Book Review: Eldest by Christopher Paolini

I just finished up reading the second book in the Inheritance Cycle. I found Eldest to be a lot like Eragon in that it was a very long book that too a very long time to get exciting. I was so bored with the book that I put it down for about 3 months and picked it back up a few weeks ago to finish it.

I am glad that I took a chance on picking it back up. The book dragged terribly for the first 500 pages (I guess I'm a stubborn reader for sticking with it that long) but the last 150ish pages made up for how slow it was.

Paolini does a great job of character and scene development. In fact, he almost does too good of a job on it as it takes up a majority of the book. He also does an amazing job of creating a vivid scene. There is a war at the end of the book and the imagery is so good that you feel like you are standing there on the field with everyone else during the war.

I would have to say that overall I am satisfied with this book. I wasn't blown out of the water by any stretch of the imagination but I was not overly disappointed in the book either.

My rating: 3.5/5

Recommendation: If you are a die hard fantasy novel reader it is worth the read. If you are just looking to start your journey in the fantasy realm I would say that there are better options out there for you to dabble with.

Book Review: The Brethren by John Grisham

They call themselves the Brethren: three disgraced former judges doing time in a Florida federal prison.

One was sent up for tax evasion. Another, for skimming bingo profits. And the third, for a career-ending drunken joyride.

Meeting daily in the prison law library, taking exercise walks in their boxer shorts, these judges-turned-felons can reminisce about old court cases, dispense a little jailhouse justice, and contemplate where their lives went wrong.

Or they can use their time in prison to get very rich -- very fast. And so they sit, sprawled in the prison library, furiously writing letters, fine-tuning a wickedly brilliant extortion scam ... while events outside their prison walls begin to erupt.

A bizarre presidential election is holding the nation in its grips -- and a powerful government figure is pulling some very hidden strings. For the Brethren, the timing couldn't be better. Because they've just found the perfect victim...

Excerpt from Amazon.com

This is probably the 5th or 6th Grisham book that I have read and I would have to say that it is a middle of the pack book for him. It's isn't great but it also wasn't terrible. Most of the time when I pick up a Grisham book I have a hard time putting it down and will read it until it's finished. That was not the case with this book.

The plot took a very long time to develop and once it did you could see the ending coming for about 100 pages. Usually with his books there is a surprise at the end but when this one ended it just left me feeling kind of slighted. It ended quickly and without much resolution. He kind of left it open for a follow up book but I don't know how he would do that. So in my mind the book just didn't seem complete which is a shame because the idea behind the plot is very good and very intriguing. I feel like so much more could have been done that wasn't.

If you are a die hard Grisham fan and haven't read this book I would put it closer to the bottom of the list then the top of books that you still need to read of his.

I give this book a 3/5

If you have read this book and disagree with me I am always open to hearing comments about what others think.

Back in the saddle

It's been a long time since I have posted anything. Life has been hectic. But, I'm back to reading more regularly now so there are going to be some more posts. I don't think they will be all YA reviews either. I'm kind of branching out into some other areas as well. Happy reading all.

Book Review: Eragon

I know it's been a while since I have posted a review, but I've been swamped with things and it took me quite a while to read this book. So, here is what I thought of Eragon: Overall it is a great story that is told very well. It was a little slow starting for me and I almost put it down and chalked it up as a book I wouldn't enjoy. I'm glad I didn't. This book turned out to be quite the page turner once you got into middle and end of it. I love the character development and the great descriptive language used in the book. It's almost like I'm traveling to the cities and through the valleys with the characters in the book. I love where the plot is going and can't wait to read books 2 and 3 and see where it all ends up. Overall this book gets a 4/5 from me.

Book Review: Last 2 Percy Jackson Novels

So, I just finished up the last two books in the series and all I can say is WOW! This is probably one of the best series that I have read in a long time. I know I sound like a broken record, but when I really like a book, or in this case a set of them, I am going to let you know about it. These last two books were very well written and had many twists and turns. I had a hard time putting them down and my wife let me know about it too lol. All of you book lovers out there know how hard it is to put down a great book though. Riordan did a great job of incorporating new characters into the books. To be completely honest I had no idea that there were so many mythological gods. It was very interesting for me to read these books and has kind of sparked my interest to know more about what exactly people believe about these gods and how they play a role in society today. I can't say enough good things about these books. If you haven't picked them up yet you should. I hope the Riordan considers writing another series of them. He certainly left himself that liberty. We will see where he goes from here. Overall this series gets 5 big stars from me.

Book Review: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Just finished the third book in the Percy Jackson series and it seems to me that each book gets progressively better. I wasn't sure how Riordan was going to be able to keep up with my very high expectations of this series but I have to say that so far it has been amazing. He finds a way to incorporate new mythological gods into every story line and still keeps up the story lines from the last books as well. He is a masterful writer. His character and scene development are great! It's like I'm almost there alongside Percy and his friends. I will say it again: if you haven't started this series yet you really should.
This book is a definite 5/5 for me!

2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
3. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
5. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
6. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Book Review: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Another homerun by Riordan. The second installment of Percy Jackson is another 5/5 in my book (pardon the pun). I was concerned that the sequel wasn't going to be as much of a page turner as the first book. I couldn't have been more wrong. Just like the first book, I couldn't put this one down.

I love the character development in this book and the introduction of the new characters. Everything flows together seamlessly. I actually liked the action in this book more than the first one. There were a few more twists and turns which I really liked. There are a lot of loose ends that I'm waiting to find out about as I get ready to dive into the third book. If it is anything like the fist two, I won't be disappointed. 

If you haven't started reading this series yet I only have one question for you...WHY NOT??? Do yourself a favor and go pick up the first book right now. Until next time, happy reading!

Book Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I just finished up the first book in the Percy Jackson Series, The Lightning Thief. I have heard nothing but great things about this book and I would have to say that it didn't disappoint.

There were a few things I loved about this book. The first one being the style in which it was written. I love that it was a first person point of view. You were hearing directly from Percy throughout the whole book. I love when authors do that. The other thing that I loved was all of the background and references to the mythological gods. It was great to have that since I'm not exactly an expert in that field and would have had a hard time following along if there had not been the background on them.

Overall, I would give this book a 5/5. It was a page turner that had plenty of drama and suspense to keep me up into the wee hours of the morning reading it. To be honest, I haven't gotten into a book as much as I did this one in a long time. It was refreshing and I can't wait to read the next one.

Book Review: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

2010 Books Read List

1. The Gashouse Gang by John Heidenry
2. Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
3. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
4. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
5. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
6. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
7. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Very First Post!

This is exciting! The first post of my new book review blog...I have read a ton of books but I won't be writing my first review until I finish one the books I'm currently reading (either In the Woods by Tana French or Wild at Heart by John Eldredge). It was her debut novel and so far I am not disappointed at all! Hopefully I'll have some people to read my first book review! I guess we will have to see. Happy reading all.