Friday, April 17, 2009

Path Of A Hero: Rewrite

OK, so I decided to make a rewrite for the review for the book Path Of A Hero. Here it is, in full detail!
TITLE: Path Of A Hero
AUTHOR: E.S Brenwalt
OVERALL RATING: 3/5.0

After an unexpected attack on the country Trino, Cyan, who is in the midst of becoming a true Samurai, he must become one fast. Why? Because Fenx, the second commander of all the orcs, dragons, and all the other ugly creatures fighting for the evil side are overcoming all of the good forces.
But there is something far more growing. Something no one else could cure, other than Cyan. His void. The void that has built up ever since the dreadful day his caring parents were killed by Fenx himself. So, now that he is living at the School of Magic, he must train, to start his path towards manhood. Months pass, battles rage on, and Fenx and the mighty Abyss are still successful.
Until Cyan decides to go to battle. Cyan must face the dark creature himself. As the personal battle between Fenx and Cyan rages on, cyan becomes weak. But one specific magical creature decides to stand up to save Cyan from death. Magus, the talking rat will soon befriend the uprising warrior, Cyan, though become quite a nuisance as well.
After learning that the Abyss has stretched across other lands, become once again, more powerful, Cyan knows it will take a greater power than himself and Magus to defeat the expanding enemy. Perhaps, a sword. But not just a sword. A magical one. Masamune. After learning of its powers, abilities, and current keeper, Cyan must battle to succeed this swords strengths. The evil keeper of it. Sa'Phi'Ro.
Will he overcome the holder so he can clain vengeance against the abyss, and Fenx? Most of all, will his void grow too far for him to stop it, turning him into his very own enemies and the killer of his parents?

MY THOUGHTS:
While reading this book, I came across somethings that bothered me. Some things were good as well also. The things that bothered me would be the repetitive plot. I guess there wasn't any new, fresh action. Though the characters were far different than what I have ever read, sometimes they would seem, in a way, boring, or annoying. Cyan was fine, it was interesting hearing his thoughts and ideas, but Magus, the magic rat, seemed either too happy or too sarcastic. Though, I know he tried to brighten up the times that were rough, he seemed almost as if he was from a different time era.
I did like the idea of the story though. It was exciting, and unique. The imagination part of it was fantastic, and so was the writing style. There was quite a bit of action, orc killing, and war, and that didn't really appeal to me as much, though it was necessary for this kind of story. Overall, if you are looking for something different, or adventurous to read, then this would be a recommendation.
If you are interested in the book, or learning more about the author, click here to visit E.S Brenwalt's website!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Mysterious Monday #2

This Monday's book is called Blue Moon.
Release Date: July 7, 2009

What do you think it's about?

It looks kinda like a book revolving around witch-craft maybe? Or like a secret society that is into magic? Sounds and looks kinda strange...

In My Mailbox



This segment was started by The Story Siren!



The Borrowed-
None

The Recieved-
None

The Bought-
The Forest of Hands And Teeth
The City Of Bones


I feel really guitly buying these two books because I took the money out of my "laptop" fund. So far I have close to $550 saved, and I am going to buy my laptop near the end of the year, so I think if I save and spend wisely then I will be ok.
I cant wait to get started on these two books once I get done with my review books!!!!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Zombie Chicken Apocalypse Award!

Thanks so much Taschima, for giving me this awesome (and somewhat humurous) award!

Photobucket


Anyways, here's the 5 other bloggers I will be passing this award out to!

Kelsey
Laina
The Book Muncher
Lexi
Ashley

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Waiting On Wednesday!

Here is my post for Waiting On Wednesday!

Title: Radiant Darkness
Author: Emily Whitman
Release Month/Day: April 28, 2009

Summary: "He smiles. "Hello."
It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.
I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.
Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.
In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is."


Summary from Amazon!

I think this sounds like a very intriguing book. It sounds like an adventure, and the cover is really mysterious as well! What do you think? Have you heard of this book?



And...I came across another book, I just couldnt pass up, so here it is!

Title: Once Dead, Twice Shy
Author: Kim Harrison
Release date: May 26, 2009



Summary: "Madison is dead. After she fled her prom with a mysterious guy and ended up in a crashed car—only to survive and then be struck down by this guy’s magical sword—she has existed in a curious state of purgatory. She still walks around, interacts with others, eats, and sleeps, only now she does so in the company of Barnabas, a light reaper—a kind of angel who fights off dark reapers trying to harvest the souls of people about to make fate-altering decisions. There are also timekeepers, dark wings, guardian angels, seraphs, and magical amulets. If you’re already clutching your head in despair, you won’t be alone: the architecture of Harrison’s world is confusing even after several explanations. However, for ardent fans of the good-looking undead, this has plenty of verve, an enjoyable role reversal (Madison is constantly rescuing the good-guy hunk), and is quite fun when the supernatural characters are placed within a regular high-school milieu. Like it or not, a sequel is rising from the underworld as we speak"

Summary from Amazon!

So? Thoughts???

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Also Known As Harper

TITLE: Also Known As Harper
AUTHOR: Ann Haywood Leal
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
Everything has gone down hill, not only for Harper, but for her mother, and little brother Hemingway, ever since her daddy has up and left them. Just as her daddy's cure for sadness was drinking, poetry and writing is Harper's cure. After all, her name comes from her mothers favorite writer.
But when Harper's mom can't gather enough money to pay the rent and other bills, they are moved out in a flash. Mostly because Winnie Rae Early's mom decided to throw everything out onto their bare lawn, leaving it sit out for hours.
After coming to the nearest and cheapest hotel (only because Winnie's relative cleans it daily and cuts down the price for them) trying to get everything together. Harper knew her mother would never write like she used to, her brother would never stop waiting for their long lost father to come back and rescue them from debt, and she would miss the poetry contest for sure if her mother would still need to her watch Hemingway while she was job hunting.
But could an elderly women, a brother and sister, and a death change this crucial cycle?
MY THOUGHTS:
After reading several summary's on this promising book, I found it not to be as good as I thought. I guess what I mean to say is, there wasn't much action occurring as I would've liked. Though, it was a deep book that made me realize not to be as judgemental on people that are different. This is a brilliant awakening to those who have judged, or have been judged. . Feeling bad for the main family, I knew they could overcome everything that happened to be in their way, because they had love, and care guiding them through the tough times. When I was reading this, it gave me a sense of Hershey Herself because the main characters Hershey and Harper were facing the same issues, and struggles.
Even though there wasn't as much action as I would of liked, it was also sort of bland. I guess there could be more detail within the pages to give it a more friendly feeling, or interested type feeling.
Overall, it was a quick and mostly enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Mysterious Monday

Ok, I really want to start an event that deals with books (obviously) and came up with Mysterious Monday.
What's it about, you ask? Well...It's where you get as many books as you want and put a post up with the pictures. Since they arent out yet, there will be no description, and the visitors that come to your blog have to guess what they are about!
And since the title to this post is named Mysterious Monday, this will happen every monday.
If you decide to do this post at your blog, let me know! I'd really like it if you would include my link though. Here it is!


TITLE: Devoured
AUTHOR: Amanda Marrone







What do you think this is about?!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Author In The SpotLight ~April Edition~

Author: Steve O'Brien
Author Of: Elijah's Coin
Please give a warm welcome to this month's Author In The Spotlight guest star! Steve O'Brien!I recently reviewed his book, Elijah's Coin, which I loved! If you are interested in learning more about the book, click here for my review, or click here for Amazon's Summary. Anyways, here is the amazing interview! Hope you enjoy it!

Q: Is there a certain character that inspired you to write about in your book Elijah's Coin?
A: The two main characters, Tom and Elijah were the inspiration. A young man about to embark on a destructive course and an unlikely mentor with a mysterious past. Dr. Olin Summerlin was a fun character to develop as well, but the main two characters were what drove the book.

Q: How did you come up with all of the rules that Elijah taught Tom to live successfully?
A: With two children at home I became interested in personalities that they admired. Unfortunately, the personalities tended to be celebrities with questionable techniques for becoming famous. I started thinking about success and was disappointed that success for young people was tied to achieving fame through different forms of self promotion—some of it involving dangerous activities. In the book I laid out some rules that I believe are the true road to success. Not success seen through modern culture, but success in living a purposeful life. Giving to Get is the key to success. The rules set out by Elijah are design to help focus on Giving to Get and being true to values that make for a better society. The rules are things I’ve personally witnessed and ways to model oneself for a productive life.

Q: If you weren't an author today, what would you most likely be doing?
A: I am a full time attorney, so writing is not my main occupation. If I weren’t writing, I would probably use that time in some form of teaching or mentoring. The book is a means to distribute the principles I’d like to convey to students or mentees.

Q: Have you ever met anyone as inspiring as Elijah King in your life?
A: Elijah King is a combination of several people I have met in my life. Many times we learn valuable lessons from people we barely know—or from people who don’t even realize they are teaching us a life lesson. I wanted to capture that thought through a character and it became Elijah King. All the characters tend to be combinations of people I have met, which make them a composite of many people. I have told several friends that they should look for themselves throughout the book. The feedback I have gotten from that thought has been astounding.

Q: Would you ever want to continue Elijah's and Tom's story in another book? Or would you rather keep it a mystery to the readers?
A: I haven’t planned out a sequel, but have been asked repeatedly. With Tom moving to Washington at the end of the book, there may be a story to be continued. Also Elijah King and his coins is a concept that could launch several stories. I’d better get to work on that.

Q: How did the story plot of Elijah's Coin come to you, and when?
A: Tragically, I spoke to a friend who was an alum of Virginia Tech in the days following the school shooting. He was devastated by the news and the visuals of what happened. He could barely speak about it. That conversation made me think about how young people get off the track--and why? I wanted to write a story that showed how, through human contact and a few guidelines, a person can get back on the right path. I had the idea for a mysterious mentor and learned about the story about the prophet Elijah and his coins from Jewish teachings. The idea was to bring the story forward to modern times, but also give Tom examples of success in doing so. The first part of the book is learning the lessons—being a mentee. The second part of the book is about taking those lessons, living your life through the lessons, and becoming a mentor to others—all done in a fictional setting. The book is didactic, but I wanted to frame it in a fast paced story. The lessons could have been written as a non-fiction, self help guide, but I wanted it to be a story that could engage the reader first, and then hopefully teach a valuable lesson or two.

Q: Is this your first book ever written?
A: This is the first book I have published. I have a few other nearly completed manuscripts. I have written for many years, but mostly for my own pleasure. I decided to start with Elijah’s Coin. Who knows where it will go from here.
Q: How do you relate to Tom?
A: I wanted Tom to be a model for a life turn around. He suffers a terrible tragedy and begins shutting down. I wanted to show how a person could re-energize their life and get back on a path to success. Not only to get his life back on track, but to become someone who could help others. It doesn’t happen through introspection, it happens through interaction. Mentors largely teach people how not to repeat their own mistakes. To take that life learning as a step up the ladder, then model appropriate behavior and give back. My wife and I founded The Elijah King Charitable Foundation and portion of the proceeds from each book go to programs to help disadvantaged youth. The book is about giving to get. Those who buy the book are doing that automatically. Then, of course, I hope they pay it forward with the coins and the message.