By: Erica Johansen
I was so, so sad to finish off this trilogy with a book I didn't like. I spent time and energy reading these three books and so when the third book was such a huge disappointment, ack!
By the middle of the third book everything from Katie's perspective started to feel very now and very political. We must go back to another world since we don't know how to do abortions and we are running out of birth control. Really? Come on. And those pesky superstitious Christian folks. What will we do about them? This faith thing must be stopped. Sigh.
I am a Christian. I don't expect to read non-Christian books by non-Christian authors and have Christian themes in them. But I don't want to read fantasy and have political, earthly themes of the current day so obvious it brings me out of the fantasy world. I read fantasy because I'd like to experience a different world.
Can I say it felt as if the author just got bored by the third book? This isn't the first time I've read a currently written trilogy that, by the last book, just ran out of steam. I want the full deal. Like Lord of the Rings, I want a Return of the King which should be epic and amazing. This was not close. Characters that were in the beginning of the first book, and had bigger story lines, were left without closure. Existing characters that are still with us in the third book go sideways. New characters are introduced that I just didn't like. Can you say Katie?
I literally couldn't read for a full day after this book. I couldn't shake my disappointment.
Moving on...
Thursday, February 16, 2017
What are you reading?
Anything interesting? I usually read more than one book at a time. I read different types of books so I don't get them confused. Right now I'm reading: a classic, a Dickenesque book, a fantasy novel, a non-fiction and a book of short stories. I have 3 paper books, 2 audio books and an ebook so all my bases are covered.
I suppose there is a science to how I choose the books I'm going to read but I'm not sure what it is. Some books grab me and won't let me go until I have finished them in one huge gulp. Some books I read fairly quickly and some books I find myself reading slowly. Usually the slow books I enjoy have lovely language that I want to spend time in.
What are you reading? Anything exciting? Let me know in comments below. It might just be my next favorite book.
I suppose there is a science to how I choose the books I'm going to read but I'm not sure what it is. Some books grab me and won't let me go until I have finished them in one huge gulp. Some books I read fairly quickly and some books I find myself reading slowly. Usually the slow books I enjoy have lovely language that I want to spend time in.
What are you reading? Anything exciting? Let me know in comments below. It might just be my next favorite book.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
The Eight
By: Katherine Neville
"Katherine Neville's debut novel is a postmodern thriller set in 1972 ... and 1790. In the 20th century, Catherine Velis is a computer expert with a flair for music, painting, and chess who, on her way to Algeria at the behest of the accounting firm where she is employed, is invited to take a mysterious moonlighting assignment: recover the pieces of an old chess set missing for centuries.
In the midst of the French Revolution, a young novice discovers that her abbey is the hiding place of a chess set, once owned by the great Charlemagne, which allows those who play it to tap into incredible powers beyond the imagination. She eventually comes into contact with the major historical figures of the day, from Robespierre to Napoleon, each of whom has an agenda.
The Eight is a non-stop ride that recalls the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones as well as the historical puzzles of Umberto Eco which, since its first publication in 1988, has gone on to acquire a substantial cult following" Publisher Weekly
I didn't care for this book. It was a little to slow.
"Katherine Neville's debut novel is a postmodern thriller set in 1972 ... and 1790. In the 20th century, Catherine Velis is a computer expert with a flair for music, painting, and chess who, on her way to Algeria at the behest of the accounting firm where she is employed, is invited to take a mysterious moonlighting assignment: recover the pieces of an old chess set missing for centuries.
In the midst of the French Revolution, a young novice discovers that her abbey is the hiding place of a chess set, once owned by the great Charlemagne, which allows those who play it to tap into incredible powers beyond the imagination. She eventually comes into contact with the major historical figures of the day, from Robespierre to Napoleon, each of whom has an agenda.
The Eight is a non-stop ride that recalls the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones as well as the historical puzzles of Umberto Eco which, since its first publication in 1988, has gone on to acquire a substantial cult following" Publisher Weekly
I didn't care for this book. It was a little to slow.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White
By: Claudia Mair Burney
I really enjoyed this book. It takes on hard to write about
subjects in an honest way. As a Christian book I expected it to be squeaky clean
and sometimes that comes off as false. The need to be careful is a thing but
the need to be real is also a thing and this book proves you can do both, at
the same time.
There were parts I thought were annoying and sometimes the
characters were too whiny but they are young and I am not, so I forgave them. Some of the characters, especially the fathers of both,
tended towards the cliché. I would have preferred some humanity but then Zora
and Nicky wouldn’t be who they are without that influence. The character of Richard
was a knock off of Brennan Manning but again I forgive the author. I happen to
love Brennan Manning so it was nice to see him in fiction. (Yes, I like the book
and am forgiving everything!)
“The voice of beautiful Zora Nella Hampton Johnson-her name echoing the author of her favorite novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God-will take you up and carry you along until she utters her very last syllable. Anger, laughter and delight come from Zora's sharp, sassy tongue as if she is talking out loud. Burney's gift for voice is not limited to her heroine, though it takes her longer to get the other main character, Nicky Parker, the handsome but poor son of a racist pastor, to shine
as distinctly as Zora. At this novel's heart are love and race-what happens
when a self-described BAP (black American princess), the daughter of a famous
megachurch leader, falls in love with a young white man. Zora and Nicky's
dialogue about race is unflinching, with attitude, honesty and occasional
humor. Burney pushes her prose to the edge of the edgiest in the
"Christian fiction" genre, and then barrels right over. She doesn't
sugar-coat, especially when it comes to sex, yet she manages to create a love
story that's both erotic and chaste. Faith in Jesus comes to life on the page
through Zora and Nicky's intense, if imperfect, soul searching. Though parts
are a bit melodramatic, Burney gives readers a page-turner for all audiences,
Christian and beyond.” Publishers Weekly
Monday, February 6, 2017
The Great Gatsby
By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
20th Century : Classics Challenge
So, I admit I'm not very good at writing reviews instead I usually post from Amazon or Goodreads. I'm going to give it a shot though with this one.
I really did not like this book. I have to admit that I usually don't read anything that has to do with the 1920's, flappers, or mobsters. This book was set in the 1920's. Maybe it's because that time was so frivolous and devastating and you just know what's coming for a good part of the country. It's all gin and sex.
Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man in love with Daisy Buchanan. There are ridiculous parties that seem to go on forever and a lot of drunk people that have ridiculous conversations. Did I mention decadence and excess...it reminds me of the French during Marie Antoinette right before the blade fell. Did I mention Daisy is married...to someone else? Gatsby and Daisy meet before our story begins and, although they fell in love, it was not meant to be. Gatsby never gets over Daisy even though she's married to a royal jerk, Tom Buchanan.
The writing is very simple and clean. It's a small book, at only 179 pages, that does seem to throw a big punch at that time.
I'm glad I can say I read it but I did not enjoy it. I wish I had just binge watched something on Netflix instead.
Classic #2 finished.
So, I admit I'm not very good at writing reviews instead I usually post from Amazon or Goodreads. I'm going to give it a shot though with this one.
I really did not like this book. I have to admit that I usually don't read anything that has to do with the 1920's, flappers, or mobsters. This book was set in the 1920's. Maybe it's because that time was so frivolous and devastating and you just know what's coming for a good part of the country. It's all gin and sex.
Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man in love with Daisy Buchanan. There are ridiculous parties that seem to go on forever and a lot of drunk people that have ridiculous conversations. Did I mention decadence and excess...it reminds me of the French during Marie Antoinette right before the blade fell. Did I mention Daisy is married...to someone else? Gatsby and Daisy meet before our story begins and, although they fell in love, it was not meant to be. Gatsby never gets over Daisy even though she's married to a royal jerk, Tom Buchanan.
The writing is very simple and clean. It's a small book, at only 179 pages, that does seem to throw a big punch at that time.
I'm glad I can say I read it but I did not enjoy it. I wish I had just binge watched something on Netflix instead.
Classic #2 finished.
Invasion of the Tearling
By: Erika Johansen
This book is book two to the Tearling trilogy. It moves quickly and you barely have time to catch your breath. I stayed up a couple of nights cause there just isn't any good place to stop and put the book down!
"Kelsea Glynn is the Queen of the Tearling. Despite her youth, she has quickly asserted herself as a fair, just and powerful ruler.
However, power is a double-edged sword, and small actions can have grave consequences. In trying to do what is right - stopping a vile trade in humankind - Kelsea has crossed the Red Queen, a ruthless monarch whose rule is bound with dark magic and the spilling of blood. The Red Queen's armies are poised to invade the Tearling, and it seems nothing can stop them.
Yet there was a time before the Crossing, and there Kelsea finds a strange and possibly dangerous ally, someone who might hold the key to the fate of the Tearling, and indeed to Kelsea's own soul. But time is running out..."
*I didn't care for some of the language and I also didn't care for all the rape talk. It's usually just inferred but there is one scene where Lily is actually raped by her husband. Some people won't have a problem with this but...yucky.
This book is book two to the Tearling trilogy. It moves quickly and you barely have time to catch your breath. I stayed up a couple of nights cause there just isn't any good place to stop and put the book down!
"Kelsea Glynn is the Queen of the Tearling. Despite her youth, she has quickly asserted herself as a fair, just and powerful ruler.
However, power is a double-edged sword, and small actions can have grave consequences. In trying to do what is right - stopping a vile trade in humankind - Kelsea has crossed the Red Queen, a ruthless monarch whose rule is bound with dark magic and the spilling of blood. The Red Queen's armies are poised to invade the Tearling, and it seems nothing can stop them.
Yet there was a time before the Crossing, and there Kelsea finds a strange and possibly dangerous ally, someone who might hold the key to the fate of the Tearling, and indeed to Kelsea's own soul. But time is running out..."
*I didn't care for some of the language and I also didn't care for all the rape talk. It's usually just inferred but there is one scene where Lily is actually raped by her husband. Some people won't have a problem with this but...yucky.
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