Thrilling Throne

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

5 out of 5 gnomes

I adore this book with its political intrigue and a kick-butt assassin who is a lot more than people think she is. I was wary of all the hype surrounding this book but I really should have believed it, it's so good and reminds me of the Magic Study series which is one of my favorites.

This is definitely my kind of fantasy world with some intense world building and striking characters. I like the names in the book but don’t really have a clue how to pronounce Celaena’s or Chaol’s name. It's great that everything's not black and white with the main character because she's an assassin but you really root for her. The story looks cut and dry at first but then you start to see the layers to the characters and how everybody has a motive. The story is full of strong characters with a lot to prove.

The potential magic of this world is interesting. Magic has essentially disappeared and it’s not even a good idea to talk about it. The story is already magical without magic but there is a massive threat out there that only magic may be able to stop.

The love triangle is actually well done and makes sense as in I’m not a hundred percent sure right away who she might pick. I’m a fan of Chaol more than Dorian but there are legitimate reasons why she might end up with either guy. She has some pretty intense chemistry with both Dorian and Chaol. Who knows she might end up being her own woman and picking neither guy.

The competition in the story is crazy and shows just how determined Celaena is. The King wants a Champion and this competition will ensure that the best one wins. Celaena needs to win for many reasons and it’s a wild ride seeing all the challenges.

The final battle is epic and shows some hints of what the future might hold. There are more mysteries to solve and the end of the book was truly surprising.

I can’t wait to have Celaena’s past explained more because I think there’s a lot to be revealed. I was happy with how the book ended and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Delicious Dawn

4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

This is one hot and crazy thrill ride of a book.  I’m not normally a fan of angel-type mythologies but this world and its Immortals is really interesting.  

Sadie at first looks to be a quintessential unreliable narrator but once you think about it and read more you find that she might not be that unreliable.  She has a hard time believing in herself because of her mother’s history and the one episode that got her hospitalized and put on medication.  Trying to get her life back to a normal place isn’t exactly easy though with a therapist and her sister watching her every move.  It looks like she might be headed in the right direction except for these crazy dreams that she keeps having.

This book has some seriously great characters.  Heather, Sadie’s sister, really annoyed me at first.  The more I read though, the more I understood why Heather would be the way she is.  After losing one person to mental illness it’s probably easy to worry that it would happen again.

A character that I really can’t wait to find out more about is Lyric.  He has the whole bad boy thing going on pretty strong and he definitely has some faults.  He’s fallen pretty far but it now seems that he’s on the right path (not that Elijah is quick to trust him though).  Lyric is kind of quirky and has the ability to project images into people’s minds which can be creepy but also cool.

There is some superb chemistry in this book.  All the relationships feel realistic to the story whether it be between Sadie and her family and friends or her red-hot connection with Elijah who is, ala a Transformer much more than meets the eye.  Seeing the relationship between Elijah and Sadie develop is a whole lot of fun.  Sadie is in no way a damsel in distress and that's a real refreshing take to see.  Elijah is actually the tentative one in the relationship and is not sure that he should even have these feelings.  Sadie though feels what she feels and she wants to know everything once she finds out that there is so much more to know.

The story is full of intrigue and plenty of twists and turns, just when you think you know where the story's going you'll get hit by a surprise.  The ending was well done and implies that there are indeed more tales to be told in this world.  I can't wait to see what happens next and want the next book ASAP.

Awkward America

America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain


* Read thanks to Mandy at WellReadWife.com and her Mandy’s Blogger Book Club

4 out of 5 patriotic gnomes

I don’t tend to read a lot of non-fiction but politics + humor + a road trip = a book well worth checking out.  I personally am not very political and am registered as Nonpartisan because I don’t really agree with either the Republican or Democrats ideas a hundred percent.  Saying that though I do find politics interesting and did get my Minor in Political Science in college.  I love finding the humor in politics because there is plenty of material to choose from.

It’s great that this whole idea/craziness initially happened via Twitter.  I really loved the pace of this book and how every chapter is devoted to a stop on their trip.  The amount of funny in this book will keep you speeding through and laughing out loud at times.  Also was pleasantly surprised that I like reading two points of view in non-fiction just as much as I do in fiction.  I was feeling a bit dense when I finally noticed about 36 pages in that the book, without its dust jacket, is actually red, white, and blue (so even the book looks patriotic.)

Meghan and Michael are definitely two very different personalities.  Nice to see the nerves between the two about this whole idea and that everything wasn’t peachy keen between them right away.  Indeed they’ve already had their first fight by page 31 of the book.  

At times it felt like I was reading about some kind of crazy field trip but then the writing style/voice of these characters just pulled me into the story and I went along with it.  There were some not so surprising results at a couple of places, especially when they went to Vegas.  That whole stop though funny also felt a bit cliché with the whole we saw strippers and drank a ton mentality.  Their finding on how strippers see the world and make a living wasn’t exactly mind blowing I think most of their findings were common knowledge aka some people like strippers and some strippers see dancing as empowering.  They were both at times crazier than I know I would have been particularly in Las Vegas and Louisiana (but it was fun to read about.)  

Seeming these unique places through a lens of humor does make for an easier discussion from both perspectives.   There is a lot of skimming over the issues but seeing both opinions and the varied places they go lets you contemplate what your own opinions are.  I could really see this being an awesome reality show or documentary if it was filmed.

They were a great odd couple and their exploring of places and concepts was quite an intriguing read.  I think I would have liked the book even more if there was a chapter or two that included “Nermal’s” or Cousin John’s perspective because then you’d be more likely to see all sides of the story and people involved.

I would definitely recommend this book even if you’re not a fan of politics. This is a well done mix of politics, humor, and a road trip all blended into a really fun and quotably quotable book.

Fulfilling Future

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

* ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours 
* Book will be released November 21, 2011

4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

This was one heck of an interesting story.  It's a fantastic look at how technology has had an effect on every part of our lives.  The cover of the book really caught my attention with all of the ones and zeroes making up the entire thing, even shadowing what the main characters look like.  It's a good way of getting an impression of the characters yet being able to fill in your own details which is always good.

This book was like a giant nostalgia flashback.  It made me realize just how much I remember and still like a lot of stuff from 1996.  I was in sixth grade at the time but I remember just about everything that the characters reference.   

At the start Emma just received a computer and is installing AOL on it when something weird occurs.  She finds that she can access Facebook.  Of course back in 1996, she has no idea what Facebook is and why people would post every detail of their lives on line.

At first there's disbelief but then they find without a doubt that they are getting a glimpse into their futures.  Let's just say that Josh likes what he sees in his future a heck of a lot more then Emma does.  This leads to both of them making some hard choices.

I love how believable this book feels.  It gives two great sides of what I feel most people would do if they knew that they were seeing into their future.  My only real issue is that neither one of them looked up anything like major events or what other technology would be available in the future.  I guess the characters might be too awed by the whole seeing into the future thing but I'm pretty sure I would have looked up more events.

There's a lot of tension in the whole finding love department from both Josh and Emma.  It sure makes for a great read because you're always wondering if they're going to find the right person.  It nicely raises the question of how much of our future is chance and how much is choice.

Finding out about Facebook brings Emma and Josh closer together and better see how their actions affect themselves and the people in their lives.  The ending was just about perfect.

I can already imagine a movie or television series based off of this book, it would just be ideal for those mediums.  Keep an eye out for this book because it should definitely be a smash when it debuts.