Somehow, life has gotten away from me, and I have a ton of books I’ve read so far this year!
I decided I’d do a monthly book review of what I’ve read. I am keeping track of them on GoodReads – if you’re on, go ahead and check out my shelf, or send me a friend request (email: kellybewell@gmail.com).
My book selections are really all over the map, and that’s actually increased since I got my Kindle. I find myself picking up free and under $5 books I may not have normally chosen. it’s kind of fun. 🙂
I do read a lot of paranormal/fantasy type stuff – it’s just my thing.
January’s Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 
(out of 5)
Review: See the link above
Shiver/Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls series)
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal
Rating: (out of 5)
Review:
Shiver didn’t live up to my expectations. It was recommended to me (and thousands of other readers) because I loved Twilight, and it’s a similar, Young Adult, paranormal-boy-falls-for-normal-girl story.
But…I don’t know. I can’t quite put my finger on why it isn’t very good. Perhaps it’s because the author physically throws you into the middle of the storyline on the first page. Perhaps it’s because there isn’t enough build-up of the relationship between boy and girl. Most definitely it has something to do with all the side-dialogue that goes nowhere. And it most definitely also has something to do with the couple are parted for 2-3 chapters…not enough to let the depth of sadness at being parted really sink in for the reader.
All that being said, I will admit, I continued on to read the second book, Linger. Call it an automatic dedication to any series I read, call it curiousity, call it hope that it gets better…but whatever flaws the first book has, it wasn’t enough to keep me from reading the second one.
Linger, the second book, slowed to a crawl after all of the action of Shiver. The characters seemed to be running in circles, going nowhere, until the last 5 pages of the book – which leaves you in suspense, as the third book, Forever, doesn’t come out until July 2011. The characters seem flatter in Linger; there’s less emotion and less communication, and the characters all seem to be different personality types from the first book. New characters are introduced, but not necessarily formed to an extent that you can relate or bond to them.
The Hunger Games/ Catching Fire/ Mockingjay (The Hunger Games trilogy)
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: (out of 5)
Review:
Fantastic. Well-written – this book doesn’t play out like a young adult novel – it’s actually remarkably well-written! The storyline is also fantastic, and the world Suzanne Collins creates is descriptive and engaging. The characters are well-rounded, and whole, and you can feel like they’re real people (this is a big test of whether or not I enjoy a book).
Highly encourage this set – even if young adult novels aren’t your cup of tea. I will say that I liked them best in the order they are presented: The Hunger Games was the best of the three, Catching Fire was still good, but in Mockingjay, I feel like the author fell into the trap that so many do – she still had a lot of story to tie up, and the end is rather…abrupt. And a bit confusing and misleading. Regardless, the series is worth your time to read. 
