Saturday, September 21, 2013

Review: The Originals

The Originals
Title: The Originals
Author: Cat Patrick
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 304
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Publication Date: May 7th 2013
 
Review:
The Originals is a short and enjoyable science fiction tale about three triplets who are actually hidden clones.

The Originals follows the story of three sisters who have been hidden away by their mom to keep them safe from being discovered by the rest of the world because they are stolen clones. In order to keep them a secret the world thinks their mother has only one child. Only one of them is enrolled in school and each one of them is assigned a certain part of the day that is theirs, one of them goes out in the morning, one has afternoon, and one has evening. This system works fine until Lizzie meets Sean. Sean and Lizzie fall for each other instantly. Soon Lizzie and her sisters want freedom from their frustrating routine and rebel against it. But then they discover that their mom lied about her job and they catch her going in and out of a secret locked office. What has their mom been hiding from them?

You may have noticed from my earlier reviews this year that I have started to get into more science fiction type books, so when I heard of this one I decided to give it a try. The Originals is overall a good book but I just did not find anything special about it. Their wasn't much action till the end of the book and even then it was brief and not as action packed as one may hope. I felt the pacing of the book was a little off and since the plot wasn't extraordinary the story didn't really have anything propelling it forward. Some parts of it were dry and did not catch my attention. The characters were also a little dry for me. The three sisters/clones did not have much personality to me so they did not add much flare to the book. I also thought the ending was rushed which is a big pet peeve of mine.

The Originals was a fun read but it just did not have anything special abut it that made it stand out. The upside of the book though was that Patrick writes very well. The writing style was very easy and fluid and that was the part of the book that kept me turning the page. One reason I have started getting more into science fiction books is because I find the content can be rather interesting so even if it is not suspenseful the content can still keep you intrigued enough till the last page. My favorite plot line of the story was the complexity of the three sisters pretending to be one person. That was the unique part of the book for me.

The Originals was a quick, easy, interesting sci-fi read that is a great starter book for anyone trying to ease their way into the sci-fi genre.
 
 
 

 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 7


Welcome to the third day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:
Grown Up Fangirl


Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 6


Welcome to the third day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:

Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 5


Welcome to the third day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:
The Words Written


Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 4


Welcome to the third day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:
These are but Shadows

Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

First Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 3


Welcome to the third day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:
Music Plus Books

Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Monday, September 9, 2013

First Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour- Day 2


Welcome to the second day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stops are being showcased at:
Blue Eyed Book Reviews

Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Blogger Spotlight Tour Day 1!

Welcome to the first day of the 1st Annual Blogger Spotlight Tour! 
This tour is all about showcasing the wonderful bloggers out there and helping them get noticed! 

I would like to quickly showcase my outstanding co-host, Jazmen from This Girl Reads a lot
Jazmen has been such an amazing person to work with. I came to her with this idea and she got very enthusiastic about it and started working on it right away. I could not of asked for a better person to organize this event with. I also want to point out Jazmen's blog, she has not been blogging for very long but has been so good with with creating connections with bloggers that her list of followers keeps increasing. Jazmen is a very dedicated blogger and clearly enjoys what she does. 
Thank you Jazmen for doing all of this with me! 


Each day on this tour there will be multiple tour stops at different blogs which will be featuring another blog. Please check out all the stops because these are all fantastic bloggers and they have been working so hard!

Today's tour stop is being showcased at:
Bookcrastinators in Wonderland

Check back everyday to visit more incredible blogs!

September 8th 

September 9th 

September 10th

September 11th

September 12th 

September 13th

September 14th 


Friday, August 23, 2013

Review: How My Summer Went Up in Flames

How My Summer Went Up in Flames
Title: How My Summer Went Up in Flames
Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Genre: Contemporary 
Pages: 307
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 7th 2013

“I cover my eyes with both hands. I think I'm either going to vomit or cry. At the moment, I can't decide which would make me feel better. I part my fingers to look at Matty. "It was only a few emails and texts."
"A few?"
"And maybe I showed up at ShopRite once or twice when he was getting off work.
"Good way to keep busy after a breakup. Hoping incarceration would fill those empty hours?" Matty says.” 
― Jennifer Salvato DoktorskiHow My Summer Went Up in Flames

Review:
How My Summer Went Up in Flames follows the story of Rosie. Rosie's ex-boyfriend, Joey has just recently cheated on her and when she sees him with his new bimbo girlfriend she goes and lights a box of all the things he's ever given her on his driveway but his car by accident goes up in flames in the process. Before she knows it Rosie is given a temporary restraining order from Joey and to keep her out of trouble her parents send her on a road trip with their next door neighbor, Matty and his two friends Spencer and Logan. Rosie sets off on the road and she soon realizes this trip might not be as bad as she though it was going to be.

How My Summer Went Up in Flames was a fun summer read but that was all it was. It was enjoyable, funny, and a great teen girl summer read. There was nothing very special about it though. I was hoping for this to be a stand out summer read from the interesting and unique synopsis on the back cover, I mean what other book has a girl getting a restraining order for almost blowing up her ex boyfriends car, sadly it didn't pull through for me though. It was still a funny summer read though and I would suggest it as a vacation read for a teen girl who likes road trip themed novels.

The best part of the book was the characters and their chemistry, especially the four who went on the road trip together. The three guys always were sarcastically funny with Rosie and by the end of the trip they all genuinely cared about each other. These four characters worked very well together and it made the road trip aspect of the book work better. The authors writing in this book was good too. Her writing was rather funny a lot of the time but she was also able to incorporate heartfelt moments into the theme of the book too and I enjoyed that through out the book. 

Overall it was good book, it just didn't completely my hook me for some reason. I feel like the author got me really excited for the book through the blurb on the book but then did not run with the unique parts of the story enough and it just turned out to be another regular road trip book.

How My Summer Went Up in Flames is a funny book with great characters and is a good book to take on a vacation

About the Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.
As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor.
Check out more bout her and her books here
Summary from Goodreads
First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…