Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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I demand a tiny glass dragon for a pet. I DEMAND IT.

August 13, 2015 by narfna 3 Comments

Despite all my caterwauling over the formulaic nature of the series, I’ve really enjoyed the last three books. This one is probably tied for my favorite with the second one. That one had that sweet ass battle where Briar goes to town all over the bad guy’s house with his super magical plant powers, and this one had Tris being grouchy and getting a tiny glass dragon for a pet. Plus I really liked the way that T. Pierce dealt with issues of culture and […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: circle of magic, emelan, fantasy, middle grade, narfna, shatterglass, tamora pierce, the circle opens, tris, Young Adult

narfna's CBR7 Review No:117 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: circle of magic, emelan, fantasy, middle grade, narfna, shatterglass, tamora pierce, the circle opens, tris, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

this may be the creepiest thing i’ve ever read, no joke

July 23, 2015 by narfna 2 Comments

Dudes. This book is MESSED UP. I kind of can’t even believe how disturbing it is. I mean, I’m positive that I’ve read books where more objectively disturbing things have happened, but there’s something about the combination of what happens in this book mixed in with the fact that it takes place in a book aimed at pre-teens, and also, just the way she structures it so that it completely messes with your head . . . Cold Fire is the third book in the […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: cold fire, emelan, fantasy, narfna, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult

narfna's CBR7 Review No:103 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: cold fire, emelan, fantasy, narfna, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Love the book, but frustrated this series is so formulaic.

April 10, 2015 by narfna 1 Comment

Okay, so firstly, if I would have read this book first in the series, my reaction would have been something like YEAHHHHHHHHHH. But since it was second and made clear the fact that this series is Pierce’s most formulaic yet, it sort of soured it for me. Individually this book was rock solid. Briar was such a badass. He’s fourteen now and officially a plant mage. He and Rosethorn are traveling the world seeking out new plants and such. In the city of Chammur, they […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: fantasy, narfna, street magic, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult

narfna's CBR7 Review No:56 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: fantasy, narfna, street magic, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

More of the same. Good, not great.

March 7, 2015 by narfna 4 Comments

This is more like a really high three, but I’m rounding up because of sentiment. I still find myself wanting more from the Emelan books, and not getting it. They just take place in such a short period of time, and there isn’t much character interaction. There was even less in this one than usual, because the four main characters are split up, each character getting their own spotlight book while the others are off having adventures in other parts of the world. This one […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: emelan, fantasy, magic steps, narfna, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult

narfna's CBR7 Review No:31 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: emelan, fantasy, magic steps, narfna, tamora pierce, the circle opens, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

A sweet story about non-romantic love, involving a magical plague.

February 27, 2015 by narfna 12 Comments

Briar’s Book is the final book in Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic quartet, which of course is ending just as I’m getting used to the format Pierce wrote them in. Naturally, it focuses on Briar, the former thief and street rat, now plant-mage of Winding Circle Temple. He and the three girls are now a year older than they were in the first book, but still quite young. They’ve adjusted to their new lives and are learning in heaps and loads. For Briar, a large […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: briar's book, children's fiction, circle of magic, emelan, fantasy, middle grade, narfna, tamora pierce

narfna's CBR7 Review No:26 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: briar's book, children's fiction, circle of magic, emelan, fantasy, middle grade, narfna, tamora pierce ·
Rating:
· 12 Comments

These books might actually be a bit too young for my expectations, but they are still great.

February 18, 2015 by narfna 7 Comments

Daja’s Book is the third in Tamora Pierce’s children’s fantasy book series, Circle of Magic. I was previously classifying this as young adult, but this book has firmly set my mind on the subject. At the end of these books, I keep wanting more from them. More development. More sophistication. More actual content (they’re very short). More time spent (they take place over very short periods of time). And I finally decided, basically just about five minutes ago, that the expectations I was placing on this […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: children's fiction, circle of magic, daja's book, fantasy, narfna, tamora pierce

narfna's CBR7 Review No:17 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: children's fiction, circle of magic, daja's book, fantasy, narfna, tamora pierce ·
Rating:
· 7 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Fiona Brady
    on Is that ALL there is?
    It's unfortunate that, at least on my search engine, yours is the first (non-AI) review and diminishes this novel to...
  • Jaye Davidson
    on Failure to Launch
    I loved the book
  • vega-table
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    Appreciating the author's perspectives is a good way to think about this book. (And there really isn't anything to complain...
  • LittlePlat
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    By the sounds of it, if this book ended up on my holds list, I wouldn't complain; sounds like the...
  • person
    on This book, like a toot, if forced is probably s**t
    its a very interesting book, and also helps you imagine what school is like being the new kid, having bullies,...
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