Review, nay Ramblings: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

I'm sure this book has been reviewed a lot already, and that the Twilight fans will definitely read it (or have already read it), while the non-fans aren't going to go one step near this book. So instead of a typical review, I'll just do some me-history-talk.

Until last summer, I would read only a couple of books a month. Not that I read slow, but once I completed a book, I waited a long time before picking the next book. This was mainly because, well, when I start a book, I would neglect work just to read. (Sssh!) Of course, I still do that but am disciplined now, and it took a lot of restraint to get here. So just to get more book choices, I joined a few online book clubs. I was still expecting to read one book, followed by a long break and only then the next book. And then, one of the book clubs chose Twilight as its monthly read. Now mind you, I hadn't even heard of this series. Stephenie Meyer who? But I liked the name of the book, and I had absolutely no idea what the book was about. I don't recollect if I knew it was about vampires. Probably not, else I would not have picked it up at all. So I placed a hold for the book at the library.

Then I started reading it. The rest, as they say, is history.

Well, not quite, I'm supposed to be talking about that history here.

So Twilight was .... engrossing. That's about the best adjective I can use here. I didn't like the book. I loved Edward, of course, and their tame vampire clan. I didn't like Bella. I hated her clinging-to-Edward's-shoulder actions. And I hated the writing. But I found it engrossing. So I got the remaining three books and devoured them over a weekend. Three books of 500+ pages. And I still found the books engrossing, although I complained about each book. So what is it about books like these that keep you turning pages? Even as you squirm and cringe at every page?

And then I realized that although the book ends on a cliffhanger, there are no new books staring at me from the horizon. Meyer recently confessed to being burned out on vampires. So I promised myself that I will not read another book in this series until I get a guarantee that the last book is out. So I was barely interested in The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I mean, I barely remembered Bree. I just recalled one scene where she was being killed. And let's be honest, by that point of the story in Eclipse, weren't we all coaxing the Cullens to kill her? That was enough of drama, and we really didn't need another new vampire in the mix. And then, Meyer announces that the book will be free to read online between June 7th and July 5th. I considered that I would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to read a book free - it didn't matter which book. This was like a giveaway, except that everyone got a copy.

So after reading this book, I didn't exactly feel anything. I liked reading from Bree's perspective, but it wasn't exactly engrossing. It was like telling the same story from another perspective, but without any "Oh" moments. Bree was one of the newborn vampires recruited (rather, created) to get rid of Bella and the Cullens. Much of the book focuses on her days till the day of the battle. I did feel some sympathy for her and her circumstances, but not enough to feel it tragic. The story was pretty plausible, and it was refreshing not to have Bella or Edward in pivotal roles. Whooosh! The writing was a lot better than in the remaining four Twilight books, but it still lacked some depth. I blazed through the novella within two hours, and just rolled over to sleep. I didn't exactly feel there was something momentous in this book, rather it smacked of a gap-filler.

So, to continue my history, Twilight did do a good thing for me eventually. I read more. Not overwhelmingly more, but more than I've ever read. I guess that's when I got interested with this whole until-then-non-existent world of book blogging and online bookish websites. Like many would say, if a book can get you to read, or read more, as in my case, why blame the book?

 

Check out this book published by Hachette Book Group (Little, Brown and Company) @ Goodreads, BetterWorldBooks, Amazon, B&N.

I read this book on Stephenie Meyer's website.

Review: Liar by Justine Larbalestier (Audio book)

Title: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
First Published: September 2009
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Source: Library
9 hours, 1 minute



On the flap
Micah will freely admit she's a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she'll ever tell you. Over the years she's fooled everyone: her classmates, her teachers, even her parents. And she's always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as easily as breathing?

Taking listeners deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them ? and herself ? that she's finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have listeners seesawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

It is very rarely that I choose to read a book without knowing anything at all about it. Since I don't get much reading time per month, I like to have some idea of the books I read and also whether they have been well-received. Liar was an exception. I had no idea what this book was about, except that the protagonist, Micah, who is also the narrator, is a liar. Funnily, that is all you need to know. Anything else is a spoiler.

I've written a spoiler-free review, and I recommend that if you haven't read this book, please do not read any reviews with spoilers. This story has to be read without knowing anything about it.

My opinion
Liar starts with a confession by Micah that she is a liar, followed by a promise that she will come clean in this story. So she does. Or does she? Her boyfriend, Zack, is dead, and she is shattered. But who killed him? Is she really his girlfriend? Is she even telling the truth? At one point, I almost expected her to shriek and say "April fool! Zack isn't dead!" OR "Gotcha! I invented Zack! The End!"

As Micah backtracks and changes her story, while also explaining her actions, I admit I felt pretty shocked! Some of the things I thought were lies, weren't. And some confessions that I fell for (which was a lot), were false. The major twist halfway through the story quite shocked me, since I didn't expect it at all. I won't say I entirely bought that twist then, but it fell into place as the story progressed.

Remember the story of the Blind men and an elephant? Each of the men touch one part of the elephant, and try to determine what it is. Their guesses are very different (rope, pillar, wall, etc). The story tries to show that two people could look at the same thing and yet, come up with very different conclusions. Liar is an excellent testimony to that, as the reader initially falls for Micah's lies and then when she says the truth, we accept that as being plausible as well!

Although this is a YA book, this is also what I would call YA-for-adults. I didn't cringe at any scene or dialogue, nor did I find any character to be straight out of a lame high school story. The major characters are pretty strong - Micah, Zack, Sarah, even Brandon, though I felt the minor characters to be insubstantial.

Unless you read audio books pretty fast, and don't mind shrilly* narrators, I would suggest you read the book. I wish I did, it might have made me appreciate it better. The narration in the first half of the story was very high-school-ish. Shrilly. Vociferous. Crying girls. Bullying jocks. But the latter part was very serene in pace. It could be because Micah started to grow on me by then, but the effect is very noticeable.

* (The narrator isn't really shrilly, but there are times, I thought my ears will explode. Especially when Micah is extra emotional or angry, or just plain upset.)

Overall, I will recommend this book. I wasn't sure if this idea of a liar as a narrator would work at all. But I would say it did. The concept is very unique, and I found myself eager to know how truthful Micah was in the end. I wasn't wow'ed by this book, but I think the audio book had more to do with that. However, I wasn't very impressed by the ending, and Liar left me with a few questions and some confusing conclusions about what the truths and the lies were.

Title Demystified
No surprise! Micah - the liar! Or not?

Cover Art Demystified

I love this cover! I am so glad Bloomsbury caved in and changed the cover. The previous one isn't bad but it doesn't fully well capture the heritage of the protagonist AND the "I'm a liar" look in her eyes. Everything about Micah in this picture screams that fact. Her desire to stop lying is mirrored by her hands covering her mouth, but it is conflicted by her tendency to lie, as expressed by her piercing eyes .

What did you think?
Have you read this book? I'd like to know what you thought about it. Please leave your review link in the comments, or a brief opinion, if you hadn't reviewed it.

Did you like it or you didn't? If you didn't, at what point did the book turn you off.

Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
First Published: March 2009
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Library
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Support your Local Library Reading Challenge
541 pages



On the flap
To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

This is the third book of the Mortal Instruments series. Read my review of the first book, City of Bones, and the second book, City of Ashes.

This is the first series I've completed in a long time. Which isn't saying much, since this one has just 3 books. There's a fourth book coming out next year, which is sort of a spin-off from the first 3, though the events happen after the events of the first three books. I'm not sure if I'll read it, I'm not too impressed by this series, though it certainly is lively!

My opinion
At 541 pages, City of Glass is the largest of the 3 books in this series, but it still reads almost as fast as the earlier two books. There's a war brewing up, and most of the book is about how all characters try to come together to fight on the same side, in spite of their differences. We still have our favorite characters doing our favorite things, and also some "condemnable" things. We have a lot of characters making peace with their beliefs and with others. Plus, we get a lot of answers too (Boy have I waited since book one for those?)

There's very little I can say of this book without giving the plot away, since being the 3rd book, you really need to have read the previous two books before being able to grasp the plot points of this one. Suffice it to say that the bad guy, Valentine, is trying to find the third Mortal Instrument, so that he can summon the Angel who created the Shadowhunter race, and demand a wish that can lead to several people dying.

I liked this book better than the previous two books, and would have given it a half rating more if possible. The answers to the many questions I had by the end of City of Ashes were tied up together pretty well. The writing is much better too, and that was a refreshing change from the earlier two books.

In spite of how well explained the mysteries were, City of Glass was a tad predictable. The main characters reach Idris, the home town of the Shadowhunters, where they stay at the house of some friends, along with two new characters. I sort of guessed most of the story at that point itself, it was only a matter how they were going to be linked together. But I was thankful that the author didn't resort to any garish or totally unconnected solutions at the end.

Somehow, this one was slower in pace than the other books. There's really not much that happens, so although it was better than the previous two books and more action-packed, it wasn't as fast-paced. It didn't really bother me much, but considering that this one is at least a 100 pages longer than the previous two, I didn't quite see the point.

I loved the battles depicted in this book. Though one is only mentioned as to be taking place, the darker first attack was quite creepy. Nevertheless, the descriptions of those scenes were done pretty well.

Overall, much as I wasn't so taken in by this series, the third book made the reading a lot more worth it. Still, a guilty pleasure read!

Title Demystified
Most of this book takes place in Idris, which is the home of the Shadowhunters. Idris is described as so beautiful, that anyone who leaves after staying there for a while gets homesick. Somehow I didn't get much touched by the apparent beauty. I'm not sure if it's because I read it fast or because the descriptions were really far and few between! Idris is called the City of Glass, I'm guessing it's because of the glass structures in the city.

Cover Art Demystified
The guy in the cover is Sebastian, one of the crucial characters in this book. Though I wasn't initially happy with the introduction of yet more new faces, I managed to look beyond it.

What did you think?
Have you read this book? I'd like to know what you thought about it. Please leave your review link in the comments, or a brief opinion, if you hadn't reviewed it.

Did you like it or you didn't? If you didn't, at what point did the book turn you off.

Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
First Published: March 2008
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Support your Local Library Reading Challenge
453 pages



On the flap
A murderer is loose in New York City ...

... and the victims are Downworlder children. Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary's father, may be behind the killings. But if he is the murderer, then what's his true motive? To make matters worse, the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen, and the mysterious Inquisitor has arrived to investigate, with his eyes vigilantly targeted on Clary's brother, Jace.

Clary will need to face some terrifying demons and even more terrifying family decisions. No one said that the life of a Shadowhunter would be easy.

This is the second book of the Mortal Instruments series. Read my review of the first book, City of Bones, here.

Although I wasn't too impressed with City of Bones, I was hooked enough to grab the next book from the library and place a hold on the third. Though the suspense only deepened, I am hoping for more answers in the 3rd book, City of Glass.

My opinion
City of Ashes is just as quick a read as City of Bones. It starts out where the first book left off - with a confused Jace and Clary trying to adapt to the weird family revelation made by Valentine. Clary's best friend, Simon, comes back into prominence and re-bonds with Clary. Valentine, on the other hand, is trying to get control of the second Mortal Instrument, the Soul-Sword. He still has cleansing of the Downworlders on his agenda.

I found the character relationships better developed here. Jace, especially was well-written, though he mostly struck me as unpredictable in his thoughts and actions. Simon, as Clary's best friend, and potential boyfriend, is thankfully not projected as a dumb-head in this book. I was tired of all the verbal bullying he had to endure from Jace, Alex and Isabella, and I'm sure if not for Clary, he would have given the Shadowhunters the cold shoulder, which is what I wanted him to do. He is more into his person in this book, and it was nice to see Jace standing up for Simon, once in a while.

As in the first book, I wasn't too impressed with the writing and the dialogue delivery. There are lines of conversations that were very irrelevant. Such conversations are brought in, usually to build rapport among the characters and to increase our familiarity with the characters. Somehow, I felt neither in this case, since I already knew the characters well, and they knew each other well too. Moreover, 453 pages is quite long, considering there is quite a bit of irrelevant banter in the book. At one point, I just wanted to finish the book, since it was getting too predictable for comfort.

Those who didn't read the first book, skip the following paragraph and head over to the next.

I would have expected Jace and Clary to embrace each other as siblings and get used to it, not have another go at kissing as was suggested by the Queen Fey. Probably the plot line demanded it, but there really was no need of some romance just to include it. I am guessing that all this is done for a purpose, so that when some different revelation is made in the next book, the reader is able to invite the romance as natural. Nevertheless, I did cringe on reading this. It was a horrible thing to imagine.

Thankfully, there was more original content in this book than in City of Bones. Remember I mentioned that I found City of Bones to be medley of a few popular books. City of Ashes though, has quite a few concepts original to it, at least, I hadn't read of them in any other book (and since I read very little fantasy, please do not take my word for or against it.)

For no reason, than just to share with you, here's a quote I really liked from this book:

---

As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?

---

Overall, I give City of Ashes the same rating as City of Bones. This is quite a gripping read, with plenty of thrills and twists. A guilty pleasure read.

Title Demystified
I thought the title, City of Bones, was hard to crack. City of Ashes is even harder! There's not much indication what this title stands for other than the Silent City, which is what City of Bones meant as well. The Silent City is the "library" of the Shadowhunters maintained by the Silent Brothers, who speak in your head and mutilate themselves to enhance their knowledge.

Cover Art Demystified
The red haired girl on the cover is Clary, and unlike Jace in the cover of the first book, who is completely adorned with runes, Clary has just a few, but as you will see in this book, she manages pretty well, due to, err, an uncanny power that she has.

What did you think?
Have you read this book? I'd like to know what you thought about it. Please leave your review link in the comments, or a brief opinion, if you hadn't reviewed it.

Did you like it or you didn't? If you didn't, at what point did the book turn you off.

Is the 3rd book better than the first two? ;-)

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
First Published: March 2005
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, A to Z Challenge, Support your Local Library Reading Challenge
485 pages



On the flap
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder--much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.

But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

I wrote and rewrote this review about 4 times before finally being happy with this. (Whoever said writing reviews was an easy job?) I was struggling because there was very little to review, without giving too much away!

I had been pining for a good paranormal book for quite some time, ever since reading the Twilight series last year. But I was mostly hesitant to read any of the interesting books I came across, simply because many of them sounded so similar, that I couldn't feel compelled into reading them. Besides the zillion challenges I was participating in made sure I picked mainly adults-oriented books, so I'm slowly trying to invite more paranormal and YA activity into my bookshelves! I finally chose to read the Mortal Instruments series, after two of my book clubs in Goodreads voted for City of Bones as the group read. What stronger wake-up call did I need?

My opinion
City of Bones starts out pretty well. When I read the synopsis, I wasn't pleased. Bodies disappearing? Invisible men? Puhleez. But the book starts out better than the way the synopsis was put. The fact that only Clary could see the 3 people who just killed a green-eyed, electric-blue-haired boy in her presence, got me hooked enough to wonder what species the book is dealing with.

Apparently, it is species in the plural. Suddenly Clary's human world and the other invisible world merge, and a lot of questions start emerging. Now you see what I mean by finding this a difficult book to review? I'd rather not spoil any surprises for you if you plan to read this.

There are a lot of paranormal creatures in this book that I remember feeling initially overwhelmed trying to keep track of who was good and who wasn't. I couldn't blame Clary either for feeling confused. There are vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks, demons, angels, and the ruler of all - the shadowhunters. And of course, we poor mundanes (Did that remind you of muggles? That's the first word that came to my mind.)

The twists in the book were pretty riveting. This one is a meaty 485 pages, full of twists and turns. Much as they were engrossing, I felt that tool to be over-used. There were many times when a character was about to tell a spicy teaser, only to be interrupted by someone else and I had to turn page after page to find out what that juicy piece of news is. And by many, I mean almost every other page. A tad overused.

Just when I was cozying up to the romance in the book, there's a really disgusting revelation made. I couldn't see a point to taking the story in "both" directions, the romance and the non-romance direction, since both the elements combined to make me feel very disturbed. I would have branded this courageous writing, because it's not a situation anyone would like to be in, but I wouldn't since it didn't leave me with any kind of achievement or satisfaction, rather with a confused disarray of feelings.

Although I enjoyed this book a lot, I wish most of its themes were original. Instead, I felt a lot of the book's world to be borrowed. The "mundanes", the stele, the 3 mortal instruments, a central villain who wants to raise an army of the most feared and dangerous creatures and cleanse the world of all beneath him. In the end, I felt as if most of the detailed descriptions of the creatures were forced to fit into the story rather than the other way around.

Overall, this is a gripping read if you love suspense, plus has a high paranormal activity to keep you entertained. (I am guilty of neglecting my work when I started reading this). But I wasn't so impressed by the writing, which I felt quite lame both in the many similes used in the book, as well as in the dialogues.

Title Demystified
This one can be a lengthy discussion, since very few are sure of what the titles really mean. City of Bones refers to the Silent City, protected by the ashes of the slain Shadowhunters, ruled by the Silent Brothers. The Silent Brothers are librarians / archivists -cum-shadowhunters, who mutilate their bodies in order to strengthen their minds. ::shudder::

Cover Art Demystified
That's a blond-haired shadowhunter on the cover, Jace, according to The Mortal Instruments website. I liked how the symbols (runes) on his body are shown. For those who haven't read this book, the runes are used for different purposes, like healing, protection, bravery, etc. Using a particular rune helped achieve its specific purpose. While I found this concept interesting, I couldn't help wonder how much time would be spent on drawing runes when you have to set out on an emergency mission!

What did you think?
Have you read this book? I'd like to know what you thought about it. Please leave your review link in the comments, or a brief opinion, if you hadn't reviewed it.

Did you like it or you didn't? If you didn't, at what point did the book turn you off.

Review: Night Runner by Max Turner

Title: Night Runner
Author: Max Turner
Genre: Paranormal
First Published: September 1, 2009
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Goodreads FirstReads program
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, A to Z Challenge, Original TBR Challenge
261 pages



Book summary
For Zack Thomson, life in the Nicholls Ward wasn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. But that all changes the night a stranger on a Harley crashes through the front doors and tells him to run. Along with his best friend Charlie and a girl he may or may not be falling in love with, Zack does just that: run. Under the cover of night, hiding amongst the shadows, he races for the truth.

After months, I finally finished this book. (Yeah, months! I feel so guilty about that.) I started this book a long time back, but sorry to say, each time, I gave it up as a bad job. I finally put this book on my TBR challenge for 2010 and finished it last night. I'm sure this book was not meant for me. I did get into the story after about a 100 pages. But it still failed me, especially the ending, which I just found too ridiculous and awful.

My thoughts
Firstly, I didn't find this book gripping or suspenseful. I read about a hundred pages, before I felt drawn into the story. It was hardly gripping though, more like slippery ice. You managed to stay on, but you could just as easily fall down.

Occasionally, there were some interesting twists. Some of these had the potential to be turned into great angles. That was when I kept turning the pages. But some of the twists just didn't make sense to me. All through the book, the existence of vampires was played off as a disease. That concept raised more questions than it offered answers.

I definitely found the ending awful. I hate to say this. But it just didn't make any sense to me. There were two plot twists in the end that were just too err... lame. The book might have fared better without the epilogue. Somehow the epilogue just set back the rating I would have given to this book.

One thing I enjoyed about Night Runner is its humor. There were quite a few light moments, and they were funny. Not rolling-on-the-bed funny, but funny, nevertheless.

There was not much character description, except for some focus on the main character, Zack. Most characters just came and went through the story. They hardly had much presence in the book.

Overall, I didn't enjoy the book at all. I wish I could say better, but it just didn't sit well with me. There was a lot of promise, from the blurb on the back cover of the book. That interest just didn't translate into the story.

What did you think?
Have you read this book? I'd like to know what you thought about it. Please leave your review link in the comments, or a brief opinion, if you hadn't reviewed it.
Did the ending agree with you?
Did the book live up to your expectations?