Insatiable by Meg Cabot

“We have to face difficulties to find out what our true strengths are. How we come back from a failure is a very valuable test.” – Insatiable, Meg Cabot

Insatiable by Meg Cabot is a modern retelling of Dracula. Meena is a soap opera writer with a special gift – she can predict when and how someone is going to die. Although facing supernatural powers in her everyday life, she does not believe in the other supernatural beings – especially not Vampires! In fact she hates vampires. But when she meets the mysterious Lucien Antonescu, Romanian nobility, she may have to reconsider everything.

Did I like this book? Of course I did! It’s Meg Cabot for goodness’ sake! Mediator is one of my favourite book series, and I was eager to read another supernatural romance by Cabot. I think Cabot really has a talent. By the end of the book, I was rooting for Lucien and Meena to be together, even though, like Meena, I find the idea of vampires kind of repulsive. (I like to read about them, but I would not like them if they were real…) I mean, he bit Meena even after she specifically said, “No biting”. And after the meeting, I could see he loved her but at the same time he was a very violent creature and would mean trouble for Meena. Despite all of this, whilst I was reading I was upset with Meena for not just running away with Lucien. That is what some good writing does – gets you to go against your beliefs and fall in love with whatever the author wants.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

“Life, unfortunately, doesn't seem to care what we want.” 

-        - Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice

Vampire academy follows the story of Rosemarie Hathway. Rose is a ‘dhampir’ – dhampir’s genetics are half human and half vampire. Her job is to protect the Moroi, a form of vampires. The story begins when Rose is taken back to St. Vladimir's Academy, after having fled in order to protect her best friend and Moroi, Vasilisa Dragomir. Vasilisa is the last of the Dragomir line, and is in line for the throne. As they return to the academy, there are still many mysteries and dangers that hunt Vasilisa.

There is not much I want to write, except recommend anyone who likes fantasy and young adult novels. I think that this is one of the better young-adult paranormal novels. I literally spent a whole day reading series, only stopping to eat. This is how entranced by the story I was. This is mainly because of the protagonist. Rosemarie is strong and loyal. She is unlikely many female characters in novels of the same genre.

Richelle Mead is really able to transport the reader onto a journey. The story starts slow, and with every book in the series the story becomes darker, with more action, adventure and more complex story lines. The series is a whirlwind of emotions.

Again, this is really short… Especially because I read this so fast, that it's just a blur. I can't really examine it book by book. What I can say is that the overall series is light, entertaining and very enjoyable.  Kind of sad that they're not making any film sequels...

READ IT! :) Every book gets better

Portraits of Celina by Sue Whiting

“… but it seemed that the troubles of the past had strangely brought us a little closer together…”

Portraits of Celina by Sue Whiting tells the story of a broken family who move into an abandoned haunted house. The house had belonged to past members of their family, and had been the site where Celina, Bayley’s second cousin, had died. Bayley shares a striking resemblance to Celina. When Bayley starts to have visions of Celina’s old life, she thinks she is going crazy. Celina seeks revenge and Bayley must be the one to avenge her.

I am absolutely mesmerized by this book. It was so interesting and it had both cute teen romance and brooding mysteries. Full of plot twists, I could not put the book down. The result? Two hours later, and a finished book to write about. It is listed as part of the Premier’s Reading Challenge for years 7-9. But I think it may be interesting to even older grades.

David by Mary Hoffman

“How can you tell when a piece is finished?'I asked.

'You can't,' he said flatly. 'All you can tell is when you can't do any more to it. And then you need to stop because if you don't, you will spoil it.” 

David by Mary Hoffman tells the (fictional) story of the men behind Michelangelo’s David. This historical fiction novel explores the political tensions existent in Italy during the time period. Gabriele, the model, is a simple man from the countryside. He moves to Florence in search for more exciting work. The city offers many temptations; he is drawn into a world of spies and political treachery. This story explores 16^th Century Florence, the meaning of art and what it means to grow up.

Everyday by David Levithan

“Every day I am someone else. I am myself-I know I am myself-but I am also someone else. It has always been like this.” 

Imagine waking up in a different body every day. A different room, a different family, a different life. Sounds crazy, right? This is the life of A (not from Pretty Little Liars!).  

Just from reading the blurb, I had high expectations. It's an interesting idea, and I was curious to see where the author took it. There are so many possibilities, and it had me asking so many questions. What is the reason for A waking up in a different body every day? What happens if A stays up past midnight? Can he/she stay in a body for more than a day? What happens to the person whose body he/she's in? 

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

“Grief is love turned into an eternal missing”  - Lupton

Do I even know how to access my blog anymore…? It’s definitely been way to long since the last time I read a book. I think that life can be explained just by looking at this blog – as time passed the less book reviews, not because I’ve grown lazy, but because I feel like I’ve lost the time to read. But with some of my tests over, I gave myself a quick break before I have to get back to my studies. Needless to say, I devoured two books in two days and will hopefully read another one today. Enough about me.

Rosamund Lupton’s Sister, is a thriller (well at least for my standards, as I am not really used to scary things) and almost detective fiction. It follows Beatrice’s journey as she looks for her missing sister. When the police end the case, Beatrice is unsatisfied with the verdict. It becomes all up to Beatrice to uncover the truth. She doesn’t just uncover the mystery but also learns about herself and her relationships.

Maybe it’s the fact that I hadn’t read a book for a long time, or that someone left this book on their fence for someone to take it for free or just simply because I always get to attached to novels, but I absolutely loved it! The language was simple and it was quite easy to read. The only hard part was figuring out when the settings switched - when Beatrice was talking to the detective or talking to her sister through the letter. But this form is perfect for the novel when you get to the end and learn the truth about this ‘letter’. I didn’t start reading expecting much but by the end I was screaming out loud at the plot twists.

Paladin by Dave Luckett

“Good if they were good, but they weren't always good... Power goes to most people’s head, you know.” (p. 27)

Paladin by Dave Luckett is the exploration of truth and justice by placing the protagonists into fantasy second dimension/world. Sam and Finny live as outcasts in their city, until they find out that they belong to another world. Both Sam and Finny have magical talents that are needed in to fight evil in another land.

Firstly, the novel was a pleasant short read but it wasn't a great book. Paladin isn't bad but it isn't very good either, it’s just mediocre. While, I enjoyed the hour or two it took me to read I wouldn't recommend this book, simply because there are other fantasy novels that are better. The main reasons for this were that it was very brief and unoriginal. However, there were some nice themes investigated.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

"... Sometimes when I saw him at a distance ... I forgave him a hundred times over... Unfortunately, these were often the moments when he chose to attack ... that I would vow not to forget it, and never to forgive him again. I broke that promise many times... all petty things, really, irritants - too minor, it would seem ... The danger he presented was, after all, not immediate but slow and simmering... hundreds of small, unavenged humiliations which had been rising in me for months..." - excerpt from The Secret History

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the story of of college students who end up killing their "friend". The first part is the story of how Richard moved to a New England college and found himself trying to fit into the Greek class, full of mysterious, rich college kids. As he befriends them and joins the class he ends up getting mixed into all the trouble and murder of Bunny, the first part is the story that leads to the death. The second part of the book is after the death and how each of them live on. 

This book was lent to me by someone else, henceforth the reason why it is so different to the usual books that I actually read. This book is a murder mystery. While I was quite entranced while reading this book, I didn't find it a really good novel. If you have read any of my other posts you would have realised that I like books that are more passive books, with happy endings. This book from the first page had a murder  (this didn't detract from the book, talked about later) and from then on even more deaths or attempted deaths. The end is quite mysterious and it definitely ends in a very pessimistic mood. Another reason for my contempt in the book is the fact that I couldn't empathise with any of the character's extreme personalities, and this is something I find really important. (I will talk about this later on this post.)

Eve (the Eve Trilogy) by Anna Carey

“A relationship between two people can be judged by the list of things unspoken between them.”  - Eve

Eve by Anna Carey is the first in the Eve Trilogy. The story is set in 2032, in the New America after a plague (and its vaccine that was meant to help) killed most of the world's population. The U.S.A is now ruled by a King. Girls and boys are completely separated into schools. Eve, the protagonist, is graduating from school and hopes to become a great painter. One day before graduation one of her colleagues shares her plans and knowledge with Eve. It seems that the King nor the teachers are telling the truth. Everything she believed in is a lie. Eve escapes all of this and meets Caleb. They fall in love but with them being fugitives she must choose between safety and love. 

This book is AMAZING!! I don't really know exactly where this books achieves this success or how Anna Carey did it but I just found I was completely absorbed by the book and the characters. I read non stop and finished it in less than a day. I would burst out at random moments screaming for Eve or Caleb, I was nearly crying at the end when Caleb was leaving. This is seriously such a cute, sweet book for all the dreamers and thinkers out there.

Inheritance Cycle by Cristopher Paolini

"Knowing is independent of being. I did not know you existed before you bumbled in here and ruined my nap. Yet that doesn't mean you weren't real before you woke me."  - Solembum 

Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. This series, previously meant to be a trilogy, is an epic fantasy series intended for young adults. Eragon  has no idea of who his mother or father are, instead he lives with his uncle, Garrow, and cousin, Roran, which to him they are his father and brother. Eragon helps in the farm as well as with the hunting. One day while hunting he finds a mysterious stone, no one knows what it is but it is fascinating. To his surprise the 'stone' hatches, it was a dragon's egg. Eragon has to flee, learn magic and mature if he is to fulfil his destiny, to become the next dragon rider and kill Galbatorix; the merciless and powerful dictator of the fictional world of Alagaesia. 

 Like many books the Inheritance cycle ponders on the coexistence of good and bad. Eragon himself realises that people might not be generally bad but really do believe their ideas to be beneficial. When Galbatorix talked to Nasuada about his plans there seemed to be some really good basis to what he wanted to achieve. Of course Galbatorix didn't care for people and manipulated them making him the 'baddy' however he made very good points, especially the fact that it was the Varden that went around killing people and then bashed Galbatorix for his cruelty. How do we know if what we believe in is really for the good of humanity? I may believe in something so profoundly that I do not realise that I'm hurting others or it may be that I am hurting others to help the many but in truth there is no line separating the good from the bad but a mix of both in everything.