Cobble Cavern

Cobble Cavern by Jon Erik Olsen

What starts out to be a fun field trip to Ireland for Flin and his school's debate team from New York, turns into a life changing adventure when the bus they are on ends up in an earthquake. Flin and his teammates get swallowed deep into the Earth and become trapped under the ocean inside a clear dome. Fighting to make their way back to the surface, they encounter a whole new world with evil creatures such as Snazzards, Snapdragons, and an eight foot tall pigman named Blade, who thinks that he rules the underworld with his Grimgoblins. After Flin gets pricked by one of his great grandfather's experimental pits, he discovers new powers within himself-both good and bad-and must learn how to master his new powers through true emotion. As Flin goes through the challenges that lie before him, he comes to realize that he was destined to travel in his great-grandfather's footsteps and rediscover what he had found under the ocean hundreds of years earlier.

I almost always finish a book once I start it, and even if I don't like it all too much, I still finish off reading the series in belongs too.

This book was one of the very few exceptions.

Reading the blurb of this book, I'd expected the characters to be around sixteen. The main character, Finn was thirteen.

I was under the impression this book was a YA book, being listed under that category and all, but no, it was appropriate for eight year olds. My reading preferences have changed a lot since then.

I am truly sorry to the publisher for not
finishing this book, but I just couldn't. The writer frequently used caps lock, which in my opinion makes a book look unprofessional, and Finn has to be one of the most annoying characters in history. Scratch that, none of the characters were all that great. The beginning was far fetched even for a fantasy novel.

Again my apologies to Cedar Fort and Jon Erik Olsen, but I will not be finishing this book, nor do I have any intention whatsoever on doing.

I'd recommend this book, but for an eight or nine year. It sounds really good, but for me the most important part of a book is how it is written and this book is written too young for me.

It sounds quite good, so based on that I'll give this book a two out of five.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

In 1860 Benjamin Button is born an old man and mysteriously begins aging backward. At the beginning of his life he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger he embraces life -- he goes to war, runs a business, falls in love, has children, goes to college and prep school, and, as his mind begins to devolve, he attends kindergarten and eventually returns to the care of his nurse. 

This is a whole new definition for a quick read. Probably because it is a short story - something I did not realise before reading it.

To be honest I didn't really like this story - which is why this review is going to be pretty short.

I didn't really like any of the characters - they were generally cold hearted, I didn't like the writing style of the book, it was very fast paced and didn't go into anything in I great detail. I know this is a silly thing to dislike seeing as it was a short story, but I didn't know that when I picked up the book. Or downloaded it onto my iPod - same thing.

I did however like the idea of the book. And yeah, that was it. The plot could have been better, but just the idea of Benjamin being born an old man and dying a baby is cool in my books.

A desperately short review, but I just don't have much to say. It wasn't the book for me, but I'd recommend it if you want an incredibly short read - it took me all of twenty minutes to read.

Sorry Francis Scott Fitzgerald, I'm not saying you're a bad writer, I'm just saying I don't like your writing. It annoys me.

Overall I'd give this book a one and a half stars out of five. Call me harsh but that is all I think it deserves.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

First off; how cute is the name of this book? You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, so I judged it by it's name. Sure it's pretty long which is normally a turn off for books, but I loved the name. So I got my wonderful mum to buy it for me.

I read this book from start to finish in one go, it took me a very long time - just over an hour. I'm a fast reader and this book is only 215 pages, pretty short.

This book was everything I expected it to be - cute and fluffy - and I have to admit I loved it. Even though my favourite genre of book is lies in with the fantasy and mystery genres, I do tend to read a lot of cute and fluffy books.

Personally, I think this book would have been better in third person. First time I've ever said that - and most likely the last. I still enjoyed the book however, and I didn't notice it was written in the present tense. Quite different from the usual past tense you find in books.

There wasn't enough mean characters in this book. That may sound weird, but all the characters were nice - apart from Oliver's dad who spoiler alert is dead end of spoiler alert. Sure Hadley's dad went over to England to teach for a term in Oxford and didn't come back, but at least he had the decency to end it with her mum when he met someone else - he didn't take advantage of the fact she was an ocean away and cheat on her.

I have to say Oliver is one of the most amusing characters I've ever read about. For most of the book is seems like he doesn't have a serious bone in his body - he does come up with a lot of things that he is "studying" in college; the fermation process of mayonaise, congestion patterns in airports and the statistical probability of love at first sight to name but a few. The things he comes out with are generally quite amusing.

(When Hadley and Oliver are discussing her claustrophobia)
"But no escape route."
"Ah," he says, "So you're looking for an escape route."
Hadley nods. "Always."
"Figures," he says, sighing dramatically. "I get that from girls a lot."

I found that part quite amusing, but that might be just me...

Here on will mainly be spoilers, so if you are planning to read the book, you may not wish to continue.

When Oliver and Hadley separate ways when they reach London and he decides to kiss her... Yeah that kinda was not a strong point in the book.... It's just I don't know... Annoying? Oliver's dad funeral was quite a shame; Hadley found out about it and went to see Oliver, he kicked her to the kerb.

Charlotte does not fit the evil-stepmother category that Hadley expects her to, instead she is bubbly and friendly. 

I was glad that instead of being mean to her dad, Hadley realises that her dad is happy with Charlotte and that it did turn out for the best. Her dad married Charlotte and her mum started dating the dentist, Harrison who hasn't given up after three failed proposals.

The ending was predictable. Oliver came to the wedding and gave Hadley the book she'd accidentally left at the funeral. They made up, he made up another thing that he was studying at college (the statistical probability of love at first sight). He then told her two statistics on love (which I'm pretty sure are fake) and they then kissed. You'd be surprised to learn that I am reviewing a book and not a Disney movie.

No more spoilers!

Overall The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is all you'd expect it to be; cute, fluffy and pretty clichéd. I still enjoyed the book a lot though and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick light-hearted read.

I'd give it four out of five stars.

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe

 Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study  project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs  and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely  Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed. publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and  loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

First off, a big big thank you to ABRAMS for approving my request to read Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe! :)

When I first saw this book I expected it to be light and fluffy. The book didn't disappoint my expectations too much, it had a much stronger plot line than I expect. It was still quite humorous though which was good.

The story was written in first person, with either an e-mail, voicemail or some form of advertisement in between chapters. Some of the font was a little unreadable in places though.

One thing I loved about this book is that every character has flaws. Chloe is self centered, Clem isn't very trusting and is judging and Duncan doesn't like sharing information and keeps secrets that would be better known.

Another good thing about this book is that in most books when somebody gets shunned by their friends they haven't done anything wrong. Chloe on the otherhand has done something wrong which makes the story more believable though spoiler alert the bit with the fire made it a lot less believable end spoiler.

Mercedes is probably my least favourite character in the book. Sure Brie is a lot more mean, but Brie has a reason to be angry. Mercedes doesn't.

My main nit picking problem with this book is Grams. Now a character called Grams is obviously going to be the grandmother. I got a little confused at the beginning though, that maybe Grams was Chloe's unfortunately named big sister as she acts like a teenage girl with her obsession with Brad Pitt and all.

This book also doesn't have an ending. No closure, no nothing. It just ended. I wish you found out spoiler alert who started the fire end spoiler and what happens with everybody at the radio station.

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe is a humorous and light book with a lot of more serious underlying themes like exclusion, drug abuse and Parkinson's Disease. It is a book I easily managed to read in one go and the best luck to Shelley Coriell when the book is released!

Overall I'd give this book three and a half out of five stars!

Will be published on the first of May!

Heist Society by Ally Carter

The Heist Society by Ally Carter
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

At first when I read this all I was really just hoping for it to be as good as Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series. It definitely was. I really enjoyed this book, a nice little story about a group of thieves.

It was written third person which I quite like. You still do get basically all of Kat's thoughts though. I think third person is better for mystery novels. Which is kinda what this book is.

Kid needs to do something to save parent - we've all seen this cliché a million times.  Ally Carter does pull off the cliché well though spoiler what kid ends up sending her dad to jail to make sure no harm comes to him spoiler over.  Some points of the plot were like 'duh that was so obvious that was going to happen' while others were pretty surprising.

Kat failed me for my quest for a perfect main character. She probably would have been pretty close if Hale wasn't in the story. She's so depressing and oblivious about him.

Hale is a pretty good character. Just with a bad jealous streak. Nothing to outstanding about him.

I think every character in the book loves Gabrielle. She's the poster child for bimbo blonde - except for the part where she's smart. She's a pretty good thief all in all.

Whatever-the-antagonist's-name-is, (I forgot... I really should have written the review straight after reading the reviews) he was awesome. Probably one of my favourite characters. Though he is 'bad' and all, he doesn't actually seem bad, he's just your normal decent thief who doesn't like to be robbed. A little hypocritical but that's just the way the wind blows.

Heist Society is a slightly clichéd book, but nowadays most books are. I still enjoyed though, it was a good light hearted read that I would recommend.

I would give it four out of five stars.