Linda

I was so happy to find another series by Laini Taylor that I enjoyed nearly as much as “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”. Laini does such a great job of drawing me into the imaginative worlds that she creates and her characters are an assortment of likeable, humourous and terrifying. Magpie, the heroine is feisty and independent, loyal to the murder of crows she travels with and to the friends she meets along the way. As she struggles to save Dreamdark and bring down the Blackbringer she meets many challenges and learns a lot about herself in the process.

Without giving away any spoilers, let me just say, it did make me laugh, it did make me cry, and I can't wait to delve into the next book in the series.

This is not the sort of book I generally read, however, there was so much hype surrounding it, I decided to check it out. Apparently it is the author's first novel. I thought they did a wonderful job of drawing the reader into the story and like many mysteries there were enough twists and turns to be interesting.

Character development is often something that new writers tend to gloss over and I didn't find that the case with Alex Michaelides. I felt as though the two main characters were fairly well fleshed out.

It's still not my type of read, but I would recommend it for someone interested in murder mysteries.

I really enjoyed the story of Lali and Gita. I'm not sure how much poetic license was taken with the story as I have seen a lot of people claiming it wasn't factual. But it really doesn't matter. It is a good story either way and told from the perspective of someone doing a job we do not necessarily think about when we think of the atrocities of WWII. Some people would say Lali was forced to do something horrendous to save his life, others would simply see him as a collaborator. I don't think anyone who wasn't there or who hasn't been put in that position should judge.

If I could give a book more than 5 stars, I would. This was an amazing book blending together the two storylines of Alice and her complicated, modern day family and the second storyline of her Polish grandmother during WWII. Many books try to do more than one storyline and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In the case of author Kelly Rimmer, I think she did a terrific job with both. The part of the story set in Poland during WWII is beautifully done; captivating and heartbreaking. I was fascinated by the story of Alice's grandmother, but my heart was also wide open to the trials and tribulations of Alice's life with her executive husband and their two children; one of whom was on the Autistic spectrum and the other who was academically gifted. It created a very busy and often chaotic family where Alice felt like she had to do everything. So when Alice's grandmother asks her to go to Poland for her, Alice is left with the choice of honouring her grandmother Helena's wishes or staying home where she feels she is essentially needed.

Ultimately I feel this is a story of the power of love; romantic love, the love of family and friendship, and the love of faith.

I don't have an opinion as to whether this whether an accurate portrayal of Tara's life or not. It really doesn't matter when it comes to the story itself. I don't think anyone is completely accurate when it comes to remembering their life.

The main problem I had with the story was that I found the abuse in the novel disturbing and many times I had to put it up, as I even found myself angry with Tara for not only putting up with the abuse and not reaching out to anyone for help, but doing things to try and act as though it wasn't a problem.

I know this is part of being abused and I understand that. It's just difficult to not scream at the novel, “Don't go home!”, “Stay away from these people!”.

Would I recommend it? Probably not. It dragged on far past the point that it needed to and I still felt like she didn't really fit in anywhere by the end of the novel, so it didn't really feel like a “happy ending” either. Until nearly the end, she was still trying to fit in with her family. It was sad really.

This is the second Kate Quinn book I have listened to; the first being The Alice Network, and she has captured my imagination again. This was another riveting story spanning between WWII and the first few years after the war ended. What happened to all the people who were Nazis? What about the ones who weren't captured, the ones who escaped prosecution for war crimes. This novel takes those questions and shows us a glimpse of what could have happened, people who might have become part of our lives or the lives of those we know. Like The Alice Network the story is told in alternating chapters between the main characters and lends a slightly different perspective from each person. If you are interested in captivating historical fiction, I urge you to give this novel a try.

This was a series I really enjoyed. The first few books are broken up into novellas, but stay the course and the books do get longer. They are split into “Wool”, “Shift” and “Dust”. The series is a post-apocalyptic novel about people living in underground bunkers or silos of 144 levels, not daring to venture outside. However, we soon find out there is more to the story; political unrest, heroes, villains and a kind of class system (Up-tops, Mids and Down Deep) within the silos.

The characterization of the book is wonderfully done and the author Hugh Howey really creates an interesting world that you feel you can't escape from. Many times I thought I knew how the story was going to turn out, but there are many twists and turns and I was engaged right to the end.

I liked the premise of this book, but I was disappointed in the way it all played out. With such a compelling topic I felt the author concentrated too much on the characters romantic entanglements and not enough on the war efforts of the women.

I also wasn't a fan of a woman willing to sacrifice everything for a man she met a few months ago. With a daughter at home, I thought that was very irresponsible of her and totally self-absorbed. I'm all for love, but how about the love you should have for your daughter.

That being said, it did have a decent ending and I felt it managed to redeem itself somewhat in the last few chapters.

Perhaps this novel would have gotten better. I heard a lot of good things about it, but for me, it just didn't hold my attention. I gave up a few chapters in.

If you are reading this, you are probably already a Black Dagger Brotherhood fan and are familiar with Trez and iAm. If not, start with the first book in the series, not the 13th. :)

The Shadows follows Trez and iAm as they deal with their lives on the run from the s'Hisbe. They have as much brotherly devotion to each other as the Brotherhood does and bringing them more into that fold makes total sense. We have caught glimpses of their lives during the other books, but it was nice to have it all fleshed out in this one.

As they find love amidst many obstacles and subplots, we really get to understand their characters more and root for a happy ending. J.R. Ward doesn't always give us the happy ending we expect though and it's not something you can count on in her books, so we are left in suspense until the final chapter.

I'm a big fan of all the BDB books, but some I like more than others. I have to say I found this one really engaging and it holds it's own in the Brothers Universe.

This was such an enjoyable novel. I was gripped with the stories of Eve and Charlie from the very beginning. The story alternates between Eve's memories during WW1 of her time in “The Alice Network”, a network of female spies, and Charlie's time during 1947 as she meets Eve and begins searching for her dear cousin Rose who went missing during WW2.

As the two meet and begin the search for Rose they embark on a journey of kinship and transformation filled with Eve's courageous tales and the ghosts that haunt her. Definitely a book worth reading.

This was enjoyable and took me in directions I didn't expect to go. There were so many twists and turns at the end though that I got a little confused and had to sort it all out in my head. That being said, I would still recommend it.

Although this was the 3rd book in the series I didn't finish it. I felt it was just plodding along and I was getting very tired of the characters. I recommend you read the first one and don't bother going back for more.

I enjoyed this book so much. The characters were interesting and I particularly enjoy a book that follows one family through their entire lives. You become invested in the characters and you feel as though you know them as the book progresses.

It wasn't full of a lot of action, but was a good character driven drama and it kept me interested through the whole thing.

I love Nora Roberts books in general. This one though appeared to be written by someone else entirely. The writing was clunky and juvenile and the story “barely” was recognizable with the first book. I'm not sure if she hired a ghost writer or what she did, but I won't be reading the 3rd installment. I was very disappointed and I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

This is the first book by Rachel E. Carter that I have read and I enjoyed it. It reminded me in some ways of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter. Three factions of students at the Academy all trying to become the best they could be to win a spot and be able to continue in one of the three fields of either Combat, Restoration or Alchemy.

The novel had lots of action, a little romance and the characters were interesting and complex enough to keep me interested. The story ended in a satisfactory way so that if you never read book #2 you would still be ok with the ending. I did just purchase the second one though, as I was interested in seeing what happened next.

In some ways I enjoyed Jennifer Government and certainly the dystopian message of the novel, however, I found it drove the message home so much that by the end of the book I just wanted it to be done. I needed to connect with the characters more and I didn't feel as though I was doing that. Maybe because of the superficial nature of the time they were living in, I also felt like most of the characters were very superficial as well. We didn't get a lot of insight into what made them the way they were and why they made the decisions they did.

I was disappointed in The Baker's Secret. It had all the qualities of a terrific novel, but it fell short. The character development was lacking and I found much of the story was not as riveting as I felt it could be. Without giving anything away, let me just say that I feel there are better WWII stories out there and although this one was interesting in parts it was certainly not my favourite.

This was the most captivating novel I have read in ages. The story of Pino Lella is a coming of age story amid the worst of circumstances; the second World War. It is based on a true story of a young Italian boy with tremendous courage, tenacity and heart. I was often on the edge of my seat while reading it; unable to believe the horrendous things that Pino witnessed, the bravery he showed and his ability to continue doing the “right thing” through it all. I have been recommending this book to anyone who will listen. It's a “must read”.

I just finished the 5th book in the Wool series and I've been riveted from the beginning. It's very hard to find a book with a new premise and this one has it. The author has created engaging characters with depth and although in the beginning of the series he reminded me a little of George R.R. Martin, killing them off, I eventually forgave him as the story evolved. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series to see what roller coaster ride he takes us on.

Although I enjoyed this book, like many series, I found the first book was more engaging. This one didn't hold my interest as well and I spent a lot of time wishing they would just get back to the present day.

A coming of age novel told by a 12 year old boy who has lost his mother to cancer. The character of jake is well crafted. The reader can feel his emotional struggle and anger over his mother's death and the trials of middle school. He has vivid dreams where he learns to control many of the things happening to him. In his day to day life, however, things often feel very out of control. He is dealing with bullying at school and the strong emotions of grief. He doesn't want to tell his father everything he is feeling, and is trying to deal with it all on his own.

This is a young adult book, but anyone who has ever lost a loved one can relate to the turmoil of emotions that Jake is feeling. I think it would be a great addition to middle school libraries and classrooms.

I didn't get past the first book in the series as I found it long and ponderous. The novel goes between two worlds; one that appears to be in the present day and a fantastical world with colored trees and flying bats. I found myself anxiously waiting to get to the present day each time I was left in the fantasy world, where I thought the novel dragged.

I realized quickly that it was supposed to be a Christian allegory, but I felt it had been done many times before, and more interestingly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy novel by Deborah Harkness. Her character developmeant was good, and the historical and romantic elements of the book felt strong and connected rather than an afterthought. Like many good books I hear it's going to become a movie or tv series, hopefully Hollywood can do it justice.

Good as far as it went

The information in the book was good, but it needed a couple more pictures of each herb to be sure you were picking the right one if you were wildcrafting. Also there was no information about what states or provinces the herbs grew in. Both would have made the book a lot more helpful.