springdellgirl

Need a Good Book?




The kids are out of school again due to snow...will they ever go back? But it's a perfect day to snuggle up on the couch with a book and a cup of my new favorite hot chocolate Stephen's Cherry Chocolate Hot Cocoa. Have you tried it? It's heavenly but I think I have to buy it online now that the holidays are over. Shoot.

I have gotten EXTREMELY behind on my book reviews...so these reviews are going to be short. But hey...if you need a book to read...here are a few to consider (or not) as the case may be:


#43


Aahh...the final book in the Stephenie Meyer Vampire Series. So many people feel so strongly about this book. I liked it. Finally Bella gets what she wants and she's not nearly as lame as she has been in the last 3 books. She is strong, she has depth, she is...dare I say it...interesting. I found the ending very satisfying with the marriage, baby, and becoming a vampire etc. I found the imprinting of Jacob with Renesmee creepy and I am a big Jacob fan. The birth of Renesmee was truly gruesome with her clawing her way out...good grief! But I enjoyed the introduction of all the other vampires from around the world (why didn't we hear more about them in the other books??) I was disappointed in some discrepancies throughout the book. I mean really...Bella was able to be in control of herself immediately after becoming a vampire?? Didn't that discredit everything we were lead to believe about newborn vampires? I have a few other issues but I will leave it at that. I liked the final battle although I thought it was a little tame and wanted more of the Volturi and more of a fight. It seemed like a big build up to nothing. But in the end I was glad that there was a happy ending and that good won over evil.

All in all, I liked this book the best of the series. My rating: GOOD.

#44

This was a book club selection...a book that I had heard about over and over again. In a few words it is clean historical romantic fiction. A gripper and a page turner it is not. Just a nice easy read.

The story is about Lady Constance Morrow who has gone to say farewell to her uncle who has been accused of a crime and is being sent to the colonies from England as an indentured servant as his punishment. Lady Constance is kidnapped, sent to the colonies, and sold to a tobacco farmer wanting to purchase an English bride. And the plot thickens...

I found the subject of the tobacco brides interesting...I had never heard of them. I found the day-to-day living elements interesting. But I found the characters for the most part highly annoying. I mean really...Drew goes 4 MONTHS without talking to her or sleeping with her?? Yeah right...I don't buy it. The math bored me to tears. Scratching out problems on the hearth with charcoal...snooze.

But it had it's heart-warming and heart-wrenching moments and it kept me reading. If you are interested in a nice Sunday afternoon read this is for you.

My rating: somewhere between GOOD and OK.

#45

This book was a HUGE disappointment!! I really liked The Other Boleyn Girl and The Constant Princess and so it was with great anticipation that I started this book. It was a big waste of time. I hated every character...how can that be? Not one lovable or even likable character. I wanted them all dead by the end of the book...especially the long-suffering Amy. Why did it take her so long to die?!?

This is the story of Queen Elizabeth, daughter of Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn, and her long-time friend aka lover Robert Dudley. It is the story of Robert Dudley's rise to power at Elizabeth's side...even though it meant putting aside his devoted wife Amy...and his maneuvering and scheming which brought about his ultimate downfall.

If you want to read about Queen Elizabeth there are many good books out there...this is not one of them!! Skip it. Avoid it. I loathed it.

My rating: HORRIBLE

#46


How refreshing it was to read this book after the dreadful The Virgin's Lover. Here is well-written, wonderful, historical fiction at it's best!! Sharon Kay Penman is a fantastic author and she took me to a time and place that I haven't read much about...13th Century Wales.

The book tells the story of Llewelyn, the Prince of North Wales, and his rise to power and fame as Llewelyn the Great and his great love, Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of King John. In the quest for Wales Llewelyn and King John become bitter enemies and Joanna is forced to choose between loyalty to her beloved...but ruthless...father or the husband she was commanded to marry for political reasons but with whom she ended up falling in love.

This book was over 700 pages of fantastic reading!! It was like Pillars of the Earth only REALLY GOOD!! :) And lucky me it's the first book in a series. Yay!! I am currently 120 pages into the second book in the saga Falls the Shadow and loving it.

My rating: EXCELLENT

#47

Can someone please explain to me the hoopla over Shannon Hale? I don't get it...I don't feel it. I bought this book for Reilly to read over summer break as a book on her summer reading list. She read it but wasn't enthusiastic about it...at all. How can that be? It's won awards...it's about girls wanting to be princesses...people I respect recommended it. I figured that there must be something defective with Reilly and her quick read generation that didn't appreciate award-winning literature. Then I read it. BORING BORING BORING!!

In this book the main character is a 14 year-old girl named Miri who lives high a top Mt. Eskel with her father and sister. All the community works in the quarry and it is the foundation of their economy and society. Miri has never been allowed to work in the quarry for reasons unknown except for being "small" (did I miss something?) and instead takes care of her father's home and goats...always feeling like an outsider. But then one day a messenger from the King arrives and says that the next princess will come from Mt. Eskel and all girls between the ages of 12 and 17 are taken to the "Princess Academy" to be trained to be proper young ladies from which the prince will choose his bride.

This book has some good points. I loved the emphasis on the importance of education!! Fabulous. I loved that Miri comes to appreciate her culture and herself. Wonderful. But the quarry-singing and quarry-speaking were bizarre to say the least as was the whole world that Shannon Hale created. The book had an overall drab grayness to it. It didn't excite or entice me in anyway. I realize that this isn't a book written for my age demographic but my 12 year-old didn't like it either. There are a lot of people out there that really liked this book but I am not one.

My rating: BORING

#48

I had never read a Willa Cather novel before...I don't know why. I read this for a book group through my church...not my usual book club... It is their selection for January. I LOVED it!!
Positively loved it.

The story is told through the eyes of the character Jim Burden who as a 10 year-old orphan was sent from Virginia to live with his grandparents in late 19th century Nebraska. It chronicles the life of Jim and his childhood friend, Antonia, the daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family who come to Nebraska at the same time that Jim does.

This book tells the story of the hard-working immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th century in search of a better life and who settled the Midwest despite all kinds of obstacles like not speaking the language. The struggle to farm a homestead on the desolate Nebraska prairie forged characters of strength and faith. The portraits of the characters who settled the land are as rich and as vast as the countries they came from. It is a coming of age story and of learning what is really important in life.

Fabulous!!

My rating: EXCELLENT

#49


After My Antonia and Here Be Dragons I wanted a light read...some chick-lit if you will. This book sounded intriguing. Set in North Carolina during WWII it tells the story of three generations of unconventional Southern women: Charlie Kate, Sophia her daughter, and Margaret her granddaughter...the narrator. Charlie Kate is a backwoods mid-wife/healer and the adventures/medical conditions that she encounters are unique to say the least. This is a book of strong women who depend on one another rather than men during the trying times in their lives and the amazing bond between the three of them. Margaret's love and admiration for her grandmother shines through the book.

My problems with the book: Is there a plot? It is mainly just anecdotes of the amazing Charlie Kate...the only fully developed character in the book. Sophia is just a shadowy character and even Margaret lacks depth. Problem #2: What was with all of the suicides at the start of the book...they had no relevance to the rest of the book...they were just weird and intriguing. Problem #3: Margaret, our narrator, was an absolute bore. Are we really expected to believe that the hottest catch in town from the best family falls for her after she stares at his back in the hospital...NOPE! I just kept waiting for Margaret to stop following her grandmother around to get interesting but she never did. Too bad. In my opinion this book had a lot going for it at the beginning but then the author dropped the ball and let it slowly tank.

My rating: OK...but disappointing in many ways.

#50

FABULOUS!! FABULOUS!! I absolutely LOVED it!! I highly recommend this book. Truly a pleasure to read. Especially if you are a fan of the book Suite Francaise. I found them to be somewhat similar.

This is a story of an English author, Juliet Ashton, soon after WWII has ended. She receives a letter in the mail from a stranger who has a book that she once owned and is looking for more information on the author. A correspondence ensues. The story is told through a series of letters and telegrams ( I loved the style) to various people: her publisher, friends, the man who sends her the first letter, Dawsey, and the people in his literary society. Through Juliet's correspondence you meet an amazing cast of characters...quirky and lovable. Juliet is drawn into the literary society's world...amazing men and women who formed their literary society on the spur of the moment as a cover to protect themselves during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. Via these letters Juliet finds a book to write, life-long friends and even love.

This book is charming, witty, clever, heart-wrenching and triumphant all at the same time. I LOVED it!!

My rating: EXCELLENT

Start 2009 off by reading a book!!