Books of Amber

In Mary’s world there are simple truths.
 The Sisterhood always knows best.
 The Guardians will protect and serve.
 The Unconsecrated will never relent.
 And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
 But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future-between the one she loves and the one who loves her.
 And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death? – Summary from Goodreads


I have very mixed feelings about this book. The plot had real potential, as I love dystopian novels and I was very excited to start this one. However, I don’t think that the plot lived up to said potential, as a lot of it was dragged out – such as Mary’s involvement in the Sisterhood. Whereas other parts of the plot were rushed over and there was no real development – *spoiler* for example, in the XIV village, when Mary and Travis were living together, and also when Mary lost Jed in the Forest. 


I loved the idea of the village and the Forest, and the Infected. I loved how Carrie Ryan told the reader about different parts of the history involving how the village(s) came to be, and how the civilisations were developed.


Carrie Ryan’s writing style was acceptable. I was really drawn in by the story but I found that some of the similes used were quite strange and the description was lacking at times. 


As for the main character, I found Mary to be very selfish and this frustrated me. She was raised in a community in which everyone cared for each other and looked out for one another. And yet, she only wanted to look out for herself. She chases after a wild dream, and doesn’t care who she loses along the way, even if she apparently loves them. To love a book, I have to love the main character and Mary was just not likable. That said, I did like Travis and Harry, even Jed, and I felt a little sorry for them for reasons I’m not going to go into, because they’ll spoil the book!


For the most part, the book was really good and I plan to read the second book ‘The Dead Tossed Waves’ even if it is only for the plot and I can’t wait to read more about the history aspect and how the Infection started!

Rating: 3.5/5

You can buy this book at The Book Depository, Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

My third post for the meme on Booking Through Thursday -instead of completing all of the questions in one long post, I’ve decided to do one every few days so that the posts are smaller, and it will keep going for longer 🙂 


Question Five: What do you currently have checked out at the library?
 Like I said before, I don’t use the library because the ones around here are totally useless. I just buy my books instead. So, to answer the question, nada. 


Question Six: Do you have an e-reader?
 Nope, I just use my faithful laptop if I want to read an e-book. I don’t want to fork out a load of money for a Kindle or anything when I can just use this 🙂


Question Seven: Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
 Well, I prefer to read one book at a time. However, I do start books, get halfway through and then buy a few more that look interesting and start one of those. And then the cycle continues. So at the moment, I’m reading six books, but I’m only really focussing on two – one for review, and one that I just want to read. And then there’s school books. Don’t even get me started on those. 

– Yesterday I stayed at my friend’s house and we had a good chat and just sat around doing nothing for ages. Which was relaxing, and fun! She has a new kitten (I’ll post a picture tomorrow) and he is named Aubrey after my Grandad. He’s adorable and he quite obviously loves me. I think I’m his favourite… okay maybe not. Unless, of course, biting is his way of showing affection.


– Today.. The Vampire Diaries is on! ITV2, 9pm everyone! That’s half an hour. I’ve already seen the episode at least five times, but I’m going to watch it again anyway. I must support the show in any way I can! Random fact for you – did you know that Ian Somerhalder gets paid approx. $40,000 per episode? That’s $880,000 per season! It’s crazy.. I’m betting he donates a lot of that money though, I can’t see him keeping it when there are animals in need! *loves*


I hope everyone had a good couple of days!

This week I’m beginning with the meme It’s Monday What Are You Reading because it looks like a good way to keep track of things. Even if I’m not going as fast as I hoped.


So, last week I read and reviewed (click to see review):
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler


I started reading, and plan to finish reading this week:
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


And this week I plan to read:
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

– Today, we went to a lovely little restaurant for dinner. I had meatballs and spaghetti (I’m still drooling, it was GOOD!) and then for dessert I had a Rocky Horror, which is ice cream, whipped cream and sauce on top of chocolate fudge brownies. *dribble dribble* No I feel like I’m about to explode, but it was soooo worth it. 


– Yesterday night I had a night in with my step sister and her friend. We watched a movie – ‘Orphan’, which is a thriller – and had a load of snacks and then we just had some fun mucking around and taking pictures. It was nice to spend time with Emily because she’s usually out when I go to visit. 


So, all in all, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. But, it was a wonderful one! Now I’m off to continue reading “The Forest of Hands and Teeth.” Although I really should be doing some coursework… -.-


Toodles!