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 […]
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…
I think this might be my very first Top Ten Tuesday! I blogged for seven years from 2009 – 2016 and just started blogging again at the end of June. I was certainly aware of these weekly lists, so I don’t know why I’ve never joined in before! Anyway, on to my list of books […]
Welcome to my weekly update for August 16, 2020! Two of the biggest natural tourist attractions in Oregon are the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway and Multnomah Falls. State officials closed them before we arrived here in April because of COVID-19. They finally re-opened on Thursday! We set out to explore on Friday. The air […]
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…
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…
Welcome to my weekly update for August 9, 2020! After all our hiking last week, we took it relatively easy this week. My husband and I are usually in one place for three months before moving to a new place with his job. His three months in Portland, Oregon were complete on July 25 but […]
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…
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 […]
Welcome to my weekly update for August 2, 2020! My husband’s 50th birthday was on July 25 so he took a week off work and we spent time hiking and exploring. Mt. Rainier National Park is within driving distance so we decided to head that way. Oh my goodness! It’s gorgeous! We tried to visit […]
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 […]