Review ~ Nightlife by Rob Thurman

TITLE: Night Life
AUTHOR: Rob Thurman
COPYRIGHT: 2006
TYPE: Urban Fantasy
PAGES: 339
SERIES: Yes this is book 1

REASON FOR READ:
I had planned to finish this series since I own them all and thought I should refresh my memory on it.

SUMMARY (from the back of the book):
Welcome to the Big Apple. There’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side- and that’s only the beginning. Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares – and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal. Why? Cal hasn’t exactly wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

He and his half brother, Niko, have managed to stay a step ahead for four years, but now Cal’s dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they’ve always wanted him: He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life…

THOUGHTS/OPINION:So according to Goodreads I read this book back in 2007 and I have to cry foul. First off I can’t remember reading and this is not a book you quickly forget about. Secondly with as many books out around this series there should be no reason why I never picked it back up. This story line so far is dirty, rough, and dark. This is not a series I would suggest reading before bed. This book will scare you and make you think of things you don’t want to. To prove that point it is hard to look at a mirror the same way and if you have read this book you would know why.

I can’t wait to see where Ms. Thurman goes with this series.

THINGS I LIKED:- I love what Ms. Thurman has done with the characters. I truly believed their relationship and their actions which is hard for someone like myself to buy into. Especially when I found out she was a woman writing a teenage boy. Cal is not a guy I would ever want to date but I found that I wanted to protect him from himself and the bad guys. That is what made me fall in love with him. He can hold his own in a battle but I’ll be damned he was so unsure of everything he did except when it came to his brother.
- Man can I just say the bad guys were BAD there was no grey area here. You knew clearly who to root for and how you wanted to see dead. Some people don’t like that but hey I like to know up front that I shouldn’t get invested in this character b/c well their just not good.
- The extra characters that we get introduced to in this series are awesome. I hope that we will get to know more about them such as Robin Goodfellow and Georgie. I would like to see where she goes with these secondary characters.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:- This book did move slow at times when it came to a build up. It did pay off in the end but I have to say there were times the descriptions were heavy and it didn’t need to be
- If you don’t care of first person POV you will not like this. The book is told from Cal’s POV and well let’s face it he’s a very lazy angry teenage boy who is half monster. So some might be turned off by it.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping I want to see where she takes this series.

Would you recommend this book? If you enjoy shows like Supernatural or shows that are darker but have a family bond to them then you will enjoy this book.

Favorite Quotes
“It seemed appropriate. It means grave. Tomb, Auphe hell. Whatever you want to call it. You’d be better off dead then to be there, trust me.” Now, there’s some information to be filed in the “too little, too late” column. Page 79

Me? I was lucky to get a grunt from the local pizza delivery girl. And I had nice eyes too, not to mention a killer ass. There truly was no justice in the world. Page 89

Yeah, smooth sailing. Was I wrong to think they probably had that embossed on the Titantic’s cocktail napkins? Page 236

Challenges:100+ Book Challenge
TBR Challenge

Review ~ Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

TITLE: Battle Royale
AUTHOR: Koushun Takami
COPYRIGHT: 2009
TYPE:  Fantasy
PAGES: 624
SERIES: Nope

REASON FOR READ:
I was talking about Hunger Games and remembered this is suppose to be the grown up version of that.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
In an alternative future Japan, junior high students are forced to fight to the death! L to R (Western Style). Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan--where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller--Battle Royale is a Lord of the Fliesfor the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language. A group of high school students are taken to small isolated island and forced to fight each other until only one remains alive! If they break the rules a special collar blows their heads off. Koushun Takami's brutal, high-octane thriller is told in breathless. blow-by-blow fashion. Battle Royale is a contemporary Japanese pulp classic now available for the first time in English.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
First off Hunger Games has nothing on this book at all. Its more violent, it involves more students, and well its just more graphic. And HOLY CRAP I absolutely loved it!!! I think this book makes you think more than Hunger Games, I feel as if more politics and emotions were invested with this book. In short I felt that even though this book involved teenagers it was more real and interesting then Hunger Games (and this from a Gal who still loves Hunger Games). I do think this book will make you more emotionally involved then any book I've read in a while.

THINGS I LIKED:
- I loved the characters even the flawed ones. In fact I was rooting for the main two I should've been rooting for but a part of me was rooting for all of them they were that well drawn out. I honestly felt for each and every one of them thrown in this situation
- Shogo stole my freakin heart. I never thought I would get so invested in his character the whole time we are suppose to be rooting for others but I absolutely loved this character and the investment we make with him.
- I never knew who would die next. Seriously I had a feeling who would win but then towards the end even then I found myself questioning it.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- This seems silly but I absolutely hated how it started. The beginning was very confusing and honestly while it was cool learning about 40 some odd different students I have to say it was hard to keep track of them all.
- I'm not sure if this is a like or a don't like. I liked the ending but I didn't it was a hit or miss for me and while I kind of thought I knew how it ended I didn't like the absoulte final ending.


Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping this was an AWESOME book.

Would you recommend this book? Yes if you want something more adult then the Hunger Games I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Challenges:100+ Book Challenge
TBR challenge

Reviewing Next: My re-read of Nightlife by Rob Thurman