The Pact

The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Couldn't get into the story. There was too much flashing between the present (which I thought was the action part of the story) and the past. The stories set in the past seemed to add nothing to the present story.

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What I liked: This was a fresh story told about things familiar to everyone. The characters were interesting and vivid. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see who [or how:] would show up next. This was a humorous adventure.

What I didn't like: That I have to wait for The Spawn to finish reading the next book to find out what Percy's up to next.
Final Thoughts: This seies is appealing to me on the same level as the Harry Potter series: characters I can relate to and a fantasy driven plot.

Pub. Date: April 2006
Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians Book 1
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he s not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he s coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he s angered a few of them: Zeus s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus s stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus.
Recommended Reading:
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Certain Girls

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What I liked: This author can WRITE. Her sense of humor is spot-on and I desperately wanted to be best friends with her characters.

What I didn't like: Her 13 year old character was more grownup than I remember being at that age. This is a common complaint for me when grownups write teenage characters, the writer gives them the ability to reason. HELLO! They're teenagers, they don't think the same way grownups do.

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this book although I was left a little out of the loop because I couldn't remember the first book. There was a twist in the story that took me by surprise, which was a nice change. Probably not my favorite book by this author.

Pub. Date: April 2009

Recommended Reading:
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

Saving The World And Other Extreme Sports

Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What I liked: I enjoy this series more and more. The plot seemed to come together more when combining the books as a whole rather than individually. Max and the rest of the flock continue to evolve realistically as characters. The book jumped right into the action from the beginning.

What I didn't like: There were a few hokey moments and a few plot twists that didn't quite add up.

Final Thoughts: This is a great series that hasn't disappointed me yet.

Pub. Date: January 2008

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the "flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It seems like a dream come true--except that they're being hunted by half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" who can fly, too.
In Book 3 of the series, the flock members are faced with a new enemy--robots called Flyboys who are stronger than Erasers and have retractable wings. The last thing Max wants is to keep running for her life, but she has to, taking the Flock across the country. There, they meet the sinister scientist Ter-Borsht, who speaks of something called "Re-Evolution," and the "By-Half Plan": the most frightening human experiment they can imagine--a kind of ethnic cleansing of the entire planet.
As fear and tension escalate among the flock members--and a romance starts to form between Max and Fang--they split up, with Max taking the girls to Europe, where they are held captive yet again. The only thing that keeps Max going is that, this time, she might finally meet her mother and father--but she still has to save the world. Max Ride's final flight is like a thrilling roller coaster ride with twists you'd never expect and a landing that can't be anything other than... perfect.

Recommended Reading:
Final Warning by James Patterson
School's Out Forever by James Patterson
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Max by James Patterson
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Till There Was You

Till There Was You by Lynn Kurland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


What I liked: Not much.

What I didn't like: The author's characters in her romance series have become interchangeable. The storyline was nothing original for the author.

Final Thoughts: This book was slow to get into the storyline, the characters never panned out to flesh and blood. I expected more from this book and it wasn't delivered.

Pub. Date: April 2009

Synopsis: Zachary Smith is finished with high-maintenance women, impossible clients, and paranormal adventures. But when he walks through a doorway into a different century— and meets Mary de Piaget—he knows his life isn’t going to turn out quite the way he planned.

Recommended Reading:
A Tapestry of Spells by Lynn Kurland
With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland