Wednesday, May 31, 2017

The Penultimate Peril - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

Wow this one was a pretty dramatic book as well. The orphans go through some pretty dangerous situations while trying to convince themselves that they are still good and noble. It kind of makes me sad to know that they, being as young as they are, have to even have thoughts like that. Again I was completely engaged with this story, always rooting them on and trying my best to help them find solutions, but if you know this series and you know these orphans, you will also know that they don't need much help as far as solutions go.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the older characters from other books playing a role in this one. It made it a much more fun and exciting read. Not all of those characters are enjoyable but it did add a sort of flair to the story and got it moving along pretty well. I found myself also trying to decipher who is good and who is bad. There are many characters throughout this series that were questionable and it made it hard to decide who was noble and who was not. So it made this book a bit more mysterious trying to figure out who was who.

Looking forward to getting to book 13 appropriately named 'The End', and maybe finally having some kind of closure for the orphans because they really need that, I really need that as well. I am afraid that I will be disappointed, but here's to hoping it will end on a good note. I definitely recommend this series to everyone. Even though the unfortunate events get annoying it is a very enjoyable read.

The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

This is another great installment to A Series of Unfortunate Events. I found this one to much more dramatic than previous books. It moved along very quickly and of course I was hooked right from page one. These books also seem to get much darker with each book and I am not sure they are appropriate for Middle grade readers. I did not enjoy this one as much as the previous one, but still an enjoyable read.

What I love the most about these books are the characters. They are developed so well and even though the stories are pretty far fetched and have so many annoying and unfortunate events, they make the stories seem very real and I love that. From our sweet and innocent Orphans to the villainous villains, they all play such great roles in the story. Plenty to both love and hate.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket - 5 stars

This is book 10 of A series of Unfortunate Events and I feel like they just get better with each book. I do not find it quite as annoying with all the unfortunate events because I feel like now they are handling these situations better. There are still some pretty silly situations, but also some pretty serious ones as well. I still think that this series is more YA than middle grade. This is probably a favorite for me now. It was a very engaging read for me as always, which makes them go much to quickly.

The characters develop more as we go through the series, you learn each of the Baudelaire's personalities and their differences from one to the other. I really enjoy all of them and can't really choose a favorite between them. I think they are all written very well. The band of evil doers is growing and the orphans are quite outnumbered, but there is a surprising addition to their team in this one that I really enjoyed.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire - 5 stars

This is book #4 in the Harry Potter series and Wow it is hard to believe that the first time I only rated this book a 3? What was wrong with me? So far I think this was my favorite of the series. I can't believe how much I have ventured out in the world of books making myself better understand different genres. This book is brilliant really. I love Rowling's writing style a lot. This book was so engaging for me that it was super hard to have to put it down when I had to go adulting with work. I felt as though I crawled inside of the book and lived there. Loved the adventure and excitement.

If people don't like the characters of this series then they are nuts! The characters have such great personality, so great that you feel like they really do exist, outside of the book. Like they could be your friends, family and in some cases your real enemies as well. I think the characters are probably my favorite part of the series because Rowling makes them feel so real, even though we journey into a make believe realm of magic. I can think of no other place I would rather exist among such a wide array of characters, protagonist and antagonists alike.

I can't help but recommend this book and the whole series to other readers. Especially if maybe you read it already and did not really care for it. Pick them back up and start the adventure again, you may discover that you quite enjoy joining in on all the magic again. I know I did!

Monday, May 8, 2017

The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

This is book 9 in A series of Unfortunate Events. I think that these books get a bit more adventurous the further you go through the series. This one seems a lot darker than the other books and I really do not see it being appropriate for middle grade readers. I found it to be somewhat violent as well. Reading through Adult eyes is much different. I feel like for a middle grader it could be somewhat disturbing and a little scary as well. I must say though that I did enjoy the carnival setting in this one, although there is really not much about the carnival in it. Regardless it did give the story some flair.

The unfortunate events seem to have escalated a bit more in this book. Yes it is still annoying too, but now readers come to expect it so it is not quite as overwhelming I don't think. I have been seeing some good things happen in previous books, but in this one it all seems to be doom and gloom which could maybe turn readers off. I don't actually mind the dark and disturbing aspects of the story because I am holding on to the hope that maybe something good will come about in the last book simply titled 'The End'. Because of that, I just keep plowing through these so I can reach this possible happy ending.

Not much more to say about our characters that I have not already mentioned. We of course have some great protagonists which of course are the Baudelaire children. There are of course some pretty villainous bad guys as well, like Olaf and Esme. I find that Sunny is beginning to speak better so that is a nice addition too.