Chris
Enjoyed this one...not quite as much as Code Name Verity, but I liked it. Really liked the feisty character of Jane.
It doesn't quite stick the landing at the end, but I still really enjoyed this one. The characters are amusing.
Long short stories. Liked coming back to the Holly character for another story. Set the book down for awhile unfinished as I thought I wouldn't enjoy The Rat. I picked it up again and realized it went another direction than I anticipated and ended up enjoying it.
Have had this one on the ‘to read' list for far too long. I love the Abby Cooper Psychic Eye books. The psychic thing features in this tale - but it's very different from her other books. It's YA and told from the point of view of two scrappy orphans who reside at Delphi Keep. It's the first book in a series. Very enjoyable. I look forward to reading the rest in the series.
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.
Listened to this one. Very enjoyable - the audio production is really well done. Government Social Worker spends a month visiting a group home for unusual children. Really enjoyed the characters. Side character J-Dude was my favorite, though. What a scream.
I picked this one up thinking it was a cozy mystery. It's not...it's really really not.
It's the ladies of Steel Magnolias + The husbands of Stepford x Joe Hill...emphasis on Hill. Laugh out loud funny at times (Bridges of Madison County goes hilariously sideways at one point) - and then swings like a pendulum into whoamygawd horror.
Really enjoyed this one. This one is Classic King and he sticks the landing. Good stuff!
If you've got kids in high school - boys or girls - this is a must-read. It helps untangle the seemingly ‘standard' social structure and nastiness of high school girls. It also provides some solutions.
This is a story of human trafficking with a time travel angle - the pandemic aspect is a backdrop or a catalyst, and not the star attraction. I enjoyed it, although it was a different story than the one I was anticipating.
This one was a quick read. I liked it a lot better than the foundation series - which I couldn't finish. I did find story a bit dated, however. and Asimov is not known for his strong female characters - and he makes no exception to that rule in this book.
The story involves time travel and a toxic workplace. I like time travel stories and enjoyed this take on the time travel trope. What was difficult was remembering who all the characters were and who they were related to or directly connected to. This was an issue right up until the end for me. If I'd been reading this in book form instead of on my Kindle, I'd have been mapping out a family tree on the inside front cover that I could flip back and consult. I think the issue was, with the exception of Margaret and Bee, there wasn't a huge difference between the different characters. There also wasn't a massive difference between time periods when the story skipped ahead or back into the past. What was enjoyable for me was the world building for the rules of time travel. This one is just a sliver shy of a 4 for the world building.
I I keep thinking of this one as 'Gidget solves a murder." Really enjoyed this one, had trouble putting it down.
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.
Long. Exhaustively detailed. sometimes difficult to follow. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. I think it's a must read if you're planning a trip to the Grand Canyon. Particularly the first several chapters regarding falls, drowning, etc. The last part of the book gets into the area of sheer bad luck... not much you can do about random boulder from above or kidnapping.
Enjoyed this one. Short read. Lots of layers in this one. Society's disparaging view of people who hold jobs in the service industry is one layer. People living on the edge of society and trying to find a place is another. The recent news of Japan's low birthrate and poor work-life balance dilemma added another layer. The book is humorous, but Keiko is unusual, and was never really sure if the book would take a dark turn.
This one was fine. I liked it - but haven't made up my mind if I really liked it yet. I enjoyed the alternate-history-world-building once I got where the story was going - and that might take me happily into a sequel.