Anki

The Hound of Rowan is an enjoyable first novel, following in the literary footsteps of many boarding-school stories (magical or otherwise). There are a few rough spots in the writing/storytelling, but overall this is a solid book.

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.

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.

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.

The Lost Hero has a slightly different feel than the Percy Jackson books (it's written in a third person POV), but it's every bit as exciting and edge-of-your-seat adventure.

Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens is the fourth (and currently last) installment of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Brandon Sanderson ramped up the tension while still maintaining the lighthearted, humorous tone of the series. The reoccurring use of the word “stoopid” did get a little bit irritating at times, but each previous book in the series had some element or other designed for that purpose. Definitely hope that Brandon is able to write and publish the fifth book.

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.

Pathfinder is definitely an interesting read, if occasionally a confusing one.

All Princess Andromeda really wants to do is to be useful to her mother, the queen. Problem is, her mother doesn't seem to realise that Andie is competent at anything, and she marginalises Andie's accomplishments. It also doesn't exactly help matters that Andie is half-blind without her glasses, or that she doesn't exactly fit the standard for Acacian beauty (especially when compared to her mother, who is gorgeous).

I was able to identify reasonably well with Andromeda as a character, and I enjoyed the various twists on the story (even if they were telegraphed fairly clearly...which is actually something of the point in this series–the more you know The Tradition the better able you are to work with or around it. At the very least, you will be able to figure out what's going on to a greater degree).

The conclusion elements of the story seem just a little bit rushed, but given the type of book this wasn't exactly unexpected. All in all I classify this as a light, fun read.

Magic Below Stairs is a companion novel to the Cecelia and Kate books by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. It has a slightly younger target audience, and it is not written in a letter/journal format the way the Cecelia and Kate novels are.

I definitely want to see more of Frederick, and I really hope that Caroline Stevermer continues writing stories about him. The ending of the book definitely seems to leave that possibility open.

There's a lot of good information on hand spindling to be found in this book, but at times I found the author's insistence that a high-whorl spindle is the best of all possible spindles to be a bit frustrating. Not surprising–the book's subtitle makes it clear the focus of the text will be on high-whorl spindles–but still a bit frustrating.

The illustrations contained within this book are, without exception, drawings. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can make a book less accessible to modern audiences than one that uses photographs to illustrate various concepts.

The Season is a fun, light, and entertaining read. It is in the same general literary vein as the works of [a:Jane Austen 1265 Jane Austen http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282032472p2/1265.jpg] and [a:Georgette Heyer 18067 Georgette Heyer http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202767292p2/18067.jpg], but the overall tone of the writing falls squarely in the realm of today's young adult fiction. There were a couple of places where the word choice didn't really ring true to me, but it wasn't enough to through me out of the story.

This is a set of three urban fantasy novellas by Mercedes Lackey. The first (and longest) is the first new Diana Tregarde story in years, and it is set when Diana is just starting college. All three stories have introductions by Mercedes Lackey, giving a short rundown of certain world-chronology elements (mostly detailing the differences between the time frame of the story and the present day; there are quite a few!).

All in all a fast and enjoyable read.

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.

Turnabout is an interesting novel that explores a couple of ethical questions. It's a quick read, with several fun characters, and I enjoyed it. Had a few issues with some technical aspects of the basic premise, particularly dealing with memory loss and regression, but as I am neither a doctor nor a scientist I cannot say whether or not the problems I had have any grounding in reality. And it is a work of fiction.

This is probably my favorite Georgette Heyer novel to date. The characters are incredibly entertaining, and I just loved how everything flowed together in the end.

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.

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.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and once I got used to a few vocal quirks on the part of the narrator it was quite enjoyable. Sile Bermingham gives all the characters more or less distinct voices, and she's a steady reader.

The story was enjoyable, but I think certain aspects would have been easier to follow had I been holding a paper copy of the book. There's a lot of crossing and double-crossing going on amongst the characters, and it would have been nice to be able to flip back and forth to check things.

I love the character development that occurs in this book. And there's some beautiful symmetry between this book and The Warrior's Apprentice.

The narration style of this book took a bit of getting used to, and even at the end of the story I had trouble picturing the children as children, or at least as children as young as they were stated as being. Even so, this is a delightful book, and it explores how people are different from one another and how we can use those differences to either help or hurt the people around us. And it does this without being preachy, which is so very refreshing.

I will admit that “Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case” was my primary reason for picking up this book. I wanted more stories based in the Old Kingdom and/or Ancelstierre. My only real complaint is that the story isn't long enough; I would love to see another novel (or two or three!).

The other stories in the collection are also good. Some I enjoyed more than others, and several of them had me laughing out loud. Definitely a worthwhile read.

2.5 / 5.0

This book had a number of positives and negatives for me. I enjoy the setting (both place and time), and the characters were entertaining. There were a number of clever plot elements, and everything ends well. I could easily give this book three or four stars if not for one particularly jarring element: premarital sex between the main couple.

I am hardly so naive as to believe that nothing ever happened before marriage in Regency England. However, I do not need it described for me, and it wasn't even really necessary for the story. The same attempted scandal creation could have occurred without it, and it would have made a lot more sense than what ended up transpiring between two individuals who hadn't even known each other for more than a couple months, tops. They called it love in the book. It really wasn't; it was unbridled passion and lust.

Mort doesn't have many prospects in his home village, and he really isn't cut out for the family business–he's not nearly serious enough. So at Hogswatch, Mort's father takes him to a hiring fair in the nearby town, where Mort proceeds to wait the whole day while every other person at the fair gets taken in by somebody. It's looking like Mort just won't be hired at all, but right before midnight Death rides up and offers Mort an apprenticeship. Death assures Mort that no, the bones are not required, and Mort accepts the offer.

This is the first of the Discworld novels starring Death, and the fourth book of the series (as far as publication order goes). Lots of fun characters and adventures.

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.