Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is the first book in a children's series called Percy Jackson and The Olympians. The book tells the story of a 12 year-old boy named Percy Jackson. Percy has a lot of problems. First, has ADHD and Dyslexia, secondly he doesn't know who his dad is and Third, his mom is married to a horrible man he calls Smelly Gabe. Smelly Gabe is so horrible and so terrible that Percy goes to boarding school all year round to be away from him. The problem? Every single year something weird happens and Percy gets kicked out of the boarding school. During a field trip Percy finds out that one of his teachers is actually a monster and he has to fight her...then all of a sudden no one remembers who the teacher was. Percy knows something is up but isn't prepared for what it is. He finds out that all the Greek Gods and mythological creatures are real, and that he is in fact the son of a Greek God! If that isn't weird enough he finds out that there is a special camp for kids like him, kids who have Greek Gods for parents and are also ADHD and Dyslexic. He goes there with Grover and soon finds himself on a quest to return a magical item to Zeus before a war breaks out among the Gods. (I included the Goodreads.com summary because I knew there was no way I could explain the details I wanted to and still describe this amazing read.)

Goodreads Summary: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. 

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

I had the hardest time writing this book summary. I think the reason I had such a hard time is because I wanted to make it short enough so my reader's wouldn't feel overwhelmed while at the same time including as much detail as I could. This book is FILLED with detail, I can promise that I didn't do it justice. I initially read this book because a friend told me that it was similar to Harry Potter. Since Harry Potter is the book series that developed my love for reading I knew I just HAD to give it a try. I went into it with the mindset that I was going to be disappointed because let's face it, J.K. Rowling is goddamn queen and no one could ever come close to her. Let's just say I was very pleasantly surprised. This book had all the magic and wonder of the Harry Potter series without being anything like it. I honestly don't think the author was aiming for Harry Potter-ish and that it was just a happy accident. Subject matter wise, this book is not comparable to Harry Potter but entertainment wise it is definitely comparable to Harry Potter. I read this entire book in a day, which I haven't done in a LONG time, and immediately picked up the second. These books are written for children but anyone can enjoy them. I mean, I'm 23 and I enjoyed this book so, so much. I also want to point out that I think this book would be amazing for a child who doesn't like to read. They're so amazing and fun that I think even the most discouraged readers would enjoy them.

The Negatives: The only negatives I have found about this book is the predictability. You'll see what I mean if you decide to read it but at some parts of the book it becomes very apparent what is about to happen next. Don't let that sway you however, because the predictability of this book did nothing to ruin the magic for me. I still find it completely enjoyable. This small negative is so small that it didn't affect my scoring of the book whatsoever.

*This book has also been made into a movie, along with the second one, but I have not seen them yet. Once I do I will definitely do a movie to book review on both! :)*

One word Summary: Wondrous
Recommended for: Anyone who loves to read! Harry Potter fans!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
Avg. Review: 4.17 out of 5 stars!

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz is the first of the Odd series. The book centers around a a 21 year old man named Odd Thomas who has a very unique skill; he sees ghosts and uses them to help his local police department solve crimes. A mysterious man comes to town that piques Odd's interests. While searching the mans apartment Odd finds ominous clues that point to a catastrophe occurring on August 15th. Today is August 14th. Will Odd be able to solve the mystery and save the town in time? 

This is my first book by Koontz and I absolutely loved it. Growing up all my friends' mothers were big fans of him so I always thought, 'Oh, I wouldn't like that'. The age of the main character is honestly was convinced me to pick the book up and I am so glad I did. This story is innovative and unique and completely impossible to put down. The characters in this book are like nothing I have seen before. I can't event tell you how much I wish I could be friends with Stormy. She's the main character's girlfriend and she is amazing! The whole town is so unique and well-rounded, I never once got bored with this story. I loved it so much that at some point I will definitely be reading the rest of this series! The book was also made into a movie starring Anton Yelchin. I watched the movie and I must say, unless you've read the book and know what you're getting into, I wouldn't recommend it. 

My one-word novel description: Quirky.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

Average Rating: 3.83 out of 5. 

Hiatus and Updates

Hi guys! It seems like it's been forever since I've talked to you (probably because it has been forever!) and I totally apologize for that! I took a really long hiatus from blogging for a lot of reasons and it brings me so much joy to say that I'm finally back and ready to start doing what I love again. I don't normally express a lot of details of my personal life on here but I lost 0 followers when I was gone and that shows me how much you guys do care about me, so I decided to update you. When I first started my blog I was in a long relationship. We ended up breaking up and I went through so many life changes that I really didn't have time. After my struggles with my depression and my anxiety were worse than they have ever been and I needed some time to myself. Throughout everything I've been through in the past year and a half I read maybe 12 books. You guys know me and you know I like to read at least 300 pages a day so for my love of books to suffer I knew something was very wrong. I'm happy to report that I now have everything under control and I'm back, better than ever! I even decided to add some new types of posts to the blog. For instance, I've never really been a big fan of reading series before and lately that changed so I was thinking about doing a post one Saturday of every month called 'Series Saturday' where I talk about the series' I either have been reading or would like to read. I would really appreciate it if you guys could hit the comments and tell me what you think of that idea! Also, his up the comments and tell me anything I can do to improve my blog. I really appreciate you guys and I take everything you say into consideration so don't be shy!

Happy Reading!,
Kelsaur,

Book Discussion 1: Tv shows?

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of television. There's nothing I like more (besides Reading) that relaxing with some nice brain-melting entertainment. I recently finished the first season of the HBO hit Game of Thrones and decided hey, maybe I'd give the book a try. I'll admit, seeing the 880 pages was hugely intimidating but I jumped right in and I've barely come up for air since! Which (finally) brings me to the subject of this post; How do you feel about TV shows that are based on books? I found HBO really did a wonderful job adapting A Game of Thrones for TV.

Do you watch any shows that are based on books? Have you read any books because you fell in love with a show? I would love your input! :)

Anna series by Kendare Blake

I just have to say that I am SO excited to review these books! As I said in my previous post, I was in quite the reading rut and I hold Kendare Blake completely responsible for pulling me out of it.

Before I actually get into the review there is something I need to say. GO BUY THESE BOOKS! I, myself, get almost all of my books from the local library system but after reading them I just had to buy a set for myself. It was one of the most worthy purchases I have made in quite some time! Now onto the review:

*I do not own this picture in anyway. I forgot to take my own before I returned the books to the library and got this one from Google!*

Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are the two books that make up the Anna series. The series revolves around a ghost-ass kicking, high school boy named Cas Lowood who travels around the country with his kitchen witch mom, sending ghosts to their final resting place. Cas does this all with the help of an athame he inherited from his dead (also a ghost hunter) father. He and his mom move around a lot, from town to town, taking care of the community ghosts and moving on to the next. Cas doesn't have time to set down any roots or make any friends, he has ghosts to kill! That all changes when Cas is sent to a small town with a ghost so deadly, Cas may have met his match. Anna Korlov was murdered in 1958 and now she murders anyone who steps foot inside her dilapidated Victorian house. Cas sets out to rid the town of Anna Korlov, but instead of tearing him to pieces, Anna spares his life...

I know I've already said it, but Holy Cow these books are awesome! I read the series in two days and I just couldn't get over it. I was a little apprehensive about picking up Anna Dressed In Blood because I figured it was just another YA Paranormal Romance, but boy was I wrong! I never imagined that Anna Korlov, the ghost, would be my favorite character (And that is just the first in a long list of pleasant surprises). I think one of my favorite things is that after the second book, there could very well be a 3rd book, but Blake left it there. She realized it was amazing where it was and didn't ruin it with an over-done series like a lot of YA authors. Sorry guys!

Kendare Blake has spun quite the story and you're wasting your time by not reading it!

Series Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!!!

Hiatus!

Sorry for my prolonged Hiatus, guys! I've been in quite the reading rut lately and just haven't had any motivation to review the books I've read. But I'm back with tons of reviews so stay tuned!!!

Forsaken Tour Guest Post!

Author Kristen Day has stopped by today with a guest post for the Forsaken A Daughters of the Sea blog tour!

Waiting to see which actors and actresses would be cast to play the characters of the next movie in the Hunger Games franchise has been a lot of fun to watch.  And it begs the question: what did the author ‘see’ in her head while she was describing her characters?  What did they look like to her?  And do the real life actors/actresses match that image?  It’s so subjective; there were debates for months leading up to the choosing of the actor that would play Finnick Odair!  Before I began writing Forsaken, I wanted to create the characters.  I didn’t want to simply write a story about them; I wanted to get to know them!  That was almost as fun as writing the book!  I could see them in my head and hear the things they would potentially about, but in order to describe them perfectly, I needed to find a picture of a current famous person that encompassed not only their look, but also their personality!  I had an entire notebook where I had each character captured - their personality, interests, faults, and abilities.  All that was missing was a picture!  So I set off in search of real people who could represent the character I was trying to portray. 

I wanted Stasia to be beautiful, elegant, strong, and poised.  Dianna Agron fit the bill and captured my ‘Stasia’ image.  Finn obviously had to be breathtaking, captivating, and all things H.O.T. - with a dark side.  I found a picture of Chace Crawford that screamed Finn, and never looked back.  Phoebe was easy - her rocker, alternative style and tri-colored hair matched the lead singer of Paramore (Hayley Williams) to a tee!    Willow was a little more difficult.  I’ve never really been a fan of the Olsen twins, but I found a picture of Mary Kate that was ethereal and beautiful; Willow had her movie-star twin.  Camilla Belle made a perfect Carmen, down to the Brazilian descent and beautiful features.  Below are a few more:

Isadora Dixon: Angelina Jolie

Priscilla: Charliz Theron

Kira: Carrie Underwood

Noah: Cam Gigandet

Nicolet: Bryce Dallas Howard

Olivia: Vanessa Hudgens

Logan: Kellan Lutz

Keto: Megan Fox

So if you’ve read Forsaken, tell me who you think would play Finn, Stasia or any other characters if this were a movie!  I’d love to know what image you have of them!  

About Kristen Day

Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity.  She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky.  She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?). 

She is the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012).  She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances.  She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember.  Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began.  She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001. 

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