Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I kept putting off reading this book because it had mixed reviews, but last week I was participating in a readathon and one of the challenges was to read the book you had the longest on your shelves. On my Goodreads, Fallen was on the top of the list so I took the plunge and decided to read it. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. The story is about a girl who’s new in a boarding school, she meets two boys, one extremely nice and the other one, not so much and there is a paranormal element. Reading this book, I kept finding myself wanting to know more, but to be honest I didn’t remember what was the premise so every new piece of the puzzle was surprising to me. I suggest you don’t read the synopsis if you haven’t already, I think the story is more enjoyable when you have no clue what’s going on and the synopsis basically gives everything away. This book will not change your life, but it’s an enjoyable read and I was left wanting more so I will definitely continue on with the series.

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Review: Bird Box

Bird Box by Josh Malerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved that book! The plot was original, I had never read something like this before. We follow Malorie who is a survivor of some kind of apocalypse. There are creatures out in the world who makes people go crazy mad with violence if they see them. It goes back and forth between when Malorie was pregnant and everything started to four years later when she has to leave her home to go somewhere safer with her two kids while being blindfolded. I would not categorise it as horror but it was definitely creepy and terrifying to imagine yourself in her position. Not knowing if the people you encounter are insane and want to hurt you or if they are just like you, frightened, trying to survive in this terrible world. Living in the dark for the rest of your life, cut off from everyone else, no water systems, no phones, no internet, with creatures luring outside waiting for you to see them and go mad. If you are in the mood for something eerie, then I suggest you pick up this book.

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Book Review: The Average American Male

The Average American Male by Chad Kultgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My brother recommended The Average American Male to me and I am so glad he did, otherwise I don't think I would've picked it up. I really liked this book, it was refreshing, original and it made me laugh. I do have to warn you, this book contains mature content. It's crude, talks a lot about sex, but not in a Fifty Shades of Grey kind of way and it is mean to women. You follow a man through his relationships, you read what he is thinking and by that I mean it's completely unfiltered so be prepared. I loved to hate the main character , sometimes I felt sorry for him and other times I wanted to give him a big hug. The women in his life were difficult and even I wanted them to just go away. I understand how people can be offended by this book but don't be, every person is different, not every man thinks like that and not every woman acts like that. Think about it, if every thought that tumbles through your head was to be written in a book, it would not be a pretty story even if you are a good and respectable person.

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Book Review: The Shining

The Shining by Stephen King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was my first Stephen King novel. I was expecting so much from this book because everyone and their mother seems to think it's one of the scariest books of all time and maybe that is why I was so disappointed. The characters felt believable, everything they did and how they reacted was justified in my opinion. Nothing was thrown in our faces just to create an unnecessary plot twist, but I suspect all the hype surrounding this book ruined it for me. Maybe it was knowing the majority of the story before reading it, but I did not find it scary at all and I thought it dragged a little. However, I'm still planning to read other Stephen king's books because I've watch movies based on his books and his ideas are original and intriguing.

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Gaming: Sims 2 Castaway DS

Let me start by saying that when I bought The Sims Castaway for DS, I thought it would be like the other Sims games, but on a deserted island. It ‘s not. There are specific quests that you have to accomplish in order to advance, you can’t build whatever you want wherever you want, you can’t have babies, you do not have a job nor money and you trade food and objects with the other castaways to get what you need to survive on the island. I didn’t mind because I happen to love playing this kind of games, but I’m embarrassed to say, that I thought some of the quests were actually very difficult and on a few occasions I did have to search on the internet for help. Other than that, it was a fun game and I give it a a 3.5/5 only because I got so frustrated at times with the quests. I wanted to add that I watched gameplays on YouTube on the computer version and I thought it looked more fun so I’m considering buying it eventually. I suggest taking the time to watch gameplays of the game for both the PC and DS if you hesitate on which one to buy.

Nina xx

Book Review : Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

Synopsis: Cassie settled down too young, marrying her first serious boyfriend. Now, ten years later, she is betrayed and broken. With her marriage in tatters and no career or home of her own, she needs to work out where she belongs in the world and who she really is. So begins a year-long trial as Cassie leaves her sheltered life in rural Scotland to stay with each of her best friends in the most glamorous cities in the world: New York, Paris and London.

My review: I often fantasize of leaving everything behind and start a new life somewhere completely different and far away from home so when I stumbled upon that book on Goodreads, it immediately intrigued me. I was a little reluctant to buy it at first because I had never heard anyone else talk about that novel before but I’m so glad I caved and purchased it. That book made me dream like a little girl. I wanted to be Cassie and get to see all those beautiful places and meet new people from all over the world... You can relate to the protagonist because how she sees life, how she reacts to all that is happening to her, her relationships, it all feels real. She basically grew up being in a relationship and now that she is on her own, she’s completely lost and realises that she doesn’t know who she is anymore. With the help of her three caring best friends, she goes on a quest to find herself. We all have our moments when we look at our lives and ask ourselves if this is where we want to be and imagine starting over or turning your life in something completely different, but most of the time we just brush it off thinking this is real life, not a movie. Cassie had nothing to lose after her marriage ended so she did just that, she went as far away as possible from her old life. And by the way, if I had three best friends who lived in New York, Paris and London, husband or no husband, I would take a year off work and spend a few months in each City too. Throughout the book, Cassie grows a lot, she makes mistakes and life isn’t easy for her but she still gets up in the morning and carry on trying to be the best person she can be. I have to talk about the scenery, it was beautiful. I think the author did a great job portraying the different cities , the atmosphere in each places and the people who live there. It truly felt like she knew what she was talking about. You could almost feel the wind in New York and smell the food in Paris. And let’s not forget the romance. Ah the romance... It is a Chick Lit so you’ve probably guessed there is a love story, well more than one but it was not overdone, I didn’t find it cheesy and there was no insta-love which is refreshing. That is all I’m going to say about it because I don’t want to spoil anything. Overall, I loved that book, and I’ll definitely reread it someday.

I gave it 5/5 stars.

Nina XX

My Video Game Challenge!

The other day I was going through my video games and I realised that I did not complete most of them. You see, I love buying games as much as I love buying books but the thing is, it takes me a lot more time to finish a game than to read a book and I eventually lose interest in what I’m playing because of all the new games that are coming out.

I’m the kind of person who enjoy making lists because it motivates me and crossing things off a list is very satisfying.  So I decided to make one of all my video games and challenged myself to finish the games that I own before spending money on other  games. Honestly, I’ll probably fail that challenge but if it pushes me to complete half of the games I own, it’s worth it. The ones that are crossed out are games that  I don’t intend to complete or can’t finish. Either they have no storyline, or I only bought them to play online with friends and don’t want to do the campaign or they are games  that were given to me  but don’t interest me that much.

PS2	NEED FOR SPEED UNDERGROUND
PS2	RESIDENT EVIL CODE VERONICA X
PS2	RESIDENT EVIL OURBREAK
PS2	RESIDENT EVIL 4
PS2	CSI
PS2	SONIC MEGA COLLECTION PLUS
PS2	DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION
PS2	THRILLVILLE
PS2	GUITAR HERO 1
PS2	GUITAR HERO 2
PS2	GUITAR HERO 3
PS2	ROCKBAND (don’t have the guitar / drums anymore)
PS2	KINGDOM OF HEARTS
PS2	DESTROY ALL HUMANS
PS2	FINAL FANTASY X
PS2	CREG HASTING TOURNEMENT PAINTBALL
PS2	TOKYO XTREME RACERS
PS3	BIOSHOCK
PS3	BIOSHOCK 2
PS3	SILENT HILL HOMECOMING
PS3	OBLIVION
PS3	SAINTS ROW 2
PS3	SAINTS ROW 3
PS3	CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE
PS3	SIMS 3
PS3 PS3	FINAL FANTASY REALM REBORN GRAND THEFT AUTO V
XBOX	GEARS OF WAR
XBOX	BORDERLANDS 2
XBOX	SKATE 3
XBOX	DRAGON AGE II
XBOX	LEFT 4 DEAD 2
XBOX	UFC 2009
XBOX	NHL 11
XBOX	RECKONING
XBOX	CRACKDOWN
XBOX	CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE 3
XBOX	FABLES 2
XBOX	FABLES 3
XBOX	ALICE THE MADNESS RETURNS
XBOX	RED DEAD REDEMPTION
WII	ALICE IN WONDERLAND
WII	ZELDA TWILIGHT PRINCE
WII	JUST DANCE
WII	WII FIT
DS	SIMS CASTAWAYS
DS	FINAL FANTASY IV
DS	CLUB HOUSE
DS	PROFESSOR LAYTON CURIOUS VILLAGE
DS	CLUE/ PERFECTION/ MOUSETRAP
DS	NINTENDOGS
DS	MYSTERY CASE FILES MILLIONHEIR
DS	CROSSWORDS
DS DS	BATMAN LEGO CAKE MANIA HARRY POTTER LEGO YEARS 1-4
COMPUTER	SIMS
COMPUTER	A VAMPIRE STORY

Nina XX

The Forest of Hands and Teeth Trilogy by Carrie Ryan

** There will be no spoilers for the entire series in this review ***

Synopsis for The Forest of Hands and Teeth:  In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

My review: The series takes place in the future, after the disease started to spread, the only thing in people’s mind was to survive and therefore, the cities became war zone, eventually there were no electricity, no cars, no phones, they had to live like our ancestors with no technology at all. Mary, the protagonist in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, is living in the woods with her family a few hundred years after the world as we know it came to an end. To be honest, I was far from being a zombie fan. Everything that had to do with them scared the crap out of me and that is why I usually didn’t like anything zombie themed . But after reading the series, I must admit I am now a fan. Don’t get me wrong,  those walking corpses still terrify me, but now I just can’t get enough of zombies. There are three books total in the series, the first book being The forest of hands and teeth, the second The Dead-Tossed Waves, the third The Dark and Hallow Places and there are a few novellas (which I will eventually review separately).The first book was a bit slow at first and I briefly thought of putting it aside and move on to something else but I hate not finishing a book so I gave it another chance and oh boy I am so glad I did! When the story picks up, it is amazing. I could not put it down. In each novel, there is a different protagonist but the stories are all intertwined in some way. Speaking of which, I highly suggest not reading the synopsis of book two and three if you don’t want to get spoiled. I got very attached to the protagonists in the first two books, but I had a little trouble caring for the third one. Maybe it’s because the girl was so different from the first two, she was cold and detached but then again if I had gone through what she has, I probably would try to detach myself from all this darkness. Rest assured, It doesn’t take away from the story . The supporting characters were well developed as well, they each had their own voice and you learn to care for them throughout the books. Apart from the zombies, there were despicable villains .  It was sad to see that even with the undead making it practically impossible to live a ‘’normal’’ life, the antagonists made it even harder for the survivors to live. As for the plot, I loved what the author did with the series. You can’t guess  the ending of any of the  books, there are twists and turns you really don’t see coming, and I just wanted to jump in the story and help them out because the things they went through... Let’s just say I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy..  On Goodreads I gave The forest of hands and teeth  4/5 stars, The Dead-Tossed Waves 5/5 stars, The Dark and Hallow Places 5/5 stars and  I am definitely planning on rereading The Forest oh Hands and Teeth trilogy someday.

Nina XX

LITTLE UPDATE

Hello, hello, hello! I know I've been MIA for awhile and I apologize, but you know... Let's just say, life happened. Anyhow, I have been doing a lot of reading and listening to audio books, but not so much playing video games unfortunately. Here's an update on what I've read and listened to recently and I'll eventually review them more in depth.

Books:

 Loved it!

    It was okay

              It was pretty good.

 Loved it!

      It was okay.

 Loved it!

   Loved it!

Audio Books:                                          

 Loved it!

                It was pretty good.

                               I was disappointed by this book.

 Disturbing...

Nina xx

                                                                 

                            

Book Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

 ***** There will be no spoilers for this book in this review ******

Synopsis: In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Review:  Let me just start by saying that Forever was not as bad as Linger. The Wolves of Mercy Falls series was doing nothing for me so far and I didn't expect much for this book, but I actually enjoyed this novel by Stiefvater. It was definitely more action driven and the plot was  interesting! There are things that bothered me throughout the series, particularly the way people act when they found out ''wherewolves'' are real and the way most of the teenagers in this town seemed to know so much about science, chemistry and biology is just weird and a  bit to convenient. All of those aspects are definitely present in this book. Aside from that, I liked how time was a big part of the book, timing was everything. One would miss the other by seconds and it was so frustrating at times! I must admit though, my favorite characters weren't Grace and Sam but Isabel and Cole. To me, they felt real and believable (though the hole rock star thing kept reminding me that this was a story). I enjoyed reading about their rocky relationship and they both were full of surprises. Grace and Sam were...  they were dull and too soft and it got on my nerves. About the ending, now the ending of the series was satisfying for me, but I know not everyone agrees with me. It's pretty much all I can say without spoiling it for you guys. So overall, The Wolves of Mercy Falls  is not a series I would reread , I'm not saying I regret reading it but I do regret buying the books.   

Nina xx

Book Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

 ***** There will be no spoilers for this book in this review ******

Synopsis: Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of a human. For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces--wolf and human--with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Review: This review will be short and sweet because I don't have much to say about this book. It took me about three to four months to read it... Which tells a lot. I  didn't want to pick it up because it seemed nothing really happened in this novel except for the introduction of a new great character, Cole St-Clair. I've finished this book two months ago and I can't even tell you what was the plot or the story. The only reason I didn't quit on this series is because I already bought the complete trilogy and I don't like to waste my money, so I read it. I honestly think you could read the first and the third book and not miss anything crucial. This is just my opinion and the only way to find out if you'll like it is to read it!

Nina xx

Audio Book Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis: To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters—never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City—whatever the cost?

My Review:  For the third audio book, it was a different woman who read the story and it bothered me a little at first. I prefer when they use the same person throughout  the hole series, but eventually, I forgot all about it because the story was so good. City of Glass was by far my favorite book of The Mortal Instruments. The pacing was great, there where a lot of unexpected turn of events, there was drama, romance action, and comedy, I mean come on, what's not to love about this book! In the first two novels, I often thought Clary needed a reality check because she was childish, extremely impulsive and selfish at times. She caused so many problems and I was always thinking, why isn't there anyone who puts her in her place!?! But finally, someone did in book three yeah! And then Clary slowly became more responsible and rational and I enjoyed following her personnel growth through this book. I do not know if City of Glass was supposed to be the last book in The Mortal Instruments, but it could've been. Everything came together at the end and I would've been satisfied if the saga ended with this third book. If you haven't read the series yet, I do recommend it even though I didn't really like the first book, because it definitely does get better with book two and three. 

Nina xx

I'm currently:

Listening: Audio book City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Reading: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Playing: Bioshock (I know, I know! It's taking me forever to finish it...)

Craving: Poutine

Nina xx

Audio Book Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

***** There will be spoilers for the first book in the series, but none for this one! *****

Synopsis: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what''s normal when you''re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who''s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn''t ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary''s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City''s Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My review: First of all, I was hesitant buying City of Ashes because I liked the first one but I didn't love it and to my surprise, I thought this book was a lot better than the first one. The story was read by another woman and I did like the way she told the story better . At the end of City of Bones, you learn that Jace is Clary's brother and I was so surprised. You see it coming but you think, there is no way the author is going to go there because they have such strong feelings for each other and they did kiss... But it went there and this is actually the thing that made me buy the sequel because I was just too curious to know what was going to happen in City of Ashes. Through out the hole book, I was screaming please let him not be her brother!!! They love each other!! And I know Simon is a very nice boy and would make a great boyfriend, but come on! He is the best friend that makes you think of a brother... In this book, there was action, romance, deaths, surprises, demons, blood, happiness, sadness, passion, I loved it! This series has become my guilty pleasure. I listen to it when I do my dishes, while I'm on the bus, and even at work sometimes! The story holds it self, there where no moments when I thought there were contradictions in the plot. It's not the fighting against Valentine and the ''mean'' Downworlders  that captivated me, it was more the relationships that developed between the characters that intrigued me. There are a lot of unanswered questions  in this novel and that is what makes you want to jump immediately to City of Glass, the third book in the series. I intend to read the hole series, but I heard the sixth book doesn't come out until 2014 and normally, I don't like to wait that long for books to come out and I wish I could make the five other books last longer, but now that I've started  The Mortal Instruments series, I just can't stop myself.

Nina xx

Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

 

******** There will be no spoilers in this review *********

Synopsis: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

My review for the first half of the book:  At first, I didn't love the story for  three reasons. The first thing was that the chapters were so short and in each chapter the narrator changes so you keep going from Grace to Sam, Sam to Grace, Grace to Sam but sometimes, the chapters were 2 pages and at times I couldn't remember who was telling the story which brings me to the second thing I disliked. For me, it took some time to feel like I knew the characters because you switch so fast of point a view that I felt almost detached from them. The third thing that bothered me was that I felt everything was going too smoothly. The people that learned the truth about the wolves seemed to accept it way to easily. When Grace finds out about Sam, she is way to calm to my taste. Yes, every teenage girl wishes a paranormal romance and imagine tons of scenarios but if I found out the wolf I cared about so much was actually a teenage boy , I would freak out like crazy. And a lot of people learn their secret and I remember thinking, how on earth did they kept that secret for so long and eventually, will the hole town know !?!  But then it got a lot better...

My review for the second half of the book: In the second half of the book, I finally felt like I knew the characters and felt for them. The story became more solid, there was a lot of action going on and I could not put the book down. I wanted so badly to know how it would end and let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad I didn't forfeit reading this book in the beginning because now, I actually can't wait to read the second and third book in the series.

Nina xx

Audio Book Review: The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

******* There will be no spoilers in this review! *******

Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary. Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.

But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 

My review: I was warned before buying the audio version of this book that it wasn't that good and that I should read it, but instead I purchased the audio book anyways and to be honest, I had to listen to the story twice. The first time I ended up not finishing the audio book because I wasn't into it, but recently, I came across a lot of good reviews about the series so I thought why not give it another try. The second time I enjoyed it more but it wasn't one of my favorite book. I felt like Clary was just a follower, she never really fought and  seemed like a damsel in distress that needed to be saved all the time. The thing that pushed me to finish the story was the love triangle between Clary, Jace and Simon because I'm a big sucker for romance and there is a huge twist in the end that left me eager to see what was going to happen next. If it wasn't for those two things, I probably wouldn't have continued  the series. Also, at times the girl who was telling the story seemed off for example, Clary should have been angry or surprised but the voice she used was calm.
These were just my thoughts on the book and I know a lot of people adored The Mortal Instruments  but I think you have to get to the third book to truly enjoy the series because apparently you get explanations to all the questions unanswered in the two first books.

Nina xx