In the Forests of the Night

By Kersten Hamilton

 

The battle agains goblinkind continues…but which side will Teagan be on? Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win.



So the first book in this series (Tyger, Tyger) was good enough for me to pick this book up without hesitation when I found it in the library. This sequel was even better than the first book, and unlike many of the books that have similar paranormal/romantic themes, this book actually does a realistic take on relationships! I was so relived and happy! It wasn't this continuation of  "We just went through a fantastic journey together, and well I'm attracted to you, so I must be in love forever!" The way it was was perfect.
They both are very young (17-18) and they really do love each other in that degree of wanting to protect and be with each other, but they also get a reality check from Teagan's dad. (Loved him for it!) He basically has a talk with Finn and asks him questions about Teagan, which he can't answer- for instance, what her hopes and dreams for the future are. He can't answer them! Therefore, John Paul tells Finn to take it slow and get to know her and let her know him better. Only then could they find out if their beginnings of love were the stuff that life-long journeys are made of.  Thank you Ms. Hamilton!!!! You wrote a great preface to hopeful 'forever' sort of love story!  (Unlike another author I won't name...)
Aside from that lovely lovely aspect, this story is full of goblins, angels, and other fantastic creatures. It's a story about first love and finding and keeping true to yourself despite all obstacles. It's a great series, and I can say I really reccommend it to those of you who are fantasy and mythology fans. My one plea to Ms. Hamilton is: Help on the pronunciations! Galic is hard!

I'd give it a 4 1/4 out of 5 -- Just for the love story stuff. :) YAY!

Cinder and Ella

By Melissa Lemon

After her father’s disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn’t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you’ll never forget.



I had some mixed feelings after finishing this book. It was a quick read, and had loads of good ideas in it. I loved the idea that everyone had their own tree they were connected to in life. I also liked the subltle christian themes in the book, but as I read it I felt like these ideas and themes weren't fully developed, but rather a sort of dream-like idea. I wanted it to be better than it was, and I really think that this author has a great start and I'll definately read other things by her, but it was a little underdeveloped for me; it could've been something really fantastic.
The basic story is about four sisters that have to cope with the disappearance of their father and their lives falling down around them. The oldest deals with it by focusing on her looks and material possessions, the youngest becomes helpless and babyish, the mother focuses on her spinning work and tries to forget the hurt. The second daughter, Cinder,  is the gentle service-oriented one who looks outside herself to try and heal. The third daughter, Ella, is the determined one who never gives up hope for her father to come home and is the fiesty one, yet is forgotten by everyone except her beloved sister Cinder.
The best part for me was the teasing that happened between Ella and Tanner. He kept on dropping her or not grabbing her fast enough when she fell and it was a very fun and endearing relationship. It made me smile and gave warm-fuzzies. :)

I give it a 3 out of 5 - it was average.

O Pioneers!

By Willa Cather

 

Alexandra Bergson, a young Swedish immigrant girl, inherits her father’s farm after his death only to have to deal with the ever-increasing hardship of farming a raw untamed prairie and two brothers who don’t see the worth in enduring for the land—a story full of strength, hardships, love, heartbreak, and even murder.



This is the first book I've read by Willa Cather, and honestly I probably wouldn't have read it if it wasn't on my booklist for one of my classes this fall. I really liked it. I'd heard that Willa Cather's most well-know book 'My Antonia' was boring, so I was ready to read something dull and difficult. I was surprised to get into this book right away. It wasn't full of action, but it was written in a way that made me care about the characters and their well-being. I wanted Alexandra to clock her brothers upside the head and show them that she was a smart lady and could manage their farm. I was rooting for her, and I was in pain when she was; it was wonderful and real-life book. It had the drama of love-lost, which was the part I had the most controversial thoughts about, and then the sweet coming together at the end was just the right touch for me. I really really enjoyed this classic.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Mortal Engines

By Phillip Reeve

 

Welcome to the astounding world of Mortal Engines! London is hunting again. Emerging from its hiding place in the hills, the great Traction City is chasing a terrified little town across the wastelands. Soon, London will feed. In the attack, Tom Natsworthy is flung from the speeding city with a murderous scar-faced girl. They must run for their lives through the wreckage—and face a terrifying new weapon that threatens the future of the world.



Cool beans. That is how I feel about this book by Phillip Reeve. I've been meaning to pick up something by Mr. Reeve for a few years now, and I'm glad I grabbed this one. It was awesome. I loved his world that was full of Traction Cities; cities built on huge moving parts that roved around eating smaller cities and towns. His story was great; a story about friendship, revenge, murder, love, freedom, and truth. It has everything! Action, adventure, great characters that I could immediately love or hate then change my mind when I found out more about them. Tom was a great main character, a sort of everyman for the reader to latch onto. Hester was a kind of pitiable tragic character, but by no means weak or damsel in distress material. I loved their relationship and how it goes from her trying to kill him, to them needing each other, to them liking each other, to wanting each other. It was great and very natural. Love love love it! Can't wait until the library gets the next book in the series so I can check it out! It's never there when I go. :(

I give it a solid 4 out of 5  great science fiction/steam punk feel.

The Velveteen Rabbit

By Marger Williams Bianco

 

Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understood all about it.


This is one of those classic children's stories that I remember very clearly the first time I heard it as a kid. The magic of a much-loved toy yearning to become 'real' is a story any child can latch onto and instantly feel the magic permeating the story. Even now, reading it as an adult I found myself smiling and getting all nostalgic. Great classic kids story.

I give it a 4 1/4 out of 5 for its magic.

Dragon Flight

By Jessica Day George

 

With the Dragon Wars over, Creel finds herself bored with life as a seamstress. Then word comes that a bordering country has been breeding dragons in preparation for an invasion. Never one to miss out on the action, Creel throws herself headlong into an adventure that will reunite her with Shardas, the king of the dragons, pit her against a vicious new dragon, and perhaps rekindle a friendship with Prince Luka.



This is the second book in the Dragon Slippers trillogy. I heartily enjoyed Dragon Slippers, and this book was also enjoyable, but I got the feeling that this wasn't a planned sequel to fit in with the first book, but an add-on. I can usually tell when an author didn't plan to continue a story and it always bothers me just a little bit. I loved how the first book ended, and I was excited to see Shardas again. Creel is a great heroine, a no-nonsense girl that hopes things will turn out better than she expects. Dragons are her forte and she tries her best to help the king and the people understand them better, but she gets into big trouble when they hear the neighboring kingdom is preparing for war and they're riding dragons. It's up to Creel and Luka and Shardas and Velika to find out what's going on. This was a good sequel, but not as good as the first. It was fun to see favorite characters again.

I give it a 3 out of 5- average fun read.

The Healing Code

By Alexander Lloyd and Ben Johnson

 

The Healing Code is your healing kit for life--to heal the issues you know about, and the ones you don't. In 2001, Dr. Alex Loyd discovered how to activate a physical function built into the body that consistently and predictably removes the source of 95% of all illness and disease so that the neuro-immune system takes over its job of healing whatever is wrong with the body. His findings were validated by tests and by the thousands of people from all over the world who have used The Healing Codes system to heal virtually any physical, emotional, or relational issue, as well as realize breakthroughs in success.

His testing also revealed that there is a "Universal Healing Code" that will heal most issues for most people. In this book you will get that Universal Healing Code, which takes only minutes to do. The book also includes:

• The Seven Secrets of life, health, and prosperity
• The 10-second Instant Impact technique for defusing daily stress
• The Heart Issues Finder, the only test that identifies your source issues in a succinct personalized report.

 

 

After reading the Healing Code, I was pretty amped up to try this 'miracle' that will heal any problem. The one thing that you need when you start to read The Healing Code, is that this isn't magical cure for all disease; this is a process meant specifically to heal your heart issues. What does that mean? It means this is for those memories you can't seem to get by, or forgive. This book has all the science of how the codes work and explains very simply and in plain terms how cellular memories are at play in our daily lives. This book goes through the testimonials and also the science as well as the actual codes and how to preform them on yourself or someone else. It also gives a code that you can enter at their website to take the Heart Issues Finder, which will help you see where you can improve while doing the codes.

So I know what question you're mentally pointing in my direction: "Does it really work?"

My answer: I think so.

Don't get me wrong, I started doing it and immediately found relief for a myriad of debhilatating problems I was having physically, but I was rather hit and miss and the way for this to work the best is to do it consistantly and at least 3 times daily. I have no doubt that if I got really into it and was faithful it would really help change my perspectives and help me let go of some issues I've stubbornly hung onto.

Doing a healing code is a singular experience. The first time I did one I was exhausted afterwards, but all you do is sit and raise your arms for 6 minutes. I was emotionally drained, but it felt more like having run a long way and being tired in a proud way. The other amazing thing that happened was as I worked on the things that upset or bothered me in my life, I started to remember things that had been playing a huge part in my life problems that I had burried in the back of my mind. While I can't say, yes this cured me! I can say, this is an amazing book and has great potential if you are willing to put in the time (it's only 6 miutes 3 times a day) it can and will change your life.