A Change of Plans

So it is only April but I have accepted defeat and decided to change my challenge of reading 100 books to 50 books. I was already 15 books behind schedule and with my schedule there is no way I would be able to make that up. If I reach 50 books by a reasonable month then I'll up the anti, but 50 sounds good right now...

Happy Reading!

Cinder | A Futuristic Retelling of Cinderella

I just finished Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I've been wanting to read this book for a while now and Marissa Meyer was also at the LA Times Book Fest but unfortunately I was unable to see her when I was there. Anyways, when I first started reading this book I have to be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan. The story wasn't holding my interest. Basically, Cinder is a futuristic take on Cinderella mixed with I-Robot. Cinder is a young girl who is half human, half cyborg meaning she has some mechanical parts such as her hands and one of her legs but she also has an operating system but also bleeds human blood. She's a mix of everything. We all know the story of Cinderella. Take that story and mix it with a Queen from an opposing plant of Lunars (a bad bunch with the power to control your vision and emotions) trying to marry the Prince from Earth so she can declare war. Add in the fact that Cinder finds out she is a Lunar herself and to top it all off she is the lost Princess they say died many years ago. Oh yea and there is a deathly plague going around. It's a mind bender of a story but it's worth reading. I don't necessarily read a lot of science fiction so reading this felt strange to me which is why I probably had a hard time with it in the beginning, but as the story went on I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know more about what was going to happen to Cinder and the Prince, and Cinder and everyone else! As the book was coming to an end I still had so many questions! Talk about a cliff hanger! The last scene of Cinder in prison deciding what her next move is! I must find out more!! There's so much going on in this book it's almost like Meyer took the story of Cinderella and made it appeal to our robot obsessed technology driven society. Stay tuned for my next Lunar Chronicle adventure:  Scarlett

S.

Highlights from the Los Angeles Times Book Festival 2014

Allegiant + Pretty Little Liars: Unbelievable | The End of Act #1

I can't even begin to describe this book. It was definitely my favorite book in the series and the most eye opening. All the questions we have are answered and the end of book 2 set up book 3 perfectly. In book 3 we find out why Tris and her gang live the way they live, we find out about Tris' mother, and who is stronger between Tris and Four. I like that we got to find more out about Natalie Prior. I felt like the other books were spent finding out about Tobias' family but this book was all about Tris' family.

Honestly, Natalie was way to smart and cunning in book 1 to be just a regular abnegation

citizen. My favorite thing about this book was seeing the personal progression of Tris and Four. Not their progression as a couple but as their individual selves. In Book 3 Tris becomes herself. During books 1 and 2, Tris is struggling to fit in but in book 3 she has finally come into her own, able to trust herself and has clearly learned from her mistakes. I almost felt like in book 3 I was seeing a completely different person than in book 1 or 2. Four on the other hand seems like he is unraveling. In the beginning we meet Four as this strong man who has made his place in the world despite his violent childhood, but by book 3 it's clear that he never really let any of his past go and he is still haunted by his demons. He is unable to handle any kind of emotion or face any kind of confrontation. He runs away like a scared little boy and trusts the wrong people. I began to really not like Four in this last novel but I can appreciate the mental breakdown that he is experiencing. 

Lastly, the death heard around the world. I had heard rumors that Tris dies in the last book but I tried to push it out of my mind as much as possible while reading. I didn't really believe that she had died until the last couple of pages. When each ending chapter was only narrated by Four, I knew it had to be true. I could barely read on after that. Killing off a main character at the end of a book like that takes balls! Usually it's the strong manly man who dies to save his peers but in this it was a strong female character who dies in order to save the ones she loves and I can respect that. This was by far my favorite book in the series.  

This is the fourth installment in the Pretty Little Liars series and some say it's the end of Act 1. This novel rounds out and ties up all the loose ends from books 1-3. Any questions you might've had get answered in this book....or so you think. I actually really liked this book. Hanna survives the hit and run only to be faced with not remembering anything that happened that night. The two biggest shockers for me include Jenna and Ali being in cahoots about the fireworks incident and Mona being A. I still don't necessarily believe the story about Jenna and Ali setting that whole thing up because as we all know nothing is ever what it seems in this series. I'd also heard rumors that Mona was A and that she dies in this series. The show also makes Mona the first A so I was already pretty keen to that fact. Her dying was a bit sad but it had to happen. To round out the book and tie up loose ends you had to kill Mona off. I can't even image how the show comes up with story lines since most things are different.With Toby gone and now Mona, I can't even fathom who could be the next A. It's weird though because it took the show four years to get to Spencer "remembering" what happened between her and Ali the night she went missing but only about two years to bring in the whole Ian murder stuff. Interesting. And is it just me or is Wilden way too nice in these books? He actually seems like a nice cop instead of a creepy guy looking for a story. I also kind of like the whole Lucas and Hanna thing. TV Lucas always seemed a bit creepy but book Lucas doesn't seem so bad granted I guess that means no book Caleb. hmmm..questions questions. I feel like now that the first act is over the books are going to take a drastic turn from the show or visa versa. I've even heard rumors about twins. This could get very interesting!

S.

Insurgent + Perfect + March Round Up

I feel like I read this book to long ago to even remember anything exciting about it. All I remember was Tris and Four fighting in almost every other chapter. They kept way too many secrets from each other and I really didn't know if they were going to make it. This is the book where Tris and Four are kind of on the same reckless path and they can either learn from their mistakes or keep making them. In book three we find out who actually learned anything and who didn't. I find that the second book in a series doesn't grab my interest or isn't as memorable as I would like it to be. Second books kind of answer the question "okay..now what?" Sadly, this was my least favorite book in the series. 

This is the 3rd book in the Pretty Little Liars series and I have to read a summary of the book to even remember what happened....okay just read a summary and I still know nothing. This one wasn't one of my favorites. Each time I read one of these books I compare it to the TV show to see how much they left in or took out. Obviously with Toby being gone things change drastically but a lot of things are surprisingly the same. The biggest shocker that happened in this book that is the same in the show is at the end when Hanna gets hit by the car. That part made me want to read onto the 4th book (which was by far better than this one). I'll have way more comments on the 4th one.

March

Flawless

Insurgent

Perfect

What I learned in March:

• March was my lazy month. I only read three books which put be way behind. After finishing today's book I am officially 13 books behind