Jen

Beautiful, shocking, depressing and moving, an window into a part of Afghanistan's history. I thought it was interesting how much better women's lives were when the Soviets were there. I felt a bit ignorant, made me want to dig into history more.

I enjoyed the characters and the controversial topic is thought provoking but the ending was disappointing, I was actually disappointed in the author for writing it.

I think I've read almost all of his books but it mostly in my 20s, early 30s. While I thought it was funny, I didn't find this book as entertaining as his previous book. Maybe because of simply ‘outgrowing' this author but maybe also because this one didn't quite have the same bite in the humor, the same level of chaos in the hijinks. I was quite pleased to see Skink make an appearance though, definitely my favorite of his characters.

Easy, entertaining read. At times, there's a lot of talk about feelings which when you read two in this series back-to-back, gets a little tired. The magic is fun, towards the end the creative license is stretched but overall still fun to imagine. Good for a quick light read.

I originally read this in 2002 and remembered that I really liked it, I decided to read it again as I had come across a copy in the last year (had borrowed it the first time). While the prose is intense and complete in a way that makes a reader want to bow down to the author, the story is, as it is probably intended to be, somewhat depressing. Maybe it just wasn't what I wanted to be reading this summer. My mindset aside, this is a beautifully written and crafted read.

I thought this was a great piece of historical fiction, I was completely drawn in and felt that it must have really happened. I've never read anything written by a male in a female voice and was completely impressed. The character development of the other women in the group is spot on and May Dodd is a true heroine. This book was thought provoking and exposed the reader to many of the ways and challenges of the American Indian.

(very mild spoiler) While I loved the continuation of Avalon, this book has three sections, each set hundreds of years apart. Bradley deftly introduces and ties in the new characters but for me there is a sadness in leaving the characters in each section. I didn't enjoy this as much as Mists of Avalon or The Forest House but a good read just the same.

I loved all the voices in this book and the bravery of Skeeter, Abilene and Minny. Also, Skeeter coming into her own amidst her sycophantical friends and critical mother, she pursued something she was passionate about and most likely this was greatly influenced by the positive attention of her family's help, Constantine. Every time I read something from this time period, I am equally moved by the pressures and intensity of the racial issues and segregation. I was surprised by the microscopically critical nature of some of the reviews, not everyone has to like it of course but the story and the author definitely stirred some debate. I prefer my fiction to be entertaining and thought provoking and this provided both, I think this is a commendable first effort by Stockett.

Ms. Bradley knows how to tell an amazing story, a rich mixture of mythology and history. I loved The Mists of Avalon and this prequel does not disappoint. I look forward to The Lady of Avalon..

I liked the sequel a little more than the first book, it was well written with a good pace, a great battle scene at the end and a thoughtful ending.

There was a softness to this book, I just loved the flow of it and the bonding between Mattie and Lisbeth. I'm a sucker for Southern lit.

I enjoyed the witchcraft, the story itself is a little trite but entertaining enough. A good book when your stuck in bed with the flu..

As a mother, I needed to read this book. The author's experience entering motherhood was similar to mine, it was comforting and refreshing to hear the upfront honesty.

Charming, loved some of these stories, pretty priceless.

I continue to pursue reading the free kindle books against my better judgment and this one is a perfect example that you can't judge a book by its cover. The main character lives an adventurous life after getting away from an abusive home and covers a lot of ground but has some surprising insights along the way, especially for being so young. I enjoyed this story for those insights and its simple entertainment value plus the writing was not half bad

(spoiler) This book started out interesting enough, a woman in pain over the unexplained death of her husband, an old flame, the nice setting of Maui. I actually like the premise of dream jumping, it gave the story a little sci-fi twist. Then the story goes into ghosts in a way that I just couldn't give license to as a reader, that's where it lost me. Finally, there was an unrealistic ending. At this point, I was reconsidering my free kindle books..

(Spoiler) This book was one I kept reading because it was a whodunnit and I wanted to know the ending. This book had my eyes rolling at points, things were overtly obvious and convenient. Three girl friends happen to hook up with a group of three good guy friends and those three girl friends were involved with the three evil brothers in the book, the bad guys were over the top evil, like diabolical and the love scenes almost made me cringe they were so cliche. For some unknown reason I needed to see where else this story went so I read the second in the trilogy. Both in this book and the next, I know how important dreams play in revealing clues to the main characters trying to solve the mystery, kind of a cop out to me in the realm of story telling. The good guy was a vigilante and intriguing enough; I guess his identity, which was kept hidden, was part of the reason I kept reading. I chose not to read the final book.

(mild spoiler) I liked the final book in this trilogy, it was at times a little slow but I think things were wrapped up well, without being too neat or perfect or predictable. I like that Katniss is a sad, lonely, hard person for the most part, not your typical heroine but it fits with the life she had. With the similarities between what/who they were fighting for and against, more unpredictability was introduced and it allowed the reader to feel the loss of purpose for Katniss, the confusion regarding what was the fight really for and that she had to keep reminding herself what was the priority. Overall, I enjoyed it.

While I did enjoy the story line until the end, the ending was a little tangential and convenient, a disappointment to me. During the book, I did find myself thinking about the characters and felt a desire to pick it up and see what was going to develop. Maybe that's what led to the disappointment. There was some character development that could've gone a little further. Overall, not bad but I wouldn't recommend it.

I wanted to read something light and was kind of rolling my eyes as I started it but as the story progressed and I let go a little, I ended up enjoying it. I appreciate the perseverance and love of the author and his wife, they did not give up even though this dog was an immense challenge, they saw so much good in him and that speaks to me as a lover of dogs.

This book really made an impact.. when I tried to summarize in my mind what I felt about this book, the excerpt from the NYT review on the back said it for me: “..so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry.”

Maybe because I've read almost everything Siddons has written, I liked this book because of my familiarity with the author and her style. There were a few things said about motherhood that spoke to me and I always like when a female character recognizes the need for change and stands up for it. Otherwise, I wanted the book to end about 2/3 of the way through, the remainder was predictable and trite, disappointing. When I started reading Siddons' books about 12 years ago, I ate them up, I loved the women and their family ties and conflict. Maybe I'm just outgrowing this author.

Being a baseball fan for about 5 years and experiencing my knowledge evolve and expand, I really enjoyed this book. One of the rare times I read the book after seeing the movie so I was glad to have all of the detail and the writer's point of view. This added yet another facet to my knowledge and love of baseball, it was thought provoking, I think about something from that book almost every game I watch.

I read this when I was young and just decided on a whim to buy a copy for my daughter to read someday and of course decided to reread it, while I was on vacation. I felt this was such a magical story when I was little, I hope she feels the same when she's old enough to read it. Loved it the first time and again as an adult.

Gave it a shot (gift from mom) and it was mediocre as expected.. some funny moments but just not for me.