Welcome!

Report Card:
Characters- A
Plot- A-
Setting- A
Overall Grade- A

 

Charcters
The first character I'm going to tell you about is Drew mostly because when the book started, I didn't really know what her role in it would be. Is she filler? Is she just another perspective in the island? Who is she? As it turns out Drew plays I pretty big role in saving Davey. Actually, she plays the biggest role in saving Davey. So, if you're wondering what's going on with her, just hold on. It'll get there.
Next is Brando , who happens to be my favorite character here. At first I thought he was just going to be the annoying younger brother who really doesn't care about his older brother at all. As the story progressed, though, it was clear how much he cares about Davey and desperately wants to help rescue him, even if he doesn't know how to go about doing it.
The last character I'm going to mention is Davey himself. One of the things I like most about this story is how ordinary the characters are. There's nothing particularly special about Davey. He's a typical teenage boy, on vacation with his family. He wants to spend some time of his own. That's pretty usual, right? Right. However, he makes a dumb decision. It's one that a lot of boys in his position would probably make. He does, of course, realize this after, but there's little he can do about it.

Plot
I really like this plot, mostly because it doesn't have any of the elements that I usually love in my books. There's no fantasy or mystery or supernatural or any of the things that I NEED to keep my attention. Despite that, I really did find this story engaging. I think that had a lot to do with the characters themselves and wanting to know what happened to them.
Also, the sharks don't appear right away. There's some build up of tension there, which is much needed.

Setting
The thing about the setting is that, well, it's the middle of the ocean. There was also the parts at the island itself, but I much preferred Davey's chapters just floating around in the middle of nowhere. I think sometimes I get so wrapped up in world-building that I let myself get distracted from the story itself. There's none of that here, and that's a good thing.

Overall, I liked the book. I think the pacing was well done and it was just the right length.

Once again, I was disappointed by Danielle Paige.
She did it to me again.
Just when I was starting to get hooked, she went and ended the book!
I love the way her stories build up.
This one was told from Jellia's POV. I really like her as a character. She's not really MC material, but she rocks as a supporting character. 
I think it's super brave of her to "volunteer" to help the Wicked considering she really doesn't understand her own powers or how to use them if she needs to.
I think she's a very well-balanced character. She knows when to stand up for herself (with Nox) and when to keep her mouth shut (with Glinda). She's feisty but she's smart about it. I think a lot of other characters could do with some more of that.

Report Card
Characters - B+
Plot - B
Setting - C

 

Characters
Our MC is Scotty . He's a typical teenager. He has crushes and zit issues (OMG! the zit issues! How many times did he have to bring it up???). He plays basketball, and he's pretty much the All-American kid. Normally, I don't like this. It feels generic to me, like there's nothing special about him. However, it works here. He isn't bias or have a skewed perception of what's happening around him. And he isn't a walking cliche.
The supporting cast takes the form of six other high school students. They all come off as pretty pigeon-holed at the beginning, if that makes sense. They all have a role, and it reminds me of The Breakfast Club . However, as the story progresses, they branch out quite a bit and we learn they aren't quite what Scotty initially thinks.

Plot
When I picked up this book, I didn't think I would like it. It's not my usual style. There are no ghosts and goblins here, but just some All-American teens stuck in a school and riding out a nor'easter.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. Being as short as it is, there isn't much room for the story to drag, and it didn't. The tension mounts well, and I think the characters made good choices for the most part when dealing with new dilemmas.

Setting
There really isn't much to say about the setting. I mean, it's a traditional high school. There's really nothing special about it.

Writing
The prose is none too complicated, which I think worked well with this narrator. It's smooth and easy to follow.

Report Card
Characters- B
Character Development- B-
Plot- C
Setting- A
Writing- A-
Star Factor- A-
Overall Grade- B+

 

Characters
Amy is, of course, our protag. She's grown into quite a witch, but still no match for Dorothy. I think she made some bad calls. She trusts too easily. Also, her powers never seem to emerge at quite the right times here, as far as battles go. Sure, she can light up her fire balls. But while she's fighting Dorothy, she really could have used some of that wall-crushing strength she displayed about five minutes after she lost.
I think my favorite character here was Lulu She's new to the story and I really like her craziness. She's fun and spunky.

Character Development
The only two that showed any were Lulu, who went from totally bananas (haha) to actually showing a lot of motherly concern for Ozma. The other was Ozma herself. She's gradually becoming herself again. It's a slow process and one that keeps being interrupted. That makes me think that her return (to her senses and the throne) will be the big finale. She will be the one who finally defeats Dorothy, not Amy. I do suspect Amy will continue to play a huge part, however.

Plot
I felt like this one was a bunch of filler. They collected two of the items necessary to defeat Dorothy and had a battle at the end. Also, they rallied some troops in the monkeys, but not much was really accomplished beyond (view spoiler).

Setting
This is where I feel like the story's bright spot is. No matter where they are in Oz, you feel like you're there too. Whether they were in the trees with the monkeys or Glinda's magic tent or in rainbow land somewhere, there was always a sense of awareness of surroundings. I could choose any part of this story and tell you where the characters were.

Writing
It was good overall. There were no major issues or plot holes to deal with that I could find. As I said before, it felt like there was a lot of filler, but what was there, was well explained.

Report Card
Characters- A
Character Development - A
Plot - B
Setting - B
Star Factor- B+
Overall Grade- B+

 

Characters
First, Kestral , since she is our MC. I really liked this character. I think the reason I enjoy her so much is that she's a really strong character, but not because she's really good at any one specific thing. Except of course, using her mind. It seems like, in stories like this, the female MC is always ridiculously attractive (without realizing it, of course) or super brave or selfless or heroic. There's always something about them. But here, I think she was just really easy to relate to in general. She made mistakes and trusted the wrong people and wasn't everything her father wanted her to be, but she was okay with all of that. She wasn't some revolutionary but she sparked change. She wasn't a master fighter, but she managed to win when she needed to.
Then there's Arin . I'm so undecided here. I want to like him. And I don't really blame him for wanting, not even revenge, but just his freedom. It makes sense that he would want to free his people from slavery. That is completely understandable. I just hate that he had to use Kestral to do it. And of course, he signed on for the job before he knew her. But still, it feels wrong.
I think my favorite character was Jess . She's just the fun, flirty friend that wants to pick out the perfect dress and gossip with you. She added a lot of light and humor to an otherwise serious book.

Character Development
The character who developed the more was probably Arin. It's not so much that he really grew as a person, but we get to see all the layers throughout the story. They were uncovered steadily.

Plot

I really liked the story in general, but there were times when I felt like it dragged a little. There were parts that simply could have been cut. I don't know that it was necessarily chunks of story so much as whole sentences that just didn't need to be there. I like, though, that some things were just implied. Like she didn't spend a lot of time telling us that Lirah liked Arin. We got the gist and moved on.

Setting
I like the setting and the environment that we're whisked off to, however, I would have liked to know more about the time. For some reason (though I strongly suspect this is another world completely, or at least with different place names) I kept imagining this taking place during the Civil War.

Overall, really liked the story and planning to continue the series.

I really did like this book. I did.
However, there were a couple things that I could have done without. Here goes.
Going into a time travel book, you have expect a bit of confusion (if you haven't read many before, that is). I haven't. So when Gwen goes back to meet her grandfather and he starts talking about so and so going forward or backward, or backward that is really forward, and so on, I was a tad confused. Seriously, I drew a small timeline.
That said, this book really isn't that complicated. I know there are far more confusing books out there. I think I just need to wire my brain for out.
Another thing. As you all know, I love my ships. But Gideon bothers me. He's dragging both Charlotte and Gwen along, which is particularly cruel considering they already don't care for each other. Gwen has already taken, albeit accidentally, everything Charlotte has spent her life working for. And of course, Gwen is bitter that Charlotte is so perfect. Add bit trouble to all that and it's a disaster.
But I do love the suspense of this series. Who is the good guy? And the bad guy? What do all these riddles mean? Excited to find out. :)

Source: Checked out from public library
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date:
Page Count: 352
My Format: Hardback

 

Report Card:
Characters: A-
Character Development: B-
Plot: B
Setting: C
Star Factor: B
Overall Grade: B

Characters
First, Gwen , our protag. I really enjoy this character. She's fun and spunky and brave but doubts herself at times as well. She is ready for adventure, even if she doesn't quite know what she's getting herself into when she jumps in. There's some really funny internal dialogue with her character. I really love all the things she doesn't say. I think she has the potential to be a truly bad ass chick character.
I'm not sure where I stand with Gideon just yet. He definitely shows the most growth through the story, though it only takes place over the course of a couple days. He starts off as being very snobby and patronizing, but as he sees Gwen's value as a partner, mostly because she saved his life, he treats more as an equal. However, I'm not sure about their romance, because he also appears to be dating Charlotte , whom I cannot stand. She's bratty and self-absorbed. Of course, that makes sense given how much of her life she's spent being doted upon by everyone around her. Still, she didn't need to be such a bitch.
I really liked Lesley I think she makes a wonderful best friend, and helps Gwen a great deal even if she isn't present for most of the story. She's a super detective and I think she'll be quite valuable to Gwen as the story progresses.
I have to wonder who the real villains are in this story. I think it would be too easy if it were just Count Saint Germaine . He needs an accomplice or someone else entirely. Obviously he's a bad guy but is he the bad guy?

Character Development
In my own humble opinion, Gideon is really the only character who showed any growth over the course of the story. As mentioned above, he goes from being stuck up to being more than civil. I'm still worried about him being a player.

Plot
When dealing with something like time travel, the possibilities are kind of endless. Like literally. I felt like that aspect was very limited here. I understand that the premise of the story is about the mystery, but I think there could have been more done while they were actually jumping through time. There wasn't really enough there to properly set up the age. I think there's a great deal of mystery though, which is nice. Who's the good guy? Bad guy? What's the chronograph really do when it's finished? All good reasons to continue with the series.

Setting
I really don't think they were in any time long enough to set up the environment. I would have liked more details about their surroundings. Most of this was character based and discussed what people were wearing. What about the places themselves? How has time changed them?

Overall
I've never read anything like this before, so that's unique. Looking forward to more.

Source: Bought it on Amazon for Kindle
Publication Date: June 18, 2015
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Vintage
(My) Format: Kindle ebook

 

Report Card:
Characters: B
Character Development: A+
Plot: B
Writing: C-
Star Factor: B+
Overall Grade: B+

Characters
If you know anything about this series (and I'm fairly certaineveryone knows something about this series) then you're probably already aware of what the characters are like.
Since this story is told from Christian's perspective, we learn a lot more about him, but nothing you wouldn't get from the reading the original three books. This just tells us everything that we learned, especially, from the third book. His part, his relationships with other subs, and of course, Elena, whom I still loathe. :) We get a much better glimpse of what his childhood was like and it was heartbreaking.
Ana is more watered down here, just because we already know so much about her from previous books. Most the story focuses solely on Christian. Solely. Rarely do we get any insight into any other character. For the most part, it's what's going on in his head. I think this is because we already know everyone else, and this is, after all, just a retelling from his perspective. That's pretty much it's only purpose.

Character Development
This is where Grey shines. We already know that Christian changes through the first three books. That's pretty much all they're about. But here we get to actually see it from his perspective and how difficult it is for him to give up any control. He goes leaps about bounds for Ana just in this book, which we didn't really see in Fifty Shades of Grey , mostly because we're in her head, not his.

Plot
Again, the plot is nothing new. It's an exact replica of Fifty Shades of Grey , as it was intended to be. However, we do get to see more of what was going on with Leila, whom I also hate :)

Writing
This is where this book lacks, as did the others. The writing is repetitive, and really, just not that good. It really does come off as a fan fiction, and not even a very good one. I'd known from her previous work, that this was to be expected. I'd just hoped for more after three book's worth of experience. Oh, well. It is what it is. After all, this isn't meant to be a masterpiece.

Star Factor
I gave this part a B+ simply because the Grey series does XXX better than other books. There's a reason it's the #1 "mommy porn" out there. Sure, there is a lot of erotica out there that better written, but it lacks the uumph factor.

Source: School Library
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date:
(My) Format: Paperback
Page Count: 404

 

Report Card
Characters: A
Character Development: B+
World Building/Setting: B+
'Ships: A-
Plot: A
Star Factor: A
Overall Grade: A

Characters
First, Celaena who is a bad ass. Seriously, 10 Stars for Bad Assery. What I love about her is that she's so versatile. She can kick your ass, whip out the back-handed insults, sip tea, sneak with the best of them, and plunge into a bit of light reading all at the same time. Whenever this happens, my first thought is, That character is too perfect. She can do too much. The thing about Celaena, though, is that she still has her tiny faults everywhere. Yes, she can kick your ass, but she has to take a few punches too, and trains, like, all the time. She can blend in with slaves and high court, but she's still self-conscious. She's a bit of everything. A very well-rounded character.
Dorian , while the Crown Prince, has a great deal of duality to him throughout this story. At first I thought he would be the type to cower before his father, but by the end, while he never outright disobeyed him, still challenged him in a more subtle way. He really showed some backbone with Chaol's possible punishment. I was pleased.
Chaol , as head of the guard, really should have known better than to mess around with Celaena. He allowed her more leniency than he should have, though it really never backfired on him. I'm glad she did betray the trust that he did give her. He's definitely the tough love guy who really doesn't know how, or if he should, convey his feelings to Celaena. To me that makes him smarter that Dorian. He's much more cautious about pretty much every faucet of the championship and his duties. He's the kind of character I can admire for his will.

The king is a brute and a bully. However, he did show some character at the end. He could easily have had both Chaol and Celaena killed at the end, but he didn't. Which isn't all that gracious of a mercy, but it's more than I expected of him.
Lady Kaltain got just what she deserved in the end. I didn't like her from the beginning, but that's not much of a surprise as she's made out to be just a bad a villain as Cain, except sneakier and in prettier clothes. I really don't understand her motivation, though. I get that she wants to be the queen, and to do that she needs to marry Dorian. Okay. But what makes her think that he would want her even with Celaena out of the way? He's never shown any inclination toward her. Whatever.

Character Development
I can't say that the characters developed so much as they weren't who I expected them to be. They were more.
The biggest shocker was Nehemia . At first I thought she was just a princess. I know, right. Just a princess? But yeah. She was noble and honest and awesome from the beginning. But I was surprised to learn that she was (view spoiler). She could also(view spoiler). Wasn't expecting that.

World Building/Setting The great thing about this world is that once you enter it, you don't leave it. There are no explanations, but then, you really don't need them. It comes off very medieval to me, and I think that's in large part to the castle itself (except for it being made of glass, of course). It has (view spoiler) and grand ball rooms, but I still get the feeling that it's rather dark.
I kind of wish we'd gotten more about the country though. What do people do? What are their jobs? Are there just slaves and royalty? Where are the in-between?

'Ships
Oh, golly, do we have a love triangle. It's pretty obvious from the get-go that both Chaol and Dorian are going to be interested in Celaena. My pick for her? Chaol. Yes, he's the guard and not the prince, but I think he's the better choice for her. Here's why.
1. He knows her better. He's spent more time with her. He's trained with her. He's seen her at her worst, not just her best.
2. He knows what it's like to not be royal.
3. They have much more in common.
4. Their relationship would be a lot easier, and much less controversial.
5. He relied on actually communicating with her rather than getting her nice gifts.
6. He would and has (view spoiler).

With Dorian, it just feels more shallow. It could be because he's already been with every noble woman within five years of his age. It could also be because he's only seen her at her peak. He never had to watch her puke after training. I'm just not feeling it.

The Plot
I'll admit the first fifty pages were grueling. I didn't think I would be able to persevere through the rest of it. But I knew that I loved Court of Thorns and Roses and this was very highly rated/recommended and I needed to know why.
I'm glad I did.
I'm going to try not to give so much away.
This story truly had a bit of everything. There was mystery. Who's offing the Champions? (Though, I thought this one was a tad obvious.) Romance. Hello, there, love triangle. Action. I mean, this girl was constantly getting into something. Fantasy. Obviously. It was just all there.
I still have questions about Elena and her part. That was kind of out in left field for me. I really wasn't expecting this (view spoiler) and I kind of wish she hadn't. I wanted Celaena to do it on her own.

Star Factor
This story is just so unlike anything I've read. I'd heard comparisons to Game of Thrones and Hunger Games , but I'd liken it more to Divergent . Still, this one really stands apart.

Source: Hard Copy from Public Library
Publisher: Graymalkin Media
Pulication Date: Oct. 13, 1995
My Format: Hard Copy
Page Count:192

Report Card
Characters- B
Character Development- N/A
Setting- C
Plot- B+
Ship- D
Tone- C
Star Factor- B
Overall Grade- B-

Review
Characters
I really like Jackson. He's pretty much a typical 15 year-old boy. He's away from his parents with the "cool aunt" Dr. Cawley, and he's looking to have some fun but of the anthropological variety. A boy after my own heart. :) He's adventurous and wants to do the right thing. He's eager to throw himself into danger to save his new friends as well as his aunt. He's also quick thinking.
Alma is another fun character. She's not quite as wily as Jackson and is a lot more cautious about what she's doing after she learns about Ramid (as Dr. Cawley dubbed the creature). She worked well with Jackson.
I think my favorite character is Dr. Cawley herself. She's the aunt I wish I had. She gets to travel the world looking at these amazing artifacts and studying people and cultures. She seems to lead a very colorful and adventurous life.

Character Development
There really is none here. This story is much more plot-driven than character. They don't really have time (the story takes place over about a week) to change all that much.

Setting
I love all things British, so this story sort of fed into that. I've always been fascinated by Stonehenge. So this book gets points just for the locale. I do wish he'd sprinkled in a few more details about the location though.

Plot
The thing that makes this stand out for me is how the plot/story was done. It's actually wuite scary to think about. It's the kind of story that's just above Goosebumps (due to the body count), and could easily be a stepping stone to more horrific stories. It's hardly Stephen King, but I could actually see King doing a similar story, with much more gore and language, of course. :)

Ship
Again, there really wasn't much there to go on. Jackson and Alma worked well together, but I see them continuing to be just friends, especially since Jackson was just visiting. However, they did have some friendly chemistry.

Tone
This story is clearly meant to be a child/YA horror, and you sort of have to take it for that. If you're reading it as an adult, or even older teen, this story isn't scary at all. It's the type of book that makes you wonder what if. What if there really is some monster out in Stonehenge eating people? As an adult, I'm not too worried about it. :) But a younger person might run with the story.

Star Factor
I truly enjoyed The Doomstone for it's unique take on the mythology of Stonehenge for kids, which isn't all that common.

I remember now why I loved this book so much as a kid :)

Source: Received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
Publisher: esKape Press
Publication Date: Oct. 19, 2014
(My) Format: Kindle ebook
Page Count: 131

Report Card
Characters: C
Character Development: B+
Plot: B
Ships: D
Setting: C
Star Factor: D
Overall Grade: C-

Characters
Lark was a brat to her mother. That was the most stand out part of her personality for me. She disrespected her and did pretty much whatever she could to make her mother unhappy. I understand that she wants to know who her father is, but maybe Francine has a good reason for not telling her. Failed relationships aside, it seems like Francine is doing her best to take care of her daughter.
Also, Lark is oblivious to Bean and his issues. He's clearly using drugs, but she refuses to see it. She'll make any excuse for him that she can think up. No one wants their friends to use drugs but when it's undeniable, you have to deal.She's doing the same thing she says her mother does with men.
She is so focused on her music, that she comes off as single-minded, which I think is intentional.
It's difficult to say what I think of Bean, because most the time he's on drugs. It's clear that he's passionate about his music, though.

Character Development
What makes Lark tolerable is her transformation, though slight, through the story. It took about 80% of the book and someone else pointing it out to her, but she sees that she's kind of a difficult person. That's what makes me want to read more. I'm interested in where her relationships go with Francine and Cassie.

Plot
There is no epic plot or unexpected twists here. It's mostly the story of Lark pursuing her music and Bean's drug use unfolding.

Ships
I think there may be a future for Lark and Bean, but I don't see it as being a good one unless he drops the drugs and she drops her perfect image of him.

Setting
Pretty average. Story takes place at a high school. There is very little world building, but the setting is realistic.

Star Factor
There's nothing here that really pops to me. It's not a mind bender or a Think-Outside-the-Box kind of book.

I've decided to change up my review style.

As you've seen in recent posts (for the one person who follows me), I've added a couple things here and there.

I'm going to be doing a tad more adding. Hopefully, this fills out my reviews a bit better.

Goal- 25% Tonight :)

Goal- 50% Tonight :)

Goal- 25% tonight :)