Synopsis: When a car that shouldn’t drive appears at a local gas station, the police troop that deals with it discovers that it is a portal to another world, one that seems very, very dangerous. Review: I swear I really am reading Anna Karenina. My brain was so fried, however, at the end of this crazy work trip I just took that I needed something for the plane that wouldn’t challenge me. From a Buick 8 is a King that I’d only read once before,…
Synopsis: The granddaughter of a powerful sorceress finds herself coerced into betraying her kin to bring about the downfall of Ireland. Review: Child of the Prophecy is the third installment in Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy follows the story of Fianne, granddaughter of Sorcha, who saved her brothers after they were turned into swans, and niece to Liadan, the healer who managed to thwart the pattern set by the Old Ones. It’s the weakest installment, due largely in part to the lack of nuance in crafting…
Synopsis: Idyllic 1930s Connecticut. 13-year-old Niles is dreaming the summer away with his twin brother Holland and their mystical Russian grandmother Ada–but tragedy has a way of striking this family, and it has something to do with the ring Niles holds so closely. Review: What a curious blend of classic Americana and gothic horror! It’s a tale of terror set in broad daylight, amid sunflowers and haymows and Main Street and the train, whistling at its appointed hour. There’s an angel in this book, with…
Synopsis: A writer suffers a car wreck and finds himself in the tender loving care of his number one fan.
Synopsis: The 2nd in Marillier’s Sevenwaters trilogy, Son of the Shadows picks up with Liadan, daughter to Sorcha from book 1, kidnapped by a band of ruthless mercenaries, where she learns that she stands outside of the Old Ones’ pattern–and thus might have the power to change destiny. Review: I enjoyed Son of the Shadows much more than Daughter of the Forest. The writing was richer, the characters more interesting, and the story denser. The story is set in medieval Ireland at the time of…
Last night’s work read was a novel whose tone profoundly disturbed me. But that’s all I can say because I don’t blog in detail about the books I read for work. Instead, you get a post On Reading. I recently posted a few of my blog reviews up on Amazon, just to see what would happen, and in doing so remembered that I posted a review on Amazon a very loooooooong time ago–my only one until recently. I wasn’t sure if it’d still be there,…
Synopsis: The theft of a rare diamond from India throws an upper class family and their servants into disarray and suspicion. Review: Published in 1868 and taking place from 1847-48, The Moonstone is one of my selections for the Winter Classics Challenge and the Chunkster Challenge. I knew that it was the first novel to introduce the classic British detective character, but I was not prepared for how funny and satirical the book would be. Collins structures the book around a series of first-person narratives…
Finished a book tonight for my reading job, which thankfully has started up again after a very loooooong holiday hiatus. I was getting used to having my evenings and weekends to myself, but if this had gone on any longer my paranoia over being replaced by somebody faster than me would’ve driven me bonkers. If you’re new to this blog, I don’t post reviews of my work reading, but use these posts to muse about reading itself. I hate giving up on books, because I…
Synopsis: Three spurned first wives plot the ultimate revenge against their ex-husbands.