Book 39 of 52

Its been about a week or so since I finished City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare but I have been way too busy to sit down and write this. I enjoyed this book but it was a bit slow moving. There was not a lot of action and way too little suspense. The world Clare created is very detailed and extremely interesting. The characters are all very distinct and well developed and easy to love. I felt a lot of Harry Potter influence while reading.

Book 38 of 52

Blue Noon is the last book in an excellent trilogy. I enjoyed this series very much, right up until the very end, I mean....What is the point of saving the world if you can't be with the one you love?

Scott Westerfeld writes young adult fiction that is geared toward females and one thing about his writing that I admire is the fact that he knows what it takes to captivate a teen girl when she reading... the love interest. As a young girl no matter what genre you prefer to read, it all comes down to the relationship that is presented. And it doesn't change as you get older... I'm 25 and I still look for romance in my books. The problem with some male authors is that they just don't realize how important it is for us to have that element. I have always been pleased with the relationships that Scott creates. As women, it is all too easy to fall in love with the male lead in any story, the fact that he is fictional makes him even more appealing, and Scott seems to understand that.

But I never expected that Westerfeld would end on such a depressing note with this series. When you love seeing a couple together in a book, you never imagine that the author won't allow them to be together (unless of course you are reading Shakespeare.)  Though the plots and overall idea of the Midnighters was very interesting, I had banked a lot on Jonathan and Jessica's relationship, as well as Rex and Melissa's. These two pairs were completely different from each other but made each of the characters "existence" so much easier to bear. For every amazing aspect of their world there were at least two more bad elements to deal with.

Besides all the "lovey dovey" (as Michael would put it) stuff another major facet of these books was the powers that each of the Midnighter's wielded. Dess is a polymath and even though her explanations of the extreme mathematical processes made my head spin, she also got me started on some weird behaviors... like counting long words to see how many letters are in them as well as calculating certain numbers I come across to see if they are darkling-friendly. I can't help but laugh at myself when I catch myself doing these things.
Jonathan's power was definitely the most appealing to me. Technically it isn't flying but a lack of gravity that makes it so he can jump very high and stay in the air longer than you would expect. The funny thing is, when i dream of flying, it is exactly how Scott describes Jonathan's ability in the books.
Even in the last book I still didn't feel as though Jessica's ability was emphasized enough. She was supposed to be such an integral part of the book, needed by the other Midnighters, fully despised by the darklings and yet she seemed to just blur into the background. The only thing that made her stand out was her relationship with Jonathan.
I adored Rex's character but his power was nothing too exciting for me. Melissa for me was the opposite, her ability is what made her special not so much her personality. And of course the way they needed each other just made them both more interesting. Being together since they were so young gave them a very strong connection.

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.