Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Okay, So I'm jamming a couple things into this post. First: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Amazing how it landed on a Saturday this year, isn't it? Sometimes things are just lucky like that. I hope every single one of you has a great day, though I am not doing anything of excitement. Quick suggestion, read this whole post so you don't miss anything! There really IS going to be a bunch jammed in here.

Which brings me to my next piece of business (I'm not sure how, but I'm moving on anyway): A book review! I told you at the end of my Anna Dressed in Blood review yesterday (post titled "Her Name Looked Beautiful in Blood") that I was reading Sapphique and would review it sometime soon. Well, I finished Sapphique last night- yeah, I'm a fast reader -and now it is time to review the book! So, here it goes. . .

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher. This book was the sequel to Incarceron, so if you want to read this book, read that one first. Unlike the other books I've read and reviewed, this book is not very full of romance. There is some love there, though. Between friends and a parent love, and then some kind of special bond between certain characters that I'm not going to go too much into right now. But back to my point: this book is more of a fantasy adventure. Catherine Fisher whisks you away to the world of Incarceron and the Realm with a special effect that I think a lot of adventurous readers will love. I, personally, do not think these types of books are my cup of tea, but I read them anyway.

When you first begin the books, you are kind of bored and wonder when something will actually, you know, HAPPEN. You think, "hey, maybe I'll just skim this a bit to see what happens. . ." And that's what you do for a while. You skim. Then you get to a part that is so interesting that you actually read it. Then you skim some more. Then  you get to another part worth reading. Then you skim some more. And this whole cycle keeps going until the interesting bits get closer together and you don't even want to skim anymore. Yes, this happened to me. For a while at the beginning of Sapphique I thought I wouldn't be able to write a review because I would not have actually READ the book, and we all know how  I feel about writing reviews on book I haven't even given a chance. Oh, you don't know? I do not write reviews on books I have not finished. If I'm not going to give the book a chance and READ it, I don't have the right to say anything negative about it in a review. Because what would I really be reviewing? The one chapter that is probably -or could be- the most boring chapter in the book? No. Not what I do.

Anyways, moving on. I did like this book. I didn't LOVE it or anything, but it wasn't bad. What gets me about this book is that it has a few storylines happening at the same time. They all fit together in the end, yes. but I would have preferred to have just stayed with the characters outside of Incarceron instead of switching back and forth between being inside and outside. I am a big advocate for Finn+Claudia, so I'm probably biased. Still, I didn't like the whole jumping in and out. I understand that they were both pieces to the story and fit together perfectly at the end so everything would make sense. That does not change my opinion, though.

Okay, quick character run down. Claudia- the Warden of Incarceron's daughter. . .or so she thought. Now faces a bunch of bother in trying to convince people that Finn is the true Prince Giles. She is a strong, clever character that I really had a lot of respect for. Next, Finn- OH FINN. He is. . .well I am not sure how to descibe Finn. He is a very loyal, caring character. He gets somewhat whiny sometimes, but his overall charm makes up for it, in my opinion. and now, Attia. I will not say anything really about Attia, because I do not like her very much. She is one of the characters, along with Keiro- I'll get to him in a minute- inside the prison. She has a bunch of faith in Finn keeping his promise and, yeah. That's all I really want to say about her. Lastly, Keiro! Finn's oath brother. He is the kind of character that looks out for himself, but really has a secret softspot for his oathbrother, though he would be the last person to ever admit it. I find this very appealing in Keiro, which is good because there is not much that is appealing about him. Keiro is not one of many redeeming qualities.

Okay, so my rating. I rate Sapphique a 7/10. That is just my personal opinon, though. I did like the book, but it's not like reading it changed my life or anything. I DO recommend these two books- Incarceron and Sapphique -to any reader that is a big fan of fantasy and adventure and does not put a lot of weight on romance aspects of books. Maybe even if you do, actually, because the love IS there, you just have to really look for it.

All right, so that was the review! Moving on. . .

I got wonderful news yesterday! I opened my e-mail and what did I find? An e-mail saying that I won an ARC of Transcendence by CJ Omololu! This is a big deal for me. I enter a bunch of giveaway/contest thingies for books, and I haven't won any of them. Until now, that is. I am so happy about this! Okay, now before I begin to brag, I'll move on.

I shall give you my Reading List for my next 4 reading endeavors!

1. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

2. Take Me There by susane Colasanti

3. Dark Souls by Paula Morris

and

4. Amy&Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

**Please note that when I get Between by cyndi Tefft, it will go directly to the top of this list. Just sayin'.**

Okay, so I THINK that was it. . . Yeah, it seems so. I cannot think of anything else I planned to say right now. So I will bid you all good day and thank you for checking out my blog. Please come again. 'Tis a beautiful day outside, Friends. I shall go do something in it? Maybe.

Until next time, Friends!

♥Jessica(: