Review: Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers

Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers by Angie Sage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Sometimes a series can lead to fun, entertaining or informational add-on books. Sometimes they can't. The Septimus Heap series is definitely one that could! The book design was awesome and everything was written in the same tone as the books so that if you read the books, you can recognize the characters because they are exactly as you have come to expect them to be. It's not a book that can be read in one sitting, though. Because there isn't a storyline, it's most enjoyed when read a page or two at a time. My only complaint is that this book had to change my mental images of the Heap family. The only one that was drawn as I picture him is Simon! It's funny how we can all read the same story but imagine it so differently. My favorite part focused on the Ramblings. I loved it!



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Review: She's So Dead to Us

She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



Wow. There is so much I dislike about this book that I'm not sure where to start.

Let's see... Maybe the bullying that Ally is apparently too stupid to recognize? Or believe? And that Jake is too stupid to stop? Or the fact the book is filled with with F*** (sorry...not sure what GoodReads policy is on swearing and don't want to get booted!) from characters that don't even say h*** or d*** or even b****? And I can't forget about the supporting characters - a girl that stalks the popular crowd, writes down their conversations and memorizes meaningless details about them; a girl that is so over the top crazy and obsessed that a movie version of her would be pulling out a machete at prom and end up as the unsuspected serial killer; the kids in school that are invented so that the author can insert texts rather than give the actual characters any depth; or the mom that moves back to a town but can't see her daughter's shunning even though she works at the school?

No. I think what really did me in was the ending. Or, actually, the non-ending. Big party. Huge scene. Dramatic announcement. Turn the page and see acknowledgments. We finally get to a part of the story worth reading and it's not there. Reading this was a complete waste of my time.

GoodReads recommendations, you let me down!!



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Review: Land Girls

Land Girls by Angela Huth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book is like Chick Lit meets World War II. Turns out that it's a nice match!

I've never heard of WLA but I found it fascinating - the Rosie Riveter of England. Hard, manual labor and rural living are huge changes for land girls but they attack every task head on and end up blossoming on the farm. Definitely a feel good book. Now I just need to hit google to find out what birth control was like in 1940's England because curiosity is killing me. The mention it briefly and it made me wonder. Apparently it isn't as modern a notion as I assumed!



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Review: The Artemis Fowl Files

The Artemis Fowl Files by Eoin Colfer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I've liked all of the Artemis Fowl books but this companion piece didn't feel like an Artemis Fowl story. I enjoyed the Seventh Dwarf, mainly because Mulch Diggums is always entertaining. Everything else felt flat and forced, however. The interviews, the diagrams...it wasn't anything that couldn't be included in or explained by one of the main stories. I'd much rather have a new Artemis Fowl book to read!



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Review: Raven's Gate

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I listened to this book because my kids and I liked the Alex Rider series so much. I listened first and it's a little too old for them but we'll check it out again in a few years. I liked the story and feel it will build up to something interesting but it made this book less exciting because I feel like I put a book down mid-story.



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Review: Perfect Cover

Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Perhaps I would have liked this book more if I hadn't read the Gallagher Girls series (Ally Carter.)

Similar idea - high school girls training to be secret agents. Except that in this book, it's all about perfection. Perfect hair, perfect accessories, perfect make up, perfect wardrobe. Complete makeovers and everything pink. Pulling off missions by flaunting their bodies and flirting. Cheerleaders are untouchable - head of the social hierarchy, vice principal obeying their every whim, homework completed for them. Neat concept but I didn't like the approach.

Oh, and Noah? The book would have gotten another star if I hadn't been forced to put up with him.



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