Review: Magic Treehouse Boxed Set - Books #17-24 by Mary Pope Osborne

Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 17-24 by Mary Pope Osborne


My rating: 4.0/5.0
Includes Tonight on the Titanic, Buffalo Before Breakfast, Tigers at Twilight, Dingoes at Dinnertime, Civil War on Sunday, Revolutionary War on Wednesday, Twister on Tuesday, and Earthquake in the Early Morning

My son and I just finished this set of Magic Treehouse books and it was another enjoyable set.

The first four focus on getting gifts from various people/things to give to Morgan and Jack and Annie go off on these missions. I enjoyed Tonight on the Titanic the best, as did my 8-year-old, but the other three stories were great as well.

The next four focused on getting special writings from various people and this time Jack and Annie were working to save a boy who had been turned into a dog. Jack and Annie named the dog Teddy and later Teddy shows up to help them in more books (we had already read these so we knew about Teddy.)

I really enjoyed these four stories, two centering on wars (I learned about Hessians in the Revolutionary War) and two centering on natural disasters. Things were learned in all four books and I really enjoyed them, as they taught and they were very entertaining.

My son is now ready to move onto the next set and I look forward to reading more of Jack and Annie's adventures.

I can't recommend these books enough for a 6-10 age range. The audios are read by the author and very well done. My son and I look forward to our time in the car when we can listen to these.

Review: Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz


My rating: 4.5/5.0
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: March 27, 2007
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 336

This is one of the many young adult series that I have heard about since I began delving into the blogging world earlier this year. And after reading the first book, Blue Bloods, I am glad I found it.
About the Book:

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.

The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think.

Could those vampire legends really be true? Steeped in vampire lore and set against the heady backdrop of the rich, young, and powerful in the heart of New York City, Blue Bloods will be devoured by Melissa de la Cruz's legion fans.

My Review:

I loved the setting of New York, it was kind of like Gossip Girl with vampires, and yet so much more. It features what appear to be different levels of the social clique system focusing on money, yet not totally money - even the rich have their outcasts in high school and in Blue Bloods we are shown both the outcast and the social elite.

I loved the little bit of history that was put forth (I'm from coastal NC so the Lost Colony is second nature to us). And I also loved the characters and search that takes place. The world building in this was great - just enough to get a feel for the Blue Blood world, but not too much to bog the whole book down.

After finishing the first book, I quickly reserved the next two books in the series from the library and look forward to reading them very soon.

If you like your young adult paranormal books with a dark twist and very interesting characters then you will like Blue Bloods, the first of the Blue Bloods series.

Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge
Support Your Local Library Challenge
Fall Into Reading Challenge 2009

ARC Arrival: Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro

Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro

Publisher: Forever
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 336

I received this through Pump Up Your Book Promotions for a tour date next month.

About the Book:
Caterina Shaw's days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment-a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body-and she's been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.

Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he's hunting down is far from the vicious killer he's been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she's a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

Booking Through Thursday - October 22nd

Here is this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

If you could ask your favorite author (alive or dead) one question … who would you ask, and what would the question be?

Favorite Author - that's a tough one - over the last few years I have found so many wonderful authors that I have a lot of favorites or auto-buys. So let's pick one.

Let's go with Chelsea Cain - I just want to know how she was able to make up a character as creepy as Gretchen Lowell and tales as twisted as she writes. What is her thought process?