Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Synopsis:
Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, never knows what the day--or night--may bring in a world where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters life beside ordinary people" (Booklist). But she is about to learn that while some secrets are dangerous, those who seek them are just plain deadly...

Mercy is smart enough to realize that when it comes to the magical fae, the less you know, the better. But you can't always get what you want. When she attempts to return to a powerful fae book she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secrets--and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side--leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she may not have many more...

My Rating: 7/10

My Thoughts:
I loved, loved, loved the first three books in this series, but the fourth one was a big disappointment, so I had mixed feelings when I picked this one up. Silver Borne, though not as good as the first three, is an improvement on the fourth.

Early on, the novel spends a long time dealing with Mercy and Adam's relationship, but then transitions into dealing with the fae. The biggest problem I had with the book was the ending. It felt rushed and, like the fourth installment, I felt like Mercy did not play much of a part in resolving things.

I also felt how Sam's problem was resolved was rather forced. If there had been hints toward this possibility in other books, perhaps a slightly cryptic mention here or there, it wouldn't have been so out of the blue. But how it just magically happens seemed really contrived.

I'm still of the opinion that the series should have been concluded after book three, but I'll keep hoping the next one is back up to that standard.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Synopses:
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow eyed wolf--her wolf-- watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace... until now.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human--and Grace must fight to keep him--even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

My Rating: 7/10

My Thoughts:
It took me a long time to even pick this book up because, like vampires, werewolves are WAAAAY over done right now. However for lack of anything else to read, I decided try it out. I had read a lot of hype about this book and with generally good reviews, so because of this my expectations were high, but in the end Shiver let me down.

It was not all bad. I liked how the werewolves changing depended on the temperature of the air around them. That was something new and interesting to find in one of the many excessive stories surrounding this folklore. And I did love Sam. He is just a generally good guy, and I'm a sucker for them in the stories I read. (And don't even get me started on how much I love books with hot boys who love to read!)

Besides this though, I thought the plot could have used a little more oomph. I was never on the edge of my seat, dying to know what was going to happen next. Everything just kind of plays out methodically, I was not impressed by the antagonist, and I pretty much knew what was going to happen at the end.

However, I was kept interested enough to await the next book in the series to see if there's an improvement.

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees

Synopsis:
In the summer of 1855, Walt Whitman's controversial Leaves of Grass has just been released, and the notion of making a living as a writer is still a far-off dream for Louisa. She is twenty-two year old, vivacious, and bursting with a desire to be free of her family and societal constraints so she can do what she loves most--write. The Alcott family, destitute as usual, moved to a generous uncle's empty house in Walpole, New Hampshire, for the summer. Here a striking but pensive Louisa meets Joseph Singer. Louisa is initially unimpressed by Joseph's charms. But just as she begins to open her heart, she discovers that Joseph may not be free to give his away. Their new found love carries a steep price, and Louisa fears she may pay with the independence she has fought so hard to protect.

My Rating: 6/10

My Thoughts:
I don't know why I keep reading historical fiction about real people, because I hate knowing how the story ends even before I get started. However, because I'm a sucker for 19th century women writers, I gave in and read this one. However, I probably could have lived without it.

I found Louisa to be very annoying. I think the author was going for feisty in an Elizabeth Bennet kind of way, but ended up being snobbish instead. I also had a problem believing the love story. Louisa spends most of the book either hating Joseph and denying her 'feelings' for him, or mad at him. They only really have a couple instances where the two are actually happy together. When I'm reading a love story, one of my main criteria is reading about them actually being in love.

I've seen a lot of good reviews for this book recently, but it just wasn't doing it for me.

Musing Monday

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the ‘best’ books'.

There’s been some discussion on my blog this week about what should or shouldn’t make a ‘best' books’ list. What elements do you think lands a book in that ‘best’ category? Think of your top 5 best books and tune in next week to see the collated list.

I guess when it comes to picking what I think are the best books it's how much I love the characters that is my ultimate criteria. With some books, I feel so connected with the characters that I worry about them when I'm not reading the book. I become obsessed and spend every spare moment reading, just to find out their fate. Similarly, it's the relationship between characters I really enjoy. Nothing captures my interest more than a well done romantic subplot, and the romance has to be secondary in the story, while still being important. Finally, plot is important. It has to be something that I find very interesting and unique. I can't feel like it's been done before.

Mine may not be classics, but I would be much happier reading these 5 books over and over again for the rest of my life than anything Dickens or Hawthorne or Faulkner ever wrote.

So here they are, my top 5 books:
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
2. Son of Shadows by Juliet Marillier
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockart
5. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Musing Monday's can be found at Just One More Page.

Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Synopsis:
After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and lucas take refuge with the Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend--the vampire Balthazar--hiding is no longer an option.

Soon Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, persued not only by Black Cross but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can't escape her destiny.

My Rating: 7/10

My Thoughts:
I'm not exactly sure how much I should say about this book because it's the third in the series, and I don't want to give a lot away. I really think it suffers from middle book syndrome, and a lot of plot and action took place in the first two books. This one starts off slow, but sets itself up for an exciting final installment. In fact it was the final 75 pages that really saved this book in my opinion. I had some predictions about what exactly was going on, but Claudia Gray went way farther than I would have ever guessed. Like with Evernight before it, I was surprised and that fact really factors in to how much I like a book.

I liked how you got to see a lot more of Bianca and Lucas interacting in this book. With the others, it always seemd like they only saw each other in short snatches of time, and then one or the other was running off before they got caught together. In this book, the two finally get to be together and I think it really helped make the relationship belieivable. Relationships in novels get old when the two characters are madly in love, but they hardly know each other, and they never really get to see each other.

However, this book ends on a major cliff-hanger which is frustrating. Now I'm stuck waiting for another year until Afterlife is released.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Synopsis:

Aliens have attacked earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses-- and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. but is he smart enough to save the planet?

My Rating: 10/10

My Thoughts:

Honestly this book blows my mind. I like science fiction, but I actually don't read very much of it. This however is a major exception. It's exciting and intelligent and keeps me addicted every time I read it. And if you go to Amazon and check out other reviews, you can see that I'm not the only one who thinks this.

In fact, there is nothing to hate about his book. The characters are insanely smart, and all the decisions they make are cool and calculated. Every action is observed and analyzed. And everything happens for a reason. I love how you understand the exact psychological reasoning behind every character's choices.

Besides the characters, the game itself is spectacular. Basically teams are created amongst the kids of the school and battles are fought in a room with no gravity using suits that freeze when they are hit by the guns the boys carry. It's all designed to train these kids for war in space. But the game itself is fascinating, and the obstacles Ender faces are harsh.

However, despite my love for it, this is not a feel good book. At times it can be brutal and cruel. There is no love story, in fact there are hardly any female characters at all. But despite this it is one of the best books I've ever read. Check it out, if you haven't already.