Category Archives: Reviews

Shiver, Linger, & Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (book review)

By monnibo | Published: May 12, 2012

I read these three books in quick succession (March/April 2012), and greatly enjoyed the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater. The writing is simple, straightforward, yet poetry, and the characters are well-rounded. The plot is a little predictable, but it’s nice when book one doesn’t end with a ‘happily ever after’ scenario that book two has to ruin just to capitalize on a YA series. For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf — her wolf — is a haunting presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human…until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears and the temperature drops, Sam must fight to stay human — or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. In Linger, now Sam and Grace must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past…and figuring out a way to survive in the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her [...]

Also posted in Books | Tagged book review, book series, fantasy series, forever, linger, maggie stiefvater, shiver, wolves of mercy falls, ya books, YA novel | Leave a comment

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (book review)

By monnibo | Published: May 8, 2012

I wanted to read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones because of the movie adapted by Hayao Miyazaki. Terrible, I know, but I’m a huge Miyazaki fan and now I want to read more by Diana Wynne Jones, so win-win. In the land of Ingary, where seven league boots and cloaks of invisibility do exist, Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell. Deciding she has nothing more to lose, she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls… There she meets Michael, Howl′s apprentice, and Calcifer the Fire Demon, with whom she agrees a pact. But Sophie isn′t the only one under a curse – her entanglements with Calcifer, Howl, and Michael, and her quest to break her curse is both gripping – and funny! From the Canadian publisher, HarperCollins. Originally published in 1986 in England. I had trouble getting some of Miyazaki’s imagery out of my head, especially with descriptions of Sophie, Howl, the castle, and even Calcifer’s voice (courtesy of Billy Crystal). But none of that impeded my enjoyment of the novel, and the thrill of the quiet adventure within the pages.

Also posted in Books | Tagged book review, british novel, diana wynne jones, fantasy novel, hayao miyazaki, howl's moving castle, novel into movie, teen novel, YA novel | Leave a comment

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (book review)

By monnibo | Published: April 30, 2012

Drums of Autumn is the fourth book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, starring Scottish Highlander Jamie Fraser and time traveller Claire. Warning – Even the synopsis has spoilers. It’s difficult to discuss a book in a series without spoilers. It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once buy twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter Brianna… Now, Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history…and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past…or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong… From the publisher, Anchor Canada, an imprint of Random House Canada.

Also posted in Books | Tagged book review, book series, diana gabaldon, drums of autumn, fantasy, fantasy series, outlander series, romance | 1 Comment

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (book review)

By monnibo | Published: April 6, 2012

I finished this book in December, and it was the perfect thing to read on cold, wintery nights. The fourth installment of the Buckshaw Chronicles—I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley—opens with Flavia de Luce in full form. It’s Christmas time, and our beloved Flavia is tucked away in her laboratory whipping up a sticky concoction to trap that infamous sneak, Saint Nick, and thereby prove once and for all—despite the claims of her evil sisters—that he does exist. But she is soon distracted from her task: her father, in desperate need of funds, has rented the family’s crumbling manor house to a film company for the holidays. When its crew arrives from London to shoot a movie starring the reclusive and renowned actress, Phyllis Wyvern, there’s no end to the disruptions – and dramas – demanding Flavia’s attention. Wyvern is convinced to perform a famous scene to help raise funds for the local church, and it is decided that Buckshaw is the only suitable location. Its foyer alone is bigger than the parish hall, and could fit every man, woman, and child in Bishop’s Lacey, to a soul. It’s almost Christmas Eve, but as the actors take to the stage, the blizzard sets in, and the villagers will have to hunker down at Buckshaw for the night, sleeping head to toe in the de Luces’ foyer. But that evening, Phyllis Wyvern is found strangled to death in the Blue Bedroom, with a length of film from one of [...]

Also posted in Books | Tagged alan bradley, book review, buckshaw chronicles, canadian author, canadian novel, flavia de luce, i am half sick of shadows, mystery | Leave a comment

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (book review)

By monnibo | Published: March 30, 2012

I have wanted to read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs since the book trailer was released last year. I watched the trailer and read the synopsis probably six months ago but resisted buying it several times due to an overly large TBR pile. Then, I was given the book for Christmas by someone who didn’t even know I wanted to read it. I was thrilled and proceeded to consume the book in two days. A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. From the publisher, Quirk Books The must-watch trailer: It helps when the author is also in film, [...]

Also posted in Books, Photos / Videos | Tagged book review, book to movie, miss peregines home for peculiar children, photography, quirk books, ransom riggs, ya books, YA novel | 1 Comment

Category Archives: Reviews

Shiver, Linger, & Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (book review)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (book review)

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (book review)

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (book review)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (book review)

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