A Storm of Swords - Review

A Storm of Swords

By: George R R Martin

Published: March 4th 2011 by Bantam Books (first published March 4th 2000)

1128 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Warning, may contain spoilers for A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings!

Goodreads description--Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world...

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...

I struggled with what rating to give this one. I was unsure that it measured up to the way I felt about the other books I've given 5 stars, but it definitely provoked my emotions all around. Surprise, excitement, hope, fear, dread, frustration...I could keep going. And when a book brings out so much in me I have to give that book the honor of my 5 Star rating. And so I have.

While reading A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, I found there to be several slow parts. I'd come upon a particular narrator and think "Ugh, not XXX's chapter! AGAIN!" And even when a narrator's chapter would come in A Storm of Swords that I wasn't particularly interested in reading (say...like Sam's), most of the time, something would happen that either surprised me or kept me interested. It usually only took a couple of pages to get me excited about the narration swap. The swapping back and forth has always been something that frustrated me because usually just as one narrator's chapter was getting good, we'd swap to one that was less interesting. Not the same in this book.

A Storm of Swords is like the third book within the last three months where I've had the thought, "Absolutely nothing good is happening to these people." Every single hope I have for these characters is shattered time and time again, but I don't dislike the book because of it. No. If anything, it makes me like it more. It's when things are unhappy that presses me to continue reading until I'm either finished or I come to a place where I feel satisfied. But that did not come. I also found I was quite unable to predict any of the surprises and twist. Though quite a few I probably should have seen coming. Oh well. If Ned Stark's beheadding in A Game of Thrones surprised anyone, just you wait for what's coming in A Storm of Swords.

I've frustrated my husband a good bit throughout my reading of this book. Whenever something big would happen, I'd eek and squeal, but I'd refuse to tell him why so that I don't ruin anything for him. He got to the point where he said, "Either tell me what happened, or shut up!" Ha! Bless him!

I debated on whether to jump right into A Feast for Crows or not, but I still haven't decided. On the one hand, I have quite a few questions after A Storm of Swords, whereas on the other hand, I cheated and looked at the narrators for A Feast of Crows and I'm not sure that it's going to hold the answers to most of my questions. But there's only one way to find out.

A Storm of Swords 5 Stars, full of surprises and action, and provoked a wide range of emotions for me. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Top 10 Tuesday - Hilarious Book Titles

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is a freebie. So I chose: Top Ten Hilarious Book Titles.

I haven't read this series or anything, but I was searching around for book titles and such since none of the books I've read have particularly funny titles. And I came across this series that definitely fits the bill.

1. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

2. On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

3. Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas: Further, Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

4. Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants: Even Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

5. Away Laughing on a Fast Camel: Even More Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

6. "...Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers": More Mad, Marvy Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

7. Startled by His Furry Shorts: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

8. Love is a Many Trousered Thing: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

9. Stop in the Name of Pants!: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

10. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.

I'm not sure these are the most hilarious book titles in the world or anything, but they're quite different from any other book titles I've ever seen or heard of. And so that's my Top 10 for the week. Do you guys know of any hilarious book titles?

Timepiece - Review

Timepiece (Hourglass, #2)

By: Myra McEntire

Published: June 12th 2012 by EgmontUSA

336 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

I must say that I enjoyed Timepiece much more than Hourglass, but I still find myself only able to give Timepiece 3 Stars. After reading Pushing the Limits (you can read my review here), I'm more critical than I probably otherwise would be because Pushing the Limits was just SO GOOD!

Timepiece was much better for me than Hourglass for no other reason than because Kaleb was the narrator. He was more interesting and all around more likeable to me than Emerson. She got on my nerves throughout Hourglass, and I have to say, she was only slightly less annoying in Timepiece--that's only due to the fact that I wasn't in her head the entire time. Kaleb made this book for me--everything that was enjoyable about this book revolved around Kaleb. I'm much more interested in the idea of someone feeling the actual emotions of those around them than I am about the ability to time travel.

I'm interested to see if the narrators willl swap again with the next book. If so, I'm hoping for an equally likeable character as Kaleb. And of course, I'll plan to read the next book.

As with my review of Hourglass (you can read that here), I feel like my review for Timepiece is coming off as more negative than I feel about it. I honestly did enjoy reading this book, and I'd definitely recommend this one to others.

Have any of you read Timepiece? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Sunday Post - # 2

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Because I already participate in the In My Mailbox meme (however, I didn't receive any books this week, so no IMM this week), I'm just going to use this one as way to recap my week.

THIS PAST WEEK:

I'm hosting my second giveaway. A hardback copy of Richelle Mead's The Golden Lily. So far I haven't had a lot of entries. So...statistically there's a high chance of you winning if you enter. Giveaway runs until July 13th at 12:01 am. Read my review of The Golden Lily here.

I participated in Top 10 Tuesday. This week's topic was Top 10 Books I Recommend for People Who Like X Author. However, I'm not so good at those kinds of comparisons, so I chose to do Top 10 Books I'd Want on a Desert Island.

I reviewed Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, 5 Stars (That's a rare rating for me).

I also reviewed Hourglass by Myra McEntire (3 Stars).

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

I'm kind of a fly by the seat of my pants blogger, so I can't promise any post in particular, but I plan to participate in Top 10 Tuesday again, and The Golden Lily giveaway ends. What reviews I do just depends on which books I finish over the next week.

What about you guys? Did you finish any books this week? Got any special bookish plans this week? Let me know.

Hourglass - Review

Hourglass

By: Myra McEntire

Published: June 14th 2011 by Egmont USA

387 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Hourglass was good. But I wasn't blown away. So Hourglass gets 3 Stars from me.

I definitely wanted to keep reading once I got into it. It did have a "soul-mate principle" (as I call it), with Emerson and Michael being "two halves of a whole". But it was almost hard to understand why. So Emerson can travel to the past, and Michael can travel to the future, but I guess I just have a hard time understanding why that's the basis for a relationship. I guess overall Emerson just got on my nerves, and I didn't see what was so special about Michael or Emerson.

I don't know. I feel like this review is coming off more negatively than I intend it to be. I didn't hate it by any means, I just didn't love it either. I read it quickly, and I already have Timepiece (book 2). I'll probably go ahead and read that next. And I'm honestly looking forward to reading it, but some of that is hopes that book 2 will be better than book 1. We shall see.

(Side note: It was kind of weird to go from Pushing the Limits where the main girl's name is Echo Emerson to a different book where the main character's name is Emerson. I was slightly confused at first.)

That's about all I have for Hourglass. 3 Stars. Have you guys read it? What did you think?