Jessica
I had to let this one digest for a bit. In the end, I found this book a little disappointing. Must every novel be filled with completely unlike able characters? Seems like it! The core mystery of this book was too easy to guess, so I was left with the vaguely awful characters, none of whom redeemed themselves for me. The writing was solid, and the books was well paced, but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
One of these days I will remember that I don't care for magical realism in the slightest. I confess I didn't finish this book... it was all just too much for me. Having the main character be a bookworm was a good idea, but I confess that I'm a bit too young for the era she's reading, and besides it comes across as entirely too much geek nostalgia, which although I am a geek I don't care for (See: Ready Player One). There is also a disturbing interraction between Mori and her father SpoilerHe comes to her drunk and tries to get her to have sex with him. that is , naturally entirely forgotten later on.
Oh, and there were fairies and magic of a sort. That was actually the best part, but unfortunately there was a lot of boring stuff between the good parts. I made it 3/4 through and had to give up.
Sometimes, the scariest things are those which we cannot see. Bird box presents a dystopian future, in which to open your eyes is to go insane. What waits in the daylight? We don't know , anymore than Malorie, our main character. Malorie has lived alone with two children for the past 4 years. She has trained them to have extraordinary hearing. But now the time has come to leave...
Bird box is told in alternating viewpoints, with the events of the present alternating with the story of how the world ended, and how Malorie ended up alone. Although we know from the beginning how the past will play out, it remains very scary.
I wouldn't call this a horror novel per se. It isn't scary in a “things jumping out at you” way. It is scary though, particularly if you fear things that might be out in the darkness.
The ending might be a setup for a sequel, although there is not a cliffhanger. Recommended to fans of psychological horror.
I cannot believe that it took me three years after buying this book to actually read it! I was thoroughly charmed by the story of Sophie all the way through. From meeting Howl himself (a most unlikely looking evil Wizard) to achieving the required happy ending, the book kept up the pace. The author (I confess, this is the first of her books I have read) has a gentle sense of humor that was never mean. I'm picky about fantasy, especially if aimed at younger readers. I would not hesitate to recommend Howl's Moving Castle to anyone who enjoys the genre.
The 5th Wave has an interesting concept. An alien force has come to earth, and they are killing off humans in 5 waves. I know several people who love this book, but unfortunately I'm not one of them.
I had two main issues. Issue #1? The love interest. He was so blandly perfect that I was, quite frankly, bored. I also get the sense that a love triangle is being set up for book #2, which is not good. Spoiler Also, are we not over the “tortured bad guy working against his nature” trope?
I could overlook the bland love interest, if only the plot made sense. Unfortunately, the discovery of the 5th wave didn't work for me. Spoiler Seriously, why on earth would aliens go to the trouble of training all those child soldiers? It made zero sense, as they obviously had the capability to take out the humans on their own.
Two stars for the interesting chapters at the beginning. Once the flashbacks ended, I stopped caring about the book.
Max just witnessed his best friend committing suicide, after uttering the cryptic state “What is the silence of six?” Almost immediately, he is entangled in a web of conspiracies. Max must stay on the run, avoiding FBI agents who want to question him about his hacker past.
I was really surprised by how great this book was. The plotline was exciting and plausible. The action scenes were well timed, and the secondary characters felt real. There is very little romance, which is always a plus for me in a young adult novel. I can't say much else without spoiling the plot, but trust me... this is a good one.
I stayed up til 5 am last night finishing this... no regrets! I have no idea why this series hooks me so completely, as I've never finished Sanderson's other books, and I'm not a huge fan of high fantasy as a genre. Seriously, I read this entire 1100 page novel in a day and a half. My cat had to see the bottom of his food bowl for almost an entire hour, as I ignored his pitiful mewing until I found out what happened to the characters.
I have only two criticisms, which obviously weren't enough to keep the book from a 5 star rating. First, there are several regrettable sequences in which the characters speak to one another in puns. I will admit I'm not a fan of puns, but this was painful to read, as I think it was supposed to be legitimately funny. Second, there are entirely too many characters whose names begin with the letter A. I kept thinking “Wait, is this a character I like, or one that every character in the book has sworn to see dead?”
What I liked: Shallan's character development. Shallan's story was the weakest in the first book, but here she is given a chance to have a backstory, and to grow as a character. At times she verged on being a bit too perfect, but overall her arc was much improved. I continue to adore all the men of Bridge four, especially Rock.
The ending of the book was excellent (no spoilers!) and really set up a sense of urgency for book 3. Of course, now I have to wait until 2016 for the next book to come out. I read this book for the 2015 reading challenge group on Goodreads, for the week “Book published this year.”
I didn't enjoy Stardust as much as some of Gaiman's later novels, such as American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Some of the same issues present in Neverwhere exist here as well. I often had difficulty visualizing the locations in the book based off the descriptions in the text. The entire book felt a bit rushed (couldn't we have learned more about the airship, for instance, if the main character describes it as “one of the happiest times of his life?”)
Having said that, the story was charming, and Tristan (the main character) was well realized and entertaining. It feels very much like a new fairytale, which I enjoyed. It's also nice to see an author improving their craft, as this was one of Gaiman's early books. I read this for a reading challenge (we had to read books which were made into movies) and I'm curious to see the film. 3.5 stars.
I've owned Edenbrooke for ages, but never quite got around to reading it. One of my reading challenges for this year is to read things I ordinarily wouldn't, so I pulled it out.
Edenbrooke is a regency romance in the style of Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer. The author isn't nearly as wonderful writer as either of those luminaries, but Edenbrooke is an enjoyable, if slight, read.
Phillip, the hero, was just a bit too good to be true. Cecily, the sister of our heroine, is a bit too awful to be true. Marianne, the heroine, was fairly well conceived, if a bit too good and self sacrificing. The plot consisted of a lot of misunderstandings that could have been solved with one honest conversation. But you know what? I enjoyed it anyway. It took me only a few hours to read, and for those few hours I enjoyed visiting Edenbrooke.
I believe this is my fourth Tessa Dare novel. Although the books were flawed, I kept reading because she has a way with characters and dialogue. With this book she's finally written the romance that I hoped she could!
Izzy has no illusions about her life. She's 26, orphaned, and living on the charity of strangers. When she gets a letter about a bequest left to her by her godfather, she pins all her hopes on that document. She doesn't get money - what she ends up with is an entire castle, complete with a blind, scarred Duke who does not appreciate her intrusion.
This would have been a five star book except for some reservations I had about the hero. Ransom (yes, that's his name) started on the wrong foot with me. Our heroine is lying crumpled on his cobblestones (because she hasn't eaten in days) and he proceeds to immediately lust after her. Naturally he must send her away, because men cannot contain their natural urges. Gross. I am not a fan of alpha heroes in novels, though I am aware that they are endemic to historical romances.
However, he improves, and by the end I had almost forgotten that bit, because the best part comes in - a band of LARPers (live action role players) who are obsessed with the novels of Izzy's father. They were fantastic, and although it was anachronistic I'm sure, it was also very funny.
Recommended - I'm glad to see a writer working on improving her craft!
In his second novel, Connolly continues the story of Detective Charlie Parker, a man still scarred by the murders of his wife and child a year earlier. Parker in this novel is a changed man - finding his family's murderer has given at least a small measure of peace, and he has moved to Maine in order to fix up his grandfather's house.
Of course, nothing can be that easy, and he finds himself in the midst of an old murder investigation, the last one that his grandfather worked on. Once again, his friends Angel and Louis join him, prompting this quote:
“They were on the side of the angels, even if the angels were not entirely sure this was a positive development.”
Connolly is an excellent writer, and whenever the novel veers towards being too dark, he injects a bit of wit. I'm glad there are so many more books in this series to read!
I'd heard great things about this book, so I was quite excited to get to read it. My conclusion? It's going to be a great movie, but as a book it is held back by some of the author's choices.
I knew going into the book that it was humorous, so I wasn't expecting a suspense filled experience. But I have to say, the narrator's journal entries stretched believability. We know little about him - nothing about his past or his relationships with anyone outside of his parents and crewmates. His journal entries are funny, but they don't ring true to me. The contrast between the tense scenes on earth and his journal (“20 ninja pirates, Yay!”) was odd.
Having said that, it was a compelling book, and I would recommend it. I suppose I wanted a little more depth than I was given.
Not going to lie, I picked this up because the cover was so strange. I don't feel like the book lived up to it, but I did like the first half. Travis, the narrator, has just been given a second chance at life. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he agrees to have his head cryogenically frozen. When he wakes, it's 5 years later. His friends and family have moved on, but he remains frozen at 16 years old.
My main issue with this book was Travis. He was just extremely frustrating. I know he's immature, but I didn't feel like I saw any growth from him at all. There is a big focus on his relationship with his old girlfriend, Cate, and quite frankly there were more interesting characters.SpoilerIt all went off the rails for me when he decided to propose to her. Seriously, dude? It just didn't read as true to the character or situation.
It's always nice to find YA fiction with male protagonists, but I'd recommend giving this one a miss.
I would give this book to every teenage girl if I could. I read so much teen fiction that deals with girls being nasty to other girls (usually over a boy) that this work was a delightful change! I was not planning to read it, as I was afraid it would be Lord of the Flies with mascara, but I heard it was not and gave it a chance. I'm glad that I did!
This book is a satire, and at times it can be a little much (I did not always enjoy the interjections between chapters.) But everything Bray has to say about girls, gender roles, and our society rings true. I can see where this is a divisive novel - either you like the satire or you don't. I think it would make a fantastic movie. In fact, it's even written with some scenes formatted like a script. (get on that, Hollywood!)
Francesca is having a tough year. Her Mother is suffering from crippling depression, and she's had to start out at a new school, where she's one of only 30 girls in a sea of boys.
Marchetta's characters tend to talk a little bit older than teenagers actually would, but I'm ok with that because her dialogue is so delightful. Even secondary characters are delightful and well rounded. Francesca herself is fantastic - she's funny and uncertain and feels very real to me.
Highly recommended.
Sometimes I think I should win some kind of award for “most eclectic taste” on Goodreads. So... this is a Male/male regency romance novel. I can admit to unashamedly enjoying the occasional romance (of all genders/sexual preferences) and I do prefer historicals, so I thought I would check this one out. It's really maybe a 3.5 for me, but I bumped it for good writing. The author clearly did her research on the period - she used a lot of authentic language and terminology that you rarely see in regency novels. I enjoyed the characters, particularly that of Charlotte, wife of our hero Tristan, who was believable, and avoided the trope of the terrible shrew.
I liked both Tristan and Charlie, though Charlie might have been a little bit too good and noble to feel real. I thought the book dragged a little for me, and I objected to the whole “love at first sight” trope, which I thought was less interesting than a drawn out attraction might have been. Even so, this was much better written than most romances, and I do recommend it to fans of the genre!
I'm really glad I have an e-reader, otherwise that cover would be too embarrassing. Straight romance novels have progressed past the creepy covers, and I expect these will someday too!
I know everyone loves this book, but I thought it was just ok. Dante bugged me - like, a lot. He was just so stereotypical. I liked Griff. I thought the whole set-up was silly, but I did read the whole book. I also Spoiler really didn't get that Dante had been into him the whole time. I know we only get Griff's POV, but that kind of threw me for a loop.
Maybe I just lack the firefighter fantasy gene or something? I'm going with that...
3.5 stars. For a vampire novel, that's pretty good from me! In the world of the novel, vampires are no longer hidden. Instead, they are quarantined to walled cities called “Coldtowns.” Live feeds stream their wild parties, and to the outside world being a vampire looks rather glamorous.
Tana knows better - she saw her Mother fall victim to the disease, and wants to avoid it at all costs. But she wakes up one morning after a party to find all her friends slaughtered, and only her exboyfriend, Adrian (now infected) alive. He's chained with a vampire named Gavriel, who appears 20 but may be much older. Tana saves them both, and they take off on a road trip to the Coldtown in Springfield.
There's much more to it, but that's the setup. I've never read any of Holly Black's novels, and I found her writing to be excellent. Tana wasn't too much of a Mary Sue, and while the setup appears primed for it, there isn't actually a love triangle. The vampires were an interesting take, without too much tedious Vampire politics. The story didn't grip me as much as I hoped - there wasn't a lot of direction to the plot - but I'd recommend it to fans of paranormals and vampires. It definitely falls on the older side of YA, with plenty of talk of drinking/drugs/sex, so that's something to be aware of for younger readers.
I should probably mention, first off, that I'm a conductor by trade. So this middle grades book, about a failing orchestra and the Maestro's daughter, Olivia, was meant for me. What I was not expecting was to have an emotional reaction to the story, but I did.
“I'm not sure he believed me. But I think he liked what I said anyway. I think it was nice to imagine. Sometimes that's how you get through things.”
Olivia, her elderly grandmother, and her father have been forced to move into the old concert hall. Her mother left them a year ago, and she has no friends other than the strange black cat she finds in the hall. One day, she catches sight of something strange... ghosts in the hall. And she realizes that she has to help them. Along the way she finds that there are more people who care about her than she imagined.
The book is full of music - it is clear that the author loves and understands music, going so far as the quote the lyrics of Mahler 2. But it's more than that. It's sweet and sad and ultimately hopeful. I sobbed all over my ipad for the last 50 pages, which isn't to say that the book is tragic and depressing. It just felt very real, very true, in spite of the ghosts. This one is going straight to my favorites list, and I'm going to have to check out the author's previous novel.
To be honest, I found this book sort of disappointing. I loved the first book in the series, particularly the character of Agatha, so I couldn't wait to read this one! Unfortunately, I found it rather lacking. First of all, the idea that Agatha has to choose between her prince and her friend is rather problematic for me, and it is the basis of this entire book. Agatha also appeared to have had some sort of complete personality transplant between books, because there was no sign that she was anything but 100% good at any point.
The supporting characters were excellent and very funny, particularly Dot and Hester. Tedros failed once again to develop a real personality, but he is a prince after all.
I will certainly read the third book when it comes out - this might just be a case of middle book-itis.
I haven't read very many middle grades books. In fact, I suspect I haven't picked one up since reading the first few Harry Potter Books (the later books are definitely not middle grade.) I loved Harry Potter, for the most part, and I sometimes read young adult fantasy searching for something that scratches the same itch. I'm happy to say that The school for good and evil meets my criteria.
In this story, fairy tales are real. Not only are they real, but schools exist for training future fairy tale characters - one school for the good, and one for evil. Students who are chosen for the schools are told they are 100% evil or good. Our heroines are Agatha and Sophie. Sophie believes she is destined to be a princess, and wants her friend Agatha to come along and go to the school for evil. Agatha was my favorite - witness the following exchange:
No one says you're evil, Agatha,” Sophie sighed. “You're just different.”Agatha narrowed her eyes. “Different how?”“Well, for starters you only wear black.”“Because it doesn't get dirty.”“You don't ever leave your house.”“People don't look at me there.”“For the Create-a-Tale Competition, your story ended with Snow White eaten by vultures and Cinderella drowning herself in a tub.”“I thought it was a better ending.”“You have me a dead frog for my birthday!”“To remind you we all die and end up rotting underground eaten by maggots so we should enjoy our birthdays while we have them. I found it thoughtful.”“Agatha, you dressed as a bride for Halloween.”“Weddings are scary.”Sophie gaped at her.“Fine, so I'm a little different,” Agatha glared. “So what?”Sophie hesitated. “Well, it's just that in fairy tales, different usually turns out, um... evil.”
Upon arrival at the school, the girls find themselves sorted into the opposite of where they thought they belonged. Was it a mistake? Can pretty Sophie survive such classes as “Uglification” and “Henchman training?” But of course, all is not as it seems. Students are not as easy to categorize as the school would like. A battle is coming... but what will be the outcome?
The writing was beautiful - not so simplistic that I felt I was reading a children's book (though, of course, I was.) Agatha and Sophie both struggle with their concept of identity. Agatha finds that she has more inside her than just the evil she had always believed, as in this passage.:
Looking down at the monster, just another lost child, Agatha thought of all the creatures in this world. They didn't follow orders because they were loyal. They didn't help princesses because they were loving. They did because someday,maybe loyalty and love would be repaid with a second chance at being human. Only through a fairy tale could they find their way back. To their imperfect selves. To their storyless lives. She too was one of these animals now, searching for the way out.The gargoyle lay its head in her lap. As the burning menagerie closed in, a monster and child wept in each other's arms.
Highly recommended, particularly to those looking for a children's fantasy that has some depth, but really I think almost anyone would enjoy this. It is the first in a series, and I plan to read the next soon.
I wanted very badly to love this book. I found the first book in the trilogy to be just OK, but I adored the second book. Unfortunately I cannot rate this book higher than three stars. I loved the second book in this series because it turned all the expectations of the first book on their heads. Zeke? He suddenly became more than a figurehead spouting scripture. Allison? She proved that she had some mettle, and a desire to be something more than an emo girl. Jackal? Well... I loved him, but thought he was basically Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in book form. Luckily, I loved Spike, and so I was happy to see him here. Unfortunately, the final book in the trilogy suffered from a regression of progress from these characters.
I figured at the end of the last book that Zeke would be a vampire now. This had great potential, but unfortunately it went the Angel (again, from Buffy) route, with him feeling really sad about how he was a demon now, and constantly begging Alli to stake him. Allison, who was awesome, spent most of the book pining after him and feeling terrible. I really desperately wanted her to reclaim her own identity, but alas, she was too tied to the men in the story. Jackal remained awesome, and I would definitely read more books about him, but it didn't quite save the story for me (though it did take it from 2 to 3 stars.) Still, were I to recommend a YA vampire series, it would be this one. It's much better than the competition. Recommended for fans - it isn't groundbreaking, but it won't break your heart!