Fifty Shades Freed

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Out of all the fifty shades books i liked this one the least. The story was very boring and when the author has a chance to really get things rev'd up with the Jack Hyde story line she only does it part way not allowing the chase to go on and the reader really get enticed by it. As in my review for the second book there was a lot of the same repetitive dialogue. From start to finish the whole series reminded me of a smutty story of the little mermaid. Ana being cast as Ariel and Grey cast as Prince Eric. Just as in the little mermaid Ariel is in awe when she gets her legs and is able to see the human side of life, Ana is able to experience the same awe since she is married to a husband that is a multimillionaire. Before Grey, Ana had to watch her spending and be thrifty with the cash she made at the hardware store, now money is a frivilous item and there is no worry about how it is spent or on what. My major gripe with this story is that the epilogue finishes on page 548, then there are 2 short chapters under the sub heading SHADES OF CHRISTIAN, (1. Fifty's First Christmas, and then 2. Meet Fifty Shades), that have the book ending on page 578. Now my math isn't great but my calculator's is wonderful and that means there is 30 pages of information that is really quite unnnecessary. Under Fifty's First Christmas there is the introduction of his first helicopter but JEEZ i really don't care what his first christmas was like. We already know that his childhood was pretty screwy. Then the second chapter as Meet Fifty Shades takes you to just before he has the interview with Ana and it's written from his perspective. This leads me to believe that either the author was unsure and wanted to add this to show people what his true thoughts were like but JEEZ she already conveyed that through the book even though it was written from Ana's perspective. I have to be honest and say that if the book was written from Grey's perspective I probably wouldn't have finished reading the first one let alone all three. That being said and done the best of the three would definitely be the first one, the rest just get more disappointing and lame as they go on.

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Fifty Shades Darker

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading the first book of the series i had a very high expectation. While i found Ana highly irritating, there is something about Christian Grey that makes me want to keep reading more. The main thing that drove me crazy about this book was the back forth between Ana and Grey of 'I can't live without you/I love you and won't leave you/You're mine..........etc.' How many times do we as the reader have to hear the same lines over and over. I guess it makes it easier for the writer to write the book if the same lines are constantly repeated. The one thing i did enjoy was one of Grey's crazy ex sub coming back to get Ana with a venegeance. The author could have written this part with a little bit more zest but it was mediocre. It was a decent break from the excessive PDA between Ana and Grey. Hopefull the third is the best out of the Fifty Shades saga.

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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was only ok. If i could i would only give it a 2.5 rating.

When i was reading the book the first 150 pages were only mediocre. I say this because the books characters are more of the type that you would find on a side show. Ie. the girl that can make fire, the invisible boy, the strong girl, the girl with 2 mouths, etc. Then factor into the mix the idea of time travel and that's where it gets a little batty. After the 150 pages i couldn't put the book down. It was like i was drawn to the bizarre ideology of the book. I wouldn't say it was the best book i ever read though as i did not enjoy it that much. For some people this book might be very appealing, such as those that truly enjoy reading science fiction pieces involving time travel and going through different 'loops' that take you to a place where the date never changes. The one thing i found strange was that the peculiar children were all able to keep track of their age, some would say they were 79, others 88, etc. If they were stuck in a time warp that stayed the same how would they know when a year had gone by? That was one of my hitches with the book. The best thing about the book was the photos embedded within the story of the various characters, some would be shown using their 'power' while others were simply old portraits. It was nice because it was actually able to let me put a name to a face. The pictures were fascinating and eerily interesting. I like that the author tied such things into the story. Alas, pictures could not save this story, nor could the character recognition. It was just a story that was far too out there for me. Nice try Ransom Riggs.

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Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was suggested to me by the person at the bookshop. It was strange because she said it was new and hot, but i had never heard of it before. While i found the character of Christian Grey quite intriguing, the character of Ana was very weak. When i started reading the book there was no mention of her age, so i thought that she was a young 18 year old woman at the most. When it was revealed that she was 21 I was shocked. Her language was very mature but the things she had and had not experienced were unbelieveable. Sure there some people that don't have sex before they are 21 but in this day and age i found it a little unreal.For the most part i enjoyed reading the book but when there was 100 pages left the story really fell to pieces. I found the last 100 pages very daunting and i was thinking, "Come on, ANA, like for real?" As the book continued it was like her character became more ridiculous as it went along. Then the ending even though it was kind of expected Ana acted like a total retard. She loves the guy but doesn't love the BDSM he participates in. After the belting experience not only would i be running for the hills but i would be screaming FUCK YOU. So sure for 414 pages the book was great the last 100 not so much. I am probably going to get the next one though since i want to know what Ana does. Is Grey really out of the picture? My guess is probably not, he just won't go to great lengths with the BDSM with Ana. We'll have to see though............

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The Man Who Ate Everything

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although this book seems a little daunting and maybe even a bit tedious for someone who dislikes cooking PLEASE read it. Steingarten is very witty and makes most chapters of this book something memoirable. Very much like Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, this book is ten times better. Sure I loved that Bourdain took me to various countries and stuff and the experiences were great but he just wasn't witty enough! Steingarten takes you all over the place as well but giving you great recipes to add to your collection as well as smart ass factoids like what amount of newtons a good cooking pot should weigh. My favourite part that I have had on the brain for the last few days is when Steingarten is at medieval times and he's wanting to mention to management that there is a really out of control guest sitting beside him (screaming and hollering) and then he looks more closely and realizes it's his wife! PRICELESS! I would also love to try the horse fat fries, and i'm not against horses as I have 2 of my own and love them dearly, but come on, my mouth was watering after the description of how lovely they were. The most admirable thing that Steingarten wrote was his mantra to get into this project. He wrote down all the things that he didn't like or wouldn't eat, then he gradually trained himself to get over it and eat majority of them. Sure somethings he didn't budge on, but there's always going to be something like that somewhere. I too have done the same thing with certain foods that now happen to be some of my favourites, ie. oatmeal (i eat it everyday in the winter.....so warm and tasty), *MOST* seafood (i love it and would eat it everyday if i could), yogurt (great for when you're really sick and you can't eat much of anything, and it goes down nice and cool and doesn't irritate the stomach!) and a few other things. Enjoy the food you eat and eat the food you enjoy!

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Cut

Cut: The True Story Of An Abandoned, Abused Little Girl Who Was Desperate To Be Part Of A Family by Cathy Glass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although the subject matter of this story is quite sad (it's about a child that harms herself and has dealt with emotional and physical abuse), Cathy Glass did a phenomenal job in writing the story. Even though Glass was one of the main characters in the story she did not take away the true main character of the story, which was the child she was a foster carer to, named Dawn. Glass was able to project her wonder as to how this polite girl got to be so stressed and anxious that she was walking in her sleep and when she was awake she revolted by not going to school, and when in secret she cut herself using sharp objects. I was suggested this book by a teacher of mine and i wasn't really excited to get it and read it at first. Sometimes when teachers suggest reading it's more like a text book style and dry as a piece of burnt toast. This book was amazing though. It captured the child's perspective as well as the perspective of Glass and her husband. It was very humbling for myself as a reader also because it gave me chance to reflect on my childhood and be thankful for how lucky i was and the experiences i was able to have with my family. The ending of the book was great ant i will be heading to the bookstore to buy my next story by Cathy Glass as i am interested to read about other children that she has fostered. The other fabulous thing about this story is that it was actually true. Glass had to change some names and places for privacy issues but the premise and the story were true. Gives a whole new meaning to a 'hard knock' life and what some people may consider as having it tough.

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A Lion Called Christian

A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion by Anthony Bourke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an easy read. It was a wonderful tale about 2 best friends and their journey with owning a lion cub and then releasing him back into the wild with teh assistance of George Adamson. There were lots of quirky stories but the entire book left you with a warm fuzzy feeling. Cannot begin to describe how much i enjoyed the book. I even went so far as to dream what it would be like owning a lion cub!

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