Monday, December 28, 2015

Review: Borderlands

Borderlands Borderlands by Brian McGilloway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Would have been 4 stars if I weren't still confused by the tangled web of interconnected froo-ha-ha that makes up this plot. I enjoyed the detective main character--he's a family man who makes mistakes, but interesting. He is joined by some interesting people at the station, but, whoa, the criminals in this book are so interconnected. And 4 murders in one week? Isn't that a little much for Ireland?

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Review: An Early Wake

An Early Wake An Early Wake by Sheila Connolly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is #3 in the County Cork mysteries and I'm a big fan. They're the cozy kind--small little paperbacks with no violent murder--just the occasional crime in the small town of Leap in western Ireland. Maura Donovan (raised in Boston and now a Irish pub owner for the past 6 months) is wondering how her little bar is going to stay afloat when a old guitar player wanders into the pub. Everyone knows him--he was a star in the early 90's and now he's back to play at Sullivan's Pub just like he used to. All of his friends come and play, too, which leads to Maura rolling in the profits. However, a dead body is found in the pub the next morning--why? Who was he? And how did he die?

I love getting to know the Irish countryside a bit more by reading these.

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Review: Cuckoo Song

Cuckoo Song Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is not the book for me. Plenty of paranormal and maybe it's scary if you're 10? But I wasn't impressed enough to keep reading after page 75. I skipped and skimmed around the ending and admit that this book just wasn't written for me. But I know some people who have loved it!

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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Review: Jimmy Bluefeather

Jimmy Bluefeather Jimmy Bluefeather by Kim Heacox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful, beautiful nature writing that makes me miss Alaska. Keb Wisting is a Norwegian/Tlingit/Alaskan man who has lived one heck of a life. Now his grandson has been injured in a logging accident that ruins his dreams of playing professional basketball. The two of them (and some friends) set off in a canoe that they built to find life's meaning.

Silly summary, but this is a deep book about family, living, dying, forgiveness, and all things good in life. This is one that they will be selling in Alaskan bookstores for a long, long time.

If you like travel memoirs or anything about the importance of place, give this novel a try.

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Review: Fallen

Fallen Fallen by Lia Mills
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's odd to read a book that's published by Penguin Ireland, because I kept thinking--what makes this book different? Why wasn't it published in America? It isn't much different than other books I've been reading. But I loved how I felt like I was right in the thick of the Easter Rising in Dublin, and the characters aren't really on either side--they are just trying to maintain their way of life. Sweet love story, too!

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Monday, December 21, 2015

Review: Lake of Sorrows

Lake of Sorrows Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would have edited about 100 pages out of this to make it a tighter read. Dr. Nora Gavin is a great character--she studies bog bodies and likes to screw up relationships. But this novel had a huge set of characters, and not all of them were necessary to the plot.

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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Review: Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again, YA nonfiction is kicking butt with quality reads. I don't read much nonfiction, but this was on the shortlist of the YALSA Nonfiction Award, and has received tons of starred reviews, so I figured it was worth a look. Reading nonfiction is difficult for me--I have to read slower than usual, and it's impossible to skim over things. Anderson kept me mostly interested, although I thought for sure that the symphony held a secret code or something--that tells you how much I knew about this topic! I was fascinated by the information about Stalin's evilness and how millions of Russians died at the hands of their own government. I also was intrigued by the information about the siege of Leningrad--reminded me of the Alex-award novel City of Thieves.

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Friday, December 18, 2015

Review: A Woman's Heart

A Woman's Heart A Woman's Heart by JoAnn Ross
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pretty cheesy Harlequin romance, so pretty typical! The American is the male one though--come to the west of Ireland to supervise the filming of a screenplay he wrote. He's rich, of course, and a famous author who happens to stay at the bed and breakfast of a beautiful widow. They both think they don't want each other, when they really fall in love, and he becomes the perfect dad and husband figure even though he was a player his entire life. Ugh. I won't read anymore of these.

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Review: The Accident Season

The Accident Season The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This YA book is different--so that's a plus. It's set in Ireland so the accents on the audiobook are lovely. And you can sell it to teens as paranormal, but it's kinda paranormal--no vampires or creatures running around. But there might be ghosts.

Cara's family believes in The Accident Season--every October their family takes extra precautions because they fall, trip, break bones, and bleed. Their house is wrapped up in rugs and blankets and bubble wrap to try to prevent accidents at home, but horrible things keep happening.

There's a hint of Irish fairies and changelings and magical happenings, but it's what I would call a magical realistic family secret drama. Lots of romance here, too.

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Thursday, December 17, 2015

Review: The Hired Girl

The Hired Girl The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I cannot believe that this book is published by Candlewick. This could have easily been published by Severn House or Tyndale or any of those other Christian publishers. I've read more Christian fiction than usual this year because of my current Ireland fixation, and this book easily fits in. The main character's struggle with learning about Judaism when she was raised by a Catholic mother is typical in many of the Christian fiction books I've read.

This is just darn good historical fiction about a young girl struggling to find her place in the world and learning how to think for herself. Joan is pretty naive and ignorant about the ways of the world, but, whoa, does she have the hormonal 14-year-old issues going on.

If you loved this book but don't usually read Christian fiction, you might want to take a look at some that average 4-5 stars on Goodreads. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I think.

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Monday, December 14, 2015

Review: Pray for Us Sinners

Pray for Us Sinners Pray for Us Sinners by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Marcus Richardson is from Ulster, but in the British Army. He's trained as a bomb disposal expert and is sent home to work undercover in the PIRA in 1973. Going undercover is hard, but he begins to understand a bit about why the working class Catholics hate the British. There is a lot of unexpected sympathy on both sides of the religion coin in Ulster, and a feeling that the fight is almost over. Even the die-hard PIRAs aren't sure why they are bombing innocent people when it hasn't brought about the results they want.

Not the most cheerful suspense crime novel, but the audio was worth it for all the different types of accents--Belfast, hick Irish, Dublin, snooty boarding school British, and so on.

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Sunday, December 13, 2015

Review: Lies Of Silence

Lies Of Silence Lies Of Silence by Brian Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a Man Booker Prize Nominee back in the day (1990), probably because the author manages to pack a whallop into a short novel. Michael Dillon, a hotel manager in Belfast, is ready to escape to London with his girlfriend and leave his wife behind. But when the IRA break into his home the night before he is to leave, he discovers that there may be other plans for him. The moral of the story seemed to be "Karma is a bitch."

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Review: To Ride a White Horse

To Ride a White Horse To Ride a White Horse by Pamela Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a rare day when I give a self-published book 4/5 stars, but this one deserves it. It won an award for romance by independent publishers, and I see why. The story has been told before--a poor Irish girl comes to America so that she can earn $ to send home to her starving family during the famine. But it's told well--I wanted to keep reading so much that I finished the book in one day. I can easily see this selling as a Harlequin or something similar. Or, heck, take out a few things and it could be sold as Christian fiction. I was pleasantly surprised!

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Review: The Guards

The Guards The Guards by Ken Bruen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is what I want in Irish crime fiction. And now I have to watch the TV show on Netflix called Jack Taylor. I've had it in my To Watch list for ages, but have never started it. If it's anything like this book, I'm going to love it!

Jack Taylor is kicked off the Galway police squad because he's a drunk. And it doesn't help when he punches a politician. Now a pretty woman asks him to find out if her daughter really committed suicide and he begins as a private investigation. Throughout the entire book, he's battling demons--alcoholism, friends who aren't really friends, and his boss who keeps asking him for his regulation overcoat back.

I have a thing for moody criminal investigators. Now I can add Jack Taylor to the list.

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Saturday, December 12, 2015

Review: Scandal in Skibbereen

Scandal in Skibbereen Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ahh, cozy mysteries hit the spot occasionally. Nothing graphic, and the murder is always something out of a Murder She Wrote episode.

But I do love how the main character is an American who inherited a cozy bar in Leap, Ireland, in County Cork.

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Friday, December 11, 2015

Review: Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My 12-year-old daughter enjoyed this more than me, which is probably a good thing, right? She wants to read the next volume, I don't, so I'm off to interlibrary loan it right now....

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Review: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I'm impressed. I usually don't like story collections by different authors because of the uneveness, but these stories were all romantic, magical stories about the holidays. Loved the diversity, gentle hints of romance, and overall wistfulness of the good things of winter. I could see some of these being used in class even.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell. 5/5.
The perfect New Year's Eve story about two best friends and coming home for the holidays during college freshmen year. I'm so jealous of this kind of young love.

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link. 1/5.
I just wanted this to be over. I almost stopped listening.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pena. 4/5.
He's a darn good short story writer, too. Shy is a college sophomore in NYC who is catsitting for his boss and trying not to starve over the holidays. When the upstairs neighbor visits and says her shower is broken, it's fate, right? They are opposites and eventually drag out each other's lifestories. Shy is a sweetheart.

Polaris is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han. 5/5.
Short, short story about a Korean girl who is raised by Santa at the North Pole! Seriously adorable and Elf-ish. Did you know Santa loves Wham!?

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins. 5/5.
Marigold is stalking the boy from the Xmas tree lot by her house because she wants his voice for the cartoon is she making. And, um, he's cute. She bargains for a tree, even when she can't afford it, and he graciously volunteers to deliver it to her apartment. And the loooove begins there! They are perfect for each other and make each other happy. Awwwww.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan. 4/5.
The not named main character will do just about anything for his new boyfriend, including dressing up as Santa and visiting his house late one night. The younger sister still believes, and the brother wants to keep Christmas magic in the house. Not as much romance in this story as there is family drama. There's a lot of innuendo going on--and I liked it.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black. 4/5.
Teenage girl meets a real magical creature (goat legs!) in November celebratin Krampuslauf, and invites him to her grandma's trailer for New Year's Eve. Let the magical fun begin! Good mix of magic/fairy creatures into the real world.

What the hell have you done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman. 5/5.
Once again, Forman nails my thought process. I swear her characters might be based on my brain. Sophie, a Jewish city girl, is a freshman at a hick college and she's having a difficult time fitting in, but the dark and handsome Russell helps make her feel welcome.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire. 5/5.
Bad boy Vaughn is doing community service by helping with a church Xmas pageant that is being held at a Western bar. It's not being held in the church because Vaughn accidentally burnt it down! He's in love with the pastor's daughter (of course) and the two of them flirt and have fun. He's not as bad as his reputation and she's not as good as her's, so they are perfect together!

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White. 5/5.
Who doesn't want a new diner cook that can make people happy by the food he cooks?

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter. 3/5.
Pop star switches places with a Swedish girl named Hulda and learns to love a hick place in Oklahoma. This story has been told before, but it was still enjoyable.

The Girl Who Wore the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. 4/5.
A little bit of weirdness in this one that reminded me of selkies and an old Irish song about a woman who hastes to wed a sailor so she can send him off to sea to be alone.




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Monday, December 7, 2015

Review: The Ghosts of Belfast

The Ghosts of Belfast The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fegan is a hardened killer for the IRA in Belfast, recently out of prison and drinking too much. He's starting to talk and everyone thinks he's crazy, with good reason. He sees the dead people he has killed and they want revenge. And so crazy Fegan, with a twisted sense of Catholic guilt, takes care of business. I loved how the book was divided into sections labeled simply by how many people Fegan has left to kill. Chilling. And suspenseful!

This is the first of a series, and I'm wondering how. I guess I'll have to read #2 and find out!

I'm also listening to a northern Ireland crime novel in the car, and I kept getting the two books confused--lots of backstabbing, car bombs, and anger in both of the books.

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Friday, December 4, 2015

Review: Carry On

Carry On Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The last half of the book is 4 stars--Rowell writes romance like I want my real to be like. Her dialogue is snappy and I want to hang out with these characters.

But the angst and "fighting" between Baz and Simon for the first half of the book made me not want to keep reading. And I knew the Harry Potter references were there--I remember that much from Fangirl, but I had forgotten how similar the stories were! I kept picturing Harry Potter kissing Draco.

By the way, read Fangirl first--this entire novel is based on the story within the story in that novel.

So this is my least favorite Rowell novel, but notice that I still liked it--three stars means I liked it, people! She's a talented author--I'm so glad she writes for the new adult generation and blends the age lines all over the place.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Review: The Emperor of Any Place

The Emperor of Any Place The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Not the book for me and I usually love historical fiction and anything about Japan.

I couldn't handle the voice of person writing the diary.

It is so nice to not be on a book committee--I can put down any book I want and move onto the next one! Woot!

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Review: Playing for the Commandant

Playing for the Commandant Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an odd book. The main character is 15, yet acts like a naive 10-year-old. It reads like the book is for tweens--nothing is too explicit. I just don't understand how Hanna could be in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps and NOT know that the Nazis were killing Jews. Her friends and family were disappearing. She smelled the smoke. And people talked. EVERYONE knew what was going on inside the camp! Right?

(And now I want to research this a bit more to find out)

In the author's afterword, she explains that she found out that her father moved to Australia after his experience in the camps. Heartbreaking. And so I'm glad she's keeping Holocaust literature alive by writing historical fiction.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Review: The Cliffs of Night

The Cliffs of Night The Cliffs of Night by Beatrice Brandon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I interlibrary loaned this title because it's a romantic suspense novel set by the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. But when I received the title, I thought, "Wait...I've seen this cover before!" I don't remember how exactly--either it was on my mother's bookshelf growing up or I read it in high school (because my librarian loved this type of historical fiction).

In any case, I forgot what romantic suspense in the 70s meant. :) Grania Kirk is an American actress visiting Ireland because she's depressed about getting dumped by a boyfriend. She's quirky, witty, and a tad bit bored, so when she gets in the middle of a Irishmen digging for treasure and a so-called Irish policeman intent on arresting them, she's having the time of her life! So unrealistic, but, hey, I want to find my Irish man just like Grania did. I loved how she referred to Tommy as a man (in italics). :)

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Monday, November 30, 2015

Review: Thanks for the Trouble

Thanks for the Trouble Thanks for the Trouble by Tommy Wallach
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This had a bit too much of the "manic pixie dream girl" in it for my tastes, but I know some teens will eat this up.

Parker Sante (yay for diverse main characters!) hasn't spoken a word in years and eventually you find out why. It doesn't help that his mother is in denial and that he uses his lack of words as a reason to not have close friends. When he befriends an intriguing young woman in a hotel restaurant, she sends him on a whirlwind of a weekend. Of course, he falls in love. Of course, she "saves" him. But there is some magic thrown in there, too.

I didn't love this one as much as I loved We All Looked Up, but he's still an author I will keep reading. Great authentic male protagonist! Call me crazy, but I wanted MORE magical realism in this one!

I received an electronic advanced readers copy of this title from the publisher through Edelweiss. The book is to be published 2/23/16.

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Review: The King's Deception

The King's Deception The King's Deception by Steve Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Totally unbelievable The Da Vinci Code-ish type book that I was just in the mood for!

Queen Elizabeth I was really a man and there is a modern plot to keep this secret covered up. Because if she were an imposter, then the northern Ireland land grants are null and void, which would throw Great Britain into turmoil.

(I told you it was unbelievable)

But I still enjoyed it--my two favorite things--Tudor history and suspenseful mysteries!

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Saturday, November 28, 2015

Review: Faithful Place

Faithful Place Faithful Place by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awesome audio! Loved the Irish accents of lower class Dublin.

Frank Mackey has escaped his family and the street that he grew up on. But when his sister calls in tears and says that they've found the suitcase of his girlfriend--he has to go back. Everyone thought she ran away to London years ago without Frank. But if she didn't, does that she's dead? Frank is a detective, and ends up taking time off to investigate.

Loved this one--my fav Dublin Murder Squad so far!

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Review: Only Wounded: Stories of the Irish Troubles

Only Wounded: Stories of the Irish Troubles Only Wounded: Stories of the Irish Troubles by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A collection of fictional stories about the Irish troubles, interspersed with factual accounts of bombings and terrorist activities in Northern Ireland.

Too depressing for me to read. Glad times have changed there and it's hard to believe this stuff was going on when I was born. You would think by now that people wouldn't fight over what denomination of Christian you are.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Review: George

George George by Alex Gino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet book about a 10-year-old who knows she's a girl, even if she was born a boy. I'm glad these books are starting to be published by major houses like Scholastic, and I'm sure this will end up on the Banned Books list next year. I wouldn't mind one bit if my 10-year-old read this book--we'd have a great discussion together about it! I don't think it's a literary masterpiece, but it opens the eyes of grade school kids to transgender issues.

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Review: Haunted Ground

Haunted Ground Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can see why this won so many awards back in the early 2000s--it's a great mystery! And set in Ireland, which is a plus for me. Dr. Nora Gavin is an American pathologist who returns to her birth country to learn more about bog bodies. Fascinating stuff, right? Add in a nerdy, sexy Irish archaeologist, a past murder mystery, and a modern laird under suspicion of murdering his wife and son. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

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Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Review: Meteor Men

Meteor Men Meteor Men by Jeff Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Alden Baylor is one of many teenagers sitting in a field watching a meteor shower when one of the rocks crashes--and it's hollow. More meteors crashed all over the world, and aliens hatched out of them!!!

Nothing new here, but the artwork was great, and I appreciated that the teenage boy had the soft heart and wanted to understand the aliens instead of just shooting them.

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Monday, November 23, 2015

Review: 1921: The Great Novel of the Irish Civil War

1921: The Great Novel of the Irish Civil War 1921: The Great Novel of the Irish Civil War by Morgan Llywelyn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Read too much like a textbook instead of a novel. But I still skimmed and scanned to find out what happened at the end. Basically, Ireland was a complete mess in 1921.

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Sunday, November 22, 2015

Review: Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pretty cheesy standalone novel about a modern day violinist who believes that a piece of music that she found in an antique store in Rome is making her daughter show signs of being a serial killer. Turns out that the piece of music has a history that has to do with the Holocaust.

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Review: Dumplin'

Dumplin' Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet tale of learning to love yourself the way you are--not the way society says you're supposed to be.

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Friday, November 20, 2015

Review: Descent

Descent Descent by Tim Johnston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beautiful, haunting mystery writing, yet....

Usually I don't mind when chapters are told from differing perspectives but this time it was frustrating. I had to read until I figured who was talking/thinking and then had to go back and re-read the chapter from the beginning. Does this mean I'm too used to YA lit? I want names at the beginning of the chapters! :)

And I'm probably one of the few readers who didn't like how things wrapped up at the end.

However, if you love literary mysteries combined with a coming-of-age tale, take a look at this one.



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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Review: Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Wow...I had to stop listening to this audiobook after being 6 disks in--I couldn't handle the narrator anymore. I'll have to attempt it in book format later.

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Review: The Weight of Feathers

The Weight of Feathers The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is it about magical realism that makes it scream LITERARY? Some of you know that I'm not really a lover of literary books--I like my plot quick and my characters easy to get to know. But this book is beautiful.

It's the kid of book that you can highlight because there are some lyrical lines that you don't ever want to forget. It's the kind of book that English teachers love--personification! metaphors! and the touch of magic helps, instead of turning the book into something cheesy.

The Palomas and the Corbeaus are rival performing families--one performs as mermaids in lakes and rivers and the other wears wings and jumps around tree limbs. It's a Romeo and Juliet story, of course, but so worth the read.

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Review: Salt to the Sea

Salt to the Sea Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you, publishers, for sending an ARC of this book to me. I loved her Between Shades of Gray, but felt that Out of the Easy was a step down from it. But now Sepetys is on the upturn again!

This is historical fiction at its best--the kind that could be used in a classroom. The suffering and starvation feels SO real. But the hope feels real, too. Read this for a snippet of what 1945 was like in a part of Europe that you don't know much about--so, so good.

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Friday, November 13, 2015

Review: Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia

Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia by Fiona Ritchie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book proves that the love of a fiddle is in my blood! I've been a fan of Irish punk for years, as well as red dirt country, and anything that has a good fiddle. Turns out that my Scots-Irish ancestors felt the same love for a fiddle--who knew? My ancestors settled in the Appalachians, too, after leaving Scotland by way of some years in Ireland. So it was interesting to see how the love a good ballad and fiddle traveled over the seas to develop into good old-fashioned country tunes.

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Thursday, November 12, 2015

Review: A Shameful Murder

A Shameful Murder A Shameful Murder by Cora Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What the hell? I loved a book with an elderly Mother Superior as the main character?

Yes, I did. I couldn't believe it either! But this is a darn good historical mystery. It's the early 1920's and Rev. Mother Aquinas of Cork finds the dead body of a young girl. With the help of her former student (Police Srgt. Cashman) and a good doctor friend, the trio solves the crime. There are plenty of twists and turns that I found refreshing and I loved how the Rev. Mother was a gossip who knew all but told nothing. I got a real sense of Ireland, too, street floodings and all. I'm off to put the 2nd book in the series on hold now!

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Review: Born in Fire

Born in Fire Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Too cheesy for me--I stopped on at Chapter 5.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Review: The Irish Potato Famine

The Irish Potato Famine The Irish Potato Famine by Dennis Brindell Fradin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's kind of sad that a children's book about the Irish potato famine is published under the series title Great Escapes, but the author does a great job explaining how many Irish escaped to England, Canada, America, and Australia. I didn't know that so many went to other places than America, so I learned something from a kid's book!:) I loved how primary sources were used, too. There is a glossary, timeline, index, and a notes section with a detailed list of sources used.

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Review: The Wrath and the Dawn

The Wrath and the Dawn The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Love the setting, diversity, and the fact that non-English words are used and the definitions aren't stuffed down my throat.

But I have issues with how the main character falls in love with the man who is supposed to kill her. Girl power? More like weakness, right? The whole love thing seems forced, but I'm sure some teen girls will eat that up.

I received this ARC at ALA Midwinter 2015, I think. Is it bad that I'm just getting around to reading it?

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Review: The Tavern on Maple Street

The Tavern on Maple Street The Tavern on Maple Street by Sharon Owens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pleasant tale that's similar to a Maeve Binchy novel about a slow-moving tavern in Belfast City Center. When a shopping mall developer wants to take it over, Lily and Jack try to improve things--hiring staff, developing a catering service, and hiring live music. But it's a far cry from the quiet pub they are used to managing. The people all become entangled with each other and everything is peachy by the end, of course.

I was looking forward to the Irish accents, but a few of them really threw me off--very nasal.

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Review: Voices of Northern Ireland: Growing Up in a Troubled Land

Voices of Northern Ireland: Growing Up in a Troubled Land Voices of Northern Ireland: Growing Up in a Troubled Land by Carolyn Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whew, this book was full of bitterness. It was written in 1992, but I'm pretty sure I won't see much of the attitude seen in this book in northern Ireland in 2015. The author did interview a lot of Catholic and Protestant students and adults, but she truly had a difficult time understanding why there was violence. After reading this, I'm wondering if the current peace is partly because the Irish don't care as much about religion anymore. I'm looking forward to finding out more.

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Review: Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction

Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction by Senia Paseta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We have many books in this series at our library, so I figured I should take a look at this one. It's nice and short, but I still know I won't remember all the dates and different groups that have controlled/influenced Ireland and Northern Ireland. So many of them!

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Review: Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland

Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland by Siobhán Parkinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I want to learn about myths and legends of a country, I look to picture books! And this didn't disappoint. It contains 7 stories that were new to me. Overall, I found the theme of divorce interesting--it happened and was no big deal. In "Land Under Wave," the tale ends with "They were both sad that their love had died, but they agreed that there was nothing they could do about it. They would just have to part." Other common themes: be nice to strangers, keep your promises, swans are important, and being different is okay (even if you have the ears of a horse!).



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Review: The Rebels of Ireland

The Rebels of Ireland The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I had to stop after Disk 16 of 24. Yes, I was learned a ton about Irish history, but, ugh, I needed more character/plot and less history.

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Review: Ratlines

Ratlines Ratlines by Stuart Neville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved this--I'm going to check out what else he has written. The torture scenes were a little much for me, but, at least when I'm reading print books, I can easily skip past those parts!

Irishman Lt. Albert Ryan is a veteran of WWII (he fought for the Brits and his family still gets grief for it) and Korea. Now he's a G2 for the Directorate of Intelligence, but he doesn't always love his job. His current assignment is stopping a rash of murders in Ireland that he really doesn't care to stop--someone is killing Nazis. German millionaire Otto Skorzeny is next, and Lt. Ryan is sucked into evil. Both sides are trying to use Ryan to get to the other, and it gets messy.

I couldn't help but think of Jack Ryan and Jack Bauer as I read this--exciting, twisted, intriguing dark police thriller.

And I'm going to do my own little research about the Irish protecting Nazis after the war. Yuck.



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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Review: Girl Underwater

Girl Underwater Girl Underwater by Claire Kells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, the tears! From me!

Think old-school Sarah Dessen and a better Lurlene McDaniel and you've got this dramatic novel that was published adult for some reason.

Nineteen-year-old Avery is a swimmer at a West Coast school and on her way home when her plane crashes. It's traumatic and she spends most of the book recovering and suffering from PTSD. Does she want to swim again? Can she? Can she return to being her normal, shallow self who cares a lot about what people think? Does she still want her boyfriend?

I read this in one day--that tells you how much I liked it!


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Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Review: Six of Crows

Six of Crows Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved this author's Grisha trilogy that starts with Shadow and Bone. She can build a fantasy world like no other--this book uses the same Russian-esque (is that a word? No, but it sounds good) world that I loved in the trilogy.

But I wasn't invested in this story like I was in her earlier books. Reminding me of Dickens a bit, the entire book is all about thieves trying to steal something. I loved the characters, but the action took forever, and I found myself skimming a bit to move myself along. Maybe 462 pages was too long? Tighter editing might have helped it for me.

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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Review: Everything, Everything

Everything, Everything Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I HATE that I checked the copyright page of this novel. It's written by Nicola Yoon, and also co-copyrighted by Alloy Entertainment and that just ruined it for me. I hate to think of a group of marketing people getting together and talking about how to sell novels and writing a plot that will be popular. If this book were all Nicola Yoon and her husband's fabulous artwork, I would give it 4 stars. But the fact that the same people behind The Vampire Diaries, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, The Clique, The A-List, etc., were behind it, it makes me cringe. I admit that I don't know quite how the publishing world works, but the movie deal has already been made and it seems like the book was published as part of that deal.

Maddie has grown up in her house and never leaves--she's allergic to everything, so her world consists of her house, her mother, and her nurse, Carla. Until a boy moves in next door and pantomiming turns into emails and online chatting. She's in love and willing to risk her life to live a little. It's sweet, dramatic, and reads just like a movie, which is the whole point, right?

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