Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

Title: Sapphire Blue (Precious Stone #2) 

Author: Kerstin Gier

Release Date: October 30th, 2012

Publisher: Henry Holt 

Source: Own 

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Synopsis (Goodreads): Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

My Review

I was really looking forward to reading Sapphire Blue. Ruby Red left on such a good note, and I was so excited to read the next installment. Since this is the second book in the Precious Stone trilogy, there will be spoilers for the first book, Ruby Red. 

The first thing I noticed right off the bat when I was reading Sapphire Blue was the romance. It was insta-love, and it happened right at the end of Ruby Red and carried into Sapphire Blue. I don't like insta-love, so that really peeved me that it was in this book.

I felt like this book wasn't as captivating as Ruby Red was. It was slightly bland, but still interesting and energetic. Not as much happened, and there wasn't very much drama.

The characters were still good. Gwen is still trying to understand the time travel gene that she was born with, and is still slightly naive. I'm still trying to figure out Gideon's character, but I'm thinking that I like him. And of course, Lesley is still the best friend that anyone could as for.

Rating: 4/5 worms

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Source: Library

Synopsis: The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Review

You guys all know how much I loved Cinder. I mean, a sci-fi retelling or Cinderella? That's just plain awesome! And I thought that Scarlet was just as good, if not better.

I didn't realize how much I missed Cinder until picking up Scarlet. But Scarlet isn't completely about Cinder, and I loved getting to know Scarlet and Wolf *sigh* too. Scarlet was totally kick butt and and she would do anything to help someone she loves. She was totally spunky and a personality to fit her red hair. Wolf was another character that I really loved, even though we find out some not to great things about him towards the end.

The uniqueness of these books always strikes me. I love the feeling of expecting one thing from Marissa Meyer's books and having something totally different happen. The action of the books also helps. These books are full of action and suspense, especially in Scarlet because of the switching perspectives. Hardly anything is what it seems and Marissa Meyer always, and I mean always, leaves you on a cliffhanger.

Marissa Meyer always has a fantastic way of writing her books. Her worlds are so well built and fun to read about, and her characters aren't the perfect stuck up kind that you find a lot. The ideas behind these books are crazy awesome and she makes everything fight together so well.

Rating: 5/5 worms

If you haven't read this series yet, do it NOW!!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Release Date: August 16, 2011

Publisher: Random House NY

Page Number: 374

Format: Paperback

Source: Own

Synopsis: It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

My Review

You know that book that you never want to put down, because you're afraid you'll miss something? The one that you'll reccomend to all of your friends, whether they read or not? Well, Ready Player One is that book. This book was crazy awesome and totally great!

 

Wade is an awesome character. He lives his entire life inside the OASIS, only coming out when he absolutely needs to. At first, I didn't really know what to think of him. He didn't have any close contact with any of the people around him, and he spent all his time in a virtual game. But as the book went on, I realized that Wade was really funny. He would sometimes say a funny comment and it made me laugh. And closer to the end of the book, I realized that he was smart and super crazy. He came up with these out-of-this-world plans that fit together perfectly, that you would think would fail. I also really liked Art3mis, especially after Wade got to know her. She was a total kick but character and I loved that!

 

The plot of this book was so intricate and complex. There was so much stuff that happening, and there were times that the characters would do something that seemed pointless, that would play a major roll in how the end of the book turned out. Being inside the virtual world of the OASIS was really cool, because we got to imagine what a wonderful game it was. There was also a ton of action, as you can probably imagine, and I didn't want to put the book down.

 

Ernest Cline did a fantastic job creating the world. After reading Ready Player One, I felt like the OASIS was a real game, because he did a great job describing and depiciting it. He made me feel like I was inside the game and watching from the sidelines as Wade went through his quest to win Halliday's treasure. He also did a great job of creating his characters, because they actually seemed real and not like cookie cutter characters.

 

Rating: 5/5 worms