The Syrena Legacy Series by Anna Banks REVIEW (Of Poseidon, Of Triton, & Of Neptune)

Of Poseidon 
Of Triton 
Of Neptune
Author: Anna Banks
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends



      Over the past week I have had my nose in the last two books of the Syrena Legacy series. I read book #1, Of Poseidon, back in December of 2012 and after quite some time I decided to join Emma once again in her beautiful world of both land and sea that was created by Anna Banks. I have some mixed feelings regarding these books, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time following a story of love, and of an entire people seeking harmony and safety.

     To summarize the entire series without spoiling everything for those who have yet to read the books, these novels tell the story of an American teenager named Emma who is trying to find a sense of identity after realizing that those who she holds closest to her heart may not be telling her the whole truth about her place in the world. Emma takes part in her own love story throughout her journey, and it's definitely an exciting one that she needs to fight for to keep. She also finds herself in the middle of great change in the world, and learns that being confident in her own skin is the very thing that can keep everything from falling apart. Man, it's hard to summarize the plot of the entire series without giving anything away!

    In both Of Triton and Of Neptune we are introduced to a slew of new characters, some that we have anticipated meeting and some that we never expected. We receive just as much background information on the world of the Syrena and how the kingdoms have been functioning as we get plot turns and twists that reveal the future fates of the characters we love dearly. Our list of characters that we are invested in the future of quickly grows, and makes turning the page to a new chapter even more exciting.

    As a fan of mythology and fantasy (although Banks categorizes the series under Science Fiction), I love reading about a world of mer-people, but if you're not into things of that sort, then I definitely would not recommend this book. It's a great read regardless, but the mythology is central to the whole plot and you'll just get bothered by the intricate details we are given about Syrena life. Furthermore, if you are not a fan of YA literature, then you really wouldn't be able to get through this book. YA Fiction is my genre of choice, but even I had a hard time dealing with some of the "younger" and more dramatic word choices. It felt a bit like the author was trying too hard to give Emma a youthful voice during her narration, and I did have a few "really...?" moments in reaction to some of the things Emma said or thought. But if you're invested enough in the story line, like I immediately was, it's definitely still readable.

    Both books are a quick read, in my opinion, and the story moves at a perfect pace so that you can put it down if you need to.....but you can also fly right through the entire book in a sitting or two if you so choose. I am sad to say goodbye to some characters I definitely wish I could read more about, but I was certainly satisfied with the ending. I've finished another trilogy recently, and with both that series and this one, I have felt that if the author truly wanted to, they could come back and add on to the story because true fans will definitely want to hear about where these characters ended up a decade or so down the line. But, I guess we will just have to wait and see about that!

   My bottom line is: I would recommend the Syrena Legacy Series to any YA Fiction, Fantasy, or Mythology lover. I'm sure you will learn to love Emma, Galen, and all of the other characters (even Rayna) just as I have.  If you have any specific questions or a question about an aspect I didn't cover, feel free to ask! If you've been wondering about this book or searching for a new book, I hope this helped!


                                         Sincerely, 

                   Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare REVIEW

City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: 2007 


     I had been planning to start The Mortal Instruments series for a while now, and I have finally gotten to reading and finishing the first book. I began The Infernal Devices series last year and have yet to read Clockwork Princess, but I finished the other two fairly quickly and fell in love with the world that the books brought me to. So, after reading the series that precedes this one, I felt it necessary to one day read City of Bones. The day has come! I have very little complaints and very many words of praise so lets begin with the review.

     To begin with the cover art - it's awesome. I bought my copy of the book from Barnes & Noble and got the paperback version and although I wish I had gotten the hardcover (because my copy got a little beat up) I am still able to enjoy the very captivating cover. It gives you glimpses of the setting and one of our main characters but without blatantly revealing it all - it sparks the imagination just enough. It's a pretty thick book, I will say, and I found it hard to hold while reading sometimes because it wasn't sturdy enough to hold regularly, but it wasn't "bendy" enough to fold over in the usual "paperback book fashion." But oh well, enough about aesthetics, on with the summary/review.

     City of Bones introduces us to the world of Shadowhunters - a world I admittedly would love to be a part of. In this book we meet Clarissa "Clary" Fray, who is all of a sudden propelled into this world after coming across Jace Wayland, Isabelle Lightwood, and Alec Lightwood one night in New York City. We learn, as the story goes on that this encounter is not a simple coincidence, but it must've been fate. For, Clary plays a much bigger role in the world of these three young Shadowhunters than she could have ever imagined. I don't want to give much away, and the summary that Cassandra Clare herself wanted to reveal can be found on/in any copy of the book. But let me just say this is the kind of book where I just want to fly through the rest of the series right away and take in all of the information about this storyline as I can. The book offers readers romance, suspense, action, moments where you'll want to be crying and other where you'll be laughing aloud. It truly captivated me and once I got to the third part of the book I found myself putting off reading any further because I wasn't quite ready to finish the story. It sounds silly, but this is definitely one of the books that you will read and get invested in. And it will certainly be a tough time sitting in the movie theaters come August 23 if the movie ruins any parts of this beautifully written piece of literature because there is so much that I feel could be left out even though to me, and probably to many other readers, it's important.

     I fell completely in love with Jace Waylan, one of our leading males, while reading this book. And the plot twists with his character's story line left me speechless and wanting more. Although I know the true star of this first book is Clary, Jace just tugged on my heartstrings. But the great thing about this book is that every character stands out - no matter how small. And even chapters ahead I can remember their names and their roles in the events leading up to the current story. That is always important to me when reading a book because I hate having to flip back all of the time to refresh my own memory so that what I am currently reading makes sense. Clare does a good job of writing in a memorable way and really grabbing your attention. She makes her characters understandable but the text isn't so simple that it feels childish or boring at any point. She also did a good job of leaving us with a resolution while leaving some things left unsaid. So, while there was no big cliffhanger & I'm not angry because I feel like I got jipped once I got to the end, I still am so excited just to find out what happens next. I couldn't even bring myself to read the first small portion of Book Two that is included in the back of my copy because I knew if I did read it I would have to go out right away and grab City of Ashes even though I have three books at home waiting to be read next.

     You can probably tell how much I enjoyed this book by my rambling on in the previous paragraphs,  but the bottom line is: this book is a super enjoyable read and really gets you excited about everything that's in it. I highly recommend reading it - especially before the movie comes out! If you have any specific questions or a question about something I didn't address in this post, feel free to ask and I'll be sure to get back to you! If you've been wondering about this book or if you've been searching for a new book to read, I hope this helped!



                               Sincerely,

         Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl REVIEW

Beautiful Creatures 
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 
Publication Date: 2009 


     I just finished this book two days ago and proceeded to watch the movie this afternoon. I liked the book while reading it, and I wasn't completely in love with it after finishing it. But after seeing the movie I appreciate the book so much more because the movie, quite frankly, wasn't that good at all. It didn't make much sense and eliminated/twisted too many aspects of the plot and characters that really ruined it for me. But let's talk less about the film version and more about the novel itself. 

     So, the cover was interesting for me. Since I read the book after the movie had already come out, the copy I purchased had the actors from the motion picture on the cover (as shown to the left). So, this gave me a visual for the characters already which I didn't mind because the ones that worked in my head were kept and those that conflicted were changed around. I bought the paperback copy, so there was no beautiful hard cover underneath. But, I will say I enjoy the cover art, the font of the text, and the color scheme (as nerdy as that sounds). 

     Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty: the text itself. It's an enjoyable book; I don't regret reading it at all. I moved through it at a fairly moderate pace and towards the last half to quarter of the book I was really into it. I really loved the relationship between the two main characters (Ethan and Lena). It was relatable, and not overwhelmingly "teen-ish." I also really loved the development of the relationships between these main characters and the adult characters in the book like Macon, Amma, and Marian. But there is something that I must admit I did not like about the book: the ending. I feel like it was an easy way out, just a way to develop a transition into a sequel. I felt like it wasn't real enough for me to believe, even in the world the story creates. I have to be honest and say that, unfortunately, I probably won't go on to read the other books in the series (or at least not any time soon since I have a bunch of other books on my list that I'm actually dying to read). Usually I finish a book and cannot stop thinking about it; I daydream about what happens next, I picture myself in the book and wondering who I'd be most likely to fulfill the role of, I count down the days until I can pre-order the next book in the series if there is one. But, with this book I didn't really have much of a reaction at the end. So, while it was a pleasure to read, my heart doesn't continue to live in Gatlin with Lena and Ethan even after I've put the book down. 

     So, to help you all out in deciding if you'd want to read this book, here's a short summary. The story is about two teenagers, Lena and Ethan, who meet and instantly connect when Lena moves to Ethan's hometown of Gatlin, South Carolina. The two are entwined by destiny, but a circumstance in Lena's life threatens this relationship. Ethan learns that Lena is quite different from your average 15 year old and her 16th birthday, looming in the near future, could tear them apart. I don't want to reveal much more because the big parts of the story I am leaving out are part of what makes it more interesting and I don't want to be "that guy" that spoils the exciting and unique parts. 

    As you can see, this isn't my most enthusiastic review but, still, here's the bottom line:  I do recommend this book. It's a good one and was well though out. But I feel like the end wasn't what it should've been or could've been to keep me engaged as a reader. Maybe one day I'll pick up the sequel, "Beautiful Darkness," and continue on with this series but for now it's on to some Cassandra Clare books for me! 

     if you have any specific questions or a question about something I didn't address in this post, feel free to ask and I'll be sure to get back to you! If you've been wondering about this book or if you've been searching for a new book to read, I hope this helped! 


                    

                                            Sincerely, 

                         Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit 

The Selection by Kiera Cass REVIEW

The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: 2012


     I am sitting down to write this review minutes after putting down this book having finished reading it. I have so many emotions about this story right now, but all I think is "why do I have to wait three long months to finish this story that I got so wrapped up in!?" I started this book two weeks ago, and put it down until this past Wednesday, and since then I couldn't put it down. It is now 2:30 am, but I need to get all my thoughts out now since I am so pleased with the story and already on edge to find out what happens next. 

     So, as always, we start by looking over the cover. This one gets the seal of approval from me. Both the sleeve and hard covers are pretty to me. The image of our leading lady, or at least a model that resembles her physically, is posed on the cover in a stunning ball gown surrounded by mirrors capturing all of her different angles. It captures the eye, and may even help to sell the book, as Cass mentions in her "Acknowledgments" section in the back of the book. The hard cover of the book is a light blue with silver crown imprinted on it. It's simple, but I prefer when a book's hard cover has a small emblem that is representative of the story printed on it versus a plain cover of a solid color and not much else going on. 

     But enough with aesthetics, lets get to the even better part: the plot and story itself. At first I wasn't completely captured by the book, but, let me tell you, it didn't take very long for me to get hooked. By the time I was a few chapters in I wondered about what was going to happen next and had a pure desire to keep on reading. For me, the story was a imaginative way to envision the future, a story that allowed me to relate to the main character (who is a young girl fighting for her individuality while dealing with realistic teenage-girl-things), a touching romance (that isn't even completed in the first book!! cliff hanger warning!), a more behind-the-scenes experience to a show like The Bachelor, and a book that even offered me a few Hunger Games-esque elements that kept me very satisfied. I may be rambling, but I feel like this book had so much to offer that I always seem to enjoy while reading. And, even though I am a teeny bit frustrated that I can't just continue reading about America Singer and The Selection, I am satisfied with the fact that The Elite (Book #2) is coming out in April, 2013, so I don't have to wait too long like I have had to in the past while waiting for sequels. 

     Instead of raving about my own connections to the book and the specific things I love, let me give you a short plot summary if you have no idea what the book is about. The story takes place in the future, in the country of Illéa, which stands in place of the United States of America. Society in this time and place is divided into a very strict caste system that categorizes people by wealth and occupation. Our leading lady, America Singer, appropriately named, is a Five which makes her an artist/musician. As a way to give commoners hope and the chance of drastically improving their family's caste, the royal family holds a Selection for the future princesses of Illéa, by having girls from all over the country enter a competition to win the affection of the prince who is approaching an age to be married at. In the book, a Selection is about to take place and America is eligible. If she chooses to enter and gets selected, that could be hope and happiness for her already-struggling family. But, this choice could also mean the loss of the live she genuinely dreams of for herself. I'll go no further in describing this book right now though, to make sure I don't include any spoilers. 

     Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I fell in love with the characters and the world they live in, I fell in love with the plot, and I cannot wait to read The Elite and find out what happens next. Kiera Cass did a fabulous job with this book, in my opinion, and I encourage everybody to go buy this book or take it out at their local library. I certainly think it is worth the read, and I most definitely think it will be worth waiting for the sequel to come out. But I can't be certain until April! It's already set to be pre-ordered in my Barnes & Noble cart. 

     Bottom line: this book is a great read and extremely captivating, and I highly recommend giving it a shot. If you have any specific questions or a question about something I didn't address in this post, feel free to ask and I'll be sure to get back to you! If you've been wondering about this book or if you've been searching for a new book to read, I hope this helped!



                                  Sincerely, 

                Spenser Lee & Simply Lovely Lit