Emma Goto

Unlike a traditional self-help book where the author gives you direct advice on how to improve your life and attain happiness, Christensen uses examples and lessons learned from business, that you can then use as an analogy to apply to your own life. With the mention of Harvard reunions and the assumption that you are working long hours (and should consider cutting back if you want to spend more time with family) I think I'm not quite the target audience for this one.

The Elven Emperor and three of his sons die in a tragic airship accident, leaving the throne to his exiled half-Goblin son.

Probably not a good idea to put yourself and three of your potential heirs all on the same ship.

This is a fantasy book without all the usual adventuring. It's mostly just meetings, balls and politics. But somehow it's never boring, and I really enjoyed it.

The main character, Elena, who is now in her 60s, recounts a childhood spent growing up with her best friend Lina in Italy. The pair are both from poor(er) families, but do well in school. They end up leading diverging lives as their individual circumstances change. The story and characters are vividly written and I read the entire book in one sitting.

There's a 1 chapter setup for the book in present time, before a 50 year jump back in time for the rest of the book. The story ends on an abrupt cliffhanger. At first I thought this was some sort of literary technique to make you go and reread the first chapter to piece together what happens, but no this is actually just the setup for the next book (lol).

I mean I miiiight go read the second, and I am sort of curious about the HBO series although unfortunately I'm not sure where to view it in my country!