This is the latest book in the Kitty Norville series by Vaughn.  Kitty is a werewolf who runs a radio show that deals with the supernatural.  Because she’s one of the few lycanthropes that have come out she’s kind of a celebrity.  She gets asked to be on a reality tv show where werewolves and vampires and psychics and such will get together and educate the world on the supernatural.  But something’s not quite right.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was pretty predictable but I love vampires and werewolves and such so I still had fun reading it.  And I love that it totally leads into the next book.  This is a great series.

Has anyone checked out his series?

We canceled our cable a few months back and I’ve been on a little bit of a hiatus from television in general.  I’m sorry to my followers who’ve been missing my trashy reviews!  This has given way to an absolute reading frenzy in my household and I thought I’d post a few of my favorites from the last couple of months.

(Just so you’re aware I’ve been really into Ya fiction lately so most of these come from those shelves)

So do you love Shannon Hale as much as me?  My love affair began with Princess Academy, continued with “Book of a Thousand Days,” and hit an all time high with “Austenland”.  I’ve already read the cover off of “Austenland”- buy it, read it, love it.  It’s just as the name implies, for those of us that can’t get enough of Mr. Darcy and anything related to “Pride and Prejudice.”

I finally finished her Books of Bayern.  “Enna Burning” was probably my favorite of the series- Enna being by far my favorite character.  I love a strong female lead and this series has three of them.  This would be a great gift for the teenage girl in your life.  Have you read them?  Who was your favorite character?

I then dove right into “The Actor and the Housewife.”  I know this book has taken some serious critical hits from the mommy world.  I’ll just throw my opinion out there.  I really enjoyed this book- I laughed and I cried.  I didn’t feel like she was having an emotional affair on her husband.  The relationship in this book between the husband and wife, wife and friend, may not work for everyone- but it’s fictitious and it worked for the character Hale presented.  It made me think about my own relationships with the opposite sex- past and present, how they affect my own husband and how his “relationships” affect me.  It made for an enjoyable read, and a good discussion.

Have you read the “Hunger Games” yet?  I hope so, because this next book is one part “Hunger Games”, two parts “Lord of the Flies-” with a little bit of originality thrown in for good measure.  “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner  is the first in a trilogy.  Don’t let that scare you off from reading it- the first book will give you plenty to think about, and is a complete enough story in itself, not to leave you absolutely salivating for the next one.  My dreams have been spinning the last few nights filled with this book.  If I could make one request from the author it would be to see the next book in the series switch perspectives- not that I didn’t love Tom.  The world was just so fascinating that I want another view of it.

Speaking of the “Hunger Games,” I finally finished up Suzanne Collins “The Underland Chronicles.”  I still need to go and check some Q&A’s to see if “The Code of the Claw” was really the last book.  There were just too many questions unanswered in the end to be “the end.”  These would be great reads for the 8-12 year old boy set, and great read-alouds for younger kids.  I enjoyed them too even though the entire time I read them I had a serious case of deja vu.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but they feel like books you’ve read before.

I begin “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan tonight because I’ve been in the mood to curl up with something a little scary after “The Maze Runner.”

Have you read anything good lately?

This series is about a woman who can shape shift into a coyote.  She’s maybe a little stronger and quicker than a normal human being but really she’s just your average girl.  That’s what I loved about this series.  Mercy is just normal surrounded by the supernatural.

Mercy was raised by and is currently once again surrounded by werewolves.  She works for a Fae and she is “friends” with a vampire.  So she gets into all kinds of trouble within all these worlds.

The third book, Iron Kissed, got a little too real for me when something horrible happens to Mercy but I stuck with it and got to heal with Mercy as she pulled her life back together.  The other three books were just plain fun.  Except in book four, Bone Crossed,  when a ghost starts wreaking havoc.  Ghosts scare me.  But once again I stuck with it and I really enjoyed the book.

The series starts with Moon Called and there are currently four books in the series.  A really, really good series.  Patricia Briggs has other series out there.  I’m wondering if they are any good.  Anyone read them?

I am not really the one who should be blogging about this book because it’s so different from what I’m in to right now.  Why I even checked it out from the library is beyond me but it turned out to be a really cute book that I think some of you will like.

Miss Ginny Delacourt is a very outspoken loner who’s great aunt has the grand idea of setting her up with her too gentlemanly grandson Sir Anthony.  She sends them off into the country together to check on her renowned roses.  Trouble happens along the way and Ginny and Sir Anthony get stuck in a country home on quarantine.  Then all sorts of intrigue breaks lose.

This was a very light summer read for me.  Not at all my usual fare but cute none the less.    Have you guys checked this book out yet?

That’s right.  My husband forwarded over an article today from /film stating that Stephenie Meyer’s novel The Host will be made into a movie.  I can’t believe this is happening for Stephenie.  Five books made into movies.  She’s never going to have to write again unless she wants to.  This is absolutely incredible.

The Host follows Wanderer, a Soul (what the aliens call themselves) and her host body Melanie.  It’s been so long since I read the books that I don’t remember details but I remember Melanie fights to keep herself alive against Wanderers influence to take over her body.  I remember the humans are fighting against the alien invasion and it sure seems to be a losing battle.  I remember loving this book in the end and I still think about it sometimes with fondness.  Here’s my original review of the book but it really isn’t that helpful.  Sorry.

Check out /films article for more information on the director and a better synopsis of the book.  I cannot wait for this movie.  Are you guys excited too?

This novel is set in the 1870’s which was difficult for me to get into at first because I have no romanticized ideas regarding the past.  The lead female is a divorced woman with two children and she is shunned by everyone and is an outcast living with her unwed aunt.  Rosalynn (the lead) gets a desperate letter from her estranged sister to come to Peaceful, Minnesotta.  When they get to Minnesota they find a half Lakota gentleman named Lone Wolf living where her sister should be.  The book is about falling in love after tremendous hurt and trusting again.

I finally got into the story but I think I would have died if I lived in this version of 1870 with how proper and hidden everyones feelings are.  I kept screaming in my head, “Just tell him you love him.  Reach out and touch him.  Anything.”

The other thing that caught me off guard was the amount of religion in the book.  The two main characters are constantly praying and they even go to church twice.  Admittedly I don’t read very many LDS books so I guess I just wasn’t prepared for religion being such a big part of the story. It didn’t appeal to me.

The story gets interesting but in a very predictable way towards the end when some outside conflict threatens to tear the family apart.  Roslynn deals with persecution because she is divorced and Lone Wolf deals with persecution because he is part Indian.  They try to figure out if they can trust each other and love despite all the negativity from the world and their past experiences.

I had my mom read this book because I thought she might like it and she said it was a cross between Louis L’Amour and a Hallmark movie. What a perfect description.  If that appeals to you I think you will enjoy this book.

Alisa

**********

I found the book a little boring for my taste, it’s just set up for everything to go too smoothly.  The only real conflict is at the very end, and I thought it was entirely predictable.  I felt like I was was skimming through most of the book waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen.  When it finally does, it was more a feeling of relief then a high point of tension.  It wasn’t until the end that I realized the story is actually more about the emotional strife of the main character Rosalynn, and not supposed to be plot driven.  The best parts of the book were Rosalynns inner struggles to let go of her own demons.  I can’t relate to having an abusive husband, but I could relate to her feelings of mistrust, and the genuine angst she related.  With that in mind the book was very real to me, albeit a little cheesy and forseeable.

Laura

**********

The premise of this book interested me enough, since I’m typically a fan of period novels that cross cultures and deal with issues like divorce, but I really struggled to get into this particular story.  The dialogue felt contrived and borderline-corny from the start, including Rosalynn’s inner dialogue, and the characters were not developed enough for me to invest in them.  The only flaw in Rosalynn was her past, which was her abusive husband’s fault anyway; otherwise she was perpetually perfect in her appearance, her mothering, her cleaning, her cooking, her everything.  Lone Wolf, too, was constantly beautiful, constantly hard-working and efficient, constantly loyal and considerate, constantly saying and doing the right thing.

Rosalynn and Lone Wolf were so obviously in love with each other, yet half the book was spent on their questioning the other’s affections.  And while this conflict felt way too drawn-out, the other conflicts of the book seemed too conveniently resolved to feel realistic.

Julianne

**********

It is my fault that we haven’t posted this sooner. I read it awhile back, and forgot about posting my not-so-glamorous review. I guess I felt bad that I read a book, didn’t really enjoy it, but finished it, knowing that I needed to write something about it. (If I didn’t have the obligation of writing about it, I might not have finished it.)

But if I’m going to find something nice to say, it would be that I did like the plot. I think it could be an enticing story. I always love a good love story. And, with the unlikely couple of a Lakota Native American and a while woman, I did like that Rosalynn was a forward-thinking, strong-willed, intelligent woman. However, the writing is cheesy and juvenile. Those are the only words I can think that really sum it up. (Possibly because this is Weikel’s first novel.) I think had I read this as a young teenager, I might have liked it. But having read some fantastic material in the last few years, I found myself quite bored.

Elaine

You can find Under a Lakota Moon by Deborah L. Weikel at: Amazon

I really, really like this book.  It’s set back in the day when people still lived in castles and knights were the coveted profession of the day.  Siri’s husband and brother both die in Venice and her brother’s will sends her to his friend in their father’s home town of Poitou, France.  When she gets there people start having a very strange reaction to her and she comes to find out she is the spitting image of her caretakers dead wife.  Of course this brings out the best and the worst in everyone who loved Clothilde as she had a tragic death.

Siri immediately falls in love with her caretaker Triston but is it possible for Triston to fall in love with her?  And what about all the other suitors vying for Siri’s hand?  One of the suitors in particular is so suave I actually fell in love with him myself.

Twists and turns and more twists and turns. Illuminations is a really exciting read.  Just when you think you’ve got things figured out you get pulled in another exciting direction.  All of it plausible and a whole lot of fun.

There’s something that cracks me up though about this book and it is that Siri is so beautiful, beyond description, that almost every man that comes in contact with her wants her so badly he tries to force himself on her.  Now obviously this was a different day and age where women didn’t have the freedom and respect that we have now but every time I read about someone trying to have his way with her it just cracked me up.  Except for one point at the end where I was horrified for her but all the other times when men “raked” their gaze across her I got a little giggly.  I mean how pretty could she really be?

Which brings me to a really trivial point but I hate it when the heroine or the hero are on the cover of the book because they never live up to my version of what they should look like.  Sorry if some of you know her but the girl on the cover is just an ordinarily pretty girl to me.  Not the spectacular beauty DiPastena writes about.  I know that’s silly and it certainly didn’t stop me from reading but just a little pet peeve I have with the covers of books.

I highly recommend Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena.  A really fun read.

Alisa

I had no expectations of this book when I started reading. And I’m glad I didn’t. I was hooked by the second chapter. It’s a fun, simple, enjoyable read. It’s definitely a romance, full of sexual tension and forbidden love. But there’s also friendship, knighthood, thieves, and a little bit of mystery.

At one point, I felt like it might be a little predictable, but all of the interesting sub-plots kept me distracted from what I thought I might be able to guess. And it held my attention throughout the whole novel.

One of my only critiques is that the main character is described as being so stunningly beautiful that every man lusts after her. First, I have never in my life met someone who could possibly live up to that standard. I believe that everyone has a different idea of what “beautiful” is. And even though some people are clearly beautiful, I don’t think every man would react in the same way. It also bothered me that many of those men would have no problem taking advantage of a woman. I’m sure this wasn’t too uncommon for the time-period, 1100’s. But it bothered me, nonetheless.

Other than that, I couldn’t put the book down. I would definitely recommend it.

Elaine

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Remember if you leave a comment you’ll be entered into a drawing from the publisher.

You can purchase Illuminations of the Heart at  Amazon

Published by Walnut Springs Press

Visit Joyce DiPastena’s blog.

*****SPOILER ALERT*******

I am talking in depth about this book, so unless you have read it, don’t spoil your own experience by reading this review.  Go out, read the book, and then report back to me- because it was awesome!!!!

I do not know how Collins manages to keep me so on my toes- the twists and turns left me reeling after almost every chapter.  She packs a really powerful punch into such a small book.  I think this is why The Hunger Games makes it onto my top five favorite books.  There is no let up of the action, there’s no boring spots; it’s almost like a perfect roller coaster ride- and she’s done it again with Catching Fire.  Going into the book I knew there would have to be another Hunger Games, and I knew Katniss would have to somehow be emotionally attached to them.   In all honesty I thought there was going to be some sort of plot twist that involved Prim going in.  Especially after she mentioned how often siblings are put in- I was completely shocked when she was called in again.  Then the games themselves!  Holy cow, does Collins have a good imagination when it comes to creative torture devices.  I know I’m beginning with the end of the book, but didn’t you know that Plutarch Heavensbee was somehow involved in the revolution after revealing that watch to Katniss?  I kept second guessing myself until we found out the games were a giant clock.  Then the rest of the time I spent wondering how on earth he was going to save any of them.   I just can’t believe we’re going to be waiting at least another year to find out what kind of torture they put Peeta and Johanna through, and what has happened in district thirteen for all of these years!

Anyway, I know I’m a hormonal pregnant mess, but there were exactly two times when I had to stop reading because I was crying so much (not to say there weren’t other parts of this book where I cried, just that it got progressively worse in two spots)- the first was during the Victory tour when the crowd started whistling Rue’s song.  I hope we see more of Rue’s family and district eleven- I didn’t realize how emotionally attached I had become to all of them.  I have to believe they can’t destroy district 11 because the capitol can’t survive without food resources.  Then I lost it again when they dragged Cinna off beaten and bloody right before the games began.  I just hope we don’t see Cinna as an Avox in the next book- I’m hoping that the condition can be reversed somehow, if that’s the case.

So what did you guys think?  Where you disappointed with anything?  I was just so thrilled at how much I guessed turning out to be correct, and yet how incredibly flabbergasted I was at the rest of it.  It’s just such a great balance of horror, action, humor, love- I’ll be rereading it over and over again until the next one.

Catching Fire was released Sept. 1st and is written by Suzanne Collins

As most of you know we’re participating in a blog tour of “The Route” by Gale Sears.  If you comment on this review you will be entered to win a signed copy of the book.  You can also visit the other sites on the tour to comment and enter to win there as well, from Aug. 24th until Sept. 14th.  Some of the other sites have included author interviews, so make sure to check them out!

Zipping along life’s highway . . .
Fifty makes you think. Thirty makes you morose, and forty makes you
panic, but fifty makes you think. Half a century, and what is my life?
Does it resemble anything I dreamed at sixteen, or expected at twenty,
or hoped at twenty-five? What am I doing here? . . . I thought of
climbing to the top of a high mountain in Tibet to consult a wise man,
but I like vacations where there ís indoor plumbing and vegetation.
Since I already attended church, I thought perhaps I could pay closer
attention. Maybe I’d been missing a great fundamental truth. Well,
come to find out, I had been missing something. . . . (excerpt from The
Route)

Carol, a middle-aged wife and mother, is pondering the meaning
of life. On a trip to the grocery store to find some energizing dark
chocolate, she sees a sign asking for volunteers to deliver meals to
the elderly. When Carol decides to take a chance and help out, she’s
in for a life-changing—and route-altering—experience.

*************

I finished reading this book and immediately went on Amazon to order two more as gifts.  This is exactly that kind of book.  I would compare it to a perfect dinner party.  Carol is our host, sweet and funny- she reminds me of that favorite aunt everyone has.  Her guests are each so quirky and lovable that it’s no wonder she wants all of us to get to know them.  I fell in love with them just as much as Sears wanted me too, and then some.  There are so many wisdom nuggets in this book that I’ll warn you, I had to tear myself away to go and find a pen.  It’s a very quick read, that will warm your heart.

Laura

*********

I’ve always been a little freaked out by old people–their illnesses, their fragility, their needs–so I was a little hesitant when I realized this book centers around a cast of different senior citizens.  The narrator seemed to share some of my fears, but I overcame them just as quickly as she did.  The characters’ endearing personalities and fascinating experiences eclipsed their problems, and I found myself wanting to know more about each one of them (there are quite a few on her route).

Not only are the old folks lovable and realistic, however.  The narrator, Carol, makes the journey utterly enjoyable thanks to her own honesty, compassion and ability to laugh at herself.  I loved how strong and real her voice was.  This book definitely had the potential to be preachy in that it had so many life lesson and spiritually teaching moments, and yet not once did those lessons feel condescending or judgmental.  Carol observes and absorbs with an open, grounded perspective that I found really refreshing.

Julianne

You can find The Route by Gale Sears at:

www.amazon.com

For more information on The Route, visit:

http://walnutspringspress.blogspot.com and/or
http://www.galesears.blogspot.com/

For once a book has left me a little speechless.  I’m not sure if I should tell you this is the worst piece of “literature” I’ve ever read, or it’s ridiculously funny and rush out and buy it.  I have absolutely no idea what type of audience this was written for.  It’s basically Pride and Prejudice (in it’s original language) with bits of zombie and ninja humor thrown in.  It felt a little like those awful ninja movies with the English translations my husbands roommate used to watch.  It took me almost a week to trudge through it, and I only kept it up because I kept skimming through the story I know by heart, to get to the zombie parts and see what he changed.  The worst bit of the book was the crude humor thrown in every once in a while.  I understand the book is really refined and the author is trying to lighten it up; but making the characters into the punchline of a rude joke was something of an insult to them.   I can laugh with the best of them- but Elizabeth seemed almost psychopathic at some points, and Darcy unbalanced.  Really curious to know what some of you think.  I’m not going to recommend reading this- but if you love some of the more obscure Monty Python movies, and/or bad zombie humor, this may be for you.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is written by Seth Grahame-Smith

We’ve got another blog tour for you guys this time for the book The Route by Gale Sears.  The blog tour runs from Monday, August 24th through Monday, September 14th (except weekends and Labor Day).  You’ll find reviews of the book and some author interviews along the way.

The publisher will be giving away a free signed copy of the book so follow the tour and leave as many comments as you like.  Every comment gives you a chance to win.  Look for our reviews on August 28th.

For blog tour dates and sites click here.

Book description from Amazon:

Carol, a middle-aged wife and mother, is pondering the meaning of life. On a trip to the grocery store to find some energizing dark chocolate, she sees a sign asking for volunteers to deliver meals to the elderly. When Carol decides to take a chance and help out, she’s in for a life-changing-and route-altering-experience.

Normally I’m a vampire girl but one of my friends gave this series a good review on Goodreads so I thought I would check it out.  Kitty is a werewolf and when the series starts out she’s a very submissive werewolf.  I almost stopped reading because the alpha of the pack would take advantage of her and she wouldn’t just roll over and take it she actually craved his affection.  Gag me.  I can’t stand weak women.

Then one day Kitty grew a pair and stood up for herself and that’s where the story gets interesting because her alpha doesn’t like that.  Kitty is a talk show host and one night decides to bring up the supernatural and it comes out after someone tries to kill her that she’s a werewolf.  So things get even more exciting as all the weirdo wanna be’s and all the actual vampires and werewolves start coming out of the woodwork.

As in most series like these Kitty is a magnet for trouble and each book in the series tackles a new set of supernatural problems.  I loved these books with the third being my favorite because everyones lives get turned upside down (Kitty Takes a Holiday).

The Kitty Norville series begins with Kitty and the Midnight Hour.  Anyone else love Kitty?

When I started reading this book a few months ago I was totally turned off by the main character.  She is a Graceling, which in other worlds is to say she has super powers or is a mutant, and her Grace is manipulated and turned into something devastating and evil.  She’s totally cold and feelingless and I was afraid she would stay that way throughout the whole book.  Thankfully she doesn’t turn into some mushy girly girl but struggles and finds herself and what her Grace means to her.

This is a throughly exciting tale of two kids with Graces that push against the powers that be and find their own way in their world while trying to save all seven kingdoms from absolute evil.

I love this book and would totally read it again.  It looks like Cashore has another book coming out in October which will be a prequel to Graceling which scares me a little bit because that means Katsa will be cold and calculating for the whole book but I am certainly willing to give it a look.  For Katsa I’d do just about anything.

Have you read Graceling?  Is it on your list?

The new book, Illuminations of the Heart, is out and we’re part of the reveal.  A blog tour will begin today and end on September 18th.  Illuminations, a historical romance novel,  is written by Joyce DiPastena.  BtDA is spotlighted on September 17th and anyone who makes a comment on our post is entered in a drawing to win some great prizes.  Make comments on multiple posts from the tour and get multiple entries.

Check out the blog tour dates and destinations here and don’t forget to check out our reviews of Illuminations of the Heart here on September 17th.

AUTHOR BIO
Joyce DiPastena moved from Utah to Arizona at the age of two, and grew up to be a died-in-the-fur desert rat. She first fell in love with the Middle Ages when she read Thomas B. Costain’s The Conquering Family in high school. She attended the University of Arizona, where she graduated with a degree specializing in medieval history. Joyce has taught piano lessons to children and adults of all ages for over twenty years. She loves to play the piano and sing for her own amusement, and sings in her church choir. Other interests include reading, spending time with her sister, trying out new restaurants, and, unfortunately, buying new clothes. The highlight of her year is attending the Arizona Renaissance Festival, which she has not missed once in its twenty-one years of existence. Joyce has been owned and loved by many cats, the most recent being Clio (who helps her with her website), and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov (that’s all one cat). Illuminations of the Heart tells the story of Triston, a character from Joyce’s first medieval novel, Loyalty’s Web.

Do you love Agatha Christie novels as much as me?  It’s apparent that Bradley does, since this book is a good dose of Agatha Christie meets Sherlock Holmes meets Harriet the Spy.  That combination makes for a perfect “curl up late at night with hot cocoa and devour in one sitting” mystery novel.  He’s created the new Miss Marple in 11 year old Flavia  deLuce, a heroine you can’t help but just love- even when she’s doing exactly the opposite of what you think she should be doing.  Which happens a lot, and is extremely frustrating.  Which is even more of a reason to go and read this book.  I love a good mystery that makes you think, no, believe that you know all the answers- only to slap you in the face with surprise after surprise.  I did manage to guess a few bits and pieces, but the book just wouldn’t have been as suspenseful if you weren’t one tiny step ahead of Flavia toward the end.  I’m so happy this is the first in a series, since I finished it and then was immediately hungry for more.   The next books should be out in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is written by Alan Bradley

The first book in the series, City of Bones, can be read online for free until Aug. 10th at this link .  Unfortunately I’m a total sucker for a free book, no matter how bad it is, so I decided to give it a read.  First off, these books have to be read together.  They are not complete stories on their own, so if you’re committing yourself to read one- you’re committing yourself to read all them.  This was the first of many problems with them for me.  These are probably a great read for teenagers, as long as you don’t mind the completely cavalier attitude toward underage drinking, the occasional drug use, casual sex between anyone and everyone, and most of the storyline revolving around an incestuous relationship.  I remind you, these are geared toward teenagers.  I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t consider myself a prude-  but I really felt like Cassandra Clare was just trying to push the envelope a little too hard.  So much of this was just completely unnecessary to the storyline- it felt a little like Gossip Girl meets Dungeons and Dragons.  Speaking of the storyline, I found it a little tedious.  I’m so tired of the love triangles between the mysterious, dangerous guy, and the fun loving best friend.  Ok already, been there, done that- even with Clare trying to make it fresh with new twist and turns (including the whole incest thing)- it just fell flat for me.  These aren’t books for those of us that love literature, they’re totally geared to a texting, myspace, mtv watching, late teens/early twenties crowd.  I was interested enough in the plot to keep me reading, but I wasn’t up late into the night devouring them.

City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass are written by Cassandra Clare

I loathe books written in letter format- loathe them.  I don’t like having to guess who the main character is, and in the case of this novel guess the sex of them as well.  I never understand why an author finds this plot device necessary.

Now that I got that out of my system, I’ll tell you that beyond this one little failing- I thoroughly loved this book.  It’s a book meant for book lovers.  For those of us that feel like reading is like the air we breathe, and books are not only an escape from real life, but help us to understand life better.

It’s based in post World War II, and most of the negative reviews I’ve read center around how fluffy this novel is in post war times and how annoying they found the main character Juliet.  Sometimes I wonder if people just like to be cynical.  I’m pretty sure not every human being in post war Europe was destitute, starving, and near death.   Not to mention last time I checked authors were allowed to take liberties in fiction. The war isn’t glossed over in this book, as much as it’s almost another character in the book.  Don’t read this expecting WWII carnage and misery (although there is a very little bit of it sprinkled throughout).  I found the main character Juliet refreshing- she’s a little self deprecating, and it offsets her selfishness enough so that you fall in love with her.  The people of Guernsey are really the stars of the book, and my lifelong dream of visiting PEI after having read Anne of Green Gables, has almost been upstaged by a fervent desire to visit the Channel Islands.

A beautiful, quirky, and at times heartbreaking read.  Will have you staying up half the night to finish it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is written by Mary Anne Shaffer & Anne Barrows

it can be ordered on Amazon

This book was suggested to me by one of our readers, Terresa.  I’m really not one for the fantasy genre, but I do love YA/J fiction so I thought I’d give it a shot.  I thought the concept and the story was fascinating, and to be honest, that’s the only reason I kept reading.  That, and the fact that Jones totally had me in the beginning with her witty and sarcastic tone.

The book begins really strong with Sophie, the eldest of three daughters sent into the world to make their fortunes, and this interesting world of moving buildings owned by wizards.  The book took a downward spike for me when I started to realize how much I actually disliked Sophie, who carries the entire book on her back.  She starts out meek and timid, then moves on to pushy and rude, and then ends with completely clueless.  I absolutely hate it when I’m reading a book and feel smarter than the main character.  I actually put the book down in disgust a few times because I was so annoyed with the way things were going.

The book felt a little like an extended Grimm’s Fairy Tale, and I’m not talking about the Disney version.  If you like this sort of thing, you will like this book.

Then we get to the ending, and if you’re going to read this book, skip this paragraph.  I really, really did not want Sophie to be with Howl.  I wanted her to walk away, strong on her own- I hated how the whole book moved in the direction of tricking her into being in love with him.  Then when she realizes it, they both live happily ever after.  What the?  There was no moment in the book for me where Howl really redeemed himself, so why would I want him with Sophie(even if I do find her annoying)?

My only other big issue was a completely personal one.  I don’t read the fantasy genre, so a lot of the terms were really confusing to me.  It was also difficult for me to keep up with the confusion of a world where scarecrows stalk people, magic just suddenly reveals itself, and pieces(literally) of people and dogs and men are confusingly intertwined.  Basically the book wasn’t “commercial” enough for me; it didn’t stretch itself to include those of us that just want a quick fantasy fix.

It absolutely made me realize why this genre is just not for me.

I am going to include the link to Amazon’s reviews and description though, since I seem to be fighting a tidal wave of love for this one.

Howls Moving Castle is written by Dianna Wynn Jones

I was waiting for some of the others to finish this one up before I sat down to review it.  I’m not sure how to approach this review because I really liked this book, but had a really hard time becoming immersed in it.  I finally realized why when I checked out the authors bio and found out she’s a screenwriter.  This book is totally missing the descriptive elements that I need, to have the characters and scenes in my head.  I hope that makes sense.  It almost reads like a play.  I don’t want to put you off of this since it’s a beautiful story, and I shed tears both times I read it.  I fell completely in love with the main character Piper.  From birth she’s had the ability to fly, much to the chagrin of her parents and townsfolk’s who’ll do anything to keep her on the ground.  Her defiance to this attitude lands her in a school for children of special abilities.  This is the only time the book falls a little short for me.  I really wish Forester had devoted a few more pages to the other children.  Their abilities are quickly summarized, and for me quickly forgotten, and then when they come into play later in the book I had to keep flipping back to see who was who.  I can look past this though for a character like Piper, who’s determination and loyalty to her friends wins the day.

A great read for all ages, especially anyone who’s ever felt like they just don’t fit in.

The Girl Who Could Fly is written by Victoria Forester

This book is lengthy, almost hitting the 700 pages mark- but absolutely perfect for a good Summer read.  I picked it up last year on the way home from Europe and I was really pleased to see it at Costco last week.  I feel awful for shamelessly neglecting to review this book, when it’s been on my shelf for almost a year now.  My favorite adult reads are those that focus on female relationships and the complexities of their friendships, with a little mystery and romance thrown in for good measure.  This book fits that bill perfectly.  The female characters are strong and fascinating and complex.  It’s quite obvious from the get go that Kate Morton finds women to be the vehicles to move the story forward, while the men are mearly the road they drive upon.  They’re just background in the story, but also ultimately necessary for the destination.  The book can be a little confusing at first since it spans five generations of women, and is told not only from a bunch of different perspectives- but also from a bunch of different generations.  A quarter of the way into it and you’ll hardly notice the changes, and I think it just adds to the richness of the story.  It’s a serious read that you’ll want to devout some time too.

The Forgotten Garden is written by Kate Morton