Waiting on Wednesday: Lost in Time
Title: Lost in Time (Blue Bloods #6)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: September 27, 2011
After their beautiful yet brief bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force are forced to separate. To fulfill the Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler travels to Alexandria to search for Catherine of Siena and the Gate of Promise. But Schuyler quickly discovers that everything she believed about the Gate to be wrong. Meanwhile, Jack makes the difficult decision to return to New York to face his twin and former bondmate, Mimi. But instead of a bitter reunion, he is faced with a choice for which there is no good option.
Mimi, with a most unexpected travel companion in Oliver Hazard-Perry, jets off to Egypt, too, to search for Kingsley Martin, her long lost love. With all roads leading to Hell, Mimi learns that not all love stories have happy endings. But she’ll have to put her own feelings aside if she’s going to save her crumbling Coven. —Goodreads
Hi, my name is Bethany, and I’m a Blue Bloods addict. I only started reading this series about six weeks ago, and may I just say, OH. MY. GOD.
I have seriously deep and fuzzy feelings about Blue Bloods and I am all kinds of excited to read Lost in Time because, well, I’m really interested to see where the Mimi/Oliver story arc goes. Because I could maybe be a fan of a little bit of romance between those two. *grins*
Also: Where the eff is Bliss? She’s not just GONE right? Discuss in comments if you are so inclined and let me know what fabulous books you’re waiting on.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Top Ten Tuesday: Required Reading
Y’all, I’m about to get all kinds of melodramatic and sentimental up in here. You ready? GOOD.
There are some books that just stick with you—the stories or characters or writing, or, really, all of that combined, just reach down into you and leave a mark that somehow changes you, be it your perception of the world or your understanding of language or the way you think about storytelling. This is because books are important and made of awesome.
So, here’s the list of the books that have left an indelible impression on me, good, bad, and ugly, in absolutely no particular order other than the order that I thought of them.
1. The Odyssey by Homer
Helllooooooo classic lit that has informed kind of everything that came after it. That in and of itself is why it should be required.
2. As much Shakespeare as possible
I know it’s not for everyone, but this dude’s works are freaking important. Hell, most of the words we use today were CREATED by him. And modern story structure and tropes? Yeah, those came from him too. And he came up with some of the best zingers. And some of the most thought-inducing philosophical musings. And let’s not forget the sonnets and the romantic stuff. *swoons at the thought of it*
3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
This is maybe the best book about being a good human ever written. And, IMHO, everyone should read it.
4. The House on Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
It’s just sooooo sweet. And sad. And good. No one should ever be without the Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Bear. [Note: The “cover” above is the audiobook version. Just the THOUGHT of listening to Jim Broadbent read this aloud is making me tear up.]
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
If there’s ever a book to teach you about the importance of books, this is it. This isn’t necessarily one I enjoyed but it’s one that I am very, very glad I read. In fact, I read it because it was on the required reading list for my AP Literature class my junior year of high school. 🙂
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Yes, this is considered girly, but consider this folks: if every guy read Pride and Prejudice they’d probably better understand why we’re all so gaga over Darcy.
7. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
I just really freaking like this book. I read directly after reading Catcher in the Rye, and actually preferred A Separate Peace. Not that Catcher isn’t worthy of your time (IT IS, IT IS, IT IS!) but I just liked this one bester. (You see that? I made up my own word because Shakespeare taught me that that’s okay to do!)
8. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This one I recommend because a) I love road novels, b) I love Jack Kerouac and his refusal to write in a conventional way, and c) this is sort of an introduction to post-modern literature. More or less. Argue with me on that if you feel so inclined, in comments.
9. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
This is another one from my AP Literature required reading list. I was obsessed with it. It’s beautiful and tortured and just so damn arresting. It’s the first book that [SPOILER ALERT] didn’t have a happy ending I ever read and LIKED. So, it’s kind of a big deal for me.
10. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
This series just has it all—action, adventure, love, hate, friendship, magic, and perhaps above all, the lesson that you are never alone and that help is always there when you ask for it.
Bonus books (because ten just isn’t enough!): Looking for Alaska by John Green, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishigaro, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Night by Elie Wiesel, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman, and, because I have to stop somewhere, Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Holy cow, I think I could have kept listing books all dang night! But I am stopping now, and advising you to read and find the books that imprint themselves on you and them pass them along to everyone you know. 🙂
Review: Starcrossed
Review: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 310 (ebook)
Release Date: May 31, 2010
Format: eGalley from Netgalley (Thank you!)
I think every kid goes through a phase where they are obsessed with Greek and/or Roman (and, sometimes, Norse or Native American) mythology. I went through that phase when I was eleven, and I’ve never really let it go. In fact, when I was in undergrad, I went to Greece to study art and architecture for a summer. (Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.)
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| Hello there Acropolis! |
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| Hugging the Temple of Hera. |
Suffice it to say, I was super excited to learn that Starcrossed is deeply rooted in Greek mythology and history. And though I really did enjoy this book in the end, I didn’t love it the way I wanted to. It started really rough for me, and took me a bit to get into. But I kept with it, and in the end, am very very glad that I did.
So let’s get the not-so-happy things out of the way first, shall we?
My first gripe is with the pacing. There were a lot of aspects about the book that the author takes an exceptionally long time to fully explain, which really super bugged me. For example, the main character, Helen (yes, she’s named after that Helen), who is a demigod but doesn’t know it, wears a necklace that means a lot to her and is referenced MANY TIMES throughout the book—it’s obvious that the necklace is going to come into play and be something bigger than just a necklace. But it isn’t until close to the END of the book that it’s explained. I found this really, really distracting because I kept thinking “What the bloody hell is going on with the necklace?!” I also feel like there was a lot of time devoted to exposition (which, I realize is important for this kind of book because not everybody is well versed in Greek mythology/history) but I kind of wished there was a bit less of it.
My second gripe is that the two characters I like the most, Helen’s best friend Claire, and Helen’s boss, Kate, are sort of forgotten in the middle, and only sort of make a comeback. Both of these characters provided humor and warmth and strength for Helen, who can be a bit of a wet blanket, but when the Delos family moves to town, Claire and Kate are very much abandoned in the story. Which was sad for me because I kept thinking “I really want more Claire and Kate.” [Anyone else think of LOST when those two names are mentioned in the same sentence?!]
But that brings us to the Delos family, the ginormous group of insanely attractive family members who all have very Greek mythology-inspired names (Lucas, Hector, Ariadne, Pandora, Cassandra, Jason, Pallas, and Castor . . . yeah) and move from Spain to the island of Nantucket. Turns out, they are all demigods as well! And Helen inexplicably wants to KILL THEM, (particularly Lucas) which is AWESOME.
But she (mostly) gets over that urge, which is both good and sort of disappointing, because after she decides she doesn’t want to kill Lucas, there is full on angsty instalove. But it is all explained in a way that makes it very okay in the end.
Overall, this book is really involved and really smart. Angelini obviously knows the canon of Greek mythology and pays meticulous attention to the finer details, which makes her book very rich and lush with the infusion of Greek mythology, history, and lore. Despite some of my initial frustrations with Starcrossed, this is definitely a series that I want to stick with!
P.S.: If a movie is ever made of this series, the casting director needs to cast Tamsin Egerton as Helen. I really don’t think there’s any other option.
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| Tamsin Egerton |
Favorite Quote: “As he walked out of the locker room he stripped off his bloody shirt and threw it in the garbage. Helen’s vision stabilized again, and she watched his bare back moving away from her. The last cobwebs clearing from his eyes, she decided that if Lucas was gay then she was going to have to get a sex change operation. He would be so worth it.”
Waiting on Wednesday: Ingenue
Title: Ingenue
Author: Jillian Larkin
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 351
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Bobbed hair. Short skirts. Cool jazz. Dark speakeasy. Anything goes. Meet the flappers, Gloria, Clara, Lorraine . . . and the rich young boys who love and loathe them.—Goodreads
The first book in The Flappers series, Vixen, was one of the first books I reviewed on this here bloggy blog, so it sort of holds a special place for me. But other than that, I actually found myself thinking about Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine the other day and suddenly desperately wanted to know what was happening with them!
Lucky for me, Ingenue, comes out next month! (I’m so glad it’s not next year like everything else seems to be!) I’m so so excited to go back into their oh-so glitzy and not-always-so-glamorous 1920s world. And to spend a little more time with one Marcus Eastwood. *grins*
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Review: Texas Gothic
Title: Texas Gothic
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 406
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Amy Goodnight’s family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.—Goodreads
I’m not sure about y’all, but when I think of Texas, the first thing I think about (other than the Longhorns and the fact that the people of the state don’t want you to mess with it) is the heat. The oppressive, sticky, strangling heat that you can’t shake no matter what you do. This book radiates that sort of heat—and I’m not referring to how Ms. Clement-Moore describes the weather.
What the Goodreads summary up there doesn’t tell you is that the bodies that are discovered are found when a construction team goes to build a bridge, and uncovers skeletons that are hundreds of years old on the property belonging to the McCullochs, who live next to the Goodnight ranch. When Amy (Amaryllis) and her sister, Phin (Delphinium), find out about the excavation, and are invited to the site by the excavation team from UT, they find themselves involved in not only an anthropological study, but in the midst of a small town ghost story as well.
But that’s not all. There’s also the hot neighbor cowboy. (I know better than to think he escaped your notice in the description.)
The chemistry between Amy and the hot (guitar playing!) neighbor cowboy, Ben, is electric. It’s the kind of connection that’s so intense it constantly borders between being charmed and being annoyed, and trying to decide if you’re in love or in hate. It’s definitely not instalove, but is a slowly evolving spark that ignites and races toward the end of the fuse—and when that fuse starts to run out, lemme just tell you, it is four pages of juicy goodness.
But Amy and Ben aren’t the only ones with chemistry. There’s also the relationship between Amy and her sister Phin, who is basically Temperance Brennan, if Temperance Brennan believed in magic. Amy and Phin are the kind of sisters who seemingly don’t get along, but are actually best friends. As much as they annoy one another, they are always there for each other and will never waiver on that. I guess because I have such a good relationship with my sister, I really like when siblings in books aren’t rivals. (Although that can be fun, too.) But I really loved Amy and Phin, and really wanted to kind of hang out with them in their kooky world full of magic and ghosts.
Clement-Moore does a great job capturing the feeling of a Southern small town full of superstition, generations-old rivalries, greed, prejudice, and a good ghost story. Her characters are the kind you wish you could pull out of the book and befriend, even if it means that they come with a bit of red dirt and limestone caked in the soles of their shoes and bring a ghost or two along with ’em.
Overall, Texas Gothic is a lotta bit Nancy Drew with a dash of Veronica Mars (if she were Southern) thrown in for good, cynical measure. It’s a fun, engrossing story, with a narrator who is laugh-out-loud funny and entirely lovable. And I’m not lying about the four pages of juiciness. Hell, this book is worth reading for just THAT. 😉
P.S.: I really, really, REALLY would love to see some sort of crazy short story or something where Emerson from Hourglass and Amy somehow hang out and/or work together. I’m not sure exactly how that would work, but I think it would work WELL.
Bethany Larson 