The Queen of the Damned Book Review

This is the third book in "The Vampire Chronicles" series by Anne Rice.

The bio of the book on the goodreads explains what it is about pretty well so here it is..

"Did you ever wonder where all those mischievous vampires roaming the globe in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles came from? In this, the third book in the series, we find out. That raucous rock-star vampire Lestat interrupts the 6,000-year slumber of the mama of all bloodsuckers, Akasha, Queen of the Damned.

Akasha was once the queen of the Nile (she has a bit in common with the Egyptian goddess Isis), and it's unwise to rile her now that she's had 60 centuries of practice being undead. She is so peeved about male violence that she might just have to kill most of them. And she has her eye on handsome Lestat with other ideas as well.

If you felt that the previous books in the series weren't gory and erotic enough, this one should quench your thirst (though it may cause you to omit organ meats from your diet). It also boasts God's plenty of absorbing lore that enriches the tale that went before, including the back-story of the boy in Interview with the Vampire and the ancient fellowship of the Talamasca, which snoops on paranormal phenomena. Mostly, the book spins the complex yarn of Akasha's eerie, brooding brood and her nemeses, the terrifying sisters Maharet and Mekare. In one sense, Queen of the Damned is the ultimate multigenerational saga. --Tim Appelo""

My Thoughts

The first half of the book jumps around from character to character, many of them new, and doesn't make much sense initially. It is interesting enough but I was left wondering "Uh..what's going on?" until the second half when everything started to come together and finally make sense! I enjoyed the second half much more than the first and really liked the ending.

There were times, and I hate to say it, when I sort of agreed with the villian even though I knew it was wrong and it had me questioning stuff including myself. I love a book that can make me think! I also enjoy some of the messages in the story that went along with that.

I did enjoy the writing of it but not as much as the first two books "Interview with the vampire" and "The Vampire Lestat".

Ultimately I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Color Purple Book Review

I don't even feel like I have a right to review such an amazing and important book! But i'll do my best which is going to come up way short i'm sure!

This book follows Celie, who starts out as a 14 year old child wife. It is written in letters from her to God and eventually to her sister Nettie who is a missionary in Africa. Despite the distance and time they remain strong loving sisters. It is written beautifully. It is passionate, real, inspirational, and just all around beautiful. It will also tug at your heart!

The love between Celie, Shug, and Nettie is absolutely beautiful. This book has themes of racism, sexism, love, spirituality (and it ends up in ways I think anyone, or many people at least, can appreciate) and more. It is easy to read, well paced, masterfully written, has some lovely characters, and will definitely make you think!

I don't want to give anything away and I highly recommend this book!

Citrus Volume 1 Manga Book Review

The blurb

"Aihara Yuzu, a high school girl whose main interests are fashion, friends, and having fun, is about to get a reality check. Due to her mom's remarriage, Yuzu has transferred to a new, all-girls school that is extremely strict. Her real education is about to begin.

From day one, happy-go-lucky Yuzu makes enemies, namely the beautiful yet stern student council president Mei. So what happens when a dejected Yuzu returns home and discovers the shock of her life: that Mei is actually her new step-sister who has come to live with her? Even more surprising, when Mei catches Yuzu off guard and kisses her out of the blue, what does it all mean?"

This is actually my first ever manga. I wasn't expecting to love it, but I did! I did think i'd enjoy it but was surprised as it was better than I thought it'd be. Also, it is a Yuri manga.

I loved the characters. The main characters Yuzu and Mei are both very different with their own stories and personality. The story ended up dragging me into it and at times made me tear up. I didn't think i'd like the art style (it's black and white as is the case with manga in general I believe) because I like colorful things but surprisingly it really helped get me into the story and I loved it. The art style really does express and show the story.

I loved how the characters emotions were shown. Mei has had a really rough time with certain things and as much as she hides it, it shows through. Yuzu is girly and is unapologetic with that and just wants to be herself, despite the overly strict school having a problem with individuality.

At least that's what I got out of the manga and now to wait until I can get the rest of what's out!

The reflections of Queen Snow White Book Review

This book was given to me by the author for an honest review.

In this story we see an older Snow White grieving the loss of her husband. We also get to see her past, both her growing up being abused by her evil step-mother, and her being a Queen, and how she gets there. We see her flaws, her feelings, and we also see her being strong even when she doesn't realize it.

It's told in the same classic fairy-tale style of the original brother's Grimm story. There are also great lessons to be learned in this story.

I may not have loved every single thing but I did really enjoy most of it and had it had me very engaged and wanting to know more while I was reading.

Their is emotional and physical abuse, as well as sexual content but it's not overwhelming, it's just a wedding night and conceiving a child, both important to the story.

This story has some hard lessons in it about grief and what being strong really means. I loved Snow White and hearing more about her life! I hadn't read the original yet as i'm in the middle of reading the Grimm fairy tales so I skipped ahead right before getting into this story to read the original first and then dived into this story.

I loved the pacing, it didn't feel dragged on and at the end I was satisfied with everything. The writing was well done as were the characters. The story about Snow White's life and the lessons learned are where this book really shines though. I may have had some issues here and there but over-all I really enjoyed it and just don't want to spoil anything! I do recommend it if you are into fairy tales or Snow White in particular.

"Bitten" by R. L. Stine Book Review

Blurb

"You'll love them—to death.

Twin sisters Destiny and Livvy Weller return home from summer vacation with a dark secret . . . and an inhuman desire to drink blood. What have they become? Can they ever turn back? As their deadly secret becomes harder to keep, more questions arise and loyalties are tested. And as one sister descends into darkness, the other must find a way to save her—and herself. Who will live to see the glow of the next full moon? Which sister will survive?

In Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Girls #2: The Taste of Night, published together in Bitten, bestselling author R.L. Stine explores the dark creatures of the night."

I read these books as a teenager. I was surprised to see how much I remembered once I got to reading it, a lot of it came flooding back to me. I loved this book as a teenager! Unfortunately I was in a reading slump as I was trying to read this book so it took me awhile. It wasn't this book that did it. Anyway I enjoyed it still, not as much as I did when I was younger but I still enjoyed it just the same. Vampires, drama, fun entertaining read.

I loved the pacing of the book. I loved the characters. The more level-headed Destiny and the more rebellious Livvy. Their dad is great, their little brother is too. It shows how stuff affects him as well with him just being a child. There is suspense, death, blood sucking..

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. My reading slump and the fact I read it and still remembered much of it may have dragged it down, i'm not sure. But I did enjoy it. :) Sorry this may not be the best book review.

February 2016 stats

Book #1- The Awakened
Author: Sara Elizabeth Santana
Gender: Female
Country: USA
Genre: Young Adult
Book Type: Paperback
Pages: 432
Published: December 2015
Star rating: 2.5 out of 5
Series: Duology
Date Started: February 1st, 2016
Date Finished: February 7th, 2016
Days Read: 7
State of book: New

Book #2- Sunstone Volume 1
Author: Stjepan Šejić
Gender: Male
Country: Croatia
Genre: Erotica, Comedy
Book Type: Comic, Paperback
Pages: 128
Published: December 2014
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Series
Date Started: February 16th, 2016
Date Finished: February 18th, 2016
Days Read: 3
State of book: New

I also read some of "Bitten" by R. L. Stine but didn't finish it. I read 373 pages of it in February. (Thank you Goodreads, for I always update as I read lol)

Pages read in February: 933
Average per day: 32
Average rating: 3.75

I was in a reading slump in February. I'm going to try and push out of it now because I do have a lot of books I want to read! I mean I can't buy any books this month (life..) but should be able to again in April *fingers crossed* and I know I can't read that fast compared to how many books I have in my physical TBR. I have no excuse!

Stupid reading slumps.