fiction

Book Review: Ship of Magic

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Ship of Magic
Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pirates, sea serpents, and magical ships that talk; what more could you ask for?!
Robin Hobb has such amazing character development, and her plots always surprise me. I never know what direction the story is going to go next!

Althea wants nothing more than to sail on her family’s magical liveship, the Vivacia, but she is thrown off the ship by her evil brother-in-law, Kyle, who claims legal ownership of the liveship. Wintrow only wants to return to his monastery and continue his training to be a priest, but he is forced aboard the Vivacia to learn a sailor’s trade. Captain Kennit, an evil pirate, desires to capture his own liveship, and will do anything and kill anyone to get one. Brashen is a disgraced sailor forced off the ship he loves and looking for work. Ronica is the matriach of the liveship family, trying to keep the family business afloat despite their mounting debts. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Friday Society

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The Friday Society
The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the premise of this book: three young ladies who work as assistants to a scientist/inventor, a magician, and a fencing teacher. The girls team up to solve murders and save all of steampunk Victorian London, proving that they are just as capable and intelligent as their bosses. It’s just good fun!

The plot moved a little too slowly for me. This 440 page book could have been told in 200 pages. It dragged on a bit in places, setting up relationships, setting up dialogue, explaining this and that.

I liked the characters of the girls, but I didn’t love them. They are spunky and sweet and sassy and intelligent and independent, but somehow…. I wasn’t particularly impressed.
Of course, the author killed off the ONE supporting character that I actually loved! Continue reading →

Novella Review: The First Star to Fall

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The First Star to Fall
The First Star to Fall by Diana Peterfreund

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great short story about Persis as the revolution begins and she starts her adventures. It’s just a little snippet showing the political unrest and how Persis and her friends react to the events that began the revolution, and how they determine to help everyone they can.

I love the dynamic between Persis and Princess Isla! Those two friends are such a great addition to the story. Persis is such an intelligent and caring person, and with her bravery and resourcefulness, she makes an exciting main character.

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Book Review: Murder Is Bad Manners

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Murder Is Bad Manners
Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Hazel Wong stumbles across the corpse of a murdered teacher, no one believes her except her faithful friend, Daisy Wells, and it’s up to the two girls to investigate the murder in between classes and still get their homework done. This 1930s British boarding school is the perfect setting for a murder mystery!

I love stories about boarding schools, and the little everyday goings-on of this school make for a hilarious story!
The plot has a lot of red herrings, so I never saw the solution until the very end. I puzzling and puzzling through the whole thing, and completely surprised at the end. Continue reading →

Comic Review: Prince of Persia

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Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This plot makes no sense. I have no idea who anyone is or what happened. The story is told by jumping between two (or three?) timelines, so there are all these different sets of characters, most of whom look alike, and it’s impossible to keep track of them all. There’s also a prophecy and a magic peacock dude that confused me even more. Then there came the giant sand babies; I’m not sure if they were real or imagined. Was that part of a giant sand baby nightmare? Did someone dream that whole thing, or were the babies really there? IDK.

I’m confused if the Prince was reincarnated as the other crazy dude in the ruins, or was that his long-lost son or something? And why did the girl have one blue eye and one brown eye exactly like the lion cub? Is she a mystical lion baby? How is that connected? What is happening here? This makes NO sense at all! Continue reading →

Book Review: The Guide to the Territories of Halla

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The Guide to the Territories of Halla
The Guide to the Territories of Halla by D.J. MacHale

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I expected more from this book. It’s basically an intro summary of each of the first 5 books in the series, with some illustrations of various characters and settings. But it’s nothing I didn’t already know from reading the books. There’s not any new or interesting information about the series, and I was hoping for more details on the various territories, or even short stories of the characters’ backstory/past.
Disappointing and very short.  I LOVE the Pendragon series, so I was really hoping for more.

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Graphic Novel Review: The Merchant of Death

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The Merchant of Death Graphic Novel
The Merchant of Death Graphic Novel by D.J. MacHale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this graphic novel of one of my favorite books! Revisiting the first book in the series in a different format was wonderful! Bobby is still as hilarious and goofy as ever, Press is mysterious and wise, and Loor is all anger and sass.

Bobby Pendragon gets whisked away to another universe by his mysterious Uncle Press, and with the help of other Travelers, tries to help a tribe of poor miners start a revolution or find justice through peace. But the evil Saint Dane is determined to push the war in his own favor, and destroy the world of Denduron. Continue reading →