Da Vinci Code
Summary:
While in Paris, Robert Langdon, professor at Havard and specialist in symbology, is urgently called to the Louvre, in the middle of the night. Jacques Saunière, the chief curator, has been found murdered in the middle of the Grande Galerie. Alongside the corpse, the police have found a coded message. Langdon and Sophie Neveu, a brilliant cryptographer and member of the police force, are trying to solve it. They are stunned when the first clues lead them to the work of Leonardo da Vinci. They also discover that Saunière was a member of the Priory of Sion, a secret society to which Nexton, Boticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Victor Hugo belonged, and that he was protecting a thousand-year-old secret. The investigation of our two heroes will lead them through France and the United Kingdom, not only to search for a long-hidden truth about Christianity, but also to escape from those who would like to get hold of the secret. To succeed, they must solve many riddles, and quickly, or the secret may be lost forever.
Review:
This book is very interesting. I learned a lot from it. The plot is very well done with surprising revelations. It is hyper addictive (even if you have already seen the movie). The reflection is super well done, clue after clue and that's what captivated me during the whole reading. In short, it was a real pleasure to discover this tome and to read it. Be careful, the meaning of the books is not the same as the movies (don't make the same mistake I did), Angels and Demons comes first, then there is Da Vinci Code.
Dune
Summary:
On Dune, the planet of the sands, sprouts the spice that gives longevity and prescience. Because of the spice, the entire galactic empire of Padishah Shaddam IV revolves around Dune, which is fiercely coveted by the noble houses of the Landsraad and the Navigators Guild.
Leto Atreides, Duke and Cousin of the Emperor, has received Dune as a fief. For a short time. In 10191, he was murdered. But his son Paul, along with his mother, finds refuge in the lairs of the Fremen people, untamed, unconquerable, the dregs of Dune for some, the salt of the earth for others. Paul grows up in the desert and forges the weapon of his revenge.
But will he not overshoot his goal, launching the Fremen legions on a fearsome crusade? It is said that he has the power to know the future. Will he have the power to avoid it?
Review:
I decided to read this book because of the movie that I loved. And frankly, the book is super intriguing and original. I was amazed at how well the movie respected the book. So my favorite part was the ending because I didn't know it and I was surprised by it. On the other hand, the book is long with a lot of details. And I found the appendix 3 very interesting.
I found the character of Paul much more mature than his age, as he has an adult mentality when he was just a young teenager.
The chapters are not numbered, which confused me a bit but it's not annoying.
Scottish Rhapsody
Summary:
Erynn Wallace had long forgotten that Scotland ran in her veins. Growing up in London with an English mother probably didn't help her cultivate her roots...
But when she returned to her native village for her grandfather's funeral, she never thought she would feel so out of place. The people, the accent, the customs... she forgot everything. And it is not Lachlan Cameron who is likely to put her at ease.
The heir to the Cameron clan even seems to treat her with particular disdain. He only sees her as an opportunist, who has come to raid his inheritance before leaving for the enemy. What does Erynn care about the opinion of this stranger, certainly attractive, but perfectly unpleasant?
What is certain is that it would be much easier to ignore him if, in order to preserve the domain of her ancestors, she was not forced to marry him...
Review:
I really liked this tome. It is original and of course it is about romance. But what I particularly liked was the character of the characters. Even though we can guess the ending, the main characters give us verbal jousting, deep moments, humor and especially love.
I liked it so much that I think I'll read it often.
Witch and God
Summary:
Ella is a young, ungifted, bubbly witch living quietly in the human world, where she attends classes at Springfall University. This year, she will once again attend the witch community's festival with her two powerful sisters. But this year is special: the witches and the gods have decided to put an end to the conflict that has been going on between them for decades. To seal this peace, they organize a wedding between a representative of each community.
Ella is outraged to learn that her sister Meroe is the designated witch for this union, and even more so when the master of the gods, Zeus, introduces the future groom: his grandson Deimos, god of Terror. Cold and arrogant, he has the terrible and black shape of the night. Ella can't believe it: there is no way her sister will marry the incarnation of Terror!
But Deimos upsets the negotiations by refusing the fiancée that is imposed on him. He himself designates the bride he has chosen: the ungifted witch no one expected, Ella.
Review:
This book is a favorite. I loved the story, which I found super original, the characters are complex but engaging, and this book has all my favorite elements. That is: humor, a little intrigue, and a beautiful love story.
I really liked the main characters, especially Deimos who is more mysterious and deep. And the ending, it gives us a very interesting glimpse of what can become the next volume.
Serpent & Dove
Summary:
Two years ago, Louise fled her clan and took refuge in the city of Caesarine where witches like her are feared, hunted and burned. The young woman has given up magic and now lives on petty theft. As she prepares to steal a rare magic ring, one thing leads to another and everything falls into chaos.
Reid, a Church-sworn hunter, lives his life by one principle: not to leave a single witch alive. His path should never have crossed that of Louise, but a combination of circumstances will bring them together in spite of themselves and force them into an impossible and unexpected union: holy matrimony.
The war between the witches and the Church is long-standing and Louise's dangerous enemies pose a terrible threat. Torn between her growing feelings and her nature, the young woman will have to make a choice between her heart and her reason.
Review:
I had a hard time getting into the story. But once I got into the story, I was immediately hooked. And I especially liked the third part which has a lot of action and revelations of all kinds. In short, it's a story of magic with romance and a lot of humor, and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest. Especially since the ending is amazing, and reveals a lot of secrets.
From Blood and Ash
Summary:
As the rivalry grows between two kingdoms that have been enemies since time immemorial, a young woman whose destiny was all set sees her certainties shattered, and more than anything... her heart.
A virgin...
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era of her kingdom, Poppy's life has never really been her own. Her parents were killed when she was young and she has lived a reclusive, overprotected life ever since. A lonely life, untouched and unseen, with no contact with the outside world and only one moment to look forward to: the day of her Ascension.
A duty...
The future of the entire kingdom rests on Poppy's shoulders, but she's not sure she wants that destiny. Because she has a heart, a soul, and she'd rather fight the creatures that caused her misfortune. And when Hawke, an honor guard charged with protecting her until her Ascension, bursts into her life, he challenges her beliefs, even to the point of the forbidden.
A kingdom...
Abandoned by the gods and feared by mortals, another fallen kingdom rises up, determined to take back what is owed to it through violence and revenge. And as the threat closes in, Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being deemed unworthy by the gods, but her own life as everything that made up her world inexorably crumbles.
Review:
Even though I suspected the ending, I loved this book. The author introduces us to a whole new world through the eyes of Poppy, a character I really enjoyed. And the ending, I devoured it because it gives us a foretaste for the next volume that I can't wait to read because it looks so fantastic, even if it means buying it in VO.
This book is intriguing, it turns the brain, especially at the end with all kinds of revelations. If I didn't already have a huge pile to read, I would have immediately bought volume 2 to devour it like the first one.
Phobos
Summary of the first volume:
Six suitors on one side.
Six suitors on the other.
Six minutes to meet each other.
Eternity to love each other.
They are six girls and six boys, in two separate compartments of the same spaceship.
They have six minutes each week to seduce and choose each other, under the eye of onboard cameras.
They are the suitors of the Genesis program, the craziest speed-dating show in history, aimed at creating the first human colony on Mars.
Leonor, an eighteen-year-old orphan, is one of the six chosen.
She signed up for glory.
She signed up for love.
She signed up for a one-way ticket.
Even if the dream turns into a nightmare, it's too late to regret.
Review (on all volumes):
The imagination and creativity of the author, I still can't believe it. He has invented an amazing and so addictive world. The story is incredible and wonderful as are the characters. I was completely transported into the plot. In short, this book is a masterpiece and I am rushing to the next ones to find out what happens next.
I loved the character of Leonor. We can quickly identify with her because she has her weaknesses but also strengths. She is not invincible and I really liked her character, just like Kelly's.
The fourth volume is a bit darker and deals with even deeper issues for our main characters.
Thrones of Glass
Summary of Volume One:
In the kingdom of Adarlan, only the Assassins sect still dares to oppose the power of the king.
Keleana, the most famous assassin of the country, has been sentenced to hard labor.
To win her freedom, she must fight in a tournament to the death, the sole survivor of which must serve the king for four years.
But one by one, the competitors are eliminated in a mysterious way and Keleana feels her turn coming.
Clearly, dark magical forces are resurfacing in the royal city and the young girl will have to find allies in the king's court to save herself.
And use all the weapons at her disposal.
Are her trainer, Captain Chaol, and Prince Dorian, who has taken her under his wing, trustworthy?
In any case they are not insensitive to her charms...
Review (for the first four volumes) :
I had a little trouble getting into the story but then I loved it. I understood Keleana's character better as the story unfolded, even if she is full of surprises and I really like the secondary characters like Dorian or Rowan. The plot is sometimes dark but that's what makes it so addictive. The elements of surprise come one after another and it keeps us reading chapter after chapter.
Daughter of the deep
Summary:
My name is Ana Dakkar.
The ocean is my element.
Just a few minutes ago, I was a mere sophomore at Harding-Pencroft Academy, renowned for training the best marine biologists and explorers in the world.
Now I am one of the few survivors of an attack in which I learn that I was the primary target.
Do my enemies know that I am the only one who can find the best-kept secret of the oceans? The Nautilus?
Review:
Like all of Rick Riordan's books, I loved this one. I found this tome to be super original with twists and surprises in almost every chapter. It paced the story and made it addictive to the story. I liked the fact that the author used the world created by Jules Vernes in his books, especially 20,000 leagues under the sea, as it was a change from the other books by Rick Riordan. In The Heiress of the Deep, we enter a mythical world on the nautical world and I liked discovering this new world.
I loved the characters just as much, especially the main character, Ana Dakkar, who has a strong personality and I can't wait to see what the future holds for them.
Photo Credit : Amélie Marmonier
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