28.  The Serpent’s Shadow  Rick Riordan ****  This was a great conclusion to the series.  It had all the adventure and high tension of the other two books, while still keeping plenty of character and emotional depth.  I’m kind of said to say goodbye to all the characters, but I can’t help but wonder if there might be a spinoff series at some point ( Read more... )

12. Delirium  Lauren Oliver ***  This started out a bit slow for me, but the good writing and intriguing premise kept me going and the pace/tension picked up more.  I enjoyed seeing Lena’s gradual change as she learned more about the truth of the world around her.  I also liked the way her relationship with Alex progressed.  The ending caught me by ( Read more... )

1. XVI  Julia Karr ***** (reread)  I reread this so I could have the characters and story fresh in my mind when I read Truth, the sequel.  I liked it even better the second time around.  I was able to connect with the characters even more and had a greater appreciation for the world building.  I’m really looking forward to reading Truth next.   
2. Truth ( Read more... )

 56.  Dragon Spear  Jessica Day George ****  I liked seeing this series’ world expand so much in this book.  I also liked spending more time with the dragons than in the previous books.  It was fun seeing how much the characters had grown since the first book.

57.  The Son of Neptune  Rick Riordan ****  These books are so much fun to read.  I’ve ( Read more... )

33.  The Hourglass Door  Lisa Mangum ***  This story wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be, but it was still pretty good.  I liked the concept and the main characters.  It had some great romantic tension.  I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

34.  Dreaming Anastasia  Joy Preble ***  This was an interesting take on the mystery of ( Read more... )

 20. The Compound S. A. Bodeen **** (reread, read with Chriss) The first time I read this, I really wanted to know what was going on, so I read it as fast as I could. This time around, we went a bit slower so I was able to gain a greater appreciation for just how screwed up the dad is. I also have a greater appreciation for Eli’s emotional ( Read more... )

12. Beautiful Darkness Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl *** I didn’t like this one as much as I liked the first, but it was still all right. I thought the world building was pretty solid and it’s an interesting mix of the two worlds. The pacing was kind of slow in a lot of spots though and I thought there were many scenes that could have been cut ( Read more... )

 I decided that along with keeping track of what I read this year, I'd also jot down my thoughts of each book.  Then, I decided that instead of posting it as one long list at the end of the year, I'd post it once a month or so and do it as a kind of informal book report.  I've rated each book (1 star= Not for me.  2 stars= it was okay  3 stars= I ( Read more... )

Three friends from church and I recently started a book club.  It's been great being able to recommend some of my favorite books and reading ones I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own, but enjoyed all the same.  But this week, I found an added bonus to this book club thing.  One of the selections for this month was The Miraculous Journey of ( Read more... )

This was a fun book to read and I absolutely love the story idea.  Life turned into a chess game.  How cool is that?  And even better than a cool idea is one that's well executed like this was.  I also really like the different quirks each character was given and the main character is very likable.  Her realistic flaws and her efforts to overcome ( Read more... )