REVIEW! The Last Little Blue Envelope.

The Last Little Blue Envelope
Maureen Johnson


FROM THE COVER:

You've done a lot in the last twelve envelopes, if you have in fact completed all that was contained in them. For all I know, you've read all these from your sofa in New Jersey. But I trust you. I think you're exactly where I suggested you should be: on a ferry in the Greek Islands.

If you really wanted to, you could go home right now. Maybe you've had enough. Or...

My rating: 4 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

Rugged.

The Last Little Blue Envelope is very reminiscent of its prior installment, Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes. Keith is still a foreign jerk, the adventures are just as spontaneous and riveting as ever, and Aunt Peg leaves nothing to be desired.

However, as previously mentioned above, the story is a bit rugged. Ginny's parents are ultimately out of the picture, which seems unplausible. Even Richard, her uncle, is more careless the second time around. I just cannot imagine adults being so irresponsible in this context. As for the other characters, Keith makes his return as a childish annoyance, Ellis is spunky and bubbly, and Oliver is the typical dark-mysterious-brooding guy. They were all mostly characterized by those few traits, and as such, came off a bit cookie-cutter boring.

The biggest surprise for me was Ginny - how very quiet and very indifferent she acts. As the main character, she has very little interaction in the events that take place. Her presence is always there, but it feels as though there's a sense of her missing, and that was disappointing.

Nevertheless, The Last Little Blue Envelope is jampacked with adventure and sentimentality that rings true. It's a great read for the beginning of summer, despite the story taking place during the end of December/beginning of January.  And while you aren't able to hear those British accents, you sure can imagine them - and what's better than that?

REVIEW! But I Love Him.

But I Love Him
Amanda Grace



FROM THE COVER:

Sometimes at night, I wake up and stare at the heart for hours. I think of how I collected each piece from the beach, how I glued it all together into one big sculpture. I wonder if Connor realizes what it means, that he'll always have a piece of me no matter what happens. Each piece of glass is another piece of myself that I gave to him.

It's too bad I didn't keep any pieces for myself.

My rating: 4 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

I read this in one sitting. All 245 pages. Could not put it down.

But I Love Him is beautiful. And painful. Right at the beginning the pain is apparent. I'm sad to say it doesn't get any better, or easier. For a while, Ann is nameless - she remains the suffering narrator, connecting to readers purely through her words and thoughts, without an actual identity.  You will want to hate Connor. You will hate him, but you will empathize with him. Their relationship, which is hardly a relationship, takes its course backward. That's right: the story is told from the present to the past, each chapter a receding date. It's regression that matches the course of their relationship.

I was blown away by the rawness and realness of the story. Despite knowing there was no happy ending in sight, I had to plow through. Ann and Connor are both captivating, in their own respects. However, they did often seem older than eighteen and nineteen; it is at these points that the story loses its believability. There are quite a bit of loose ends, too. You get some sense of their finality, but not enough to really satisfy.

Still, it's a story of pure heartache and love that illuminates the power of belief, persuasion and dependence.

Slacking...

Yes, yes. I know. I've been slacking on posting. And reading. And sleeping. And eating a proper, nutritious meal. Why?

School!

It's getting close to Finals week, so I'm being bombarded with work, work and more work. Just a little while more to go, and then my posting will regulate itself again. But until then, I'll be slow.

I'm excited, though.

I reached 300 followers!

That's awesome! Thank you all so much! I'll be holding a giveaway soon - within the next month - so be on the lookout!

I hope everyone else is fairing well and enjoying the nice Spring weather!

In My Mailbox (9).

68 Knots by Michael Robert Evans.

Definitely not a big haul, but that's all right. I have somewhere around three bags or so of books that I still need to read. If only work wasn't in the way.

Grammar Bit #12.

It's vs. Its

It's = It is.

EX. It's raining outside.

Meaning, It is raining outside.

Its (with no apostrophe) = possession.

EX. I love its cover.

or

I judge a book by its cover.

Meaning, I love the cover, which belongs to a book.

&

I judge a book by the cover that belongs to it.

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question:



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* Sorry for the lack of updates, guys! School is killing me right now, so I haven't had much time for reading (other than for my classes). At the moment I'm reading The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson; I hope to have a review up within the week - so far so good. I'm really enjoying it!

Hope everyone's doing well. :]

REVIEW! The Goddess Test.

The Goddess Test
Aimee Carter



SUMMARY (from Amazon):

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

My rating: 3 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

Inconsistent. Random. Jumbled.

These are the words that come to mind when I think of The Goddess Test. The story is a mish-mash of the Persephone myth and contemporary fiction. Unfortunately, it struggles to work.

Kate is as bland as a piece of blank paper. Really. I still cannot accurately describe her personality - and I'm not positive she has one. Henry is a cross between an old man and a twenty year old? Something like that. And Ava is the best friend that can only be considered a best friend in title only. They all fall flat. I could not connect to any of them. They all clash. None of their relationships make sense, except Kate and Henry's, albeit only briefly.

I was more than a little disappointed that the tests have little-to-no relevance to the story. Literally. They go unmentioned, except when they're made painstakingly apparent through random dramatic episodes. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I assumed someone would have to go through much more than Kate does, in order to become Queen of the Underworld.

The Goddess Test is, at best, lackluster.