Review: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter is the second book in the Gallagher Girls series, following I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You.  After reading “I’d Tell You I Love You…” my main complaint was that the plot was a little bit light.  I wanted my spy-y action.  I felt mostly the same with Cross My Heart.  I can’t help but compare this series to Ally Carter’s Heist Society series (which I love) that is loaded with fun action.  I probably ought to just leave the comparison alone, and enjoy this series for what it is, but I still think I prefer Heist Society’s Kat to Gallagher Girls’s Cammie.

BUT, I do admit that I liked Cross My Heart more than the first one.  While I get frustrated with Cammie—who is supposed to be a super spy with a good reputation, but does very little to earn that reputation—I think there was some development in this book towards something greater.  I’m actually looking forward to the next book in the series, because I’m getting the feeling that we might get to see some real action.  This book gave us a taste of it, and was a better showcase for the talents that Cammie and her friends have.  Also, I much prefer Zach to Josh as a love interest, so I’m hoping we get to see more of him.

Overall, this book was a fun read.  Just like the first, I’d describe it as nice, light read for a lazy afternoon.  I’d recommend this, and the series, especially with the premonition that things are gonna get better from here.

You can read other reviews for Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy HERE and HERE.

I give it:

Dream Casting

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Q: Activity! Dream cast your current read.

This question has found me at an awkward time.  At any given time I’m usually in the middle of three books.  An actual book, an audio book, and a book on an e-Reader. I finished the last actual book yesterday, and although I know what the next one is and have pulled it off the shelf, I haven’t had time yet today to actually start it.  I finished my most recent audio book this morning, and also have the next one lined up but haven’t started it yet.  That leaves me with my latest Kindle read, which is Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.  If you’ve read the Wheel of Time series, you know what a difficult undertaking this is.  This is book THIRTEEN in an incredibly intricate story.  And by the time you get to book thirteen, these are not characters.  These are people you know.  Rand al’Thor could not look any more like himself than he does in my head.  I can’t even begin to think of an actor to play him, because he is a real person to me and if there is going to be a movie about him, why doesn’t he just play himself? 

Anyway, I decided to start googling the idea to see what other Wheel of Time fans have come up with.  I found some good ideas HERE, HERE, and HERE (If you haven’t read the books and decide to chance those links, you’re going to think, “wow these guys just wanted to cast every character in the books didn’t they?”  But they didn’t.  They just did the important ones.  Like I said, intricate story).   Here is what I came up with for the three boys:

Rand al’Thor – Chris Hemsworth	Perrin Aybara - Tom Welling (with bigger arms)	Matrim Cauthon - Shia LaBeouf (second runner up: Garrett Hedlund)

Wheel of Time fans: Thoughts?

Everyone else: Do you have a dream cast for the book you’re reading?

Review: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

I’m not sure that I agree with the first line of the Goodreads.com summary for Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.  The first words of the book, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” didn’t usher me anywhere.  It took me FOREVER to get into the this book.  The lead in to the story, which really begins in Monte Carlo, with the short courtship and marriage of Maxim de Winter and his new bride (our narrator), was very very slow for me.  I would even say boring. It took me a month of reading a paragraph here and there before I finally got to the part of the story where the new couple makes it “home” to Manderley.  THAT is the point that the story became fascinating.  It was mysterious and enchanting.  I finished the rest of the book in about 3 days because I just couldn’t stop reading.

I was torn between sympathizing with the protagonist and wanting to strangle her.  Believe it or not, she reminded me a lot of Bella from the Twilight series.  The insecurity was endearing up to a point, but more often than not infuriating.  As a character, though, she had depth and growth and I like who she became at the end of the book.  I actually enjoyed the whole cast of characters, even the unbelievably creepy Mrs. Danvers. SO CREEPY.  I even enjoyed the character of Rebecca, though her character was complied by memories.  And as the truth about the past continues to unfold, the plot becomes more and more interesting.  It was suspenseful in all the good ways, making it a thrilling read.

When I was close to the end of this book, I found out that Hitchcock (among others) made a movie from it (with Laurence Olivier!), which I’m excited to see.  It is the perfect Hitchcock storyline.

You can read other reviews for Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier HERE and HERE.

I give it:

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever is the third book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater.  It follows Shiver and Linger.

I’m not sure what my problem was with this book.  I liked it, I really did.  I liked the characters better than I did in Linger – one that I was unsure of before became the star of the book for me.  I thought the plot was good, if the ending a bit anti-climatic.  But for some reason it just took me forever to get through this book.  I wonder if the problem was that I listened to the audiobook, and they used a different actor for each voice (one of which was Maggie Stiefvater for Shelby’s voice in the prologue.  That was cool!).  Perhaps that made it seem disjointed?  I don’t know.  I just know that I normally listen to audiobooks while I’m exercising and doing housework.  And if I really am loving the book I’ll find every opportunity to listen to it besides.  That didn’t happen this time.

However, I do recommend this book and the series.  The idea is fun, the characters are fun, and the plot is interesting and develops at a good pace.  I absolutely loved Shiver, and enjoyed both Linger and Forever.

You can read other review for Forever HERE and HERE. 

I give it:

Happy Mother’s Day

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This week the featured blogs are Books Galore and The Fake Steph Dot Com.  Check them out!

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Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

I’m going to go with Harry Potter and Molly Wesley.  I know, I know.  It’s not conventional.  But a parent/child relationship doesn’t have to be, right?  I love the relationship that these two have.  One of my favorite moments—on of the most heart wrenching moments—in the entire series comes at the end of Goblet of Fire:

Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her. His mother’s face, his father’s voice, the sight of Cedric, dead on the ground all started spinning in his head until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him.

Sometimes you just need a mama’s hug, ya know?

For second runner up I pick Petunia and Dudley Dursley.  Heh.  Just kidding.

Do you have a favorite fictional mother/child relationship?

Those who can’t write, read.

Hosted by Should Be Reading

If you were going to write a book, what would you write about? Would it be fiction, or nonfiction?

I have written one book, completed during NaNoWriMo 2009.  It was fiction – YA fantasy/paranormal, and I maintain the the idea and premise of my book were winners.  But the execution was pretty awful.  I’m actually kind of convinced that I’m an awful writer and should stick to reading.  But the idea is so good that I don’t want to give it up.  I was saying for a long time that I was gonna go back and fix it.  But, I had it saved on an external hard drive…  which has since broken. Sad, right?  I had backed it all, and then didn’t keep it on my computer, and then the back was gone.  So, every now and again I sit down and work on the outline of my story, trying to piece it back together with the hopes that I’ll do better with it the second time around.  Maybe one day…

Dear Jack,

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This week the featured blogs are Ali’s Bookshelf and The Housework Can Wait.  Check them out!

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Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author?

I think I’d go with CS Lewis, and I’d just say, “Hey Jack,” (friends and family called him Jack, so obviously I would too), “You made my childhood awesome.  I learned to dream about other worlds and often looked for them in closets.  Just because we didn’t have any wardrobes.  Also, I learned that I loved reading when I went to Narnia. Thanks for that.”

What conversation would you like to have with your favorite author?