Chris
This one was fun. Academic goes to Norway to do that last bit of fieldwork for her book. She's a little too obsessed with work and his horrible at reading people. Cough So things go sideways with the local townsfolk until her dazzlingly charming coworker shows up to help out. I thought the characters were fun and I liked the story. Have book 2 queued up and ready to go.
Was hoping “The Hidden Ones” would turn out to be trolls. The book would have taken a turn into horror if that had been the case.
Gratuitously violent. To the point of gross. Just not my thing. Had to hit almost the halfway point before it started to click, and at that point the violence was less and the story took more of a starring role. Back half is much better than the front half. If this was a series, I wouldn't feel compelled to continue.
And there's a point in that first half where I practically shrieked, ‘tell me you don't know anything about jurisdiction without telling me you don't know anything about jurisdiction!' Find a lawyer to run the premise past and course correct the scenario as needed. Sigh.
Sweeping multigenerational family saga about a Korean family's experience in Japan. This is not a part of history I know much about - and this story made me interested in learning more. The book follows one family, and the story jumps forward a few years for each new chapter. Felt like a series of related vignettes, but I was very engaged with the story and the characters. I really liked this one.
This is the second book in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries series. The story is set in the 1930s and follows the adventures of dashing artist and amateur sleuth Rowland Sinclair and his small group of artsy friends. The group is on a long haul cruise aboard a luxury ocean liner - traveling from Europe to Australia with a stop in New York. Rowland delves into a murder investigation along the way, and the puzzle follows the group all the way back to Australia. The story weaves through a tapestry of interesting historical and cultural references from the 1930s. I found it handy to have my smart phone handy to get more back story when my curiosity was piqued.
I haven't read the first in the series...the reviews indicate it may be a dull start with some great potential - and not sure I've got the energy for a dull start. That said, I didn't feel like I'd missed anything too significant for having not read the first book. Can't wait to read #3!
Enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. Had seen the Joan Crawford movie version so long ago I don't remember much of it other than “dark”, “awful daughter”, and “restaurant.” Have started watching the HBO miniseries - first few episodes are almost exactly like the book.
Really enjoyed the California setting - Glendale and Pasadena feature prominently. Pull up a map as you're reading, and you can see where Mildred is driving. The daughter Veda hate is for real - she's just awful. The music coach's description of her is delicious. Lol
First 1/3 is great. The world building, character development, watching the relationship grow between the old man, the dog, and Charlie. Then the story shifts... and loses some focus. As I learned from Under the Dome, when the path of the story and outcome is less certain to the author, King has a way of circling back and repeating parts of the story...there isn't story progression so much as looping and rehashing and then some forward movement. Rinse and repeat. Charlie also seemed less like a 17 year old and more like a seasoned older adult...that became more of an issue the story progressed.
Not bad, but definitely not my fav.
Family dramedy told from the perspective of the 14-year-old grandson. Story takes place in a small town in Georgia in the early 1900s. I listened to the audiobook - which was well done. The story gets better as you go along - it does take a bit to get all the characters established. The story is humorous, but it is interwoven around the themes of death, mourning, and social taboos. With those topics and the memorable characters, there's enough depth to this one that I suspect I'll be chewing on some aspects for awhile.
Kids in space learn how to battle using a magical substance that responds to your thoughts. Poor kids are recruited to compete for a place on the team, which means income for life and health care for their families. I enjoyed it - not sure if I'll contine with the other books to see how it all shakes out. If you liked Enders Game, you'll probably like this one.
Pride and Prejudice part 2 from the viewpoint of Mary, the plain and awkward middle sister. Mary is nobody's favorite and finds herself the outcast in a large family. What's a girl to do?!
I loved P&P - and Hadlow does a good job of picking up where P&P left off and doing it in a way that it reads as a sequel - not just a borrowing of the world and characters of P&P.
In this book, Mary gets her due and becomes a well-developed character. I liked how Mary developed and matures from unlikeable awkward teen with little self-confidence into a more self-assured young woman. Mary's perspective of her friends and family adds depth to the P&P world. There's some rehashing of P&P from Mary's point of view at the beginning of the book- and I thought it was well done, but it's where the story takes off into new territory that things become interesting. (I still don't know what to think of Charlotte, and feel rather sorry for Mr. Collins). Things get a little draggy during a trip to the Lake country, but overall I really enjoyed this one.