Definitely Satisfied My Hunger!

Review: The Hunger Games Series
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Young Adult, Adventure
Page Count: Hunger Games 384 Pages, Catching Fire 400 Pages, Mockingjay 400 Pages
Rating: 5/5

Book One’s Description:

The Hunger Games takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event where the participants, or "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains.

My Review:

There was a lot of hype surrounding this series and I had people everywhere telling me to read them. Of course me being a baby when it comes to cliffhanger endings, I paced sat waiting patiently to read them back-to-back.

Result: Favorite series of the year! I think I would have loved reading them as they came out as well, but it was great getting lost in the story and not having to wait to find out how it all ended!

The dystopian society was totally believable and set a perfect backdrop for Katniss’ story. I won’t give too much away but here are the things I loved most about this series:

1) Katniss; she's strong, self-sacrificing, and smart. She's a confident and bad-ass female lead that had me wishing I had that kind of strength.

2) Panem; the world that was created for these characters to live (and die) in was brimming with details, bringing it to life for the reader. Suzanne didn’t skimp out on anything. Every aspect of the world; from the districts, to the Capitol, and especially the arenas was laid out so beautifully (even the grimy parts) that I was submerged into the atmosphere of the story and couldn’t stop thinking about it even once I put the last book down.

3) The portrayal of the people from the Capitol; they weren’t all bloodthirsty monsters. The “bad guys” didn’t always know that what they were doing was wrong. Suzanne portrayed a very (in my opinion) realistic view of how far from humanity people can go when blinded by the propaganda and fear-conditioning of a controlling government or leadership.

You'll like this series if you liked:

Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld, Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell, or The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy by Kristin Cashore.

My Rating: 5/5

Sunday Top 5: Sexiest Heroes

Today, I'm participating for the first time in the meme on Larissa´s Bookish Life:

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this (Larissa's) Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Feel free to use the Feature's image

4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

This week’s theme is Top 10 Sexiest Book Heroes!

Here are my top 10:

1) Edward (Twilight by Stephenie Meyer)

2) Damon (Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith)

3) Jace (Shifters Series by Rachel Vincent)

4) Ash (Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa)

5) Eric (Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris)

6) Quinn (Riley Jensen Guardian Series by Keri Arthur)

7) Po (Graceling by Kristin Cashore)

8) Jace (Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare)

9) Seth (Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr)

10) The Brothers (Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R Ward) - I know that's cheating but I couldn't choose.

What are your favs? Join in on the fun!

Graceling = Amazing!

Title: Graceling,
Author: Kristin Cashore
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Adventure, Fantasy
Page Count: 480
Rating: 5/5

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change:
She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away.... A secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

My Review:

I loved almost everything about this book. It was an epic journey with a colourful cast of characters that kept me glued to the very end.

I forgot how much I loved journey books until I was reading Graceling and got totally caught up in Katsa's adventure. The world Kristin created through crossing the different landscapes and kingdoms was captivating. The character's were wonderful, I cheered for the heroes and hated the villains.

The only thing that I wasn't thrilled about was the ending, because I'm a HEA type of girl (preferably with everything all wrapped up with a bow on top), but it totally fit with the characters and the story so I'll embrace it as it is.

Favorite character by far was Po. For the obvious - hot boy with sword, but also because he wasn't threatened by other people being stronger than him. He was sure of who he was, and that complimented his strengths but didn't take away from the strengths of others. My favorite Po quote, “It humbles me. But it doesn't humiliate me.”

The sequel “Fire” is already out and features a new set of characters in the same world and the 3rd book, “Bitterblue” is due to be release September 2011.

You'll like this series if you liked:

An older Narnia or Lord of the Rings, Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, and Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

My Rating: 5/5