Spoiler: Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

This book is truly astounding. Every aspect of it caught me off guard, I was frequently surprised, thrilled and consumed with emotion. I feared for the characters I loved, worried about those that I questioned and wondered about the impossible that was slowly but surely seeming more possible. The characters in this installant really rounded out so I could easily see who they were as humans, and the thrill that can be felt throughout the book was evident immediately. I think this novel blew me out of the water and was quite a page turner.

♥Characters:♥

♥Victor: Although throughout this book he seems a little off his rocker, Victor is a passionate fellow. He risks his life time and time again to save his brother. Is it alright that he's going after his brother's love? Not really but honestly Konrad is dead and if Elizabeth was interested in Victor there is no reason why they shouldn't be together. Slightly creepy, but I'm sure not unheard of. Victor does become obsessed with things easily. This is apparent even before the butterflies appear and offer their "assistance" in the matter. He can't seem to let go of his brother and allow him to rest in peace. Rather he needs him back as he feels he has failed to keep him alive, maybe even fearing that he murdered him. This is a possibility, but it's not like Konrad was getting any better to begin with. I believe that Victor does go mad before things get better, but at least he can say he has given his all for his brother. Pure devotion.

♥Elizabeth: How sad it must be to live in a world were the one you love no longer exists? Can you blame her for trying to get him back? I can not. I would do the same and fight anyone who got in my way. On the other hand the fact that she was possessed makes me question her actions towards Victor, did she really feel the need to kiss him or was that part of the butterfly act. At least we know that she is truly courageous and willing to do anything for those she loves. I do wish that she would give Victor or even Henry a chance in the future, but I would understand if she did not as how do you repair from such heartbreak at such a young and promising age.

♥Henry: He is becoming increasingly more bold and feriocious. I was impressed that he was able to act so brave after visiting the spirit world, and I'll admit that after realizing the butterflies were affecting the judgement and personality of the others, I assumed he was covered in them. Perhaps he has realized that he can not live his whole life waiting for something to change, rather he has to change himself. I do hope that he continues this behaviour, although I do not believe he will win Elizabeth's love it is still worth a shot. Also we should applaud that he went after the Pit Monster even though the thing could have likely killed him. Impressive my dear Henry, impressive indeed.

♥Konrad: Finally the sad truth. Konrad is dead. And he will remain dead. Through the hope and the struggle of building his body, I think he began to realize the one chance he had. After that chance left he resigned himself to his death. I knew that he would not take Victor's life, although I do wish he would have so that he and Elizabeth could have their happily ever after, perhaps it is best that things go back to how they were meant to be. At least me know that he was gathered in the mist and was able to leave that wretched house. Perhaps he found others or at the very least peace.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Final Line: "And I turned back to the storm and thought: Such astonishing power."

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

Title: The Promise of Amazing

Author: Robin Constantine

Series/Novel: Novel

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 371

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Year Published: 2013

First Line:  “‘None of you are going to Harvard.’”

“Wren Caswell is the quiet good girl who’s always done what she’s supposed to- only now, in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barret was the kind of St. Gabe’s- until he was expelled for being a ‘term-paper pimp.’ Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change but doesn’t know how.

Then one fateful night, their paths cross. What follows in the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are- and falling in love.”

My Rating: 3/5

Hello again, welcome to fall time. The leaves are falling and it’s getting damn chilly outside. The perfect time of year to curl up with a book. In the story of The Promise of Amazing we follow the story of Grayson and Wren. Two sixteens year olds who find themselves in each other’s thoughts from the moment they meet. Hormones are a crazy thing. After one chanced, and slightly awkward meeting a friendship persues which quickly leads to their realization about how they feel about each.

I found that this book was a little young for me. The fact that two teenagers so quickly fell for each other and the way that they casually talked about love threw me for a loop.

I’m just the crotchety old lady saying their too young to feel that way about each other. But for an older person this story was not relatable and didn’t seem to follow a good time scheme.

I did enjoy the development of Grayson and the bad boy idea that surrounded him.

THANK YOU ROBIN CONSTANTINE FOR SHOWING HOW PEOPLE CAN CHANGE!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

This book followed the story of an awkward young love of Wren and Grayson. I think that while this story is completely believable for the targeted audience, I found it hard to believe. The way that their story quickly progressed and how they just kept meeting each other by “chance” was ridiculous.

Also I would not call their first meeting, “fateful.” I would call it awkward and uncomfortable.

Although I must say that I did enjoy the Camelot. It was an interesting setting, so that made up for me being an old crank.

♥Characters♥

♥Wren: Wren is the ultimate good girl. She gets average everything. Grades, friends, comments from teacher. She wants an average life from what we can tell. That is until she doesn’t get into the elite society in her school. Way to snap out of your stupor. When she meets Grayson she starts to be a little wilder. Once she finds out about all of his bad boy status, she clearly runs. Only to realize that he regrets his choices and now they can be happy together. Oh la la

♥Grayson: So me being myself, I’m the sucker for the bad boy. They just have that air about them that always takes my breath away. That being said, being a criminal is different than having a leather jacket and a motorcycle. Grayson turns out to be a good guy in the end but I bet that he regrets thieving from all those people as he grows as a person.  I hope that he and Wren stay together, but in reality, doubt it! Already a lack of communication.

♥Luke: This little ass hole. Clearly has problems. The way that he manipulated Grayson and Wren was ridiculous. But in reality they could have fixed the whole issue by talking to each other instead of just hoping that shit worked out. Clearly he was also pretty jealous about Ava having a thing for Grayson, but mah. Don’t be a dick.

♥Ava: Now here is the real villain. This perky girl is just a straight up jerk to Grayson and Wren. You have a boyfriend back off his best friend. Doesn’t matter if you aren’t labelling the guy you’re seeing, you still should know better than to go after his friend at the same time. And to make fun of the girl he’s seeing just for shits and giggle, or even for Luke, unacceptable!

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Final Line: “It was time to dance.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

New Feature!

No this is not a review, yet, but hopefully that will be coming later this week. 
This lovely post is to announce a new feature that has been added to Books My Quiet Friends. 
Some of you may have noticed that there is now music on my blog. 
I'm happy to bring this feature to you lovely readers in partnership with Skunk Radio Live stream. After recieving an offer for this radio station  I decided that this would be a great way to give readers even more enjoyable content. 
So below I will be posting a schedule of the music available at which time. If you wish to turn off the music, on the right hand side of your screen there is a volume control and a pause button. 

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny xoxo

 05:00 - 08:00 The Blow-Back Show - a selection of some of the finest tracks artists, producers and composers that have been featured on Skunk Radio

08:00 - 09:00 Top 20 Charts

09:00 - 10:00 Urban Sessions

10:00 - 11:00 That Pop Show

11:00 - 12:00 Indie

12:00 - 13:00 Electro

13:00 - 14:00 Instrumental Hour - instrumentals, beats and scores

14:00 - 15:00 Urban Sessions

15:00 - 16:00 That Pop Rock Show

16:00 - 17:00 Indie

17:00 - 18:00 Electro

18:00 - 19:00 Skunk Rad!o Eclect!c - mixed genre show

19:00 - 20:00 Fresh In - selection of recently discovered music.

20:00 - 21:00 Skunk Rad!o Eclect!c

21:00 - 22:00 Top 20 Charts

22:00 - 00:00 The Blow-Back Show

00:00 - 01:00 That Hip Hop Show

01:00 - 02:00 Instrumental Hour

02:00 - 03:00 That Pop Show

03:00 - 04:00 Fresh In

04:00 - 05:00 Another Indie Show

Book Review: This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel

Title: This Dark Endeavour

Author: Kenneth Oppel

Series/Novel: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 298

Publisher: HarperTrophyCanada

Year Published: 2011

First Line: “We found the monster on a rocky ledge high above the lake.”

“Sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother Konrad, and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.

The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love- and how much he is willing to sacrifice.”

My Rating: 4/5

This book has some familiar names from literature in it. You guessed it the Frankenstein’s. But not in the cliché silly way that some would picture these fictional characters. This Dark Endeavour really gets in touch with the characters. A reader can find themselves experiencing many emotions at one time. Those of excitement, nervousness, fear, exhilaration and repulsion are only a few.

All and all this book was enjoyable. At the beginning I found it hard to get into. I think that the use of old English made it slightly hard to take seriously in the beginning, but by the end it all just seemed to piece together so perfectly. I felt as though I stood beside the Frankenstein family through their time of need. Being able to see things from many points of view, although not all.

Kenneth Oppel did an incredible twist on a classic, a personal telling of everyone’s favourite horror story.

THANK YOU KENNTH OPPEL FOR GETTING PERSONAL!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel

I found that this book was an interesting Young Adult twist on a classic. Not even so much of a twist as a prequel and an answer to “why”. Kenneth Oppel expands on the world of Frankenstein. He appears to do so while respecting the original story, just adding his own flair where he feels there is need.

The author made me feel for the characters, all of them. All though some of the time I agreed with characters, I didn’t want to. Throughout the novel I found myself agreeing avidly with decisions I never would have in different context.

And how about that ending, the suddenness, the shock and the numbness that could be felt within the last chapter were all emotions that one might feel in the same situation.

♥Characters♥

♥Victor: I can’t say that I agree with all his decisions. He was easy to trust although so many others seemed to warn him against trusting so easily. Although I found myself rooting for him and Elizabeth more than I wanted to, I’m a sucker for a bad boy. Even though he had no right to claim his love for her and attempt to steal her, I can understand how he would want validation as a human. To be constantly compared to your twin would not be easy. I was impressed that he never turned against his brother though. So truly he was not evil. He never wished illness on his brother, and even when he was trying to steal his girl, he still fought to cure him. So I suppose that that is respectable and loyal.

♥Konrad: As it is pointed out time and time again. Konrad is seen as better, happier, more social and all together the smarter of the twins. Although when it comes down to it, he does not agree with Victor’s image of him as the golden child. He does his best to keep his temper, even when he finds out about the stolen kiss and other’s feelings for his beloved. He even tried his best to keep her safe. His death was truly unexpected, but in the end I suppose we are really reading about resurrection of the dead.

♥Elizabeth: She is strong woman, who holds tightly to her beliefs. I can respect that. She is clearly loyal and would do anything for the one she loves. She is even willing to risk her life. Which is more of a love than some can say they ever find. I do believe that she and Konrad would have made an excellent couple, but she does have a wildness about her that is not unlike Victor’s. He certainly was not wrong about that.

♥Henry: He is cowardly. He consistently stays behind and the one time he is heroic he has trouble continuing his bravery. I hope that this improves in the next novel, as there is no doubt that more bravery will be needed.

♥Polidori: What a fiend. It does not surprise me in the least, but I thought him to be a little better of a man. I though he may mentor Victor but instead he turns against them completely. I believe that he does know who they are though; I think he is just waiting for the right moment to strike. I also strongly believe that Krake is not a lynx but some hybrid he conducted in his laboratory, but that may just be my imagination getting away with me though.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 223

“From the stained-glass windows shafts of coloured light angled through the stillness of the church. My thoughts drifted.

Wine to blood. Lead to gold. Medicine dripped in my brother’s veins. The transmutation of matter.

Was it magic or science? Fantasy or truth?”

♥Final Line: “I promised that I would see my brother again- even if it meant unlocking every secret law of this earth, to bring him back.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Fall Update

I thought that a fall update was necessary. As some of you may know, I am a college student about to complete her last year of college to become an Early Childhood Educator. This means that the blog will once again be going slow, slower than ever before likely. 

So for this reason I would like to apologize. As soon as I am done my education, I should be able to pick back up on my reading.

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series/Novel: Red Queen (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia

Pages: 383

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Year Published: 2015

First Line: “I hate First Friday.”

“Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood- those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family to survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own- an ability she didn’t know she had. Except… her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of her own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard- the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince- and Mare against her own heart.”

My Rating: 5/5

This book was one of the most popular books being read right now, and my lovely boyfriend picked it out for me. He’s a smart guy, because this book was incredible. Looking at the cover of the book you can tell this book is going to be something different. It looks important, like something we should all read, almost as though it’s a warning.

But that could all just be fluff. This book takes place in a different type of world, whether or not it is post apocalyptic whose to say. I believe it is. The way the country in this book is described painted an interesting picture of how one single difference could change so much. The characters were perfectly portrayed. Although some I may or may not have thought of as Game of Thrones characters (the colours, the noble men).

THANK YOU VICTORIA AVEYARD FOR SHOCKING ME AT EVERY TURN!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This book has taken my breath away. It points out parts of our histories as humans, but other parts are so unreal it’s insane. The ideas of different blood types developing is a wild idea, but who am I to say it won’t happen. Maybe not like this. The painting of the Red villages, factories and slums is depressing. The idea that at some point people decided that other people were lower than others is despicable. Then the difference between how the Reds live vrs. Silvers in their fancy cities and palaces. It’s a bold transition that Victoria Aveyard made, but it works. It did it’s job of helping me fight for the Guard.

♥Characters♥

♥Mare: To be thrown into such a insane new world, taken away from your family and the only world you’ve ever known is a trial in itself, but then to sign yourself up for a rebellious group that is working from inside the palace you live is a lot of work. And likely terrifying. Mare is strong, and although we know there are times where she is scared, she doesn’t let it break her. She made her mistakes in who she trusted, but in the end how was she to know. She wanted someone to rely on, to understand her and she thought that she had that with Maven, but in reality she would have had that with Cal, if her brain hadn’t been ripped open. Hopefully things all work out in the Scarlett Guard, but it will not be easy.

♥Cal:  He must have loved her to take her from her conscription to the army, and then to try to help her through the hall and keep her safe. To take a chance and kiss her even though you are betrothed to another. He’ll likely die, and it will break my heart.  He’s sweet, really he is.

♥Maven: A despicable, evil genius. Maybe some of the things he had told Mare were true. He felt left behind by his father, living in Cal’s shadow and that could all be true. That being said the things he did were horrendous.  I can’t decide if I hate him or not yet though. I want to, I really do, but part of me believes he’ll turn this around.

♥The Queen: I referred to this character this way in my head. With ominous music, of course, because what would a villain be without horrible music to follow her. We all knew she would cause trouble, but I doubt we thought she’d manipulate her only child to get what she wanted. She’ll be very upset that Cal and Mare have escaped with the Guard.

♥Kilorn: So there is yet another love interest. From what I know he is sweet, but seriously you had all the time in the world to speak up.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 111

“‘You’re a lot like Maven,’ he says after a long moment that makes my heart race.

 ‘You mean engaged to a stranger? We do have that in common.’”

♥Pg. 306

“‘What do we do now?’

He laughs to himself, eyes glint mischievously.

‘That’s not what I meant.’ But I can’t help but smirk with him.”

♥Final Line: “I will kill him.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Last Summer by Hailey Abbott

Title: Last Summer

Author: Hailey Abbott

Series/Novel: Summer Boys (Book #4)

Genre: Young Adult, Chicklit, Romance

Pages: 233

Publisher: Alloy Entertainment

Year Published: 2007

First Line: “‘Congratulations, graduates!’ cried the principal of Martin High, directly into the microphone.”

“Stealing kisses. Keeping secrets. Making memories.

Beth: Who says you can’t be friends with your ex? It’s the summer before college and George and I are keeping things totally platonic. Aren’t we?

Ella: I love Jeremy. But seeing Peter, my old flame, hook up with a new girl is driving me a little too crazy.

Kelsi: Bennett and I are ready to take things to the next level—except we’re so far apart. Long-distance makes everything harder.

It’s the steamiest summer yet on the beach. The girls have saved the best for last.”

My Rating: 5/5

This is the end of the series by Hailey Abbot. It’s a bittersweet end for me. I feel like I’ve traveled so far with the Tuttle cousins. Seeing them through three summers of their lives. Important summers of their lives, I feel that being a teenager is a tough 7 years, especially when you notice the opposite sex. This final book made me laugh, cry and gasp in surprise. I will gladly say that this is one of my favourite chicklit series I have ever read. I’ve been wondering how the series would end and this seemed to be a perfect way to finish with the majority of the girls going out of high school and starting into the real world. To see the characters end on such a sad note was heartbreaking, but I realize that this is how it was meant to be. To leave Pebble Beach behind for a while and focus on each individual life afterwards.

THANK YOU HAILEY ABBOTT FOR MAKING ME FEEL AT HOME AT PEBBLE BEACH!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo