Anki

I received an advance reader copy of this book back in 2012, but it sat on my shelves for eight years before being read. I am trying not to kick myself too much over this fact, and I plan on picking up a finished copy of the book (the ARC does not include the index, and the end notes, while present, lack page number references).

While I have been familiar with the novels of Alexandre Dumas for years, I knew little about his life, and nothing about the life of his father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. This excellently researched biography and history helps fill in those gaps. Drawing from letters and memoirs and records of the time, Reiss pulls together a fascinating narrative honoring this incredible man.

Were I younger–say about ten or twelve years old–I think I would have adored this book. However, it lacks the polish I've seen in Gail Carson Levine's earlier work, particularly [b:Ella Enchanted 24337 Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Y50SRZ6DL.SL75.jpg 2485462] and [b:The Two Princesses of Bamarre 183656 The Two Princesses of Bamarre Gail Carson Levine http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172520009s/183656.jpg 3155307]. In particular, I had a hard time following event causation (things happened for no discernible reason, and often were not explained at all), many of the descriptions seemed aimed at showing off the world-building/culture rather than furthering the story, and the characterisation of the side characters seemed based largely on quirks in their speech (repeated words or phrases, particular sounds, etc). The net result, for me, was an overall inability to connect with the story in any meaningful way. Instead of being immersed in the story, I was removed from the action as I read.

I am marking this as read, since I have read the one story in it that I definitely wanted to read. That being the Ilona Andrews novella set in the Kate Daniels universe. It was fun, and I am glad I was able to read it.

I will check out the other stories in the book, but they don't currently have nearly as much of a draw for me.

My reactions to this book are . . . mixed. On the one hand, Waldo and Ancilla are wonderful, as are most of the supporting cast. The setting and situations are entertaining. On the other hand . . . Tiffany Wield. I don't think I've seen many characters as obnoxious and self-centered and in need of a set-down as Tiffany. Additionally, it baffled me that essentially everyone around her–even when they acknowledged her behavior as odious–refused to do anything other than coddle her and come up with excuses as to why they continued to spoil her. She may have been seventeen years old, but her behaviour was that of an over-tired three-year-old being told to take a nap or share toys.

So, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. First, the positives: this is a sweet story that provides an accessible example of what the KonMari method is and how to apply it in your life. There isn't really any new information here per se, but presenting the information in a story format helps readers see how the KonMari method works. Having examples like this can be incredibly useful, and like I said, the story is cute.

That said, I cannot understand why the publisher decided to flip this book to read left-to-right. This is 2017, not 1997, and manga is mainstream and popular enough that reading a “backwards book” (right-to-left format) isn't exactly a barrier to entry. It wasn't terrible reading this flipped, but the art felt subtly off. Also...they didn't flip everything. Some panels are unflipped, and the floorplan of Chiaki's apartment at the beginning of the book is also unflipped (and it's obvious; you see her full apartment a page later). I want to get a copy of the Japanese version to get a better idea of exactly what all was changed.

I'm glad this manga is available in English. I'm glad I own it, even as I question the formatting decisions of the publisher. I wish it were available in English in an unflipped format.

This is one of those books I'd heard a lot about and seen around, but I didn't pick it up until recently. The story is powerful, and it's an excellent parable/fable on how to truly live your life. Definitely a book I need to add to my collection.

I expected to enjoy this book more than I did, given the setting and the premise of the story. The writing is solid, and things are fairly well paced. All these things combine to make, well, an average story instead of a gripping one.

The pacing in this book is better than the first two books as far as consistency goes, but I continue to have issues with various worldbuilding elements and consistency there.

Quite entertaining, but there were some parts that seemed a bit slow/drawn out to me. Also, the Yorkshire accent took some definite getting used to. Happen I just don't have a real ear (or would that be eye?) for accents, but it could also be how it was presented. By the end of the book I was becoming conversant, at least.

While I enjoyed reading this book, I found it to be somewhat slow going. Captain John Staple was very entertaining, but I felt like I never got a particularly good feel for Miss Nell. Certainly their relationship came about rather faster than I really think is possible, but that's likely as not a reflection of the genre.

The mystery (or rather, mysteries) within the book was interesting, but I did get a bit frustrated when it seemed like certain facts were being withheld from the reader in order to increase the mystery. There was enough to piece things together at the end, but during the process of the story I felt as though I was being led about.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I finished reading it, and it is the start of a series, and when one finishes the first book in a new series a mere ten days after it is published it stands to reason one must then wait (however impatiently) for the next book. So I shall wait, and keep my eyes peeled for news of the next book in the series.

I have thoughts and feelings about this book that I am still trying to piece together. It wasn't bad, but I cannot say it was good either. More later, once I have thought about things more.

This book is the first in a new fantasy series that explores the possibilities of alternate realities and how things might develop differently depending on a series of circumstances. It also includes lots of puzzles and riddles, but in a way that makes sense through the storytelling. They flow naturally as part of the plot.[return][return]I especially appreciated the focus on family, though it did seem that Tick's parents were a little too accepting of all that was happening at times. Still, it was a nice change of pace to read a fantasy novel with a protagonist whose parents are both still alive, together, and involved in his life. Having involved family in a story creates a completely different dynamic than having an absent family (through either disinterest or death), and it tends to complicate matters, often in a delightful–at least for readers–way.

Travel to Tomorrow is the first book in the Fifties Chix series, and it is a time-travel (or at least dimension-hopping/alternate reality) themed story. This was definitely a book devoted heavily to setting up the premise and introducing the characters, but that is fairly typical for first books in series like this. A lot of questions were raised, but very few of them were actually answered.

A glossary of terms and people is included at the back of the book, which was helpful, but the tone of the entries often felt like the author was trying too hard to use modern slang to define the 50s slang, and the result was less than successful, at least from my perspective. Of course, I am also not precisely in the target audience for the book, so it is entirely possible that I am out of touch. I'll have to show it to my sister and see what she thinks.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice (and its sequels) were recommended to me after I started reading [b:The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I 10147 The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Arthur Conan Doyle http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166126820s/10147.jpg 6658462]. I am most definitely grateful for that recommendation as it pointed me in the direction of a very charming and entertaining book. Mary Russell is a wonderful character and narrator, and I look forward to reading more in this series.

An Assembly Such as This is the first book in a trilogy that relates the events of [a:Jane Austen 1265 Jane Austen https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1380085320p2/1265.jpg]'s [b:Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399351l/1885.SY75.jpg 3060926] from the viewpoint of Mr. Darcy.I really loved how Pamela Aidan took the existing text and fleshed things out from Darcy's perspective. The writing is definitely modern as far as structure and description go, but stylistically and factually it stays within the bounds of Austen's England. In this book Darcy finds Elizabeth every bit as difficult to read as she finds Darcy in the original novel.The cast of characters is somewhat expanded, as Darcy does not and would not interact with a number of the people Elizabeth spends her time with. Some of the prominent characters in the original novel–Elizabeth's mother and sisters, for example–are only minor characters here, and individuals like Bingley and his sisters become much more prominent. Probably the most noticeable addition of Aidan's in this book is the character of Fletcher, Darcy's valet. He is a delightful addition to the story, and really helps to ground the setting historically.

Tuesdays at the Castle struck just the right note with me as I was reading it. Celie is an intelligent, spunky, delightful eleven-year-old, and is a delight to follow around. The writing is smart and crisp, and the pacing is excellent.

Overall I enjoyed this collection of short comics following around the cast and characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, the broad range of art styles made for a somewhat disconnected feel. I most enjoyed the stories where the art closely mimicked the original animation, or where the art was a bit more realistic. Thankfully, those entries made up most of the volume.

The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin is Patrick Doud's first novel. From a purely technical standpoint, the novel is solid: the language is descriptive and there are no egregious grammatical errors. On the plot side of things the story is...generic. It feels as though someone gave Doud two checklists: things to make a good juvenile/YA novel and things every epic fantasy novel should strive to include (this second list cribbed heavily from the works of Tolkien). And Doud seems to dutifully follow these lists.

The unfortunate end result is that the story, pretty descriptions and turns of phrase notwithstanding, is not really very engaging. It begins by throwing as many “look, I'm a fantasy novel!!” things out as possible, but without giving a coherent structure. Many of the names of characters and places are very similar to one another, which adds a level of confusion and frustration. And the level of “coincidence” is far higher than I really care to have in my fantasy stories.

(I received this book as an ARC through an Early Reviewer program)

At first glance, the subtitle of this book was somewhat confusing. Granted, that's likely because the copy I borrowed from the public library was a (first edition?) hardcover completely lacking a dust jacket, so there was no summary or blurb or anything else of that sort. Still, it took a bit for the “wicked uncle” part to be made clear.

Sylvester, Duke of Salford, and Phoebe Marlowe are delightfully entertaining characters, with plenty of quirks. I also loved the various secondary characters in this story–Edmund is a particularly adorable little imp.

Another entertaining romp through Regency-era England. I found this one was a little slow to get started, but as soon as Pen showed up it was a nonstop run from one crazy thing to the next.

This is the second book in the Magical Cats mystery series, and overall I enjoyed it. The characters are entertaining, and the way the mystery was structured made a certain amount of sense. I would have liked to see a bit more of the cats, but you can't always get everything you want. I already have the third book in the series out from the library, and look forward to reading it.

Unfortunately, the copy-editing and proofreading of this book were both sub-par. This is probably due to the nature of the “serial cozy mystery” genre, which seems to have a focus on quick turnaround times for publication. The text of this book contains a lot of typos, most of the “missing an entire word” sort with a few of the “wrong homonym” variety cropping up here and there. While I know it is nearly impossible to catch all the typos within a manuscript, there is a big difference between missing one or two things and missing twenty or more that even a quick read-through should have caught.

Ultimately the typos did not affect my overall enjoyment of the story, but I think I would have been more disappointed had I purchased the book rather than borrowing it from my local library.

This is one of those books where the concept is very interesting, but I felt that it sort of failed when it came to execution and getting the facts/setting right.

The setting is a Ren Faire–a permanent one. While there may be permanent Renaissance Faires in existence, all the ones I know of (at least in the United States where this book is set) are temporary things. They are open for a period of weeks or months, often in the late summer and through the autumn months. Given the descriptions, the Renaissance Faire depicted in the book seems more like a living history/reenactment museum mixed with a theme park.

On the storytelling front, well, it felt more like work to read this than anything else. I had trouble caring about the characters, and the mystery wasn't particularly compelling to me either. Nothing about it really had me wanting to read any more books in this series.

This is a fun fantasy adventure with a hefty dose of political intrigue and a good amount of romance. I still have a bit of trouble keeping all the Houses and factions straight in my head, however.

I was very excited to find this book on the shelf at my local bookstore (it took them a while to get it in). I have been reading the Girl Genius comic for several years, so a novelisation was of interest to me.

The writing is solid, though some stylistic elements may take getting used to, particularly if you are unfamiliar with steampunk and/or Girl Genius. Content-wise this novel covers the same time period and story elements as the first three volumes of the Girl Genius comic. There are some minor differences between the two, and the novel expands on several background story elements that aren't really covered predominantly in the comic.

Unfortunately, reading the novel doesn't let you see all the intricate background details that are shoved into the art in the comic. Including said details would be impractical; if nothing else it would completely bog down and derail the story. So as an example, in the novel we have to be content with knowing Gil's personal library has bookcases crammed with books, and some of the broad categories those books fall under. In the comic we can read the titles of many of those books (things like Who's Who, What's What, Cultivate a Maniacal Laugh, and Oops!) and get some chuckles.

All in all I would say this is a good companion work to the comic, not a replacement or substitute. They work best together. Reading the novel had me jumping back in to reread the comic, because I was craving all the little humorous details that just didn't translate over to the written word.