Sunday, November 20, 2011

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

What would you do if you have fallen in love with a man who only existed in your dreams? What if you found out that he was real but existed in a different time? What would you do to be with that person? What would you give to be with that person forever? 

Michele Winsor had a recurring dream. She had been having the same dream about a handsome blue-eyed man in a mirror and a skeleton key. She feels that she knows the person in the mirror but she couldn’t tell who it was, where they met or how she knew him. As for the key, she doesn’t recognize it at all. But she was curious as to why she kept on getting the same dream but that wasn’t going to be answered until later in the book. 

Michele lived a simple life with her mother. She never knew who her father was because he left them when she was young and never returned. Still she was happy and contented even if they weren’t living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. 

Her life crumbled after the death of her mother Marion. She didn’t know how to move on because she was the only family she ever had. 

Now that her mother passed away her legal appointed guardians now were her grandparents who lived in New York. She was told that she had to leave her friends in California and move to New York to live with the Winsors. 

The Windsors were filthy rich. They were considered as one of the richest family in New York. Michele didn’t know how rich they really were until she arrived at the Winsor mansion which was too ostentatious for her taste. She preferred to be with her mother in their bungalow in California but she knew that wasn’t going to happen anymore. 

The Winsor mansion was not only huge and extravagant but it also holds her family’s history. At her room in the mansion, she found out that most of the Windsor girls actually stayed in her room even her mother. She was exploring her room when she came across a locked drawer. She didn’t have the key but she had an idea. 

Rummaging through her mother’s stuff she found a key. The same skeleton key she had seen in her dreams. She tried to use the key to open the locked drawer which miraculously opened the drawer. 

Inside the drawer was a diary. As she flipped through the first entry she was unexpectedly sucked inside the diary where she landed in her own bedroom back in 1901. 

As she goes back in time, she learns about her family and most of all she learns about who the man in the mirror is. 


REVIEW: 

After reading “The Time Traveler’s Wife” I haven’t read any other books related to time travel. I loved the Time Traveler’s wife but reading it got me confused with all the jumping of time and stuff. With Timeless it was different; the flow of the book was fluid and continuous. It was not confusing since it was happening continuously. This book was narrated in the third person which I thought was great. Everything that was happening to Michele in the past and in the future was simultaneous so it won’t confuse you unlike in Time Traveler’s wife. 


The story started off with a dream which I really liked. 


Michele Windsor was down to earth and very simple. I liked that. She was raised well by her mother because even if she knew that she belonged to a rich family that didn’t get to her. She was a very likeable character. She falls in love with Philip. She continues to travel back in time not only to be with him but also to help the Windsor girls with their issues. She learned that what she does in the past definitely affects the future so she made every action and moment count. 

Philip Walker was the man in the mirror. He was the blue eyed guy that Michele has been dreaming of. He fell in love with Michele even though he knew that she was from the future. He was a musician which drew me to him. He was everything that a perfect gentleman should be. (You would see why I said so). He kept his promise and that made me so happy by the end of the book I was still crying. I thought he wouldn’t be able to do it but he did! :) 

Marion Windsor was a cool mom. She kind of reminds me of myself. I am a single mom and I know how hard it is to raise a child all on your own. She did a pretty good job in raising Michele. She didn’t go back to her parents after Henry left. She continued to live the life she chose even if the love of her life left her alone leaving her with a key and their daughter. 

Dorothy and Walter Windsor were Michele’s grandparents. I think they were definitely keeping something from Michele regarding her father. Michele somehow has a clue because of what happened when she was in the past but still I think there was something else that they were hiding. 

Caissie Walker was a good friend. I mean its not every day that you meet someone who would believe you if you say that you could travel back in time.

This book was the first in the series so you should expect that the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger but in a good way. I didn’t expect how it ended to tell you honestly. 

I was in tears as I was nearing the end of the book. I thought that it was not going to have a happy ending. Boy was I so surprised! I won’t go into details on that because that part would ruin everything. The ending for me was the highlight of the book. 

Love knows no boundaries. Love knows no time. Love knows no obstacles. To be with the person they love they would do anything or everything they could to be with that person. No one or nothing could ever tear two hearts apart. 

I have been listening to one of Joshua Radin’s songs “When I find you” which fits Timeless. 

“Oh I need you to know today 
I’ll wait for you always. 
Oh I need you to know today 
I’ll wait for you always. 
Coz when I find you 
I’ll find me” 

This book is totally a 5! I hope the next book gets released soon. 
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The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Now that Meghan is the Iron Queen, Ash could no longer be her knight. Iron was poison to the regular fey and aside from that he was banished from the Iron Realm. But before he left Meghan, he made a promise that he would find a way for them to be together. 

Ash wanted to be human so that she could be with Meghan in the Iron Realm. 

Grimalkin, the cat-who-knows-everything, leads Ash and Puck to the person who could tell them how to get a soul because in order for one person to be human, he/she should have a soul. They need to find the Seer who could tell them where Ash could get a soul. 

Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, the Seer and an unlikely character have to journey to the End of the World to earn Ash’s soul. 

The road to the end of the world was not easy. They encountered obstacles and hindrances along the way. 

The biggest struggle that they encountered was not the tests or the creatures that they faced but it was Ash himself. 

THE REVIEW: 

The Iron fey series was really an addicting one. I used to wonder why people were addicted to this series and now I know why. 

I must commend the author for making the ending so damn good! :) Making the ending told in Ash’s point of view was just GENIUS. 

I was not sure how long Ash’s journey has been but it did say a lot of things about him. The author really did a good job in filtering out the need to know about Ash in the first three books and completing all the missing pieces of Ash in the fourth book. Ash did things that he was not proud of but was never mentioned in the first three books but in the Iron Knight everything about him will be revealed. 

I was a little disappointed in him on most part of the book because of something that has to do with his past. I won’t mention anything because I don’t want to ruin the surprise. There was this side of Ash that you will see here that you haven’t seen before. 

The process that he has to overcome to be human was not easy. But I find his trials very necessary for him to have his soul. It was brilliant. 

Puck showed how much a true friend he really is. I love Ash to the core of my being but still Puck would always be my FIRST love. He never left Ash’s side. I think he came with Ash not just because he was guilty about what happened to Ariella or he was doing it for Meghan but because he wanted to be with his best friend again, possibly rekindle their friendship. It was touching really. Even though Ash was pushing him away, he still stood by Ash all the way. 

Grimalkin was the best cat ever. I wish I have a cat like him. Hahaha. It was funny because this cat got them out of most of the troubles that they encountered. What would they do without Grimalkin? 

The Seer? Hmmm. I didn’t like her at all. Tsk tsk. No further comment on that 

The Iron Knight was an excellent read. It didn’t disappoint. It went way above and beyond my expectation. There weren’t really enough words to describe how I felt for this series. Too bad it’s over. But I heard there would be a spin off. I wouldn’t miss that for the world! 

A SOLID 5 FOR THE IRON KNIGHT! :) 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

“I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brush strokes of color swirled into the canvas. He was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen – everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable… Utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.
There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. He was trapped within his golden painting.

I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked – bond together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. And unless I can free him soon, things will only get darker still.”

Lord Denbury’s portrait was the talk of the town. Everyone was curious to see the mysterious lifelike portrait of Lord Denbury. Everybody including Natalie Stewart.
Natalie never uttered a word after her mother’s death. All she had was a journal which she uses to collect her thoughts and communicate to others.

When Natalie heard about Lord Denbury’s painting she was as curious as everybody else was about what the portrait would be like. She was not a firm believer of the supernatural until she sees the portrait. A very strong urge to touch the portrait overwhelmed her. When she finally did touch the painting she found herself tumbling over to a room different from where she was moments before she touched the painting. She was inside the portrait with no other than Lord Derbury himself.

I loved Dorian Gray. It was one of the reasons why I got extremely excited to read this book. Darker Still was a very beautiful and engaging read. A novel like this was not something that you come across every day. It was very unique but not entirely original. I still loved reading every moment of it. Ms. Hieber’s writing was incredible.
The characters were very likeable.

Natalie was my kind of heroine. I’ve mentioned in all of my previous reviews that I admire girls who ooze with girl power and Natalie was a perfect example. Despite her inability to speak (at first) she did not let people talk down on her. She wanted to prove to everyone that she has the capability to do things even if she can’t speak. She was brave and daring. We usually read about girls being saved by the guys but here it was the other way around. Natalie was determined to find a way to save Lord Denbury and she did of course with the help of Mrs. Northe who I adore as well.

I admit it. I have a thing for English guys. Hahaha. Jonathon Whitby, Lord Denbury. *Sigh*. The gentleman in distress. Obviously if I was in Natalie’s shoes I’m sure I would have done the same thing. I would have risked everything if the price would be the blue-eyed Lord Denbury. Hahaha. Way to go Natalie!

The whole book was an amazing read. The setting, the story, the characters, the plot, the pacing of the story was perfect for me.
Five stars!!! :)