The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

My Review
This book... Oh my god. I can't even. Wow. A masterpiece...
I absolutely adored this book. I recommend it to everyone. Seriously, this book needs to be more widespread. I even heard that a movie company is working on a film for it. This fandom needs more members!
In this story, London has been plagued for fifty years by the Problem. Ghosts, also known as Visitors, are haunting the streets and households. Psychic agencies have sprung up all over to battle the Visitors and one of them, the smallest, is called Lockwood & Co. Lucy Carlyle, the main protagonist, gets recruited by Anthony Lockwood, the owner of the agency. Together with their sidekick, George, they make a living subduing Visitors. One day Lockwood and Lucy went to the Hope's home to stop the haunting. There they encounter a very dangerous Type Two ghost that really manages to mess up their lives. Lockwood & Co. gets a heavy fine for damaging the client's property. Now they have to somehow pay the fine or Lockwood & Co. will be shut down.
Wow, the plot of this book is amazing. I loved the idea, that they had ghosts and a lot of action in this book. Throughout the entire book, I never got bored. There was action on every page. Rapier fights, mysterious ghosts and an awesome plot. There were always some hints to the next plot twist which I didn't notice at the start and when the plot twist kicked in, I was like "Oh yeah!" I loved everything, but I think that Lucy forgave Lockwood to easily. She was angry and then the next second she was talking about cocoa. I also wished to see Lockwood and George use the tablecloth in the kitchen to write obscene messages to each other. Now that would have been amusing to read about.
The characters were amazingly awesome. Lucy was an immediately likable character. The story is told out of her perspective and she is an awesome main character. She sometimes thought ahead and considered the condition or the dangers carefully. On the other hand, she also does rush into situations without any information about the ghosts along with Lockwood. Lockwood himself was really awesome. He is very mysterious because he doesn't talk about his family and also doesn't talk about his theories, leaving Lucy and George utterly confused. I sometimes wonder what is going on in his head, I wished there would have been occasional chapters told out of his perspective. By the way, I totally ship Lucy and Lockwood together. They are perfect for each other! I'm not alone, the whole fandom also sees signs of Locklyle throughout the entire book. But the author didn't make them have a relationship, agh! Buuut... I still think that George is my favourite character because his off-hand comments are really funny. Even though he did seem annoying at the beginning, I did start to like him more when he kept on arguing with Lucy.
The writing style was amazing. We get thrown into the story and are immediately sucked into the story. I sometimes think that some descriptions seem rather dull in books, but this book literally never got boring. The entire book also had a subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle humour. The way how everything was written was very interesting and makes the reader want to know what is happening next.
Overall, awesome book. I recommend it to everyone in the world. Just give it a try, it is really good! I can't wait to read the next book! 5 out of 5 stars!

Sir Thursday (The Keys to the Kingdom #4) by Garth Nix

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Following their adventures in the Border Sea, Arthur and Leaf head for home. But only Leaf gets through the Front Door. Arthur is blocked because someone or something has assumed his identity and is taking over his life.
Before Arthur can take action, he is drafted by Sir Thursday and forced to join the Glorious Army of the Architect. The Army has its headquarters in the Great Maze, a defensive area of the House. Half of the Maze has already been dissolved by Nothing, and hordes of Nithlings emerge regularly to attack the rest. If the Nithling invasion can overcome the Army and the Great Maze, the House will be lost and the whole universe destroyed.
While Leaf tries to banish Arthur's doppelganger on Earth, Arthur must survive his basic training, avoid getting posted to the Front and work out how he can free Part Four of the Will and gain the Fourth Key from Sir Thursday.

My Review
Oh my god, I need the next book!
After having survived the Border Sea, Arthur is called back to Monday's Dayroom by Dame Primus to receive some grave news. While drinking his orange juice though, he almost chokes on a penny made by Sir Thursday, indicating that Arthur has been drafted into the Glorious Army of the Architect. Over in the Great Maze, Arthur has to survive the training.
Ever since the last book, the plot has been different from the first two books. A lot of new characters were introduced and Arthur also made a new friend and had several near-death experiences. I know I have said it before, but I mean it when I say that you never get bored when you read this book. I have otherwise said everything I thought about these books in my previous reviews, this book never dragged in any part and there was almost always some new information. This time, the story is told out of Arthur's and Leaf's perspective.
As I said before, a lot of new characters were introduced in this book. We meet Sir Thursday, his Times and also Fred Gold. Since Arthur doesn't wants to be discovered, he had to have a false identity with the name Ray Green. I found that Sir Thursday was a very interesting character and his rages were sometimes a bit funny. I liked his Times as well. Noon and Dusk were interesting characters as well because there is just something about them that makes me like them. I also realized, that I really, really hate Dame Primus. Like really. The separate parts of the Will were alright, but when they merge with Dame Primus... ugh. She is just unbearable. Everytime she has a showdown with Arthur, I am always happy every time she loses. :)
I really look forward to reading the next book and give this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Trial by Fire (Worldwalker #1) by Josephine Angelini

Book Blurb  (from Goodreads):
This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected

My Review: 

Last year I had read the Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini and loved it, so I had high expectations for this book. I probably should of gotten round to reading this much sooner and I don't know why but I was sort of hesitant to do so, probably because I didn't want to taint my image of this author but I had no reason to worry because this book lived up to most, if not all, of my expectations. 

The plot in this book was paced passed but you were able to follow the plot easily since everything was well explained and there were no questions left unanswered unless it was for suspense but the end of the book was sort of confusing and I wasn't quite sure what had just happened so I had to look up the book blurb of the second book to figure it out, although I think that this problem only applies to me. If you do read this book and you are confused at the end as well, the second book blurb kind of tells you what had just happened. 

The characters in this book were well developed especially the main character Lily. We got to understand her well in the 374 pages of this book, and I came to understand and anticipate her decisions which made me feel like I actually knew her. She is also a stubborn character, always not doing what she was told until she actually realized the consequences of her actions but I suppose that without her stubbornness the story wouldn't actually be that interesting. I would now like to take some time to talk about Rowan because I feel like he literally stepped out of the pages of Heir of Fire and walked straight into this book, or maybe it is the other way around.... just checked, both books came out on the same day (There you go, your fun fact for the day!).  But to be honest I don't really care what book he walked out of because he fit in perfectly in both. He was strong but also sympathetic and always cared about Lilly's needs and protecting her. Lillian, Lilly's evil 'twin' was creepy yet interesting to read about. We didn't figure out what she actually wanted and what forced her to be the way she is until the very end and I still don't understand her. I am defiantly intrigued to continue reading about her in the second book which comes out this year (can't wait!). 

All in all I give this book five out of five stars. 

Ana Huang - "All I've Never Wanted"

Hi! This time I interviewed Ana Huang, author of the amazingly awesome book "All I've Never Wanted".

1) What inspired you to write "All I've Never Wanted"?

All I've Never Wanted was actually inspired by an Asian drama I saw when I was sixteen called Meteor Garden. (There's also a Korean version called Boys over Flowers and Japanese/manga version called Hana Yori Dango). I really liked the plot and thought it would be fun to put my own twist and characters into the story.

2) How did you come up with the character names and are their personalities based on your life?

I chose their names based on names I actually like and what I think works best for their personality. I also wanted a pretty diverse cast so their names reflect that. Maya's half-Chinese, half Swedish, hence the last name Lindberg; Carlo's Hispanic, Roman is part Italian, etc. Some of their personalities are definitely based on people I know in real life--for example, her grandmother is based on my own grandma, except mine isn't quite as crazy! Others I added because I thought they can contribute to the group and the story as a whole.

3) If you had to choose one of the four Scions, which one would you pick and why?

 Hmmm....that's a hard one, but if I had to choose, I would go with Parker. Personally, Roman is my favorite, but he is a little controlling and hot-headed for a real-life boyfriend. Parker is smooth and charming, some might say too smooth and charming, but he is also very sweet and loyal when it's the right girl. Plus, he's not exactly hard to look at! 

4) What did you learn from writing this book?

This was the first full-length novel I ever wrote, and I think the main thing I learned was patience and perseverance. Before I wrote it, I had all these scenes that I wanted to include, and I had to learn how to not rush through a story just to get to those scenes. I had to build the plot believably. In addition, I got writer's block a few times, which was frustrating and almost made me want to give up, but I pushed through it and I'm so glad I did! 

5) What are you working on now? What is your next project?

Right now I'm working on re-writing another one of my stories for publication. It's called If We Ever Meet Again and is also on Wattpad. That story is more mature and realistic (it's a college romance) and it's based loosely on my own study abroad experiences. For All I've Never Wanted, I mainly just edited it, but I'm actually re-writing If We Ever Meet Again--putting in new scenes, cutting out old ones, etc. At the moment, I haven't decided if I will self-publish again or submit it to a traditional publishing house, but regardless, I'm very excited about this project!

Don't forget to check out my review here

All I've Never Wanted by Ana Huang

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
The Scions were the four richest, most powerful guys at Valesca Academy, and they ruled the school with iron fists. Everyone wanted to date them or be them...everyone, that is, except Maya Lindberg, who just wanted to avoid them until she could graduate.

She almost succeeded, until an ill-advised outburst on her part put her right in the Scions' path. Just like that, one became her fake boyfriend, one her unwanted matchmaker, one her guardian angel, and the one she couldn't stand the most? Yeah, he's her new housemate.

A Young Adult romantic comedy that explores what happens when a girl gets everything she never asked for, including a puppy, a new wardrobe, and, possibly, even true love.

My Review

***I received the eBook free as a review copy from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*** 

There is one word that comes to my mind when I think about this book: epic.
Seriously though, this book was really good. Right from the start, I was interested in keeping on reading. This book captured me from the beginning. I just kept on reading and reading, wanting to know more.
The main protagonist of the book is called Maya Lindberg and she goes to Valesca Academy, one of the most highly rated schools in the country. But it turns out that the students in Valesca are snobby and like the typical spoiled, rich kids. Valesca Academy is ruled by four teenage boys, who also happen to be the richest kids in the world. These are called the Scions. Roman Fiori is the richest and the brattiest. Carlo Tevasco is the kind of guy who cares for others and doesn't care about their status. Parker Remington is a womanizer. Like seriously. He has been with every single girl in Valesca but he can be very nice and charismatic if he wants to be. Then there are the twins Zack and Adriana Perry. While at a party, Maya got very mad at Roman and started yelling at him and that was how the Scions became interested in her.
I realize that the plot is a bit cliche, but I didn't mind that because I was still immensely interested in the story. I really liked the parts when Maya and Roman hated each other and everyone was trying to ship them together. I also really loved all of the conversations the characters were having. They weren't the kind of conversations that sound like how little kids were talking. These characters talked like normal people and their comebacks and insults were the best. Immediately, on the first page, you are introduced to Maya and get thrown in the action which interests the reader.
Maya was a very likable character. She was that kind of girl, who thought that she was average, was not snobby but was very beautiful. Maya argues with Roman and her insults and comebacks were awesome. Overall, she was a helpful person and trusts almost everyone. Roman Fiori was just acting like a spoiled child. Even though I liked him, he kept on throwing temper tantrums and doesn't have any feelings. I didn't really like Zack and Venice. They were way too hyper for my taste. Especially Venice, she kept running after puppies for no reason whatsoever. I think that I really liked the  characters Parker Remington or Roman Fiori. Parker was kind of funny at the beginning and I loved his comments and conversations with Maya. Roman was as annoying as he was lovable, in his own strange way. I think that my favourite character was Maya's grandmother. She was funny and she was so weird and likable in her own way. I found it hilarious that she always insisted for Maya to have a boyfriend and produce her great grandchildren.
The writing style is especially what makes the reader want to keep reading a book. All I've Never Wanted has a very good writing style of which the reader never gets bored. The writing style sucks the reader into the story. There weren't too many descriptions and the action was written nice, crisp and clear. Even the hot and steamy parts were written in such a way that didn't make the readers feel awkward.
In conclusion, I absolutely loved this book. The characters were amazing and the writing style was also awesome. I normally prefer fantasy books over contemporary books, but I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone. Anyone can read this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

Burning Four Kingdoms (The Amulet #1)

Hey guys!
I decided to try my luck at writing a story on Wattpad. The story is called Burning Four Kingdoms and my username is called TheBookBirds. If you would check it out, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

http://w.tt/1GZT8oO

Drachenbrut (Die Feuerreiter Seiner Majestät #1) by Naomi Novik

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Als die HMS Reliant eine französische Fregatte aufbringt, kann Captain Will Laurence noch nicht ahnen, wie sehr sich sein Leben bald schon ändern wird. Denn die Fregatte hat eine höchst kostbare Fracht an Bord: ein noch nicht voll ausgebrütetes Drachenei, dem schon bald eine jener sagenhaft mächtigen Flugkreaturen entschlüpfen wird. Will Laurence weiß um seine Pflicht: Er muss dem Drachen einen Namen geben und so der lebenslange menschliche Begleiter dieses Geschöpfes werden. Auch wenn das bedeutet, dass er die Planken seines geliebten Schiffes für immer verlassen und sich in die Lüfte erheben muss – als ein Feuerreiter Seiner Majestät...





My Review
If you haven't guessed yet, I like fantasy. And that means I love dragons. Yes, I picked the book up because it has dragons in it. Deal with it. :)
OK, so let's get started. This book is taking place during the Napoleonic War. Will Laurence is the captain of the British ship Reliant. They captured a French ship in battle called, Amite, and while he and his crew searched through the storage area, they found a dragon egg. When the dragon hatched, Laurence called him Temeraire and the young dragon picked Laurence as his rider. Now Laurence has to join the air force. And find out what breed of dragon Temeraire is. Together they also have to try to complete the training.
Now, I must say that the plot of this book was certainly very interesting but there wasn't any back-stabbing or anything like that so it wasn't a very deep book, but that's alright. I was very interested in trying to find out what breed Temeraire is and believe me, there were a lot of different breeds of dragons. I also really liked reading about how Temeraire was growing up, since dragons grow up quicker than humans. This book is pretty much following Temeraire's life from a baby to a young dragon. There was also a lot of action involved in this book, involving battles, serious problems and also several deaths and near-death experiences. I was really into reading this book except for the beginning because it took me a while to start liking the book. I also realized that there were a lot of names in this book which I had to remember because then  a lot of them were mentioned later on in the book and I had to quickly remember who the characters were talking about but after a while you just know who they are. At the end, the book also contained a few informational pages about different dragon breeds by Edward Howe. There were also several sketches of how the main dragon breeds looked like.
I will talk about the characters now. Overall, I think that Levitas and Temeraire were my favourite characters. My favourite parts in the book was reading about Temeraire and Levitas. Yes, I am obsessed with dragons. Temeraire was a very intelligent dragon and very loyal to Laurence. He cares deeply about his friends and is ready to fight anyone who is threatening them and Laurence. Even without anyone threatening anyone, Temeraire seems a bit too eager for a fight. And he also loves books and is obviously a math genius. Laurence was also a interesting character. He was raised as a gentleman and therefore has very good manners. He is very kind and always follows his heart. I think that he was a very likable character.
The writing style was also very enjoyable. There were descriptions of the surroundings, but not too elaborated. Naomi Novik focused more on the action. Although there were a lot of battle words which I didn't understand, but you learned to understand them out of context or just guess.
I really loved how the author managed to blend real history with dragons so perfectly without any clashes which I found amazing since I also happen to be interested in history. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Sleepless (Red Eye #2) Lou Morgan

Book Blurb (From goodreads) 
Young, rich and good-looking, Izzy and her friends lead seemingly perfect lives. But exams are looming and at a school like Clerkenwell, failure is not an option. Luckily, Tigs has a solution. A small pill that will make revision a breeze and help them get the results they need. Desperate to succeed, the group begin taking the study drug. It doesn’t take long before they realize there are far worse things than failing a few exams.










My Review
Sleepless  taught me three important lessons: 
1. Never take a pill 
2. Never trust your friends
3. Never take an exam 
Good lessons right? Although I think that it might be hard to follow through with the third. I don't really fancy being homeless.
The plot of this book was fast paced but did not have many twists or turns until the very last page. It was quite straight forward most of the time and we never had to wait too long to get more information and even when we did it was almost never a surprise since you could easily guess everything when you really think about it. The last sentence of...



The last sentence of the book was exactly like that previous sentence. The book literally ends in the middle of a sentence with a dot dot dot and gives us no closer for as to what actually happened. It can see what the author was trying to do with the suspense and wanting us to fill in the gap and guess what happened next but i don't think that it actually worked. Yes, I am sprouting theories about what happened after the book ended but I think that this kind of cliffhanger needs an actual sequel to make it okay. We will not be getting that sequel, I checked.
The characters reminded me of a lot of characters that I have read about before. You know, the seamlessly perfect person isn't so perfect after all? Yeah, you know what I am talking about (hopefully). Sometimes I think that Izzy just needed a nice little hard slap in the face to wake her up from her stupidity. Who the hell takes a pill which your friend bought of off the internet? The other characters where more mysterious and you never really knew what their true intentions were until the very end which created suspense.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

China Dennington - "Standing"

China Dennington

Hey! This time we had the amazing opportunity to interview China Dennington, author of Standing.

1) What inspired you to write "Standing"?

I've always loved to write, so I wrote!

2) What was your writing schedule for this book?

I had the first draft done after a month. From then on I revised it whenever I felt like it and had the time.

3) What would your reaction be if you found out, that you can breathe water, that mermaids are real and that you have to save the world?

It would probably be a lot like Gale's. Breathing underwater would be awesome, I would love to talk with a mermaid, and I would be very worried about trying to save the world.

4) Do you believe the world could be in such a terrible situation, as in the book, in the future?

I'm not sure. It could happen, but I hope it doesn't.

5) What are you working on now? What is your next project?

I'm working on the other two books in The Waterblaze Trilogy. I have a couple of fantasy books I'll be working on publishing after I'm done with the trilogy. Cadence, book two, has a release date of May 31st.

Don't forget to check out the review for Standing here

Versatile Blogger Award

Wow! We can't believe we just got an award! This is our first award and we are so happy that we were nominated!

We were nominated by the awesome bloggers Megan and Cat, over at Books of Fascination. Thank you so much for nominating us! Thank you guys!

RULES:

-Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging.

-Let the bloggers know that you have nominated them.

-Share random 10 facts about yourself.

-Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog.

-Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to display on your blog.

We nominate:

- Laura W @ Blue Eye Books

- Emily @ Luvlie Readings 

- Amour @ Amour's Books

- Catherine @ A New Wave of Terror in Fiction!

- a thousand lives @ Down the Rabbit Hole

- Arya @ AryaTheFangirl

- Ashley @ Hyper Ashley

- The Caffeine Cup

We nominated you guys because we think that your blogs are amazing and that you deserve this award.

10 Random Facts About Angelina

1. I don't buy books. Instead I borrow them from the library and I don't know anyone else who doesn't collect books. :( The only books I've got on my shelf are presents from my friends.

2. According to Jessie, I am unhealthily obsessed with cheese, chocolate, salami and sweets in general. (Pfff, I don't know what she is talking about... Trust me)

3. I have the most evil of evilest laugh. 

4. I speak fluent Meepish. A language which only Jessie and me know how to talk (Example: "Mieptos=Mentos)

5. Normally, when we are in math class and I can't answer a math question, no one, I repeat no one, can answer the question. (Jessie says I am a bit of a math whiz) There was this one time during a math test and I had a question. So I put my hand up and Jessie immediately said:"We are all screwed!"

6. I have never read a horror book or Harry Potter (I can feel your judging eyes through the screen)

7. I am also obsessed with playing Mario games with Jessie (literally, we do nothing else but play Mario games and read)

8. I am a Grade 6 piano player.

9. My absolute favourite animal (has been for years now) is the wolf. This mostly happened because I love to read a lot of wolf-related books.

10. More often than not, me and Jessie blurt out the exact same things at the exact same time and at the exact same pitch. (We seriously creeped out our Spanish teacher)

Bonus 11. More than once people have asked if me and Jessie are dating. For the record, we're not. (We just randomly waltz together when we're dancing)

10 Random Facts About Jessica

1. I often randomly break out into songs

2. Instead of shivering when cold I have quick outbursts which look like I am spazzing out for about a second. (Angelina and I call them glitches) 

3. I do too much sports and often get myself injured and even then I don't take a break (Angelina thinks that I am obsessed)

4. I really like otters

5. If I am using flash cards in a presentation they are usually destroyed and ripped up by the end of it, so much so that I can't read them anymore. 

6. My hair used to be straight until my first hair cut as a kid, my hair grew back really curly. 

7. I grew up next to where they filmed the Harry Potter films in England

8. I love playing Mario games with Angelina

9. I'm allergic to hamsters and metal, and I used to own a hamster knowing that I was allergic and I wear metal. (The logic in this is non-existent)

10. When I am concentrating or thinking I look up to the left corner of my eyes. 

Bonus 11. When I have finished the Fault in Our Stars in school, I got some pretty weird looks from my friends when I was crying outside the door. My teacher even came to comfort me. 

 

Drowned Wednesday (The Keys to the Kingdom #3) by Garth Nix

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Everyone is after Arthur Penhaligon. Strange pirates. Shadowy creatures. And Drowned Wednesday, whose gluttony threatens both her world and Arthur's.

With his unlimited imagination and thrilling storytelling, Garth Nix has created a character and a world that become even more compelling with each book. As Arthur gets closer to the heart of his quest, the suspense and mystery grow more and more intense...








My Review
I really love and recommend this series to you if you haven't tried it yet.
This series is amazing. While reading this I thought that it would be so cool if the House were a real thing and I want to meet all the characters, all the Times, the Morrow Days and all of the Denizens. That would have been the best day of my life, but oh well. Anyways, I'm sidetracking. The book is taking place directly after the second book ended. Arthur has a broken leg and is waiting for Lady Wednesday to pick him up for a luncheon, since she arranged transportation to pick him up and transfer Arthur to the Border Sea, where Drowned Wednesday rules. Now he is in the House with a broken leg and trying to find the Third Part of the Will.
This time the plot of the book is different from the previous two books. We are introduced to the Border Sea, a new demesne of the House with Denizens Made especially for sailing. Arthur has to meet new challenges and face new enemies. Since Leaf visited Arthur while he was being transported into the House, Leaf caught a ride to the Border Sea as well and they both get separated from each other. Arthur gets taken aboard a ship by some friendly Scavengers and discovers more about his enemy, Pirate Feverfew, and about Drowned Wednesday and why she is "drowned". The characters in this book always take risks and try to find the solution to the problems and sometimes things don't go according to plan. Which is fine! There is also a lot of action, near-death experiences and fighting.
I love all of the characters. You know the feeling when you are reading a book and all the characters are so awesome that you cannot decide which one your favourite character is. All of them have qualities that make them likable. So, in this book I don't have a favourite character, although I of course like Arthur. I was surprised by Suzy at first, but then I understood why.
This book always gave me a feeling of excitement and this is just that type of book, where you cannot stop reading. This book did not drag at all. I fully recommend this book to fantasy-lovers and adventurers. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!