The Serpent by Claire North

by Carol3 Comments
We play a lot of games at our house- for me it's mostly board games. I just don't feel the draw of video games that Amber and David do, but I love board games. We play a variety, from old standards to newer ones, board games, card games, dice. That's what drew me to the Gameshouse trilogy. I love that North took playing games and made into a world transforming power. The Serpent is the first of the novellas. The story is told to us by the narrator, an unseen watcher who takes us with him as he observes the gamers. He's sly and smart and his outlook rubs off on us. I listened to the audio and this narration style worked really well that way. The narrator was the narrator, if that makes sense. It's short, but rich and full. I love the way North uses language and world she creates, both of historic Venice and the Gameshouse itself. Thene is an...
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Night Shift by Charlaine Harris

by Carol2 Comments
I had this review all written - and lost it. I hate when that happens. At the beginning of the month, I had finished the audiobook I was listening to, had listened to a couple of short stories, and couldn't decide what to listen to next. Happily, I noticed that Night Shift was out. I was glad I hadn't spent the Audible credit on something else first, since I do love this series. Night Shift is third, and last, of the Midnight, Texas books, and I've listened to the three in order. I do think it's a bit better to start this series at the beginning. The characters are an odd lot, and there are a few things from previous books that impact this one. I guess it also has some cross-overs from Harris' other series. I've read a couple of those books, but it was a while ago and I don't remember much about them. I don't feel like that lack made me...
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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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