Tuesday 30 August 2016

Winter By Marissa Meyer- Review

Hello All,

Welcome back to the Lunar Chronicales reviews that I have been doing. I'm doing Winter today and I hope to wrap the last book up fairly soon after I pluck up some contemporary reads while I do Calling You Home's relaunch.

Winter: Marrisa Meyer Blurb: 

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend--the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Levana believes her to be and she's been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.
Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer's national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

5/5 Review: 

We get to meet a new character in this book and the perfect partner to Jacin from the earlier books if you recall. Winter was the prefect balance of suspense, tension, 'oh no' moments and fear as you waited to see if Levanna was going to pin Cinder's group down and remain the fear filled queen that she was. 

I loved the detail from the start and it makes sense why this is an 832 page book. The twists and turns was done well. Keeping up with the other characters was balanced as well as following Cinder who was bumping her way through this story. We learn alot about what Luna gift does to those who were not using their gift and that is a huge part of this story. The other parts are looking into what happens to the group who are set on dethroning the queen. 

Most of the time I wanted them to be okay. For everything to work out in the end which is exactly what the rest of the readers out there am sure wanted too. The author the ever talented Marissa Marr was able to pull these emotions out of her audience effortlessly. She takes you on a ride that makes you not want to forget. You don't want to put this book down and get back to life. Its addictive as a good book should be. 

I couldn't get enough of Cinder's story and wanted to see what it would take for her to make it through. To be honest am glad I did. The ending was perfect and other the character jumps feeling a bit smoother, I would have recommended telling us with a small name under the chapter which characters tale was being picked up again and pleated into this wonderful story. 

Its a must read for all YA readers. A little gross in places but there is a war going on so what else do you expect? 

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Thank you for your time and I hope that you will come back for one of the Immortal book reviews or Secrets of a Summer Night. 

Kristal McKerrington 

Saturday 20 August 2016

Fairest By Marissa Meyer- Review

Hello Readers,

Here is the long awaited review for "Fairest" I'm not head long into the "Winter" book from this Lunar Chronicles. I can't wait to see how this series ends and I'm enjoying the reading challenges I'm apart of.

The Fairest 
By Marissa Meyer

 The #1 "New York Times "Bestselling Series! 
Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who is the Fairest of them all? 
Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who "is" Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story a story that has never been told . . . until now. "New York Times" bestselling author Marissa Meyer reveals the story behind her fascinating villain in "Fairest," an unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes a special full-color image of Levana's castle and an excerpt from "Winter," the exciting conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles.
Meyer is putting a spin on the evil queen from Snow White fame to show how Levana became the kind of woman who would rule the moon colony of Luna and want to take over Earth, too. "USA Today"
An unrelentingly gripping read . . . Channeling her inner George R. R. Martin, Marissa Meyer weaves the grimmest of fairy tales in "Fairest." Hypable
Will thrill fans and entice new readers. "School Library Journal"
Combines a classic folk tale with hints of "The Terminator" and "Star Wars." USAToday.com for "Cinder""


5/5 Stars- Review

WOW here is the most in depth look at a villain that I have read in years and she managed to make her seem normal, to make us understand why she becomes the full source of evil to many of our beloved it characters. I can't wait to see how the others survive the wrath of Levanna. 

The heart breaking love story that she went through, the torment and punishment that life gave her by putting her through things with her sister, the curse of her parents and of course not understanding how to survive except inside her bubble. I understand her so much better and I can see more of the rounded world that Marissa Meyer was creating with this short story novel. I love the attention to detail that she managed to put into the book and the small things that makes you go 'ah okay'. 

There is far more to this writers work and I think I will discover some of the last hidden gems that she has created in the last book Winter. I can't think of a better book to follow up Cress. I know that this book plays a far bigger role than people realize. 

This is a MUST READ for all. I highly recommend this book and taking the time with the series. Give it the time that it deserves. 

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Thank you for stopping by and come back for the reviews on "Winter" or "Dark Flame" as those are my next two reads that are on my tbr list. 

Kristal McKerrington 

Friday 19 August 2016

Cress- Marissa Meyer - Review

Hello All,

I'm diving into another review for you as I'm preparing to wrap up the wonderful short story book that I didn't realize went between Cress and Winter. So em yep that was almost embarrassing, however I got the next two books in the Alyson Noel series that I'm donating to the library when I'm done. I feel good about that.

Anyway onto the reason your here...

Cress- Marissa Meyer

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker; unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

5/5 - Review

I'm not so sure where to start with this one. I was thrown a lot as many of you might know I'm not up on my fairytales as I missed a lot of Nursery growing up and my dad wasn't the read it to me kind of dad. So anyway here goes. 

I thought well this isn't your typical Disney fairytale that is for sure. I loved the whole thing, how well she went into the plot and the small details, making sure that the loose threads from as far back as Cinder were tied up which to me is pretty amazing as some authors tend to forget about those loose threads that aren't major to the plot line from book one by the time they get to book 3. So I'm clapping hard for that. 

I stumbled a bit with the POV jumps between chapters. I would have liked to have the chapters marked so it made it easier for me to keep up. Its a minor thing really and didn't cause a star to fall away as I finally got into the swing of things. I wasn't thrown to much out of the book that I didn't enjoy it. 

That to me is the main thing. 

I will say that the ending was nice and having a cliffhanger ending at book 3 like in the other 2 books just felt really right. I have to say it was well pulled off too. I'm interested in seeing what we have instore for us when it comes to the book Winter. 

I was nervous about starting this series way back when I first heard about it, but I'm glad I did in the end. Thanks to Kaytastic and Little Owl for wearing me down on that. Well earned 5 stars and can't wait to enjoy more of this lovely ladies hard work. 

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Thank you for stopping by, coming up next is Levanna's Short story book or Dark Flame so come back to see what I think of those! 

Kristal McKerrington 

Sunday 14 August 2016

Shadowland (Book 3 of Immortals) by Alyson Noel - Review

Hello Readers,

So keeping up my new reading goals has proven harder then I thought as I start to move through the large piles of edits but am keeping up the hard work as best I can. I have high hopes of reaching my reading goal of 110 books this year.

Shadowland- Alyson Noel
Ever and Damen have travelled through countless past lives – and fought off the world’s darkest enemies – in search of each other. But just when their destiny seems finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon them. A single touch of their hands, a soft brush of their lips will mean death for Damen – cast into the darkness of the Shadowland. But as she seeks to break the curse, Ever meets Jude – a green-eyed, golden surfer boy who understands magick, and understands Ever better than she realises. And she begins to ask a terrifying question: even if you’re immortal, can true love really last forever?

5/5- Review

This book picked up the series and seemed to get it through after the disappointment of the second book. I'm glad I stuck with it because Alyson Noel came back with such strength in this book. She created a great series of events that brings emotion out of the characters and into the hearts of her readers. She threads together a series of moments that makes you think twice about how you coudl have missed it. 

I was glad that Alyson Noel breathed more life into the series and leaving the door open to create a much more serious situations for them to go through. Yet bringing a happy ending for now and yet having the cliff hanger side effect to it. I am not starting to worry that Damen is going to be forgotten with the new characters stepping forward in the regards to Roman, Jude and this other mystery immortal opharns. I will be interested in seeing how she handles this moving forward. She earned a 5/5 for this book and even a smile when I closed the book. 

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Thank you for stopping by to check out the review for "Shadowland", come back for Cress and Dark Flame as those are the next two books am digging into. 

Kristal McKerrington 

Sunday 7 August 2016

Scarlet- Marissa Meyer- Review

Hello All,

Well what a day I had. I finished this great book and got some awesome shots of Scotland. Plus I've managed to screw up my reading thing that I'm apart of. But getting that fixed. So lets get focused on the review and the good stuff.

Scarlet- Marissa Meyer 

The second book in The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.
This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

SCARLET BENOIT'S grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other.
Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive - when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana.
As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner . . .
***Red Riding Hood-meets-Percy Jackson in a thrilling new spin on Grimm by Marissa Meyer, the author of Cinder.***

4/5 Stars

First let me say that this wasn't what I was expecting after reading Cinder. I got addicted to Cinder so it was what I expected when it came to this book. That though wasn't the case rather I found it harder to get into. The book jumped around a lot and that was what cost it the last star. I would have preferred to have had a marker on the chapters to let us know who we are jumping into rather than just having to jump in and trying to grasp where you are at in the storyline. 

The storyline itself was so well thought out and detailed down the finest level. The detail in this book seems to be something that a lot of writers are just skipping over and I'm glad to see that Marissa kept with the detail and the darkness level of the storyline that she used in Cinder. I like the werewolf elements, that was well thought out too. I was a little disappointed in the meeting between Cinder and Scarlet as I felt that was something that was jagged but she smoothed it out as I entered into Cress. So I will see how it goes. 

I would have liked to see more interaction with Cress to help Cinder find the answers that she finds out in the book. I thought that would give a far better flow and uses the characters she has introduced. After reading the line "Red Riding Hood- mee
ts Percy Jackson" was something I agreed with. I did like how Scarlet fought and fell for Wolf. It would have been nice to see more happen between them romantically but I get that is a area that is restricted.

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Thank you for stopping by and come back to see my thoughts on either Cress or Shadowlands. 

Kristal McKerrington 

Friday 5 August 2016

Bluemoon- Alyson Noel - Review.

Hello all, 
I'm getting into book three of this series as I believe that when you start a series then you should finish it. I don't hold each book against the author or the characters. That is why I think that you will be surprised with this review. 
Blue Moon- Alyson Noel

Alyson's Noël's bestselling Immortals series has been hailed as "addictive" "beautiful" "haunting" and "mesmerizing." In the second installment, Blue Moon, Ever can bring her family back from the dead―but only if she's willing to sacrifice the guy she loves more than life itself.
Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading―stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.
Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past―the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden―but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them―or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

4/5 Star Review. 

So this one was a tough book for me to get through as there is a lot of bullying of Ever in this one. There was a lot of whining from her in this and sometimes she just seemed to do nothing other than complain. I wanted to get past this part of the book and it spreads nearly the entire length of the book. It put me off the book and would have liked to see far more things. At least had one friend that she would talk too rather than going to Ava to whom I struggled with from the first book. I just didn't believe in her character. There was just to many things that didn't feel like they worked. 

When finally Ever gets everything together it comes out that she has been tricked and that things aren't going to work out like she thought they would. The entire time I found myself hoping for more of a show down with Roman than what i got and I was a bit sad to see how it ended. I was lucky to have book 3 in my home as I would have properly stopped there in the series. I was just more disappointed with it than I thought I would be. 

What made this book keep itself at 4 stars was the love that I could sense from every word that the author put into. She put a lot of work into this story and that could be seen in the spells, magic research and the way that she put together the Summerland world. I think working on three plains is very hard and she did that well. She made the book 3D and it gave me a lot more to like in it. 

She has done a great enough job that I will be continuing on to do books 3 to the end. I hope that the series fixes the points that I'm worried about. 

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Thank you for stopping by and I hope to have Scarlet by Marissa Meyer up soon. 

Kristal McKerrington