Thursday, October 23, 2014

Bookish Bingo Update #1


Hey everyone! I'm keeping updates on a new reading challenge hosted by Great Imaginations called "Bookish Bingo!" This is my first time doing this challenge and I will post up updates every time I finished a book from the Bingo board!  This challenge lasts from October through December!

1. Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning: Completed: 10/1/2014 (Red Cover) (O2)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Sunday Post Meme (2)



Sunday Post

Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have on various books and things you've read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog!  Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book and movie bloggers!

What's Happened Last Week?


 

The first book in Patricia Briggs' famous "Mercy Thompson" series, this novel has Mercy Thompson (the main protagonist on the cover) being able to change into a coyote at will, while also living in a world where witches, vampires and werewolves all live together in one world!  But when a dangerous group of supernatural creatures kidnaps Adam's daughter, Jesse and also start doing experiments on new werewolves, it's up to Mercy to stop this evil plot!


In this classic retelling of an ancient trickster tale by Janet Stevens, Hare wanted to provide more provisions for his poor family.  So, he decides to become business partners with Bear, who happens to be rich and owns a large field of crop, but is extremely lazy and he and his family would work on the crop while Bear sleeps through the seasons.  Of course,  Hare lets Bear decide whether or not he wants to take the top or bottom half of the crop once the vegetables grow and Bear will soon realize how tricky Hare can really be!  Janet Steven's clever writing and gorgeous illustrations will surely be a hit with both children and adults!



 

In this spooky retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm tale, a young prince goes on a journey to claim the hand of the princess, who happens to be the daughter of an evil queen who is a sorceress.  Along the way, the prince meets up with six servants who each possess a special ability such as having super hearing, eating extreme amounts of food and stretching their bodies far and wide.  Now, the prince and the servants have to pass the queen's tests or else the queen will behead them all! 
With Sergei Goloshapov's haunting artwork and the Brothers Grimm's fantastic storytelling, this is definitely one book you should pick up!


Blogosphere Fun



Well, that’s the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I’ve read in the near future!


Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2014

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

[BOOK REVIEW] Moon Called by Patricia Briggs


Title:  Moon Called

Author:  Patricia Briggs

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Horror / Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2006

Number of Pages: 288 pages

Date Read:  5/30/2011   

Publisher:
Mass Market Paperback

Series: Mercy Thompson #1

Source:  Library

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository  

What do you get when you have a heroine who can change into a coyote in a matter of seconds add in two sexy male werewolves, and a kidnapping plot that will turn heads?  You will get this book “Moon Called” by Patricia Briggs which stars Mercy Thompson, your not so average heroine!  If I get paid a dime every time I see a heroine become a shape shifter, I would be a millionaire by now!  Full of action, mystery and a lust for the supernatural, “Moon Called” is one novel that paranormal and fantasy romance fans will be reading over and over again in their lifetime!
Mercy Thompson seems like an ordinary woman who works at a mechanic shop, but there is only one odd thing about her…she can change into a coyote at will! What is even stranger is the world she lives in as it is inhabited by all kinds of supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, witches and more!  She is even friends with a vampire named Stefan and knows two guys, Samuel and Adam, who are both werewolves!  But Mercy’s normal (abnormal) life will get much stranger and more intense once she realizes that there is a group of supernatural creatures who are devising a dangerous plot that involves the kidnapping of Adam’s daughter Jesse and odd experiments on new werewolves! Do not worry; Mercy Thompson is on the case!

The moment you see the cover of this book (Mercy posing in front of the camera while an eerie werewolf gate is behind her) you will definitely know that this novel is a stroke of genius!  Patricia Briggs has done an excellent job at writing this awesome novel that is set in a world where vampires, werewolves, witches (you name it!) all live side by side by humans and that was the part of the book that I really enjoyed reading because I love reading about supernatural worlds seeing humans living with supernatural creatures like it is normal, is really interesting to see.  The best part of Patricia Briggs’ writing was how all the main characters are supernatural characters and that was made this novel so interesting to read!  I loved how the main heroine Mercy Thompson came about as she is shown to be truly courageous and kind hearted towards anyone and what really interested me about Mercy was how she has some mad skills in fighting her enemies when she goes in coyote mode!  I also loved the way she always has some kind of smart comment to tell off someone who insults her and that shows how intelligent and strong she really is!  Out of all the paranormal/fantasy heroines I have read, Mercy is like the only heroine to have two lovers at the same time or let us just say that she likes two guys, but she just does not know who to choose!  Between Adam and Samuel, I loved Adam the best, because he is the alpha male leader of his werewolf pack and he is always looking out for everyone, especially Mercy! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Samuel too, but I guess what bothered me a bit about Samuel was his troubled history with Mercy which left Mercy to be heart broken, but seeing as I have just started this series, I guess I will have to see how Samuel’s character develops in the series.  Patricia Briggs has done a wonderful job at developing a really interesting plot that revolves around the kidnapping of Adam’s daughter Jesse and I will admit that I was kind of expecting a more paranormal romance to develop in this novel.  However, I was still impressed with the suspenseful aspect of this story revolving around the kidnapping and it was interesting to see how the characters tried to develop conclusions to get to the bottom of this situation.

 The only problem I had with this novel is that the plot was a little bit too slow for my tastes as we are constantly hearing what Mercy’s inner thoughts on the situation is and that sort of annoyed me so much because I wanted to get to the action of the story.

Overall, “Moon Called” is definitely a brilliant introduction to the fantastic “Mercy Thompson” series and any fan of paranormal and fantasy romance will definitely get a kick out reading this awesome novel!  Did this novel cause me to go check out the other “Mercy Thompson” series? You bet it does and I will clean out every library I go to find this awesome series!


 


[BOOK REVIEW] Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens






Title:  Tops and Bottoms 

Author:  Janet Stevens

Genre: Animals / Folktale / African American / Trickery

Year Published: 1995

Year Read: 2010

Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company


Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Mischievous Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

          


I have been reading many stories that were inspired by Uncle Remus’ “Brer Rabbit” stories for many years, but I have never come across a story quite like this one!  “Tops and Bottoms” is a Caldecott Honor Book that is written and illustrated beautifully by Janet Stevens and it is a trickster tale that is inspired by many European folktales and African-American folktales of the South that deal with the subject of a trickster character teaching their rivals a lesson in hard work and determination!


In this tale, Bear was rich as he has lots of land due to inheriting it from his father.  Unfortunately, Bear was extremely lazy and he would spend his days sleeping away on the porch of his house.  His neighbor Hare however, was poor as he was forced to give up his land due to losing a bet to Tortoise and he and his family were in an extremely poor state.  It was then that Hare and his wife, Mrs. Hare decided to come up with a plan to take some of Bear’s wealth to make their lives easier.  So, Hare decided to propose to Bear to become business partners and Hare will plant the harvest for each season, while Bear can take a nap during the harvesting.  All that Hare asks for in return is for Bear to choose which side he wants from the vegetables he grows in the garden: the tops or the bottoms?

Will Hare and his family outwit Bear?

Read this book to find out!



Once again, Janet Stevens had created another book that really got my folktale senses tingling!  I loved the way that Janet Stevens based this story on the classic “Brer Rabbit” stories as Hare is shown getting what he wants by tricking Bear out of his crop by using his wits, which is extremely prevalent in the “Brer Rabbit” stories.  I really enjoyed the tone of this book as it is lighthearted and clever and I thought it was hilarious when Hare and his family tricked Bear out of his crop as it also teaches readers that being lazy all the time will not help you succeed in life.  Janet Stevens’ illustrations as usual are beautifully done as the characters look gorgeous, especially the images of Bear and Hare as they look shaggy yet realistic.  I also loved the fact that this book is set up as being read from literally “top to bottom” as it really fits the title of this story!



Overall, “Tops and Bottoms” is a truly brilliant book for anyone who is a huge fan of folktales that deal with characters who are tricksters and it would be a great treat for children and adults everywhere!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the book is pretty easy for younger children to read (unless they get confused about reading the book from top to bottom).

* 1996 Caldecott Honor