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Mary

Mary

I'm currently urging people to read "Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer" by Laini Taylor. (No, I don't know the author and no, I didn't get a free copy of the book.) Reading level stated as ages 9-12 but, IMHO, "Blackbringer" is suitable and entertaining for all ages. I found it perfectly enchanting. :-)

Reading is one... more »
  • Wi, United States
  • member since January 4 2008

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 21 reviews
  • On What Grounds (Coffeehouse Mysteries)
    • Rated 1 stars

    “Having read and really enjoyed the first few books in another series by this author - The Haunted Bookshop series, which is written under the name Alice Kimberly and begins with The Ghost & Mrs. McClure - I was excited to find out that she had another mystery series.

    That excitement, which included buying the first 4 books in the series right away, lasted until I actually read On What Grounds. Wow, what a letdown!

    Not only did I not like or care about these people, I found myself actively DISliking the protagonist which is highly unusual for me. The clunky writing was intensified by the awkward insertions of back story and the constant interruptions in the narrative to explain how one kind of coffee or another is best made. Even for people who love their coffee more than their spouse, this information could have been presented in a better manner (recipes and directions at the back of the book, maybe?).

    I forced myself to slog through this, just in case it got better. It didn't. I gave all four books away.
    ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, July 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney
    • Rated 4 stars

    “My rating is 4.5 stars.

    The seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, living in a family in which everyone has some psychic ability in a (real) town - Lily Dale - full of spiritualists, Sparrow, who has been seeing, smelling and speaking to ghosts since she was just a tot - and denying her ability to do so to her family - wants nothing more than to be a normal girl. Of course, the ghosts have other ideas and one - one very appealing and persistent one - isn't prepared to leave Sparrow alone until she helps him.

    I've read a number of books with a similar `I see dead people' premise over the last few years and I can say honestly that The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney is my favorite. Author Suzanne Harper has created likeable characters and a story filled with charm, humor and more poignancy than I was expecting. I really cared about these people - both the living and the dead ones.

    I haven't read anything about a planned sequel, but I hope Harper is planning one. I want to spend more time with Sparrow and Jack, with Sparrow's eccentric family and with her spirit guides. I even hope to see Luke again. While I'm waiting, I ordered Harper's unrelated novel, The Juliet Club, to see what the author could do with another genre.

    The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney is an entertaining and satisfying story. Recommended.
    ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, July 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Spinners
    • Rated 2 stars

    “My rating is 2.5 stars. I wish there was a rating somewhere between "I liked it" and "I didn't like it" - the "It was OK" rating. That's where I would put Spinners, the first book I've read by Donna Jo Napoli. In Spinners, Napoli has taken the tale of Rumpelstiltskin and fleshed it out, creating Rumpelstiltskin's side of the story, so-to-speak. The story is told in present tense (which I usually dislike as I always feel it reads somewhat awkwardly), and covers a number of years in the life of a young man who loses in love and the lives of those with whom his story is entwined.

    Spinners is a fast read and, while it held my interest, I was left dissatisfied and slightly depressed. Other reviewers complained about the abrupt ending and recommended Napoli's other retold fairy tales, including Zel. While Spinners didn't make me want to seek out her other books, Napoli's writing is good, so I may take those reviewers’ advice and give her another try.
    ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, July 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Alchemyst
    • Rated 2 stars

    “I was intrigued by the premise of this book and really looking forward to a story revolving around Nicholas Flamel, a person from history with a good deal of mystery swirling around him. The Alchemyst simply did not deliver.

    The lack of characterization was, for me, the book's biggest flaw. Not only was Flamel himself dull but, with the exception of Perenelle Flamel (who didn't appear often enough to satisfy me), the other characters struck me as flat and uninteresting. And because I wasn't involved with them, I found myself unable to care about the dangers they faced.

    Aside from wondering why on earth Josh and Sophie would agree to the 'Awakening' when they were told it was highly dangerous, even potentially deadly and cringing each time Scathach was refered to as "Scatty", I found myself, fairly early on, distracted by plot issues. Why, I wondered, when there was an explosion that shook the entire building and blew out some windows in a retail area of a large U.S. city, did no cops show up? I know the main characters chose not to call them, but wouldn't someone else? Could we have, at least, heard approaching sirens? Why was there a fire extinguisher in the car? Do lots of people carry these behind the front seat? Were the twins really born only 28 seconds apart? Was it a c-section? When Yggdrasill - which was "the height and circumference of a large skyscraper" - "shattered and came crashing down on the ice statue of Hekate, crushing it to dust" why weren't Dee, Morrigan and Bastet, who were close enough to see Hekate's eyes, buried or struck by any rumble? And if Hekate was crushed to dust - and under something that huge - how was Dee finding pieces of her to work his spell on?

    Okay, okay, I'll admit this sounds nitpicky. But once my mind starts asking these kinds of questions, I am totally pulled out of the story. And unfortunately, The Alchemyst never managed to pull me back in.

    I had waited to read The Alchemyst until a couple more books in the series were available, planning to make a weekend out of it. Instead, The Magician and The Sorceress will be going back. A disappointment all around. ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, June 14 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Thornspell
    • Rated 5 stars

    “In her debut, novelist Helen Lowe gives us an absorbing and utterly entertaining re-telling of Sleeping Beauty - told from the prince's point of view.

    The inside flap (lovely cover art!) of Thornspell talks of enchantments and spells, dragons and knights, of dreams and danger and a mysterious girl trapped in thorns. Lowe delivers on every front.

    Though I thought Thornspell was a bit slow in places, I love what Lowe did with this classic tale and how she created a world with it's own history, a world with secrets and surprises. When I finished Thornspell, I closed the book, touched the back cover and smiled, satisfied and happy. And then I started hoping she would write more stories set in this same world because there was so much more I wanted to know!

    Thornspell is a young adult book with the ability to appeal to adults who like a well told story with wonderful characterizations. For me, this has become the definitive versison of Sleeping Beauty and I've enjoyed sharing it with a number of friends. I look forward to more from this new author.

    Highly recommended. ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, June 14 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Becoming

    The Becoming

    by Jeanne C. Stein
    • Rated 2 stars

    “Great Cover Art, Iffy Story


    In the opening pages of "The Becoming", bounty hunter Anna Strong is attacked while on the job and, shortly after recovering in the hospital, discovers she has become a vampire.

    Despite being in a long term relationship with Max, an undercover DEA agent, Anna immediately hooks up with Avery, the doctor who treated her. Avery is also a vampire - an old one - who is willing to help Anna adapt to her new life as well as share her bed.

    During the course of the story, Anna encounters cops bent on killing her, has run-ins with the guy who turned her and receives advice from a mysterious voice in her head she labels "Caspar".

    The Becoming was a moderately well-plotted story that moved along at a nice pace. But for some reason that I can't quite out my finger on, it never really engaged me. I never warmed up to Anna nor found her particularly sympathetic. I certainly didn't care about her romantic entanglements - perhaps because they felt emotionless to me. Since Anna didn't seem to care, why should I? And the take on vampires, at least in this first novel in the series, didn't offer me anything new or particularly interesting. In fact, even though I'm usually a sucker (ha-ha) for some biting during sex eroticism in vampire books, I found the extremely strong tie between sex and feeding in The Becoming a turn off.

    I am, however, very intrigued by "Caspar" and, if I decide to read further in the series, it will be to learn more about him.

    I mentioned the cover art in my review title. I don't know who the artist and/or designer are but he/she/they have done a fantastic job. The art and design are gorgeous and continue to be so for the next few books in the series. If I was reviewing that alone, I'd be awarding The Becoming 5 stars. ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, June 14 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Blackbringer Faeries of Dreamdark (AUDIOBOOK) [CD]
    • Rated 5 stars

    “This is one of my all time favorite books. Davina Porter did a wonderful job reading the audio version. Her accent added a new dimension to the story for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, June 28 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Blackbringer (Dreamdark)

    Blackbringer (Dreamdark)

    by Laini Taylor
    • Rated 5 stars

    “This is the paperback version of "Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer". Wonderful story - highly recommended!”

    Mary wrote this review Saturday, June 13 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Alien Huntress 1: Awaken Me Darkly
    • Rated 2 stars

    “This was my first foray into Showalter, and to be honest, I don't know if I'll make another. Awaken Me Darkly had a somewhat familiar (kick-ass heroine who hunts bad guys meets, in the course of an investigation, a could-be bad guy and falls for him) but still promising premise and I thought the opening pages were strong. But, for me the story deteriorated quickly.

    The heroine, Mia Snow, came across, not so much as strong and tough, which I'm sure was Showalter's intention, but as willing to use that strength in unacceptable ways. She was brutal and extremely violent, using her fists and weapons almost indiscriminately. In my opinion, that makes a character veer away from `admirably tough' and into psychotic territory. Further, because a family member had been killed by aliens in the past, Mia seemed to lump all aliens into a 'deserves to die' category. That's called bigotry, and it's unattractive.

    While Mia's brutality was the biggest stumbling block of the novel for me, there were other problems. The sex club appears to have had nothing to do with the plot, and so seemed simply distasteful, the character of Atlanna was poorly drawn and one dimensional, the alien baby plot was somewhat confusing and not well developed, and the ending felt extremely rushed. The method Mia came up with to save Kyrin made absolutely no sense to me. But by that point, I'll admit, I had been skimming for a number of pages (never a good sign), so maybe I missed something...

    I do think the author has some talent, but Awaken Me Darkly didn't showcase it. ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, April 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Out of Sight
    • Rated 1 stars

    “I enjoyed the other books in this series, though strangely, it seemed to me that each successive book was a step down from the one preceeding it. Kiss & Tell remains the strongest and most enjoyable. By the time I got to Out of Sight, the decline in reading pleasure had sunk so low that I was unable to finish the story. I was completely turned off by the self-centeredness of the heroine. Her inability to see the larger picture in life and death situations endangered not only herself but others, and ultimately led to the death of another character. She seemed less troubled by this than she was with proving herself, which I found contemptible. My two stars are for the hero, who deserved a much better woman.

    ”

    Mary wrote this review Sunday, April 5 2009. ( reply | permalink )
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