The Lost Hero ( #1 of the Heros of Olympus)

Title: The Lost Hero

Author: Rick Riordan

Release date: October 3rd, 2010

Rating: 5/5

Publisher: Disney/Hyperbion

Book Summary:

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?  

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.
Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

Review:
 
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,  
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

*fan girl squeal* I finally was able to read it! Oh my gosh it was so good! Rick Riordan's books are by far my favorites in Middle Grade!
 
So, if you haven't read The Lightning Theif and the rest of the books of the Percy Jackson series then do not DARE pick up this book. The Percy Jackson books are like a Pre-Series to this series. You need to read those if you are to get anything Annabeth says. I'm telling you READ THEM.
 
*cough* Anyway, Riordan has brought another new twist on the old Greek mythology, but there has been an addition. Roman mythology is now intertwined into the Heros of Olympus!
 
Jason, suddenly appears in the boarding school with a girlfriend he never knew he had, Piper,  and a best friend, Leo. Their adventure starts when the venti attack and Coach Hedge must defend them (which failed epically even though Hedge is kick a--!) so two memebers of CHB came and saved all of them.
 
In Camp Half-Blood Percy has been missing and Annabeth has been searching for days to find him. Jason has this strange thing that he talks about the Greek Gods in their Roman form. Interesting.

I'm super excited for his the sequel to his series (whose book title I'm not revealing for those who haven't read it) coming out August 2011 and the sequel to the Kane Chronicles which comes out May 3, 2011.

Overall: Amazing. Good plot. Nice workings. Character build up. Cliffhanger.

~M.A.Chase♥

Two Days Left!

So there are two more days left for NaNoWriMo how's everyone doing?

So, I've already failed epically. I didn't get to finish my NaNoWriMo novel cause of school and stuff. So, I will continue the "NaNoWriMo" style through December and maybe even through January to edit and write. I hope you all had better luck then me!

~M.A.Chase♥

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure

Title: Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure

Author: Allan Richard Shickman

Release date: 2007 (Second Printing: 2010)

Rating: 4/5

Publisher: EarthShaker Books

Book Summary: Zah-Gah: A prehistoric adventure has only begun. Pressed by love for his brother and a bad conscience, the hero undertakes a quest which leads to captivity, conflict, love, and triumph. In three years, Zan-Gah passes from an uncertain boyhood to a tried and proven manhood and role of leadership among his people. This dramatic and impassioned story will thrill and deeply move young adults and older readers. They will dream of Zan-Gah at night, and remember it all their lives.

Review:
This book is a signed copy sent to me by EarthShaker Books to read and review. It's about a boy anxious to be a man. He's ready to grow up and be part of the men in his tribe, so he goes on a Lion hunt. His world changes the minute him and the lioness meet eyes. The Lioness pounces Zan and in a second he killed the lion. He got scars on his arms. The head of the north tribes Aniah gave him the name Zan-Gah as honor. From then on he thinks himself as a man and so do the rest of his people. He then decides to go find his twin brother. Then the story begins.

Zan-Gah: A prehistoric adventure was pretty good. It took me a minute to realize the whole story was in a third-person point of view, because the first paragraphs don't really show you, they're like introductory paragraphs. Like...I don't know how'd you'd explain it, but it's kind of like that.

The story over all had a good plot. It was strong and it showed how the character changed and grew up while looking for his twin brother, Dael. I liked the fact that Zan-Gah needed to pass many trials before he was able to keep moving.

Chapter 9 I thought was a little unneccessary. It talks about his uncle and his uncle's backstory. That chapter doesn't really fit in the section that it's in. Maybe if Chapter 9 was Chapter 2 it wouldn't have been awkward. But it goes from Zan-Gah finding "a big lake" that's full of salt water and passing out to the chapter that talks about his uncle. Maybe for some other people it fits, but to me it felt like an akward transition.

I like what happened with Dael and Lissa-Na in the end. It was so sweet I just couldn't help, but smile in the end.

Overall: Good story. Good plot. I probably would read it again.
~M.A.Chase♥

The Story Siren's Debut Author Challenge 2011

After forgetting-and failing- the last Debut Author Challenge I decide to try again with the 2011 Debut Author Challenge over at The Story Siren!

This year I will not forget and I will write it down in any space imaginable. :D

What is the Debut Author Challenge, you ask?
You must read at least 12 YA/MG books of authors that are debuting in the year 2011 and no it doesn't count if you have an ARC for a book that will come out in 2011 and you're reading it now. The challenge is from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2011. All books must be read in that time limit or they're not valid.

She also has a nifty spreadsheet with a list of books that will be debuting. So, all the research has been DONE. All you have to do is look through the books and read them. :D Sounds easy enough? Go check it out!                                                                     

You know you want to click it \/

~M.A.Chase♥

Shadow of the Sun

Title: Shadow of the Sun

Author: Laura Kreitzer
Release date: January 2010
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: iUniverse/Obsidian Mountain Publishing
Book Summary: Review:

Gabriella's past is a mystery, but that never stopped her from achieving her goals. As a supernatural specialist, and far more intelligent than anyone her age, she has always been ignored by her peers. Because of the isolation she has always felt, she put her life and sould into her job. Being a supernatural specialist hasn't given her the divine intervention she always longed for, until one day a shipment arrives from Italy containing three dead bodies with an uncanny ability to regenerate. Gabriella is frightened and intrigued, but not as scared as she becomes when a dark creature attacks her.

As the bodies come back to life, the plot takes an unexpected twist that you won't see coming. The supernatural world only begins to unfold before her as angels appear, her dreams start to haunt her, and the very past she has forgotten comes back with startling clarity. Romance blooms, escape plans are made, an assassin is out to kill her, and death is only around the corner. But what is more terrifying than all of it is the fact that she is the chosen one, the Illuminator, the one who will save them all.

Wow.

Right from the cover I was swept away with the mystery and wonder that is Shadow of the Sun. From it's first paragraph I was in wonder. I was taken away. I was hooked.

"It's too late, a voice echoed in my head. I gasped and knelt beside the angel. There was no puddle of golden blood, no marks-just a lifeless body. It was in that moment that I realized I'd never be able to speak to my beloved angel again."

After that it all just escalates and becomes amazing. When I reach Chapter 3 I know that this is the book for me and after that I couldn't put it down. I was with it where ever I went and snuck a few words when ever I could. I was counting the pages to the end, not because it was boring, but because I wanted to know how it ended and what plot twist Laura Kreitzer was planning.

Her characters are strong and know what they want and how to get to it. That determination is great. It makes the characters come alive, it made them feel. This isn't like the other supernatural books out there. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from page one.

I know I'll be recommending it for months to come just as I did-and still do!- Tyger, Tyger, and Iron King. I'm excited to read her next book in her Timeless Series; Soul Stalker which is out now. Thank you, Obsidian Mountain Publishing, for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. I hope to hear from you soon!

~M.A.Chase♥

Day of Sacrifice

Title: Day of Sacrifice (A Short Story)
Author: S. W. Benefiel
Release date: 2010
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Orange House Press/ S. W. Benefiel at Smashwords
Book Summary(From Smashwords): Review:

With only three days left until her twenty-first birthday, her Day of Sacrifice, Flora Hamilton should be living it up. But when another Supernatural family puts a hit on her she’s forced to go into hiding with Julian, her gorgeous new Guardian Angel. Sometimes running for your life isn’t so bad.

The beginning of this short story is well written though it kind of takes a minute to get into the jist of what's going on. The points of view change between Julian and Flora so quickly you're just kind of left thinking "Oh, this is ______'s P.O.V. Okay, I get what's going on now." There aren't many P.O.V changes, but it still gets you confused for a second. (Well, at least I got confused for a second).

The story kicks off soon, though. Flora gets about seventy million calls from Fauna (her twin). As she listens to the messages she knows it's something important. I won't tell you. (:

I love Flora's personality in this story. She's strong, confident and not afraid to be scared every once in a while.

Julian: He's adorable. I love Julian. He's so sweet, smart, cute, compassionate. I felt so bad for him when ________ happened. (Gotcha there hehe) Poor Julian and when _________ happened. That was just too heartbreaking and adorable at the same time. Read it and fill in the blanks :D

S.W.Benfiel did a great job with this. She really knew how to weave everything together to come up with a perfect ending. I'm looking forward to REBELLION which is coming out in 2011.

You can find this Short story here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26342
~M.A.Chase♥

Day 13 of NaNoWriMo!

We're now about to enter the second week of NaNoWriMo! How's everyone feeling about this? Are you finally getting the rhythm of the story? Do you know how you want your characters to act?

Your word count should be at around 21K judging from what my suggested word count says on NaNo.

I'm not there yet. I'm SUPER behind(three thousand words behind to be exact) so now I have to pick up the pace all day and write like there is no fricken tomorrow (there isn't...in a way. I probably won't be able to write much tomorrow so you know that three thousand? Change that to four thousand).

I do have a few ideas to use so I pray that I won't have writer's block at a time like this, but who can judge?

This is going to be a busy day. Just wait for my post on wednesday. It might be kinda crazy.

~M.A.Chase♥

NaNoWriMo Day 7!

Welcome to Day 7 of NaNoWriMo! You should be up to about 11K words so far. You're problem and plot are all about to take shape. You're MC is just figuring out the conflict and the love interests should start appearing in a few thousand words or so.

How do you think your story is taking shape right now? Do you think that after NaNoWriMo you will continue your story and edit it to take it to it's true potential? I think I will. I'm really excited to see where this story will take me and try to publish it after I edit and edit and edit it.

In the comments how about you leave a basic description of your MC? I can't wait to hear from you!

~M.A.Chase♥

NaNoWriMo Day 3

Total for today: approx. 5-8K

If you're a little behind just chill out. You don't need to worry. Here are some of my own tips to try and reach that word goal (I'm not a professional so they may not be any good).

• Are you comfrotable with your writing? If you're really not feeling the writing then why did you start it in the first place? Writing something that you're comforable with and you're sure you like is a big step in the writing process. That means that you're going to have a lot to write about, talk about. It will make it easier to rack up those words.
• Think about what you're going to write. Think of that scene and maybe two or three other scenes after that. When you know what exactly you want start writing. This will help you try to get to that next scene by making somethin happen that you may actually like and keep in the end.
• Time. This is probably about the hardest things to accomplish during NaNoWriMo; having enough time to actually write. So, here's a suggestion. What I do is I take a clipboard with paper and copy the last sentence in my whole WIP. I take the clipboard and when something comes to me I start writing and writing. By the time you get home you may have four or five pages ready to type up and during that time you can edit and add even more words to it.
• Music or silence. Either will probably make you concentrate better. I choose music. I just put on Pandora Radio and listen to a whole bunch of different songs. Silence can work to. All you need to do is just put on your Thinking Cap and just listen to your fingers hittting those keys. If you have people walking in and interrupting it just won't work (trust my experience).

There are some tips. You can follow them or if you have others; comment!

Have a nice 3rd day of NaNo!
~M.A.Chase♥

NaNoWriMo!

It's finally here! What you ask? You're joking? Ok, ok, please come closer and I'll explain... NANOWRIMO IS HERE!

I'm pumped. This year I will get passed fifty thousand. It will take my two months to write my book but I don't care. Yes, yes, I said two months. I'm planning on getting to 100K by January.  Do you think I can do it? I think I can do it and that's all that matters. *nods*

Anyway, back to NaNoWriMo. How many of you are veterans and how many of you are newbies? 

To Newbies:
Don't be nervous, have fun with it. Even if you don't finish you can still continue where you left off after the month of November is over. It's a great way to meet other writers, authors make new friends from your regions.

If you haven't signed up for NaNoWriMo: What are you waiting for? Today is the first day! Doooo itttt. (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) Check it out.

To Verterans:
Welcome back to NaNoWriMo!

The November 2010 fun starts today! Be excited! I hope you have your story ideas ready! Have any of you won a NaNoWriMo in the years you've done it? And if so, how many times have you won? Comment below :D


Well, I have to get to writing so I'll post up some more stuff later!

~M.A.Chase♥