Children

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Generally, these books will be for the 8-13 age group. They do have chapters and aren't picture books. Just so you know.

Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Artemis Fowl Series

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Artemis Fowl is (at the beginning of the series) a 12-year-old Irish boy who happens to be the heir to the Fowl Estate, worth millions, since his father is missing and his mother is going through some psychological issues. Artemis also happens to be a child genius, and he comes up with brilliant schemes that include fairies. Artemis Fowl is the creation of Irish children's author Eoin Colfer.

Artemis Fowl Series:
Artemis Fowl (1)
Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident (2)
Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code (3)
Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception (4)
Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony (5)
Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox (6)
Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex (7)
Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian (8)
Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Eoin Colfer

Good whatever-time-it-is-where-you-are, fellow book-devourers!

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) is an Irish author of predominately children's books.

Artemis Fowl Series:
Artemis Fowl (1)
Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident (2)
Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code (3)
Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception (4)
Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony (5)
Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox (6)
Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex (7)
Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian (8)

Benny Shaw Series:
Benny and Omar (1)
Benny and Babe (2)

Legend Books
The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth
The Legend of Spud Murphy
The Legend of the Worst Boy in School

Other Books:
Airman
The Supernaturalist
The Wish List
Half Moon Investigations


For Older Readers:
Plugged
And Another Thing: Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three


Website: http://www.eoincolfer.com/


Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

The Eternity Code

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Artemis returns to us in the third book of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Artemis, being the far-too clever child he is has created an amazing little electronic device that is pretty much all your current ones put together. Personal computer, mobile phone, mp3 player, as well as all those necessary 'optional extras' such as satellite tracking, hacking and instant download from any device whether DVD, phone or cables in a building. This C Cube, as it's called, is a hybrid from the Fairy technology he stole some years ago mixed with a little bit of his own work. Artemis calls a business executive so he can make money. However, the C Cube is stolen and Butler is injured. It's vital to get the C Cube back, otherwise the Lower Elements will be exposed, but how can he do that without Butler?

I liked it. When I read about what happened to Butler, I was all 'no, not Butler!' I'm glad Artemis managed to do what he did, but I wish it had been done later in the book, so the suspense over Butler was drawn out a little longer. But hey, maybe for the age group this book is aimed at, it was too long. I did like the inclusion of Juliet though. I'm looking forward to see where she goes.

3.8 stars

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Rachel Vincent

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Rachel Vincent is the author of the Soul Screamers series, Shifters series and the Unbound series. My favourite part so far from looking her up to write this post is something on her website, which you find here, which is she 'remains convinced that for every day she spend writing, one day will be added to her lifespan' I like the originality of that.

Unbound Series:
Blood Bound (1)
Shadow Bound (2)
Oath Bound (3)

Soul Screamer Series:
My Soul to Lose (0.5)
My Soul to Take (1)
My Soul to Save (2)
My Soul to Keep (3)
Reaper (3.5)
My Soul to Steal (4)
A Day in the Afterlife of Tod (4.1)
If I Die (5)
Never to Sleep (5.5)
Before I Wake (6)
With All My Soul (7)
Shifters Series:
Stray (1)
Rogue (2)
Pride (3)
Prey (4)
Shift (5)
Alpha (6)

On top of all these, she's also got stuff in a bunch of anthologies.

Rachel Vincent website: http://www.rachelvincent.com/
An older blog, last updated July 2012: http://rkvincent.wordpress.com/
Her new blog: http://www.rachelvincent.com/blog/

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Soul Screamers Series

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

This is the Soul Screamers series, with the main character being Kaylee Cavanaugh, a bean sidhe (banshee) who is learning about her powers and the myriad dangers of the Netherworld. To help her is a reaper, a male bean sidhe and other characters, some whom are friendly and some... not so much. This series is the brain-baby of Rachel Vincent.

My Soul to Lose (0.5)
My Soul to Take (1)
My Soul to Save (2)
My Soul to Keep (3)
Reaper (3.5)
My Soul to Steal (4)
A Day in the Afterlife of Tod (4.1)
If I Die (5)
Never to Sleep (5.5)
Before I Wake (6)
With All My Soul (7)

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

My Soul to Save

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

My Soul To Save by the talented Rachel Vincent, is the story of young teen popstars who make deals bartering their souls for fame and fortune. Enter Kaylee Cavanaugh and Nash Hudson, young bean sidhe (banshee) who are determined to save the popstar's souls from eternal torture by a demon of avarice (greed).

I liked this book. I didn't like it as much as I could have (possibly because I've been reading way to many of the literary classics recently and am becoming a book snob) but it was still worthwhile reading. I particularily liked the end of the book. The conclusion was really, really sad, but it was the right ending for the book. If it had been a happy-happy la-la ending, it would have left a horrid aftertaste, because it would have been wrong.
This is the second book in the Soul Screamers Series. If you liked this one, try the others.
3.8 stars

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Justina Chen Headley

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Justina Chen Headley is a Taiwanese-American fiction writer. Her works include:

North of Beautiful
Girl Overboard
Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies)
Return to Me
The Patch

Her blog http://justinachenheadley.blogspot.co.nz/ is old and hasn't been updated for a while, but if you're interested in some of the older stuff she's done, it ends at about 2010
http://www.justinachen.blogspot.co.nz/ is updated more regularily and is her current operating blog.

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

North of Beautiful

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

This book by Justina Chen Headley is absolutely freaking amazing. Terra Cooper is beautiful in the tall, blond killer-body way. But she has a large birthmark on her face. North of Beautiful documents Terra's journey to find self-acceptance, whilst also exploring race identity and how important familial support is.

 I know, it kinda sounds like some sad sob story that wins lots of awards and ends up being studied for English and completely and utterly wrecked for it. But it is some incredible writing, and throughout there are many parts that I identified with, and I believe there's something for everyone in there. Plus (as if this book needed anything else) it talks about geocaching, which I had no idea existed. Pretty much it's like hide-and-seek for grownups (though kids can do it too) with a GPS. I love it, and this book got me hooked. If you're interested, Opencaching has a beginner's guide to it and more information.
A full 5 stars

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

What are you looking forward to?

Hey everyone!

It's almost halfway through February, and my how time has flown by! How are you all doing with your new year's resolutions? One of mine was to join a team sport, and I'm looking forward to our first training next week. Not doing as well as I'd like on the rest of them, but it's a work in progress.

I'm also looking forward to putting up some more reviews of books I've read up here. There will be some works from Louisa May Alcott, P.C. Cast, some more from the brilliant Christina Henry and one of Ron Koertge's novels. Hopefully you're as excited about these as I am.

Good luck with sticking to your resolutions, and make sure you check here often for updates. Just seeing the page views each time I update the blog gets me all happy inside, so spread the happiness and come back often. :)

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Carol Goodman

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Carol Goodman is pretty cool. Why? Because she knows Latin (I think antiquated languages are interesting). Also, she has a bunch of awesome books under her belt, and more still under her psudonym, Juliet Dark

Her books include:
Arcadia Falls
The Night Villa
The Sonnet Lover
The Ghost Orchid
The Drowning Tree
The Seduction of Water
The Lake of Dead Languages

And her website can be found at: http://carolgoodman.com/

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Juliet Dark

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Juliet Dark is the psudonym of author Carol Goodman.

Her books include:

The Fairwick Chronicles:
The Demon Lover (1)
The Water Witch (2)
Tha Hallowed Door (3)

And her website can be found here: http://julietdark.com/

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

The Water Witch

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

The Water Witch, book 2 in the Fairwick Chronicles penned by Juliet Dark, has Callie caught between promises she made to various people. These promises threaten to tear her her friends away from her. Whilst fighting for the people she's grown to care about, their is her own strange powers to be dealt with, and handsome strangers are popping up all over the place more than happy to help. When all's said and done, which way will Callie's heart turn?

Loved it. A brilliant sequel to The Demon Lover, it has Callie making up with Liam again, which was great. It also expands on Fairwick and some of its unique problems and history, which builds upon the setting and makes it seem more real. The relationships here are exquisite, with the right amount of tension and sweet moments to make them perfect.
4.9 stars

Now just waiting for The Hallowed Door (book 3) which won't be out until Septemeber.

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

The Fairwick Chronicles

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

This is a trilogy (I'm kinda hoping a lot it'll be like Christopher Paolini's trilogy, as in, more than three books, this series is so great) detailing the events that befall Cailleach McFay (pronounced Kay-lex) when she moves to the town of Fairwick, a place filled with witches, wizards, fairies, demons and other fey creatures, as well as the garden-variety humans and a few in on the secret.

Written by Juliet Dark, this series has very quickly become a favourite of mine. I truly hope book 3 comes out soon.

The Demon Lover (1)
The Water Witch (2)
The Hallowed Door (3)

The Water Witch will be published in about two weeks, but we'll have to hang out until September for The Hallowed Door.

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

The Demon Lover

Greetings, fellow book-devourers!
The Demon Lover, book one in the Fairwick Chronicles by Juliet Dark, tells of Cailleach (pronounced Kay-lex) McFay who accepts a teaching job at a university in the middle of nowhere. Soon after arriving in Fairwick, Callie starts having erotic dreams. The local witches (who happen to consist of  her dean, a colleague and the inn-keeper) intervene and banish the incubus who had possessed her. So why does Callie think something's up with the new professor?

 I really liked this book. I ended up stopping everything and just reading it, with the old 'I'll just finish this chapter.' Yeah... I finished the book first :) I like how  there is an obvious good guy and bad guy in the beginning, but by the end it starts to get greyer as Callie experiences more. I'm so glad I have the second book, The Water Witch, as I'm really excited to see where this goes.

4.8 stars

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Perfect Chemistry series

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

The Perfect Chemistry series follows the Fuentes brothers as they all fall in love with girls who keep them on the straight and narrow. They then have to go up against gangs so they can love the people they want to.

This series is written by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry (1)
Rules of Attraction (2)
Chain Reaction (3)

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Young Adult

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Want some Young Adult novels to tide you through? Look no further, because here are the ones I've reviewed:

Rules of Attraction
North of Beautiful
Perfect Scoundrels
Double Crossed

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Simone Elkeles

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Simone Elkeles writes teenage fiction. Some of her series are included below:

Perfect Chemistry Series:
Perfect Chemistry (1)
Rules of Attraction (2)
Chain Reaction (3)

Her website can be found here: http://simoneelkeles.com/

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte

Rules of Attraction

Hello, fellow book-devourers!

Book 2 in the Perfect Chemistry series written by Simone Elkeles. This second book has Brittany and Alex appearing again, but as supporting characters to Carlos and Kiara.

Carlos was fired after protecting a fellow workmate from sexual harassment, and his mother sent him to live with brother, Alex. Carlos wanted to stay in Mexico with his mother, so he could work and look after her. Instead he's forced to go to school. His gang affiliations soon catch up with him, and he's set up to look like a drug dealer. By court order, Kiara's family takes him in, and soon Kiara and Carlos are fighting an attraction that could break their hearts.

I didn't like this one as much as the first. Here the 'forbidden love' is trying to make an appearance, but unlike with Perfect Chemistry, there's no reason why they can't be together. There also isn't as much of the gang violence as in the last one. Whether I'd like this one more if I hadn't read the first one, I don't know. I give it 2 stars.

Many witty ripostes,
Astarte