narfna – Page 120 – Cannonball Read 17

Will I quit you, Riordan? I still don’t know. This review is barely about the book, which was good!

The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo, #5) by Rick Riordan

February 22, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I did end up liking this series ender. As up and down as I’ve been with this series, it could have gone either way for me. This book definitely got the closest to my preferred version of the series, which had Apollo actually realizing the consequences of his actions and not just joking his way through some pretty serious stuff. Although, it still never gelled for me that Apollo the God and Lester the Teenager were the same character. There was some moves towards that […]

Not a book for me.

Memorial by Bryan Washington

February 22, 2021 by narfna 1 Comment

I really need to stop ordering the lit-fic option from Book of the Month. It so very rarely ends well. The premise here is that Mike and Benson are a couple. Mike is a chef and Benson is a daycare worker. Mike’s father is dying of cancer, and so he decides one day to go to Japan to mend their relationship, leaving Benson alone in their one bedroom apartment with his visiting mother, who only arrived that morning, also from Japan. Also, their relationship is […]

“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert

February 8, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I probably should have continued on with this series sometime between now and first reading Dune about eleven or twelve years ago. There are elements here which I would have much more easily glossed over in years past, but which stick out terribly now. Still, I feel you have to read a book within the context of its time. I can much more easily overlook or ignore some of the stuff in here since it’s fifty-six years old at this point than I could in […]

“Nobody saw a half-Chinese boy of thirteen and thought, ‘By George, that child must be a duke.'”

The Duke Who Didn't (Wedgeford Trials, #1) by Courtney Milan

January 28, 2021 by narfna 15 Comments

If you are in the mood for a low stakes, low conflict book, the equivalent of a warm hug followed by maybe a tickle or an affectionate pinch on the bum, then this is the book for you. Also, if you are hungry! Don’t read this. Or, do. And then cook the recipes Ms. Milan has so thoughtfully provided on her website. You know what, I take back the thing about the pinch, because that doesn’t seem enjoyable. Maybe a pat instead? Anyway I was […]

“Charlie was always preaching love. Charlie had no idea what love was. Charlie was so far from love it wasn’t even funny. Death is Charlie’s trip.”

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

January 25, 2021 by narfna 11 Comments

I’m a fan of true crime and thus used to a certain level of uncomfortableness in books and documentaries, and I have a pretty high tolerance for most things, but I was not prepared for this book. I think it’s because Vincent Bugliosi, who was the prosecutor who tried Manson and most of his followers, takes you through everything in unbelievable detail (a couple members of the Family had a separate trial for murders committed before the Tate-LaBianca crimes, and Bugliosi was only a witness […]

“What say you, Dandelion? Is there still good sense in the world? Or do only contemptibility and contempt remain?”

The Time of Contempt (The Witcher, #2) by Andrzej Sapkowski

January 21, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I had a bit of a tough time with this one, after pretty much devouring the last two. It may have just been my mood at the time, or it may not have been. Shrug. Stylistically, this is pretty similar to Blood of Elves. Sapkowski continues to have a really episodic writing style. Each chapter features a new location with new POV characters, and each chapter features the characters engaged in one or more long conversations as a way to bring across plot. These books […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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