Castle of Wizardry

The fourth instalment of the Belgariad by David Eddings is a longer one. It is not my favorite one, but it is still good.

Garion and the rest of his traveling companions have retrieved the Orb of Alder and venture back to safe territory. Killing Murgos and finding armies along the way. They make stops at remembered placed, but as they enter farms and caves, Garion finds that they are different. More like they are the same and he is different. He has grown in the year he's been gone traveling with Aunt Pol and Belgarath. Suddenly he also finds himself a King to a country he doesn't know and people trying to murder him on a supposedly safe island away from those who'd do him harm. Ce'Nedra isn't being helpful either. But then bigger decisions have to be made and prophecies must be fulfilled.

As I said, it's not my favorite. There seems to be a lot more traveling happening and not as much storytelling going on. Events happen, but they have more of a diplomatic feel to them instead of action adventure. This series is written differently than most, especially nowadays, and goes slower. These events, diplomatic though they may be, needed to happen in order to further the story on. Slow going, but push through it and enjoy the last book.

As always the development of the characters is what holds me on, although I've become more and more intrigued by the final battle with Torak and what will happen in the future.

Chibi Vampire AKA: Karin

Chibi Vampire other wise known as Karin is the story of an un-vampire.

Karin is a strange young girl not only in the human world where she has the occasional nosebleed and is considered sickly at times; but also in the vampire world where she doesn't bite people to suck their blood, instead she bites people and gives blood. She can also walk around in sunlight, doesn't have the heightened senses a normal vampire does, and can't wipe people's memories as needed after biting someone. All in all, she is strange.

Things seem to run smoothly in the Marker household with Karin going to school and the rest of her family staying up all night, until a transfer student enters the class. Karin finds that her blood level increases quickly and nosebleeds happen more often when ever she is around Kenta Usui. In him she's found her bloods affinity, the type of emotion her body yearns to bite. When they bite a person normal vampires suck that emotion out. So if a person is super stressed and a vampire bit that person they would become stress free for a short period of time. This could be considered helpful and kind of a cool take on vampires. It is a 14 volume series so after she finds out how to cope with Usui, her grandma wakes up, and a new girl comes into town looking for the Markers and a specific vampire in their family.

I think it is a very well thought out and well done story. The overarching plot was interesting and cute, engaging and hysterical at times. I love the family dynamic throughout the series and the ending kind of had me angry. I really liked the epilogue episodes. They satisfied me enough to accept the decision that the writers made. The Marker family was full of fun, intersting characters with their own personality that rounded the family.

If you have enjoyed the anime before you read the manga, that's great. But know that the manga and anime are vastly different. The anime derails from the manga after only a few episodes. Sadly Winner St. Clair makes no appearance in the manga. This fact made me very sad. But the manga is really good and I do recommend it. An oldie but a goodie.

Miss. Abbott and The Doctor: Season 1

Amongst NaNoWriMo -ness, I know I won't be able to be busting out the books like I normally have, instead I'll be writing one. So when I'm needing my brain to slow down and not become overloaded by the scenese in my head, I binged a whole "season" of Miss Abbot and the Doctor by Maripaz Villar.

Miss Abbott and the Doctor is a very cute romantic comic that can be found on DiviantArt.com or Webtoons.com. Miss Abbott is an adventurous girl born in Amozonia by explorer parents. She is spotted, after years of growing up, by another adventurer who takes her back to <undisclosed location of "civilization"> where she was taught to be a lady, for the most part. Sporadically she dons her ceremonial clothes from Amozonia and shoots bows and arrows or goes lost in caves while adventuring. She is a very odd girl for her time and place, but that seems to be what draws the good doctor in to her. The romance and adventures bloom.

The first part is a little mixy where it feels like it jumps around, almost like a slice of life story, but as it progresses you can really see the story unfolding. So if it doesn't make sense for the first little bit, it is because their first meetings are more happenstance and coincidence than intentional "dates."

It is very sweet and at moments "squee" worthy. The attention to detail and emotion is well done and really pushes the story along. There were many moments when I burst out laughing and my husband looked at me questioningly which then forced me to explain.

There are a few things that this story gets wrong, that kind of drive me nuts. The word "dates" instead of the idea of courting, older ladies being okay with "bed head" once they both reappear (kisses only), and a few other things kind of rub me the wrong way as being inaccurate or thrown in for effect instead of being true to the characters. Some of these moments were jarring and (as said by the author in the next chapter, in side notes) many readers unsubscribed to the webtoon. It didn't fit with the flow of things and felt very forced. This book also has a lot more progressive ideas that might not have been so readily accepted back in the 1870-90s. People are struggling with them now, let alone 130 years ago where people got tarred and feathered for their views and actions.

*shrugs* At points if feels a bit preachy to me, but I like the characters in it enough to push aside the preach and move on.

Read it if your wanting a light hearted, for the most part, read.

Edit: The next season got a little more skanky than really like, so even though there is a wedding in the mix I'm probably not going to read too much more. Sorry Miss Abbott, I don't do the whole sexy times in books.

That Summer

That Summer is Sarah Dessen's debut novel and it shows. 

It follows a fifteen year old girl who is six foot tall and feels very awkward about it. Hey dad is getting married again after cheating on her mom. Her sister is also getting married. And the world ends up just falling apart on her. But then get sister's ex-boyfriend confess into town and is the only person who seems to be listening to her instead of The Bride. 

The story goes on... And it takes forever to get there.  The exposition is soooooo long. I got to page 70, bored for most of the way, and skimmed for most of the rest of the 130 pages of the book looking only really at the dialog that happened.  It was so long winded. On more than one occasion am entire paragraph took up more than a single page.

Will I was sad for her situation, I found I didn't really care for Haven at all. For at least the first quarter of the book, Haven said maybe 20 lines of dialog. Maybe? Her sister was annoying and somehow we are supposed to like her because "she's right" at the end.  Her mom was probably the one that seemed the most real, but even she seemed to be on the flat side.

Then the over arching theme-ish thing was not very well done. The were many examples of it,  but it just felt, again, flat to me. It was too simple and while Haven saw it in the lives of others, she never actually enlightened it herself. Sure she probably had a crush on Sumner back then at age ten or twelve, but I don't think her situation fits.

Ugh, I was disappointed. Sarah Dessen's books do get much better later on,  but this was probably get poorest on I've read. Which mean she has become a much better writer through practice and experience.

Read her others,  not this one.

Trickster's Choice

Tamora Pierce is at it again in the Trickster's series. This book is based on Aly, Alanna's only daughter.

Aly has the Sight from her father and a heavy dose of magical power from her mother. Unlike her mother, she has no inclination of being a knight of the realm, but instead wants to be a spy like her father. However, being the only girl in the family and knowing the world of spywork first hand, her parents keep her only in the back rooms transcribing notes and reports from spies in the field. Aly wants more. She wants an opportunity to prove herself. And, boy, does she get one.

While sailing north to get away from her mother's temper, her small dingy gets overtaken by slavers and she becomes sold into slavery in the Copper Isles--which is known for its crazy nobility. However, the family she is sold to has a God looking after it, her father's very own patron God, and has a touch of destiny about it. She makes a deal with the Trickster God: keep the children of the Balitang family alive throughout the summer and he will make sure she gets home to Tortall safely. How hard can keeping a bunch of high ranking nobility safe be right?

This is just not my favorite series of Tamora's, which is sad. I think it has great promise and if I remember correctly, the next one is really good. I hope it's really good. This is actually the first book I picked up from Tamora Pierce which my friend made me put down and pick up Alanna: The First Adventure instead. Don't read this if you haven't read the other books first. You will miss out on a lot of things and be very confused on many of those same things that are presented.

This series is a big change for Tamora and her writing. Here she is doing something very different from her past series. It is her first first-person-point-of-view novel as well as her first single book of such a length. Tamora has slowly been getting long, but this has more words in it than even Lady Knight. With this expense I feel she runs into some problems. I feel like she didn't do enough with the first person POV. There felt like very little emotion, that we normally get through that type of POV, wasn't there. There was very little internal dialog or thought that was conveyed which made it feel like Tamora had simply switched it from third to first by changing the "she"s to "I"s and kept writing. There is supposed to be more of an internal view when it comes to first person that I don't think she grasped here.

The other part I didn't so much like was the long periods of time where nothing seemed to really be happening. This is my second read through (though the first time I read it was probably fourteen years ago (yikes)) and from the time when I first read it to now, I could only recall a few things that happened. They were at the climax and at the very beginning. They were basics. Like crows turning human, the guys name is Nawat, and Aly was a slave. I didn't remember much from the first book at all like I do in other stories where I revisit these awesome moments in my mind over and over (I do this a lot with the Stormlight Archive or in The Immortals series.). I honestly didn't remember that she was a spy (until my friend commented on it and I was like "What? Really?"), because there wasn't much spyness to it. She could pick locks, she searched through people's stuff and waited. I guess that is a lot of what spies do. They wait. But in the need of an engaging novel, it didn't have very high stakes when she was spying. There was not a thought to her getting caught because she was just so good. There was never that tention or her needing to hide in a closet or behind curtains because someone came back to their rooms early. Most of the time I can bust out a Tamora Pierce series in a month, all four books, but this single book nearly took me a month to read by itself. I needed to grab some graphic novels while I was at it because Trickster's Choice was slow and I needed a pick-me-up.

I do also think that when it came to the "slave situation," things were over simplified. It was very much glossed over with "the Duke and Duchess were very kind to everyone" then the grand generalizations of "bad things happened to other slaves by other masters." There were one or two mentions of what 'bad things' were, but not enough to really compare and get a feel for the real world of the Copper Isles.

Now, Tamora's writing in it I think was lacking. It was slow and not as engaging as The Immortals series or Protector of the Small. But there were really good characters. There was a whole cast of different people with different personalities and different things they were good at. Dove and Sarai were dramatically different and very easy to tell apart--whereas sometimes in the past it is hard to tell sisters apart and they almost come in a set. This is not the case for them. The duke and duchess were very different from their peers in that they were kind to everyone in their household, servants, slaves, men-at-arms, etc. They were supposed to be different which made it easy for the reader to like them. I do wish we were given a reason as to why they were so kind to all, not just "because reasons" or "because plot," but something more solid. Kypiroth, the Trickster himself, was fantastic. Very much reminded me of my favorite George in manors and humor. Nawat was very sweet being a crow who turns human to help Aly (reasons are given, so although it's odd it's still valid). His constant talk of fledgelings, hawks, snakes, and mobbings alongside his devotion for her and his own quirkiness made him endearing and someone I really liked. I do wish the little raka committee that Aly becomes a part of differentiated the people a little bit more. The names got to be kind of obnoxious and it was hard to tell some of the men apart.

I do have another qualm with Aly, herself. She's too good at what she does. At the beginning when they are traveling to the outer estate and all is quiet in the woods, she knows better than the Duke's guards and people who are three times her age who had done this before she was born. Yet, she knows better. That rather irked me. She is smarter than practically everyone around her even people who are supposed to be veterans in one thing or another. There also isn't a time when she actually fails. She's perfect and doesn't do things wrong. There are people who die towards the end, but the characters were all prepared for that or plot for the second book needed to happen. I wanted to cry for them especially one character, but I didn't. Aly wasn't even there when the death happened. I wan't emotionally invested because Aly wasn't invested. I also think her Sight is a cop-out for description. There is no other use for it, really, except to describe things for the reader. Other than that it is almost completely unneeded. She doesn't use it for finding mages or looking into locks or something. She hardly uses it at anyway. I feel like she could have used it better.

I wish I liked it more. I will, of course, be reading the second book in Aly's series because it was better. Read on, readers. Read on.

White Sand Volume 2

Reading White Sand Volume 2 was a fun adventure. Obviously you need to read the first volume (which I found was much more enjoyable my second time through).

This is the continuation of the "White Sand" series by Brandon Sanderson in the Cosmere universe.

Here Kenton is working with Khriss to keep the Diem going. On he verge of collapse and bring posted by the Dayside government, they work hard to negotiate with and persuade the probable to keep the Sand Masters running and a part of the city and culture. All the while defeating same creatures, visiting parties and government dignitaries, and killing assassins who want Kenton dead. He very much has a full plate to work on.

This graphic novel is done really well. It seems more artistic that the 1st Volume in some of its mirror-ment.  Though at least in the last chapter of my edition, the artwork style changed suddenly to something far more simplistic. It didn't give a reason and it didn't seem like it would be important thematically. Aside from that confusion, it worked well. 

This time through the series I enjoyed the story a lot more than simply reading one volume at a time. If you are going to read this series, do so with multiple volumes in hand. The flow is better, the plot makes more sense, and it the lack of climax at the end of the first volume can be overlooked.

I very much loved Khriss in this book. She is my favorite character here by far. The other characters do get their time to grow and become interesting, but I love her most.

I am far more interested at the end of Volume 2 than I was with 1 and can't wait for Volume 3 to be published though it has no publishing date as of yet.

Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules

Delilah Dirk is one of my favorite people. Top 5 favorite characters from anything I've read. Easy. I was so excited to see than Tony Cliff wrote and illustrated another one of her adventures. It is definitely on my "I will buy ASAP" list.

Delilah is nearly always after some type of treasure, unless she is helping someone she likes--which often has some type of treasure or something along side it because she's picking on a bigger bruit than the guy that needs help. *breathes* While helping a bunch of sailor into a harbor, Delilah Dirk style, she meets a European with a tale of treasure. Not only do they find a slew of it in an unknown cave not far away, but also a clue to a larger horde and bigger price. Delilah doesn't turn down a challenge. Mr. Selim, Delilah, and the European writer (who ends up chronicling their tale) start their Indiana Jones-style archaeological dig.

Delilah is fantastic. At one point she is in jail, again, chipping away at the wall with a rock. The jailer looks down at her and asks what she's doing, she promptly states "Escaping" which she does. Awesomely!

I also love the way Mr. Selim and Delilah work together. It appears that by now they have done so many things together that they rely on each other (though not super heavy, they are their own people after all). I also really like the way he tells a general off. That was fun and I want more of it.

I also felt so sad at the very last picture in the back of the book. So sad... I loved the little boop she gave. It hurt my heart.

The artwork is beautiful. The adventure is fun. And I really want to read it again, even after just finishing it.

P.S. I'm going to be Delilah for Halloween and it is going to be awesome. More people should know Delilah Dirk. No, no, no, everyone should know her. She's just fantastic.

The Moon And More

Sarah Deaden is really good at writing young adult romances while also hosting life on the page.

The Moon And More is about Emaline and her romantics summer on a beach. Unlike most vacationers, Emaline works at the beach in Colby at her families business renting beach houses for the typical vacationer. New people come in and out of the renting houses all the time, but one house is being rented for two straight months--a very odd occurrence--while they work on a documentary about a man who is just a regular laundromat business man,  right?

Not only are these new people but Emaline's father is making a visit for the summer. He relations wither father have always been strained with his life being so very different than her and her mother's and the rest of her blended family. Her summer is full of boys, family, film, and work to, hopefully, the Best Summer Ever.

I like the way Sarah Dessen writes her books. It is fun to see hints of previous characters from previous books, familiar places, as well as life--not only romances that bloom throughout its pages. There is romance through all of her books,  but there are also bigger questions being asked as well. Bigger situations that exist around her characters more than just, "Does that guy like me?"

Here dealing with a flaky father, disloyalty from a boyfriend, leaving for college, work, a new guy who knows she's too good for her little town, and finding time to watch out for her half brother, Emaline has a lot on her plate. Like real life. I very much enjoy that. And what is great is that Sarah Dessen makes it flow. She makes the chaos of life flow in her stories so then we don't get lost as readers.

There was some language and there was talk of sex though nothing graphic (in the end, I don't really know if it was all that needed. There didn't seem to be much of a purpose to it, which I feel there needs to be in it is put in there).

I was a good book and well done. 

*Spoilers from here on*

The characters here, though there are many, are developed and all have their own story,  their own reasons for being themselves. Benji and Morris are probably my favorite characters. Mainly Morris because of how much growth and development he has throughout the story and how much he is willing to change. He is willing to put Daisy's good ahead of what he wants even though she is very much willing to keep things going. The fact that he made assistant instead of Theo made my day (literally, though it's kind been a bad day). Going from lackless and pretty much unmoving on the job to scrambling for an art show was awesome. He had a very good story arc. He was also pretty cool with Benji, who was probably the real man (at age 10) of the story. 

I also really liked that Emaline doesn't "end up" with any of the guys. She left Luke for good cheating  on her and didn't go back to him by the end of the story, which was a big relief to me. Then there is Theo. He was new and invited her to push herself and try new things, he wasn't a prince charming character either (which Sarah Dessen doesn't really write, no one is perfect in her books). He definitely had his flaws and in the end they overcame how "good of a pick" he was for her. His Best Ever's would probably get on my nerve along especially when making a spectacle in front of people in public places. She felt very much embarrassed as would almost any girl. He also seemed far more excited to for work and hanging out with Clyde (his interviewee) more than he actually did with her unless it was his Best Ever events. That is no kind of thriving relationship. 

I guess Emaline kind of chose Benji at the end of it. If you had to pick one. 

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend otherwise known as My Giant Geek Boyfriend is another webcomic that I
binged in a half day and must tell all about.

It is a slice of life comic about a girl who is about 5'1" with a 6'5" boyfriend and most days in their relationship. Moments from dealing with parents, to arguments in their relationship, to laughing about everything, to how they met, to dealing with cramps, to getting their new dog, frustrations, good times, differences in height problems, and many nerdy things that I have grown accustomed to in my own relationship with my spouse. There are many gaming moments with hints at games alongside real problems that many people face.

I think the situations here are honest and do occur. These are real people in comic form. It was simple, but very much fun and had me laughing out loud in many spots.

A book with some of the comics has been published but you can find all of the stories on webtoons.com . On the book cover here says for "mature readers only" though I'm not 100% sure as to why... It was a good set of stories.

Siren's Lament: Season 1

Siren's Lament is a web comic I was introduced to by my best fwiend (yes, that was intentional) and it's artwork is BEAUTIFUL!! The second I opened it up on my phone I was take aback by the beautiful artwork (and cute chibis) that make of Siren's Lament by instantmiso.

This story is about sirens and the curse that it is to be one. Sirens seek out brokenhearted people, kiss then, then trade places with the human becoming human again while the person becomes a siren with no memories of their previous life. Lyra watches the boy that she's liked for years be with the most beautiful girl whoever mo-ped-ed into the city. Not wanting to change the friendship that they do have, she says nothing. One night, after a "not-date" is canceled with Shon (the boy) she goes to the ocean crying. Hearing a strange song she falls into the ocean and is saved by a siren's kiss. However, something goes wrong and they both end up on land with legs, except for when they are submerged in water when they gain fins. Neither Ian nor Lyra wants to be a siren so they must find a way to break the curse before time runs out and she loses everything.

This was a sweet story even though it has a nasty love triangle. Normally I don't like them, I blame a specific vampire novel for that. So if I know that the main point of the story is a LT I tend to skip it. However, if it isn't the main focus or if both guys are awesome I can over look it. LT's often have too much unneeded YA drama. This, because the characters are older, out of high school, most of the flaring drama recedes. Yay for this story!

I do really like the characters here. Both of the guys because they are very different and Ian is hysterical. Lyra is funny too and while Shon isn't as outwardly comical, he definitely has his funny moments. Their chibi's and the way they act around one another is great. It seriously made my day. There is some mild bedroom humor, but nothing overly obnoxious. Pele and Tua are great fun too and I like them both a lot, especially together. Over all, for everyone there were times when I busted up laughing and had my husband look at me strangely. It was great fun.

The basis of the story is compelling and the world that is made around it is an interesting one that I want to dive more into. Trying to get the curse lifted alongside gaining enough courage to say how you feel work well together. It also brings great conflict amongst the characters even as they are growing closer together. The ending of Season 1 was particularly thrilling and I busted chapter after chapter very quickly wanting to know what was going to happen.

It is only available online as a web comic (at webtoons.com) or an ebook. It appears most of Season 2 is published online where you can read it, but because it hasn't been completed as of 9/2018, I'll wait to give my review of Season 2 once it is done. It comes out weekly with new updates, so read the continuing story.

Enjoy.

P.S. Here are some photos of the beautiful artwork that is just amazing.

 

They make me laugh so much! 

Tortall: A Spy's Guide

This book is a compilation of guides and letters with relevancies to all of the series that Tamora Pierce has published set in Tortall. There are letters from George to Myles, reports from other members of the Tortallian spy network, guides on how to be spies, notes on immortals and killing devices, and more. Pretty basic.

For those who are initiated into the series already, pick it up from a library and check it out. If you want to go on a nostalgia trail without wanting to read all of the series again (which, why wouldn't you want that awesome journey?) this would be a good one to pick up. It's a really quick read.

 If you aren't initiated yet, there are technically no spoilers so it's safe to then go back, but I'd suggest starting out with Alanna: The First Adventure before you think of picking up anything else and start out the right way.

It was good for what it was. We got a little after story for Alanna and a few things about her kids, but there wasn't much gained in the story or plot of any previous series. In general there was no plot here at all. Mainly it was a recap of events that happened previously which you would have gotten if you read through the series in general. Part of it is supposed to be the "Cooper files" where I was expecting bits on Beka or more on Aly, but there was little to no information at all. Very much a put down.

I was hoping this would be "George's story" or some of the like while Alanna is out doing her daring dos. But there were only a few letters, mainly too him, instead of a story that he gives. *sigh*

The setting is obviously Tortall, but there are no land descriptions, only setting ones. The plot is pretty much non-existent on its own. The characters, while they are people we love, you have to really know them before stepping into this book. While new readers could probably guess-timate who they are and what is going on, I don't think they would enjoy this on its own just picking it up from the library or bookstore shelf. This is a series for the initiated as a work of nostalgia.

Part of me is also sad that it isn't just a Tamora Pierce book, but that there are three other writers that got in on it (it feels like they might have done a hardy portion of the work here). I could tell a difference, subtle though it was, between writing styles, which I could chalk up to "different people are writing different letters/guides, so it's okay." It was kind of a let down though.

For what it was, it was good. The set up and pros in it was cohesive and interesting to read. The guide to actual spying was pretty cool, but there were some parts what I willingly skipped because I knew about them well enough already. I very much like the overall timeline at the end of the book as well as young Thom's list of Tortallian Royalty, he's got humor that boy. The way it was presented was probably one of its biggest assets. Letter can be hard to write in a story, especially when that is all that the book compiled. There are little side comments on many of the documents from the Whisper Man or evidences of where wines were spilled or children got to important documents. Also, on documents from important people it has each of their seals, which is a fun little tidbits. The font is not the typical font style either, it has more of a cursive feel to it which makes the feel of the letters more authentic and letter-esque.

Would this be a book that I would buy for my collection? Probably not. (I'm kind of picky.) Does it add very much to the world? A little, but nothing I'd rave about.

Not If I Save You First

A survival stand alone.

One would suspect the President's son and the President's Head of Security's daughter would become friends, right? They have. They know every nook and cranny in the most famous house in the world. But after an incident, Maddie's dad is injured and they leave the luxury of the White House of the barren forests of Alaska. Six years pass and not a single letter has come back from the White House even though Maddie has sent them religiously. Maddie has learned to survive with the help of her bedazzled hatchet with no one else around for tens of miles--no one but bears that is.

Suddenly, Logan is here. In Alaska. Six years of no reply and he is here. And Maddie hates him. Can't stand the sight of him.

Her father leaves to go rescue someone before a storm and Maddie is left to watch over Logan (with the help of his Secret Service agents just outside the door). But suddenly, the agents can't be found and Maddie is thrown off a cliff and Logan is taken hostage by a Russian who forces him to cross the wilderness. Maddie is injured but managest to follow the two young men. No one gets to kill Logan except her. That is the rule.

It was a good story, much like the many that Ally Carter has written, and this race for survival was fun. Unlike her other books, this is a real place. Not some made up country where she can do her own political thing. She did her research well, from my vantage point.

The kids also felt very real to me. They were who would bedazzle a hatchet or make multiple social media accounts that your parents wouldn't know about. This one is very different from Ally Carter's other books where they are so many characters; here the pertinent characters number four or five. And I think it worked well enough. Maddie's voice was very prominent and sounded very much like a teenage girl who at least used to adore some frills and bedazzling. I very much liked her voice.

It isn't my favorite book  in Ally Carter's arsonal, but it was decent. It still had the "heist" feeling that I got from the Heist Society where Maddie is very smart and thinks ahead. I also really like how she jumped points of view with Maddie and Logan. It was needed to tell this story, and I think she did it well.

If you want a standalone book, feel free to pick it up and enjoy. A quick read, but full of adventure.

My Neighbor Seki

In one word, I'd call My Neighbor Seki "delightful."

This slice-of-life manga is about two middle school aged kids in the back of a classroom. Seki, the boy, is always goofing off in class and is never paying attention. But instead of simply staring out a window, Seki has a teddy bear rescue going on via remote control helicopter. His games are elaborate and well thought out and Yokoi, the girl, is constantly being distracted by everything he does. Simple games of "Go" get turned into a massive battle between good and evil. Seki refinishes his desktop to look like stained glass and so on. These are small skits are comical and good for a much needed laugh or (at the very least) a good smile.

I enjoyed how they seemed to get closer and closer as the series went on though a romance doesn't actually happen, no matter how much Gato (Yokoi's friend) believes there is a relationship between the two. At the beginning Yokoi gets so very angry that Seki and his games are so distracting, but as the series goes on she gets into it. On the book covers, their desks move closer and closer as Yokoi becomes more engulfed in the stories Seki ends up telling as well as the intricacies of the contraptions.

I also think it's fun that not only does Seki have the imagination to come up with his games every class period, but that Yokoi gets it. She gets upset that he's playing and distracting himself from studying, but then she is distracted as well and ends up understanding what Seki is trying to do.

It is also interesting that throughout the whole series, Seki never says a word. A lot of it is Yokoi's internal dialog with little bits of dialog from surrounding students, though they don't actually notice the games. This way of conversing and getting the information across to the reader is different and is helped out a lot by the artwork. This too is well done and fun to look at and read through.

This would be a good series as in introduction to slice of life for anyone, most especially middle schoolers. It is a simple series, but very much fun.

These Broken Stars

Definitely a different story than I anticipated.

These Broken Stars is the story of the heiress of a massive, galaxy wide industry that has its fingers in everything and a war hero who hates the spotlight. On a spaceship with 50,000 other people on board it was by chance at a ritzy party where Tarver sees a beautiful girl bored across the room. Lilac forgets herself and flirts with this man who doesn't know who she is. Refreshing. But then is forced by society to make him hate her. It would have been easy, as soon as they landed, he would go his way and she would go hers. But when the massive ship is tossed out of hyperspace they find themselves in the only escape pod that actually survives the descent into a planet's atmosphere. Being the only two people within a hundred miles and a need to survive they are forced to rely on each other. However, they may not be the only beings on the planet. Invisible whispers are everywhere and they aren't only from the dead.

I first started read this a long time ago, but wasn't in the mood for a prissy heiress and soldier boy story. But as I listened to the audiobook (read by Cynthia Holloway, Jonathan McClain, and Sarge Anton) I found I started to like it. I was expecting the story to stay on the ship, but when it suddenly went down my interest was peaked even more. It wasn't what I expected. A fight for survive with a plethora of snarky comments between the two had me invested. The plot became engaging and I really wanted to know what happened next.

Lilac was a made good progress through the story. She is a very proud girl to where she wouldn't even take off her stilettos while hiking. As the story progressed she gained confidence, not just pride. She was going to survive and stand up for herself. Tarver could have used more of a character arch, I think. I don't feel like he grew too much throughout the story. I wish there had been more of that. Over all there weren't many other prominent characters throughout the story. It was just them, which is okay, though I would have liked a village of hostile colonists or something. Outer hostile colonists were mentioned a lot by Tarver, so I assumed that was were we were heading. In the end though, there was a lot of blank space and internal dialog.

"There were trees." "There was grass." "We climbed mountains." "More trees." That was most of the setting. I can't complain too much, though. When they reached structures I knew where they stood and what was around them.

I think it was an interesting story, one that I didn't anticipate. I'd be interested to read more of the series, though it's not the highest on my priority list. It still gets a 4.5/5 for me because I couldn't find anything really wrong or that I disliked about it. Not a favorite, but good.

Orange

This manga was a sweet book that I constantly wanted to go back to. One that I would curl up with in bed.

This is a story of a group of friends who suddenly receive letters from themselves ten years in the future. They are told to save their new friend, Kakeru. These letters are accurate about the day to day things and tell Naho, our main character,  to do things that the older self has regrets of not doing. 

From stepping up to the plate in a softball game to confessing to Kakeru. She isn't the only one to receive letters,  so together with her friends they work to save Kakeru.

It is well drawn with lovable characters. Although there are six of them,  each character has his/her own temperament and quirks. I really like Sawa.

This book, though, is about coming together as friends to support and lift one another. Suicide is very prevalent throughout the story. The grief and depression associated with it is real. I think Ichigo Takano did a good job conveying that emotion, as well as the need to help but feel like you're not doing enough.

The day when all of the letters were revealed, I cried. That is one of the biggest recommendations I can give. Tears were shed. Read it!

Take the Key and Lock Her Up

The last book in the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter. This is one that I needed to pick up quickly to figure out what happened. Though the ending of the last one (See How They Run) ended rather abruptly but it just kept coming to mind and it was in at the library so I quickly snatched it up and put it on a higher que than the other books on my nightstand.

Grace, Jamie, Alexie, and Dominic are all running. Someone tried to kill Jamie. They don't know who and they aren't for sure why. They are constantly on the run until another secret about her mother is unfolded and Grace runs away from the boys to keep them safe, have the bad guys chase her instead of Jamie who is still injured and Alexie who is still wanted for a murder he didn't commit. She goes to the Society but finds no friends there, same with the palace. With the help of her Embassy Row friend and a little bit of espionage she breaks an insane woman out of a penitentiary and yet still finds herself in her mother's country trapped in a corner and no way out. Also, she supposedly the Lost Princess which she doesn't want to be. She just wants to be left alone to live her own life. How is she going to get that?

I do like how Grace has developed of these three books. She still has the mentality of "get out of my way or don't and get run over" while also still trying to deal with her PTSD. Any fire, any smoke triggers her and she's starting to learn to cope. She's starting to learn whom she can really lean on while finding out the hard way whom she can't. Some people might not like her, but I'm glad Ally Condie took this step in giving us a main character who really needs help and might not have been likable (on the verge of annoying) at the start. What Grace does is true growth, not just getting over a boy/crush. She gave us an unreliable narrator who knows she's unreliable and more than a bit crazy.

I really enjoyed the ending of this. It was complete. It also came full circle where Grace is able to face fears and is able to take steps forward. She wouldn't have been able to accomplish the things she did at the beginning of the story without turning into a pile of ash or rocking back and forth in a corner or running away from everything. She's willing to go down dark tunnels and tell secret societies to stuff it, which is pretty awesome.

While Alexie is pretty cool and Jamie has been an awesome brother since he clocked his friends, but I really like Thomas. I get that Grace is not princess material. She is not one to do benefits or worry matching handbags or knowing how far to bow to a countess and that's cool I so wouldn't be able to do that. But Thomas... he took things in stride. He was willing to follow her down those tunnels and willing to let her run after another boy. He was such a real person that it makes me want to have more of him. I'm glad him and Rosy are friends, but more screen time would have been cool. I don't know how Ally Carter would have done it, but it's what I want.

The title was also rather ingenious. Very fitting. :)

I don't know how Ally Carter would be able to extend this to another story (one that included my happy Prince, of course), but I would happily read another Embassy Row series. It was very good with intriguing characters and a very interesting world that I want to dive more into.

Fruits Basket Another

FRUITS BASKET!!! My all time favorite manga has made a very short sequel series.

And it's not finished yet, but man I wish it was. When I say short, I mean short. Three volumes, or so, short--which comparatively to the original series at 23 volumes is not a lot. Natstuki Takaya is still releasing chapters every week in honors of the new edition of Fruits Basket. I love them so much. But sadly none of the original cast shows up.

This story follows a very "shy and self-conscious" girl named Sawa Mitoma. She constantly feels like an inconvenience and a burden to all who are around here and believes if she looks only at the ground, she won't be a hindrance to anyone. But bumping into a Sohma (what every other girl in the world wants to do) has started to turn her would upside down. She has suddenly, somehow, made it into the student body presidency alongside Hajame and Mustuki Sohma. All kinds of Sohma's come out of the woodworks in order to help Mitoma find a bit of self confidence.

It is sweet, well drawn, and fun to see the next generation of Sohma's and the people associating with them. From and expanded YUKI-club, to stepping on someones face because they are laying on the floor like a cat *cough cough*, to many other little things. *sigh* It is really cute and I can't wait for the rest of it to come.

I may update this once all the chapters are out.

See How They Run

The second book in the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter starts up exactly where the first one left off.

Grace, who has just learned something even more tragic about her dead mother, still suffers from PTSD from the incident. But now more is on her and she's gotten to the point that she wishes she didn't know the truth. At times she tries to run away from it all, force it behind her and in the past but the past keeps catching up with her. Now her brother Jamie is back on Embassy Row and brought an army buddy along with him. Not even a few nights on Embassy Row and Jamie's friend is found dead on the beach. Who would want to kill Spence? And now Alexie is somehow to blame merely because he is "the Russian." Politics and conspiracy and secret societies are everywhere. Grace cannot catch a break.

There will be some who are still very upset that Grace sticks to this PTSD thing and the death of her mother weighs very heavily on her character. If you are upset by that, I hope you don't meet a vet or go through anything traumatic because you won't cope well. Her PTSD, which it's never actually called that in the story, is part of who she is. So much of it, because it is so fresh, still claws at her mind and it's nails haven't been dulled yet. In the book, because her brother also has to deal with some things, she's able to start to cope and begins to mend. I think that seeing her brother going through the same thing lets her drop her walls more than anything else has it seems. Knowing the truth has also helped as well, I think. It appears she begins to mend and isn't as angry and willing to jump off a cliff as she was before. Steps forward. Good job Grace. It hasn't stopped completely, obviously, and there are still flashes especially around fire, but she seems less dark and hidden than in the first book. Grace is true to her character. She doesn't flip flop on being the pretty princess then suddenly go tom-boy. She's freaked out and while there are moments of pause, she's still broken and it's not an easy fix. Ally Carter gives us that; she lets us see that this is hard. None of us want to be in her shoes and we feel sorry for her and reading on in hopes that she gets better and finds her own peace. Well done, Ally. Well done.

I really like Embassy Row and the idea of so many countries sharing fences. Being able to hide in a dilapidated Iran Embassy while walking past Israel, Russia, Brazil, and other countries on your way back to the U.S. of A. is a fun little concept. Ally Carter worked this one well and had fun with it.

This one is more focused on Grace's relationships with her brother and Alexie. There is a skuffle when the new Alpha-Boy comes into town, which is kind of fun to have your brother defend you, willing to knock the guys out. I do wish there was more of Rosie and Noah and the rest, but there just wasn't. While the first book had a taste of the Heist Society where the kids were the masterminds behind gathering information and being all sneaky and spy-like, that wasn't here, which was good because then it didn't feel like a copy of the first book.

I think that this series could have worked will as a combination of them all. Obviously I haven't read the last book yet, but it feels like they could have been presented in the same novel. Grace didn't make a whole lot of internal progress in the first book and made major steps forward in this one and I predict that there will be even more leaps in the next book. The first book had a good climax and this one felt lacking that intense feel. I felt the build up to it but then it didn't quiet come or more like the climax hasn't had the opportunity to resolve itself. They get away and are getting help, but not much more than that. The resolve will probably be in the beginning of the third book, but I want it at the end here. It's missing.

Thornhill

Thornhill is a well written, well drawn book that was a bit strange.

The written words are part of the diary of a girl named Mary from 1982 who is being bullied by the girls in orphan home. She has been bullied so bad that she stopped talking and her journal become her a solace, next to her handmade dolls, and the garden on the orphanage grounds. The artwork is the story of Ella, a girl who just moved in with her dad into a house that bordered the old Thornhill building in 2017. She goes exploring one day and follows a mysterious figure into a garden and finding dolls around the dilapidated building.

It was an interesting book, but a strange one. We feel really sorry for Mary and her trials. No one helps her and she feels like she can't confide in any of the adults around her. Then there is Ella where we don't get much from her. It's summertime and she doesn't do much but fix the dolls she finds around Thornhall. She doesn't do much else besides explore the grounds. We don't see her with friends or even with her father (who always is off at work and has no time for her).

I do find it interesting though that Mary only talks once in the whole book where there are quotations around what she says and Ella never says anything either (mainly because her side of things are all in pictures). The only time we see Ella "say" anything is when she writes a note. The similarities between the two girls are prominent but not screaming from the pages, obviously they are quiet.

It's a very sad book. Not one to read when you are sad. Especially the ending when it was supposed to be a happily ever after for the girls, but it wasn't in my opinion. A tragic ending to me, though it was supposed to be something happy-ish for the girls. I think it could have ended differently.

It was okay. Not a favorite but okay.

Edgedancer

As a side story (novella) to Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series, as expected, it was a joy to read.

We were first introduced to Lift (one of Brandon's favorite characters) in the second book in the Stormlight Archive series, Words of Radiance, in the interludes between the normal chapters. As soon as I read about how "awesome" she was, I fell in love with her.

This is Lift's story starting with some interlude chapters from WoR, but then continues after she leaves the Azir palace. She heads to Yeddaw a very peculiar city dug into the ground. Why she is there, we don't really know until the end and she really figures it out herself. Not only is Lift there with her Voidbringer Wyndle, but Darkness is in the city for some reason and Lift sets herself on a mission to find out.

This is a very small book also found in the Arcanum Unbound compilation of stories. It was a quick, short read only really taking two in-story days. But when it comes to Brandon a short story always ends up turning into a small 200 page book *smiles* and we are happy to have so much.

Lift is one of Brandon's favorite characters (he says so at the end of this story) and she is one of mine too. I find her funny and childlike, deeming her radiant powers as "awesomeness" because she doesn't know anything else to call it. Some people, I know, get rubbed the wrong way by this, so it is up to you if you like her but I think she's a doll.

This world is a small part of Roshar and Brandon gave a chance to explore more of this world that we won't get while reading through the Stormlight Archive because of lack of screen time. Roshar is thought out and very well developed. Each culture is vastly different with their own pros and cons and quirks which makes it real.

I think the part that I enjoyed, almost, the most is that we get to see changes in the characters as they are working through their own internal struggles. Not just Lift as she's coping with growing older, but other important character to all of the series. This book covers a jump that happened to particular characters that were brushed over in Oathbringer, so this book gave more of an explanation.

It can be read on it's own, but there will be references to other important things that might fly over the readers head if unacquainted with the Stormlight Archive. It's possible, but you end up missing out on a lot. For those who don't want to read all 1100 pages each of the Stormlight Archive, if you wanted to read this and get a taste of Roshar, read it. Enjoy it. Then pick up The Way of Kings because you'll like that one too.

In the end, there was more screen time for Lift and Wyndle, whom I love and enjoy reading about.

Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke is a proper romance by Junianne Donaldson.

Marianne is the forgotten twin. Whatever her sister did and her sister won so Marianne decides to run her own races. Thus has been left to her own un-elegant-lady-like endeavors. But then she is invited to go to Edenbrooke, a glorious estate in the country where her grandmother has given her instruction to learn how to be an elegant lady.

All goes array when her carriage is attacked by highwaymen. After a crazy night making a slight fool of herself, she makes it to Edenbrooke and finds a familiar face.

It was a cute book. A really quick read. A book that made you go "ahh." It's a romance novel, though a clean one which makes me happy. It fills that hopeless romantic side of me and makes me feel content.

I felt like there were a lot of stereotypes played in here and cliches galore in dialog and internal thoughts--and there were a lot of Marianne's internal thoughts. Many blushes and a few faints, dances and twirling, flirtations and quiet moments, then the ever needed control of ones reputation. It was cute, don't get me wrong. I finished and enjoyed the book. But it is not a hard book to read.

The characters were lighthearted and fun, though some seemed like cliches and it wasn't hard to tell where it was going to go.

It was a good book for me to take a break with for other "heavier" books. This is a lighthearted read that was well told even if it was predictable with a few twists and turns. It was a cute romance.

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.

Snow Like Ashes

Snow Like Ashes was a great book. I was able to bing the audio book on a road trip and because and the intrigue I was didn't stop to rest as much as I should have. It was so engaging I couldn't stop.

Sixteen years ago, Spring destroyed Winter and many Winterians were enslaved. Now, Meira, and orphan and one of seven refuges after Winter's Fall, never seems to be able to help. With Mather's help she is finally able to go and hopefully do something to help her people. They are forced to flee Summer, again, to the capital of another country where she is suddenly pawned off in hopes that she can "help her country" that way. This isn't what she wants to do. She wants to fight and defend her people. Free them from the enslavement camps that Spring has them in, not prance around in dresses. Things obviously go more and more wrong and it is delicious.

I really enjoyed this book bing and am sad I hadn't read it earlier. I cannot wait for the next book.

Meira is a headstrong girl who just wants to help. She grows in this coming of age novel. Her internal adventure is to find her place in this world where she seems to constantly be on the run. Her tone made this book. She had so many internal jabs at the people around her that I laughed hard enough at to wake my son while we were on our trip. I loved it. I love her.

The world that Sara Raasch created here is great too. She's given attitude and personality to all of the seasons and other countries. Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and the other four countries are all vastly different places with an interweaving history. This obviously makes prejudices and hate as well as friendly-ish allies. Her background and world building was very well done. The setting was well enough done to leave me satisfied.

The magic system was fun too, though I do want more. There wasn't a whole lot of magic, but I can see it being far more prominent in the coming books of the series. What I liked most about the magic is that Sara Raasch gave us a reason and history behind the magic. How it was discovered and whatnot. Not many people do that.

I also have to say that Kate Rudd, the reader for Snow Like Ashes did a phenomenal job and made the book sooooo entertaining. Great job, I'll be looking for other books that you've done.

I don't think I have anything really negative to say about the book. This will be one that I suggest alongside Cinder, Six of Crows, Brandon Sanderson, the Manga I've read, and the other 5 Star books I've enjoyed.

Enjoy it. It was a great read.

The Blade Itself

I had heard great things about Joe Abercrombie. His books are on all the lists of fantasy books to read and many people rate this book as awesome.

I do not. I try to finish most books,  but is just couldn't bring myself to do so. I got to my 50 page rule and have no interest in it.

A crippled torturer, a "barbarian," to cool for you jock/captain of something along with some kind of wizard get together eventually and do something. I don't even know what,  but bad guys from the north have something to do with it. I don't even know.

The characters are supposed to be cool, but they are really just either creepy or cocky. The torture has an obviously gross and gory line of work and although he says he's trying to find meaning in the brutality, he keeps doing it and finds pleasure in it. The captain reminds me of a stereotypical football jock who is on the team to get the cheerleaders to look at him and to get drunk at the next kegger held. His friends were pretty cool and could have had a more interesting story than jock boy. The barbarian man,  though I don't know his age (supposedly has a family that was murdered,  but he very much acts and talks younger than an adult so I don't know for sure), brutal decapitates a kid. He boy was part of a bandit group,  I get it,  but ick. Abercrombie didn't have to make him a boy or be as gross with it as he was. At this point I just stopped. Too gross for me.

It is just the beginning of the book so the characters haven't had their trials to smooth out their character yet. I get that. It's the character arc. Obviously they grow somehow but I just don't care. They aren't engaging enough for me to want to see them grow.

The jock had a run through the city and that was pretty cool for about the two seconds of setting we got,  but aside from "mountains," "cliff," "water," maybe "bog," and "torture room" there wasn't much setting even though the descriptions were long. There was white gloves and plaster which made me put it in a more modern sterile setting, but then everywhere else felt fantasy-ish. My mind couldn't decide where to put people or the intended setting around them.

Between the constant profanity (F-bombs included) and the gore/creepy factor,  I'm relieved to put this book down.

Lady Knight

Lady Knight, the last book (#4) in the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce.

Squire Kel has overcome her Ordeal and has become the second Lady Knight Tortall has seen in centuries. Just as she's become a knight, war breaks out in the north against the normally clannish Scandarans. They have joined together under one dangerous man and has assaulted Tortall with killing machines that no one has seen before.

Kel is given the unwanted task of commanding and housing refugees from the war stricken borderlands. She is to keep them safe from raiders and occasional assaults from people Scandarans who make it past the border patrols. This happens far more often than it should. Kel trains the nearly 500 refugees to fight so then the 50 or so soldiers aren't the only line of defence against the enemy and their killing machines. Nothing ever goes smoothly for Kel, and this is no exception.

I didn't feel I could give this full points because the beginning dragged a lot for me. It was very slow going at the start up until Kel leaves for Fort Mastiff the second time. Once Tobe finds her again things picked up for me a lot, but that seemed to be about half way through the book. I wish it would have gone faster or been more engaging for me throughout the first part.

The characters were different enough in this book that it was easier to tell them apart. I remember the first time I read this that the "Cast of Characters" at the end helped me keep them where they were supposed to be in my head. Very helpful. But their names were different enough and personalities real enough that they seemed just that, more real. I think I enjoyed the variety new and consistency of old characters that were given here.

Setting was better than in previous books, which made me happier and we were even given more maps to follow along with.

My only other complain is that *spoilers* at the end when Kel goes after the bad guys and gets the refugees back, that the death of the magician was so quick. Hardly a fight with him. The "dog" has a pretty good fight, but the mastermind behind it all... it fell flat for me. I get that it could be a writerly thing to do because the mage was such a pansy in the first place that Kel could have dispatched him in literally a paragraph besides the dialog. But there was a really big build up for it, since Squire, that I just wanted a bit more.

Other readers might complain that the travel time into Scandar was long and could feel like it dragged, but I thought it was pretty good. Her trying to get others to go away is what took forever for me. Travel time is hard to write and keep engaging, but for this particular journey I think Tamora did pretty good.

A good book and a good way to end the series. I'd probably go through and reread it again in a while.

Squire

Squire is the third book of the Protector of the Small series and is probably my favorite one so far. It has been years since I've read it and didn't remember a lot about it, so it was fun to read it almost as if for the first time.

Kel has survived being a page and has nearly mastered one of her greatest fears. She's been accepted by good old Raoul of Goldenlake (and something else). Lord Raoul is commander of the King's Own who go and assist everyone around the realm. They fight bandits, pirates, rogue immortals, and, when forced, show up for parties when the King demands it. Kel gets to do what she has always wanted, fight and help those around her who cannot help themselves. Through these fights and battles she starts to prove herself and when the Royal Progress occurs (letting the whole kingdom see the prince and his soon-to-be bride from the Yamani Isles) she gets to show off her skills in jousting as well. (I kept having flashbacks to A Knight's Tale and had a great time watching it again.)





Kel gets first hand experience of what it will be like to be a knight while following Raoul and those under his command. The glory and the woes. Kel has started to have feelings for a particular boy and there are complications with the match--the separation that comes with squirehood/knighthood and her trying to decide which she wants more, her shield and the knight life or to be at home the matriarch of her husband's estate which would eventually need looking after.

There are many things that are brought up in this series. Women's place in a "man's world." The need for reformed laws. Politics and how tippy-toe it has to be sometimes to get things accomplished. Accomplishing goals when the odds are against you. Gender and class equality. Fighting for those who can't do so for themselves, obviously. Having bad people, finally, get what's coming to them--which I forgot had happened. There is a lot that was said in this book toward cultural reform in many different avenues. I find this book very relevant for today and its debates as well as discussions of the past. It is a good series to start a discussion with the younger generations (and older) about many things, not only how Tamora Pierce presents it as ideals--as Kel is reminded through the books--but also on why it was a certain way in ages past as wells as how things can change for the better for all people.

Setting is a thing Tamora struggles with in these first three series, I've accepted that. I also know she does get better with her next group of books. So I'm content enough. Sad it wasn't fixed her, but I guess it worked.

The plot, though, was great. It was engaging and constantly moving. In The Song of the Lioness series, we didn't get much from Raoul. He and Gary always seemed so much alike, it was sometimes hard to tell them apart. As they grew older their differences became more apparent which is fantastic. I've learned to love him so much more. I was also so glad to get to know Buri more instead of having it just focus on Queen Thayet. These unappreciated characters got more love and attention here, which was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the way the story flowed. Adventures and love complications throughout the story, not too much love to bog us down, but enough to make it feel like they were real teenagers. Tamora Pierce does have a way with the characters she creates when she gives them enough time on the page, sadly there are some who do seem to fall by the wayside and get muddled amongst themselves and it's hard to remember who is who. For Raoul, she definitely redeemed herself.

This series, I'd recommend for older youth, at least fourteen or fifteen. There is a bit more gore and sex is talked about more thoroughly than I'd want my thirteen year old to read. In Alanna's books, it happened, but when I was younger I didn't know what was going on because they weren't getting as handsy like Kel does. This may be over shooting it and my opinions are different than others, but take my recommendation as you will, as you always have.

Page

The second book in the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce was okay.

Keladry has become a Page and is no longer on probation. This is the story of the next three years and the trials of being a page. Still dealing with bullies, going on the summer camping trips that result in adventures, get a new animal to follow her, and training to become a knight of the realm. The big thing that are different is that Kel hires a maid to work for her, Lalasa. Lalasa is a girl who has been abused by men all her life and is scared of most everything. Kel takes her under her wing and starts teaching her to defend herself against unwanted attentions. Along side her regular training, as the older boys become squires and new boys come in to be pages, Kel starts gaining feelings for a boy (though I won't tell you which).

It has very much the same feeling as In the Hands of the Goddess from the Lioness Rampant series. The fighting of bandits or wars against another country, kidnappings, training, and the "joys" of developing into a woman. There isn't even the joy of George being there, though. Cleon is okay with his flowery words to Kel and Neal is sarcastic, but I haven't grown any feelings for either of them. Not that they are bad characters, but they seem to be lacking something that is supposed to make me like them.

Out of the series, this book seems to be the one that is too similar to other books for me. It's alright, and it needs to be there for the progression of the story; it's just not one that I would pick to read on its own.

When I was younger and read this, I didn't know what was going to happen throughout the story. I wasn't well enough versed in storytelling to catch onto the very heavy foreshadowing that is laid out throughout the story. For an older audience you could definitely tell what was going to happen and how she is "protecting the small" in this segment of Kel's story. It was good, but for an older audience it would give no surprise as to what would happen.

The ending of the book on Balor's Needle was well done enough and I was glad she accomplished what she did. It gives that sense of fulfillment in the climax of the story.

For a younger audience it would be a good story. It is a young adult novel with a good purpose behind it. It would be one that I'd suggest for a young to mid-teen.

P.S. I really like her mother. I wish there was more about her mom then there is. Fix that Tamora. Fix it.

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.