My posts...

I'm going to be trying to post reviews on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting next week. Yeah. Just saying that to anyone who reads this... does anyone want to comment? xD

No? I'm sad now :(

[Review] Why Shoot A Butler by Georgette Heyer

Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary from the back of the book: It is a complete mystery why anyone would choose to murder the trusted old butler of Norton Manor. Barrister turned amateur detective, Frank Amberley has reason to suspect that the shooting involves the nervy young lady discovered at the scene of the crime, a snooping gentleman in the halls of Greythorne and then a second dead body. A dramatic tale of upstairs, downstairs and family secrets.




The Plot
On his way to dinner at the house of his aunt and uncle Frank Amberly, an amateur detective, takes a wrong turn. On that road he finds a murdered man in a car, and there is a young lady, Shirley, standing next to the car. He reports it to the police, but leaves out Shirley because he feels that she didn't shoot the man (who turns out to be a butler). However the police would immediately arrest and hang her for the murder if they knew about her. Amberly finds that this an interesting case and decides to start investigating because he thinks the murder is one part of a much bigger plot. He's correct of course, and it's fun to read about how he works.

The Characters
Frank Amberly is super-cool :D He, being a very rude person, has a huge collection of jibes and comebacks and uses them often as well, mostly and the incredibly dense policemen. He's really smart too, and he figures out the mystery quite fast, and spends most of the book trying to get evidence to back up his answer.

Shirley, on the other hand is a lady with many secrets and holds the key to the murder and the rest of the mystery. She frustrates Frank a lot with her unwillingness to trust him, and that adds quite a bit of humor to the story :P

There are many other characters of course, each different, from his uncle who hates any words about murder in his house, to Joan, his cousin's friend who is the one who lives in the house where the butler was shot. My favorite, however, is Lady Matthews, his aunt. She seems quite airy, and not all there- she drifts through topics a lot and says the randomest things and the randomest times- but she's quite cool xD

The Romance
The romance in this book came in at the very end. (view spoiler)[It was one of those books where it was the girl is in danger and the guy finally realizes he loves her. I've read a lot of that in Historical Romance books. (hide spoiler)] It was slightly random, but it makes sense, I suppose. There was a cheesy line that didn't seem like that character would say it, but I guess it works if you need to wrap up the romance quickly :P
I won't give away who the people are, but you'll probably guess :P


Excerpt with the awesome Lady Matthews:
"Lady Matthews relapsed into silence. Her daughter was surprised to see something very like a frown on her face, but failed to get her to talk.

The frown was still there at lunchtime. Lady Matthews was unusually restless and twice murmured: ‘Why doesn’t Frank come back? Tiresome!’

Shortly after two the telephone bell rang. Sir Humphrey, who was seated in the library, answered it and said a little hastily that Mr Amberley was not in, and he didn’t know where he could be found. Yes, of course a message would be delivered to him immediately he came in.

Lady Matthews, who had entered the room, wanted to know who was trying to get hold of Frank.

‘Fountain,’ said Sir Humphrey. ‘Most odd message!’

‘Well, dear?’

‘I’m to tell Frank that he’s gone up to London and won’t be in till late. Did Frank want to see him?’

‘I don’t know. Quite possibly. Did he speak about the book?’

‘It wasn’t Fountain himself. The butler gave the message. Said Fountain was particularly anxious that Frank should know he’d gone to London and would be at his club all the afternoon.’

Lady Matthews shut the door. ‘Very worrying,’ she said. ‘Must try and get Frank.’

Her husband declared himself quite unable to see why she should be worried, and once more settled himself with his book on the sofa. Lady Matthews sat down at the desk, sighing, and rang up Carchester police station. Sir Humphrey evinced a certain surprise, for only in moments of great stress could his wife be induced to use the telephone.

The sergeant on duty could give her no certain intelligence. Mr Amberley had been in Carchester during the morning, but had gone out with the chief constable. Since then he had not been seen.

Lady Matthews, sighing more heavily still, rang up Colonel Watson’s house. The colonel was out.

‘Sometimes,’ said Lady Matthews pensively, ‘one can’t help believing in a malign providence.’

When Amberley had not come in by four o’clock, she said that he was just like his father. This pronouncement roused all Felicity’s curiosity, for matters must indeed be serious if her mother said that. Lady Matthews refused to unburden her mind either to her or to Sir Humphrey. When she absently refused first a scone, then bread-and-butter, and lastly cakes, her relatives became quite worried and hailed the appearance of Amberley at a quarter past five with considerable relief.

‘Thank goodness you’ve come!’ exclaimed Felicity. ‘Wherever have you been?’

He glanced indifferently down at her. ‘Investigating last night’s affair. Why this sudden desire for my company? Can I have some tea, Aunt Marion?’

His aunt chose two lumps of sugar from the bowl with extreme deliberation and spoke without looking up from this delicate task. ‘Two messages, dear Frank. Burdening my soul. That girl wants you. Either the Boar’s Head or the cottage. Such a disagreeable place.’

Amberley looked at her with a curious little smile in his eyes. ‘I wondered whether she would. All right.’

Lady Matthews lifted the milk-jug. ‘That butler. At the manor.’

The smile vanished; Mr Amberley regarded her fixedly. ‘Yes?’

‘A message from Basil Fountain. He has gone to town.’

‘When?’

‘At about two o’clock, my dear.’

‘Who gave the message?’

‘The butler. Didn’t I say so? His club, all the afternoon.’

Amberley seemed to consider, his eyes on the clock. ‘I see. I think, on the whole, I won’t wait for tea.’

‘No, dear boy,’ agreed his aunt. ‘Much wiser not. Something interesting to tell you. So stupid of Humphrey! That book. You’ve been at sea over it.’

‘Entirely at sea. Well?’

‘Humphrey left it at the Boar’s Head by mistake. He and Felicity, you know. Calling on Shirley. Forgot it.’

Amberley swung round to face his uncle. ‘You left it there?’ he snapped. ‘Did she have it?’

‘Now I come to think of it, I did leave it behind,’ said Sir Humphrey. ‘We went back for it immediately, however. Miss Brown gave it to me at once.’

‘Why the devil couldn’t you say so before?’ demanded Amberley. ‘When did this come out? Who knows about it?’

‘Felicity, my dear. Told Basil Fountain. Lots of people know. Joan and that nice young man and me and the butler.’

Felicity quailed before the look on her cousin’s face. ‘I’m awfully sorry if I’ve put my foot into it, but how was I to know I wasn’t to mention it?’

‘You’re a damned little fool!’ said Mr Amberley with distressing outspokenness, and was gone before she could think of a suitable retort.

A moment later they heard the whirr of the Bentley’s self-starter. The car shot off under the window with something of a roar.

Sir Humphrey recovered from the shock of his nephew’s rough usage of him. ‘God bless my soul!’ he ejaculated. ‘Really, I had no notion it was so important. I began to be quite alarmed.’

Lady Matthews looked round at the cake-stand. ‘Why has no one given me anything to eat?’ she said plaintively. ‘I’m exceedingly hungry.’

‘You refused everything,’ Felicity reminded her.

‘Nonsense, my dear. Give me a scone, please,’ said Lady Matthews, placid as ever."

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[Review] The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back of the Book:
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden - a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

Paperback copy: 479 pages

There is profanity often although the word f**k is always censored as "eff" or "effing."

Anything highlighted in white is a spoiler and hidden

About the plot:

The plot was cool. The main character (Todd) lives in a town (Prentisstown) where the thoughts of men are all out in the open. In Prentisstown there are no women because apparently the disease that created the "Noise" (which is what the thoughts out in the open are called- it's so chaotic) killed off all the women and girls. A native species to the planet were said to have gone to war with the humans and used disease warfare against the humans when the humans arrived. The creatures, named Spackles, were hunted into extinction. Todd, while out gathering apples, finds an odd area of silence (which is odd cause even the animals have the Noise). He tries to chase it, but it gets away. When he returns, his caretakers say he has to leave because if any of the other men heard about the Silence in his Noise he would be in trouble. He leaves with his dog, Manchee, who also saw/heard the Silence. He has to flee through the woods he was gathering apples in and finds that the Silence is a girl. They flee Prentisstown together, since Prentisstown in chasing the both of them. Along their journey they unravel many, many lies and discover truths they would have never thought of...

I can't tell you anymore with out spoiling the story... sorry. It was a very original plot, however, and to see this type of society is cool. It's really different than most books, and more violent for a YA book, but awesome. What you learn throughout the book and how the information is placed makes the book even more amazing.

The Characters:

In general it was really easy to relate to the characters, mostly because the wording was closer to what we say in real life and that made them more realistic.

Todd: Todd, at first, is a very innocent, naive boy (considering his town). Of course, his town being all men, some who used to have wives, the only mental images he had of girls has them doing awkward things without clothes >.> So not naive in that sense. But he has no clue what the men of his town do or did, and he is completely innocent in that sense, enabling him entrance to places he wouldn't be able to get into otherwise.

Manchee: He is the cutest dog ever :P He might be slightly annoying, but is super loyal. His Noise sounds is full of squirrels and curiosity and going to the bathroom, and is what I'd think a dog would sound like if they could talk :P I was so sad when he died that there were tears in my eyes >.<

Viola: Viola starts off as a scared little girl on a strange planet, but she soon grows into herself as she becomes accustomed to this world. She's a support for Todd, and helps him keep going when he wants to give up, and helps him when he gets into trouble.

The Ending:

The ending is a cliffhanger T_T It makes me very sad. And the next book I'm probably going to read is THE ASK AND THE ANSWER (i.e. the next book). Thankfully I own it, so it won't be too much of a hassle :P

The Ask and the Answer

[Review] Anna Dressed in Blood

Goodreads:

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

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About the Main Character

Cas is a ghost hunter basically. He does his job well but that leaves him isolated from the rest of the world. When he goes to kill Anna, he finds that at this point she is too strong for him to kill, although he is the one person she does not feel the need to kill. He is really well written, and because he's a male character there really isn't the need to talk about clothes, and jewelry, and makeup xD

About the Ghost (s)

Anna was murdered (yeah I know it's obvious, but I'm re-stating). She has some sort of drive to kill whoever sets foot inside of her house, which she can't stop. For some reason when it comes to Cas she feels no need to kill him and so she doesn't. She just scares him. A lot. You get to learn more and more about her throughout the book and start sympathizing with her. She really is an amazing character, although violent at times xD

The other ghost is a very scary bogeyman that killed Cas's father. I won't giveaway much except that it scared me so much I had nightmares, and I don't have nightmares. I don't dream at all. Back on topic, it feels like the ghost is standing behind me, especially since it's 2:50 A. M. when I'm writing this. >.<

He is also a smart ghost 

>.< 

D: 

T.T

About the Plot

Basically Cas is a ghost hunter that goes to kill Anna, but changes his mind when he starts learning more about her and her past. And then he gets almost killed a bunch by some scary situations. Yep. It was really good, and amazing ♥

Kendare Blake is really imaginative and original :D

Also Cas and Anna start falling in love... it's really sad since Anna is dead... >.<

I wonder how that will turn out... lol.

5 out of 5 stars YAY

Girl of Nightmares came out a couple days ago. I need to read it xD

Immediately T_T

I've entered so many giveaways for it >.<

[Review] Grave Mercy

Goodreads:

"Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?"

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

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♥♥♥I loved this book ♥♥♥

I like historical books in general, and if you mix in assassins, I'm very happy xD

Ismae was born with a mark on her back that showed that she had been expelled from her mother's womb with poison, but survived. Her father mistreats her, and most of the the people she knows mistrusts her for that, and says she is the child of Mortain, the god of death. She escapes from her arranged marriage and is taken to the convent, where she is trained in the assassin arts. Her minor assignments go off without a hitch, and she is soon sent to the High Court of Brittany. Many of the people there are double-crossing and cruel, but there are a few true, nice people. One of them, Duval, lets her stay in her house as his niece.  At first neither of them like each other much, but slowly they grow to trust and love each other. Soon she is sent a message from the Convent the Mortain wants Duval killed, even though she has not seen Death's Mark on him. There is a traitor somewhere and she has been told to hunt him- everyone is telling her the traitor is Duval.

The characters are amazing. Most have many layers that are revealed and but do not conflict  with each other. Ismae starts as a weak helpless characters, becomes a scary assassin without a conscience, then transforms into a still scary assassin who cares for others.

The romance is not instalove :O That makes me very happy as the two (Duval and Ismae) slowly create a foundation for their love and build on it instead of going HAI YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL I LOVE YOU YAY RAINBOWS.

And I can't forget the end :O I really didn't expect it, but it wrapped up the book amazingly, although some cool characters died :-/ We also get to meet Mortain and learn more about the job of his daughters (which is not just revenge/justice).

All in all 5 out of 5 stars and you should really read it if you haven't before :D
I can't wait till Dark Triumph comes out :O HURRY UP!!! 

I know this is a short review, but it's so awesome that I can't form the words >.<

[Review] The Selection by Kiera Cass

Goodreads: 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 the palace and compete for the heart of the 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.

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This was an good book( i.e. it wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing :-/) Most reviews that I've seen either love it or hate it but I fall somewhere in between o.O I guess I'm just special that way :P

I like the main character a lot. America was someone who wanted to live their life as they wanted it, not as society dictated it. However, she was somewhat confused and sometimes didn't know what should be done...like.. at all. Throughout the book she changed slowly and went from disliking Maxon because she thought he was a terrible person at first, to being good friends.

Here's my love interest paragraph that usually isn't necessary. Originally, America was "in love" with a boy named Aspen who was a caste lower than her and so more poor. He's the one that convinced her to apply for being Selected because the Selected get bumped up a lot of castes. Then he broke up with her T_T He's was really rude and annoying. Maxon on the other hand was sweet and kind (yes, I know stereotypical good boy, but really he's the prince so he has some problems on his hands as well). She, although she starts liking him, doesn't admit it to herself because she thinks she's still in love with Aspen. And then, at the palace, Aspen shows up as a palace guard because he got chosen to be one of them (immediately bumping him up to a high caste level as well). That was a little too convenient for my liking, but there has to be a love triangle somehow, right? T.T Really though. Love triangles are not always necessary..

The plot was pretty good but the ending was fail. The book went through how a bunch of girls got eliminated and America and Maxon falling in love with each other and Aspen showing up, and so you'd think they'd show who won the Selection, right? I was waiting for it and then... IT DIDN'T HAPPEN T___T No one got selected, the Selection wasn't over yet. Wow. Ok. So that unnecessariness kinda brought down my enjoyment level. I suppose it's an extreme cliff-hanger, so... maybe it was needed somewhat? -_-

Well due to the ending and the fact that the book itself was good, I guess I'll be reading the next book.

Incidentally, the 2nd book, The Elite, comes out sometime in 2013.

I assume it has something to do with the fact that America is now one of the elite (I think last 10, I forgot >.<)

Maybe it has more to do with the rebel attacks that were mentioned briefly in the book :O

That would be interesting...

3 stars out of 5

[Review] Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads: "In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

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General

 This book was good xD I don't say that books are bad very often because I try to read worthwhile books, but really this was amazing.

Characters

Allie was a really strong character and made you like her. She isn't one of those who would forsake life just because they felt they would become a monster. She decided to be a good monster (not sure if that works, though) and to drink blood as less as possible. She was helpful and caring, more than she was in her human life in fact. In her human life she thought only about survival, but in her vampire life (afterlife?) she starts caring for human life and how precious it is, and protects others.

Zeke, the main boy character and the love interest, was also very strong, although he grew up memorizing certain standards and getting punished if he did not follow the orders of his extremely scary, but good-hearted, father. He [Zeke] was very kind to everyone and does what he thinks is right.

And then the more minor characters leave impressions as well. I especially liked Kanin, her vampire mentor who taught her how to stay hidden, and the rules of vampire life.

Plot

At first Allie hated the vampires and was one of the few people who were not blood cattle and her group raided every day when the vampires and rabids stayed hidden. One day, she and her group made a mistake while raiding a abandoned house for food and rabids attacked them. All but one in her group was dead, and she was dying when Kanin found her. He gave her the choice of 1. Dying or 2. Becoming a vampire. If you're attacked by a rabid though and die, you rise again as one of them, and he would not let that happen. She did not want to die yet and so she chose vampire life although she hated vampires. With Kanin (who was an outlaw and had no human cattle) she learned the rules of vampire life and how to survive. She also learned how to fight. At one point, another vampire who had a grudge against Kanin (you figure out why later) attacks him and she escapes and leaves the city. She meets a group of people who are searching for Eden (a vampire-free place) and also the cure to the disease that created the rabids. They travel at night to attract less attention, so she is able to help them. And so they go on...

I won't give up anymore :P But anyway, the rest of it, is good and you get to see a lot of different sides of people.

Some things I didn't like

Well. I really liked how Julie Kagawa portrayed vampires, but I think there are too many vampire books around, and after a while, no matter how good the actual book is, vampires get a bit boring. Also, the book ended too soon, but that's ok 'cause Julie Kagawa is writing the sequel :D

The second book is called The Eternity Cure and it comes out April 1, 2013. 

I would really advise you to read Immortal Rules though. It's amazing :D

Buy it if you need to. I don't think you'll regret it.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars 

(which on GoodReads rounds to 5 out of 5)