Book Review: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

Book: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 322 (Mass Market Paperback)
Favorite Character: Alexi. Oh, definitely Alexi.

Plot: (From Goodreads)
What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent- and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death.

Review:
I picked this book up because Leanna was having a signing with a friend of mine, and I read it on the way back home. I didn't finish it on the ride, it just wasn't long enough, but I just couldn't put it down. And even when I had to, I'd pick it back up quickly and continue reading. This was an amazing read, it's not something I would of picked up, if I'd seen it in a store, just because the cover doesn't really look like something I'd normally read, but I loved it.

However, I couldn't tell you exactly why I loved this book so much, I just did. I loved the characters, the plot, the mythology, the setting. Victorian England is a favorite place of mine and I love reading about it, especially in this book. Leanna just captures it so well.

So I'd suggest that you pick this one up and give it a try. And it's sequel and maybe the prequel.

In My Mailbox (1)

Okay, so I've been thinking about doing an In My Mailbox type thing. I don't get books to review, I normally just review what I'm reading and/or what came out that week. However, I do buy too many books and I want to show them to you. I'm not going to put a synposis about them because that would make the post monstrous. And if you want to check it out, there will be a link to Barnes and Novel, just click on the title for that book.

Books I bought this week. From Barnes and Nobel:
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Envy by Gregg Olsen
The Wizard Heir(Book #2) by Cinda Williams Chima
The Warrior Heir(Book #1) by Cinda Williams Chima
Blue Moon(Book #2 in The Immortals) by Alyson Noel
The Secret Circle (The Initiation and The Captive Part 1) By L.J. Smith
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

From The Book Depository:
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievater
Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul by Leanna Renee Hieber

All these books look so good, I can't wait to read them. I think the first I'll be reading is Darker Still, I'm going to squeeze it in even though I shouldn't. And I'm hoping to have a review up the day it releases, I just have so much school work, too, and books to read for that. Also, I bought a couple books in a series, that I just haven't had time to read the previous books yet, but that's, apparently, how I do things. Also, the first book in The Immortals series hasn't come in the mail yet, so I can't start it.

In My Mailbox is a meme created by The Story Siren, you should check out her blog. Now, I'm off to read, I'll be back with a review on Tuesday! Have a good week, everyone. Also, have you read any of these books yet? Did you enjoy them? No spoilers!

I'm sorry and update!

I'm so sorry I didn't post today, Haley slept over, we woke up ridiculously early and went to the Renaissance Faire and then the bookstore. Also, I love this Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule, especially because it's making me read when I wasn't reading before(but probably should of been).

However, for the month of November I'm only going to post once a week. It's all I can do. I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month, a month in which people embark to write 50,000 words in a month. I'm challenging myself a little this year and I'm sorry to say I jus can't read during the month, so I'm just going to get the posts written ahead of time and try to be sane enough to post them.

However, until November, the 9 days until, I'll be posting regularly, I'm sorry to say that today was just a completely crazy day. And I think I might post on Sunday of a quick "In My Mailbox" kind of thing, but without the video making.

Sorry again! I'll post an In My Mailbox tomorrow to make up for it. Hope you had an awesome day and a book filled weekend.

~ Casey

Book Review: Camille

Book: Camille
Author: Tess Oliver
Genre: Paranormal Romance (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page count: 252
Favorite character: I think either Camille herself or Nathaniel

Plot: (from Goodreads)

At a time when society conforms to the strictest rules and most proper etiquette, sixteen-year-old Camille Kennecott and her guardian, Dr. Bennett, live a most unconventional life. They hunt werewolves.

When unwitting victim, Nathaniel Strider, wanders into one of their full moon pursuits, Camille and Dr. Bennett believe they have found a specimen for their study. Finding a scientific key to unlocking the mystery of lycanthropy would end their late night excursions. Yet beneath the irresistible exterior, Nathaniel is transforming into a flesh-tearing monster, and as each experiment fails, Camille's loses another inch of her soul to him. She knows that in a month's time she must face the prospect of destroying the boy who has stolen her heart.

Camille is a young adult, paranormal romance set in Victorian England.

Review:
I loved this book. The characters were believable and human and the mythology that is created is just so interesting. The book is full of twists and turns and even surprised me a couple times, which I wasn't expecting at all. I don't want to say too much, to give too much away, but I really enjoyed the backstory of Camille and her sister.

It's a really good, cute, short read and if you like werewolfs and some romance all set in Victorian England, I'd definitely recommend that you give this one a try. It's indie-pubbed so I don't know how easy it will be to find in physical form, but you can get it in eBook form.

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Book: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Genre: SciFi, Fantasy(Paranormal, Histoical Fiction (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 352 (Hardcover)
Favorite Character: I really couldn't pick one, so I'm just going to go with Jacob.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.


Review:
This book wasn't at all what I was expecting of it, but I really enjoyed it. I liked how the pictures were worked into the story and how they compared to what I had been visualizing was always interesting.

The characters in this book are amazing. I'm not going to say too much about them since I don't want to give too much away, but they are definitely a main reason to check this book out. And Ransom Rigg's writing is another, I found myself really enjoying it.

I'm not going to say anything else so I don't risk giving anything away, because it's really fun to read not really knowing anything about it. (Also, I love the cover and title, they're just amazing!)

Book Review: Wither

Book: Wither (The Chemical Garden #1)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: Dystopian (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 358 (Hardcover)
Favorite character: Gabriel, just... Gabriel. I really loved Jenna, though, too.

Plot: (From Goodreads)
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?(

Review: 


I don't know why I loved this book so much, it was just so different then other books that I'd read. I still haven't really read anything like it. I'd read dystopian before,but the fact that these girls were going to die so young was just so different. And all three of these main girls were amazing and I adored them.

I, also, really enjoyed Lauren DeStefano's writing and how she described this world, because it may still be earth in places we know, but so much has changed between now and this fictional dystopian future. I think that's why I liked it so much, was because it didn't take much description for one to know what was being spoken of.

Anyway, to sum it up, I really loved the writing, plot, and characters. If you like dystopian then this is a good one, but if you don't really like said genre, then, this might not be the best book for you. If you've never read dystopian, then, maybe now is the time to try it out, it's a pretty fantastic genre, I love it.

Book Review: The Time Machine

Book: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells
Genre: Scifi/Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page count: 118 (Paperback, pubbed by Signet classics)
Favorite character: The Time Traveler, as he really is the one that you're with for most of the book.


Plot: (From Goodreads)
“I’ve had a most amazing time....”   So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him the reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth.  There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.  Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.


Review:

This book was amazing, I don't know what I expected but it wasn't what I got. And I was definitely thankful for that. My favorite part of this book was the world building. I'd suggest anyone to read it. I found myself really enjoying Wells' writing. And I really liked the characters, the young man, the time traveler, the other ones, too, even though none of them had names it was still interesting to read about.

I don't want to give anything away for this book, so this is going to be a very, very short review. You should go give this one a go, though, it's a classic for a reason.

Book Review: The Goddess Test

Book: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter
Genre: Fantasy(Mythology, Romance (YA)
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 293
Favorite Character: I think Kate's mom, which is kind of random, but I really liked her. And Henry, of course.

Plot: (from Goodreads)

EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT'S KATE'S TURN.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

IF SHE FAILS...


Review:

At first it was a little hard to get through, not because it was bad by any standards, but it was just different. I really enjoyed this book as a whole, though. I love Greek Mythology, any mythology really, and all of these retellings are just amazing. And I like that this one isn't really a retelling of the Persephone/Hades myth. I mean, it is, but it's a whole different story.

I really liked all the characters and, while there is a list of who is who, I had a bit too much fun trying to figure out which one was which. Henry was very dark and tortured, but he wasn't really that dark, just dark to kind of hold people at arm's length really.

On the whole, this was a really good book. The characters were interesting and real, the retelling aspect was done well, and the writing was enjoyable. So if you like Greek Mythology, or even if you don't, I'd suggest giving this one a try.

Book Review: The Son of Neptune

Book: The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus Book 2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Childrens
Rating: 5/5
Page Count:
Favorite Character:

Plot:
Percy doesn't remember any of his life before he woke up in the she-wolfs company, except the name of someone: Annabeth.
Frank is a klutz, but his grandmother said he's descended from heroes. He hopes his father will claim him soon, he hopes it's Apollo. He feels like an ox, because of how bulky he is, but he is allowed to share his deepest secret with his closest friend, Hazel.
Hazel should be dead, she died. But her brother thought she deserved a second chance. However, she doesn't think anyone will like her at all when they find out about her "gift."
Together can they finish the quest and try to save the camp?


Review:

This book blew me away. There might be spoilers for the first book in this series, The Lost Hero, so if you haven't read that you might not want to read this, but go read The Lost Hero. Go. Now. It's amazing. Anyway, I read this in pretty much one sitting, in one day. I was trying not to, trying to slow it down so I could savor it.

The characters in this book, I loved. Obviously, Percy I had already read about and was already extremely attached to, so it was surprisingly nice to, well, see him again. Even if he had no idea who he was at first. The other characters, though, the new ones I really enjoyed learning and getting to know them.

The writing in this book is as good as ever. I really enjoy Rick Riordan's writing style so I wasn't surprised that I liked it. So if you read the Percy Jackson series and read the first book in this series but you're unsure about this one for whatever reason: read it. It's amazing and good.

Book Review: The Iron King

Book: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy (YA)
Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 363
Favorite Character: Robbie/Puck is my favorite. I love Ash, but he isn't my favorite, I'm sure that will change in later books as everyone seems to adore him.

Plot: (From Goodreads)


Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.


Review:

First off, I love faeries so I knew I was going to really enjoy this book, and I did. The writing was good, not the best, but I did enjoy it. And Meghan, the main character, is fun and interesting to read about, I enjoyed watching her devlop and grow in this book.

The faerie lore in this book was fun to learn about and the adventure that ensues as Meghan tries to find and rescue her brother is a really a lot of fun to read about. It's very faerie heavy, though, so if you don't like that particular creature, then this might not be for you. But, overall, it's a good book.

Book Review: The Lost Hero

Book: The Lost Hero
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy(Mythology), Adventure (Middle-Grade)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 557
Favorite Character: Difficult. Very difficult. Our of the new characters, I think Piper might of been my favorite. Maybe Jason.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.


Review:

I loved this book. A separate series in the same world as the Percy Jackson one with even some of those characters mixed in? Count me in. Now, you probably shouldn't read this review or this book if you haven't read the Percy Jackson series, which you really should read, because they're really good.

The new character are Jason, Piper, and Leo and are all really awesome. I can't think of another way to describe them. This book takes you on a journey that is thrilling and fun and you won't want to put this book down. I didn't want to, at least. So much happens and at the end of it, you're just left wanting more. The writing is as good as ever, I really enjoy Rick Riordan's writing and this book is no exception. I also love the way that all the mythology is explained and weaved into the story.

If you like Greek Mythology, you should really read the Percy Jackson series and this one, The Heroes of Olympus. And even if you're not, they're both really amazing series.

Book Review: The Near Witch

Book: The Near Witch
Author: Victoria Schwab
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Fantasy (YA)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 282
Favorite Character: Lexi, the main character, is probably my favorite. I really did like pretty much all of them, though.

Plot: (From Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Lexi, who lives on an enchanted moor at the edge of the village of Near, must solve the mystery when, the day after a mysterious boy appears in town, children start disappearing.

Review:
I loved this book. Especially because it was almost like the retelling of a fairy tale, but it was one the author had made up. Very good book, I read it in one sitting. It's also timeless, because they don't give a year. It could be happening right now, or it could of happened 100 years ago.

The characters were also just so well developed. It's not an extremely long book, but I feel like you got an amazing feel of all of these characters in this time.  I also loved the romance in this book, there wasn't a ton of it, but it was there and adorable.

I loved the writing, the characters, the story. This book was really beautiful, I think, is the best way to describe it. Everything just flows so well together and I loved it. I'd recommend this book to pretty much everyone.