Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) My 2012 version of this did not go well! Mainly because I stopped visiting the forum so much. This year I'm going to do better!Links lead to my blog, unless otherwise stated. You can also find my old reviews there as well as general bookish stuff.Books Read 2013: 25January (6)Ignorance- Michèle RobertsHotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Jamie FordA Possible Life- Sebastian FaulksAgainst My Will- Benjamin BerkleyDeep Powder- Dirk RobertsonDiary of a Jetsetting Call Girl- Tracy Quan February (5) The Woman Who Died a Lot- Jasper Fforde The Woodcutter- Kate Danley Irv's Odyssey: Seeking the Way Home- Irving H. Podolosky A Long Way Down- Nick Hornby The Specimen- Martha Lea March (5) 1,227 QI Facts to Blow Your Socks Off The Snow Child- Eowyn Ivey Life After Life- Kate Atkinson. The Rest is Silence- Carla Guelfenbein The Pearl Savage- Tamara Rose Blodgett April (7) Peaches for Monsier le Curé- Joanne Harris The Museum of Abandoned Secrets- Oksana Zabuzhko (abandoned) The Show- John A Heldt Friends Like These- Danny Wallace Still Alice- Lisa Genova Last Train from Liguria- Christine Dwyer Hickey City of Women- David R. Gillham May (3) Night Waking- Sarah Moss Lost and Found- Tom Winter The Lifeboat- Charlotte Rogan Currently Reading Fyre- Angie Sage Emma- Jane Austen Edited May 20, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) The TBR Pile (38) Emma- Jane AustenSense and Sensibility- Jane AustenPersuasion- Jane AustenHer Fearful Symettry- Audrey NiffenegerRebecca- Daphne Du MaurierJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell- Susanna ClarkeJamrach's Menagerie- Carol BirchAlmost Home- Pam JenoffPride, Prejudice and Zombies- Seth Grahame-SmithHouse of Sand and Fog- Andre Dubus IIIEats, shoots and leaves- Lynne TrussThe Brothers Karamazov- Fyodor DostoevskyIt- Stephen KingThe Philosophical Baby- Alison GopnikSupersense- Bruce M. HoodMonsieur- Emma BeckerThieves- Hannah DennisonExpose- Hanna DennisonNorthwest Corner- John Burnham SchwartzThe Good Angel of Death- Andrey KurkovThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay- Michael Chabon1Q84 (book 2)- Haruki MurakamiThe Double- José SaramagoBreak the Skin- Lee MartinThe Sins of the Father- Allan MassieA Cupboard Full of Coats- Yvvette EdwardsAll About Love- Lisa AppignanesiA Game of Thrones- George R.R. MartinGalapagos- Kurt VonnegutThe Bloodletter's Daughter- Linda LaffertyThree Men and A Boat- Jerome K. JeromeThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest- Steig Larsson Hallucinations- Oliver Saks Les Misérables- Victor Hugo It Never Was You- William E. Thomas That Liverpool Girl- Ruth Hamilton Painter of Silence- Georgina Harding Fyre- Angie Sage Edited May 20, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 The Rory Challenge This is a challenge I'm doing on here (see the thread). The aim is to read as many books mentioned in The Gilmore Girls as possible Books read 2013: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) The Wishlist Challenge.This is one hosted by another blog. The aim is to read 12 books which were on your wishlist prior to 2013. My wishlist (on goodreads) holds 111 books so I should find it easy to pick a few!Books read:Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl- Tracy Quan The Woman Who Died A Lot- Jasper Fforde Still Alice- Lisa Genova The Lifeboat- Charlotte Rogan Edited May 20, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) The Out of Your Comfort Zone ChallengeThis is a challenge I have created. The idea is to read up to 12 books which you wouldn't normally read. I'm crazy excited about this one.Books read:Deep Powder- Dirk Robertson The Woodcutter- Kate Danley The Pearl Savage- Tamara Rose Blodgett Edited April 10, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Jamie Ford Synopsis (from amazon) 1986, The Panama Hotel The old Seattle landmark has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made a startling discovery in the basement: personal belongings stored away by Japanese families sent to interment camps during the Second World War. Among the fascinated crowd gathering outside the hotel, stands Henry Lee, and, as the owner unfurls a distinctive parasol, he is flooded by memories of his childhood. He wonders if by some miracle, in amongst the boxes of dusty treasures, lies a link to the Okabe family, and the girl he lost his young heart to, so many years ago. Review When Judith @ Leeswammes Blog saw that I was reading Garden of Stones (the review of which is scheduled for February) she suggested that if I was interested in the topic I should read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Unfortunately for Garden of Stones I was reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet when I got around to writing a review. At the time of reading Garden of Stones I had really enjoyed it, but it pales in comparison to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I found Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet felt rather authentic, especially during the war years. In some sense the story seemed not so much a war novel as a romance. A beautiful romance novel too. There was the level of uncertainty of first love, a sort of is this love feeling. At the same time Henry really had great conviction, even when everything was against his love he still held on, he never really let Keiko go. In a way this makes the end of the war a bit of an anti-climax. (highlight for spoiler) It seemed at odds that Henry wouldn’t wait longer for Keiko. If his letter was returned especially she still might come to find him, but instead he gives up on her Henry was the perfect character to explore the war element from because he could see lots of different sides as a Chinese-American in love with a Japanese-American. He wasn’t completely embedded in any of these perspectives but you could gain a sort of empathy for conflicting views which you wouldn’t have gained from seeing one perspective in detail. I would have liked to see the interment camps in a little more detail but from seeing the changes the Japanese citizens would return to meant that as a reader you can imagine longer-term effects. In shot I’m glad I started my year on this book. Here’s to hoping 2013 brings lots more great reads. 4.5/5 Edited January 18, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Ignorance- Michèle Roberts Synopsis (from Amazon) Jeanne and Marie-Angèle grow up, side by side yet apart, in the Catholic village of Ste Madeleine. Marie-Angèle is the daughter of the grocer, inflated with ideas of her rightful place in society; Jeanne’s mother washes clothes for a living and used to be a Jew. When war arrives, the village must play its part in a game for which no one knows the rules – not the dubious hero who embroils Marie-Angele in the black market, nor the artist living alone with his red canvases. In these uncertain times, the enemy may be hiding in your garden shed and the truth can be buried under a pyramid of recriminations. A mesmerising exploration of guilt, faith, desire and judgement, Ignorance brings to life a people at war. Review. The synopsis above is rather different to the one which I read on netgalley, and I feel it represents the book much better. I went into the story expecting a story which looked back on war times, and something which had been hidden within that time, some great secret. What I got was the story of two women, childhood friends who had started on a similar path but ended up going in completely different directions. The war was somewhat of an important factor in the story, however it was only significant in that a major storyline would not have happened outside of the war- there was never any real sense that it was war-time. Marie-Angèle ended up going to an (arguably) better place, she still seemed to have some care for her old friend, however it came across as charity, or a duty. Marie-Angèle didn’t seem to actually care for Jeanne so much as to want to be seen to be caring for her. Jeanne in her turn actually seemed to dislike Marie-Angèle, and I didn’t blame her. You see I didn’t like Marie-Angèle the whole way through this book, and that made her chapters a little difficult to read. I found her snobby, fake, and rather conniving. The nearest I can say I came to liking her was that I understood sometimes why she might think what she was doing was right, although she seemed to value her own opinion as being much above others. Jeanne I ended up liking. We never really know what became of Jeanne, but I hope her life got better. There were some elements to the story which I didn’t really understand the inclusion of. They added little to the plot, apart from fulfilling the promised secret which was not significant to the rest of the story. 3.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 A Possible Life- Sebastian Faulks Synopsis (from amazon) Terrified, a young prisoner in the Second World War closes his eyes and pictures himself going out to bat on a sunlit cricket ground in Hampshire. Across the courtyard in a Victorian workhouse, a father too ashamed to acknowledge his son. A skinny girl steps out of a Chevy with a guitar; her voice sends shivers through the skull. Soldiers and lovers, parents and children, scientists and musicians risk their bodies and hearts in search of connection – some key to understanding what makes us the people we become. Provocative and profound, Sebastian Faulks’s dazzling novel journeys across continents and time to explore the chaos created by love, separation and missed opportunities. From the pain and drama of these highly particular lives emerges a mysterious consolation: the chance to feel your heart beat in someone else’s life. Review Despite being rather disappointed with the last book I read from Sebastian Faulks I would still happily describe myself as a fan. Birdsong is one of my favourite books, although Engleby shows a greater writing skill. So when I was contacted about reviewing A Possible Life I was very eager. A small part of me worried that it would be in a similar vein to A Week in December, but you can’t expect to love every book by an author so I tried to approach A Possible Life without any reference to Faulks’ back-catalogue. There was something strange about this novel in that it wasn’t really one. It was actually a collection of short stories. It was advertised as being a novel made up of stories with a link. Well there maybe was a link, if you insisted on finding it, but only because of something which featured in the last story, it wasn’t a link you would see if you weren’t looking for it, and I’m not really happy with calling it a list. In some ways I think A Possible Life might be a good place to start with Faulks. It’s almost like a showcase. Different styles of writing, different themes. I think everyone is bound to enjoy one of the stories, however it might be a fight to get to the story you like. For me the best stories were the first and the last. The first had certain echoes of Birdsong, not just because it was a story of war but also because it had a certain level of insight to that experience. My problem with this story however was that it felt like it was stripped down. All the stories ran over a period of decades, which was good in a way because it showed the progress of a character, but also meant you didn’t feel you were getting enough detail. The last story was the story of a gifted music artist. It’s the story which has stuck with me the most. Faulks’ descriptions of Anya’s music make me want to hear her sing- but seeing as she isn’t real I can’t do that! There was also an almost beautiful fragility to Anya which made me really care about her- or maybe that’s just what the narrator felt for her. Even if it is the second then it shows that Faulks’ first person narrative is realistic and evocative. I could have read a whole book about Anya, and it may have been able to make into a whole book, but only if it was either told by Anya herself, or without using the first person narrative, either of which I feel would have taken something away from the story. Thinking about it all of the stories did have an element I liked, but (except for the possible exception of the last story) those moments seemed to be over all too quickly and were surrounded by moments which I didn’t care so much about. I’m not really sure how I want to rate this book. The stand out parts are close to 5 stars, but other bits only really deserve 3. So (for now at least) I’m going to skip the rating on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Deep Powder- Dirk Robertson Synopsis (from amazon) Black snowboarder Finlay turns amateur sleuth when his gardening expertise leads him to believe that the death of fellow snowboarder Animal, is no typical slope accident. Things heat up when he learns that the flashy new snowboard he promised to test is designed to not only cut through snow, but to transport another kind of powder. With a little help from his friends, Finlay gets closer to the truth, and as the tables begin to turn, the line between friend and foe begins to blur. Review. Oh my God this book was sooo bad, just simply terrible. Words cannot describe. I probably never would have even finished it is it wasn’t fr the fact that my kindle, and slightly because I didn’t want to give up on a book I was reading for my own challenge. First off there were just factual errors. Whoever heard of a high-pitched Birmingham accent for one thing? Then there were continuity errors. At one point someone watches someone else die after he has already made sure that he has expired! There seemed to be random events thrown in which had absolutely nothing to do with the rather absurd (and at times very predictable) plot. The worst being a very clinical, very pointless, very unlikely, and very badly written sex scene. It was just…urgh. 2/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Great review Lucy, I'll avoid that one then! Out if curiosity though, how much worse could a book be to warrant a 1/5 from you?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Great review Lucy, I'll avoid that one then! Out if curiosity though, how much worse could a book be to warrant a 1/5 from you?! lol. Well at the end I sort of wanted to know what had happened, although when I found out the answer I didn't want to know anymore! I hate giving low scores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 lol. Well at the end I sort of wanted to know what had happened, although when I found out the answer I didn't want to know anymore! Oh dear! Bless you for not wanting to give a 1/5! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl- Tracy Quan Synopsis (from amazon) Married call girl Nancy Chan has been asked to do something outrageous – even by her standards. Most favoured customer Milt has invited Nancy to his luxurious new villa in idyllic Provence. That's a lot of euros, but … Can a (married) Manhattan call girl really holiday with a client? Seeing him morning, noon and night, coming up with new entertainments, and maintaining both a light tan and a ‘professional' distance? Not to mention Milt's Viagra habit. In a difficult economic climate a girl can't always meet her quota, and Nancy's worried about losing her edge. Nancy jumps at the chance to have a break from Manhattan (and from husband Matt) for a few weeks. Desperate for an alibi, she invents a vacation with her mom in southern France. In reality, Nancy is hard at work with some new playmates – Tini (Malaysian, with something extra), Isabel (a St-Tropez madam), and Serge (Isabel's hunky chauffeur) – while Matt grows more inquisitive. As Nancy discovers, the French countryside is ‘ten times trickier than Manhattan’ and nothing in her temporary world is quite what it seems. When Milt's enigmatic cook Duncan turns up unexpectedly in Nancy's erotic fantasies, she begins questioning everything she knows. Can Nancy keep getting away with this? Review Having read the first Nancy Chan novel as a teenager, and the second in 2009 I've had Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl on my wishlist for quite some time. When I saw it in The Works I considered the Wishlist Challenge and thought, why not? In comparison with the other Nancy Chan novels it was a bit racier than I had remembered. Obviously if it's a book about a Call Girl you expect at least some sex but I'm sure there was less in the other books. The plot was rather different from the other two as well. A bit less realistic, a few too many coincidences. I did rather enjoy it however. It was an easy read, and had a bit more kick than your standard chick-lit. 3.5/5 Edited January 28, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Oh dear - deep powder sounds terrible. Loved your review though Glad your next read was a bit more enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Lucy Was the one you disliked so much one of the Kindle Freebies ? I've run across some of them myself. For the most part,they are pretty good,but once in awhile you run across a really bad one. either the writing is lousy or they don't know how to spell,shich drives me bonkers . The Hotel one sounds very good. I may have to give it a go sometime . I'm not much into romance,but it sounds as if it at least has a good story line to it ,not just the romance part . Great reviews ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 We've already said our hellos on this forum again this year, but I just have to say hello again, and welcome back! You are one of the people I've missed the most, it's been odd not having your reading log about on here I don't know what's kept you away in the recent past, but I hope it's not to do with the forum and that you've come on here with vengeance The TBR Pile (42) Persuasion- Jane Austen Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell- Susanna Clarke It- Stephen King The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay- Michael Chabon´ I've loved these, I hope you really enjoy them! The Good Angel of Death- Andrey Kurkov I remember you being one of the few (if the only!) on here who's read Andrey Kurkov! Is this a stand alone novel, or is it a new title in the penguin series? I bought Death and the Penguin for poppyshake as a Christmas present, and she liked it 4/5 worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Lucy, you have a lot of great books on your TBR pile. Happy reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Lucy Was the one you disliked so much one of the Kindle Freebies ? I've run across some of them myself. For the most part,they are pretty good,but once in awhile you run across a really bad one. either the writing is lousy or they don't know how to spell,shich drives me bonkers . No suprisingly. I have come across some like that though. This one came from the library- I was trying to pick something I wouldn't usually read. The Hotel one sounds very good. I may have to give it a go sometime . I'm not much into romance,but it sounds as if it at least has a good story line to it ,not just the romance part . Great reviews ~ It is. I think the historical aspect is enough to not be overwhelmed by the romance. We've already said our hellos on this forum again this year, but I just have to say hello again, and welcome back! You are one of the people I've missed the most, it's been odd not having your reading log about on here I don't know what's kept you away in the recent past, but I hope it's not to do with the forum and that you've come on here with vengeance Hi again. And thanks. Nothing really has kept me away, mainly just being busy with other things. I've missed it though.I remember you being one of the few (if the only!) on here who's read Andrey Kurkov! Is this a stand alone novel, or is it a new title in the penguin series? I bought Death and the Penguin for poppyshake as a Christmas present, and she liked it 4/5 worth It's a stand alone novel. Looking forward to that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 The Woman Who Died A Lot- Jasper Fforde The Woman Who Died a Lot was read as part of the Wishlist Challenge.This is the seventh book in the Thursday Next series. You can read my reviews of the previous 5 Thursday Next books on my blog. Synopsis (from Amazon) The BookWorld's leading enforcement officer Thursday Next is four months into an enforced semi-retirement following an assassination attempt. She returns home to Swindon for what you'd expect to be a time of recuperation. If only life were that simple. Thursday is faced with an array of family problems - son Friday's lack of focus since his career in the Chronoguard was relegated to a might-have-been, daughter Tuesday's difficulty perfecting the Anti-Smote shield needed to thwart an angry Deity's promise to wipe Swindon off the face of the earth, and Jenny, who doesn't exist.And that's not all. With Goliath attempting to replace Thursday at every opportunity with synthetic Thursdays, the prediction that Friday's Destiny-Aware colleagues will die in mysterious circumstances, and a looming meteorite that could destroy all human life on earth, Thursday's retirement is going to be anything but easy. Review As with the previous book The Woman Who Died a Lot read much more like a series book than the previous books did. That is that it is harder to understand if you didn't read the previous books. I found that this book was a little more predictable than the others. I quite often guessed what was going to happen before it did, which hasn't generally been true of the Thursday Next books. However enough was confusing and there were enough twists that I didn't guess everything, so it was still exciting and intriguing enough for me to want to keep reading it. I did kind of miss the bookworld element which wasn't in this book, and the literary references were a bit less frequent. Eagerly awaiting the next one now. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I read this book back in January but seeing as I had tour obligations for my blog which meant I couldn't put up a review until today I've left posting the review until now. Against My Will- Benjamin Berkley Synopsis (from Amazon) Danielle Landau knows she should feel lucky, but she can't feel anything but dread. Not only did she pass the New York Bar, but she married the man her father says is just right for her and lives in a fashionable new loft in Queens. But the man who seems like the perfect catch is a perfect nightmare at home. Jacob tries to control her career, her daily routine, and even what she eats. He ignores her desires and belittles her every chance he gets. Soon, Danielle doesn't recognize her husband or herself, and she struggles to find a way out. As we follow Danielle on her journey of terror and recovery, we see her story intersect with the diary entries of a young girl from more than fifty years ago, and the full weight of the family's secrets becomes clear. This is a story of survival, self-discovery, justice, and ultimately about love. Review. I had bit of a funny relationship with this book. A lot happened, and I was interested in the things that were happening but everything seemed a bit brief. I think with all the topics there could have quite possibly have been three, or maybe even four different novels written, and I think that would have been better because it would have meant the stories would have to be told in more detail. I did feel that I got to know Danielle quite well, but it was more from knowing her that I could tell how she felt rather than how her actual feelings were described. It meant that early on I felt a bit detached from her, but towards the end I could look back and imagine her feelings a bit better. I can't quite decide if that's a good thing or not. It's a bit more like getting to know a friend than you would get from a deeper description, and in a way in the end that makes you care more. I wanted things to work out for Danielle buy the time I felt I knew her. On the other hand the most emotional areas were at the start of the book, and this is where I felt the most detached from her. The second story however I didn't really get. There was very little to really link the two stories, and the detail was far too sparse. It felt like Berkley added this bit to try and add something deep and meaningful into the story, but he would have been better off adding something more to Danielle's story. If he wanted to write a story of the concentration camps then I feel it should have been done as a separate story. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 (edited) This one I read last year but haven't put up on my blog until today because it's out later this month. It was a free advance copy from the publishers. Garden of Stones- Sophie Littleford Synopsis (from Amazon) In the dark days of war, a mother makes the ultimate sacrifice Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up—along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans—and taken to the Manzanar prison camp. Buffeted by blistering heat and choking dust, Lucy and Miyako must endure the harsh living conditions of the camp. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring beautiful, vulnerable Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Review. It's taken me quite a while to get around to reviewing this book. It's the first I've read about Japanese living in allied countries during World War Two, I read a lot of WW2 fiction but most of it is based in the UK or Germany. Part of what I liked about it was how it seemed to show that it wasn't just the Nazis who discriminated. Not that the prison camps were anything compared to German concentration camps, but that people were treated as enemies just because they were of Japanese heritage. Some of the story was interesting. The atmosphere of the camps was well written, and you could imagine what horrible places they were to live in. The actual events that happened in the camp seemed a bit much though. I am not debating whether or not those types of things may or may not have happened but it seems a lot for one person to be involved in. I almost got the sense that Littleford couldn't make enough of one story so decided to knit a few together. If that was indeed what she did the stories were linked fairly well, but made the 'secret' somewhat predictable. My only doubts when it came to what I thought the secret was came from having been told early on that something else was the answer to what had happened. At the time I rather enjoyed this book, but having waited to write my review, and starting Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet since have slowly worn down my opinion. I am glad I read it because I wouldn't have known to read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet without it, and it opened my eyes to less told stories. However I didn't really get that strong a sense of how it felt to be Japanese at that time. This novel started off being historical, but became a mystery somewhere along the line and I would rather have just had a historical novel. Oh and the whole way through I did not like the cover, the girl on the front is just too young looking. It's not something that would have stopped me picking it up however. 3.5/5 Edited February 12, 2013 by Lucybird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm going to add Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet to my wish list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 The Woodcutter- Kate Danley Synopsis (from amazon) Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity. The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown. But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood. Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales. Review Well first off what the hell was this doing in the graphic novel section? Graphic novels do need t have pictures right?! So the story itself. It was a pretty good premise. A blending of different fairytales gone wrong with the woodcutter (you know, the one who saved Red Riding Hood, because Princes aren’t always all that) having the job of fixing everything. I’m not sure I can really say that the premise met up to its promises however. The beginning was rather good and got me interested but thefurther I read through the story the more it seemed like Danley was trying too hard to fit in as many fairytale characters and creatures as she could and sometimes it didn’t really benefit the plot. I did like the woodcutter however, and especially the idea that he was more than he seemed, rather a guardian of the worlds which intersected in his wood than actually a simple woodcutter. It was an easy read, and fairly entertaining, but I didn’t really think it was anything special. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Irv's Odyssey: Seeking the Way Home Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from the author in return for an honest review. Irv’s Odyssey: Seeking the Way Home is the third of the Irv’s Odyssey trilogy. Read my reviews of the previous books on my blog Synopsis (from amazon) Food service and Irving Podolsky are NOT friends. Still, Irv rises to the level of waiter in the Fairmont Hotel. What about his budding film career, making the world a better place and finding a nice Jewish chick? Well, instead, Irv meets an exotic older girl from Germany. Could she be the one, Irv’s forever, but not-Jewish-at-all soul mate? Ben suggests she is. Ben is a drawling spirit voice channeled through a Puerto Rican pothead. And Ben knows all about Irv’s recent nocturnal fly-outs: those uncontrollable out-of-body trips that bring him to the Other Side where he encounters creepy crawlers in attack mode and goes back and forth in time and into his own future. These bizarre events are not dreams or fantasies. They are real. For as Irv finds out, magic and miracles do exist. And so does true love, if he can just convince his parents that it’s okay to marry a shiksa. Review This book was somewhat different from the first two and initially I wasn’t really sure about that. It started off with a much stronger spiritual element than the previous two (which had a spiritual element, but where it wasn’t the main bulk of the story). At this point I doubted somewhat if I would enjoy this book. Then Irv met Marianne and it suddenly switched over, rather than Irv’s spiritual life being the focus it became his, not personal life, exactly but his life in reality I suppose. When it was mainly spiritual there was still and element of day-to-day life, and when the focus was on his personal life there was still an element of spirituality but there was never really an equal balance. Marianne didn’t like elements of Irv’s spiritual life and he agreed to give those elements up. When reading I found this a little contradictory to the plot of a spiritual journey. It was almost as if he had been trying to discover himself then just given up on the whole idea. However after thinking about it I think that actually his giving up elements of his spirituality was a part of finding it. His spirituality had been part of what had led him to where he was, and once he got there he needed to think about how to balance his spiritual and personal lives. One thing about this book was that Marianne’s habit of not finishing her sentences really grated on me, especially when I wasn’t yet used to it. I did like her as a character but I really thought at one point that I might have to give up just because of it. I do think this is probably my favourite of the series, but it was the hardest to read. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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