CAF

STFU EVIE

Revisado: 10-29-23

Luc is great. Cool character and top 3 book boyfriend. Evie us an idiot. A spoiled, self-obsessed dummy you thinks she can go toe-to-toe with the Origins, Luxen, and Aram. That isn’t courageous or brave. That’s just stupid. When she pushes back and tells one of them that she will make them regret anything they do, it’s eye-roll 2nd-hand embarrassing. She was human, can only remember the last four years of her life, and is loyal to someone who used and abused her as a test subject, and is a teenage girl who weighs 110 if even. Suuuuuuure she’s gonna whup on aliens with super powers. It’s a very very big stretch that Luc could be so devoted to the twit. There’s nothing redeeming about her. The whole book is really all about Luc. Now THERE is a character that needs more.

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So So So So GOOD!

Revisado: 07-24-22

I don’t think a word has been invented that describes how good this volume of the saga is. Octavia simply cannot leave it here! There MUST be a 10th book in the works. It’s not a cliffhanger but I have a need to know what happens next! I love these stories. Octavia delicately and skillfully weaves the common strands through time like a ribbon. In this installment, we get to visit at length with favorite and beloved characters and even get to meet a few new ones.

I was on my toes in certain parts, fearing what may happen, but compelled by my curiosity just the same. 🫣

Fans of this saga won’t need to be persuaded to continue with it. If you’re just discovering it, start at the very beginning for it is indeed a saga. One of the finest. Octavia Randolph is a treasure who deserves much more credit than she gets. Nano Nagle has narrated the entire series to perfection. What a gift these two bring to the world. Thank you.

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It’s Really Not Awful

Revisado: 07-15-22

I don’t understand all the horribly negative reviews. I’ve listened to many books that are much worse than this one. It managed to keep me engaged and entertained until the very end. It’s not perfect, but the writing was solid and the dialogue is believable. Throw in the extraordinary talent of Lauren Fortgang as narrator and it becomes a worthy listen. It’s not so much a book about romance than it is about loyalty to love. It illustrates how we can so easily be led astray by smooth charm that looks good, acts good, seems good. All isn’t what it appears, unfortunately, and we must remember and hold onto the what we trust and know about ourselves, and those we love, instead of tossing it aside for the shiny and sparkly things that want to own us.

Often times, my perception of a book is colored by what I was immersed in immediately before it. There are so many comments about Six of Crows being so much better that I wonder if Shadow and Bone was read on the heels of that experience. If I want to read a spin-off of a particular series, I usually read something else in between. This way the spin-off can be approached and appreciated on its own merit rather than being seen as an extension.

I am going to spend a credit for the next book. I’ve watched the Netflix series and while I can see how the book and the show are sort of the same story, there are elements in the show that aren’t yet in the book. Not yet sure if they were an addition for the TV adaptation but if so, I fail to see the necessity.

Leigh Bardugo isn’t Meyer or Rowling, but she is definitely a talented and skilled writer in her own right. I’m a fan.

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Superb!

Revisado: 07-09-22

I loved the first book of this two book series, but this book is just so much MORE. Well written, great narration, good plot, it has everything. It keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the big scene. But then, it spends time to tell what happens after the pivotal event. It tied up loose ends and answered questions. I walked away feeling absolutely satisfied and complete. The addition of a third POV is brilliant and the narrator who voices the character perfectly nails the performance. I am not sure why this story isn’t more widely recognized, because it definitely deserves to be.

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Not My Favorite in the Series

Revisado: 05-01-22

It is about a Bridgerton, but it doesn’t read like a Bridgerton story. Except for a few cameo appearances from the family, the story mostly focuses on the main characters. You don’t get the same charming warmth of family connection as you did in the beginning of the series. Maybe Julia followed the natural progression of parenthood and the importance of propriety gets a little watered down when the last of 8 children finally marries. The couple spent an inordinate amount of time alone together and no one seemed to care. I was not fond of the many explicit love scenes that happened because they were unchaperoned. I would have liked to see more of Lord Sinclair after he learned who fathered Gareth, if only to watch him eat crow.

Still, Julia has a beautiful way with words and Rosalyn has a winsome way of reading them to us.

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About the heretofore Unknown Bridgerton Daughter

Revisado: 04-26-22

Until this book, Francesca Bridgerton was never featured in the stories. She was sometimes mentioned in passing, but we didn’t really meet here until now.

This has steamy scenes in it, a tad spicier and more of them. Francesca was not a shy flower and she was lucky to have loved, and have been loved, twice, with exceptional men both times. This does not take place in London, and it is written from a perspective of internal emotions rather than social commentary on gaiety and gossip like the first books were.

The 2nd epilogue really wraps things up nicely. I’m am glad they are included at the conclusion if the main novels. This one ended too abruptly and short. The 2nd epilogue completed the story.

Rosalyn is such a talent. I love her narration and am glad she has done all the books thus far

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A Love Story and a Romance

Revisado: 03-25-22

Some reviewers have commented that they did not finish this book because they found it too tedious. They completely missed out because the last part of the story was worth waiting for. The first parts framed and set-up what the last was built upon, very much like Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The tale takes readers for a ride. Pieces of it, that might seem mundane or tedious, are needed for the crashing effect of the ending.

Kate Noble writes stories of love and romance. She does not write the pornography so many authors of this genre rely upon. Cheap fiction that can be devoured, tossed and forgotten, before one quickly moves to the next read, which is just like the one before it. Kate writes of love between her characters. They experience the mysterious, deep, moving, and thrilling emotions of falling in love with their one and only soul mate. She writes in a romantic style that is poetic as she describes the sights, sensations and fragrance of the world around the lovers, as it would be noticed by two people who are falling in love. The beautiful descriptions of Venice in this book allowed me to travel there to see the subtle beauty of the city, in tucked away corners, that are not in the tourist traps. She writes from her heart, for where else could anyone notice the enchantment of the wet sheen on cobblestones? She paints with words, as the greatest talents do.

The narrator is a perfect pairing. Alison, herself, disappears as she single handedly brings everything and everyone to colorful life. Her characterizations are consistent. She perfectly presents the nuances of a broad range of emotions that any of the characters are likely experiencing, as well as how they would most likely express them. She is enormously talented, and I would take a chance on anything she reads.

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Labored but a Worthy Read

Revisado: 02-11-22

Fans of historical fiction and fantasy will enjoy this trilogy. This is book Two and is best enjoyed after reading book One, which is the better book. Signe Pike is an extremely talented writer. She strikes the perfect balance between prose and realism. Her words are adventurous and beautiful; her descriptions are lush and colorful; and her dialogue is stunningly believable. The battle scenes, strategies and commands are harsh, gritty and completely plausible. She isn’t afraid to take the reader through the brambles.

My complaints are reserved for the ending. It felt extremely rushed and left me with the same feeling as running out of gas 10 miles from a destination. Some of the most thrilling fulfillment moments are completely left out. The battle weary readers, with blood and guts on their faces, are completely robbed of the fruits of their labor. I wanted to witness the moment Langoureth discovers what happened to Rhydderech? Maelgwyn? Those moments are completely left out. We go from frantic searching to a dinner afterwards in the hall without so much as a “howdy do”. Anticlimactic endings are for amateurs. Signe is deeper than that, so what we are probably the unfortunate audience of a publisher deadline that came up too fast.

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Engaging

Revisado: 02-06-22

If you suffer from anxiety then best to keep looking. The author of this book is very skillful with writing tension strung so tight on a precarious balance that I held my own breath for fear I would trip the trigger of horrible events I was certain would follow. So many times she brings you to the edge and dangles you upside down before hauling you back up to safety, and all you can do is sweat big drops of relief. But she’s a sneaky thing, I warn you. Even though I was stressed to my limit, I couldn’t put this book down. It mesmerizes and enchants. It is a fairly faithful story of the real people and events that the King Arthur legend was based upon. I wished for more magic but as this was a real life rendering of the fable, it is difficult to know what kind of power could be wielded in those times. The framework of the story is of people, places and events we can know with a good amount of certainty. The details such as conversations and emotions and timelines are where the author weaves her beautiful story.

If you’re looking for Lancelot and Guinevere, you won’t find them here in the form you’ve known them. You might find hints if them but who is yo know? Other reviewers remarked this is like Outlander. Wipe the thought from your mind. It is nothing like it and the only similarity is Scotland itself.

This isn’t on the level of Pillars of the Earth, but it is a worthy effort by a talented writer. I look forward to seeing more from her.

The narrator is simply awesome.

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Conclusion was Drab

Revisado: 11-22-21

This is the concluding book of a Trilogy. Overall, I liked the story. The first two books created the questions and this book attempted to resolve them as well as the big mystery. The reveals were unsatisfying and confusing. The author tried to connect the dots but it didn’t quite get there. I believe this is a case of when an author loses control of their story. There are a lot of moments of superfluous details that don’t serve to advance the plot. I get the feeling Calia might have dreamed the story up while doing genealogy research on her family tree. The heroine spends lots of time researching ancestry, and there are an abundance of facts that go no where. For this to be a great story, there are many wrinkles that need to be ironed out. We don’t get to hear the conclusion to some of the major plot lines and I can’t forgive that.

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