Announcment: Do Not Despair!

Dear Followers,

You have likely noticed that there have been no new posts this week. I apologize for this. However, Harry and I have been increasingly busy this month and the blog has come as an afterthought.
We have also become increasingly more drained and frusterated by blogging. It is no one's fault. Just a simple effect of many things.
Therefore, the two of us have decided to take a break from blogging for a month. We will be back August 10 or so.
We haven't decided what we are really gonna do with this blog. I hope to keep interacting with you all because it's fun and I love commenting on other blogs too.
I hope to come back in better spirits soon!


Until Next Time,
Addy

Review: Plague Ship - Clive Cussler

Plague Ship - Clive Cussler
Pages: 528

For four novels, Clive Cussler has charted the exploits of the Oregon, a covert ship completely dilapidated on the outside but, on the inside, packed with sophisticated weaponry and intelligence-gathering equipment. Captained by the rakish, one-legged Juan Cabrillo and manned by a crew of former military and spy personnel, it is a private enterprise, available for any government agency that can afford it-and now Cussler sends the Oregon on its most extraordinary mission yet. The crew has just completed a top secret mission against Iran in the Persian Gulf, when they come across a cruise ship adrift in the sea. Hundreds of bodies litter its deck, and as Cabrillo tries to determine what happened, explosions rack the length of the ship. Barely able to escape with his own life and that of the liner's sole survivor, Cabrillo finds himself plunged into a mystery as intricate-and as perilous-as any he has ever known, and pitted against a cult with monstrously lethal plans for the human race ... plans he may already be too late to stop. -goodreads.com

When I started reading Plague Ship, I wondered how Clive Cussler could wrap an entire book around the cruise ship event. I mean, the ship exploded and sank, and only one person survived. Where's the fun in that, and how could you write a book around it? It was said and done! Yet I gave Plague Ship a chance, and I ended up liking it a lot.

The book actually started off kind of odd. It began in WWII Northern Scandinavia. A German plane was all of a sudden attacked by Allied forces, and I was lost. How did this relate to the ship and everything else...60 years in the future? As I kept reading, I forgot about the introductory chapter, but it was brought up near the end and surprisingly relevant, so I was satisfied.

The discovery of the cruise liner sets off a whole chain reaction that gets the whole plot moving. Granted she does sink, but not before the Oregon finds her and gets vital information and the sole survivor. The title and cover focus on the ship, when in reality the book is about what happened on her, and to her passengers. It ends up being an adventure stretching from the Philippines to the Mediterranean, and many places in between.

The plot sounds kind of old, big problem, special team assigned to fix it. However, the crew of the Oregon is far from any ordinary special ops team. There were plenty of characters for everyone to get to like. Juan Cabrillo, Max Hanley, and Linda Ross were technically the 'superiors', but everyone got along like one big family. From Mark Murphy, a stereotypical twenty something who just happens to be a genius, to George 'Gomez' Adams, a snarky helicopter pilot, all the way out to Kevin Nixon, who can disguise you to the point that you don't recognize yourself, each of the members of the Oregon's crew is unique and fun.

With such a large cast of characters, one is bound to get mini plots and have to keep up with things, but with each of the characters being so different, I found it easy to keep track of them once I got going.

Clive Cussler is an author I've just started getting into. I've read a couple of his books before, but this one sounded really interesting. Plus, the premise sounded just perfect for me. Before Plague Ship, I had never heard of the Oregon Files. The book was much better than I first thought, and I'm looking forward to more of the Oregon Files.


Rating: 8.5/10


Catch you soon,

Harry

REVIEW: Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce

Wild Magic - Tamora Pierce

Pages: 384

Young Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine's talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself. -goodreads.com

I've always been a pretty big fan of Mrs. Pierce. She has a lot of elements I've always liked, such as the whole medevil theme and fantasy elements. Female heroines are a plus. ;D

Daine is an outcast. Her family killed by bandits, she wanders the streets in search of work, with her family horse, Cloud.

When she stumbles upon a job involving ponies, she accepts and treks across the land into Tortall. While on the journey, her talents are displayed in the open. Possessing a gift with animals, they do anything and whatever she says, and protect her when she's in danger.

Daine meets good friends along the way and when push comes to shove, she is downright fierce. When everyone she knows is on the line, will she come through and save them all?

I really liked this book because it has a lot of elements I like, as explained. Tamora Pierce is a master story weaver and is very detailed. I always love the feeling of being right inside the book! Everything is vivid, and I swear I changed tempeture with the climate. ^^;;

Daine is going across the land with the new ponies, and they come across a bunch of hiccups on the way. Daine encounters Harpy-like monsters, as well as human-taratula demons. And they also meet up with her future teacher, Numair, who sounds smokin', by the way. :P

After that conundrum, my favorite part is when they arrive in the royal city. Everyone is pretty backwards in Tortall, lords and ladies are usually among their people, leading an honest life along the commoners.

There is a series before this, the Song of the Lioness Quartet, which involves the King's Champion, Alanna. I recommend that series as well, its just as good, if not better.

There are strong animal personalities as well. A nice addition to the book, which I really like.

It's third person and focuses the whole story on Daine.

I love Numair and Cloud. They are probs my fave characters.

Sorry for the shortish review! I'm pressed for time! D:

RATING: 9 of 10

until next time,

Addy

Review: The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski

The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski

pages: 495

Carved into the towering cliffs of central Greece, the Metéora
monasteries are all but inaccessible. Holy Trinity is the most isolated, its sacred brotherhood the guardians of a secret that has been protected for centuries. In the dead of night, the holy retreat is attacked by an elite group of warriors carrying ancient weapons. One by one, they hurl the silent monks from the cliff-top to the rocks below ― the holy men taking their secret to their graves…. Halfway across Europe, Richard Byrd fears for his life. He has uncovered the location of a magnificent treasure. But there are those who are dedicated to protecting it, and they will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery. Hoping to save himself, Byrd contacts two colleagues, Jonathon Payne and David Jones, and begs for their help. The duo rushes to his aid and quickly find themselves caught in an adventure that will change their lives forever. -chriskuzneski.com

I found this book at the library. Now I know that the library is like bookworm heaven, and I love going there as much as the next lovable nerd, but sometimes I find it a bit hard to find good books among the thousands of books and manuscripts and biographies and great works of literature and so on. However, The Lost Throne kind of jumped out at me. The cover art was great, which helps make a book noticeable, and it sounded interesting, so there it was. Now that I've finished literally critiquing the book, on to the real review...

The Lost Throne had me engrossed in the first few pages. To start off, someone in the early 20th century, whom we don't know until we are reminded of halfway through the book, dies. Simple as that. He sounds like a big deal, but we have no clue who he is. Now fast forward to approximately modern day. We have a bloody murder scene in a monastery in Greece. While Nick Dial, head of the Interpol police, heads the investigation, we are transported to Florida where we meet Jonathon Payne and DJ Jones. They're ex-military dogs now pretty much bumming around and doing some basic military work. Suddenly, Payne gets a call. Or more like seventeen calls. Now only a person in serious trouble would do that, right?

Now, being thrown halfway around the world again, we meet Allison Taylor and Richard Byrd. Allison is on her way to meet Richard, and just as she sees him, things fall apart. So she winds up alone in Russia, terrified and helpless. What does she do? She calls a random number that Richard gave her. And who picks up? Why Jon Payne.

As you can see, having between two and three different plots throughout the book makes things confusing, but it all ties together nicely...eventually. That was one of my biggest problems, that things seemed a bit too complex and would up not making sense at times. Also, the teaser in the book makes the monks sound like the main storyline, but one soon realizes that they are important, but not the main focus. Other than that, great book.

The characters are very varied, but some of them seem to follow a similar pattern. Nick, Payne, and DJ are all the same type of seen-it-before, laid back type. Characters like Allison and Jarkko are more fun. Allison is a California girl, but she's far from the stereotype. She was working with Richard as a colleague, not some ditsy blond who can't take care of herself. Jarkko, oh what is there to say about Jarkko...he's a character, that's for sure, pun intended. He's fun, odd, and a bit cliché, but he's a very interesting side character.

Once one boils down the plot and does some digging, The Lost Throne somehow twists into the previously mentioned treasure hunt. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the line, it did. However, I'm okay with treasure hunting books, so there you have it. I'll definitely have to do some looking into Chris Kuzneski's other bestsellers, but because of the plot complexity, I'll say it wasn't my favorite book. It was good, but not really a quick read. Overall though, seeing as I haven't read a book that I didn't mostly like (no I have not read Twilight and I refuse to for that reason) I would still recommend The Lost Throne. It's a good adventure/mystery/archaeology book, and I did enjoy it.



Rating: 7.5/10



Catch you soon,

Harry

REVIEW: Good Enough - Paula Yoo

Good Enough - Paula Yoo
Pages: 336

How to make your Korean parents happy:

1. Get a perfect score on the SATs

2. Get into HarvardYalePrinceton.

3. Don't talk to boys.*

Patti's parents expect nothing less than the best from their Korean-American daughter. Everything she does affects her chances of getting into an Ivy League school. So winning assistant concertmaster in her All-State violin competition and earning less than 2300 on her SATs is simply not good enough.
But Patti's discovering that there's more to life than the Ivy League. To start with, there's Cute Trumpet Guy. He's funny, he's talented, and he looks exactly like the lead singer of Patti's favorite band. Then, of course, there's her love of the violin. Not to mention cool rock concerts. And anyway, what if Patti doesn't want to go to HarvardYalePrinceton after all?
Paula Yoo scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out. The pressure is on!
*Boys will distract you from your studies.

- goodreads.com

I picked this book up because Patti's life had a lot of the same pressure mine does. I'm always feeling the need to be perfect and not screw up. Granted, Patti has no social life, and I do, but I digress. :P

Patti is Korean American. Her parents are both immigrants from South Korea and are practically geniuses. On top of that, Patti's mother is beautiful, something of which she can never be.

In order not to disgrace her parents and live up to expectations, Patti spends every minute after school studying. Except, when she plays the violin.

For Patti's parents, the violin is her "hook," or what gets her in HarvardYalePrinceton. But Patti truly loves playing, and she finds herself falling for a boy in her class. Knowing that she will give up the violin eventually, and that boys are STRICTLY off-limits, Patti does a little discovering and finds out what is truly important to her.

This book is a good read for anyone who has ever felt the need to live up to expectations, and brutal ones at that. Patti's parents think the Ivy League is everything for their only child. As much as Patti wants to go, she also wants to be true to herself, even though she tries to deny it.

When she meets Ben, or "Cute Trumpet Guy," and gets to know him, he persuades her to do what she really wants.

I've always been this way. I hate disappointing people, even if its the best I could have done. Trust me, I have recently cried over grades I have received because I was afraid of the reaction of my parents. I hate that, and you always feel powerless, and in my case, pride would get in the way.

Patti is an awesome character. She is a bit "flat," i would say, but she does have her own change to go through. Ben is the catalyst for her. The violin is what she loves, but she thinks a music career is way too risky.

Ben is my favorite character. He's Patti's love interest, and he speaks his mind to her. He's the one who convinces Patti to reach for what she wants.

Even though he's a bit of a lost cause, and that really sucked, I was genuinely disappointed for Patti.

I recommend this for people who feel as if they've always been under pressure and are stressed. I think this is a way of saying, "it could be worse, so do something about it."

RATING: 8 of 10

Until Next time,

Addy

Review: Storm Front - Jim Butcher

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

pages: 322

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a—well, whatever. There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get interesting. -goodreads.com

Oh gosh...where to start. The Harry Dresden files are some of my favorite books. The way my sister described them was Harry Potter for grownups. In these books, your wizard is more likely to go for a drink than take a ride on a broomstick. Storm Front is only the first of many books in the series.

The basic plot of Storm Front is that Harry has a friend in the Chicago P.D. who asks him to investigate a murder, he goes in, assuming it can't be that bad, can it? Yes. It can be. Two people had their hearts explode out of their chests. One of them was a bodyguard to the biggest mobster in Chicago, John Marcone, and the other was a call girl working for a well-known vampire in the area, Bianca. Before too long everything gets tied up and interwoven and Harry finds himself caught in the middle of a great adventure involving not only the characters above, but a smart-witted talking skull, a sneaky interviewer for a paranormal magazine, and a police officer who doesn't know what quite to make of things. Oh, and those last two are both women.

Storm Front has a little of everything. It has fantasy, I mean the guy's a wizard, it has romance, but not too heavily, it has action, it has mystery, and it even has humor. Only a good author could make you crack up not too many pages after describing a brutal murder.

The characters in The Dresden Files are fun and very varied. Some of the ones who seem like minor characters in the first book, like Susan and Bianca, actually become major characters later on in the series. Also not mentioned was the Knight of the holy Cross, Michael. Michael is one of my favorite characters, even though he isn't introduced in Storm Front I'm pretty sure. Bob the skull is hysterical, but at the same time, somehow helpful to Harry.

Overall I really enjoyed Storm Front because it got me going into a really good series. Kudos to my sister for introducing it to me. As mentioned earlier, Harry Dresden is like Harry Potter...just for grownups.

Rating: 9/10

Until next time,

Harry

AN AWARD?!

Hey guys! It's the first time that PBOF has won an award and I'm so excited!


This award was present to us by TWO bloggers!


Thanks to Supernatural Bookworm and MisAdventures of a Teenage Bookworm! You guys are the best!



Here are the rules of the trade:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

7 Things about Addy:

1. Soccer = My life. Don't diss it or my skill. It will be a problem and you will regret it.

2. Purple is the best color in the world.

3. I have a dog named Dakota

4. I watch Yugioh The Abridged Series, and used to watch the real Yugioh and Pokemon and all that jazz.

5. I LOVE ANIMALS AND ASIA.

6. I may want to be a vet. Or a language major. Not sure yet.

7. I like Anime.

7 Things About Harry

1. I'm the youngest of 4

2. I have a HUMONGOUS family

3. I have white hair

4. The computer is waaay too big a part of my life

5. I am a neat freak.

6. I correct people on the difference between your and you're

7. I enjoy soccer (even though I can't play it to save my life)

So now here's the 15 peeps we're passing this onto!

1. Fantasy4Eva

2. Today's Adventure

3. The Compulsive Reader

4. Cleverly Inked

5. Book Bloggers

6. Leilani Loves Books

7. fangswandsandfairydust.com

8. The Book Muncher

9. Teens Read and Write

10. Crazy-For-Books

11. Darlyn & Books

12. Missy Reads & Reviews

13. Jessica's Vision

14. Alisha's World

15. Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life

Check out the above blogs and have a good day!

I'll put up my review tomorrow. Just for all of you. 8D

Until Next time,

Addy