Wheels Up Review

I received this book from the GoodReads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.  Normally, I'm not a big fan of non-fiction novels. As a whole, I love history and anything to do with it. However, it is hard to find books that are written in such a way that make history fun to read about. With that being said, Wheels Up is not one of those novels. Taylor's renditions of his epic career, from The Citadel to his retirement from Delta Airlines, are just as moving as they are fascinating. He presents many life lessons in a way that are easy to understand and thought provoking. Additionally, his insight on topics ranging from the Vietnam War to the rise of the airline industry is phenomenal. Most notably, Taylor was able to convey his adventures in a way that made sense. Although flying an airplane is known to be beyond difficult, his explanations of serious aviation topics made it seem as simple as baking a cake. As a result, this makes for an easier and much more enjoyable reading experience. Overall. I truly loved this book and highly recommend this book to anyone.

Fifty Shades Darker Review

*takes a deep breath* Okay, I will admit it. With the first book being as good as it was, I was not expecting this book to be that good. Given the fact that this book is in the middle of a trilogy, I was fully prepared for it to suffer from "middle book syndrome". With that being said...this book is amazing . Ms. James went above and beyond my expectations with this novel. Unlike most trilogies, this middle book provided an immense amount of character development and story progression. It was phenomenal to see Christian and Ana go through so much development. During intense plot points, I was almost in tears because I was in absolute awe at how human these characters had become. Additionally, Ms. James did an incredible job with dealing with difficult concepts in this book, such as suicide, stalking, and severe childhood trauma. While some authors have a tendency to mention these topics but just sweep them up under a proverbial rug or try to "neatly" sort them out, she dealt with them head-on but in a sincere matter. Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and will definitely re-read it in the future!

The Silent Wife Review

After spending some time pondering about this book, I would have to say that I am in the middle of the road when it comes to my feelings about it. There were some things that I absolutely adored about it and others where I was tempted to throw the book out of my window out of sheer frustration. Pros  * The "psycho-babble"- As a psychology major, I loved getting to see what I am studying put into practice, albeit in fictional form. It gave me a different perspective on how to view difficult concepts and theories. It also shows that the author didn't just come up with this book out of thin air; she took her time with this piece and thoroughly researched it. * The location- I've visited the Chicagoland area many times in my life and have read several novels where the authors didn't do the location justice. Kudos to the author for properly describing the grit and glamour of Chicago wonderfully. Cons  * The "psycho-babble"- Although I am a psychology major and could understand most of the concepts fairly well, there were times when I was thoroughly and utterly lost in what the author was saying. A reader without a strong background or training in psychology would struggle to understand what the author was talking about. * The characters- I knew, going into this book, that the characters were going to be difficult to read about and were going to lack a moral conscious. However, these characters were beyond despicable. I truly couldn't stand these characters. A little dislike is alright, but the author made these characters unlikable to the point where I had difficulty maintaining the desire to finish this book. Overall, this book was a decent thriller, but it's not one that I would pick up again. 3/5 Stars

Fifty Shades of Grey Review

Despite what a lot of people have said about this book (to include a large portion of my family), I really enjoyed this book. Christian is one of my favorite male characters of all time. He is a tormented soul, unlike most cookie cutter "perfect" love interests featured in other novels. Anastasia is another favorite character of mine as well. Instead of just accepting what she had to deal with and "going with the flow" so to speak, she struggled with herself and her relationship with Christian. In these struggles, we find quite a bit of character development between both main leads, which is an important aspect for me. I am truly looking forward to reading Fifty Shades Darker! 5/5 Stars

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Review

This book is one of the few books that truly broke my heart. The sadness and tremendous tragedy that was present throughout this time period was portrayed quite well throughout. The author did an excellent job portraying the strengths (the Quakers assisting the Japanese-Americans during their time of trouble) and weaknesses (the extreme racism towards those who were of "enemy descent") of American society at the time. With that being said, this book had its flaws. The author was at times heavy-handed with emotional drama. Due to this, it made certain plot points unbelievable and resembled that of a soap opera. I will not get into spoilers, but I will say that the V-J Day chapter is a prime example of this tendency. Beyond the issues with soap operatic elements, this book was a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those with an interest in World War 2 history. 4/5 Stars

Sailor Moon Says...I'm back!

Hello everyone!

Several weeks ago, news broke that a new Sailor Moon series would be released this July. Along with the new series itself, many other forms of franchising will be taking place, including a new set of trading cards, video games, and movies. Additionally, this series will be released onto Hulu months prior to the set dates for the DVD releases. Unlike many anime series' releases, this will give otakus a chance to "try before you buy", a rarity in this genre. 

For many people, this stupendous news comes after years of disappointments following what seemed like endless licensing issues. On the other side of the coin, it should have been expected, given the warm reception that the re-release of the manga volumes has had over the past couple of years. The consistently strong fan base that has supported the series from the get go should have also been a key indicator that this series would have been resurrected from the dead, much along the likes of Family Guy and Futurama. 

With that being said, this blogger (and I'm sure quite a few others as well) welcomes this news with mixed emotions. I am thrilled beyond belief that my favorite anime series of all time is getting another shot at stardom (no pun intended...okay maybe a little). I have been waiting for years for a chance to see this awesome series again. However, I have a slight amount of trepidation with how they will remake this classic anime legend. In the past few years, there have been some amazing anime remakes, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood being the first to come to my mind. Despite the incredible advances in animation since the early 1990's when the show first premiered in Japan, flashy art styles cannot mask terrible voice acting or poor plot lines. As much as I would like to have high hopes for this series, I will keep my expectations at a reasonable level. However, this does not imply that I will behave like a sensible human being and *not* run to the nearest available computer to watch it when it's released.

How about you all? What new anime series are you looking forward to see in the upcoming future? :)

Hello and Welcome to CyberChick's Cyberspace!

Hello everyone!

I would like to welcome everybody to my little piece of the giant "World Wide Web"!

I hope to create a space where everyone can chat about interesting topics and have a great time. 

A little bit about me...

I'm a 20 something girl who loves all topics geeky and nerdy. Anime, manga, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, video games- you name it, there's a solid chance that I'm interested in it. I could talk endlessly about them, so I figured why not share my love for these things with others? 

With that being said, I can't wait to meet everyone and to get to know you all! :)