The Diviners

The Diviners (The Diviners #1)

by Libba Bray

3 stars

578 pages
Published Sept. 18, 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
 
I enjoyed this book, mostly. Sometimes the flapper language was annoying and too persistent and the book was a little too long - plus there is a developing love triangle (ick!), but I overlooked all that in favor of a great, twisted, and delightfully dark plot. There is some - no, quite a lot of gruesome killing scenes, so beware. I skipped most of them. All I needed to know was who got dead.

I haven't read many books set in the flapper and prohibition era, so this was a good introduction to speakeasies, spiritualism and old-time New York. What a crazy time.
I may pick up #2 when it comes out. We'll see.

Ruins

Ruins (Partials Sequence #3)

by Dan Wells

3 stars

464 pages

Published Mar. 11, 2014 by Balzer + Bray

Unbeknownst to me, I skipped the 2nd book in this series and didn't realize it until I was halfway through this book. Hmm. I'm not exactly sure what that means ...

At least now I don't have to read Book #2. It must have been not that enlightening, since I was following Book #3 right along with no problem.

Big Boned

Big Boned (Heather Wells Mysteries #3)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars

280 pages

Published Nov. 20, 2007 by Avon A

I hope this is the last of the Heather Wells books, because this one finally had the right ending. I honestly read these books - not for the murder mysteries - but to see if Heather ever ended up with the "right" person.

I was happy with who she ended up with.

Size 12 Is Not Fat

Size 12 Is Not Fat (Heather Wells Mysteries #1)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars

345 pages

Published Dec. 27, 2005 by Avon Books

 
Totally predictable, but fun nevertheless. A spattering of swearing, but it's not too bad. This book follows the adventures of has-been pop star Heather Wells in her job as an assistant dorm director. I'll likely read the next in the series. Gotta see if she ends up with "the one." I'm a sucker for a good love story.

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either (Heather Wells Mysteries #2)

by Meg Cabot

2 stars

344 pages 
Published Nov. 28, 2006 by William Morrow Paperbacks
 
I would have given this book an extra star except for the horrible language it contains. I think this was Meg Cabot's chance to cram in as many f-bombs as possible to make up for what she doesn't put in her YA books. It's too bad, though. The language didn't even further the story.

Doubt I'll pick up the next in the series. Life's too short to have your ears burn while reading.

Daddy-Long-Legs

Daddy-Long-Legs (Daddy-Long-Legs #1)

by Jean Webster  

5 stars

249 pages

Published 1912 by Hodder & Stoughton

 

It is rare that I give 5 stars, but this adorable book deserves it. I believe this is one of the sweetest books I've ever read. It's witty and cute, and although it's written back in the early 20th century, it still is pertinent to today. I loved it.

I recommend to everyone! It's a quick read and you'll be a better person for reading it.
How many books can you say that about?

Heat Wave

Heat Wave (Nikki Heat #1)

by Richard Castle

4 stars

198 pages

Published Sept. 29, 2009 by Hyperion

I've been on this Castle kick for the past couple of weeks - kids have been sick, I've been sick; husband, too. So I checked out the first three seasons of the show from my local library to help me veg out.

Have I told you how much I love libraries? Oh, yes. It's a well-known fact that when buying a house (which we do a lot, since we're moving every three years), I migrate toward homes that are close to libraries. In fact, now that I think about it, every home I've lived in during my married life has been within walking distance of a library. All the better to feed my addiction.

Sorry, back to the subject.

So, I fell in love with the wit and repartee and - dare I say it? - immaturity encapsulated in the main character of Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion. He is endearing and rascally!

I watched all three seasons in like 3 weeks, and begged my friend to let me borrow her seasons 4 and 5, which she did, bless her heart. I watched those in like 2 weeks. My daughter started watching them, too! Although I had to pick and choose the ones that were more appropriate for her. The sexy ones I nixed. While watching, I made a mental note to look into the books that the fictional Richard Castle wrote - the Derrick Storm books and Nikki Heat books.

I started with this one. 

And I loved it just as much as I love the show! Because it reads exactly like a Castle episode. The writing is exactly the same as the show's writing. The characters are the same. 

I will be reading more of these books - since I am not done with my glut of Castle.

There is some swearing - no F-bomb. A mild sex scene on page 105.

The Bride Wore Size 12

The Bride Wore Size 12 (Heather Wells Mysteries #5)

by Meg Cabot

3 stars 

392 pages

Published Sept. 24, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

 

Another light, fluffy, formulaic murder mystery by Meg Cabot. Not the best book Cabot has written, but entertaining enough. Heather Wells is an endearing character, with cleverness and wittiness in spades.
There is some swearing and some glossed-over sex. I probably wouldn't let my mom read it.

P.S. Just FYI, we just had an magnitude 5.2 earthquake over here in Italy - and we sure felt it! It was my first earthquake - but we all are OK and nothing collapsed. Yay!

The Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club (Friday Night Knitting Club #1)

by Kate Jacobs

2 stars

352 pages 

Published Jan. 18, 2007 by Putnam Adult (first published January 1st 2006)

 

I had waited a few years for this book to finally be added as an ebook at my local library. I thought I would like this book - yarn and women crafters with a touch of romance thrown in? Sounds good! I love working with yarn, although I enjoy crocheting more than knitting. Maybe I was hoping for a bit of inspiration to get me back into knitting. I rarely delve into adult fiction, but I thought I'd make an exception for this one.

Unfortunately, when I closed the cover on my Nook after reading the last sentence, I was decidedly underwhelmed and not a little bit disgusted. I remember all sorts of hype associated with this book. Why? The ending was crap. If I had known what was going to happen (and I purposely did NOT read any spoilers beforehand), I would not have wasted my time. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was that the writing was pretty good - except for the swearing. TOO MUCH! I mean, come on! This is a book about knitting! You don't need to be dropping the f-bomb when you're purling!

So, I cannot recommend this book to any of my friends. Sorry. Actually - I'm not.

Born of Illusion

Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1)

by Teri Brown

4 stars

373 pages

Published June 11, 2013 by Balzer & Bray

Thankfully, this can be read as is - I can almost consider it a stand-alone book. The writing was good enough that I was compelled to read the novel in two sittings.

I liked that the heroine was struggling between what she knew to be right and what she knew she needed to do to survive.

It was a bit predictable at the end. The bad guy was exactly who I thought it was going to be.

There is some mild swearing and some forays into the occult.

I am looking forward to read the next in the series.

Floors

Floors (Floors #1)

by Patrick Carman

3 stars

261 pages

Published Sept. 1, 2011 by Scholastic Press

I read this book with my 8-year-old son as a bedtime story over the course of a few weeks. He absolutely loved this book!

He loved how the main character - Leo - went on a sort of scavenger hunt and discovered secret floors in the hotel where he lives.

My son also liked the minor robot character - Blop. He thought he was hilarious.

As an adult reading this, I can see flaws in the story and writing - mostly the blatant mirroring to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - but this does not translate into a bad book for children. Children have the ability to just enjoy a book and not analyze like adults do.

More than the book itself, I enjoyed the chance I had to read with my son. I will be checking out Number 2 in the series, because he's asked for it already. Yay!

Towering

Towering

by Alex Flinn

2 stars

293 pages 

Published May 14, 2013 by HarperTeen

I am pretty bummed I had to give this book so few stars. It had such potential - part love story, part paranormal mystery - but the execution was lacking.

"Towering" is touted as a modern re-write of the Rapunzel tale, but the only tie-in the book contains is that one of the protagonists has long hair, which she cuts to make a rope so she can escape her tower prison/safe-house. The rest is an anti-drug PA (which I'm all for: Drugs=Bad!), but it just didn't jive with the spirit of the original Rapunzel tale. That, paired with poor character development, uneven pacing, and too many unanswered questions at the abrupt and unsatisfying ending made this book an unfortunate and forgettable work.

I did dig the book cover, though.

The Luxe

The Luxe (Luxe #1)

by Anna Godbersen

1 star

433 pages

Published Nov. 20, 2007 by HarperCollins

 

What a disappointing book. I had such high hopes for it. It takes a lot for me to rate a book with one star, but this one merits it. All it was was a soap opera wrapped in an historical fiction cover. All the characters are either whiny, weak, immoral, bratty, back-biting, disloyal, childish or a combination of all of the above. Not one of the characters was likeable. Not the least bit.

Why did I finish the book? I'm not sure. Probably the same reason soap operas are popular. It sucks you in - and not in a good way.

The writing was not that great, either. If the writing had been better, maybe I could have forgiven the lack of plot, the insipid dialog and the flat characters.

I will not be reading the next books in the series. I couldn't care less what happens to them.

If I Should Die

If I Should Die (Die for Me #3)

by Amy Plum 

3.5 stars

405 pages

Published May 7, 2013, by HarperTeen

A satisfying, if predictable, ending to a well-done trilogy.

Classic themes of redemption and good conquering evil encapsulated in good writing and a sweet love story. And some awesome mortal combat! What could be better?

The reason for the 3.5 stars is because the Champion could have been more Champion-y. Better, stronger, more powers, etc. But the champion, when it shows up, is just like any other revenant, except for some pumped-up "perception," which is cool, but just not enough. I wanted a super superhero!

There were some loose ends, too, that were not tied up at the end. Some characters were left with unresolved stuff.

Also, I dropped stars for teen sex. Teens have enough to worry about in this era. They don't need to be thinking sex is all OK, then getting pregnant.

Now I'll remove myself from my moral soapbox.

I am glad that I read this trilogy. It was satisfying and original and had all the elements of a good YA book. I can recommend!

Spellcaster

Spellcaster (Spellbound #2)

by Cara Lynn Shultz

3.5 stars

371 pages

Published Mar. 27, 2012 by Harlequin Teen

A solid sequel to the book Spellbound.
The evil just keeps on coming for Emma and Brendan. This time in the form of a jealous, unbalanced teenage witch. If you thought regular teenage girls are catty, they've got nothing on this crazy witch. She's so evil, it's funny.
But Emma finally grows a spine and decides she's going to deal with the crazy, and not hide behind Brendan and his hero complex.
Pacing is quick. Writing is engaging. One thing that bugged me, though, was that in the first book, there was little, if any, animosity between Brendan and Angelique. In this book, there suddenly appears this disgust with one another. Where did that come from?
It's not a huge inconsistency, just annoying.
I'll probably read the next in the series.

Spellbound (Spellbound #1)

Spellbound (Spellbound #1)

by Cara Lynn Shultz

4 stars

341 pages

 

Ah, yes, another teen romance/fairy tale. At least this one was pretty good. Although I have to admit that I am a sucker for star-crossed love and all that sap.

But besides the good plot, the writing was surprisingly good. Pacing was OK - though slow at times. And I got pretty tired of "those emerald eyes" being obsessed over. There is a smattering of swear words, too.

Great climax, too. I love a good fight scene. And then the book ended. It seems rare nowadays to read a book that is self-contained in one volume. It's all trilogies and such. This book basically tied up all loose ends, but left room for a sequel if so desired. But not at all necessary. Though I believe there is another one coming out. But I don't feel compelled to read it, though I probably will because I enjoyed the first one so much.
All in all, an entertaining read.