Published By: Starfire

Date of Publication: 1908

Categories: Classic, Canada, YA, series.

Pages: 336

Summary (from goodreads.com): As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug,  white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she  wanted to stay forever… but would the Cuthberts  send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she’s not  what they expected — a skinny girl with decidedly  red hair and a temper to match. If only she could  convince them to let her stay, she’d try very hard  not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt  out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was  not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables  agreed; she was special — a girl with an enormous  imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day  when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

Review: This has to be one of my favorite classics. You can’t help but have fun reading about all of Anne’s adventures in Avonlea.

I think one of the big reasons why I like this book so much is the characters. They seem so real to me. Anne seems like such a genuine little girl when you first meet her, and she has trouble getting chores done without letting her imagination get away from her. As hard as Marilla likes to seem, you know that  deep down inside she loves Anne like crazy.

Every time I get to the part where Matthew dies I cry. I can’t help it. I know it’s coming, but it’s always still so sad. By the time it happens I’m attached to him, and it breaks my heart to have him not be there to see how Anne will grow up, and the woman she’ll become. As much as he left raising Anne to Marilla, he obviously had quite an impact on Anne.

The setting was another great part of this book. Although I’ve never been to Prince Edward Island, I would love to go one day. It would be so much fun to see the place where all of Anne’s adventures happen. The way Montgomery describes Green Gables and the Haunted Wood adds so much.

I know I’ve read a few other books in the series, but I don’t think I’ve read all of them yet. I’m pretty excited about reading the rest of them now. I want to know what happens to Anne.

Image: goodreads.com

Disclosure: I bought this book.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Published By: Touchstone

Date of Publication: October 24, 2005

Categories: Adult, Historical Fiction, Series.

Pages: 393

Summary (from goodreads.com): Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both kings and crusaders. At the age of three, she is betrothed to Prince Arthur, son and heir of Henry VII of England, and is raised to be Princess of Wales. She knows that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land.” “Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur’s wife grows ever more bearable. Unexpectedly in this arranged marriage, a tender and passionate love develops.” But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur’s young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother’s daughter and her fighting spirit is indomitable. She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it.

Review: I have to start off by saying that I’m a little obsessed with the Tudors. I loved The Tudors TV series with Jonathan Rhys Myers and Henry Cavill. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. It’s so incredibly good.

It was interesting to see how the book started with Katherine as a child, though it made sense as the book went on – it helped the explain the decisions that Katherine made and where her motivation came from. I thought it also gave a fuller picture of what was going on in Europe at the time.

Getting to see Henry as a young prince who was never really meant to be king was something that I really enjoyed. I never really thought much about where he came from before, but his decisions later in life definitely made more sense with his childhood as context.

The pacing was great, I never felt bored while I was reading, I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.

It was interesting to get Katherine’s point of view as well. I liked hearing about a strong woman who knew what she wanted and was willing to do the hard work to get what she wanted.

While I know there’s a lot in this book that isn’t true, I think that’s the fun of historical fiction.

I’ve read The Other Boleyn Girl a few years ago, and after reading The Constant Princess, I’m really looking forward to reading The Other Boleyn Girl again, this time with the foundation of knowing more about Katherine.

Image: goodreads.com

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Published By: Dell

Date of Publication: October 31, 2006

Categories: Adult, Fairy, Series, Urban Paranormal, Vampire 

Pages: 342

Summary (from goodreads.com): MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death-a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone-Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed-a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae…

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane-an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women-closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book-because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

Review: I just finished reading Darkfever and to be honest, it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. A friend of mine lent it to me. She’s really into fantasy. I’m not so much. I like at least a little reality in my books. So I was thinking I’d read Darkfever and tell her that the rest of the books in the series weren’t for me. Boy was I wrong.

I think once I had read the first chapter I knew I was going to l like it. Mac is a very likable character. She’s spunky and does what she wants. I like that. She kind of reminded me of Sookie Stackhouse at first, another character that I really enjoy.

I’m still not sure what to think of Barrons though. I’m not sure if I like him or if he’s out to use Mac for her abilites. It’s unusual that I can’t make up my mind about a character – usually I either love them or hate them right off the bat.

The novel is set in Ireland, a place that I’d love to go to, but haven’t traveled to yet. Reading Darkfever I almost felt like I was there. I love books like that. It draws you into the story and you can picture yourself in the middle of the action. The setting added a lot to my enjoyment.

I think this series if off to a great start and I’m excited to read the next one in the Fever series, Bloodfever.

Image: goodreads.com

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted every week by Jennifer at Crazy For Books. Thanks Jennifer!

Here’s this week’s question:

Image: Crazy-for-books.com

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted every week by Jennifer at Crazy For Books. Thanks Jennifer!

Here’s this week’s question:

Image: Crazy-for-books.com

Book: The Sharp Time by Mary O’Connell

From: This post at Chick Lit Teens.  

Summary (Goodreads): Sandinista Jones is a high school senior with a punk rock name and a broken heart. The death of her single mother has left Sandinista alone in the world, subject to the random vulnerability of everyday life. When the school system lets her down, her grief and instability intensify, and she ponders a violent act of revenge.
Still, in the midst of her crisis, she gets a job at The Pale Circus, a funky vintage clothing shop, and finds friendship and camaraderie with her coworker, a boy struggling with his own secrets.
Even as Sandinista sees the failures of those with power and authority, she’s offered the chance to survive through the redemptive power of friendship. Now she must choose between faith and forgiveness or violence and vengeance.

Image: Goodreads

Book: Try Not to Breathe by Amanda R Hubbard

From: This post by Karen at For What It’s Worth. 

Summary (Goodreads): A dark and provocative novel from the author of The Secret Year

Ryan spends most of his time alone at the local waterfall because it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive. He’s sixteen, post-suicidal, and trying to figure out what to do with himself after a stint in a mental hospital. Then Nicki barges into his world, brimming with life and energy, and asking questions about Ryan’s depression that no one else has ever been brave enough—or cared enough—to ask. Ryan isn’t sure why he trusts Nicki with his darkest secrets, but that trust turns out to be the catalyst that he desperately needs to start living again.

Jennifer R. Hubbard has created a riveting story about a difficult but important subject.

Image: Goodreads

This weeks Second Time Sunday post is:

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams 

This has to be one of the best books that I’ve ever read. Ever! It’s that good. If you haven’t read it yet, you need to get yourself to a library or a bookstore and read it immediately!

Image: Goodreads

Here’s what I got this week:

I found these beauties at the thrift store – 6 of the 8 Anne of Green Gables books! I’m hopeful that it won’t be too hard to find the two that I’m missing, Anne of Windy Poplars and Rainbow Valley.

Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea by L M Montgomery

Anne of the Island by L M Montgomery

Anne’s House of Dreams by L M Montgomery

Anne of Ingleside by L M Montgomery

Rilla of Ingleside by L M Montgomery

None of the books look like they’ve been read. Which makes me kind of sad that whoever owned them before didn’t read them. Not just because they’re unread books, but because they’re the Anne of Green Gables series which is ridiculously good. Someone missed out big time. But it’s good for me cause I got 6 new books for under $9. Woohoo!

Images: Goodreads

Book: Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

From: This review by Julie at Bloggers Heart Books. 

Summary (Goodreads): Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot…what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can’t stay away. Nobody else understands her–and riles her up–like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall….

Image: Goodreads