lemonith

Robbie F reviewed a book.

“The Hardscrabble children are (let's face it) strange. Elder brother Otto never takes off the scarf he has worn since their mother disappeared, and speaks only in a private sign language understood only by his siblings. Youngest child Max is a walking encyclopedia with a head for heights. And in...”

“The Hardscrabble children are (let's face it) strange. Elder brother Otto never takes off the scarf he has worn since their mother disappeared, and speaks only in a private sign language understood only by his siblings. Youngest child Max is a walking encyclopedia with a head for heights. And in the middle is Lucia, the narrator (though she pretends to be anonymous), scared and vulnerable and mouthy and fiercely protective of her family. A lot of self-deprecating humor works its way into her narrative, as she admits to being afraid of heights, repeatedly mistakes the meanings of words Max knows and uses, and addresses back-chatty remarks to the English teacher who asked her to write this studiously dramatic account of her family's most gothically creepy adventure.

Otto, Lucia, and Max live alone with their father, who is a portrait painter—except, when their father goes out of town to sketch studies of fallen royalty from around the world, such as the deposed prince who ate his breakfast while perched on top of a fountain, and the rejected wife of an African tribal chief who, when the lions growled at her, growled right back. During their father's trips, the strange Hardscrabble children usually have to stay with a neighbor lady who treats them poorly. On this occasion, however, they ride a train to London to stay with an aunt—who, thanks to a communication snag, proves to be away from home. After a hair-raising evening on the city streets, the three children find their way to a miniature castle (a child-size replica of the full-size castle next door), where they happen to know their great-aunt is staying. A woman they have never met. A woman whom they suspect of being their mother.

While they are working up the nerve to ask Aunt Haddie whether she is really their mum, they get caught up in a spooky mystery involving a figure seen in the top-floor windows of Kneebone Castle, a secret passage, a mechanical dragon, a deformed child kept hidden away by his family, a possible ghost, and a lost prince found hunted and hiding in a forest far from home. Before the pieces of the puzzle come together, the Hardscrabbles will take terrible risks and make tear-jerking discoveries. And while all their problems are not magically solved, what they find will carry their family past a point of painful mystery that has choked their happiness for years.

As the author of the Olivia Kidney series, Ellen Potter has already proven herself adept at steering brave young characters through rough emotional seas. We feel for their hurting as they slowly wrap their minds around such awful realities as death and mental illness in the family. While I have reservations about the realism and respectfulness of this book's treatment of the latter problem, I mostly enjoyed this book. I was particularly attracted to the way the Hardscrabble children get along together. Though at one point, Potter slips and makes a reference to Otto's tone of voice, she perhaps repairs this blunder by mentioning later on that a sharpness in his hand gestures came across to his siblings as yelling. And that's really where this book interests me: its sensitivity to the private ways loved ones have of reading each other, and by accepting each other's imperfections, becoming greater than the sum of their individual selves. In plain English, I was touched by the interplay between those strange Hardscrabble children.

More books by Ellen Potter (besides three or four Olivia Kidney books) include Pish Posh, Slob, The Humming Room, and Otis Dooda: Strange But True. ”

Robbie F rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

Robbie F reviewed a book.

“I've never watched a single episode of Glee—simply because I don't watch TV—but even I am aware that author Chris Colfer acted and sang his way into millions of hearts in that series. And though he isn't the first actor to find success as an author of fiction—for example, Julie Andrews Edwards...”

“I've never watched a single episode of Glee—simply because I don't watch TV—but even I am aware that author Chris Colfer acted and sang his way into millions of hearts in that series. And though he isn't the first actor to find success as an author of fiction—for example, Julie Andrews Edwards and Ian Ogilvy are among those whose work I have reviewed—I can't help being impressed by this kid. Scarcely 23 years old at this writing, he already has a Golden Globe award (Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series) and a New York Times Number One Bestseller. In my book, that's a sign of incredibly ambitious, wide-ranging, and precocious talent. The proof will come when he continues to bring forth fresh creative stuff.

This is Chris Colfer's first novel, aimed at younger readers, and it's the first book of a series called "The Land of Stories." It introduces us to twins Alex and Conner Bailey, who miss their father (who was killed in an accident), worry about their mother (who works double shifts at the hospital to support them), and struggle to fit in at school. Alex is a Hermione Granger type: smart and studious, eager to please, she often feels lonely and left out of her classmates' social cliques. Conner is pure trouble: mouthy and mischievous, brimming with activity, he has difficulty staying awake in class and frequently earns the wrath of his teacher. In spite of their differences, the twins are intensely loyal to each other. And so when Alex falls through a family heirloom book of fairy tales, and lands in the magical world where those tales took place, it's only to be expected that Conner follows her.

The world they discover on the other side of this book-sized gateway is divided into several kingdoms. Some of these kingdoms are ruled by fairies, dwarves, goblins, and trolls. Others have kings and queens who, as princes and princesses, were the heroes and heroines of such classic stories as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Rapunzel," and "Cinderella." A little time has passed since the stories recorded in Grandma's book, but such a very little that the twins soon begin to suspect that time behaves differently on both sides of the book-portal. So they feel the urgency of finding a way back into their own world, where their mother will be worrying about them and might even give them up for dead.

The problem is—How can they get back to their world? A huge but friendly frog tells them that he knows one way, described in a journal left behind by the last man who tried it. This route is called the Wishing Spell, and to complete it, one must collect a set of hard-to-get items from all around the Land of Stories. Things like Cinderella's glass slipper, a bit of Red Riding Hood's basket, and a lock of Rapunzel's hair. And though the rightful owners of these things are nice enough and willing to share, collecting the items will not be safe or easy. The roads are haunted by dangerous creatures. And an Evil Queen who has escaped from prison is also looking for the ingredients of the Wishing Spell—which can only be used once more. If the enemy gets to it first, the twins may be stuck in the Land of Stories forever. And yet, perhaps more disturbing than all this is the strange feeling that grows on Alex and Conner... the feeling that this magical world may be where they really belong.

I liked the tone and pacing of this young author's first book. In short strokes, he paints a word-picture of a really whimsical and charming world. He is especially successful in creating Alex and Conner, who are always saying and doing such fun things. He also proves capable of stirring deeper and darker emotions, and of provoking thought about the importance of story in our world. Book 2 of "The Land of Stories," set to be released in August 2013, will be titled The Enchantress Returns. I look forward to reading this, as well as Colfer's other novel, titled Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal. The latter has already been made into a film, written for the screen by and starring Colfer himself. ”

Robbie F reviewed a book.

“In Book 5 of the Codex Alera series, young Tavi of Calderon, recently outed as Gaius Octavian—the grandson of Alera's ruling First Lord Gaius Sextus, and thereby Princeps of the realm—faces a crisis in which the antagonistic races that populate his world must either come together or perish...”

“In Book 5 of the Codex Alera series, young Tavi of Calderon, recently outed as Gaius Octavian—the grandson of Alera's ruling First Lord Gaius Sextus, and thereby Princeps of the realm—faces a crisis in which the antagonistic races that populate his world must either come together or perish separately. At the same time, the question of who will succeed Gaius Sextus reaches a crucial climax that will only be resolved in Book 6, First Lord's Fury.

In the previous books, we have seen Tavi grow from a spirited apprentice shepherd, through being a resourceful student and a daring secret agent, up to a gifted military leader with a knack for turning enemies into allies. And for most of that time, he has had to get by on sheer nerve and out-of-the-box thinking, while suffering the unique disability (for an Aleran) of being unable to call upon the furies of earth, wind, fire, water, wood, and metal to give him powers that others take for granted. Even now, when he has begun to manifest exceptional fury-crafting talents, he may be helpless to defend himself against the jealous wiles of high lords and ladies who will do anything, betray anyone, and murder any number of people to get power for themselves. And so his grandfather sends him on a mission to get him out of the way—a mission to escort the surrendered army of Canim invaders back to its homeland.

No sooner has Tavi's fleet sailed, however, than the land begins to face its direst crisis ever. The Vord are back, spreading their wax-like Croach, feeding off every life-form they encounter, reproducing and attacking in unstoppable swarms, and annihilating anything that isn't themselves. Now they're even worse than before, thanks to high-level traitors who have given the Vord the ability to read Aleran minds and to use fury-crafting, previously available only to the Alerans. At first by stealth, and then in overwhelming force, the Vord have begun to take over the historic heartland of Alera. Their course of destruction is aimed at the imperial capital. And so the realm no longer has time to carry on its endless skirmishing with the neighboring Icemen, leave alone the Marat horde and the Canim.

While Tavi finds out how much horribly worse things are in the Cane homeland, his mother Isana challenges the Icemen to leave their border with Alera in peace. In an even more literal sense of the word "challenge," she must also risk her life to persuade the leader of the anti-Icemen forces to leave the border, period. Only with their reinforcements does the realm stand any chance against the Vord. Meanwhile, Tavi's Uncle Bernard and Bernard's wife Amara set off on an all-but-suicidal mission behind Vord lines, to spy out the secret (if there is one) of beating this terrible enemy. And Gaius Sextus makes a shocking sacrifice to slow the Vord advance, in hope that the pieces he has placed on the board will have time to move into position for an endgame that others will have to play in his stead. Whether that leaves Tavi on the road to leading the Alerans into a brave new world—or whether there will even be a world—is a matter for the next book.

My evaluation? After my reviews of the first four Codex Alera books, I hardly know what to say that will not make me sound like a broken record. This book plays out before a fantasy-world-building backdrop that will astonish you with its inventiveness, its many-faceted detail, its sense of space and of history, and its potential to generate thrilling conflicts. It teems with likeable and hateable characters, strange creatures, individual and cultural peccadilloes that make its persons and peoples come to life. And in its central character it has an admiral young man of phenomenal charisma, whose future exploits you'll be eager to witness. The only thing slowing me down is the fact that my County Library does not yet hold the audio-book version of First Lord's Fury, read by the magnificent Kate Reading. I began the series with her, and I mean to end it likewise! ”

Robbie F rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

The Lost Entwife reviewed a book.

“Picking up where Range of Ghosts left off, Elizabeth Bear dives right in with Shattered Pillars - action and strange names galore. Having just finished the first book of this series, I felt somewhat prepared and even more so, excited to see where the adventure would lead.

The development...”

“Picking up where Range of Ghosts left off, Elizabeth Bear dives right in with Shattered Pillars - action and strange names galore. Having just finished the first book of this series, I felt somewhat prepared and even more so, excited to see where the adventure would lead.

The development of Edene in this book is one of the most important storylines, I think. But in spite of its importance, it reminds me a lot of the storyline of a certain dragon lady in George R.R. Martin's popular series. No, Edene is not surrounded by dragons, nor is she a hot, blonde HBO actress. What I mean is that when I read GRRMs books, I knew there was something important going on in that thread of the story, but I just didn't care enough to figure it out. Then, when I started to watch the HBO series by the same name - I got it. I just needed to see it brought to life. I think the same applies to Edene. From what I understand of what is going on, there's a lot of gross stuff happening around her and it's strange and confusing and I have a hard time caring (other than how it affects Temur). But I know it's important, so be sure to pay attention to that story...I know I forced myself to.

Now...Temur, I have no problem paying attention to. I love the story there and really am enjoying the exploration of the world through the various religious practices and especially the way the world is set up. There's action, adventure, questing, and politics all happening in a setting that is the most exotic setting I have been exposed to.

Really looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up. If you are looking for a complex story to satisfy your cravings until the next "big" book comes out, I do recommend you look into this one.”

The Lost Entwife reviewed a book.

“When I picked up The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker I was definitely in the mood for some family drama reading. I got chills with the opening section and felt immediately connected to this small, 5-year old child named Michael. Then, he was whisked away and the story began to...”

“When I picked up The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker I was definitely in the mood for some family drama reading. I got chills with the opening section and felt immediately connected to this small, 5-year old child named Michael. Then, he was whisked away and the story began to unfold.

The Winters in Bloom is a novel that explores not only the disappearance of Michael, but the past histories of his parents. Both are overly cautious for reasons of their own. For David Winter, it was tragedy of one kind, and for Kyra, tragedy of another. And both their pasts intersect in a twisting, winding turn of events that had me guessing until the end of the book.

While I enjoyed very much the "unputdownable" nature of The Winters in Bloom, I do have a bone to pick with it, however. The introduction of the book gave me this awesome, fantastic character in Michael and, aside from a few moments here and there throughout the story, there really wasn't much more time spent with him. As a result, what time there was spent with him seemed a bit gimmicky - like he was fairly one-dimensional and, as a result, the end of the book came off as a bit fake. I wanted to feel a powerful emotion of some sort when I got to the ending pages, but instead, I found myself speeding up my reading just because I wanted to finish and had lost that momentum of caring about Michael after the big reveal of who did it happened.

With that said, the rest of the book leading up to the reveal? Kept me guessing and was highly entertaining.”

Robbie F rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 3 stars

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

CoffeeAddict reviewed a book.

“very original story though I have heard it being compared to popular titles. A great read and totally worth the time.”

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 3 stars

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 3 stars

CoffeeAddict rated a book.

• Rated 4 stars

CoffeeAddict reviewed a book.

“The book felt strained and forced. All books by this author have a formula to them, but this book made it so obvious that it was just impossible to read.”

The Lost Entwife reviewed a book.

“I'll readily admit that, after the initial scene in Firebrand hooked me, it took a while for the book to regain the momentum it had in the prologue. But, ultimately, it did get there and I am excited to write this review because Firebrand was a book that, once it hooked me, it wouldn't let me put...”

“I'll readily admit that, after the initial scene in Firebrand hooked me, it took a while for the book to regain the momentum it had in the prologue. But, ultimately, it did get there and I am excited to write this review because Firebrand was a book that, once it hooked me, it wouldn't let me put it down until I finished it.

Gillian Philip takes the Sithe (I'm assuming they are similar to the Sidhe? but may be wrong here), a people who live on one side of the "Veil" and writes them into a world that is placed, apparently, into the medieval human times. An interesting contrast comes out of this, as the Sithe are ruled by a woman, are proud of their female warriors, and have a post-modern sense of morality (i.e. homoesexuality, polygamy, etc). The story follws a young, Sithe boy who was born out of a union between a witch and the captain of a dun who, now, is involved in a relationship with another witch. The young boy, Seth, is unloved by both of his parents and, in the beginning of the story, forms a bond with his older brother who is the only one to accept him.

Firebrand walks a fine line. There are quite a few world shifts as Seth and his brother move from the Sithe world into the human world and back. Yet, those shifts are needed in order to keep the story moving and Philip has definitely set the pace for the upcoming books in the series.

The only real issue I had while reading Firebrand is the lack of development between the character Catriona and Seth. Because of Catriona's lack of voice (and her convenient receiving of voice at one point) she felt more like a plot device than an actual character that contributes to the story. This was magnified by the ultimate fate of Catriona at the end of the book.

Still, this was a fun novel and I'll be looking forward to seeing the next installment when it is released. ”

The Lost Entwife reviewed a book.

“If I had not received the sequel to Range of Ghosts from the publisher, I can honestly say that Range of Ghosts would never have entered my radar. I'm fairly picky when it comes to my high-fantasy, and one of the qualifications is that the strange-name to familiar-name ratio be fairly balanced....”

“If I had not received the sequel to Range of Ghosts from the publisher, I can honestly say that Range of Ghosts would never have entered my radar. I'm fairly picky when it comes to my high-fantasy, and one of the qualifications is that the strange-name to familiar-name ratio be fairly balanced. Range of Ghosts was definitely not balanced.

However, I took the leap and purchased Range of Ghosts because I am unable to just dive into the second book of the series without having read the first. To be honest, about 100 pages in, I thought I was just going to have to suck up a loss because I just couldn't get into the story. Then things started to happen.

So if you are like me and struggle with strange names and terms and trying to get your imagination wrapped around an extremely detailed and exotic world, let me lay out for you a little bit of the things you might just see in this series.

First, each kingdom has a different sky. You know which kingdom you are in by looking up - and the skies change according to who is in power. Cool, right? Yeah, I thought so once I figured it out.

Second, fluid sexuality is alive and thriving in this book. Characters can switch from male to female and back due to special circumstances.

Third, horses named Dumpling are fantastic characters. I won't spoil the surprise.

Fourth, females (barren and fertile) have immense power. I loved this aspect of the book and, frankly, it's a strong reason for why it's receiving this review. I am fascinated by Edene, awed by Once-Princess Samarkar, and a little bit in animal love with a certain tiger.

I would recommend ignoring the summary of this book, as it just doesn't do the complex nature of the story justice. Take your time, get to know the characters, and rest assured by the end of this first book, you will be rewarded”

Dark Faerie Tales reviewed a book.

“Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Place an obsessive time keeper and neat freak with a slob that isn’t concerned with time but passionate about people, throw in a little paranormal and presto you have this story.

Opening Sentence: The face slammed into the...”

“Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Place an obsessive time keeper and neat freak with a slob that isn’t concerned with time but passionate about people, throw in a little paranormal and presto you have this story.

Opening Sentence: The face slammed into the protective glass, blood spurting out as cartilage was demolished, bone shattered.

The Review:

Sometimes a synopsis or summary are spot on representations of books and other times not so much. This synopsis is a bit off. As the reader discovers in this first chapter our key players in this book had a brief meeting which means their eyes met and then Blayne made a run for it ten years ago. Flash to the present and Blayne and Bo lock eyes again in the middle of a large stadium after a typically violent altercation on the ice hockey rink and this is where the fun really begins.

The interplay and chemistry between Blayne Thorpe and Bo Novikov is what continued to bring me back to this story every time I attempted to put the book down and get errands done. I adored the fact that Bo was a studious time keeper and neat freak. The fact that this is what makes him “tick”, I understood completely. The fact that Blayne was so well intentioned but easily distracted amused me. Putting such an unlikely couple together is brilliant because there was built-in complexities and challenges even before they started dating.

This book has a good story but being thrown in the deep end was at times a little disheartening because I had no love for the characters that Blayne considered family. So for me there was an emotional disconnect. However, Blayne and Bo’s story is well worth the challenge.

The main motivation of placing Blayne under surveillance to protect her was a bit much and I just wanted to reach into the book and strangle Dee-Ann Smith, who is providing under cover protection for Blayne. Once I finally reached the end of the book, I didn’t hate Dee-Ann with the same level of passion that I did at the beginning, which I will not spoil for you here but thankfully she has redeeming qualities buried very deep.

Some of the interplay between the secondary characters could have been dropped from the story and it wouldn’t have suffered. The addition of Bo’s foxes was kind of weird and I just didn’t get it. Sami and Sander spend maybe 30 minutes total in the book to give Bo an easy exit, help Dee near the end of the book and that is it. I don’t get why Laurenston even added them to this storyline but they are there.

One last “I don’t get it” is why the townsfolk of Ursus County, Maine didn’t notice all the new dogs that were appearing and check into this before the final chapters of the book. I refuse to spoil this but this bugs me. Then again, I’m the type that likes to be on time which means early and will do a job three different times to ensure I get real results.

Finally, is this a book you should read? Yes, even with my few quibbles and gripes. I spent an enjoyable day romping through the fields with these characters. The story of Bo and Blayne was charming and at times hilarious. Enjoy the book, but I would recommend starting with book 1 to ensure that you enjoy the entire ride with Bo and Blayne.

Notable Scene:

She walked toward him and he automatically backed up. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like if he didn’t move, she’d find a way to walk right through him.

“Well, see ya,” she said, heading down the hallway.

“Wait,” he finally called out to her when he’d finally recovered from her complete disregard for the importance of accurate timekeeping.

She faced him but kept walking backward.

“What about getting some coffee?”

She snorted, “God, no.” With that, she turned back around and headed off.

God, no? Did she just say “God, no” to me? Normally he’d assume the worst with a statement like that, but with her he really couldn’t be sure.

FTC Advisory: Kensington Brava provided me with a copy of Beast Behaving Badly. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.”

Dark Faerie Tales reviewed a book.

“Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Did you know that words could be more deadly than we could ever imagine? Read Max Berry’s book Lexicon to see just how deadly they can be.

Opening Sentence: “He’s coming around.”

The Review:

This story is...”

“Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Did you know that words could be more deadly than we could ever imagine? Read Max Berry’s book Lexicon to see just how deadly they can be.

Opening Sentence: “He’s coming around.”

The Review:

This story is about an organization and a school where they teach people how to use words to persuade others to do things just by saying a few things and then telling them what to do. These people are called Poets. When Poets become advanced in their training enough, they change their names to those of famous Poets so no one can use their true names against them. One child with Poet potential is a girl named Emily Ruff who lives on the streets and uses cards to survive. When the Poets find her, her whole life changes drastically. Also swept up in a battle between the Poets is a man named Wil Parke, who has no memory of who he is or why these people who call themselves Poets are interested in him.

I had a very hard time getting through this book. The first thirty pages were very confusing for me. The story begins with a character who we are not introduced to waking up with two guys standing over him with a needle in his eye. After a very heated chase there was some random pages discussing what had happened and then a page about trains and how they make you use smart cards to ride them so the government could track you. I never figured out why this was important and throughout the book there were other random “posts”. If the posts were removed the story would have made it somewhat easier to follow. Also, it was hard to follow at times because they would jump from one time to another; I had to read for a while to understand if the characters were talking about the past or the present.

I believe that Max Berry has a very good concept with this book and when I wasn’t having a hard time following the story, I actually really liked it. It was a bit gruesome in spots but it was action packed and further into the book you learn something important that just makes you say wow, and want to finish the story to see how it turns out. The idea that words can actually be used to take your will from you is a scary but fascinating thought, and I liked how Barry showed how people could learn to persuade others to do things they never would have otherwise, even kill themselves.

The Poets are scary when you think about it. They can be anyone and they can take away your free will. The worst part is that they have trained themselves to have no feelings so they are not bothered when they hurt others. Two of these Poets include Yeats and Eliot. Eliot is on one side of the Poets and Yeats the other. Eliot is a friend of Emily and tries to help her as much as possible. He is also on the run with Wil as they out run Yeats and others who would hurt them. Yeats is the scariest type of Poet. He has totally shut off his emotions, if he ever had them. He wants to rule all of the Poets and the world. To do this he will need both Emily and Wil. Whether he needs them dead or alive though, is debatable.

I really liked Emily Ruff. She was so full of spunk and even though her life was not easy, she did not give up and let it beat her. Instead she learned how to survive on the street and in the world of the Poets. I wanted Emily to receive everything she wanted and get off the streets. Even when no one else thought that she would amount to anything she proves them wrong and perseveres. Wil Parke was a good male lead. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like him. He seemed too weak, but as the story progressed he became more likeable. His whole life is changed when he is noticed by the Poets because he is special and they want him so they can figure out what makes him special. He is on the run because if he stops running they may just kill him to get what they want. Wil is more special than he or anyone else knows though.

This book was hard for me to get through, but it was worth reading. I do believe that if Max Berry was to remove some of the extra posts and had time stamps maybe this would be a great story to read over and over again.

Notable Scene:

“I’m Sorry! I won’t tell.” He was halfway across, paused between lanes, his face thick with anger. He waited for a car, threw a glance to his right and ran at her. She screamed, Kassonin!”

His head jerked. He stopped. For a moment he was a child. Then he came back. She saw shock in his eyes and outrage and fear. She was transfixed by his face. Then a car swept him away. She shrieked and couldn’t hear herself over the tires.

FTC Advisory: Penguin provided me with a copy of Lexicon. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.”