My younger brother got this book for our dad, and when Dad finished it he immediately ordered copies for me and the other younger brother. So this book is recommended by a whole family of nerds. I’m behind on reviews, so here’s the Amazon summary: “Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of […]
Here be dragons, spoilers, and much rambling
Man, these books have been so much more fraught than I expected. I thought the first one had whiny unlikeable good guys and over-the-top-evil bad guys. I only read the second one because I’d already bought it. The good guys got better in that one, but so did the bad guys! I railed against unearned redemption arcs and wished for bloody vengeance. The third book did not deliver everything I wanted, but it did make me think. Teenaged Malta reminds me of Sansa Stark. She […]
I think this is what they mean by “a hoot”
I listened to the audio-book version of this, read by the author, and she is a delight. Mostly Jill just tells stories: fluffy, men/love related, “I heard this from a friend” stories. Her Southernness is part of the draw. I love how she says “that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard in my INtire life,” and how she calls dumbasses “igmos.” The Sweet Potato Queens thing is hard to describe. A group of Southern ladies like to dress up in giant wigs and sequins, drink, […]
Quick, fun, thoughtful read
I picked this up because of yesknopemaybe’s review and was not disappointed. I decided a while ago I needed a break from Young Adult books (sooo muuuuch aaaangst) but it was really fun to watch Frankie’s teenage brain work. Frankie is a sophomore at a fancy prep school. Part of her wants to fit in, to be a “normal” girl, to hang out with the cool kids. But another part of her is busy analyzing everything she sees, wondering why all the cool kids seem to […]
Better than the first book, but still not my fave
This turned out much better than I thought it would, for a book I started reading mostly out of spite. I didn’t love the first book in this trilogy, but I had bought the first two together at a used book store, and I wanted to see the villains get their comeuppance, so I kept going. There was no comeuppance! Instead there were redemption arcs! I don’t want redemption – I want vengeance. One of the bad guys did get stranded on an island, which […]
Relentless badness, with some boats
When all your main characters are whiny and spoiled and unlikeable, making your multiple villains as awful and vile as possible for comparison does not make your protagonists look any better. “Look how EEEEEEVIL the pirate captain is! He kicks puppies and drowns kittens and doesn’t call his mother on Mother’s Day!!!!” “Yes, Robin, I see, but that doesn’t make Althea any more fun to read about.” The Vestrits are a wealthy trader family from Bingtown, and the proud owners of a rare and expensive […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- …
- 56
- Next Page »