Saturday, January 30, 2016

Review: Brazen

Brazen Brazen by Katherine Longshore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a sucker for anything about the Tudors, and this YA novel didn't disappoint. It was an surprisingly fascinating and quick read about some people I didn't know much about. The main character, Mary Howard, is married off early to Henry Fitzroy, who is Henry VIII's bastard. Historically, not too much is known about those people, so I love how the author fictionalized their lives at court. The two lovebirds weren't allowed to consummate their marriage (ever!) until the King gave them permission to have sex. Snort. So, um, Mary Howard was quite the pawn in everyone's life. She had no real choices--ever. Once again, I'm so glad I wasn't alive back then, and I can also see how my English ancestors were ready to get out of Dodge in about 100 years. I'm going to have to check out the other books by this author.

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Friday, January 29, 2016

Review: Echo

Echo Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'll probably catch some heat for that rating, but I have to be honest about my reaction. Maybe the low rating is because I like YA books better than children's books? But I know I've given high ratings to acclaimed books for that age group before.

I listened to the audiobook because it won an Odyssey Honor this year. I understand that the harmonica performance and singing is unique in audiobooks, but there were times when I cringed. Some of the singing isn't that great--the singers were trying to reach notes that were too high for them. There were times when the volume of the music playing was too low--I couldn't hear it in my car and had to turn the volume up. To me, if I have to vary the volume of an audiobook, then that isn't a good thing for the production. I swear I heard a mispronounced word on Disk 8.

Now, the story. This just wrapped up too nicely for me. I'm not a fan of the structure. By the time I finally got back to Otto, I had forgotten who he even was, and I listened to 90 minutes of the audiobook per day. I would have preferred an entire novel about Ivy Maria Lopez--she was the only character I really connected with.

So, not the book for me, but I know it's the book for many of you.

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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Review: Carissima

Carissima Carissima by Rosanna Chiofalo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Totally predictable over-the-top Italian American stereotypical characters. The dialogue between characters was stilted and odd. I wanted more Rome and less movie star stalking.

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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Review: The Court of Silver Shadows

The Court of Silver Shadows The Court of Silver Shadows by Beatrice Brandon
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Love the idea of a librarian going to a private Florida home to catalog an eccentric cinema book and object collection, but I couldn't slog through all the old film references. There are a ton of them, and I know nothing about old movies, so it was a boring read for me. However, the relationship between the librarian and her cat was pretty amazing. ;) I stopped on page 50.

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Monday, January 25, 2016

Review: The Golden Braid

The Golden Braid The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I gotta admit that it was kinda odd to read a book about Rapunzel that was published as Christian fiction. It does take place during medieval times, so the women constantly reading scripture doesn't seem that out of place. And people did fast and pray like crazy back then, right? But Dickerson really knows her way around historical fiction--I wanted everything to turn out okay for Rapunzel. And I was thrilled that there was no "let down your hair" scene--Rapunzel is darn capable of saving her self in a lot of situations! I'm going to have to take a look at the other books in this series....

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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Review: The Lost and the Blind: A Contemporary Thriller Set in Rural Ireland

The Lost and the Blind: A Contemporary Thriller Set in Rural Ireland The Lost and the Blind: A Contemporary Thriller Set in Rural Ireland by Declan Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whew....lots of twists and turns in this Irish crime mystery, and too much dialogue for me! Writer Tom Noone is swept into a mystery from WWII when he's asked to ghostwrite a memoir of a Donegal writer. German and English spies, modern day divorce custody drama, possible romance--this has everything in it. I was a tad unattached from the ending though--I couldn't believe Tom as a swashbuckling hero when he's just a writer. :)

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Saturday, January 23, 2016

Review: Mayhem

Mayhem Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Bond is a little too addicted to the opium, but he still manages to solve the case of the London torso killer, who was killing at the same time as Jack the Ripper. I'm a sucker for historical crime fiction, and this was enough like Sherlock for me to love it! On to Book #2....

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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Review: Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed by Lesléa Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adorable picture book about a cat that walked across a piano and her owner who wrote down the notes and called it a composition! Loved the illustrations--the cat had a personality. This book won the Sydney Taylor Book Award for outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience, which is why I added it to my To Read list. I'm glad I did!

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Review: Winter

Winter Winter by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love this series that starts with Cinder, but, man, I felt like this book needs some serious paring down. 827 pages? No way. Could have been 600 or under--easily. I found myself skimming parts of the middle of the book--I wanted to know what happened to the characters, but I felt like some of the action and dialogue kept repeating. With all the characters crammed into this book, it made it harder to get to know them and to believe that their romance was believable.

Fruity Winter was my favorite (I kept picturing River Tam from Firefly), followed by Scarlet. I still love this series, but I couldn't help but think of Allegiantas this plot was playing out.

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Review: The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel

The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel by Douglas Preston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Love the idea of a secret map hidden on a page of the Book of Kells.

But you lost me, Preston & Child, when the Cyclops humanoid showed up on the deserted island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ugh. I can handle that kind of stuff when I read books like Jurassic Park. Or even some science fiction. But this book was like a Harrison Ford movie gone bad.

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Monday, January 18, 2016

Review: False Mermaid

False Mermaid False Mermaid by Erin Hart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I find myself skimming some of the more "beautiful" parts of the writing, because I read mysteries for the action, suspense, and clues. This one had a lot of family drama in it, as the main character, pathologist Nora Gavin returns to America to try to prove that her brother-in-law murdered her sister 5 years ago. He's about to re-marry and travel to Ireland on his honeymoon, and the family is afraid that once he leaves the country with his daughter, he'll never return.

There seemed to be a lot of holes in this book--the search for Elizabeth is one of them. But I'll still read the next in the series!

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Sunday, January 17, 2016

Review: Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by Jonah Winter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Perfect read with my daughter for Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend. Thanks to the person who handed this to me at the ALA Conference last week! It's sad how much my 12-year-old daughter DOESN'T know about this part of our nation's history, so we had a long discussion about the 1960's and how the protests led to getting the right to vote for African-Americans. She was shocked with the depiction of a naked slave on the auction block because she didn't know that slaves were often auctioned off naked--another discussion opportunity for us. I'm going to donate this children's book to a local library--it needs to be circulating instead of sitting on our shelves!

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Review: Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Awwww. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story of the history of Winnie the Pooh. And I love that my 12-year-old daughter will still read the Caldecott winner and honors with me! We even alternated reading every other page just like we did when she was little! She loved the end of this book--looking at the "real" pictures and asking questions about WWI.

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Review: Skye O'Malley

Skye O'Malley Skye O'Malley by Bertrice Small
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't understand why historical romance needs to be ruined by all the "hey, don't rape me, but, whoa, I'm starting to like it" moments. I'm hoping that this is because this book was written in 1981 and something like this wouldn't be written now. Poor Skye is controlled by men in her world, which is pretty typical, but the rape scenes and her response to the rape is pretty disgusting. Thank God I wasn't born back then--being a woman sucked.


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Friday, January 15, 2016

Review: The Bunker Diary

The Bunker Diary The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

WHATTTTT????

This is like a YA version of the Alex-award winning book Room. But darker. And for teens.


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Review: The Sword of Summer

The Sword of Summer The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Riordan makes a lot of money on this formula, so I understand why he doesn't deviate from it. Norse mythology is the focus here, and it is so much like Percy Jackson that I'd rather not continue to listen to the audiobook!

But I'm sure kids will love it!

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Review: Strumpet City

Strumpet City Strumpet City by James Plunkett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Depressingly good epic historical fiction. Paints an accurate picture of the life of the common people in Dublin from 1907-1914. No wonder there were worker strikes everywhere--the common man had a job that paid barely enough for him to survive on, let alone a family. I couldn't help but think of modern times now and the demand to raise the minimum wage.

I love learning through a good story--lots of learning here about the development of unions, the Catholic and Protestant church in Ireland, Irish history, charities, and medical history.


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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Review: Uprooted

Uprooted Uprooted by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great fantasy that I thought MIGHT show up on the Alex list so I wanted to take a look. It's perfect for those of you who want medieval-ish worlds, dragons, and magic.

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Review: Passenger

Passenger Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this time travel romp. Sold as a YA Outlander, I can see it--there's some romance and "dangerous" love, along with evil people who are trying to destroy everything. The main character is learning fast since she just discovered that she can time travel, but I think she can handle it. Lots of secrets, hidden messages, and suspense--just what I like. Looking forward to reading the next book--it is a two-book series.

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Review: The Killing Of The Tinkers

The Killing Of The Tinkers The Killing Of The Tinkers by Ken Bruen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Come on, Jack Taylor, lay off the coke!!

I still love you, but you're so troubled--get your act together in the next book in the series, okay?

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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Review: My Lady Judge

My Lady Judge My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved, loved, loved this book! Can't wait to read the rest of the series. Usually I'm the person who skips over the quotes at the beginning of chapters because the author is trying to be "deep," but this time I didn't. Each chapter had an excerpt of the English translation of ancient Irish law books--fascinating stuff. And, of course, this book is about a female brehon (judge/teacher of law/king's court) who has most of this stuff memorized so she can pass judgement on her people in the Burren.

I feel like this book gave me great insight into life in medieval Ireland--fascinating how women have more rights here until the English came along and took all that away. In this book, Galway is English and Henry VIII has just taken over in England, so the change is starting to happen. Now that I know how the laws of ancient Ireland worked, I understand how they didn't understand the English! Two totally different sets of laws. And, I gotta admit, the Irish ones make a lot of sense. Most of the punishments were fines of cows or coinage, and the clan had to pay if the accused couldn't. Fascinating stuff. I can't wait to find out more.

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Monday, January 4, 2016

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Review: Angel of Death

Angel of Death Angel of Death by Jack Higgins
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I stopped listening to the audiobook after the phrase "good breasts" was used to describe a female character. Ugh. I couldn't remember if I had read a Higgins book before, and now I remember why I don't like his books.

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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Review: Best of Friends

Best of Friends Best of Friends by Cathy Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my kind of chick lit--takes place in Ireland, full of smart and sassy women who run into problems, and not everything ends up peachy, but enough of it does for the reader to be satisfied at the end.

This is a younger, more modern version of a Binchy novel--lots of characters that all end up coming together at the end.

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Review: Broken Harbor

Broken Harbor Broken Harbor by Tana French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dina' voice on the audiobook just about finished me off. Seriously, she was loud and screechy and annoying and I just about quit listening. I know she's an annoying character, but I shouldn't have to turn down my car stereo and skip ahead to get past her!

Okay, other than that, this detective mystery was what I expected from Tana French. Slow moving at times (so many interview scenes!) but I enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially Scorcher Kennedy. There were some loose ends I wanted to get back to though--the reader is left guessing at things I didn't want to be left guessing at. I knew who the murderer was right off the bat, but Scorcher's thought process was a bit dodgy.

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