Think of a Number

When I read the synopsis of this book I was like "I have to read it!"; the fact that a stranger could guess - on a letter - a randomly picked number from 0 to 1000 grabbed my attention! This seemed different from what I had already read within the crime/mystery genre.

For me, the strongest point of the book was the fact that it was really focused on the criminal investigation and didn't dwell too much on personal issues. However, by the end of the book I couldn't help but feel that it had been taken to an extreme; there were some issues regarding Gurney's (main characters) personal life that deserved some development.

Unfortunately there were some other issues with this book: I think there were some inconsistencies regarding the serial killer - his method didn't seem solid and sufficiently coherent, which ended up damaging the credibility of the plot (at least to a certain extent) - and some moments were a bit dry, especially during Gurney's self examinations.

I'm not particularly fascinated by this book but I'll be checking out the second instalment of this serie.  

3 out of 5 stars

An Unfinished Portrait

I’ve always been really curious about Agatha Christie’s work as Mary Westmacott so I decided to start by reading An Unfinished Portrait.

First of all let me just say that I’ve always been a great fan of her work and for that reason my expectations towards this book were high - unfortunately they weren’t met. I didn’t like the main character – thought she was too submissive and naïve – and the writing was a bit dry. The plot wasn’t that appealing; I kept hopping that something interesting would happen but it didn’t.

Reading this book was a bit of a challenge but I managed to finish it; I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you more accustomed to her crime novels.

2 out of 5 stars

Battle Royale

I have to admit, I decided to read this book because after reading The Hunger Games I saw a lot of comments referring to Battle Royale, saying how good it was and that the trilogy created by Suzanne Collins was just a rip-off. Needless to say, I was curious!

It’s impossible not to notice the similarities between them: they are both set in a society where teenagers have to participate in a “contest” where they are forced to fight each other to the death until only one of them remains; however, the similarities – at least, as far as I’m concerned – end here. One of the things that stood out to me and that really made a difference between the two stories was the fact that in Battle Royale all the participants knew each other! This might seem like a small detail but for me it wasn’t – imagine what it would be like to be forced to kill all your classmates in order to survive! In my opinion that added a lot more depth to the plot because we were able to understand a lot better the reasons that led the characters to act a certain way and how they decided who to trust or not.

Yes, the book is a lot more gory and brutal than the Hunger Games; we are provided with a lot more details about the way they kill each other - the modus operandi of some of them is actually a bit disturbing - but it suited the book and it added to its complexity.

On the down side, although the book started at a great pace, I think it ended up slowing down a little in some parts, but overall I liked how the plot developed. Also, there are a lot of Japanese names - some of them look the same - making it a bit more difficult to follow the character’s journey (at least in the beginning).

I actually feel I could say a lot more about this book but I don’t want to give away too much and spoil it to those who haven’t read it yet. Definitely worth checking out! (Especially if you’re looking for a book that doesn’t have an annoying love triangle or that focuses too much on a love story)

5 stars!

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is presented to us as a must-read for Hunger Games fans. It is a YA dystopian novel that tells us the story of a boy named Thomas who doesn’t have memories – except for is name – and is trapped inside a maze. There is a small community of other boys that, like him, were thrown into that maze and that have been trying to solve it in order to get out.

The premises of the book seemed appealing and the hype around it was so big that I was actually anxious to read it; so, when I bought it I dove right in! I have to admit, I don’t think it’s that extraordinary; I think the book is a little vague in some parts, it lacks answers - I wanted to know more and half of the answers provided seemed to fell short, they weren’t enough for me.  However, it is great to see a book that puts a group of boys as the main characters and that doesn’t dwell on a love story throughout the whole book – there’s definitely a deep connection between Thomas and Teresa but, so far, it hasn’t been said much about it.

Even though the book didn’t grab my attention from the beginning like I was hoping for, it’s entertaining – and a little apocalyptic towards the end -, and it leaves us with a lot of mystery for the next book. I’ll probably read the rest of the trilogy, hoping that I’ll get more answers; I know there’s also a prequel but I haven’t decided when to read it. 

El Príncipe de la Niebla (The Prince of the Mist)

What price would you be willing to pay to have one of your wishes granted?

This is basically the premises of the book; there’s this mystical character – the Prince of the Mist – who grants wishes in return of a certain price - an unreasonable price -, that can go from setting on fire a merchant’s warehouse, to sacrifice the life of your first born.  He believes that people shouldn’t expect to get everything they want without giving something in return – he sees it as a fair trade.

There was a certain simplicity to the plot and there weren’t that many characters, which I liked; I felt that the book was really focused on the mystery that I was presented to and didn’t try to introduce other elements that probably wouldn’t be that relevant to the story. I also enjoyed the fact that the author didn’t try to give us an expected happy ending – something bad had to happen for the story to make sense.

This book is the first one of a trilogy and I’ll be reading the rest of it even though, from what I’ve read, the other books have different plots. I really liked this book and I would recommend it. I know this author is famous for is adult novels but this little young adult trilogy is worth checking out.

I've read this book in spanish and this is the cover:

A Game of Trones - second vol.

Not as good as the first half of A Game of Thrones but still a great book!

I wish I could have seen a bit more of my favorites characters on this book - especially Arya - but I guess that for the story to make sense it had to focus more on other events. Although some parts were kind of predictable – mainly who was going to be killed off and the decisions that were made by some of the characters – I still enjoyed them.

I really liked the development that Tyrion went through on this book and the fact that we got to know him a little better and his relationship with his family; I love how he’s not afraid to speak his mind and to be sarcastic and sassy towards others – definitely a great character! Another character that, in my opinion, stood out on this book was Daenarys Targaryen; she took me by surprise and I actually started to admire her willpower, her determination and her strength. I’ll be looking forward to see what she’ll do on the next book.

I really liked the way the characters grew; the way they reacted to certain events and how they dealt with their emotions was amazing and it actually gave them a lot more depth.

Great book and a must read!

This is the portuguese cover:

A Game of Thrones - first vol.

Since the portuguese edition of A Game of Thrones is divided into two volumes, I’m only going to give you my initials thoughts on the first one (after reading the second one, I’ll make a more detailed review):

·         Amazing characters! I really liked the fact that each character had its own traits and quirks making them unique and real – it’s almost like reading a story about real people. So far, my favorites characters are Arya, Jon Snow and Tyrion;
·         The story is told through the different perspectives of several characters; it’s a great way to get a full grasp of what is going on and to know more about their traditions and history;
·         Loved the way it is written because, even though there’s a lot of detail to take in, we can just fly through the pages. I also liked the way some of the characters talked, especially Tyrion – really sassy!

Definitely a must read! 5 out of 5 stars!

      This is the portuguese cover