My kingdom for this book to have not turned into an uninspired, forced, one-sided romance! It started off so well: in the late 19th century, Ceony Twill is the top graduate from the amusingly poncily-named Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. Like other trained magicians, after graduation, she enters an apprenticeship with a tradesman-magician who specializes in a type of materials magic. The idea is that magicians can “bond” to a material and then, basically, learn the all of the magical properties of that material […]
I Just Wanna Fly
The short synopsis of Heavy Fire is: Two diplomats and their bodyguards, caught in the first crossfire of both a civil and planned multi-national war, have to escape assassination, find allies, and find a way to prevent their home country from being dismantled from within. But the novel is so much more than that.
Far-reaching, but not OVERreaching
So hey! I really liked this. There probably isn’t much more to be said as this has been reviewed here many times by much more articulate people. That being said (as they say): First, something in Lollygagger’s review struck me: “What I think is interesting is that, for me, I didn’t get absorbed into the world. I was always aware of the fact that I was reading a book…” I felt that way, too, and have felt similarly about books in the past, but then, […]
These books should have switched endings (spoilers abound)
Two short-n-cranky reviews: Julia is a weak, easily-led heiress (always a good combo) who falls under Magnus’s spell, marries him, and endures a semi-abusive marriage for about 10 years. They both love their daughter, who dies tragically, leaving Julia to run away from the shambles of her life. She buys a house that’s haunted by the spirit of a little girl, and bad things start happening. Magnus’s family is terrible – his brother and sister try to stay on Julia’s good side to stay close to […]
Big Changes Make for Good Reading
The longer I sit with my reactions to Paper Towns by John Green the more and more it grows on me. Normally I would have finished this book and had the review up within 24 hours, but life was not cooperating this weekend so instead its been nearly three days since I finished the book before I’ve sat down to examine my thoughts. They are many, and they are varied, which is why I think I’m sticking with a 3.5 rating rounded down to 3. […]
Cormac McCarthy’s closest foray into sentiment
I’m trying to work my way through certain authors, and Cormac McCarthy has definitely been on that list. After reading Blood Meridian this year, I decided to go with something a little less..visceral. Thankfully, All the Pretty Horses is a gorgeous, melancholy book that does not get gross. John Grady Cole is sixteen years old, when the ranch he has lived on passes out of his inheritance upon his grandfather’s death. He and his best friend, Lacey Rawlins, determine to make their way south out […]