Rick Riordan Signing Recap

I just got back from one of the most epic days of my life. It was the kind of Sunday I could get used to (just kidding, mom, I won't be making you drive 2 1/2 hours every week). If you've been reading the blog lately your probably knew how excited I was for this event. The event happened at the Port of Olympia and was hosted by The Tumwater Library The event started with Rick Riordan arriving by "Poseidon's Yacht" it was very cool to see the yacht arrive at the dock and Mr. Riordan walk up the pier to the stage. The introduction was brief so we could get right to what everyone was waiting for, Rick Riordan!

Rick started by giving a 10 -15 minute talk about how he got to where he was and the inspiration for the series. After that there was a 10 minute Q&A, I didn't get called on, but the question I had was asked by someone else. Riordan really knew how to keep the crowd entertained and laughing!

After that, Riordan started signing books. Tumwater had "groups" each come up, by color of ticket, so there wasn't a huge line to stand in, just 50-100 people. They had plenty for the people who's turn it wasn't to go up. They had everything from trading cards to face panting and more! Hats off to the Tumwater Library for their great event planning. I got plenty of swag which I will share in next week's IMM.

Then... finally, it was my turn to get signed! There I am with Rick Riordan right across the table! I managed to get all four books I brought signed (including the one for the 100 follower giveaway). It was a very cool thing to meet one of my writing heroes! I'm only 50 pages into The Son of Neptune, Riordan's new book and am really enjoying it so far! I'm going to Maggie Stiefvater's signing tomorrow and will also do a event recap for that!

See ya folks!

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Break the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases I'm eagerly anticipating.

All titles link to their Goodreads Page

Title: Crossed

Author: Ally Condie

Release Date: November 1st

My thoughts: I was a huge fan of the first book, Matched, and luckily I'm on the ARC tour for it!

Yay! I also get to see Ally when she comes to Seattle in November, double yay!

Title: The Son of Neptune

Author: Rick Riordan

Release Date: October 1st

My thoughts: I love, love, love, anything Rick Riordan writes, and after reading the first chapter for free online I am breathless with anticipation!

Title: The Hunger Games: Official Movie Companion

Author: Scholastic

Release Date: February 1, 2012

My Thoughts: The Hunger Games is my favorite series of all time and I can't wait for the movie or this companion!

The Tower of Parlen Min (Blog Tour)

TOWER OF PARLEN MIN ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY BLOG TOUR

I received a email from the author of this book, Matt Xell requesting me to review (and do other fun stuff) for the Tower of Parlen Min blog tour. I'm always hesitant when I'm approached by the author of a self-published book because often they're lacking the professional writing style, but I gave this one a try...

Summary: Ves Asirin wins a trip to the Tower of Parlen Min. There, with 19 other children, he competes in the Sword Challenge; a series of puzzles and tasks, for $12 million. As fantastic and glorious as the tower seems to be, Ves finds that it keeps a dark and secret history that he has been connected to for over 150 years, a secret that will define his destiny ... if he can escape 'The shadow'.

So I began the book very skeptical, not sure if I was even going to survive the first volume (there are three). But the only thing that made this book seemed self-published was the typos, take those away and you'd think this was published by a major publishing house.

I love the world Xell created in this book, as my friend, author Patrick Jennings, says, "It's difficult to create your own world, it's like being god." But Matt Xell pulls it off wonderfully and creates a unique environment that drives the story.

The one thing I did not like at all about this book was Ves. For a main character he was pretty lame. At first you start out feeling sorry for him because he has memory loss, which must suck majorly but all sorrow you feel after about 10 pages is replaced by a strong desire to strangle him and that feeling will stay with you to the last 20 pages of the third volume. If you're an author you strive for the readers to want to do that to your villians, your heroes not so much. Ves is snotty, rude, arrogant and over-confident. About halfway through the first volume he almost beats a girl up and risks his and her life in the process trying to get revenge for her having stolen something that was his, when she in fact didn't even steal it and was trying to return it to Ves. Ves definitely does take a lot away from this book and I would have enjoyed it a lot more (not to say I didn't enjoy it) if Ves was a bit nicer and more interesting.

Matt Xell is a natural story-teller, and I found it very hard to believe this was his first novel. He adds a lot of suspense.

I love Xell's portrayal of the supernatural in this book, because he makes it seem well, natural. Xell doesn't have Ves gape at the all unnatural goings-on but for the most part Ves embraces them.

A main part of this book are the wolves. Who throughout the story change a lot in terms of if you think of them in terms of good or evil. There have been so many myths about wolves, humans that turn into wolves, wolves that turn into humans, wolves who huff and puff and blow your house down, you get the idea, right? Lots and lots of wolves. But no one, ever as far as I know has came up with talking wolves that have superhero-type powers, crash festivals for the sake of others, and give you pretty epic piggy back rides.

Matt Xell also has a really cool idea of witches and warlocks. My favorite character is the book, Tammi (who Matt Xell will be writing a guest post on her for my blog) who is a Wicca, the race of people who have witch like powers.

Another defining element of the book is how their is a blend of history and technology in one object. Xell had a really neat idea where statues would be able to talk, move, and think like the person they're based on. It adds a whole lot of suspense, I mean if a statue was giving me a history lesson as it debated if it should kill me or not I'd be pretty freaked out too.

I really hope that Xell can find a publishing house because with the help of some great agents, editors, etc he could really shine and become a major author the stature of Rick Riordan or Brandon Mull.

This book is a fast paced, fun thrill ride that is perfect for fans of super intense action packed novels (a.k.a. me) defiantly worth the $2.99 on your ebook.

And now- to make author Matt Xell's day, he has told me to tell you what a jerk he was because he thinks he's too cool. Happy now, Matt?

5/5

Book Battle Update: This is my tenth book read in the book. Smooth sailing from here (Maddz has read 5).

The Goddess Test

After seeing this book around and reading review's of it, I finally decided to dive into The Goddess Test, Aimée Carter's debut novel.

Summary: It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

So ever since reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, I've been loving the "gods in real world" genre so after reading the plot I was hooked. From page one I loved the character of Kate, she was really a great person and someone anyone would be lucky to have as a friend. Characters were a big part of this book and most of them I loved, except for Henry- I felt like that he wasn't really Hades. Hades is supposed to be a devilish trickster of the underworld, not a mirror of Edward from The Twilight Saga. That was probably the only flaw in the book. I loved every moment and Aimée Carter had a great writing style, it really flowed along perfectly. There is supposed to be a sequel, which I can't wait to read but this book summed it up pretty well. A strong debut for Aimée Carter.

5/5

The Throne of Fire

In the second book of The Kane Chronicles trilogy by block-buster author Rick Riordan [author of the best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series] Sadie and Carter return in their biggest adventure yet. Summary: Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished. First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

This book was epic. No other words can describe it! The only problem I had with this book is that it wasn't as epic as the first one, even in the climax of this book it didn't feel as intense as any part of The Red Pyramid. Except, that being said, this was still a near perfect novel. The two narrators- Sadie and Carter combine wisecracking humor with great descriptive words. Riordan has gone so far since his first novel, the plot in this book was so interesting and the characters were amazingly portrayed. This book was a fun, exciting and thrilling ride, one of the best books I've read in a long time!

5/5

The 39 Clues: Vepsers Rising

This book is the crossover novel between the two series about the 39 Clues. Four great authors -- Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson -- team up.

Summary: The Cahills thought they were the most powerful family the world had ever known. They thought they were the only ones who knew about Gideon Cahill and his Clues. The Cahills were wrong. Powerful enemies — the Vespers — have been waiting in the shadows. Now it’s their time to rise and the world will never be the same. In Vespers Rising, a brand new 39 Clues novel, bestselling authors Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson take on the hidden history of the Cahills and the Vespers, and the last, terrible legacy Grace Cahill leaves for Amy and Dan.

I really liked this book, my main problem with it though is the writing style. The first two parts [by Rick Riodan and Peter Lerangis] were very blunt and boring, which is disappointing because I know that both of them [especially Riordan] are truly good writers. But the parts by Gordon Korman and Jude Watson were super exciting and fun. Amy and Dan have finally adjusted to their environment, and it's interesting to be with them when they aren't so clueless.

Though there is nothing special about this book, it does really make for a fun, exciting ride.

4/5

WAITING 2 READ- April 2011

Okay, so in this month's edition of WAITING 2 READ I gush about The Throne of Fire, book two in the best-selling Kane Chronicles by one of my favorite authors, Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series among others. This book looks really good, I already read chapter one [they have it posted on the Kane Chronicles website] so after reading that I pre-ordered it from Amazon. So I guess you're all tired of hearing me say how great this book is going to be, I'll just start telling you about the actual book:

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians. And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.
To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished. First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?
Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.

Okay so you're probably really exited and can't wait for this to come out. So how long do we have to wait for it? It comes out May 3rd; so just over a month. But it will be worth the wait [I hope]!

WAITING 2 READ- March 2011

Okay so this month I can't wait to read "The Saga of Larten Crepsley: Ocean of Blood" by the MASTER of horror Darren Shan, one of my favorite authors. Ever since the first book in this series came out last October I have been waiting for SO LONG to read this book. And hopefully it won't disappoint. Anyway here is a summary:

The epic tale of the vampire Larten Crepsley continues. The question is -- how far can Larten go! alone? Free from their mentor Seba Nile, Larten Crepsley and Wester Flack join the Cubs -- wild young vampires with little respect for human life, and a taste for mindless enjoyment. For the Cubs, everything is easy. But nothing has ever been easy for Larten, and soon fate throws his life into another spin. With dark paths to travel, Larten finds himself far from the Vampire Mountain and its rules. A long way from home, sick and alone, he must decide what kind of vampire he will be. Whether he will stand firm, be true to his master and his principles -- or whether he will lose himself in blood!

Okay, so how awesome is that? Can't wait it comes out April 28.

Also coming out in April [that I am hyped up]:

The 39 Clues Book 11: Vesper Rising by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis and Jude Watson: The final book in the 39 Clues series, can't wait. How can you go wrong with all these GREAT authors? Comes out April 5

Lucky Cap by Patrick Jennings: I will be doing a pre-review of this book because I'm friends with Patrick J.

WAITING 2 READ- FEBRUARY 2011

Okay so this month I am waiting for "Beyonders: A world Without Heroes" by Brandon Mull, author of "Fablehaven", here is a summary:
Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable--until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he's ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcmoed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor, and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

The book is scheduled for release March 15, just in time for my trip to Washington D.C. so I definitely will be bringing this one on the trip. I really can't wait. Mull is a great writer.

Here is what Rick Riordan said about the book:

"Brandon Mull is a wizard with words. With Beyonders, he has conjured one of the most original fantasies I've read in years--an irresistible mix of adventure, humor, and magic."

-- Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

The Red Pyramid

In Rick Riordan's first novel in his new series "The Kane Chronicles", even since his mother's death, Carter Kane has been traveling the world with his father, a Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane. While his younger sister Sadie Kane lives with her mother's parents in London. Both of them have what the other longs for; Sadie wishes for time with her dad. While Carter wants what Sadie has, a normal life. But when their father is kidnapped by a wicked god the two must unite, if they ever want to see their father, and possibly the world. Both of them find out that they are the blood of pharaohs, and they're also powerful magicians that will decide the fate of the world. They go on a long and frightening adventure.

Rick Riordan has done it again. He's combined the modern world with ancient myths, which has sort of become Rick Riordan's very own genre. The novel has a very strong plot, with loads of adventure. It also has a ton of good humor and I found it the funniest Riordan novel yet. I think he has a real good writing style, he's one of my favorite authors and always will give you a book above your expectations. My only concern is if Riordan keeps on using this plot, one day we will all get bored of it. I swear. But so far so good. It was a great novel. I strongly recommended it to all my readers. The way Carter and Sadie change as narrators is a very good touch.

5/5

The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel

In the graphic novel adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan's series beginner "The Lightning Thief" which most of you probably know but for those who don't I'll set the scene for you. Percy Jackson, a 12 year old teen at Yancy Academy, a school for troubled kids suddenly is hurdled into the world of Greek gods. When Zeus, king of the gods accuses Percy of stealing his master lightning bolt, and Percy has until the Summer solstice to return the weapon. Oh, and by the way he also finds out he is the son of Poseiden.

With a plot this good you would think it would have been better, you should stand corrected! Okay, I admit it I am not the biggest fan of graphic novels, A.K.A. comics with a fancier name, so I did come into the book, with low expectations, I went out with the same feeling. A a waste of time for all, even those who are died hard fans of the books. The only people that might enjoy this are those people who parents tell them to read more, so they go out and either buy a gossip magazine or graphic novel. Go waste your time, I dare you to. Or have some fun and go read the actual book again.

1.5/5

The Lost Hero

From best-selling author Rick Riordan, author of the "Percy Jackson" series, and the "Kane Chronicles" books amongst others. Comes the first novel in a series of five "The Lost Hero" a book that takes place in the same world as Percy Jackson books and with some of the characters from those novels. The book is told from the mind point of three demigods [children with one godly parent]. The first of the three we meet is a teen named Jason, a boy who woke up on a bus and had no memories what so ever, a girl named Piper, who has something to hide, and a orphan boy Leo who's good with tools. These three students at a school for "troubled kids" are then transported into the world of both the Greek and Roman gods and are sent on a quest to find Hera, Queen of the Gods, and if they fail the outcome will be the biggest war in the history of demigods.

Now how's that for a first book in a series? This book was totally awesome, intriguing, and maybe even better then Percy Jackson. I really enjoyed the mix of the gods in both their forms: Greek and Roman. This book is great for fans of Percy Jackson. But if you haven't read the Percy Jackson books you'll probably be lost.

5/5