Timeless

Timeless by Gail Carriger

(Parasol Protectorate #5)

Published: March 2, 2012 by Orbit

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

This series is one of my all-time favorites. It's the perfect mix of tea, parasols, the paranormal, and utter insanity, all wrapped up in a humorous bow! Timeless is the conclusion of the Parasol Protectorate series, but Gail Carriger will be back in 2013 with a new series about Prudence, as well as a new YA series. How does she even have time to drink tea?

Spoilers ahead if you haven't read the first 4 books!

• Prudence - Every time Prudence either appeared in a scene or opened her mouth it was hilarious! I was initially a bit worried that having a child might change Alexia and Connall, but it proved to make them even more entertaining.
• Biffy - Some scenes in the earlier books were dull when not centered on Alexia's exploits, but Biffy's new life is fascinating and I really liked reading about him.
• plot - This book answers questions that have been building throughout the series, and in Alexia's life and relationships.
• nicknames - The names Prudence came up with for everyone that knows her parents are adorable!

• Madame Lefoux - Ever since a certain automaton incident, Lefoux has gone from being a cool inventor to an annoying weirdo that shows up at the most inopportune times.
• Lord Akeldama - In the last book or so, Akeldama also got annoying - ever since Alexia moved in with him and he became more of a central figure in the story. Now he's also showing all of the irritating and sneaky sides of his personality, instead of just the amusing parts.

• "What do you call yourselves?"   "The Parasol Protectorate."   Biffy smiled. "I am enthralled by the concept of a society named after an accessory. Do go on my lady."     - pg. 102  Biffy + Alexia
• Prudence grabbed her mother's head, one chubby hand to each cheek, and directed her attention at her own intent little face. "Tunstellings! Silly," she explained. "Eeegypttt!"   Alexia nodded slightly. "I agree with you on all points, my darling."     - pg. 229  Alexia + Prudence

4 robots

Great conclusion to a must-read series!

Acquired: bought

The Eternal Ones

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Published: August 10, 2010 by Razorbill

Haven Moore can't control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother's house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky work of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

I was hesitant about this one because reincarnation plots for me are either really stinking awesome or just not my thing at all, depending on the book. Thankfully, this book turned out to be great, and if you're in the mood to read something about reincarnation I highly recommend it.

Why I love this book:

• Haven - Obviously, if Haven had stayed where Iain told her, there wouldn't have been much story, but I loved how Haven pretty much immediately decided that there was no way a guy that she had just met was gonna boss her around, especially when she hat gotten all the way to New York on her own.
• plot - Reincarnation done right, complete with a secret society, questionable motives, and a twisted past. There's the overly dramatic love story books, and then there's this book with a love story woven in.
• Iain - I enjoyed trying to figure Iain out - his motives were mysterious but he was charming enough so that I really had to wonder what side he was on.
• Snope City - Haven's tiny, backwards Tennessee town made her miserable - but it did so with its own quirks and her allies were all great, interesting characters.

Huh, what?:

• SPOILERS STARTING HERE! Ok. Convincing a girl to have sex with you, with the excuse that you'd already done it in your past lives (but only you remember those lives and Haven doesn't) is TOTALLY creepy! She just met you and had her 1st kiss ever AND you basically kidnapped her via private jet. Not cool. END SPOILERS! 

•  ending - I think this would have been fine as a standalone book. Everything seems pretty wrapped up at the end - so wrapped up in fact that it's totally optional to read the sequel. There are no cliffhangers or burning questions.
• back + forth - There was a bit too much back and forth going on throughout the whole book. From the second Haven meets Iain, until the big finish, she's torn on whether she can trust him or not. The 1st and 2nd time she changed her mind I thought that was it, but Haven's opinion changed so often it was almost dizzying. 

Favorite quotes:

• "It's la Bocca della Verita," Iain explained. "The mouth of truth. They say if you tell a lie while your hand is in the statue's mouth, it will bite it off. Care to try?"   "No thanks," said Haven. There was something about the image that she found unsettling. It was as if a great black void lay behind the face. She feared what her fingers might brush against inside of the toothless cavity.    "Then I'll go first," Iain said, thrusting his fingers between the statue's lips. "Anything you want to ask while my hand is at stake?"      - pg. 188-189  (ARC copy)
• The air was cool and smelled of dust and decay. Shelves of books circled the room, and several small statues stood atop them. The faces of men long dead and forgotten stared down at the girl who had invaded their domain. If the building wasn't haunted, it was missing a good opportunity , Haven thought.         - pg. 228  (ARC copy)

4 robots

A great story of reincarnation, definitely recommended.

Acquired: bought

My brain ran away (AKA: why I've been missing)

I haven't abandoned you guys! 
Well...I have, but not for forever.


I'm almost done with college and this semester has turned into madness. I have so many things due, things I'm behind on, things I haven't even started on yet, that I feel like I need some kind of chart to keep track!


I haven't had time to read in so long, which sucks because I'm reading Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon and it's one of the best books I've read recently. I highly recommend you check it out! You'll probably have to get it online though, since none of the big chains seem to carry it in-store.


Soooo, eventually (most likely mid-May) I will be back. I won't be doing reviews of all the books I read months ago, but I will link to reviews that share similar thoughts on those books. 


Here are the books I've read that I haven't reviewed:
Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake
Torment - Lauren Kate
Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty
Aces Up - Lauren Barnholdt
Game of Triumphs - Laura Powell
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) - Sarah Mlynowski
Unearthly - Cynthia Hand
Eternal Eden - Nicole Williams
Thoughtless - SC Stephens


Wow...that was a LOT more than I thought! Um...here's a cute kitty to keep you company til I get back:

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Published: May 3,2011 by Simon & Schuster

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew - just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining May on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road - diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards - this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

The summary makes this sound like a really emotional book with heavy subject-matter. It really wasn't like that at all for me though! I thought this book was the perfect sweet Summer romance. It's full of road trip goodness, quirky characters, and quotes that made me laugh.

Why I love this book:

• pictures -  Every chapter there's a page full of pictures, receipts, and ticket-stub type things from Amy and Roger's trip. I believe the author actually went on this trip to prepare / write this novel and these things are from her trip. All of these things are great and really made the characters pop off the page. All the random things you pull out of your pockets after a trip are always fun.
• detours - Amy and Roger's adventures are always entertaining, sometimes twice as much because they force the 2 of them closer together. Like having only 1 bed in Yellowstone!
• Amy & Roger - They get along so well! It's like watching a movie where the 2 leads have amazing chemistry. I love the slowly developing romance between these 2 quirky people. It's the little things that make them real, like the refusal to wear sunglasses and their preferred travel snacks.
• secondary characters - Most of the other characters are awesome. I especially love Leonard, the video game addict, who is so geeky and sweet. All of the people Amy and Roger meet along the way have their own problems, but each of them helps Amy, Roger, or both of them in their journey.

Huh, what?:

• Hadley - What's worse than being stuck on a cross-country road trip with a boy you barely know? Being stuck on this road trip with a boy you barely know who is still all gaga over his jerk of an ex-girlfriend. Yikes!
• that one guy who likes Amy - I won't spoil who it is that crushes on her, but I don't dislike him or anything. He's an ok guy. It's just that his crush comes at a really bad time for Amy and complicates things for her and Roger. The timing just had me going crazy!

Favorite quotes:

• After I'd given Roger the brief tour of my family history, we ate breakfast. Or, more accurately, I ate breakfast. Roger ate the kind of meal usually reserved for holiday dinners and people with tapeworms. Luckily, it was a buffet, and all-you-can-eat, a policy I had a feeling they might be revising after our visit.             - pg. 58
• "Um, what?" he asked, face slightly flushed as he fiddled with the iPod. "Oh, look, the interstate."   "Roger!"   "I don't know anything," he said. "I swear. I am merely a pawn in all this. She brought down your suitcase this morning and told me not to open it, or let you open it, until we were on the road."          - Amy and Roger   pg. 149

5 robots

If you're going to read a road trip book, I highly recommend this one! Sweet, quirky, and not as depressing as it sounds from the summary.

Acquired: Received as gift

Top Ten Books for Non-Readers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the picture to visit them!

Top Ten Books I'd Give to Someone Who Doesn't Read

These are the books I'd give to someone who doesn't like to read. Although, for some people not even the best books will convert them to booklovers. One of my best friends admitted that he stopped reading Harry Potter after #5!

1. The Princess Bride - William Goldman (1973)

Pick a random person. I bet they love this movie. Tell them that its brilliance was a book before the movie ever existed!

2. The Phantom Tollbooth - Norman Juster (1961)

This is such a wonderful book. It's full of crazy creatures and worlds and adventures that are just off the wall. Everything is puzzling but fun at the same time.

3. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones (1986)

If you've never read this book, stop reading this post and clicky on the picture to go buy it! Even if you've seen the movie, I highly recommend the book. 

4. Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder (2005)

This book is such an epic fantasy. Just go read the summary, seriously, and try to tell me you aren't dying to find out what happens. Plus, Valek is quite possibly the sexiest man ever.

5. Looking for Alaska - John Green (2005)

Anything John Green, but especially this one. Everyone should read John Green.

6. This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen (2002)

Giving a girl a Sarah Dessen book is like giving a mouse a muffin. Once you have a taste, you will always want more.

7. Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty (2001)
This is your high school experience, except livened up and put in book form.

8. City of Bones - Cassandra Clare (2007)

Ignore all other paranormal books and hand this one to someone who doesn't like to read. They will want to read the sequel.

9. Beastly - Alex Flinn (2007)

A light read with a sweet romance is perfect for anyone who doesn't like reading, and for people who do like reading.

10. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (2008)

Dystopian with so much action and impossible moral situations. This series is awesome for everyone!

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

Published: December 26, 2008 by Viking Juvenile

Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the change to become a Dragoneye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. Tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light.

       The idea and plot of this book are amazing. Sometimes the book was a bit dulled down by all the political nonsense going on that Eona was being dragged into. There was a lot of thinking and dwelling on things instead of acting on them on Eona's part. 

Things I love about this book:

• mystery of the Mirror Dragon - I really loved how the entire mystery surrounding the Mirror Dragon's absence came together, as well as how everything was discovered. Everything related to it came together to make perfect sense.
• dragon lore - The 12 dragons based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and the whole system of the Dragon Masters was genius, and contributed so much to the book making sense. 
• Eona's power - This is vague to avoid spoilers! After all Eona goes through in this book, it's very satisfying when she finally gets it all under control and I really want to see her powers unleashed in the sequel, especially after all the political drama. I'd love some more action!
• characters - Chart is the sweetest and Lady Dela is such a strong character. Even though we don't see much of them, the secondary characters are all so believable and great in their own right. 

Huh, what?:

• connecting with the Dragon - It felt like this whole book was about Eona not being able to connect with the dragon, searching for the dragon's true name, and doing the exact opposite of what the reader knows she should be doing. It got old pretty quickly.
• disguise - The entire time I was reading, I just couldn't get it out of the back of my mind that someone was going to find out Eona's secret. I think if there had been a sense that it was a question of if rather than when someone discovered that Eon was not a boy, it would have been much more interesting.
• certain plot points - Eona's friends and mentors were seemingly always being removed from her reach in order to force her to stand and act on her own, but it never really felt like she made any of her own decisions. 

Favorite quotes:

• There was something behind the question that I did not understand. Some kind of test. What did the emperor want? There was no clue in his politician's face; he'd had a lifetime of hiding his thoughts. The full-hour bell rang through the courtyard, silencing the ensemble music. It was as though the whole palace waited for my answer.       - pg. 201
• I found myself backed up against the edge of the bath, the tiled wall a solid mooring in the churn of my thoughts. I had to take the chance. So far, all I had offered the prince was lies. But if I wanted to survive, I had to take the new emperor the truth.     - pg. 413

4 robots

The story and plot overall are fantastic, but the book is too long and gets dragged down by politics.

Acquired: swapped for on swap.com

Top Ten Book Club Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the picture to visit them!

Top Ten Books That Would be Good for Book Clubs

Confession: I'm not big on book clubs. To me, book clubs feel like high school English class. I always felt that the teachers were making stuff up and the poor authors were rolling in their graves laughing when we were informed that the color of the hobo in the background's shoes was a symbol for death. Well, maybe not that detailed, but you get the picture. Here are books I would like to discuss, but not pick apart and overanalyze. 

1. The Nature of Jade - Deb Caletti (2007)

I love this book. I experience panic attacks and anxiety like Jade and I could really relate to that. Plus, it deals with Jade falling for an older guy who is a single dad. It's definitely complex enough to talk about for awhile!

2. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld (2005)

Dystopians are perfect for book clubs. This one is a great choice because we'd all like to think that our governments are always doing what's best for us, but Tally finds out that hers is doing what's best for them.

3. Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt (1975)

This book is a heartbreaker for sure. I read it when I was 12 and 10 years later I have never gotten over it. Would you choose to live forever?

4. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (2012)

Hazel has cancer. Some days it gets her down, some days she barely thinks about it. From love and 'cancer perks' to trophy bashing and hospital stays, this book is a roller-coaster (that only goes up). 

5. Dreamland - Sarah Dessen (2004)

This book made me want to scream. Sometimes in life people have too much to deal with, so when the person who helps you through starts hurting you, what do you do then? 

6. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak (2006)

I was going to choose The Book Thief, but honestly this one got to me more. Ed's journey drives home how sometimes there are horrible things happening so close to us, but we are unaware of them because we are in the invisible bubble that is our own life. 

7. Just Listen - Sarah Dessen (2006)

This book shows how people's perception and judgement can be sickeningly wrong and how that effects someone already dealing with a terrible situation. As Owen says, sometimes we can't think or judge, we just have to listen. (Similar to Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, but I read that one way too long ago to talk about it)

8. Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher (2007)

Often, a suicide leaves people wishing they had answers. This book is full of answers to that burning question: why? but Clay and 12 other people struggle with the weight of knowing those answers. 

9. Chaos Walking trilogy - Patrick Ness (Book 1: 2008)

Todd grows into a man in a world where men are plagued by his town's dark past, and discovers his own morals in the process. The redemption of one character plus the overall complexity of this series is unbelievable and cemented Ness in my mind as one of those authors who could write a dictionary and I would still read it. 

10. Looking For Alaska - John Green (2005)

Life is complicated and messy and confusing. John Green knows how to take life and put it on paper. I love how the sexual situations in this book are not romanticized and steamy, but real and awkward and unsure.