Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner

I grabbed this book off the library shelf at random when the book I thought I had on hold had been returned to it's original library that afternoon. I don't feel like writing a synopsis, so here is what Amazon has to say about the book:
Amazon Description:
Hermes—also known as Mercury, Wayfinder, and Prince of Thieves—has many talents. Wearing his famed winged sandals, he does the bidding of his father Zeus, leads the dead down to Hades, and practices his favorite arts of trickery and theft. He also sees the future, travels invisibly, loves jokes, and abhors violence. And he’s an entertaining and ideal narrator on a fast-paced journey through ancient Greek mythology—from Medusa’s cave to Trojan War battlefields to the mysterious Underworld.

I've always been intrigued by Greek mythology, which is why I picked up this book to begin with. It was a light-hearted and easy read and tied together several famous stories from the perspective of Hermes. I felt like the retelling of these stories didn't have a whole lot of depth but it was still interesting to read. It kind of makes me want to go read Homer's classics The Illiad and The Odyssey.

3 out of 5 stars

The Secret Circle series by L. J. Smith

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and the Captive part 1, by L. J. Smith, was another book I found off Kerry's book blog. Let me just say up front that I had EXTREME difficulties putting this book (and it's sequel) down for any length of time. When I picked up this book from the library I was expecting a vampire story, probably my first impression from the cover, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was about witches! Good times.

So we start with our heroine Cassie who moves to New Salem, Massachusetts to live with her grandmother. She starts school and meets the Club, the hottest clique in school whose members are all very attractive and get away with anything. This part of the story tells about her initiation to the group and Cassie's discovery of her own witch heritage. The group discover a crystal skull which is the source of a strange and very evil darkness that they have to learn more about.

In The Secret Circle: The Captive Part 2 and the Power the group continues to learn about the crystal skull and it's dark energy. They believe the skull's power is responsible for a few recent deaths at their school. Cassie's powers and knowledge of who she is grows and she develops positive relationships with the other members of the group. Also introduced in the first book was Adam, the guy Cassie is in love with but who is also the boyfriend of her best friend Diana. A nice dose of relationship drama is spread throughout these stories.

Overall I really really enjoyed these books. Like I said I had a hard time putting them down even to go to bed at night. I read them on my lunch breaks at work, at the gym on the elliptical machine, and any spare few minutes I could find throughout the day. Any books that draw you in that much can be safely recommended to anyone. Fun reads! Just make sure you have book 2 handy when you start.

4 out of 5 stars

Fade by Lisa McMann

Fade by Lisa McMann, sequel to Wake. This story picks up right where Wake left off and was very similar in themes and writing style. This was a quick and fun read and got me through a few days of dreary work.

Janie and Cabel are still working for the police as undercover agents in their high school. They are put on an assignment to find a sexual predator amongst the faculty by using their unique talents. Janie used her dreamcatching ability to help solve the case. Go Janie!

Fade had a pretty simple plot with no real twists but it was still fun. Just like in Wake, the writing style bugged me after awhile. The author uses a bunch of random sentence fragments that get under my proper grammar loving skin. I'll be reading the next book in the series as soon as I get it from the library, though I'm not sure when that will happen. I currently have a few other books checked out that I'm going to work on first. Always happy reading!

3 out of 5 stars

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Well I am on a roll this week! I read this book (like Enna Burning) in just over a day. I read most of it yesterday and then finished it on my lunch break today. It was fabulous! This book is told from Razo's point of view, which automatically makes it super fun. Razo has been the comedic relief during the first 2 books and so to have a whole story full of Razo was very exciting.

The story takes place just after the war with Tira ended. A group of soldiers is sent to Tira to accompany the Bayern ambassador to facilitate in improving Tiran-Bayern relations. Among the soldiers is Razo, who is quite possibly the worst soldier Bayern has ever seen, but he is handy with a slingshot and has a fantastic eye for details, which comes in handy later when his captain makes him a spy. Burned bodies start showing up around camp in an attempt to frame Bayern and Razo is set on figuring out who is responsible. Go Razo go!

So this was a very fun story. It was fun to get to know another land outside of Bayern, and it was nice to finally find a girl for Razo. Razo is just a great character so the whole story was just happy. I felt like there wasn't quite as much action as the other Bayern books, but enough to be satisfying, and there was a great deal more mystery and detective work!

I love love LOVE this series and am sad that I have now finished reading all the books. I hope Shannon Hale writes more of these magical stories.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

I definitely read this book in almost a day! Fabulous. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale is book 2 of the Books of Bayern. It takes place 2 years after The Goose Girl ends. Enna is living in the forest where she took care of her sick mother until she died. Now she lives there with her brother Leifer, who comes home one day having discovered the ability to speak to fire. War has broken out between Bayern and the neighboring country of Tira and Enna seeks out the knowledge that will enable her to speak with fire like her brother. Soon her power becomes overwhelming and Enna is unsure of how to help her country.

I loved this book! It was more serious than The Goose Girl but I love how much I grew to care about all of the characters. Whenever there was danger I was so worried that they wouldn't be ok. Although, it does help that I've read the 4th book and thus know that all of the characters I care about live at least until then... I suppose I cheated. There is also more death and war in this book, but I think the added conflict was good for the story. I didn't like this one quite as much as The Goose Girl, where the conflicts were pretty clearly defined even if you couldn't figure out how they would resolve. In Enna Burning, you knew something was wrong but weren't sure exactly who or what the enemy was, if that makes sense...

Overall, great book! Fun read. I stayed up much too late reading and could barely put it down during the day. Love this series!!!

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This was a fabulous book and I loved it!! Based on the fairy tale by the Grimm brothers, "The Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale was a beautifully written tale. I've never heard the story before so I was quick to get lost in the magic of the writing.

Ani is the crown princess in the land of Kildenree. In her youth her aunt teaches her the language of birds and how to know the language of a horse. Years later she finds her mother made an arrangement for her to marry the prince of Bayern, so she and a group of guards and her lady-in-waiting make the journey across the mountains to Bayern. During the several month journey, as they approach Bayern, there is mutiny in the group and Ani is forced to flee for her life while her lady-in-waiting intends to take Ani's place as princess. She finds herself alone and pursued by murderers and she seeks refuge in the forest. She eventually makes her way to the city where she finds a job as a goose girl tending the king's geese. She meets all kinds of good people, most of them forest born, while working in the city. Through the rest of the story Ani tries to find a way to convince the king that she is the rightful princess while avoiding the traitors who would kill her. Along the way she learns the language of the wind and makes wonderful friends.

I was unable to put this book down for very long. There truly is magic in Shannon Hale's writing! It was a beautiful story and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to all!

5 out of 5 stars

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

This book was AWESOME. Again I am tipping my hat to Kerry for the recommendation.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E Pearson, is about 17-year-old Jenna who wakes up from an 18 month long coma. She doesn't remember the accident she was in nor can she remember anything about her life or who she is. She spends time reviewing home movies of her life to help her piece together her identity. As some memories begin to return Jenna is forced to relive the details of the accident and confront her parents about it's aftermath.

The story is set in a nearish future where medical science can do pretty much anything. What I liked most about this book is that it makes you question the ethics behind a nearly limitless scientific world. Just because you can save something or someone does it necessarily follow that you should save them? Where is the line between God and science? What is the soul? Where does it reside? Can you lose it? How do you retain your humanity when your body and brain are no longer natural but man-created? Interesting questions that we as a society may be faced with in a future that may be closer than we think. I've always thought ethical questions are fun to discuss and think about and I loved that this story made me think about things I hadn't considered before.

I also loved the writing style and how the story was told. I didn't figure out the secrets too far in advance; there were plenty of mysteries and questions right to the end. I feel like this was a book that the author put a lot of heart and energy into writing; this was no quick-written story. It was beautiful and I loved it. I recommend The Adoration of Jenna Fox to everyone.

5 out of 5 stars

Wake by Lisa McMann

This book was another tip off from Kerry's book blog. Thanks again Kerry!

Wake is about a girl named Janie who experiences other people's dreams when they are sleeping. She herself doesn't dream, but I guess she doesn't need to if she sees everyone else's dreams. This story is about Janie exploring her ability as a "dream catcher" and how to live with it. She also develops a relationship with Cabel, the only person who knows about her secret. This was a fun and easy read (I finished it in a day) and also inspired a pretty awesome/creepy dream of my own. In my dream I was being sucked into other people's dreams and each time I changed dreams I quasi woke up and was totally disoriented. Then I was at work (but it wasn't really my work) and then I was bitten by a vampire! It felt like when they stick the needle in your arm when you give blood only I felt it pretty vividly in my neck. I had given blood just a couple days before, but I'm not sure where the vampire came from since I haven't read a vampire book in probably 6 months or more. I don't remember anything else but it was a pretty strange dream, all (or at least mostly) inspired by this book! I definitely want to read the sequels.

There were a couple things I didn't like so much, mostly being the author's writing style. She used a lot of fragment sentences and after awhile it bugged me. I also felt like this was a book that was written too quickly and thus didn't have much depth. It was fun and easy but I wish there was a little more umph to it, a little more complicated, more meaningful. But as it was I did enjoy the read, and it did inspire a fun dream, and I do want to read the sequels.

3 out of 5 stars

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

I heard about this book from Kerry's book blog. This book is the fourth volume of the Books of Bayern. I liked this book so much that I've decided to read the rest of the series. I also liked that I was able to jump in at book 4 and understand everything that was going on.

Forest Born is a beautiful sort of coming-of-age story about a girl named Rinna who, like the title suggests, was of the forest. She is very close to nature and draws peace by communicating with the trees. She decides to leave home and goes off with her big brother Rizzo to the city to be a hand maid to the queen. Adventure takes Rinna along with others she has met away from the castle where they all experience danger and excitement. Along their adventure Rinna grows into herself and her abilities and finds new friends in Queen Isi, Enna, and Dasha. I won't go into particulars because I wouldn't want to ruin the story for anyone. I enjoyed this book enough to sincerely recommend it to others. The language and imagery is beautiful and magical and the characters are fun. This book made me really want to read the other books in the series; in fact, I have book one checked out from the library and plan on starting it tonight or tomorrow. I recommend this book to anyone, though I would probably suggest starting with book one. Good read!

4 out of 5 stars