4 Stars. What an inspirational story! William and his family have almost nothing by Western standards but they do have each other and William has dreams and the willingness to teach himself and try. That takes him farther than he could even dream of. The part describing the famine was extremely difficult to read. People starve […]
When I first finished this book back in January, I rated it 3 stars. I roughly translate that to “good enough but forgettable.” Yet here I am in April, going for walks on the beach every morning, mesh bag over my shoulder, picking up every tiny piece of litter I see along the water line. I don’t want whales to accidentally eat […]
4 Stars. I don’t even remember why I added this to my library wishlist but I’m so glad I did! I’m not a very good swimmer, much less a diver, but I still found Heinerth’s experiences fascinating. She writes beautifully about what keeps her going back in the water, even after many of her friends have passed away on dives. She […]
3 Stars. This book was an obvious labor of love for Mr. Twitty and his passions shine through the pages. Unfortunately, I don’t particularly enjoy cooking or genealogy so the book fell a bit flat for me. I glanced through quite a few reviews on GoodReads before I decided to check this out and saw others frequently complaining […]
3 Stars. I read The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory years ago and enjoyed them both. I have some understanding of England’s history under Henry VIII though and I know pitifully little about the Wars of the Roses. That lack affected my enjoyment of The White Queen a bit. There’s a family tree at […]
3.5 Stars. I really enjoyed this concept and these characters, but I wish the storyline had been tightened up a bit. Alice’s whole first mission (Or maybe two? I’ve waited a bit too long on my review) ultimately felt like filler. There’s some setup for the main conflict and the worldbuilding element but that part really could […]
3 Stars. I read one of Ms. Birds earlier books, Adventures in the Rocky Mountains, during my blogging break and quite enjoyed it. I could only admire a woman who, in Victorian times, not only traveled alone, but managed to summit Longs Peak in a dress. When I needed a travel book as part of the 20201 Nonfiction Challenge, Ms. […]
4.5 Stars. Shirin is so relatable, despite our obvious differences. Who wouldn’t be angry and withdrawn after all she’s experienced, especially when she was born in the US and speaks better English and gets better grades than most of the people who give her a hard time? “I’m tired as hell, Mr. Jordan. I’ve been trying to educate […]
4 Stars. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles (especially on audio), so when I stumbled on these books at the library, I had to bring them home. Iko has always been sort of the comic relief of the series for me. Even if she isn’t truly being funny, she still generally provides lighter moments when the story […]
4 Stars. I read and loved Ms. Patrick’s first book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, during my blogging break. I was excited to listen to another one of her books. I really enjoyed The Library of Lost and Found as well, and for a lot of the same reasons. Martha Storm is so lonely but she’s so kind and has so much to give […]
4 Stars. I haven’t reviewed the earlier books in this trilogy so this will act as more of a series review. I’ve done my best to avoid any spoilers but there may be some small ones. I wouldn’t classify these books as horror simply because that implies a level of the supernatural and/or gore that this series doesn’t achieve. But […]