Kirsty Cabot
First read to Lan December 2019
A firm favourite of his!
First read to Ivy 9/11/16
A brilliant story to read aloud, and perfect for winter/xmas!
I liked the premise. I liked the way it highlighted sexism, misogyny and racism in the 50s. I enjoyed some of the set pieces of the story.
But for the most part I didn't enjoy the pace, didn't really connect with the characters, and the soft sex scenes were horrendously cringy with their space/engineer innuendos which made me eye roll. I'm not sure I'll pursue the series, which is a shame as I enjoyed the novella.
A story of the Selkie and the Folk. Really evocative. The illustrations are haunting and ethereal.
This book was fantastic. I felt like Cotterill was had gone back to 11yr old me, taken some of my memories and written them down on paper - and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I laughed, I cried, I sympathised, empathised and reminisced. I wished I'd had this book when I was that age.
Jelly is Angelica Waters and she is dealing with the kinds of things many 11 year olds have to cope with - body changes, noticing how you're different to other people, how other people are different to you, how words and actions can affect positively and negatively, how to find outlets for all those emotions, periods, family dilemmas, friendships.... it goes on.
Beautifully and cleverly written, it's raw, honest, powerful... and just REAL.
I'm sure that it will be spot on for its target age group, but if you've ever been a slightly awkward pre-teen (and even if you haven't!) it's definitely worth a read.
This was a great book to get me reading after a huge slump.
I borrowed a review copy from someone who had received the copy for free from the author. This in no way influenced my review. All thoughts are my own.
A great collection of wizarding stories. Very much enjoyed reading these.
Once again feel they would have been improved with a few more illustrations, but not enough to drop a star this time.
A lovely book about bravery, curiosity and community. I'm in love with the illustrations.
I don't know how to rate this book! It was fun, and I devoured it. But I think I expect more from Sanderson. The first 75% felt too long whilst the last 25% felt too rushed. Despite that, it was fun, with great ideas as is typical of Sanderson. It reminded me of Armada in some ways, but I think I preferred Armada to this.
Worth a read but not world changing.
4.5 Stars.
I really loved this series. It kept me hooked throughout the whole series. I enjoyed the characters - in book 2 I was a bit frustrated with Lila's charachter but she redeemed a bit more in this final book. Schwab did a great job of bringing nearly all the threads to a satisfying wrap up.
The thread for me that didn't quite do it for me was Alucard and Rhy, I reeeeeeeeallly wanted a public acknowledgement of their relationship. I was impressed with how Schwab wrote their relationship throughout the books, but just felt that at the end there, that final leap, without the need for hiding, pretense or excuse, I wished they could've been written in as publically together. That's where my final half star went!
Overall really recommend the series. I listened to the Audible audiobooks. I really enjoyed the narration, and although there was a jarring switch between from book 1 to book 2 & 3, I do love Kramer and Reading so it didn't take long getting used to.
Powerful reading. Sometimes it's good to see written down some of the ideas/things you already think and do, whilst also giving me new things to think about in how I bring up my children.
Evil Earth What. A. Ride. Recommend recommend recommend.
Couldn't put it down. The trilogy utterly gripped me. And at some point in the not too distant future I hope I can go back and re read the series, I know there'll be so much to pick up on, on the next round.
A really enjoyable read, but just not on the same level of [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet 25786523 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) Becky Chambers https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435140741s/25786523.jpg 42270825] for me. I think in time I will definitely appreciate it additional information in the wider Wayfarers universe. Great writing, and really interesting ideas by Chambers once again.
I enjoyed this, not as captivating as the others of hers I've read, but it was good. Chambers has such a wonderful writing style, I love her attention to detail in creating inclusive, interesting characters and races.
I enjoyed the extra info, but felt it could have been so much more. Also not wholly convinced on the style, where it's partly in the story, but then partly looking at it from the outside e.g. “in the Harry Potter books”, and with extra info from JK Rowling herself. I was kind of hoping it was going to be written by someone from the HP universe, in character. Same applies to all three of the newly released books.
I enjoyed the extra info, but felt it could have been so much more. Also not wholly convinced on the style, where it's partly in the story, but then partly looking at it from the outside e.g. “in the Harry Potter books”, and with extra info from JK Rowling herself. I was kind of hoping it was going to be written by someone from the HP universe, in character. Same applies to all three of the newly released books.
Gorgeously illustrated retelling of Rapunzel, placed in an Indian Cultural setting and less “Disney”. Lost a star as it would have been good to have some reflection of Indian culture in the story itself.
I love this! Longer than your average picture book, but. That's not a negative by any means. It's beautifully illustrated, the quality of the books is lovely (kind of matt), and the story is great (Nordic gods themed). We found this book after reading Marcie and the Riddle of the Sphinx - which is equally awesome. I recommend!
4.5 stars. I enjoyed the continuing development of the story and world. But it felt like a slow book, where not an awful lot really happened. Also as much as I love lilah, there are some parts of her development that just make me roll my eyes. Where my belief was suspended just a bit too far in what she's capable of, or how she would act. But despite that, I'll be checking out the next one.
I had heard many mixed reviews of the book but was still excited to read it. First off it's a book of the play, so it's never going to read like a novel. Regardless of the format, it moved me. Moved me so much, and I was back there, engrossed in the wizarding world again. It was beautiful. Thank you JK.
Great ideas, interesting story and like the art work. But it didn't blow me away. Interested to see where it goes though!