Thursday, July 28, 2011

Review -Trials of Death by Darren Shan


Book 5 of The Saga of Darren Shan
Oh. My. Gosh. Best book so far!! :D
This book starts right where Vampire Mountain left off, with the Trials. A lot happens in this book. Darren must complete 5 Trials. Some of the trials have been taken out, because Darren is not a full vampire, and does not have the ability to do some of them. The trials work as so: pick the trial, time to prepare, attempt the trial, rest period, repeat. I don’t want to give too much away, but he must complete each trial, if not he will be taken to the hall of death. Darren learns there is a traitor among the vampires, but we don’t know if he will be able to tell anyone. This book ends in a GIANT cliff-hanger. Unlike the rest of the books, which all had clear endings.
The library doesn’t have the next book in, so I have to wait to find out what happens :(
               Want to know what I thought of Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4?  

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Review - Vampire Mountain by Darren Shan


Book 4 in The Saga of Darren Shan
Six years have passed since the events in Tunnels of Blood. Eight years total since Darren has been blooded by Mr. Larten Crepsley. The Vampire Council is gathering soon Darren and Larten must go to Vampire Mountain, where the vampires gather in the caves and tunnels inside. They are accompanied by 2 Little People(one named Lefty by Evra and Darren because of his limp). On the dangerous trek to the mountain they encounter new friends and a bear who wants to rip him to pieces. The Little People have never spoken before, but Lefty (who has always been very friendly and nice to Darren) speaks, and tells Darren and Larten his Master, Mr. Tiny has sent a message for the Vampire Prince’s about a person who will lead the vampanaze to war (and victory) against the vampires.
Once at the mountain they are greeted by Mr. Crepsley’s mentor, Seba and a new friend Kudra who will soon become a Vampire Prince, and Arra one of the few female vampires. They go to a council meeting who decide that Darren must prove himself as a vampire by passing the Trials of Initiation (due to the fact the Mr. Crepsley blooded a child which is a big no-no). Darren agrees to the trials, and later finds out that if he fails a trial it means death -there is no turning back.
This book was similar to the 3rd in that there was not a lot of action. We learned even more about the vampire clan, as well as new characters who were introduced. Shan told a lot about the Vampire Mountain. This book was a set up for the next book -where Darren must prove himself with the trials. -Can’t wait to read it :)
               Want to know what I thought of Book 1, Book 2, Book 3

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Review -Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan


Book 3 in The Saga of Darren Shan
Mr. Crepsley is found by an old friend, Gavner Purl, after their secret meeting Mr. Crepsley informs Darren they are going to leave the cirque for the time being. Darren brings along his friend Evra, as if it were a vacation. Darren and Evra are free to do as they please while Mr. Crepsley is sleeping. One night while Mr. Crepsley is out they watch the news which reports the finding of 6 dead humans, all drained of their blood. Believing it is Mr. Crepsley they start to tail him each night, until one night when is seems he is going to kill an innocent man. Darren jumps into the rescue, only to find a mad vampaneze was who Mr. Crepsley was actually following. (Vampaneze are vampire’s who always kill the humans they are going to drink from) The vampaneze runs off, and kidnaps Evra on his way out. Mr. Crepsley believes Evra is dead, and the vampaneze long gone. Darren does not agree -Evra is his best friend, he must be alive. Darren must now risk his life -and others- to try and find his best friend, and outsmart the wild vampaneze.
This book was a little slow going with the action because we learned a lot about the history of vampires, and of the vampaneze. All in all it was still a great book, and the information really put things together.
..on to the next book!
               Want to know what I thought of Book 1, Book 2?

Monday, July 25, 2011

Review - The Vampire’s Assistant by Darren Shan


Book 2 in The Saga of Darren Shan.
I was dying to know what happened in the book -if it followed the movie, or went a different way. I think we all know the answer -went a different way. It is so much better though, but of course it is.
Darren is now Mr. Crepsley’s assistant, a half vampire. Mr. Crepsley urges Darren to drink from humans, he needs it to survive and even though Darren does not have to kill his victims, he will not drink their blood. He wants to keep his humanity. They decide to travel with the Cirque du Freak so Darren can have some friends. He bunks with the snake boy, Evra who becomes his closest friend. Darren also meets two humans -Sam and RV. Sam becomes close to Darren. Sam wants to join the circus, and RV finds out some information he decides to deal with on his own, which puts himself and Sam in great danger.
Another great read. I can’t wait to read books 3 and 4.. I am dying to know what happens next.
               Want to know what I thought of Book 1?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Review - A living Nightmare by Darren Shan

Have you watched the movie Cirque du Freak? I have, and after I watched it I immediately looked for a second movie, but to my surprise there wasn’t one. That is when I started looking, and hoping, I would find a book series.
I found it. The Saga of Darren Shan. (Or Cirque du Freak series)
The first book of 12 *gasp* is Cirque du Freak -A living Nightmare. I read it fairly quickly. These books are teen/young adult level so they are a very easy read.
Darren was a normal kid. His friend found a flyer for a freak show, they went. Steve had saw one of the performers before -in his vampire book. Darren stole his performing spider, Madame Octa (he had a thing for spiders). Steve wasn’t a fan, and Madame Octa bit him. She was poisonous. Only one person knew how to cure Steve. Darren goes to Mr. Crepsley(the vampire), and asks for help. In return for the antidote Mr. Crepsley wants Darren to become his assistant.
Do you say yes, give up half your life to save your best friend?
Go ahead, read the book. Its better than the movie! ;)

Starting a Blog

The day has finally come -I have started a blog. Blogs have always amazed me, and I love reading what people have to say. Whether it is a delicious recipe, a review of a product I’m looking into, or just something random from someones day to day life. There are a lot of amazing blogs out there that have inspired me to start writing my own. I hope that one day, I will be able to inspire others. ;)
I have set up this blog in order to take you on my day to day journey(if you want to follow), document my weight loss, and share with you the program I am following and love! Post my favorite recipes, reviews of books that I read throughout the year (right now I'm reading the Cirque Du Freak series, its great and way better than the movie -of course) and help businesses by holding blog giveaways, posting product reviews, etc. 
I imagine getting started with my blog will be a pretty slow process, but I cannot wait to see where it takes me!