Kissing Shakespeare

Kissing Shakespeare

by Pamela Mingle

2 stars

352 pages

Published Aug. 14, 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers 

 

Not a fantastic book by any stretch of the imagination - just because you are writing about Shakespeare does not make your writing automatically great.

I was bugged, like others, that the vast majority of the book was focused on how the main character - Olivia/Miranda - needed to "bed" Shakespeare as the only possible way for him to avoid joining the Jesuit brotherhood and thus never writing his plays.

The book reads like there was no way Shakespeare could make up his own mind without the sex. All that work-up and stress was allayed with one sentence towards the end of the book. Nothing had needed to be done by the main character. This really negated the whole purpose of the book - changing Shakespeare's mind, when in one sentence, he did it himself with no help from Olivia.
Lame.

The only reason I give this two stars is because of Olivia's decision regarding whether or not to jump in the sack with Shakespeare.

Waterfall

Waterfall (River of Time #1)

by Lisa Tawn Bergren

3 stars

369 pages

Published Feb. 1, 2011 by David C. Cook

There was so much unbelievable stuff in this book, I hesitated to give it 3 stars. Like: Gabi being able to speak medieval Italian or sword fight with no problem. Plus the "romance" was a bit cheesy - I'm so tired of love triangles! But the premise was interesting, and I wanted to see how the author imagined life in the 1300s to be like. Also, the writing was decent, and the author knew how to move the plot along.

I doubt I'll read the next in the series, though. This book just didn't hold that much interest for me.

The Moon Riders

The Moon Riders (Moon Riders #1)

by Theresa Tomlinson

2 stars

381 pages
 

Published Oct. 31, 2006 by Harper Teen (first published Feb. 6, 2003)

I have given up on this book. It's just not my style and a bit boring and sloooow. The only reason I gave it two stars is that it's not a bad book, I just can't get into it. I gave it a good try though - made it halfway before going on to other books.

If you are into the Battle of Troy and the legend of the Amazons, then you should give this a go.

The Last Storyteller: A Novel of Ireland

The Last Storyteller: A Novel of Ireland

by Frank Delaney

3 stars

400 pages

Published Feb. 7, 2012 by Random House

At first, I didn't think I was going to make it through this book (which I won in a First Reads giveaway), but there's something oddly compelling, darkly beautiful and exquisitely twisted about the book. I love all things Irish, but if you're looking for a story filled with rainbows, leprechauns and Darby O'Gill, this book is not the one for you. The story revolves around a man writing his memoirs to his 2 children, to be read after his death. As an 18-year-old, he falls in love with an older woman. Then the woman is stolen away by her family, never to be seen again.

The plot isn't so much a quest to find her as a search to find himself, with a healthy dose of Irish history, politics and legend interspersed within. Honestly, I looked forward to the retelling of the legends parts, because those parts shone some sunlight into such a melancholy story. But it's all so eloquently written and characters so fully fleshed out, it was hard not to finish. It's not a "page-tuner," no, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it is thought-provoking. I recommend.

Sent

Sent (The Missing #2)

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

4 stars

320 pages

Published Aug. 25, 2009 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

 

Quickie Review:

I read the first and second books of the series one after the other, and it was a fun read. The second book is filled with history, which I love, but it was a bit confusing. I really just had to push on through her "explanations" and focus on the story. Some inconsistencies, as well, but nothing too distracting.

Dream of Time

Dream of Time

by Nancy J. Price

4 stars

424 pages

Published July 9, 2013 by Synchronista LLC

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with this debut novel by Nancy Price.

If you can get past the bland title, and the confusing beginning pages, this book will reward you with hours of entertainment and rich San Francisco history. A perfect beach read.

Time travel is a tricky subject to get right to have it be believable.  Price solves the problem and impossibility of physical time travel by having her main character’s psyche travel back and occupy the body of a girl who has “died.” Basically her “host” was brain dead, and Robin – the heroine – takes her over.

I was enthralled with the story – once I figured out what was going on. Perhaps the author meant for this confusion to be present, since it mirrors the confusion the main character deals with in the book’s opening pages. The writing flows well, and the pacing is steady and well done.

The ending was complete and logical. It was a mite predictable, but happily Price throws in a bit of an unpredictable twist to make it more interesting.

Through the entirety of the book, bits of San Francisco history are worked into the story. Obviously, the author loves the city and has a depth of knowledge to match – the book is not only a love story between a man and woman, but between an author and a city. Price has clearly done mountains of research, which only fleshes out and humanizes historical San Francisco.

I loved Robin. Price develops her protagonist extremely well. She is a modern single mother who loves her children fiercely. I connected with her on this level and could see myself thinking the same thoughts Robin does. I also admired how Robin wasn’t obsessed with greed and trying to make her “Now” self rich by abusing her “Then” status. She only wanted to help others and prevent bad things from happening to people. I’m not sure how many people presented with such an opportunity would go down that path. I’d probably invest in something!

The love story between Travis and Robin/Gennie is genuine and lovely. And I appreciated the glossed-over sex. I also respected the lack of cursing and general bawdiness that usually accompanies adult fiction – especially when there is a romance angle. This is a book I would be comfortable recommending to my friends.

I am delighted I got to read this book. A solid first performance for Price, and I genuinely hope there many encore performances from her.

Thank you NetGalley and Synchronista LLC for the opportunity to review this fabulous ARC.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

5 stars

 
274 pages

Published July 29, 2008, by The Dial Press

 

I've read this book twice, which is rare for me. I don't usually deem a book good enough to spend time on twice, but this one did! And still does. I expect I will re-read it in the future, I loved it that much! I wish Mary Ann Shaffer were still around to write more fantastic books.
Here are my two reviews:

The first:
I rarely give 5 stars to any book, but I really loved this book! It was clean and uplifting - I would recommend it to my sisters and maybe even my mom. I liked the happy ending. I wish more books had that.

The second:
I just reread this book. And I still absolutely give it 5 stars! I think it's one of my favorite books ever. Wonderful, witty, poignant, informative. Love, love it! Please read it. Recommend to all!

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.