Review: "Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead

From Goodreads: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever...
My Thoughts: I have never really been interested in reading this series and I am still not really sure what possessed me to pick this book up. I guess I figured it would be similar to Twilight and I am kind of over all that. Vampire Academy really surprised me in that the story was good, the characters were deep and believable and it wasn't another super cheesy vampire romance book. Rose and Lissa are fantastic characters and I love that Ms. Mead made them so normal (despite the whole Moroi/dhampir aspect). They both struggle with bullying, one struggles with depression and they both have their crushes. I love that Rose is so tough and yet so caring and attentive toward Lissa, she was kind of a pain in the butt but I could really relate to her. I also loved the surprise at the end regarding who was causing so much trouble at the end; I love when I don't figure out who the bad guy is before it's revealed! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series. 4 stars.

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Review and Giveaway: "Distant Signs" by Anne Richter

Synopsis: Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over...

Mailbox Monday (49)

It's time for another Mailbox Monday post! Once again I could not resist the cheap ebooks that Amazon and Barnes and Noble were promoting this week. I really need to stop! I already have more than I can read. I also was able to spend a little time browsing at the library and I came home with a nice stack of books. These days, I hardly ever get to spend time at the library by myself for more than a minute or two so it was wonderful to have time to just wander and see what I could find. Purchased (for kindle): The Color of Secrets by Lindsay Ashford The One I Was by Eliza Graham House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty Purchased (for nook): One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams From the Library: The Messenger by Daniel Silva The Ripper's Wife by Brandy Purdy Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner Brazen by Katherine Longshore What books did you get...

Review and Giveaway: "This Son of York" by Anne Easter Smith

Synopsis: Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by This Son of York…” — William Shakespeare, Richard III Richard III was Anne’s muse for her first five books, but, finally, in This Son of York he becomes her protagonist. The story of this English king is one of history’s most compelling, made even more fascinating through the discovery in 2012 of his bones buried under a car park in Leicester. This new portrait of England’s most controversial king is meticulously researched and brings to vivid life the troubled, complex Richard of Gloucester, who ruled for two years over an England tired of war and civil strife. The loyal and dutiful youngest son of York, Richard lived most of his short life in the shadow of his brother, Edward IV, loyally supporting his sibling until the mantle of power was thrust unexpectedly on him. Some of his actions and motives were misunderstood by his enemies to have been a deliberate usurpation of the throne, but thr...

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