Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish .   This week's theme: Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read The hard-to-read because they were boring/annoying/frustrating 1. This is a book I'm currently reading, and it's so painful. The author is trying really hard to be scientific about the supernatural elements, but all the science is spectacularly flawed. The main character's father is in the FBI, and the MC has a ridiculously easy time hacking into all his classified information. And the dialogue is just painful. The only reason I'm still reading is because I need a "U" book for my A-Z Challenge. 2. Hoo boy, I had a lot to say about this book. Everything from the writing style to the selfish and vain MC to the really bizarre plot twists (plot holes?) bugged me. At least the ending redeemed it...kind of... ( unapologetic review here ). 3. This book was really hard for me to finish. Relivin...

Title:  Unraveling Author:  Elizabeth Norris Genre: Young adult, science fiction My rating: 2 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared. And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet. The only reason I finished this was because I needed a "U" book for my A-Z challenge this year. You would think that a story about radiation-melted bodies showing up around the area would be very intense, especially when ev...

Title:  Words of Radiance Author:  Brandon Sanderson Genre: Fantasy My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Way of Kings. Having met the challenge of a posthumous collaboration with the great Robert Jordan to complete his classic, bestselling fantasy series The Wheel of Time® with three #1 New York Times bestsellers in a row, Brandon Sanderson is at last free to return to the decade-spanning task of creating his own multi-volume epic, one that he hopes will make a comparable mark on the field. That epic is The Stormlight Archive and it began in 2010 with Tor’s longest, most elaborately embellished novel ever, The Way of Kings. In that first volume, we were introduced to the remarkable world of Roshar, a world both alien and magical, where gigantic hurricane-like storms scour the surface every few days and life has adapted accordingly. Roshar is shared by humans and the enigmatic, humanoid Parshen...

Title:  The Martian Author:  Andy Weir Genre: science fiction My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome th...

Title:  Champion Author:  Marie Lu Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult, Science fiction My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : He is a Legend. She is a Prodigy. Who will be Champion? June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling ...

This is a meme hosted by  Rinn Reads  where anyone can join in and talk about anything Fantasy! I usually read high fantasy, but I've started reading some urban fantasy lately and I'm enjoying it. I've discovered that I love books that make me laugh, and a lot of urban fantasy features snarky main characters or just funny situations. There's just something about making me laugh that makes me that much more willing to let go of my annoyances with a book and just enjoy it. I kind of wish there was more high fantasy that didn't take itself so seriously. All those epic battles and revenge-fueled villains and dramatic showdowns are all well and good, but a little wisecrack here and there wouldn't go amiss . In that regard, I really enjoyed Half A King by Joe Abercrombie , since it featured quite a few instances of witty (albeit dark) dialogue. Also, that one conversation  between Adolin and Shallan in Words of Radiance . Yeah, you know the one. I laughed ...

Title:  The Assassin's Blade Author:  Sarah J. Maas Genre: Young adult, fantasy My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out. The blogosphere has practically exploded with excitement for the third book in this series, Heir of Fire . With all the amazing reviews and book-pushing happening with this series, I f...

Title:  And the Mountains Echoed Author: Khaled Hosseini Genre: Historical fiction, contemporary, adult fiction My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else. Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands ...