Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Harcourt
Publication Date: October 1st, 2008
Rating: 3 Stars

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...   
-Summary from Goodreads

           

            Not really sure where to start with this review. This book and I have been on a roller-coaster of audiobook to book, love to disappointment to like, May to August. It’s been kind of a crazy experience. I first started this book by listening to the audiobook on our vacation at the end of May.

Now I don’t listen to audiobooks often, I try to avoid them but the audiobook for Graceling had a cast of actors narrating the book and I thought it was completely amazing. I loved listening to it and it really brought the story to life. The first half of the book I completely loved; the characters, the plot, I couldn’t stop gushing about it.

Katsa was a great female lead. She’s strong, kick-a**, protective of those she loves, and isn’t afraid to take chances.  She has the Grace of killing and is being used by her uncle to intimidate people or to kill them, whichever gives him the most gain. Katsa hates it but being Graced she has no choice and is under the control of the king. Katsa is both strong and weak and that’s what makes her interesting but sometimes I think she was a little too weak but I’ll get back to that later.

Katsa has never been matched before in her fighting skills. She can take out dozens of soldiers without breaking a sweat. Then enters Po. While she still could kick his butt, Po presented her with more of a challenge then anyone had in a long time and she admired him for that. I liked Po in the beginning, I thought he was a great character and the mysteriousness is always a bonus but halfway through something changed within both these characters that just made the book go downhill for me.

I’ll call it THE SCENE, when our two awesome characters decided it’s time to get intimate. Before this Katsa is strong, sarcastic, had a chip on her shoulder and liked to be her own person then after THE SCENE Katsa seems to lose a lot of that. She’s a lot more vulnerable, cries more frequently and she sometimes seems so attached to Po that she would break if she ever left him. She kept saying that she wouldn’t marry because she didn’t want to be controlled by anyone, which Po said he wouldn’t, but she appeared to transform into a weaker form of herself anyway. I get that a character needs some vulnerability but this was too much too fast in my opinion for Katsa. My rating of the book went from 4.5 stars to 2.5 very quickly just from the character and tone change.

I put the book down for over a month after that (by this time I had switched to the paperback) and just finally got back to finishing it this week. It got better with Katsa for a while but then I got to the ending and while it was sweet and non-cliffhangery, I still had a bit of a problem with it.

I loved the first half of the book but I lost enough interest in the later half to probably not continue on with the series though I may eventually try to give this one a reread.

  
          -Sarah

Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

Title: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5)
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Rating: 4 Stars

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off. - Summary from Goodreads

     I was disappointed when I first started reading Silver Shadows. I felt like the voices, especially Adrian's, were flat and I was bored by what was going on. Sydney is trapped in the alchemist re-education center where they are trying to psychologically recondition her to hate Moroi and reinforce her loyalty to the Alchemists while Adrian begins to fall back on bad habits. I knew what was happening was essential to the story, but I hoped the book would get more interesting. I should have known not to doubt. Everything starts picking up on page 157 and it doesn’t stop after that. Silver Shadows amps up the drama, action, and cuteness levels of the Bloodlines series.  

     The book focuses on Adrian and Sydney completely. Most of the Palm Springs group show up only a few times and Rose a Dimitri each make very small appearances, but the main trouble in this story is a lot more dire than Jill’s outdoor gym class or the possibility of Angelina getting expelled. The stakes have been raised, lives and sanity are at risk and there’s no going back. While the book deals with some pretty dark and disturbing things I wouldn't say that the book as a whole is dark. Sydney and Adrian are made weak by circumstances out of their control, but once they find their footing they become strong and are able to fight back. This is not a hopeless story, it is a love story. And you will not believe some of the things that happen in this book!

     Even though the beginning was incredibly dull the rest of the book made up for it many times over, and it manages to hold its own against the rest of the series. If you were wondering if this book ends with a cliff hanger then answer is yes. Now that you have that  warning go forth and read!

     While still being its own book Silver Shadows continues the fantastic Bloodlines series and sets up The Ruby Circle perfectly. I cannot wait to read the conclusion when it comes out in February 2015. It is going to be EPIC!

                          -Christina

HP MotW (2): Most Inspirational Moment

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a weekly meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts

I know I'm a little late posting this, but I saw the topic and I just had to share one of my favorite moments. It makes me cry every time I read it.

          A hundred dementors were advancing, gliding towards them, sucking their way closer to Harry’s despair, which was like a promise of a feast…

          He saw Ron’s silver terrier burst into the air, flicker feebly, and expire; he saw Hermione’s otter twist in midair and fade; and his own wand trembled in his hand, and he almost welcomed the oncoming oblivion, the promise of nothing, of no feeling…

          And then a silver hare, a boar, and a fox soared past Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s heads: the dementors fell back before the creatures’ approach. Three more people had arrived out of the darkness to stand beside them, their wands outstretched, continuing to cast their patronuses: Luna, Ernie, and Seamus.

          “That’s right,” said Luna encouragingly, as if they were back in the Room of Requirements and this was simply spell practice for the D.A. “That’s right, Harry… come on, think of something happy…”

          “Something happy?” he said, his voice cracked.

          “We’re all still here,” she whispered, “we’re still fighting. Come on, now…”

          There was a silver spark, then a wavering light, and then, with the greatest effort it had ever cost him, the stag bust from the end of Harry’s wand. - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (ch. 32, pg. 649)

Everything had just become too much for the Trio and when they are about to fall their friends, the people who Harry taught in the D.A., come to their rescue. I love Luna in this scene. I can just imagine her dreamy voice encouraging Harry, trying to remind him that they’re still alive, and to have hope. Without their friends Harry would have never made it as far as defeating Voldemort, he needed hope first.
                   -Christina

Stacking the Shelves (5)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews which is about showing off new additions to your bookshelf.

Sarah's Haul

Beyond the River (The Young Underground #2) by Robert Elmer

Finally!!! I have been trying to get this book for years! I found the other 7 at our library booksale and have been looking there and at used bookstores ever since but couldn't find it. I finally broke down and bought it online for a really good price (For the most part I hate buying things online). My mom read this series to us when we were kids and I loved it. I'm looking forward to finally rereading the series.

Christina's Haul  

 Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

I went to Walmart at 6:30 am on its release day to pick it up, but it wasn’t there. I finally managed to get it after 4:00 pm but by that time I was exhausted and sunburned and starting to get a headache. I managed to read two chapters before I went to sleep for 13 hours. Then I woke up at 6 am the next morning and read until I finished it at noon. I didn't read it on the day it was released, but I read it as soon as I could. I'll be posting my review for it on Monday.

I thought the cover looked pretty generic when I saw it on the net, but then I saw it in person. It is absolutely gorgeous! Sydney and Adrian are on the cover and the background is silver and it glows when the light reflects off of it. It is definitely my favorite cover thus far.