House of Many Ways

 Diana Wynne Jones's third book in the Howl's Moving Castle series is probably my favorite. Don't get me wrong. The first one is amazing, but this one was fun. 

Charmain Baker is a baker's daughter who is good at nothing but reading. Her mother doesn't let her do anything that is remotely unladylike, so mostly she reads. But then she is tasked with taking care of Great Uncle William's house while he is going away to see the Elves to heal him. Great Uncle William is a wizard and his house his magical. Outside it is a simple cottage with two rooms, but the large wooden door that leads to the kitchen can also lead to "many ways" other than the kitchen. Not only does she come to a house that is piled high with laundry and dishes which she doesn't know how to do, but the kobolds are also complaining and a boy barges in looking to be Great Uncle William's apprentice AND she gets a reply from the King to come and help him with his library. So much is going on for a girl who doesn't know how to do anything. 

This was  my sons favorite out of the three stories. Charmain was cute and it was just a super fun book. I liked the appearance of Howl and Sophie, though Howl's lisp was hard to voice over, jus saying. I also enjoyed the history of he old country and how some problems last generations before they become resolved. 

It was a cute book, that I would defiantly read again, and probably will if my son has more say in what I pick for our breakfast book club. 

Castle in the Air

 I was not disappointed with this "companion" to Howl's Moving Castle though it was not what I expected. 

This story follows Abdullah, a humble carpet merchant from Zanzib. One day, a traveler comes and sells him a flying carpet. Seeing that it does fly, he buys it but then can't seem to make it work. To make sure it doesn't fly away, he falls asleep on it only to wake up in a garden that could only be from a dream. Abdullah also sees a beautiful woman who's name is Flower-In-The-Night, who happens to be the princess. On his second miraculous visit the next night, she is kidnapped by a djinn and he can do nothing to stop it. After getting thrown in the palace dungeon by her father the Sultan, with help from the carpet he finds himself in the dessert in the hands of bandits with a genie at hand. With a wish to help him find Flower-In-The-Night, he finds himself in the northern non-dessert country of Ingery and at he disposal of a vagabond soldier who is supposed to help him find the most beautiful, smart, and kind woman he's ever seen. 

It was a jolly read that I very much enjoyed. 

At first I was a bit perturbed that this sequel didn't star Howl, Sophie, and Calcipher, but I found that I enjoyed Abdullah, the genie, the cats, the soldier, and the others. I liked Flower-In-The-Night, though I would have liked it more if she had gotten a bit more screen time. But she was a powerful woman who didn't take any flack from anyone, even a djinn. The other princesses we meet were pretty awesome, too. 

I also liked the expansion of the world in Howl's Moving Castle. There is much in the world that I wanted more of and happily got it through a different narrator. 

I don't think I have anything negative to say about this one. It was very much a joy to read. My son really liked it too and got into the story. 

The Silver Chair

Book 6 in the Chronicles of Narnia follows Eustace and a school mate of his named Jill into Narnia in order to help find King Caspian X's son who has gone missing and has been missing or the last decade or so. 

Jill gets instructions from Aslan to help find Prince Rilian. But Jill and Eustace don't follow the instructions at times very well and are forced go about things in round about ways. They travel on owls backs, brave the cold, run from giants, and find themselves in the deep, dark hollows of the earth with the help of a new friend. 

It is an interesting story about how important it is to follow the instructions we are give. Aslan gave them specific instructions that they needed to remember--though sometimes forgot--and although they didn't often go down the path Aslan originally intended for them, other ways were provided to get their objectives accomplished. Just like God does for us. 

It isn't particularly my favorite book in the series, but it is a good read that expands the Narnian world with a good moral. 

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

 The second official book of the Chronicles of Narnia and the one that most people know. 

During the Bombing of London, the Pevensie children are sent to live at old Professor Digory Kirke (the Magician's Nephew). In his home in the country, Lucy finds a wardrobe and in the back of it is Narnia instead of the back of the wardrobe. Narnia, a whole new world covered in a thick layer of snow. Finding a lamp post and a faun. Once her siblings find their way in they find there is more than they thought. A witch is hunting them so they can't fulfill a prophecy and Aslan, the Mighty Lion, is coming back to face the witch. 

I enjoy this story, though sometimes the way C.S. Lewis writes can be hard some times and doesn't flow as "nicely" as the more modern writers do. But that just comes with the times. 

I love the metaphor for the Atonement of Christ. In explaining what was happening to my son and the parallels between Jesus and Aslan, I think it helped him better understand what Christ had done for us. I also like that at the end the all become Kings and Queens. Not one of them is subservient to another, just like I believe will be the case after Christ returns. I also enjoy how playful Aslan is with the children, and that the witch is absolutely terrified of him (which wasn't the case in the movie). 

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. 

A Discovery of Witches

 A Discovery of Witches *sigh, and not in a good way* 

Diana is a witch with a lineage that goes back on both sides to Salam, Mass. c 1600. Matthew is a vamp who has been around for a millennia and a half. She is super powerful though doesn't like to use her powers because she considers it cheating and she wants to get her PHD and other studies the "normal way." He is looking for away to save his kind and stop all these murders that scream vamp all over them. Then there is also the big bad "boss guys" who say they can't get together because... I didn't get that far. 

It... *ugh-sigh* The first reason I gave it a 2 was because it was beyond long winded. Setting and descriptions of everything took forever, and I was reading an audiobook where most of the time that doesn't matter. And I'm all about a beautiful setting and wonderful descriptions, but there was so little poetry behind it all and it took For-E-Ver. The 600-ish pages could have been dropped by at least a quarter if she had been more choosy as to what was needed for the reader to know what was going on. It's a brick and feels as heavy as one. Plus, tea and wine. Tea and wine. Tea and wine. And descriptions on every scent and whiff of tea and wine. O.O UGH! 

My second problem is him. If you go for a "Beauty and the Beast" kinda rage problems but miss the whole story of B&B, you just get a very angry guy who hasn't learned to control his temper in 1500 years. That's a long time. Honestly, if he hasn't learned it by now... If she does anything wrong, especially unknowingly (because "forget everything you thought you knew about vampires"), he practically jumps down her throat. "How dare you do this thing which you didn't think was bad! I'm not going to explain how that was actually kinda rude; I'm just going to yell and pretty much throw a tantrum because I'm only mentally 3." Okay, that was probably a bit mean, but it happened. 

Matthew has this over-protective thing (fidgety feeling) almost out of no where and likes to watch her sleep also and other weird stuff that reminds me heavily of another vamp that sparkles. Many of the characteristics that many people disliked about that vamp is the same thing Matthew has. Red flags of all kinds pop up. Then Diana who is supposed to be this warrior-princess of awesome becomes so passive mess every time he's around it seems. Again, possibly an exaggeration, but I got through about half the book. When he's around, almost all of her brain smarts and goes away. And yes, it's cool that suddenly he became friends with every single person of scientific importance over the last 1500 years, but come on. Let some of her awesomeness shine out. It didn't so much. 

And while I didn't finish it, I did look up the rest of the plot on the interwebs and saw that they made a tv series out of the book and it's two sequels. The big baddies are this counsel who won't let inter-species relations happen. But they really want to, but they can't because laws, but they'll probably do it anyway. There is also supposedly time travel in this book toward the end and it gets to the point where it seems like there is just too much going on. Blood science, problems with reproduction, inter-species relations, "I'm too powerful and don't know how to use it," "Yes we should" "No we shouldn't" dilemma, yoga class gets in there too, history class for the ages, and time travel all with an over abundance of description. 

It's too much. 

I don't really want to read a fanfic written by a Twihard mom who, though clean (I will say that, so far as I read though the series trailer will dispute that), wants a Twilight fix. ((Not to blow up on Twilight or hate on Stephenie Meyer, I just don't think her books were written as well as they could have been, and I wish she'd step away from it instead of writing another Twilight novel "but this time from Edward's point of view" (There I said it). Maybe I'm just upset because she didn't choose Jacob in the end? Who knows?)) Twihard mom's might like it, I do not. 

Moving on to the next book. 

Storm Front

 

The first of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. 

Harry Dresden is a wizard in Chicago who works as a wizard for hire. You can find his add in the newspaper. Most of the time he finds keys or other lost items. Other times he works as a "psychic" with the Chicago PD when cases have a occult feel to them. He doesn't often take missing person's cases from people who find his add and this case the police are working on is beyond morbid. Bills need to be paid, but he might be over his head on this one. 

I was first told to read this when I was in high school. I would not have been okay to read this one in high school. There was more than a handful of profanity and these murder scenes would not have been one I would want to look at even on TV. Grotesque, bloody, something that even C.S.I. wouldn't have let air. If this was a movie or show, I wouldn't watch it. The fact that I can mentally jump over the profane words and do my best to not remember unwanted scenes vividly is the only reason I actually got through it. If you don't want to handle those things, go ahead and skip it. If you can or don't mind, enjoy the rest of the book. 

It is an interesting mystery with the major twist of our detective being a wizard. There are normal human bad guys, but then also other wizards, demons, and vampires. Typical supernatural creatures and things that go bump in the night. The mystery was interesting and well lead the story along. 

Characters were interesting and the big ones will do well, I think, in the sixteen other books. The way they interact is great and will have many adventures to come. I really liked Harry Dresdens' sly, sarcastic personality. It was fun to see through his eyes. 

I listened to this book. The reader is James Marsters, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I great reader even if he didn't keep his British accent. He did the voices well and gave a good depth to Dresden and his emotions. 

Good book, but, wow, the profanity and scenes where he lost his bath towel... they could have done without. I'm going to be wary of the next book, which I plan to read. If it continues to be ridiculous in those aspects or if there are actually steamy scenes, I will not pick up another one. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Number 7! Ah, the tears. Only good writing works this way. 

Harry, Hermione, and Ron aren't going back to school... at the beginning of the year anyway. They are on orders from Dumbledore to find Voldemort's Horcrux's and destroy them. Harder said than done. Between running away from Death Eaters, searching, not knowing where to go, infiltrating the Ministry while Harry is the most wanted man in the country, and then realizing that the Deathly Hallows are important too... they've got their hands full. 

This one is my first legit read though of the book. I've seen the movies a bunch of times and listened to the other books on audio, but this is a first. I very much enjoyed it. 

I think one of my favorite parts was Kreacher's Tale. You really feel for him and are reminded that every nasty person has a back story and often times if you take the time to get to know them or their story, they'll turn out to be a decent person. Not all the time, if they choose to be that way, but there is potential for everyone and that most of the time all they want to be is understood. Kreacher is awesome and I love how he ends up leading the House Elves at the end. 

I do wish though that we had been able to spread the narrative a little. Instead of solely watching it through Harry's eyes, to have gotten  other's points of view. Especially during the Battle of Hogwarts. Throughout the series we've loved everyone that is in Hogwarts at the end--the good guys anyway. I wish we'd gotten more of the individual battles for Lupin and Tonks, of Kingsley, Hagrid, Molly and Arthur, and all the others. Obviously Harry can't be everywhere, but I'd have loved to get POV changes. Even POV changes when we weren't at Hogwarts at the end. To know more about what the Weasley's were doing, what the DA did in an attempt to steal the sword, Fred and George when they were still manning their shop. And most definitely more at the end. To see how everyone coped or didn't with the losses they received. Even if it was just bit and snippets of weddings, of internal changes, of grief... A page. Three paragraphs. A small bit of dialog. Something just a bit more so then we can close with them and have a more finite resolve. 

But boy was it a great book. Before reading the series, I knew that there was a giant fandom for the Wizarding World. I know some fandoms can go crazy (I'm looking at you Supernatural) but now I understand why. The books were great, well done, and well made. In my opinion, there is very little lacking in the series. No, Harry Potter is not a happy book, but it is one that discusses many things that touch many people in many ways and hopefully helps us to grow. Those books are the best ones to read. 

It will probably be a series I'll reread like so many before me. Enjoy. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very large book. Sometimes they can be intimidating, but I've found that often the large books are some of the best. (Brandon Sanderson is a great example of this.)

Harry is distraught. After witnessing the murder of a friend and fighting Lord Voldemort himself and having the whole wizarding world calling him a liar, he has every right to be. His summer is silent and no one is telling him anything. He joins his friends at Sirius Black's house and finds out there is an Order of the Phoenix that he's been left out of as well. Then when he gets to school their new D.A.D.A teacher is psycho. No answers. No Dumbledore. No help. No hope. This year really sucks. 

The characters are amazing here. I don't know of any fan base who simply hates a character as much as they hate Umbridge. Professor Umbridge is hated beyond any fictional character I know (except for maybe"F-Moash" from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive.) She is one that we obviously just detest and some consider more of a villain that Voldemort. 

I think Rowling did a great job at showing that Harry was angry. #Angst or what have you. I remember hearing about how this was a bad book because Harry was constantly complaining and angry. They blamed it on Rowling being pregnant and therefore hormones coming out in her writing. I don't believe it's credible--if she was pregnant during that time, I don't think her hormones made Harry hormonal, he had his own problems (and teenage hormones) to worry about. Yes, he was angry. Yes, he felt like he had no one to confide in or that was willing to confide in him. He felt alone. He'd just seen death and been called a liar by everyone and everything that had lips aside from his friends and members of the Order who aren't telling him anything. Harry is going through a depression and instead of closing up, which he sometimes does, he lashes out. He's getting beat down from every side and feels like he can't get up, though he keeps trying. Rowling did it well. Depression, anger, misunderstanding, hate, fear, they are all things that are prominent here but realistic. It's sad Harry lashes out at his friends who are only trying to help him, but "they don't understand" and it makes it hard on everyone. 

Just as the books are, the plot is thickening here. More and more things are happening and lots are going on behind the scenes. 

I think it's very well written and the characters help pull this one through. 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This book was dramatically let down by the movie. Just saying.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was comical and actually got me to sniffle with tears in my eyes. Cedric Diggery is actually a very awesome person (hence the tears) and Mrs. Weasley is by far my favorite character in the Harry Potter series. Period.

Harry, before returning to school, has crazy dreams, his scar hurts, goes to the Quiddich World Cup and sees Death Eaters and almost get stunned and put in prison. Hooray for the summer holiday! When school starts, the school is informed that they will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. Someone puts his name in the drawing for it and is considered a champion in the Tournament. Is someone trying to kill him again? Obviously, the answer is yes. He has to survive the tasks and school ground and school assignments. Go Harry! But, of course, dark forces as encroaching upon the quickly dwindling happiness that happens at school.

The characters are beyond brilliant. J.K. Rowling does and excellent job with her character development. The ending was very powerful where we were just as shocked with Harry about what happens in the graveyard, then have just as much heart ache as Harry does when realization sets in (particularly for me with Dumbledore's speech at the end), and I defiantly felt the love of Mrs. Weasley who, like I said, is my favorite character. We were right there, with Harry, feeling the same things. But then everyone else there was growing too. Ron and Hermione growing as people throughout the World Cup and the Tournament. Friendships are tried and unregistered love is too. Then others as well are given enlightening moments that make their character bloom. Neville, I'm looking forward to you. Obviously.

It is a long book with many things happening, and the fact that they are all interconnected (either in series or simply the awesomeness that is the book) makes them a great read. Plot is very well done here with a major twist at the end for those who are reading it for the first time. There are long, almost info-dump, of explanation at the ending between many of the characters but they were very needed and did explain so much. Rather similar to a "so who dun it" moment at the end of a mystery novel where the detective explains or the bad guy confesses.

In the end, it was a great book. I finished the last 25% in a day (hooray for quarantine). It was very binge worthy. I'm taking a quick break from Harry Potter (mainly because my husband is asking me to read something), but will be back for Umbridge soon. Bwahaha. I can't wait.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter series.

Harry has had the worst summer and now there a house-elf in his room telling him he shouldn't go back to Hogwarts. Well, that's not happening. Getting away from the Dursley's is a must. Between getting bailed out of the Dursley's house, missing the train and hitting a Whomping Willow on school grounds, he'll make it to school even if he is nearly expelled for it. But then there is more. Strange things keep happening. Harry is hearing voices, finding new abilities, and students all over the school are being attacked. Harry and his friends must find out what the Chamber of Secrets is, what is inside it, and how to kill this monster before someone dies...like last time.

I've discovered something about J.K. Rowling, she really likes her alliteration. Reading it in my head, I didn't notice so much, but reading it aloud to my son had me tongue timed at times. The constant repetition of letter sounds, while sounding nice and someone fun, had my dyslexic brain and tongue spinning. It takes a bit of a poet to keep that going and I think she did a good job at it.

I think the story is well laid out with funny tidbits and great (sometimes intentionally obnoxious) characters who move the story along well.

I don't really have anything bad to say about it. The fact that my 7 year old is really enjoying it too is always a bonus. Way to go Rowling!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I know it's kind of out of order, but reading the second book with my son was taking too long and I wanted to read faster. So we're about 1/3 of the way through Chamber of Secrets, and now I'm done with Azkaban.

For book 3 of the Harry Potter series, a high security prisoner of the wizarding world has escaped and Harry is no longer safe. Harry runs away from his aunt and uncles house and sees this large, dark beast prowling around. Saved by the Knight Bus and somehow didn't get expelled for underage wizardry by the Minister of Magic--who came to get him personally. Being famous is one thing, but all this attention is a little off. On the train to Hogwarts, they meet their sleepy new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which is a good thing because the train was attacked by Dementors who are out looking for this escaped prisoner. Things become more high strung as the year goes on and Harry finally finds out who this escapee is and why he's after Harry.

Out of all of the movies (yes, I know, forgive me all you Potterheads), this was always my favorite one. I did very much enjoy the book and Sirius and Lupin so much more here than I had from the movie. Lupin is probably my now favorite character in the HP series. Ron is far more awesome than he is in the movies and I like how it showed how much Hermione was actually struggling throughout the year with all of her classes (not eluded to at all in the movies). I also really enjoy the growth that happens to all of them as characters.

Something that I'd noticed before in "previous readings" was that how in different books it gives time for both of Harry's friends to shine and grow. They both shined in The Sorcerer's Stone, Ron got his time while Hermione was petrified in Chamber of Secrets, and here Hermione gets to shine at the end while they both stand by their friend and help and support him.

The whole plot of the series is amazing. Filtered between schoolwork and teachers, Quidditch, Hogsmede, and Sirius Black (also Ron's rat), there are many things going on that makes it feel very much alive and vibrant.

Because of the movies, I do have a good sense of the setting but I do feel that J.K. Rowling has a problem with settings in the book. I am one who likes a good description of where the characters are at and I don't feel she did very well on that one. Basic descriptions, yes were we get the jest of where we are, but I like more. I know people don't like feeling "bogged down" by it so that is up to the individual person.

Enchanter's End Game

The last book in the Belgariad is Enchanter's End Game. This is a very quick paced book that I finished in only a few days.

Garion, Silk, and Belgarath make their way across Gar og Nardak and to Mallorea to defeat Torak at the same time Ce'Nedra, Polgara, and the other Kings of the West march on Mishrak ac Thull to then get their boats to the Eastern Sea so they can take out Mallorean ships full of enemy soldiers. Battles commence and David Eddings' does it pretty well.

Eddings was able to have all of the many characters work well together and have sound endings and battle sequences. People they have met, even way back in Pawn of Prophecy, make appearances and have grown up/stayed the same (as needed).

Although this is the conclusion of the series, it still lets people have their bits of final growth that they need to complete their character arcs. Most of the building has happened in the previous books and so it's able to be more plot based, as opposed to the character and culture driven motives Eddings had in this world exploration--though obviously there was a wider overarching plot throughout.

Enchanter's End Game is very much based on moving armies and fighting battles, which in my opinion is fine because we have very solid characters and now he's letting them do their own thing. He's letting them finish out the story as it is needed to be.

I really like the big final battle with Torak. We know it's coming and we've known it since the beginning, pretty much. And I wasn't disappointed. Eddings set it up so then we understood the trials that Polgara would have--though the curveball that was thrown in caught me off guard the first time even though there was foreshadowing in PoP *wiggles eyebrows* --Torak's intimidation factor was brought and done well, and we got to see how most everyone was needed there. I'm still struggling with Ce'Nedra or Errand's part at the end and what important role she needed to play there... but everyone else made sense and fit well with all of the Prophecy. It was a nice bow without it being "bad." I do also like the good vs evil parallels. It was well done.

I have loved this series since I was in early high school and still very much enjoyed it. This series is a good one for beginning fantasy readers or those who are looking for a simple, light read. It is an older series, published in the 1980's and some may say that it doesn't transition well into the present. I can see why they would say that, but it is still enjoyable. Things happened throughout the series where it could be registered as a cliche or a troupe but it's not because it's from the classic season of fantasy which made the cliche before they were cliches. (I hope that makes sense.)

In the end, I've enjoyed it and am glad I got them. When reading them, keep in mind that they are from an older generation and to come at them as you would to Charles Dickens or Jane Austen or even Tolkien.

Tempest and Slaughter

Tempest and Slaughter is Tamora Pierce's newest book (as of so far). This is the story of Numair before he became Numair, when he was a simple student in Carthak City studying to become a great wizard, back when he was known as Arram Draper.

Tempest and Slaughter follows him as he is growing and studying at the Mage's school and shows more promise than many of the other students. He is the youngest student training to become a Master and flies through the ranks of his fellow students. He is often board and that gets him in trouble. One of these incidents leads him to become friends with Ozorne ("the forgotten prince") and Varice (a beautiful girl from the north). Between plagues, school, and the gladiator arenas there is a lot for the future Numair to do especially when death comes to call and conspiracy looms in the shadows.

Numair is one of my favorite characters. In the The Immortals series and Protector of the Small, I light up every time he's in a scene. I think I enjoyed this more because I knew where many of the characters were going to be later and what they would become, more than I enjoyed the actual book. I loved the little unexpected blip toward the end when I figured out who a particular character was. It was awesome!

Getting to know the environment and setting of Carthak was interesting and intriguing. It explained a lot of where Orzone came from and why he acts the way he does in future novels.

I feel like this is really only half of the story. There is a book two that will be coming out in 2019, but without it seems like we only have half a plot. The "climax" at the end was lacking even though it kind of rounded out the story, but it just wasn't enough for me. I think Tamora Pierce could have done more than just a timeline plotline. He grew older and advanced through the ranks... There is an underlying plot with the Princes and hints of conspiracy, but we only get a nibble. It was almost as if Tamora had too much she wanted to put in the story that the plot almost vanishes. There isn't enough of it to be considered a great book, in my opinions. I still enjoyed the book, just not as much as I was hoping for.

If I would suggest this book, I'd suggest it to someone who's already read Daine and Numair's story, at least until The Exile's Gift comes out. Before then though, make sure you read at least the four books in the Immortal's series. You'd enjoy it so much more then reading this alone.

First Test

First Test is the first book in the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. Taking place just a few years after the ending of The Immortals series, Keladry of Mindelan wants to be a lady knight just like Alanna the Lioness.

However there are problems, the training master doesn't want girls to be knights and convinces King Jonathan to have the girl go on probation, unlike any of the boys that train to be knights of the realm. This, obviously, rubs Kel the wrong way but she is persistent and determined to become a knight like her hero. Many of the boys in the castle don't think she should be there and there are many times she is beat up in fights she goes looking for. Her own code of chivalry outshines many of the older boys she is around.

This is a book that any feminist would love. I wouldn't classify myself as such, but I enjoy it anyway. Kel is a very bound and determined girl who won't take no crap from any of the boys. She is willing to stand up for anyone who can't/won't stand up for themselves. She's pretty cool.

I will say for the first time I read this, about a decade ago, I didn't like Kel. This series reminded me too much of the Song of the Lioness with dealing with bullies, going through the same things that Alanna did as a page, etc. But in this reread, I've started to like her more. There are differences between Alanna and Kel that I'm content. Kel was trained when she was young by the Yamani (Oriental stereotype equivalent) to be stone faced and show no emotion. She has plenty of emotion, just that she doesn't show it outwardly. Whereas Alanna had emotion burst at the seams as she punched people. This book also has immortals in it and Daine and Numair make appearances, alongside Alanna. So I've changed my original opinion and rather enjoy Kel.

Tamora Pierce still has the same problem in this series though as she did in her earlier two series: her setting. It always seems to be lacking. She says hall or forest or mess hall or classroom and most of the time gives us nothing else. Is it dark, are there torches lighting the way, firs or quaking aspens or pine trees, etc.? There are some many things that can make the world more lively that she loses because there is such a lack of setting. If we were to make a world out of just her descriptions a lot of it would be blank and empty. I know she gets better, but I, myself, really enjoy a lively world.

Read it and enjoy though. It's pretty good.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

This was such a cute book.

None of the Prince Charmings are the same person. Didn't everyone know that? They have names. Liam, the dashing hero who saved Sleeping Beauty from the evil fairy/dragon. Gustav, the large, strong man who rescued Rapunzel from the evil witch and freed her from the tower. Duncan, who's kiss awake Snow White. And Frederic who searched the land looking for Cinderella. Also what you don't know is that Liam does not like Sleeping Beauty's attitude. Gustav gets made fun of for falling out of the tower and having to be saved by Rapunzel when he goes blind. Duncan is odd and has no friends. And Frederic has practically never set foot outside of the castle and is afraid of practically everything.

Cinderella decides to go off on an adventure to find the countries missing bard, because life is too tame in Frederic's castle. Frederic, not wanting her to be hurt, follows slowly and tries to track her down. Frederic ends up running into all of these other Princes Charming on his quest to find his fiance. But then only realize too late that she has been kidnapped by the witch who held Rapunzel captive for so long. This witch is sick of being made fun of by those lyrical bards and always singing her as the bad guy and giving her a bad reputation. She will put a stop to all of these heroes.

This is a very comical book full of archetypal tropes turned on their heads. The Princes Charming are so much more than they appear. It is funny and a really light hearted read, even though the witch was planning on killing a lot of people. *shrugs* It is very much the basic hero's journey in plot, very much a heroes journey in tale too, but that is to be expected. Look at the title. I enjoyed the characters and the twist that Christopher Healy gave them. I love the fact that Cinderella is the most adventurous, next to Liam, because she her archetype is one of submissiveness whereas here it is so not the case.

The reprise of this story was just fun!

This is a book I'd suggest for a boy who is wanting a fun book to read. Girls can enjoy it too, but I find that it is harder for parents to find engaging books for their sons. This is one that I think they would enjoy and have fun with.

I enjoyed it and am excited for the next two books.

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand is book one of the "Bartimaeus" series by Jonathan Stroud and is very funny.

In an alternate universe where magicians and "magic" run the most notable governments, Bartimaeus, a djinni (demon), is summoned to acquire the Amulet of Samarkand from a very prominent and powerful magician. But this Amulet is more than what it seems and the small boy who summoned him is more powerful than the people around him give him credit for. However Nathaniel, quickly gets in way over his head. Of course he does.

The alternate reality took a little getting used to because I didn't know how far it intended to go. But Bartimaeus took good care to make sure we don't drowned while adventuring through his ocean of a story. Bartimaeus doesn't even break into his story for the explanations he gives. They come by way of footnotes. They are humorous as well as informational.

It is a young adult "boy" book (though obviously girls enjoy it too), that I'd suggest for any junior high or younger high school student. It isn't a romantic in any way, and there are really no girls in it all. But if there was a boy who was looking to start reading something, this would be one that I'd suggest to get him reading again.

Bartimaeus is, as said, very funny. He is a very sarcastic and very willing to drop the fourth wall barrier. Nathaniel is a little less exciting, but it was cool to see him grow throughout the book. Bartimaeus is the ringleader and main attraction to the story. And I'm okay with that.

I enjoyed the plot. Almost like a heist story or the suspense of one.

I enjoyed the story over all very much and would like to read the next one as well.

Heir of Fire

The third book in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas, just didn't do it for me. I got to page 248 when I couldn't take it anymore and stopped. I may pick it up later, or I might just find a wiki on it to find out what happened, but I just can't get myself to finish it. I don't not finish books very often, especially after starting this here blog, but I just couldn't.

After Choal sends Celaena away across the sea to another country for her own safety, she finds she doesn't want to kill the mark she was sent to get rid of him. So she meanders around town until a Fae, the strong, silent type (who is also immortal) who could be described as a Juggernaut, finds her and she willingly goes with him (for no real reason except he is Fae...) to one of the cities of the Fae where she meets her great+ aunt who is queen of the Fae. But before her aunt will answer any of her questions that she has about how to defeat the king she serves so then he doesn't annihilate the world and all who are in it, she has to prove herself magically. Now that she is away from the country and the king who is stopping magic, she can access her uber powerful magic that she has been scared of/doesn't have access too since she was eight (someone cliche in my opinion). The Juggernaut Fae is the one set on babysitting duty to help her find a way to control her magic. But then as she is starting to gain access and minor control over it, there are baddies in the woods she she starts investigating--because she can't get any answers about the world wide problems that are erupting back at home.

Meanwhile, back in the castle, the Prince is starting to fall for a medic who has been twitterpated over him for years (he is the Prince after all). She also finds out about his new magic that made themselves  known in the second book. She okay with it and is willing to keep his secret, so much so that she is willing to help him find away to control or stop it. I foresee this going badly and probably hurting him. Also, there is a new man in town. Someone from Celaena's hometown, before it was destroyed, who is known for being a traitor to his country. He even holds Celaena's uncle's sword, which she was supposed to inherit. No one likes him but the king because he's a traitor-pants. But the also has something going on. Going out to party at night but only staying at his parties for a but before sneaking off. Choal finds this out and is super suspicious and follows. Suddenly, everything is thrown in the air and isn't what it seems.

Then way up north we get an introduction into Baba Yellowlegs (from book two) colony of witches (like they eat people and all they want to do is kill, not nice people at all). The King has something up his sleeve and has given the clans of witches packs of wyverns. They start training how to fly so they can go off to battle for the king.

This book jumps around a lot. There are so many points of view, which are distinct enough that it is easy to tell apart so it didn't get confusing, but it just jumped through so many and I didn't care like I had previously. It seemed to take too long to get anywhere. While Celaena is trying to learn how to use her magic, we get nothing more than Rowan yelling at her to "shift" and being boring for hours on end. They get into some dialog but even halfway through the book we know nothing about him except he will follow all of Celaena's aunt's orders until he immortally dies of old age. I don't care about him. He will be a love interest, but... eh. Whatever.

I didn't like Manon (the witch lady) for a long time. The death, death, death, and more death got old waaaay fast. How she got her wyvern was pretty cool, but then it went back to death, blood, smelling humans and wanting to kills them again. Ugh. But then that's what all of these books is about. I mean, Celaena is an assassin, of course it's going to be about death. But with Manon there is nothing but killing. Death ends up trickling into the other characters stories as well and it just gets so over done. Like a cloud of gloom hangs over the book. I'm so not up for gloomy or the foreseeable romances.

I think the characters we also not much like themselves, mainly Celaena. In the first two books she was witty, a book lover, it was fun to read. And I get that after the death of her friend she would change, but her wit is what I liked most about her. Now it seems to have pretty  much vanished unless she's getting beat up by Rowan. Those conversations don't last long and they aren't as funny.

OH, I also am very put off by her lack of description. People are blurry, if they were described it was probably only once and what seemed half heartedly. There is very little repetition of description to remind the reader what the freaking people look like. This drives me nuts!

It also swore a lot, which I don't care for in the least bit. It became very annoying. (Call me a prude, whatever.)

It felt rushed to me but weirdly enough it took forever to get anywhere. 560-ish pages of not a lot happening. Almost like a hurry up and wait game we play in bureaucracies. It got boring and I have a very large pile of other books that are due back at the library soon that I want to get to. So I'm putting it down.

Also, it was funny, when I was trying to explain it to my husband, he got all confused--possibly due bad descriptions on my part. But there was so much going on with so many characters and popping in and out and just odd things happening. It was a very long conversation, where, at the end, he asked me, "why are you still reading this then?" And I didn't have a good answer to give him.

I know there are lots of other people who like it, but I just didn't.

Crooked Kingdom

Crooked Kingdom is the continuation of the Six of Crows series. And boy is it good. There are so many things going for this series. The twists and turns as well as the characters are my favorite.

Kaz, after being swindled by Jan Van Eck in the last book, comes up with a plethora of new schemes to get the money they were owed. Finding ways to get The Wraith back as well as kidnapping a few people along the way is just the beginning. There are many plots and ploys that go awry and a brilliant overarching job that gets it done.  Some of these tricks and jobs, as well as the little details that set the whole thing right, might be seen as magician tricks that Leigh Bardugo slipped in because she needed a way to make things work; I disagree. Leigh Bardugo gives us enough of the amazing Kaz to make the "long game" believable. He kind of has a Sherlock Holmes kind of feel to him in that his mind races and thinks of so many things. He knows the people he's conning, inside and out.

Not only is Kaz amazing, but I also love Inej, Jesper, and Nina. All of these characters in this book are given time for their backstory to develop and us to truly love them. So much so that when the tears start rolling, it becomes a waterfall. I really enjoyed the progression each character had; they all had their own character arches that gave the readers a reason to love them.

I also enjoyed the world that Leigh Bardugo created. I'm really excited to read some of the other books that take place in this work.

But can I just say how amazing the artwork is! Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom have the most amazing cover art and map art that I've seen. Really, it's beautiful.

I honestly don't have much to say bad about it. For some people, they may be a little set off by the, slightly, unexpected homosexual couple in the book. (I didn't see it in the first one. *shrugs*) But all the romance, for whomever it was for, was tactfully done. In some ways beautifully done. I really love the relationship between Kaz and Inej. They have an odd relationship and is fun to explore. Kaz can be so hard headed and cold shouldered but he has a soft spot for Inej that makes him seem really sweet. When Kaz's gloves are off and he tries to face his demons.... Very different and very interesting relation to explore. And it was explored well.

Leigh Bardugo, in her acknowledgments, gives a resource to help stop human trafficking (something that is dealt with in the book). If we want more information to help stop this awful thing from occuring, check out GAATW.org .

Fallen Kingdoms

Fallen Kingdoms let me down. I had been waiting eagerly to read this book for months now and by the time I got half way done with it, I was dreading reading it. And what is really sad is that this isn't just a debut novel. Morgan Rhodes is a pen name for Michelle Rowen and she has lots of different books (paranormal romance stuff that I'm not touching). I was extremely disappointed.

The idea behind it was a good one, but it was executed extremely poorly in my opinion. The cover art is pretty and is what has drawn me into these books. But who is this guy in the white cloak? There is no reference or anything about him.

The characters I believe were developed poorly. Many of them died throughout the course of the book and I didn't care. The major love interest in the book was weak (which is sad from the paranormal romance novelist). It happened so quickly and, as I said, weakly. There was no twitterpated feeling in my chest for the characters. I didn't care for the guy at all, he was actually kind of annoying. It feels like there was no reason why they were in love to begin with except for the guy to kill him and maybe feel bad about it later (which I don't actually think he does.) Then there is the whole brother loves sister (who isn't really his sister) thing which I was done with when I read City of Bones. The idea that I love her but can't have her but love her.... Ugh... I even was able to call who the next love interests will be (taking a sneak peak at the coming books on their blurbs on the back of the books).

The dialogue between characters was childish. They may be sixteen to eighteen years old, but they are royalty where they are taught, supposedly, how how to act nobly, it is not shown here. Not in the least bit. I think their bantering is supposed to be witty and... something, but it's just not. It's juvenile, even for YA. There is no change of voice between characters. It's all the same, flat, monotone "witty" bantering from one character to the next. And what's worse is that everyone of the characters has the same dry wit. It got boring really fast, but just kept going.

There was also a lot of bedroom talk. Not steamy stuff, but "come into my bedroom," or "his lover," "her lover," "let me give you more experience." Again, childish dialogue.

The setting was faulty and was lacking.

The book was very predictable and not in a good foreshadow kind of way. We knew what was going to happen long before any of the characters did. It took adults forever to realize they were being had and were about to be betrayed. Like knife had already cut into his throat before he realized.

And don't get me started on the throats/necks that were cut. If Rhodes described anyone getting killed it was always gorey, in-your-face---er---neck. Knives, daggers, and swords constantly in their neck with blood spraying on your face or the characters decapitating the enemies. There are other ways to kill people you know, even if they have armor on. I think this could be a close rivalry between J.R.R.Martins books for who's going to die next--except I've heard that his you can't predict nearly so often.

I don't think I'm going to read any more. If I do, it will be a long time from now when I have nothing better to read. (I have lots of better stuff to read.)