Book 37 of 52

The Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld is excellent so far. I wish it was a longer series and didn't end after only three books. The second book, Touching Darkness, is my favorite thus far which brings me to the irony of the review I am about to write... the review I wrote about the first book focused all on the positive and most of what I have to write for this review will focus on the negative. But if you read my review of The Secret Hour, you probably realized that what I spoke about most was the theory of the world Scott had created and not of the book itself. Now I will be writing about some points I feel the author could have improved on.

I loved this book, it was much more fast paced than the first book, it had more action and the main plot of the story stood out much more but I felt like the moments of suspense and aventure could have been built up much better. When the story would reach a point that seemed important, it felt as though it passed right by and was not given the emphasis it deserved. Some of those moments even confused me a bit because he actually did build up to it and then the revelation fell short and didn't seem as important as it was made out to be.
Another thing that bothered me was that the main character, Jessica, didn't feel as distinguished as many of the others. Through out both books she just seems like a random person you would meet on the streets. Her special ability isn't given the weight that the other midnighter's abilities seem to have. She is supposed to be the heroine of the book with the power that has the potential to keep them all safe, and yet the times when Jessica is the most interesting is when she is "flying" with Jonathan. Each character of the book is well developed and compelling in their own ways but our heroine seems to have less flare than even some of the secondary characters. She is forgettable. Even as she "saves the day" the entire scene feels too quick and bland.

I know this review makes it seem like I was not very intrigued by this book, but that's not true. I am really enjoying this trilogy very much. The story itself doesn't fall short, there are just a few areas where the writing could have been improved. And I hate saying that because I really do love Scott Westerfeld's work.

Book 36 of 52

I haven't exactly stopped purchasing new books but I have decided that, no matter what new books I get, I need to try and read the ones that I have had for a long time and still haven't read. The books that have built up unread are not forgotten because I am not interested in them, but because it is very easy to get excited about something new thats right in front of you. When I think back to when I bought the forgotten books, I realize I had been just excited about those as well. And now they deserve the chance to be remembered. So I am now reading all the books that got left behind.

I decided to start by continuing with one of my favorite authors, Scott Westerfeld. After reading his Uglies series back in October of '07, I went out and bought a bunch of his other novels and series. I have already read Peeps, The Last Days and So Yesterday, but his Midnighters series had been pushed aside as other books became available. A few days ago I finished the first book in the trilogy, titled The Secret Hour.

Westerfeld has an amazing mind. He is able to come up with original and unusual worlds that pull you in and actually cause you to dream about living there. Could you imagine having an entire hour every night, where the whole world is still and silent except for you and maybe a significant other. An entire hour where the ability to fly is not just a hopeless wish, and rain stops in midair until you touch it. Every person in the world is in a catatonic state but left unharmed while you get to live your secret second life.

To me, that idea would be a dream come true. A quiet, romantic world for just myself and the one I love. Wow! But of course, this all sounds too good to be true, and it is. What kind of story would it be if there wasn't something there to ruin the fun. Something evil, a bad guy, a villain... that's where the darklings come in. They turn the dream of flying into a nightmare, they cut each passionate kiss short, every embrace is interrupted... but that's life, it is never easy and never fully undisturbed. All fiction needs some sort of reality to pull everything into perspective. Scott Westerfeld is a master at fabricating elaborate unreal worlds that make you envious of his characters but he knows that all good things must have a counterpart, something to excite and scare the reader into second guessing their ideal existence and bring them back down to earth.

Book 35 of 52

I can't say enough just how much I enjoyed this series. The writing and plots keep you on the edge of your seat. It had a real horror film feel to it... many times I jumped while reading if someone suddenly spoke to me. I like books that scare me. I never once was able ...to guess how the book would end. I will definitely read Sara Shepard's other books.

Book 34 of 52

Just another excellent book in this series. Books have become very predictable for me. I can always figure out what is going to happen before it happens and who did what before it is revealed. But Pretty Little Liars has kept me on my toes since the first book. I can barely keep up let alone guess what is going on. Every time I am certain I have figured out who killed Ali and who A is, something occurs that proves everything I think is true couldn't possibly be. Only one book to go, I wonder if that is definitely the last one or if she plan to write more.

Book 33 of 52

This one took me a little longer than the others have, solely because I had a bunch of other things going on last week and didn't have much time to read. The series is still excellent and Shepard still knows how to surprise her readers. Can't wait to read Heartless. Its too hot to write any kind of real review.