Nessie Reviews ☆ A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Number of Books: 13

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date of First Book: September 30th, 1999

Release Date of Last Book: October 13th, 2006

The executor of the Baudelaire estate -- a phlegm-plagued banker named Mr. Poe - sends the children to live with a distant relative: a conniving and dastardly villain named Count Olaf, who has designs on the Baudelaire fortune. Count Olaf uses the children as slave labor, provides horrid accommodations for them, and makes them cook huge meals for him and his acting troupe, a bunch of odd-looking, renegade good-for-nothings. When the children are commandeered to appear in Count Olaf's new play, they grow suspicious and soon learn that the play is not the innocent performance it seems but rather a scheme cooked up by Olaf to help him gain control of the children's millions.

All this bad luck does provide for both great fun and great learning opportunities, however. Violet is a budding McGyver whose inventions help the children in their quest, Klaus possesses a great deal of book smarts, and Sunny -- whose only real ability is an incredibly strong bite -- provides moral support and frequent comedy relief. Then there are the many amusing word definitions, colloquialisms, clichés, hackneyed phrases, and other snippets of language provided by the narrator (a character in his own right) that can't help but expand readers' vocabularies. Though the Baudelaire children suffer myriad hardships and setbacks, in the end they do manage to outsmart and expose Olaf's devious ways. But of course, with luck like theirs, it's a given that Olaf will escape and return to torment them again some day. If only misery was always this much fun.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

When I was little, my school's library had the Series of Unfortunate Events series, but they had two red dots on their spines. One read dot meant that you had to be at least in sixth grade to check it out, and two red dots meant that only eighth graders could check it out. However, by the time I reached sixth grade, I realized that the local public library had no such age restrictions and read the entire series within a month. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, but I didn't quite understand why the series was restricted to the older kids. Yes, it was a bit sad at times, but nothing my little eleven year old self couldn't endure.

However, having read it for the second time--this time at twenty years old, I can wisely say that my eleven year old self was dead wrong. I don't know what I missed as a kid but these books are SO FRICKING DEPRESSING. For example, the series opens with the Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire's lovely day at the beach being interrupted by the news that their house burnt down in a fire that also claimed the lives of their parents. Did I mention that their respective ages are 14, 12, and under 1?

Anyways, after getting this news the orphans are placed in the custody of Count Olaf, who is their "third cousin four times removed or fourth cousin three times removed" according to Mr. Poe, the incompetent banker in charge of the Baudelaire fortune until Violet turns eighteen. However, after spending some time at his filthy mansion, the orphans discover that Olaf is only after their fortune. I really don't want to give too many spoilers away in this reviews, but the Baudelaires are able to stop his scheme and placed in the custody of another guardian. But Olaf is not so easily assuaged and hunts them down and comes up with a scheme to once again steal their fortune. And this is pretty much the formula for the first few books: orphans arrive in custody of an eccentric new guardian, things are relatively okay (sometimes not) as they adjust, Olaf shows up and causes trouble and/or deaths, then the kids are shipped off to another home. 

While this formula is quite obvious for the first seven books, it doesn't get tiring at all. Each new guardian is more absurd and quirky than the last. In the third book, The Wide Window, they are put under the care of their Aunt Josephine who is cripplingly afraid of everything. For example, the kids can't even turn on a stove to heat up food because she's terrified it might result in the house burning down. But outside of those, she is truly a loving guardian. They spend the fifth book, The Austere Academy, at a boarding school that has teachers who give the Baudelaire's a hard time because their orphans and where Sunny (the baby) is forced to become a secretary for the principal. However, while there they meet another set of orphans, the Quigley's who become very important as more secrets are discovered in the series. The Vile Village takes the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" proverb literally and the orphans spend the seventh book in the legal care of an entire (and quite strange) village. 

The ending of The Vile Village also drastically changes the tone and direction for the remaining books of the series. The Baudelaire orphans are framed for a crime that they did not commit and must spend the remaining books on the run as they try to discover more about the mysterious V.F.D-- a secret organization of which many characters they encounter (and their late parents) are members. There are so many questions that are raised in the second half of the book such as: what is the connection between the Quigley's and the Baudelaires? Why does Count Olaf harbor such a deep grudge against the Baudelaires? What exactly is V.F.D and what happened to it? What is the sugar bowl and why is it so damn important? And many, many other questions since the second half of the series isn't just about the Baudelaires but is also about V.F.D and the other characters they encounter.

Their motto and symbol

 However I'm sad to report that not all these questions get answered. The Baudelaire's chapter of the story get full closure (for the most part), but the larger story of which they only play a part, doesn't really get answered. And while reading, it's clear that it's not a result of laziness on the part of the author--he knows everything, but just isn't telling. It is a bit frustrating having all these questions that never will get answered, but I promise you this series is still worth a read. So I guess I'll talk about the things this series does right.

One aspect of the series that I appreciated a lot as an adult was the moral ambiguity. In the beginning, good and evil is as defined as black and white--which was something that I expected of a children's book. However as the series goes on, determining who or what is good and bad is not as simple anymore. Especially since the Baudelaires are forced to do things that are clearly quite horrible (especially in The Penultimate Peril--Book 11 >.<), but they are still good kids and those things were only done in order to protect themselves. A character in the tenth book, The Grim Grotto, says it the best:

People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salad, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict

In addition, Lemony Snicket is the best narrator--his writing style is so unique and mature that you won't even feel like you're reading a children's book. He spends a good amount of each book urging you not to read it because of how depressing the subject matter is and has the best sense of dry humor. I guess the best way to say it is that he doesn't seem to care what he does, but that's not quite getting at it, so I'll try giving some examples. In the sixth book, The Eratz Elevator, there a a few pages that are just black, in order to show just how dark the environment was for the orphans at that point in the book.

Who cares about saving trees anyways.

There is a point The Bad Beginning when Klaus, the bookworm up late at night reading a book, and Lemony Snicket writes this.

The book was long, and difficult to read, and Klaus became more and more tired as the night wore on. Occasionally his eyes would close. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.

And, my personal favorite (which technically is not from the Series of Unfortunate Events series, but it's still amazing) 

If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf. ~Horseradish

However, in addition to writing ridiculous sentences like these he also manages to write some of the most true things that I have ever read

“The way sadness works is one of the strange riddles of the world. If you are stricken with a great sadness, you may feel as if you have been set aflame, not only because of the enormous pain, but also because your sadness may spread over your life, like smoke from an enormous fire. You might find it difficult to see anything but your own sadness, the way smoke can cover a landscape so that all anyone can see is black. You may find that if someone pours water all over you, you are damp and distracted, but not cured of your sadness, the way a fire department can douse a fire but never recover what has been burnt down.” ~The Bad Beginning

So this post is already much longer than normal so I'm going to cut myself off here, but let it be said that I have not even covered half of what makes this series so amazing for me. There is so much more about the plot that could be said, so many unique characters that I've fallen in love with, and so many quotes that I am dying to share with you. However, I shall cut myself here in hopes that you will take it upon your self to read this wonderful series, I can promise you that you will not regret it.

Vanessa is Val's bestest buddy, and she will be guest posting throughout the summer because she loves to read and write. You can also find her at her own blog, Musings of an Aspiring Writer.

DNF Review: The Winter People

The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2014
Source: e-book
Date Read: 8/14/14 to 8/25/14 (DNF)
320 Pages

Rating: --

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

I'm just going to say this right off the bat; I honestly did not like this book. It was torture to get through half of it, and by 60%, I had enough. 

This is my first DNF review, so I have no idea how I will go about this. It'll most likely just be a rant of what made me stop reading.

Basically, this beautiful cover is a lie. It's misleading, and I have yet again fallen into the trap of requesting just based on cover. I know, I know, but hey! That blurb was really interesting too. And I was really excited to read this ARC, truth be told.

The story centers around a high school, Salome, who is deathly afraid of winter because she constantly hears voices. It also doesn't help that she almost drowned in a frozen lake when she was much, much younger. Though the truth is, which no one is willing to tell her for some unknown reason, is that her family line is cursed. By someone, or something.

I will try to keep this short. I promise.

There are two things about this book that wanted me to tear my hair out.

1. Everyone refuses to tell Salome about the curse. This means her grandmother, her mother, and her "boyfriends", who are probably not human. And the worse part is, they all make her believe that she is crazy. They make her see a psychiatrist, and they make her take drugs for it.

• AND NOT ONLY THAT. We later find out that the curse is responsible for the DEATHS OF OTHER 18 YEAR OLDS. Oh but no, no one will tell her this will happen. So she goes off wandering ON HER OWN into places she's not supposed to go into.
• THIS ISN'T EVEN HER FAULT, surprisingly. SHE NEVER KNEW

2. Her "boyfriends" are basically all the same person. I literally could not tell them apart. And apparently they all have beef with each other, and are all pinning or "protecting" Salome, but yet again, don't tell her what's going on. Or when it happens right in front of their eyes, they just come up with an excuse, and tell her she's mistaken.

This is why I did not finish the book. Even though I was already at 60%. I just couldn't go through with it because I was tired of seeing this poor girl being told over and over again that she's seeing and hearing things.

And the guys are annoying. And I don't care about them.

So that's enough from me. If I were to rate this book it would probably be a 1 star, but I'm leaving it N/A on my blog for now. 

Sorry about my rant! On another note, I hope you've been having an awesome day! Haha!

Review: Landline

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: July 8th, 2014
Source: Library
Date Read: 8/25/14 to 8/25/14
310 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

So first I have a couple of things to say because Landline blew my socks off. I'm sorry for the weird phrase, it's just that, this is the first thing that came into my mind. But let me just say:

• First of all, I have now read every single Rainbow Rowell book! Yes, all 4 of them. No I don't care that that's a small number. It matters to me. Moving on...
• Second, the library gave me the large print edition, because I don't know why? But either way, I still loved the book. I already have horrible eyesight for objects far away, I don't need reading glasses now. (Though I'm doomed to get them, my dad said so)
• AND EVEN THEN, I still read this book in one day. 

Have I reeled you in yet? Yes? Good.

Landline is about a couple, well more of a marriage, that has had more downs than ups. Our awesome main character, Georgie, realizes this. But she isn't sure what to do. And when Georgie chooses work over visiting her family during the Christmas season, she feels as if she's ruined everything. 

Her husband, Neal, is never available when she calls him.

And his mother and Georgie's daughters always pick up instead.

And this is a huge problem to Georgie. Because maybe this time, Neal really did leave her. Or at least he would be thinking about it, right?

ENTER IN MAGICAL PHONE, THAT CROSSES TIME AND SPACE TO 1998 NEAL. Georgie's husband from the past, but he doesn't know that he has a family with Georgie.

Yet, whenever current time Georgie talks with 1998 Neal, everything is okay. It's as if 1998 Neal, and current time Georgie were meant to be, even though it's impossible. 

The book divides itself into three time periods, the past with 1998 Neal and 1998 Georgie which serve as flashbacks to describe their early relationship, the current time with their marriage troubles, though we don't get much Neal here, and then the middle. The middle was the most unique, since this is the bridge between the current time and the past.

Also, I grew very attached to both characters, which was really surprising! I haven't fully been assimilated into adult fiction, and I didn't like Attachments as much, but I've never gotten attached to adult characters. BUT I DID WITH GEORGIE! And I can't say why for certain, but I'm glad I did!

But yes, this is completely different from what I've been reading so far (all fantasy haha), but the introduction of the magical phone really did it for me. You would think that Rowell, being mostly a contemporary writer, wouldn't get the whole topic of time travel, right?? WELL I WAS WRONG. It was done so neatly, and it was in the background enough for it to NOT get on my nerves. No plot holes, no intricate science terms, because everything was just accepted after awhile. Sure, Georgie thought she was hallucinating, but that's normal!

I APPROVE

Now, why have I taken off a star?

It was purely for personal reasons, aka MY FEELS. And what DIDN'T HAPPEN. 

Which I will put in as a spoiler, because even though it isn't, I still don't like to imply what has happened and what has not happened:

SO GEORGIE NEVER MENTIONS TO CURRENT-TIME NEAL ABOUT HER PHONE CALLS TO 1998 NEAL. Being a huge fan of reveals, I thought this would be A GREAT REACTION from Neal. He does kind of grow a little confused at the end, BUT HE DOESN'T PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER. Wah.

Haha so yeah, I'm a little mad about that. But either way, I still loved it! Plus, there's a little LGBT in here that made me squee! And also, PUPPIES!

Yes, go read Landline. Order it, buy it, request it from the library. GET YOUR HANDS ON IT.

Also, I have updated my list of Rainbow Rowell books, from my favorite to least favorite:

Fangirl > Eleanor & Park = Landline > Attachments

Top Ten Tuesday #23

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Really Want to Read But Don't Own Yet

This is literally my whole TBR list. Well, almost. But yeah, there are just tons of books I desperately want to read, but just don't have at the moment because of money. But here's my top ten books I need to get my hands on now, because I said so.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix - DO YOU SEE THAT NEW COVER???? Does anyone know when this cover will come out, or if it will be for a certain region (I hope not, please be for the US). The reason why I haven't read this is so that I can obtain this beautiful cover, and the rest of the matching set.

Clariel by Garth Nix - I want to preorder this, but I saw that the new cover is not part of the pre-order. So I will wait. And then I will buy it. AND OBTAIN THIS COVER TOO.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - THIS WILL BE ON EVERY LIST simply because I have not read it and I have not bought it. I swear, the comments I get for not reading this yet.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - I've seen this everywhere and I really, really read it. But sadly I do not own it. *cries*

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Basically anything by Patrick Ness. I don't own a single one of his books, and this makes me sad

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - I want to read an amazing time travel book SO BAD. And it has to be good. Not like the Here and Now. God, that book, ugh.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - THIS WILL HAPPEN I PROMISE. Also the billionth time this book has been on my TTT lists as well. 

The Little Prince (IN FRENCH) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - I refuse to read this book unless 1) I have a copy of it, and 2) it's in legit, French (not the translated one, I want the original).

Talon by Julie Kagawa - I don't care that I didn't like her Fey series that much. I STILL WANT DRAGONS. I love dragons! AND TEEN HUMAN DRAGONS? yes. (This is what it is right?)

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski - I still have to read this, but have failed to obtain a copy of it anytime soon. Ah well.

Yep, that's about it! Feel free to link up your TTTs so I can visit :D

Or I'll just stalk you anyways no big deal.

Review: Eona

Eona by Alison Goodman
Eon #2
Publisher: VIKING by Penguin Group
Release Date: April 19th, 2011
Source: Library
Date Read: 8/17/14 to 8/21/14
637 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰

Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power - and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .

Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic story only Alison Goodman can create.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

So this is the sequel to the book Eon: The Last Dragoneye. Feel free to check out my review of the first book in this duology here.

Chaos. There's a lot of it in this book. Compared to it's prequel, Eona has action in almost all of its chapters. Even when one conflict was resolved, another would pop up immediately. Staying in a camp for rest? Nope the army is right outside its borders.

But man, was it exhilarating to read this.

Following Eona's journey with the resistance group against Emperor Kygo's "evil" uncle, she is still unable to control her power due to the death of all the other Dragoneyes, besides, well you know, Lord Ido the Rat Dragoneye. And honestly, I feel so bad for her. She has a ton of power, can heal anyone, but once she heals someone, she also takes away their will. And because she can control the people she has healed, no one trusts her. And that sucks. If I were Eona, I would've ran so very far away, away from all this betrayal and THE LIES. Oh boy, there are so many lies built on top of each other between Eona and her companions, that's it's hard NOT to feel the second-hand guilt when they are all revealed.

But still, Eona is awesome. I have no idea how she dealt with all of these things at once, especially with the love triangle thing going on. My personal opinion here, but who would want a lover that has a huge pearl like EGG sewn into his neck??? Like no that's gross. But then Lord Ido wasn't a choice for me either, because 1) he's a creep, and 2) the first book, Eon, pretty much convinced he was some old, middle-aged dude. And now I find out he's only 24 and pretty handsome. No no no nope nopity nope.

I have decided to stick with Emperor Kygo, despite the pearl and the times he sometimes doesn't trust Eona.

But Eona on the other hand, has to deal with more. Kygo basically forces Eona to control Ido, and to her it's just incredibly cruel. And then power-hungry Ido also loves Eona because she's also driven by power as well. AND plus he's trying to teach her how to control her power.

I would've been fine with this love triangle if it hadn't been seared into my mind that Ido is some 50 year old creeper. I can't believe he's actually 24. Wut.

And then Eona kind of goes crazy showing off her healing powers. This bothered me a little bit, about how she healed her friend, Chart, who was disfigured. She didn't even bother to ask him first whether he wanted to be healed or not. I mean, of course he wanted to be healed, but he didn't know it meant his will would be compromised. But anyways, I'm glad the book went on to explain how what Eona did was bad, but like what happened at the end of the first book when Eona's physical disability was healed, the disfigurement was also shown in a bad light.

So I'm making this seem like a rant, but it really isn't!! I still loved this book to death! I never once got bored, and the world building is terrific, expanding more on what was said in the first book. After reading this, I understood the different points of Hua and also how Eona's and Lord Ido's Dragoneye powers worked. It was super original, and I applaud Goodman for coming up with something as original as uniting with the dragons of the zodiac.

And as in the last book, Lady Dela the Contraire also appears, and she's just as awesome. Then more side characters were introduced, who are part of the resistance group against Sethon. Personally, I only cared for Eona, Kygo, Lady Dela, and Ryko, but the other characters still added to the plot.

BUT THAT END. UGH IT JUST ENDED AND I'M FRUSTRATED. Seriously, it just ended right after. You need some epilogue....RIGHT????

Excuse me while I go drown in all of my feels.

Stacking the Shelves #8

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!


Won!

Thanks Kristen @ My Friends Are Fiction for hosting the giveaway, and thank you Random House for sending me The Fire Wish!

e-ARCs

  

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma - Thank you Algonquin Books for approving me for this March 2015 release! I know it's so far off! I liked the cover, but other than that I have no idea what it's about. Also, I can't send this to my Kindle, because Netgalley hates me?? Idk.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - THIS WAS A READ NOW YES I AM SO EXCITED.

Melt by Selene Castrovilla - So Paula @ Her Book Thoughts gushed about this, so I will read it as well. It's also Read Now on Netgalley!



I recently completed the ALS ice bucket challenge today, while also donating $10 to the cause. ALS, also known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which affects around 30,000 people in the US, by slowly shutting down their motor neurons. For anyone who doesn't know about the craze in the US, it's basically where you either dump a bucket of ice water on your head and donate $10, or donate $100. I chose the former, and although it was really cold, I did have a lot of fun! :P
(for more info, check out www.alsa.org)

Also, I did watch The Giver movie that recently came out a week ago. All I can say is that the movie was pretty good, if you disregard the book. Oh well.


Thanks for reading! Feel free to link up us usual!

Read Play Blog: Favorite Gaming Genres!

Read Play Blog is a meme about video games and books, posted every 16th of the month. Bloggers are encouraged to answer a discussion question, and recommend a video game that is similar to a book they liked. Hosted by Happy Indulgence Books & Read Me Away.

So even though I'm a month late, and it's not the 16th, I've decided to hop on Jeann's new meme that combines books AND video games together! This is technically the second post of hers, and I haven't been able to come up with a post until now. So I guess I'll just leave these until the 22nd of each month? Sound good?

Today's Topic: What is your favorite gaming genre?

I play a ton of games, ranging from the PS3, to the Nintendo DS, or the Gameboy Advance SP. So, let me just tell you my two favorite genres. Yes, I can't even narrow it down to one. Sorry not sorry.

Let's start with the first :D Be prepared!

Puzzles

  

I absolutely loved all of the Professor Layton games for the Nintendo DS. This is literally full of puzzles, PUZZLES ARE EVERYWHERE, be warned! I have grown to be wary of the line Professor Layton always comes up with "This reminds of a puzzle", and then BAM, another puzzle based on an APPLE. All of the games in this series is point and click, and the story behind each mystery is beyond amazing!

ACE ATTORNEY! I have fallen in love with every single character from all the games, except for Dual Destinies because I can't play it. This is a game based on logic, contradictions and figuring out the truth. It all takes place in either the courtroom, or at the crime scene. It is also a point and click game, as in you don't use the arrows to control the character. ALSO, it features hilarious lines such as this:

  

NOTICE: Ace Attorney does not portray the process of a real courtroom case, unfortunately

Then there's Portal 2, which I also loved so much because of Wheatley and potato GLaDOS! Oh, and don't forget to mention that the puzzles in it involving the placing of two portals is so incredibly original and fun. The storyline is that you, a mute, maybe brain damaged, test subject, is being forced to participate in experiments involving portals by the AI that killed all the scientists. It's still a lot of fun though! I haven't had the chance to play the first Portal sadly.

Lastly, there's my favorite cute little sackboy, from Little Big Planet. I really want to classify this as a puzzle game, because you have to find ALL the stickers. Plus, it is multiplayer, and you must interact with your friends in little puzzle like games to acquire all the stickers. IT IS ADORABLE!  

Action

 

 

Assassin's Creed is literally my favorite series. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when the PS4 game comes out, and I don't have a PS4. Out of all the games, my favorite Assassin has got to be Ezio (AC2, Revelations, Brotherhood). Basically, the story of the game is to ASSASSINATE ALL THE TEMPLARS! And the conspiracy theories in this game, wow it's almost as if the developers are trying to tell us something about the world.

My favorite inappropriate line in ACII

I'm currently playing Bioshock, and loving the creepiness of it all. Seriously, at the beginning, I moved very slowly and checked all corners. Now, I just whack my wrench around and kill tons of splicers. I'm getting really good at the game, but I DON'T PLAY THIS AT NIGHT! I really need to write a post dedicated to the world of Rapture, a world run by rich people, under the sea, away from civilization, all focused on genetically enhanced humans (gone wrong). It takes place after FDR and the Great Depression I think, or during? Not sure.

MASS EFFECT! To date I've only finished Mass Effect 2, and started Mass Effect 3. I stopped playing ME3 because I accidentally killed a key player. It was very sad. I may either continue, or wait until I buy the first Mass Effect through the PSN and start all over. Basically, this game takes place in SPACE. And every dialogue action you choose affects the storyline. There are tons of missions on different planets and it's tons of fun! There's a lot of info though.

I think everyone has heard of Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls by now. It's a never ending, dragon filled game, which has millions of side quests and things to do. Seriously though, dragons come at least 5 times a day :P

Both!

 

AND THEN THERE ARE THESE TWO GAMES. Both of these games actually combine action and puzzles together! And they are simply amazing. The first is the Uncharted Series, which is all about Nathan Drake, the treasure hunter. Of course everything he gets involved in turns to shit (sorry for my potty mouth). The first game involved the lost city of El Dorado.....and ZOMBIES. And within the game, there are puzzles you need to solve in order to move further along. And then, Tomb Raider is just awesome because of Lara Croft. And there are also puzzles hidden around for you to solve!

I'm so sorry for the long post, but as you can see, I AM OBSESSED. I have played and loved so many video games, that it is impossible to mention them all!

Honorable Mentions: J-Role Playing Games, such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 13.

As I said before, I am currently playing Bioshock. And if I were to recommend one of these games to someone, I think it would be Portal 2. It's not just mindless shooting, but then it's also not boring either. However, some of the puzzles ARE really hard! I can't find a book to compare to it though :/

Thanks so much for reading haha! Also thanks to Jeann and Read Me Away for hosting such an awesome meme!