Friday, January 25, 2019

Book Review: Echo North


Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm still in the magical glow that is the aftermath of this book ... however I think the five stars is well deserved here.

In this book Meyer weaves an intricate retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, a Norwegian fairytale with similar roots of Beauty and the Beast. Know how much I love a Beauty and the Beast retelling (did I read four or five last year?) I thought this was going to be right up my alley.

The beginning FEELS like Beauty and the Beast, but a little darker with Echo having not the charmed childhood Belle has. The story itself dives into the dark woods and in immersed in dark magic.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Book Review: Girls of Paper and Fire

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here is a good question - does this book deserve all the hype? Yes ... maybe. Let's talk about it.

I added this to my TBR last year after reading so many good things about this book from Natasha Ngan. My sister gave it to me for Christmas and since I had the GORGEOUS book in hand it quickly moved to the top of my list. My first impression was those PINK pages are so amazing!

This year I'm dedicated to reading more books that are "different" - books I don't see myself in. More books with male protagonists, more books with LGBTQ characters, more books from different cultures, and more books outside of my preferred genres.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Book Review: Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers

The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers by Terri-Lynne DeFino
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DNF at 54%

Okay, okay, okay, I know! How do I give something two stars, but not finish it? Well ... it's a good question lol. The reality is that the book was good. The further reality is, it just wasn't good for me.

Welcome to Bar Harbor Retirement home, where retired authors come to live their final days amongst an unusual assortment of nurses, doctors, and assistants. A place where no one seems to be truly happy, but merely existing.

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches


A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was okay.

I have had at least a dozen people tell me to read this series. Other than their recommendations I knew nothing of the book when I bought it. They recommended it to me because I love books about magical realism. However, they neglected to notify me it was about vampires.

A book would have to be shockingly fantastic for me to really love to read about vampires. They were just overplayed in the wake of Twilight's success ... in fact, this whole book just reads like a more grown-up version of Twilight.

Normally I'd have just stopped reading, but SO many people recommended it to me, I couldn't just give up.

I liked the story. I liked the characters. I like how it ended. But I didn't love it. It wasn't captivating for me. If I'd read it right when it came out, I might have LOVED it. If I'd read it right after I read the first Twilight book I know I would have loved it.