Zoo by James Patterson

Synopsis from Goodreads: Once in a lifetime, a writer puts it all together. This is James Patterson's best book ever.

TotalFor 36 years, James Patterson has written unputdownable, pulse-racing novels. Now, he has written a book that surpasses all of them. ZOO is the thriller he was born to write.

World

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

Destruction

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide. With wildly inventive imagination and white-knuckle suspense that rivals Stephen King at his very best, James Patterson's ZOO is an epic, non-stop thrill-ride from "One of the best of the best." 

Number of pages: 395
My review: I've read James Patterson's Maximum Ride series which is for Young Adults, but I've never read one of his adult books. Honestly I thought it would be a little more terrifying. It was right on the edge of "oh my gosh what if this really happened!?" and "nahh this would never happen" so I was confused on how I really felt about the whole situation.
Of course it's absolutely terrifying that animals would take over in such a way as this, but to have it happen to the whole world? That's what I found a little too unbelievable. Plot aside though, I liked his writing style. Extremely simple, sometimes graphic, and I liked the way the story shifted from Oz's first person point of view to an animal's point of view, or another individual experiencing attacks somewhere in the world.
When the point of view was switched to the animals, especially Oz's ape, I felt so sorry for them. They didn't know what was happening to their bodies or why they were acting a certain way, and it was almost as if they didn't want to hurt the humans. Like a puppy dog tearing up your carpet then looking at you with complete adoration like "I'm so sorry please still love me."
I liked how different topics were explored of a large mass of time; like not only the social side of the attacks but also the politics, and the scientific explanation behind the whole thing. I still felt like it could have been bigger though! MORE fierce! MORE scary! MORE destruction! That's what would have pushed this over to a five star rating for me. The animal attacks were scary the way I imagined them but the overall attack on the world itself could have been done up to an even higher level.
It was a good novel don't get me wrong, but not one of James Patterson's best (I'm basing this fact on other people's reviews I saw on Goodreads).
Definitely a good quick read! If you're a fan of scares or animals then come check this out!
See you soon,

Read More

Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl

Synopsis from Goodreads: Anne Frank's diaries have always been among the most moving and eloquent documents of the Holocaust. This new edition restores diary entries omitted from the original edition, revealing a new depth to Anne's dreams, irritations, hardships, and passions. Anne emerges as more real, more human, and more vital than ever. If you've never read this remarkable autobiography, do so. If you have read it, you owe it to yourself to read it again.

Number of pages: 256

My review: I had started this book countless times in middle school but for some reason I could never finish. Now, four years later, I have successfully finished it and I loved it! I often had to keep reminding myself that this was not a fictional novel. It was really something, not only Anne Frank, but hundreds of thousands of other people went through. It was extremely humbling to read and made me feel very thankful for the life I have.

It really astounded me how little Anne thought of herself at times, yet she was wise beyond her years. Her clear way of writing was definitely in a no nonsense manner and she did not hold back at all about her thoughts and feelings.

I think what I loved most about Anne was that even though she was scared and had so much tragedy surrounding her, she went through things that every other adolescent girl goes through (squabbles with parents, her first love, competition with siblings, etc.)

I've seen in some reviews of Anne Frank's diary, that people found it boring or dull. Well, ladies and gentlemen, sorry to say it, but that's the life she lived!

I do hope Anne is up there somewhere looking down on all of us reading her diary. She would be thrilled that she had achieved stardom. I find that extremely sad that the could not see what heights her diary had reached.

That being said, if you have not picked up her diary, you really should. It's so wonderful and I think it's one of those books everyone should read.

See you soon,

Read More

Book Blogger Confessions #8

Here's what it's all about: "Started in January 2012, by Karen - For What It's Worth & Tiger - Tiger's All Consuming Media & now co-hosted with my good friend Pam from Midnyte reader, Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers "confess" and vent about blogging/bookish topics. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions.

Just keep it respectful - no bashing authors or other bloggers!"

Sorry guys I'm playing catch up with this one!
June 17th Topic: BEA, ALA. Have you ever been before? If you've been before, share your experiences; both pro & con. If you haven't gone before, do you participate in online events like Armchair BEA? Do you hope to go one day? Do you feel too intimidated to go? Are you jealous of the big book hauls and tweets during the events?

Sadly, I have never been to BEA. I SO wanted to go this year but the dates conflicted with my high school graduation. Sigh.
Never been to ALA either sadly!
Yes! If you've been share your experiences! What makes it worth it? Is there anything that doesn't? Are the books really free?
I was watching all you guys enjoying yourselves at BEA through social media this year and it made me so happy for all of you and I vowed one day I shall go! I shall!
Sometimes I feel too intimidated to go. Because I start thinking about all the super popular blogs out there and how they join in all conferences and breakfasts, and my blog...well it's not very well known. However, I do see it as a wonderful marketing opportunity. And I do want to pursure a career in publishing, so I think it would be a great place to meet people.
I am insanely jealous of the hauls, tweets, Instagram photos, you name it. If I see that it's about BEA I feel like I shouldn't look at because I'll feel sad that I'm not there, but I can't tear my eyes away. I want to see more!
Hopefully, I can go in the near future! I wish it wasn't so far away in New York though (since I'm on the West Coast) but it makes sense because that's where the publishing houses are. Nevertheless, it will happen one day!
What did you think of BEA this year or in general? Leave a comment, or if you have a post about it, leave a link and I'll come check it out!
See you soon,

Read More

Stacking the Shelves #15

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is a way to show off what books you have received throughout the week (whether they be for review, from the library, etc.)

This week (err...month): June, 2013

So I've been gone for awhile since I moved out of my parents house (for the summer). But I still managed to find a used bookstore while I was here in my undisclosed location!

Bought at local used bookstore:
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Roses by Leila Meacham

Received for review:
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky
A Beautiful Fate by Cat Mann

Received from library:
The Selection by Kiera Cass
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald



What did you guys get recently? Leave a comment/link below and I'll come check it out!
See you soon!

Read More

Update Re: MIA

Hey everyone,

I have been gone for over a week because I just landed my first job (yay!!!) and will be super busy with that from 8am-5pm everyday. 

Not to mention I'm not living at home for this job, and my computer decided to act worse than usual. (Hopefully I'll get a new one soon, and I'm writing this on my iPhone)

Anyways, I do need to post a couple things so be on the look out for a new book review, giveaway, and Top Ten Tuesday, plus a Stacking the Shelves is coming up.

Stay updated with me on Instagram and Twitter (see links in "About Me") and you can see what I'm up to! 

Thanks everyone, and sorry again for the delays. I'm just now starting to figure out how to juggle work, home, and blog life. 

More soon!

See you soon,

Paige :)

Read More

Top Ten Tuesday #21

Check out all the info here at The Broke and The Bookish's website!

June 4: Top Ten Books Featuring Travel in Some Way (road trips, airplanes, travelogues, anything where there is traveling in the book!)

I have chosen these in no particular order

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2. Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate

3. Stolen by Lucy Christopher

4. Maximum Ride series by James Patterson

5. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

6. Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel

7. Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn

8. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

9. Caribbean Cruising by Rachel Hawthorne

10. A Year in Europe by Rachel Hawthorne

 

Read More

Book Blogger Confessions #7

Here's what it's all about: "Started in January 2012, by Karen - For What It's Worth & Tiger - Tiger's All Consuming Media & now co-hosted with my good friend Pam from Midnyte reader, Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers "confess" and vent about blogging/bookish topics. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions.

Just keep it respectful - no bashing authors or other bloggers!"

June 3rd Topic: Does participating in book tours/cover reveals and author guests post drive traffic to your blog? What type of problems have you encountered when hosting them? (please keep it civil - no names or calling specific people out) As a blog follower, are you ever turned off by these kinds of posts? How much publicity is too much? 

Partcipating in book tours and author guests probably drives some traffic to my blog, but not followers who stick around. The amount of page views I have spikes when I have the occasional blog tour, but I think it's my own fault that not more people come because I don't do enough blog/book tours or author guest posts. Why don't I do more you say? Honestly because it takes a lot of time and effort to plan that out and I'm either too busy or too lazy to put in the time and work.

I have not personally encountered any problems. But I've never hosted a blog tour (when I think hosting I mean planning every single blog stop, not just participating). Has anyone else encountered problems? What kinds let me know below so I can be on the look out later!

As a blog follower I am sometimes put off by these kinds of posts. Often I find that the more popular blogs are just packed to the brim with tons of author guest posts, book tours, cover reveals, and I personally don't think that that's what book blogging is about. Sure, it's great to promote people, but if you're running a book reviewing site, then I want to see reviews. I think that's what frustrates me the most when I see other people have  a lot more followers than me. I try desperately to get people to follow me, and I'm posting my honest opinion on books. But, the mass majority it seems like follow the people who have tons of stuff that isn't even a review. I find that a little sad too. 

How much publicity is too much? Wow. Well, if I'm scrolling through a blog and every single post on the front page is something that's not a review, I won't follow the blog. I think that's just ridiculous. The blog has basically become a place to dump a bunch of ads for books. That's not book reviewing folks. And, yes, sometimes there are reviews attached to the blog tour or author post about a book, but doesn't it just seem a little obligatory to say something nice since you're doing this favor for the author by featuring them and their book on your blog? Then we the readers aren't getting a 100% honest review right? But I guess everyone has different opinions on this (and I'd love to hear them!)

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or leave a link to your own Book Blogger Confession and I'll come check it out!

See you soon!

Read More

Stacking the Shelves #14

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is a way to show off what books you have received throughout the week (whether they be for review, from the library, etc.)

This week: May 26th-June 1st

Bought at local used bookstore:

The Aristocrat's Lady by Mary Moore

Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Boomerang Clue by Agatha Christie

Read More

The Aristocrat's Lady by Mary Moore

Synopsis from Goodreads: "An Unexpected Encounter"For a few moments on a moonlit balcony, Nicole Beaumont was just a beautiful woman catching the eye of the handsome Lord Devlin--but she knew the illusion couldn't last. If the enigmatic aristocrat knew her secret, he'd realize that her disability left her unfit for love. So who could blame her for hiding the truth a little longer?

Devlin had never met a woman like Nicole. Her unique combination of innocence and wisdom left him utterly intrigued. Yet what was she hiding? For a man who did not trust easily, discovering her secret was devastating. Overcoming their pasts and forging a future would take faith, forgiveness and trust. And second chances could lead to new beginnings...

Number of pages: 288
My review: This is the second Love Inspired Harlequin Historical Romance I have read, and I have to say it was a huge let down after the first one I read. It was just so mediocre. I couldn't connect to any of the characters and the story line dragged on and on. I just couldn't get into it.
I almost gave up on the whole thing, but I figured I might as well finish to see if it got any better towards the end. And I have to say that there was literally one scene in the whole book I found "exciting." I didn't feel the romance, the characters had no chemistry, and the whole novel I just kept wondering what are all these secrets from both Lady Nicole and Lord Devlin? That was so distracting and I guess the secrets were revealed later in the book to build suspense, but I found that when everything was being revealed I just didn't care.
At one point I just jumped about 50 pages just to keep the book moving and to get further into the book, and I didn't miss much. From what they talked about later on I figured out what had happened when I skipped. Also around the 200-250ish page mark I was simply skimming the novel and not really reading.
Overall, I think it was just dull, and could have been filled with more romance and action. The only part I really seemed to like was the fact that it was historical fiction.
See you soon!

Read More