This was a book club book choice for me, so going in, I had no real idea of what to expect or even what the book was about (other than bees and mist, the great outdoors?). I might have enjoyed this a little more had I bothered to read a quick book synopsis, but this is definitely not a book I would have chosen on my own. To find out why, head over to my blog post.
Such Stuff as Dreams are Made on
“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” – Oscar Wilde (opening quote in The Night Circus) I’m on something of a streak of reading books that everyone else discovered years ago, and then being surprised when they’re great. The word “delightful” is overused – I heard that on NPR I think – but it describes this book perfectly. The Night Circus is pure delight. I don’t […]
I just want to be Team Heroine, but I couldn’t even manage that
I know I originally added this to my TBR pile because there was an excerpt somewhere about the main character, a “girl who couldn’t be touched.” Since I’m pretty much a version of that in real life (only I don’t hurt other people when I am touched; they hurt me), I stuck it on the list and waited for it to come around. I was not expecting some sort of dystopian, end-of-the-world battle of good vs. evil, which is definitely the direction the book went […]
I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS AND THEY ARE FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND MY BRAIN HURTS
I have soooooo many thoughts about this book. Which I will give to you now. REJOICE, PEASANTS. The first thing I want to say is that I made the image of the cover really big because it’s gorgeous, and when you shrink it down it goes all dark and you can’t see the detail. That candle in the center, and the moths coming out of it, and the colors and and the textured details: it’s just lovely. I also really like the title, although, as I’ll […]
The author is a hit (usually); the book is a miss
Middle-school me was a big fan of Patricia Wrede, and thirty-mumble me can still see why, even if this particular book doesn’t hold up very well. It’s one of those Fantasy 101 novels, with the quest and the prince and the sorceress and the big bad and then they all live happily ever after. It’s all a bit thin, and the characters are kind of one-note, but if I had a 13-year-old niece I would totally pass this one on to her. Or nephew, I […]
Rock & Roll, the Fae, and one of the foundation texts of the Urban Fantasy genre.
Almost immediately upon starting War for the Oaks, I had an overwhelming feeling that reading this book was like finding a story that had just been waiting for me to discover it. And this book was written in 1987, the year my little sister was born, so it’s been waiting quite a while. I wish I had discovered it earlier. It was by no means a perfect read, but it was so absorbing and comforting and fun that I almost had no choice but to […]