Under Constuction

Sorry for the long delay, but Megan's Book Reviews is undergoing a MASSIVE facelift. Check back soon ;)

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Series: Dexter
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Adult Mystery/Suspense
288 pages

Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep's clothing... a monster who cringes at the sight of blood... a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likable: HE ONLY KILLS BAD PEOPLE.

Dexter Morgan isn't exactly the kind of man you'd bring home to Mom. Though he's playful and has a wonderfully ironic sense of humor, Dexter's one character flaw (his proclivity for murder) can be off-putting. But at heart Dexter is the perfect gentleman, supportive of his sister, Deb, a Miami cop, and interested only in doing away with people who really deserve his special visit. Dex is quite good-looking but totally indifferent to (and, frankly, a bit puzzled by) the attention paid to him by women. Despite the fact that he cant' stand the sight of blood, he works as a blood-splatter analyst for the Mmiami police department, a job that allows him to keep tabs on the latest crimes and keep an eye open for his next quarry.

Dexter's well-organized life is suddenly disrupted when a second, much more visible serial killer appears in Miami. Dex is intrigued, even delighted, by the fact that the other killer appears to have a style reminiscent of his own. Yet he can't help but feel that the mysterious new arrival is not merely invading his turf but reaching out to him as well. This new killer seems to be doing more tha copying Dexter—he seems to be saying, "Come out and play." Dexter's secret life makes for a lonely existence... even a lovable monster can be intrigued by the prospect of finding a friend.

When my mom and I changed satellite companies we got Showtime and HBO for three months free of charge. Since then I've became hooked on Dexter and TrueBlood (more on that addiction later). Much to my delight both series are based on books. So I picked up Darkly Dreaming Dexter. This book was delicious.

The book is told through Dexter's point of view. That makes it insanely interesting to read since he is a serial killer. His voice is so earnest and truthful. He kept me interested and even I after finishing the book I want more. I won't even touch on the other characters since they weren't important to me.

Man, I'm out of practice writing reviews. Although, I really don't know how much more I can say about how amazing this book is.

B+

I'm so proud

I'm sorry for the impromto leave of absence from here. I've read quite a few books, but I haven't had any time to reveiw them. It paid off though - I'm an A-B honor roll student for the first time since I've been in high school! So I'm back now - with a very lazy "wrap-up" post that is a sum-up of what I've read so I'll start with a clean slate =)


Be back soon
~ Megan

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Series: The Hollow (book two due out next fall)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Category: Young Adult - Paranormal
pages

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her -- one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

The cover for this book is gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. It also depicts apart of the story itself. Jessica is an amazing writer. You can feel the characters emotions. She also chose a unique hobby for Abbey that I really liked.

Abbey was a very believable character. Her grief is honest. She was a unique character. Caspian irritated me. I wanted to smack him throughout some parts of the story and kiss him at others. I loved the elderly couple though. They reminded of my own grandparents.

That is where my like of this story ends. The plot was so slow. Painfully slow. And whenever the twist happened it was very anti-climatic.Then the book ends maybe ten pages later. I couldn't stand that nothing was revealed about Kristen. It drove me insane reading it. Oh well. Maybe she'll delve into it next book.

This is a library book honestly. Don't spend $18.00 on it unless you like. I will be picking up something else by her - her writing style really is that good. Also, check out her website. It's gorgeous!

C-

Milestones by Samira Armin Hodges

Milestones by Samira Armin Hodges

Series: Milestones

Publisher: Hungry Goat Press

Category: Young Adult

251 Pages

One day. Just one day. That's how long it took for fourteen year-old Faye Martin's ordinary life to take a dramatic and completely unexpected turn. First, she gets struck by lightning a strange and awful experience in itself, but then made worse because Benjamin Parker, the object of her obsession, witnessed her near-death experience. Then she comes home to find her parents are forcing her to leave her friends and hometown of Seattle to attend a summer camp, aptly named Camp Milestone. After several failed attempts to change her parents mind Faye finds herself on a plane headed across the country to a camp she has never heard of.

Only, Camp Milestone is no ordinary camp. There are no phones allowed, shabby cabins and only a handful of campers. The only good turn of events is Benji her longtime crush is among the sparsely populated camp. This highlight of her summer is overshadowed by the camps strange and harsh rules given out by the head of the camp Galiana Moore, who seems crazy most of the time, and who unfortunately has taken a liking to Faye. As if things were not bad enough she notices an odd rash that has consumed most of her back from the lighting strike that seems to not only be growing larger but glowing slightly. Before she knows it, Faye finds herself caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, torture, calamine lotion and romance....All in the name of summer camp. But as the summer unfolds, she realizes there is much more to Camp Milestone than meets the eye. Will she be able to unravel the mystery that surrounds this unusual camp? And more importantly, will she be able to survive the madness long enough to put the pieces together?





Milestones took me a while to get into. For the first few pages I just wasn’t really drawn in. Then suddenly –BAM- I couldn’t get out of Camp Milestone. It was insanely catchy to the point where I couldn’t concentrate in school.

The plot was amazing. I definitely never could have guessed the plot twist. Ever. Most books you can guess at l least kind of what’s going on. Not this book. Once it hit me it slapped me in the face just like it did for Faye. I did however, catch onto Faye's "secret" before it was announced.

Speaking of Faye, I loved her character. Heck, I loved ALL the characters. I loved how Faye grew subtly over the course of the book. Benji seemed so dreamy. All the characters were intriguing honestly.

Go pick up this book as soon as you can. It's written amazingly and I can not wait for the sequel!


A

365 Days Later

Hey everyone! Today is my seventeenth birthday! As my boyfriend's dad has been reminding me (and him) recently - "One year until she's legal, Caleb!" Yeah, he's witty. Almost all I've asked for has been books so I'm super excited. I have no plans sadly, but that's my fault. I've recently decided to temporarily be a bit harder to get a hold of. I've decided to look for better quality of friends. So what did you guys think of my interview with Samira Armin Hodges? That and critiques as well as advice for my blog would make an excellent birthday present.

Now isn't that top cake the prettiest thing ever? (Note: I wish my cake was that pretty. It's not pretty, but it's ice cream cake so it wins by default) I didn't think I would be able to eat a cake like that. Then I found this cake.



Now that, my friends, is a kick tail cake. I would devour the first cake to avoid eating the Corpse Bride cake. I'd frame that cake. Just wow.

------


I've decided to force myself to actually write a novel this year. I've wanted to be an author for years, but I've never actually officially tried to sit down and finish anything. Well, that ends this year. I want to be able to say I tried to at least and to have something to show for it.Even if it's fanfiction (though I'll to have something original).


Well, I'll be seeing you guys soon since I smell a review coming soon<3

Author Interview: Samira Armin Hodges

I was supposed to interview this very talented debut author on the 20th, but I missed the date. >.> Anywho, I think that might have worked out for the better since I'm reading Milestones now and I think it's an excellent book thus far. Samira Armin Hodges debut novel Milestones was released on August 1st.




First, tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Samira and I’m a 29 year old Pediatrician by day and Young Adult author by night. I was raised in Canada but I met and married a Texan in the Caribbean, so I recently moved to Texas and will likely stay here for the long haul. I have two crazy rescue dogs named Carrie Bean (guess where we found her) and Cocoa Bean. Milestones is my debut novel and it is book one of a trilogy.

What makes Milestones different from other books at the bookstore?

What a wonderful question and one that I don’t think I’ve ever been asked before. The reason I wanted to even write Milestones is because I felt that it was a story unlike ANY that’s been told before. Not a single person who has read it has predicted the outcome or the ending yet. Milestones take common themes of regular every-day life and turns it into something unrecognizable by the reader. All I can say is: give it a chance. You may be very pleasantly surprised. It is NOT your average camp story. That is a promise.

When you write, do you plan or just let the ideas come to you?

A little bit of both, I think. Normally, I plan out the whole story in advance. For instance, I always knew what would happen with the Milestones story. I came up with the entire tale at one time. But when I write, I just let the ideas come to me. Does that make sense?

Since you’re both a Pediatrician and an author now, is managing your time harder now?

*sigh* You. Have. No. Idea. That is the theme of my life right now and you’re very perceptive for picking up on that. I don’t want to bore you with the details of my job but right now, I work 80 hours a week. It’s very tiring especially considering that many of those hours are piled up consecutively (like 30 at a time, without sleep!). If you factor in sleep and well, regular every day tasks like showering, grocery shopping and paying bills, that doesn’t leave me time for much else. But this is where multi-tasking comes into play….as well as having a wonderful support system that helps take some of the load off.

Now for a completely irrelevant question. Swine flu is sweeping the nation and driving medical personnel (like my mom) insane. Is swine flu making your work harder?

Absolutely. I feel like everyone has the swine flu these days. Even people who don’t have any of the symptoms! The hospital ward and clinics are much busier than usual and well, people are very worried about the possibility of getting the swine flu so they are seeking medical attention a lot quicker than they normally would. We medical personnel have to be very careful when treating patients, otherwise, we could get very sick....over and over again. I’m waiting for it to blow over or for people to become a little more comfortable with the concept of the swine flu and realize that it is no more dangerous than the regular flu.

What are you reading now?

Another fantastic question. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Hunger Games that I decided to give it a read. I just started but so far, it’s very intriguing!

When can we expect the next book of the Milestones Trilogy?

At this time, it is expected to be released in the Fall of 2010.

Thank you for having me on your blog Megan and for your very unique questions!

Thank you, Samira, for having the patience to wait on me! I like how we're on the same train of thought over Swine Flu. Thanks for the wonderful review. You guys can check out her personal website and make sure to pick up a copy of Milestones as soon as possible!