The Shadow of Blackbirds

 
The Shadow of Blackbirds
Cat Winters
387 pages

 Summary: Blackbirdsnovel.com ("IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters: About the Novel." IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters: About the Novel. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <http://www.blackbirdsnovel.com/p/about-novel.html>.)

 In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Opinion:
Wow. That's pretty much all i thought about this book once it was down. It jammed so much history and mysticism into its 387 pages. I learned about the fever during 1918. I'm a huge American and world history buff but i haven't heard anything about a fever during that time. The pictures included at the beginning of each new part of the story helped move it along. It was the perfect horror mystery. I never would have guessed who  the blackbirds were, at least the non-predictable one. The book gave off a harsh reality, which I believed was able to correctly represent the horrors of that time. A good read, maybe not at night though.

P.S. Here's an example of a real spirit photo from the 1900's:


P.P.S The Arabia Mountain High School Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team won 1st place today at the competition. We aint never won first before. We get to continue on to Regionals. GOOO RAMCATS!!!

The Unnaturalists

The Unnaturalists
Tiffany Trent
308 pages

Summary:Tiffany Trent's website ("Novels." TL Trent. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://tiffanytrent.com/novels/>.) 

In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.
As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

My Opinion:
This book was confusing. I really didnt understand the different types of magical creatures or even the world the story takes place in. I needed more background information or at least a better explanation. Besides that and semi-slowness in the beginning, I enjoyed the book. The characters were interesting to say the least. Vespa seemed like a very revolutionary type of girl. I liked the part where they divulged her true history. Things did seem sketchy about her heritage and her mother. Now Praetor Lumpin's whole personality seemed sketchy. Something about him made me think he was keeping a secret from the rest of us. Lastly, Syrus was just plain annoying to me. I cannot say this book was a favorite or that I will definitely read the second book (The Tinker King), but I liked it enough to do a semi-positive review on it though..

P.s. The cover of the book is fabulous. It gives off such a steampunk vibe. I would wear that outfit to a costume party.

Please leave a comment. Good review or nah?

Of Triton

Of Triton
Anna Banks
246 pages
Sequel to Of Poseidon

Summary: Anna Banks MacMillan website (http://us.macmillan.com/oftriton/annabanks)

Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm. Syrena law states all Half-Breeds should be put to death.
As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance in the Syrena world turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

My Opinion:
I read this book a couple of days ago, so these are my thoughts once I had analyzed the book.

This book was cute at best. I liked how it ended the series and everything worked out nice in the end. Not much of a review here, but Emma and Galen's relationship gets put to the test. Plus the revolt that was brewing was pretty interesting. I think the Syrena government needs a little re-arranging.The Archives and Elders don't seem to be working. Emma's mom, Niala, and Grom's  have been reunited, but I feel their story why this whole misunderstanding happened many years before was pretty stetchy. I also wanted them to do more in the story instead of being mushy gushy. They seemed to take a back-seat to the whole story, though it was mostly due to their past decisions. Then this rescue mission was okay at bet, I felt that it could have gone better.I liked it, but it wasnt anything amazing.I feel like the author Anna Banks could have done so much better with this book, but it feel flat.  It may or may not have also meet up to the standards of the first. Read it if you have read the first, but Im not sure how I feel at the moment of completely recommending them both.

Please leave a comment below. Was this review helpful or nah?

Kin

Kin
Holly Black & Ted Naiteh
117 pages
The Good Neighbors

Summary: Holly Black's Webiste ("Kin (Good Neighbors #1) - Holly Black." Kin (Good Neighbors #1) - Holly Black. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <http://blackholly.com/books/kin-good-neighbors-1/>.)

Rue Silver’s mother has disappeared . . . and her father has been arrested, suspected of killing her. But it’s not as straightforward as that. Because Rue is a faerie, like her mother was. And her father didn’t kill her mother — instead, he broke a promise to Rue’s faerie king grandfather, which caused Rue’s mother to be flung back to the faerie world. Now Rue must go to save her — and must also defeat a dark faerie that threatens our very mortal world.

Opinion:
This book was confusing and interesting to say the least. It was confusing a little bit with the storyline. I understood the gist of it, but everything else went over my head. It was interesting well since the story is about fairies. I didn't really understand Rue as well. She was a mystery character to me, though technically Rue is the protagonist. This book was not a fav. I most likely am not going to continue reading the rest of the series, but if you do read them I want spoilers in the comments please.

The Shadow Society

 
The Shadow Society
Marie Rutkoski
408 pages
 
Summary: Macmillan publishing website ( "The Shadow Society | Marie Rutkoski | Macmillan." Macmillan. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <http://us.macmillan.com/theshadowsociety/marierutkoski>.)

Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.
Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.
When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .

Opinion:
I  loved this book. The Shadow Society was so full of syfy, mystery, love, and tears.  It was hugely original and one of a kind.  The characters,, or at least the best friends were mildly refreshing as well. Darcy was cool too, but she had one flaw and that was Conn. Darcy suffered from typical predictable love interest syndrome. Sadly, there was no antidote. I liked the Shades most of all. The whole mystery surrounding them is interesting. Marie Rutkoski created this whole world parallel to ours and I loved it. She did a great job of crafting it. Only thing is I wished I understood the different type of energy she had that world using a little bit better. A must read. I definitely wasn't bored with this one. I would read it again.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's 2015. A year of opportunities!! I hope you have a great year!
~Chante

The Blood of Olympus

  
The Blood of Olympus
Rick Riordan
516 pages
Heroes of Olympus

Summary: Rick Riordan's website ("The Blood of Olympus - Heroes of Olympus: The Online World of Rick Riordan." The Blood of Olympus - Heroes of Olympus: The Online World of Rick Riordan. Web. 22 Dec. 2014. <http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/heroes-of-olympus/The-Blood-of-Olympus.aspx>.)

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them, and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake. The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance
Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps. The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

My Opinion:
This book. OMG! The series is over. It just killed me, never saw this happening. Get ready for Spoilers ahead. I have to talk with people about this.






Words I've spoken to a friend about the book. She compared the book to what James Patterson did with the last Maximum Ride book (the James Patterson). This is my response.

• "It was awesome. I didnt see the James Patterson resemblance besides the Leo thing, but that was a cool sweet ending. And Nico needed to get it in with Will. "
• "It wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. Like James Patterson's ending had me mad, this one had me satisfied with like he had a few loose ends. And now Ricky is doing Asgard. Bruh I'm not ready for Loki bae"

Now on to our regularly scheduled programming. I really liked this book. Most of the plot loose ends from other books were resolved. Some things like Leo being thought as dead needs to be resolved though. Ricky needs to do a short story to let the gang meet back up together again. I would love that.

These Percy Jackson books have been life to me. I look forward to each October when a new part of the series is unlocked. Now that story of my life is over. I cant wait though when  Rick Riordan does a new series on a new part of mythology (I hope Norse: Loki is fav or even Native American and Spanish). Only time will tell.