Dark Eden - Chris Beckett

Date Started: 11/28/14

Date Finished: 12/1/14

Ok, I had no idea what I was getting into with this book. I was intrigued by the premise and that was about all I knew. Apparently this has been big in the UK? So here is what the back of the book says (in part): 

On the alien, sunless planet they call Eden, the 532 members of the Family take shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest’s lantern trees. Beyond the Forest lie the mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. 

The Oldest among the Family recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross the stars. These ships brought us here, the Oldest say—and the Family must only wait for the travelers to return. 

But young John Redlantern will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will abandon the old ways, venture into the Dark...and discover the truth about their world.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The Magician's Land - Lev Grossman

Date Started: 11/18/14
Date Finished: 11/28/14

I swore I was not going to read this book. Even though I'd read the previous two in the trilogy, I was NOT going to read this one. But here's the thing...when you realize you can check out books on your kindle from your local library, you start trying to figure out books you wanted to read. And once you get past those, you move on to the ones that you figure, well, it's free, why not. This is one of those. But here's the good news: I'm glad I read it!

Cherry Money Baby - John Cusick

Date Started - November 1, 2014
Date Finished - November 18, 2014

Ok, I have no idea why it took me so long to finish this book - it is honestly not a book that should have taken that long to read. I think I was just not having a reading moment, you know?

So the book is a fun premise: poor yokel Cherry (I say yokel though she is from outside of Boston simply because it seems to fit) has a life she is pretty happy with - I mean, who isn't happy working at the Burrito Barn, refusing her father's request that she consider college, and visiting her boyfriend in the next trailer over (because of course she lives in a trailer park)...only those with the wisdom of 17 years! Anyway she is living her life when bam! everything changes because she saves a famous person who is choking at the Burrito Barn. That's when life gets turned right upside down for our Cherry...

The Rest of October...

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Bossypants - Tina Fey

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - Mindy Kaling

The Fire Seekers (The Babel Trilogy, Book 1) - Richard Farr

Read on for brief thoughts... (and spoilers)

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If I Stay - OY - SUPER DEPRESSING. I read this one because I saw the movie previews and thought it looked intriguing. Basically our narrator is in a car crash and almost the entire book alternates between flashbacks about her family and her current in-between state (and the decision, presumably hers, as to whether or not she will stay). I won't ruin the ending...oh who am I kidding, of course I will. She stays. Basically because of her love of cello music. And her whole family is dead. Yeah, that's it. I finished it and basically just wanted to go bawl. So if you're looking for a good cry, definitely head to this book - it won't disappoint.

Bossypants - Liked it.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - Liked it better than Bossypants. Mindy seems more fun and came across (at least to me) as more sincere. I also laughed out loud more in her book, so there's that.

The Fire Seekers - Reaction after finishing the book: "What the hell was that?" Seriously, I get that this is a trilogy and all but to basically leave everything unanswered was a bit annoying. It sets up an interesting premise and the plot is action packed but I didn't quite buy the ease with which the travel, etc., was undertaken. Honestly, the plot was too complicated for this short blurb I'm doing... so here's the amazon blurb:

The time of our immortality is at hand.

An undeciphered language in Crete. A rash of mysterious disappearances, from Bolivia to Japan. An ancient warning at the ruins of Babel. And a new spiritual leader, who claims that human history as we understand it is about to come to an end.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Calder’s world falls apart when a freak accident brings personal tragedy—and he discovers there’s a link between the accident and a wildly successful new cult, the Seraphim. Catapulted into a violent struggle for humanity’s past and future, he’s not even sure who the enemy is, or if he’s battling a phantom that doesn’t exist. But as Daniel puts his life on the line, he is forced to conclude that our very survival as a species will depend on who, and what, we choose to believe.

SPOILER ALERT: Daniel ends up catatonic! In that in-between stage between those who have ascended (or whatever) and those who haven't made it. Finished on a real high. Probably not going to read the rest of this series.

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Date Started: 10/6/14
Date Finished: 10/9/14

Ok, seriously, WHY is everything a series. I read this one because of the movie coming out. Besides knowing it was Lord of the Flies-ish (boys, boys, boys!) and takes place in a maze I didn't know anything else about it.

Well SPOILER ALERT: you don't know much when you finish the book either! Here's what you do know.

The Paper Magician - Charlie N. Holmberg

Date Started: 10/2/14
Date Finished: 10/4/14

Confusing, oh so confusing.

This story drops you right into the action. Great, right? Well, yes, except that (1) I had no idea WHEN this was taking place or (2) any information that made me care about the high-stakes issue of being assigned as a "paper" magician (vs. glass, plastic, or any of the other man-made elements a magician could choose). But I kept reading...

September Books

I swear I have to stop doing this. Here are the books I read in September. Click the link for the spoilers/my thoughts:

1. The Trials of the Honorable Mr. Darcy - Sara Angelini

2. Little Bee - Chris Cleave

3. The Witch With No Name (The Hollows Book 13) - Kim Harrison