Hinterkind Vol. 1: The Waking World by Ian Edginton, illustrated by Francesco Trifogli

by Carol3 Comments
A couple of days ago I was sitting on the recliner in the basement and David must have been watching hockey or baseball or something on tv. Anyway, I was bored and my phone and current read were both upstairs. I was also feeling rather lazy and The Waking World was sitting on the shelf on the end table, so I picked it up, read half that evening and finished it the next day. To be honest, I'm not sure how I got ahold of this originally. I don't read many graphic novels, but I must have purchased it at some time. It's enjoyable enough, but there's nothing really exciting about it. It's just okay. The world is interesting, with all the fairy creatures returning, but they're nothing unique. There's a semi-military group too, but they've run a bit amok and once again don't strike me as truly unique. The teenage boy could be more than he seems, but his individual...
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The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

by Carol7 Comments
First off, The Janus Affair overall was better than the first in the series for me. I liked the suffragette connection and I thought the gadgets and machines were cooler this time around. It's a funner book. Braun and Books are a great team. I enjoy their interactions. They are both witty and have wonderful comebacks and one-liners. They make me smile. There's some sexual tension, but the romance touches don't overpower the story. However, the introduction of Eliza's old flame leads to one of my quibbles. While his presence pushed Books to look a little more at his feelings for Eliza, I could have done without him. I almost quit partway through. There were two male secondary characters, one being Eliza's old friend and the other a fellow Ministry worker, who I just didn't enjoy. They were jerks, and not integral enough to the story to make up for the amount of time spent on them. I really just strongly disliked...
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Arcadia by Iain Pears

by Carol4 Comments
First a note on the title, since I'd heard of "Arcadia" but really had no clear knowledge about what it was. And it's not actually mentioned in the book, I don't think. Arcadia is a mountainous, landlocked region of Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. The Roman poet Virgil recognized that Arcadia's isolation and bucolic character make it a perfect setting for pastoral poetry. Now English speakers often use arcadia to designate a place of rustic innocence and simple, quiet pleasure. Arcadian can mean "idyllically pastoral" or "idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled." Anterworld is our would-be Arcadia, the land Rosie, from the blurb, enters into. Why did I pick up Arcadia? It embraces things I usually avoid - mainly time-travel, but also science fiction and dystopian and post-apocalyptic societies. Now spies, cheesy romance and fantasy I'm all for. Yes, it does manage to smash all of those together. I also tend to not like audiobooks with two narrators. I...
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City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

by Carol3 Comments
First a bit of advice, read City of Stairs first. Yes, City of Blades may be almost able to stand on its own, but Stairs is so good and will give you such a better feeling for the main characters in this book and the world they live in. Although City of Blades is the second in the trilogy, it feels different from Stairs. Stairs was action and magic and politics. Blades is a little darker, sadder, tougher, but just as good, if not better. Our main character this time around is retired General Turyin Mulagesh. she may be one of my favorite heroines. She's over-50, an alcoholic, one-armed (due to an incident in Stairs), a bit lonely, and full of regrets. But, man, she is tough and smart and caring and tenacious and totally capable of killing you in multiple ways. She is awesome, period. I may still have a bit of a crush on Sigrud, but Turyin even outshines him. She...
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Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

by Carol3 Comments
Phoenix Rising was fun, but not quite good enough to hold my attention the whole time - like I found myself at the gym watching the captions on HGTV instead of listening to the story. I think it's a problem with the attitude of the book. It's steampunk. Books is an archivist; Braun is kind of a female James Bond. They embark on solving a mystery that drove one of their colleagues literally insane. There are huge mechamen and an enemy intent on destroying England maybe - not sure. There's an orgy and an escape from the dungeon. It's absurd and would be amusing, if it felt like the story knew how silly it was, instead it seems to take itself seriously. Now, I listened to the audio, so I don't know if that's just the way the narration seemed and I would have found the whole think more tongue in cheek had I been reading it in print. I like...
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Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

by Carol3 Comments
Isn't that cover great? I don't read many middle school books, but I have to thank whoever wrote the review that made me put Serafina and the Black Cloak on my to-read list. I really enjoyed it. Serafina herself is a charming twelve-year old. She has an odd life, hiding in the basement of the Biltmore Estate where her pa works, but she's adorable and brave and smart. And not quite human, but part of this first story is her discovery of who she is. The narrator does an excellent job, giving Serafina a perfect accent and a very expressive voice, showing her pride, curiosity and fears well. I love Serafina's pa, too. He's not a huge part of the actual plot, but he's a strong, caring man, doing the best he can in an unusual situation. There aren't really any surprises in the story, we see most things coming well before they're revealed, but it's a middle school book, so I'm...
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