Airel - Review

Airel (The Airel Saga, # 1)

By: Aaron M. Patterson & Chris White

Published: August 31st 2011 by StoneHouse Ink (first published May 1st 2011)

379 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Angels

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--All Airel ever wanted was to be normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like an incredible ability to heal. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything. Airel knew change would be an inevitable part of life. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?

What to say? What to say about Airel? I guess I can start with saying that I'm giving Airel 3 Stars. Overall, I was disappointed. It was only an "okay" read. The plot was average. The characters only slightly likeable if not bordering on annoying. There were no real plot twists, meaning everything was quite predictable. It was a fairly easy read for me. The narration flowed smoothly enough, but there just wasn't much there to keep my interest. Obviously, I kept reading and finished it, but that was mostly because I knew I wanted to move on to something else and I would only feel comfortable doing that if I finished Airel first. Because had I put this one down there's a good chance I wouldn't have picked it back up again. (Okay, let's face it, we all know I need to complete what I start so I would have come back eventually, but only after reading everything else I could get my hands on first).

Also, let me briefly discuss how at one time I really enjoyed a book that carried about the whole "love at first sight" idea. I'm not quite sure if I've evolved and my tastes have changed or if this book's approach to the idea was just not up to par. I'm really undecided, but either way, I didn't enjoy it in this book.

Things I did like include the portions related to God, El, how the angels praise and adore Him. The authors didn't seem to stray too far from Biblical text which I appreciated. There were some nicely worded quotable thoughts. Such as..."I don't know if this will change my life, if I can move on and be strong, but I know that I will be fine. I will be okay in the end. Because I am enough." And I liked how Kreios discussed with Airel how when you "love someone so much" that you begin to lose yourself, well, that's not exactly healthy. It's definitely not what we should seek out of relationships. I completely understand being so wrapped up in how you feel, how someone else makes you feel, and how you feel about yourself when you're with someone else that you begin to lose yourself. And while I'm 100% for loving deeply and intensely and giving your soul to someone else, the key is being able to survive without them...not being completely consumed and lost if you find out they've betrayed you (which more than likely will happen sooner or later in one form or other--even if they don't mean to).

Other than that, I can't say enough that this book was simply "okay." Have you read Airel? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Updated: February 5, 2015

Top 10 Quotes From Books

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is: Top 10 Quotes in Books.

Coming up with my favorite quotes wasn't so hard, but hunting them down wasn't as easy. It needs to be said before you read any further that it's possible these quotes contain spoilers. It can't be helped. It's just that a lot of times those are the best parts of a book. And some of them won't make any sense at all if you haven't read the book, but that's why it's my list and not yours. Without further rambling...my top 10 quotes from books (in no particular order):

1.) Mr. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - "Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children ill such a way! You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves." "You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least."

2.) Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

3.) Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - "If you will thank me," he replied, "let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you." Elizabeth was too much embarrassed to say a word. After a short pause, her companion added, "You are too generous to triffle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April tell me at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever."

4.) Ned Stark from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - "Robb says the man died bravely, but Jon says he was afraid." "What do you think?" his father asked. Bran thought about it. "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?" "That is the only time a man can be brave," his father told him.

5.) Tyrion Lannister from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - "Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you."

6.) The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran - Love one another, but make not a bond of love; let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

7.) Lee Jordan from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling - (I couldn't find the exact location in the book where this is quoted, so it might be more of a paraphase. I did google it, but you know how reliable that can be sometimes. Hopefully this is 100% accurate...if not, I apologize.) "He can run faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo."

8.) Captain Wentworth from Persuasion by Jane Austen - I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath.

For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father’s house this evening or never.

9.) Abe Mazur from Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead - "Ah, Belikov," said Abe, shaking Dimitri's hand. "I'd been hoping we'd run into each other. I'd really like to get to know you better. Maybe we can set aside some time to talk, learn more about life, love, et cetra. Do you like to hunt? You seem like a hunting man. That's what we should do some time. I know a great spot in the woods. Far, far away. We could make a day of it. I've certainly got a lot of questions I'd like to ask you. A lot of things I'd like to tell you too." --Emily Shaffer reads this section in the audiobook brilliantly.

10.) Jace from City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare - "We came here to train, and we should train. If we spend all the time we're supposed to be training making out instead, they'll quit letting me help train you at all." "Aren't they supposed to be hiring someone else to train me full-time anyway?" "Yes," he said, getting up and pulling her to her feet along with him, "and I'm worried that if you get into the habit of making out with your instructors, you'll wind up making out with him, too." "Don't be sexist. They could fine me a female instructor." "In that case you have my permission to make out with her, as long as I can watch."

What's your favorite book quotes?

In My Mailbox - #4

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers can discuss the books we got in the mail this week.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Thank you, Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley)

Goodreads Description--Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page.

I'm getting behind on my TBR list...but I'm not complaining at all. I'm excited about getting to some of these books. I've seen reviews on Code Name Verity where the reviewers just raved about this book, and I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel about it. Have you read this one? What'd you get in your mailbox this week. Let me know.

The Glimpse - Review

The Glimpse (The Glimpse Duology, # 1)

By: Claire Merle

Published: June 7th 2012 by Faber & Faber (UK) (first published June 1st 2012

411 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society, and as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper’s abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe.

EDITORS' PICKS for Best Books of the Month (June) AMAZON UK

The second and final part of The Glimpse Duet will be available in June 2013.

I’m thinking The Glimpse deserves 4 stars. Let me start by saying that it’s possible (highly likely) that there is quite a symbolic message with this book. Perhaps Claire Merle is commenting on drug companies and how we never really know what it is that we’re taking, or the food industry and how the average person doesn’t understand the chemicals and such used in food production that we’re taking into our bodies. Perhaps it’s nothing more in depth than a message about following blindly after the government and not questioning the structure of society. And of course there’s the possibility that it’s about none of these things or all of them at the same time. Honestly, this may make me sound completely ignorant, but I really don’t care what the deeper message is. I enjoyed this book for what it was: a girl who thought she knew what she wanted from her future, was surprised to find that everything she understood as “truths” were lies, and then seeks to forge a future of her own making.

I read this book while I was at the beach this last weekend and I read it pretty quickly. I even tempted car sickness as I continued to read on the trip back home. I was rooting for Jasper and Ana until Ana met Cole. Typically I don’t change sides in the middle of a book, I pick which character I’m rooting for and I stick with him or her until the end. But there’s a first time for everything. And the saying “you can never go home again” comes to mind…Jasper of course would be home. Things would never be the same after his abduction despite the appearance of Cole, so...changing sides doesn't feel like such a betrayal.

It appears that this book is going to be quite controversial. I’ve read (only briefly because of the ridiculousness of some of the arguments against this book) some reviews on Goodreads. One review was from someone who hasn’t even read the book. I’m not trying to get into negativity here on my blog and I’m not trying to “feed the trolls,” but …People, seriously?? It’s FICTION! If anything, it’s a story about how all of the issues being used as an argument against this book are in fact points the book itself is trying to make. The only reason I’m even addressing this is if the reason you might hold yourself back from reading this book is because of the use of terms such as “crazies” or perhaps you take issue with the science associated with this book (or lack thereof) then just think that if the science for preventing mental disorders, or any disorder for that matter, is out there (currently anyway) then we would already be taking advantage of that. So tell yourself this: “This book is a work of fiction. I do not have to analyze every detail. I can sit back and enjoy a story just for the sake of a story. And perhaps the author actually has a message against what this appears to be, but I won’t know until I read it for myself.” And then plunge ahead. If you’re not one of those people who can do that, then by all means, this is not the book for you. No one is twisting your arm to read anything you don’t want to, but please be respectful enough not to review a book you haven’t read.

Now, enough of all that. I enjoyed this book and will be coming back for more. So there. I hope you check out The Glimpse by Claire Merle. And I hope you find yourself able to push yourself into worlds you never dreamed possible. Happy reading.

Have you read The Glimpse? What did you think? Let me know!

Updated: February 5, 2015

Top 10 Books that Should be Made Into Movies

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is: Top 10 Books that Should be Made Into Movies.

1) The Vampire Academy Series written by Richelle Mead – Because I love this series. This might be my top favorite series of all-time as of right now. Because I think it would translate well to a visual medium. Because I think guys would be more willing to accompany their girlfriends and wives to a movie where there’s a really hot chick that kicks some serious tail more than a lot of other series. And because I personally really want to see Rose and Dimitri make it to the big screen. If you haven't checked this series out, you are really missing out.

2) The Forest of Hands and Teeth Series written by Carrie Ryan - Because I know I've said it before but The Dead Tossed Waves is probably one of my favorite stand alone books. Because who doesn't love a good zombie movie (or zombie movie series). Because one of my favorite TV shows right now is The Walking Dead. And because it would be really nice to see a zombie movie that really focuses on relationships rather than zombies themselves.

3) The Mortal Instruments Series written by Cassandra Clare - Yeah, yeah...I know this one is already kind of in the works, but that doesn't mean it doesn't qualify for the list (IMO anyway). Because who that has read this series doesn't want to see Jace on the big screen?

4)The Infernal Devices Series written by Cassandra Clare - Because you can't do The Mortal Instruments and not do The Infernal Devices. Serious? Because Will is possibly hotter than Jace anyway (another IMO--I'm a fan of dark haired men over blonde personally). And because this one's setting is during on one my favorite time periods which makes it even better.

5) Catching Fire & Mockingjay written by Suzanne Collins - Duh!!!!! I really can't stop something in the middle. We need completion. I need completion. Even though The Hunger Games was my favorite in the series, the others have to be made too. I need more Peeta! *smiles*

6)The Scorpio Races written by Maggie Stiefvater - Because I'd really like to see what they do with the water horses. The setting, the races, I think it would all add up to be a really great movie.

7) Persuasion written by Jane Austen - So...yeah, I know this one has been done once before, BBC version or something. But I'd like for it to be redone. The BBC version is pretty good, but I think it's time for a remake.

8) Crossing Oceans written by Gina Holmes - Because this would be a great sad movie. Because I think seeing this would be possibly more powerful than reading it. And reading it was powerful enough.

9) Lurlene McDaniel’s books (specifically The Dawn Rochelle series) though...maybe this would be better suited for TV series. Either way...I really don't even know if I can explain why on this one. Lurlene McDaniel was my favorite author during my 5th and 6th grade years. (I plan on doing a post about her and her books sometime soon hopefully...just need to get my information together first.)

10) 13 Reasons Why written by Jay Asher - This too might possibly be better adapted for TV. But because I feel like this is a topic that the masses could really use being exposed to more, especially in this age where bullying seems to be running rampant.

So that's it, what are you're top 10 picks for books that should be made into movies?