Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord.

 

Blurb: 
We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.

My Review: 

So, I am a little bit behind on reviews. I read When We Collided by Emery Lord in February of 2020. I have had this review (and a few others) written in my content planner for a while, but I have neglected to type it up, therefore I have neglected to post it here, for you guys.

The beginning of When We Collided hooked me pretty much straight away. The story is told from two points of view. Vivi and Jonah.

We begin with our lead female Vivi engraving ‘Vivi was here’ on a tree in a park in the middle of town she has just moved to for the summer. This slogan ended up creating a kind of familiar warmness for me. As she goes through the motions of her day, she meets Jonah and his little sister Leah who became just as captivated with Vivi as Vivi did with the pair of them.

The setup of Vivi and Jonah, in the beginning, appeared to me as ‘bad girl tarnishes good boy’ scenario. When I got further into the novel, I realised it was a really good novel about two people who had been through life altering trauma’s and were both avoiding dealing with them until they were absolutely forced to.

Emery Lord built a captivating world. I was taken on a hard-hitting, yet beautiful journey through the trials of adopting new norms. However, there were several scenes or sequences throughout the novel that could have been left out or glazed over. More than a few, but less than many but they made the novel drag a little.

Having said that the author was trying to put across a story of hardship, loss, and the struggles that one can have with their own head. All the while pretending that everything is okay on the outside. This, she covered Flawlessly/Faultlessly.  

In my opinion, Emery Lord wrote a great book that dealt with grief and mental health in an honest way. From her standpoint, research & experiences, and that, again, in my opinion, should be the takeaway from this novel.

I rated this book 4 stars on Goodreads and recommend it to anyone who wants something a little harder-hitting to read.

 Check out When We Collided on Goodreads to find out more about the book and author. 

Review: Kissing Coffins by Ellen Shreiber

What's it about?
Not far from Dullsville, someone's lurking in the dark. . . .
After meeting the handsome and shadowy Alexander Sterling, goth-girl Raven's dark world has a bright, new glow. But as in her favourite movie, "Kissing Coffins," Raven knows that love always has its complications, especially when Alexander has a big secret to guard.
When Alexander suddenly disappears, Raven leaves Dullsville to begin a dangerous search to find him. Can she stay safe, no matter who--or what--she encounters on the way?
My Review: 

I enjoy vampire books but have not read one in a long time. Kissing Coffins was a good book to pick up to rekindle my obsession.
I read Vampire Kisses a long time ago, so when I jumped into Kissing Coffins I was jumping relatively blind and by blind I mean I couldn’t even remember the main characters name. Never the less, Kissing Coffins follows Raven Maddison’s heartbreak as her vampire boyfriend Alexander skips town leaving no reason and no clue behind. That is until she gets a clue to travel to a neighbouring city where we meet Jagger who is a vampire on a mission of his own.
This was a very short quick read for me, I don’t know if that was the style of the writing or the new pills the Dr put me on two days ago. 
The novel lacks a lot of the gore and manipulation that I enjoy in my vampire reads but with the near-perfect way the cliches were written it made up a little for the lack of blood spilt.
I did enjoy Kissing Coffins but I wouldn’t really call it ‘Young Adult” maybe more middle grade? That’s nothing on the author’s writing. Ellen Schreiber wrote a captivating story and I will most likely continue the series once I get my hands on the next books. I just think it would have been better marketed towards a younger audience.
Kissing Coffins was a nice read for a lazy Saturday evening and an even lazier Sunday morning, I gave it three stars on Goodreads, would have given a three and a half if I could have. I recommend it for people who like vampire teenage romance.

Book Review: The Stolen Kingdom by Bethany Atazadeh

Title: The Stolen Kingdom: An Aladdin Retelling
Author Bethany Atazadeh

Medium: Advanced Readers Copy. 

Blurb: How can she protect her kingdom, if she can’t protect herself?

Arie eagerly anticipates becoming Queen of her humble kingdom. Even when a Jinni’s Gift manifests before her 18th birthday, she fights to hide the forbidden ability.

But when a neighbouring king attempts to marry her and steal her kingdom, discovery feels imminent. Just one slip could cost her throne. And her life. 

Review: Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Title: Monday's Not Coming

Author: Tiffany D Jackson
Medium: Audiobook
Narrator: Imani Parks
Blurb: Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day or the second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumours and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.

As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?

Review: The Inevitability of Stars by Kathryn R. Lyster

Here is a review of The Inevitability of Stars by Kathryn R. Lyster, thank you Harlequin teen Aus for supporting me even through my slump you're my fav ;)

A modern-day Romeo and Juliet set amongst the beauty of Byron Bay and the grind of Sydney.
Rip and Sahara have always been together. Primary school friends to high school lovers, their ties to each other are as intertwined and inescapable as the roots of the Byron Strangler Fig. But like that same tree, the tendrils of their love are beginning to stifle and choke, and soon, Sahara finds she must leave — moving to Sydney to pursue her career as an artist.
In Sydney, Sahara draws the attention of Sean, a charismatic entrepreneur, and is quickly drawn into his expensive and glamorous world — so very different from the quiet, simple place of her youth. But even as she creates a new life, and a new version of herself, Sahara cannot seem to leave Rip behind.
Back in the Byron hinterland, Rip moves to a working farm to recover from the wounds Sahara left. It's here that he begins to understand his past and reimagine his future. But as Rip rebuilds, Sahara unravels, losing herself in Sean's shiny, but meaningless world and plagued by visions of her previous life and lover.
Heartbreaking and haunting, The Inevitability of Stars is a poignant novel about the burden of fate, the viscosity of reality and the resilience of love

My Review:

I was very happy to recieve this book and enjoyed reading it. Kathryn created an amazing tale that captured the thoughts and feelings of young artistic minded people growing up in small town Australia. I loved how relatable this novel was from Rip, the guy who needed to find his way in life to Sahara who needed to find more in life then what the beachside town of Byron Bay had to offer. Kathryn's writing was superb, she got across the exact point that she wanted too. Something about her writing was different to most i have read good different though, i just cant put my finger on it.
I feel like Kathryn captured the Australian flare in a great way, she put enough of it in there to show how awesome we are, alot of people cant do that very well.
It was kind of strange reading about so many places i have been and i know quiet well in a fictional book.
All in all great book, i cant wait to see what else Kathryn has in stall,
I recommend you read this book.

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Hi guys sorry for the lack of posts, hoping to get better at Scheduling  and be a better awesome person and keep you guys entertained. let me know if you would like to see something added to the blog or if you would like to see me to write or talk about let me know.  On with the Review:


                                     The Selection by Kiera Cass
                            Goodreads Synopsis
  For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined

My Review:  

I swear i feel like i have written the review to this novel over and over but can seam to find it anywhere, I think my mind is playing tricks on me.  

I enjoyed The Selection, maybe not as much as i would have liked too. I picked up this novel from Big W and read it a couple of days later not knowing much about the contraversy it had caused through out the blogging community, no i am not getting in to it, here anyway.  I am glad i brought and read it before i found out about all the hoopla because i came in to  reading this book with an undemaged opinion of the Author and that helps me give a non biast review of what i really felt of the book. 

Kiera has a writing style that i am looking forward to evolving over time. 

While The Selection wasnt as gripping as i hoped it would be from the description on the back it still had me, It wasn't great, but it was good, and i will pick up book two to see what happened. 

I love prince Maxon, America annoys me and Aspen, well, i hate ranting, lets just say, I'm Team Maxon. 

I enjoyed the back story Kiera created about 'old america' in the futuristic distopian novel. I am honestly scared of distopian but this is a good place for me to start and aclimatise my self to the different futuristic type stuff. 

All in all a light read, see if your library has it before you buy it, it's not for every one, 

Review: Speechless By Hannah Harrington

You can enter an Australian Only Giveaway Here:

Goodreads Synopsis:

The story of a girl named Chelsea Knot who takes a voluntary oath of silence after her gossip-mongering ways yield unexpected consequences…

Saying she’s sorry isn’t enough.

Speechless is available NOW Nationwide, for RRP 19.99 Get it now!!

My Review

Hannah Harrington's Speechless is a small novel with a strong message. 

The opening pages almost lost me, we begin with Chelsea at her friends New Years party, it was getting annoying the party i was waiting for something to happen, and boy did it, the whole novel was set around this party and let me tell you it was worth it!!! I am glad i didn't give up before the end of 'Day one' Which i was so close to doing. 

This was my first Hannah Harrington novel and i can   guarantee  as soon as my book buying band is over in a few weeks I WILL be buying Saving June, While Speechless was not my favorite novel i am looking forward to seeing how Hannah's style evolves over time.

Even though i gave this novel a amazing 4 stars on goodreads there were somethings i found annoying in the contents. First thing was that it felt like Chelsea - the young lady who has taken an oath of silence - it felt like she was talking to the readers rather then narrating her story, this may be Hannah's writing style and i am eager to see if this is similar in Saving June, and there is alot of brackets. You know (I'm listening to Katy Perry) things that could be relayed with another sentence or two, how ever these small annoyances were probably only picked up by me, as i am a strange strange child. 

The reason i gave the novel 4 stars even though I found the previous annoying, is that Speechless is a great novel about a hard topic that is becoming a mainstream issue, I think it is an important issue and recommend you read this novel, if you get the chance

Thanks for stopping by, 

The Book Mystress, x

Review: Pretty in Black by Rae Hachton

Title:  Pretty In Black
Author: Rae Hachton
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Pages: 312
Format: Print
Source: Author
Release Date: 2/11/2011
Publisher: Teen Pulse
Series: Yes
No. in Series: 1


Synopsis

A troubled, suicidal teen meets a mysterious guy in a cemetery and later discovers he has an unquenchable desire for her love...and her life


Ellie Piper's life is turned upside down after her sister's unexpected murder and her parents divorce. After her mom succumbs to moving in to a trailer park and marrying a man half her age, Ellie begins cutting herself, quits cheerleading and begins hanging out in cemeteries, dreaming of her perfect death. But when Marcus Marble shows up and sets her heart afire, she discovers a whole new world full of love and mystery. And in this world, Marcus has returned from the dead, just for Ellie, and has a desire to take her with him, into eternity. Now that he's found her, there's no way he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated

My Review:  Pretty in Black for me was a good book. I enjoyed it alot. The story line was great and you could feel the chemistry with the to main characters Ellie and Marcus. However.

Review: Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine

synopsis always fron goodreads, write all reviews in 'compose' not 'html'Image to the left of post next to text, copy image from goodreads, put it in small Delete or replace Itallics with the appropriate content before posting
Title: Dead Girls Dance
Genre: YA, Paranormal.
Pages: 380
Format: Print
Source: Big W
Release Date: 2008
Publisher: Alyson and Busy
Series: Yes
No. in Series: 2


Synopsis

Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favours beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

My Review: There is so much about this novel to sit here and gawk at, sitting here right now about a month after i finished reading it i am struggling on how to word this review so i wont give spoilers.

Review: Sophie & Carter. Chelsea Fine

Paperback,
 117 pages

Published June 20th 2011 by Acacia Publishing, Inc.

Source: Publiser

Goodreads Summary:
While other high school seniors are dreaming about their futures, Sophie and Carter are just trying to make it through each day. Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbour Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they'll sit together on Sophie's front porch swing and escape from reality, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, will their friendship become something more? 

'I love their guts!' Sophie's catch phrase, and i have to say i loved it. This book is a simply quick read that only took me two sittings to think and it was two sittings because i had to sleep in between, don't you hate when that happens?
So apart from sleep ruining my reading sessions I can easily say i really did like this book although it was kind of predictable I like how the story came about. If there is a second installment, i would love to read it, Chelsea Fine is an amazing Author.
Short sweet love story i wish had never ended, all characters where awesome and played their own part showing strength and courage, Read it now!! loves it!

Review: All i ever wanted - Vikki Wakefield.

Australian spotlight: Once a month i will put the spot light on something Australian that has to do with books, or the book world, this month is:

All i ever wanted - Vikki Wakefield. 

Goodreads summary: Mim knows what she wants, and where she wants to go — anywhere but home, stuck in the suburbs with her mother who won't get off the couch, and two brothers in prison. She's set herself rules to live by, but she's starting to break them. 
Now Mim has to retrieve a lost package for her mother. 
Does this make her a drug runner? 
Why is a monster dog called Gargoyle hidden in the back shed? 
And Jordan, the boy she sent Valentines to for years, why is he now suddenly a creep? 
How come there's a huge gap between her and her best friend, Tahnee? 
And who is the mysterious girl next door who moans at night? 
Over the nine days before her seventeenth birthday, Mim's life turns upside down. She has problems, and she's determined to solve them herself. But in the end, she works out who her people are, and the same things look entirely different.

I adored this book!!!
I loved it from cover to cover. I love how Australian it is!
This book has it all from personal struggles, family struggles, best friend struggles, boyfriends struggles, law struggles.
Vikki did an amazing job at capturing the lower class Australian people
I know people who have similar struggles, i have lived in a similar street
all we want to do is be something else.
I think people underestimate lower class citizens.
sure we may not have cars or money but we have each other, we have our family.
I seriously think this should be studied in schools.
I can not say good enough things about this book, i will be following this
Author very closly, you should too!!
One thing everyone to remember when reading this book: Every one, has a dream!

Thanks for stopping by!

!00th Post Review - Christine Nolfi's Treasure Me!

!00th Post is a review, Thank you every one for sticking by me and asking me to review your awesome books. i have enjoyed seeing The Book Mystress grow as much as it has and can NOT wait to see where it is going from here, thanks guys!

Goodreads Summary:Petty thief Birdie Kaminsky has arrived in Liberty, Ohio to steal a treasure hidden since the Civil War. She’s in possession of a charming clue passed down in her family for generations: Liberty safeguards the cherished heart. 
The beautiful thief wants to go straight. She secretly admires the clue’s author, freedwoman Justice Postell, who rose above the horrors of slavery to build a new life in Ohio. According to family lore, Justice left South Carolina at the dawn of the Civil War. Heavy with child, she carried untold riches on her journey north. As Birdie searches for the treasure, she begins to believe a questionable part of the story: a tale of love between Justice and Lucas Postell, the French plantation owner who was Birdie’s ancestor.
If the stories are true, Justice bore a child with Lucas. Some of those black relatives might still live in town. Birdie can’t help but wonder if she’s found one—Liberty’s feisty matriarch, Theodora Hendricks, who packs a pistol and heartwarming stories about Justice. Birdie doesn’t know that an investigative reporter who has arrived in town will trip her up—as will her conscience when she begins to wonder if it’s possible to start a new life with stolen riches. Yet with each new clue she unearths, Birdie begins to discover a family history more precious than gems, a tradition of love richer than she could imagine.

My Review:

Treasure me is the first book i have read and completed in a while,
Life has been so hectic latley, i have had hardly any chance to do
anything, it seams to be the same for all my friends too, maybe it is
just that time of year in Australia.

Anyway back to the novel.

Christine is a brilliant writer, she has a nack of writing that i just
felt like i was the characters. She just has a way of making them seam so
human, insane right? ;)

The Novel was fast pased and full of actions with Bridie and her petty crime filled
ways and her disire to end it has a massage that every one can learn from.
I absolutly love Therodora, omg, this character rocked, i could see my self in her so much!
Nice nature, until you anger me, but lets hope you guys never have to witness that, hehe.

This is a great story, Thank you Christine for letting asking me to read this. I cant wait
to see what else you come up with!

Review: Gateway - Christina Garner

Goodreads Summary: 

Ember has always known she doesn't belong in this world. But when she tries to correct the mistake, she wakes to find herself in a mental institution. 
She's soon drawn to Taren, the mysterious boy with hazel eyes. He's not what he seems, but what is he?
When chaos erupts, they are forced to flee the institution together, and the secret that Taren has been keeping brings Ember closer to understanding her own. And leads her to... the Gateway

My Review:  
Oh My God this book is amazing!!
I have never really been one for urban fantasy before but this book was
amazing. I loved all the characters so much.
When i first chose this novel to read next i had forgotten all about the
blurb, i thought it was a literary fiction novel, you guys know how much i love my lit fic,
i love how smoothly Christina writes.
The book is spaced out wonderfully, i accerdently skipped a few pages and still knew what
was going on but it was so slow that the story hadnt progressed any.
I liked the feel the novel gave me i get a similar one when i read Vampire Acedemy novels.
I did find that at times in the novel i was racing forward in my own head to try and figure
out what happened and how every thing would be solved i am happy to say that it was not
what i was expecting.
I would like to thank Christina for giving me a female lead who's head i actually didnt mind
being stuck in!
I really enjoy Taren and Kat, they are good characters and i would love to read more about them,
i would also like to read more about Master Dogan, i really enjoyed his character also.
I really REALLY hope there will be a book two soon.


Available on Kindle

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare; Reviewed by JesykaJames@TheBookMystress

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult
Grade: MG (Mid Grade)
Pages: 453
Source: QBD Tuggerah

Found: Well, after buying the first book in the series, I had to continue on. If for no other reason than I love the developing relationship between Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane :)

Release Date: March 17th 2008

Synopsis: What would you do if you were in love with your brother or sister? How confusing, how scary would that be for you? Welcome to the world of Jace and Clary. Of course, when they fell for each other they had no idea they were related. As I’m sure you can imagine, City of Ashes finds things between Jace and Clary a little on the tense side.


My Review: Shock horror, I got the next book in the series. I thought it was pretty good, but sometimes it got tedious hearing the same thing several times. And the fact that NOBODY in this series (with the possible exception of Simon) can admit to their feelings!!! It's gets annoying, knowing that Jace is in love with Clary, and Clary with Jace, but since they're brother and sister, they can't do a thing about it...

Also, the constant innuendo that they're not related is really annoying. It annoys me that we (the readers) know they're not related, but the pages just won't tell us that. I mean, we all know, from the things that Valentine, The Fair Folk Queen, The Inquisitor (and probably a bunch of others too) have said, that Jace isn't really Valentine and Josalyn's son, nor is he Clary's brother. Valentine made him possibly, but my guess is he made him from the blood of the Angel Raziel or something. My assumption is in the next book we'll discover this... hopefully. It'll really annoy me if we don't. I am quite interested to find out though.

Also, the Simon thing. I think that was why Valentine was so pissed at Jace, it was his blood that changed Simon, because Jace has the Angels blood, or at least that is my assumption. Let me know if you feel differently...

I did like the book, I thought it was good, fairly well written, a little annoying at parts because of the fact that as a reader, I don't like to know things that the character is to dense to pick up on. We either, shouldn't have been given so many hints or the author should have just told us. It got a little annoying. I understand the need for suspence, but... I got annoyed. Let me know if you did too.

Side note: I know that Alec is in love with Jace, but I am in love with Magnus and I want them to be together (I know they kind of are, but... I want them to actually be like in love.) I feel bad for Magnus because he loves Alec, but Alec loves Jace, who loves Clary, who is his 'sister' who loves him, but dates Simon, who loves Clary, but knows she doesn't love him, and then Maia likes Simon, but they have that whole 'Vamp vs Were' thing going on and Izzy... well she just really loves herself so... yeah.


I give it 3 Tiny Bays out of 5


Let me know if you liked this book. Also, let me know your thoughts on who, or what Jace is.



Thank you again to TheBookMystress for hosting me. I hope you all enjoy the review :)



JesykaJames@TheBookMystress

Review: The Dream Crystal - Mark O'Bannon

The Dream Crystal - Mark O'Bannon

Kindle Edition, 1st

Published May 12th 2011 by MEOw Publishing 

(first published May 11th 2011)

Thank you to Mark O'bannon for choosing The Book Mystress to review your novel.

Goodreads Summary:
All of the world's dreams are about to die. The Shadow People have come. Always near, they linger in the darkness, ready to devour dreams, hopes, aspirations and desires. . . 

Aisling, having lost her dream of becoming a fashion designer, learns that she's a Faerie changeling. Disquieted by the fact that her faerie parents are kidnappers, she has decided to rescue the human child she was exchanged for, but her "sister" is no longer among the faeries, having been taken by the Shadow People. Ith, the Lord of Shadows, is trying to control the dreams of mankind, which are under the protection of the faeries, so they're at war. 

Aisling, who doesn't believe in dreams any longer, is falling in love with a handsome, mysterious stranger - one of the Shadow People




My Review: 


The Dream crystal was a rollercoaster ride  Some times it was great and action 
packed othertimes it was bland. I often found my self reading sections over
and over, i dont know if that was me of the novel. 
A typical good v evil story where we face the posibility of no dreams not just dreams
when we sleep but all dreams.
I thought about that for a moment and i would hate that my dreams are what makes real life
better. haha.
Mark's writing was awesome it was really easy to get lost in the story it was just hard to 
consentrate on.
This is a good world but i wouldnt call it my favorite. 

Review: The Day Before Lisa Schroeder

The Day Before

 Ebook, 320 pages 

Published June 28th 2011 by Simon Pulse 

Got it from the Author (thank you Lisa)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.
The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

Review.

I love Lisa Schroeder's I Heart You, You Haunt Me Reviewed Here,
When i found out that The day before
was being released soon i was so excited.
The Day Before is an enticing novel. As always Lisa's books are an easy difficult read.
When I say that I mean it in the nicest way.
It is an easy read in the sense that Lisa writes it in verse which for me is the best form or writing in
the world.
It was difficult because it is so damn sad.
The novel is just plain awesome, there isnt a better way to put it.
I thought The Day Before was a brilliant coming of age story of two young adults who have
been thrown, life altering hurdles. When they met each other they were given a choice.
I feel that alot of us are given similar choices some take the easy way out some take the hard way out.
I think that this is a fantastic YA novel teens and younger adults should read this, books like this should
be studied in schools so kids realize some times the right thing to do may seam like the wrong thing to do and
the choice to do the wrong is far easier and far less hurtful then the right thing to do but we still have to do th
right thing because we know deep in out hearts it is the right thing to do.
Amber and Cade have a place in my heart and i cant wait to get a hard copy of this book when it is in Australian stores.
I said it before and i will say it again, Lisa Schroeder is a kick ass Author and its books like this that get her that title.


If the synopsis, cover, awesome review and the fact that Lisa Schroeder wrote this novel hasnt quite made you want to run out and buy this book yesterday heres and Awesome Trailer to go with it.

Review: WANTED:HERO Prelude to a Hero - Jamie Buckley

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: On The Fly Publications (June 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1614630046
• ISBN-13: 978-1614630043

Goodreads Summary 

Wendell is a young man who learns what his potential is while on a strange, enchanted world with a funny old wizard and ugly troll to mentor and guide him. Prelude to a Hero, the debut book about how Wendell came to be the one expected to save an entire world. . . by accident.

My Review

I enjoyed prelude to a hero, being inside Wendell's head was a fun time, this awkwardly geeky teen that is accidentally thrown on a path of a hero to save a far away planet from evil.

All the terminology was a little bit hard to get through, The Book Mystress mostly reads about Vampires and paranormal so you kind of get used to the terminology of the Paranormal realm but after I got past that it was pretty smooth sailing.

Wendell is up there with Peter Parker or Clark Kent in the sense you would never expect him to be the hero.

This novel is a quirky introduction to a world that you will easily and happily dissapar in to and wonder where your day went.

Jamie Buckley's writing captivated me and had me smiling the whole way through.

While I would primarily recommend this series to boys, I did enjoy it and can not wait to see where Wendell's adventures take him.

Monique @ The Book Mystress, xx

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare; Reviewed by JesykaJames@TheBookMystress

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult
Grade: MG (Mid Grade)
Pages: 485
Source: Gateway Books


Found - I was wandering around one of my local second hand book stores and found myself in the YA section. I looked at the cover, thought it was pretty kool and bought it.

Release Date – March 27th 2007

Synopsis - When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

My Review - ... Okay, I do like this book, and I think I'll continue the series, but it was a slow book. The action seemed to drag on to the point of ridiculousness and it had a basic plotline at best.

A few thing that made it interesting, but also (to me) made it a little iffy and unlikable, was the fact that in the last few chapters (Though to be honest, it was apparent from about the 7th or 8th chapter) the two main characters are discovered to be siblings, which makes the fact that they're in love with each other a little disconcerting. I'm 99% sure that in the next book of the series it will be discovered that they are not related (or at least, that's what I'm hoping, because I can't read a book about incest).

The characters were enjoyable, and very likable. I think the design of the diversity in characters was so that everyone could ‘pick a favorite’. Shamefully, I did pick a favorite. The adorably cute and quirky Alec Lightwood, he won me over with his shyness and mislaid love for… well I won’t ruin it, but he’s hard not to fall in love with.

I dare say I will read the second book of the series, if for no other reason that the fact that the book did have some fabulous one-liners. Both Clary and Jace, the two main characters, had some of the best laugh-out-loud one lines of any book I’ve read in a while.

I give this book 3 Tiny Bats out of 5.




So this has been my first review for The Book Mystress, I hope it helps someone make the decision on whether or not they buy this book. Thank you to The Book Mystress for hosting me, I hope you all enjoyed the review,


JesykaJames@TheBookMystress

Introducing Jesyka James; New Temp Reviewer @TheBookMystress

Okay, my name is Jesyka James, I have a blog called 'From The Insane Asylum Of...' As of yet I haven't done any reviews on it, it's mostly a personal page. I do some reviews for GoodReads occasionally though. TheBookMystress has asked me to do a few reviews on her blog during her absence. I hope you all don't mind. I'll try to live up to her standards :) Please bear with me, and feel free to ask any questions or make any suggestions, I will not be offended.

She has also asked me to answer a few questions so that all you readers can get to know me a little. Hopefully my answers help you to understand my extreme craziness.




1. What do you love about reading? Well, I love that, if it’s a good enough book, I can become completely lost in it, and find myself in a place so beautiful that I never want the book to end.

2. Where is your favorite place to read? It used to be Gloria Jean’s in Borders, but since they closed that down, I would say probably at home, in bed.

3. What made you want to review for TBM? Well, I’ve been a friend of TheBookMystress for a while now and I knew she needed some help with it because she’s been going through a tough time, so when she asked me if I could help out I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some reviews and help out a friend.

4. Do you eat when reading? Mostly no. I hate getting food stains or crumbs on my books, so I try not to eat when I’m reading, but sometimes I give in if I can’t put the book down and have to eat.

5. Do you listen to music when reading? Almost always, usually I have an album for each book I read. And then when I listen to that album again, I can remember all my favorite parts of the book I read when I listened to it.

6. Wierdest thing you have ever used as a bookmark? Hmm… My dogs tail. Sounds weird, I know. But she was asleep next to me in bed and I needed a bookmark, so I put her tail (just the really long furry bit) in my book to hold the place until I found a bookmark.

7. Do you read cereal boxes? No, I don’t think I do. I don’t eat cereal, so I don’t come across cereal boxes often. I think I used to do the puzzles on the back of the box as a kid, but that’s it.

8. Say something about Monique. Monique, well… I’ve known her for a LONG time. Since we were 10, I think. We were best friends all through High School, we lived together for a while. I pretty much know all of her bad habits, and she knows all mine and we still manage to get by without killing each other. Hehe. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more loyal, loving person though. She loves her family, her pets, and her friends more than anything. She is a genuinely great person, and no, she is not holding a gun to my head forcing me to say these things *blinks*
She has had a passion for writing since the day I met her. In High School you never saw her without her GIANT folder full of a bunch of stories. But mostly she just wrote the one story, she still hasn’t finished it, and it goes for… Christ only knows how many pages. I think it would rival War and Peace though. Hehe.
I know she didn’t really start reading books until later in her teens/early twenties, but I know once she found a genre that she loved and some great authors she got bitten by the bug and now loves to read and do reviews so that other people can find out more about great books.

9. How many books do you read in a month? Wow, this is a hard question. Some months I can read as many as 10-15 books, but others I can slack off and only read 4-5.

10. Random Fact? Hmm, random fact… I love quotes. I’m like that weird person that walks around quoting Gandhi or Ralph Waldo Emerson all the time. I also end most of my blog’s with a quote.









This or That



Bookmark or dogear? Bookmark, I can’t stand dogearing.

Smarties or M&MS? M&M

Cats or Dogs? Hmm… I have dogs, and I love my dogs, but I am a cat person at heart.

Vampires or Werewolfs? Vampires, gotta love the fangs ;)

Mexico or Sydney? I really love Mexican food, but gotta go with the home field, Sydney.

Rain or Heat? Rain, all the way. Nothing better than a rainy day to curl up and read.

Pop or disco? Neither. I’m into indie and alternative music.

George Clooney or Johnny Depp? Johnny Depp, for sure.

Vampire Academy or Vampire Diaries? Hmm… well, I haven’t read all of VD, so I have to go VA.



So I hope you all enjoyed getting a sneak-peek into the crazy mind of me. Can’t wait to get my first review done. I hope you all enjoy my time here. Thanks again to TheBookMystress for hosting me, and lets all hope she feels better soon :)

JesykaJames@TheBookMystress

Review :The Bad, The Good and Two Fly Fishing Women

The Bad, The Good and Two Fly Fishing Women

Ebook By Randy Kadish
Rating: 
(3.22 based on 9 review) 

Published: Dec. 11, 2010
Category:Fiction » Literature » Coming of age
Words: 11802 (approximate)
Language: English



This coming of age long short story is a easy read that deals with
issues that alot of people have to deal with but never admit to.
Amanda's perants split, her grandfather dies, Amanda's feelings are frozen in time.
When her grandmother/best friend/confidant becomes ill.

Randy's style of writing is the type you can become the character and realize what she is thinking
and feeling. The Characters are strong and i enjoyed knowing them

Weather you like fishing or not this piece is about more then that. Its about about reflecting on
the past realizing your mistakes and your not so mistakes.