Raven: Addition

A novel by Toni Jordan

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Sceptre
Pages: 243
Targeted Audience: 16+

Summary: Grace Vandenburg orders her world with numbers: how many bananas she buys, how many steps to the café, how many poppy seeds on her daily piece of orange cake.

She always sits at the first available table, starting from the top left-hand corner and proceeding around the room and inwards in a clockwise direction.

Every morning she brushes her hair 100 times, brushes her teeth with 160 strokes of her toothbrush. She can remember the day she started to count, how she used numbers to organise her adolescence, her career, even the men she went out with.

But something has gone wrong. Grace used to be a teacher, but now she is living on sickness benefits; as the parent of one of her students put it, ‘she’s mad’. Her father is dead, her mother a mystery to her, her sister sympathetic but not finally able to understand.

Only her niece Hilly can connect with her. And Grace can only connect with Nikola—Nikola Tesla, the turn-of-the-century inventor whose portrait sits on her bedside table and who rescues her in her dreams. Then one day all the tables at the café are full. As she hesitates in the doorway a stranger invites her to sit with him.

First off, this book is about Grace's OCD. She's got a problem. She counts... everything. Her poppy seeds on her cake which determine the pieces she is going to cut her cake into, her steps to the café, the amount of time she is going to talk to her mom and sister, pieces of cucumber that go into her dinner and just about anything you couldn't possibly think of counting.

The beginning of the book is a little bland. At least it was for me because every page had way too many numbers than I would have liked. But it just defines her "number" problem better. She was living her calculated life as usual and then one fine day she steels a banana from a guy's basket in the market and that's where she meets Seamus Joseph O'Reilly. An Irish guy who works at the ticket counter in movie theaters. (I love Irish accent!)

They obviously don't click off at once, I mean she stole his banana for gods sake! But after sitting down with him at the café and being forced into a date. We finally get to see some romance... WRONG! On a side note, her obsession gets worse when she is nervous. 

But later on, they do fall in love and there are some really cute moments like when they both went out for dinner and he said: "Look, I know I shouldn't really be asking this. I mean it's none of my business but... why did you take my banana at the grocery that day? You had enough bananas." 

(Okay so the dialogue isn't exactly like this but it's somewhat similar I mean the banana part is definitely the same but I don't currently have the book to copy off of it)

Seamus finally makes Grace take psychotherapy for her OCD. And she does. But nobody in the group therapy has a problem like hers. So she ends up with a group of germophobics. And as they say, the people you be with influence you.

But I felt really sad for her. At first I used to dislike her habit of counting everything but after a few weeks of her therapy I began wishing that she would go back to her old self and count everything! But this wish came with a price! 

Now that's all I am telling you. The rest is up to you to find out. It's a great read. There are some parts that you can relate to and some parts that really make you wonder about certain things and make you feel all philosophical. My advice would be that you read it and I rate it a 3.75!

P.S: I know that usually our reviews are not like this... I mean it was kind of like this earlier but I don't really know what happened but everything just tumbled I guess and if it hadn't been for one of our classmates friend who saw our blog and told us (through our classmate) that our reviews need work. 

And thanks to this unknown girl we have finally realised our stupid/silly mistakes and we hope you guys (whoever reads these reviews on a weekly or daily basis) will not leave us. We promise you won't have to go through those atrocities again!

Lots of Love & Pasta

Raven

Beez:- Bloodlines 

Richelle Mead

Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...

Let me enlighten you with the knowledge of my relationship with Rose and the Vampire Academy books. I love them. There is absolutely no doubt that I love them and will continue to do so till I have been lowered into my grave and possibly even after that. I love every inch of all those six magical and wonderful books with such incredible feeling all rolled into one. I love Rose, Adrian, Dmitri, Lissa, Christian, Mason, Abe and every other person in those books except the bad guys. I love every inch of Rose, her fierceness, her strong protectiveness, her love for Dmitri(it reminds me of C and B in the powerful essence way). I love Adrian with his snarkiness, cockiness and his love for Rose. I was completely heart broken when Rose broke his heart. I love Dmitri(Dimka) and his ways and love and everything about him. I love Lissa and her sweet caringness. I love Christian because of his unconditional love for Lissa. Well you get the idea. I love love love these series.

So you can imagine why I wanted to read this next book to forever retain every one of those characters I loved. At first when I came to know that there was an after series I totally thought it was about Jill. But then a sneak peak told me it was about Sydney. But when I read this book I realized, I was right. Jill plays a huge role in this book. here goes my gushing.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I started to read this book. I knew it would be different but I thought there would still be that Richelle Mead book essence. And it totally was. But in a different way. Sydney is so different than Rose but there is on thing in common. They both believe that their lives are meant to be lived for others. Rose strictly believes she is the protector of Lissa(along with the rest of the world) and Sydney has a strict commitment to the alchemists. But in most other ways they're opposite poles. Sydney is level headed and calm. Shes been taught to do whatever instructed and follow rules and think logically. But Rose on the other hand is different, vibrant, full of energy and she totally does not believe in doing what others tell her to do. Though both want to do the right thing, they couldn't have more different approaches towards it. If Rose was ever put in a situation with Kieth she would do anything and make him pay beautifully. Sydney on the other hand remembers but waits for the time to come and yes she does take her revenge but she still has to stand him on a daily basis. Which Rose would never endure.

I am starting to make this post a comparison which is not what its meant to be. So I'll move forward(is it my fault I love Rose so much). The reason I was stating their difference(apart from selfish ones) was to prove that(to the people who have read the previous books) that there is a huge difference between these two series. The protagonist has totally different views and believes, its a world different from the one inside Rose's mind. This book is different from the previous ones. But I loved it all the same.

One of the best parts in this book was Adrian. Though I hurt for him and I still do, he is a character I have no defenses against. He plays the perfect role of a troubled, miserable yet soo irresistible. I have a soft spot for troubled and disturbed guys. And I always loved Adrian. The way he called Rose- Little Dhampir and how he calls Jill- Jailbait. Adrian is one of those people who on the outside appear like assholes. But inside they have a mixed bag of emotions and they feel so deeply. Jill even confirms it when she says he feels love, anger and hurt so deeply. I feel for him soo much after what Rose did. And Adrian is such a good guy that it breaks my heart. Aside from his deep internal feeling I love Adrian's sarcastic, laid back manner. The way he cares about Jill and even Sydney shows he more so human. And his comments! "These hands don't do manual labor." 

As much as this book was different from Vampire Academy, I loved it. And i would recommend it to every living person on earth after they have read Vampire Academy.

This book is a book worth reading.

Lots of love and popsicles!!

Beez.

Raven: City of Ashes

A novel by Cassandra Clare

Publication Date: March 25th, 2008
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 453
Targeted Audience: Young Adult (Fantasy & Romance)

Summary: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

I liked this book way better than the first one. There is more action (By now you would have guessed that I am a total action loving freak), more comedy, more drama, more confusion, more everything!

Unlike the first book, the plot is not dragged. We get to know more about the "confusion" between Jace and Clary and Simon. There are a few new characters coming up in the book whom you are bound to love. The plot unfolds to more mysteries and more grief.

In the last book, Valentine stole the Mortal Cup and in this book he wants to steal the Mortal Sword. The violence that follows his robbery is so gruesome that I loved it. Call me Psych.

We are introduced to the Fairy folk where takes place a few awkward scenes. Something terrible happens to Simon but I thought it was pretty cool. And that last part of the book will blow you away! It's just so much of awesome sauce!

In the last book, Clary and Jace just seemed so normal but suddenly you are being slapped on the face! What I mean is that Clary and Jace are anything but normal. I couldn't stop reading it. It was just so... wow! Both of them being the children of Valentine and Jocelyn Frey have special characteristics. Jace has super strength and Clary can draw the most powerful ruins and also create new ones.

I love Simon. He is trying so hard to be the cool guy, not that he needs to be one, he is cool already. I also love Luke, he is just such a great father figure. I love Magnus too. God! I love all the characters! I can't choose so don't make me.

In my opinion you should read it. It's a great book. I have already reserved the third book in the library, but I won't be able to get my hands on it until the 21st. *pouts* I rate it a 4! And oh of course! I can't forget to put up a few of my favorite quotes from the book. So here goes...

"We came to see Jace. Is he alright?"

"I don't know," Magnus said. "Does he normally just lie on the floor like that without moving?"

And here's another one...

"I'll just have them change the entry in the demonology textbook from 'almost extinct' to 'not extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.' Will that make you happy?"

[Warning: This book has a cliffhanger *Computer voice*]

P.S: Why don't Alec and Magnus just shut up and kiss?
P.P.S: My review of the first book is right here, just click on it if you want to see it---> http://ravenandbeez.blogspot.ae/2013/09/raven-city-of-bones-mortal-instruments.html

Lots of Love & Pasta

Raven