Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

So when the back of the book said this was a heart breaking story, it really meant it.  I was a blubbering idiot by the end of the book.  I read this mostly because I want to see the movie and I have this thing about reading the book first if I can.  I must say I wanted to see the movie not REALLY knowing what it was about, but I thought the previews looked good.  I for some reason didn't quite realize just how sad the story would be.  It was happy too at the same time, but it really makes you think.

The stories about people going off to the military and leaving loved ones behind are always sad.  I thank the service men and women for what they do and I greatly admire the courage they show as well as the loved ones that they leave at home.  I wish that all the stories ended up happy ones when it comes to that, people sacrifice so much to serve this country and keeping us free.  I wish there was a way to make it not so difficult on the relationships.

Good book, worth reading, I can't wait to see the movie.

The Black Jewels: Trilogy by Anne Bishop

This is truely three books in one... so I'll do this in three parts.  But I'll start it all off by saying I loved it all and can't wait to read the spin off books she's writen that come from this trilogy.  The three books together made a very big, very floppy book.  I would recommend buying them seperately if you don't mind spending a little more, it would be much easier to carry around.

Daughter of the Blood:

In this book you learn about Jaenelle (witch), and the complicated triangle that surrounds her.  In this book most of the main characters are introduced and we meet Jaenelle.  You grow to love her and want things to go well for her.  It's obvious that something isn't right with her home life but no one knows quite what it is.  At the end of the first book she is broken and the triangle is broken as well. 

Heir to the Shadows:

The second book is centered around trying to get the triangle back together.  Everything is dependent upon that happening.  In this book you get to see more about Jaenelle and her friends and the power that they possess.   It was difficult to have Daemon missing for most of this book, he was such an important part to the first book.  The triangle never does reform completely in this book, but they are often talked about. 

Queen of the Darkness:

After Jaenelle makes the offering to darkness she becomes more powerful then anyone would have imagined.  The only thing missing is Daemon.  There are battles and strained friendships in this book.  Jaenelle has to make a decision on how to save all of the Blood, and doing so could kill her. Daemon reappears sometime in the book, after he reappears we get to deal with their sexual tension, it almost makes you wish he hadn't reappeared.  The book ends semihappy, the blood is saved but you don't really know what exactly has happened to Jaenelle.  I would have been happy with the way it ended had I not read online that there is another book that ties it up a bit better. 

Oh the joy of reading series.  Now I have a few more books to read before I will feel like I've got enough.  I love the characters and the world, it's strange to like something that is so dark.  And it's strange to think of people that possess such dark magic as being good.  It really is strange the way it works. 

District 9 (3/10/10)

Now to be fair I'll start by saying I only watched about 15 minutes of this before it was just too much for me to deal with.  It is quite graphic at times and somedays (well most days really), I just don't want to deal with that.  Richard says it's a good movie, he agrees it's graphic but he says it's good.  I'll take his word for it and have no intentions of ever watching all of it.

Fireproof (3/9/10)

So the acting wasn't the best, but once you get past that it's really a good movie.  I've never been particularly comforitable around people that push God on you to strongly, I'm a Christian and I love God with all my heart but I just don't like people pushing things on me, even if it is something that I believe in.  I'm thinking the way the dad went about telling his son about it probably would have turned me off about as much as it did his son.  I'm glad that the talking by the dad was accompanied by a book as well as other things that helped him really understand what he was missing.  Yep, I liked the movie and I can even forgive the less that great acting because of the story that was delivered. 

All About Steve (3/2/10)

I thought this was a cute movie.  Sandra Bullock does a great job playing the quirky crossword making Mary who never seems to be able to stop talking.  I needed something to amuse me and this was perfect for that.  There was also a good story underlying the quirkiness, the you can't read a book by the cover kind of deal.  And everyone has thier own place where they fit in, even if they are a little different.  I enjoyed the end of the movie not being what you would expect, it was good to see Mary grow and realize exactly where she fits in.  It was amusing and cute, but it was certainly not something I need to own.  But if my friends had it and were wanting to watch it and I was there I would sit and watch it again.  It's a feel good kind of movie, feel good and quirky.  Just what I needed.

shadowland by alyson noel

This is the third book in the immortal series. In this book Ever and Damen learn more about what they think happens to them when they cease to exist.  Damen and Ever aren't allowed to touch because of a stupid decision made by Ever in the last book. I wish I could say that was the last stupid decision she would make but it appears she really is just that stupid and has no ability to learn from her mistakes.  I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as the first two, partially because I don't feel like Ever is growing as a character, it often feels like she is stuck as she is, and that's not a good thing for the main character in a series.  That being said I will read the next one, this series is kind of like a night time soap opera for me, once I start watching I just have to know what happens.  If that weren't the case there would have been no good reason I would have watched all of the seasons of The OC.  I think this series would make a good TV show, that's the way it feels to me as I read it.  Quick, enjoyable, and leaves you wanting to read more.  It works for me.  Hopefully the next book is a bit better, if not I just might have to stop reading them.

blue moon by alyson noel

The second book in the immortal series, in this book we meet Roman and learn more about Damen's past.  In the first book you get the feeling that Ever isn't very bright, this book continues along those lines.  What is wrong with that girl and why doesn't she learn?  I liked the book and read it in a night.  But I think the first book was better.

evermore by alyson noel

This is the first book in the series and I quite enjoyed it.  In this book Ever and Damen, meet and fall in love (again).  Eventually she finds out more about the history they have together and how they came to be where they are right now. But, I'll leave that for you to read the books to find out more about it.  Ever sees her dead little sister Riley and has quite a few other psychic tendancys that we learn about as the book goes on.  I enjoyed the book, it was fairly short and a I thought it was a pretty quick read.  Having read the other books of the series so far before writing this I think I'll end this blog here and move on to the next one.