I had a lot of unsure feelings about The Bone Witch while reading it. I don’t love reading fantasy books set in a completely new world; it’s hard for me to have an anchor to them, something that connects me to and keeps me in that world. Too often authors describe the world as though what we should see is familiar, rather than it being described by an outsider that we can relate to. I did have a hard time…
This is one of the most disappointing and most misleading books I have read in a very long time. Actually, I don’t think I have ever been so mislead by a book before. The full title is Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London but very little of the book is actually about the art of walking. Really, this book is a history of several women writer’s lives of the past with a mishmash of topics thrown in…
When I started A Homemade Life, I was a little disappointed. It is laid out as a short (around 3 pages) essay/story with a recipe or two to follow. Rinse and repeat. The first few were okay, but I had been hoping for something more like another book of hers I read, Delancy. However, a few stories in I changed my mind. Molly has such a charming way of writing that it makes me want to be a better writer…
Romancing the Inventor is a novella involving one of my very favorite parasol protectorate/parasolverse characters: Madame Lefoux! In it you will find an almost-200 page dose of my favorite author and all the wit and humor that comes along with her books. I truly adore each one of them. The book takes place post-Parasol Protectorate when Genevieve is serving her indenture with Countess Nadasdy. Imogene accepts a position in the hive house as a parlourmaid. There is an obvious attraction…
Ever since a few good friends took me to Din Thai Fung a few years ago, I’ve been pretty head-over-heels for dim sum. My co-worker and I love to take management visiting from our home office there for lunch when they’re in town and I love to see new locations popping up all over the Seattle area. The Dim Sum Field Guide seems to be a pretty extensive (at least to my little American brain) collection of the types of food…
When reading one of Charlaine Harris’s mystery series earlier last year, my eyes fell on a perfect description for what this type of story is… a “southern domestic cozy” mixed with magical realism. It makes me feel like I immediately have to move to a small town and always have baked goods and sweet tea ready for any surprise guests. This is the third book in the Obituary Society series and I just have to say that I really really…
Just because you’re not in middle school doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a middle grade book! Ok, I’ll be honest, I really loved this book. I love all of Brandon Mull’s books. I judged the first Fablehaven book by it’s cover many years ago and the rest is history. I was nervous yet excited to start reading Dragonwatch. It picks up not long after the final Fablehaven book, Keys to the Demon Prison, ended, with the demons having been defeated…
Here are 11 of my favorite books I read last year and the tiniest of blurbs to go along with the titles.1. The Red NotebookAmelie in book form. Whimsical and romantic, set in Paris. My review here. 2. The French Don’t Diet PlanThis book helped me get my snacking under control and lost 10 lbs without trying very hard. I need to give it a re-read… My review here. 3. Written in RedThe first book in the Others series by…
For those unfamiliar with the series:I listened to the audiobook for Written in Red, the first book in this series, a year ago last month. I had purchased a second hand copy of of the actual book months prior but after it being recommended to me so many times I decided to get the audiobook so I could get to it sooner. I instantly fell in love with it and the unique world Anne Bishop has created for us. The…
I think I have been the most impressed with this series over any other I have read (thats more than five books) – I am pleasantly surprised that this is the 10th book in the Mercy Thompson series and Patricia Briggs can still make it an exciting vs stale read. In Silence Fallen, Mercy is abducted and taken to Italy. She escapes and spend most of the book on the run from her abductors. The other half of the book,…