Esme
I'm tired of haunted house books that focus on the house and the characters are just afraid. The thing that I love about this book is that it is a complex psychological portrait of a character, which includes more than just her reaction to the house. From the first that we meet her, Eleanor is a compelling character. What makes her fascinating is that you just can't quite figure out what is going on with her. And that makes the ending, although heavily foreshadowed, shocking.
It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I was captivated by worldbuilding and characters. I especially loved how what seemed like several separate stories all came together at the end in surprising ways.
Warrior's Rise by LJ DeLeon is the first book of an epic paranormal urban fantasy series.
The world created by DeLeon is cohabited by normal people (that's us – at least I'm guessing you're normal?) and supes (weres, fae, mages, Druids, daemons, vampires, gargoyles, basilisks, and any other magical creature you've ever seen in any other book).
Many of the supes are good, working to keep the planet in balance in service to The Goddess. Some, however, are evil. And some of those evil guys hold influential positions in business and governmental agencies. (That's explains a lot, eh?) All of the supes are undercover, posing as Norms. The human race is completely unaware of their presence in their midst.
Imagine the surprise and complete panic as the deception is revealed when the Dark Lord sets out to take down the veil between the Underworld and our world.
Fortunately, the humans and good supes have someone powerful on their side in their battle against the powers of evil – the Caidh Arm, Deva. She's a young bartender who is raised up and given lots of cool supernatural powers by The Goddess.
Where there's a young, beautiful heroine, there must be a tall, dark, and handsome hero. In this book, that's Paidrag, Crown Prince of the Fae. And you can guess what happens next. There's a little cha-cha-cha, but mostly it's the soul mate telepathy stuff.
Deva and Paidrag must overcome obstacles to gather their forces to prepare for the oncoming war.
There are a few battle scenes, but they are as sketchy as the sex scenes. In the middle of the war, Deva, Paidrag, and many of their leadership team are able to take a few days off to go the the court of the Fae for their wedding. This is where the first book ends.
There's a lot of imagination here, but not enough action. A lot of threats, a little fighting, a little sex, a lot of Deva's interior monologue – I want more conflict out of a fantasy about an epic war between good and evil.
Some of the Amazon reviews complain about poor editing. I agree that it could be better, but it only disrupted the flow of my reading a few times. They also complain about the juvenile writing. Epic fantasy isn't exactly known for nuance in character or layering in plot. The problem is that this epic just isn't nearly epic enough, leaving the lack of nuance and layering readily apparent.
I'm sure the author's skills will grow as she continues writing this series. I just didn't like this book enough to invest $5 for the second book in the series.
I'm giving this book 3 stars as it was enjoyable for the imaginative world DeLeon has created.
Lovely entertaining stories about dragons written for children about 6 to 10 years old.
Surprised me - a tender coming of age story with an ending that may be a bit too pat, but is still heartwarming.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by BJ Harrison and this review pertains to that version.
The narration is masterful, as I have come to expect from Harrison. This was a challenging story to narrate as there is a huge cast of characters to differentiate, but Harrison is up to the challenge. I can honestly say that I would never have finished this book in a written form, but the audio kept me riveted. I listened well past midnight and into the wee hours on a work night because once Rebecca was on trial, I couldn't stop until I was done.
The anti-semitism is offputting at first, but then it becomes the heart of the story as we see the evolution of several characters as they interact with Rebecca. She is the most fully developed character in the piece, and her integrity, faith, and gentle spirit inspired me as it did those characters who allowed themselves to know her. As this happened, my initial horror at the anti-semitism was transformed into hope that good people even in our day can overcome entrenched bigotry. I am glad I continued listening despite my initial reaction.
Too predictable. I was waiting for the twist that would fix that, but it never came. Not one of Grisham's best.
Pretty standard Christian romance. Not enough thriller to balance it out for my taste, but the writing is good.
This was my favorite read of 2022. It is a gentle, bittersweet read that manages to be sad and inspiring at the same time. I absolutely loved this story as it unfolded and revealed the great love of one man for his friends and one cat for this man.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by George Blagden whose nuanced reading really enhanced the text of the book. I particularly enjoyed the snark he added to the cat's voice. It was perfect. I particularly loved this line from the cat: “Humans who think we don't understand them are the stupid ones.”
This book is the story of a journey, both physical and emotional. It is filled with humor, wonder, and beauty. As the cat says of the journey: “At that moment, we were without doubt the greatest travellers in the world. And I was the world's greatest travelling cat.”
This book is something that you should not miss if you've ever been loved by a cat. Perhaps even if you haven't.
I didn't know quite what to expect when I started this book, but the narrator, Perdita Weeks, drew me into the unfolding story of a nymph who cannot find her place with her divine family. She breaks a rule, and the gods banish her to an island alone. There she must become everything for herself. The story is touching, at times violent, and ultimately heartwarming. Along the way we meet Hermes, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope, as well as others.
Weeks is a masterful narrator, bringing all the vulnerability and power to create complexity and depth in Circe. This is critical as we see the story through Circe's point of view. And what a point of view! She grew up the daughter of Helios, the sun God, whom she reverenced though he barely noticed her. It is only when she is banished that she learns who she is and what she can do. She is amazing, and I am grateful for the richness of Miller's imagination in creating her world for us to enjoy.
Is it possible to be too sarcastic about this president? If it is, Rick Wilson has achieved it. But that's not a bad thing.
Not your typical political book
Laugh out loud funny and insightful. If you are dismayed at the buffoonery that characterizes politics in the Trump era, this is a great look at what we can do to change things going forward. Highly recommended
Gather ‘Round the Sound: Holiday Stories from Beloved Authors and Great Performers Across the Globe
The story about the GE workers answering letters to Santa was fascinating. I also enjoyed the Coelho story. The Dickens story didn't seem very related to the holidays to me, but it was a good story.
Six generations of Romany women - the danger, the power, the relationships, the love, and the betrayal. Fascinating and entrancing.
I wouldn't really classify this as a novel of suspense, but that's not important. This is brilliantly written. The big plot twist takes the entire novel to unfold, and the process of the unfolding is quite satisfying leading to an ending that I loved.
I am reviewing the Audible version of this book.
I really enjoyed this story, especially the character of Patricia. I found her character arc fascinating. I also enjoy a story where I can see some of the ending coming, but then, in a twist, it doesn't work out exactly as I thought it would.
Alyssa Bresnahan is the perfect narrator for this book, particularly for voicing Patricia, with all her neuroticism, and the birds, with all their singlemindedness. Patricia and the birds are, to me, the core of this book.
The story is a quirky coming of age story that continues on into the struggles of young adulthood. Our misfit protagonists in junior high manage to end up where they wanted to be, and, in many ways, they are still misfits trying to forgive themselves and, in the process, finally reconcile with who they really are. Although Patricia and Laurence are the protagonists, I feel that Patricia is written more fully than Laurence. This may be because the author is female and just couldn't fully inhabit the thoughts and motivations of a male character as well as she could a female.
I received this book in the dead tree format as a birthday gift, but I already had bought the audiobook. I am glad that I listened to the audiobook version first. I think I'll regift the other.
Fascinating reading. The last section is very painful to read. The twist at the end is amazing.
I've never loved A Christmas Carol, although I know many people do. It seemed so barren to me. I never cared about Scrooge, and his conversion in the end never mattered to me.
This is the first time I've listened to it as an audiobook, and boy, did that ever change my mind. I absolutely loved the experience of listening to it. The narrator for the version I listened to is Tim Curry, and he brought a lot of emotion into the story. I cannot think of a more perfect narrator for this book, and I'm grateful to have found this version. In his reading, Scrooge is by turns angry, bitter, bored, scared, silly, and joyful. I cried through most of the book as I really began to care about Scrooge and to see some of his foibles in me. Bravo!