Book Review: Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1)

Synopsis from Goodreads
Title: Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Publishing Date: 1993

Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law—as long as they don't get too nasty. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees—with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting—to help figure out who and why.

Trust is a luxury Anita can't afford when her allies aren't human. The city's most powerful vampire, Nikolaos, is 1,000 years old and looks like a 10-year-old girl. The second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude, is interested in more than just Anita's professional talents, but the feisty necromancer isn't playing along—yet. This popular series has a wild energy and humor, and some very appealing characters—both dead and alive.

 

 

My Thoughts

This is one hell of a book!!

When I started it, it was very confusing because there were a lot of characters to remember, but believe me it all falls through together eventually.

Anita Blake is a kick-ass vampire hunter, but until the law has changed and vampirism became legal, her job became very limited. On top of that, there were a series of murders in which vampires are the victims, and Anita has no choice but to help the most powerful vampire to find the killer.

This was packed, I mean packed with action and humor. Anita's witty comments were hilarious. I couldn't get enough of it! The scenes were very UNPREDICTABLE which made it hard to stop reading!

With the style of writing, you get to actually connect with the characters and feel what they feel. Not just Anita, but all of the characters which is a very spectacular skill from the author.

In addition, with all that positiveness, there were things that kindda bothered me, but not majorly. They were these statements which were repetitive "she licked her lips with her tiny pink tongue", "he licked his lips with his pink tongue" "his muscles are the size of my face, but my face is small anyways" "his thigh is the size of my waist, but my waist is small anyways" .... I don't know the exact sentences, but they were a bit annoying to me. However, overall, the positive aspects of the book outweighs its negative aspects which made me rate this book 5/5

Also, i just want to put this out. The clothing style in the book is super funny and it was hard to imagine the characters without laughing. I loved it.

Please red this series! It's damn worth it!!!!!!! :D

5/5

Xoxo Meera

Book Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (Jasper Dent #1)

Synopsis from Goodreads
Title: I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1)

Author: Barry Lyga

Publication Date: 3 April 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Format: Hardcover, 361 pages

 

 

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

 

 

My Thoughts

I Hunt Killers reminds me a lot of the recent hit tv-show 'The Following'. I mean it is not very similar, but the concept of it; Serial Killers having their own dedicated followers. This scared the hell out of me knowing that these things do actually occur in reality. I truly live up to the saying "Ignorance is a Bliss" because HELL, I want to be in the dark when it comes to such things. This book is very new and demented in a way. Jasper AKA Jazz is non other than the son of the country's most f...more I Hunt Killers reminds me a lot of the recent hit tv-show 'The Following'. I mean it is not very similar, but the concept of it; Serial Killers having their own dedicated followers. This scared the hell out of me knowing that these things do actually occur in reality. I truly live up to the saying "Ignorance is a Bliss" because HELL, I want to be in the dark when it comes to such things. This book is very new and demented in a way. Jasper AKA Jazz is non other than the son of the country's most fearful serial killer. For poor little Jazz he was more than that, he used to accompany his Dear Old Dad during his crimes/killings. It is very interesting to be in Jazz's head because you don't normally get see how these things affect a child's mentality. Especially in Jazz's head, since he'd grown up to be taught of the skills required to kill someone without leaving any evidences behind. Jazz's inner struggles differs a lot from a normal person's. His struggles are more into fighting the urges of falling into his father's footsteps. In order to prove that he won't, he tries to catch the new serial killer in town which is coincidentally a copy-cat of his father's. In addition, all the characters in the book had their own uniqueness which I adored. Barry Lyga was able to make them blend perfectly into the story. Nothing lacked in this book, it was very addictive. Even in my sleep, I was trying to solve the case. The suspense kept me to my toes the whole time; I really enjoyed the ride that Barry Lyga had created. Although it is a YA, it is not recommended for the soft-hearted and for younger readers. It is very deep and disturbing. For those who can handle it, I can assure you that you'll love it. 5/5

Xoxo Meera



Book Review: The Farm by Emily McKay (The Farm #1)

 

Synopsis from Goodreads

Title: The Farm (The Farm #1)

Author: Emily McKay

Publication Date: 4 December 2012

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Format: Paperback, 420 pages

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

 

My Thoughts

 

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it or frustrated with it. The action was good, but it had a lot of flaws, especially with the characters.

Lilly is one of the worst characters I have ever read about. Reading her every action was getting on my nerves; I'd roll my eyes everytime she'd get angry or disgusted with anything. She never trusts anyone; there's ALWAYS a scene when she's okay with Carter, then she'll go back to being angry and doubtful.
I was like.. "OH GOSH, not AGAIN..." I was soo tired of her whining.

On the other hand, the characters I loved were Mel and McKenna. Their character development was perfect; it never got boring reading about them.

Worst character developments, other than Lilly's, were Sebastian and Carter.

Carter being all sparkly eyes with Lilly was over-the-top. his love towards Lilly was never Romantic; there wasn't even an ounce of excitement reading about them

Sebastian: I really wanted him to be a kick-ass vampire, but I totally didn't feel his strength or presence. True that he had some gory action scenes, but it was nothing (Boring to be more precise).

Aside from all that negative review, the ending was good. True that it had a VERY predictable twist (since the synopsis clearly states it out), it still had a decent ending. Like I said, MEL is one of my favorite characters in THE FARM and I have a feeling that the second book is going to revolve around her, so I'm definitely going to read it!

 

2.5/5

 

Xoxo Meera

 





Book Review: Crazy by Han Nolan

Synopsis from Goodreads
Title: Crazy
Author: Han Nolan
Publication Date: 13 September 2010
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages

Fifteen-year-old Jason has fallen upon bad times—his mother has died and his father has succumbed to mental illness. As he tries to hold his crazy father and their crumbling home together, Jason relies on a host of imaginary friends for guidance as he stumbles along trying not to draw attention to his father’s deteriorating condition.

Both heartbreaking and funny, Crazy lives up to the intense and compelling characters Han Nolan is praised for. As Jason himself teeters on the edge of insanity, Nolan uncovers the clever coping system he develops for himself and throws him a lifeline in the guise of friendship.

My Review



This is one crazy book with crazy ass characters and plot.

Crazy follows Jason, whom his mother died recently, and his father is losing his sanity. Jason tries his best not to drag attention to himself by basically being a loner at school. When I say a loner, I literally mean he's a loner, he has imaginary friends and actually we, the readers are one of them. He talks to us and drags us into his crazy not so adventurous life.
He basically shows us how hard he tries to cope with having to take care of his mentally ill father and keeping it a secret from everyone.
Until one day, he started not to care of how he lives his life, and through that mistake, he was in everyone's attention at school. He was forced to join a group session during his lunch break with three other friends, who might have issues of their own. He slowly has to reveal his secret when his father goes missing, and he has to approach them for help.

This is a really nice coming of age novel. It was entertaining and did not have a moment of dullness. Jason's imaginary friends are all awesome, and each had their role in the book which fitted perfectly. You have the father figure, mother figure, the group clown and the sexy lady. They actually portray what Jason thinks as they re part of his thoughts and imagination. Crazy reveals the struggles of a teenager and how their feelings and emotions fluctuates as they grow up and move on. I literally felt those feelings as I read the book, my emotions kept fluctuating with Jason.

I have a feeling that I will never forget the contents of this book because it had left its prints all over me. I can't say how much I love this book, but of course there are times when I got frustrated with the book and Jason, as he seems unreasonable at times which lead me to give this book a rating of 4.5/5.

Xoxo Meera

 

Book Review: Night Stalker by Chris Carter (Robert Hunter # 3)

Synopsis from Goodreads
Title: The Night Stalker (Robert Hunter # 3)
Author: Chris Carter
Publication Date: August 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Format: Trade paperback, 453 pages

When an unidentified female body is discovered laid out on a slab in an abandoned butcher's shop, the cause of death is unclear. Her body bares no marks; except for the fact that her lips have been carefully stitched shut.
It is only when the full autopsy gets underway at the Los Angeles County morgue that the pathologist will reveal the true horror of the situation - a discovery so devastating that Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section has to be pulled off a different case to take over the investigation
But when his inquiry collides with a missing persons' case being investigated by the razor-sharp Whitney Meyers, Hunter suspects the killer might be keeping several women hostage. Soon Robert finds himself on the hunt for a murderer with a warped obsession, a stalker for whom love has become hate.

My Review

I just found out that The Night Stalker is the third book in the Robert Hunter series. However, I wasn't disappointed or shocked because this book had a whole new case and wasn't a continuation of a previous book. Robert Hunter is an excellent detective that solves cases and is able to find clues that other people might have missed.

The Night Stalker was about a killer that stalks women artists who are beautiful, brunette, and have big and charming brown eyes. He watches their every move and when it's time, he kidnaps them, and eventually kills them in a very grotesque manner.

This was a very disturbing and vivid book. This actually brought back the realization that there are demented and psycho stalkers/killers out there. Most of the time, we live in this fantasy that these scary people only exist in books, movies, or even in a different country than ours when in actuality, they might be so close to us.

Chris Carter is one crazy author, he kept me to my toes the whole time. This case was really suspenseful and fast paced.

This book did not lack anything; it described the characters perfectly, it had this dark and creepy touch to it, and it ended very smoothly.

4.5/5

Xoxo Meera

2013 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hello Book-Geeks

I wish you all a wonderful and a Happy New Year :D


This year, I promise myself that I'm going to do my best in terms of reading and blogging :).

I have many plans in store for you all!!

WOOOOHOOO... hope you all are having fun during New Year :D

Cya all

Xoxo Meera

Book Haul #2 - Video

 

 

Hey Book Geeks :)

 

Please feel free to watch my second book haul video

 

Books mentioned are:

1. The Night Stalker by Chris Carter

2. Finders Keepers by Belinda Bauer

3. Until It's Over by Nicci French

4. White Cat by Holly Black (Curse Workers # 1)

5. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (If I stay # 1)

6. Skinny by Ibi Kaslik

7. Crazy by Han Nolan

8. Black City by Elizabeth Richards (Black City # 1)

 

Hope you enjoyed, and happy reading.

What are some awesome books you got recently, please leave a comment :)

 

Xoxo Meera