Top Ten Tuesday: Food

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Yummy Foods Mentioned in Books

This is one of the best prompts ever!

 
 
 
 
 

The Ruins of Gorlan

From Goodreads:    They have always scared him in the past—the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . .






My Thoughts:

-    It was fun to start one of my favorite series again. If you haven't read these, do! They are SO good! 

-    This was my first review of the book before I started blogging:

Fantastic! If you love fantasy and adventure, you'll love this book. It reminded me of Raymond E. Feist's books and Lloyd Alexander books, but it was it's own book still.

Plot: Reading about Will becoming a Ranger was very interesting, and I also liked the side story of Horace. I think Horace will play a bigger role in later books. The boar fight was exciting, and the ending was really suspenseful and thrilling. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from page 1.

Characters: The characters were all really well done. I love Will and his relationship with the other characters, especially with Halt and Tug. I thought Halt's character is perfect for a mysterious mentor. I am eager to learn more about Halt and his past. The only problem I had with the book is why Horace let the older 3 boys treat him so badly for so long. At one point, I think someone like him would try to retaliate rather than just take it. Oh well, everything worked out in the end. 

I'm really excited to read this series!

-    I don't feel like I need to add more. I feel the same about this book as I did the first time I read it. 

Fan Art Friday: Ranger's Apprentice

Ranger's Apprentice is one of my favorite series! I love every one of these books!

I wish I had been able to find a wider variety of characters and scenes, but I think I got some good ones. Sadly, none of the illustrations capture the way I picture these characters in my head. The last one is my favorite. I love the colors, and it is the closest to what I imagine Will to look like.

Which is your favorite?

Have you read this series?

All he artwork is linked to the source.

Never Have I Ever

Goodreads Synopsis:    My perfect life was a lie.

Now I'd do anything to uncover the truth.

Not long ago, I had everything a girl could wish for: amazing friends, an adorable boyfriend, a loving family. But none of them know that I'm gone--that I'm dead. To solve my murder, my long-lost twin sister, Emma, has taken my place. She sleeps in my room, wears my clothes, and calls my parents Mom and Dad.

And my killer is watching her every move.

I remember little from my life, just flashes and flickers, so all I can do is follow along as Emma tries to solve the mystery of my disappearance. But the deeper she digs, the more suspects she uncovers. It turns out my friends and I played a lot of games--games that ruined people's lives. Anyone could want revenge . . . anyone could want me--and now Emma--dead.

My Thoughts:

-    Grrrr! No reveal on the murderer yet! Gah! There are six books in the series, and I don't know if I want to stick with these books to the end.

-    I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Love is too strong a word. I suppose it was a liked/hate relationship. I liked and hated the characters. That is, I'm learning to appreciate the characters, but they are still bratty and b@%#es. I like and hate the drama and mystery. I like and hate the romance. 

-    This one didn't bug me as much because I was kinda expecting how this would turn out. I'm willing to continue the series. 

Previous Book

The Lying Game

From Goodreads:    I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there's nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It's enough to kill a girl all over again. But I'm about to get something no one else does--an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma's desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me--to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she's the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, care-free daughter when she hugs my parents goodnight? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

My Thoughts:

-    The book's point of view is from Sutton's ghost, but she follows Emma around, and Emma is impersonating her, so I was a little confused about who was narrating at first, but sometimes it is Sutton and sometimes it is Emma. You'd think that would be confusing, but it is actually okay. I don't know how the author pulled it off, but she did. 

-    The story is a little frustrating. The characters are all bratty backstabbing b@%#es, and I feel like Emma is making all the wrong decisions by playing along. 

-    There is no ending to this book!! I was pretty mad that I didn't find out who the killer was by the end.

-    I didn't want to continue the series, but I want to know who killed Sutton. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall Covers

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books with Fall Covers/Themes

I'm guessing this means Halloweenish books are okay to list as well as Fall ones.

 
 
 

 

The Crazy Case of Missing Thunder

Goodreads Description:    Fans of Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Ook and Glook and Patricia Reilly Giff's ZigZag Kids will flock to this chapter-book mystery series full of slapstick humor and silly situations by the wildly popular Tony Abbott, author of the Secrets of Droon series.

Jeff, Brian, Mara, and Kelly are self-proclaimed goofballs. Since first grade these friends have been solving mystery among their schoolmates etc and now their reputation is expanding.

Rich kid Randall Crandall's horse, Thunder, goes missing and he calls upon the Goofballs to find him. Deciphering the clues that range from a flower delivery truck, a thunderstorm and a horse who's afraid of thunder, leads the Goofballs to recover missing Thunder, the flower-loving horse. In the meantime, they follow a trail of chomped-up flowers, disguise themselves as bushes in a florist shop and spend some time in a house that's bigger than the White House.

My Thoughts:

-    I read this with Gnome, and we had conflicting opinions. I thought the book was fun and quirky, and I would have read more of the series. Gnome didn't like it. She thought it was silly and boring. 

-    For an intermediate book, I think this is a great one to read with the kids. It was quick and entertaining, and there are illustrations throughout. A fun group of kids solve a little mystery. It is something I would have loved doing with my friends when I was 11. 

-    I laughed a couple times, but Gnome didn't as much. It just wasn't for her, but I thought the story was kinda funny and cute.