June 2012 - Page 2 of 2 - The Indelible Rambings of a Wadzi

Adventure June 8, 2012

Epic Pets of Novels

#6 Buttercup the cat from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

For those of you who have read Catching Fire, you will know that this cat can survive anything!

#5 Khufu, the baboon from The Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan

Why is the baboon so epic? Because he’s a lot smarter than he may first appear to be and because he could school Carter at a game of basketball any day of the week! He’s also very useful on their frequent missions to save the world.

I DO NOT OWN THIS FAB ARTWORK!

Khufu playing some B-ball!

#4 Philip of Macedonia the albino crocodile from The Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan

Though technically not really an animal, this albino croc is extremely loyal and brave. You should read the bit where he helps the Kanes against Sobek’s crocs. Not to mention he’s easy to travel with in his shabti form. Don’t know what that is? Read the series!

#3 Mrs O’Leary the hellhound from The Battle of the Labryinth (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan

Most teenagers have normal dogs but Percy Jackson has a hellhound for a pet. He is not normal. It probably isn’t even in his vocabulary. Mrs O’Leary is sweet for the most part but she’s also amazing and she can be very dangerous, so don’t forget to feed her if it’s your turn to do so!

#2 Bernie Kosar the dog (sort of) from I Am Number Four (The Lorien Legacies) series by Pittacus Lore

I don’t want to give away too much but this dog is so not what it seemed at first. If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, then you know how amazing this dog is.

#1 Grimalkin the faery cat from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Not an actual book. A fan made art cover

Do I have to give a reason for Grimalkin’s awesomeness? If asked himself he simply replies “I am a cat!”

Buttercup is a cat too you say? Fine. He’s epic because he is a faery cat! He can be rather cryptic and what with him disappearing all the time he is somewhat like the Cheshire cat, I suppose. It’s clear from the beginning that he only stuck around to help Meg out because she was amusing. I wonder if somewhere deep inside if he really cares about her though. One can only wonder…

Action June 6, 2012

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I hadn’t initially intended on reading this book. I was satisfied with the ending of The Iron Queen. What can I say? I like a good tragedy from time to time. If I can’t have Ash, no one can! But honestly, it took until the end of this book until I was satisfied with Meg’s decision. In the first book, I won’t say that I didn’t like Ash. The whole ‘I’m going to kill you’ thing was actually kind of amusing. But I was Team Puck for the majority of the time, and by the third book I still hadn’t truly made up my mind. The Iron Knight erased all doubts. And this is why….

But first, let’s take a while to look over at the synopsis and awesome trailer.

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Book Cover

Beautiful, as usual. It was nice to have Ash at the front and Puck at the back, with that slight rueful smile. Once again the theme is blue for Winter, as it was in The Iron Daughter. I used to have a thing against seeing faces on covers as it doesn’t give me much room to imagine what the characters look like for myself. Unfortunately, many YA books still have photographs of characters on the front cover. For the most part, however, Kagawa’s books have been handled with care and the characters look more or less how I would imagine them. But on to the important things that the author actually has something to do with.

Settings

I have this thing about descriptions. I like them. They’re very important as its what lets you truly imagine. But I have this awful tendency of skipping them when they get too much. I think that Kagawa handles them with care though. It’s not over the top but it’s enough, and very well done. This is especially important in fantasy books because impossible settings are brought to life. I particularly liked her description of The End of the World and the river that they followed.

Characters

Grimalkin & the Wolf: What can I say? Their banter was the next best thing since Puck and Ash. The cait sith is forever calling the Wolf a dog, and he takes great offence to this, of course. I hadn’t expected to like the Wolf, though I never got to read Winter’s Passage, which is a shame. Still, it was very clear that the Wolf was bad news as soon as he appeared, and I was terrified he’d kill someone I loved, like Puck! I mean, pffh, of course Ash was going to live. Grimalkin was the same old, same old. Infuriating, cryptic, and wise. Kagawa even slipped in his famous line: I am a cat! Love it.

Ash: This is his story and it was a pleasure to finally get into his mind. I was mad that he was only doing this whole quest to keep his stupid oath so that he wouldn’t unravel and die, or worse. In the end, I was satisfied because he made up his mind on his own, with no oath to dictate his decision. Throughout the tests, he finally found out what it meant to be mortal, and he came to finally face all the horrors he had committed in the past. Ash really grew in this novel and I loved seeing him finally discover who he is really was. Not Ash, the Winter Prince- the cold and ruthless faery he had come to despise. He is the Iron Knight.

Puck: This book wasn’t about him, of course and as usual, we didn’t get to delve too deep into his character. On the other hand, I think that he was vital in this novel. Puck was Ash’s best friend before Ariella died and he swore to kill him to avenge her. He provided the comic relief, as usual, which was good because this quest was very important and death defying. The two of them finally resolved the feud between them and I just wanted to cry from the bromance 😀

I know that there is another vital character that I’ve missed out but mentioning them would be a spoiler!

The Tests

Having recently read The Goddess Test, I wasn’t expecting much. Having finished the book, I was just overwhelmed with the AWESOMENESS it radiated! It was… awesome! I was surprised that they all had to have these almost tests (running the gauntlet) to get to The End of the World. They were tests of strength and knowledge. Trust the sphinx’s to give an impossible riddle. Ash had three tests on his own, given to him by the Guardian so he could understand what it meant to be mortal. I don’t want to give too much away about them but I can’t believe that these tests were this hard. How is it that in YA books, the tests for mortality (the soul) is harder than the tests for immortality (The Goddess Test)? Very strange.

Ending- Tying up the loose ends

The ending was incredibly romantic and although their were no church bells, there really didn’t need to be! I’m honestly going to have to say that I’m glad that they didn’t leave the Wolf behind, despite what Grimalkin had to say. Puck will have to get over Meg at some point, and I hope that he appears in the sequel series, The Call of the Forgotten: The Lost Prince being the first book. So now I am finally, truly and utterly, Team Ash!

My Rating:

Five Stars

Adventure June 6, 2012

I’m A Geek on Greeks

I have loved Greek Mythology ever since I was taught about it in year 5 when I was about 9 years old. It was also on the curriculum when I was in year 7, at 11-12 years old. I remember having an argument with a friend of mine on the pronunciation of Persephone’s name. I said ‘Purse-eh-phone’, she said ‘Purse-eh-feh-nee’. We agreed to disagree but I am now forced to admit that she was right. Phone’s hadn’t even been invented them so I thought it was really funny.

So Greek adaptations have allegedly become the new ‘vampire’, as in they are all of a sudden very popular. This trend began last year in 2011 with YA books, though Rick Riordan writes children’s books and his series have been around much longer than this. These books include Meg Cabot’s ‘Abandon’, but here I’ll compare the greek myth adaptations that I have read up to date, YA or not.

Iris Messenger by Sarah Deming

This book was interesting and it had a very different angle to all of the others. In this book, the gods are all fading, whilst many are already gone. Iris comes across a magical… and visits a number of the gods. This includes Athena and Artemis who are now private investigators; Apollo the saxophonist (Yah! He’s playing my instrument.); Ares the lawyer (I couldn’t believe it either but I thought it was actually really smart), and so on.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan (Followed by The Heroes of Olympus Series)

UK cover

US cover

Movie cover

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

– Goodreads summary for The Lightning Thief

This series is wonderfully written, and amongst my favourite books- ever! It is engaging enough for children as young as 9 but intelligently written enough for adults, which is something actually pretty rare. Riordan has a wit and flair that I have seen demonstrated by few authors, with Eoin Colfer being one of the others. This series does not tell the myths all over again like Deming’s Iris Messenger does, which is good because us educated readers won’t be bored stiff, but those who know nothing of Greek mythology can still learn some of the versions. Riordan instead incorporates these ancient myths into modern day America, with a strong and likeable character leading. Another awesome and very Rick Riordan thing is the name of his chapters. Tgey are just hilarious! His first ever chapter in this series is called ‘I Vaporise My Maths Teacher’ (though I believe it’s pre-algebra teacher for you Americans).

The Lightning Thief is followed by:

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan’s Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Demi-god Files (novella)

and The Last Olympian

The Goddess Test

EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT’S KATE’S TURN.

It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride and a goddess.

This is a very good book with Romance, a dash of mystery, and sort of Actual gods, unlike oh. my. gods. Sort of. Check my Archive for my full review.

Oh. My. Gods. & Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs

A modern girl’s comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.

When Phoebe’s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe’s plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That’s right, they’re real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes: supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they’re on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

-summary from Goodreads

This series promises something I don’t get very much from Riordan’s Percy Jackson series- Romance! It was an entertaining, light-hearted read where the fate of the world never once hung in the balance. Not even a single monster appeared. Whilst in some instances, this had me a little sad, but I enjoyed seeing the myth adaptation in a different angle. If you want the fun of Greek myth and romance, this is a book for you. I found the sequel: Goddess Boot Camp somewhat lacking in contrast to the first book but I liked the protagonist, Phoebe nonetheless. I do have to warn you though: NO GODS APPEAR- NOT ONCE!

The Fire Thief Series by Terry Deary

To escape the gods’ revenge, Prometheus travels through time to Eden City in 1858. There, he befriends a young orphan, actor, and petty criminal named Jim. When Jim runs into trouble with the law, Prometheus is torn — if he uses his powers to get his friend out of trouble, he will betray his hiding place to the gods. Terry Deary masterfully interweaves two plots, with action jumping at a whirlwind pace from Mount Olympus to the seedy taverns and elegant mansions of Victorian Eden City. Packed with puns, wisecracks, and sarcastic footnotes, The Fire Thief turns Greek mythology into a laughing matter.

– summary from Goodreads

This series is very different from the others as it follows the story of Prometheus himself. Although referred to as a demigod in this series, Prometheus was a Titan. Though related to Zeus and the others as cousins, Theus (as he is referred to) is well known for being punished by Zeus himself for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals.

Other books you might like that I have not yet read:

Abandon by Meg Cabot (This is the wallpaper, not book cover, but they look more or less the same. US cover)

Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy

13-year-old Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena (or Pandy, for short) has no idea what she’ll bring for her school project. By accident she discovers a simple box, said to contain something so terrifying and horrible that no one must ever, ever touch it for fear of inflicting all of mankind with the wrath of the Gods and Goddesses. This, of course, makes the box the perfect thing for Pandora to bring for her school project. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite the way she was hoping, and the box accidentally gets opened, unleashing all kinds of evil and misery into the world. Hauled before Zeus, Hera and the rest of immortals, Pandy’s given the task of collecting all the evils within a year’s time.

– Goodreads summary

Hippocampus by Tom Tancin- an E-book

An Island that Shouldn’t Exist…
A Life He Didn’t Know…
A Destiny That Can’t Be Escaped

There was no turning back. We were going to set into motion a revolution that could either save Atlantis or leave it destroyed in the process.

Sixteen-year-old Trey Atlas’ known life is a lie. While he was raised in Miami, Trey was actually born in Atlantis. Sent off the legendary island as a baby for his own safety, Trey is the only living heir to the Atlantean throne. Whether he likes it or not, Trey has to go back to his birthplace and accept his role as the Ruling Prince and lead the revolution to defeat the Knights of the Abyss. Otherwise, thousands of innocent lives and his true family legacy could be lost forever.

– Synopsis from Goodreads

Fantasy June 4, 2012

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

I give this one four starts

VERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT’S KATE’S TURN. It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.Then she meets Henry.

Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride and a goddess.
-Synopsis from Goodreads

So I finished this last week actually but it took me a while to write the review. This is yet again, another Greek myth adaptation novel, and I think in many ways it worked, in others it did not.

Once I finished this novel I loved it. I enjoyed watching the protagonist grow slowly, and of course the romance between her and Henry was good. For once, the couple did not fall madly in love all of a sudden, and they got to know each other instead before the protagonist fully made up her mind. The prologue captured my attention, making me ask a lot of questions, and one of the underlining mysteries is who is killing all of the girls? And is Kate next? Although some reviewers on Goodreads said that they saw the killer coming, others were more honest and were surprised. I am one of them.

In this novelisation, the Greek gods are real, but not as we have known them. I wouldn’t have minded this idea if it had been executed better. So Aimee Carter changed how the Persephone story ended- and let me make it clear, Kate is NOT Persephone- and I was fine with that. But how is she to make me believe that the Greek gods are NOT the lustful, wrath filled gods I know them to be from mythology? Zeus’ speech in this novel was in this way incredibly hypocritical and I just didn’t get why Carter changed it all. I was able to guess half of the identities of the gods before I saw the list at the back (WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT READ BEFORE YOU FINISH THE NOVEL! Seriously it’ll ruin the whole damn book!).

I loved Kate’s relationship with her mother and her friendship with the mean girl was not one that I initially saw coming. Kate’s mum is dying from cancer and any day soon, she will be gone. Henry’s deal with Kate was incredibly moving, even if he didn’t see it as a big deal. Which brings me to Henry/ Hades…

Let’s face it, Hades in myth is bad-ass! Henry is not. I don’t want to give away too much but whilst in some ways he was a good god of the Underworld, sometimes I just thought that he was simply sad. I thought that the way he never stopped loving Persephone was sweet, but only to a point. The whole self-loathing thing I guess I can understand, but I wish he’d been more powerful. Sure he brought back people from the dead, but that is such an un-Hades thing to do. Still, I think the character stood on his own and I actually ended up really liking him! Thank you Aimee Carter! Next time add just a sprinkle- or a fist full- of bad-assery. Can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel!

Epic Characters June 3, 2012

Forbidden Romances

Schuyler Van Alen & Jack Force

From the beginning Sky was intrigued by Jack. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the first book of the Blue Blood series so I can’t really remember how their love blossomed. Some people would critique that it was the typical brooding guy who isn’t interested who is mean to said girl who falls in love with said girl. This can also be said for Meghan and Ash actually! One of the things I loved about these two was the secret notes. Jack gave lot of secret messages and left them in books- usually the Classic types that I wouldn’t read. But it was so romantic! They even met up secretly. This did sometimes make me feel sorry for Oliver, who is Schuyler’s best friend who surprise, surprise, fell in love with her!

By Uzumaki-Akane-sama

Ky Markham & Cassia
In a society where who you love and marry, where you work, and where you live is dictated to you, Cassia never had a choice. But this was never a problem for her until she realised that her perfect Society wasn’t as perfect as she thought it was. So she fell in love with Ky, a boy that was doomed to have a Single status for the rest of his life, and not by choice. Their kind of forbidden love is much like Meg & Ash’s and Sky & Jack’s. Society has dictated that cannot be together. But unlike the other couples, I’m not sure if I liked them as a pair. I loved that their romance blossomed slowly and piece by piece, Cassia began to understand who the real Ky was. It was sweet, I admit. But a big part of me felt sorry for the other guy in this novel, the guy Cassia had been matched with. I don’t want to give it away. And another part of me thinks that the only reason Cassia fell for Ky was because the Society had actually been the one to ALLOW it to happen! And they think that Cassia will then just let it go? Pffh. They manipulated her and expected it to go their way. Despite this, at the end of the day they were really, truly in love. So there. Dumb Society. So am I Team Ky? I’m not sure but I’m willing to follow Cassia’s adventures anyway.

Suze Simon & Jesse de Silva
Although not quite a forbidden romance, it is somewhat difficult to keep up a relationship when one of them is dead, and the other is alive. What is very interesting about their romance is that it didn’t start off like the lovey-dovey Bella and Edward. When Suze first saw Jesse haunting her new bedroom she made it perfectly clear that she wanted him gone. It was her room and just because he was perfectly sexy didn’t mean that she wanted anything to do with him. Good on you. Their relationship started off as friendship, and even that had been a reluctant one to begin with. Of course, the path of true love never did run smoothly and so a strange love triangle was formed when Suze met Paul Slater, the only other mediator (person who can see and communicated with ghosts) that she has know-ahem, her own age. See, I know about Father Dom. I find this love triangle particularly unique because for once, the girl wasn’t actually interested. So he threatened time and time again to do away with the annoying ghost. And he can do that because he’s Paul. So whilst Jesse and Suze don’t quite have a forbidden romance, it is a very difficult one. And did I mention that he’s a hot Spanish speaking ghost? Hubbah, hubbah!

by YukoRabbit

Donia & Keenan
Ok, so their love isn’t technically forbidden either, and I just want an excuse to mention the Wicked Lovely series. Sue me. Their love is however very difficult. Donia is of Winter and Keenan is of Summer. That is not a particularly easy relationship to keep up, especially when Keenan already technically has a queen. There is somewhat of a love triangle between Aislinn, Keenan and Donia, but it is further more complicated by Seth, the human that is in love with Ash. I don’t want to give too much away about the series but the focus here is Don and Keenan. They love each other, and Keenan knows this as she put her life on the line to be with him. She took the test and she failed, which meant that she caught Winter’s chill. I mean how sweet is that? So what does Keenan do? He moves on to the next girl! I have a problem with this and so ultimately I spent the majority of the series hating Keenan but what I do? I feel bad for Donia but the truth of the matter is that Keenan has a Court to look after, and Donia isn’t in it.

by bluestheword

Meghan Chase & Ash

by Kyoumei & kouhii-usagi

These two are the best! I just love them. Meghan was the half blood that Ash wanted to kill from the beginning. She was Summer and he was the Winter prince. Their love was doomed from the start. And that’s what makes it so interesting! Like Jack, Ash had the whole brooding bad boy thing going on, but he took it to the extreme, as he was clearly ready to kill Meg from the beginning. But that’s just how it goes, as he is the Winter prince after all. I understood that. So, go figure, she falls for him anyway! Hadn’t seen that coming. Ash hides behind this exterior, a wall he’s built for himself to avoid getting hurt. When I found out about this later, I completely understood. But in the first book, I was incredibly wary of him and I couldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. Meg should have been the same. So did their love work? I think it did, after some convincing. Needless to say, I was never on his Team to begin with. Yes, Kagawa has indeed used the love triangle in her series, and yes, it is with the girl’s best friend. Nothing new their. Or so you might think. I don’t want to get too into it in this post- I’ll make a separate one- but Ash and the best friend in question are long time rivals. How very interesting indeed. A part of me wished things had been left as they were in The Iron Queen, and yet another part wanted them to have that Happily Ever After. Please let me know what you think. Do you prefer the ending of The Iron Queen, or The Iron Knight? Team Ash? Or Team other guy? Alright, I’ll say it. Team Puck?

So who is your favourite couple and why? Let me know!

Coming Soon June 2, 2012

Reached by Ally Condie- Coming Soon!

This one will be a long wait with the release date being the 13 of November 2012

Cassia faces the ultimate choices in the long-anticipated conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.
– Synopsis from Goodreads

Art June 1, 2012

I Just Can’t Get Enough Art Work!

So I see that fan art work is very popular! Well, I guess I’ll have to give you what you want then. Please feel free to request what books you would like to see art work from. If you want me to display your own art work, feel free to contact me through my blog or directly through my email address: wadzi21061336185@aol.com Yes, I know. It’s a mouth full and I still don’t know how I remember it. Darn AOL! They did it for ‘security’ purposes. As if I’d more secure by no one emailing me. Anyway, please enjoy the art and ignore my rant:

Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia By muzicrain
This awesome artist insists that this is only step 3 of her master pice and she isn’t yet finished but it’s stunning even the way it is now.

Cassia by Sispal

The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

Puck by mseregon

Ash and Meghan by Kyoumei & kouhii-usagi

Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider by amie689

Alex Rider as imagined and digitally created by senyan

Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson by Phoenix67

Hazel Levesque by kataangsupporter

The Blue Blood series by Melissa de la Cruz

Gabrielle, the Uncorrupted by Myoubichan

Mimi Force by arabelle-shiroke

Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr

Donia and Keenan by bluestheword

Left to Right: Beira, Keenan, Donia. At front: Aisilinn and Seth by Pukalince

I hope you love these artworks as much as I do and these artists over on DeviantArt! Let me and the artists know what you think please! Their accounts are hyperlinked.