It seems appropriate that I finished my cbr10bingo for #The Book Was Better? on Halloween as it was a scary(ish) book called The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs. I think I read this as a kid about thirty years ago. This is probably why I have no real memory of it. Therefore, I was reading it for the first time. I had hoped to read it as the movie just came out. And while I am not a Jack Black fan, […]
This book wasn’t written for me, and I feel fine
Dreadnought by April Daniels
Roger Ebert used to talk about how important emotional response was to him as a critic, often more important than the technical and artistic merits. Even the most technically and artistically exquisite film could be a hollow and unsatisfying experience if he didn’t connect emotionally, and the opposite could also be true: sometimes, without any other explanation, a seeming piece of trash could be surprisingly fun simply because it connected to something ineffable inside him. So when the whole “Brie Larson commits white genocide against […]
An epic romance sizzles during an Odyssey quest to save the realms
Breath of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Book 2) by Amanda Bouchet
Breath of Fire is the second book in Amanda Bouchet’s Kingmaker Chronicles series.This novel picks up moments after the end of book one with our heroine, Catalia Fisa, healing from deadly wounds. She has a knack for playing fast and loose with her life, much to the chagrin of her lover Griffin. Cat is the Kingmaker, she can detect lies from anyone. Possession of her is quite handy for anyone in power. Cat’s mother, Alpha Fisa, would rather manipulate her powers to maintain her iron fist upon […]
Excellent Fantasy Series to Get Hooked On
The Black Tides of Heaven (Tensorate Series) and The Red Threads of Fortune by Jy Yang
With their Tensorate series, author Jy Yang has created a world divided between those who have and those who lack the ability to manipulate the physical world through their own formidable powers. The “haves,” known as Tensors, are able to use their mind/spirit to influence the workings of the Slack, ie, earth (gravity), water (motion), fire (temperature), metal (electricity), and forest (flesh and blood). In this world, the “haves” rule with an iron fist and little mercy, but even so, amongst these privileged individuals there […]
Just a few long-leggedy beasties
I was 100% not in the mood for this book and probably should have put it down as soon as I realized that. The thing is, it’s hard to put down a new release library book knowing you’ll have to go to the back of the lengthy hold queue. Still, I wasn’t in the mood for something whimsical and slightly cutesy, so I didn’t enjoy Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance as much as I think I might have at a different point in time. The plots […]
Visiting the Land of Stories
On the recommendation of a friend, I bought The Wishing Spell for my 9 year old daughter last year for our family winter solstice book exchange. She devoured it and immediately began urging me to read it. “Mom, you’ll really like it. It’s so good!” So far in her life I’ve always been the one making recommendations of what to read. She was very excited to have a book she wanted to share with me. “It’s as good as Harry Potter!”, the highest praise she can […]