Review- The Weeping Empress by Sadie S. Forsythe

Title: The Weeping Empress
Series: The Weeping Empress
Author: Sadie S. Forsythe
Published: December 14th 2011
Book 1 
(Sent by the Author)
An intricate world of bloodshed, slaughter and demise brings forth a young woman named Chiyo Alglaeca. Waking up in an unfamiliar part of the world, Chiyo finds herself enclosed in a battle with unknown forces. She does not know who the hero or the villain is, she does not know where her family is and she does not know where to go. 

The battle results in two energetic yet serene men with triumph and Chiyo, deciding that she has nowhere else to go, follows along. Chiyo has evolved throughout the novel by travelling with the two men overtime that are like brothers to her and transformed into a bloodthirsty warrior that shows no remorse to her victims. As Chiyo strengthens in terms of her form and skill, she becomes a companion to the two men who love to cause mayhem for the deceitful emperor.

The first part of this remarkable novel that I absolutely adored was how Sadie S. Forsythe describes each situation in extraordinary detail. The way the characters feel, appear and interpret situations is just one of many factors that highlight the theme of revenge. Forsythe has an obvious passion and talent for writing as she explores the life and experiences of her characters. They develop into confident and unstoppable beings that have a purpose in their world. I was constantly entranced into the world of Chiyo and did not want to put the book down for any reason whatsoever. The end of each chapter left me keen to continue and discover what happens in the next impeccable section.

There was a slight part of this novel that I didn’t find very appealing. It was the fact that whenever there were words in another language, I had to keep flicking back to the glossary to see what it meant. It occurred very rarely in the novel and was not enough to lose a star. The cover of the novel was also a little bit bland and does not give readers a reason to pick up the book. This was also not enough to lose a star because the content of the novel was outstanding and impressive.

Overall, the novel was a breathtaking debut and it left me eager for the sequel to come out (even though that will take a while). With the superb content that it has, The Weeping Empress is a novel that should be read by all people between the ages of 14+. Sadie S. Forsythe is an amazing author that should be renowned for the time and effort she put into The Weeping Empress.

Rating 5/5

My First Blog Award!

Joyce from Into the Pages 87 has nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award!

I am extremely greatful and excited because this is my first blog award!

~THE RULES~

• Each person must post 11 facts about themselves
• Answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you has provided and then make 11 new and unique questions for the following people that you tag
• Choose another 11 people who you want to give this award to and tag them in this post
• Remember to let them know that they have been tagged
• They must have 200 followers or less
• You CANNOT tag people back!

~11 FACTS ABOUT ME~

• I love to write short stories and narratives 
• I am trying to write my own novel but haven't gotten very far (shh don't tell anyone)
• I absolutely love watching TV. Whether it may be a good movie or a show
• I have an Xbox 360 and my games are usually fantasy, car or shooting based
• My dog's name is Shep and he barks at passing by airplanes and police sirens (CRAZY!!!)
• In summer, my favourite reading spot is outside, baking in the sun. In winter, its at home in front of the heater :)
• When a book that I want to read is not available, I usually get it on my Ipad straight away... Don't have patience for waiting until the books are ready
• My favourite food is a chicken burger and chips (Don't ask why)
• I like playing tennis
• I like drawing (when its successful)
• My absolute favourite TV show is Merlin (full of magic)

~11 QUESTIONS FROM JOYCE THAT I NEED TO ANSWER~  

1. What is your favourite book and why? My favourite book is Harry Potter by J.K Rowling because that is the first book I read and it got me into the world of books
2. What is your favourite drink? My favourite drink is Vanilla Coke but most of the time I just drink water
3. What is your favourite quote of all time? My favourite quote is from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:  “We fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice.” 
4. Do you have any weird skills? The weirdest thing I can do, (I wouldn't really call it a skill), is that I can make unusual noises
5. Who is your favourite Disney character and why? My favourite Disney character is Lilo and Stitch because it was funny and unique. It was also the first TV show I watched (so I was told).
6. Do you love anime and which one is your favourite? I absolutely love anime! My favourite is Avatar the Last Airbender and the sequel: Avatar the Legend of Korra
7. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would love to travel all around the world but the first place I would go to is Italy because I have heard lots of great things
8. Would you ever go to comic con? If yes, what would you dress up as? I don't exactly know what a comic con is, but I am assuming it is a place where you dress up as characters from comic books... I wouldn't go because I am not as interested in comics as I am in normal novels
9. Do you like the show "Dog the Bounty Hunter"? I have never heard of it but if it is a fantasy film then I guarantee you that I will like it.
10. Three things you cannot live without? Technology, books and family
11. Who is your favourite author? My favourite author is J.K Rowling because of the reasons in question 1

~THE PEOPLE I TAGGED TO WIN THE LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD~

(You need to check them out)

Addicted to Novels

Read into Hiding

Readers Confession

Teeny Reader

The Rise of a Novelist

~QUESTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE I TAGGED~

1. What is you favourite genre for books?
2. What is your favourite book/author and why?
3. In regards to books that have been made into movies, do you prefer reading the book or watching the movie first?
4. Which format do you read books in? E.g. Paperback, E book...
5. Where do you like to read?
6. What do you do in your free time?
7. What is your favourite movie/TV show?
8. What is unique about yourself?
9. What are your 3 most prized possessions?
10. What is the average amount of books that you can read in a month?
11. What are three of your goals in life?

Review- The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Title: The Red Pyramid
Series: Kane Chronicle's 
Author: Rick Riordan
Published: May 4th 2010
Book 1 

The Red Pyramid is a novel which also consists of God's like the Percy Jackson Series (another series by Riordan), however, the God's are of Egyptian origins rather than Greek. The novel revolves around siblings Sadie and Carter Kane and begins when their father accidently releases five major God's and Goddesses from their "prisons" when he only intended to release one. Releasing the God's are illegal and punishable by death from the organisation called The House of Life (you'll understand more once you read it). The God's are blamed for plunging the world into chaos at one stage and were imprisoned because they were considered unstable and drunk with their own power. 

Anyway, continuing on, once Sadie and Carter's dad release the God's/Goddesses, they become hosts for them, which means that the God's can use their body. One of the God's, named Set, is the evil one and he took his chance to escape and try to reduce the world to nothingness then rebuild it in the form of his empire. Sadie and Carter learn that they are magicians on the way and that they must use their abilities to stop Set and save the world. It turns out that Sadie is hosting the Goddess Isis and Carter is hosting Horus. Along their quest, they endure many challenging obstacles which all take time, and time is not a luxury that they have.

What I absolutely love about this novel is how unique the magic is expressed throughout the book. Weapons like staffs and wands are used (which you may think is general), however, wax figurines, amulets and a number of other essential items are used to make the plot more interesting and appealing to readers. These items and weapons can be modified to the magicians needs. For e.g. the staffs can transform into animals and attack something or someone or they can just be used to emit the magicians spell. Riordan has great ideas put into this which are mostly new and haven't been used before. 

I also liked Riordan's use of hieroglyphs throughout the story line. The hieroglyphs are also part of the way magic is used and they are also used for writing and so on. I may of also mentioned in another review that in many books the characters are like machines and never run out of energy. In Riordan's book, he expresses how exhausted the characters are feeling once they have used too much magic or if they have over extended themselves physically. 

What I didn't really like in the novel was that the characters weren't described in detail. They were brief descriptions of how the character looked and in times of emotion, one sentence was used to describe the basic feeling. Riordan is more focused to the story line, which is great, but the characters are what makes the story line more interesting and effective on readers. The characters are described extremely well in times of combat when they are using magic, however, in other more important parts, as I said before, the descriptions are quite bland. 

Overall, I gave the book a major “thumbs up” and it had many twists and details that left readers entranced within the world of Sadie and Carter.

Rated: 4/5

Review- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Published: October 31st 2008
Book 1

Honestly, I don't know where to begin! The Hunger Games is an amazing novel written by Suzanne Collins that readers can either love or hate. Me, I absolutely loved every minute of it! In some place far in North America, there lies a nation called Panem. The Capitol is like the government to all of Panem. Panem consists of twelve districts that each have a main producer of things like bread, mining and so on. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and they keep the districts in line by hosting the annual Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is an arena where a 12-18 year old boy and a girl from each district fight to the death on live TV which is broadcasting all over Panem. The Capitol said it was a reminder to people of the war that was fought between the districts and Capitol. 

The story begins when sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteered to take her young sister's place in The Hunger Games. She would not see her mother or sister ever again unless she wins the Games. She leaves behind family and her best friend Gale. The boy joining her in the games is called Peeta. He is secretly in love with Katniss which made him upset because one of them would have to kill each other.

The story goes on to describe things happening in the arena which have the theme of love, betrayal and action. Every part of the book is in one of those themes and maybe even a different one. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if The Hunger Games has a new theme to itself.

The novel is action packed and filled with unbelievable suspense which made it almost impossible to stop reading once you pick it up. My favourite thing about the book is how much detail the author packs into the book. With every twist that occurs in the novel, comes a very detailed description. The characters are also unique and described perfectly through the troubles that lie ahead of them and through their emotions that flood within them. The Hunger Games is held in a different arena every year with new creatures, weapons, and conditions that show a different side to the contenders through their fighting skills and how they act towards one another. The writing style was amazing and made you feel as though you were the one fighting for your life in the arena. Every section of the book is suspenseful and makes you read on. At the end of each chapter, I felt compelled to continue reading and it was one of those books that you could finish in 2-3 days because of how good it is.

The novel is in first person, showing everything from the perspective of Katniss. She is a very great character, made by Collins, because she was described perfectly in every way. It was as though we personally knew Katniss. What she was feeling, how she interpreted things. Sometimes I even guessed some of the things Katniss would do in a difficult situation and I got the details wrong because Collins puts so much work into her writing, making it impossible to guess the whole thing, but I did get the main idea. The Hunger Games is a very exciting novel which brings a whole new meaning to its genre. 

Overall, this is a great read that I recommend to all who have a strong stomach because the book does contain all the gory details as well!!! If you haven't read it all ready, then it should definitely be added to your 'to read' list.

Rated: 5/5