Eragon is a young farm boy who lives in a small town, cut off from most of the rest of the world. He lives on a small farm outside of town with his uncle and cousin. He has no idea who his father might be, and his mother died shortly after he was born. One day, while hunting in The Spine, a range of dangerous mountains that most avoid, he finds a mysterious, smooth, blue stone. Unable to get any deer meat to help his family through the long winter, Eragon decides to bring the stone home in the hopes that it might have enough value to trade it for some meat. The news of this stone quickly travels outside of the small town, and before he knows it, others are hunting for him in search of the stone. There is only one problem: the stone wasn’t a stone at all; it was an egg. A dragon’s egg. And it has hatched. I first read this book back in middle school, and I quickly fell in love with it. Since then, I have read it multiple times, and these books hold a special place in my heart because they are the ones that first got me interested in fantasy as a genre. So, I will admit, I am biased. I love the character of Eragon. Some people, I know, have had issues with him in the past, but my opinion is that he is rather well written. In a lot of other stories that I have read, the young characters do not have the same kinds of thoughts and struggles that a young teenager would have. I find it great that Eragon struggles with a lot of the thoughts and feelings that would be a part of a teenager's life. I find that he struggles with some of the best parts of his life like any normal teen would. Even if it seems like it is not helpful to the story, it shows that he is human and that he has the same limitations that the readers have themselves. Saphira is another character all together, where, despite her young age, she seems much older at times than she actually is. I feel that the author addressed this issue in a pretty decent way. It does bother me from time to time, but I also find that this is a great way of helping the characters grow and become the heroes that they are meant to be. I also like that, despite all this, there are times when she makes mistakes. This allows the readers to remember that she is still very young. The world-building is well thought out and described throughout the book. It also works well with the map featured at the front of the book. I like that this is a part of the story and that you can go back and look at the map to see where they are. I love the way that the different landscapes are described, which allows the reader to visualize the area, the land, the sky, and the cities. I also like that the land and the people change as you go through the country, something I find doesn’t always happen in the fantasy novels that I have read. It is a great thing to see that the more you travel, the more the land might or does change, instead of only changing in the “big bad place,” becoming dark and sinister. I love these books and, of course, would recommend them to readers in middle school and older. I add this because there are moments when there is a lot of violence, and some are described in great detail. I gave this book another five stars. I thought that, as I am older this time, I might not enjoy it as much, but I did, and I will still give it five stars. I was gifted my copy of this book many years ago after my first copy fell apart. I have had this copy for many years now and plan to read the other books in the series this year so that I can read his newest release in the series. After losing her entire family, Patricia is reeling from the pain of a broken heart. The night that she lost her brother and sister, she also lost her long-time boyfriend. Meanwhile, a young boy by the name of Christopher lost his mother to the same murdering organization that took Patricia's family from her. The issue that she faces now; did Christopher use his unique powers to harm his mother in order to save himself or did she sacrifice her soul to save her son? If he took it, he will be executed, but if she gave it to him willingly, he will live and grow within the community surrounded by others with powers like his. What stands between Christopher and an execution is Patricia's ability to summon the soul of his mother, to prove that she gave it willingly. The only problem is that with a broken heart, Patricia's soul-spinning abilities are on the fritz. Can she find a way to fix her broken heart and learn to perform one of the most dangerous rituals known to the community before it is too late for Christopher? I found this book thanks to the recommendation of my mother. She told me about the book and I thought that it would be right up my alley. This novel takes place in Denver, Colorado in the heart of the city from what I could tell. Honestly, though I am not exactly sure about that as I never really went to Denver as a child. The world-building is detailed and yet subdued to, more or less, a single location for most of the book. The locations that are the most prominent and important are described fairly well, though I would have liked a better understanding of certain locations that I found to be interesting and important. The characters are written well for the most part. There were some parts where I wish there had been some more details or that the details had been clearer but, all in all, I think the characters were well-written. As for the story itself, I did enjoy the storyline. However, there were multiple instances where it seemed to veer from the main plot and the addition was not important to the story. Now, with more books in the works, there is every possibility that these are in fact important bits and that that will become more apparent as more books are written and published. I didn't care for some of the storyline points that were never explained. For instance, the bird that was following the main female character through a portion of the book. I am pretty sure that I know why it was but, I wish that the author had clarified that in the book itself so I know whether I am correct in my assumption. I do not want to say much on the part of the romance within the book, namely because I am not a fan of romance and I do not want my preexisting dislike for romance to play a biased role in this review. So, in the end, I would give this book four stars. It is a good read and the author has done a good job for her first novel.
Dolly Merishaw has spent her life as a midwife, delivering or ending pregnancies that for one reason or another must remain secret. Throughout her career, Dolly has worked with everyone from the lowest dregs of society to the highest. She herself lives in a small, little house with her deaf daughter and two young boys who were left in her care by previous clients. Her violent and greedy nature, plus her extensive knowledge of many different women, makes her more enemies than friends.
When she is found murdered in her own parlor, Murdoch must dig into her life and the lives of some of her previous clients to uncover who may have done her in. The Murdoch Mysteries have intrigued me since I realized that the television series was based on the books. This is the second book in the series. In the first book, we met a lot of the main characters that will be in the second book, including Murdoch, Crabtree, and Brackenreid, as well as a few new ones. This was a very well-written story, and I was surprised that I didn't figure out who the murderer was before the big reveal.The author describes every scene in such detail that it is easy to envision each setting. The process of the investigation is written in a way that makes it easy to feel as though you are a part of the case, and the mystery is well laid out. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fans of turn-of-the-century mystery novels. I gave this book five stars out of five, and the image above is mine.
Rin was born and raised in the forest, along with all of her older brothers. Since she was a very little girl, she had a deep connection with the trees around her. They brought her solace. After her closest brother, Razo, moves to the city, Rin begins to feel like the trees that surround her have turned against her. Now she doesn’t feel at home in her forest or with her family.
The next time that Razo visits, he offers to take Rin with him so that she can see the outside world and maybe find what it is that she feels is missing. But she doesn’t just feel like something is missing from her life; she feels like something is wrong. With her. deep within her. The city is full of things that Rin has never even imagined, and while there, she meets people she feels a connection to. People she hopes might be able to help her But with a mysterious power causing trouble and targeting the royal family, Rin will have to put her personal worries aside and do everything that she can to save the kingdom and the people she loves before it is too late. This is the last installment in the Books of Bayern series, and out of the lot, it is not my favorite, but it is still a pretty good read. I loved the idea that the languages from the first three books have been continued in this one while at the same time being expanded in a way that seems counterproductive. I like the idea of being able to talk with trees, but at the same time, it seems like a power that has no usefulness in the way that the others in the series do. I would have rather had this character be stronger of mind than they were, and some of the connections are not really made in the best way possible. It is in the story, but it appears to be completely unnecessary to the plot. All in all, I did enjoy this book in the series, despite the less than satisfying ending for the last book of all the books. I really hope that one day there may be another book, as I feel like this is not the proper way to end this series. I would give this book 3.5 stars and recommend it to fans of the first three books, but you will not understand any of this story if you have not read the first three. The picture above is my own.
Everyone knows the story of the little mermaid who fell in love with a human. The young mermaid seeks the help of a sea witch named Ursula so that she might find her true love and live happily ever after. However, we didn’t know the story of the sea witch until now. Why did Ursula want to hurt Ariel and Triton? What turned her into such a hateful, dangerous creature?
Most fairy tale retellings, in my experience, continue to focus on the hero or heroine. The novels in this series take a different approach by focusing on the villains. This is the third novel in the series, and it focuses on the character of Ursula and the three Odd Sisters. The Odd Sisters were introduced in the first novel, and readers will struggle with their part of the story if they have not read the first two novels. I love how this story takes a look at Ursula before telling the story of the little mermaid. It tells about her as a young woman and her connection to Triton, a connection speculated about by fans but never truly established in the movie. We are never given a reason for Ursula's hatred other than the fact that she was barred from entering the kingdom. We are also allowed to understand more about Ursula’s Garden, which is not really addressed in the movies either. I found this book to be delightful. I am not usually one to read horror stories, but these tales truly interest me because I always felt that there should be more of an explanation behind the actions of the villains in Disney films. I believe that this book is appropriate for both older and younger fans; however, younger fans who are easily frightened should avoid these. These are children’s horror books, and as such, they contain scenes that might not be appropriate for all readers. I liked this book, and I gave it a four-and-a-half-star rating. I received my copy of this book from my husband as a Christmas gift, and the picture featured above is mine. Find more of my book reviews on my blog. From the Desk of Stephanie Tiner! Gemma Doyle is back in London with her friends and boyfriend to attend the Sherlock Holmes convention. She expects to hear about a lot of things and see a lot of Sherlock-related items that she may want to bring back to the states to sell in her bookstore. What she doesn’t expect is her father to be arrested for the murder of her long lost uncle. The detective on the case is determined to find her father guilty. With the police thinking that they already have their guy, what hope is there that the real killer will be discovered, and her father set free? Gemma isn’t about to sit back and let her father be found guilty just because the detective has a grudge. Gemma and her friends begin their own investigation into the life and death of her long lost uncle. What will she uncover about her family, and will she be able to prove her father innocent before the murderer gets away? This was a very interesting book. I actually listened to this book as an audio book, rather than reading it myself. It was a great listen while I was washing dishes and folding laundry. The voice of the reader was pleasant, and I liked that she didn’t try to make the voices more masculine when it was a male. I, personally, don’t like when they do that because I feel like it messes with the natural flow of the writing. I do understand that some people do enjoy this greatly. Before I make this too much of a thing, I feel that I should point out that her voice did change for each character in one way or another, making it where the book was not dull and monotonous either. I liked the story line for the most part, though I will admit I felt that there were scenes that were not needed and simply felt like they were filler to make sure that the novel was in fact long enough. There were a lot of interesting interactions during the course of the investigation, that I thought were really great. I would recommend this book to people who love cozy mysteries and Sherlock Holmes. I would give this book three and a half stars out of five stars, but since I cannot do that on most sites, I will round it up to a four. I bought my audio for this book from Chirp at www.chirp.com. Razo is surprised when his captain chooses him to be part of an elite team to travel with and protect the ambassador as she travels to Tira to try and secure peace between their two nations. He’s not very impressive with a sword, his demeanor isn’t sophisticated, and his best weapon is a hunting sling. Ultimately, he cannot think of a single reason as to why he was chosen. When they arrive in Tira, Razo is the one who finds that dead, burned, body left to incite hatred for the Bayern. His ability to make friends makes him the perfect person to try and befriend those allies that would help to ensure their mission is successful. But with someone trying to cast suspicion onto their party, can Razo tap into his unique skill set and make sure everyone can make it home safely. This is the third book in the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale. Razo was introduced in the first book and was another player in book two, so I am glad that he has his own book now. Out of the three books, this one is by far less action-packed, however, it allows for a better understanding of the politics between the two warring countries, as well as the less aggressive and defensive sides of the characters. Thereby allowing us to see three-dimensional characters. I also enjoyed seeing the nation of Tira after the war in the second book. By doing this the author allowed us to humanize the people of Tira in a way we were unable to in the second novel. I enjoyed getting to know Razo better. His unique set of skills and personality traits. I loved this book, though it was not my favorite of the three so far. I cannot wait to see how it all plays out in the final book. I bought my copy of this book from bookoutlet.com and would recommend this book to fans of Jodi Meadows “The Orphan Queen” and books like it. I gave this book four out of five stars and will read the fourth book in the series soon. Being a teacher is a full-time job and then some, but if you can find a way to make your classroom work for you, things can go smoother. R. Janet Walraven has spent her adult life teaching in grades K-12 in both public and private schools across the country. She has combined her years of experience to help teachers and parents learn tactics and techniques to help them both in and out of the classroom. I enjoyed this book. Though I am not a teacher, I am homeschooling my children this year. I don’t read a lot of self-help books. I don’t know why. This one struck an interest in me, I believe, because I am teaching my kids but also because I used to want to be an educator. This book covers everything from dealing with difficult parents and unexpected allergies to uncooperative administration and working with volunteers. I will admit, I’m not 100 percent behind everything that she says, but for the most part, I agree and appreciate her perspective. I do feel that a lot of this book is not helpful for a homeschooling mother, such as dealing with difficult parents or making friends with the janitor, because I am both the parent and the janitor. However, I found a lot of suggestions for working with the students. I feel that this book would be very helpful for teachers and that, in a rather limiting way, it would also be helpful to parents and homeschooling families. I gave this book four out of five stars. I received my copy of this book from the author for the sole purpose of providing an honest review. When fourteen-year-old John Smith fell through the ice on a Missouri lake one January morning, Joyce Smith was terrified that she would lose her son. When she arrived at the hospital, John had been without a heartbeat for more than an hour. Joyce wasn’t ready to accept that her son was dead and in a moment of pure, desperate faith, Joyce cried out to God to save her son. At that precise moment, John’s heart began beating again. Though his heart was going again, John was no where near out of the woods. Despite all of his doctor’s worries and facts, John quickly began to improve, with the mighty power of prayer behind him. Sixteen days after John fell through the ice, he walked out of the hospital, completely and miraculously healed. I first heard of this novel when I saw the trailer for the movie. This got me interested in the novel. When there was a giveaway for the novel on Goodreads Firstreads, I figured I would enter. And then I won. Being as this has a lot of medical scenes in it, I figured that if I didn’t win I would just see the movie. I know, I know. The book is always better than the movie, but I am not knowledgeable in medical jargon and I worried that I would have to Google search one term after the other while reading. Thankfully, though there are a lot of medical terms, Joyce Smith took the time to explain what they ment. Joyce managed to put the reader right there in the hospital with her. The writing made the whole situation very real for a mother like me, from Joyce’s panicked dash to the hospital to the day John walked out of the hospital. I was there. I thought this novel was a well written and worthwhile read. I gave this book five out of five stars and would recommend it to anyone looking to believe in miracles. I won my copy of this novel from Goodreads Firstreads and the image above is my own. Avaline Hall is both a magical creature and in love with one, both of which are dangerous at Blythewood Academy. But with Judicus Van Drood still scheming against the Order, she may be all that stands in his way. As everyone else, it seems, fall victim to Van Drood’s evil magic, Ava and Raven search for a way to break the spell that has trapped her friends and teachers, and to find out what it is that Van Drood is really up to. The more she tries to help those she cares about, the more it seems that she will have to reveal her secret to them all, but how will they react when they discover she is half Darkling, a creature they have been taught is an enemy? Will Ava be willing to do anything, and sacrifice her secret, to save her friends? Blythewood is a place of magic for the girls who attend, but it is also trapped in its traditions. When Ava and the other girls return to school in this second installment of the Blythewood series, the world around them is evolving, while nothing is changing inside Blythewood. I was surprised by the vast amount of change that we see in Ava early on in the novel, however, it was to the betterment of her character. Ava’s character grew between book one and two, but it was not drastic and unrealistic. Since she is coming to terms with the fact that she is part darkling, she is forced to come to terms with the very real possibility that this could effect her body with changes unusual to young women, as well. I was happy to finally have a better gimps into the world and community of the Darklings. In book one, Raven was the only Darkling was really get to know. In this second installment, we get to meet many more darklings and see how they live. I was thrilled to see some new and interesting creatures enter the series as well. I particularly enjoyed meeting Ru and her “family.” I must comment on the fact that one of the scenes in this novel reminded me greatly of a scene in the novel “Lost in a Book” by Jennifer Donnelly. Though I am also obigated to point out that the similarities are not exact replicas and the novel “Lost in a Book” was published after this novel, I ony read it first. The writing is easy to follow and the vocabulary was acceptable for the target age group. This is a young adult/teen fantasy novel. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the third and final installment in this series. I gave this novel four out of five stars and would recommend this novel to fans of Fallen by Lauren Kate. I bought my copy of this novel from Bookoutlet.com and the image featured above is my own. |
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