Review: Snow White & The Huntsman by Lily Blake

Snow White and the Huntsman

by Lily Blake, Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini

Paperback, 240 pages

Published June 5th 2012 by Poppy (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN

0316213276 (ISBN13: 9780316213271)

Copy provided by- Personal Purchase

A breathtaking new vision of a legendary tale. Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman who was dispatched to kill her.

Review-


 Fast-paced fantasy adventure -quick enjoyable read based on the movie.




Since I hadn't seen the movie yet, I wanted to read the book first. But, I really didn't know this book was based on the movie before I bought it.




We start the adventure based on the Snow White fairytale  by the original works of the Brothers Grimm.

King Magnus is killed on his wedding night, by the hands of his new wife Ravenna. Queen Ravenna then imprisons Snow, and takes over the kingdom. Ravenna is powered by magic, and needs beautiful girls, to steal their youth, and beauty to stay young and beautiful herself. After, many years Ravenna learns Snow White's heart will sustain the Queen's beauty forever, so the Queen set's out to fetch Snow from the dungeon. The Queen's brother goes to the dungeon to get Snow, only to be attacked by her and she flees into the Dark Forest.
Entering the Dark Forest is a death sentence, few have survived, but Snow manages to get lucky, although, I wouldn't call it luck per se. She passes out after a brief encounter with a drug-like plant. Meanwhile, back at the castle the Queen is irate and sends her brother and some forces to find and recapture Snow, with the help of a man who has actually survived trekking through the forest. The Huntsman, a drunk who is promised something in return for Snow, sets off with the Queen's men but as he sees Snow for the first time, he changes his mind and winds up helping her instead of the Queen. Now, they must escape this deadly forest or die trying.

Although, I would of loved to see more from this book as in the way of more elaborate scenes and settings it didn't disappoint or sway me from not seeing the movie. I adore fantasy novels, movies, etc.  I also love the scenes, special effects, etc. in fantasy worlds. I'll be looking forward to the movie, as the book does not depict every detail in the actual movie.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Edition: Hardcover, 352 pages

ISBN: 0062085484

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Published: November 15th 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Science Fiction

Borrowed from Library



Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Review:    Well written, intriguing plot, cliffhanger ending

Shatter Me was a total surprise. After reading the first few pages I already saw the author's writing style shine through. I actually thought she paralelled the way the world is today with what could happen in the future. The only annoying  part of the book was the strike text throughout the whole book. Example:  My parents emptied their pockets of me and left me to evaporate on a concrete slab.” Now, maybe I'm just, dare I say not a young adult O-o That could of been the reason that I found this element of the book to be annoying and distracting. I'm sure others will not have a problem with this, but I found it to be an element that I could do without. 

Juliette is a young girl who has lived her existence with power. A power to kill with her touch. She has lived as a "freak" of sorts in a seemingly normal world. Her parents disown her, they are afraid their daughter is an insane monster. Juliette is then locked away, alone, in a strange underground,  building. She sees no one, talks to no one and is isolated from everything, and everyone. She is confined to a cell and is allowed one meal and one shower a day. The world is empty for her and the only solstice she has is her notebook , her diary of everything she feels, experiences, are scrawled into this one thing she has left from her past.

Meanwhile, life above ground has changed as the world has gone through a Apocalypse. Loss of homes, business, everything is now a battle to survive. Food is scarce, death has succumbed many. Now people are kept in groups under watchful eyes of a group of leaders who control everything. These leaders have formed a Communism, and rule with an iron fist. With soldiers who are trained and armed.
They have agendas with what they want from people and control food rations, and life in this "new" world.

Adam is one of the solders who is thrown into Juliette's cell. The first person Juliette has seen or talked to in almost a year. She is surprised, confused, and believes he is sent to her cell to kill her.
But, of course things are not what they seem.... He may just turn out to be the only person, able to help her.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Tahereh has a way with words that have you thinking about the world we live in today and what could happen in the future, though I doubt any of us will have supernatural powers! This book reminded me of X-Men, but only because of the supernatural powers.
The characters in this book will have you wondering what agenda's they have, and who  really is the good guy/bad guy. It had mystery, action, suspense, and a pretty good kick a** chick in it, that I can only see getting more and more powerful as she learns what and how to use the powers she has.
This story had twist and turns and although the ending was getting soo good it ended with a cliffhanger!! Oh, whoa is me, I have to wait till what, like next year to find out what happens... :(
4/5 Stars

                                          



Memorable Quotes:

“The sun drops into the ocean and splashes browns and red and yellows and oranges into the world outside my window.”  A million leaves from a hundred different branches dip in the wind, fluttering with the false promise of flight. The gust catches their withered wings only to force them downward, forgotten, left to be trampled by the soldiers stationed below."

"There is still a chance to change things. We can provide fresh drinking water to all people. We can make sure crops are not regulated for profit; we can ensure that they are not genetically altered to benefit manufactures. Our people are dying because we are feeding them poison. Animals are dying because we are forcing them to eat waste, forcing them to live in their own filth, caging them together and abusing them. Plants are withering away because we are dumping chemicals into the earth that make them hazardous to our health. But these are the things we can fix.
"We are fed lies because believing them makes us weak, vulnerable, malleable. We depend on others for our food, health sustenance. This cripples us. Creates cowards of our people. Slaves of our children. It's time for us to fight back."



A TASTE OF MIDNIGHT/ LARA ADRIAN /MY REVIEW

A shimmering holiday gala lights up an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands, but beautiful widowed Breedmate Danika MacConn feels alone in the crowd. Even among the friends and festivity of the Darkhaven celebration, she can’t forget her lost love, a fallen warrior of the Order. Her brief return to her mate’s homeland has become treacherous after rejecting the advances of a dangerous Edinburgh crime boss with a taste for blood sport.

As Danika seeks to expose the vampire and his dark trade, she discovers an unexpected ally in his forbidding, enigmatic henchman, Brannoc, a man who exudes heat, danger, and dark menace--and seems somehow achingly familiar. Bran has his own reasons for wanting to keep Dani out of his employer’s business . . . and his own secrets he means to keep buried. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a woman who tempts the wildest part of his Breed nature--especially when that woman is Danika MacConn, the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees.

 

MY REVIEW   ~  Midnight Breed Series Book #9.5 , Novella

Danika MacConn, widowed breedmate of Conlan, former warrior of the Order,  is trying to live a life without her love. She stays with his family in Scotland with their infant.
Danika's breed powers enables her to hear people's thoughts and while at a holiday gala, meeting a dangerous crime boss, Edinburgh, she hears a warning in her head, a voice that seems familiar to stay away from him. As she tries to place the voice, she sees a familiar face within his security and tries to find out more about him, he shuts her down and refuses to admit who he really is.
Danika being smart, though abit too curious finds herself on dangerous grounds in Edinburghs terroritory and again runs into the man that haunts her thoughts as someone she knows all too well. The mystery man comes to her aid, but not before others find she is coming too close for comfort within Eidinburghs dealings. A dangerous feat, that may cost her, her life, and that of her infants as well.

Bran is a scorned man who is hiding his idenity, from more than one person. He has an agenda and is beyond reason to fufill it. As he sees Danika, a piece of his past enfolds before him and feelings are brought to light. He will not let anyone stand in his way of his plan at vengeance.
As he now has another reason to go after the evil, that has haunted him for many years, he will do all he can to protect the ones he loves before he is too late, yet again.

*A well written Novella, that is part of the Midnight Breed Series, that branches off into a different storyline from the continuation of the series. It does add a sense of closure for this breedmates story. Although, I can see new alliances being used in the Order's fight against Dragos, in future books. I hope! On to the next one...Darker After Midnight #10 in the Midnight Breed Series.

          
                            

Amazon $1.99 from the Kindle store

DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT/ LARA ADRIAN /MY REVIEW

                                                                        

                                                                        Book Description

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well—the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos’s most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he’s hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he’ll go to end Dragos’s reign of evil—even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne’s tender heart.

MY REVIEW~

Lara Adrian does it again, another great continuation to The Midnight Breed Series. 

Lara has brought back excitement and intrique in the Breed's series.

Corrine Bishop, a breedmate who has lived the last 75 years imprisoned and tortured by Dragos, is finally freed thanks to the warriors of the order, but life is not any easier, now that she is free. She must adjust to this "new" world, and must find a way to reconnect with her family, who have thought her for dead all these years. She sets off with a member of the Order, Hunter, to reunite with her family who are a little more then surprised to see her after all these years. Hunter, being a Gen One Warrior who has been thru his own hell at the hands of Dragos, knows something is amiss at Corrine's families darkhaven. Secrets of the past are unveiled and Corrine wants to escape all the lies. Hunter stays with Corrine to keep her safe, and finds new leads in the Order's fight against Drago's. Corrine also has an agenda that she keeps hidden from Hunter, but one thing they cannot hide is the ever growing feelings they have for one another. 

Meanwhile, back at the Order's compound, a breed member is on the verge of going rouge. He walks out on his "Brothers" and disappears into the night, leaving them with a sense of loss. But, with a string of luck he sets off on his own and finds much more then he bargains for.
Drago's proves once again to be a thorn in the Order's side, as he now knows where the Order's compound is, and will use that bit of information to help him bring them down once and for all.....

*This book was a turn in the right direction for Lara, I really loved the many different storylines going on at the same time, and felt this book to be an improvement from her last two installments. I am continuing on to the next book in this series A Taste Of Midnight # 9.5,Novella. I'm also looking forward to reading Darker After Midnight #10, Sterling Chase's book.

4 Stars

KINDLE FIRE/ MY REVIEW

Movies, apps, games, music, reading and more, plus Amazon's revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser

19 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books Thousands of popular apps and games, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and more Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle - same as an iPad Fast, powerful dual-core processor Favorite children's books, graphic novels, and magazines in rich color Amazon Prime Members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming on thousands of popular movies and TV shows. Amazon Prime Members choose from thousands of books to borrow for free. 8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content). That's enough for 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.

BOOKS/MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS



TV/MOVIES


GAMES/APPS/WEB BROWSING

MUSIC




*MY REVIEW*

Being that this is my first e-reader/tablet, I really didn't have anything else to compare the Kindle Fire to, but I must say this device is perfect for my needs.

 It's a great e-reader, holding 6,000 books that are downloaded in mere seconds. In addition to holding all those books you are also offered the Cloud storage, a free storage device for all Amazon content. So you can have the option of holding books on your device and/or the storage. The Cloud storage can hold all your Amazon content that you have downloaded. So the storage is basically a library of your books at your fingertips.

It's also a great system to play and store your music. With good sound quality, and music can be played as a backdrop while you use your Kindle. 

It also can can play Movies, TV Shows with live streaming or you can download your movies directly on the device or utilize the Cloud storage, again. With a very high resolution screen, colors pop and images are perfect.

Play games on this device, get 1000's of APPS, with again a high resolution, as images and colors pop out of the screen. Games/Apps can be downloaded from Amazon, which offers Apps from Android and they offer a good selection of free games/apps.

Surf the web, with wireless connection from your home or anywhere that offers wireless connection.
This system comes with the Amazon Silk technology which is basically an accelerated browser(split browser) with connection speeds and power you'll be surfing the web with ease. I can say I've had no problems getting connected and staying connected. It actually is quicker then my laptop.

Amazon also offers a free 1 year warranty with the option to purchase a 2 year warranty for your device.

They also offer a free trial month of Amazon Prime which is a great way to utilize the free movies, tv s.hows, book lending program, and the 2 day free shipping on most items, labeled with the Amazon Prime logo.

It's a great device that offers more than other e-readers and it's price is hard to beat at $199.00.

 My only gripe with the Kindle Fire, it has a horrible glare in bright sunlight and indoor bright light making the device nearly impossible to use outdoors. It's a huge disappointment to this almost perfect device.
I'm sure future Kindle Fire's will be upgraded and they will eventually come up with a solution to this annoying problem. There is also the option of purchasing an anti-glare, screen protection sheet, but reviews are saying while the glare is reduced the image quality is also reduced. I haven't purchased the screen protection sheet so I'm not sure if it actually will reduce glare when using the Kindle Fire outside.

I am giving the Kindle Fire 4 Stars but only because of the glare issue. I would highly recommend this tablet, especially if your an avid Amazon shopper, reader, and now gamer, like me!

                                                                            

*Leave your comments or questions about Kindle Fire below, I will be happy to answer them for you.  Thanks!

Dead Witch Walking/ Kim Harrison /My Review

 

All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party...and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining - and it's Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.

A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead...or undead. ~Goodreads

My Review~

This book had all the elements of a story that I look for in a book. Witches, vamps, other paranormal creatures like pixies, fairies, demons, kick butt-chicks. But, what it was lacking in the begining was a feeling to grab you and absorb you into this book and it's characters.

I found the writing style to be painful at times and actual boredom creeping through me, forcing my way thru this book. I actually wanted to stop reading it, and put it away to finish another day, or never! But that feeling would soon disappear when the next page peeked my interst and signs of Harrison's true writing ability stood out. At times this book intrigued me and had me turning pages and at other times I wanted to throw it threw the wall.

Harrison being a well loved writer and this series being so highly reviewed and recommended, I felt there had to be something more, something that had me wanting to trudge ahead and actually finish the book. I'm glad I stuck to it and finished it because the writing style improves and the storyline only gets better. With the second part of this book being refreshing, interesting, and action infused.

I fell for the series, due in part to the second half of the book. So I would recommend sticking to it, and finishing it. It does get better, and you will feel triumphant when it is finished.  4 stars