Two Nice Reads With Reviews That Don't Do Them Justice Because I'm Losing My Marbles

Ok, so I've pretty much been slacking on my reading. I've been reading very little, and (obviously) blogging even less.

The first one up is Lunar Light by Penelope Fletcher. Lunar Light is a nice, erotic, warm and fuzzy love story- except that by '"warm and fuzzy" I mean the protagonists have a habit of turning into giant hairy beasts that eat human flesh. And they prefer to be cold, not warm.

There's a lot of fictional beasts that consume humans out there these days, and I was skeptical about reading ANOTHER love story about some werewolf/vampire/zombie junk. Well, I can promise you that there is nary a zombie, vampire, or werewolf (per se) to be had! And nobody falls in love with their dinner! I was pleasantly surprised! These are violent, people-eating beasts that actually VIOLENTLY EAT PEOPLE.

Don't get me wrong, I read (and enjoyed reading) all of the Twilight schlock, but the more I thought about it, the more the inner cynic in me pictured it as being about as likely as me having an all-consuming love for a freshly-baked cookie, stalking it while it slept, endangering my life for it, and then refusing to eat it. Yeah. Not likely.

Like sex and violence? Like vicious werebeasts? Then give this book a read. I read it quickly (almost like devouring a freshly-baked cookie) and people who are grammar Nazis or overly picky might find tiny details they don't approve of (I can't think of specific examples, but remember seeing a couple of little things as I read) but they can just stuff it. It was a fun, quick read and I liked it.


Next up is Immortalis by R.S. Emeline. This story revolves around a variety of people who have a genetic predisposition to immortality, and their need to 1) continue producing immortal offspring 2) protect their immortal offspring and 3) remain undetected by society at large.

This is a story directed at young adults, but written in a way that it can be easily enjoyed by regular adults or immature adults such as myself. There's mystery, mayhem, and magic, gods and goddesses of varying religions, and truly unique characters.

This is the first on a series of four books, and I am really looking forward to reading the others. The bad news is that I don't think it's been published yet- I got my grubby hands on a copy because I know the author (and she is amazing)... and you can find her here!


...and now to the part where I'm losing my marbles. I signed up for the Army, and I leave for basic training in just over 3 weeks. I'm on the verge of freaking out. I'm going in to learn a foreign language (I know none, unless 'sarcasm' counts) and I'm hoping to get a bachelor's degree while I'm enlisted. I KNOW, with all my heart, that this is the best thing I can do for my family and myself. But I've never had to be away from my kids, so I'm freaking out about leaving them. And I have a TON of things I need to get done, and none of it is doing itself (of course). And, mostly I'm just freaking out about being away from my kids. I want to eat an entire cheesecake, drink a bottle of tequila, and hide in a closet (or similar dark, quiet space) for the next three weeks. Turns out, that isn't an option. I'll try to do at least one more post before I leave, but if you don't hear from me check in the closet, pantry, or other dark, quiet space... and send tequila. Thanks.

The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher

See? I told you I would blog again soon? ;)

I got an iPod Touch for Christmas, and The Demon Girl is the first book I read on the iBooks application. It was a free book with a pretty cover and an intriguing title, so I decided to give it a try.

Long story short: Rae Wilder is a Disciple in a world where humans have been nearly wiped out. An event, called the Rupture, caused all kinds of previously repressed beings (known as Demons) to come out into the open. The list of Demons contains all the usual suspects: vampires, were-beasts, and fairies. There's also witches, which are humans who are sensitive to the Source (as in source of life, source of everything- source of power for the beings in this book) who are shunned by normal human folk and are generally considered bad. Humans have walled themselves up in self-contained city/compounds to protect themselves from the Demons who run wild outside.

One morning. while out for a run, Rae finds finds a way through the wall that protects her and the humans around her from the murderous chaos of the demons outside. Being brave and foolhardy, Rae sneaks outside into the unknown, where her life is changed forever.

There's a lot to this book, so I'll just say that you will find yourself immersed in the following: love, hate, interspecies romance, blood drinking, human sacrifice, beheadings, fancy powerful jewelry, pretty wings, were-cat things, naked guys, not naked guys, tattoos, tribe wars, and an interesting plot line.

When I got to the end of the book, I was excited to see that it's going to be a series- I am eagerly anticipating the next installment!

There were a few bad things about this book- but none of them are story-related. I notice a lot of wrong words (wrong forms of the word to/too, various other mix-ups of homophones) a few misspellings, and some confusing grammar/sentence structure. Once you see past all of that, however, it is a truly engaging read.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Until I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz I pretty much thought the version starring the adorable Judy Garland was how the story went. Boy was I wrong! Being the towering pillar of immaturity I am, I tend to really get into children's books and even some teen books.  This was no exception. Wonderfully written, this story rich and vibrant enough to keep you enthralled while still being light and airy enough that you don't fill like your brain is getting heavy- like a good chocolate mousse. Since I do most of my reading before bed, it is easy for me to get caught up in a book and stay up after reading it while my brain runs in circles and tried to dissect the story/plot/information that it was just fed. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz didn't have that effect on me. Instead it gave me the simple joy of being a part of the the land of Oz, and the whole time I read the story I felt like a kids again. Something in the experience made me feel like I was wrapped in a fuzzy blanket drinking hot cocoa by a fireplace- warm, comfortable, relaxed.

Long story short:
Most of us know the basic story- Little girl (Dorothy) from Kansas lives with her aunt and uncle, and when a cyclone hits she doesn't make it into the cellar and is swept up into the storm, house and all, with her little dog Toto. House lands on a witch in a weird place called Oz, Dorothy gets some shiny new shoes, and sets out to find a wizard who can help her get home, with the people of Oz bidding her good luck and best wishes because they're thrilled that the witch got squished. Dorothy is told that she can follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City where the Wizard of Oz lives, and along her journey she befriends a living scarecrow who wants a brain, a rusted tin man who wants a heart, and a cowardly lion who wants some courage. They face some perils, meet the wizard (who send them off to have an altercation with the Wicked Witch of the West), kill the other witch, come back to the wizard (who turns out to be a man from the Midwestern US) and he gives Dorothy's friends some random crap that's supposed to represent the things they were looking for. Meanwhile, he promises Dorothy that he will take her home in a hot air balloon because it is the only way to cross the desert that surrounds Oz. Hot air balloon is made, but it takes off by accident without Dorothy. Dorothy gets upset, meets with a good witch, and the good witch tells her that the shiny shoes are magic and can bring her home. Dorothy uses the shoes, everyone lives happily ever after.

However... the book is a lot different from the movie I knew and loved as a child. Here's how the book and movie differ:

In the book, the shoes are silver, not ruby

The perils that Dorothy and her friends encounter on their journey are geographical and have nothing to do with the Wicked Witch of the West- the witch has a MUCH larger part in the movie than in the book

Dorothy is sent to kill the Witch of the West, not just collect her broom

There are whole races of people encountered in the book that do not get mentioned in the movie

Dorothy doesn't meet the Witch of the West until she is sent to go kill her

The book goes into much more detail about the Wizard in general- describing his city, how he got there,  and how and why he deceived the people of Oz

When Dorothy first lands in Oz, the meets the witch of the North- Glinda is the witch of the South

When Dorothy arrives home, she wasn't dreaming- she was actually gone.

There's a lot of other little differences, and a lot of things that are left out of the movie altogether. All-in-all, this was a very enjoyable read, and I plan on reading it to my children.



To keep with the theme of gratitude this month, here's some things I'm grateful for: My health, and the health of my family. A friend of mine recently had a major aneurysm and could have very easily died. She's in the hospital recovering, going through physical therapy, and her chances of living and recovering are good.

I'm also grateful for my little girls. They drive me crazy, but I couldn't live without them. My youngest walked for the first time yesterday, and it was very bittersweet because she is my last baby. I need to make it a point to not get caught up in the things I want to get done each day so I don't forget to play with my girls. REALLY play with them. Dads shouldn't get to have all the fun!

Emma

The first book I finished since starting this blog is the Jane Austen classic, Emma. True to much of the fine English literature written at the time, Emma features a lot of irrelevant material about nothing in particular- thus adding length without substance. Most of the characters are engaging, and the storyline itself is quite good, but it's kind of a drag to read.

Jane Austen herself once commented that she didn't think many people would like the title character. I can only assume that this is because Emma is a spoiled, self-important twit who thinks she knows everything... If you took the vapid, self-absorbed hotness of your least favorite high school cheerleader/model/actress, multiplied it by the know-it-all behavior of Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (minus the magic and scholarly pursuits) and divided THAT by the matchmaking prowess of Patti from T.V's Millionaire Matchmaker, you would have the character of Emma.

To make a really long story short: Emma is a meddling twit who credits herself for her sister getting married. This inspires her to try to set up a girl she befriends, Harriet, with a guy who is totally out of her league (Mr. Elton) while discouraging Harriet from marrying the guy who is in love with her and is totally perfect for her- all because he doesn't have enough money for Emma to think he's important. A good family friend who is also Emma's brother-in-law tries to tell Emma that her notions are totally whack, but she's too much of a dumb bitch to believe him. Mr. Elton turns out to be a total dick who wants to marry Emma for her money, thus Harriet's stupid little heart (nice girl, but kind of a moron) gets broken. Mr. Elton instead marries an even bigger twit than Emma, and everyone with half an ounce of sense wants to punch her face in; but no one does because it's England and they all have exceptional manners and sexy accents. A whole bunch of people who have no bearing on the body of the story weave in and out of the picture doing random B.S. and it turns out that two of them were secretly engaged the whole time (oh, snap!) and it creates a scandal and a lot of embarrassment because everyone has too good of manners and too much free time. Harriet decides she has the hots for Emma's brother-in-law because he was nice to her, and that makes Emma realize that she's totally in love with him. Turns out he's been in love with her since she was 13 (eeeeew, CREEEEPY!!!!) and poor Harriet gets screwed over again. Then the guy who wasn't 'good enough' for Harriet comes back into the picture, and she decides that she loves him no matter what Emma thinks- which is super convenient because Emma eventually realizes that she is a spoiled, self-important twit and has a major change of heart. Everyone gets married and lives happily ever after, and by the end of the book you no longer want to beat Emma's head in.