Dracula by Bram Stoker

A Signet Classics, Dracula seemed fitting for Halloween. I must admit, I was quite hesitant to start his novel since I am easily scared and my mind tends to wander and play tricks especially at night. Even now I am afraid to take my dog out once more before retiring for bed. Wow, can you see how I am writing like the people in the book. It is still fresh in my mind and a little scary. This novel starts off keeping your attention as Jonathan is held prisoner in Dracula's castle, but it quickly loses pace when we are transfered to England and introduced to all the other characters in the book. I found it very difficult to continue reading since I prefer quick reads and this definately takes time to read. It is more difficult as well because of the old, proper writing. It is told through diaries and wired posts of everyone involved in this story so you constantly change from one person to another, but it does well staying in a chronological order. There were times that I did not understand how a certain entry really added to the story, but it all fits together. By the time you finally get to the end you get hooked as Dracula escapes and is being hunted. It is not so much a terrifying story as everyone is very familiar with it, but how it is written messes with your mind and makes you start to second guess what is real and what can not possibly happen such as Dracula showing up when I take the dog out or standing by my bed when I wake up in the middle of the night. It is a classic book that all should read, but be ready to have to push through since you will find yourself wanting to drop the book and give up for something easier to read.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

The Commander has a very strict government. If you kill someone no matter what you are tried for murder and executed. That's how Yelena found herself in a jail, killing a man in self defense since he was raping and torturing her. On the day of her execution, the Commander's food taster has died and since Yelena is next in line to be executed, the job is offered to her. She takes it without realizing that she has been given Butterfly Dust and in order to not die from it she must get the annecdote every morning. Yelena also has a price on her head and is constantly in danger of being killed since she murdered a General's son and he wants revenge. Escape is death no matter what. As Yelena strives to make it to the end of each day she finds out she also has magical powers which unfortunately is also an offense that leads to death so she must hide this information. She gets tangled up in a plot to overthrow the Commander and must decide if her loyalty is to Valek (her food taster mentor and second in command) or her desire to go the Setia, the land of the magicians, but there's that little problem of the Butterfly Dust.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and not too involved in magic or love like most books I've been reading lately. This book was referred to me by A Novel Addiction.

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The Clockwork Angel is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments. It definately did not disappoint you and was nice that it's not completely the same story retold again. Yes, we have our talented, handsome troubled young man who has feelings for our young girl that finds herself mixed up with the world of the Shadowhunters, but can't completely release himself to her. The twist is that Tessa is a warlock of some sort, but no one knows exactly she is since she does not really fall completely in the Downworlder category of warlock. She is able to change forms into any human being she has a personal belonging from. She can read their thoughts and mimic their personality and persona. Her brother gets involved with a downworlder human club and Tessa is held captive and forced to learn these hidden talents she did not realize she had. She is of course freed by our troubled hero Will. Will attitude is much like Jace's in the Mortal Instruments, but we don't know yet what drives him to be who he is. Someone is trying to get Tessa for her talents since they 'created' her and there is an automative army that pursues her. I didn't realize this was going to be another series, but it will be fun to have more books to read since these are fun and entertaining. Only drawback is having to wait for the books to come out.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

This historical fiction book is about Helmuth, a mormon german boy during World War II. It starts during the election of Hitler as chancelor and follows Helmuth as he is forced to join the Hitler youth. he struggles with his feelings on patriotism and his moral beliefs of right and wrong. As more and more of his rights are taken away, Helmuth finds himself secretly listening to the BBC and realizing how much his country is hiding information from them. He sees the transformation of his friends and church members that are 'interogated' by the SS. He starts writing pamphlets about what is really going on and what he hears on the BBC. With the help of two of his school mates, they distribute these pamphlets around the city in telephone booths and other public areas that they don't have to personally hand them to people. Later he recruits the help of a fellow collegue to get the pamphlets mass produced and even tries to get them translated and sent to France. Unfortunately they are all caught and tried for their crimes. Most get sentenced to jail time, however, Helmuth is tried as an adult for treason and sentenced to death.

Helmuth and the characters in this book are real people and this is based off a real story. It doesn't have any chapters, but goes back and forth between real time at the jail waiting for his execution date and reminising about the events that lead up to his death. It is a good book and meant for kids grades 6-9. The author does tie in quite a bit Helmuth's beliefs and the church to emphasize why Helmuth feels this pull for moral freedom and supporting his country. At the end of the book you are able to see pictures of the characters and get a breif overview of what happened to all of them after Helmuth died.

Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist

Once again, another Deeanne Gist book. Once I start reading an author's book I tend to try to read all the books they have out. This was one of the better ones that was a little entertaining and didn't really have anyone super annoying like some of her other books. Tillie is a young woman working as a maid for a rich couple. She has the opportunity to become one of the top helpers and is competing against another young woman. Mack is a mountain man (I say man instead of boy since all romantic novels have tall, muscular, broad men with dark eyes). His twin brother works along with Tillie and so is employed as a handyman and to serve alongside his handsome twin as a perfect match. Of course the two of them fall in love, but Tillie can not leave her dream of being top maid and the opportunity to travel the world and Mack must earn enough money to get his sister out of a horrible orphanage and get his three younger brothers back together.

Flash Burnout: A Novel by L.K. Madigan

I found this book through greenbeenteenqueen, a fellow book review blogger. Blake is a 15 year old high schooler with a jock older brother and a beautiful girlfriend, Shannon, that he is in love with. He has all the typical emotions, desires, and language of a hormonal teenager trying to figure out girls and make it through high school and family life. He is into photography and has his friend Marissa from photography class that he pairs with. Blake takes a photo of a lady passed out on the street which ends up being Marissa's meth using mother. We follow Blake as he struggles to be a good boyfriend while also helping a friend cope with her mother's meth recovery. Of course Shannon is jealous of the time Blake spends with Marissa even though it is completely innocent until one day that Marissa's mother runs away and they are afraid she is dead. In a moment of comforting Marissa, Blake and Marissa sleep together and weeks later Shannon finds out. We watch Blake struggle to figure out what to do and how to cope with everything especially when Marissa disappears.

This was a good book. If you are sensitive to language and some intimate content or even dead bodies you probably won't want to read this. Otherwise, I think this is a great book about teen relationships and what different kids go through as well as learning about the repercussions of using any drugs or even drinking.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks newest novel, Safe Haven was not as good as I imagined considering Sparks is a more popular writer, but it was still a very good book. Katie ends up starting a new life in a small town to escape her abusive husband. While there, she finds out who she really is and finds true love with widower Alex and his two children. This is a good way to see firsthand how abusive relationships affect everyone, not just the woman getting beat up, but the husband and others that become part of their life. Katie's husband is a cop so it is near impossible for Katie to escape from Kevin. Even filing a complaint is dismissed because it's Kevin, the best detective in the area and they have a great life. Katie is made to be the 'perfect' wife, perfect hair, perfect body, cooks candlelit expensive restaurant style meals and pleasures her husband in any way that he wants. If she is hit it is because she was selfish and only thinking of herself such as having food stains in the fridge or getting her hair done and buying groceries on his day off even though he does not allow her to have a drivers license and must be accompanied by him wherever she goes. It's a sad tale of all women who get stuck in similar situations that cannot escape, but someone Katie does and is then hunted down by Kevin endangering Alex and his children. If you are like me and haven't read any of Nicholas Sparks books, then grab one and expand your reading.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

It has been a while since I have read a more serious book so I was a little relunctant to start this novel thinking it would be boring compared to all the other books I have been reading. This book was referred to me through BzzAgent, an online word-of-mouth website. I did enjoy this book and was able to understand the life of two women living in Afghanistan leading up to 9/11. It was a tragic story about Mariam's life. She was born a harami, an illigitimate child, living in pretty much isolation on a hill with her mentally disturbed mother. Her father visits every week giving Mariam hope of a loving father. When she is 15 she goes to visit her father who refuses to let her in his home. That night her mother hangs herself and Mariam finds herself being married off to a much older man in a faraway city. She is unable to have children and is hated by her husband and beaten regularly.

The other woman we follow is Laila, she is much younger than Mariam and lives in teh same neighborhood. She ends up sleeping with her love at age 14 before he leaves with his family to flee Afghanistan. Weeks later her family is killed and she finds herself in Mariams home as the second wife to cover her pregnancy. The rest of the novel follows the two of them as they struggle to survive and get along. I don't want to elaborate more on the story in fear of ruining it, but it leaves you sad, but happy at the same time.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Wow, I have really grown to like this series. I finished books 1-5 and am trying patiently to wait for book six to be released on Dec 7, 2010, Last Sacrafice. So yes, I finished books 4 and 5 in 3 days. That's saying a lot since I have two young boys, one that I'm potty training and a dog that I'm also potty training. Let's just say the kids are a little grumpy today and needing attention so of course I'm writing this quick review while the books are fresh in my mind. Anyway. Our beloved Dimitri has finally been rescued by love of his life Rose who broke into a high security prison to release Victor and then lost him, but was able to get the information she and Lissa needed to be able to learn how to change Dimitri back from strigoi to a dhampir. Unfortunately, the reunion isn't what we hoped for. Dimitri feels extremely guilty for all he did and tells Rose his love for her has 'faded.' Ouch. Of course we know that has to be wrong. At the same time Rose is finally hooked up with Adrian whom I have grown to enjoy and feel sympathy for. It makes you even more frustrated with Dimitri and his whole pride, I don't deserve anything attitude. Well, of course we're left wondering what is going to happen with Rose since she has been framed for the murder of the queen. It doesn't seem like there is much chance for her to get out of this, but I'm sure she will. I do however feel that there is a good chance that Adrian will either die or go crazy from spirit use because there is no way both he and Dimitri can stay in Rose's life and I hate to see Adrian lose the one girl that he is infatuated with unless he can find another girl to take Rose's place. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If you like Twilight, don't campare this to it. I like this so much better than Twilight and admittedly, the more I read, the less likely I will ever find myself rereading the Twilight series since there are other books in the world outside of Twilight.