I recently saw a review of this novel on NPR’s web site which compared it to Beauty and the Beast. Frankly, I don’t see it, but that’s okay because it’s so much better than a retelling of any known fairy tale. Novik combines elements of Slavic fairy tales, magic, and even some Tolkienesque flourishes (she admits to being a fan and it comes through in the work) to create a complex story about powerful women and friendship, the merits and difficulties of collaboration, and finding […]
A re-read of Dragons.
On my second time through this book, I have lots and lots of thoughts. Be warned, this is not so much a review as a series of reactions, mostly broken up by character, so spoilers ahoy. Ye’ve been warned, matey. (I have no idea why I’m suddenly a pirate.) Back when I first read this book in 2011, I came to it fresh off my first re-read of the first four books, which I had devoured in the space of about a month. I was also super […]
Darcy & Lizzie – Not a Pride & Prejudice Fanfic
I wasn’t expecting such a clever, enjoyable read. Westerfeld has his cake and eats it with two stories happening simultaneously in alternating chapters. Darcy Patel is a very young (just out of high school) writer who puts off going to college and moves to New York City after she lands a major book deal. Her début novel is about a girl named Lizzie who survives a terrorist attack by pretending to be dead and slipping into the afterworld. In the afterworld, Lizzie meets a mysterious […]
The Definition of Comfort Reading
This book is the literary equivalent of fuzzy slippers, a soft sweater, and the best cup of hot chocolate. It is pure comfort and takes me to a happy place every time I reread it. Actually, I feel that way about most of the Harry Potter books (not you Chamber of Secrets, not you), but Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of the series. I’m not going to bother giving a synopsis and there will be spoilers ahoy, just warning you. I’ll assume most cannonballers have […]
So Disappointing
I had such high hopes for this sequel after having so much fun reading the first book in the Shades of London series, but I can’t pretend this was anything other than a massive disappointment. Everything I loved about the first book (the coherent plot, fun cast of characters, Rory’s personality, great setting) was absent from The Madness Underneath. I wish I had stopped reading after the first book. In The Madness Underneath, Rory is recovering from the events of the first book under her […]
Let yourself be triggered.
Well, it’s a first for me to give anything Neil Gaiman has written less than four stars, but I’m reminding myself that according to Goodreads’ rating system, that means “I liked it.” And I did! Some of the stories were delightful and magical, and terrifying. But some of them didn’t really work for me, for one reason or another, and overall, it was actually harder to pay attention to the stories, or work up enough energy to dive back into the book, knowing I’d have […]
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