Book Review #13 - A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

It's 1895 and, after the death of her mother, 16-year old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds her reception a chilly one. She's not completely alone, though..... she's being followed by a mysterious young man, sent to warn her to close her mind against the visions.

It's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds, as she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy, timeless group called The Order. Her destiny awaits..... if only Gemma can believe it.

My Rating: 3/5

Having never read any kind of Historical Fiction before, I had no idea what my reaction to this book would be.

The protagonist, Gemma Doyle was by far the most positive element that I have taken from this book.

The plot was engaging although predictable at times.

Book Review #12 - I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

John Smith is not your average teenager.

He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving, those who hunt him will find and kill him.

But you can't run forever.

So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about - and who care about him. Never in John's short life has there been space for friendship, or even love.

But it's just a matter of time before John's secret is revealed.

He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed.

John is Number Four. He knows that he is next.....

My Rating: 3.5/5

I finally decided to read this book because the movie comes out in just under two weeks (in Australia). It is the first book that I have read where there have been aliens.

The plot was the only attribute that had me turning the page.

All the characters were average and stereotyped. The main character John Smith was average from everything from his name to his personality.

The ending seemed a little rushed, and considering this book was almost 400 pages long I think it could have been paced out a bit more evenly.

The next book in the series, The Power of Six follows the life of Number 7. This is the first book in a proposed 6 book series.

Book Haul - February 2011

Books I got so far this month are:

• Forsaken (The Demon Trappers #1) by Jana Oliver
• Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins
• A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray.
• Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1) by Richelle Mead
• The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott

• The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2) by Michael Scott
• The Sorceress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #3) by Michael Scott
• The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa.
• Shadowspell (Faeriewalker #2) by Jenna Black
• Divine by Mistake (Partholon #1) by PC Cast
• Divine by Choice (Partholon #2) by PC Cast
• Divine by Blood (Partholon #3) by PC Cast
• Grave Sight (Harper Connelly #1) by Charlaine Harris.
• My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent
• Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars #1) by Sara Shepard
• Flawless (Pretty Little Liars #2) by Sara Shepard
• Perfect (Pretty Little Liars #3) by Sara Shepard
• Unbelievable (Pretty Little Liars #4) by Sara Shepard
• Tantalize (Tantalize #1) by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• The Bleeding Dusk (Gardella Vampire Chronicles #3) Colleen Gleason