 By Amanda Perry Title: The Dream Thieves (The Raven Boys #2) Author: Maggie Steifvater Series: Raven Cycle Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 17, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 0545424941 ISBN-13: 978-0545424943 The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater! Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after.... Review Disclaimer: I received an ARC of the Dream Thieves from Netgalley. I am going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible since you all have to wait a couple more weeks for the official book release.. Recently I reviewed the first book in this series The Raven Boys and was immediately blown away. Though Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite YA authors I was a tad bit disappointed with this installment. It may have been that the first book was so wonderful that this simply can’t compare but I think it was more than that. Maggie's writing style is absolutely beautiful as always, and I was easily sucked back into the world of Henrietta,the lives of what I now consider my Aglionby boys, and 300 Fox Way. In this installment of the Raven Cycle, Maggie introduces us to a couple of new characters, one of whom you may grow to love, though maybe you shouldn't and a second whose purpose I am still not sure of. Though with Maggie the unknown may simply be that way because she wants us to wonder. There was one specific scene that I will not divulge too much about… It involves two of our characters and a great view of Henrietta, had the entire book been complete garbage I still would have suffered through for this one moment! That is how fantastic it was. The Dream Thieves brings us deeper into the lives, both past, and present, of some of our characters and we learn a great deal about who our they are and what makes them tick. We see quite a bit more of Matthew than we did before and even Noah is shown in a different light for a time. Ronan plays a much bigger part in this story, and I am really starting to appreciate his character much more than I previously had. Bule and Adam both go through some much needed changes and I believe that in the third book they will both be much more grown up than they were in the beginning of this adventure. I feel as though this book took a sort of hiatus as far as the search for Glendower is concerned and that was a little disappointing. In the first book we are led to believe the whole story is centered around the boys, Blue and this quest and yet throughout the second book that quest has been put on hold. I am still really unsure of what the heck has been happening to Adam since his sacrifice in Cabeswater. The ending of this book was a HUGE cliffhanger and that is putting it mildly. It was almost too much. After reading this book I am just as much in love with my Raven Boys as I ever was, if not even more so, and though I was not overly thrilled with this installment I did enjoy it. I am looking forward to the next book. In fact I am already starting to miss Gansey,(insert dramatic sigh here) he is just so dreamy (pun intended)! Do you plan on picking up this book when it is released on 9/17/13?? You can pre-order it from Amazon using the link below. What are you hoping for and expecting to happen? Any predictions? I would love to hear your thoughts! |
The Mortal Instruments : City Of Bones Review
By Amanda Perry
Synopsis: When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld.
Director:
Harald Zwart
Writers:
Jessica Postigo (screenplay) based on a novel by Cassandra Clare
Stars:
Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan |See full cast and crew
Shadow Hunters, Downworlders and Mundanes…. Oh my!
Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of book to movie adaptations; I can count on one hand how many have left me even remotely pleased. As for The Mortal Instruments, City Of Bones movie I can honestly say I left the theater feeling very satisfied.
I read the entire Mortal Instruments series as well as the Infernal Devices (the latter being my favorite of Cassandra Clare’s books and ones I highly recommend). If you have not read the books I do suggest doing so before going to see the movie (and maybe even before you read the rest of this post...).
Let’s talk about casting. Lilly Collins as Clary - Amazing. This girl was so full of emotion; the perfect choice of an actress to portray a girl going through so many things in her life all at once and she looked beautiful doing it. She was a phenomenal choice.
Lena Heady plays Jocelyn, Clary’s mother. Lena (also known by some as Cersei Lannister on HBO’s Game Of Thrones) had quite a small part in this movie but she did it wonderfully. She is really a very talented actress, and the resemblance between Lena and Lilly was incredible. It was not hard at all to believe that she was this young girl’s mother.
Jamie Campbell Bower played Jace and to be honest I am not sure how I feel about his performance. Yes he looked nice without a shirt on, but I felt his hair was very distracting and not really in a good way. The book divulges a lot more about who Jace is and why he is that way. I feel like this information was important to the story line yet the movie pretty much just left it out. Aside from one short line from Isabelle about Jace’s father's murder. Jamie’s saving grace however was the garden scene with Clary… Whooo that was intense!
Unfortunately that is where the quality casting comes to an end.
Robert Sheehan played Simon and I felt he was just not quite awkward enough.
Alec and Isabelle Lightwood (Kevin Zegers and Jemma West respectively) hardly looked like siblings at all and though Jemma is a very pretty girl I feel like she didn’t quite live up to the grace and beauty that is the Isabelle Lightwood we’ve come to know and love through the series.
The most disappointing of all though was Magnus Bane played by Godfrey Gao. Whether it was the fault of the actor, which I sincerely doubt, or something else Magnus’s part was simply not what it should have been. Magnus is a favorite to many fans of the series and not only were his parts drastically cut in the movie, but moviegoers got a less than fair dose of the fabulous pizzazz that is the essence of Magnus Bane! Where was that crazy, fun, lifesaving warlock from the series??? I wanted to feel that spark between Magnus and Alec and if one didn’t know any better they would not have even picked up on the slightest interest shared by the two. This was quite sad.
The special effects were not quite up to par where the werewolves were concerned but I think that has a lot to do with how tough it really is to make a realistic looking werewolf! My husband (who did not read the books) came to see the film with me and was a little confused as to whether or not Jace and Clary were related. The movie did not portray that whole situation very clearly.
That being said, the music was great! The demons even better, they weren’t over the top unbelievable in fact they were almost a little scary! The institute was gorgeous, the garden was just breathtaking, and the wardrobe to die for!
Sure like everyone who sees a movie after already falling in love with the characters through the book, I found some faults but not nearly as many as I suspected I would. Yes I would have changed a few little things here and there, but overall it was a great flick. I was very excited for this movie and I am glad I was able to leave the theater feeling like I spent some time with some characters I haven’t seen in a while. My love for the series was renewed in full and the movie left me aching for the next book.
Have you seen City of Bones? What are your thoughts?
Synopsis: When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld.
Director:
Harald Zwart
Writers:
Jessica Postigo (screenplay) based on a novel by Cassandra Clare
Stars:
Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan |See full cast and crew
Shadow Hunters, Downworlders and Mundanes…. Oh my!
Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of book to movie adaptations; I can count on one hand how many have left me even remotely pleased. As for The Mortal Instruments, City Of Bones movie I can honestly say I left the theater feeling very satisfied.
I read the entire Mortal Instruments series as well as the Infernal Devices (the latter being my favorite of Cassandra Clare’s books and ones I highly recommend). If you have not read the books I do suggest doing so before going to see the movie (and maybe even before you read the rest of this post...).
Let’s talk about casting. Lilly Collins as Clary - Amazing. This girl was so full of emotion; the perfect choice of an actress to portray a girl going through so many things in her life all at once and she looked beautiful doing it. She was a phenomenal choice.
Lena Heady plays Jocelyn, Clary’s mother. Lena (also known by some as Cersei Lannister on HBO’s Game Of Thrones) had quite a small part in this movie but she did it wonderfully. She is really a very talented actress, and the resemblance between Lena and Lilly was incredible. It was not hard at all to believe that she was this young girl’s mother.
Jamie Campbell Bower played Jace and to be honest I am not sure how I feel about his performance. Yes he looked nice without a shirt on, but I felt his hair was very distracting and not really in a good way. The book divulges a lot more about who Jace is and why he is that way. I feel like this information was important to the story line yet the movie pretty much just left it out. Aside from one short line from Isabelle about Jace’s father's murder. Jamie’s saving grace however was the garden scene with Clary… Whooo that was intense!
Unfortunately that is where the quality casting comes to an end.
Robert Sheehan played Simon and I felt he was just not quite awkward enough.
Alec and Isabelle Lightwood (Kevin Zegers and Jemma West respectively) hardly looked like siblings at all and though Jemma is a very pretty girl I feel like she didn’t quite live up to the grace and beauty that is the Isabelle Lightwood we’ve come to know and love through the series.
The most disappointing of all though was Magnus Bane played by Godfrey Gao. Whether it was the fault of the actor, which I sincerely doubt, or something else Magnus’s part was simply not what it should have been. Magnus is a favorite to many fans of the series and not only were his parts drastically cut in the movie, but moviegoers got a less than fair dose of the fabulous pizzazz that is the essence of Magnus Bane! Where was that crazy, fun, lifesaving warlock from the series??? I wanted to feel that spark between Magnus and Alec and if one didn’t know any better they would not have even picked up on the slightest interest shared by the two. This was quite sad.
The special effects were not quite up to par where the werewolves were concerned but I think that has a lot to do with how tough it really is to make a realistic looking werewolf! My husband (who did not read the books) came to see the film with me and was a little confused as to whether or not Jace and Clary were related. The movie did not portray that whole situation very clearly.
That being said, the music was great! The demons even better, they weren’t over the top unbelievable in fact they were almost a little scary! The institute was gorgeous, the garden was just breathtaking, and the wardrobe to die for!
Sure like everyone who sees a movie after already falling in love with the characters through the book, I found some faults but not nearly as many as I suspected I would. Yes I would have changed a few little things here and there, but overall it was a great flick. I was very excited for this movie and I am glad I was able to leave the theater feeling like I spent some time with some characters I haven’t seen in a while. My love for the series was renewed in full and the movie left me aching for the next book.
Have you seen City of Bones? What are your thoughts?
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