When the later books in a series aren't as good?

I've recently added a banners to the side of my blog of some of my favorite series and I realized that I loved some of the first books were awesome but I didn't enjoy the later books as much.

So today's post is about series that the later books aren't as good as the first. One series I can think of is the Beka Cooper series by Tamora Pierce- I loved the first book in the series and I couldn't wait to read the second book. When I read the second book I enjoyed it but not as much as the first. Then the third book came out and I couldn't wait to read it because I loved the first book too much. I read the third book and I did not like it at all! The characters were completely off character, the pacing was off, and there was too much insta-love. This was something I did not expect from Tamora Pierce- she's written some of my favorite series but the first book in this series was definitely the best. There have been other series where I've been disappointed in later books but this was the first example I could think of.

What happens when you start a series and the later books aren't as good as the first ones? Are you turned off of the author or the series? Do you finish the series in a sense of loyalty? What series have you read that the later books disappointed you? Leave me a comment and let me know!
hk

Eclectic Reading Challenge 2013

I'll be joining the Eclectic Reading Challenge again this year! I finished about half of it last year and I'm going to try again this year. :) The reading challenge is hosted over at Book'd Out. You can visit her page for the linky to sign up but the rules (from Book'd Out's post) are: 

The aim of The Eclectic Reader 2013 Challenge is to push you outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different categories.

Join in:

• The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 2013. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2013

• Create a blog post committing to  your participation in this challenge.

*  If you don’t have a blog you are still welcome to sign up. You can create a shelf for the challenge at Goodreads or LibraryThing or a similar site Just include your name and a link to your shelf.

• Post your name, blog name, and the direct link to your challenge post in the Linky using the link below

Click here to enter your link to sign up for the challenge

• Select, read and review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.

*  You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish.

*  Where a book is identified by more than one genre eg historical romance, it may only count for either the historical fiction or romantic fiction genres – not both.

*  You can read your chosen titles in any order, at any pace, just complete the challenge by December 21st 2013 to be eligible for the prize drawing.

Categories

1. Translated fiction
2. Historical mystery
3. Romantic suspense
4. Made into a movie- Perks of Being a Wallflower
5. New Adult
6. Urban Fantasy- City of Bones
7. Dystopian- Partials by Dan Wells
8. Memoir
9. LGBT
10. Action Adventure
11. Humour
12. Published in 2013- Allegiant

If you need some ideas for what to read in the above categories I suggest you search Listopia at Goodreads for example click here for a list that includes New Adult titles

• Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, make sure you identify it by adding either a direct statement  and /or the challenge image badge to the post.

• Share your review with other challenge participants by posting your name/blog name and title of the book with a direct link to your review in the Linky.

Click here to enter your link to your reviews

Please take the time to visit a few links and leave a comment!

If you tweet add #eclecticreader or @bookdout

All participants that complete the challenge by December 31st 2012 will be eligible to win a book of their choice to the value of $15AUD from bookdepository.com or a $10US Amazon gift card or paypal funds of  US$10 to be drawn via random.org Jan  2014.

I'll be deciding on the books for the challenge as I go. Some of these will be easy- I love dystopian books- but I don't know if I've read any translated books or historical mysteries. I can't wait to start!

Review of Tiger's Curse

I've been wanting to read Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck for a while now. I had heard some awesome things about it and I couldn't wait to try it so I was so happy when I was able to spend left over Christmas money on a copy from Books A Million.


Goodreads Sumary:

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

My thoughts:
I had heard some awesome things about this book and I couldn't wait to read it. I was slightly disappointed though.

The book held my attention well- I read it in three days between classes and I could hardly put it down. It was fast paced and I loved reading the tidbits about India. It addressed different points of Indian mythology and books focused around a prophesy always hold my attention.

But....

I found the book too.... convenient. Kelsey must complete certain tasks to unlock the prophecy and they seemed to instantly know how, where, and what to do. There was no real challenge to anything in the story. There was also quite a bit of instant love. The main characters had some kind of kismet connection and were instantly in love.

I would give the book 2.5/5 stars because I did like the characters. Kelsey did have some backbone and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She especially was capable of standing up for herself and keeping with her decision at the end of the book. I actually do want to read the next book because even if the first book was convenient  I want to see how they complete the prophecy for the rest of the series.

You can find Tiger's Curse at Amazon here. I would also suggest checking out Colleen Houck's website for a selection of extras including: previews of the books, book trailers, book playlists, and Tiger's Curse ecards.

Have you read Tiger's Curse? What'd you think? Have you read any books lately that were too convenient? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Book Blogger Hop

Happy Friday everyone! It's time for the book blogger hop hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. 

The question today is:

Which do you prefer most: a printed book or an Ereader?

I love the convienence of an ereader. I can get lots of books, usually for cheaper and read them on the  same device so it can be cheaper on my wallet and easier on my poor bookshelf.  But an ereader can't beat picking up a book, rading the back cover, and flipping to a random page. Amazon offers something like it but I need to be able to feel the book in my hands. Plus there's nothing like the smell of a new book or being able to take it anywhere, I wouldn't want to stick a kindle in my purse and carry it some places but I'm not worried about a printed book hitting something and breaking or someone wanting to steal it! Plus there are some books that I love so much I need to have them in print form sitting on my shelf.

What about you? Do you prefer ereader or print books? If you have an ereader do you have a nook or kindle? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Thanks,

Booking Through Thursday

What a great sounding meme from the blog Booking Through Thursday. They post a question every Thursday and today's question is:

How often do you visit a library? Do you go to borrow books? Do research? Check out the multi-media center? Hang out with the friendly and knowledgeable staff? Are you there out of love or out of need?

I love visiting the library. I can spend hours at a time there walking through the aisles, saying hello to old friends no making new ones (I'm speaking of the books of course). I had a car malfunction over winter break so a couple books were kept out longer than they were supposed to so until I can pay off dues my library visits have been limited. I love going to the public library to chat with the staff and check out books. I've walked out too many times to count with my arms loaded with books, staggering under the weight of a stack. If I'm doing research I go to the college library on campus with all the old nonfiction books heavy with knowledge live.


What about you? Do you go to the library often? Do you borrow movies, books, or both? Do you love walking through the aisles like I do? Leave me a comment and let me know because libraries are definitely amazing.

Enter For a Chance to Win The Storyteller

Hi y'all! Can I excuse the past several months by posting this chance for you to win a signed copy of The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult?


                                                     
Amazon Description:
Some stories live forever . . .
Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.
Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?
In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future.

Sounds like another winner from Jodi huh? If you would like a chance to win a signed copy of this book simply visit the giveaway page  and enter your name and email. This giveaways hosted by Shelf Awareness, not me so I have no say in entries or who wins. 

And if you don't win you can always head to Amazon and purchase yourself a copy of The Storyteller! 

I'd say a chance to win a signed book is pretty amazing. Thanks for visiting and good luck everyone, 
 

I'm So Sorry Dear Readers!

Hey there,
You've probably forgotten about me by now. I used to run a small book blog but then the semester started back up. I was taking 6 classes, 18 hours this semester. 5 of the classes were education classes that required a lesson plan almost every week. I still have a pile of work I should be working on. So for the sake of my GPA, I had to let the blog fall behind. I haven't had much time to read over this semester, let alone type a review about them but I will now post a review of a few of the books that I have had time to read. I will try to post more over Christmas break and try to keep up to date on everything next semester.
Thank you if you're still following me,
Alex

A Bad Day for Voodoo Tour!

Ok guys, let me just say this, being without internet stinks worse than a poopy diaper on a hot July day! That being said, I had the extreme honor of being contacted to be part of A Bad Day for Voodoo's blog tour! :D

This book sounds amazing and I really cannot wait to read it, I've been approved on netgalley and I'll post my review when I get a chance to read it.

Now I didn't really get a chance to talk to the author but I was sent several guest posts written by him that are hilarious! I almost started giggling here at the library reading them and I MIGHT just post all of them and make a week of it!

(I had to take my cover image from Amazon and my blurb from goodreads this time)

by Jeff Strand

In this hilariously bloody comedy, sixteen-year-old Tyler has never had a meaner teacher than Mr. Click. So when Mr. Click falsely accuses him of cheating on a test, Tyler lets his best friend Adam convince him that a bit of revenge is in order, using a voodoo doll.
Of course, Tyler doesn't believe in voodoo. He's just humoring his friend. But after he jabs the doll with a pin during class, he becomes an immediate believer. Not only does the doll work, it's more powerful than he could have ever imagined, and now Tyler has a dead history teacher.

Then, due to circumstances a bit too convoluted to get into here (but trust us, they're extremely entertaining), Tyler ends up with a voodoo doll of himself. Which gets stolen. And now Tyler, his girlfriend Kelley, and Adam must race across the city to get the doll back...before Tyler shares Mr. Click's gruesome fate!

And now for the guest post, An informative Q&A with author Jeff Strand:

Q: Is A Bad Day For Voodoo as good as The Hunger Games?

A: Well, I wouldn't say that. I guess it's up to the reader to decide.

Q: Did you really just compare your book to The Hunger Games?

A: No! All I said was that it’s up to the reader to decide.

Q: But apparently you think that A Bad Day For Voodoo is worthy to be in the same sentence as The Hunger Games.

A: Um, no, I’m not the one who put them in the same sentence. You did that,

Q: But did you stop me? Did you say “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s stop this Q&A right here!”? You most certainly did not. You were just going to let it happen. That disgusts me, sir. Your book is not worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence. In fact, the word “voodoo” is not worthy to be in the same sentence as “hunger.”

A: I’m sorry.

Q: The Hunger Games is 100% pure awesomeness and I resent you saying that your book reaches those heights. The Hunger Games is kind of violent, though. If they could get rid of the violence, it would be even better. I should write my own version that doesn’t have any kids killing each other. That would be sweet. Is A Bad Day For Voodoo a wholesome tale that contains no violence?

A: Yes.

Q: Are you lying?

A: Yes.

Q: For shame.

A: The book isn’t...I mean, there’s some violence...but it’s funny violence.

Q: So you’re basically saying that your book represents everything that’s wrong in today’s society?

A: No, I wasn’t basically saying that. Look, you asked if it was as good as The Hunger Games, and I just said that readers can decide for themselves.

Q: Everybody knows it’s not, though. I mean, duh.

A: Have you even read it?

Q: I skimmed the back cover. Do you have anywhere to be for the next few hours? I could read it right now and tell you what I think.

A: Could I maybe go get some lunch or something and come back?

Q: No.

A: Okay.

[A Few Hours Pass...]

Q: Well, shut my mouth. A Bad Day For Voodoo is way better than The Hunger Games. In fact, it makes The Hunger Games look like somebody just slobbered on some paper and called it a book! If I had a copy with me, I’d punch it!

A: Thank you.

Q: I should have said that I’d shoot it with an arrow. That would’ve been a better Hunger Games reference. Lots of arrows are shot in that book.

A: Oh well. Too late now.

Q: Yeah. Anyway, everybody should go read The Hunger Games, and then if they want to read something better, they should read A Bad Day For Voodoo. Don’t read A Bad Day For Voodoo first, because it will ruin The Hunger Games for you because you’ll spend the whole time thinking “This isn’t as good as A Bad Day For Voodoo.”

A: No, it’s okay. They can read it first. I’m cool with that.

Q: Okay, so everybody should read The Hunger Games and A Bad Day For Voodoo in whatever order works best for their own personal schedule. Buy them both today! 
_________________________________________________________________________________

Hahaha didn't it have you in giggles? I'm not sure if many books can beat the Hunger Games but I can't wait to read A Bad Day For Voodoo and see if it even comes close! :D