Review of Letters from Home

Synopsis in a Sentence: Three friends, Liz, Betty and Julia find themselves searching for love and adventure during the World War II era.

My Thoughts:

This was just such an absolutely lovely and charming book! I really loved it. The romance in this novel (which I believe is a debut for Kristina McMorris), is quaint, simple and so sweet. I have always been interested in the romance and heroism so prevalent during the World War II years. My Grandfather was injured while flying in a B-24 plane during the war, and I have never forgotten his story.

I love this book so much that I kinda wish I had written it hehe! :) It's one that I might even read again one day, which doesn't happen very often in my reading life. This book also has one of the prettiest covers I've ever seen- it's very vintage looking and feminine and is what attracted me to the book in the first place.

The gist of this story is that Liz meets a soldier, Morgan at a USO dance, shortly before he is about to be sent overseas. There is a misunderstanding between them, but they still end up writing letters to one another while Morgan is fighting the war in Europe. Meanwhile, Liz's best friends also are dealing with their own love lives and choices.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet, sugary romance in anticipation of Spring! This would make a great beach read for those who are already embarking on vacations. Enjoy!!! :)

Review of The Red Pyramid

Synopsis in a Sentence: Carter and Sadie Kane, brother and sister, use their newly discovered magical powers to embark on an adventure to play their part in awakening the ancient Egyptian gods in order to save the world.

My Thoughts:

What a cute book (and series!) by Rick Riordan, author of the widely popular Olympians series featuring Percy Jackson. I actually haven't read the Olympians series yet, but I have the first two books on my to-read shelf! My mom gave me the first two books of this series for Christmas and so I jumped right in!

The Kane kids finally find out that they have magical powers when their archeologist father disappears after blowing up the Rosetta Stone at a museum in London. Their uncle, Amos, and the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bast, explain to them who they are (magicians who are able to channel ancient Egyptian magic), and tell them that they are to go on a quest to stop an evil god, Set from rising up and building the Red Pyramid which he will use to control the Earth. The Kanes realize that they must resurrect the other gods in order to help them do this. In other words, Ancient Egypt still lives.

Sound confusing? It actually is a little bit, and that's my only qualm with this book. It's meant for young adults, even kids, and I just had the feeling that this might be over their heads somewhat. However, it's a fascinating and fun adventure, and you really do learn some stuff about Ancient Egypt which is informative and cool! Rick Riordan writes fluidly and the action scenes are very well placed. Sadie and Carter are uniquely and well developed characters- you can't help but come to care about them. There were also a few laugh out loud moments in this book- I think Mr. Riordan probably has a pretty good sense of humor :).

I've always been interested and fascinated by Egyptology, and that's why I was excited to read this book! There are five books in the Olympians series, so I'm sure this author is planning on adding more to this series as well- can't wait to see what other adventures Sadie and Carter fall into next!

Review of last Eragon book

Synopsis in a Sentence: In the last book of the Inheritance cycle, dragon Rider, Eragon finally faces the evil king, Galbatorix and his destiny.

My Thoughts:

Wow, finally! Chris Paolini finally has wrapped up his Inheritance cycle, which began with the book, Eragon. I have to admit that while I loved Eragon, the rest of the series has been slowly a little bit of a downhill trek for me. Paolini definitely took us all on a journey through Alagaesia (the world in which this series takes place) and I came to love all of the characters, but this book leaves us wanting a little more, I think. It's a great book, don't get me wrong, and I will always love this series and think fondly of it, but I agree with many of the reviews on Amazon...there was just something missing.

This book still does deliver in many ways, however. The characters grow, learn and continue to be fleshed out by the author. Many of the action scenes are pretty exciting and intense- they reminded me of the epic battle scenes in Lord of the Rings. There is also a satisfying conclusion between Eragon and Galbatorix at the end of the novel.

But...there are some questions left unanswered that I personally feel Paolini should have addressed. We have been on this journey with him for years, and I feel he owed it to his readers to have everything wrapped up and concluded. I also feel as if Paolini was trying too hard to make this book an "epic fantasy." Some of the events feel forced and at a whopping 860 pages, there are things that could and should have been edited out, such as a random child birthing scene with minor characters, and a corny "battle" episode with Roran, Eragon's cousin.

*Spoiler alert*

There are many reviews on Amazon by fans who absolutely hated the fact that Eragon and Arya did not end up together. Surprisingly, I disagree with them, although I can definitely understand why they are upset. For some reason, the unrequited love thing works for me. From the very beginning of the series, I just had this feeling that they wouldn't end up together. For one thing, Arya is a lot older than Eragon, and she had like a fifty year romance with another elf, Faolin. To go from that to being with essentially, a boy, was a stretch for her, and I always got that. I think Paolini avoided cliches and added a deeper element to his book by ending things the way he did with these two characters.

However, before you get too mad at me, I have read books before where it drove me absolutely insane when characters didn't get their happy ending, and so, I can definitely sympathize with those who are disappointed. For example, I am still dying and hoping to see King Zachary and Karigan get together in the Green Rider series, which isn't looking very promising per the latest book in the series #4 (wiping tears!). Therefore, I do understand!

Overall, I am still giving this book 4 keys because I have really liked reading this series from the beginning, even though there's been some tedious aspects to everything. If you are looking for a quasi- epic fantasy series geared toward young adults with romance, dragons, magic, and the whole good vs. evil thing, check out this series. I would definitely recommend it. Congratulations to Paolini for finally finishing his Cycle! It's been a great adventure, I think, for him and for us.

Review of Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

Synopsis in a Sentence: Cora isn't sure she's in the holiday spirit this year as she's tired of family drama, but she finds festivity (and love) when she's invited to a Christmas ball.

My Thoughts:

This was such a fun, fast, and sweet read for Christmas. I love reading holiday themed books around Christmas and this was a good one. I actually noticed this book last year, but was too busy reading a lot of other books, and didn't pick it up. But I'm glad I remembered it for this year (thank you GoodReads to-read lists)!

Anyways, the plot is pretty simple. Cora is a vulnerable business woman who starts to fall for her boss, who is pretty stoic and doesn't have a lot of personal interaction with his employees. They bump into one another at a quaint bookstore, and begin a friendship. It turns out that Simon (her boss) is actually a really nice guy who helps take care of his mother, aunt, and sister after his dad dies. They both receive mysterious invitations to attend a Christmas ball, hosted by the owners of the bookshop where they first began talking.The rest of the story leads up to the ball, which is the conclusion of the story.

Pretty cliche of course, as we know they are being set up in a "fairy godmother" type way, and that they will eventually fall in love. However, it's still a pretty charming and cozy little story. It's a Christian Cinderella Christmas story!

The author, Donita K. Paul, has also written a Christian fantasy series about dragons, of which I've read the first book. I didn't realize she had branched out into regular fiction until I saw this. It's cool when authors write Christmas books...it's similar to when your favorite music artist records a Christmas album!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have an amazing New Year :)!

Review of Tell Me Something True

Synopsis in a Sentence: Gabriella, daughter of a famous movie producer, travels to her mother's homeland, Colombia, as she struggles to make sense of who her mother really was.

My Thoughts:

I really did not care for this book. I'm giving it only 1 star, but that might be slightly harsh...it's probably more like 1 and a 1/2 or maybe even 2 stars.

I did enjoy reading about a country in South America, as I don't often read about this part of the world, and it was interesting to see how different their lives are there from ours. I also identified with Gabriella's feelings of devastation over the loss of her mother, as I also almost lost my mother at a young age. I thought her need to learn all she could about her mother was very realistic...don't we all want to know as much as we can about the ones we love while we have the chance?

Unfortunately, Gabriella finds out that her mother was not content with their well to do life in Hollywood, and had been going back to Columbia on pretense of visiting her family, only to actually be having an affair with a man there. Gabriella finds her mother's diary, and so we get to hear Helena's side of the story in her own words, which added a deeper layer to the novel.

Gabriella travels to Columbia, finding herself not ready for college yet, and stays with her mother's family, whom she doesn't treat very well, in my opinion. She also becomes involved in an unhealthy relationship with the son of a drug lord.

I'm just not sure if I saw any change or growth on Gabriella's part as a character, which is what I kept waiting for as I read. The end is left sort of a mystery as we aren't sure whether or not Helena was actually abandoning her family on her last trip to Colombia, where she died in a plane crash.

Overall, there were some interesting and thoughtful aspects to this novel, but not enough to really impress me or to read more from this author. I could see a teenager perhaps enjoying this book more, as it deals with a young lady trying to understand herself, her parents, and her place in the world.