Vilandra
It was annoying that the author messed up the titles he used in a couple places, and there was too much telling instead of showing. But it was a good enough light read.
I'll start off by saying that this is not the type of book I would ever choose to read. I purchased it for free when I first got my kindle and bought every free book there was. I was trying to clear some books off my list and said I'd give it 50 pages. But I found this book delightful! I was invested in the story and the characters, there was some really funny dialogue, and it left you with a good feeling. My only criticism is that I would be moseying along and then there would be something vulgar in it that would take me out of the story, but I think that's just because I am not a romance novel person. Someone who is would give this 5 stars, no question.
A delightful collection of stories about River Song by different authors. They get her voice & humor down very well and it was an enjoyable quick read.
This book was a 2 that became a 3 in the middle then went back to a 2. It's just too convoluted. It's barely got anything really to do with Jack the Ripper. It's like she had 3 ideas for books and smooshed them all together in this one. And the, “Remember when this happened on the show?”s every other paragraph got very tired by the end. She would just reference something from movies or tv instead of describing them. And the ending made very little sense. Just poorly constructed.
Giving it three stars for creativity, but it really belongs more on buzzfeed. I think it's loosely related to another book series of the author, but the excerpt given was fanfic at best.
I actually don't really like voo doo stories, but this really did continue the nostalgic, relaxing feel of this series. This was was finished by a different author after Bellairs' death, but I don't think it feels written by someone else.
This was a really good haunted house story. Though the twists weren't surprising, exactly, the story was well crafted and interesting. I definitely wanted to keep reading until the end. And I would reread this. The only thing I can really criticize is that the ending seemed rushed and too short. This is definitely the best that I've read of her so far (Daughters of the Lake and the Haunting of Brynn Wilder).
A lovely little story, giving more background to the characters. I wish I had read it in continuity though, instead of after all the main books.
This book is not terrible - the second half is probably a four except for a loose end that's tied up badly at the end. It's interesting for the tie in bits to the show but there are things that could have been done better.
This is a beautiful book, with color plates on almost every page. It is more of a catalog, with captions for each plate. There could have been more explanatory text - what was there felt a tad disjointed. This is not the book to read as your first foray into this topic, but for scholars it us a great asset.
This was not a novel - it was an excuse for the author to spew his personal vitriol against law enforcement, Giuliani, Bloomberg, Cuomo, modern New York City, television... It's the 600-page equivalent of an 80 year old man saying, “In my day...” It's not even that these were woven into the story: the reader is beat over the head with how great NYC was back in the crime-ridden 70s and 80s. If these aren't the author's personal beliefs, then it certainly feels that way and completely takes the reader out of the story. After 125 pages, I really wanted to stop reading. Marcianna is the only character I cared anything about, and the dialogue sounds like it came from a bad comic book. Oh, the stereotypes! Also the characters use British terms for things that Americans just do not use. Then there's the creepy older man with 20 year old girl romance. Not to mention that the premise of the book just doesn't make sense. The hypocrisy of a book that talks about the Thought Police while spewing inaccurate Thought Police talking points...that talks about inaccuracy in tv while doing the very same...I expected better from this author. He's been around Hollywood too long, ironically. If you liked The Alienist, do not read this book - it will change your opinion of this author. I wish I could take back reading this. I will not even donate this book to the library because I don't want anyone else to have to read it.
Really does a great job pointing out what remains of Victorian London. My reading was greatly enhanced by using Google Earth to follow along. The book promised at the beginning that after reading I’d be able to spot a Victorian building and by the end I can definitely say that was true. I really liked how the author included places to stop and get refreshment along the way that fit into the walks’ theme.
This is a beautiful book, appropriate for beginners. My only criticism that beside the beautiful illustrations there weren't photographs of the herbs.
I really enjoyed getting to read this scene from Four's perspective- he was always the mire interesting character to me anyway.
It took a little bit to get past the vulgar language and apparent Outlander homages, but once I did I enjoyed the story immensely. Admittedly I don't normally read romance, but it was a nice read.
I really enjoyed reading this. It could have been 5 stars with a little editing. The characters aren't really likable, but this is more about the story so it actually matters less than it normally would. The author's virtue signaling really draws the reader out of the story at times though. If you're going to have characters give their pronouns, just have them give their pronouns. Don't shoehorn in a lecture to the reader about why it's needed. That's not normalizing it. Some of the comments that were clearly in there with the intent to say, “Look how progressive I am!” didn't even make sense. Also, parts were more vulgar than they needed to be. This isn't (as far as I can tell) a romance novel. The graphic sex comes off as the author trying to be edgy rather than serving the story. Having said that, I do think it's worth reading and the annoying bits can be overlooked for the overall story. But it would have been nicer if I didn't need to overlook them and could have stayed immersed in the story. I would absolutely read another book by this author and recognize that she might have been pressured to add in some if the disjointed stuff by her editor.
It's interesting to see that the same issues existed over 70 years ago. The parallels to today are striking and thought-provoking. It's interesting to see how fast the main character goes from conforming to thinking as an individual.
I loved this book, Capital L. It felt a lot like a Dickens book - a lot of vignettes about the same character. I laughed out loud a lot, and also got teary-eyed at parts. The dialogue is so sharp and witty, and it deals with serious topics in a real way without being preachy. Just an all around well written book that I didn't want to put down.
I did not love this the way I did the author's other books. The first half is slow and boring, and it really doesn't get going until 3/4 of the way through. The main characters are not the most interesting or likable, and the “romances” are ridiculous and not believable.
Really enjoyed reading this - definitely want to continue the series. It has that wonderful post-war small village setting. The characters are vibrant. The stories are fun to read and I like that they are interconnected (they don't really feel like short stories). Also the tv show was faithful to the books so they both definitely have the same feel.
I was really invested in this book until the last 75 pages. A weird romance thing, and the realization that what I had guessed at the very beginning ended up actually being true, plus the fact that it was a bit all over the place, lessened my enjoyment. I feel like it ended in a good place, but it could have been cleaned up a bit.
I loved this book. It felt like curling up next to a fire in the great house of an English village. The characters are superb, and their different storylines are woven together wonderfully. I wish this was a true story!
This book made me laugh out loud. I feel like I would have loved this book more if I had read it as a kid though. There were some parts I just wanted to get through. You can definitely see the influence either from or to Doctor Who.