Elizabeth Dean
My second Nora Roberts book . . . who knew?? I guess her millions of readers knew, and I've been in the dark all these years. What great entertainment! Smart women characters! It's so refreshing to read a book where the assumption is that the women are smart and have it together, without a lot of complications. I can't wait to read more.
Similar, but not as appealing to me as Me and Mr. Darcy, although Hale seems to be marketed as a more literary author. Still worth a read if you like the Jane Austen paraliterature.
I don't know what I was thinking when I picked out this book. 1) I didn't like her last book very much. 2) I hate that movie Notting Hill, which it kinda reminds me of. 3) It is basically a full length book with the outlook of one of those Mormon housewife blogs: you know, the ones who have perfect pictures of their perfectly beautiful kids and their super husbands they are so much in love with. It's just creepy. And annoying. I'm mean for being spiteful at those nice Mormon girls but I don't trust them. Nobody's that completely content; it smacks of deep dark secrets to me. So I couldn't spend a minute more with the charming Ms. Becky Jack.
The mystery in this novel is not the most compelling. It's pretty predictable once all the main characters are introduced. But like all mysteries, what's most important are the characters. Blomqkvist, Salander, and especially the Blomqvist/Salander partnership make you want to keep reading. My favorite contemporary mystery writer is Elizabeth George, and this book shares many similarities with her work, especially grisly sex crimes and a detective partnership that crosses significant class and education boundaries (with the male partner the senior one and the one on the privileged side). Larsson's special appeal is his attack on corporate greed and his severely damaged champion of justice, Lisbeth Salander.
These books by Monroe are not hugely compelling or original story-wise but I like the pace and feel of the interactions between these women who hang out on Isle of Palms and rescue turtles.
It's so disturbing to read one of the fiercest critiques of the dangers of totalitarian communism and realize the similarities with the new Trump regime. It's well worth reading for anyone who hasn't lately.
Promising start to a series! Mystery was mediocre but characters were fun and interesting. Love the eastern NC (Johnston county, renamed Colleton county) setting!
Now that I've got a toddler and have revisited all my old Dr. Seuss books, I've come to the decision that this is my favorite picture book of all. I love rhythm, the rhyme, the pictures. Best of all is the philosophy, “try it you may like it!” or just simply “be open, welcoming and tolerant.” A great lesson to teach your kids. Plus, the end when he tries and likes green eggs and ham – it's a a moment as joyful and wondrous as Scrooge celebrating on Christmas morning. Love it and love reading it aloud. The other day, I had the pleasure of hearing my kid “reading” this book on his own in his crib: “I am Sam. I am Sam. On a train! In the dark! In a tree!” It was the best.
Disappointed. Not interested in reading fan-ish fiction about characters I have no relationship with.
Just completely brilliant and gross and beautiful and fun. Moreno-Garcia has made the gothic novel more perfect.
The second (of 4) in the Entire & the Rose series. These books are excellent & I'm so glad this fascinating world/story is part of me now. I haven't figured out why they take me so long to read. They are not hard to read & they're not too long. I love the expanse of the universe & the long roster of characters with multiple motivations. Maybe it's this expansiveness (like the Entire itself) that makes the books so laborious for me.
Oh, I loved it. The saga really took a turn in this book. So good. And the next one doesn't come out until May 2010. ARG!!
This book was all over the place! I like the investment Ward has made in multiple storylines but they kind of all dragged each other down. I am not a huge fan of the Symphath culture in these books because I can't find anything redeeming in it. Some virtue or honor in the species would make the books more readable! Otherwise, liked it and looking forward to the next.
Some books have characters you hate, and some books have characters you hate but still identify with and root for. This book was one of the former, and it's why I hated the book itself so much. There are many comparisons to Gone Girl - OK, yes, the characters are unlikable and the narrators are unreliable. But the people in this book aren't even entertaining or charming, or even interesting. (Their crimes aren't even creative for God's sake!) They're just bad people. Still, it was interesting enough to get me to read the whole thing, so that's something.
