4 Stars. The Fountains of Silence does a wonderful job of presenting the dichotomy of the face that Spain presented to the world and the underlying darkness of the 1950s. Daniel is a wealthy Texas oil baron’s son staying in the American hotel that literally used to be a castle. By starting from his point of view, Sepetys begins with the […]
The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer: Book Review
Eh. What was most interesting about this book is the setup for future stories. I don’t want to give away spoilers, so I won’t say much about that, but I will say that I like Minerva and hope that she becomes a recurring character. The other twists could lead to some very interesting developments. I missed most of the oddball…
Hard Rain by Irma Venter: Book Review
I wanted to like this more than I did. I feel like it’s a pretty solid premise but the writing was too–jumpy? Maybe? I actually restarted it about 20 pages in because I thought I had missed something. Alex and Ranna barely seemed to know each other but Alex seemed to think that she owed him something. It was some crazy…
The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer: Book Review
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. These books are just a lot of fun, even to a 30-year-old woman. They would have been some of my favorites if they’d been around when I was a kid. I have to admit to giggling aloud even now. But aside from the wackiness of the story, I like seeing Artemis grow and learn about…
The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood: Book Review
I have listened to all of these books on audio and Katherine Kellgren’s whole-hearted narration has kept me coming back. She threw everything she had into howling at the moon, singing songs, and giving voices to both the innocent and the bad guys. I realized that Katherine had passed away before finishing the series as I added…
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer: Book Review
I truly enjoyed this book. Artemis is a genius, but we also get to watch him grow up (and loosen up) a little as the book progresses. Just when you start to forget that Artemis is only twelve, a scene comes along that shows how vulnerable he still is. The plot was smart, funny, and well-written. The fairies were not your typical […]
The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha: Book Review
I needed this book in my life right now. I don’t even know how to follow that up without hijacking this review into my own political soapbox, so for future reference, I’ll just note that we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and may George Floyd rest in peace. I pray for justice and meaningful societal changes for him and […]
I Should Have Honor by Khalida Brohi: Book Review
I was a bit familiar with the practice of honor killings and was of course appalled by them. The patriarch of a family apparently has complete discretion to order a woman in the family to be killed if she brings dishonor on the family. In the examples in the book, this usually comes about when a “woman” (usually barely past […]
The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston: Book Review
This series is completely adorable! Which makes it sound like it’s for younger kids, but it is written for young adults. Still–I’m going to let adorable stand. There are so many things to love in this book. I love that Imogen has two mothers and her brother is gay. I love that everyone at Excelsicon is so unabashedly geeky. […]
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich: Book Review
This is Stephanie Plum! It goes without saying that she and Lula and Grandma Mazur are going to have some insanely funny moments. It also goes without saying that Stephanie is going to have some extremely…um, romantic? lusty? naughty? all of the above?… moments with Morelli or Ranger. You either like the formula or you […]
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins: Book Review
This was so much fun! I devoured it. Sophie is clumsy and goofy and funny and just so relatable to every girl who wasn’t part of the beautiful mean girl crowd in high school. Jenna is adorable. How can you dislike a vampire whose favorite color is hot pink? The pacing of the mystery is spot-on and while I had theories that got a […]