is a good character. She's independent, kind, but has issues letting people in. She's insecure sometimes, but a realistic character. She's what I would call a normal character, but I was rooting for her the whole way.

While the end of Wishful Thinking was clear to me, I never wanted to get to it. On the way to the ending, there were many sweet scenes, realizations and lovable characters. The dresses were a fun part of the story. I loved reading their descriptions. They sound absolutely gorgeous, but terrifying too.

There are many nice parts to Wishful Thinking, but for some reason I never ended up loving it. I think it's because from the beginning I knew the ending would make me sad and cry and I don't generally like to feel that way. But once I started reading, I knew I had to continue, and even if the ending wasn't my dream happily-ever-after ending, it was the right ending for Hazel.

All in all, this is a sweet story of love, family, destiny and finding your place in the world. It's a good read and has a fabulous cover. It's probably something I would describe as "heartwarming" if I were the type to casually use words like that. I liked it and that's why I'm giving it a 3.5,

***&1/2

Book News

There's been a bunch of book news lately which has inspired me to create my own feature that basically sums it all up. I'll be doing this feature spontaneously and I hope you enjoy it!

1. This week, the cover to the sequel of Matched, Crossed has been revealed.

I think it's beautiful! It totally mateches (*grins*) the cover of Matched. (Which I still need to read!)


2. In other news, the cover of the much awaited Beautiful Chaos has also been released. I love this series so I'm supe excited!

Synopsis: Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossiblehave taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Doesn't that sound absolutely amazing? Though this idea of no happy ending is a bit worrisome...

3. The cover and synopsis of Kimberly Derting's new novel The Pledge has been released!

Synopsis: Words are the most dangerous weapon of all. 

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she’s spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed. 

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can’t be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country’s only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime

Wow, that seems like a MUST READ. The cover is beautiful! 

4. Lastly, has anyone heard of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer? I'd be surprised if you haven't. The books have unique covers and from what I heard are quite good. Though I've heard that the covers are being changed. I'll show you a before and after. 

Before:

   

After: 

 

I personally don't like the new covers much. The old ones were beautiful and unique but the new ones look more generic to me. What are your thoughts?

That's all for now! Keep reading and hope this was interesting!

Teaser Tuesday:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I  have a teaser from Old Magic by Marianne Curley.

"You all right? You went paler than your usual God-awful pale."

-p. 5 

I'm not too far into the book but it already has an interesting premise so I'm excited to read it. For those who are interested, here's the synopsis:

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing,

But Kate Warren doesn't know why.

The moment the new guy walks into the room, Kate senses something strange and intense about him. Something supernatural. Her instincts are proven correct a few minutes later when, bullied by his classmates, Jarrod unknowingly conjures up a freak thunderstorm inside their classroom.

Jarrod doesn't believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has extraordinary powers that need to be harnessed, he only puts up with her "hocus pocus" notions because he finds her captivating. However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate's theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey -- one which will unravel the mystery that has haunted Jarrod's family for generations and pit the teens against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future.

Sounds interesting right? Well that's my teaser! Hope you liked it and leave a comment so I can visit your blog and see your teaser too! :)

Review: Once in a Full Moon

Author: Ellen Schreiber
Pages: 304
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Library
Synopis (from Amazon):


Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.


Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.


Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run.


Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.


Once in a Full Moon is a nice, light, romantic werewolf story.

The main character is Celeste, a quiet, dreamer sort of girl who is nice and sweet. She's meant to be relatable but I ended up not liking her. Celeste has two best friends, Ivy and Abby, who are both very rich girls. Celeste isn't as rich as them, which may be why her opinion often differs from them on the topic of the "Westsiders" (people from the "wrong" side of town). What bugs me is how annoying Celeste's supposed best friends are. Celeste always comments on how much she cares for them and how they mean well, but I kept wondering what kind of good friends force her to be with some guy she doesn't like? What kind of friends completely ignore her wishes and wants so that their own can come true? I lost respect for Celeste since she hangs out with people like that. An example would be when Brandon, a Westsider, sat down in a seat that was meant to be hers. Her friends were rude to him, even though it was the first day of school just because he was a Westsider.

Another annoying character was Nash, Celeste's boyfriend. I'm glad she makes the choice to stay away from him, but his cowardly attitude and neediness makes me very mad at him. He is a jerk in every sense and I'm glad Celeste realizes it. Though his part in the story is needed, I wish there was something that could redeem him.

I liked Celeste much more when she was alone or with Brandon. She is a calm, cool girl. Albeit a kind of lovestruck, typical teenager, but still she is a way better person than before. She's more original and genuinely happy to help others. Plus when her friends aren't around, her loyalty to them is sweet.

So obviously, most of the problems I had with this book were the characters that I didn't like. They acted unbelievably, and I didn't feel any sympathy toward most of them.

The supernatural element of the story is interesting, but not for my tastes. It is more of a classic werewolf story. The prophecies of a kiss under the moon however are very interesting and made sure that the story ends in a good way. There is a plot that's more original than your "girl meets bad boy with terrible secret" which I appreciated.

Once in a Full Moon was written really well and was easy to read. I would recommend this to people looking for a light, romantic werewolf read.

3 stars, ***

Thoughts about the cover:
This will be a new feature basically about the cover and presentation of the book because I find it's an important part of any book for me.

I love the cover of this book! Dark blues and hot pink in cursive? *sighs* The inside of the book is reallt cool too. The first  page of every chapter is a page all in black  with the exception of the writing and there are trees and a moon... pretty. I'd give 4 out of five stars because it's so pretty.

xoxo,

Apologies and Brace Yourself!

I'd like to acknowledge the fact that I didn't do pretty much anything on my blog last week. What's weird is that I wrote 6 reviews that need to be posted soon, so it's not like I'm neglecting the blog. Anyway, since I have a break right now for a week, I'll make up for last week and this week. Brace yourself for a series of posts everyday that will include one review and a possible other book news such as covers, wishlists, anything.

I'd like to add that to get the reviews first, send me a request on Goodreads (G icon at the right) since I post reviews there first, plus all the books I'm reading and want to read.

Let the reviews commence!

xoxo,