Book Review: The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, #2)

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The start of the book was a bit slow for me but a few chapters down the line, I was hooked! And I can't stop reading and wanting to know the end.  Only to be disappointed because I'm left hanging and waiting for the next installment.  What the!?!?  I need the next book! NOW!

Love it!


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BOOK REVIEW: American Assassin by Vince Flynn

American Assassin by Vince Flynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have not read all of the Mitch Rapp books from Vince Flynn. I started with Extreme Measures and went from there. When I read Extreme Measures, I got the impression of a tough kind of hero in Mitch. However, I didn't really have a good background since I started almost at the end of the series.

The prequel gives a good background of how Mitch travelled to where he is now and the things he had to endure to get there. What moved him to take this path. I loved reading this book a lot. And Hurley, that old rascal, is also introduced to me well in this book.

There's a lot of assumption made that Mitch is a natural at his line of work. And for some, it might be just too much. But you have to suspend your sense of reality and just accept that he is one good lead character.

I am wondering though if I liked this book because I've read the other two books before and it has already given me an idea of what kind of character he is. Or did I like it because it gave me a better idea of who he was. Something like if you're going to only about to start reading the Mitch Rapp series, should you start with the American Assassin book before reading the others? Or should you follow the sequence of how the books were written to fully enjoy them? I guess I'll never know.



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BOOK REVIEW: Six Graves To Munich by Mario Puzo

Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I knew there was something wrong when I'm already in the middle of the book and I still can't seem to symphatize with the main character's plight. The plot of the book was interesting but I didn't enjoy reading this book much. I've read Puzo's other books like Godfather and Sicilian. In comparison, this book does not seem to be as well written as those two.

This book was written under Puzo's pseudonym Mario Cleri. They should have just kept it under Cleri and not associate it with Puzo.



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BOOK REVIEW: Brotherhood Of The Rose by David Morrell

Rating:5/5

Book summary from GoodRead
They were orphans, Chris and Saul -- raised in a Philadelphia school for boys, bonded by friendship, and devoted to a mysterious man called Eliot. He visited them and brought them candy. He treated them like sons. He trained them to be assassins. Now he is trying desperately to have them killed.

Review
I saw the TV series first before reading the book. I enjoyed the series a lot and fancied myself having a crush on Peter Strauss. When I had the opportunity to read the book, I took it. I always believed the written version has a lot more to say.

Needless to say that I was hooked from the first page all the way to the end. I read this book a long time back and just took the time to read it again this year.

The book still hold its appeal even after a second reading. It might not be as exciting as it was before since you already know partly what's coming. But I guess when the characters and stories are great, reading it again won't detract from the book's great story line.

It's got the usual factors: loyalty, betrayal, revenge. What's good about this book though is that it makes you feel like you're there along with the characters, experiencing the same pain, the same fear, the same emotions. Espionage always hold an appeal to most people. Maybe the cloak and dagger stuff, because of the danger involved, cause it to be exciting.

I can't help but emphatize with Saul's anger and grief, with Chris' confusion and guilt and with Eliot's fear.

Verdict
The book will surely hook the reader from start to finish and a good way to introduce one's self to the writings of Morrell.


This book counts towards the following BCC reading challenges:
Book #2 Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge 2011
Book #3 100 Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2011