Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Title: Fifty Shades Darker
Author: E. L. James
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most important decision of her life. Erotic, sparkling and suspenseful, Fifty Shades Darker is the irresistibly addictive second part of the Fifty Shades trilogy.
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This is the second book in the trilogy and I have to say that I liked it much more than the first. This book is where the love starts to come in, and that I am much more interested in than all of the crazy sex stuff that happens in the first book. Don't get me wrong, there is still all the sex you could want in this book, but the way she describes it starts to get repetitive and I got bored of it very quickly. I also am not a fan of Ana's whole "inner goddess" and "subconscious" deal where she insists on describing what they're doing insider her head and what they're even wearing. It's kind of annoying sometimes, but I'd have to say that those are the two things I disliked about reading the book.

The first half of the book went rather slow and I thought I was going to get bored with the whole thing, but the second half proved to be much more suspenseful and exciting than the first, so I read on. I am now on to the third book, as I have heard that the love and suspense (the parts I like) heighten in the final installment. It's kept my interest so far, so I hope it continues to develop.

The Host

Title: The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

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This is my second time reading this book and I have to say that I loved it even more this time. I read it a long time ago my sophomore (I think) year of high school and I realized I really didn't remember as much as I thought. I picked it up again because the movie is coming out March 29 and I wanted it to be fresh in my mind. I have read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, but I have to say to all you Twi-hards out there that this book kicks their butt. You still get the interspecies love aspects and the love triangle (imagine that), but I think it's a lot more tolerable than Bella toying around with her vamp and her wolf. 

Anyway, I believe that Wanderer is one of my favorite female book characters so far. She reminds me so much of myself with wanting to please everyone all the time, even though that's her nature as a soul. She is so gentle and caring and utterly sincere about everything. I seriously see a lot of myself in her. 

I recommend this book to everyone honestly. It went by so fast for me (and that's amazing because I'm such a slow reader). But I guess I would say the people who would like it the most are those who like the sci-fi drama-like books. Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc. Cliche, I know, but it's true. When I first fell in love with this book it was after I read the Twilight saga and I was in love (I can't say that's the case now that the movies are out), so I was looking for another book like that or by the same author and this is what I found. There's talk of her writing two more books. I can't decide if I want her to or not. I would love to read more of this story, but I don't want it to be overdone. Something to ponder.. One of my faves, though, so definitely check it out.

The Book Thief

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Knopf
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By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings,the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
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I would have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey I took with Liesel through this book. It has been beautifully written with metaphors and personification that I could have never dreamed up myself. It is told from the point of view of "Death," which really confused me at first because I had no idea who was speaking. Once you get into it though, this POV seems to be the only one that can truly tell a story in the way that it has. I'm a sucker for Holocaust novels, though sometimes I don't really know why I put myself through reading them because they always, ALWAYS end up breaking my heart. I will never understand it.

Some parts of this book were rather annoying because it kept jumping forward and telling what was going to happen at the end. It would give you a small window of the future of the story and then go back and say something like "but that is for later tellings." I do have to admit that it is a good tactic when you have the right kind of reader, like myself. It makes them eat through the book to find out the story behind what the narrator has shown me.

I found myself connecting very well with Liesel and her love for books. I have the same passion. Just being surrounded by words is an amazing feeling, even if they have not yet been read. She has this extreme hunger for them. I admired her drive and stubbornness, along with her obedience and kindness. I didn't really find myself asking "Why would you do that?" to Liesel because she always made her reasoning fairly clear. Her thoughts were displayed plainly to me and I didn't have to keep guessing a hidden meaning.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something with an amazing and refreshing use of words and descriptions. The pictures painted for me were more amazing and unique than any others I have read about, which to me made them that much more beautiful.