review
Fifty shades of Grey - Erika James
Summary:
Anastasia Steele is a student who interviews Christian Grey, CEO of a big company for her faculty’s journal. She’s immediatly impressed by this man, but it’s him who wants to see her again, nonetheless. So their relationship begins... But soon, Christian explains to her that he has a weird bond with women, and he offers her a contract : he’ll always be dominant, and define precisely her role has a submissive woman. The rules are quite hard and don’t regard exclusively their sex life. In front of this deal, Anastasia has to chose between her vertue and submitting to Christian’s deviances. Or maybe her love might change him?
Audrey’s review:
The writing is very fluid and nice, the author knows how to use striking words that send you into the story. Her style is captivating! More than the erotic games, what I liked most was the very complex relationship between the two characters. They both have to face their limits and learn how to compromise. They’re getting to know each other. Despite their differences, we feel something deep binding the two characters. My romantic soul is very fond of this! I hope that behind the erotic front, deep feelings are hidden. Anastasia could be anyone, and she has to face Christian’s complex aspects. He is kind of a beast/prince. Yet, when you expect it least, he surprises! It’s kind of a fairytale that would set place in our time. Sometimes it makes it less realistic... The other characters are good too : Kate (the fearless version of Anastasia) and Jose (the handsome best friend). As for the end of the novel, it’s both satisfying and troubling: it makes you want to grab the sequel right away!
Darkly dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
Summary:
Dexter is a blood spatter analyst at the Miami metro police. He has a girlfirends, colleagues and a sister – the daughter of his adoptive parents. But Dexter is a serial killer. Thanks to his adoptive father, who used to be a cop, Dexter learned to live – and kill – according to Harry’s code : he only murders killers. Even though Dexter, this nice sociopath doesn’t actually feel anything, he tries to fake it. And he’s quite good at it, too! That is until another serial killer strikes. Some weird resamblances appear... Has Dexter lost his mind, or is there someone else... like him?
Review:
This first book of the Dexter novels is almost exactly the same story as the season one of the TV show. The description of this psychopath is quite good! (as long as I don’t have to meet the author^^) Despite everything, Dexter is a charming character, who has some good in him (since he only kills the murderers that the police couldn’t catch). Just as it is shown in the TV show, the shadow of Harry (Dexter’s late adoptive father) is always by his side, and his character acts as a guide. Deb – Dexter’s sister – is surprisingly dependent on her brother. Dexter’s colleagues and Deb are like pawns in Dexter’s game. The story is excellent and the theme awesome ! The next books of Dexter’s story don’t follow the storyline of the series (actually it’s the other way around) which will offer us different stories ! Great: more of our favorite serial killer!
Oscar and the lady in pink - Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Summary:
Oscar is a little boy, just like every others… except that he lives in a hospital. He’s got a very agressive type of cancer that leaves him very few days before the end. His days are far from being sad though: he’s surrounded by lots of friends such as Pop corn (a young obese), Peggye Blue (lungs disease) and Bacon (severely burned). A mysterious lady dressed in pink is goind to help him through his last days, to make it last as if a lifetime. It’s through his letters to God that we find out what happens to this incredible being...
Audrey’s review:
It’s a story that could unfortunately be part of the reality, but it’s also so very wonderful that it’s hard to imagine that it could actually happen... Fortunatelly, far from being dramatic, the story of Oscar is being told in a happy way and with humor and joy. We mostly enjoyed the friendship between Oscar and the lady dressed in pink. This bond is very beautiful. Oscar is like every other boys, with that thing that’s missing: time... Which is what makes him one of a kind, a spark of life. His pseudo-relationship with Peggy Blue is so cute and makes you smile. The writing is sensational and we wonder how with so few pages, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt can share so many emotions... It’s phenomenal. This is a book that I have read, and that could read all over again, because it makes you feel so much, and it makes you want to live.
The rise of Nine - Pittacus Lore
Summary:
John (Number Four) managed to free Number Nine from his prison, but not without losing Sam who’s been captured... John will quickly realise that despite his new mate’s extraordinary powers, the impulses of Nine can be quite dangerous. Setrakus Râ, leader of the Mogs appear more and more in our heroe’s dreams. Marina (Number Seven) and Number Six join forces with Ella (Number Ten!) and her Cêpan, who came from Lorien to Earth on a second ship. The four of them leave Spain to go to India in order to find Eight, who’s able to teleport. Our young aliens will try by all means to come together, in order to get rid of their worst ennemy: Setrakus Râ...
Review:
This third book of Number Four’s story is amazing! Just like the previous one, the narrators are multiple, here we have John, Number Six and Marina “on the mike”. Marina, whom we got to know in “The power of Six” is a very nice young woman, and the reader feels very close to her, early in the book. She never stops trying to get better and better and she always protects her friends. Six is still the fierce warrior that we love seeing crush her ennemies. And she’ll probably find in Nine a male equivalent! This new character is a good one, because he’s very different than the others. He’s more of a teenage rebel who doesn’t hesistate to use his alien powers whenever he feels like it. However, accross the book we find that he also have nice qualities. His friendship with Four is quite messy, and we loved a certain fight on top of a building! Ella, the youngest is a breath of fresh air and her father/daughter relationship with her Cêpan is very beautiful. Eight has a great power (like in the movie “Jumper”) and the Guard will find it very useful in the future. John finally finds Sarah and their meeting is epic! But we feel sorry for Sam’s absence (a very human character). The gathering of the whole Guard (minus Five) is awesome and explosive! This book is without a doubt the best one yet, and we can’t wait to read the next one !
The power of Six - Pittacus Lore
Summary:
John Smith (AKA Number Four) is on the run with Sam and number Six who joined him when the fight againt the Mogs cost Henri’s life (John’s guide and cepan). The three friends have to stay on the move at all time to escape the Mogs. They use their journey to train, but some tensions are spreading: the beautiful Number Six likes the boys, and they seem to feel the same way about her. However, Sarah is always on John’s mind, even though she had to stay in Paradise for her own safety. Far away from them, Number Seven is a young woman living in a spanish orphanage who is trying to train herself since her cepan failed to help her when she decided to turn to God...
Review:
This second book (sequel of “I am number Four”) is far better than the previous one (which seemed a little empty!). The fact that the numbers are coming together is awesome! The fights are geting great and the alien powers are wonderful! The characters (mainly John and Sam) have been forced to grow and the girly stuff is gone (except maybe for John who doesn’t know whether he loves Six or Sarah). The new one, number Seven (Marina) is quite nice and her will is remarkable ! (especially in this environment) The reader doesn’t want to quit the book until the very last page, hoping that all numbers are going to be reunited to crush the Mogs and give the Human race a last chance at survival... I can’t wait to read “The rise of Nine” !
Waylander - David Gemmel
Summary:
After his family was killed, Waylander became a murderer. Responsible for the death of King Drenaï, his own people is chasing him, along with their long time enemies: the Vagrians. But when he meets Father Dardalion, Waylander is going to change and try to win back his Humanity. Helped by Danyal, a strong young woman, he’s going to try and find the king’s armor which would give the victory to the Drenaïs. His dexterity and his crossbow will be his best weapons against his enemies, while Dardalion will use the powers of the Source, against his old principles… From hatred and despise, the feelings between Waylander and Danyal will turn into love… which also means “weakness” in those times of war.
Review:
Waylander is a fantasy novel written in 1986 which grew old very nicely. The writing is fluid and can be read quite easily. The text is very well split between descriptions and dialogues. The characters avec very endearing and humans, and they evolve through the story, being forced to make compromises. The strange phenomenae that leads Dardalion’s and Waylander’s souls to meet is very interesting and original. It’s even the pivotal part of the story, because they change after that… The relationship between Danyal and Waylander is less interesting: the feelings of the woman come all of a sudden without warnings. Too bad we didn’t learn more about the Drenaïs’ warriors, and we feel sorry for their tragic fate. The fights are great and the reader is right into the action. The last part of the book explaining what happened to each character is a great idea and allows the reader to know what happens to the heroes. To sum it up: Waylander is a great novel for everyone! There were many sequels to this book…
Alpha and Omega 1 Cry wolf - Patricia Briggs
Summary:
Anna is an omega : a rare type of werewolf who has the ability to calm the members of the pack, making it stronger and more united. But Anna was part of a pack where Leo, the alpha, used her badly: sharing her in a sick manner with the members... Charles, the marrok’s son (alpha of all alphas), is going to save Anna and become a mate. Between the two of them, they’re going to find the one who’s responsible for stranges attacks and learn to trust each other.
Review:
Alpha & Omega is the new series of Patricia Briggs, who wrote “Mercy Thompson”. Unfortunately, here it doesn’t work. Briggs surely knows how to write and her style is nice, but her books lately are a lot alike and don’t offer any more suprises. Her themes are often the same and give a boring aspect to the text. It’s always about who dominates whom and who is dominated by whom, with an obvious romance... Mercy Thompson is a great series because its main character is strong and ballsy. She shouts louder than the others and yet she’s supposed to be dominated by all of them ! Here, Anna is weak, she’s a victim, and the other characters aren’t very nice... It would be nice for Briggs to get new stuff, just the way Kelley Armstrong did it !
Sleeping beauty (1/3) The claiming of sleeping beauty - Anne Rice
Summary:
The prince just freed sleeping beauty from her curse. But it’s not with a nice kiss on the lips that he’s going to wake her, far from it ! From this moment on, sleeping beauty is going to know what hell is. She’ll be dragged from village to village accross the kingdom, where she’s going to be abused in every single way (most of them being sexual) to please her prince and his mother. She’ll go from people to people to satisfy everyone’s desires. In the palace, she’ll encounter others who will force her to accept her new life...
Audrey’s review:
Anne Rice offers a new version of the fairytale of Sleeping beauty. But it’s one we won’t tell the kids about! This is cleary erotica, S&M even which leaves no room for imagination. Everyhting is being described with many details. The main character is supposed to be very proud while the reader sees nothing but a weak girl who let people crush her. We don’t get why she can undertake the humiliation and abuses. The writing and style are worthless with all the repetitions. The characters are uninteresting and the female hero is almost despised! It’s a book I forced myself to finish by principal whereas each page disgusted me a little more. This novel is shocking and degrating. I guess you get it: I didn’t like it one bit and i advise against reading this book!
Women of the otherworld 2 Stolen - Kelley Armstrong
Summary:
Elena Michaels is the only female werewolf in the world. And she thinks that her spieces is the only supernatural one... Until a witch named Paige invites her to a meeting. Elena, her alpha Jeremy and her companion Clayton discover that witches, half demons and vampires exist. A gathering is needed because someone is hunting down every supernatural spieces. A secret group chase them in order to lock them down in a guarded center. Inside, every kind of experiments are being made on those creatures... Their secret and therefore their only protection against the humans are being threatened. And things get even worse when Elena is captured... She will try her best to get out with the help of the other inmates. Meanwhile, Clayton, Jeremy and Paige will try to find the center in order to break in and save their friend. And they'd better hurry before she becomes a prey...
Review:
The Hobbit - J. Tolkien
Summary:
Bilbo, as all hobbits, is a peaceful little person who doesn't like to be bothered when he eats ! But adventure finds him when Gandalf, a powerful wizard and thirteen bearded dwarves come to talk to him about a treasure. That's how he's going to go on a terrifying expedition, and meet Smaug, the dragon... which he's going to have to fight ! Bilbo has to go with them... and the most amazing thing is that he's never going to lose his sense of humor, no matter the danger ! But he will definitely be affraid...
Aurélie's review:
This is pure poetry ! An escape for your spirit which will fly away to the Shire. This is what you are going to find in this wonderful book. I didn't think it could capture the magic of my childhood, while it's been written in 1937 ! And this is the beauty of this book : it's out of our world, and out of our time... I'll promise you that you will forget the hours that will go by. You'll forget your worries and your issues. (to sum up : you'll forget about work ^^). You will get attached to those characters and you might feel a bit nostalgic when you get to the end, I did anyway... Have a good book !
