American Dreams by John Jakes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes I don’t write a review immediately after finishing a book because I didn’t like the book or because it had some deep messages I was still working through or because I’m not sure what to make of the book. But, none of those apply to this book. I’ve just been so busy the past couple weeks that I haven’t had time to write up my review. I really loved reading this one. I had not read anything from Mr. Jakes before, so this was a real surprise and a treat. I got the book (along with several others) from my grandma about 4 years ago and put it in my to read pile. Grandma and I don’t exactly have the same tastes in literature, but I have liked some of the books she gave me. And this one surpassed all of them. In fact, I have several other books by Mr. Jakes in my to read pile and all of them seem to magically moved up towards the top!
This is a work of historical fiction, but the history mainly forms the backdrop as setting and providing some characters. It is mainly a story about a young lady who wants to be an actress (on Broadway) in the time period right before world war one.
Fritzi is a charming protagonist through most of the book (I did get a little fed up with her attitude toward her career and herself toward the end of the book, but that doesn’t mean she is unrealistic (in fact, this character flaw helps make her feel more real).
I look forward to reading more from this author.
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The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! An amazing first book for Bree Despain.
I was pulled through from beginning to end, and I thought I was sick of books about werewolves (sorry no vampires in this one).
Although I didn’t get totally tricked or surprised by any of the plot twists, it made me feel smart to know that it was coming (rather than boring me because it was only as expected).
The main character, Grace, felt real and properly conflicted, as well as spunky. I liked that.
I need to get the next book in the series so I can move it to the top of my stack!
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The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Normally I do a nice long review of each book I read, but I’ve been reading so fast, that I really don’t want to take the time to do that right now.
So, I’ll just say that I think Scott Card is getting better and better as a writer with each book.
Some may argue that his opinions come through more strongly, even pedantically, in his later novels, but I think that it is just his characters that have stronger opinions and are therefore more well-rounded. Those opinions may or may not be Scott Card’s.
This was a fun read and a very interesting magic system.
I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
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The Dragon Hunters by Paul Genesse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Even better than the first book!
Kept me reading until late and when I should have been grading papers instead.
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The Golden Cord by Paul Genesse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a fun read.
I think Paul does a great job of writing fight sequences. It was very visually evocative.
Setting: The setting is unique. The "world" is set on top of a rather large plateau. The plants can be dangerous but also offer unique protections (obscuring scents). The first half or so of the book is spent in Cliffton, the home of our protagonist. The rest of the book is spent traveling to and finding a dwarven mine. I thought the whole thing was well-explored and I am interested in finding out more in the subsequent books.
Plot: The main plot revolves around a young man helping a couple dwarves to find a mine and some lost relatives while trying to avoid some nasty evil creatures. There is also a prominent romantic sub-plot and is continuing. And plots about plans the evil master dragon has put into motion. While the plot arcs didn’t really surprise me, I thought they were challenging for the characters, and thus quite appropriate.
Conflict: There are some religious conflicts, cultural conflicts between humans and dwarves, and conflicts with some evil creatures. The main character also has some major internal conflicts going on.
Character: The characters are fairly complex and, more importantly, likable.
Text: The writing was easy to read and simple. I think even those who haven’t read much fantasy will be able to understand much of what is happening in the story.
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Schlock Mercenary: The Blackness Between by Howard Tayler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have to admit that the first volume (chronologically) didn’t really pull me in. But, because I know Howard, I kept coming back to the story and the current storyline at the website. And, I started to get hooked.
Chronologically, this is the 4th (I believe) book in the series, and though Howard was still honing his art skills at the time, the storyline was very engaging and often hilarious.
I highly recommend the series and the web comic!
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The End by Lemony Snicket
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Finally finished it! Took us a long time because I’ve been so busy and we just weren’t into the story as much as with the first couple of books in the series.
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Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival by Dene Low
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My sister-in-law bought this because Dene Low is related to our favorite writer, Orson Scott Card. Unbeknowst to my sister-in-law, I know the writer and teach writing at the same university.
In any case, this was a fun read. It reminded me a bit of Rape of the Lock and similar semi-serious but fun stories.
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The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Dave Ramsey just has a way of inspiring and energizing the reader. The stories shared in this book are fun and incredible. I like this book better than Financial Peace because it is more about the process instead of the theory. That’s exactly what I needed right now.
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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I started actually reading this at 10pm last night and read straight through until 3am. So, it is definitely a pretty quick read and a page-turner.
And now I know why some people didn’t care for this final book in the series.
Actually, I didn’t mind it. I even liked it better than the first, Hunger Games.
The ending is a bit strange. I thought it was a big dream or something for a long time because it just seemed so abrupt after the explosion. Everything from then on felt a bit predictable and rushed. But, at least it had as satisfying an ending as possible for this kind of book (and her choice of Gale or Peeta was supported throughout).
There were several spots where I teared up – the hospital scene, the attack of said hospital, when the boys were talking about her when she was supposed to be asleep, the stuff about Rue, and a few others. So, Suzanne definitely knows how to tug on my heartstrings.
And while I thought it was a bit strange to have the games-type stuff in the city (although it makes a perverse sense I suppose), at least this book was different from the first two.
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