Harmonystar Designs: July 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Murkmere

Aggie's life in the village is as normal and dull as any girl's; she has never questioned the rule of the Ministration or the power of the divine beings-the birds. Then, the crippled master of the nearby manor, Murkmere, sends for Aggie to become a lady's companion to his ward, Leah. Aggie accepts and even starts to befriend the wild and strange girl who seems to want nothing but to escape Murkmere and its powermongering steward, Silas. As preparations begin for the ball celebrating Leah's sixteenth birthday, Aggie finds herself further and further enmeshed in the sinister plots that surround Murkmere, Leah, and the mysterious Master. Suspenseful and haunting, Murkmere pulls the reader into an unforgettable world between history and myth.(goodreads)

This was an interesting find. It was a bit on the dark side perhaps that's what made it so enthralling. Keeps you wondering through the whole book. I enjoyed it.

week 29

credits:
template - Julie
project 565 - Gingerscraps collab
Stars - Kathy Winters
splash - Modern June

Carousel

credits:
Gingerscraps County Fair by Gingerscraps collab

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Silver Bullet

Sorry no one else has a write up for this so you'll get just me. This is one of those books I randomly pulled off the shelf.

John Luckless is a soldier in the red coat army. To his great surprise he is chosen to to take a special message through enemy lines to the General in New York. He proves to be very lucky as he survives one danger after another, learning much about both sides of the war and his part in it.

The story itself was pretty good, the way it was written was a bit lacking. I wish I could express myself more clearly but the style came off as the kind of book you'd be forced to read at school and even though exciting things are happening, you care little for the characters or what happens to them. I did enjoy the last few chapters more than the others.

Week 28

credits:
template by Julie *edited
project 365 - Gingerscraps collab
Freedom Ain't Free by Summertime Design
border - Andrea
sailboat - Scrapidea-Timkova

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

After being imprisoned in a tower, a princess and her serving maid at last escape to find a changed world and danger at every turn.

That was a vague description huh? Well first of all have I mentioned I LOVE Shannon Hale? A couple hundred times? oh well let me say it again. I LOVE Shannon Hale!

Okay on to this book. First of all I got what my husband called "out of control" with this book. It's not a large book the kind I usually finish in a week, but I put off doing things I should have and read it in 2 days. It's a journal written by the lady's maid. It takes place in an oriental type landscape and traditions. It was wonderful. Obviously I never wanted to put it down. I want this girl as my friend and I fell in love with the Khan. What an amazing story taken from a vague Grimm Brother's story.

I think from now on I'll do the books quotes under the book review. That would make more sense huh?

"Mama used to say, you have to know someone a thousand days before you can glimpse her soul."
— Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days)

"You're better than seven years of food. You're better than windows. You're even better than the sky."
— Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days)

"Sometimes my fancy gets to floating inside me, threatening to carry me away like a leaf on a wind. Better to be a stone."
— Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days)

"I let my head fall back, and I gazed into the Eternal Blue Sky. It was morning. Some of the sky was yellow, some the softest blue. One small cloud scuttled along. Strange how everything below can be such death and chaos and pain while above the sky is peace, sweet blue gentleness. I heard a shaman say once, the Ancestors want our souls to be like the blue sky."
— Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days)

"They weren't nice words he said. He could've lived a good life and died never having made a person feel rubbed down to bones and too sad to hold together. "
— Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days)

Quote - Keys to the Demon Prison

"Some imagine the difference between heaven and hell to be a matter of geography. Not so. The difference is much more evident in the individuals who dwell there."
— Brandon Mull (Keys to the Demon Prison)

"Making mistakes is part of learning to choose well. No way around it. Choices are thrust upon us, and we don't always get things right. Even postponing or avoiding a decision can become a choice that carries heavy consequences. Mistakes can be painful-sometimes they cause irrevocable harm-but welcome to Earth. Poor choices are part of growing up, and part of life. You will make bad choices, and you will be affected by the poor choices of others. We must rise above such things."
— Brandon Mull (Keys to the Demon Prison)

"Luck has a way of evaporating when you lean on it."
— Brandon Mull (Keys to the Demon Prison)

Fablehaven: Key to the Demon Prison

Since ancient times, the great demon prison Zzyzx has protected the world from the most dangerous servants of darkness, including Gorgrog, the Demon King. After centuries of plotting, the Sphinx is on the verge of recovering the five artifacts necessary to open the legendary prison. Facing the potential of a world-ending calamity, all friends of light must unite in a final effort to thwart the Sphinx s designs and find a safe home for the five artifacts. To this end, Kendra, Seth, and the Knights of the Dawn will venture far beyond the walls of Fablehaven to strange and exotic magical preserves across the globe, where the end of every quest becomes the beginning of another. In this explosive series finale, allegiances will be confirmed and secrets revealed as the forces of light and darkness collide in a desperate struggle to control the keys to the demon prison.

Another great series all done. :( The book was great! Jumped right into the action. More fun magical creatures and cool skills. I just wish I had read the previous books again before I read this one, my memory isn't as good as it once was. Sometime I'll read these all back to back now that they are all written. If you havn't picked up the Fablehaven series yet what are you waiting for? Do ya just hate fairies? Is that too girly for you, what about giant warrior fairies? trolls? demons? When Jaden gets old enough for me to read him chapter books to him I so want to read him these. Hmm may have to wait a bit, they could be a bit scary for a 2 yr old.