Al
Dreams of Gods and Monsters was quite a bit longer than the previous two installments, and it sure felt like it took longer to read. 613 pages packed with lots of action, plot twists, and characters old and new. Instead of wasting breath on a full summary of the story, here's a synopsis in a nutshell: Jael, emperor of the Seraphim, has taken select troops through a portal to Earth to seek weapons. All the world watches the arrival of this “heavenly host” while at the same time, the bodies of monsters are found near the Sahara desert. Angels and demons? Yep. On the other side of the portal in Eretz, Karou and Akiva make a fragile peace between their two small armies, and prepare to bring the fight to Jael. Add in some personal character struggles, Storm Chasers, fallen worlds, Faerers, Stelians, and a huge bruise in the sky called the Cataclysm, and voila, you've got this book.
The Good
New characters. The addition of new characters in this book was refreshing and gave me a chance to be frustrated (a good thing). Eliza was an enigma; I couldn't wait to figure out just what her terrifying dream encompassed and who the heck she was. And once I found out just who she was....whoah. I definitely wasn't expecting that! In addition to revealing Eliza's true character, the book also reveals Razgut's past. The reader finally gets to find out why he is a “fallen” angel.
A realistic struggle between two armies who were trained to hate one another. Chimaera and Seraphim must make a fragile peace in order to bring down a common enemy: Jael. I enjoyed the difficulties both armies faced as they shifted their worldviews and came together to fight.
Karou and Akiva. Together. Finally!!
A not so happy ending. Yes, Karou and Akiva finally get together. He finally reveals his true, beautiful smile, they kiss, and they make a home together, in heart and in life. But....there is still another fight coming. A fight against the real monsters that lurk on the other side of the Cataclysm. I love that while the main characters get their bit of happy, not all is necessarily right with the world. There is more to come.
The Bad
Honestly, there was really nothing bad about this book, but...it did feel a bit messy at times with all the plots going on at once and the shifting back and forth between Earth and Eretz. Minor though, compared to the overall awesomeness.
Overall Rating
5 out of 5 - I would love to have this book in my collection, and I would definitely read again. Would recommend to any fan of non-traditional YA fantasy.
Quotes
“It was a new idea for him, that happiness wasn't a mystical place to be reached or won – some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it – but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as your gear and supplies. Food, weapons, happiness.” Akiva p.445
“Warm with wonderment, a smile so beautiful it ached. It crinkled his eyes, and shaped his beauty into another kind of astonishing, a better kind, because it was the astonishment of happiness, and that reshapes everything. It makes hearts whole and lives worth living. Karou felt it fill her, dizzy and delirious, and she fell a little deeper in love.” p.543
This review and others can be found on my blog: electricYAWP
Prudence has spent almost her entire life living with Sarah, a middle-aged woman living an average life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. One day Sarah doesn't return home. A few days later Sarah's daughter Laura and her husband Josh appear to gather belongings and vacate Sarah's apartment for her. Prudence, confused and distraught over Sarah's absence, is taken from her home to settle into a new life with Laura and Josh.
As Prudence tries to figure out what has happened to Sarah, she must adjust to life in Laura and Josh's pristine Upper West Side flat. Shortly after the move, Josh loses his job at a music magazine. He and Laura struggle to communicate, and Laura worries more than ever about maintaining financial security so that the worst won't happen again – that they won't become homeless, just as she and her mother did when she was only 14.
Laura grapples with haunting past memories and angry feelings towards her deceased mother. Through the anger and the uncertainty of what the future holds, Prudence provides much-needed comfort and comic relief. As the characters' relationships change and the past is confronted, it becomes clear just how binding love can be and how it can truly save the day.
This book is mostly told from the point of view of Prudence, a polydactyl tabby cat. I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this; even though Prudence's voice seemed a little snooty and/or cornball (which, what cat isn't aloof or goofy at some point or another?) at times, it was a refreshing POV. The reader gets to examine human interactions and idiosyncrasies from a feline perspective. Kind of interesting.
There were also some chapters written from Sarah and Laura's points of view, which helped to fill the novel and give critical insight into past events. I thought that the balance between past and present was good, and I never felt that important back story info was missing.
Gwen Cooper's writing style was easy to read, and her characters felt relatively well-developed considering how short this book is.
View the full review as well as others at my blog: electricYAWP
Laini Taylor has created a beautifully written and extremely original book in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I was hooked from the first page by her gorgeous, prose-like writing. It was never cloying or overdone. Her characters were fantastic. Karou, Brimstone, Issa, Akiva, Zuze, Mik – I couldn't help but fall in love with them. As histories and true identities were revealed, the character interactions gained an even greater depth.
Akiva & Madrigal? Swoon. Their dream? Maybe a little far-reaching, but beautiful all the same. What happened to both of them? Heartbreaking.
The last few chapters were somewhat painful to read, but in the best possible way. The tension between Karou and Akiva and the uncertainty of their futures made for a great cliffhanger ending.
I absolutely loved this book and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone I know. Miss Taylor, thank you for giving something so unique and lovely to us bookworms! (And thanks to my coworker for recommending it!)
The Good:
Angels vs. Chimaera. Much more than one-dimensional good vs. evil.
Great range of characters and relationships.
Humor, anguish, love, hatred, malice, mystery, and HOPE.
The Bad:
nothing, as far as I'm concerned
For my full review on this book and others, please visit: electricyawp.wordpress.com
Maybe I should have read this when I was younger, and I may have gotten more from it. For some reason, I could not focus on this book. The writing style was a little too formal for a children's book (IMO) and I found it to be kind of a drag. Sure, the themes of light overcoming darkness and love being all you need may have won it the Newbery, but I'd MUCH rather spend my time reading a Narnia book than this. Not sure if Madeleine L'Engle gets better the further into the series you go, but for now I'll move on to better things.
I picked this book up from off the shelf because of the colorful cover (yes, I judge that way) and because it was one of NPR's featured books in their “Chapter a Day” series.
From the first page I enjoyed Maloy's style of writing, and I loved Sarah, the main character. It was refreshing to read a story that came from the point of view of a 70-something woman...one who was going through a major shift in her life. The love between Sarah & Charles, the larger family dynamics, and the beautiful and pensive writing on the surrounding Vermont landscape captivated me and kept the pages turning.
The book is divided into two parts, which I didn't at first realize. However, the division is a nice marker between who Sarah was, and who her character becomes. The first part is a switch-off between Sarah and Charles' histories, with snippets of reminiscences, and the present day - a very tense scene which ultimately leads to Charles' death.
The second part chronicles the changes that Sarah goes through after her husband's death. She expands her thinking and viewpoints, opens her home to family and strangers, and embraces her grief. All the while, Sarah remains a very human character; she is so easy to relate to. Even though I'm 50 years younger, I found myself wishing that I could talk to her in person...sometimes even hoping that I could have some aspects of her in me when I reach that age. She also reminded me of a teacher I had, which is perhaps why I liked her so much.
Every Last Cuckoo was a compelling, quick, and satisfying read, full of warm characters and beautiful scenery.
p.s. There are two instances that grabbed my attention more intensely than the rest of the book. Both have to do with Sarah being pensive and ruminating on photos or what-have-you....and the author wrote her as “representing multitudes.” Uncle Walt!! (I contain multitudes...) Even if she didn't mean to reference Whitman, these beautiful parts of the book earned brownie points with me :)
I thought that Divergent, the first book in this series, was a relatively good read; Insurgent was, I felt, even better. Unlike the Twilight series, where the books went downhill as they were pumped out, this series seems to be getting better.
I have been looking for a fun series to read for a while, and this is hitting the spot. Insurgent was full of just enough action, suspense, a dash of romance...and the fact that it takes place in a cordoned-off, futuristic Chicago rocks my socks.
Everyone seems to frown on this series because it doesn't perfectly embody the dystopian novel. So what? I say the books have extremely interesting and strong characters, a storyline different from anything else I've read, and overall decent, if not excellent writing. Sure, there are a lot of unanswered questions. That's what (for me) made Insurgent “un-put-down-able.” It had two major plot climaxes and an awesome cliffhanger ending. I now have to wait until fall of 2013 before I can read the next installment. I haven't looked forward to a book release this much since Harry Potter.
Overall, Insurgent was, in my opinion, fantastic. Not perfect by any means, but definitely fun. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat, developing theories, and yelling out loud when characters got killed off.
Recommended.
Wonderful writing style, a good view into human emotions and behaviors, very quick read...but this book left me wanting more. It spanned several decades (yes, as told in the book description), but I was disappointed when each chapter found the characters in a new year, a new situation...but without necessarily finishing up what had happened in the previous chapter. Too jumpy.
For being a tale of love between Agnes & Pierre, I found an in-depth look at these two characters lacking. I felt that there was much more focus on their families and the trials & tribulations they were going through, as opposed to what Agnes & Pierre were feeling. Brief glimpses into the main couple's love and emotions were not enough for me, sorry.
Worth the read, but wish it could have been longer/more in depth, or something. Will try reading Suite Francaise at some point, for sure.
The Forgotten Garden was a great book. Surely the longest one I've read in a very long time, but totally worth it. The plot was well and intricately woven; the author's use of multiple story lines running along at the same time actually worked really well. One thing I really enjoyed was how the garden of the book's title was neatly tied to Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden...I mean, she actually became a character in this book, and even though her appearance was brief, it was an interesting idea to include her and make the Forgotten Garden of Blackhurst Estate the inspiration for Burnett's own children's book.
This book was actually a pretty good read. The cover is what initially caught my eye (I know, that's not what you should judge on...); there are also really great illustrations at each chapter. There's a bit of adventure, mystery, suspense, and stuff about plants, Brazilian natives and wacky creatures...a different book, but still good.
