THE TENTH CIRCLE by Jodi Picoult ~ A Book Review
Hmmm. I feel a bit mixed about this one. The positives for me were the link to Dante (one of my favorite authors) and how Jodi Picoult’s wonderful imagination created a Tenth Circle of Hell for the self-deceptive, for the people who lied to themselves, who pretended that everything was just fine when it was […]
Back from Europe ~ And here is a Book Review of The Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
Before I begin reviewing this seventh novel by Jodi Picoult, I would like to say how much I enjoyed the narration of this book. Christina Moore and Suzanne Toren were pitch perfect in conveying the way Americans normally speak in the present day (hard-boiled and harsh) with the way that the Amish speak (slow, sweet […]
Ms. Atkinson’s prose style froths with the fizz of the 1920s
I am an avid reader and have been so since I was nine years old. Indeed, I read so much and talked so much about books that my stepfather once remarked I should be a novelist! Fast forward fifty years and I have actually managed to become an author. But I read books a little […]
“Clorinda” battles (and enchants) her guardian
REGENCY BUCK by Georgette Heyer is one of her most famous historical novels, and pretty much invented the genre of Regency Romance. But what is so refreshing about Ms. Heyer’s heroines is how they break the mold of what a society miss is supposed to be. They are extremely intelligent. They are athletic. Sometimes they […]
How would you feel if a gorgeous-looking flirtatious boy mauled you one night?
Zodiac Academy Volume 9 retells the Volume 1 story The Awakening from the point of view of the boys. IMHO this volume provided valuable information that was missing from Volume 1, which is written in a braided narrative with alternating chapters from Tory’s and Darcy’s POVs. But was it really necessary to write a whole […]
Are you drained by more than five volumes?
Zodiac Academy #8 ~ Sorrow & Starlight deals with the fallout of the disastrous battle that ended the last volume. Darcy and Orion are captured by King Lionel Acrux, and Orion makes a death-bond to free Darcy from Lavinia’s curse. This bond is set to expire in three months, so everything should be okay. Right? […]
THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY by Suzanne Collins
Author Suzanne Collins mentions that the idea for THE HUNGER GAMES came from channel surfing between reality TV games and the Iraq war. While the reality game show element is really obvious, it seems to me that this whole series is a metaphor for the wars of the recent decade, with each volume of the […]
WAKENHYRST by Michelle Paver, read by Juanita McMahon
I don’t read Horror, so I have no basis of comparison for WAKENHYRST. Perusing other reader’s comments, I see that they are disappointed that this piece doesn’t really fall into the Horror genre, but is more a coming-of-age story about repressed 16-year-old Maud growing up in the Fen Country of Suffolk. Perhaps that is why […]
