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Author Topic: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015  (Read 21930 times)

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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #30 on: May 26, 2015, 05:28:26 PM »
I didn't want it to come to this but...I'm reading Insurgent again.

Half of me wishes that the guy who played Thomas in The Maze Runner movie should have played Four in Divergent.  He matches the character much better. 

----

BTW, I'm over 5,000 words on my fantasy story!!!!! OMG.  Never thought I'd get that far.  Too much fear but I'm happy that I've passed that threshold.  :) :D



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #31 on: May 28, 2015, 06:04:13 PM »
Finished, A Little Princess, for the 4th time.  Read it to my 8-year-old at bedtime.  This is the only book she wants me to read to her.  Nothing else compares.

Btw, just took a quiz on the book and got 100%!

A quote from one of my favorite parts:

“When people are insulting you, there is nothing so good for them as not to say a word -- just to look at them and think. When you will not fly into a passion people know you are stronger than they are, because you are strong enough to hold in your rage, and they are not, and they say stupid things they wished they hadn't said afterward. There's nothing so strong as rage, except what makes you hold it in -- that's stronger. It's a good thing not to answer your enemies.”



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #32 on: May 28, 2015, 06:13:22 PM »
This is a favorite part of mine in A Little Princess when Sara realized that she was the one that changed, not her friend, Ermengarde St. James.

“Yes," answered Sara, nodding. "Adversity tries people, and mine has tried you and proved how nice you are.”

 :'(



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #33 on: June 03, 2015, 10:27:23 AM »
Currently reading (Insurgent's on the back burner for a week), Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse Book 1), by James S.A. Corey. It's such a long drawn out book.  Not a bad book but not a great book either.  I can't wait to finish and then be done with it. I will review it once I'm done.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #34 on: June 08, 2015, 12:17:32 PM »
Disappointed in Leviathan Wakes.  I mean, it was a good read but it somehow just didn't live up to my expectation of sci-fi.  It reminded me so much of books #2-4 of Ender's Game.  Was going to do a bigger review but I don't think it's worth it.  The beginning was pretty intriguing but then it just became really strange and for some reason couldn't hold my attention.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2015, 04:57:56 PM »
Reached my goal of reading 25 books this year.  :hello2: I really should have set the bar a bit higher.  :-[

This was the book that put me at my goal:

The Death Cure (Maze Runner Book #3), by James Dashner.

I enjoyed the action and the suspense. I also liked the follow through with the deterioration of one of their close friends. The story talks so much about how the Flare takes over a person, and most the time we get a glimpse of the beginning or the end (mostly the end), but with the friend, we can actually see it happening.

I didn't get a good feel for the world building. No where did I feel they were actually in Denver. There were no strong landmark(s) mentioned to give that affect. Mountains to the west just doesn't do it. Also, I found it difficult to truly appreciate and like the protagonist because there were so many other characters involved that the protagonist got pushed into the shadows. The pacing in this book was pretty fast. A lot was happening all the time. Yet, nothing truly worthwhile stood out.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #36 on: June 17, 2015, 12:02:25 PM »
Finished, Insurgent, by Veronica Roth.

I read this book in 2013 and liked it but not as much as the first and third book. For some reason after reading it the second time, I like it so much more. I think before I really just wanted to know what would happen to Tris but this time, because I knew her story, I focused more on the other things going on.

I did find that there was too much going on with too many people and that made this book a little confusing. I'm surprised I didn't notice this the first time but I'm pretty sure I was so focused on Tris's story that everyone else was just a blur.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #37 on: June 24, 2015, 03:01:46 PM »
Finished, The Water and the Wild, by K.E. Ormsbee.  It was a fantasy kids book and it was just okay.  A little confusing at first but got interesting.  It's about a girl who is desperate to heal her best friend who somehow finds herself in a different world where she learns she's actually a type of fairy.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #38 on: June 26, 2015, 11:59:06 AM »
Finished, Allegiant, by Veronica Roth.  This was my second time reading it and I loved it more than the first.  I knew the ending but it was still sad.  I got to the sad part while at the pool waiting for my daughter while she was in swim lessons and I just started balling...LOL.  Learned my lesson.  It was embarrassing.  Luckily I didn't wear any makeup otherwise I would have looked horrendous.



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #39 on: June 29, 2015, 09:04:25 PM »
Finished, Alice Adams, by Booth Tarkington.  A great classic.  I loved it.

A couple of quotes from the book:

“...I suppose about the only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody.”

AND

“You see?" she said. "I've been leading you without you knowing it. Of course that's because you're new to the town, and you give yourself up to the guidance of an old citizen."

"I'm not so sure, Miss Adams. It might mean that I don't care where I follow so long as I follow you.”



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #40 on: July 01, 2015, 10:18:28 PM »
Okay, went ahead and did a review on Alice Adams:)

**Spoiler***

Took some time to think over the story. I wasn't going to review it but after thinking it over I figured I should.

Basically the story is about wealth and status in America. Alice is a young adult who finds herself having to "pretend" so she could fit in with the wealthy, something she was once familiar with, but because her father never advanced, her family fell backwards while her friends and neighbors moved forward. None of her old friends liked her anymore because she (and her family) can't live up to their standards, yet she tries extra hard to fit in knowing deep down that it may never be.

In the early 1900's, meeting a good looking and wealthy man was part of the status. There was pressure to be the perfect girl. Alice kept her hopes up and when she meets Arthur Russell, she falls so deeply for him that she tries to warn him of the gossips about her and her family. He is very sweet and likes her a lot but she is so clouded by status and wealth that she can't see how much he really likes her.

In the end, she decides to take matters into her own hands and attend a trade college for women. This was something that was looked down upon but she did it anyway (there's more to it but that's as much as I'll say). I found her very brave for taking that step.

I love how the author wrote from Alice's POV. It's odd how he nailed her because as a young girl, I felt pressured too. Pressure to be perfect and to pretend so that I could meet the good looking and wealthy boys. I was brought up in a different culture but it's all the same: wealth and status. Alice was fortunate to have met Arthur Russell, someone who just wanted to be with her for no other reason than to be around her, but even then, she didn't fall for that. She held onto the belief that Arthur was still going to find out things about her that would change his mind about her. There is also another way to look at their relationship. I mean, Arthur did like her a lot but I believe he could have done a lot more to show that he wanted to be with her. Maybe that's what she sensed and she just couldn't wait around for him to make a bigger move...if at all.

In this day and age, we don't have that kind of pressure anymore. No one needs a man to provide and there is no status to having a man or not so the story might come across as out-dated. I love the story for the fact that it once was true and that I can relate to some of it.  Of course, I loved how well the story was written too.


« Last Edit: July 01, 2015, 10:25:15 PM by moonangel »

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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #41 on: July 03, 2015, 11:57:56 AM »
Finished an erotica romance titled, Priest: A Love Story by Sierra Simone. Here's my review:

I was intrigued by the synopsis and the title. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all anything close to what I thought. The storyline was lame and boring. I knew exactly what was going to happen. "It" was repetitive. The priest was ordinary. There was nothing about him that felt priest-ish. His mind was always in the gutter and he became possessive, envious, and jealous, which was freaky and disgusting. I would run far from him even if he was the most handsome man in the world.

This is not the first erotica book I've read so I do know that they can be written much better. This one was like 50 Shades (I never finished 50 Shades because of the over use of "crap") but with slightly better language. Although, I found it unreal that the priest cussed way too much. I found myself thinking, "C'mon dude, just let her go. She's really a slut. How can you possibly want to marry a slut?"


« Last Edit: July 03, 2015, 12:01:19 PM by moonangel »

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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #42 on: July 04, 2015, 05:14:29 PM »
Finished The Kill Order by James Dashner.  It's the prequel to The Maze Runner.

Wasn't very good.  Too much action...unnec essary action.  No substance.  Doesn't even explain the reason behind all the craziness with the flare and the people behind it.  Barely touched on it.  :(



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #43 on: August 06, 2015, 02:04:15 PM »
Finished the following books:

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Condo

Flying the Storm by C.S. Arnot

Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) by Hugh Howey

Vows by LaVyrle Spencer (this was a re-read.  First read was in high school).



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zena

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Re: Moonangel's Book Reviews 2015
« Reply #44 on: August 06, 2015, 02:33:19 PM »
Here are my scheduled books to read.  I'm wait listed so whenever they become available is when I'll get to them.  These are not in any particular order:

Relic by Preston Douglas - I actually had a chance to read this earlier in the year but the book with a bunch of others became available all at once so I had to decide which ones to read first.  I just had to let this one go but now I have the time for it.

The Prince Who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins - have been waiting for this one to become available at my library.  It finally did so I'll be reading this one, I believe, first.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - This one was like Relic's situation.

The Obsidian Mirror by K.D. Keenan - I don't read too many books on Native American in fantasy so this sounds intriguing.  Learned about this book on a FB fantasy writers group.  I will probably have to buy it (on Kindle) because it's not at my library.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - This book was one I was looking to read for awhile but just didn't want to be on hold.  Guess I don't have a choice if I want to read it.

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley

The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley

BTW...my Kindle that I got from husband about 3 years ago, died.  Yep.  Will not turn on.  The green light comes on (stating it's charged) when I turn it on but no screen.  Luckily, my husband has a Kindle too so I'm using his.  Lets hope his lasts longer.  I really miss my Kindle though.  It was a touch screen.  Husband's isn't.  I still find myself touching the screen to go to the next page only to realize it doesn't work that way.  Very heartbroken.  :'(




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