The Queen's Army Short Story Review

Hi Guys,
This week was another "chill" week for me, I only had to go to school Monday-Wednesday because of teacher workdays, and this coming Monday I don't have to go because of Martin Luther King Jr. day. I love long weekends, and this is one of the longest. So far this break I haven't really read a whole lot, I've been doing the last little bit of homework I had, and watching the first 18 episodes of Supernatural on Netflix. I hope to get some reading done guys, I promise. I'm about 50 pages into The Hunt, about 50 pages into The Immortal Rules, 240 pages into The Rise of Nine, and 11 pages into Game of Thrones. So maybe I'll finish 1 or 2 of these books this week. But I don't know, Supernatural is getting really interesting... sorry I'm a little late on that band-wagon... 8 seasons late I think. Anyway, This week's review is on The Queen's Army, another short-story by Marissa Meyer, and this is based in the same world as her novel Cinder, and her other short story, Glitches. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen’s army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen -- and to himself -- that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

My first impression was good, since I already read Glitches and pretty much liked it, I thought I would like this as well... but I didn't. I LOVED IT! This was so good, it was fast-paced, it had enough of a story-line to keep you interested, and had some of the best characters I've read about. Meyer has the ability to captivate you with a character, I wanted to know everything about the main character, whose name I've forgotten. He was very interesting, and I loved learning about the wolves as well. I loved how his brother was brought into everything, I loved the ending... I LITERALLY LOVED EVERYTHING!!! I can't think of anything I didn't like about this story. I give this book, if you haven't guessed already, 5/5 stars, because, in my eyes, it was perfect. I can't wait to read Cinder and Scarlet if this is what one of Meyer's short stories is like. I understand that Scarlet isn't in the POV of this character, but I think I'll still enjoy at least reading about him again. I'm so ready to start this series! You guys should definitely check this out, it has tons of action, plot-twists, character development, humor, anything you would want in a story... except for romance. So go read it NOW! It's only like a dollar on amazon. NOW!!!

Glitches Short Story Review

Hi Guys,
This week has gone pretty smoothly for me, thank you God! With exams, and the alternative scheduling of my classes, I've had no homework, and very little classwork. So I have no altercation with posting this week's review... this week. This is going to be the first Short Story review on my blog, and I'm quite excited about it. I really liked this short story, and I look forward to reading the novel that follows this story. I read this short story on my kindle for free a few weeks ago, the name of it is Glitches, and it was written by Marissa Meyer. It is book 0.5 in the Lunar Chronicles series, the first book being Cinder by Meyer, which was released around mid-2012. Here's the synopsis of this short story from Goodreads:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In “Glitches,” a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

My first impression of this story was that I really didn't know what to expect... I mean I've wanted to read Cinder since it's release, but I've yet to read it. I got this all because of the fact that it was free on my kindle, I didn't know if it would be fine for me to read this before Cinder, but I did anyway. Don't worry guys, it's perfectly fine to read this without reading Cinder... it just basically gives her back-story.  When I started reading this story, I was enveloped in the character of Cinder. I wanted to know EVERYTHING about her immediately. Once she arrived in Japan, however, I got a little bored. The only thing I was really interested in was the friendship between Cinder and her new step-sister. This went on for a few pages, before it started to pick up again. When Cinder started to mend the broken android, I was captivated yet again, and not long after that scene, her step-father became very ill, making it very interesting to me once more. I wanted to know what disease he had, and what some of the symptoms/treatments were. Thankfully it gave you a brief bit of information on the sickness right before the story ended. I give this story 4/5 stars for the lack of interest I had during the middle. Overall, however, it was a good read, it had great characters, a wonderful scenery, and a very original re-telling idea. I enjoyed it, and I believe you guys would too, so check this story out. You will still be able to read this story if you haven't read Cinder, so this is for ANYONE to read! The next review will also be on a short story by Marissa Meyer, The Queen's Army (book 1.5 of the Lunar Chronicles).

Beastly Book Review

Hi Guys, This week I'm doing a book review on a book I just finished this past week. the book is Beastly. You may have heard of the movie coming out this Friday March 4th 2011. The book is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast that's based in the modern day, and here is the summary from the back of the book:

I am a beast.
A beast!
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll, stay this way forever ruined unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.

My first impression of this book was good, because it has a very Gothic look to it. I'm not going to lie, I saw the movie trailer before I wanted to read the book, but in my defense, guys don't really look for books with flowers on them. I loved the idea for the book, it was a very great read. I read it in 3 days (would have been sooner but I had schoolwork)I liked everything except, the fairy-tale happy ending. I didn't like that at all. Everything besides the ending was good though. I give this book 4/5 stars, because of it's too-happy ending. I hope you guys like it as much as I did, and go see the movie this Friday (after reading the book of course)