Bookielicious Update :/

So. Sorry.
I know. I've been off the grid for almost 1-2 years... but I promise... I will come back soon... with a BANG. Probably not next year, but perhaps the year after that.
Please, continue following, reading, and checking (occasionally) on the blog.
Thanks and with love,
Editor of Bookielicious.

Review 25: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

Title: The Alchemyst

Author: Michael Scott

Rating: 9/10

Publisher: Random House

The Lowdown:

What would happen if the person you admired the most suddenly told you that he was a thousand years old, keeper of a mysterious book with the immortality formula, and that a weird guy was after him to keep the book?

You must be out of your crazy mind.

But this is exactly what happens to twins Sophie and Josh Newman. And of course, there is adventure. Oh and did I forget to mention that they are trying to rescue the wife of this man? Oh yes sire.

The Good:

A. I enjoyed the story and I played along with the characters.

B. I also liked the mythological references. They were quite cool.

The Bad:

A. All the characters were trite and cliched.

B. The entire story was too predictable.

C. The book was extremely slow and dull.

The Consensus:

Why the 9 rating, you ask? Well, I am usually lenient on the first novel in a series because the author is trying to set up the tale. So, Michael Scott. I hope your next one is better! For the meantime, go ahead. Read the book, and tell me if you agree/disagree by COMMENTING.

Quick Overview:

Plot: 3/5

Original Appeal: 3.5/5

Ending: 3/5

EXTRA-ordinary: 4/5 (the mythology was interesting.)

Review 24: Envy by Anna Godbersen

Title: Envy

Author: Anna Godsberen

Publisher: HarperTeen

Rating: 8.5/10

The Lowdown:

The sequel to Rumors, Envy picks up where the previous book left. It talks about the troubled marriage of Penelope and Henry Schoonmaker, even though Henry has his eyes on Diana. It talks about their troubled romance, and how they come through it. It also talks about Elizabeth Holland and her ordeal with her boyfriend. And of course, there is the gossip, tidbits, and all things Luxe!

The Good:

A. I like the format the Luxe books follow. Before every chapter, there is a newspaper clipping/ book clipping/ letter/ something that sets the mind frame for the chapter, as well as interesting tidbits about Victorian-era society.

B. The last few pages were quite dramatic in nature.

C. How Elizabeth's little crisis was dealt with. It was quite charming, actually.

D. The book art. Those dresses make me swoon with jealousy. After all, they are so pretty.

E. The side story of the Holland's maid and her rise to fame.

The Bad:

A. Most of the story, quite frankly, was tedious. Not at all page turning. The only thing I liked was the ending, and that was the reason I moved it from a 6 to an eight.

B. I hated the character of Penelope Hayes/Schoonmaker.

C. I also hate the fact that everyone falls in love with Diana. She isn't that special, ya know.

D. The death of Mr. Careyhorn. He was such a nice man. Tear :(

E. The whole thing between Henry and Diana. Oh she cheated on me, oh, he cheated on me, I hate her, I love her. Gosh. It's SO predictable.

The Consensus:

If you have never read the book, don't try. If you have, you might get bored in the middle, but convince yourself to reach to the end. I promise, it is QUITE satisfying :D

Quick Overview:

Plot: 3.5/5

Original Appeal: 4/5

Ending: 4.6/5

EXTRA-ordinary: 2.8/5

Contest Patrol 1

Hi all!

This is a new segment on the blog, known as the Contest Patrol! We will be hunting for the best contests around the blogosphere around the week and giving them to you. For free!! :D

This week's contest of the Week is at Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, where she has linked to a free giveaway to the sequel to the Hunger Games, Catching Fire.

I can't wait to read it, and if you want it for free, enter at http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com/2009/06/contests-for-catching-fire-all-around.html!

Have fun and don't forget to RSS/subscribe/follow/etc.

In My Shelf!

UPDATE: I just received a few more books today... unfortunately, I lost my copy of Graceling, so I have ordered a new one, so at the moment, I am not reading Graceling. I was kind of looking forward to it, actually.

Last Christmas: the Private Prequel by Kate Brian This book looks ultra exciting! I am a huge Kate Brian fan and the admin of the Kate Brian Groupies over at Shelfari. So far, the book looks too good to be true. I love her writing and how she makes everything looks so much more awesome!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini I have heard great things about this book and it's predecessor. Although The Kite Runner is far more popular than A Thousand Splendid Suns, I wanted to read the second book first because, well, it was cheaper! :)

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr Apparently, this is one of those goth books that are completely engrossing. I have recently turned from realistic fiction to more fantasy and sci-fi (definitely more sci-fi after Star Trek, which by the way, is an AMAZING new movie. Check it out!). I have heard insanely good things about this; it is apparently as good as Twilight. We'll see.

Fowl Friday 2

Artemis Fowl has been nominated for even more awards! SHOCKER! :)

Link: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/86943-independent-booksellers-book-prize-shortlists-unveiled.html

Independent booksellers book prize shortlists unveiled

01.06.09 Graeme Neill

Bloomsbury dominates the shortlist for the Independent Booksellers Book Prize with three nominations. Voting for this year's award, along with the prize for best children's book, will begin during Independent Booksellers Week, which takes place from 15th to 22nd June.

Bloomsbury's A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society are the publisher's three books on the shortlist, which also includes Booker Prize winner The White Tiger (Atlantic) on a shortlist of nine titles.

HarperCollins and Puffin have three books each on the children's shortlist. Puffin's Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, By Royal Command and Then will be battling against HarperCollins' The Crossing of Ingo, Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire and Kaspar, as well as the four other books on the shortlist.

Both shortlists were voted for by Booksellers Association members from a longlist derived from sales data of bestselling books at independent bookshops.

The BA is providing participating indies with point of sale material as well as voting cards from 15th June. Customers can vote using the postcard or by emailing votes@booksellers.org.uk. Voting will run until 28th August and the winners will be announced in September.

More than 200 bookshops have signed up to take part in the week long event. Authors including Kate Adie, Matthew Hoggard, William Fiennes, Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall will be taking part in events at shops across the country.

The adult shortlist:

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Pocket Books)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Bloomsbury)
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (Picador)
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Faber)
Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (Granta)
Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson-Wright (Hodder)
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Bloomsbury)
When Will There be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Black Swan)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic)

The children's shortlist:

The Crossing of Ingo by Helen Dunmore (HarperCollins)
Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson (Egmont)
The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan)
Tiddler by Julia Donaldson (Scholastic)
Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton (Egmont)
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy (HarperCollins)
Then by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin)
Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer (Puffin)
By Royal Command by Charlie Higson (Puffin)
Kaspar by Michael Morpurgo (HarperCollins)

Dan Brown Month...

Is Officially Over :(
I know I know. Even I feel quite depressed and down. But Harry Potter Month is around the corner! Ish!