Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

 A steampunk  proper romance of Beauty and the Beast. Instead of 3.5 I'd probably give it a 4. It was descent enough but not a favorite. 

Lucy is a botanist of the Botanical Aide Society and is on a little trip to visit her sick cousin, Kate, at the shrouded Blackwell Manor. Kate is married to the Earl's brother and the Earl is mysterious, scary, scarred, and not a people person though he's in high society. There has also been talk of vampire attacks, ghosts, and troublesome automatons sabotaging their wards. Why is Kate sick and is this Earl as scary as rumor has it? 

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so we know how it's going to end otherwise the readers would be disappointed. While it is a retelling, it is different enough to enjoy the story and be engaged in the differences and want to know what is going to happen next. The supernatural elements, especially the ghosts that made their presence known, were fun and brought the needed flare for this ever present and popular story. It also gave it that edge at the ending to give the climax a "realistic" feel. 

I do wish that re surrounding cast had more differences so then I could actually tell them apart. This could be do to the fact that I was listening to it while doing other things and some of the people and names got mushed together, but there were a few men in particular that I couldn't keep straight so I kind of gave up. 

It is a proper romance, so it is clean and Propriety was important and not sullying one's reputation is high on the importance scale. However, there were many times when Propriety was not held up (my lit. historian is showing) and sandal should have ensued. So much 'non-walking' time alone and in bedrooms and things. Brings tension, I guess, because they are keeping it clean, but it was kind of odd especially because they did bring up propriety and reputation often. But no one else beside Lucy and Miles brings it up. I do kind of wish there was more conversation between others and the two love interests more than the "Gaston" character. 

It was pretty well written too. I'd probably read through it again eventually and will be listening to the next book. 

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Book number four in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

The Titan Lord Kronoss' armies are gathering and doing so quickly. Camp Half-Blood knows that the enemy needs to take the camp before they can take over Olympus, and that they are one of the only defenses left. Their numbers are dwindling, however, and the Titan's army is coming for them. One of the Labyrinth entrances are found inside the camps boarders. If Luke and the army were to find their way through, the boundaries that protect the camp wouldn't keep them safe. With Annabeth leading the way on her first quest, Percy and his friends dive into the labyrinth to find Daedalus and ask for his help in stopping the Titan's army from  passing through it. They also must make it through themselves without dying from he many traps and monsters and gods that call the labyrinth home. 

Out of all of the other books so far, this one seems the most dark. There seems so much more at stake along with the fact that most of it takes place underground which gives it that foreboding atmosphere. I would have appreciated more lighthearted moments to break the ice, especially for the younger audiences who would be reading this book. It reminds me of Harry Potter in a sense, because as Percy gets older and there are more troubling things the aura of the book gets darker and it almost makes me hesitate to read on with my son as he has actually shed tears in this book for certain characters. 

I do like the characters. I've always liked the characters. I do wish that there was a bit more character development, other then we are now deeply troubled. Nico matures. Grove isn't the scared satyr that he was in the first book, he is now able to stand taller than he did. Percy and Annabeth, though, seem just as confused as they had in the last book. There didn't seem to be large enough steps forward for them as I would like. It is the fourth book and they will make major steps, hopefully, in the last one, but this one seemed to be missing that still. 

I liked the idea of the labyrinth and the flashbacks for Daedalus and King Minos. I liked Daedalus as a character and that he even grew over the course of time. The complication between King Minos, Nico, Daedalus, and the others was engaging and gave us a feel for what was really going on. I also liked that the labyrinth gave us a new realm to be in instead of the struggle of "How do we cross the entire country again?" We were able to cross it and get all over the place without us struggling so horribly with that question again--it can get old. 

I do think that the ending of the battle at the end was kind of a let down, though. Simple, I guess, but "the thing" happened then suddenly they ran for it. I wanted more. "The thing" seemed to come out of no where without any type of foreshadowing or letting us as the readers know that it was even a possibility. It felt as though it were coming out of nowhere and then it worked. 

The rest of it though, without the darker atmosphere, was good. Between ranches, sphinx's, arenas, Calypso, King Minos, and many other fun adventures, it was a good book that kept us engaged though it did seem a tad long. But set up for the final battle always takes a little bit of extra effort. 

Read on! 

Kiki's Delivery Service

 Studio Ghibli has gotten me into many a different kind of book. Kiki's Delivery Service is another book that Studio Ghibli took and made into a movie and became a much beloved movie. 

The movie changed things, though, as it did with Howl's Moving Castle. 

Kiki is a young girl who has decided to follow her mother's footsteps and become a witch. There are so few left in the world and their abilities seem to be dwindling so Kiki is only able to fly, but she is determined to set off on her own and find her own town, like her mother did, and settle there. She flies from her little village to a big city and is able, with the kind help of a baker and her husband, settle and start her own delivery business. This is the story of her first year as a witch on her own and developing her own business. 

This is a very simple book, without much high stakes adventure or peril. Kiki makes her deliveries, makes friends, and befriends the city. She is young and grows a lot throughout this first year as a person and as a girl. The world is simple, the characters are simple--almost to the point of lacking though--and there doesn't seem to be much of a character arch. The story ends because she completed her first year on her own. It would have been nice if there was more too it, but there wasn't. 

It would be a good book to read to younger children. There is a reason it is beloved by many people who watched the movie, but it seems to be one that people who grew up with it enjoy more than an older audience entering this world for the first time. There is a bit of adventure or funny little stories as she delivers this or that item that younger audiences would enjoy. 

Where the Crawdads Sing

 Where the Crawdads Sing  is a phinominal book. I could not put it down so much that my ears hurt from listening to it for so long. Cassandra Campbell did such an amazing job with the reading of this audiobook. It is one where I would love to listen to it again. 

Kya is "The Marsh Girl." In the 1950's, after her mother left because of Kya's abusive father, her siblings all left. One by one. Then she was all alone, just a young girl with her abusive, often drunk father in their marsh shack far away from anyone. Eventually her father leaves her too and Kya is left all alone, left to fend for herself or die. With the basics of how to navigate the marsh and a very kind husband and wife who is willing to help her and fill up her gas tank for her boat, Kya lives. The town folk nearby don't want anything to do with her and she is laughed out of school for not knowing how to spell the word "dog." One friend she has, Tate, who teaches her to read and shows her the scientific way of looking at things, but even he leaves for college and she is left alone. As time goes by and she sees other people amongst the marsh--trappers, fishers, and local kids churning up the waves--she meets Chase Andrews, the towns handsome man. He entraps her in her loneliness and has found herself in the same position as her mom. Then one night, his body is found at the bottom of a tower and Kya is suspected of his murder. 

The way this book was written was very well done. Like I would have given this book a 5 star rating simply for it. The prose and little poems in it are fantastic. I even liked all of the biology stuff Kya got into that was in the story. They were pertinent to her character development and how Kya perceived the world around her and how she guessed that people reacted in similar situations. The characters are developed well enough--though some might be seen as bland or stereotypical, mainly the towns folk anyway. 

I loved the story. The fact that there are flashforwards until we can come to the "present" wasn't jarring like I anticipated. It flowed well and we weren't stuck with anyone I didn't want to listen to at all. I was interested in Kya and Tate; I was interested in the Sheriff and his investigation and trying to find out for myself if Kya or one of the other characters we were acquainted with had done it. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the jury's verdict and the evidence that was given. It was a very engaging read that kept me wanting more. 

Like I said, I would have given this a 5 star, easy, except for two things that I don't like in the stories I read: descriptive sex and swearwords. It wasn't horribly descriptive, so I kept reading and finished the story. I'd rate it a PG-18, probably.  But it was defiantly farther than I appreciate with tastes of foreplay. And the swearwords, while applicable to the situation and not horribly over done, were still some $5 swear words there in a few places throughout the book. 

For those who don't care for those parts, like myself: be careful about chapter 18 and after that for a ways. If I were to actually get the book, I'd mark those parts out in my own copy (Don't you dare mark up a library book, y'all hear me!) For those who couldn't care less: go, read, enjoy.