"These Three Remain: Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman Series" by Pamela Aiden

Three Stars

Book three begins with Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam on their way to visit their Aunt Catherine at Rosings Park. There he is unexpectedly reunited with Elizabeth Bennet, whom he has sworn to forget.

Book three may be my favorite of the series, it definitely has one of my favorite parts, but it only gets three stars because I found myself thinking, on at least two occasions, “Why won’t this book just end?” It’s looong. And it sometimes seems even longer because so much of it is Darcy comparing his four conversations with Elizabeth to verbal sword play. There’s a lot of that. This simply should not have been a trilogy. There just wasn’t enough for that. Over all it’s great but it would have been even better as a single book.

All of the scenes with Elizabeth, Dyfred, and Col Fitzwilliam are fantastic and amazing. But most of the other stuff is a bit of a drag. Especially when the Irish-Fairy-Witch makes a reappearance. But there is a scene which, oddly enough, made me fall in love with Darcy that much more. Pages 192-200. You are welcome for that little hint.

This book gets three stars and the series as a whole scores four. Had it been cut down to only one book with all of the fantastic parts it may very well have scored a full five stars!

Quickly, I want to say that I totally called Dy from the moment he was first introduced in the series and I love the direction his story is left heading. Also, I would totally read a book just about him. It would be awesome.

And The Winner Is ...

Thank you to everyone who visited my blog and entered to win the signed copy of "Beautiful Creatures".

Winners were randomly chosen by my four-year old pulling names out of her Trick-or-Treat bucket. And those winners are:

Signed copy of "Beautiful Creatures" - Jamie S.
Schwag Pkg #1 - Val J.
Schwag Pkg #2 - Kim T.

Winners, please email me your addresses and I will get your prizes in the mail.

Congrats to the winners and don't forget to check back for more contests in the future!

First Ever Give-Away!

Give-away, bribe, whatever you want to call it, I've got some schwag and I want to share it with you!

Last night I attended, and actually ended up helping run, a signing with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, a.k.a. Margie, authors of "Beautiful Creatures". These two are awesome and put on a very cool event. They met when Margie kept trying to join a fantasy book club Kami conducted for teens, became friends and eventually wrote the book on a dare from some of those same teens. They have a lot of fun together and with everyone who comes to meet them. One girl was literally shaking she was so excited and they took time to chat with everyone in line and sign as many books as were set down in front of them.
 

Some friends, Kami, Margie, and Me



Kami and Margie are just awesome. I was at the end of the line with some friends so, after signing the last book, Kami and Margie just sort of hung out and chatted with us and it was like talking to someone you've known forever. They are simply fabulous and if you ever get a chance to go to one of their events do, you won't be disappointed.

  

Now for the FREE STUFF part!

I have a signed copy of "Beautiful Creatures" that I am going to give away to one lucky reader of my blog. That and some pretty fun swag that Kami and Margie hooked me up with as well. 



The Schwag



Just sign up to be a follower of this blog (click on the "Follow" button to the right) and leave a comment with your favorite book, current or all-time (because you can absolutely have both). And in a shameless effort at self-promotion on my part, you can earn an additional entry for every person that you get to sign up as well. Just tell them to mention that you referred them in their comment and that's another chance for you.

 

You have until Friday, October 29, at midnight (because all good things end at the stroke of twelve). Winners will be randomly chosen and posted on Saturday, October 30, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.

Good Luck!

"Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Three Stars

Ethan Wate is about to meet the girl of his dreams. Literally. The girl from his nightmares has just walked into his high school. The small southern town of Gatlin doesn’t like outsiders and they quickly let Lena know that she is definitely an outsider. It’s all made worse by the fact that she has moved in with her uncle, the notorious town recluse, at the oldest and most dilapidated plantation in town.

As Ethan tries to be friends with Lena and still fit in to the familiar world he knows,  he slowly starts to learn that his boring hometown, where everyone knows everything and nothing ever changes, is hiding some pretty big secrets of its own. Secrets that reach into his own family. Family both living and dead.

Southern Gothic. The name of the genre creates a mystery and magic all its own that I don’t even want to try to resist. Sometimes I swear I should have been born in the south. Maybe in another life.

I gave this book three stars. I enjoyed it, it was a fun read, but didn’t completely draw me in to the point where I couldn’t put it down. Gatlin is the perfect southern town and all of the characters play their roles to perfection, from Ethan’s three great-aunts who are all Southern Belle perfection to his best friend's mama who won’t let them read Harry Potter because it’s the devil. My hang up was that I just never got completely lost in the story or some of the characters.

I did like the book and thought it was fun. The authors take a new look at the YA Paranormal genre with some new twists on the traditional baddies and there are two characters that I’m really curious to see what lies in store for them, or what they have lying in store for the others. I think I know where their alliances lie, but they just might surprise me.

Book Two in The Caster Chronicles (the series title) just came out last week and I am looking forward to heading south and catching up with my two favorites, who are not the main characters in case you were wondering. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say this, Amma kinda scares me and I totally love her for it.

Be watching for the review of book two, “Beautiful Creatures”.

"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Four Stars - Loved It

This book should be required reading for anyone who has, works with, was, or might ever com e into contact with a teen.

Clay had no idea what to expect when he began listening to the cassette tapes he received in a mysterious package, but it definitely wasn’t this. The tapes were made by Hannah Baker, a classmate who recently died, and tell her story and the reasons that lead to her suicide. There are thirteen stories, one for each person who will receive the tapes and be made to understand why.

Clay has to listen to all of them. To find out what happened to Hannah, as well as who sent them to him and who is next on the list. He spends the next twelve or so hours listening to Hannah tell her own story and lead him to different locations around town where Hannah’s life was changed and where his will now be forever altered as well.

I actually listened to this book on CD and that is how it should be read; it was amazing. I think the whole premise comes across even stronger because the reader is listening to Hannah right along with Clay. It was amazingly powerful and I found myself tearing up more than once. It was a direct, heavy look at how our actions can affect each other and how intentionally or unintentionally cruel people can be.

Asher boldly tackles taboo issues that often are breezed over and never directly addressed, opening them for discussion in a new way.

It’s a powerful read for both teens, who are probably dealing with some of these issues currently, and adults, who can relate from past experiences. This book would be an excellent choice for adults to read with teens as it would open the door to some conversations that might be difficult to approach on their own. It definitely made me think about my parenting style and how I’m going to approach my own children’s teen years.

"Duty and Desire" by Pamela Aiden

Four Stars

Pamela Aiden continues her assessment into the untold story of Darcy …

Yeah, sorry. I can’t even think about this book with a straight face, let alone write seriously about it. We’ve all wondered what Darcy was up to during the middle of Pride and Prejudice when he and Elizabeth are apart.

I’ve always pictured him spending that time chasing a revenge-obsessed, half-Irish, fairy-witch through the dungeon corridors of an ancient castle, trying to rescue a kidnapped child and prevent human sacrifices from being offered at Stonehenge.

Apparently I’m not the only one. You think I’m joking.

And absurd as it all is, you can’t help but love it. Who knew Darcy harbors a Scooby-Doo streak? I might have given this book only three stars but it earns the fourth in the first half when Darcy is celebrating Christmas at Pemberley with his family, including the loveable Col. Fitzwilliam. It also has more of Darcy’s old school friend, Dy, who is fabulous.

These parts of the story continue to fit right in with who Darcy is and make me look forward to Darcy and Elizabeth’s reunion in book three.

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Four Stars

Oh how long I have waited for this book. I have been addicted to this series since the first one came out two years ago. Book one is awesome and book two sets everything up perfectly for the finale.

And then comes book three. I was so excited for this book, everything promised that it would be fantastic, and it pretty much delivered. I was disappointed at times, not with what was in the book, but what wasn’t. There were some amazing moments, and even a few twists that I thought were awesome. However, the end has a few problems. It’s not how it ends, but the almost abruptness of the ending that I have some trouble with. Then events in the last few chapters just need more description, rather than the simple mentions they receive. These storylines and characters deserved more completion and closure.

But it is still an awesome ride and I love it all. Mockingjay gets four stars but the series as a whole scores an absolute FIVE.