Catching Fire

Catching Fire  (Book 2 of 3)

By: Suzanne Collins


Book Summary: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.

Thoughts, questions and ramblings:  Katniss and Peeta's relationship ends sourly in book one. And in Catching Fire, we pick right back off where we left off. Haymitch is still drunk, Peeta's still in love, and Katniss still has no clue who she can or can't trust. When I began reading the second installment to Suzanne Collins trilogy, I was not sure how they could possibly drag out the "Hunger Games" into two more books, especially when they were completed by book 1. Nonetheless, my worries of this being a book that was full of character development rather than plot were stricken immediately when I read about Peeta and Katniss returning to the arena. 


I must confide, the second trip to the Games lacked the shock factor given in book one (for obvious reasons - who could have imagined Tracker Jackets or Mutant Wolves?) but the action certainly managed to maintained the hype. For me, although there was not as many new and shocking creatures or situations, in book two, it certainly had me guessing "who's for who" throughout.  My main criticism of this book ended up being that although I was rooting for Peeta, I felt his character needed more masculinity. In book one you find that he is a natural when it comes to camouflage, and happens to be a strength of his, but you don't really get to see him flex his camo-creative muscles at all in book 2. This could have been his niche. Instead the author dwells on his decorating cakes (um...just not manly enough for me). That's neither here nor there, Peeta still has me rooting for him.


Unlike, some other reviews I have read, I didn't by any means think that Catching Fire was any sort of a let down to the original Hunger Games book. I thought it did a wonderful job of continuing a story that you know wasn't finished in book 1. Although, obviously it doesn't tie things up in this one (hence book 3) it certainly gives us the necessary additional insight to the many layers of the Capitol's vengeance, as well as development of relationships. I flew right through this one and immediately picked up Mockingjay. If you're looking for an easy read that will keep you on your toes, this fits the bill perfectly.

Now to movie stuff...

Like other Hunger Games fans out there, I have a distinctive impression that I feel the movie should have or live up to. Modern, with ultimate bad-ass vibe (hopefully not setting standards too high, since there's very rare occasions when the movies hold true to book form). Therefore, being a soundtrack LOVER, there are a few songs that I feel would fit this mold perfectly. Unfortunately, I have yet to be able to find them on my beloved playlist.com to share properly. Therefore, I have added a few from youtube, and hope you get the picture.

Both of these songs are by the band Birds of Tokyo, they have 'soundtrack-y' feel to them, and also the second (Armour for Liars) has an anti-governmental vibe which I feel would fit the movie perfectly. This version is not the version I own, and doesn't give quite the same hard-core feel, but it does include the lyrics which I feel are appropriate.

Enjoy.

Sookie Stackhouse Series

Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris

Borders book description: 

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out.... Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

Sookie seems like an old friend to me. Each time a new book comes out, I get a little excited. Once I start reading, I feel like I am catching up on the drama in an old friend’s life. I slip back into the old routine with Sookie, Eric, Bill, and the gang.

The books are a bit chaotic, but are a great escape. There are many threads throughout the story. At some points during the books, I completely forget about one “crisis” because we are focused on something else and then BAM it comes back to bite her (hah, maybe the pun was intended).

I don’t think the books are great pieces of literary artwork, but they are great reads. They are suspenseful and at times even funny. Sookie is a crazy little southern lady with a lot of spunk.  She gets mixed up in a LOT of drama over the course of the series. At times, it makes one think, How can she handle all of this and why does she keeping putting herself out there? I think I would have moved to Alaska to live with penguins at this point, not date an even more powerful vampire than she already was.

That brings me to another point, I normally love books with a romantic love story. I think that might be what I find refreshing about these books. Charlaine Harris gives it to us straight. There is definitely MEGA supernatural creatures in these books, but besides that the books are real and easily relatable. Sookie breaks up, hooks up, etc with different guys in the books just like any other 20 something year old girl. There isn’t a Romeo & Juliet theme playing throughout. It’s just a girl trying to find a guy that makes her happy.  They laugh, love, fight, and make up. Don’t get me wrong though, I have caught myself several times wishing that we got to see more of the “good times” between Sookie and her boyfriend.  It does seem like there is always stress and chaos at the center of her relationships so you don’t get to focus much on just them being happy and in love.

Charlaine Harris does a great job at developing a character.  I despised Eric Northman at the beginning of the series. He was selfish, manipulative and barbaric. However, I am on book 11 (and waiting for more) and I am on TEAM ERIC!  He is still flawed and all of the words I described above, but we can understand his character now.  Did I mention that book Eric and TV show Eric are both HOT! (lol)

Overall, I definitely recommend this series to read after Twilight. I do not in any way, shape or form, compare this to Twilight though. Don’t get the wrong idea.  Yes, there are vampires and werewolves (and fairies, elves, demons, werepanthers…you get the point), but this is a whole different spin on vampires and love stories. MUCH MORE ADULT!

Just a few quick words on the show...Wow.  It's pretty intense.  I think that about sums it up for me.  Everything you read and more getting brought to life! Yeah, imagine that!!!! It's eye opening!

 I don't keep up with it during the season, so don't tell me what happens in season 3!  I can't wait for the DVD to come out in June (I think!). 

Have you read the series? Watched the show? Let me know know...tag your it!

Torn (Twilight vs. Outlander) Why Should We Choose?

Hope this MANIC MONDAY post leaves you laughing...like it did me!

One of the many reasons that I LOVE Carol @ "My Outlander Purgatory"because...she feels like us! This is funny stuff. Seen this and truly laughed till there were tears, and hope that you do too!

(find the entire post here)

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Book Description: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

First off, wow! This author has a very interesting imagination. I was captivated by the creativity of her dystopian society and surprised at how easily it was for me to accept the characters lifestyles. Upon recommendation of this book, Izzy told me to "just get to the hunger games". I thought for sure that was going to mean that the author over describes things or gets too wrapped up in having us get to know all aspects of Katniss' life before the action starts, but for me this wasn't the case. I was instantly interested in the day-to-day lives of the characters and seemed to want to know even MORE about just what the Gale and Katniss relationship had going on.... when the chaos begins.

When Katniss goes to the Hunger Games, I was of course not surprised (it would have been odd for the main character to not go when the whole book was named after it). But, nevertheless, I was startled at the images the author constructs of CHILDREN preparing to go to a place where they fight till the death. Collins really walks the tight rope of ADULT action and with just enough gruesome detail to not be gory, however, holds on to her YA audience by refraining from any sexual encounters.

One of my main criticisms of this book was that once we are made aware that there's going to be a romance between Katniss and Peeta, there's NO action...no thoughts...no almost...nothing. Just kisses. In my own opinion (and this is JUST ME & WHAT I would have LIKED), I thought that perhaps a little more description of their romantic experiences together would have really broken things up a bit. However, it CERTAINLY makes you want more! I was very anxious to read the remainder of the trilogy and know that like most everyone else that has read this book, you will want to too.

Now....on to the MOVIE!

With ALL this talk of The HUNGER GAMES Movie coming out, you didn't think I would fail to mention ANYTHING about it! All this talk of production has me on "Hunger Games Patrol" following blogs and reading up on who's who in the upcoming movie. Because, whether your a book fan or not...it's going to be an interesting film and has potential to be great! AND...furthermore, if you needed ANY more reasons...one word - Gale (aka: Liam Hemsworth)!

(Entire cast mentioned thus far on eonline)

Manic Monday

So Monday is just a few short hours away from being over....what can we say, we had a MANIC Monday and are a little late on posting. Hope you get a laugh out of the funny images we found on a random Google search...

Haymich Abernathy!

We interrupt these review posts to bring to you the newest cast member for the upcoming Hunger Games movie - Haymich Abernathy! Woody Harrelson.

Do you concur?

Manic Mondays!

Manic Mondays (strike again!)

I love Google Images. You can find all sorts of great stuff there. Here are a few samples of our findins. This Monday's theme is OUTLANDER.  Enjoy your Manic Monday!

Seriously, Is that really to much to ask?

Sassy and Izzy love them some Fergus. But Dear Ol' Diana always has to remind us of his hook. And then Izzy's mind instantly thinks of Captain Hook from Peter Pan - yeah not so pretty!

In case everyone isn't clear...yes, that is Jamie standing naked in front of roaring fire carved on a pumpkin. Why you ask, hell if I know, but it made me smile!

That is SERIOUSLY a searched question on google!

Hope you enjoyed! Have a fantasy filled fantastic day!

The Fallen Series

The Fallen Series By Lauren Kate

Goodreads Summaries:

Fallen

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her

Torment

Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

I would like to do just a quick review on the Fallen series by Lauren Kate.  I read Fallen some time last year so the details are a little foggy, but I read Torment just a couple months ago. 

I want to like these books so much more than I do. Yet, I will keep reading them until Lauren Kate stops writing them.  It probably wouldn't matter if there were 10 books in the end; I would read them. Why you might ask? Well, I just need to know what happens. That's me though, I can't let things be. I always NEED closure!  These books don't give you closure. They leave everything wide open at the end just waiting for more and wondering what the hell just happened.

That's what keeps me reading each page. I keep reading so I can try to understand what is even going on. Everything is always a mystery to Luce since she is the new kid / human / can't remember her past 1000 lives...The whole idea of the series is interesting. I had never read anything about angels before so it was a fresh plot to me.  I loved the idea of the forbidden love between Luce and Daniel. (Honestly, Cam didn't seem like to bad of a back up plan either though...jk). This definitely kept me interested through out the first book. 

The second book frustrated me. Luce was shipped off to a boarding school and kept out of the loop. If Luce is kept out of the loop, that means you are kept out of the loop. There are no hidden clues for the reader to pick up on (and Luce to be oblivious too). No, we get to suffer right along with her and it started to piss me off.  I just didn't feel like I even understood the fights that Daniel and Luce would have or why ANYTHING happened the way it did. Then bam here comes the end and we, the readers, have to wait for the third book to figure out what will happen.

Gosh, I think I sound really negative right about now. Not trying to discourage anyone from reading these books because they were good books.  The plot just developed slowly. There is definitely enough mystery and suspense to keep you reading. Hence the reason I am impatiently awaiting the release of the third book, Passion (release date - June 14, 2011)

Have you read this yet? What are your thoughts? Tag your it...

Manic Mondays!

Just a little fun for your.....

Manic Mondays!