My Book Rating System

My book rating system is based on 5 stars. The book must be rated at least 3 stars for a review.

3 Stars: Good story, good plot, good writing.

4 Stars: I was wowed, but something about the story fell short of perfection.

5 Stars: I was either drooling, on the edge of my seat, or falling in love.

If you would like me to review your book, please contact me at 00ibitz@charter.net.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Book Review: The Moon Dwellers, by David Estes

The Moon Dwellers
David Estes

Initial Thoughts: Started a tad slow, but ended up being quite riveting!

Summary (from Goodreads):
In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Thoughts:
So we have these kids, Adele, Tristan, Tawni and Cole, who are brought together in a time when the world's inequality is coming to a breaking point. 

The characters are well drawn and you like them. Adele is motivated by the age-old hook of saving her family. She's a strong character who is tough, knows how to kick some ass, and puts her family first. Selfless to the point of sainthood. Tristan is disgusted by his family's wealth and greed, and his friendship with Roc is endearing. Tawni is just like-able (as well as Adele's younger sister, who gosh, acts just like a younger sister should. You know, sometimes you want to smack her and sometimes you want to hug her). Cole is a bit of a hot-head, and he comes down from his 'episodes' a little too quickly, almost like he's unbalanced. I don't know! But he's still a nice guy who's loyal and friendly...most of the time. :)

While starting a little slow, the plot eventually moves forward at a good pace, and kept me riveted to find out what happens next. Once things got moving, wow, these characters find themselves thrown into one situation after another. Bim! Bam! Boom! And off we go!

The total inequality of the system, and the magnitude of the differences between the haves and the have-nots is nothing short of teeth-grinding. It sort of brings to mind the French Revolution, where people are down-trodden to the point of out-right revolt. It's explosive. People are pissed. People get hurt. People die, dudes.

There are some things that kind of had me bummed. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved, and the majority of them aren't resolved in this book. I love to read series, especially I'm on board with the characters and the story, but I still like to have each book stand on its own merits. For me, there were too many unanswered questions.

Sometimes it's hard to imagine that kids can out-fight trained warriors. I've noticed this in a couple of books lately, and this one is included. However, I did let that tidbit slide, because there were other things going on that could be argued as a distraction. So what the hoo, don't sweat the small stuff, in my opinion.

This was a fine read, and I do plan to continue on with the series, because overall, the pros far outweighed the cons and was highly enjoyable!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Friday Funnies!

It's Friday, so it's gotta be funny. Plus we're having a blizzard. Plus I have the day off. Plus it's my birthday!

And ya know, that 2nd dog on the list there...doesn't look particularly contrite if you ask me. :)

Enjoy!










































Sunday, February 3, 2013

Book Review: Breed of Innocence, by Lanie Jordan

Breed of Innocence
Lanie Jordan

Initial Thoughts: I. Loved. This. Book


Summary (from Goodreads):

Six hours ago, men in dark suits and sunglasses came looking for me.
Four hours ago, they offered me training to hunt the things that killed my family: demons.
Two hours ago, I joined their secret organization—the CGE.
Now… All I have to do is survive demon-hunting school.

The classes won’t kill me, but the finals might.


My Rating: 4 1/2 Stars!!!
                                                                                      
My Thoughts:
I just really, really liked this book. The main character, Jade, is 16 and sassy and sarcastic and strong. She's endearing in the nobody-loves-me kind of way, and oh my gosh, funny as hell. I rarely chuckle out loud when reading, but found myself doing that here and there. Sometimes I'd go back and re-read something just for the thrill of re-reading it again, it was that good. The author's writing style had that sumthin-sumthin that just appealed to me right from the start. I gobbled every word, sentence, paragraph, page.

You have the mysterious adult who could be good, could be bad, could be both. You like him...yet you don't quite trust him. As you're reading you're kinda waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. It does and it doesn't. Don't judge our Mr. Greene too soon.

And our strong, almost-bad-boy-but-not-quite-cuz-he's-got-a-killer-gaze-and-even-more-lethal-smile? Linc? That guy? Delish. Perfect. He's strong but not so silent. Got a sense of humor. And is not quite comfy sharing feelings. The romance here is perfect. Not too sappy...I hate sap...it, like, gets all over your fingers when you're turning the pages and you can't get it off. Most sappy love scenes sound just as corny in my head as they look on the page. Thankfully, you won't find none of that here. If that's your scene and you dig the sappy stuff, that's ok, but you're forewarned you won't find it in the pages of this book.

So, why didn't I give it 5 stars? Almost did. But a couple of things held me back. First, I didn't quite understand why Jade's nemesis, who is a grade above Jade, was at the newbie orientation and why Jade and her nemesis were paired up for Jade's finals. Seems to me the older student would be having finals more in line with her grade level, not Jade's. Second, the wrap-up in the end seemed to take just a tad too long, and kind of went over the same information over and again. I was getting kinda bored there for a minute.

But, super book, super writing, and a super fun read. Highly recommended.