Miriam

The ending was very fine. And I'm sorry I didn't read it through in a sitting or two. It would have been a better read if I had. But I enjoyed seeing the world through Eli, with his temper, and his desire to stop killing and settle.

I know the reviews for this book weren't stellar, and there were moments when I thought the book was a hot mess, but mostly I enjoyed it. The best and most coherent part of the book was Griffan's relationship with his mother, I just wish he hadn't added a marriage breakup and a mid-life crisis to the mix. Or, figured out a different way to add them.

This is my first Russo though, and now I interested in reading more by him.

Eh. A grudging 3. I was irritated or bored through much of it, and if I'm editing sentences as I read they are really bad. And even though I was less bored during the Erica segments, why the hell were they in the book? Anyways, I'm giving it 3 because it was satisfying to have the series wrapped up.

This one was odd. There were parts that was great, particularly the island/Skull-Splitter section were there is a story to work through and a resolution to be had, but the novel just doesn't seem to work – too many disparate elements. And the ending was terribly abrupt.

Easily a 3.5 star book. I read it in a weekend – a rare occurrence in my world – and enjoyed every minute of it. I really appreciated/enjoyed his non-whiney, deer-in-headlights take on opening and running a deli with his wife and Korean in-laws.

Despite floundering through the first 50 or so pages (maybe more?), I loved reading this book. Her physical descriptions of people and animals are intensely good, Margaret's is one of the best female characters I've ever met in fiction, and I appreciated that Gordon allowed me to love Toe-Tie and Elizabeth. And Pelter.

Elitist, over-romanticized, anachronistic crap. Which is too bad, because Bray isn't a bad writer and the story was interesting enough to keep me mostly engaged (I slept through some of it - audio version).

Just finished. I'm giving it 5 stars for now, but I need to let it settle for a bit. I almost quit reading after the first 200 or so pages, and I'm really glad I didn't.

If I could, I think I'd give this book a 3.5 stars. It was an odd, very atmospheric book with a very interesting protagonist which was almost ruined for me by the last 5 pages. There was also a very unbelivable romance. But I was more willing to forgive that.

I skipped lots near the beginning, and found myself editing sentences (never a good sign), but I was well hooked about a 1/3 in, and I enjoyed the ride to the non-end, albeit with some eye rolling along the way. If Kindle had allowed me to download the 3rd book while in Mexico (it didn't for some odd reason), I'd have moved on to it quite happily.

I really don't know how to rate this book. I went into it expecting to like a lot, and parts of it I liked quite a bit. But most of it I thought was a muddled mess, and I resented reading it. I wonder if it would work better as a short story.

I waffled on my rating. This is a 5 star book I think, but I didn't always feel like it was a 5 star read. My review is still percolating. I need to sort out the tension between Baker's less time-dependent ideas, and those that feel a bit like flies in amber.

This was probably more a 2.5 star book, but it helped to know that this was Lippman's first novel. I thought it was pretty clunky, with a few sections that worked very well. I am also not so sure how I feel about Tess (and all the side-kick characters), but I'd give the series another try and read the second.

It took me more than 6 months to read this to the boys, mostly because late summer and fall don't lend themselves to reading before bed, but also because much of the book isn't a page turner and it was easier than most not to return to. Yet, we loved the book, my 10 year old particularly. There were some really great characters (Puddaneen the frog, and Cooroo the fox were two standouts), no Lord of the Rings references (hard to find in fantasy), and it wasn't twee.

Excellent novel so far. A good follow up to Just Kids because Chiandry's voice is as tender and careful as Smith's.

There are moments, including the ending, that are terribly clunky and I think the central conciete is lame, but Quarrington is funny and finally, even though the protagonist us a complete putz, he is endearing. Plus I was never bored, and I looked for opportunities to pick it up.

I'd be happier if I could give the book 2.5 stars, but I'll bump it up to 3 because the second half was better than the first. Although Bradley should avoided 1st person, and Flavia is mostly obnoxious.

This was more an extended article than a book, and it was slight re-hashing generational parenting styles, but it was still fun. And I think those Viorst grandkids have a great set of grandparents.

OMG is this a great read.

I had some reservations while reading the first third of the book, but they mostly went away when I started to read the 2nd section. The writing is almost architectural, and she uses the lake to great effect. What really won me over though was the epilogue which includes a transcript of, what I assume is, her father's testimony at a military trial followed by her notes about the trial. Plus there were really fabulous passages.

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, but Dexter is such a wanker. It is very possible to create a character like Dexter and still engage the reader but this novel never managed to overcome his wanker-ness. Finally I just didn't care.

My barely reading, but I started listening to this the other night. A perfect book for these ongoing brain-dead nights. I listen, and play solitaire.

Maisie Dobbs wears after awhile. But the audio narrator was really good, which made up for a number of Winspear's faults.

Much was great, but Buffy's angst is so very one-note. If I could give it 3. stars I would.

I feel about 13 reading it, but I will stay up until done (luckily flashlights are no longer required).

I had a hard time letting go of its similarity to Good Omens. But my 9 year old and I enjoyed listening together to the last hour or so very much. So, my impatience with ‘plucky kids' and ‘cute demon' was mitigated by his pleasure, and his pleasure was great. He was very focused, and laughed lots.