Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

Just finished Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey. What a good book. I’ll admit she sometimes puts a lot of effort into setting up the story and detail, but if you let yourself get into the story…IT IS GOOD. Her books are usually “feel good” books; especially the Heralds of Valdemar novels. Sure, there is always some great conflict to conquer, some enemy to defeat, or plot to uncover, but almost every book includes a main character who suffers from some type of insecurity and in the end, he/she recognizes his/her personal worth.

Intrigues, the second volume of The Collegium Chronicles, is about Mags, a teenage boy recently rescued from the mines. Being unschooled, except for the basic fundamentals of reading and writing, he’s now at the Herald Academy training to be a “herald”-- the equivalent of a knight in medieval terms.  To qualify as a herald candidate, one is chosen by a “Companion” –a mystical horse of supernatural qualities, and then that person trains at the Academy. Mag’s Companion is Dallen. He helps Mags adapt to normal life and overcome the challenges of the academy. And there are challenges! Especially when the whole academy is convinced that he will murder the king!

I love Mercedes Lackey, I love her land of Valdemar, and I love her characters. So what more can I say? By default, I LOVE this book. This is the second book, so look for her first book Foundation and after reading that, I might let you read Intrigues. Maybe. J

5 out of 5 bookmarks

What's up with Vampires??

So, I just spent about an hour perusing Barnes and Noble for a new book. Unfortunately, not one of the titles peaked my interest. 

I usually look for books in the teen section, because teen is “supposedly” for both genders and I still enjoy a lot of teenage fiction. I must say, I think they misplaced the label for “girl reads” and accidentally slapped “teen” onto this list of books, because I’m catching a lot of female vibes here. A lot. Or, maybe it’s just the vampires. The vamps seem to have claimed this territory as a hunting ground, and we know from Twilight that teenage girls are easy prey. There must be something alluring about dead guys that suck blood. They are definitely chick magnets. If you don’t believe me, ask my coworker. She basically told me that Edward is the god of all things male, and that if I ever want to improve my masculinity, I should take lessons from Edward Cullen. I told her I don’t want to be a crazy pedophile with shiny skin. I swear, the top 60 books in the teen section are all about vampires, or they are the  4^th and 5^th books in a series—which is usually about vampires. We live in America, the land of the free. Where are all the choices?

So I didn’t find a new book today, but I did discover something quite disturbing. You know how I raved about the Nook in an earlier post? I’ve changed my opinion. I no longer love it; my love has lessened to a general emotion of like. Why, you might ask?! Because my ebook is not a paperback!!

I know, I know. That’s why we have ebooks, so we don’t have to carry a big-inconvenient book around. And I appreciate that attribute very much. I love that part. What I don’t appreciate is the Nook’s “LendMe” policy. When we purchase an ebook, the book is ours, just as if we owned the paperback in real life. Now, unlike a paperback book owner, if I want to loan my book out to several friends over a year’s time…I can’t. With the Nook’s policy, it is simply impossible. What I am permitted to do with the book that I own is to read it as many times as I want, wherever I want, and then if I think my friends would enjoy the book, I am allowed to select one of them to lend it to. And then I can never lend the book out again. Never. Do you see why I’m disappointed? I am the proud owner of many ebooks that cost around the same price as regular paperbacks (with some exceptions), and I can’t even loan an ebook out to two different family members without giving out my personal information and access to my credit cards. 

 

Ok, granted that this wouldn’t be as much of a problem if I lived far away from my family. And,  I know stores and authors need to make money off these books. Everyone needs to eat; but still, being able to loan out an ebook only once—and only certain ones—that sucks. Pardon my French.  Sorry for being a little lengthy today. And thank you for reading my rants and ramblings; I really do appreciate your support. Have an awesome day and please let me know what you think!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Here's the review you've all been waiting for! ;P

I read this book a few days ago.  I know I thought it was a pretty good story, but nothing about it really sticks in my head. I guess it’s because I found it to be very similar to one of the books I read this summer. Angelfire is best described as a mix between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a book called Fallen by Thomas E. Sniegoski. Buffy is about a “slayer” chosen every generation to fight off vampires and all spawn of hell. Angelfire maneuvers the same paths, but with its own unique twist.

 The book Fallen deals with a race of beings born from the union of fallen angels and humans. The race is called nephilim. These nephilim have great powers that manifest themselves at the age of eighteen. Having super powers is pretty cool, but being targeted for killing practice by archangels of God once you receive them—kind of puts a damper on things. Of course, he also didn’t have a heads up about being part angel until his powers manifested. Oh, I just remembered this is just like Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif. Angelfire is a mix between Buffy, Fallen, and the Lightening Thief!  So, as in all these books, Angelfire is like the main character and she, just like the boy in Fallen, will get her own guardian protector.

Between  your knowledge and my description of Fallen and Buffy, we have basically outlined the entire plotline of Angelfire. If you haven’t read the Fallen and The Lightening Thief I think you would enjoy this book and think it pretty original. And if you loved those other two books and like staying in the same genre, you’d probably love this book as well. 

I’m not saying that Courtney Moulton’s book is boring, I’m just saying it’s similar to other books I’ve read, so I didn’t get as much out of it as you might. Moulton does do a pretty good job at bringing a teenager’s social awkwardness and desire to be loved and be normal into the plotline. So, teen drama lovers that’s a plug for you! That’s my review, I hope it was helpful. 

.5

3.5 out of 5

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Riley Blackthorne is like every normal teenage girl, except for one thing—her father is a demon trapper. That’s right, demons. Her father is Paul Blackthorne, one of the best.

 Demon trapping has been a family occupation for generations and being an only child, she is not going to let a small thing like gender keep her from the family business. She is determined to do this, and in fact, she plans on becoming the best demon trapper ever. E-V-E-R.

Sure, she hasn’t been accepted into the guild; but she does have her apprentice license. She’s the first female trapper, so of course there’ll be resistance. For now, she’s proving her worth one small demon at a time. But, why do even the smallest demons call her by name? Usually only the larger demons are intelligent enough to do that. And what’s with demons working together?  That has never happened in the entire history of mankind. Demons seem to be getting smarter, more powerful, and harder to trap; and rumor has it that it all started with Riley.

If I were to rank these last three books that I have reviewed, it would go: 1)Hush Money, 2)Demon Trapper’s Daughter, and 3)Light of Eidon.

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter was a nice, easy read. It has a lot of the same characteristics as other famous books. Girl versus male chauvinism, love crush, and magic (though this magic is pretty darn original). Another thing that I really liked about this book, maybe even a  little more than Hush Money, is that it created even more suspense—it left the reader with unanswered questions, and an even greater hunger for the second book. I’ve read a lot of ebooks in the last two months, and currently I’m only writing about the books I liked; this is one of my favorites.

5 out of 5 bookmarks

Too much time, Crazy Dream, and Light of Eidon review

Since school is out and I find myself with more time than I can handle, I’m gonna write another book review. According to my Nook (love that thing!), I’ve read at least 25 books throughout this last semester. I know, 25 books is a lot, and like I told you earlier, I did some things this semester that I probably shouldn’t—this category includes about 22 of them!

This morning, I finished reading “The Light of Eidon” and I just now established a relationship between “Eidon” and “Eden” as in the Garden of Eden. *Bonks forehead* Duh.

Before I forget, I want to talk about a way random dream I had last night. I’m pretty sure it was spurred from the recent events in Japan. Basically, I was with some friends (only dream ones) in a nice tourist town on top of a hill. It was night time, and in the distance you could see a full moon overlooking the ocean. While I was talking with my friends, and eating some sort of pastry, I received a video text from my older sister.  I opened it up and saw the moon surrounded by a billion shooting starts. Looking up from my phone, I could see the same event in the night sky. I pointed it out to my friends and convinced them that we’d have a much better view near the beach at the bottom of the hill.

We ran down the brick street toward the beach, and when we got there, the meteor shower was at its peak. The stars were beautiful. Suddenly, a tidal wave flooded our vision and crashed into the area surrounding us. Pandemonium broke loose. I ran toward the brick street and higher ground, waves crashing all around me. With screams, waves pulling at my feet, and people falling all around me; I somehow managed to keep climbing upwards…and the dream ended. Crazy, huh?  I also dreamed about being in a soccer match, when I don’t even play the sport. So random.  But please post a comment and let me know what you think of my dream…and maybe post about some similar, crazy dream that you may have had recently. Just keep it clean please.

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So, back to Eidon; here’s the review:

Honestly, I must say that I was not going to read this book at all. It cost $5.59 as an ebook on barnesandnoble.com and when I read the sample excerpt the acknowledgements at the very beginning talked a lot about the Lord. I am Christian, I love the Lord and want to live better because of Him, but I usually don't read religious books for fun except for the scriptures. I only read this book because of the 5 star reviews and a rather interesting opening paragraph. After reading this book, I do recommend it. 

My Summary:

The main character, Eldrin, is the fourth son of King Meren ruler of the Kiriathans and believers of Eidon. Eight years ago, being weak and not good at swordsmanship, he denounced his claim to the thrown, discarded the name of Abramm Kalladorne, and devoted his life to serving Eidon as a novice priest. Now, after 8 years, Eldrin is ready to take the sacred oaths that will bind him to the order of the Flame. He has longed for these rights and for the ability to converse with and to know Eidon. On the day of his ritual, things do not go as planned. A priest informs him that his father and three of his four older brothers are dead, his rights to the throne have been reinstated, and that people may actually try to make him king. He does not want this.

 Later that day, Edrin is kidnapped by Terstans, adversaries who hate the Brotherhood and order of the Flame; People who believe only their religion is the correct one and are to be abhored. Eldrin is saved by the captain of the guard, Meridon, a Terstan who tries to convince him that his order has lied to him. Eldrin, wanting to disprove these accusations, discovers that he has been decieved by his Mentor, but still believes fully in the order of the Flame and Eidon. Soon after this, Eldrin, being seen as a threat to his brother's throne, is kidnapped AGAIN along with Meridon and are soon on their way as slaves to the Games in a foreign country...basically, they will become gladiators...

Sorry for the long description. Karen Hancock's "Light of Eidon" is interesting and very realistic. Her characters' personalities and reactions make this story very real. The story is engaging and the plot line is very well developed. This IS a religious fantasy novel, though not so overwhelming as to detract from the enjoyment of being an original work of action, romance, and character growth. I throughly enjoyed "Light of Eidon". It was a fun read and I received a sense of fulfillment and spiritual uplift from reading it....from an action/fantasy novel?! Amazing!  And, as a spoiler...yes, he does get the girl, but loses his sister in the process. Will I read the rest of the series? Definitely :)

4 out of 5 bookmarks

School Semester is Over! Nook book and Hush Money (Great Book)

Wow. I just finished another semester of school and after viewing a few blogs, I thought I’d take a look at mine again—I don’t exactly get the “A” for consistency, but hey, I just got done with school and white glove, so let’s not bring grades into it!

During this semester, I did quite a few things that aren’t recommended for college students…like procrastinate, play a lot, and buy a ton of ebooks!  xD The ebooks are kind of ironic, considering the title of my blog is “Use a Bookmark”! 

Before I went up to school, I discovered this nice little thing called a “Nook” on Barnes and Noble. It basically urges me to spend money (in a good way, it that is even possible). Late at night, when I can’t sleep, or during the day when I don’t want to study….it whispers to my thoughts. You neeeed to enjoy your time, relax and read a book, you have soo many choices and it’ll make you feel sooo much better.  I think I read 100x’s more pages for fun than I ever did in my textbooks. I would say “darn nook, why’d you make me waste so much time”, but I enjoyed that time, the books, and my grades weren’t horriblie, soo…                       mmm a blank, fill it in yourself! That way you can help me justify my bad study habits. 

The nook is such a handy tool, because it allows you to download samples of basically any book on Barnesandnoble.com. Granted, almost every sample I download leads to me buying the whole book, but it is a nice little feature. Like one of my new favorite authors, Susan Bischoff, says “I try to grab my readers’ attention within the first few pages because I can usually tell if I want to buy a book within the first three sample frames.” So book samples are great for determining whether a book is worth the money and the read.

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“Hush Money” is one of the last good books I’ve read on ebooks. Sure, it’s more of a young adult read, but heck, I’m 23 and I really enjoyed it! Hush Money has super powers, future heroes, romance, and intrigue. What is not to like about that?! The only con is that this book is a little short, just around 200 pages. After reading the ebook sample, I HAD to read the entire book! So I purchased it, loved it, and I even wrote the author a thank you note.

And you know what the greatest thing about that is? SHE WROTE ME BACK! How awesome is that?! Read the book, you’ll enjoy it! And, please comment and let me know what you think.

Visit http://susan-bischoff.com to learn about her series!

5 out of 5 bookmarks

Life Analogies

You know how something happens in life, and all the sudden you start relating it to the gospel? Oh, is that just me?! I thought other people did that too! haha...ha...

My analogy experience is pretty ironic...my car (actually my parents' car) died four times in two weeks! I love this car, it's a 1998, white, Buick Century, which we have owned for 11 years! It has NEVER had problems..well, not many anyways :-P. And that's not the most ironic part, each time it died, I was driving, and I was ALWAYS in the Walmart parking lot! Frustrating! Ggrrr.

From this, I learned that Walmart is evil, or that my car doesn't want me shopping there! The other possibility is that my car hates my guts...but I'm too sweet and innocent so we'll say that's a no go!

Actually, I was just joking about Walmart being evil. After talking to a friend, they referred me to a Prepaid Legal associate who owns an auto shop. He was nice enough to look at my car, and fix it in one day! Turns out the alternator had split, causing electrical failure.

Now, the point I want to make is not about where my lovely, white buick broke down or how it was fixed, but about the journey to the autoshop.

On the way there, I made my father (or he most graciously agreed to) drive our dying car and I followed him in our tan Chevy Astro van. Twice, we only made it a few blocks and then we had to jump it. Then, we got to the busy main streets and the highway. That's when my anxiety kicked in. The whole way, I was trying my hardest to keep his car in sight, and praying "please don't die, please don't die" or "don't die there, don't die there!". xD The car died four times on the way, and yes, once on the highway :'( 

Now, my analogy. People are "dying" or struggling all around us. Some people from personal sins, others from divorce or family situations, and yes, some from actual heath problems. A lot of times, we don't even know what's going on, just like the other drivers on the street; they didn't know my car had problems or that I was expecting it to die every few seconds---they probably wouldn't have driven behind us if they did!! But, I knew my car had problems and I was worried for it, so I did all I could to follow and help that car along until it could get the recovery it needed.

If we are struggling,  we need to let someone know, whether it be a friend, a doctor, a confidant, or a bishop. IF we don't, we will not get the extra help or care that may be needed to help us recover. Life is so much easier when we know we have a few extra "pillars"of support. As a missionary in my church a few years ago, I knew every family and investigator that attended a small church house, and I knew most of their major struggles. My heart swelled with pride (the good kind!) when I saw certain people just step foot in the church house. I cared for each and everyone of them, because I knew them. And I tried my best to help.

"For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart."
                                                                               -Mosiah 5:13
                                                                               (The Book of Mormon, pg 158)
Or how knoweth a man his "friend or neighbor" whom he has not served... and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."       

                                                                                 -St. Matthew 25:37-40

                                                                                  (The Bible, pg 1233)

We have an obligation to serve others, and get to know those around us. If we do, we will serve our Savior, be righteous when the day of judgement comes, and we will help people be healed--just like my little, white buick. Thanks for reading my analogy! I'll step off my soapbox now.  :-)