Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

An adventure at Barnes and Noble with some awesome friends of mine led me to getting this book...

Story:

Helen is the princess of Sparta. Her future is laid out before her with every fashionable, glamorous detail in order. She will be marry, become queen, rule the city of Sparta with her perfect new husband and have a daughter who will take her place one day. Helen will spend her days making clothing, weaving and doing embroidery with her sister, Clytemnestra, forever sheltered from the things her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, get to do. And that, well... that's just not good enough for Helen. At the age of seven she decides that she wants to learn how to fight because she's sick of getting everything just because she's "beautiful." After being told by her brother that he'll teach her as soon as she can catch him (and failing miserably to do so as he raced down the hall away from her) she begins running whenever she has the chance. Three years later, she follows her brothers to their lesson with high hopes of learning some of their skills for herself. Two years later it is announced that Clytemnestra will be leaving the kingdom to go marry a prince in one of the neighboring cities. Polydeuces, Castor, a group of guards and, after some smooth talking on her part, Helen accompany her and thus begins the journey of a lifetime. Doing everything from hunting a rabid boar to falling backwards off of a horse to befriending people she never thought she would even talk to, Helen gets a taste of the addicting flavor of freedom.

"'...you're beauty will make Zeus himself fall in love with you and put your image up there as well, for us ordinary men to see and envy.'

'I can think of better reasons to end up among the stars,' I said, smiling."

So I had my expectations set pretty dang high when I began this book, I had gotten many recommendations and such for it, and I have to say... it failed to meet them. It had promise when it started out but the plot line was so repetitive that I felt like I could recite the main theme backwards and forwards by the time I was finished. Though it wasn't as gripping as I'd hoped I have to admit that the descriptions were amazing and it was very easy to picture everything the author was describing. So, if you can put up with repetition and like Greek mythology I would recommend this book, but otherwise I'm going to have to give an "eh" kind of rating. I would say it was about a 2.5-3 out of 5.

thanks for reading,

zibz

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

So this trilogy is my latest obsession, my last post talked about The Demon King, which is the first book and now it's my pleasure to introduce to you The Exiled Queen.

Story: WARNING: THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK!!

Han Alister, along with his list of names has had many titles. He's been a streetlord, a trader, a guardian, a student, an older brother, a best friend and a son. Now he gets to add another word to the list: wizard. After having lost his mother, sister and house, he is hiding, yet again, in Marisa Pines Camp. He and his best friend Dancer, who turns out to be a wizard himself, are packing and reading themselves to go to Mystwerk Academy, the wizarding school in Oden's Ford. Trekking across lands where wizards are despised, they meet all sorts of obstacles, including Han's old girlfriend Cat, who ends up joining them, intending to enroll in the Temple School at Oden's Ford. But the challenges don't end once they enter the so called peace of the schools, in fact, they've hardly begun. Micha and Fiona Bayar are also attending Mystwerk and they are determined to get the amulet the Han stole from the back at all costs. Not to mention the fact that Han runs into the girl he kidnapped a few months prior, Rebecca.

Meanwhile, after running from a forced marriage, Princess Heir Raisa ana'Marianna, a.k.a. Rebecca Morley, is traveling with Amon and his triple of guards to Wien House, the school for training soldiers in Oden's Ford. After suffering through the journey there, she settles into her new life at school rather nicely. That is until she sees Cuffs Alister riding onto campus two weeks into classes. She successfully avoids any contact with him until the night of solstice when she is jumped by a drunk teacher and Cuffs was apparently following her. She knows that Cuffs, or Han as he is now known, is dangerous, but she is still drawn to him by something more than his devastatingly good looks and brilliant smile. More surprising than him even showing up in wizarding school (since last time they were together there was nothing magical about him) is the request he comes to her with: tutoring. Hesitantly at first she accepts, skipping over telling Amon that she is spending most of her free time with a known criminal and, instead, enjoying the intoxicating way that Han smiles at her. That is until things go horribly wrong.

"'Rai,' Amon said, taking her hands in his. 'Whatever you do, don't fall in love with him.'

Raisa nodded, knowing it was already too late."

This series is now one of my favorites. The first one was great, but this one was mind-blowing. I couldn't put it down and every moment that it wasn't within arms reach I slipped into a mini panic attack. Han, Raisa, Dancer and Amon are as awesome and lovable as ever, just as Micha and Fiona are even more vile than they were in the first book. I give this book an 11 out of 5 and highly recommend it to, well, everyone.

thanks for reading!

~zibz

The Demon King - Cinda Williams Chima

Hey! So I got this book a few weeks ago on a whim. My mom and I were at Barnes and Noble and it's virtually impossible for me to leave there without a book. This book started out kind of slow but really picked up after a while.

Story:

Sixteen year old Hans Alister is known by many different names, it all depends on where he is at the time. At home, while being yelled at my his mom and stared at with wide, adoring eyes by his sister, Mari, he is Hanson. When he's in Marisa Pines Camp, hunting for deer with his friend Dancer and scouting the territory that he knows by heart, he's Hunts Alone. And when he leaves the relative safety of his home and enters Ragmarket or Southbride he's Cuffs, the dangerous, merciless streetlord of a gang called the Raggers. But no matter where he is or what name people are calling him at the time, it doesn't change the fact that he can barely make enough money to put food on the table for his mom and sister. When he and Dancer are hunting one day, run into a trio of amateur wizards and end up stealing a powerful amulet from them Hans life begins to turn upside down. Someone is murdering members of an enemy gang called the Southies and the Bluejacket's (the royal guard) main suspect is Han, after seeking shelter in the Southbridge Temple one of the guards finds him while escorting a strange and intriguing girl to visit with one of the temples Speakers.

Meanwhile - Princess heir Raisa ana'Marianna longs to escape the confines of the castle walls and live with her father in Clan territory, near Marisa Pines Camp. She will do anything to spite her mother, Queen Marianna ana'Rissa, including harboring a forbidden relationship with Micah Bayar, the son of the High Wizard. But when her best friend, Amon Byrne returns after three years of soldier training at Oden's Ford her feelings start to twist into intricate knots inside of her. The one thing that she can focus on, that she knows for sure, is that she isn't getting the whole story of what is happening in the towns of Southbridge and Ragmarket. Convincing Amon to smuggle her out of the castle she goes Southbridge Temple to talk to one of the Speakers there. That is where she meets a dangerous, fascinating boy who is her key to discovering what hides beneath her mothers pretty lies about the ongoings of street life.

"'I think you're a Ragger at Heart,' he'd said. It wasn't true.

He's been a free spirit, and Raisa was everybody's prisioner.

Was death the price of freedom?"

This book was great, at first it was a bit slow, but after I got past the first few scenes I was unable to put it down. It was like a fifth appendage and I have to say that I was very okay with that. The characters are intriguing to the point where I was lying awake at night wondering about them. I rank it a strong 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it to all of my fellow fantasy lovers!

Thanks for reading!

~zibz

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this book for, oh, probably the last year. The countdown clocks have been saved and bookmarked on my computer and, yes, I frequent the fan pages. What can I say? I love The Mortal Instruments and this is the beginning of an amazing prequel trilogy! Have I mentioned it's awesome?

Story:

After having lost everything, Tessa Gray boards the Main and heads to England to live with her brother. She's picked up on the docks by a pair of strange women and their equally creepy coachman who produce a note from her brother assuring her that Mrs. Black and Mrs. Dark (a.k.a. the Dark Sisters) are his friends and can be trusted. Tessa doesn't feel right about them, but she trusts her brother and leaves with the sisters. She then spends the next six weeks kidnapped by the sisters and is forced to learn how to use a shape shifting power she never knew she possessed in order to keep them from killing her brother. On the night the Dark Sisters are going to introduce her to a man named the Magister who is supposed to become her new husband, Tessa is rescued. Shadowhunters attack the Dark House and save Tessa from the Sisters. Thus begins another journey where Tessa is introduced to the Shadow World and makes it her mission to destroy the Magister and save her brother from an horrible fate.

"So you're saying I am right. This is what is real, and the life I had before was the dream."

"That is correct...And now it is time to wake up"

I couldn't put this book down, I read it in about two or three days, stopping only for the occasional lunch break. The characters are so incredibly lovable that I now feel like I've lost some great friends by finishing the story. I highly HIGHLY recommend it to pretty much anyone who loves fantasy. This book ranks around 1000 out of 5... yes, folks, it's possible.

Thanks for reading,

zibz

Burned by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

I've been waiting for quite some time to read this book and - YIPPEE!! - I finally got to it! It's the seventh book in The House of Night series, so if you haven't already read the other five and are planning to, you might not want to read the summary. Anyway - it's a great series!

Story: (again, don't say I didn't warn you about the spoilers)

After having her soul shattered, Zoey is trapped, seemingly permanently in the Otherworld with Heath. The Otherworld is a limbo between life and death that Zoey's friends are determined to save her from. "The Nerd Herd" is frantic, Stark is enraged, Aphrodite is as annoying as usual and Neferet, of course, has a plan. She wants Zoey gone, and what better way to do that then to make sure that she never returns from the Otherworld? Sending Kalona's spirit after Zoey to the Otherworld, Neferet concocts yet another evil plot, one that could end everything that Zoey and her friends have been working towards. With no other options, Stark is forced to follow Kalona in order to protect Zoey from the dangers that lurk within the shadows of the Otherworld. In a race against time, will Stark be able to free Zoey from eternal wandering in the seemingly peaceful world of death?

This book was pretty darn good - I have to say that I had my doubts about the authors ability to continue the story after six books, but they definitely proved me wrong! The characters are as lovable as always, the plot is engaging and, like all the House of Night books, it was difficult to put down. I give it a strong 4 out of 5 and highly recommend it to all the vampire lovers out the vampire lovers out there!

Thanks for reading!

zibz

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

So... I couldn't resist. The Grapes of Wrath was so sickeningly boring that I HAD to read something that didn't numb my brain. This is the 5th book in a series called Vampire Academy so I'll try to write the description without too many spoilers.

Story:

Rose Hathaway's life has been flipped inside out, turned upside down and been generally shaken around nonstop for the past few months. Ever since she returned to St. Vladamir's Academy things have been anything but normal. But all of this chaos has, at least, had a purpose. Graduation. And now, that day is here. Rose finally gets to escape the walls of the Academy and venture out into the real world on official Guardian duty. But if she thought that life on the outside would be any easier, she was sadly mistaken. Her best friend, Lissa, and boyfriend, Adrian, are still struggling to gain control of Spirit (the element that they control), Queen Tatiana seems to be out to get her and, on top of all of that, the love-of-her-life-turned-bad, Dimitri, is waiting for when she steps outside the protection of the Royal Court so he can kill her. In this thrilling 5th installment of the Vampire Academy Rose will, inevitably, gain new enemies, make new friends, fall in and out of love and face some of the most difficult challenges yet.

This book blew my mind. Of course so have all of it's predecessors. Rose, Lissa and all of the other characters capture your hearts and never let them go. This series is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who loves action, fantasy and a little high school drama. I would definitely give this book 5 out of 5 if not more! And, I promise you, it's nothing like Twilight.

Thanks for reading,

Zibz

Just an Update

Hey Everyone!

<--(first off... ya like the picture? I had to find a random one, since this isn't about a book... :D)

I just wanted to give you an update - I, hopefully, will be posting about a new book in the near future, but I've been super busy! Plus, I'm not allowing myself to start any books for fun until I finish reading The Grapes of Wrath for my advanced american literature class. So far, I wouldn't suggest that one... at all... just, don't even look at it. It's a negative on my rating scale. I think that might be partly because it's homework... and it's summer who has homework during the summer???? well, I guess I do... anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was going on!

thanks for reading,

zibz