breakingdawn book review

Breaking Dawn

Published 2008          754 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both a fantasy and a nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice, to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life, has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

The Review

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in Stephenie Meyer’s hugely popular Twilight saga.  With all the hype surrounding the release of Breaking Dawn I doubt that there is anyone left on the planet that isn’t aware of the books publication!  However, readers who haven’t read any of the previous books in this saga should not be tempted to start here – you really need to read these books in order since the story continues over the series.
For readers who have read Stephenie Meyer’s previous offerings Breaking Dawn is the long awaited and highly anticipated end to the compelling tale of vampire Edward and human Bella’s impossible romance.  Beginnings can be tricky but Twilight got this series off to a fantastic start with its modern day fairy tale quality and heart stopping romance.  New Moon further built on that with Bella and Edward’s bleakly painful separation and subsequent happy reunion - but since the end of New Moon the romantic tension that had been driving the story into the heady heights compelling reading has been lacking.
As a result Eclipse was a different novel – it was clear that what ever happened in Eclipse Edward and Bella would be together forever – and the stresses on their relationship came from outside forces rather than from within the relationship itself.  Breaking Dawn is similar. The romantic tension between Edward and Bella is non-existent – it is clear that whatever happens to them (death, Jacob, mutant vampire baby) their love is non-negotiable and to a certain extent this alters the feel of the story, losing some of the romantic magic of Twilight in the process.
If beginnings are tricky, endings are fraught with difficulties.  At the beginning readers have no expectations but by the end everyone seems to have an opinion on how they would have finished the book if they were writing it.  Thankfully Stephenie Meyer was writing the ending so the resulting story is a good one and in my opinion a fitting end to this fantastic series.
In Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer addresses one of the major issues that some readers had with Bella’s character – namely that she wasn’t independent enough.  This novel sees Bella coming into her own power and proving that she is more that capable of independent thought and action.  While the Cullen family vampires have always been kind to Bella, it has been clear that she was no match for this talented bunch - but Bella’s character gains strengths that make her just as unique and talented as the rest of her new family.
Breaking Dawn is a weighty novel, weighing in at over 750 pages but it doesn’t feel like a long read.  The story is well paced and well balanced, with a mixture of exciting supernatural action as well as good character development and romance.  The strength of Stephenie Meyer’s writing as ever lies in her exploration of love in its many guises and Breaking Dawn gives her the opportunity to examine the relationships between mother and child, father and daughter, husband and wife and the bonds of friendship.
Breaking Dawn is a different novel to Twilight (and New Moon) and some readers may be disappointed by this but I’m not one of them.  I don’t want to keep buying the same story over and over again just with a different title and cover picture – I enjoy seeing the development of the characters as well as seeing the development of the author’s writing.  Breaking Dawn is more like Eclipse, Edward and Bella are sure of their love for each other but outside forces (this time it’s the Volturi) may tear them apart as the story reaches its thrilling climax.
The only small gripe I have about this novel is that in wrapping up the story every loose end has been neatly tied into a pretty bow - sometimes it’s good to leave something dangling in the breeze!  Oh, and I don’t like the book's cover either.  But apart from that, this book is all that I was personally hoping it would be.
Full of Forks goodness, Breaking Dawn is recommended reading for any self-respecting Stephenie Meyer fan. 


sumbe r:http://www.lovevampires.com/smbreakingdawn.html

twilight book review

Twilight

Stephenie Meyer

 

Published 2005        434 Pages

Synopsis

When seventeen year-old Bella Swan leaves sunny Arizona to live with her father in the small and gloomy Pacific North-West town of Forks she doesn’t expect to like it.  After all she has made excuses not to go there enough times over the past few years.  If living in Forks, with its constant mist and rain, wasn’t bad enough she will have to make a whole new set of friends and settle into a new school.
Bella soon makes some new friends at school but when she sees a boy called Edward Cullen sitting with his brothers and sisters in the cafeteria she is instantly intrigued.  Edward is stunningly attractive, almost inhumanly beautiful, and yet he is an outsider too.  Although Edward and his family have lived in Forks for two years they have never really been accepted by the townsfolk. 
At first Edward is aloof, sometimes it almost seems like he can’t stand to be in the same room as her, but eventually they strike up an unlikely friendship.  Even as Bella falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Edward, she still can’t work out exactly what makes him so different to everyone else.
On a trip to the beach, Bella is told of the local legend about the “cold ones”, a group of blood drinkers who have sworn off hunting humans but are still not welcome on Indian land because vampires are not to be trusted.  Realising Edward is vampire changes nothing for Bella, she knows that she still loves him even if he’s not human.
Edward and his whole family are vampires.  Edward himself was made a vampire when he was seventeen years-old, although that was at the end of World War I.  For Edward his love for Bella is both a delight and a torment.  A delight because she is the first person he has loved since he was made a vampire.  A torment because although he has sworn off human blood and only hunts animals the craving for human blood never truly leaves him and the very scent of her also stirs his hunger for blood….

The Review

Twilight is the story of Edward and Bella’s romance.  Forget any vampire romance you have read before, Twilight is so unique it is almost like it’s in its own genre.  The book is marketed at Young Adult readers but it has the ability to cross age barriers and will satisfy both teenagers and adults alike.
The story is told in first person from the perspective of Bella, so the reader only ever know what she knows, making Edward and his family a mystery that is slowly unravelled through out the book.  Even by the end of the book I was still thirsting for more of the Cullen family back story - hopefully their characters might be developed further in future books.  Bella herself is a well written and realistic character, shy and lacking in confidence, her sarcastic inner voice narrates the story for the reader.
Twilight is simply and yet beautifully written.  The descriptions of Forks leave you feeling like you can almost smell the damp air and hear the rain falling on the roof. 
The romance between Edward and Bella is both touching and compelling.  There is a melancholic feel to their impossible love, yet at the same time they both are unwilling to give up hope that their relationship is not doomed.  The book reaches a fever pitch of excitement as the romance between Bella and Edward turns into a frantic race to stay alive. 
I have heard Twilight described as “a vampire story for people who don’t like vampire stories” and I think I would agree with that.  This book really has something for everyone.  Young adult readers, vampire fans or romance readers will all find Twilight to be an appealing story.
For a Young Adult novel the book is quite long but don’t let that put you off reading it because each page is to be savoured.  Believe me, this is one book that you won’t want to end.

sumber :http://www.lovevampires.com/smtwilight.html

city of glass book review

CITY OF GLASS

As City of Glass opens Clary, Jace and the other Shadowhunters are on their way to Idris. Valentine is up to no good again and the very foundation of the Shadowhunting community is at risk. He’s waging a war and he’s asking all Shadowhunters, old and young, to pick a side: fight with him, or feel his all mighty wrath. But the Shadowhunters know that they can’t face Valentine alone – there aren’t enough of them and they would surely loose. Then someone has a genius idea: maybe the Downworlders will fight alongside the Nephilim. Their army would unquestionably increase in size, and with a bigger army, the Clave has a better chance of defeating Valentine. But will the Nephilim and the Downworlders be able to put aside their differences to fight for their lives?
Meanwhile, Clary and Jace are struggling with more than the evil actions of their father. Jace decides that being in love with Clary is just too hard, and he sets about finding himself a distraction. Aline doesn’t know about Jace and Clary’s history and when she makes a play for Jace, he doesn’t exactly stop her. Clary has tried distracting herself before with Simon, and that didn’t work. But seeing Jace with Aline hurts – a lot – and maybe its time for Clary to try the whole distraction thing again…
Enter Sebastian. He’s sexy, smart, charming, and seems totally interested in Clary. The question on everyone’s lips, however, should be, interested in what? Clary decides that she’d like to at least try and figure that out. Sebastian is a multi-layered character that provides a whole lot of entertainment for fans. Reading Sebastian is like riding an emotional rollercoaster. I sighed and cooed with delight, laughed at him, cheered for him, screamed at him and seethed as my blood curdled furiously at one point, too.
But Jace and Clary realise that watching each other cavorting with other people is just too hard. It hurts way too much…
“And I’m supposed to sit by while you date boys, fall in love with someone else, get married…?” His voice tightened. “And meanwhile, I’ll die a little bit more everyday, watching.”
Society says that Jace and Clary can’t be together, right? Maybe, just maybe, Jace and Clary don’t care what society says anymore. Jace and Clary, however, aren’t the only ones having romantic issues. Magnus and Alec seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, too.
“I’m tired of you only wanting me around when you need something. I’m tired of watching you be in love with someone else – someone, incidentally, who will never love you back. Not the way I do.”
Magnus has been avoiding Alec – big time. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and being away from Magnus forces Alec to deal with some of his inner demons. Can he let his feelings for Jace go and save his relationship with Magnus? And what about his parents… Alec has worked so hard to hide his sexuality from his parents and the Clave. Does he have the courage to open up to them and be true to himself? Its time for Alec to decide what kind of life he wants to lead. Will he chose a lonely life buried in the confines of the closet, or will he sacrifice everything he’s ever known for love?
There’s a whole lot more going on, too. Simon gets himself locked up, Izzy falls for someone very unexpected, Clary turns out to be a whole lot more talented than anyone expected she ever would, old friends return, and one of our beloved Shadowhunters will leave us forever…
But I’m sure you all want to know about Valentine, right? Is he really Jace and Clary’s dad? And for the love of the angel, are they going to take him down already? Everybody loves a good fight, and a good fight you shall get. Who will make it out alive, and whose lives will be shattered for all of eternity? I have the answers but I don’t feel like sharing right now… I suppose you’ll just have to grab yourself a copy of the book and find out for yourself.
There’s a whole lot of action, a little smooching, and one huge bombshell surprise after the other. I recommend coffee – lots of it – snacks, and a super comfy reading spot because this is one of those books that you wont be able to put down. Not for anything.
Cassandra Clare is a force to be reckoned with. Her use of imagery to create a real and vivid picture of her world is commendable. There was not one scene in the entire novel that didn’t appear in front of me like I was watching a film. Not only can she unpack an awesome story, but she writes beautifully, too. This is one of those rare, high-quality young adult reads that you don’t come by too often. The literary world should be thankful Miss Clare decided to grace us with her amazing talent.
A perfect ending to a perfect trilogy. If it were possible to award it a six star rating, I would.


SUMBER : http://www.yareads.com/city-of-glass-cassandra-clare/book-reviews/1040

city of ashes book review

City of Ashes

Cassandra Clare

 

Published 2008           411 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

With her mother in a coma and her father hell-bent on destroying the world, Clary Fray is dragged deeper into New York’s terrifying underworld of werewolves, demons and the mysterious Shadowhunters.
Discovering the truth about her past was only the beginning. Now the fate of the world rests on Clary’s shoulders, but can she master her new-found powers and control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?

The Review

City of Ashes is the second book in Cassandra Clare’s young adult (YA) Mortal Instruments trilogy.  The first book, City of Bones, introduced readers to the hidden world of the Shadowhunters as seen through the eyes of Clary Fray when her secret Shadowhunter heritage finally catches up with her.  Events in City of Ashes take place directly after where the story in City of Bones finishes and if you haven’t already read City of Bones I would recommend reading it first, rather than starting with City of Ashes since it’s not really a story that a reader can drop straight into.
One of my criticisms of City of Bones was that the pacing of the novel seemed slow in places – possibly a result of the huge amount of fantasy world building that that story contained.  City of Ashes suffers from no such problems, in fact the story rockets forward at great pace - dragging readers along for a thrilling ride through the urban fantasy landscapes of a magical New York City.
The story is told in third person and mostly from the perspective of Clary, which for the most part works very well since it means that the reader can share Clary’s sense of bewilderment and wonder at the secret world that is revealed to her.  Her confusion over her relationship with her new found brother (the boy she wants but can’t have) and her feelings for Simon (her lifelong best friend who she wishes was her brother and not her boyfriend) make for compelling, if soap opera-ish reading (and I mean that in a good way – I like soap operas!)
City of Ashes shows its popular culture roots, in particular there are elements of Star Wars (the discovery of an evil father and the reunion of a brother and sister who never knew that the other existed) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (a mixed group of almost-adults battling evil and saving the world.) 
Even the description of Simon crawling out of his shallow grave – “The grave was roiling like the surface of an unsteady ocean. Ripples appeared on its surface. Suddenly it burst apart, clods of dirt flying. A small mountain of dirt, like an anthill, heaved itself upward. At the center of the mountain was a hand, fingers splayed, clawing at the dirt.” – conjures an image that I have seen countless times in nameless horror films as zombies, vampires and the evil undead arise to wreak havoc.
While City of Ashes may show its strong popular culture roots that is not necessarily a bad thing.  After all there is the word “popular” in popular culture.  These are ideas that have the ability to capture the imagination on more than one occasion, and in more than one way, and have fascinated countless people before now and will continue to do so for sometime to come.  Ultimately, City of Ashes adds up to more than the sum of its parts, so there is really no cause for complaint.
A fast paced and engaging read, City of Ashes is well written and a much stronger novel than City of Bones.  Summing up, if you liked City of Bones, you will love City of Ashes. Check it out!


sumber : http://www.lovevampires.com/cclcityofashes.html

city of bones book review

City of Bones

Cassandra Clare

 

Published 2007          442 pages


It’s after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things.  The best-looking guy in the nightclub has just stabbed a boy to death – but the victim has vanished into thin air.  Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment.
With her life spiralling into darkness, Clary realizes that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and secretive Shadowhunters – a war in which she has a fateful role to play…

The Review

City of Bones is the first part of The Mortal Instruments, a Young Adult (YA) urban fantasy trilogy, as well as Cassandra Clare’s first full length novel. Set in New York City, the story opens with fifteen year old Clary witnessing the murder of a blue-haired teenage boy in a nightclub - the only problem is no one else can see what she has seen…
Events in Clary’s life just get stranger when her mother disappears without warning and monsters start to infest her home.  Suddenly Clary is seeing odd and unusual things everywhere as demons, vampires, werewolves, faeries and warlocks start to be apparent all over New York City.
Luckily Clary’s path seems destined to cross with that of Jace, the good looking teenage boy that Clary first saw in the nightclub (murdering the blue haired boy) and he introduces her to the hidden world of the Shadowhunters.  A world where werewolves roam the streets of Chinatown, faeries live in Central Park, and vampires ride demonically powered motorbikes…
The Shadowhunters are Nephilim.  Traditionally Nephilim are the children of angels who have bred with mortal humans but in City of Bones the Nephilim were created when the Angel Raziel mixed his blood with human blood in the Mortal Cup.  The Shadowhunters exist to fight demons and are trained from birth for this purpose, the Mortal Cup can be used to create more Nephilim - making it a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. 
The vampires in City of Bones have most of the traditional vampire weaknesses and strengths (including being able to turn into bats) but they are the results of a demonic viral infection rather than the more traditional evil undead.  The Shadowhunters refer to them, and all other races not of pure human origin, as Downworlders - but they do not hunt vampires unless they turn rogue and start to kill humans.  The vampires only have a small part in this story but they make their presence felt with both humour (drunk vampires have an unfortunate habit of spontaneously turning into piles of dust until they sober up) and menace (drunk vampires seem more likeable than sober ones)!
City of Bones is a YA novel so much of the story revolves around the relationships and group dynamics of Clary, her human best friend Simon, and the three Shadowhunter teenagers that aid Clary when her mother goes missing.  Much of the action in story is related to an uprising lead by a Shadowhunter called Valentine, who has approximately the same political views as Hitler - just with Downworlders taking the place of the gypsies and Jews.
City of Bones is written in third person, almost entirely from the perspective of Clary and one of my criticisms of this book would be that, although she turns sixteen during the course of the book, the narrative sometimes seems more like the thoughts and actions of an adult in places rather than an adolescent.  The story suffers from uneven pacing too. The world building is laboured in places and the occasional over florid descriptions jar readers out of the story rather than drawing them into it.  
That said, once you get into the story, City of Bones still makes entertaining reading and is a fairly imaginative addition to the YA urban fantasy genre.  The length of the novel, combined with the pacing and content, will perhaps be a deterrent to younger readers but I can’t see the average fifteen year old fantasy fan having too many problems.  Certainly I enjoyed reading City of Bones, even though I am much older than its target audience!

Senin, 02/05/2011 11:18 WIB
Promotor Belum Resmi Umumkan Harga Tiket Konser Katy Perry
Adhie Ichsan - hotMusic

Katy Perry (Yulia Dian/detikhot)

Jakarta - Beberapa waktu yang lalu beredar kabar soal harga tiket konser Katy Perry yang mencapai jutaan rupiah. Namun, pihak promotor menegaskan kalau pihaknya belum mengumumkan secara resmi soal harga tiket.

"Belum, hari ini kita masih membahas soal harga tiket. Jadi belum ada pengumuman soal sistem penjualannya maupun harga resmi," ujar publisis dari Rumah Sinema, Ade Kusumaningrum kepada detikhot, Senin (2/5/2011).

Sebelumnya, pihak Rumah Sinema dan Berlian Entertainment berencana melakukan jumpa pers pada Senin (1/5/2011), namun dibatalkan. Saat ini Berlian Entertainment sudah tidak terlibat dalam penyelenggaraan konser Katy Perry.

"Kita akan umumkan segera soal tiket pada hari Rabu atau Kamis besok," tambah Ade.

Selain Katy Perry, Jakarta International Teen Festival Music akan menampilkan Big Bang (Korea), 24herbs (Hong Kong) dan Brown Eyed Girs (Korea). Acara tersebut akan digelar di JIE Expo, Kemayoran, Jakarta pada 28 Mei mendatang.


 (ich/mmu)

Sumber : http://music.detikhot.com/read/2011/05/02/111823/1630157/228/promotor-belum-resmi-umumkan-harga-tiket-konser-katy-perry

Waduh! Justin Bieber Dilempar Telur Saat Konser di Australia

Senin, 02/05/2011 13:43 WIB
Adhie Ichsan - hotMusic

Bieber (Adhie Ichsan/detikhot)

Jakarta - Rupanya, tidak semua remaja di dunia mengidolakan penyanyi sensasional Justin Bieber. Kejadian tidak mengenakkan dialami Bieber saat konser di Australia.

Penyanyi berusia 17 tahun itu dilempari 6 buah telur. Namun untungnya, tidak ada satu pun telur yang tepat mengenai sasaran.

Insiden tersebut terjadi saat pelantun 'Never Say Never' itu manggung di Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia pada Jumat (29/4/2011). Seperti dilansir Zimbio, Senin (2/5/2011), keenam telur tersebut dilemparkan dari kerumunan penonton.

Meskipun mendapat perlakuan buruk, Bieber masih bersikap profesional. Kekasih Selena Gomez itu tetap melanjutkan konsernya hingga usai.

Hingga kini, belum ada pernyataan resmi dari Bieber soal insiden tersebut. Sebelum konser di Australia, ia telah sukses memuaskan sekitar 10 ribu Belieber di Indonesia pada 23 April lalu.


 (ich/mmu)

Sumber : http://music.detikhot.com/read/2011/05/02/134309/1630338/228/waduh-justin-bieber-dilempar-telur-saat-konser-di-australia