Persuasion - Review

Persuasion

By: Jane Austen

Published: first published December 1817

308 pages

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction

Source: Own/Personal Library

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Goodreads description--Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?

Jane Austen once compared her writing to painting on a little bit of ivory, 2 inches square. Readers of Persuasion will discover that neither her skill for delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus lens to English manners and morals has deserted her in her final finished work.

I'm hesitant to review a classic such as Persuasion, but I will anyway. 5 Stars.

This is actually my second time reading Persuasion. I've found that the beginning of every Jane Austen book that I've read has had a slow start--not so much so with Pride and Prejudice. I think she just gives a lot of background information on several of the main characters up front and sometimes that can make for a boring start. However, I thoroughly suggest pressing through because once you get into the story, the story itself is well worth it. When Jane Austen's on a roll with her writing, she's on it for sure and it is beautiful. This is exactly the case with Persuasion. The entire story is build up to the last section. But the climax is perfect--in my humble opinion.

Anne is one of my favorite of Austen's female leading characters. Having turned down Captain Wentworth eight years prior, Anne has some life experience that most of Austen's main characters do not have. I love how Anne carries the regret of her past mistakes. She has to live with the possibility of watching the one man she has always loved fall in love with someone else. While Anne once put more stock into her friend and father's opinions, she has since learned to think for herself and follow her heart.

Though Captain Wentworth has had his heart broken and ego bruised by Anne, he doesn't come out too jaded. He is intent on ignoring Anne and moving on with his life. But sometimes life has a different plan.

I feel like the words I have to say about it really don't do the book justice. I love Jane Austen. And I love this book.

*Updated: September 6, 2013

Bloodlines - Review

Bloodlines (Bloodlines, # 1)

By: Richelle Mead

Published: August 23rd 2011 by Razorbill

421 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires

Source: Own/Personal Library

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Goodreads description--Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...

So 4 stars.

Why is it that the best parts about a book are always spoilers? I really want to spit out spoiler free reviews as much as possible, but it leaves me feeling like I’m missing half the fun. I want to give informed reviews without ruining the book for someone who hasn’t gotten to it yet, because I truly believe a book should be experienced as it’s meant to be by the author—which is page 1 to the end, experiencing it all moment by moment. It’s tough because the spoilers are the most exciting. That being said, Richelle Mead is known for her twists and turns and so, let me just say, “Expect them—twists and turns, that is.”

I really feel like most of the book at this point is just build up for the rest of the series. Just laying the ground work for the really fun things to come. It wasn’t that this book didn’t have its own story or excitement, but with the way she ended it, it just seems like the best stuff is yet to come. Especially considering Richelle posted on Facebook that she said in an interview that book 2, The Golden Lily, has an ending that makes you want to throw the book across the room. Sounds like good—frustrating—things for the future of Bloodlines as a series. Lucky for me, Richelle Mead can spit books out (with extreme quality) at the same rate that most people go to the dentist each year (that’s once every six months incase that didn’t make sense). And lucky for me, I’ve read enough of her writing to trust her.

That leads me to predictions. I wont go into detail about what my predictions were before reading Bloodlines and which came true and which didn’t. But I will say that a prediction I made about Adrian before starting Bloodlines is in the process of coming true. And a prediction I made about Adrian shortly (and I do mean shortly) after starting Bloodlines came true. Both came about in ways that didn’t leave me feeling like I could figure the entire book out before really getting started. And neither were the major plot lines for this book which is why I’m not annoyed that I figured them out. I won’t go into my predictions for The Golden Lily, but they’re already starting to develop. Going to be a long wait until June—when The Golden Lily is set to release. Good thing I’ve got a backlog of books to keep me busy until then.

I guess for now, that’s all I’ll say. A solid read, but complete setup for the really good stuff. Does anyone know how many books she plans to be in this series? Just curious.

*Updated: September 6, 2013

The Power of a Praying Woman - Review

The Power of a Praying Woman

By: Stormie Omartian

Published: July 1st 2002 by Harvest House Publishers

255 pages

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self-Help, Religion, Faith

Source: Personal Library

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Goodreads description--In The Power of a Praying "RM" Woman, Stormie's deep knowledge of Scripture and candid examples of her own struggles and epiphanies in prayer provide reassuring guidance for those who seek a greater sense of God's presence in their lives.

Women will discover how to:
-- Trust God with deep longings, not just pressing needs
-- Pray when life seems out of control
-- Effectively cover every area of life with prayer
-- Maintain a right heart before God
-- Rebuild a faltering prayer lifeWomen wanting a strong and fruitful prayer life will find the means to that end in this new edition. Each segment of the book concludes with a prayer that women can follow or use as a model for their own prayers.

Women of all ages will find hope, purpose, and stability for their lives with The Power of a Praying "RM" Woman.

5 Stars...did you hear me? * * * * * Stars! I LOVED this book. I've read The Power of a Praying Wife before this and was expecting this book to be very similar. Now don't get me wrong, The Power of a Praying Wife is also a very good book, but this book, this book breaks the mold. It's so much more.

Stormie Omartian goes to the heart of the woman's soul and speaks to the very things that I think women all struggle with. This is probably the best supplemental book to the Bible that I have ever read

I really don't know how else to praise this book. Get it! Get it! Get it! And then read it and read it again. I took this book slowly. My goal was to read this book one chapter per week in order to allow myself time to really soak up the information. My personal experience in doing it this way was that the exact thing I was struggling with and needed to read happened to come up in the exact week that I needed it. I can't say anything more about it. This book has transformed my prayer life. Seriously, check it out.

*Updated: September 6, 2013

A Game of Thrones - Review

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, # 1)

By: George R R Martin

Published: first published August 6th 1991

835 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library

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Goodreads description--The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. GAME OF THRONES is now a major TV series from HBO, starring Sean Bean.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

4 Stars - Enjoyed this book. I've always liked this time period of castles, knights, war, and kings. This is outside of the genre I've been reading most frenquently, but I didn't love it any less because of that.

George R.R. Martin writes from a variety of perspectives. These voices range from male to female, from child to adult, and from noble to bastard. The only negative comment I have about the narration is that having just finished the Wolves of Mercy Falls series where Maggie Stiefvater always writes from the character with the most interesting point of view, it was alittle frustrating to go back to an author that swaps view points just when the story gets interesting. George R.R. Martin doesn't always do this--swap just when it gets interesting. But I did find myself being disappointed when the narrators swapped, especially depending on which voice I was coming upon. It wasn't that any of the narrators were boring or I didn't like any of them. I'm not quite sure how to explain it.

It's obvious that George R.R. Martin spent a lot of time creating this world and an intricately interconnected cast of characters. I was also excited when I got to the end of the book and found the appendix containing a break down of each of the seven major house families.

Overall pretty impressed. I have already started book two, A Clash of Kings, and I am anxious to see what's going to happen with the characters I'm growing to love--though people have warned me not to get too attached.

*Updated: September 6, 2013

Forever - Review

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3)

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 12th 2011 by Scholastic Press

388 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves

Source: Personal Library

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Goodreads description--then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

So, 4 stars. I read this book pretty quickly. I picked it up on my way home from work on Tuesday, but didn’t start reading it until…Saturday, I think? Finished it in 3 days. I had a hard time putting it down—which usually means one of two things. A) It was excellent. Or B) It kept me thinking good stuff was about to happen and never really did so I had to keep reading to get to the good stuff. I guess this one is unusual as looking back on it I’m not quite sure it fit in either the A or B category. I can’t say it was excellent, but it wasn’t a let down either. Fair warning, I’m having trouble putting my thoughts about this book into coherent sentences.

I do need to address that I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and will be checking out any and all other books she has available from here on out. Now onto the review.

There is a lot of weightiness to this book. Returning to the story after the end of Linger, Grace is now missing/a wolf. Olivia is still missing, and eventually found dead—near Beck’s property. Jack has died (in Shiver). A lot has gone wrong for Mercy Falls. And for Sam and Grace. Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The entire pack’s survival is in his hands, despite not shifting anymore. Grace is a wolf, which is the last thing he wants. He feels like he has to keep Cole from self-destructing—even though Cole’s destructiveness has been put to good use in the experiments he’s created and used on himself to control the shifting. Grace’s father thinks Sam has murdered his daughter—a large portion of Mercy Falls agrees, along with murdering Olivia. The police even agree. And Sam can’t shake the questions he’s ignored for so long about his adopted father’s choice to turn him in the first place. As if all of that is not bad enough, Tom Culpepper is working to get the wolves removed from the protected list so they can be hunted down and snuffed out once and for all. This doesn’t set the stage for good things for our friends in Mercy Falls.

Experiencing the volatility of Grace’s shifting due to the newness of her transformation was interesting. It finally gave us a look into the world of the wolves that we’d yet to experience in the past two books. Grace’s transformation also offers us a transition in her relationship with Sam. They understand each other better having changed roles, yet there’s a wariness about their relationship that they can’t seem to shake. It makes them closer and further apart all at the same time.

If ever there was a theme to this book, it would be trust and forgiveness. Sam and Beck, Grace and her parents, Grace and Rachel, Sam and Koeing (I can't remember if that's how you spell his name and I'm too lazy to look it up right now--sorry, no excuse, I know), Sam and Grace's mom, Cole and life, Cole and Jeremy, Isabel and life, Sam and Cole, the list goes on and on. Just goes to show how dynamic the story really is.

I feel like this review hasn't been composed at all. I can't quite explain it. Maybe I should give it some time and think on it some more, or maybe I need to read the series again. I'm not sure. I'll just say this and leave it be for now, check it out. It's definitely worth a read.

*Updated: September 6, 2013