Yelena is locked in a dungeon waiting to be executed when the Commander’s security advisor, Valek, offers her a deal. She can become the food taster for the Commander, making sure that no would-be assassin has poisoned his food. To make sure she doesn’t use the freedom of her new position to try and escape, Valek poisons Yelena with Butterfly’s Dust. To survive, she has to visit him every morning for a dose of the antidote. Yelena must try and figure out how she can escape now that she’s been poisoned but it’s hard to find time to do that because a rebels are plotting against the Commander. On top of all that, she just found out that she has magical powers she can’t control.
I want to start off this review by reminding my readers that I am not an experienced fantasy reader – if you are, you may want to take my review with a grain of salt.
Yelena is a great, strong female character. She doesn’t play the damsel in distress; she pulls herself up by her bootstraps and learns to kick some ass. She does have a love interest, but I didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Yelena. That subplot felt a little forced to me.
Magic doesn’t play a significant part of the story until towards the end which was actually a plus for me. For some reason, I can get on board with zombies, vampires and werewolves but I have trouble suspending my disbelief when it comes to magic. I think it might be because there are more clear-cut “rules” about what zombies, vampires and werewolves are capable of. Maybe reading more fantasy would cure me of that problem. Overall, I thought Poison Study was a fun, quick read.
A school teacher, his wife, and his daughter are brutally murdered in Tumba, Sweden. His fifteen year old son survives the attack but is hospitalized and in a state of shock. Detective Joona Linna asks psychiatrist Dr. Erik Maria Bark to hypnotize the boy to gain information about the murderer. Bark swore off hypnotism ten years ago after his last hypnotic experience resulted in tragedy. He reluctantly gives in to Detective Linna, only to set off a terrible chain of events.
This book started off with a bang – ten pages in and I was on the edge of my seat. There are so many mysteries interwoven into the plot, not just who killed the teacher and his family. The story takes so many twists and turns that my head was spinning. I’m giving it four stars instead of five because there were a few implausible points in the story. For instance, Linna lets Erik, a civilian, go with him into all kinds of dangerous situations and there is also a retired detective who takes his civilian adult daughter with him on his investigations. I don’t know that much about Sweden but I’m pretty sure this would not be allowed ordinarily.
Overall, this was a great book. I’ve heard it compared several times to Stieg Larsson’s books but as I haven’t read them yet I can’t speak to the validity of that comparison. What I do know is that The Hypnotist is a fast-paced, intense mystery that was a lot of fun to read.
I recently reviewed the book Girl With A Pearl Earring. Since I loved the book, I decided to watch the movie to see how it stacked up. The basic premise of the movie is the same as the book. Greit is a poor sixteen year old girl who is sent to work as a maid in the painter Johannes Vermeer’s household in the 17th century.
I was disappointed with the way the Scarlett Johansson portrayed Greit in the movie. I wanted her to be strong like she was in the book. Instead, Johansson walked around with her mouth open and a stunned expression on her face most of the time. I found myself yelling, “Close your mouth!” at the screen several times. Very annoying. That would have bothered me even if I hadn’t read the book first.
Several characters were left out that, if included, would have helped Greit come across as a stronger person. Her siblings were not in the movie and her relationship with Vermeer’s oldest daughter didn’t make it to the screen either. As this movie was only 99 minutes long, I think there was some room to develop Greit’s character more.
The movie plays up the sexual tension between Vermeer and Greit. In the book, I felt like their relationship was more of a mentor/mentee or father/daughter type relationship with just the barest hint of any romantic tension. Colin Firth’s portrayal of Vermeer walked the line between appearing smitten and just looking like a creepy old man.
I think that even if you haven’t read the book, this movie is just okay – I give it three stars.
Mia Thermopolis is a nine-grader living with her mother in New York City. Her father lives in far off Genovia. One day he comes to visit and surprises Mia with the news that he’s actually the prince of Genovia. Not only that, he just found out he can’t father any more children, leaving Mia as his sole heir to the throne. Because of this, she must now learn to be a princess under the tutelage of her grumpy and strict Grandmere.
This was a very fun young adult book. I listened to the audio book, narrated by Anne Hathaway. (She played Mia in the movie version of the book, which I have not seen.) She has the voice and emotions of a typical ninth grader down pat! I was laughing out loud at times. Of course she is helped by the fact that Meg Cabot gets teenagers and writes teenage characters so well. There are several more books in this series and I’m looking forward to reading them.
Mockingjay is the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy. This review assumes that you have read the first two books in the trilogy, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and may have spoilers for them if you haven’t.
In Mockingjay, Katniss must decide exactly how much more she’s willing to sacrifice to keep the people she loves alive and help the Districts’ rebellion. Once again, the action is non-stop and kept me on the edge of my seat. There are a couple of reasons why this is a four-star review instead of five-star like I gave the first two books. One is that I had some trouble following the descriptions of the Capitol and the action that took place there. Two is that I was disappointed with the way the Peeta/Katniss/Gale love triangle ended. I felt like Collins gave Katniss a really easy way out. Other than those two points, I thought this book was a satisfying end to the trilogy.
Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. This review assumes that you’ve read the first book, The Hunger Games, and may have spoilers for it if you haven’t.
When Katniss handed the poisonous berries to Peeta, she had no idea that she could be starting the rumblings of a rebellion among the Districts. The Capitol is angry and wants Katniss and Peeta to fix the damage they’ve caused. There’s not much more I can say about the plot of Catching Fire without giving away the many twists and turns in this book.
I found Catching Fire just as riveting as The Hunger Games. Several of my favorite characters are back and some great new characters are introduced. It’s so hard to review this book without giving something away! I’ll just say that if you loved The Hunger Games, you will love Catching Fire.
I think I’m the last person in the world to read The Hunger Games trilogy but I’ll go ahead and give you a brief summary of the book along with my review. . I’m starting with my review of The Hunger Games today and I’ll post my reviews of the next two books over the following two days.
Katniss Everdeen lives in the nation of Panem, built on the ruins of what was once North America. Once a year, the Capitol forces each district to choose one girl and one boy to send to the Hunger Games. The twenty-four tributes fight gladiator style until only one person is left alive. When Katniss’s little sister is chosen as a tribute, Katniss immediately volunteers to take her place.
This book kept me guessing from almost the very beginning. Every time I thought I knew where things were going, something else happened that I didn’t expect. Katniss is a great heroine. I loved that she is stronger than the Peeta, the boy tribute from her district, in many ways and is his protector. However, there were a few times when it she seemed kind of slow on the uptake. I know it was to build suspense but I wanted to yell at her to get it together. Overall though, the suspense was authentic and I was on the edge of my seat most of the time.
How many books read in 2011?
73 as of today – an all-time record for me!
How many fiction and non fiction?
I read 64 fiction and only 9 non-fiction. I’d like to read a higher percentage of non-fiction next year.
Male/Female author ratio?
I read 54 female authors and 19 male authors. Wow – I didn’t realize I favored female authors so heavily!
Favorite book of 2011?
It’s so hard to choose just one! I think I’d choose Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman. Or maybe Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross. I can’t decide!
Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?
I started the audiobook of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and couldn’t finish it because I found the narrator’s voice grating. I plan to read the print version at some point.
Oldest book read?
The oldest book I read was Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden. It was published in 1982.
Newest?
That’s hard to say because I read a lot that were published in 2011 and I didn’t keep track of the exact day they came out.
How many books from the library?
24 books from the library. I checked out probably 4 times that many. I’m really good at putting books on hold and not nearly as good at actually getting them read!
Any translated books?
I read The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler which was translated to English from Swedish.
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author? I read 9 books by Meg Cabot which doesn’t surprise me – she’s my go-to fun audio book author. Any re-reads?
I re-read the first half of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer in preparation for the release of the movie. I also re-read Dark Lover and Lover Eternal by JR Ward.
Favorite character of the year?
Hmmm…I think Felton Reinstein from Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach or Tom Violet in Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman. Come to think of it, I think Felton will be a lot like Tom Violet when he grows up.
Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
I went to India, Sweden, Pakistan, England, Holland, Poland, Congo and France.
Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
I wouldn’t have read Stupid Fast without my friend Molly’s recommendation. I’m so glad she recommended it to me!
Which author was new to you in 2011 that you now want to read the entire works of?
I don’t think there were any that I loved that were new to me that weren’t debut authors – interesting.
Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
My TBR list is too long – there aren’t any I can think of that I want to read more than any other.
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Not really. Most of the books I read were newer books that I read fairly soon after I heard about them.
The time has come to sign up for 2012 reading challenges! These are the challenges I’m entering this year:
I posted previously that I’m signing up for the What’s In a Name challenge hosted by Candace at Beth Fish Reads. It’s so fun to try and find books that fit into the different categories. Head on over to Beth Fish Reads for more details and to sign up!
Here’s the list for 2012:
1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title
4. A book with a type of house in the title
5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
6. A book withsomething you’d find on a calendar in the title
One of my favorite challenges is S. Krishna’s Books South Asian Challenge. The year there aren’t different levels of number of books to read – everyone sets his or her own goal. I’m setting my goal at six books.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Global Reading Challenge 2012 is a challenge to read one fiction book from each of the seven continents:
Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)
The Seventh Continent (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).
The Off the Shelf 2012 challenge is to read books that are on your shelves as of December 31, 2011. I need this challenge in a major way – I have so many books in my TBR pile! I’m signing up for the Trying level which is 15 books.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Let’s see how I did on the 2011 challenges I entered:
Twenty Eleven
I need to read two books in nine of the categories and one book in two of the categories.
To YA or not YA (YA)
1. Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
2. Avalon High by Meg Cabot With a Twist (Read a sub-genre you don’t normally read)
1. Soulless by Gail Carriger (steampunk)
2. The Man In the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal (true-crime) Hot off the Presses (Read a book published in 2011)
1. The Girl Who Would Speak For the Dead by Paul Elwork
2. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown It Wasn’t Me!(Read a book chosen because of a bloggers recommendation)
1. Feed by Mira Grant
2. Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman Show It’s Who’s Boss (Read a book from TBR pile as of 12/31/2010) 1. Lover Awakened by JR Ward
2. Lover Revealed by JR Ward Bablefish(Read a translated book)
1. The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler Will-Power? What Will-Power?(Read a book bought in 2011) 1. Room by Emma Donoghue Mind the Gap(Read a book needed to finish a series)
1.Runaway by Meg Cabot
2. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot Back in the Day(Reread a favorite book)
1. Dark Lover by JR Ward
2. Lover Eternal by JR Ward Way Back When(Read a book published before I was born) Slim-Pickings (Read a book between 90-150 pages)
1. Illyria by Elizabeth Hand (144 pages)
2. We, Robots by Sue Lange The Vampire Chronicles Reading Challenge 2011
There are ten books in the Vampire Chronicles series.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
2nds Challenge 2011
This challenge is to read a second book by an author you’ve read before. I signed up for three books.
I think I did pretty well. Obviously I flunked The Vampire Chronicles challenge but I either completed or came really close to completing the other challenges. Now I just need to decide which challenges I’d like to sign up for for 2012!
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
