Tag Archives: The Deja Vu Review

Feb

The Deja Vu Review [26]: An All-Time Favorite

The Deja Vu Review is a Sunday feature with mini-reviews from books I’ve read before I began my blog at The Book Addict’s Guide! Since I’ve been reading my whole life and only started my blog back in April of 2012, this is my opportunity to revisit some older books and share some mini-reviews of those that didn’t quite make it into the blog spotlight after the initial read.

This week’s topic: An All-Time Favorite!

Oh, please. You knew what was coming….

HARRY POTTER!!!!

I thought about it and thought about it and… How could I not? HP really is my all-time favorite. Any books/series I’ve ever read don’t come close to the magic (no pun intended, but I still laugh at it) of the Harry Potter books.

Harry Potter creates an bond with anyone who’s read and loved the books too. I’ve been able to talk about the books with my friends, watch the movies with my family, and dream about going to the theme park with other Harry Potter fans.

Oh wait, I’m supposed to be reviewing these books, right? Sorry, I almost forgot. HP tends to get the best of me and I just start going into fan-mode and gushing. Okay, here’s a review:

I LOVE THEM. THEY’RE THE BEST EVERRRR! (Clearly.)

Feb

The Deja Vu Review [25]: Freebie!

The Deja Vu Review is a new Sunday feature with mini-reviews from books I’ve read before I began my blog at The Book Addict’s Guide! Since I’ve been reading my whole life and only started my blog back in April of 2012, this is my opportunity to revisit some older books and share some mini-reviews of those that didn’t quite make it into the blog spotlight after the initial read.

This week’s topic: Freebie week!

It’s a freebie week, so we’re picking WHATEVER BOOK WE WANT. I did a quick search through my Goodreads and I don’t think I’ve ever had the opportunity to talk about my feelings for The Help. So let’s, shall we?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My Original GR review: This was an excellent read. It was pretty long at 522 pages, but all of them were worth it. It’s a great story about the bravery to tell the story of the accounts of the segregation of black and white in the 1950s and 60s and the maids working for the families in Mississippi. The accounts just seem so incredibly genuine and enlightening. I would definitely recommend to anyone. It’s a rich and heartwarming story.
Comments: Now, I don’t usually like historical ficiton. And I don’t usually like all the award-winning books with good messages. I always prefer easy reads haha – But The Help really was a truly great story. It took a little while to get into for me, but it was so worth it. I’d recommend it to anyone, and if you’re interested in the movie, it’s a really great adaptation of the book. That’s something I usually struggle with, so I was glad that it stayed so true to the book.

Which books did you choose this week? Link up below!!

Jan

The Deja Vu Review [24]: A Fantasy

This week’s topic: A fantasy

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
My Original Rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Original Goodreads Review: Very interesting twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland tale. I like how it was intentionally different, making Wonderland a real place which Alice must claim back from her vicious aunt who stole the throne back from Alice’s mother. Very creative, quick read which keeps you reading until the end.
Comments: Thinking back on it, this is the first re-telling I ever read (took me til 2010… Unless I’m missing something I can’t think of) and I loved it! I think I actually gave it a 4.5 star rating (or I would like to now) because I loved this take on Alice in Wonderland. I was never a big Alice fan so I was really impressed with this! I’ve had the second book Seeing Redd on my shelf for a while… Maybe I should get to it!!

Which books did you pick this week? Link up below!

Jan

The Deja Vu Review [23]: Food Themed Book

This week’s topic: A Book with a Food Theme

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
My Original GR rating: 4 of 5 stars
Comments: Cozy mysteries are always good for a few food themes! The Hannah Swensen books were kind of my gateway to cozies (although I’ve been reading a lot more YA than mysteries lately). Hannah works in a cookie shop (which kind of turns into a general dessert shop) and each book has several recipes throughout the book. Some of them are really good too! It’s a lot of fun (minus the weird love triangle that never gets resolved) and the food is delicious! My only qualm besides the love triangle was that the characters were a little cheesy at times, but then again, it IS a cozy so that’s to be expected!

Which books did you choose this week? Link up below!

Jan

The Deja Vu Review [22]: A Favorite Cover

This week’s topic: One of your favorite covers

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Comments: Wow, so I had a really hard time picking a favorite cover because you know what? I didn’t really start reading YA so much until I started blogging, so finding a favorite cover from before I started my blog? Tough stuff. I guess out of all the early stuff, I’m settling with Queen of Babble – I just think this cover is cute and relates to the title and story very well. It’s bubbly and whimsical and just by the cover, this would be something I’d want to pick up. Sometimes I really hate cut off faces, but I like the way this one works for the cover.

Wow, when I chose this topic, I had no idea how hard it would be to find a pre-blog favorite cover! I almost chose Walk Two Moons, but I did JUST feature that one last week (although I do love it…)

Which books did you choose this week? Link up below!

Jan

The Deja Vu Review [21]: Favorite Female Protagonist

This week’s topic: Favorite Female Protagonist

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Comments: Salamanca Tree Hiddle immediately made Walk Two Moons one of my favorite books of my childhood when I first read it. I loved her and I loved her story. I’m really not sure at exactly what age I read it but to this day it’s stuck with me and I just remember even as a kid wanting to be friends with Sal! If you’re looking for a good MG read, this is it!

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Comments: Okay. You guys already know my love for the Heather Wells series, but how can I not include her on my list of favorite heroines? She’s spunky, she’s tough, and she’s one of my all-time favorites! In fact, I had borrowed the first few books from my sister and the fourth book was the only one I owned since I bought it when it just came out over the summer. Now the tables are turned and she borrowed the fourth book from me and I bought the first three from the used book store!

Dec

The Deja Vu Review [20]: A Post-Apocalyptic/End of the World Book

This week’s topic: A Post-Apocalyptic/End of the World Book (Okay, really – Just any dystopian!)

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Original GR Review: I was a little let down by the book, I must admit. It was a very intersting concept, but it just didn’t take it the way I was hoping. It had some good action that I think would work well in a movie setting but for some reason as a book, it just really never took off for me. Also, even though I know it’s part of a series, the end was completely cliffhanger with no resolution at all. It felt like it just stopped in the middle of the story to pick up later. Sadly though, I probably won’t be reading the other books.
Comments: I had originally picked up this book based on a recommendation that someone on Goodreads gave me when I had actually put out a request for more dystopian books to read. I don’t know if it was the setting that I didn’t connect with or the characters, but somehow I just felt a bit disappointed. I was really hopeful since it’s got a great rating on Goodreads, but it just wasn’t the book for me! I’m still pretty solid on not reading another book, though I would see it as a movie (which apparently there is one).

Which books did you choose this week? Link up below!

Dec

The Deja Vu Review [19]: A Holiday Story

This week’s topic: A Holiday Story

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
Originally Read: September 25, 2011
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Original GR Review: Totally ridiculously cheesy, but super quick read since it’s a novella and basically a filler holiday book. But still, I always enjoy Stephanie Plum. Hopefully the other “Between the Numbers” books aren’t as cheesy!
Comments: Well, I’m now on number 14 in the Stephanie Plum series and I’ve read three of the “Between the Numbers” books and they have gotten slightly less cheesy as we’ve progressed. I just like them because they’re quick and easy to get through and I still get my Stephanie Plum fix without diving into a full novel!

I hope everyone has a great holiday season! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays from The Book Addict’s Guide!

Dec

The Deja Vu Review [18]: A Classic

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My Original GR Review: What a curious book. I gave it four stars just because of the mere disappointment of my expectance for more accounts of time travel — There was just the Traveler’s main journey and a second small anecdote.. But how creative and advanced for HG Wells when he wrote it. I’m always amazed when I read science-fiction novels on the ideas that are spawned into entire books with such detail.
Comments: Hm. I remember reading this book and I really loved the beginning, but the second part of the book where he goes ahead in time was just a little too science-fictiony for me. I’m not really big on science fiction and I was hoping it would involve more time travel and less time stuck in each world, especially since I didn’t like the second one which was Wells’ version of what our world would turn into thousands of years in the future. I’m glad that I finally read it though! It was actually a pretty short book which made me less intimidated since I’m not big on classics either.

Which books did you pick for this week’s Deja vu Review? Link up below!

Dec

The Deja Vu Review [17]: A Short Story/Novella

This week’s topic is: A short story/novella

Harry Potter: The Prequel by J.K. Rowling
My original GR rating: 3 of 5 stars
Comments: This little prequel to Harry Potter was actually really interesting! I always like reading more about Harry Potter! I think the reason I gave it just three stars was because it was SO short that there really wasn’t much of a story to really rate! I always love little extra tidbits about HP and I’m sure any HP fan will enjoy this but I felt like there wasn’t quite enough plot to really call it a full-out prequel.

Prophet by Jennifer Bosworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Comments: This was a prequel to Jennifer Bosworth’s debut Struck. I thought it was really interesting that we got to hear a little bit more about Prophet. It really explained why he was the way he was and it was helpful information that would have been too much in the original story but made for a great addition!

Which books did you pick for this week’s Deja vu Review? Link up below!