Peter and the Starcatchers (Peter and the Starcatchers #1) by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Greg Call

Goodreads Summary:

Don’t even think of starting this book unless you’re sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold, and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger.
Discover richly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary but familiar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles with pirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerses the reader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries of the beloved Peter Pan.

My Thoughts:

I found this gem at Half Price Books and immediately went back and purchased the rest of the series.  It is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan tale. This is a fast paced adventure story that I could not put down! It starts off with Peter and his friends at the orphanage and they are being sent to serve King Zarboff the third.  They board The Neverland and their lives change right away.  This story explains the island we know as Neverland, and how it came to be called that, how Peter learned to fly, and how he gets Tinkerbell. This origin story for Peter Pan is so original.  On the ship with Peter and his mates is a strange trunk and a girl named Molly Aster, who can talk to porpoises.  They infamous pirate Black Stache is after The Neverland, because he is after the trunk, which is supposed to be (and does) hold the greatest treasure known to man. All of the characters are fully-developed and great! Peter and Molly must keep Black Stache from getting the starstuff in the trunk, because in the hands of the Others (not Starcatchers) it would mean terrible things for the world.  I loved this book, the whole series actually, and can not speak highly enough of it.  Please read it.

July Movies

 

 

 

My Thoughts on Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Goodreads Summary:

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

My Thoughts:

I don’t like the cover, and I wouldn’t have picked this book up.  I don’t understand why they are underwater, that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the book I read?  This isn’t really my style of book (paranormal romance) but I have read a few in the past that I enjoyed.  I really read this one because Jennifer L. Armentrout is my friend’s favorite author, and we met her at a book event, and she gave me a signed ARC, so I figured what the hell, I’ll give it a go.  I almost instantly hated it, because of all the pop culture references.  I felt like she was trying to hard to be young/current/hip/relevant.  I was rolling my eyes the entire book.  The only reason I finished it is because my husband was asleep upstairs and I didn’t want to wake him to get a new book.  She seriously mentioned The Walking Dead, Supernatural, Dr. Who, Disney, Brave, Merida, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, the Marked Men series and MANY others in this book.  She also used the phrase cray cray. UGH. No. I don’t like this in my books.  I didn’t know that until I read this, but seriously, a couple of references would have been fine, but it was saturated with them.  I was on page 48 when I told my friend it was too much and I didn’t think I could finish.  Enough about that.  Ironically from my rant above, I LOVED TINK! He is so sassy and full of awesomeness!  Pretty much everything about Tink was great, I could even get over his name, especially since even he hated it.  I felt like Ivy’s back story being given to you in bits and pieces made this book seem like a sequel even though it is book 1.  I kept turning it over to make sure I was reading the first book, because a lot had happened in the past, but wasn’t given to you in a prologue or anything.  There was information it made it seem like you should already know by the way it was written.  Ren is super crush-worthy though!  He seemed adorable and hot and smart and…..sigh…. I’ve been told that the author’s other books are way better than this one, and read some reviews on Goodreads that seem to suggest the same thing, so I might give her another chance, since she did so well on the characters.  Another thing, I found the book predictable.  I don’t know if this has just become something that has to do with me, because I have thought that about a lot of books/movies/tv shows I have seen lately.  BUT, I guessed what was going on with Ivy and with Val.  Neither was set up in a way that was surprising. 

PS: How do you feel about books being filled with pop culture references? Can you recommend any of her other books for me? (First tell me what you thought of this one, because if you loved it, I can’t trust you. LOL)

I made a charm bracelet!

Sometimes I like to get a little artsy fartsy and make some crafts. (You can see the other things I have made here.)
Recently I made this awesome bookish charm bracelet!

How Pinteresting!

There are such interesting things that you can find on Pinterest. I am a super Pinterester! I have spent many an hour lurking around, and have even tried my hand at replicating some of the things I have seen on there.

 

Epic Book Cakes

Have you seen these epic book cakes?? I found them over on Pinterest, and let me say they are amazing! I wish I could make beautiful foods like this.  I can barely make cookies from a box mix. LOL