Update + Mini Reviews #11: Hello Again Rick Riordan!

So, long time no blog! What have I been doing for the past, I don't know, year? Well, as most of you know, I am in college. (At least, I hope someone is reading this.) Now I'm back. What sucks is that I never have time to read what I want. Well, I do, but I get distracted by other stuff. Anyway, it took me a year to finish The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan because of all the college reading I had to do. ONE YEAR! That is ridiculous! What's great is that I remembered most of the stuff and tried to read tidbits of it every once in a while.  Well, here is my review of it plus The Crown of Ptolemy.

Goodreads: He's b-a-a-ack! Despite their best efforts, Carter and Sadie Kane can't seem to keep Apophis, the chaos snake, down. Now Apophis is threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, and the Kanes are faced with the impossible task of having to destroy him once and for all. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink of civil war, the gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos. The Kanes' only hope is an ancient spell that might turn the serpent's own shadow into a weapon, but the magic has been lost for a millennia. 

To find the answer they need, the Kanes must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician who might be able to lead them to the serpent's shadow . . . or might lead them to their deaths in the depths of the underworld. Nothing less than the mortal world is at stake when the Kane family fulfills its destiny in this thrilling conclusion to the Kane Chronicles.

Review: 

Okay, so despite taking a whole year to read this book, I still enjoyed it. It was funny, dramatic, and had great history a part of it. While I kinda did not like how the romance kinda went down between the main characters and their love interests (it didn't go very fast - it was a typical teen relationship - but I felt that there should have been more interactions between Sadie and Walt/Anubis and Carter and Zia), I loved the over all story.  It was a good read, and I am looking forward to Riordan's next book. 

One thing though: The Kane Chronicles will never be better than Percy Jackson. 

Goodreads: In their first encounter, demigod Percy Jackson and magician Carter Kane had to battle a giant crocodile on Long Island. A month later, Annabeth Chase ran into Carter's sister, Sadie, on the A train to Rockaway, where the pair fought a god named Serapis. Now trouble is brewing again, this time on Governor's Island. 

An ancient Egyptian magician named Setne has come back from the dead and is experimenting with Egyptian and Greek magic, trying to become a god himself. He's so powerful and tricky that all four-Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Sadie-have to team up against him. But their usual weapons and spells aren't going to cut it this time. Will the heroes be taken down by a wannabe god who looks like Elvis, or will they rise to the challenge?

Review:

So, I wasn't a fan on how this story started out - a little too fast for me - I mean, it jumped right into it without warning. But then again, it was pretty cool. I love this crossover between the two Riordan worlds. It was better than the ones with just the two boys or the two girls. I loved it when Percy and Nekhbet "worked" together. Favorite part: When Percy reminded everyone on why he turned down immortality. *Sigh* I love this boy. And this story was amazing. :D

Well, not sure when I'll update again. Probably when I delete pics off my computer or something. Until then, Keep on Reading!

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A Shell Full of Books: 2014-2015 + Announcement

Well, this is where I tell everyone what books I got over the past year. Honestly, it's a lot of fun. I hope people see books they want to read or haven't heard of. 

Here they are!

As you can see, I got a lot of books.

And now...

There are new books in the store! Please check them out! 

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Mini Reviews #10: Rick Riordan Edition

Title: The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles #2)
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Yes
Finished: Yes
Source: Bought
Goodreads

Review: As always, Rick Riordan delivers a fantastic book of funniness and action and awesomeness. While I wish the romance was more spread out like it was in the Percy Jackson series, the book was still awesome. Unlike the first book, I found that this second book didn't remind me of any of the Percy Jackson books. It was new and refreshing. I was disappointed that Ra didn't come back as some awesome super god, but it was a fun book. Totally recommend it.

Title: The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5)

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: Yes

Finished: Yes

Source: Won!

Goodreads

Review: The end sucks! It just sucks! I mean, I'm happy that the person who was predicted to die doesn't actually "die die", but seriously, it was left so open! TOO OPEN!!! Anyway, I loved the book. I loved it when Percy said "I love you" to Annabeth and they shared a moment before they fought the giants. I loved that we got to see the POVs of Reyna and Nico, but I missed reading from Percy's view. Annabeth's was okay, but come on, we all love Percy. He's the Harry Potter of the Greek Mythology world. I can't wait for the Crown of Ptolemy to come out in May. Recommending it all the way to Elysium.

Ratings & Covers:

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Review: Defy (Defy #1) by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy (Defy #1)
Author: Sara B. Larson
Series: Yes
Finished or ARC: Finished
Source: Won

Goodreads:
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?


Review:

Well, I read this a long time ago, and I got the sequel for Christmas, which is sad because I haven't been able to pick it up to read. College sucks sometimes.

Anyway, to start off, I really like Alexa. She's an amazing heroine that knows what she wants and goes for it. Of course, when it comes to boys she's a little confused. The plot line was a little original - the kidnapping part with Damian was brilliant. A unique twist. Of course, from there, it was a little predictable. But not too much. Sorcerers were banned, but of course, there are a few hiding.  Want to get rid of horrible ruler....blah blah blah. All you need to know is that Alexa had a large hand in saving the day, and Damian turned into something that we all suspected he was when his mother was brought up. 

The king has to be one of the worst villains I have ever read about. Well, in the top 20, he's at 10. After reading about him, I wanted to jump through the pages and rip out his heart Regina style (hehehe). Of course, that ability is something I lack. What I liked, though, is that Larson made him a very realistic king, as if she took one from history and put him in the story. I say this because - of course - the king is a dictator, but some of the things he did were things kings did back in old times - like rape. Not many books I have read mention the evil king raping or holding slave houses - usually it's just a lot of murder. (Not that I don't mind that either.)

The romance was....I don't want to say horrible, but it wasn't great. As read in the summary, there is a love triangle. Honestly, I think it was more like a scale that was very unbalanced. Alexa was clearly leaning towards one guy more than the other. She friend-zoned him before he got a chance to make her like-like him! And the thing with the other guy....ugh! Crappy insta-love. Let me tell you, there is not such thing as insta-love. It was horrible. And their little moment towards the end about her being with him because she couldn't trust him (please reread through the review if you can't guess which guy this is.)

The ending - happy, but I still need to read the sequel.

Rating:

(4.5)

Cover:

Come on, it's a gorgeous dagger! I want one!

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Review: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Title: Possess

Author: Gretchen McNeil

Series: No

Finished or ARC: Finished

Source: Won....I think

Goodreads:

Rule #1: Do not show fear.
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Review (Thank God I saved this in Word): 

This book was AMAZING! If you haven’t read this book yet, do so ASAP! While I do sound like a fan girl right about now, I have every right to be. I mean, once you read the book, I think you’ll be gushing about it to. Well, maybe not as much as me and sound as crazy as me. Anyway….

Looking at the cover, you’d think ghosts, right? Well, you’d be mistaken. The book is about demons and exorcisms and evil. All that good jazz. Yes, for those who love a little romance in their YA tale, there is some. Nothing extremely cheesy (except for one part), by romance nether the less. So to begin…

Bridget is your average teenage girl dealing with bullies and a boy who loves her just too much for her liking. This whole thing with her ability to hear and banish demons is pretty cool. Too bad this all had to manifest within the year of her dad’s death. Sounds like she should be a bit depressed, but she wasn’t.

What I loved about this book was despite all the crap Bridget was dealing with, she still found the time to be with her little brother, Sammy. And when she wasn’t, she had that badass attitude that we all know YA heroines have despite their whole world going crazy. She was able to stay strong and blah blah blah. Yet, unlike some of the other cheesy YA stories, eventually Bridget was able to let out all that emotion she was feeling, but not onto her love interest. Yes, she told Matt about some of the stuff she is dealing with, but nothing that she used his shoulder to cry on. I love that Bridge was that strong.

The whole plot to this story was creepy. Not in the sense of horror movie creepy, but it was close. I was thinking one thing, but then BAM, something else hits me and sends chills up my spine because now I’m in the dark. In addition to the creepy plot, the setting. It was creepy in general. Bridget lives in a fog-covered part of San Francisco. The creepy church with angels starring down at everyone. And then the doll shop. *shivers* That scene was wrong in so many ways, but yet so thrilling and exciting to read about. While there are some parts that are a bit predictable, the whole book is basically a guessing game. Who’s going to die? Is she going to pick that boy or this one? Is she going to blow up and yell at the crazed guy that’s obsessed with her? Yeah, this book was great.

Romance wise…small love triangle. Well, more like a love L. At the bottom, two people really like each other, but unfortunately, there is someone hanging on to the middle person (Bridget) that just won’t let go. The chemistry between Bridget and Matt was cute. Of course, there is the old cliché that she is fighting him off because of some reason that the readers wish wasn’t an issue, but in this case, I think an exception can be made. After all, it deals with her mom and Matt’s dad…get the picture? No, it’s nothing gross, but it gets to the point that it makes things awkward when Matt finally finds out. It’s hilarious.

Matt. Matt was interesting, yet a very stereotypical YA male. I loved him, but wish he was bit different. Star athlete, popular, but falls for the heroine who isn’t popular herself. No, he’s not an anxious jock, but he’s like the boy next door basically. (He actually was at one point before he moved away.) But of course, what girl isn’t looking for that boy next door to sweep her off her feet? (Girls that want bad boys, duh. But not me in this case.) I loved his humor and the way he conned Bridget into things. That was funny.

Can’t really hope for a sequel. Gretchen isn’t known for doing sequels (wish she was!). But the ending was great (for once).

Rating & Cover:

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I'm alive. Don't despair.

Well, if you are reading this, this means you have tumbled onto my blog by accident or get my emails. Anyway, I haven't posted anything in the last six, eight months because of COLLEGE!!! Yay me! Getting an education. Anyway, that takes up a bulk of my time. I don't know how others do it. Anyway, hopefully, a few new post will follow this one, including a few reviews of some awesome books mashed into one post (because it's been awhile and I really don't remember many of them in great detail).

So please, bare with me. Soon, the Sandcastle Bookstore will be full again. Hopefully, if someone is reading this, you can pass on the message. All money collected will go towards my college fund (or other stuff. Not sure for the moment). Of course, there will be books for trade. ARCS! :D

Well, I hope someone is reading this.

Good luck to you,
Tayte Hunter

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