Casino Royale

Hello Fellow Readers! I'm so very far behind...I'll have to do one or two reviews a day to get all caught up!! Darn Library Card...
Title: Casino Royale
Series: James Bond
Author Ian Flemming
Genre: Action
Review:
A guilty pleasure of mine is Mr. Bond. He's gorgeous and goes on such fun adventures that I was addicted from the first movie I saw...which was Casino Royale. :) It was only a matter of time before I picked up a book with James Bond.
Casino Royale is the first of the James Bond books in which he describes to his lady-friend how he became a double 0.
The book definitely fell short of my expectations. This is James Bond we're talking about...007 for freak's sake. This book lacked the adventure and general spy plot I was craving. It included the card game but it only lasted a few pages and nothing exciting happened. There was the awkward torture scene when La Chiffe succeeded in capturing James Bond. The romance was certainly Bond material. But as for the action...there was next to none.
It was a short book, just over 150 pages. I do plan on reading the next book but if that's no good, I won't read anymore. I'll just stick with the movie.

Short review...cause i really just don't have anything to stay with this one...

Rating: 4

Book of Shadows

Hello fellow readers! I'm so behind! I have another review to write and just started yet ANOTHER book! Darn library card...
I finished another teen fiction novel. I finished this one in about an hour and a half which is why I'm so behind... :p I am currently reading another Sookie Stackhouse, I do plan on finishing the series even if it isn't my favorite. Oh darn, I'm getting off topic.
Title: Book of Shadows
Author: Kate Tierman
Series: Sweep
Genre: Teen, Dark
This series had such high praise from quite a few of my friends that I just HAD to rent it from the library. The cover art was gorgeous as well.
The premise of, well I can't say the series but this one in particular, is about one girl's discovery of Wicca. I am quite disappointed in this book especially after all the hype it was given. I can't even remember a single character's name... I just know that it was quite dull and poorly written.
There's a new boy in town and he holds a party in order to help form a coven. After completing one "circle", he decidces which people seem to have a true passion for Wicca. Of course, the main character has a special ability that draws him to her. I believe his name was Cal but I can't remember her name. I especially hated her best friend. Her best friend was described as being beautiful and getting any guy she wanted and then dumping them after a few weeks. They are Juniors in high school yet have middle school personalities. The two friends honestly have a fight over who gets to date Cal because apparently the best friend was already in love with him after just one meeting.
I didn't care for the shallowness of the characters. Or how weired Cal was...it didn't make sense why everyone was so in love with him.
However, I did enjoy the ending and will probably continue with this series. It's kind of like Charmed for a younger audience. I'm in no way in support of Wicca and no next to nothing about it, so I do find this series to be a charming fictional story. I don't mean to offend anyone who is Wiccan.
Overall, if you aren't offended by the Wicaan culture, then this is a fun and quick read for you. However, the characterization is shallow and the plot doesn't pick up until the very end. We'll see how the rest of the series goes.
Rating: 4
Future Posts:
Casino Royale
Dead to the World
The Lost One

Club Dead

I'm so behind! I finished two books and am halfway through another. However, I was out of town this weekend so have two of these to write. I'll try writing my second one tomorrow cause I'm tired. :p
Title: Club Dead
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: The Southern Vampire Mysteries
Genre: Humor, paranormal
Review:
This is the third book in the ever popular series that is centered around Sookie Sackhouse. I have to admit that I am quite addicted to the show True Blood, and figured I might as well familiarize myself with the books. I read the first two a long time ago. So, since I'm halfway through season 3, I figured I'd just...continue?
I must say that the show surpasses the book in many aspects. For one, the pacing in the book is slow. I mean, I was about 3/4 of the way through before there was major plot work.
The second thing is that the characters are so weak in the books. I mean, Sookie is completely annoying. Alcide was your typical male, and Eric...I don't understand what the appeal to him is. I think he's vile and just...ick. Sorry ladies...I'm a Bill woman all the way.
Speaking of Bill...what the hell was up with the ending? He just...feeds and then HAS to have sex? I don't get it...?
The one redeeming quality is that the last 1/3 of the book is quite addicting. I mean, I stayed up into the wee hours of the night with it glued to me just to finish it. Other than that, it was a slow read and well, I'm glad I had only rented it from the library.
Overall, the characters were simplistic and predictable...the plot was basically non-existent, and the ending was the least from satisfying. I guess, if you can deal with her writing style and just love vampires as well as love triangles...this is your book.

My Rating: 7
Future Reviews:
Sweep: The Book of Shadows
Casino Royale
Dead to the World

True Grit

Didn't mean to post this so soon, but I am CRUISING through Club Dead and plan on visiting the library tomorrow. Don't want to get too far behind! :)
Title: True Grit
Author: Charles Portis
Genre: Western, Classic
Review:
Okay, I actually found this under the Classic section of the library. And I love classics, plus I'm a sucker for a good cowboy story. :) Annnd, I want to see the new movie. :p With all of these elements, it was a given that I'd pick it up.
Right off the bat, I didn't think I'd make it to the end though. I HATED the style it was written in. I mean seriously, Charles Portiss needs someone to check his grammar. After every line of dialogue was "He said", "she said". It was so repetitive and dry...ugh, it really annoyed me.
The plot though is very intriguing. You have your stereotypical cowboy plot of a man who unlawfully killed another man. However, the twist in True Grit is that 14 year old Mattie is going to avenge her father. She teams up with a one-eyed Marshal named Rooster.
It was a short book and definitely a quick read. At exactly page 109 did I actually get into it...and that was with a little over 20 pages left. So it wasn't the best American Western...but those last 20+ pages were edge of your seat material.
This review will be kept super short only because I don't want to spoil anything. And it's such a short and straight-forward book, that there is really nothing I more I can say. :p So sorry this review is definitely not my best.
Rating: 5.5

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula

Hello fellow Book Worms! I have re-discovered my library card! This means that my posts can't be definitive anymore because I don't know when I'll have time to peruse the library selection and get more, or if I'll settle for one of the 200 books I own that I've yet to read. :p Anyway, this is the first book that I have checked out of the library and will be reviewing.
Title: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula
Author: Loren D. Estleman
Series: Sherlock Holmes
Review:
I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes. I could recite most, if not all, of the Speckled Band. It wasn't until the 7th or 8th grade when I first picked up a vampire book and had read Dracula three times before the 9th grade. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker were literary geniuses. They have created two legendary figures and two masterpieces in literature. You can not believe my excitement when I saw the title of this book.
However, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker did NOT write this book. They had no input whatsoever. By the second or third chapter, I was relieved that I had only rented this book and not bought it.
Many have tried to touch the great Sherlock Holmes but I've only seen one succeed in Doyle's detective. That person is not Loren D. Estleman. Holmes' deductions were laughable and obvious and a few were so bizarre that even Holmes could not have reached such a conclusion. The logical man that is one of my favorite detectives jumped straight to supernatural without any other theories which I do not find believable.
Perhaps I'm so harsh with this book because I'm so familiar with Bram Stoker's novel, but I tired of this one really quickly. I mean, I've read Dracula so much that I know about 3 pages ahead what's about to happen. I don't know why I thought that this would be any different. I mean, part of the genius of Dracula was that Stoker wrote it through journals and letters so you heard about the vampire through others interpretations. Estleman chose straightforward narration. This would work if they hadn't had Dracula come in and then try to BRIBE Holmes and Watson. That's when I lost all hope for this novel.
So, I would not suggest this book to die-hard fans of either Sherlock Holmes or Dracula...however, if you are just starting out into the realms of either...then sure, pick up this book and ENJOY it. People like me that are all too familiar will not like it...at all. :p
Rating: 3.5

Future posts:
True Grit
Club Dead
Faithless (Maybe...depends on library-status :p)

Like it? Hate it? Read it yourself and wanna share your thoughts? Leave a comment!

Lucky

Hello fellow reviewers! Another teen novel finished to review. :)
Title: Lucky
Author: Ciecely Von Ziegler
Series: The It Girl
Genre: Teen
Review:
This fifth installment to the It Girl series starts up right where Unforgettable left off. The students are dreading the disciplinary action that Dean Marrymount will take for the burning of the Miller farm at the last party.
First of all, let me state that this series is a guilty pleasure of mine. :) The writing isn't too particularly intricate. Nor is the plot all that stunning. Basically the It Girl series are quick soap operas about Waverly Acadamy. By this book, all the characters have established their own dramas. The only person I could care less for is Alison merely because she's so minor.
Honestly, after everything that happened in the previous book, this one was kind of lacking. It was a good follow-up though. It shows how Jenny and Julian as well as Callie and Easy are growing and tearing apart as couples. Also, I was kind of disappointed in Brett and Kara. It was a bit nifty that there was a lesbian couple. I mean, it was different and gave the characters new challenges to work with. However, and here's a bit of a spoiler, but Kara makes out with Heath and they end up being a couple. It was so wash-out and too smooth. Brett did HAVE feelings for Kara, she took it really easy that Kara dumped her which I feel isn't very realistic.
I'm glad to see Brandon getting to be more tolerable. I always find him very whiny. However, he too got over his heartbreak with Elizabeth (from book 4) very quickly.
This book also introduces us to Chloe and Sam two 8th graders, "Prospectives" of Waverly for next year. Chloe becomes Tinsley's spy and Sam is a mini-Heath. I liked Sam, I thought he was adorable, yet Chloe wasn't a very strong character. She was sent by Tinsley to spy on Jenny in order to frame her for the fire.
Tinsley is just pure evil in this book and by the end of it I hated her, in a good way. :)I don't know if we're suppose to like Callie or not, but the way she is characterized I don't like her and I honestly can't see what Easy sees in her.
Overall, it's a great chapter in the It Girl Series. For those drama-lovers out there it's a good and juicy read. I can't wait to see what happens to the Waverly Owls next. :)
Rating: 8.5

Irish Dreams

Hello fellow book worms! I kind of cheated for this book review, as a warning for you. This is the second Nora Roberts book I've read and I'm still not really a big fan of her, so keep that in mind if you are a fan of Ms. Roberts.
Title: Irish Dreams (contains Irish Rebel and Sullivan's Woman)
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: Royal Meadows
Genre: Romance
Review:
Yeah, I skipped the summary part because I'm on a different computer, I usually write my reviews on my laptop where the internet is speedy, but this computer is a dinosaur and would take about 10 years to find and paste a summary. :)
First of all, I'm going to come right out and say...I did not like this book. It's the second NOra Roberts book I've picked up and was once again disappointed. I don't own this book, it was actually loaned to me by a friend. So, I opened it with an open-mind. Afterall, it was requested that I read it. And the title said "Irish Dreams". I'm normally really in to the Scottish Highlander type of books, and am a sucker for a good romance novel. So I thought "Why not?" with this book.
Right off the bat, the main character Brian has an interest in the female lead Keeley. And he's not too likeable. He's kind of your average single-man at the bar and I think that's what made me dislike him. After various descriptions of how good Keeley looked in her jeans, we are finally introduced to her and her sister. She was an okay character but by the next chapter I found she wasn't too special either.
The problem with this book, in my opinion, is there are so many characters and none of them stand out. The idea of the book, the basic plot if you will, is that Brian loves horses. He's an Irish guy in America and works on various ranches and farms throughout his life because he just loves horses. So, of course, he gets a job at Royal Meadows which is owned by Keeley's family.
I felt that being called "Irish Dreams", perhaps Nora Roberts could have at least wrote Brian with an Irish Accent. I've read books where the Scottish men and woman speech was written different to show they had an accent. And, Brian rarely mentions Ireland after chapter 3. So, maybe "Irish Dreams" wasn't the best title?
I disliked Keeley mainly because of her mood swings and ever-changing characterizations. One minute she hates Brian, the next she's letting him man-handle her and make-out with her in the office.
Another down-fall of the book is the narration. Normally, when the narration switches from one character to the next in the middle of a chapter, there is a page-break. In this novel, the narration switches by paragraph and I found the scene changes confusing and not at all clear.
As stated earlier, I love a good romance novel. I mean, who doesn't? But, Brian liked Keeley way before the novel starts and she didn't take long to fall for him. That's the thrill of a romance novel, the gradual shift from dislike to love. I like the story of how a couple falls in love. And okay, maybe I like my romances a bit on the dark side...so what? :p
Overall, I believe this novel was a waste of my time. I have two more Nora Roberts books, both from the same friend...and I will try to struggle my way through them. Perhaps I'll enjoy one of them? We shall see. Until next time...

Rating: 3

Future Posts:
Lucky
Faithless
Atonement

Liked it? Hated it? Disagree? Want me to review YOUR favorite book? Please, drop me a comment. I would love to hear from you!