Magic is the genius way of explaining (or not) the effect of music on people. Also why people go gaga over musicians. You might like this book if you love music (thus the five stars). And while music is the antagonist in this book (it has a life of its own!), it also made people -- reflect, at the very least.
"every note was as sharp as a bell and as simple as sunlight so that in the prism of the brain it broke up and flashed into a million colors ... and then the music unfolded in his head ... the fall of the notes conjured up memories of the mine where he'd been born and dwarf bread just like mum used to hammer on her anvil, and the moment when he first realized he'd fallen in love ... and more than anything else he wanted to be home ..."
I love the puns and references to Elvis (or in this case elvish which means elf like), rock music (Music/Band with Rocks In - hah!) and people throwing their underthings on stage. I think this book is brilliant. Wait, I think most Discworld books are brilliant.
I recently went back to listening to audiobooks to catch up on my reading list. I would put my earphones on during my commute to and from work. This, however, is not a book I would listen to in public. It makes me snigger in the most awkward moments and let's face it, anytime you snigger without people knowing the reason why is awkward.
I love books about books and bookstores. I don't like that they almost always end up snobbish and even pretentious. This isn't one of the pretentious and snobbish stories even though the main character is a literary snob himself. The story is not unlike other books of its genre but the story telling and prose was easy to get into. I thought at first this is a feel-good read but there's too many deaths in it. It's more a 3.5 but I read it under 12 hours with a ton of interruptions and that counts for something. I also only realized now that this isn't the first book of the author that I have read. I liked both her books.
Ironically, the reason why I bought this book is also the reason why I found it annoying.
If the main character grew up in a library/bookstore surrounded by expensive first editions and classics, has a father who taught her the importance of books/stories, and writes biographies of her favorite dead authors, why is there a need to dedicate half of the book trying to establish the fact that little-miss-biographer loves to read? You love to read, get over it. (I wonder if this is how people on my social media list feel like when they see another book post from me on their feed.)
There also seem to be a lot of ... misplaced words throughout. Like a kid trying to put a new word he just learned about into a sentence.
In all honesty this book sounds like an elaborate fanfic. If you can get past all that then maybe this is the book for you. It's a good mystery notwithstanding the delivery.
Two stars.
Rainbow Rowell remembers high school ... and mix tapes! It was mid 90s when I was in HS but we still made mix tapes. I still have some of them lol. I think that was what made me finally read it and when I did I couldn't stop. I couldn't put it down. It made me feel so much sadness and gushiness and a lot of other stuff I don't want to name anymore. Most of the time I was just like omg-poor-eleanor.
I loved the romance part, of course, but it's not because of the gushing and kissing and Park being romantic, it was how they didn't even like each other at first. It was how things just fell into place without them even noticing. Okay maybe they noticed lol. But it's not always love-at-first-sight in high school. Or any other era of your life. So that was so relatable. Erm ... moving on.
Park had a regular teenage life with supportive parents and a close extended family and regular teenage problems he learned to deal with. Having a parent you think you can't please is pretty normal for a teenager. That may be a teenager over analyzing things. That may be a parent not knowing how to deal with a teenager. Or a parent having favoritism ... that's not far from reality either. Eleanor's life is full of things so wrong in so many levels. I think the sweetest thing about their relationship was how they were both (okay mostly Park) trying to understand each other because things are different in their own home.
There may be a ton of issues in here that may be overwhelming and incomprehensible but isn't that how teenagers are like sometimes? They try to carry the the whole world on their own. Or they tend to make a big deal out of everything. Every insecurity and every other thing they can't comprehend. every pimple and freckle. They tend to over analyze. Sometimes they don't and adults can't even tell what's worse. It gets better kids. Take it from your loving aunt.
P.S. I was a mess in that part when Park's mom finally understood ...
Five stars.
As much as this book's characters are filled with emotional turmoil, the only thing it stirred is my rationale (I do have that sometimes). I'm still loving the political and scheming bits of the second book but I can't give it a five because both main characters seem to have ran out of common sense.
Let me break it down. Kestrel was written to be a strategist. She's supposed to be good at making decisions, cutting losses, picking the perfect solution out of varied options. Her flaws are: 1) her father and 2) Arin. When a strategist decides on a solution that is the lesser of evils, the strategist will then move on. This is not to say that the strategist lacks emotional and moral judgment but putting the idea out there knowing that it will be carried out because it will benefit the empire the most (but still save a lot of lives!) and then whining about how it's all her fault and self destructing because of it doesn't follow. So I guess my issue is her character is inconsistent?
I kept waiting for the how-much-their-crimes-will-cost-them twist and when it came it was a bit of a disappointment. Not because it's a hanger. It just is. Where do you think all this spying and treason will lead? Especially because, from the very beginning, the emperor and all of the empire knows about their supposed relationship.
Also, what is up with Arin's suicidal attitude? I'll leave it at that because I can't even --
Err ... I still can't wait for the last installment. Heh.
PS: They used the word "foodstuffs" in this book. It doesn't have anything to do with my rating. I swear to God. It just really bothers me ... I'm just saying.
3 stars.
I haven't read a book I wanted to stay up late for in a long time. Here's one. I was devastated to find out the last of the trilogy won't come out until next year so now my problem is do I read the second book or do I wait a few months and suffer. Tough decisions.
See, it's books like this that got me into YA. The last YA trilogy I read wasn't so much of a much so I stopped reading YA for a bit. I mean, it was good but I didn't as excited about it as this one. I think this book just killed my YA reading slump. I like the story telling and its prose best. As far as the made-up world, clan wars and forbidden love, it's all been done before. It's the story telling and writing that makes a difference.
Okay I think my EQ is low today so I'm gonna go read the 2nd book and then suffer longer until the last installment comes out.
Five stars.
Any book that makes me look like a lunatic in a corner of a tea shop deserves five stars from me. I wanted to finish the book in the shop but I kept getting annoyed/curious/scared/worried stares from people when I got to the twist and started whispering "what? ... what?!! ... what the f--?!!". I wasn't embarrassed, instead I wanted to look back at them and say "can you believe this?!!" while pointing at a book looking incredulous with one eyebrow raised. But I didn't want to be banned in there. I like their tea. It was then I knew I had to finish the book within the confines of my bedroom. There I can be free.
Seriously, though. This one came as a surprise from the very second I found it on my office table (thanks, Bart!). Heh. I always say I like a good mystery so this falls under that category. Another thing I like is culture. I know people always say we should be free from culture that constricts the society (and this book is filled with it since it's about some Romany gypsies living and thriving to keep their traditions in the retro era) but I always believed the only way we can free ourselves of anything is to understand it. Not hating it and running away from it. But let's not get off topic. When I read this I realized I don't know much about gypsies except ... well, Esmeralda's of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and her people ...erm ... sorry yeah, ignorant, I know. It's an interesting setting with sympathetic characters. Too bad about Tene, though.
So anyhoo, the twist. It was kinda ridiculous, I know, but it worked for me. I've read stuff with more ridiculous plots they should be classified as fantasy. This one is realistic enough for me. Now please excuse me while I hunt her other book down.
Five stars.
This is a fast read (if I hadn't been busy) and an uncomplicated one but the way I feel about it is a bit -- contradicting. I like the genre and the writing should be easy for anyone to follow but it's still just -- not a page-turner. I liked the old New York setting and I'm in love with old circus and old magic concept but for some reason I couldn't connect with this one. I have to admit I expected more from it so maybe there lies they problem? I'm also getting tired of the love triangle thing in YA so there's another star off the rating. I'd still like to read the second book and see how it turns out. I think I would give this a 3.5 at most.
I liked this book. It was fast to read because the prose was easy. It was told through different perspectives/mediums but it wasn't confusing. I gave a lot of smothered laughs and maybe got a little teary-eyed somewhere. But for a book that I really liked, this doesn't leave a lasting ... feeling. I don't even remember which part I got teary-eyed for, I just knew I did. I knew I hated the gnats when I was reading it and I loved Bernadette and totally feel for her but ... writing this review a few days after I read the book, I feel like I've already moved on. I guess this is one amazing in-betweener?
3.5 bordering on 4?
I never thought you could romanticize being a handmaid this much. Or at all. I mean, I thought Jane Eyre's ambition to be a governess was a tad bit glamorized but this ... heh.
If I was to make the blurb for The House At Riverton I'd say: This story is basically about the scandal within a prominent family told through the eyes of a maid who eavesdropped on her employers the whole time. It dragged a bit (when they were describing how they were polishing silver) but I expected that.
It took me three tries before I got into it and in the end I'm glad I persisted (or someone else persisted because this book was highly recommended *coughshovedcough* to me). Ok seriously, if you're a Jane Austen fan you might enjoy this. I'm more into Charlotte Brontë and Mark Twain (if I ever read classics) but I still enjoyed reading this. I liked the twist, I sort of predicted it five paragraphs before it happened but it was ... pretty well thought of. I guess I should've predicted it from the beginning because they kept repeating it over and over and Grace kept repeating the word "secret" over and over but ... yeah.
What I enjoyed the most is not the story, though, but the characters. I loved some of them, hated some of them, was amused by some of them. I guess the characters were ... well built and they fit. Each and everyone of them. Florence's name making a short appearance was a bit cheesy but, hey, it worked. [Even Hannah being super selfish worked. I mean she was spoiled since she was a kid and she gets away with pretty much everything she did so her decisions weren't so surprising. I thought her character was super consistent.
