I was actually on vacation over the weekend but still haven't caught up with posts. We were up near Sleeping Bear Dunes (above) with 20+ family members. Hoping to be back to normal posts next week.
Have a Great Weekend and Happy Reading Everyone!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Vacation Time
I was actually on vacation over the weekend but still haven't caught up with posts. We were up near Sleeping Bear Dunes (above) with 20+ family members. Hoping to be back to normal posts next week.
Have a Great Weekend and Happy Reading Everyone!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
New Releases ~ week of 8/11/2014
An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd (#6 Bess Crawford Mystery)
Black Ice by Susan Krinard (#2 Midgard)
Butternut Summer by Mary McNear (#2 Butternut Lake Trilogy)
Clam Wake by Mary Daheim (#29 Bed-And-Breakfast Mysteries)
Collin by Sandi Lynn (#4 Forever Black)
Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells (#2 The Prospero's War)
Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron (#22 Judge Deborah Knott)
Dirty Little Misery by Tracey Martin (#3 Miss Misery)
DragonKin by Maria E. Schneider (#2 Dragons of Wendal)
Dylan's Redemption by Jennifer Ryan (#3 The McBrides)
Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger (#6 Origami Yoda)
Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb (#1 Fitz & the Fool Trilogy #14 Realms of the
Half in Love with Artful Death by Bill Crider (#21 Dan Rhodes)
Hellhole Inferno by Brian Herbert (#3 Hell Hole Trilogy)
Katie Starting from Scratch by Coco Simon (#21 Cupcake Diaries)
Love Letters by Debbie Macomber (#3 Rose Harbor Inn)
Obsessed by T. R. Ragan (#4 Lizzie Gardener)
Show Me, Baby by Cherise Sinclair (#8.5 Masters of the Shadowlands #8 1001 Dark Nights)
Sixth Extinction by James Rollins (#10 SIGMA Force)
Taken by Tuesday by Catherine Bybee (#5 Weekday Brides)
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Some Thursday Randomness
Thursday Randomness
Came across this artist this week. They turn Disney characters steampunk. You can find Mecanique Fairy's Deviant Art page here.
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| Queen of Heart by Mecanique Fairy |
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| Tinkerbell by Mecanique Fairy |
I still love this series. There have been some misses along the way but I still look forward to new books coming out. I also love that this is a cross over between her Dark Hunters and Lords of Avalon (Kinley MacGregor). More about Son of No One here.
My son's favorite week of the year. Shark Week starts Sunday 8/10/14 on Discovery Channel.
REMUS SharkCam: The hunter and the hunted from Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. on Vimeo.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Book Review ~ The Magician's Land
The Magician's Land (The Magician's #3)
by Lev Grossman
published by Viking Adult
released: 8/5/2014
genre: Adult, Fantasy,
**Received e-copy from Penguins first read in exchange for honest thoughts.
Summary (Goodreads): The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy
Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.
Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers buried secrets and hidden evils and ultimately the key to a sorcerous masterwork, a spell that could create a magical utopia. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must face his fears and put things right or die trying.
My Thoughts: This is the last book of the Magician's series. It picks up with Quentin finding his way after being removed from Fillory in book 2. Quentin seemed to have the most growth throughout this series. We see him trying to fit into the real world and move forward. He ends up back at Brakebills as a teacher. We also find out his area of expertise is mending which is important to the end of the series.
Plum is the other main character of this book. She is a senior at Brakebills. The main problem I had with this story was how/why she got expelled from school. It just seemed like a reason to get her and Quentin out into the world where they could be offered this job. Being really bad at pulling a prank just didn't seem like a plausible reason to throw her out of school.
As expected the job does not go off smoothly. The group is attacked by someone else wanting the Chatwin book that's inside the case. Julia's story from book 2 shows up and brings another bit of closure.
Overall, this worked as a final book. Quentin and his quest to try and fix Alice, Plum facing the fact that she is a Chatwin and all that entails and all of them trying to fix Fillory before it completely disappears. The only thing I didn't like was Janet's story. I understand wanting to have all the main characters in the last book but she just came off as a vile, hateful, person filled with blood lust. The chapters were not needed and just dragged down the story line.
Rating: 4
by Lev Grossman
published by Viking Adult
released: 8/5/2014
genre: Adult, Fantasy,
**Received e-copy from Penguins first read in exchange for honest thoughts.
Summary (Goodreads): The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy
Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.
Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers buried secrets and hidden evils and ultimately the key to a sorcerous masterwork, a spell that could create a magical utopia. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must face his fears and put things right or die trying.
My Thoughts: This is the last book of the Magician's series. It picks up with Quentin finding his way after being removed from Fillory in book 2. Quentin seemed to have the most growth throughout this series. We see him trying to fit into the real world and move forward. He ends up back at Brakebills as a teacher. We also find out his area of expertise is mending which is important to the end of the series.
Plum is the other main character of this book. She is a senior at Brakebills. The main problem I had with this story was how/why she got expelled from school. It just seemed like a reason to get her and Quentin out into the world where they could be offered this job. Being really bad at pulling a prank just didn't seem like a plausible reason to throw her out of school.
As expected the job does not go off smoothly. The group is attacked by someone else wanting the Chatwin book that's inside the case. Julia's story from book 2 shows up and brings another bit of closure.
Overall, this worked as a final book. Quentin and his quest to try and fix Alice, Plum facing the fact that she is a Chatwin and all that entails and all of them trying to fix Fillory before it completely disappears. The only thing I didn't like was Janet's story. I understand wanting to have all the main characters in the last book but she just came off as a vile, hateful, person filled with blood lust. The chapters were not needed and just dragged down the story line.
Rating: 4
Friday, August 1, 2014
Book Review ~ Grim
Grim
edited by Christine Johnson
published by Harlequin Teen
genre: YA, anthology, retelling, fantasy
Summary (Goodreads): Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today:
Ellen Hopkins
Amanda Hocking
Julie Kagawa
Claudia Gray
Rachel Hawkins
Kimberly Derting
Myra McEntire
Malinda Lo
Sarah Rees-Brennan
Jackson Pearce
Christine Johnson
Jeri Smith Ready
Shaun David Hutchinson
Saundra Mitchell
Sonia Gensler
Tessa Gratton
Jon Skrovon
My Thoughts: I had a hard time rating this. While they were all well written stories there was just something that didn't feel like Grimm retellings. While they were "scary" or had bad things happening they almost felt too cute. They didn't feel dark enough for my tastes. I kept waiting for something more. I wanted the sinister, creepy, twisted stories.
Overall, like I said, these were well written, good stories just not what I was expecting from the title of the book.
Rating: 3.5-4
edited by Christine Johnson
published by Harlequin Teen
genre: YA, anthology, retelling, fantasy
Summary (Goodreads): Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today:
Ellen Hopkins
Amanda Hocking
Julie Kagawa
Claudia Gray
Rachel Hawkins
Kimberly Derting
Myra McEntire
Malinda Lo
Sarah Rees-Brennan
Jackson Pearce
Christine Johnson
Jeri Smith Ready
Shaun David Hutchinson
Saundra Mitchell
Sonia Gensler
Tessa Gratton
Jon Skrovon
My Thoughts: I had a hard time rating this. While they were all well written stories there was just something that didn't feel like Grimm retellings. While they were "scary" or had bad things happening they almost felt too cute. They didn't feel dark enough for my tastes. I kept waiting for something more. I wanted the sinister, creepy, twisted stories.
Overall, like I said, these were well written, good stories just not what I was expecting from the title of the book.
Rating: 3.5-4
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