Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Battle of the Labyrinth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read on! 

Kiki's Delivery Service

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

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

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

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

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

Where the Crawdads Sing

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Titan's Curse

 The Titan's Curse is book three in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia have been given orders to go help Grover as he was sent to a school to scout out for more new half-bloods. But trouble is around the corner when a chimera, disguised as a teacher, tries to kill the two new half-bloods and ends up disappearing and capturing Annabeth. Returning back to camp without Annabeth and with a whole group of Artemis's Hunters instead, Zoe (Artemis's head Hunter) is given the quest to follow the Goddess and stop the next step in Kronoss' plans to take over Olympus where they must travel to San Francisco, the most dangerous place for half-bloods to go. And Percy isn't invited to join them, how is he going to save Annabeth? 

Book three felt similar to the first book, you can only go so different it seems on quests in this series. They have to travel from New York to San Francisco (like New York to LA). They have to travel fast and there is a time limit. They get help from the Gods and there is major trouble from other's of the Gods, too. 

The difference here is that Percy is "joined" by Zoe instead of Annabeth and Zoe is much different than Annabeth is. Zoe has her own background from ages past with a lot of baggage that comes along with it. I really like Zoe's character.  Many of the other characters grow too which is nice because I feel like they didn't grow much in the last two books. Here there was some real character development for pretty much everyone. 

I also really liked Apollo. He's always been a fun one to talk about and I think Rick Riordan did a good job making him fun and likeable. 

Peter Pan

 

Peter Pan is an old classic.

The Darlings' children get visited by the boy who never grows up and teaches them to fly. Off to Neverland they go which is the place of their fantasies, pirates, mermaids, Indians, and adventures galore. 

It is a fine book. One that can touch the lives of many people who are wanting to escape the bounds of growing up and knowing that we all need a mother--biological or "make-believe." This one will probably be one I'll read to my son because it's a fun, simple adventure. 

Reading it myself, though, wasn't as fun as I remember. The narrator in it was funny, in an odd way. Like an adult trying to be childlike, as opposed a child like say Wendy telling the story. It could be the fact that the audiobook was narrated by an older man, but it shouldn't make that much of a difference. The tone and fake childishness of the story put me off enough that I couldn't give it four stars. 

I've seen the play. I've seen the movies. The story is a good one. I like the emphasis and explanation we get for Mr. and Mrs. Darling. It makes them far more alive than even some of the movies give us. I also really like the implication that maybe, just maybe, when Mrs. Darling was younger, she too spent time with Peter. Maybe not off to Neverland with him, but stories and potential glances of him out her own window as a girl. 

I'd read it again for someone else, but for me I think I'll stick to the movies if I need a Peter Pan fix. 

The Sea of Monsters

 The Sea of Monsters is book two in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. 

Percy was waiting for something to go wrong. He had been able to spend the whole school year without getting in trouble, so it was about time he did. He just wasn't anticipating Cannibal Cyclopes coming to his school as being what got him expelled. Then when he's finally able to get back to camp, Thalia's Tree the protects the camp has been poisoned and more monsters are able to get into the camp and has harmed many a camper. His friend Tyson is also somehow related to him which is like a punch in the gut. Charon is fired and the new camp counselor does not like Percy at all. Grover is also sending dream messages of help because a cyclopes has him captured in a wedding dress. The quest to save Grover and get the Golden Fleece has arrive, only it's not Percy's quest. How is he going to save his friend and the camp and watch out for Luke and the big sarcophagus that he's floating around with?  

It's a pretty good book. More monster mayhem erupts that Percy and Annabeth have to fight off. It's fairly similar to the first book in that it isn't until 'almost too late' that they remember who the bad guys are in this Sea of Monsters before they save themselves and there are constant monster fights. Differently though is that Percy grows with pretty much each encounter. He internalizes them and recalls them and the feelings he had through those experiences. He feels the lose of losing a friend, though I think it probably could have been a tad more heavy or emotional because lose of family members are real. Percy was sad, but he didn't grieve, which I think is important especially for young audiences--a grieving process would have been beneficial here, whereas Annabeth (I think) didn't even mention it as a condolence later.

I enjoyed Percy's character development. I do wish there was more development and character arcs for more than just him, though. Everyone else is kind of stagnant and stays as "the smart one," "the bully," "the kid," and so on. Luke, I guess gets some, but minimal. I want more from the other characters. 

My son enjoyed it, as I was reading it aloud to him, and actually cried a few time because he like the characters so much. 

We're reading onward! 

Pride and Prejudice

The lovely classic that is Pride and Prejudice.

The Bennet family in regency England has five daughters and no boys to become heir of the family's estate. And what is on the mind of the ever dramatic Mrs. Bennet is to have her daughters married to wealthy young men so they aren't out on the street when "your father is dead." So when a Mr. Bingley purchases Netherfield Park not far away, obviously one of her daughters must marry him. With this entrance comes many more members of society that the Bennet's weren't aware of, such as: their cousin Mr. Collins, the magnificent Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Bingley's meddling sisters, the charismatic Mr. Wickham, and the every handsome but off-putting Mr. Darcy.  All these eligible young men must marry one of the Miss Bennet's, right?! 

This is a great story. One that I happily read and watch over and over again. The story is fantastic; the romances charming; the characters are engaging, villainous when appropriate, and very memorable. 

I think the reason I love this book so much is the characters. I think the reason why this book has stayed so popular over the 200 years it's been around is because of the characters. There are so many with different, full personalities that it seems to breathe. There is no one like Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh let alone their relationship. Charlotte Lucus is understandable and though she makes an unbelievable choice is still in the good graces of all her readers. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are a hoot and a holler and one of my favorite "parental couples" in almost any book. I especially love Mr. Bennet's quotes and his constant picking on his wife, as well as his commentary saying, "My dear child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life" because he most definitely cannot respect his and knows the importance of it. Jane is amazing too and reminds me a lot of myself (though probably not nearly so handsome). The best things I saw online concerning Jane Bennet is this: 

It makes my day. 

It is a classic and a good classic. It was written 200 years ago so the writing style is different and for some may be hard to understand, but persevere my friend! If you a have troubles, go find the movies. There are many to choose from and while many praise Keira Knightly's 2005 version, go for the 1995 one instead. Jennifer Ehle and Collin Firth are amazing and the movie gets so much right! Read and watch it now. Just go! 

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. 

Girl, Wash Your Face

This is a book everyone should read. 
 

"Stop believing the lies about who you are so you can become who you were meant to be!" 

This book is about some of the lies Rachel Hollis has told herself over the years (and I'm sure many of us have told ourselves) and why we need to stop believing them. 

Her chapters include: 

• "The Lie: Something else will make me happy
• The Lie: I'll start tomorrow
• The Lie: I'm not good enough
• The Lie: I'm better than you
• The Lie: Loving him is enough for me
• The Lie: No is the final answer
• The Lie: I'm bad at sex
• The Lie: I don't know how to be a mom
• The Lie: I'm not a good mom 
• The Lie: I should be further along by now
• The Lie: Other people's kids are so much cleaner/better organized/more polite
• The Lie: I need to make myself smaller
• The Lie: I'm going to marry Matt Damon
• The Lie: I'm a terrible writer
• The Lie: I will never get past this
• The Lie: I can't tell the truth: 
• The Lie: I am defined by my weight
• The Lie: I need a drink
• The Lie: There's only one right way
• The Lie: I need a hero"

There are so many things that I knew I tell myself that she discusses and how she and maybe how you can get past these obstacles that are in your way. 

Rachel Hollis is beyond funny and had me laughing aloud multiple times. She is clean (as some might be nervous about the sex chapter) and is Christian so there are many things about God and the relationship she has with him set alongside Bible verses that helped her during hard times. 

This is one that I'm going to buy for my bookshelf and everyone, especially women, should read it. Take a closer look (and really look) at yourself to see how much better you can actually be. 

The Lightning Thief

 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a great series that I read aloud to my son.

Percy is a boy who always seems to get into trouble. He's gotten kicked out of so many schools for things he just can't explain. Now suddenly he slays his math teacher and she turns into a puff of smoke and no one seems to remember her at all? What is going on? Percy goes home for the summer and while on his way to vacation with his mom, they get attacked by a Minotaur. Suddenly he finds out he's a "Half-Blood" and is supposed to believe that the Greek Gods are a real thing and that he's the son of some Olympian. Finally, some things start making sense, but then things go wrong again and he's sent on a quest to find Zeus' Master Bolt that They all think he stole. He need to prove his innocence and catch the thief. 

I love this series. It's one that I've held on to since I was in junior high. It is perfect for young adult kids, especially those seem to be having a hard time--which is most every junior high kid. Percy has a wit and sarcasm that makes everyone smile. The metaphors and similes are hysterical and you can see that by simply looking at the chapter titles. 

This is also a good book to get the basic of the Greek pantheon. From what I know about it, Rick Riordan has done an excellent job at keeping the Greek mythologies accurate while still giving us that modern twist. Having Mt. Olympus in New York City and the Underworld in L.A. is fitting and comical. Minotaur, Furies, chimera, and hell hounds are only a few things that Percy has to face and, again, they are done well. 

It is a very simple read, great for young adult audiences, and one that gives the reader a good sense for the world they are in. If the reader doesn't know anything about the Greek pantheon, then they are given explanations for them, even pronunciations a time or two. We get to know who all of these characters are and how think (or thought in mythology) and have such personalities giving us something new to constantly visit or revisit. 

I think the thing that I love most of this is that Percy is a troubled kid. He struggles in the "real world" with creatures constantly attacking him (though that was unknown to him in the beginning), struggling in school, ADHD, and dyslexia (which I also have). They are real life problems yet are given reasons as to why he has them. ADHD so he can take more in and fight better when the badies come around and dyslexia because his mind is "set" for ancient Greek not American English. It helps the reader think more about what they might consider "disabilities" or "flaws" and gives us a little hope that there is a real reason behind it beyond "Oh, it's just in your DNA," but that they can be used to for our benefit. I also really love the fact that he has a horrible stepdad. There are many kids who have similar struggles and, in the end, those get resolved--and the fact that his mom pulls out something big and has major character growth (that made me very happy). 

It's a great story that I believe should be reread on occasion. It's not just a book that you can read once and never want to pick up again, but one that has more to it and funny humor. 

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. 

Heartless

 

The tale of the Queen of Hearts. 

Catherine is the daughter of nobility, but she'd prefer to make cakes. She doesn't care for the parties and courtly appointments, she prefers to get her hands, dress, and the backs of her ears covered in flour. But that is not what her mother wants, not what the King wants. Suddenly she is nearly engaged to the King of Hearts who loves her creations and finds her just as delicious. As she tries to escape the proposal, the Jabberwaky attacks and she is saved during a corset affiliated fainting spell by the new court Joker. Now with her eyes locked on lemon colored Joker eyes, she even less interest in the King and being his Queen of Hearts, because hers heart is already taken. 

It was a charming story, read well by Rebecca Soler who did all the voices superbly! One with many loved characters from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. The Hatter before he's mad, the March Hare, the White Rabbit, flamingos and hedgehogs for crochet, and all the other outrageous characters that is part of the land of Hearts. The world is very comically odd as the way Wonderland is supposed to be. It is fabulously portrayed and written, just as Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles did with Cinder(ella) and the rest. 

It is also a love story between the Joker and Catherine. He has a mission and she has dreams. They both have tricks and are bound to lose their hearts, but to each other? They are fun characters with interesting adventures. 

(Spoiler!!) Sadly, though, we know the story of the Queen of Hearts from Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. The Queen is not a happy person. She is heartless and, oh, so willing to take off a person's head. This story is not a happy one. It is a fragility with a comic as it's star. You hope and you read on because "Maybe it's different" "Maybe there is a change" "Maybe she's not that Queen" "Maybe..." But her's is not a happy tale. And this, I think will be the only time I read it. 

I can't give it five stars because it didn't end how I wanted it too!! Written well, yes! Mastered beautifully, yes! But I wanted it different. And what happens to Jest was so quick it almost didn't seem real. Well done, but I didn't want to be sad with this book. 

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

 This is a super cute book that is for anyone wanting to read something sweet. 

Written in letters after the end of WWII, the story is about a woman named Juliet who gets a letter from a man on Guernsey who came into possession of one of her old books by Charles Lamb. They begin correspondence and she finds out that in order to deal with being occupied by Germans during the war, this small group of odd neighbors begin a literary society--with an interesting story as to how it started and its name. The Society has continued on after the war and from the society begin to open up about their experiences in the war. Juliet was also a writer for a local British news paper and wants to write a book with their collection of letters. Of course, Juliet has her own life back in London, men, writing, friends, post-war happenings. 

It is a great story with full characters, many of them with fascinating stories. This is one of the best parts of the books. So many different people with different points of view, with different happenings, ways of coping with trauma, and different ways of being heroic in times of difficulty. 

I also greatly enjoyed the romance part of it. Rich American guy who is charming and witty and a lowly country boy from Guernsey. A little love triangle without being high school dramatic. They are adults here and act as such, for the most part. It wasn't heavy on the sappy romance, which was good, but there was sweetness and a comedy about it. 

There isn't really anything that I dislike about it. It was written well. However, the audio book that I listened to for it was misleading. The gentleman they had voicing the younger men wasn't that young sounding. So the younger men sounded like they were in their sixties instead of late twenties, early thirties. When she started liking a certain person, I was concerned that she liked the oldest gent in the literary society. It wasn't until I looked at the Netflix cover that I realized, "Oh, he's much younger" which was a relief. 

I very much enjoyed it and will reread it again. I've also heard the Netflix movie did it justice, so I'm going to be taking a look at that soon. 

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 Half Blood Prince

 

The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series is one that I enjoyed greatly. 

Harry goes back to school, a fair bit lighter than in previous years, hoping that things can find a good normal. Starting classes with a new potions teacher with a new and intriguing book, Snape taking over D.A.D.A., relationships bloom and flounder, and new lessons from Dumbledore on the history of the Dark Lord. Normalcy? At Hogwarts? Never. Draco is up to something and everyone thinks that Harry is off his kilter. But is he?

As I said, I enjoyed this book. I busted through it very fast (beings smaller than Order of the Phoenix does that) and was enveloped in the memories that Dumbledore showed Harry. Getting to know the enemy helps to destroy him, right? His background was something missed in the movies and it wounded the story it presented. 

I liked that it had gone from dark and death oriented all the time, back to something that resembled the first four books (before the ending of number four anyway). It was lighter and a last pick me up before the final battles of book seven. While the ending here wasn't happy, betrayal and death happens, it--over all--had a lighter tone. There were very tender moments where I had to choke back tears so then no one would see me crying over stuff that I knew was going to happen. Well written moments that deserve applause in a good hero's journey. 

Well done, Rowling. Well done. 

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. 

The Quintessential Quintuplets

The Quintessential Quintuplets is a manga about a guy who is insanely smart and is asked to tutor five sisters who are awful at anything academically. They are quintuplets and look so much alike that no one can tell them apart. They are all dramatically different from one another so if someone were to take the time to get to know them individually, they could figure out their quirks enough to tell them apart. Tutoring them, figuring them out, and trying to help them all graduate is a high task for anyone Uesugi has his work cut out for him.

Throughout the series there was a good bit of character development and I, as a curious reader, was able to figure out who was who and remember names by about volume 2 with their different hairstyles and personalities, but when they dressed alike, I was at a loss. "If you love them, you'll be able to tell them apart" was something repeated over and over again which seemed directed at the reader who was still probably having trouble alongside Uesugi, our main character. It was rather fun to pick out who was who and wanting to be right.

The plot was fun and the drama between the girls' father and Uesugi was driven. I even liked the side characters brought in, though there could have been more of them for the girls to like and be friends with other than our main character male. It was good. There was drive to finish it. I ended up finishing 3-4 volumes in one day (under gov mandated quarantine). I wanted to read more.

For the fact that it was a rom-com written by a guy, it was fairly cleanly drawn. No pantie shots or things like that. But there was a lot suggested. It defiantly was written by a guy because of the excessive amount of (covered) boob and "coming out of the shower wrapped in a towel" moments, but they weren't hung onto and grossly emphasized. It could have been far worse and comparatively to other manga, I was able to skim over them without much attention.

If you were to take out the last book, I'd have given this a 5 star rating, but I didn't like how it ended. I read it originally because my husband found it and said it was really good. I started, but then he finished it and really wanted to complain. So I finished it faster and found that I had the same problem. *SPOILERS-ish* I was not content with "who he picked" do to lack of deep character development and her lack of thorough drive to do anything after high school. She wanted to "be a bride." What kind of life goal is that? How is she honestly going to survive mentally if he were to be away on a business trip or some other nonsense when the kids are grown out of the house? She will "be his support" and that's it. She had no arch other than the "sporty girl who helps out everyone because she feels bad." She didn't grow. She didn't change. The other sisters changed, at least in part. There was some "eureka" moment for them all though for one of them it happened more before the story actually started. They all moved. They all progressed even a little except for the one he chose. Bad writing author. Bad writing. *End of Spoiler*

I did give it a 4 because the rest of the story and writing was pretty well done. There were some parts that were drawn out (like a thirteen chapter segment of the end of school festival, seen through the eyes of everyone; over and over and over again), but there was a good story there. It was just the ending that killed it for me. Way to ruin it, dude.

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.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

It has been years since I've actually read a Harry Potter book, but here we are. I started reading it aloud to my 7 year old  and found that he really enjoyed it. We'd watched the movies and started playing the Lego games and figured I should actually read them to him, that it help him to like reading more.

At least he's enjoying being read to.

Harry Potter, unknowing that he is a famous wizard who somehow defeated the Dark Lord while only a baby now living with his abusive aunt and uncle, receives a letter that his aunt and uncle won't let him open. They burn it and more and more letters suddenly bombard their home. Then a giant man comes and hand delivers a letter to Harry telling him that he's been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "You're a wizard, Harry." Suddenly a whole new world opens up where he discovers he's famous and an learn to do magic. But the world isn't as easy going as he thinks. The Dark Lord is out there, somewhere, wanting to gain back his power to take over the Wizarding world and kill Harry in the process. Can he and his new friends figure out what is going on to stop the Dark Lord from returning?

We all know this story by now. Hopefully it's a good enough summary.

I didn't enjoy reading these when I was younger because I didn't enjoy reading at all. It was something every loved and I didn't read it and didn't know all that was going on. The movies helped, but every saying "the books are better" "the books are more awesome" or whatnot turned me off more to them.

But now I'm older and because my son started liking the Lego games and we watched the movies, I figured I'd give them another shot. (I'm not really counting listening to them on audio books, though the reader was beyond excellent.)

J. K. Rowling is actually very funny. The way she describes things had me and my husband (who also hadn't read them before) chuckling and smiling. Simple, yes, but for young teens it's a great read. I know that the other books become more developed as the story goes on and as she grows as a writer, which also makes these books fascinating.

I think the world that she's built is a very well developed one, even for just the first book. There are things going on behind the scenes that you know she is developing for the rest of the series that make the whole story come alive.

In the end, I have found it to be very enjoyable (so much so that we spent most of a Sunday afternoon where I read half the book aloud til my voice became horse). We are going to be reading the next book probably starting tomorrow because being sick is dumb and takes a lot out of you as well as your voice.

Arcanum Unbounded

 Arcanum Unbounded is a compilation of short stories and novellas written by Brandon Sanderson about his Cosmere Universe.

Compiled by Khriss, a worldhopper from the Taldain System (White Sand graphic novel series), Arcanum Unbounded are some of the documents from the many Cosmere planets that give background, world building, character development. While they aren't dire, at this point in time to read them all alongside the major series, they are enlightening and a joy to read. 

Through reading these, I've discovered that my favorite story that Brandon has produced so far is Misborn: Secret History which has major spoilers for the Mistborn series (for both Era 1 and 2, read them first before you read Secret History otherwise you'll be vastly disappointed). But it is my favorite because Kelsier is amazing, Fuzz makes me cry, and Ruin is a major nasty piece of work but such an interesting character. 

As I said before, it is a compilation of stories of : 

The Selish System

• The Emperor's Soul, 
• The Hope of Elantris, 

The Scadrian System 

• The Eleventh Metal, 
• Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Elantia: Episodes  28-30, 
• Mistborn Secret History,

The Taldain System

• White Sand (an excerpt of the graphic novel and an excerpt from the written, rough draft version, which I like better than the graphic novel version)

The Threnodite System

• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

The Dominad System 

• Sixth of the Dusk

and The Rosharan System

• Edgedancer

These are very good books that I highly recommend reading. If you haven't read any of the Cosmere series (which I suggest you rectify quickly) many of these stores are good to read as a standalone, except Misborn Secret History and Hope of Elantris. The rest could be enjoyed on their own without any hiccups or misunderstandings. My only other suggestion would be to read White Sand completely with the other volumes in the series to help things make sense, though for the excepts you'd be fine as a jumping off point for further reading. (For the rest of the written story of White Sand you can go onto BrandonSanderson.org and become a part of their newsletter and be able to ask for the link for the whole story. I've yet to be able to do it myself as my life isn't always free of craziness, but it's something I plan to indeed do in the future.)  

Sixth of the Dusk

Sixth of the Dusk is another novella by Brandon Sanderson. This is another from the Arcanum Unbounded as part of the Cosmere.

On a world without a Shard, this world is different than the others in the Cosmere that we've been told up to this far. Dusk in a trapper of a very treacherous and deadly island that is more likely to kill you than give anything that one would consider helpful, except for the birds that grow up there have amazing abilities that no one on the outside and in the cities can explain. The world is a deadly one that would sooner kill you than look at you. Only with the help of his birds, through their visions of potential dangers where he sees himself dead in many many ways, is he able to stay safe. For the most part.

Dusk comes back to the island and finds that others have been here. Others who don't know what they're doing. Many bodies litter the ground and it seems like someone has been taking one of his trails to his sanctuaries. He finds a woman, who was part of the expedition force that died and finds out that she has not come alone and with reasons that will easily cause the end of his world, as deadly as it is, as he knows it.

This was a very interesting story that I was able to gobble up very quickly. It was fast paced and thrilling. And as ever the world that Brandon built here was different and engaging. A world that is constantly trying to kill you, where you should be deathly afraid of ants let alone the giant beasts the prowl and seek you out. Dusk, also, is an interesting character because he doesn't talk much. Not many of Brandon's characters do that.

It is a short story, less than 60 pages  that is deep into a new world to discover and be careful while treading into. I rather enjoyed it.

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

A strange title, don't you think?

Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell, is another short story by Brandon Sanderson in the Arcanum Unbounded and boy does it pack a punch.

Based in a Cosmere world called Threnody, ghosts called shades roam freely in the Forests. The Evil has taken over the Homeland and everyone who wasn't killed by it was forced to flee to this continent where the shades rule with shadowy hands. You follow the Simple rules and you'll be fine, don't and you will wither away to skeleton and clothes.

Silence is an innkeeper who secrets away as a bounty hunter in order to pay for all the silver she uses to keep her homestead safe from all the shades as well as the money to keep the in running. When a major bounty rolls into her inn she takes the chance to take him in, not alive of course. But killing in the Forests is bad and will set the shades into a rage that will kill anyone and everyone if they smell blood. Tricky business finding them, trickier business killing them, trickiest business getting out alive.

This was a very cool story. I very much had a "This is Halloween" vibe that would be good to read during that spooky time. I'm not normally very interested in "ghost ghost stories" but this was (written so well) one that pulled me in. It could have pulled on many cliches and troupes, but went an a different route which made it very much engaging.

It also has a very strong lead female characters who will survive. A mother and a daughter who have do to what they have to do. I think Brandon did a very good job with these characters, whereas he's been lightly criticized about his female characters in the past. It's fun to see him growing as a writer and making these people, all of them, so real.

I can't wait for more books in the Threnody world and see how it reaches into the Cosmere. Very excited.

Emiline, Knight in Training

Another book about Dyslexia.

Emiline is a knight in training, where she has problems reading, they move and are hard to read and understand. But she is a knight and there is more to her life and duties than just reading. She helps "tame" ogres and saves dragons eggs and helps her friends when they are in trouble. She does take the time to practice reading and because she is dedicated and asks for help, she's able to know when something bad is going to happen, she's also able to help her friends and teacher.

This is a very short book, something good for those who struggle reading wouldn't find hard or intimidating, that might give an extra bust in wanting to read and that it takes dedication to get things done. But that facing the challenge can be worth it and can help others.

It is a very cheesy book though, where anyone who isn't having these difficulties wouldn't like it as much as others. (But then again, I have a hard time reading very young books. I don't care for "dangerously cheesy" books.)

A True Book: Dyslexia

More research into Dyslexia and I go for the children's information section of the library. It's a good place to get basic information about many things where it can be simple to understand and a good jumping off point to then dive deeper with adult non-fiction reads.

This book was just that. A good, simple read full of information that would be helpful for anyone who is starting out in their quest for knowledge.

This one is very good at building the reader (aimed toward children who probably have dyslexia themselves) up and letting them know that they can still do great things--like learning to read well--because they think differently than others. And that it's okay to do so.

The Alphabet War

I've recently rediscovered (self diagnosed) that I have dyslexia and was trying to do research about it--thinking also that my son might have it too and wanting to help him as much as I can not struggle through elementary school like I did.

The Alphabet War is about a little boy who has dyslexia and some of the struggles he had while discovering that he had dyslexia. The common ideas of "I'm stupid" "I can't do this" and then becoming a bad kid because he'd "fake it 'til he made it" or start daydreaming instead of reading the confusing, jumbled up letters.

This one is a good story for those whose kids might have it and some of the beginning steps on how to address the coming situations of tutors, special help, or diagnosing dyslexia. A way to help those kids not feel as worried about their abnormal situation. It is a book that is probably best read to the children. It's not the most fun or exciting read, but it's a good one for information.

I remember doing it. It's not easy. Adam, in the story, was able to be diagnosed and got tutors to help him out, which is the case for many people. Others, like myself, self-diagnosed themselves years later (for me it was at the end of my college career). Giving kids the tools they need early to help them is very important and so then they can use them as they get older too. So then we don't have to struggle on our own, feeling alone, and feeling stupid and dumb as we walk blindly on.

Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Elantia

Allomancer Jak is another short story in the Arcanum Unbounded book by Brandon Sanderson.

When I first looked at it on Goodreads I thought it was going to be a graphic novel, but it's not. It is a obnoxious, humorous snippet that would have been found in a newspaper with lots of little episodes about adventures off in the Roughs of Mistborn Era 2.

Jak is the obnoxious one. The adventurer who can get himself out if any entrapment or snare by doing the most outlandish things. Whether his tales are "true" or not is for the "dear reader" to read and decide. Jak's story isn't the most thrilling or possibly or "well written" because that's not who Jak is. Brandon wrote it from Jak's point of view and in Jak's words, so they are off kilter--almost so much that I didn't want to read it.

The part that kept me going were the footnotes throughout the piece which were written by a Terris Steward who accompanies Jak on his adventures and transcribes Jak's letters for the public. They are very funny. The commentary is hilarious.

It's a very short story, but one that give a bit more insight to the world of Mistborn era 2. It can be read pretty much whenever after the original series, and doesn't give really anything away.

A short, interesting read if you can get past Jak's obnoxious ways.

The Eleventh Metal

The Eleventh Metal is another short story from Brandon Sanderson, though this one is centered around the Mistborn series. This is a prequel story about how and why Kelsier started to become the way that he did throughout Mistborn.

We follow Kelsier as he is new to his mistborn powers and still trying to learn how to think like a mistborn. He has a teacher named Gemmel, who is referenced in Mistborn: The Final Empire. Gemmel is a mistborn himself and very quirky. He talks to himself (though it's possibly Ruin with whom he's conversing) and acts rather crazy. Kelsier can't get much of a handle on the man, though he sticks around the loon to gain as much knowledge as he can from the miser. They invade a Keep, much like it often happens in the rest of the series, and try to find something--though what Gemmel is looking for isn't completely clear. Inside Kelsier finds a new drive after his again which then starts out the beginning of the rest of the series.

I love reading about Kelsier. He is one of my favorite characters and I will read anything that Brandon Sanderson produces of Kelsier or of the Mistborn world. I love it all.

Hope of Elantris

This is a short story based off of the happenings in Brandon Sanderson's book called Elantris. The copy I found was in the Archanum Unbound book which has many of the short stories and novellas that are associated with the Cosmere.

The reasoning behind this short story was really cute. A young Brandon Sanderson was dating a teacher (his now wife) who had a student do a book report on Elantris and it impressed the new author greatly. He, knowing that the kids in would need to be taken care of in Elantris when the climax of the story begins but not being able to put it into the story because of pacing issues, placed a young girl (with the name of the fan) in the story to help the kids get to safety.

It is a very short story, but it was cute and I think the background of it made it just that much better.

On to more Cosmere books!

Guardians of the West

Guardian's of the West is the first book in the Malloreon, a sequel series to David Eddings' Belgariad. This is one where it is best if you read the Belgariad first otherwise there are major spoilers.

The story starts with Polgara, Durnik, Errand, and Belgarath travel down to the Vale. Now that the Evil God Torak has been defeated and the prophecy of the Child of Light vs the Child of Dark has been completed, things can become peaceful. They are able to live, for the first time in millenia, in peace without having to worry about Kal Torak waking up and ruling the world in darkness. However, small things begin to happen. People appear, have mysterious and odd conversations, then vanish. The East is very unsettled and in the midst of internal conflict and wars on a mass scale. There is talk of a strange dark stone and evil forces moving again. But their lives have been so focused on Torak and the Mrin Codex's prophecy that maybe they missed something. Is there something more moving out there now that Torak is dead and gone? Garion and Ce'Nedra are in Riva with trials of their own, marriage conflicts (brought to you by a clash of personalities), and the country grows restless without an Heir to the Rivian throne. There have also been murders in the castle and attempted assassinations, each time with so little information to go off of. Who is doing this? Why are they after the baby? What is this newly discovered prophecy that is throwing this world into an upheaval again?

This book starts off very slow. I started reading it years ago but I got through about half the book and nothing "super exciting" was going on so I put it down. (Apparently right before things really got interesting. This is the first book in a large series and so needs a bit of introduction. It also sets up the fact that years are passing between the death of Torak and the wiggling changes that this new prophecy and the workers behind it are implementing. This book goes to show that sometimes it just takes time for real dangers to hit and that sometimes those dangers, if left unnoticed or unchecked, can suddenly grow into all wars.

It also brings back the love of old characters. All of them I have loved throughout the whole Belgariad series many make their appearances here and seems will continue to do so as the series goes on. By the end, we are informed that many more new characters will find their way into the story and we're left with wondering "who are they?"

This book is written rather like The Hobbit where there isn't much in the way of description of surrounding areas. Hardly any at all. Much of the book is conversations and dialog with funny, snarky comments. Much is left to the imagination of the reader in terms of setting and other descriptions. This, I think, is mainly do to the time in which is was written, where Edding's lets the (now considered) cliches run themselves. He's not trying to break the troupe or cliche because fantasy was still fairly new and weren't considered cliche much.

I do really like the fact that women (in the very male ruled society) are still able to put their foot forward. Polgara is highly respected. A king dies and his wife takes over until their son can grow up and claim the throne, where she runs more of the campaign than the rest of the men do so it seems, and she is very prominent in all of the counsels that they have. Vella makes a return and has a fowl mouth that made some gentlemen blush yet can stand on her own feet and defend herself while being sold (which is Nardak custom). But then we also have many other different women throughout the books, casting different personalities and none of them were looked down on or belittled because some where more compassionate or powerful or sneaky or overcome by sea sickness. I think it would be interesting to read articles based on the women in his stories. There is a lot that could be said here.

In the end, now that things are moving forward a bit more dramatically, I'm very interested on where the rest of the story is going. Where it's not just black and white, good vs evil, one big bad guy where we know where we're going. But there is more of a mystery too it which can make it more exciting. I'm ready to read on.