Book Blog #95: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Title: The Prisoner of Cell 25
Author: Richard Paul Evans
# of Pages: 326 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.
Review: The cover made it look so awesome too...

Let me make this quick: This book was terrible. The ratio between dialogue and detail was completely off (too much dialogue, not enough detail), there were way too many cliches, the characters acted like they were in KINDERGARTEN...the list is endless. I was getting pissed off just reading it because it was wasting my time. I can't believe that there's actually MORE Michael Vey books.

Michael Vey sucks at being a protagonist. He whines about being bullied and how unfair life is. Well, guess what buddy? Life isn't fair to any of us, but you don't see me throwing a pity party for myself, do you?

I pretty much sped-read through the last twenty pages...I'm just glad that it's over. DO NOT READ!!!

Book Blog #94: Physik by Angie Sage

Title: Physik
Author: Angie Sage
# of Pages: 576 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made magyk and flyte so memorable.
Review: It wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

I had to continuously to remind myself that this book is written for a younger audience and that it's not going to be as interesting as other YA books I've read. However, I also kept in that if Sage was that great of a writer, her books would be interesting to people of all ages.

A major turn-off was the POV switching. I've expressed my dislike for POV switching, and this is no exception. I'm afraid that I'm disliking this book more and more, but I'm afraid to give it a bad rating if it's just because Sage is using a style of writing that is only appealing to younger readers.

The stupidity of the characters that I have referred to in my review for Flyte still exists in the character in Physik. It's incredibly irritating. The adults, at least, could act a little smarter, especially the higher-ups like Marcia.

If you've loved this series up to this point, then please do read this book (although I think it's the worst one so far in the series). If you DO NOT like this book, then you'd might as well just stop reading. I doubt that the story is going to get any better, despite my positive memories of reading The Septimus Heap series.

Book Blog #93: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
# of Pages: 335 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Rating:★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.
Review:

I mean, seriously? This is the kind of book I get that has an average rating of 4.31 stars? I have definitely over-estimated it's quality. 

To sum it up, it's Twilight all over again, but with aliens. And Twilight, if I may add, only got a 3.57 average rating. Doesn't seem quite fair to me.  

Here's how it goes down:

Katy = Bella
Daemon = Edward
Dee = Alice
Ash = Rosalie
The other aliens = the other vampires
Katy's human friends = Bella's human friends
Etc.

Katy/Bella move to a brand new place. She meets a guy named Daemon/Edward. He saves her from a getting hit by truck. Katy/Bella talk to Daemon/Edward in the forest where she figures out that Daemon/Edward is an alien/vampire (which happens to be my favorite scene in Obsidian. Here I am, ranting in my head about how bad the book is and then Armentrout puts a Twilight references in the middle of it all. It really made my day...). All the other aliens/vampires are pissed about a human finding out about them. A bad guy ends up attacking Katy/Bella, and Katy/Bella is forced to face the guy by herself until Daemon/Edward saves the day. The end.

Alright, maybe that's the extremely over-simplified version of the story. There were these so-called "sexy" scenes, but to me, they fell short. Katy and Daemon only kissed twice (if you count the make-out session as one) in the whole story. And that isn't enough to call the book "sexy".

Daemon could be considered sexy, but I don't find the whole "perfect, model-like" description. Why do that have to be gorgeous? If they make a movie from this book (which wouldn't surprise me), I can almost guarantee that I will not consider the actor to be "perfect". It was the same thing with Twilight's Edward. Pattinson didn't create a character that I thought was overwhelmingly powerful, and the same would be for Daemon.

I do think that this book is better than Twilight, but Clare's books are better than Obsidian. I gave The Mortal Instruments three stars, so it would only be fair if I have Obsidian a lower rating.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book.

OTS #8: Release of Cress

Happy Tuesday!

I haven't had that much time to read, so I apologize for the lack of book blogs. Right now I am reading Physik and Obsidian at the same time. Since I'm rereading Physik (and because it's written for a younger audience) it hasn't been holding my interest as much, so it's hard to get through it when I only have a small amount of time to read it. Obsidian is pretty good; it started off slow, but I'm beginning to like it. You can view my reading progress here. 

So, after finishing up The Importance of Being Ernest review, I was scrolling through the recent updates on Goodreads. I found that someone had voted on a poll that was sponsored by Cress, the third book in the Lunar Chronicles. I wasn't aware that it came out, so, curious, I looked at the release date for the book.

The book came out today. And I didn't even know it. I'm so disappointed in myself.

To make up for my ignorance, I decided to blog about it today. The cover (if you can see it in the screenshot that I took) is gorgeous!!! I really want to read Cress, but I don't think my local library will have it yet. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to wait a while. I promise that I'll try my best to find a copy of the book and review it ASAP. 

Book Blog #92: The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde

Title: The Importance of Being Ernest
Author: Oscar Wilde
# of Pages: 54 (paperback)
Genre: Classic, Drama, Plays
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis: Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gwendolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend—the "rivals" to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds—pandemonium breaks loose.

Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!
Review: This has to be one of the funniest classics I have read so far! It's short, sweet, and satisfying.

Wilde created characters that said the most ridiculous things, making the story hilarious. The book is written like a script, therefore leaving many of the details up to the reader's imagination. However, there is a movie that is equally (if not more) enjoyable and emphasizes the comical nature of the story.

I recommend this book!