Top Ten Tuesday - Books

I haven't decided how frequently I am going to do this, maybe every Tuesday, maybe every other Tuesday, or once a month. We'll see how often it happens and go from there. Anyway the title is pretty self explanatory, I will make a list of my top ten something, it will change each time, and then post it on Tuesday's.

Top Ten Books: (This is a really hard one)
1. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
2. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
3. Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
4. The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare
5. Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead
6. The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
7. Georgina Kincaid Series by Richelle Mead
8. Dark Swan Series by Richelle Mead
9. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
10. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Clearly I have a hard time picking one book from a series, when I get around to rereading each series I'll let you know which book is my favorite from each. From this list you can also clearly tell who some of my favorite authors are. Yes, you will be seeing shit tons of reviews about their books, this is your first and only warning.

Seven in a Jeep

Title: Seven in a Jeep
Author: Ed Gaydos
Publication: 2013
Genre: Memoir

Bio: Ed Gaydos was not a hero. Shipped off to Vietnam in 1970, he did not capture a single emeny soldier or single-handedly dismantle the Ho Chi Minh trail. He sat on a remote patch of sand behind barbed wire with a bunch of teenagers, dodging incoming mortars, battling insects and holding back an avalanche of paperwork.
This hilarious, intelligent memoir of the regular soldiers of the Vietnam War will leave readers of all types hungry for the next story. With an unflinching eye for detail that spares no one, even himself, Ed Gaydos reveals his personal struggles to make sense of the war. He somehow manages to exit laughing in Seven in a Jeep.

Review: I know nothing about wars or how they are fought, yet this book managed to break things down into terms that the everyday person would know and be able to understand. This story covers every aspect the war, including the nitty gritty's of the whole thing. Gaydos shows the facts and how things really were, but everything is interesting and engaging.
Rating: Middle of the stack

Iron Daughter

Title: The Iron Daughter - Book Two in The Iron Fey
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: 2010
Genre: YA Fantasy

Bio: Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no on believes her.
Worse. Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

Review: This book pulls you in deeper and now it seems even if I wanted to stop reading I wouldn't be able to. I have to finish the series, I have to see  what happens to Meghan. This series has taken hold of me and won't let go, which is a very bad thing when I have other work to do.
Rating: Middle of stack

Graham's Charlotte

Title: Graham's Charlotte
Author: Drew Farnsworth
Publication: April 17th, 2014
Genre: YA Adventure

Bio: When a mysterious stranger gives Mads Riley a cell phone that knows everything, her life changes forever. Mads has the power to unlock the secrets of the universe - past, present, and future. The phone predicts earthquakes, tells her what's on the other side of a locked door, and even reveals the trick to get out of last night's math homework.
Mads is soon asked to use the device to break into the most heavily defended spy agency in the world. She's told it's the only way to save her mother's life. 
Will her mission save someone she loves, or is she betraying the country her father died for?

Review: This story goes far beyond the struggles of your average 15 year old high schooler, Mads has to deal with some things that most people don't go through until later in life. It is nice to see how she struggles, which makes her more relatable, and how she succeeds at her goals. This book is perfect for kids who don't really think reading is their thing, I think this is a very easy book for them to relate too.
Rating: Middle of the Stack

The Iron King

Note: This is a series, I will post and rate each book individually as I read them then rate the whole series together.

Book: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publication: 2010
Genre: Teen Fantasy

Bio: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny-one she could 

never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. 

*From the back of the book.*

Review: For a while I stopped reading books about fairies and Fey, and after reading this book I can't remember why. All through the book, you can't just help feeling like Meghan deserves some good and you just want her to win. The bad guys are really bad and are even willing to kill, poor Meghan who knows nothing has no idea how everything works in this new and strange world. 

Rating: Somewhere between middle and top of the stack

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Book: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Author: Beth Fantaskey
Publication: 2009
Genre: Fantasy

Bio: Meeting a vampire definitley doesn't fit in to Jessica Packwood's senior-year "get a life" plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth and he's her long-lost fiance. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But Jessica has never even been kissed - how can she possibly commit herself to a long-term relationship? Or an eternal relationship, for that matter?
(Courtesy of the book jacket)

Review: I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Fantaskey takes a very different approach to a vampire - mortal relationship. In this story though, the female isn't afraid to go after what she wants, she's not the kind of girl to sit on the sidelines and just be told what to do.

Rating: Middle of the Stack

Best of Ohio Short Stories

Book: Best of Ohio Short Stories Volume One
Author: Local Ohio Authors
Publication: 2013
Genre: Fiction

Bio: This book features features local authors from Ohio.

Review: This book has plenty of stories that stick with you. Some of the work is really hard to forget. Because it is several different works, there were some stories I preferred and others not so much.

Rating: Middle of the Stack